Dude was literally JUST ON a livestream insisting that he took a back seat to no one on defending the community and he was just trying to sympathize with folks on the "sports issue" These bills had nothing to do with the "sports issue" He's a lost cause, not a misguided soul

Gavin Newsom fucking sucks, part MCXVII he still has until the end of the week for the rest of the bills so unfortunately it’s time to suck it up, call his office, and politely ask this living hairpiece to do the bare minimum to protect the most vulnerable among us

Dear [Author], Your book [Title] is wonderful. I had painful urination and blood in my urine for years, until I read [Title] and now there is a clear golden stream. [Title] deserves a wider readership. My team of 5,000 cyber-turtles can post honest reviews and raise your Zoob ranking, for a modest

It's not just that they're going to strike down a law against conversion therapy, it's that they're going to do it on behalf of made-up claims from a straw plaintiff who can't honestly show the law affected her at all

Any trans person who begins their transition today is exhibiting more courage than most people will in their entire lives.

You could just talk about Jim Crow. I promise you, there's no need to leave America's shores to talk about life in a fascist state

I get that everyone thinks it's a funny little joke when Trump says nonsense about "trangender for everybody" (because really, wtf does that even mean?), but I gotta say that as a trans person, I find it absolutely fucking insane that he's constantly obsessing over trans people existing. It sucks.

"Part of how these terms persist is as a site of fracture. Not only are we trying to encompass an unencompassable thing, but we can't even agree on what it is we're trying to approximate when we say 'science fiction'" Must-read @dongwon.bsky.social essay: www.publishingishard.com/surgery-with...

more and more I am convinced a good share of why Trump 2 is so much worse than before is because of what Elon did to Twitter. it's like those group chats where people gassed themselves up to join ISIS, scaled up a millionfold

Time to hype some books -- I have been reading less, and more slowly, than usual, thanks to travel, illness and grief, but I found some books good enough to get through to me anyway. First up, _Lessons_In_Magic_and_Disaster_ by @charliejane.bsky.social. us.macmillan.com/books/978125...

This was an especially wonderful read. Always a great newsletter but really loved this one.

Claim: 10 cars rammed ICE Truth: No cars rammed ICE Claim: She boxed ICE in Truth: ICE boxed her in Claim: She shot a rifle at ICE Truth: She did not have a rifle Claim: ICE returned fire Truth: Only ICE fired Claim: She drove herself to the hospital Truth: Paramedics found her

"One Battle After Another" was so good. I keep thinking about it. The perfect combination of satire, tragedy, and hope.

Trying to convince someone to watch the Wicker Man by claiming it's a John Wick spinoff

My father was supposedly one of the smartest people in the world, and he hated that elitist nonsense. He loathed the idea that intelligence is something you're born with, a single trait that can be measured. It leads to eugenics and bad policy. My latest newsletter: buttondown.com/charliejane/...

It aligns with this concept (one a lot of people seem to have incorporated as FACT) that humans are static beings. That we do not change or grow or learn. We live in a time of deliberate ignorance. I don't think intelligence is an unchanging trait.

My father was supposedly one of the smartest people in the world, and he hated that elitist nonsense. He loathed the idea that intelligence is something you're born with, a single trait that can be measured. It leads to eugenics and bad policy. My latest newsletter: buttondown.com/charliejane/...

The worst thing about being bombarded with spam "promote your book for a modest fee" emails is that I can no longer trust when someone actually gets in touch with a real opportunity to do some event or online interview. I now assume every email I receive is a scam, until proven otherwise. It sucks.

!!!!!!!!!

I'm also reminded of the "whistleblower" report about abuses at a Missouri gender clinic, the author of which is now just a full-time anti-transgender lobbyist, that fell apart the moment any reporter tried to verify it

Taylor Swift is not a real person. There are like nine people who are Taylor Swift on different occasions.

I'm on my way down to Santa Cruz! Please don't let me be lonely this evening.......

Let me get this straight: Link, a Black user, got banned for calling out the Bluesky CEO for following a racist. That’s not a good look, especially given Bluesky’s historical treatment of Black users here on bluesky.

i'm probably moving this, my main @gregpak.net account, over to Blacksky's myatproto.social in the next few days, fwiw. process worked fine for @gregpak.com. bsky.app/profile/greg...

