Sam
@whogivesafocal.bsky.social
Gaeilgeoir | Scríbhneoir
tacaigh le mo nuachlitir // support my newsletter: https://whogivesafocal.ghost.io/#/portal/
https://linktr.ee/WhoGivesaFocal
tacaigh le mo nuachlitir // support my newsletter: https://whogivesafocal.ghost.io/#/portal/
https://linktr.ee/WhoGivesaFocal
Reposted by Sam
Okay, the crowd going nuts like someone just scored a touchdown at the Super Bowl all *through* the KDH performance is a hell of a thing to see hear/see:
November 27, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Okay, the crowd going nuts like someone just scored a touchdown at the Super Bowl all *through* the KDH performance is a hell of a thing to see hear/see:
Reposted by Sam
The story told here--one where anecdata suggests agency and autonomy have run amok and nameless activists are to blame--certainly rhymes with the NYT's disastrous panic about trans kids. Then you realize it's literally being written by the same author.
Autism rates have increased in recent decades, but the reasons are more complicated than what Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has presented. Hear more on today's episode of "The Daily." nyti.ms/480eqtm
The Autism Diagnosis Problem
Autism rates have increased in recent decades, but the reasons are more complicated than what Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has presented.
nyti.ms
November 24, 2025 at 9:36 PM
The story told here--one where anecdata suggests agency and autonomy have run amok and nameless activists are to blame--certainly rhymes with the NYT's disastrous panic about trans kids. Then you realize it's literally being written by the same author.
Reposted by Sam
They’ll redo the judgeship maps in Arkansas/ Little Rock to make sure there’s never a Black judge again.
NEW: You've heard SCOTUS could soon upend the balance in power in Congress by gutting the VRA. But that'd also be a huge blow to Black voting power in *local* governments.
In west Tennessee, Black residents just won a new county map this year—but those gains now look very fragile.
Great reporting:
In west Tennessee, Black residents just won a new county map this year—but those gains now look very fragile.
Great reporting:
Black Residents in West Tennessee Just Won Fairer Districts. Now Comes SCOTUS. - Bolts
The Supreme Court may further erode the Voting Rights Act in an upcoming decision. Beyond affecting Congress, that would reverberate across local governments nationwide.
boltsmag.org
November 21, 2025 at 6:46 PM
They’ll redo the judgeship maps in Arkansas/ Little Rock to make sure there’s never a Black judge again.
Reposted by Sam
One way I have found to mourn someone is to set up a monthly sustaining donation to a mutual aid effort they cared about. If you can join me in honoring Alice Wong, @sfdirewolf.bsky.social with a sustaining donation today, please do. Thank you Alice, and I will not let the bastards grind me down.
November 15, 2025 at 12:34 PM
One way I have found to mourn someone is to set up a monthly sustaining donation to a mutual aid effort they cared about. If you can join me in honoring Alice Wong, @sfdirewolf.bsky.social with a sustaining donation today, please do. Thank you Alice, and I will not let the bastards grind me down.
Reposted by Sam
I have a very wonderful amazing super mega awesome announcement today: I have accepted an offer to study at the university of Galway this summer! Tá mé ar mhuin na muice. I’m on the pigs back!!! So, while I’m still out of work I’m doing a little subscriber drive for my newsletter Who Gives a Focal
Who Gives a Focal?
tá cúpla focal le rá agam // I have a few words to say
whogivesafocal.ghost.io
November 13, 2025 at 4:25 PM
I have a very wonderful amazing super mega awesome announcement today: I have accepted an offer to study at the university of Galway this summer! Tá mé ar mhuin na muice. I’m on the pigs back!!! So, while I’m still out of work I’m doing a little subscriber drive for my newsletter Who Gives a Focal
I have a very wonderful amazing super mega awesome announcement today: I have accepted an offer to study at the university of Galway this summer! Tá mé ar mhuin na muice. I’m on the pigs back!!! So, while I’m still out of work I’m doing a little subscriber drive for my newsletter Who Gives a Focal
Who Gives a Focal?
tá cúpla focal le rá agam // I have a few words to say
whogivesafocal.ghost.io
November 13, 2025 at 4:25 PM
I have a very wonderful amazing super mega awesome announcement today: I have accepted an offer to study at the university of Galway this summer! Tá mé ar mhuin na muice. I’m on the pigs back!!! So, while I’m still out of work I’m doing a little subscriber drive for my newsletter Who Gives a Focal
Inniu, scríobh mé faoi Samhain, ag bheith fadbhunaithe, agus an bunús na nuachtlitreach // today wrote about Samhain, being rooted, and the origins of the newsletter. Please consider subscribing today! It’s my birthday week! I have a big announcement tomorrow
Samhain Is Only Just Beginning. Trust Yourself in the Darkness.
