đłď¸ââ§ď¸They/Them ⢠đłď¸âđBi/Pan+Queer ⢠Software developer by trade. My hobby is, apparently, doing deep dive research into other hobbies and then burning out before Iâve even begun. Hobby du jour: photography!
425 followers 55 following 1,172 posts
view profile on Bluesky 
Not to belabor the point but: I am not the weird one for being this mad at the Democratic Party and its leaders. Look at polls of your average rank and file Dem voters and how they feel about the party now. It is YOU who are out of touch if youâre asking why people are being mean to Dem politicians
I've already said what I need to say about Newsom's stance on trans ppl & why it will fail in this short đ§ľ. but can I just add, as a long time Californian & Bay Area resident, I'm convinced that this online push for him 3 years out from Dem primaries is 100% astroterfed... bsky.app/profile/juli...
20. So even if the Democrats stopped using all those bad words that Third Way says they should stop using, it would't matter, because the Republicans would say they still use them and that would force the Democrats to deny that they do. And Third Way wouldn't defend the Democrats.
Not sure whose fault it is primarily that most people don't seem to know that the president is basically a manager whose job is to carry out the will of Congress, and not The Country's Boss
This âexplicitâ is a weird editorial choice. The constitution gives the president no power over this at all. Itâs not ambiguous.
Just for the record, Trump canât do this. The constitution is very clear that the times, places, and manners of elections for federal office are up to each state, but can be altered by Congress. The president has no role here, except to sign into law or veto a bill that congress passes to do this.
Writing an op-ed in a popular newspaper is a power that the minority party has. It can be a good tool to help keep people focused. But this one does seem a bit of a miss. You wonât win by asking someone to quit. Not after they fought their whole career to get there. So, now what?
It would help if Democrats were actually doing things that are within their power. Instead weâve had business as usual: unanimous consent, granted clotures, & avoiding filibusters. At least Sanders has been holding rallies, but a single 83 year old man shouldnât be the load bearing dissent.
Thereâs a difference between political preference (by which measure very few people get even close representation) & a politician who signals that peopleâs humanity & rights are political tokens to be traded. Itâs not a purity test to want the side of civil rights to actually support civil rights.
Gavinâs man right there. He likes this man so much that he plays Kirkâs shows for his 8 year old. Gotta start them early.
One of these people is not like the others. Even the 78 year old religious man clearly sees the far right lies about trans people for what they are: blatant lies. To my knowledge only one of these people debuted a podcast by telling Charlie Kirk he âcompletely agreesâ.
As it's still valid, presumably if I don't keep following it, I am also breaking the law and subject to arrest. The law of the land simultaneously requires me to be both a man and a woman and if I do either then I am breaking the law and subject to arrest. (11/13)
I got to talk with @lataco.bsky.social's @eltragon.bsky.social about his tireless documentation of immigration raids in LA, and how his knowledge of the city's street food scene makes him a better immigration reporter
Donât trust the expertsâ? Thatâs not democracy, thatâs recklessness. On a plane, I want a pilot. In a hospital, I want doctors and scientists who understand the evidence. Expertise isnât religion or authoritarianism â itâs training, accountability, and data. Ignore it and we all pay the price.
Once the bubble pops and all these companies wither in bankruptcy maybe power utilities will be able to use this for cheaper power. Then people will be able to electrify because itâs the smart thing for their bills. (They wonât)
Ok, so that means that by extension heâs me leader. Or do my senators not represent me when they elect their leader? And again, he is in all effect the most powerful single Democrat in Washington and itâs beyond frustrating that he doesnât seem to know that, and certainly doesnât act on that.
Trust me, I do. But why doesnât this have to do with Schumer? Heâs the Senate party leader. Heâs the most powerful Democrat at the national level. Just because heâs not my senator doesnât mean I canât have opinions. If he doesnât like that he can step down from the high position he sought out.
Like I said, there you go assuming I donât participate in local politics. You know nothing about me. Itâs precisely because Iâm actively involved with my politicians why Iâm fed up with them. I should not be spending more effort than they are fighting this admin, & yet. bsky.app/profile/cupr...
If I spent 10 months ignoring daily phone calls from my boss id have been fired. So why is it ok when the senators who *work for me* as my representative do it?
They should represent me and my vote, precisely. Thatâs their job. So when they vote unanimously with Republicans, pass Trump nominees, and otherwise act like itâs business as usual I find that a bit, lacking. When they then flat out ignore their phones I find that irritating.
I thought you folks wanted people to vote, right? Yâall always get mad at me after incorrectly assuming I didnât vote for Harris or that I donât participate in my local politics. Nope, I voted for her. But you know what. You got mad at me for that, too. So idk what you want
Go read the thread. Schumer canât be telling Trump that here because Trump is not on this website. When he wants a twitter alternative heâll just use X or Truth. So the other personâs question remains: who is that empty platitude even for?
