The personal account of Evan Urquhart of Assigned Media (assignedmedia.org), your trans news source. I'd still rather be playing pinball.
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Yep. As one study eg found… “most Black respondents lived in fear of the police killing them and hurting their family members. Approximately half of Black respondents preferred to be robbed or burglarized than to have unprovoked contact with officers.” onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Those creators still haven't confirmed or denied they're working with Chorus btw. If they're not, shouldn't Chorus deny it? If they are, shouldn't they be open about it like you're being?
Or are you simply saying you had a different experience with Chorus, a more positive one, that you'd like to share?
So, you're saying you have direct knowledge that the creators named in the Wired story didn't participate in the group chat they were reported to have joined, discuss the contract they were reported to have been offered, and the contract itself didn't contain the things it was reported to contain?
"If [ICE] wants to come back after a day of kidnapping landscapers and want to kick back and have a beer at the Residence Inn, I say no." "Why should they have an easy night when everybody else is scared?" #California #USA #Deportation #EthnicCleansing
I just did a whole thread, dude. I'm not replicating it in the replies to this.
yeah “giving a shit about real problems that are actually occurring” being made into a political liability is just an extraordinarily grim development. you’re incentivized to avoid trying to actually address real things because there’s no upside at all politically.
MAJOR #DeTransLaw news dropped quietly Friday! Not only did Judge Ervin deny Prisha Mosley's Motion to Reconsider reviving Med Mal claims, he also Granted Motion for Summary Judgment, Dismissing with Prejudice all claims against the Defendants. Barring an appeal, looks like this case is now over.
The Guardian, in their write up of the reshuffle, completely omit mentioning that Tim Allen, new director of comms, was a Trustee for anti-trans hate group Sex Matters. Instead he gets "Allan’s past colleagues describe him as charming and collegiate". Yikes. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Thanks - it means a lot
Excellent thread
Thanks - I try!
I'd love the entertainment to stop for like 5 mins
This story just got even worse: Firefighters question leaders’ role in Washington immigration raid Wildfire veterans believe top officials on the fire sent their crews into an ambush
You're right. In my advocacy work, I encounter elected officials who don't know that almost all major hospitals in CT have suspended GAC for youth, the stripping of benefits of federal employees, the discharge of all trans service people, etc. But they all know the gender identity of a mass shooter.
NEW: Huge anti-Trump protests happening across the US for Labor Day. This is the current scene in San Diego. A seemingly endless line of thousands of people on the streets! @50501movement.bsky.social #workersoverbillionaires #NoKings (🎥 10-97 News)
Honestly, the hour-long run and march of people shouting “Free DC” up 14th Street today is the energy I needed this morning. I love you, DC.
Denver Protesting today! #Laborday
It is beyond wild to me that there is zero coverage of "Workers over Billionaires" rallies anywhere on The New York Times or The Washington Post right now. This is a colossal failure in journalism. Mainstream media can't just pretend that hundreds of thousands of protesters don't exist
Whole thread but this But because people can’t be wrong now it’s “BUT DO YOU WANT FASCISM?!?! As opposed to “we want better and we’re sorry we didn’t listen. Here’s how we get what we want and we repair this”
The young men in a fraternity down the street from me are singing "Piano Man" at the top of their lungs. Drunkenly, of course. (Is there any other way?) It came out 52 years ago, meaning some of their fathers and, conceivably, grandfathers sang it at the same frat. Drunkenly. Circle of life, dude.
Also a very early Substacker. Currently in the midst of planning and executing my migration to Ghost. Insanely disappointed in Substack on so many levels.
second-ever Substacker here: when we talked in the summer of 2017 they promised they'd never do this
1. On Saturday, a judge ordered Pulse pride crosswalk protester released from jail. Police arrested him after he chalked the bottom of his shoe in rainbow colors and walked across it. Sunday, police arrested 3 more under the same charges. Subscribe to support my journalism.
I usually use low-estimate numbers, frankly because fewer people argue in my mentions about them.
He has been blocking bills to protect trans healthcare and agreed with a podcast host that 25 was the right age to extend restrictions to. So, his actions and words align. I'm not telling you it has to be enough for you to wash your hands of him, but it was enough for me.
I mean, look, I just appreciate your accepting, in theory, that if he supported that it would be fair to consider it beyond the pale.
Has Newsom said he supported their deportation? He supports making it illegal to transition before the age of 25.
