Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted

Cottagecore Spider Jerusalem @andyeyeballs.bsky.social · 1d

I was asked for a statement for this @nytimes.com story about X gender markers on passports. My statement is: the story of how anti-trans sentiment became so powerful in the United States over the last year is a story for which the New York Times needs to take responsibility.

Airlines Told to Disregard Gender-Neutral ‘X’ on U.S. Passports and Add ‘M’ or ‘F’

www.nytimes.com

1 7 28

Reposted

Katelyn Boo-urns @katelynburns.com · 2d

Hey @edmarkey.bsky.social, my senator. Can you please teach out to Fenway Health and see if you can get them to restore the trans youth care they just ended?

Your words are great and we need your action too.

Liz Saila @lizsaila.bsky.social · 2d

Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) at the Boston No Kings rally today, wore the trans pride flag like a scarf draped over his shoulders and included in his speech. "Because here in Massachusetts, we stand for what is right. We stand with trans people because trans rights are human rights."

Sen. Ed Markey, a white man with white hair, standing at a lectern with a dark background, and Sen Elizabeth Warren to camera right, in a black top with a red blazer. Markey wears a trans pride flag draped over his shoulders. The closed caption reads "trans people because trans righs are human rights. We" The chiron underneath reads "No Kings Rally Underway In Boston"

4 130 710

Reposted

EZRA 🗝 ROSE @sheydgarden.bsky.social · 2d

accompanied a friend to a small rural demonstration today & despite all the flag waving it was nice to see folks get together. this was my last-minute contribution 🖤

a hand-painted sign reading “what are you doing next? try mutual aid and direct action!”

5 99 450

ursusthyrsus.bsky.social @ursusthyrsus.bsky.social · 3d

There is another rally at Fenway Health planned for Monday at 3PM.

@protecttransfutures on IG

Monday October 20at 3
1340 Boylston Street
Betray our youth, betray our community
Fenway has built their reputation and funding based on supporting the trans community.
Fenway voluntarily ended gender affirming care for trans patients under 19 in exchange for federal funding.
MA law protects trans youth, why not Fenway? MIT and Boston Children’s Hospital continue to fight, why won’t Fenway?
We have your back, do you have ours?

38 64

Reposted

Trekkie Bill 🖖🏻 @trekkiebill.bsky.social · 3d

Do not engage. Block and move on.

eva (^_^)/ @eva.computer · 3d

white house has joined bluesky
click here to block all official us government accounts instantly

bsky.app/profile/did:...

3 7 27

Reposted

Evan Greer @evangreer.bsky.social · 4d

No. Stop this. "Advice" like this is just scaring people and any actual radical with organizing experience who has participated in militant actions or used black bloc tactics will tell you this is nonsense.

Stop spreading half-baked advice for Internet clout. Listen to experts & movement elders

She Guevara 🗳💚 @sheg7.bsky.social · 5d

Actual advice for (US) No Kings:

No names, no phones, black clothes you've never worn before, masks, gloves, good shoes, eye protection, water...

Utilise the military guys in your ranks. Give them radios that connect with people flying drones above the rally. Co-ordinate movements accordingly.

19 69 360

Reposted

Anna Phylaxis @quatoria.bsky.social · 4d

Boston - THIS IS TOMORROW!

Let’s get out there and let Fenway Health know how we feel about their cowardly abandonment of one of the most vulnerable trans populations!

Cranky Queer Guide to Chronic Illness @crankyqueer.bsky.social · 4d

2 24 36

Reposted

Borneo Jimmy @borneojimmy.bsky.social · 5d

If you're in the Boston area tomorrow, show up & tell Fenway Community Health how we feel about attacks on the Trans community.
If you don't support them, we don't support you.
And, you can get the fuck out of our city.

9 14

Reposted

Professor Lynx @professorlynx.bsky.social · 6d

I needed this essay. I needed this so badly. It perfectly speaks to not just my issues with the season, but my fears for Star Trek going forward.

I know people think my “Star Trek is very culturally important and we can’t afford to lose it” take is dramatic, but I stand by it now more than ever.

