Michael Lehrer

Chanukiyah with candles lit for the first night of Chanukah.

2/ Out of this darkness, may we each find something important to hold on to. “May It Be a Light to You in Dark Places, When All Other Lights Go Out.”

A safe and light-filled Hannukah to all, and spite the hatred in this world. 🔥

I learned today that the Motor City Bowl/Little Caesar’s Bowl went under and was replaced by a new game at the same time in the same place with the same tie ins, which means Northwestern is playing in the Ship of Theseus Bowl.

(Credit: @michaellehrer.bsky.social)

Illinois is launching a first-of-its-kind legal hotline for LGBTQ+ individuals — Illinois Pride Connect.

As the only state in the nation that will provide free legal advice to protect the LGBTQ+ community, we'll help fight ignorance with information and cruelty with compassion.

This is correct. Any candidate cynically “triangulating” on trans kids is a non-starter, and now is the time to say so. There’s still so much time to advance candidates that DON’T suck.

We have always been here, we are here, we will always be here. So let's keep advocating and keep fighting!

One time someone asked me about what I do Jewishly and I started talking about a bunch of different things

She said, "wow, you must really believe in G-d"

I was like, "huh, that's never really come up"

🚨 In addition to banning gender affirming medical treatment through Medicaid, Trump's reconciliation bill PROHIBITS health insurance purchased through Obamacare exchanges from offering transition care.

Detransition care, though, is specifically protected. CALL YOUR HOUSE REPS!

Opinion | I am a Jew. I am a woman. But to Trump, I’m the wrong kind of both and not worth protecting. The administration’s claims to zealously protect women and Jews don’t apply to me.

My first-ever op-ed for MSNBC has gone live:

cis friends this is a RED ALERT

read Erin’s entire thread

and when you see ANYONE believing the unscientific lies in this you we need you to shut it down

EVERY major medical association in the US approves of transition care for kids

MAKE THEM READ THIS AND LISTEN TO ACTUAL DOCTORS

We need to stand up for our trans siblings now, yesterday, and every day. Trans rights are human rights 🏳️‍⚧️

The planet Jupiter with its cloud bands seen in shades of pink, rusty red, blue, and purple. The Great Red Spot is a deep navy blue, surrounded by bands and swirls of pink, and light blue.

Hubble's ultraviolet view of Jupiter shows the planet in hues of pink and blue.

jupiter wishes you a very happy trans day of visibility 🏳️‍⚧️

There are trans Americans right now looking out at this world and wondering if anyone is going to stand up for them and for their simple right to exist.

Well, I am. We are. We will.

‘We’re not going anywhere’: Chicago rally draws thousands to defend trans rights - Windy City Times Thousands of transgender people and their allies took to the streets of Chicago on March 30 in a powerful celebration of the trans community and call to action amid growing attacks on its rights. The ...

Thousands gathered in Chicago’s Federal Plaza for the Rally for Trans Visibility, sending a clear message: trans rights are non-negotiable. 🏳️‍⚧️

On assignment for @windycitytimes.com

#TDOV

Sign with flowers says let trans kids bloom

Sign says they can take our health care, they cannot mute our spirit

Sign says access to medical care is a right, not a debate!

Sign says gender affirming care literally saves lives

In front of Lurie children’s hospital in Chicago, hundreds of people are showing up to defend access to gender-affirming care for trans youth!!

❤️❤️❤️

Fighting facism is a full-time job

Roses are red,
Elon's a knob,

As Trump takes aim at trans people, here's how you can help A list of actions that individuals and elected officials can take

6️⃣ Helping trans people isn’t theoretical. It’s urgent.

So if you’ve ever asked, How can I help?—this is your answer. Give money. Give time. Show up.

The people trying to make life impossible for trans people aren’t waiting. And neither should you. open.substack.com/pub/aridrenn...

Trans and nonbinary fam, please listen to me. I know you're hurt. I know you're full of rage. I know you're scared, and not knowing what's coming doesn't help. But this is the most important thing going forward: You must survive. YOU MUST SURVIVE. YOU (yes, YOU, the person reading this, I swear to fuck I'm talking to YOU) MUST do EVERYTHING YOU CAN to remain on this side of the ground. They want us to not exist. They want to pretend we're not real. They want to pretend we don't matter. And the biggest act of defiance any of us can do, the best way any of us can fight them, is to continue existing in spite of all they do.

wrote this in the trans tuesday essay after the election and it bears repeating today

my trans siblings, i love you

we need you 🩷

Sound and Fury: Some Initial Thoughts on Trump's Scary Anti-Trans Executive Orders The Trump administration’s flurry of executive orders targeting trans rights is meant to scare you.

8/ Every day you live as your authentic self is a small act of rebellion, a quiet reminder that no law or order can erase who we are. Stand tall, support each other, and remember: we’re not going anywhere. aridrennen.substack.com/p/sound-and-...

DO NOT PANIC

the immediate impact this will have on you is small, they have to enforce it, and there will likely be lawsuits and ways to fight it

it will be a developing story

and cis friends? no shit:

NOW’S THE TIME TO NOT STAND FOR THIS SHIT

be ready to step up and say NO

The Enterprise D is floating in to dock at a Starbase. It's futuristic, in a 1980's way, in that it looks a bit like a kitchen appliance designed for mashing potatoes at high speed, but with Christmas lights on the outside. In blue text we see the episode title: "The Measure Of A Man."

Star Trek TNG, S2E9: Picard schools a bigot on bodily autonomy, fundamental rights, and respecting people's pronouns

10/10 this is the reason people like Star Trek

I've long thought that Endgame is just Timeless, but worse.

YouTube video by United States Marine Band English Folk Song Suite - Ralph Vaughan Williams

Hard to pick a favorite, (and more wind band than orchestral) but English Folk Song Suite/Ralph Vaughan Williams has always had a place in my heart ever since playing it in high school band.
youtu.be/IcimP7pcd6o?...

I would like to speak up today for the trans community.

You see, I know a bit of what it’s like to be politically scapegoated. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, suddenly anyone in America who had any amount of Japanese ancestry became suspect. Politicians preyed upon ignorance and fear. /1

Standing on the Wrigley Field outfield grass in the early morning, wearing NUMBalumb regalia, waiting for the start of the Northwestern football game in several hours.

Good morning Wrigley Field

Reddit post. It has a picture of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, 1993. The men in black represent members who died from AIDS (the vast majority of the chorus) and the men in white are the few surviving members. It says "Not all of us will have 'survived worse' hateful regimes. Not all of us will survive the next one. Vote. Don't give up on the rest of us while we still have a chance."

I really want to survive. It kept me closeted for so long. It's left me fearful of the upcoming election.

If you're debating whether to vote or who to vote for, I'd ask that you please vote for Harris…because I want to survive and thrive.

Donation receipt to Trans Lifeline

Happy to support.

text from my mom, an obvious screenshot of a screenshot (of a screenshot?) “I’m going to end the Die Hard is a Christmas movie debate. An outnumbered force with limited resources reclaims a tower that was taken by a foreign invader. That’s literally Hanukkah. Die Hard is a Hanukkah movie.

its okay everyone, for the first time ever, my mom settled the debate

Once again:

WAR SHOULD NOT BE TREATED AS A SPORT IN WHICH WE WAVE OUR FLAGS AND ROOT FOR OUR TEAM.

THE ONLY WINNER IS PEACE.

Everyone and everything else loses.

Is loss.

Is lost.