respectfully tapping the "support billionaire-free, worker-owned, independent media" sign again

I know that the resist accounts have been pushing the red state blue State bullshit as hard as possible, but the reality is we all stand together or we all fall it doesn’t matter what state people are in. It doesn’t matter if it’s a red state or a blue state. We’re all humans in this together.

Malcolm X: “I’m a real bug for poetry.” Elham Shirin traces the poets who shaped him—from prison reading and “Music” to the lyric power of his speeches—and the art his words set in motion across Black radical tradition and global solidarity.

I know it’s difficult right now, but I insist that you seek and enjoy beautiful things, even if it seems frivolous or irresponsible in the face of overwhelming horror. I want you to feed yourself artistically, spiritually, and literally, because you can’t Do The Work when you’re starving.

Erin's reporting is, as always, impeccable. What many may not know, however, is that once a license is issued, the holder has a property interest in that license that is protected by the 14th Amendment. This goes back to Bell v Burson (1972). For more, keep reading... 🧵

It seems all Kansas-issued trans drivers' licenses are invalid, effective tomorrow It is now illegal for trans people to drive a car until they surrender their license at a DMV (that most will need to drive to) and have it reissued with the wrong gender marker This was never about woman's sports

Part of the reason the whole country hasn't been screaming about trans Kansans who drive being made criminals overnight is because there's so much else that's unconstitutional and horrifying. But part of it is because it's happening to trans people.

Talk to @slooterman.bsky.social

We believe in HYPERLOCAL ORGANIZING to meet the needs of your community. If you see something in the data that's relevant to your area or needs — don't wait for us. Take it and run. Organize around the data. We believe data informs action. We hope you'll take what we do and keep using it for good.

We're blown away by the support from across the country! Thank you. 🙏 A note on what we do: we're a 6-person volunteer team. We dig into public records and build tools and reporting communities can use to organize and resist. We aren't national rapid response coordinators or live spotters. ➡️

Truthout is grateful to open submissions for the sixth annual Keeley Schenwar Memorial Essay Prize. The prize is awarded for essays authored by currently incarcerated and formerly incarcerated writers. bit.ly/KeeleyPrize

One of the families we've been helping, the father was finally released from the facility in Texas and then from Whipple. They dumped him on the street with no coat, no phone, nothing, in single digit temps. Bless the people who monitor Whipple 24/7

Nothing about this is legal. The US is quietly deporting Palestinians arrested by #ICE to the occupied West Bank via private jet owned by an Israeli-American property tycoon & friend of President Trump, with two such flights taking place in coordination w the Israel: www.972mag.com/us-secretly-...

2025 map from deathpenaltyinfo.org showing disproportion numbers of state sanctioned (racist, classist) murder in a small number of states Last year was the largest number killed in 16 years. Nearly double of that in 2024. Abolish.

Our Pulitzer-winning "Friends of the Court" series began with this story that revealed how SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas had, for 20+ years, been treated to undisclosed luxury vacations by real estate titan and GOP megadonor Harlan Crow. (Published April 2023)

Part of why I am insistent that public libraries must be expanded is because they can offer us a foundation for unleashing creativity and for nurturing imagination. This is an affirmative project at a time when we desperately need to be FOR things and not just against them.

NH state house passes "CHARLIE Act," which bans teaching, I kid you not, "critical consciousness" & "prohibited world-views," such as that queer people exist, or that slavery involved race, or, implicitly, that the Nazis murdered Jews based on identity. newhampshirebulletin.com/2026/02/19/h...

About 13 months too late, the White House realizes an anti-science agenda is unpopular. www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

The message from the DOJ is unmistakable: Justice is no longer the objective. Retribution is.

Really good piece - especially to make all your cis friends read, the ones who support trans rights but feel confused about some of the rhetoric out there about puberty blockers, etc. Really grounds it in reality (as major news outlets seem unable to do.)

There is not some gravitational force pulling the U.S. and Iran toward major military catastrophe. This is a war of choice by the U.S., and we must remember that it could be stopped in an instant.

I hadn't cried about how much I love Minneapolis in a few days, so this was a good one to read: "Minnesotans will continue to keep Minnesotans safe until we rid the state of the federal occupation, just like lake ice is weakened by springtime sunshine and subsumed by the water below."

Hey! Scholars! If you're using someone's work in your class, sometimes it's nice to email them and tell them, because then they might feel good about their research instead of entirely crushed by the academic humanities' ongoing descent into the grave

The Thiel-backed “Polymarket” is partnering with Substack bc of course they are. 1/

For poets and other creative writers committed to speaking out and showing up: This new resource compiles a few recent offerings: artist talk-style videos, a bunch of writing prompts, lists of powerful examples, the full slides from my last "poetry against ICE" workshop, and more:

In the span of just six weeks between December and January, six people died while detained by ICE in Texas — three of them at Camp East Montana. Detention facilities are seeing more overcrowding and understaffing as the Trump administration ramps up enforcement.

