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
So Bree hinted at this story a few days ago, but I want to circle back now that I have permission to share it.
WHISTLES OUT: A WHISTLE CREW MYSTERY
WHISTLES OUT: A WHISTLE CREW MYSTERY
and the lady in our inbox who caused us to go into a Whistles Out: a Benoit Blanc Mystery spiral for half the day because she had rallied so many people to request whistles to the same town that we thought it was a scam, but no she just convinced like 700 people to mobilize and we love her so much
February 19, 2026 at 2:37 AM
So Bree hinted at this story a few days ago, but I want to circle back now that I have permission to share it.
WHISTLES OUT: A WHISTLE CREW MYSTERY
WHISTLES OUT: A WHISTLE CREW MYSTERY
Reposted by polerin
Biden ran on believing science, and then he told us we could stop masking after we were vaxed, not because the science supported it, but because capitalism demanded it.
So liberals stopped masking and those conservatives who had masked no longer felt the social pressure to do so.
So liberals stopped masking and those conservatives who had masked no longer felt the social pressure to do so.
February 19, 2026 at 12:46 AM
Biden ran on believing science, and then he told us we could stop masking after we were vaxed, not because the science supported it, but because capitalism demanded it.
So liberals stopped masking and those conservatives who had masked no longer felt the social pressure to do so.
So liberals stopped masking and those conservatives who had masked no longer felt the social pressure to do so.
Reposted by polerin
Maybe the Democrats were right, maybe a robust support for COVID mitigations would have cost them the 2020 election.
Or maybe it would have moved the needle in favor of public health efforts, scientific findings, and support for vulnerable community members.
They didn't try so we'll never know.
Or maybe it would have moved the needle in favor of public health efforts, scientific findings, and support for vulnerable community members.
They didn't try so we'll never know.
February 19, 2026 at 12:46 AM
Maybe the Democrats were right, maybe a robust support for COVID mitigations would have cost them the 2020 election.
Or maybe it would have moved the needle in favor of public health efforts, scientific findings, and support for vulnerable community members.
They didn't try so we'll never know.
Or maybe it would have moved the needle in favor of public health efforts, scientific findings, and support for vulnerable community members.
They didn't try so we'll never know.
Reposted by polerin
An update on Minnesota:
ICE is still here. They've just moved to the suburbs where they're less likely to be noticed while they continue to commit abhorrent kidnappings.
We are adapting our patrols to continue trying to keep our neighbors safe.
ICE is still here. They've just moved to the suburbs where they're less likely to be noticed while they continue to commit abhorrent kidnappings.
We are adapting our patrols to continue trying to keep our neighbors safe.
Two female ICE agents popped the hood of their car and knocked on the door of a mechanic born in Mexico. He went out to help.
“A bunch of agents jump out and tackle him, essentially restraining him, and take him away...His six kids are now without their father." www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
“A bunch of agents jump out and tackle him, essentially restraining him, and take him away...His six kids are now without their father." www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
ICE drawdown? Indications point to steady enforcement activity outside the Twin Cities
Some people who observe ICE activity are skeptical about a large scale drawdown of agents in the state. There are indications that activity has decreased in the Twin Cities, but has continued outside ...
www.mprnews.org
February 19, 2026 at 3:44 AM
An update on Minnesota:
ICE is still here. They've just moved to the suburbs where they're less likely to be noticed while they continue to commit abhorrent kidnappings.
We are adapting our patrols to continue trying to keep our neighbors safe.
ICE is still here. They've just moved to the suburbs where they're less likely to be noticed while they continue to commit abhorrent kidnappings.
We are adapting our patrols to continue trying to keep our neighbors safe.
Reposted by polerin
not to mention puberty blocker implants are considered a "procedure" or "surgery" by some. these policies always have a way larger impact than you might think!
February 19, 2026 at 4:04 AM
not to mention puberty blocker implants are considered a "procedure" or "surgery" by some. these policies always have a way larger impact than you might think!
Reposted by polerin
we aren't getting out of this by leaving anyone behind. fascists will claim we are forcibly injecting toddlers with estrogen no matter how much ground we cede them. give them nothing.
February 19, 2026 at 4:02 AM
we aren't getting out of this by leaving anyone behind. fascists will claim we are forcibly injecting toddlers with estrogen no matter how much ground we cede them. give them nothing.
