naomithebarnowl.bsky.social

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.

@joshturek4iowa.bsky.social 's example of Democratic extremism is a gay congresswoman pressing Pam Bondi over her failure to release the Epstein files. What part is the extremism, Josh? Wanting accountability for esptines victims or being gay? bsky.app/profile/erin...

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.

I think people intuitively understand that democratic candidates tossing trans kids to the wolves is not only morally repugnant but also politically ineffective, otherwise they wouldn't freak out every time someone said they weren't voting for a democrat who did this

Senate Democrats posted this the same day Josh Turek released the worst anti-trans ad of the cycle. Meanwhile, DCCC released their own anti-trans ad last week in South Carolina.

the handful of die-hard anti-trans voters that exist are going to vote GOP no matter what. so this ad will not pick up a single new voter. all it does is further disenfranchise trans ppl – a marginalized group MAGA hates. this is a pro-MAGA ad & Turek is furthering MAGA's cause by airing it

Holy shit, it gets worse. A reader tells me that this is from Balint's questioning of Bondi over Epstein survivors. Certainly looks like it would match from this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mmH...

Every Democrat who doesn't condemn this man is complicit, they are allowing their "big tent" to include genocidal freaks who want to exterminate parts of their "tent"

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 goal was never “children should learn about this from their parents.” It was always “children should only learn it’s bad”

In an incredible move, Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Alberta, Canada has announced a gender-affirming care clinic for trans youth, asserting tribal sovereignty and defying the region's ban. It is one of the biggest cross-movement solidarity moments in Canada. Subscribe to support our journalism.

Here we go… Talarico says “I oppose trans athletes playing in girls sports if it endangers safety or fairness.” It doesn’t, but Talarico is begging the question: does he believe in trans sports bans?

Wonder how those clinics for youth Mandani was gonna set up are going.

Last night, Seth Moulton became the latest anti-trans Democrat to fall. There is good evidence that his anti-trans positions directly impacted the election - 67% of voters said those positions made them less likely to vote for him. Markey wins in a landslide. Subscribe to support our journalism.

AND ITS CALLED IN THE FIRST FEW MINUTES! Ed Markey, incumbent, beats the anti-trans Democrat Seth Moulton in the primary race for Massachusetts Senate. Congressman Moulton had made targeting trans people part of his repertoire in the immediate aftermath of the 2024 election. He goes down.

7. Erick Detweiler of Progressive Caucus did not mince words: I was forced to abandon hope of rationalizing the original act and recognized it for what it was: intentional targeted suppression of minorities; a preview into a future Acton administration. Drunk with power, unbeholden to the people"

Hey! So, this has gotten worse! I previously shared here that Acton and her campaign were set to meet with the ODP Progressive Caucus leadership on the 28th. That's today, and it was a worst case scenario. (1/?)

In the latest NDAA amendment votes, five Dems crossed party lines to ban Tricare coverage for ttrans care for dependents of military members: H. Cuellar (TX) V. Gonzalez (TX) D. Davis (NC) S. Figures (AL) And Terri Sewell (AL) becomes the newest Dem to do so. Subscribe to support our journalism.

Reading science news nowadays is like “Chinese doctors solve looming existential crisis. American tech firm upgrades Orphan-Smashing machine to generate nudes of the orphans before smashing them.” And then we give 40 trillion dollars to the tech firm

1. In an incredible new landmark review, the Health Council of the Netherlands has declared that gender-affirming care for trans youth works, reducing wait times is "morally urgent," and regret is rare. It is the latest of many Euro countries to advance care. Subscribe to support our journalism.

“Obama was opposed to gay marriage, give it time, don’t seek perfection on trans issues from Dems.” Yeah, but gay marriage was a new right LGBT people were seeking. Sports, bathrooms, and IDs are something trans people have had for decades. Going BACKWARDS Is the opposite of the Obama comparison.

Even if Amy Acton wins, she'll be dealing with a Supermajority R legislature. Republicans will still do what they want. The upside for trans people across the US is low with an Amy Acton victory. The downside, allowing this cancer of using transphobia to win, is WAY worse IMO.

9. That is why, to those who understand the stakes, comments like Acton's likely read as a cancer on the party. And a candidate willing to throw transgender people under the bus to win has seemingly told every other minority exactly what their protection is worth when the polling gets tight.

4. Now we know why. After prodding by Erin In The Morning, the caucus has revealed the answer: the Ohio Democratic Party itself demanded the criticism be removed, effectively barring those within the party from publicly critiquing a major candidate's transphobia.

1. In major news, the Ohio Dem Party has banned the Progressive Caucus from criticizing candidate for Gov. Amy Acton's transphobia. It has now applied more pressure to quiet criticism of anti-trans politics than it has on its own nominee to stop embracing them. Subscribe to support our journalism.

Incredible news. Illinois Governor Pritzker has signed a law removing testosterone HRT from the PDMP program, a program other states can use to access people's prescription records across state lines. It will protect trans people in IL from places like TX. Subscribe to support our journalism.

10. If Mamdani isn't willing to fight and call the administration's bluff, with the resources of New York City at his back, who will?

8. And Mamdani is not powerless here. He has significant power over an 11-hospital, 70+ clinic public health system. He promised $65 million. He has enforcement tools he hasn't touched. This is the largest city in America choosing not to fight.

6. "But shouldn't we accept less than perfect and fight the real enemy?" Here's what worries me most: this sets a precedent far beyond one clinic in Queens. If the most progressive mayor in America voluntarily adopts Trump's age cutoff, what does every hospital board in the country take from that?

I'm working on a story on this as well, but the takeaway out of this is that Mamdani's direct-care clinic will apparently ban trans youth from getting care, will only provide it to adults. This is because of fear of loss of federal funding. This is DIRECTLY the capitulation reason NYU/Sinai gave.

1. There has been a major new federal rule proposed governing ALL federal grants. A federal grant recipient will be deemed ineligible if the recipient advances "gender ideology," or denies that "sex is binary." This includes hospitals, schools, nonprofits. Subscribe to support our journalism.

Really wondering when the New York's state and city Human Rights Law is going to be enforced against these hospitals.

He posted this after voting to defund schools that have any policy whatsoever that "advances concepts" related to gender identity. That includes bathrooms, locker rooms, even possibly having a trans teacher state their pronouns. Shame.

Compare this statement to Becerra saying it is ok to exclude trans people from sports because of “who they are.”

Separately, a spokesperson for the Congressional Equality Caucus declined to comment on three of its members voting for this bill. 🙃

Having gutted the Voting Rights Act, our corrupt, far-right Supreme Court is busy remaking Congress in their image. Your weekly reminder: there's a compelling case for the impeachment and removal of at least two justices.

Thank you all for believing.

9. In the wake of the 2024 election, Democratic strategists at organizations like Third Way and the Searchlight Institute urged candidates to throw transgender people under the bus—to "moderate" on trans issues, to treat us as a political liability. Voters yet again say this is not necessary.

Rich of the New York Times to talk about being anti-science.

1. I've written a few times about Mamdani and what he can do for trans people to uphold his promises. But there are disingenuous people who apparently do not read articles, so I figured I would lay out his power and what other trans journos want him to do here directly and what is in his power.

News from today confirms NYU Langone has still not started care. Mayor Mamdani has yet to push for enforcement of NYC Human rights law against the hospital, which is in his power. He has yet to direct H+H to absorb trans youth patients. He has maintained radio silence.