Jessie Gender @jessiegender.bsky.social · 22d

My essay on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 is now up on Patreon! Trek has slid from bold futures into eugenics jokes & nostalgia cosplay right as the franchise is sold in a tech oligarch-funded merger enabling our growing fascist culture.

Early access here: www.patreon.com/jessiegender

2 25 75

ursusthyrsus.bsky.social @ursusthyrsus.bsky.social · 5d

There is a rally at Fenway Health planned for tomorrow (10/17) from 4-6 PM, organized by ACT UP Boston.

Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 6d

I hope someone raises hell at The Fenway Gala.

Sweasel von Trapped in Montresor's Cellars @irritatingly.gay · 6d

They sent me a fundraising email YESTERDAY and then pulled this shit.

1

Reposted

WEATHER IS HAPPENING @weatherishappening.com · 6d

/ THIS STICKER IS NOW AVAILABLE merch.weatherishappening.com
/ SELLING IT BELOW THE ACTUAL COST OF THE STICKER/SHIPPING
/ BUT THERE IS A RULE:
/ THE RULE IS, IF U HAVE XTRA $$$, U *MUST DONATE* 2 1 OF THE TRANS ORGANIZATIONS LINKED 2 IN THE LISTING
/ IF U DONT HAV XTRA $$$ PLS DONT WORRY ABOUT THAT

1 27 58

Reposted

Kendra, scary version @kendrawcandraw.bsky.social · 7d

You can't logic your way out of being burnt out. Unless you're me. Who should be able to do it and it's a personal failing that I can't

53 2.5K 7.6K

Reposted

Gallifreyan Jedi @jediofgallifrey.bsky.social · 6d

the scariest thing about donald trump is the widespread belief that he is The Problem, rather than a symptom of The Problem

14 78 280

Reposted

Anna Phylaxis @quatoria.bsky.social · 7d

What purpose does a Fenway Health that abandons trans youth, and presumably will soon abandon trans adults, even serve?

At that point, you may as well shut the entire clinic down. This is tearing the entire heart out of the organization, sacrificing it's mission and sabotaging it's legacy.

Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 7d

Fenway health in Boston has stopped providing gender affirming care to trans youth.

I was previously on the board of this organization and I've never been so disgusted with their leadership cowardly capitulating like this.

Alt text:
Statement from Fenway Health explaining that due to new federal requirements effective October 1, 2025, they can no longer provide medical gender-affirming care such as hormones and puberty blockers to patients under 19, but all other services for patients of all ages will continue unchanged.

3 12 27

ursusthyrsus.bsky.social @ursusthyrsus.bsky.social · 6d

Same… did not see this coming 🤬

Reposted

kitt kogut @himdianajones.bsky.social · 7d

Let them know what you think.

Gov. Healey: 617-725-4005
AG Campbell: 617-727-2200
Fenway: 617-267-0900

cis Bostonians specifically, we need you to step up. I'm already seeing my local trans circles raise hell about this, but we need you, too. I wrote a phone script. Use it and spread it:

Hello, my name is [name] and I'm a [transgender] constituent living in [City], Massachusetts. I'm calling to bring to Gov. Healey's attention the deeply alarming development coming from Fenway Health, in which they've recently announced they will no longer provide gender affirming healthcare to patients under the age of 19 in order to retain their federally recognized status. This is in utter direct violation of our state constitution, specifically Chapter 127, in which quote, "Access to reproductive health care services and gender-affirming health care services is a right secured by the constitution and laws of the commonwealth. Interference with this right, whether or not under the color of law, is against the public policy of the commonwealth." This is also in contradiction of Boston declaring itself a sanctuary city for transgender people, the resolution which states Boston has, quote, "a specific commitment to protecting transgender and gender-diverse individuals. Taxpayer-funded agencies shall not comply with federal efforts to strip resources that safeguard their rights. Boston will not cooperate with federal or state policies that harm transgender and gender-diverse people and remains committed to ensuring their access to healthcare...without fear or discrimination."

