Transgender for everybody 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️

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.

Raskin: "It's not lost on anyone that shutting the government down allows them not swear in our new colleague, Ms Grijalva from Arizona, who would be the 218th signature to discharge the Epstein files and to put a vote on that on the House floor."

The fact that Southern Arizona is being treated differently raises serious questions about political motivations – especially since I have pledged to become the 218th signature on the discharge petition to force a vote on the Epstein files.

Day 2 in D.C. and #AZ07 is still left without a vote and voice here in Washington.

1. Vehemently anti-LGBTQ+ Oklahoma education superintendent is finally out as of yesterday. He appointed Libs of TikTok to the library board, and constantly worked against LGBTQ+ students. Now, local businesses are literally throwing parties that he is gone. Subscribe to support our journalism.

Val and I checked repeatedly because we simply couldn't believe no national or local news organizations covered this letter from 18 AGs in support of trans youth care and against FTC overreach. If you find any stories, let us know, but it seems to be our exclusive.

A bus of Bronx middle schoolers pulled up to the Capitol this morning for a long-planned field trip just a few hours after the government shut down. All Capitol tours were cancelled as the guides can’t work in shutdown. So I escorted them in myself and gave them a personal tour. They were great!

STEPHANOPOULOS: The Democratic proposal is designed to prevent millions of Americans from losing their health insurance, losing Medicaid coverage, or paying higher healthcare premiums. Why are you against that? MIKE JOHNSON: That's an absurd statement STEPHANOPOULOS: It's a factual statement

WATCH — @aoc.bsky.social : “At some point we’ve gotta call these people’s B.S. for what it is. You can’t believe everything a con man is gonna tell you. We cannot live in perpetual fear of these clowns.” #TrumpShutdown

WATCH: "They are underwater across the board, and they know it. And that is causing them to double down in public. But it is backfiring. That is why—whether it's a shutdown, whether it's all of this—they want us to blink first. And we have too much to save," says AOC.

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.

1. The government is now shut down. The clean continuing resolution failed and neither party has come to an agreement. Many people watching the anti-LGBQT+ riders in the FY26 appropriations bills want to know what this means. I detail "what now?" in my latest. Subscribe to support our journalism.

The people are united, and support our Federal Workers as well. This shutdown can roll right into a general strike. Enough is enough. We want our democracy back.

Just gonna give this one more go. Can anyone help tag some youth leaders?

🏴253! Not a penny for the fascist regime! Keep the pressure up! ❌👑 #NoKings October 18! www.nokings.org ✊ #FreeDC freedcproject.org 🔥 #FuelTheFLARE @flareusa.bsky.social linktr.ee/flare.usa

It's midnight. We are officially in a government shutdown. No clean CR was passed. Congress moves on to negotiating during what could be a protracted closure. Thank you all for calling to let them know that whatever gets negotiated, anti-LGBTQ provisions cannot be in the final appropriations bill.

The absolute biggest disappointment

AOC: When everyone says makes an exception here or makes an exception there, and then before you know it, you have masked agents roaming the streets of this country that do not feel entitled to identify themselves

Federal Wokers are rallying IN SUPPORT of a government shutdown and WE STAND WITH THEM!! Follow 👉 @fedsagainstdoge.bsky.social #NoBusinessAsUsual #ShutItDown #FederalShutdown

Is this not straight-forwardly a declaration of civil war?

I just got a VERY interesting email that allies in congress were upset that so many of my readers were calling about the anti-trans provisions. I'm here to say: good. I won't let them throw our rights under the bus by cover of night. All's that to say, keep up the calls. They're hearing you.

1. It's shutdown day, and anti-trans provisions are on the line... either today, or in a few more weeks if a clean continuing resolution passes. Trump posted a video this morning blaming a shutdown on trans people and immigrants. Here is your shutdown guide. Subscribe to support our journalism.

Shutdown is on. Only 3 Democrats voted for the clean CR, which means we are now officially heading for a government shutdown.

