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Ziggy West

@ziggywest.bsky.social

7.2K followers 160 following 65 posts

Executive Director at Truthout. Board co-chair at The Real News Network. Father, friend, failed poet. Starter packs: Truthout folks: https://go.bsky.app/9WsnfPT Movement Media Alliance: go.bsky.app/VYgy1uG

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Reposted by Ziggy West

Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · Jun 1

Must-read piece on "End Times Schooling" by @jessehagopian.bsky.social who has done so much to unleash the liberatory power of education.

Jesse Hagopian @jessehagopian.bsky.social · May 28

🌱 My new piece for @truthout.bsky.social is on combating the rise of “end times schooling.”

It’s inspired by @naomiaklein.bsky.social & @astra.bsky.social’s framing of “end times fascism.”

Social justice unionism & teaching truth are our best defense—join the struggle!
truthout.org/articles/eli...

Elites Want to Turn Schools Into Factories of Hopelessness. We Can’t Let Them.

“End times schooling” risks turning schools into graveyards for hope — but they can also be greenhouses for resistance.

Reposted by Ziggy West

Truthout @truthout.org · Mar 19

Dear Truthout Community, there are only 2 months until the deadline for submissions to the fifth annual Keeley Schenwar Memorial Essay Prize: May 20, 2025. Please share with writers who are incarcerated or formerly incarcerated.

Keeley Schenwar Memorial Essay Prize

The annual prize is awarded to two writers who are currently or formerly incarcerated.

Ziggy West @ziggywest.bsky.social · Mar 17

"As protests and support efforts for Khalil continue, we should all uplift demands for his freedom."

They Came for Mahmoud Khalil in the Night, and They Will Come for Us, Too

We must treat attacks on our communities as an effort to silence every voice of dissent, because those are the stakes.

Ziggy West @ziggywest.bsky.social · Mar 6

Since the Supreme Court’s decision, health care providers in Idaho have been able to perform emergency abortions as the lawsuit progressed through the courts. However, Politico reports that such care may be in jeopardy now that the Trump administration is moving to dismiss the case.

Trump’s DOJ Moves to Dismiss Idaho Emergency Abortion Case

Dismissing the case “will leave the health and lives of pregnant Idahoans hanging in the balance,” said an ACLU officer.

Ziggy West @ziggywest.bsky.social · Feb 13

“Trump’s order will … prevent transgender and intersex people from obtaining new passports, visas, and trusted traveler documents that reflect who they are and how they are perceived in the world.”

Leaked Memo Details How Intrusive Anti-Trans Passport Policy Will Be Implemented

“These rules make it more difficult for transgender people to obtain a passport,” said researcher Allison Chapman.

Reposted by Ziggy West

David Palumbo-Liu @palumboliu.bsky.social · Feb 9

Can’t say this enough. Alternative media are really stepping up to fill the void left by mainstream media. They need all the support we can give them. Explore on your own, follow BlueSky accounts that post useful content, share and comment widely.

Reposted by Ziggy West

Maya Schenwar @mayaschenwar.bsky.social · Feb 6

Submissions open today for the Keeley Schenwar Memorial Essay Prize. This prize uplifts the work of writers who are currently & formerly incarcerated.
truthout.org/articles/kee...
Spread the word!

The prize honors my sister, who died five years ago after many years in and out of incarceration. 💔

Keeley Schenwar Memorial Essay Prize

The annual prize is awarded to two writers who are currently or formerly incarcerated.

Ziggy West @ziggywest.bsky.social · Feb 6

On Tuesday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the White House from transferring three transgender women to men’s prisons and denying them gender-affirming health care in compliance with President Donald Trump’s recent executive order.

Federal Court Blocks Transfer of 3 Trans Women to Men’s Prisons Following Trump Order

Trans people face a heightened risk of violence when confined in prison facilities that don’t align with their gender.

Reposted by Ziggy West

Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · Jan 31

My latest reprinted in @truthout.org. “For those of us who care deeply about trans children and trans communities, it’s important to stay focused on what the moment demands of us.”

We Aren’t Powerless in the Face of Trump’s Outrageous, Anti-Trans Edicts

We can’t prevent all of this administration’s harms, but we can greatly diminish their impacts if we organize.

Reposted by Ziggy West

Negin Owliaei @neginowl.bsky.social · Jan 31

Very flattered to be included among such good company in this episode! Here's our discussion of media capitulation under Trump: www.projectcensored.org/economic-pil...

Reposted by Ziggy West

Truthout @truthout.org · Jan 29

The Trump administration’s Department of Education has launched an investigation into Denver Public Schools after students at a school implemented an all-gender multi-stall restroom.

Denver Schools Face Federal Inquiry Over All-Gender Restroom

“I hope that DPS and other schools fight back for their students,” said Z Williams, a trans activist in Denver.

Ziggy West @ziggywest.bsky.social · Jan 25

That shit ain't Star Trek.

Reposted by Ziggy West

David Palumbo-Liu @palumboliu.bsky.social · Jan 24

To begin with, this is terrible. But second, and I cannot emphasize this enough, please support credible and proven alternate media.