As Massachusetts' first openly gay Governor, I'm aware that this past August Gov. Healey signed updated Shield laws protecting gender affirming healthcare in Massachusetts. Jordina Shanks, the CEO of Fenway Health herself, said these protections are quote, "a landmark victory for health care, human dignity... and that Massachusetts stands as a national beacon of equity and compassion." I am in complete and utter disgust, yet unsurprised, that a leading institution in gender affirming healthcare is capitulating to federal threats that are not law, and acting in direct opposition to the city of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This is a deep betrayal of their transgender patients. I urge Gov. Healey to bring all powers of the state to investigate and reverse this gross over-compliance on the part of Fenway Health.

150 180

Reposted

Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 6d

9. This capitulation will be among the most stinging of any healthcare center in the United States. What happens when they next come for PReP, HIV care, reproductive care, and more?

A line must be drawn, and Fenway should have fought back like other clinics.

3 34 290

Reposted

Grant @gdubbstl.bsky.social · 12d

88 540 3.1K

Reposted

Found Star Trek Episodes @foundepisodes.bsky.social · 12d

If you comment here, PLEASE, remember the rules:

F ollow Star Trek
U nite for a better future
C reate Star Trek memes
K lingons are awesome!
I nfinite Diversity In Infinite Combinations
C offee is the finest organic suspension ever devised
E ngage!

4 31 140

Reposted

tim d (he/him) @timdevin.bsky.social · 13d

given today's political climate, and the fact that so-called Columbus Day is coming up, I thought I would share this passage (from one of my books) about the fascist history of Columbus Day in America

#Fascism #ColumbusDay

Columbus Day
And nothing sums up that hard right shift better than the story of Columbus Day, and story of the Sons of Italy. Let's start with Columbus Day first.
Now, all things Columbus-Columbus Day, Columbus statues-are controversial these days, and rightly so-but in the early days of the Italian colony in Massachusetts, it was just another festival day for one of the many local mutual aid societies. Boston's original
62

—La Gazzetta di Massachusetts, Oct. 9, 1915
Columbus Society (aka la Societa di Mutuo Soccorso "Cristoforo-Colombo") was the second society to form, way back in 1869, and it hosted the first Columbus Day parade in Boston a few years later. It was a small affair, and probably only held significance for members and their families.
But later in the 1800s, Columbus became a national hero for Italian-Americans. Think about it-Italians were discriminated against left and right in their new country-but meanwhile here was this Italian dude that a lot of people thought had discovered the place. What a perfect way to demonstrate to Americans that they should be nicer to Italian immigrants! So, pretty soon, there were mutual aid societies named after Columbus, with their own parades, in Fitchburg, Salem, Lawrence, and Worcester-and all around the country.
By 1903, the Boston Columbus Society had turned its parade into a large event-inviting all of the other Massachusetts Columbus societies to march around Boston with them, and capping it off with a "sumptuous banquet" (as the invitation described it. By the
MUTUO SOCCORSO!
63

1920s, the Boston Columbus Day parade had turned into the most important annual event for the Italian community. Most of the other local mutual aid societies marched in it, local politicians took part, and the whole thing got front-page coverage in La Gazzetta.
Good so far? Well, here's where it gets dark. Italy's new fascist government noticed all the hubbub, and saw an opportunity to spread Italian nationalism, and boost support for Italy
(Remember, Italian-Americans were very generous with their donations to Italy and its war efforts). And so Italian consuls and officials began marching in American Columbus Day parades-including the Boston one. And Italy started hosting its own annual Columbus Day parade in Rome.
After that, it was only a matter of time before Columbus Day became synonymous with Italian nationalism and fascism. In addition to all the Italian flags and dignitaries, Boston's Columbus Society started inviting outright fascists to give speeches, and to march in the parade-which they did, in military-style uniforms, in military formation. Not everyone was happy with this, of course-and pretty quickly, anti-fascists began protesting the events, which led to fighting between the two groups
If that wasn't bad enough, wait til you hear how Columbus Day became a national holiday. In the 1930s, the publisher of New York's influential Italian-language newspaper il Progresso Italo-Americano was a man named Generoso Pope. Pope was a member of both the fascist Lictor Federation and the Fascist League of North America, and was later given the title of Grand Officer of the Crown of Italy by Mussolini for his service to fascism in America. What a prince, right? Around this time, Pope began advocating for Columbus Day to become a national holiday-running articles in his paper, and pressuring his American political connections, including some local politician named Franklin D. Roosevelt. After FDR became President of the US, he declared Columbus Day a national

1 5 11

Reposted

The PS1 startup sound as a lesbian @janus.bsky.social · 14d

i would love nothing more than to wake up in a world where absolutely nobody is talking about trans people.

