polerin
@polerin.bsky.social
White trans woman, radical lefty, geek, pro web dev, derbyDerbyDerby. Will eat for food, & rock your face off. Or on. On is good.
Seattle-ish
Seattle-ish
Pinned
polerin
@polerin.bsky.social
· Aug 25
On Friday, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management issued a memo announcing that, beginning in 2026, all federal employee health plans will be barred from covering gender-affirming care for both transgender youth and adults.
Trump Admin Memo Bars Federal Health Plans From Covering Gender-Affirming Care
The memo also mandates that insurers cover “faith-based counseling,” otherwise known as conversion therapy.
truthout.org
I cannot state this strongly enough:
Trans healthcare is literally lifesaving. I would not be here today if it were not a thing.
It is not something that can be put off in a healthy way, it is not a frivolous lark. We exist, and we hurt in ways that most cis people cannot start to understand.
Trans healthcare is literally lifesaving. I would not be here today if it were not a thing.
It is not something that can be put off in a healthy way, it is not a frivolous lark. We exist, and we hurt in ways that most cis people cannot start to understand.
Reposted by polerin
The world's richest man is broadcasting eliminationist rhetoric about a tiny, vulnerable minority, and virtually no one is going to treat it as a scandal. It's just normal now.
February 17, 2026 at 2:18 PM
The world's richest man is broadcasting eliminationist rhetoric about a tiny, vulnerable minority, and virtually no one is going to treat it as a scandal. It's just normal now.
I am so scattered in who and why I follow people that I initially read this as a mork borg reference
February 17, 2026 at 4:29 PM
I am so scattered in who and why I follow people that I initially read this as a mork borg reference
Reposted by polerin
racist right-wing ideology is often laundered through center-left comedy because conservatives dominate news cycles and force everyone to respond to their talking points. it puts democrats on the defensive and lends permission to comedians to be racist
February 17, 2026 at 4:04 PM
racist right-wing ideology is often laundered through center-left comedy because conservatives dominate news cycles and force everyone to respond to their talking points. it puts democrats on the defensive and lends permission to comedians to be racist
Reposted by polerin
This is awesome. University of California employees — Your retirement is invested with the private equity firm that owns ICE’s charter airline for Africa and Asia deportations. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
I moved my money! A @uofcalifornia.bsky.social faculty initiative to divest our retirement savings from state violence, war, fossil fuels is up and running. It's simple: 1) open your retirement portfolio, 2) move your money into UC's Social Equity Fund!
Learn more here: www.ucmoveyourmoney.org/home
Learn more here: www.ucmoveyourmoney.org/home
February 16, 2026 at 11:36 PM
This is awesome. University of California employees — Your retirement is invested with the private equity firm that owns ICE’s charter airline for Africa and Asia deportations. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by polerin
jesse jackson was constantly played as a punchline on 90s late-night TV to the point that i didn't understand his history of activism and serious left-leaning political platform until i was much older. i have to think, to some degree, that was on purpose.
February 17, 2026 at 3:40 PM
jesse jackson was constantly played as a punchline on 90s late-night TV to the point that i didn't understand his history of activism and serious left-leaning political platform until i was much older. i have to think, to some degree, that was on purpose.
Reposted by polerin
Damn
The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, a protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after the revered leader’s assassination, died Tuesday. He was 84.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, Chicago Organizer Who Led the Civil Rights Movement for Decades After King, Has Died at 84
The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson led a lifetime of crusades in the United States and abroad, advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues from voting rights and job opportunities to education and h...
news.wttw.com
February 17, 2026 at 3:44 PM
Damn
Reposted by polerin
its amazing how chatgpt knows everything about subjects I know nothing about, but is wrong like 40% of the time in things im an expert on. not going to think about this any further
March 8, 2025 at 12:13 AM
its amazing how chatgpt knows everything about subjects I know nothing about, but is wrong like 40% of the time in things im an expert on. not going to think about this any further
Reposted by polerin
This is actually fucking vile
Like it’s not just stupid or offensive, it is appalling behavior on so many levels and should be professionally disqualifying
Like it’s not just stupid or offensive, it is appalling behavior on so many levels and should be professionally disqualifying
Have you ever once seen the New York Times quote Trump like this?
February 17, 2026 at 6:16 AM
This is actually fucking vile
Like it’s not just stupid or offensive, it is appalling behavior on so many levels and should be professionally disqualifying
Like it’s not just stupid or offensive, it is appalling behavior on so many levels and should be professionally disqualifying
Reposted by polerin
I’d love to get every single Democrat on board with “abolish ICE and dismantle DHS” but you’re going to need some votes from folks who don’t want to embrace that particular rhetoric and good news “there’s just too much corruption we’ve got to dismantle it to solve the problem” is sitting right there
gotta do investigations into DHS “waste, fraud and abuse” as pretext for killing the agency
The interior of Kristi Noem’s new billionaire-class luxury jet is complete with two bidets and a wet bar with a wine chiller. It will be purchased on our dime from the slush fund Congress approved in the One Big Beautiful Bill.
open.substack.com/pub/newsnotn...
open.substack.com/pub/newsnotn...
