Reilly

I relate to this a lot. Appreciate your articulating it.

My instinct is still always to stand on principle, to say what's right even if it's unpopular, inconvenient, or gets me in trouble.

Now is a time to stop restraining that. If human rights in the US are a losing battle, count me among the losers. I don't want to be safe in a fascist US.

This is the tricky part of it, but it’s also why we keep saying not to comply in advance.
As a teacher, I read things in the summer that were alarming, but took the attitude of not complying in advance…. Now here we are and this does feel like a win. However small.

Rev. Jesse Jackson's "I *am* somebody..." remains one of the all-time great pieces of 20th century rhetoric / agitprop

And he could deliver it at a Black separatist meeting, the Democratic National Convention, or on god-blessed Sesame Street (see below 🥹)

RIP to the Voice of the Voiceless

I am considering leaving Substack for another newsletter platform. I would love to hear from those of you who have left, specifically about the user experience at your new home. What do you like and what don't you like? Did your Substack followers come along for the ride, specifically paid subs?

Too often when discussing trans rights, we’re forced to be on the defensive, as Republicans wage attacks.

Today, we take the opportunity to look forward by introducing my Trans Bill of Rights, a comprehensive vision to provide protections for all trans and nonbinary people.

a poster that says " early by mail " on it ALT: a poster that says " early by mail " on it

ILLINOISANS, EARLY VOTING STARTED TODAY FEBRUARY 5, 2026 FOR THE MARCH 17 PRIMARY.
If you have not done so already, make your plan to vote.

Read testimonials about Alex Pretti is moving.
He made a difference in people's lives.

I wonder if he knew how much of a difference he made.

If there are people who have made a difference in your life for the better, go ahead and tell them. You never know when the opportunity will be gone.

I am hearing that RFK Jr.’s minions are going to go after HPV vaccines. I’ve got problems with these people and now you’re going to hear about them, first from a personal perspective and then from a professional one.

It all boils down to this: WE HAVE A SAFE VACCINE THAT PREVENTS CANCER.

"I am 5 years old"

Shut it all down. All of it. ICE, DHS, Border Patrol, the entire Republican Party, all the fascist billionaires, X, Tesla, Avelo, and every Democrat who supports them.

It's evil through and through.

If you intend to record ICE on your phone, make sure mobile data upload to the cloud is enabled.

Community Evidence Request 1.7.26 Please use this link to submit evidence or information regarding the incident on January 7, 2026. If you have information that does not include photos or videos, or if you have technical issues or ot...

If you have any firsthand video of today’s shooting, please please submit here so the Hennepin County Attorneys Office can review it

hennepinprosecutor.evidence.com/axon/communi...

If @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social wasn’t a feckless coward, he would have whipped these votes, and the DHS bill would have failed, 213-214.

These 7 Dems are traitors who support ICE terrorism, & House Dem leadership has made themselves complicit by refusing to even ATTEMPT to talk them into voting no

Hey did we ever find out where the folks sent to “Alligator Alcatraz” got illegally deported to or are they dead?

As educators, we have a moral and professional responsibility to keep all students safe, no matter where they were born or who they are.

We stand firmly with parents, neighbors, and faith leaders in Minneapolis and beyond to defend our schools and protect our students.

Yeah, agree

I blocked.

Yes. Do you know how many families are being supported by their neighbors right now? Families afraid to leave home being fed by their neighborhoods; immigrant communities feeding the old hippies standing on their street corners with whistles in 10-degree snowstorms. They cannot break us

Gavin Newsom is a slick, opportunistic, equivocating politician. But underneath it all, in his heart of hearts, I'm sure he doesn't mean well.

I don't often tell people what to do. But you need to block the ICE account. They will use posts and bios to track people. Your dunk is not worth the info they can get on here.

Californians are NOT going to vote for Gavin Newsom. They're telling you now, with YEARS to go before the election. Fair warning. Please support better candidates, there will be many to choose from.

Absolutely this. No US citizen is required to show citizenship papers. Any demand for such by ICE is merely an intimidation tactic.

As an aside, they'll use this shit to harass (& worse) trans people as well.

I’m seeing posts from people (outside of MN) about how US citizens should carry their passports.

And let me say that *inside* MN, we are calmly responding to requests with: “No, I don’t have to show you any documentation.”

Because that’s how you protect everyone, regardless of immigration status.

So please. Quietly use removepaywall.com or archive.org if you're not in a position to pay. Don't get mad in the comments because we're trying to make a living

Life's tough all over

If you like gay rams, behold the TRANS CORN

Halfway through growing, the tassel (pollen flower) decided it was a corncob (seed flower) instead.

👋

It’s important to balance our desire to bear witness with the need to protect our nervous systems—a balance that will differ individually.

Stay conscious of the fact our choices will affect our nervous system regulation, whether or not we feel it in the moment. There is often a lag effect.

You don't necessarily need to say "image of" in your alt text for users to know it's an image. Screen readers will announce that it's an image. But it can help readers to specify if it's a hand-drawn image, Polaroid, infographic, screenshot, chart, map, diagram, or so on.

My father and mother, Mark Hortman and Melissa Hortman, and their dog Gilbert, were killed by a man who believed conspiracy theories and fake news. Words matter. Sharing fake news is dangerous. One part of my grief journey has been understanding the last conversation with my mother. She loved her job. People respected her job and what she did at her job. When I called her after the legislative session ended, I asked why she voted for the bill mentioned in the video shared by President Trump, and she wept. That bill and her vote had nothing to do with fraud. She voted for that bill because it was the only way to avoid a government shutdown. She had seen the impact of shutdowns: people lose their health care, their jobs, and in some cases, from a story she told me, have taken their own lives. She was in a very tough position on that vote. She had never really voted against her conscience like that. It was emotional and extremely difficult. Her struggle with that vote makes this conspiracy all the more painful for me. I am asking President Trump to remove the video that he shared and apologize to me and my family for posting this misinformation and for using my mother's own words to dishonor her memory.

My sister Sophia Hortman (Sophie) asked me to share this on her behalf, she is off social media: "The video shared by President Donald Trump on Truth Social is a painful, false twisting of my mother's final vote. The vote she made was incredibly difficult for my mother; it was not a vote made lightly or with malice in her heart. She made the decision to prevent a government shutdown because she believed our great state protects and helps Minnesotans. We must create a society in which we do not harbor hatred and violence toward our political opponents, and this video promotes a false narrative which fuels the flames of political division. The video being shared by the president is another hurdle our family must overcome in grieving the loss of my parents, Mark and Melissa, and their beloved Gilbert. I ask President Trump to please consider the pain and sadness we have faced, and to honor the spirit of the holidays we have just spent without our parents by taking down the post on Truth Social." Please share our message and help us ask the President to take this down.

Colin and Sophie Hortman, the children of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, are asking Trump to remove the false posts about their parents' killing: