I'm so grumpy right now that I just spent a couple minutes pondering blocking half of Bluesky versus just deleting my account, so I think it's time for a social media break. Seeya in a week or so.

Safety Advice: I keep seeing young trans people on social media talking about therapists disrespecting their pronouns and parents telling them that the therapist has a right to their beliefs. I want to be clear: you have a right to the therapy room being a safe supportive space for YOUR growth.

Thank you Vanity Fair for printing this incredible subhed. www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/st...

Wait, Tyler Cowen has been writing about how to find virgins since 2009 while he was a professor at George Mason University

Another reason we can't "just get private bookmobiles to schools to get kids banned books" is that this isn't about the books. It's about the fundamental rights to democratic spaces that represent a whole community. Right now, judges are chipping away at *our* rights. bookriot.com/parnell-vs-e...

Tyler Cowen wants to look at virgins onscreen.

I call out the backdoor, "Pepper! You dingus!" Slowly, defiantly, a Labrador tail rises from within the water trough and begins to wag.

"We were there for Harvey Milk. you think we're not still here for our trans sibs?" Is some Gangster shit.

From the early polling, I don't think Democrats are going to back down without real concessions. "Republicans would rather go on vacation than fix the problem of people losing insurance or suffering rate hikes" actually appears to be an effective message.

Oh so I get mayo on my book & I'm a slob, but the publishing industry does the same thing and they're pulling off a marketing coup?

"Daisy" is working in the raisin harvest. "My job is to pick the grapes and place them on paper on the ground to dry and become raisins. This work is very difficult. The temp in Madera this day was 98°. We just have to endure it as there is no shade to protect us." #WeFeedYou

As some of you know, for 4 years I've been working on a book about the last 80 years of popular culture as a flashpoint for the gay rights struggle. Sometimes I've wondered who it's for. Then yesterday a young gay man, maybe 23, asked me if Stonewall happened because everyone was in NYC for Pride. >

It's frustrating trying to get people - doctors, family members - to grasp that chronic illness and disability aren't linear. I know I am overall improving, but improved isn't cured and doesn't mean there aren't bad days. I could do so much last week. Today, I can barely think or get out of bed.

Many “gifted programs” are basically enrichment programs for smart kids from literate families. As such, they do tend to concretize class and race divisions. However, there are truly gifted children who learn very differently. Unfortunately, enrichment programs alone usually don’t meet their needs.

We need to distinguish better between true giftedness and merely being smart and from a literate family. Many children who are truly gifted have spiky profiles of ability. They are highly advanced in some areas while needing support in others (including socialization). Many are also on the spectrum.

Here is Jamal from Gaza whose family lost everything and he is trying with all his might to rebuild their lives and help them with the crazy costs in Gaza and travel outside Gaza when the crossings open. I hope you support us. Your little support, even if it is $5 chuffed.org/project/1389...

When a state or local law enforcement official violates your rights, you can sue for money damages. When a federal official violates your rights — you largely cannot, thanks to a quirk of the law and the Supreme Court's decision not to find an inherent cause of action to sue under the Constitution.

NEW—US Department of Education sent out standard Out of Office language to employees on Wednesday in light of shutdown. Later yesterday, workers tell me they found someone had updated their auto-responses without consent to a new one blaming Democrats. Version of original on left, updated on right:

Once again: Hegseth is the exact type of guy The Art of War was written for, which means he will never read it

This is an extraordinary finding. Municipalization can work.

An irrigator in Mettler, CA is making sure that the irrigation system in a newly planted field is functioning properly. It's important that it delivers water to every single plant. #WeFeedYou

Happy to announce that I have won the Elgin Award for Mexicans on the Moon in the full-length book category. The Elgin Award is the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association's highest award for speculative poetry. Truly an honor. Much love!

i feel like im going crazy bc housing prices are crushing me and every day i wake up and see the political convo being "is cantaloupe is woke?" "did TGIF change its logo?" "are we renaming new mexico to new america?"