Keep Minnesota Housed, friends! Visit keepMNhoused.com today to adopt a rent or donate to a rent fund to help families affected by ICE stay in their homes. #keepMNhoused

Threats against Iran aren’t “last resort” diplomacy, they’re a breach of the UN Charter, Jeffrey Sachs argues, & a dangerous escalation away from negotiations that already worked. The Security Council should defend international law & push talks—not war.

'At a moment when your government is rounding people up and building camps to concentrate them — and you know *everyone in the world knows it* — some ambivalence when you’re at an international competition is not just understandable but unavoidable." — @paulwaldman.bsky.social

As the Trump administration expands militarized immigration operations around the country, federal agents keep using tear gas near children. It’s worrying health experts. "Assume that children should have zero exposure to these chemicals.” My latest for @19thnews.org: 19thnews.org/2026/02/ice-...

🚨 WaPo scoop: You've heard of Trump's "board of peace." Now HHS wants to build its own World Health Organization that will cost exponentially more than the U.S.'s contribution to the WHO. -- with the incredible @lenasun.bsky.social

DOCTOR Rümeysa Öztürk has earned her PhD!!

"Stop using trans lives as outrage factory fodder."

Immigration policing & detention now make up 13% of all government spending on the criminal legal system. The U.S.’s commitment to the deportation agenda comes at a steep financial and moral cost.

Good News: A Major Scientific Milestone Just Dropped The same mRNA technology used in COVID vaccines is now helping the immune system fight triple-negative breast cancer. In a new study, 10 out of 14 patients remained relapse-free after nearly five years.

"We want all Americans to understand that Trump, RFK, and their HHS won’t stop at trying to block care for trans youth — they’re coming for trans adults, for those who need treatment from insulin to SSRIs, and all those already failed by a broken health insurance system."

New — This was projected on the US Institute of Peace building this evening ahead of the first meeting tomorrow of Trump’s farcically-named “Board of Peace.” Photo taken by person who was over there tonight. Unclear who’s behind the projection.

BREAKING: The Department of Education has ended its directive that attempted to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in schools nationwide. This is a victory for academic freedom and education equity.

Sigh. Leftists invented whole aesthetics around using technology w/o destroying the world. Anarchist transfems teach classes on solar power and spawn three new electronic music genres weekly. We are notoriously into trains, libraries, vaccines. We just didn't fall for a scam and now y'all are sore.

The European Union passes a resolution calling for full recognition and equal protections for trans women across member states #NOH8

I really appreciate this question. Thank you. You can help us by spreading the word through your networks. There are bound to be NYC residents in those networks. We need them to take action.

The fact that so many billionaire Californians are each dedicating tens of millions of dollars to fighting a proposed wealth tax — rather than using those funds to pay the tax — demonstrates just how much play money they have and evidences the extent of their delusional entitlement

when virtually all trans ppl are vehemently opposed to newsom and all the folks who value the opinions of trans people are following suit because, y'know, human rights and bodily autonomy aren't fucking optional... im pretty sure the correct move is not: "you better vote for my shitty guy or else!"

Instead of "the left isn't paying enough attention to these machine gods" they're claiming to build, perhaps we should write an article about how effective altruists brand themselves "left", ask who is writing these articles, and trace their cults and sources of funding.

They raided the jailed children to steal their letters. The problem, in federal officials' minds, wasn't confining children in prison-camp conditions; it was that the children could tell the public about it.

Print is a rent strike.

OKAY BIG ONE FOR YA NEW report out today: I dig deep into how big tech has been muddling tech types and overstating evidence to claim "AI" will make global emissions drop like a stone.... Not only will it not, it seems to be verifiably doing the opposite!! ketanjoshi.co/2026/02/17/b... + 📼+🧵>

I really believe this AI greenwashing narrative matters a lot. Not least because we see it repeated among allies - among climate advocates, clean tech advocates etc - it has created this nervous hesitation to criticise AI ("don't throw baby out with bathwater" etc). I wanted to end that fear.

Jesse Jackson came and met with a group of young organizers, including myself, during the height of Occupy Wall Street to share his wisdom about movements. He sat with us for several hours answering questions and giving advice. He was a giant—but still made time for the little things.

NEW: ChatGPT and other chatbots are feeding users' fixations on real people, reinforcing users' delusional ideas and obsessions about others as they descend into unwanted harassment, stalking, and/or domestic abuse — traumatizing victims and profoundly altering lives. futurism.com/artificial-i...