Michael C. Young

7 Things the No Kings Protests Accomplished The political emergency isn't over, of course, but who thought it would be. Here are seven things this weekend's protests accomplished.

What, if anything, did the No Kings protests accomplish?

I've seen that pop up in everything from genuine inquiry to sneering dismissal. For anyone asking or facing that question, here's an answer.

Everything isn't all fixed, of course. But the protests accomplished at least these seven things:

Open enrollment for ACA plans began yesterday in Idaho.

One couple got notice that their monthly premium next year would jump from $51 to $2,232 as subsidies expire.

25,000 Idahoans are expected to be priced out of coverage.

This is what's at stake in Trump's shutdown.

California, this November 4th, the whole country is counting on you.

Prop 50 puts our elections back on a level playing field, preserves independent redistricting over the long term, and lets the people decide.

So return your ballot today. Vote yes on 50.

Mike Johnson is running out of excuses for keeping the government shut down. Instead of doing his job, preserving affordable healthcare, or lowering costs for working families, he’s attacking millions of Americans who will peacefully protest to say that our country belongs to its people — not kings.

NEW HAMPSHIRE AND GEORGIA: It’s extra important that Sen. Hassan, Sen. Shaheen, and Sen. Ossoff hear from you this afternoon. If you or anyone you know lives in NH or GA, please call your senators and tell them to keep standing strong against the Trump Shutdown. 👇

(next to an image of the Capitol and a hand holding a megaphone) STOP THE TRUMP SHUT DOWN

Senate Democrats continue to hold the line to protect healthcare for millions of Americans and stop health insurance costs from doubling this winter.

More votes are expected today, and your senators need to hear from you. Encourage Democrats to keep fighting: act.indivisible.org/sign/funding...

Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: 'I feel defeated' The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents with Border Patrol, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested 37 people in the raid.

Naked children torn from their mothers and tossed into vans.

U.S. citizens detained for hours in zip ties.

Doors kicked in and belongings stolen or destroyed.

This is the reality of Trump’s deportation agenda.

It was always about cruelty.

HEALTHCARE NOT AUTHORITARIANISM SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN MASS CALL OCT. 1ST 8:30 PM ET

TOMORROW: Join our rapid response call to prepare for a potential Trump Shutdown. We will need to act fast to hold Republicans accountable if they force a government shutdown, so we plan to convene with national partners to lay out a strong grassroots response: www.mobilize.us/HealthcareNo...

If we’re going to pass a budget for the U.S. government, we need to save health care for millions of Americans. Period.

A mass walkout of the UN General Assembly as Netanyahu prepares to speak.

No Thrones.
No Crowns.
No Kings.

Freedom takes courage. October 18 will be the largest peaceful protest in US history. Find your local event: www.nokings.org/?SQF...

Autumn 2025 | Rust & Moth The Rust & Moth Autumn 2025 issue is now available in print! These pages are restless, sleep-deprived, and sore from a hard day's work. Keep faith alongside our authors as they punch their way through...

The Rust & Moth Autumn 2025 issue is now available in print! These pages are restless, sleep-deprived, and sore from a hard day's work. Keep faith alongside our authors as they punch their way through the back of the medicine cabinet.

rustandmoth.com/issue/autumn...

Part 1/2 Screenshot of an open letter to a plagiarist.

Part 2/2 Screenshot of an open letter to a plagiarist.

This open letter to a plagiarist by @rustandmoth.bsky.social is an outstanding example of not only how to lay axe to the root of this pernicious literary theft but also how to appeal to the guilty party's better nature without dragging them, triggering a pile-on or destroying a chance at redemption.

CBS parent company Paramount canceled Colbert to win approval from Trump's FCC to merge with Skydance.

Now ABC parent company Disney suspends Kimmel as it seeks DOJ approval to buy Fubo — and its affiliate Nexstar seeks FCC approval to buy Tegna.

See how this works?

YouTube video by Senator Elizabeth Warren No one should go bankrupt because they got sick and needed to see a doctor.

No one should go bankrupt because they got sick and needed to see a doctor.

If Republicans want to shut down government so they can keep increasing costs and cutting health care, then they need to explain that to the American people.

youtube.com/shorts/V3lE2...

A number of plagiarists have recently been caught stealing from our pages. We wrote one of them a letter.

rustandmoth.com/2025/a-lette...