Special dark cocoa powder plus black food coloring to finish it off is the best way to go unless it's a food where squid ink is a more appropriate choice. The cocoa gets it most of the way there and the dye rounds out the color. Unless a doctor told you to do it, probably just skip eating charcoal.

C.M.O.T. Dibbler moment at the market. “What kind of cheese, mate?” “Genuine cheese. Inna block.”

Before anyone gives any weight to the bullshit Johnson is spewing, I received this email from the VA today. My healthcare as a veteran is not affected by the government shutdown, nor is the crisis line the GOP wants to terminate. The only thing affecting my VA benefits is the GOP, because I'm trans.

Destroying a pumpkin is a base animal instinct and I shouldn't have to pay for what I did in that Safeway.

BREAKING: Governor Pritzker calls for the removal of Donald Trump as President by invoking the 25th amendment. EVERY governor should stand behind the Illinois governor. Governor Pritzker also cited health concerns for the president. He is clearly not well. youtu.be/Dt4mrxNWQWs?...

Today is our first day without federal funding. Our commitment to providing trusted, objective journalism hasn't wavered. For 50 years, PBS News has helped you understand the world and make informed decisions. This mission drives our work every day, and your support of PBS News makes it possible.

I’m in this collection too! Why not make this a spooky AND sexy October? Hmmm?? 🎃🌺💋🌋💥

Some of you may remember my rant about getting surprise charged $653 for a medically necessary ultrasound to screen for the cancer that killed my mother. Well, I wrote about it, and now my bad experience has been made into a cartoon for The Out of Network Network! open.substack.com/pub/outofnet...

HAPPY OCTOBER! COVER REVEAL! TO CONQUER DEATH is a story of family and migration, grief and purpose, in the bronze-age world teetering on the edge of collapse as the dead rise from their rests to destroy the world of the living. Coming out November 18th, 2025. Pre-order links coming soon!

Just gonna keep tapping the sign* *𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦

The alt text is as beautiful as the image itself.

Let’s be clear: Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans forced a government shutdown tonight. Rather than address the health care crisis that they created just earlier this year, they refuse to come to the table and do their jobs. What happened to the art of the deal?

100% this. The queers and disabled folks were also on high alert. I remember when I said Trump would overturn Roe and like 4 moderate white men told me he wouldn't be able to do it. He did it on my birthday less than two years later.

Most of the power authoritarians have is freely given. We should not comply with them in advance. Trump is far weaker than he looks. So is the GOP. We should draw them out, drain them at every opportunity, and fight for people’s wellbeing at every turn. We have been sent here to fight for people.

it’s time 🧛

you cannot dismantle oppression in this country without first dismantling racism in this country. you cannot dismantle racism in this country without first dismantling this country's core white supremacy foundation itself. Black and Native and YOUR liberation are intertwined.

This cooking video has been on my mind for months now. The first major battle of the Civil War--which would go on to kill 2% of the population--and people from DC thought it was such a fun little thing they set up picnics to watch. By the end of the day they didn't still think it was fun.

To paraphrase someone else's observation I can't find, every traditional value is 60 years old, and every modern hedonism is older than written history.

made a ton of progress on this one! feeling that it’s actually just about finished, which is very cool

I just really hope we're all sitting with the fact that we're having a government shutdown in a year when ONE PARTY CONTROLS ALL THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT.

truth coming out of her well to shame mankind

Miss Major, one of the mothers of the trans liberation movement, has been in the hospital for 10 days with sepsis and a blood clot. She has looked out for us for generations, now it’s time to look out for her. Donate if you can: fundly.com/missmajor

looks like I don't have access to dm's without age verification now

Hey remember when the CDC dropped 6 of the 8 foodborne illnesses from the nationwide monitoring system in July and one of them was listeria? Mentioning for no particular reason www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

the president of the united states wants to use the american military to kill american citizens on american soil. that's the whole story!