It’s often easier to trust the light than it is the dark, but trust this time is for you to embrace the liminality of possibility.
whogivesafocal.ghost.io
November 12, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Inniu, scríobh mé faoi Samhain, ag bheith fadbhunaithe, agus an bunús na nuachtlitreach // today wrote about Samhain, being rooted, and the origins of the newsletter. Please consider subscribing today! It’s my birthday week! I have a big announcement tomorrow
Reposted by Sam
Dick Durbin gets to retire in comfort while I see myself sliding further away from the middle class with every passing month and face the prospect of no health insurance as I face ever higher risks of illness in middle age and beyond
November 10, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Dick Durbin gets to retire in comfort while I see myself sliding further away from the middle class with every passing month and face the prospect of no health insurance as I face ever higher risks of illness in middle age and beyond
Reposted by Sam
Maybe important to note it was the disruption in air travel that Democrats couldn't stand and not, you know, 40+ million people not knowing where their next meal was coming from.
November 10, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Maybe important to note it was the disruption in air travel that Democrats couldn't stand and not, you know, 40+ million people not knowing where their next meal was coming from.
Reposted by Sam
as a writer, you meet two types of hopefuls: people who like to write and people who want to be writers. It's the former who actually succeed – you need to love this, not as a means to an end but for itself entirely.
Sometimes I wonder if our many years of jokes about writers hating writing and doing anything but writing, etc, have convinced people that the writing part is the hurdle and the goal is just to have a thing in hand. But I am here to tell you: the writing is the best part. The act is the thing.
November 9, 2025 at 7:37 PM
as a writer, you meet two types of hopefuls: people who like to write and people who want to be writers. It's the former who actually succeed – you need to love this, not as a means to an end but for itself entirely.
Reposted by Sam
You fucking people will let anyone off the hook for their violent hateful beliefs and all they have to do is say shiny words you like
You’re all a bunch of Nazi tattoo forgiving, Jewish space lasers forgetting gullible marks getting played for fools
As a Jew I suggest you all go fuck yourselves.
You’re all a bunch of Nazi tattoo forgiving, Jewish space lasers forgetting gullible marks getting played for fools
As a Jew I suggest you all go fuck yourselves.
November 7, 2025 at 6:40 AM
You fucking people will let anyone off the hook for their violent hateful beliefs and all they have to do is say shiny words you like
You’re all a bunch of Nazi tattoo forgiving, Jewish space lasers forgetting gullible marks getting played for fools
As a Jew I suggest you all go fuck yourselves.
You’re all a bunch of Nazi tattoo forgiving, Jewish space lasers forgetting gullible marks getting played for fools
As a Jew I suggest you all go fuck yourselves.
Indie small presses: I am looking to volunteer as a reader. BFA in creative writing, 11 years in editorial work. Hit me up!
November 8, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Indie small presses: I am looking to volunteer as a reader. BFA in creative writing, 11 years in editorial work. Hit me up!
Reposted by Sam
Soooo...why exactly should Mamdani take a call/meeting from this guy?
First, it's not even a week since the election, and he doesn't have his team in place. Next, and I could not be more clear: speculators and landlords don't get a seat at the housing policy table.
First, it's not even a week since the election, and he doesn't have his team in place. Next, and I could not be more clear: speculators and landlords don't get a seat at the housing policy table.
Canadian multimillionaire and Shark Tank guy Kevin O'Leary went on TV to say he's upset Zohran won't talk to him: "I and others who invest in real estate have tried to get a meeting to figure out what's rhetoric and what's policy. So far for me it's been crickets."
November 7, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Soooo...why exactly should Mamdani take a call/meeting from this guy?
First, it's not even a week since the election, and he doesn't have his team in place. Next, and I could not be more clear: speculators and landlords don't get a seat at the housing policy table.
First, it's not even a week since the election, and he doesn't have his team in place. Next, and I could not be more clear: speculators and landlords don't get a seat at the housing policy table.