Truthout @truthout.org · Jan 24

A well-liked weather anchor in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has been fired for making a post on her personal social media account condemning Elon Musk for making a hand gesture that many observers have said appeared to be a Nazi salute.

Milwaukee Television Meteorologist Fired for Calling Elon Musk’s Gesture a “Nazi Salute”

Musk has promoted antisemitic and white nationalist content online, and has endorsed a neo-Nazi party in Germany.

Reposted by Ziggy West

Truthout @truthout.org · Jan 20

Trump and Melania launched crypto coins days before reentering the White House, making billions and opening a portal to untraceable payoffs from corporate and foreign actors.

Trump Launches Ethically Murky Crypto Coin Days Before Entering Office

By Monday afternoon, the $TRUMP coin was worth around $53 per individual share.

Reposted by Ziggy West

Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · Jan 20

A crucial read from @truthout.org: "With these choices, corporate media outlets make a rightward societal shift appear inevitable. Movement media’s role is to resist that tendency, and offer an alternative. We have a responsibility to remind people of what we have lost, and what we could still win."

A Call to Media Organizations: Don’t Back Down in the Face of Trump’s Threats

Trump’s attacks on press freedom aren’t separate from his attacks on oppressed communities. We must resist them all.

Reposted by Ziggy West

Negin Owliaei @neginowl.bsky.social · Jan 20

Media organizations can't capitulate to a second Trump administration.

@mayaschenwar.bsky.social, @ziggywest.bsky.social and I wrote for @truthout about how journalism needs to be grounded in accountability and solidarity more urgently than ever.

A Call to Media Organizations: Don’t Back Down in the Face of Trump’s Threats

Trump’s attacks on press freedom aren’t separate from his attacks on oppressed communities. We must resist them all.

Reposted by Ziggy West

Maya Schenwar @mayaschenwar.bsky.social · Jan 20

Media organizations must refuse to acquiesce to fascism's demands.

I co-wrote this op-ed with @neginowl.bsky.social & @ziggywest.bsky.social about how those of us in media must ground our journalism in accountability and solidarity.

truthout.org/articles/a-c...

A Call to Media Organizations: Don’t Back Down in the Face of Trump’s Threats

Trump’s attacks on press freedom aren’t separate from his attacks on oppressed communities. We must resist them all.

Ziggy West @ziggywest.bsky.social · Jan 20

Definitely have that we all died during Y2K and we're about to enter the 8th circle of hell feeling this morning.

Reposted by Ziggy West

sharon zhang @sharonzhang.bsky.social · Jan 15

Gaza Ceasefire Deal Announced After 466 Days of Genocide and 46,000 Dead truthout.org/articles/gaz...

Gaza Ceasefire Deal Announced After 466 Days of Genocide and 46,000 Dead

The deal is slated to begin on Sunday, Qatar’s prime minister said, beginning with a 6-week cessation of hostilities.

Reposted by Ziggy West

Negin Owliaei @neginowl.bsky.social · Jan 15

"For the first time, after a year of longing, I’ll stand by my mother’s and grandmother’s graves. I’ll tell them how deeply I’ve missed them and how much I wished they were still with us, knowing how desperately they had waited for this moment." -- Shahad Ali writing for us in @truthout.org today

In Gaza, Ceasefire Will Be a Chance to Finally Breathe

No longer fearing constant bombing, I can begin to mourn all I have lost in Gaza.

Reposted by Ziggy West

Truthout @truthout.org · Jan 15

When the ceasefire was announced we took in collective sighs of relief and grief. Although the violence of occupation may not be over, we are looking back over the past 466 days of genocide and mourning those who were killed, the fellow journalists targeted, the medics who died saving others.

Explore Truthout’s coverage of Palestine with uncompromised news, analysis, and interviews.

Reposted by Ziggy West

Truthout @truthout.org · Jan 7

We might have just rung in a new year, but it feels like an epidemiological Groundhog Day.

Big Agriculture Is Leading Us Into the Bird Flu Abyss

The federal government’s deference to agriculture industry interests has put the US at risk of a public health crisis.

Reposted by Ziggy West

Nina Turner @ninaturner.bsky.social · Jan 7

Instead of trying to buy Greenland, which Denmark has repeatedly said is not for sale, maybe our elected officials could pass universal healthcare, which Americans overwhelmingly support.

Just a thought.

Reposted by Ziggy West

Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · Jan 5

My colleague @samculture.bsky.social wrote this piece, and I had to reach out and tell her that this article made me want to see Wicked when I hadn't previously planned to.

Ziggy West @ziggywest.bsky.social · Jan 6

“We strongly condemn the Biden administration for its unbelievable and criminal decision to send another $8 billion worth of American weapons to the government of indicted war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu instead of using American leverage to force an end to the genocide in Gaza."

Biden Approves Another $8 Billion Arms Sale to Israel as Genocide Continues

The president has used his final days in office to guarantee the continuation of Israel’s genocidal assault in Gaza.