Moira Birss
@moira.bsky.social
Climate, economic justice & human rights research, advocacy & policy visioning. Senior Fellow w/ @cplusc.bsky.social studying US disaster insurance & global policy. Board co-Chair of @lawgaction.bsky.social. Amo a 🇨🇴. Living on Ohlone land. she/ella/ela.
Pinned
Moira Birss
@moira.bsky.social
· Aug 29
There is a VERY strong reason to think that moving from private to public insurance will lead to political pressure that keeps premiums artificially low and incentivizes building in the riskiest areas. (See federal flood insurance)
The idea that insurance premiums are a good way to mitigate climate risk to housing is a common misconception that, unfortunately, can obscure real solutions to the risks of climate change and perpetuate existing inequities.
Why is that? Well...
1/8
Why is that? Well...
1/8
Reposted by Moira Birss
Here’s my @thenation.com post on the arrest of Don Lemon, Georgia Fort, the violation of the First Amendment, and Trump’s ongoing attempts to change the face of his victims and spark a race war.
The Trump Administration Arrested Don Lemon Like He Was a Fugitive Slave
Lemon’s arrest is not only a clear violation of the First Amendment but a blatant throwback to the Constitution’s long-discarded Fugitive Slave Clause.
www.thenation.com
January 30, 2026 at 8:18 PM
Here’s my @thenation.com post on the arrest of Don Lemon, Georgia Fort, the violation of the First Amendment, and Trump’s ongoing attempts to change the face of his victims and spark a race war.
Now THIS is more like it!
BREAKING: Bernie Sanders is introducing an amendment to cut ICE’s $75 billion funding increase, and to use those funds to restore the federal cuts to health care.
January 30, 2026 at 8:39 PM
Now THIS is more like it!
Senator Schumer's DC office, in case you want to let him know what you think about this: 202-224-6542.
Chuck Schumer just announced demands on DHS to avoid shutdown:
1. End roving patrols, tighten rules on warrants
2. Enforce accountability & unified code of conduct for agents
3. No more masks & require bodycams
There are *already* standards on much of this.
The issue is DHS isn't following them!
1. End roving patrols, tighten rules on warrants
2. Enforce accountability & unified code of conduct for agents
3. No more masks & require bodycams
There are *already* standards on much of this.
The issue is DHS isn't following them!
January 28, 2026 at 11:33 PM
Senator Schumer's DC office, in case you want to let him know what you think about this: 202-224-6542.
Reposted by Moira Birss
“Liam is getting sick because the food they receive is not of good quality ... He has stomach pain, he’s vomiting, he has a fever and he no longer wants to eat.”
Body cameras on ICE/CBP agents are not going to fix this.
Body cameras on ICE/CBP agents are not going to fix this.
5-Year-Old in ICE Detention Is Sick, Says Top School Official
The 5-year-old who was taken by federal agents in Minneapolis is being held behind bars with his father in Texas.
www.huffpost.com
January 28, 2026 at 10:55 PM
“Liam is getting sick because the food they receive is not of good quality ... He has stomach pain, he’s vomiting, he has a fever and he no longer wants to eat.”
Body cameras on ICE/CBP agents are not going to fix this.
Body cameras on ICE/CBP agents are not going to fix this.
Reposted by Moira Birss
Something you won't hear about on national news. Two people killed by Border Patrol in a vehicle chase. Just one example of the everyday violence of the border. maxgranger.substack.com/p/breaking-b...
January 28, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Something you won't hear about on national news. Two people killed by Border Patrol in a vehicle chase. Just one example of the everyday violence of the border. maxgranger.substack.com/p/breaking-b...
This COULD be the way @governor.ca.gov approached conversations in CA about wealth taxes. Instead, he's putting the billionaires first, again.
For all the fearmongering about capital flight from New York City, there’s an exodus few want to talk about: working people.
Sky-high rents and outrageous child care costs are already pushing families out of the city they keep running.
That’s what we have to change.
That’s what we have to change.
January 28, 2026 at 7:07 PM
This COULD be the way @governor.ca.gov approached conversations in CA about wealth taxes. Instead, he's putting the billionaires first, again.
I have a new piece out today describing how the insurance industry's profit motives conflict with our need for protection & outlining the Disaster Insurance for All proposal from @cplusc.bsky.social in #TheRooftop, @futurelandhousing.bsky.social's housing blog.
www.newamerica.org/future-land-...
www.newamerica.org/future-land-...
Disaster Insurance for All: Our Proposal for Reforming Property Insurance
Insurance industry profit motives conflict with our need for protection. Public insurance, coupled with proactive risk reduction, can help.
www.newamerica.org
January 27, 2026 at 6:14 PM
I have a new piece out today describing how the insurance industry's profit motives conflict with our need for protection & outlining the Disaster Insurance for All proposal from @cplusc.bsky.social in #TheRooftop, @futurelandhousing.bsky.social's housing blog.
www.newamerica.org/future-land-...
www.newamerica.org/future-land-...