"Just concede on the sports thing and then they'll leave you alone" is so shockingly naive I can't believe people are using it as a serious argument here.
We need to have patience and remember most people have no idea how badly things are going for the trans community under Trump. It's not a frequent focus in media and there is *so* much news. Well, I mean, I have to. I'm a professional trans journalist. You don't have to have patience for anyone.
Every trans person I know understands it will likely be a decade or more before we're where we were in 2020. You're asking us to help you keep digging the hole deeper and many of us just cannot do it. (And those who have shown they can stomach it the rest of us often have little patience for.)
Let me be clear: I'd like more Democrats to talk about the harm done to trans people under Trump, but I'll accept quiet support. I won't accept any reversal. It's not about preventing what we might lose under the GOP anymore, bc we've already lost too much to bear.
“Just because I’ve opened the gates to this giant horse doesn’t mean I agree with allowing a bunch of soldiers within our walls!”
Despite this being an obvious lie, it's possible that she simply lied to Guyatt, and then is reporting to Singal that she lied, which he then failed to question because he's a hack. Either way: the interesting part is NOT the lie (whoever told it) but that she admitted the desired end product.
I think so too. Going to try and speak with him.
Many trans people w/ means are already fleeing the country. I haven't, but I've made contingency plans - if the attacks continue I may not be here to vote in 2028. How many more rights can we even afford to lose? Do you think I'm going to bother voting from overseas for a Dem who supports this?
The evil brilliance of focusing on trans people in athletic competitions is that inattentive cis people who are not intensely transphobic misread it as just a minor concession, while enthusiastic opponents of trans liberation understand how it advances their cause < thread >
🧵worth a read. There’s a whole lot happening to us that is being sold as single individual items of limited importance. Our existence is being eroded, attacked.
Best I can figure is they want to get something out of there in a way that somebody else currently in the building (ie the press or a VIP) is never aware of it. Like bedsheets caked in shit, for example.
1/x: Evan is, as usual, spot on. And yes, what I'm about to say I've said before, but it bears repeating. Gov't spends money on school sports for reasons. VERY good reasons. And the reasons aren't so Sally Something can win the 7th grade high jump.
I have to fill out attach a separate form to my passport application to try to get it updated to my legal name and gender. And this form is only for the hold from a court decision in the last few months. Why are Democrats letting Republicans steer the conversation away from my right to travel?
I mean you CAN convince yourself you're not helping the plan of complete exclusion of trans (and eventually LGBT+ people generally) from society because your bigotry only extends to the first step Plenty of people supported making Jews where patches and not necessarily mass extermination too.
Are you wondering why our trans friends seem so agitated about a thing that seems so minor? This thread might help clear that up for you.
I don't need them to talk about us (I think a bit more willingness to do so would help, not hurt, but I am not a political consultant and have never tried to be). But if they're going to talk about us at all, it should be about the more egregious attacks on us.
What do I know about politics, but this is clearly bad communication and bad strategy. Admitting your opponents have a point — one they completely made up, because trans kids competed in sports for years with no issue — instead of talking about their many unpopular positions and straight up fascism.
Great thread
I think the biggest harm is in deciding this is the subject we should about. The administration is kidnapping people, sending the military into cities, attacking public health ... and with all that going on, some people think it's smart to say "but they're right about trans kids in sports?!"
It's unconscionable that in a time of such grave peril for a vulnerable minority, one who has borne the brunt of all Trump's hatred and extremism in executive order after executive order (and I didn't even scratch the surface btw) that a single Democrat is making trans women in sports their focus.
So, when a Democrat makes their only statement on trans issues about trans women in sports, they are saying that this is their priority on trans issues - not restoring our equality under the law but joining Republicans in eroding it.
Trans people are rapidly losing access to healthcare. It is unobtainable for trans youth in most of the country, and adult care is also under assault by congress and the Trump administration. The only Dems for whom this is a priority are in state office. No national Dem is talking about it.
In some states, as a trans man who passes for male, I'm legally banned from using a men's restroom but practically banned from using a women's. My choice is between breaking the law and being arrested for breaking it. Few Democrats are talking about how much trans people have lost, and how quickly.
Trans people have been expelled from the military and punished and humiliated throughout. We're fighting in court to retain a right to accurate US Passports. Books mentioning us are banned in classrooms in much of the country. In FL, trans teachers are required by law to misgender themselves.
