CL (says protect trans kids and adults)

This thread has critical information for folks who are lgbtq+, especially trans. Please share it widely so people can get the information they need to make careful, well considered decisions.

Please consider buying a print. This is just a random plug and definitely isn’t because I’ve just had a massive bill from the dentist. marswasrubbish.etsy.com

@rikiwilchins.bsky.social 2026 Oct Advocate Berlin PD violently raids a Black, Indigenous, and POC health clinic's weekly transfem-only meet-up called "The Dolls", and seize medications, money, etc. Stand with The Dolls.

NEW: Maybe it's time to take a good look at all these deaths in the Epstein-Trump orbit. jkbjournalist.substack.com/p/dead-men-t...

And so it begins... House Dems release explosive 53-page congressional report alleging possible criminal conspiracy, evidence of DOJ cover-up, and call for Special Counsel to investigate the DOJ itself. [free link] substack.com/inbox/post/2...

I'd love to talk to some queer Texas voters, voters from outside Houston/Dallas/Austin and especially voters from South Texas, about what it's like to participate in this election. Do you feel represented? Are the issues you care about being talked about enough? Get in touch!

Lula's victory in Brazil means a lot to a ton of people in the country, including transgender people. So when Lula won, it was a major moment of celebration when he turned to kiss a popular transgender lawmaker on the cheek. Subscribe to support our journalism.

An estimated 23,000 Texans have HIV and don’t know it. The state wants to cut new cases in half by 2031, but the CDC just ended outreach funding for at least 13 Texas groups that find people and get them tested. Kit O’Connell has the full story: thebarbedwire.com/can-texas-fi...

Many of you know I maintain a list of 32 Democrats who have embraced anti-trans policy or run ads against us. I am not even asking my readers to abstain from all 32. Some have improved, and some may not meet your line. But I ask my readers to draw a line and refuse to elect the worst among them.

The elections are on next Tuesday, and so much is at stake, including the soul of the Democratic Party when it comes to transgender people. I am asking you to leave a very small number of races blank in which a Democrat has embraced extreme anti-trans hate. I make my case here.

This!

yup.

Good morning, crew!! I hope your day passes quickly and smoothly!! You've got this!! Take care and stay hydrated, my darlings!! 🫂💕✨️🏳️‍🌈🏴‍☠️ #OurFlagMeansDeath #LongLiveOFMD #CrewForLife

These anti-trans Dems are saying "biological males" should be banned from girls sports because they know exactly how bad it sounds if they say "transgender girls" should be banned from girls sports. They're using "biological males" framing as a sort of self-justification and self-soothing.

Yesterday, Josh Turek released one of the worst anti-transgender ads to come from a Democrat this election cycle. It called for a federal funding ban on gender affirming care, which would impact countless trans Americans. Here is our article on the ad you have all undoubtedly seen by now.

There are some people who claim "oh, Dems in blue states will never shift towards enacting anti-trans policy" Meanwhile Colorado is literally enacting a medical detransition protocol for trans youth on medicaid.

"Trans people are a tiny group with no power" This isn't true, and I hope my trans readers can internalize this. You are more powerful than you think. Trans and gender expansive people are 2.34% of the US population in the latest survey. That is more than enough to swing a race.

I thought everyone was a potential friend. It took me years to understand my father’s betrayal. At 73, I still live with it. A new piece from my autistic life: “Not Everyone Was My Friend.” Content note: sexual abuse. #ActuallyAustistic #MentalHealth #Psychology #Neurodivergent

sorry but if they're dangling your right to exist as something on the table then you don't have to give them the dignity of the honesty of your intention. if they're running on misinformation to put you on the chopping block then simply make their life difficult even if voting tactically.

conservatives in washington state want freedom and small government in the form of state-mandated genital exams for high school students: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

What I wrote about Gavin Newsom a year ago is never more applicable to several Democrats today. I foresaw this coming, and I continue to hold this true.

If you donated to Josh Turek without realizing he was running on a federally funded trans healthcare coverage ban, you can request a refund of your donation here: help.actblue.com/hc/en-us/art...

I've launched Albums I Recommend, a new members-only series sharing favourite records, personal memories and short musical examples. First up: Gary Numan's I, Assassin (1982). Available to YouTube members and Patreon supporters. www.patreon.com/80sNewWaveMu...