Reposted by Moira Birss
The whole damn system is guilty as hell, from @lollardfish.bsky.social in today’s print edition of the Strib (and on the facing page, letter after letter excoriating ICE and the businesses that prop it up)
Perry: Abolish ICE? How about DHS altogether.
"We have models for how to structure federal immigration oversight that doesn't rely on an unaccountable masked secret police force running rampant in our streets," David M. Perry writes.
www.startribune.com
January 27, 2026 at 2:42 PM
The whole damn system is guilty as hell, from @lollardfish.bsky.social in today’s print edition of the Strib (and on the facing page, letter after letter excoriating ICE and the businesses that prop it up)
Don't give up on the pressure!
if bovino is out and conservatives are turning on noem then there is a real opportunity to demand that miller resign too.
January 27, 2026 at 1:16 AM
Don't give up on the pressure!
Reposted by Moira Birss
The biggest risk in this moment is something sociologists call “symbolic compliance.”
That’s when an institution that is violating civil rights gives the public just enough symbolic victories that accountability efforts lose steam before there has been any meaningful change.
That’s when an institution that is violating civil rights gives the public just enough symbolic victories that accountability efforts lose steam before there has been any meaningful change.
January 26, 2026 at 11:35 PM
The biggest risk in this moment is something sociologists call “symbolic compliance.”
That’s when an institution that is violating civil rights gives the public just enough symbolic victories that accountability efforts lose steam before there has been any meaningful change.
That’s when an institution that is violating civil rights gives the public just enough symbolic victories that accountability efforts lose steam before there has been any meaningful change.
“It’s only natural that our brains struggle to find logic in what we are seeing. There is a logic, and this logic has a name. It’s called state terror.”
This piece by M. Gessen should have been co-signed by the entire NYT editorial board. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/o...
Opinion | State Terror Has Arrived
www.nytimes.com
January 25, 2026 at 1:45 AM
“It’s only natural that our brains struggle to find logic in what we are seeing. There is a logic, and this logic has a name. It’s called state terror.”
Reposted by Moira Birss
We are observers, not protestors. We show up to document and film the atrocities ICE is committing. Using 5 year olds as bait. Kidnapping senior citizens. Breaking down doors without warrants. Murdering poets and nurses. Media has all of that information because *observers* were there to document it
January 25, 2026 at 12:20 AM
We are observers, not protestors. We show up to document and film the atrocities ICE is committing. Using 5 year olds as bait. Kidnapping senior citizens. Breaking down doors without warrants. Murdering poets and nurses. Media has all of that information because *observers* were there to document it
Hard to believe one could be excited for an insurance commissioner race, but with a candidate like Jane Kim -- a proven champion for working people -- I'm pretty darn excited.
youtu.be/VdaRc61cYfk
youtu.be/VdaRc61cYfk
Jane Kim for California Insurance Commissioner
YouTube video by Jane Kim
youtu.be
January 22, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Hard to believe one could be excited for an insurance commissioner race, but with a candidate like Jane Kim -- a proven champion for working people -- I'm pretty darn excited.
youtu.be/VdaRc61cYfk
youtu.be/VdaRc61cYfk
Reposted by Moira Birss
next reporter who interviews stephen miller should ask him point blank if his goal in minneapolis is to kill more americans
January 17, 2026 at 2:18 AM
next reporter who interviews stephen miller should ask him point blank if his goal in minneapolis is to kill more americans
I'm thrilled to share this episode of the @obi-belonging.bsky.social's Real Solutions podcast, in which Sierra Kos of @weathersurvivors.bsky.social & I discuss climate-related disasters & solutions to increase community resilience & household financial safety nets. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...
Disaster Insurance & Community Resilience
Podcast Episode · Real Solutions · 01/14/2026 · 1h 3m
podcasts.apple.com
January 14, 2026 at 6:14 PM
I'm thrilled to share this episode of the @obi-belonging.bsky.social's Real Solutions podcast, in which Sierra Kos of @weathersurvivors.bsky.social & I discuss climate-related disasters & solutions to increase community resilience & household financial safety nets. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...
Reposted by Moira Birss
I know people on Bsky know this but I hope it filters out: The feds are OCCUPYING the Twin Cities. This is a blockade, a siege. They are shutting down economic and civic activity. They are conducting "papers please" stops. They are criminalizing being a bystander/witness.
You could be next.
You could be next.
January 14, 2026 at 4:25 PM
I know people on Bsky know this but I hope it filters out: The feds are OCCUPYING the Twin Cities. This is a blockade, a siege. They are shutting down economic and civic activity. They are conducting "papers please" stops. They are criminalizing being a bystander/witness.
You could be next.
You could be next.
