Amanda Marcotte

What's wild about these stories is how quickly people go from "using it for research" to completely losing their minds.

It speaks to how the software is designed to addict people, flattering them and manipulating them so they don't log off.

We can hold two truths: most people know and mostly need help with the how and why, not the if. But some people don't. And a kid probably needs context to figure out which camp they belong to, which is why gender care for minors has so much therapy attached.

So what's the argument here? You fully agree that a child should have space to explore without heavy expectations on outcome. I think our best weapon to deal with discomfort is for people to understand kids are getting help from experts who understand these issues.

And obviously, children are a product of both plus more, because they also live in the world and absorb information from peers and other adults. That's why the right pushes homeschooling and other forms of extreme isolation for children.

When Kash Patel is under fire, FBI agents and staff get fired An MS NOW analysis finds the FBI director often lashes out after his own bad press — by firing experienced agents and staffers.

Of course this loser POS lashes out and fires people who are actually good at their jobs.

This is what Hannah Arendt mean in large part by the "banality of evil". Fascism gives losers access to power they would never have in a remotely functional system.

www.ms.now/news/under-f...

I'd go ahead and relax a little. Not every kid who has questions lands on "I'm trans" on an answer. We can avoid giving credibility to the accusations of force by making it clear it's a process and it's okay not to have all the answers on day one.

How weird it would be if something as huge as "who am I" were easy answer. I'm cis and middle-aged and I struggle daily with what my gender identity means. Imagine how it must be for a potentially trans child.

But nah, the trans panickers want you to believe it's just naive kids being manipulated.

We live in dumb times where everything has to be binary. Either a person (especially a child) is a perfect narrator of their experience or they have no credibility.

In reality, complex feelings — such as gender identity — take time and effort and ideally help to sort out. That's a good thing!

That's why you have medical professionals who are equipped to handle nuance. Even adults in therapy are there to sort out what inside them corresponds to reality and what feelings are counterproductive. It's complex.

But part of the process is putting some weight on a person's feelings!

This is a fraught issue, of course, because kids are not well-equipped with knowledge and experience and so *do* need adults to help them. I mean, my thread agreeing that kid pickiness is a social construction, not a biological fact (for most) is based on this.

HOWEVER....

Anti-trans panic is being used to smuggle in an assumption that kids are not credible witnesses of their own internal lives. That assumption doesn't just hurt trans kids, but will be weaponized against gay kids, sexual abuse victims, and kids suffering mental health issues.

Insofar as Talarico is reaching out to Republican voters, I think it’s that more moderate subset that is struggling to reconcile their purported Christianity with the sadism of MAGA.

You don’t have to abandon progressive values to speak to those people.

Good points, and I’ll add: This narrative had created a false assumption that Talarico is not a progressive, or even that he’ll betray the party like Fetterman.

There is no evidence of that. He has a solidly progressive platform and record.

Why right-wing media can't stop Candace Owens Erika Kirk’s defense of herself gets drowned out by “Bride of Charlie” documentary

"Right-wing media’s fragmentation means that condemnation from established outlets often strengthens, rather than weakens, insurgent figures like Owens."

More from me tomorrow on the gender dynamics, but in the meantime, enjoy this from @sophiatesfaye.bsky.social.

www.salon.com/2026/03/04/w...

Texas primary shows that MAGA loves a villain Ken Paxton’s scandals helped him undermine John Cornyn as the GOP Senate primary goes to a runoff

If advancing conservative causes were the goal, then Republican voters should have backed John Cornyn overwhelmingly.

Instead, it's basically a tie between him and Ken Paxton, who is so odious he could turn Texas blue.

I explain how this happened.

www.salon.com/2026/03/04/t...

If I may gently push back: they are *promoting* her as their favorite villain. As the article notes, they think voters will be more motivated to vote against Crockett than Talarico.

Republicans definitely wanted her as the nominee. You can argue this was unwise, but they think she’s easy to beat.

And yet they control the GOP.

I think they go Paxton, yeah. That was an anti-Cornyn vote. They really hate the guy, because he sees MAGA antics as counterproductive to their goals.

That is not my argument. I recommend people read what I wrote, not your speculation.

Read! My article explains it.

Read the article before arguing plz!

Thanks for watching!

I actually know these people and I would have never bet against Paxton. I explain why here.

I was so confident in this I wrote 90% of it by 3pm yesterday.

www.salon.com/2026/03/04/t...

There's been a lot of debate within the Democratic establishment about what rhetoric to use via ICE.

Well, an incumbent doesn't lose by 48 percentage points very often—and her vote on collaborating with ICE was the defining issue here.

Texas primary shows that MAGA loves a villain Ken Paxton’s scandals helped him undermine John Cornyn as the GOP Senate primary goes to a runoff

"The great irony is that Cornyn, and others like him, has done far more to advance conservative policies than Paxton, with his flashy but groundless lawsuits, ever has.

"If Paxton wins May’s runoff, it could easily benefit Talarico and Democrats."

www.salon.com/2026/03/04/t...

"But MAGA voters love villains.

"They don’t want to be the bad guys, they tell themselves, but the evil Democrats gave them no choice but to fight dirty.

www.salon.com/2026/03/04/t...

Texas primary shows that MAGA loves a villain Ken Paxton’s scandals helped him undermine John Cornyn as the GOP Senate primary goes to a runoff

Why read past headlines: Quotes, stats, receipts.

But also, I'm a native Texan from a MAGA family. I understand how these people justify their worst impulses.

www.salon.com/2026/03/04/t...

Texas primary shows that MAGA loves a villain Ken Paxton’s scandals helped him undermine John Cornyn as the GOP Senate primary goes to a runoff

If advancing conservative causes were the goal, then Republican voters should have backed John Cornyn overwhelmingly.

Instead, it's basically a tie between him and Ken Paxton, who is so odious he could turn Texas blue.

I explain how this happened.

www.salon.com/2026/03/04/t...

Trump chose this war.

Watching public opinion shift this quickly on an issue is unheard of. Even the Iraq War took years before people admitted it was failing.