I mean that literally - no one is discussing the massive loss of rights trans people have experienced throughout the country. When Dems talk about trans women in sports, they're not just giving ground on sports. They're giving ground on everything, bc sports bans were the big issue 3 years ago.
Many people who follow me will already know that the biggest harm is allowing Republicans to ignore fairness and science and solidify a bonkers definition of trans people as "really" members of our birth sex. Not going to rehash that - let's talk instead about something no one is discussing.
I think it's useful to unpack this. If Democrats agree with Republicans on excluding women's sports, what's the harm? Is it primarily harm to trans women who play sports, or is there something more to it? A reasonable person who doesn't know much about trans issues could ask these questions.
When would you date the height of it as being? (I'm pretty sure I'm too young, but maybe not by much and anyway am curious.)
I have good news for you - there's absolutely no need to do that.
(I think it was actually 8K/month as the high end for influencers contracting w/ Chorus - and to be clear that would also be a huge amount to me.)
Lmao at some of these angry alleged commenters in this thread. Look at their limited posting history, which is filled with third way propaganda filtered thru their no-name, vaguely described accounts w lo followerships. Anti-fascist!, they cry, as they do the work of bankers and ceos
That thing where they work to make you forget that “issues” are about ACTUAL PEOPLE, not abstract ideas or things
An observation: it’s funny how trans ppl’s threads are suddenly being filled with angry, feverish attacks from folks promoting Newsom. Who exactly are they working for?
Do you think it's too late to get the $8K/week and would I have to actually detransition?
you're kidding
Cis people should never have been allowed to learn “AFAB/AMAB”
Solidarity across all marginalized groups & their allies is hard but essential for defeating the fascists in power. This is exactly why you don’t start picking groups to sacrifice because 52% of Americans said yes in a poll to something they haven’t given any thought about.
I've never seen such a disconnect between Dem elected/staff/consultants and actual Dem voters. The latter understand what's going on. The former are awash in right-wing brainrot, hence @schatz.bsky.social blaming COVID mitigation and BLM marches for the GOP's wanton destruction of public health.
![@EsotericCD It was in this moment that many of us hanging on to a thin sliver of trust in our institutions irrevocably lost faith in them. One of the most poisonous blows to public trust in living memory - worse than the effect of the Iraq War in many ways. RFK Jr is a direct result of this. Quote Steve Guest @SteveGuest · Aug 31 Politico 5 years ago: [screenshot of article falsely claiming public health officials lied about COVID measures then abandoned them for BLM protests] Views](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ddvus7otnqtlh7fdooxm6qat/bafkreihsypwydo5rcis7mc54cwct6h33l5co477nvh7g7hs7na2fz4jl3q@jpeg "Click to view full size")
I have to keep looking at these maps to remind myself that my position, as an adult trans person in Massachusetts, is by far the most stable situation for a trans person in the entire country. The threat to trans people is not future or speculative. It is here, ongoing, spreading, and worsening.
A few people had questions of some of the states on my map such as NY/CA/IL moving up in risk for trans youth. If a state has moved up in risk, it's because of clinic closures at major clinics. I cannot in good faith keep a state low risk if state laws are not being enforced to keep clinics open.
"chatGPT 5 is like having a bunch of phds in your pocket" here's ten trillion dollars "bluesky is having an *actual* bunch of phds in your pocket" dying platform. it disgusts me
I got so annoyed I'm having @valorievandieman.bsky.social report an NYT-style "Are Democrats taking a risk by alienating this key voting demographic?" story for Assigned.
If, in fact, you believe that trans ppl should embrace Newsom, you're actually opposed to Newsom's plan to piss us off to prove his centrist bona fides. The person you should be made at is Newsom. And welcome to the club.
THIS! OMG I've been SHOUTING THIS. It's Newsom's fucking PLAN to piss off trans ppl to please centrists to make himself more electable. If his plan works to make trans ppl not vote for him but doesn't pick up centrist votes, that's not our fault. We followed the plan & the centrists didn't.
There is an episode of the Simpsons about antifeminist backlash in fandom that features two girls who look a whoooooole lot like Kim and Kim. Considering the episodes timing and subject matter, it seems reasonable to suspect they were inspired by my babykims. If so, I am absolutely honored.
lol nice troll
Do you know that there are many more than one Democratic politicians?
This makes sense if Newsom is the only Democrat in the country. I'm open to voting for all the others. They don't have to be perfect on trans issues, but they can't support stripping me of my equal rights as an American. Then if I vote for them I'm voting against my own rights - I won't do that.