Holy shit
I really want ppl w/o Minneapolis connections to understand
You might've heard that Mpls public schools went hybrid bc so many families are in hiding. Well, a coworker just told me that today, during his kid's hybrid class, a kid's apt building was raided onscreen
*Everyone has stories like this*
You might've heard that Mpls public schools went hybrid bc so many families are in hiding. Well, a coworker just told me that today, during his kid's hybrid class, a kid's apt building was raided onscreen
*Everyone has stories like this*
January 13, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Holy shit
Reposted by Moira Birss
These fucking politicians need to STOP CONSTANTLY admonishing protestors to be "peaceful" while they are being brutalized regularly by the gatekeepers of the state. You should be up there telling ICE and Border Patrol to be fucking peaceful.
January 8, 2026 at 5:51 PM
These fucking politicians need to STOP CONSTANTLY admonishing protestors to be "peaceful" while they are being brutalized regularly by the gatekeepers of the state. You should be up there telling ICE and Border Patrol to be fucking peaceful.
Thinking about LA today, 1 year from the #LAfires. As a colleague and I wrote shortly afterwards, "only in the aftermath of these fires that their true toll will emerge..."
jacobin.com/2025/01/la-f...
jacobin.com/2025/01/la-f...
The Fire Next Time
Almost 60 years ago, Joan Didion wrote that “the city burning is Los Angeles’s deepest image of itself.” Since then, insurance companies and developers have prioritized short-term profits over housing...
jacobin.com
January 7, 2026 at 6:39 PM
Thinking about LA today, 1 year from the #LAfires. As a colleague and I wrote shortly afterwards, "only in the aftermath of these fires that their true toll will emerge..."
jacobin.com/2025/01/la-f...
jacobin.com/2025/01/la-f...
Reposted by Moira Birss
Solidarity with all of my friends and comrades in MN. My deep condolences to the loved ones of the person who was murdered.
January 7, 2026 at 6:20 PM
Solidarity with all of my friends and comrades in MN. My deep condolences to the loved ones of the person who was murdered.
If you doubted the existence of a constitutional crisis in the US, this should clear up any doubts.
Precedents like this render him immune from future gov’t shutdowns. He doesn’t need the legislature’s funds if he can create massive slush funds for himself by looting foreign nations and extorting US companies. He’s achieving escape velocity from our system & Congress is just watching.
Trump: “I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America. This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President”
January 7, 2026 at 1:09 AM
If you doubted the existence of a constitutional crisis in the US, this should clear up any doubts.
Reposted by Moira Birss
It seems basic and yet
"It is the Venezuelan people who should decide how Venezuela is governed, and by whom. Not the United States. Not a dictatorship. And certainly not some chimera of the two."
New from @patrickiber.bsky.social: dissentmagazine.org/online_artic...
New from @patrickiber.bsky.social: dissentmagazine.org/online_artic...
The Trump Doctrine - Dissent Magazine
For years, Venezuelans have been trapped between two rogue states, with many reduced to hoping that one could solve the problem of the other. But it is the Venezuelan people who should decide how Vene...
dissentmagazine.org
January 5, 2026 at 8:51 PM
It seems basic and yet
Definitely going to contact my Alameda County supervisor about this!
Under pressure from immigrants' rights advocates, San Francisco quit a sensitive data-sharing program with ICE.
But neighboring Alameda County, home to Oakland and Berkeley, remained in the program.
But neighboring Alameda County, home to Oakland and Berkeley, remained in the program.
This Bay Area County Says It Cut Ties with ICE. This Program Says Otherwise.
A widespread data-sharing program highlights financial ties between local police and immigration enforcement—and how even sanctuary jurisdictions still feed “the deportation machine.”
boltsmag.org
December 24, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Definitely going to contact my Alameda County supervisor about this!
In Colombia a few decades ago, when rates of political violence were extremely high, judges heard cases anonymously. This helped protect them and their families, but also has consequences for accountability (see, eg., the impact of “Kavanaugh Stops”).
“A Trump-appointed judge who faced death threats after a high-profile ruling against the Trump administration also told NBC News he was worried more about his family than himself. His wife was overseas at the time of the threats, which added to his unease…” www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...
Judges who ruled against Trump say harassment and threats have changed their lives
More than 100 pizzas were delivered to the homes of judges and their families this year, some with signs of foreign involvement. Judges say the message is clear: We know where you live.
www.nbcnews.com
December 23, 2025 at 10:21 PM
In Colombia a few decades ago, when rates of political violence were extremely high, judges heard cases anonymously. This helped protect them and their families, but also has consequences for accountability (see, eg., the impact of “Kavanaugh Stops”).
Incredible irony here.
During its worst drought in a century, Iraq signs a water security for oil deal with Turkey. The once rich Tigris & Euphrates rivers are drying up from climate change & mismanagement, leading to crop losses & a water crisis. edition.cnn.com/2025/12/21/c...
Grappling with its worst drought in a century, Iraq bets on a controversial oil-for-water deal | CNN
The historic “land between two rivers” faces a crisis as the Tigris and Euphrates shrink dramatically amid severe drought and the increasing toll of upstream dams, helping create the country’s worst w...
edition.cnn.com
December 23, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Incredible irony here.