It's a choice that's part of a long pattern of anti-blackness on BlueSky and demonstrates an inability to tolerate even the most minor of pushback when said pushback is provided through the very mechanisms of the site. I know this kills the joke, but some things need to be said plainly.

Suspending Link after he pointed out the how following Jonathan Chait after being accused of transphobia does not allow you to beat the transphobia allegations. In fact, it does the opposite. To be clear: suspending Link was certainly a choice. And we know what KIND of choice it is.

This Jay would make Bluesky so much better

I get why TechCrunch would write it this way, but I largely disagree with this framing. The broad conversation here is about power, respect, control and whether the voices of the vulnerable are taken seriously. This is the story of a leader and a team showing that they don’t get that.

i've been migrating users to blacksky (which is run by @rude1.blacksky.team and his team) because it uses the same protocol as bluesky, you don't lose any of your followers and don't have to worry about bluesky moderation suspending you anymore additional sources and links under this video thread

I think a lot lately about how so many Black folks were hesitant to come to this site because many of us figured this is where it would go and I have never seen one person so utterly committed to single handedly burning any and all good will their site has accumulated like a five alarm gas fire.

After years of wearing special contact lenses to deal with my keratoconus, I told my eye doctor I wanted to go ahead with a corneal transplant. He agreed and we scheduled it for a few weeks later. Simple as that. If I can get my corneas swapped out without a fuss, transitioning should be a breeze.

there's always someone who needs to read this so i am doing my traditional linking of @nataliereed84.bsky.social's "the null hypothecis" when gatekeeping is on the tl: freethoughtblogs.com/nataliereed/...

Not long ago -- in my lifetime -- all trans people faced unspeakable violence, including state-sponsored violence, for simply existing And self-appointed gatekeepers made it as tough as possible for a person to transition. Anyone who wants to bring back the gatekeeping also wants the violence back

It is morally wrong to want a computer to be sentient. If you owned a sentient thing, you would be a slaver. If you want sentient computers to exist, you just want to create a new kind of slavery. The ethics are as simple as that. Sorry if this offends

I'm on my way down to Santa Cruz! Please don't let me be lonely this evening.......

IT IS ALIVE!! Behold the cover for Rabbit Test and Other Stories, out in April! Preorder while it is still legal to distribute through the mail!

Bluesky, thinking it was building a protocol, stumbled into running a platform filled with a highly active user base. All they have to do is not fuck it up and they got a business here!

Bluesky arbitrary hiding people's posts from view, and then restoring them after a backlash is not an ideal way to run a social platform.

If this is true then we *really* can't trust this place anymore. (Shouldn't have had much trust anyway, it's still not clear where they get the money that's keeping the place operational.) Start planning for exits

I visited the apartment building ICE raided on Tuesday today. Story to come, but you can walk right in. Half of the apartments have no doors on them. Children's stuff abandoned in some flats. *Citizen* residents told me they were arrested and held for hours in zipties. This is America

Seriously, if you are near Santa Cruz and you care about the freedom to read, I would love to see you tomorrow <3

You can't spell Skarasen without "scare" www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aZX...

Icymi Izolde is a wonderful local trans nerd who comes regularly to our meet ups.... She needs a bit more help making rent this month while she finds a job. I'd really appreciate if you could donate! 💘

Dang now I know what wine pairs with my book 🍷📘🌼♥️

If you are waiting for an email from me, please know that I am also awaiting an email from myself

I'm at Zeitgeist for the trans nerd meet up! 🏳️‍⚧️💝🌞

Seriously, if you are near Santa Cruz and you care about the freedom to read, I would love to see you tomorrow <3

Behind all that is the SFPD quiet-quitting. These tickets are issued by automated devices.

Speeding on main streets isn't an issue I'd prioritize: double parking, running stop signs and signals, not taking four-way stops in turn are some of the more dangerous things I deal with here as a driver, pedestrian, and cyclist. And speeding on very narrow side streets....