Kelly

I am convinced that the NYT is a right wing propaganda machine masquerading as a vaguely left or center outlet. It is either articles "just asking questions" in a way to promote right wing bullshit, or opinions saying to stop protesting a fascist president.

I would really love it if mainstream journalists would seriously consider the possibility that RFK Jr.'s politicized HHS under Trump is as accurate about gender-affirming medicine as it is on autism or vaccination.

@michaelhobbes.bsky.social - And soon HHS will be releasing a version of the Cass Report as "evidence" to allow this. Michael did a great analysis of this bullshit report in Maintenance Phase.

The Trump Administration Threat To Transgender Adult Care Is Growing At Lightning Speed Many transgender adults have wondered when their care would be banned by the Trump administration. Now, we are seeing the first vectors to do so.

They will try to end ALL gender affirming care by threatening federal funding to organizations offering it. Even though they'll likely cut that funding ANYWAY because they're literally cutting funding willy nilly. Out of fear, orgs will comply. This is authoritarianism.
substack.com/home/post/p-...

Kilmar Abrego Garcia lived in Maryland with his wife and their three children, and has never been charged with any crime.

The Department of Homeland Security issued him a work permit, and he joined a union, working full time as a sheet metal apprentice.

Also, if you are shopping online, you can do "Item -amazon" to find what you need from a shop that isn't amazon, or whichever place(s) you are boycotting.

During my consumption boycott I've thought about two things.
1. Do I want to stimulate Trump's economy? No.
2. I can cope with inconvenience. I don't NEED free 2 day shipping, or to go to a big box store. I can drive a little further out to the local or more ethical store. I CAN so I SHOULD.

Federal Government is Asking the Public to Report Illicit DEI The Department of Education has opened a tip line to report sightings of diversity, equity and inclusion.

1. They never learn.

The US Department of Education has launched a snitch line for reporting "divisive ideologies" in schools.

Previously, states doing this were flooded with meme submissions.

The latest from writer S. Baum.

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Remember when you see Trump's approval numbers most people who vote for people like Trump either don't actually follow news/politics or they watch misinformation media so they are approving based on ~vibes~. When asked about his policies (without naming him), they usually disapprove. Sigh.

Wokeness Is Not to Blame for Trump How a misdiagnosis of the 2024 election has calcified into self-defeating conventional wisdom.

"This is part of why the anti-woke diagnosis of what’s ailing Democrats is not only factually flawed and morally vacuous but also strategically enfeebling." nymag.com/intelligence...
@schumer.senate.gov @democrats.org @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social

The existence of billionaires proves "trickle down economics" doesn't work.

There is a big difference between needing to overhaul/update/repair departments and completely nuking them with no back up plan and leaving millions of people in the lurch. Those who say "Burn It Down!" are rarely close enough to the fire to feel the real heat.

@michaelhobbes.bsky.social & @yrfatfriend.bsky.social - So should you just repost your RFK Jr episodes on repeat forever now with the tagline "Don't say no one warned you..."??

Since I'm contacting my Reps every day asking them to openly protect trans people and stop Republicans dismantling the government, I also throw in a little "STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT ELON MUSK ON HIS PLATFORM. GO ELSEWHERE." Like the irony is just too much to bear.

“Mass terminations of probationary workers also swept through the National Nuclear Security Administration, a semi-autonomous agency within the Energy Department that oversees the nation's nuclear weapons.” www.npr.org/2025/02/13/n...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 13, 2025 CONTACT Gillian Branstetter, gbranstetter@aclu.org Tom Warnke, twarnke@lambdalegal.org BALTIMORE – In a victory for transgender youth, their families, and their medical providers, a federal district court today issued a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of a Trump administration executive order attempting to shut down access nationwide to gender-affirming medical care for transgender people under 19. The decision by Judge Brendan Hurson was issued from the bench with a written order to come soon. The nationwide restraining order prohibits federal agencies from conditioning or withholding federal funding based on the fact that a healthcare entity or health professional provides gender-affirming medical care to a patient under nineteen. “Good and decent parents of transgender kids should never be in the frightening position of having their child’s prescribed, medically necessary care canceled at the whim and threat of a politician. But that’s exactly what President Trump’s executive order did to PFLAG families with trans youth and young adults nationwide,” said Brian K. Bond (he/him), Chief Executive Officer of PFLAG National. “Today’s decision rights a grievous wrong to our nation's families and children, and PFLAG families will be vigilant to ensure our transgender loved ones receive the healthcare they need—as this legal ruling demands.” “Forcing providers to withhold medically-necessary, evidence-based care not only threatens patient health and well-being, but also undermines the integrity of our healthcare system in its entirety,” said Alex Sheldon (they/them), GLMA executive director. “Today's intervention by the court underscores the cruelty and recklessness that is embedded in this order and affirms our commitment to resist the administration’s extremist agenda that targets trans and non-binary young people and privileges political ideology over medical expertise. We are hopeful that…