Reposted by polerin
same thing for gender surgeries for youth tbh. it's rare, but life saving when it's needed for transmascs who are suffering health issues from binder usage
Ngl as a former "college trans athlete" its so fucking tiring to hear other queer people saying shit like "who even cares about sports anyway" MOTHERFUCKER THAT WAS PAYING FOR MY COLLEGE
February 19, 2026 at 4:01 AM
same thing for gender surgeries for youth tbh. it's rare, but life saving when it's needed for transmascs who are suffering health issues from binder usage
Reposted by polerin
I just did the dumbest thing of my entire career to prove a much more serious point.
I tricked ChatGPT and Google, and made them tell other users I’m a competitive hot-dog-eating world champion
People are using this trick on a massive scale to make AI tell you lies. I’ll explain how I did it
I tricked ChatGPT and Google, and made them tell other users I’m a competitive hot-dog-eating world champion
People are using this trick on a massive scale to make AI tell you lies. I’ll explain how I did it
February 18, 2026 at 4:37 PM
I just did the dumbest thing of my entire career to prove a much more serious point.
I tricked ChatGPT and Google, and made them tell other users I’m a competitive hot-dog-eating world champion
People are using this trick on a massive scale to make AI tell you lies. I’ll explain how I did it
I tricked ChatGPT and Google, and made them tell other users I’m a competitive hot-dog-eating world champion
People are using this trick on a massive scale to make AI tell you lies. I’ll explain how I did it
Reposted by polerin
He's lying.
This man is who taught me how billionaires will look right through you as if you don't exist, even when you work for them.
I was radicalized against billionaires by this man.
This man is who taught me how billionaires will look right through you as if you don't exist, even when you work for them.
I was radicalized against billionaires by this man.
Billionaire Lex Wexner tells lawmakers he was 'naive' and 'conned' by Epstein
Billionaire Lex Wexner tells lawmakers he was 'naive' and 'conned' by Epstein
Testifying before Congress, the former CEO of Victoria's Secret lingerie brand accused Epstein of stealing "vast sums" of money from his family.
www.bbc.com
February 18, 2026 at 9:23 PM
He's lying.
This man is who taught me how billionaires will look right through you as if you don't exist, even when you work for them.
I was radicalized against billionaires by this man.
This man is who taught me how billionaires will look right through you as if you don't exist, even when you work for them.
I was radicalized against billionaires by this man.
Reposted by polerin
correct. Those days are DONE.
telling library people to 'be patient' like we're not told that every single moment of every single budget cycle at every single level........
February 18, 2026 at 9:24 PM
correct. Those days are DONE.
Reposted by polerin
the overseer of project 2025 is telling you out loud that every inch you cede on trans rights is part of the plan to create a white christian fascist state
Kevin Roberts, President of The Heritage Foundation, claims that evidence suggests a correlation between undergoing Trans Medical Care and acts of violence.
He states Heritage's public policy solution is to ban it for all ages and they're willing to work towards this goal on an incremental basis.
He states Heritage's public policy solution is to ban it for all ages and they're willing to work towards this goal on an incremental basis.
February 18, 2026 at 9:08 AM
the overseer of project 2025 is telling you out loud that every inch you cede on trans rights is part of the plan to create a white christian fascist state
Reposted by polerin
This is the kind of thing white supremacists have been doing to Emmett Till’s memorial for decades.
It’s wild to see them do this to a white woman who the entire world saw extrajudicially murdered.
It’s wild to see them do this to a white woman who the entire world saw extrajudicially murdered.
Someone doused Renee Good’s Minneapolis memorial and a nearby pile of wood with gasoline and started a fire at about 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Renee Good memorial site in south Minneapolis doused in gasoline
Damage was minimal but police are investigating.
bit.ly
February 18, 2026 at 5:19 PM
This is the kind of thing white supremacists have been doing to Emmett Till’s memorial for decades.
It’s wild to see them do this to a white woman who the entire world saw extrajudicially murdered.
It’s wild to see them do this to a white woman who the entire world saw extrajudicially murdered.
Reposted by polerin
2026 basically
February 18, 2026 at 4:23 PM
2026 basically
Reposted by polerin
I wrote about Hillary Clinton's words on immigration, the proposed ICE reforms put forward by Schumer and Jeffries, and how, when faced with a vast abomination, not looking the problem in the eye can lead to putting bandaids on the bigger harm while institutionalizing it.