As the gentry try to normalize transphobia in every avenue of life, a common talking point they love to share is the alleged high 'detransition' and 'regret' rates among trans people. These allegedly high rates are completely false, and based on bunk science. 🧵

Josh Turek of Iowa, Democrat, comes out with one of the worst anti-trans ads yet. Not only is it an anti-sports ad, it proposes a ban on federal funding for gender affirming care. That would hit all medicaid and medicare patients, and any ACA federally-subsidized plans as well. Horrific.

“Our party is so toxic that communist raccoons have a massive electoral advantage” is a bit of a self-own.

Istanbul's Basilica Cistern is a 6th-century Byzantine underground reservoir built by Emperor Justinian I, famous for its 336 columns and two Medusa head bases that became one of the city's most photographed landmarks. IG: @hugo_guiaturco Avanos, Türkiye 🇹🇷 www.instagram.com/hugo_guiatur...

if you work at Boston Dynamics and can't convince them, there's always specificsuggestions.com

There are people, even some trans people, who think that we can give up sports to appease bigots. That if we give up on sports, this all goes away. That is a lie. I have reported on this for years, and EVERY state that passed a sports ban as a moderate compromise has gone on to pass worse.

The way trans peoples' lives have been turned into a malicious political applause line is excruciating "Bill goes to school & comes home Jill"—no, but Bill's family had to flee to another state bc B/Jill faces daily violence & bullying by kids & adults LOL PLS CLAP My trans siblings I'm so sorry ❤️

As long as trans rights events are just "trans people and our immediate families", no one will listen to us. BLM had an impact because it was EVERYONE. Not "just Black people marching for Black people things". It was EVERYONE. EVERYONE cared. We need that energy from cis people on #trans rights.

If you, as a cis woman, want to do something massive, something that might help turn things around, I urge you to get together with other cis women and push for a #TransLivesMatter march on Washington. With trans people speaking, being protected by a larger group of cis people.

THREAD. I've been feeling bad that Jim (tomcox.substack.com/p/jim-an-ins...) & Roscoe (tomcox.substack.com/p/at-home-wi...) have had all the attention recently so I wanted to say a bit about our other cat, Professor Charles Cardigan, who is also an uncompromising individual & fabulous companion...

Been 2 years of republicans and we ain in camps yet. Straightest line to the camps is for the opposition to give up. Which they will if they get polluted by transphobes, just like labour. Thus electing phobic dems is more immediately dangerous than electing republicans, imo.

Late adaptor here, just catching up now with the *depth* of this shit pit. Let my relative "moderation" -- I'm not really a screamer -- give extra oomph when I say this is *an enemy.* Not of any faction--an enemy of us all, even if you're a fool who imagines you're this murderbot's friend.

The latest anti-trans dem is Kathy Castor, Florida congresswoman, who laughed at trans people and said she opposes them in sports in a candidate forum. Subscribe to support our journalism. www.erininthemorning.com/p/dem-congre...

My next Big & Bright 🌈 ⭐ newsletter is about the anti-trans flyers flooding Texas during the midterms, plus the battle against AIDS & HIV under a fascist government. Subscribe today to get it tomorrow: www.thebarbedwire.com/newsletters/

I really would love it anti-Trump journalism didn’t lead with slurs for intellectually disabled people. I /just/ did a long interview explaining why it’s a problem when the White House does it, and here you are …

The anti-trans group Moms For Liberty has bullied yet another school into abandoning trans kids. @alyssaur.bsky.social brings you the story here in this week's TWIBS.

@rikiwilchins.bsky.social 2026 Oct Despite the fact that they are at much higher risk of being victimized, Trump admin reports erases trans people from reports about sexual violence in prisons and jails _except_ to report on them as perpetrators. www.advocate.com/politics/nat...

Republicans last week: We're thinking about doing less anti-trans ads.. they seem to be pretty ineffective.. no one cares. Democrats this week: We're gonna do anti-trans ads.. lots of them.. we're thinking about making it a central issue of our platform. Me: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA🤷‍♀️☠️

In a major escalation in Dems embracing anti-trans positions, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the official campaign arm of House Democrats, released its first anti-trans ad supporting Nancy Lacore in SC-01. Transphobia is spreading among dems. Subscribe to support our journalism.