February 17, 2026 at 4:48 AM
I’d love to get every single Democrat on board with “abolish ICE and dismantle DHS” but you’re going to need some votes from folks who don’t want to embrace that particular rhetoric and good news “there’s just too much corruption we’ve got to dismantle it to solve the problem” is sitting right there
I don't cry at dance often. I love watching it, I appreciate it and the artistry and the physical accomplishment... but it is usually enjoyment.
I am sorta sobbing right now.
I am sorta sobbing right now.
February 17, 2026 at 6:27 AM
I don't cry at dance often. I love watching it, I appreciate it and the artistry and the physical accomplishment... but it is usually enjoyment.
I am sorta sobbing right now.
I am sorta sobbing right now.
the second screenshot is explicitly threatening to have people's kids taken away.
this is evil.
this is evil.
The LAPD is citing truancy laws in an attempt to squash the ongoing school walkouts against ICE. The LAPD is also threatening to arrest any parents or adults who support the kids in their acts of civil disobedience.
February 17, 2026 at 6:23 AM
the second screenshot is explicitly threatening to have people's kids taken away.
this is evil.
this is evil.
Reposted by polerin
I know this makes me an extremist but I think our baby concentration camps should be abolished.
‘His life is in danger,’ U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said about newborn Juan Nicolás. The child fell ill after spending almost a month — or half his life — in a San Antonio-area family detention facility.
Two-month-old baby 'choking on his own vomit' while detained in Dilley
'His life is in danger,' U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said about newborn Juan Nicolás. The child fell ill after spending almost a month — or half his life — in a San Antonio-area family detention facility...
www.sacurrent.com
February 17, 2026 at 4:11 AM
I know this makes me an extremist but I think our baby concentration camps should be abolished.
Reposted by polerin
Struggling with feeling helpless? Want to fix something, but not sure where to start?
Here's a thing you can do RIGHT NOW: Help me get the arts and crafts room up and running again at a shelter for women with mental health and substance-use diagnoses:
www.thingstogetme.com/2169641a9c163
Here's a thing you can do RIGHT NOW: Help me get the arts and crafts room up and running again at a shelter for women with mental health and substance-use diagnoses:
www.thingstogetme.com/2169641a9c163
Craft Supplies for Park Slope Women's Shelter
The Park Slope Women's Shelter serves unhoused women with mental health and/or substance-use disorder diagnoses in NYC.
Due to an incident this past year, the shelter is attempting to rebuild and re...
www.thingstogetme.com
February 16, 2026 at 9:54 PM
Struggling with feeling helpless? Want to fix something, but not sure where to start?
Here's a thing you can do RIGHT NOW: Help me get the arts and crafts room up and running again at a shelter for women with mental health and substance-use diagnoses:
www.thingstogetme.com/2169641a9c163
Here's a thing you can do RIGHT NOW: Help me get the arts and crafts room up and running again at a shelter for women with mental health and substance-use diagnoses:
www.thingstogetme.com/2169641a9c163
Reposted by polerin
an aggressive ant colony reduces the Keebler elves to a pile of bones and little outfits, but what sends a wave of deep unease around the world, the true source of fear, is how fast these ants are able to get cookie production ramped back up
February 16, 2026 at 11:50 AM
an aggressive ant colony reduces the Keebler elves to a pile of bones and little outfits, but what sends a wave of deep unease around the world, the true source of fear, is how fast these ants are able to get cookie production ramped back up
Reposted by polerin
Book club scams are now threatening authors who don't fall for their BS. In December, I received an email from Herry Sharp, so-called CEO of "Super Book Lover Curator" praising my novella We Who Hunt Alexanders.
Totally AI-generated and a scam so I didn't respond.
Now Herry is threatening me. 1/
Totally AI-generated and a scam so I didn't respond.
Now Herry is threatening me. 1/
February 16, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Book club scams are now threatening authors who don't fall for their BS. In December, I received an email from Herry Sharp, so-called CEO of "Super Book Lover Curator" praising my novella We Who Hunt Alexanders.
Totally AI-generated and a scam so I didn't respond.
Now Herry is threatening me. 1/
Totally AI-generated and a scam so I didn't respond.
Now Herry is threatening me. 1/
Reposted by polerin
If you've ever met an adult lesbian who has a short haircut and a gender ambiguous name, you will know that queer cisgender kids do not need protecting from haircuts and preferred names.
February 16, 2026 at 2:01 PM
If you've ever met an adult lesbian who has a short haircut and a gender ambiguous name, you will know that queer cisgender kids do not need protecting from haircuts and preferred names.
Reposted by polerin
"if they socially transition too early we think they can get locked onto a trajectory that may not have been the correct natural trajectory for them"
Direct quote.