And itâs not like my local politicians are better. My governor spent weeks praising RFK and thanking Trump for the nomination.
Colorado, where my senators have basically participated in the system like everything is normal. One of my senators doesnât even answer his phone anymore and is all but unreachable. It doesnât matter, tho, Schumer is the leader so he gets to hear from people outside NYS
Because famously when Trump started using a Twitter alternative he moved to BlueskyâŚ
Heaven forbid people have expectations of the people they elect to represent them. No, such expectations are âtearing downâ the people who sought that powerâŚ
The NRA buys off Congress. No action on guns. The oil industry buys off Congress. No action on climate. Insurance companies buy off Congress. No action on health care. The list goes on and on. Money in politics is the root of our dysfunction.
âWeâre better at sweeping up the homeless and respecting the police,â is a bad message both morally, politically, and strategically.
This choice amidst an occupation partially premised on homelessness and Bowserâs openness to increased policing during a federal occupation really serves to highlight how bad the political instincts are at the top of the party.
See also: Immigration
I feel like I shouldnât have to say, âyouâre not going to win by showing youâre more competent at accomplishing your opponents' goals,â but I guess I have to say, youâre not going to win by showing youâre more competent at accomplishing your opponents' goals.
4. For trans youth, there were many changes. I have a list of clinics that have shuttered under Trump threats in blue states. Many states that were previously "safest" for trans youth have seen mass clinic shutdowns, with state AGs not enforcing civil rights laws against those hospitals.
Cost of Trump's D.C. Occupation: $1.1M per day. Cost to operate public housing for D.C.'s entire homeless population: $169,226 per day. It's not about what this country can or canât afford. Itâs about priorities.
8/28/25đł second time this month, Justice Department dropped charges against a client represented by Pamâs brother abcnews.go.com/US/doj-drops...
if you havenât watched the adam friedland show interview with ritchie torres you absolutely should. he really confronts him on his sycophantic support of isreal, and this end âhot micâ clip to me is so revealing
One of the things the Nazis did when coming to power was push propaganda that Jews were criminals and prone to violence by focusing on crime committed by Jews or fabricating crime they falsely attributed to Jews. The last 36 hours on X has been this on a massive scale against trans people.
I have never seen so many public servants protest the mismanagement of a government. Trumpists will point to this as proof of the deep state, but the reality is that these are professionals who are desperately trying to get the public to understand how bad things are.
lol he has âdo not obey in advanceâ in his bio, but is giving up on trans rights more than 3 years before the general election. Seems a bit advanced to me.
âDo not obey in advanceâ but giving up on an election over 3 years away. Fucking LMAO
Before 2012 Obama was not an unusual Democrat. He might have been slower than the average Democrat, but he was not out of the norm for the time. Newsom is bucking the party and going even farther than the Dems who only merely think that âtransâ was a deciding factor and that they need to debate it
And marriage was a different fight. There were some escape valves in blue states (civil unions) and we were fighting for a new right not yet recognizedâtho present in meaning of the constitution. Trans people have rights, medical care, and sports that people like Newsom want to take away.
I remember that differently than you. Quite a bit of queer people I knew took that as a betrayal of his values and either sat out or didnât loudly support him as they mightâve. He had to change his position in 2012 precisely because he was going to lose if he didnât, because of the pushback.
I forgot, bc heâs rushing down the pathway so quickly, but heâs already to the point of opposing youth transition (can say minor because he includes 18â25) & questions established, lifesaving medical care. Thatâs 8 months from âsupportâ to the sports wedge to opposing medicine.
He isnât acting in good faith with trans people. Heâs buying into the same radicalization pathways that have lead men like Kirk and Knowles. At *best* heâs a willful collaborator and a mark. Thatâs still bad enough, regardless of how bad he actually gets
While he isnât screaming in the streets about âeradicationâ like Kirk & Knowles he did veto a law that specifically protected trans kids from abusive parents. We know that transphobic parents beat & sometimes even kill their trans kids. Its possible that a kid will die as a direct result of his veto
If this isnât defense, what is it? I disagree with your characterization of the anti-Newsom coalition, broadly, but thatâs immaterial. Newsom literally said he âcompletely agreesâ with Charlie Kirk. He is not as bad right now, but this is a path trans people have seen before. We know how this ends.
Ok, so heâs not transphobic âin his bonesâ. Heâs merely opportunistically jumping on the anti-trans culture war. You get why thatâs worse, right? Why are you defending him?
The thing is Newsom is in no way a leader. Nothing he does is original. Trans people have seen this all before. There are several prominent examples of feckless liberals claiming âprogressiveâ but then turning to full anti-trans reactionaries. It has started exactly as Newsom is doing now.