Institutionalizing harm
Small fixes can be dangerous if you entrench the thing you hope to stop.
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
February 18, 2026 at 3:43 AM
I wrote about Hillary Clinton's words on immigration, the proposed ICE reforms put forward by Schumer and Jeffries, and how, when faced with a vast abomination, not looking the problem in the eye can lead to putting bandaids on the bigger harm while institutionalizing it.
Reposted by polerin
There is a world changing technological leap happening right now, and it's happening in green energy, and the right is desperately (and unsuccessfully) trying to stop it. But I guess that doesn't count
every leftist i know is very excited about technology but unfortunately they want tech that improves society and makes people's lives easier and that's harder for wealthy prdophiles to build a trillion dollar industry bubble around
February 18, 2026 at 4:16 PM
There is a world changing technological leap happening right now, and it's happening in green energy, and the right is desperately (and unsuccessfully) trying to stop it. But I guess that doesn't count
Reposted by polerin
The deliberate, systematic strategy of the Trump regime: Seize people indiscriminately, even if they’re going through the system exactly as they are expected to; detain them under brutally inhumane conditions specifically designed to break them - so that they will give up and waive all legal rights.
“I don’t want to be in this place I want to go to my school.”
- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.
Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.
Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
February 18, 2026 at 2:55 PM
The deliberate, systematic strategy of the Trump regime: Seize people indiscriminately, even if they’re going through the system exactly as they are expected to; detain them under brutally inhumane conditions specifically designed to break them - so that they will give up and waive all legal rights.
Reposted by polerin
In what could be the “largest rent strike in the US in the last 100 years," a coalition of tenant + labor unions representing over 25K workers are threatening a mass rent strike in the face of the ongoing occupation by ICE. www.commondreams.org/news/minneso...
Twin Cities Unions Planning ‘Largest US Rent Strike in 100+ Years’ as ICE Occupation Drives Eviction Crisis | Common Dreams
"Tenants in Minnesota are in a crisis," said Minneapolis City Council Member Aisha Chughtai. "The federal invasion forced many of our neighbors to stay home and devastated our local economy."
www.commondreams.org
February 18, 2026 at 4:02 AM
In what could be the “largest rent strike in the US in the last 100 years," a coalition of tenant + labor unions representing over 25K workers are threatening a mass rent strike in the face of the ongoing occupation by ICE. www.commondreams.org/news/minneso...
Reposted by polerin
This is bait for me in particular isn’t it?
The Arts and Crafts movement was in no small part about valuing craftsmanship and the conditions in which something is produced. And it was absolutely RIFE with socialists. So, yes, let’s go 😁
The Arts and Crafts movement was in no small part about valuing craftsmanship and the conditions in which something is produced. And it was absolutely RIFE with socialists. So, yes, let’s go 😁
new video game genre just dropped:
“arts and crafts games”
let’s go!! 😎💃💅🎨🖌️✂️🤘
“arts and crafts games”
let’s go!! 😎💃💅🎨🖌️✂️🤘
February 18, 2026 at 9:38 AM
This is bait for me in particular isn’t it?
The Arts and Crafts movement was in no small part about valuing craftsmanship and the conditions in which something is produced. And it was absolutely RIFE with socialists. So, yes, let’s go 😁
The Arts and Crafts movement was in no small part about valuing craftsmanship and the conditions in which something is produced. And it was absolutely RIFE with socialists. So, yes, let’s go 😁
Reposted by polerin
People talk about this stuff in terms of how much it'll suck for gaming and I hate to inform you how many MRI machines, X-Rays, all sorts of other vital machinery are just a Windows IoT Edition PC in a beige plastic box with a big magnet/accelerator/whatever attached.
WD and Seagate confirm: Hard drives for 2026 sold out
WD and Seagate confirm: Hard drives for 2026 sold out
Hyperscalers are tearing hard drives out of the hands of manufacturers. Prices are therefore also rising for SSDs.
www.heise.de
February 17, 2026 at 9:12 PM
People talk about this stuff in terms of how much it'll suck for gaming and I hate to inform you how many MRI machines, X-Rays, all sorts of other vital machinery are just a Windows IoT Edition PC in a beige plastic box with a big magnet/accelerator/whatever attached.