In the first week after the order was signed, some hospitals across the country — in Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, Colorado, and Virginia at least — abruptly halted medical care for transgender people under age 19, canceling appointments and turning away patients, including some who had been receiving this care for most of their life. This prompted protests of support for transgender youth and in opposition to the order nationwide. On Feb. 4, a lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal, the ACLU of Maryland, and law firms Jenner & Block and Hogan Lovells on behalf of transgender young adults and adolescents and their families whose health care has been disrupted by President Trump’s order. Also joining the case as plaintiffs are PFLAG National, the nation’s largest organization supporting LGBTQ+ people and their families, with over 550,000 members and supporters and nearly 350 chapters across the country; and GLMA, the country’s largest organization of LGBTQ and allied health professionals. "Across the country, this unlawful order from the president has sown fear among transgender youth and confusion among their providers,” said Joshua Block, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “But today’s decision should restore both their access to healthcare and protections under the Constitution. Providers who’ve suspended healthcare for their transgender patients should be left with no doubt that they can lift those suspensions and continue to provide healthcare and act in their best medical judgment without risking their funding or worse. “The president’s orders sought to take away from transgender young people the very care that they, their families, and their medical providers all agree is best for them – medical care that is evidence-based and well-established. But these decisions are for patients, their families, and their doctors to make, not for politicians or Washington bureaucrats,” said Omar Gonzale…

Incredible news!

The Trump administration's under 19 trans care ban has been BLOCKED in federal court via a bench temporary restraining order.

The administration CANNOT withhold funds from hospitals providing trans youth care.

ACLU statement here:

I have a better idea: Email tipline@cfpb.gov or DM @cfpb_tipline on X and tell President Trump and co-president Elon Musk to stop letting Wall Street scam you.

The national park service is literally making their sites unreadable by simply deleting the word trans everywhere on the site. MarshabP Johnson's page appears to be down as well.

YEP. In IL I left a message for Ramirez, spoke to a beleaguered but nice staffer for Durbin, and left a voicemail for Duckworth (who is apparently no longer answering phones). I asked them to get the fuck off X, speak out about Musk/Trump overreach and to express support for trans people!

98% of NIH grants that should have gone out this month, didn't. Despite court orders 'unfreezing' the funds, they are frozen. Biomedical research will grind to a halt. Clinical trials will end. All for no reason: the total impact on the US budget is miniscule

This is rage-inducing...

1. Progressive movement builds
2. Reactionary and right wing voices incite a backlash based on strawmen and bad faith fearmongering
3. Backlash goes too far; bad shit happens
4. Reactionary and right wing voices blame progressives

Project 2025 was unpopular because of things like the plan for Trump to shut down the CFPB, which helps you get your money back if a bank cheats you.

in what meaningful way can we say that the constitution is in effect when an unelected and unaccountable billionaire is wielding state power to unilaterally cancel congressional appropriations?

To be clear, the GOP hates you unless you are rich.
www.consumerreports.org/consumer-pro...

"'Women' is a banned word": Trump uses trans panic to strip rights from all women Under the guise of "protecting women," the military, schools, and labs are forced to take women's safety away

Trump's flurry of anti-trans executive orders is justified as "protecting women."

In reality, they are an attack on all women and girls, cis and trans. They make sexual abuse easier. And they're targeting research into women's health care for defunding.

www.salon.com/2025/02/10/w...

The most bizarre tic of American media is its ability to acknowledge reality but refusal to draw any conclusions from it.

If Republicans are constantly lying about their agenda, that should be the core of your political coverage! Both-sides stories are useless when one side isn't trustworthy.

He signs United States out of human rights organizations and gets El Salvador to agree to take American citizens. He’s planning to send political prisoners there. American citizens. Who all has he said he’d put in prison? He’s planning human rights violations.

State Department Travel Safety Website Changes "LGBTQI+ Travelers" to "LGB Travelers" The change is an attempt to insert a divide in the LGBTQIA+ community by the Trump administration, and to erase transgender people from any consideration or recognition.

1. The state department has removed transgender people from its website and just reads "LGB Travelers," as reported by a number of journalists.

However, on further investigation, it is also removing trans-specific directions for individual countries.

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