He personally had policy changed to exclude a single girl from a track meet. He only officially vetoed on bill *so far* & in doing so he knowingly endangered kids. He pressured several other bills and got some delayed past the session, a pocket veto.
In as much as CA has some of the best protections that was the legislature passing good law despite pressure from the governor. People need to get off the idea that Newsom has done more. CO, CT, IL, MA, MN, & NY all have stellar laws & their governors arenât telling Charlie Kirk âI completely agreeâ
He didnât just veto one bill. Heâs been pressuring the legislature to kill other bills. He pushed the school sports board & got them to change policy to deny one girl her placement. He has been publicly cozying up to the far right and has told them he regrets his earlier action: âtoo fastâ.
đ¨Border Patrol arrested two firefighters who were actively fighting a wildfire at the time. When the other members of the crew asked for a chance to say goodbye, a Border Patrol agent told the crew member âyou need to get the f*ck out of here. Iâm going to make you leave.â
ICE took 2 firefighters OFF THE FUCKING FIRE LINE!?
28 Aug 25 -- UK trans man denied Gender Recognition Certificate over his intention to conceive a child after board says it means he's not living as a man--a key requirement. (European Court of Human Rights has ruled against req. sterilization for legal gender changes.) @rikiwilchins.bsky.social
i find this image so fascinating. it is both a literal example of authoritarianism but also a second-hand reproduction of the aesthetics of other authoritarian states. it's like a simulacra of authoritarianism whose purpose is to attempt to make the simulacra real.
This thread and its point is so unbelievably important â and why it is so absolutely essentially to accurately describe what Trump does and how heâs done it. Otherwise, you â looking primarily at journalists and lawmakers â are just making it easier for him to create that reality.
an appropriate response to your product killing a child after months of psychological manipulation and torture is to take the product off the market before it kills again and the fact that this isnât universally accepted right now is incredibly frightening
like if you put a product on the market where thereâs a non-zero chance that itâs going to âproactively instigate the death by suicide of a childâ and lots of people tell you thatâs obviously gonna happen and you do it anyway and then it happens,,, how is that not a crime ?
one thing i've taken away from surveys asking the public to evaluate trump's most authoritarian moves is that the ordinary americans have a much clearer sense of what's happening than most professional political observers
This from Riley Gaines is why trans people freak out when Democrats try to carve out some compromise over sports. The politicians and activists attacking trans people are not interested in compromise! They're interested in our eradication from public life and are exploiting sports to that end
My requirements for any Democrat running for president are simple: 1. Undo/reverse every single anti-trans policy the Trump administration has implemented. 2. Pledge not to further restrict trans people's rights. 3. Support the passage of the Equality Act and make it a priority.
I do wish people would treat transphobia as the serious red flag it is, because if someone is repeating bullshit pseudoscience talking points from right wing cranks, that's just as bad as conceding to anti-vax nonsense and undermining trust in science and medicine, alarm bells should be sounding!
Guy who wrote three books with the aid of a synthetic text extruder doesn't like our book! News at 10.
Fucking yikes www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/b...
Ok, AI generated profile picture. Iâm sure your totally authentic concern will be taken seriously by editors who already checked out the journalist they just published. Or do you think they didnât check it before putting their name behind her?
i have to say i'm enjoying the "you can't fire me, bitch" responses to trump's attempts
đ¨ The CDC as we know it is being severely altered tonight. In addition to the CDC director being ousted, the Post is reporting that several senior leaders are leaving as well. Here are from two of the resignations:
every time someone says âfuck you, make meâ an angel gets its wings
Monarez is playing her weak hand perfectly, and should be a model for institutional resistance for the next four years: 1. Make them fire you 2. Donât go along to get along 3. Donât apologize, have confidence in your own integrity and the importance of your role 4. Always escalate the conflict
Back in 2020, YouTube suspended OAN's channel, demonetized it, and noted it was not an "authoritative" source. Now, five years later, the Google-owned platform has inked a deal to put the MAGA propaganda network in millions of living rooms. Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/youtube-oa...
Out today on YouTube, we welcomed @siridahl.com onto the pod to talk about how conservative groups are using anti-porn laws and payment processors to censor the internet. Especially at risk is anything related to trans and queer people. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwRG...
According to federal data, 13 of the top 20 cities in homicide rates have Republican governors. None of those cities are Chicago. 8 of the top 10 states in homicide rates are led by Republicans. None of those states are Illinois. And yet Trump is sending troops here.