Reposted by polerin
Like this. "You must strategically abandon the specific issues that the right has rendered toxic & focus on others."
But then ... why wouldn't the right just be able to do the same thing on those other issues?
But then ... why wouldn't the right just be able to do the same thing on those other issues?
February 18, 2026 at 2:45 AM
Like this. "You must strategically abandon the specific issues that the right has rendered toxic & focus on others."
But then ... why wouldn't the right just be able to do the same thing on those other issues?
But then ... why wouldn't the right just be able to do the same thing on those other issues?
Reposted by polerin
They just talk as though the public spontaneously lurched to the right on a few specific issues -- sports, restrooms. And now they just take that as a given, a fact that trans supporters must work around.
But how did that happen? Anyone? It's fucking *bizarre* they never even raise the question.
But how did that happen? Anyone? It's fucking *bizarre* they never even raise the question.
February 18, 2026 at 2:44 AM
They just talk as though the public spontaneously lurched to the right on a few specific issues -- sports, restrooms. And now they just take that as a given, a fact that trans supporters must work around.
But how did that happen? Anyone? It's fucking *bizarre* they never even raise the question.
But how did that happen? Anyone? It's fucking *bizarre* they never even raise the question.
Reposted by polerin
This whole fight over transgender stuff happening on X is so weird to me. The most notable thing about trans issues in the last 5 years has been the enormous, coordinated anti-trans activism campaign across the right, aided by moral cowards in the center.
But that campaign is *never mentioned*.
But that campaign is *never mentioned*.
February 18, 2026 at 2:40 AM
This whole fight over transgender stuff happening on X is so weird to me. The most notable thing about trans issues in the last 5 years has been the enormous, coordinated anti-trans activism campaign across the right, aided by moral cowards in the center.
But that campaign is *never mentioned*.
But that campaign is *never mentioned*.
Reposted by polerin
I've posted a version of the call a couple times on BSky and never gotten the correct response in my replies.
Glad some people remember the old fighting tactics we used to use.
Die-ins on 5th Av are next.
"If we can't live, we can't move.
If we can't move, you can't move."
Glad some people remember the old fighting tactics we used to use.
Die-ins on 5th Av are next.
"If we can't live, we can't move.
If we can't move, you can't move."
WHEN TRANS YOUTH ARE UNDER ATTACK WHAT DO WE DO?
ACT UP FIGHT BACK!
ACT UP FIGHT BACK!
Just in: 50 parents and transgender activists have blockaded the HHS Building in protest of sweeping new rules that could ban trans youth nationwide.
24 were then arrested.
This is the kind of action we need.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
24 were then arrested.
This is the kind of action we need.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
February 18, 2026 at 7:21 AM
I've posted a version of the call a couple times on BSky and never gotten the correct response in my replies.
Glad some people remember the old fighting tactics we used to use.
Die-ins on 5th Av are next.
"If we can't live, we can't move.
If we can't move, you can't move."
Glad some people remember the old fighting tactics we used to use.
Die-ins on 5th Av are next.
"If we can't live, we can't move.
If we can't move, you can't move."
Reposted by polerin
Reposted by polerin
in NYC?
when hospitals end trans youth care programs, it’s time to ask mamdani about his platform:
“…hold private hospital systems denying GAC accountable—hospitals that continue to deny trans youth access to gender affirming care are in violation of NYS Constitution.”
www.nyc.gov/mayors-offic...
when hospitals end trans youth care programs, it’s time to ask mamdani about his platform:
“…hold private hospital systems denying GAC accountable—hospitals that continue to deny trans youth access to gender affirming care are in violation of NYS Constitution.”
www.nyc.gov/mayors-offic...
February 18, 2026 at 6:40 AM
in NYC?
when hospitals end trans youth care programs, it’s time to ask mamdani about his platform:
“…hold private hospital systems denying GAC accountable—hospitals that continue to deny trans youth access to gender affirming care are in violation of NYS Constitution.”
www.nyc.gov/mayors-offic...
when hospitals end trans youth care programs, it’s time to ask mamdani about his platform:
“…hold private hospital systems denying GAC accountable—hospitals that continue to deny trans youth access to gender affirming care are in violation of NYS Constitution.”
www.nyc.gov/mayors-offic...