This should piss us all off.

Donald Trump is putting up signs taking credit for the bipartisan Biden Infrastructure Act.

He once called Biden's $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Bill “terrible”. But now he’s pretending he signed it.

WSJ has now appended this lengthy editor's note to its original report. It notably contains zero contrition for the initial decision to spread such incendiary misinformation. www.wsj.com/livecoverage...

Worries about vaccination rates in dogs As rabies seems to be spreading more in wildlife, veterinarians are especially worried about vaccine hesitancy spreading among pet owners, a dangerous trend that could lead to more dogs - and their owners - becoming infected. A 2023 study published in the journal Vaccine found in nationally representative sample of Americans that nearly 40% believed canine vaccines were unsafe and 37% believed that vaccines could lead their dogs to develop cognitive issues, such as autism.

May I remind everyone that there is currently NO cure for rabies.

May I also remind everyone there is absolutely NO scientific proof connecting ANY vaccine that we produce today with autism.

This is true regarding vaccination in both humans AND in dogs.

Vaccinate your pets please.

I am once again asking you to stop sending us money.

But we do need your time. ⏰

zohranfornyc.com/events

Thanks kindly! I've got a few short sci-fi/fantasy stories in the hopper now. Maybe I'll finish them one day. ;)

An incredible -- and heartbreaking -- piece from Megan Peak.

"just the sound of grass remembering
a small and wild thing that once passed through."

remember folks, we cant have gun restrictions because if we do the federal government will occupy our streets, imprison people without due process, ship dissidents to foreign gulags and things of that nature

Screenshot excerpt of a Threads post. The post has an image of Donald Trump with his usual blue suit, red tie, and blatantly obvious orange makeup. It is a recent of image of Trump as evidenced by the aged elements of his face. He looks every day of his 79 years, if not more. The text of the post is as follows: Oliver Kornetzke Yesterday at 00:19 Behold. The festering carcass of American rot shoved into an ill-fitting suit: the sleaze of a conman, the cowardice of a draft dodger, the gluttony of a parasite, the racism of a Klansman, the sexism of a back-alley creep, the ignorance of a bar-stool drunk, and the greed of a hedge-fund ghoul-all spray-painted orange and paraded like a prize hog at a county fair. Not a president. Not even a man. Just the diseased distillation of everything this country swears it isn't but has always been-arrogance dressed up as exceptionalism, stupidity passed off as common sense, cruelty sold as toughness, greed exalted as ambition, and corruption worshiped like gospel. It is America's shadow made flesh, a rotting pumpkin idol proving that when a nation kneels before money, power, and spite, it doesn't just lose its soul—it shits out this bloated obscenity and calls it a leader.

Accurate.

One day—not so long from now—you will hear a symphony of car horns honking, and people cheering in the street, and music loudly playing in all directions. And after a brief moment of being perplexed, you will know exactly what has happened.

An infographic stating that Trump's agents are not just targeting immigrant communities involved in crime. It shows figures representing the proportion of immigrants taken by ICE, categorized by criminal record: 7% with violent convictions, 28% with no violent convictions, and 65% with no convictions, captioned with a note that ICE is breaking up families and not only pursuing criminals.

Mom Watches Reruns of George Lopez at Night, While Dad Sits in the Garage Getting High | Rust & Moth In bed, I practice the soft blinks of forgetting all the bad and deliberately mean things I have done today—the sparkly lavender lip gloss I stole from Sears and the bloody nose I gave my brother when...

New #poetry from Olivia Jacobson: "Mom Watches Reruns of George Lopez at Night, While Dad Sits in the Garage Getting High".

Sisyphus the Silverfish | Rust & Moth Every time I enter the room, it’s crawling around the inner perimeter of the light fixture like a compass, its iridescent armour always in my periphery. I wonder if it can climb the incline upwards,...

New #poetry from Tallulah Howarth: "Sisyphus the Silverfish".

Biomedical research isn't a YouTube video, you cannot hit pause for an indefinite period of time and then hit play whenever the regime wants.

Samples are destroyed, labs dismantled, scientists leave...

Esther Lay – Rust & Moth A Journal Of Poetry And The Arts

Delighted to have two poems in @rustandmoth.bsky.social this autumn - one of my favourite magazines. rustandmoth.com/artists/esth...