Itâs so funny that you Newsom deadenders keep saying that heâs the only governor to do anything. Even funnier when you add âsubstantialâ. Lol, LMAO even. The most substantial thing heâs done is implement Trumpâs sports policy. The next most substantial was pass a bill that might not have any effect
Youâre presenting a false choice. There are so many more choices than just Gavin or Trump. There are years until the primary. Itâs a good thing that we have time to avoid this walking disaster of a man. If Newsom is the candidate at the general we are going to think that Harris did well
the complete embrace of nihilism and the rejection of being genuine is the greatest danger to humanity right now
âIf every author in the class filed a claim, industry advocates warned, it would "financially ruin" the entire AI industry.â arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
IT DOESNâT IT DOESNâT DO THAT AT ALL IT REFRAMES PREVENTABLE DEATHS AS INEVITABLE AND VICTIMS AS WILLING MARTYRS WHO ARE ACTUALLY BETTER OFF DEAD NOW IT IS A DIABOLICAL THING TO SAY IF YOU ARE IN A POSITION TO STOP THIS SHIT AND REFUSING TO DO IT
excited to see the popularism guys come around on this!
It would be one thing if he skewered them. But he literally said âI agree with youâ to fucking Charlie Kirk. Thatâs not a skewering. But itâs also not the recent show mentioned. He was a *guest* on an alt-right podcast, yucking it up and calling his past support for LGBTQ+ people a mistake
Utilitarian math like this is why the fucking âfirst they came forâ poem was written. Youâd choose to sacrifice 2.8 million people to ultimately no actual benefit. Theyâll come for you anyway. You can protect the 338 million *and* the 2.8 million. You can do both.
âWe stand togetherâ works both ways idiot. Gavin has already turned his back on us, already taken the step away. We already were together and he changed that. Go yell at him instead of some random trans people on Bluesky
The point is that Gavin wants to make CA as bad as any other red state. If he gets his way there would be no difference. While thatâs still not the case I will fight him on this. He is a bad man and doesnât deserve the highest seat in our country
I love to feel seen while my healthcare is criminalized and the state government singles out specific athletes with targeted policies. âYouâre validâ they say as they hold the back of my head putting me into the car. Fuck off
Oh cool, the gayest state officially recognizes a day for us. This totally symbolic and absolutely toothless action is such a boon when the very same guy is vetoing laws that would bring actual protection. A+ logic
Iâll stop when Gavin Newsom stops. He started it when he came after me and my trans siblings. If he wants to unify the Democratic coalition he could start by publicly disowning his 2025 actions and then take the next 3 years until the primary demonstrating commitment to human rights.
Transgender studies professor Dr. Susan Stryker tears Gavin Newsom a new one while accepting the Transgender Legacy Award from the California state legislature đĽđĽđĽ @susanstryker.bsky.social
New "How to Report ICE" zines up today for free printable download! California (by county/area) Chicago Colorado DC Metro Area (DMV) Massachusetts North Carolina Triangle Area NYC Philly Pittsburgh Portland, OR St. Louis Metro Area Washington State Please share! drive.google.com/drive/folder...
the democratic party leaders are still operating in a world where israel is popular, itâs just not true and until they reverse course on israel they will continue to have branding issues
Like Israelâs actions in Gaza were even unpopular among *Republican* voters. Israel was less popular among independent and Democratic voters with vast majorities opposed. Dems wanted to be elected but literally bucked the entire population of all voters of all parties. Thatâs not how you win.
Look, itâs the partyâs job to get elected. They were the ones framing it as an existential crisis. They knew the threat that Trump was, but ran the worst campaign in my lifetime. So why didnât they do enough to get elected? Why did they keep choosing the universally unpopular side of a major issue?
By the way, when Obama chose not to veto a UNSCR which condemned settlements as illegal, the only cabinet members to oppose Obama's decision were Joe Biden and Jack Lew.
Isaac Chotiner interviewed Biden's close friend and last ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, and in the interview Jack Lew explicitly defends Israel killing children. Lew's defense of this is so offensive that Isaac Chotiner interrupts him twice and then says outright that he's wrong.
đ¨BREAKING: Third Circuit STRIKES DOWN Pennsylvania requirement that mail-in ballots that arrive in undated or misdated return envelopes be discarded. Court holds that Constitution requires they be counted. A big victory for our clients DSCC and DCCC and PA voters!
If you aren't convinced at this point that the New York Times is captured media that exists as a propaganda tool of the ultrawealthy and the GOP, I genuinely don't know what to tell you at this point. You are broken.
I genuinely think part of the current political dynamic is that a lot of Dems -- especially your typical educated, affluent city-dwellers -- simply can't believe what's going on. Even though it's right there on the TV, right there in the streets, it's hard to shake the feeling of unreality.
"A fascist president is assembling a national army of right-wing thugs & invading US cities to terrorize their citizens & intimidate their leaders." I mean ... does that sound real? Even if you know, intellectually, that it is, have you really *absorbed* it?
Hereâs better reporting about that which seems to be missing from most U.S. reporting
As the song goes: Freedom is merely privilege extended Unless enjoyed by one and all.