I'm super winnable by Democrats! There's only one Democrat with a national profile who has made a big deal about how he supports stripping me of equal rights, and I think it was pretty reckless bc it's lost him any chance for my support 3 years before the primary.
It's super winnable! I voted for Kamala Harris. I vote for Democrats pretty regularly. I won't vote for a candidate who supports stripping me of my equal rights as an American. So far there's only one Democrat with a national profile who has done so, and it's Newsom.
Here’s some (US ethics-bound) pro tips for speaking to journalists at outlets that are known for following rules. 1. You can say “off the record:” they can’t publish based on your account but it tells them something someone else might be willing to risk telling them citably. MUST BE BEFORE INFO.
Finally reading the Gordon Guyatt/McMaster University statement on their SEGM-commissioned SRs and the 3 SRs themselves. I know the top line - Guyatt is finally speaking up about the misuse of evidence based medicine and findings of low quality evidence to drive care bans. Now for the details.
Keir Starmer’s new director of communications isn’t just the founder of Portland Communications – which represented Qatar, Russia and Kazakhstan – he’s also come straight from the board of the anti-trans charity Sex Matters. The government is heading in a dark direction.
To elaborate - the New York Times is institutionally biased against trans people. Not speaking with their reporters is protective, plus it can send a message that institutional bias gets in the way of their good reporters' ability to do basic reporting.
Good advice throughout. My 2 cents: Don’t talk to the nyt, period. Send a statement if ur professional duties demand. The nyt has some good reporters but every story about trans ppl is edited at the top. And those top ppl - Sulzberger, Kahn, Ryan and Dolnick - are bigots deeply hostile toward us
Thank you!
For NYT on trans issues, I think this piece of mine from January is both a good overview and a good source of links to other writers who have tackled the topic. www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...
I'm trying to walk a line btw making it possible for people to understand and trust my sourcing and not drawing too much attention to the venue. Watching these replies and very open to adjusting if people feel I missed the mark.
Keir Starmer has appointed as his new Comms Director Tim Allan who was a board member of the hate group Sex Matters. It's no longer even pretending to adhere to its Manifesto promise to "remove indignities for trans people who deserve recognition and acceptance."
Yeah it's wild. Not my reporting, but I don't think it's anywhere outside of my own Bluesky replies and now this Assigned Media story.
Trans news over the weekend was dominated by one topic: The identity of a mass-shooter. Republicans successfully derailed discussions of gun control and violence by whipping up hatred towards transgender people. That story and more in Leading Off: www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...
The Guardian has today printed the names, and where possible, images, of all the media workers killed in Gaza, as part of an international day of action involving more than 150 media organisations. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
However - news does not materialize from nowhere. If you care about your point of view being represented or a story coming out, that only happens if someone, somewhere, talks to a journalist.
By all means, be careful around journalists. Don't trust journalists too easily. If you do trust a particular journalist, understand they're still a human being who might make a mistake, and if they have info that is very sensitive, you have some risk there.
Look, general tips can be good and can lead somewhere occasionally... but most of the time if you won't talk to me or give me any second step to take, I am not going to be able to pursue your story. If you want the story out, select your reporter carefully, and then be willing to go on the record.
Every reporter I know, especially these days, has interacted with members of the public who want to reach out to tell you about a story they have close knowledge of, but then don't want to give you any details or corroboration or names of anyone else to talk to.
When else is it important to talk to a reporter? OK, this should be obvious, but when you know about/witness/have information on something you think is newsworthy.
If you're at a public protest and you don't want to speak to press that is totally fine - but getting the views of protesters into news coverage should be one goal of any public protest. Understand that you want the reporters to be there. Help the reporters find someone who's comfortable talking.
I have run into a situation more than once where there was a public protest and nobody would talk to me. I covered Abigail Shrier coming to UVA, and my story wound up being about what Shrier said inside. I wanted to cover the protesters outside, but no one would give me any kind of comment.
Moving away from hostile journalists, how about journalists you don't really know at all? Sometimes you need to talk to these people! Specifically, if your group is engaging in a public act of protest, someone needs to be willing to talk to any press who show up who aren't obviously hostile.
If you're not a PR professional, you want to be incredibly careful. Give them a short comment (2-3 sentences) that is directly responsive to the topic. (If you can't address the topic clearly and concisely in a way that helps you, probably don't comment.)