Parker Molloy @parkermolloy.com · 14d

I get that everyone thinks it's a funny little joke when Trump says nonsense about "trangender for everybody" (because really, wtf does that even mean?), but I gotta say that as a trans person, I find it absolutely fucking insane that he's constantly obsessing over trans people existing. It sucks.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 14d

Trump: "If we didn't win this election. If we had these people that were running that were ruining our country, destroying our country with their open borders and men playing in women's sports and transgender from everybody and windmills all over the place ... I'm not sure we'd even have a country."

1 5 29

Reposted

Gilbert #NewDeal4Animation @discord12395.bsky.social · 18d

This is a warning to every artists and clients using PayPal: Leave the note blank or send invoices. Apparently even saying "commission" makes them trigger happy. #SaveSpeech #StopPaypros

And continue the pressure by calling PayPal. Helpful link here: anti-censorship-campaign.carrd.co#phonescript

@Inker_comics: I JUST GOT FUCKED UP REAL BAD [shared a screenshot of his suspension from PayPal]

@MrQuessos: [quote tweeting @Inker_comics] If you are going to pay an artist via PayPal, please DO NOT include ANYTHING related to commission or nsfw in the payment description. Whether out of ignorance or innocence, you could screw up someone's job.

Mastercard

Phone (US): 1-800-627-8372
1-800-307-7309
US option selection: 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1
Phone (outside US): 1-636-722-7111
Aus: +61 1800 120 113
UK: 0-800-96-4767
All region numbers here (and here )

Stripe

California: 888-926-2289
US: 877-887-7815
France: +33 805-11-19-67

Paypal

Phone (US): 1-888-221-1161
Phone (outside US): 1-402-935-2050
UK: +44 (0203)-901-7000

Visa

Phone (US): 1-800-847-2911
US option selection: 1, 1, 2 or 1, 1, 3
Headquarters: +1 (650)-432-3200
Aus: +61 1800 125 440
Phone (outside US): click here

38 4.7K 4.8K

Reposted

Debt Collective 🟥 @debtcollective.bsky.social · 14d

Now: Debt Collective Raises Hand to Purchase Chunk of Federal Government Student Debt Portfolio

The Debt Collective has purchased billions in household debt over the past decade

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, after a new POLITICO report that the Trump administration is “exploring options to sell off parts of the federal government’s $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio to the private market,” the Debt Collective is announcing its willingness to purchase the entire portfolio for its true market value. The Debt Collective will then subsequently cancel the debt.

7 190 420

Reposted

Ditto & Friends @dittoandfriends.bsky.social · 14d

Nana Visitor as Major Kira Nerys from the Star Trek Deep Space Nine Episode "Duet"

The character is stating that, "Nothing justifies genocide."

25 59

Reposted

T. Thorn Coyle they/them @thorncoyle.bsky.social · 19d

As both a regular Kickstarter Creator and Superbacker, I’ll be contributing to the strike fund.

Workers need protection.

Kickstarter United @kickstarterunited.org · 21d

Kickstarter United has voted to STRIKE! We are fighting for a 32 hour work week, livable wage for all workers, and protections against AI. Our Seattle members are organizing a rally alongside OPEIU 8. Join us on Thursday in Cal Anderson Park! forms.gle/udwphKvnZDVG...

Kickstarter United Seattle Strike Rally
Our union has voted to STRIKE! We are fighting for a 32 hour work, livable wage for all workers, and protections against AI. Join us! Thursday, 10/2 @ 6

1 3 9