Direct quote.
February 16, 2026 at 1:51 PM
"if they socially transition too early we think they can get locked onto a trajectory that may not have been the correct natural trajectory for them"
Direct quote.
Direct quote.
Reposted by polerin
Hilary Cass here arguing for children to be prevented from being known by a preferred name or getting a haircut in case it encourages them to continue later in life to transition.
Hilary Cass acts like gender variant children should have the transness hazed out of them.
Hilary Cass acts like gender variant children should have the transness hazed out of them.
February 16, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Hilary Cass here arguing for children to be prevented from being known by a preferred name or getting a haircut in case it encourages them to continue later in life to transition.
Hilary Cass acts like gender variant children should have the transness hazed out of them.
Hilary Cass acts like gender variant children should have the transness hazed out of them.
Reposted by polerin
I've ever been able to get imitation gold foil to adhere nicely to wood. The edges always tear and become ragged.
Anyone got any tips :')?
Anyone got any tips :')?
February 16, 2026 at 5:43 PM
I've ever been able to get imitation gold foil to adhere nicely to wood. The edges always tear and become ragged.
Anyone got any tips :')?
Anyone got any tips :')?
Reposted by polerin
New from me. A years-long battle with Valve's ineffective moderation rumbles on as bigotry and harassment is given persistent passes on Steam. It leads to lengthy, sometimes traumatic, processes to get content that violates Steam's own guidelines removed – if it ever is. In @theguardian.com.
‘This shouldn’t be normal’: developers speak out about bigotry on Steam, the world’s biggest PC gaming storefront
‘This shouldn’t be normal’: developers speak out about bigotry on Steam, the world’s biggest PC gaming storefront
Multiple game creators describe ineffective moderation on the platform, resulting in unchecked hatred in forums and targeted campaigns of negative ‘anti-woke’ reviews
www.theguardian.com
February 16, 2026 at 12:04 PM
New from me. A years-long battle with Valve's ineffective moderation rumbles on as bigotry and harassment is given persistent passes on Steam. It leads to lengthy, sometimes traumatic, processes to get content that violates Steam's own guidelines removed – if it ever is. In @theguardian.com.
Reposted by polerin
it keeps going back and forth between being infuriating and funny how much we study this when the answer is always the same and it never matters
My god do we need UBI
“Researchers have found that when a new plasma center opens in a neighborhood, foot traffic at local grocery stores increases, interest in payday loans declines and crime goes down, an indication of the way money from plasma props up households’ finances for necessities.“
“Researchers have found that when a new plasma center opens in a neighborhood, foot traffic at local grocery stores increases, interest in payday loans declines and crime goes down, an indication of the way money from plasma props up households’ finances for necessities.“
Middle-class Americans are selling their plasma to make ends meet
Last year, people in the U.S. made an estimated $4.7 billion selling their plasma. Donation centers are popping up in middle-class neighborhoods, including suburban strip malls and college towns.
www.nbcnews.com
February 16, 2026 at 4:56 AM
it keeps going back and forth between being infuriating and funny how much we study this when the answer is always the same and it never matters
Reposted by polerin
And ICE has been disappearing American citizens, because their primary criterion on deciding who to approach is how not-white they are
Because legally qualified American voters don't want to be harassed and intimidated by masked gunmen as a condition of going to vote. Is that really hard to understand?
February 16, 2026 at 12:40 AM
And ICE has been disappearing American citizens, because their primary criterion on deciding who to approach is how not-white they are
Reposted by polerin
It's really not extraordinary. It's clear from the Cass review paired with the proposed schools guidance with how she treats social transtion, that she is saying that is like a gateway drug.
The mess up thing she is putting forward is if people stop using correct pronouns etc people won't be trans.
The mess up thing she is putting forward is if people stop using correct pronouns etc people won't be trans.
Utterly extraordinary that Hilary Cass on the BBC this morning said if some young people had "taken more time" they might not have pursued medical treatments, when her own report last year found that children routinely faced multi-year waiting lists for gender services.
February 15, 2026 at 1:29 PM
It's really not extraordinary. It's clear from the Cass review paired with the proposed schools guidance with how she treats social transtion, that she is saying that is like a gateway drug.
The mess up thing she is putting forward is if people stop using correct pronouns etc people won't be trans.
The mess up thing she is putting forward is if people stop using correct pronouns etc people won't be trans.
Reposted by polerin
"Ofelia was heroic and brave in the face of ICE's detention and threatened deportation of her father”…attorney representing Torres, said..”We mourn Ofelia's passing, and we hope that she will serve as a model for us all for how to be courageous and to fight for what's right to our last breaths."
February 15, 2026 at 4:32 AM
"Ofelia was heroic and brave in the face of ICE's detention and threatened deportation of her father”…attorney representing Torres, said..”We mourn Ofelia's passing, and we hope that she will serve as a model for us all for how to be courageous and to fight for what's right to our last breaths."