Mike Johnson continues to refuse to swear in a Democrat who won in a landslide.

AOC: I think there's two things that are happening at once: One, there absolutely is an unprecedented abuse of power, destruction of norms, erosion of our government and our democracy in order to prop up an authoritarian style of governance However, they are weaker than they look…

When are all the terrified people who know this is wrong but think they can just wait out the next three years going to wake up and take their heads out of the sand?

I stopped by the local hardware store to see if they had LED diodes. The cute guy behind the counter asked what I needed diodes for and I said I was breadboarding a guitar pedal. He said he played bass, we chatted a little, but only now at home do I realize he was flirting with me. 😿

Hungover Hegseth Struggling To Remember How He Ended Up In Room Full Of Generals

After being shown all year how awful and cringe the right is with AI propaganda and videos, I can't understand why some of you assholes are still making them. Learn to make art for Christ's sake.

The Corporate Media is absolutely going to refuse to say the truth when it comes to Thomas Sanford. He was radicalized by the right wing Christian Nationalists like Charlie Kirk. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

🏴252! Stand with Portland! Fight back!! ❌👑 #NoKings October 18! www.nokings.org ✊ #FreeDC freedcproject.org 🔥 #FuelTheFLARE @flareusa.bsky.social linktr.ee/flare.usa

Taco won’t beat Portland. This is a test for 2026 elections to take over Blue states. Portland will make us proud n stand strong! ✊🏼 #portland #notofascism

"Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy." - Louis Brandeis, American Supreme Court Justice (1856-1941)

Pritzker: "People of Illinois, we need your help. Get our your cell phones, record and narrate what you see. Put it on social media. Peacefully ask for badge numbers and identification. Speak up for your neighbors. We need to let the world know that this is happening and that we won't stand for it."

This is the President explicitly threatening to withhold federal funds from New York City if voters elect a candidate he opposes. This is an unlawful attempt to coerce voters through federal financial threats and a textbook example of voter intimidation to influence the outcome of a local election.

Priztker: if federal agents fired upon journalists and protesters, when unprovoked, what would we call it?  I don't think we'd have any trouble calling it what it is. Authoritarianism.  So let's not pretend it's something else when it happens in our American cities.

It certainly appears the United States murdered an innocent fisherman who was a husband and father to four children, claimed he was a "narco-terrorist," posted a video of the execution, and then made jokes about it

This is the biggest scandal in US history.

Trump and Dems are officially meeting Monday. This is after Trump cancelled his last meeting with Democrats because they were holding firm on immigrant and transgender protections. The Republican budget has dozens of anti-LGBTQ+ riders. Call your Dem senators, people, don't let them capitulate.

UK's Labour Party abandoned transgender people. The gambit to pursue rightwing voters by abandoning a targeted minority failed, and now they're facing the prospect of a historic loss. US Dems could learn a lot from their failure. Great piece from S. Baum. Subscribe to support our journalism.

"Officers said Treven Gokey wanted to send a message to the far left and that transgenderism should be eradicated." www.kold.com/video/2025/0...

ICE Nazis in Chicago tried to kidnap a food delivery worker but my man was too fast for those slow bastards

This is now the second attempted terrorist attack on the LGBTQ community in a week as "revenge" for Charlie Kirk. This follows an attempted mass shooting of a gay bar in Arizona. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

1. A day after the Michigan church shooting, Republicans are silent after learning the shooter was a MAGA extremist. No investigations of Trump supporters as terrorists. No national conversations about the rights of cisgender men. The silence is deafening. Subscribe to support our journalism.

🏴251! 🫩 JFC #generalstrikeus ❌👑 #NoKings October 18! www.nokings.org ✊ #FreeDC freedcproject.org 🔥 #FuelTheFLARE @flareusa.bsky.social linktr.ee/flare.usa

periodic reminder into the void that sex and gender aren't actually binary this is just some shit white dudes made up and like to force on everyone else, against all evidence

far left: the Portland ICE chicken costume guy petting my grandparents' dog