Reposted by Sam
Not just any filmmaker, but his filmmaking partner… that he was dating
November 7, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Not just any filmmaker, but his filmmaking partner… that he was dating
Reposted by Sam
you can win without billionaires supporting you
you can win without party leadership endorsing you
you can win unapologetically standing with every persecuted minority pundits say are too politically toxic to touch
we could do everything about this process differently if we wanted to
you can win without party leadership endorsing you
you can win unapologetically standing with every persecuted minority pundits say are too politically toxic to touch
we could do everything about this process differently if we wanted to
Can’t stop thinking about all the robber baron fucks that held secret meetings and spent MILLIONS AND MILLIONS in bribes and campaign investments and attack ads and media manipulation trying to tank Mamdani currently having the dawning realization that their money is completely and utterly useless.
November 5, 2025 at 3:03 AM
you can win without billionaires supporting you
you can win without party leadership endorsing you
you can win unapologetically standing with every persecuted minority pundits say are too politically toxic to touch
we could do everything about this process differently if we wanted to
you can win without party leadership endorsing you
you can win unapologetically standing with every persecuted minority pundits say are too politically toxic to touch
we could do everything about this process differently if we wanted to
Watching the TurboVicki monster factory in honor of dick Cheney today
November 4, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Watching the TurboVicki monster factory in honor of dick Cheney today
Today is release day for Read This When Things Fall Apart! ICYMI: you can read about what a transformative book this is here!
Innui // today I wrote about @mskellymhayes.bsky.social (and others) forthcoming book “Read This When Things Fall Apart: Letters to Activists in Crisis.” I had a deeply personal experience with this book and hope you consider preordering it
I Read This When Things Fell Apart and You Should, Too
You don’t have to be an organizer or activist to read this book. It will have wisdom for you.
whogivesafocal.ghost.io
November 4, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Today is release day for Read This When Things Fall Apart! ICYMI: you can read about what a transformative book this is here!
Reposted by Sam
Tonight, in Chicago, North Side rapid responders and community members held a vigil. At least ten people were abducted by ICE in Rogers Park alone today. We uplifted the message RESIST ICE in lights. We spoke out, sang together, grieved, and reaffirmed our commitment to defending our neighbors.
November 4, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Tonight, in Chicago, North Side rapid responders and community members held a vigil. At least ten people were abducted by ICE in Rogers Park alone today. We uplifted the message RESIST ICE in lights. We spoke out, sang together, grieved, and reaffirmed our commitment to defending our neighbors.
Reposted by Sam
I was laid off from Teen Vogue this week, alongside multiple other phenomenal team members.
At our Summit, I was asked how it felt to be 1 of 2 Black women left and what that meant for representation. Now, there are no Black women at Teen Vogue and that is incredibly painful to think about.
At our Summit, I was asked how it felt to be 1 of 2 Black women left and what that meant for representation. Now, there are no Black women at Teen Vogue and that is incredibly painful to think about.
November 3, 2025 at 11:57 PM
I was laid off from Teen Vogue this week, alongside multiple other phenomenal team members.
At our Summit, I was asked how it felt to be 1 of 2 Black women left and what that meant for representation. Now, there are no Black women at Teen Vogue and that is incredibly painful to think about.
At our Summit, I was asked how it felt to be 1 of 2 Black women left and what that meant for representation. Now, there are no Black women at Teen Vogue and that is incredibly painful to think about.
I’m really desperate for a bone
October 30, 2025 at 12:57 AM
I’m really desperate for a bone
An tseachtain seo // this week paid subscribers get a recipe for Samhain!
Samhain Is for Divining. Here Is a Simmer Pot to Do That.
Whether you need to call in the ancestors for insight or make your house smell good for the holidays, this apple-spiced simmer pot will do the job.
whogivesafocal.ghost.io
October 29, 2025 at 4:14 PM
An tseachtain seo // this week paid subscribers get a recipe for Samhain!
Reposted by Sam
💯💯💯 all of this!!
"Rather than feeling overwhelmed by the vastness of it all, remember: every intervention, every site of contestation, every kindness and act of courage matters."
"Rather than feeling overwhelmed by the vastness of it all, remember: every intervention, every site of contestation, every kindness and act of courage matters."
My latest. "Do not allow your values to be captured and contained behind a screen in a cycle of inactive reaction. Jailbreak your cynicism and isolation, and escape your devices. Bring your hope, rage, and potential into the world."
We Have to Move
"There are living, breathing people all around you who need your sense of decency to be made material. Don’t give up on them, or on you."
organizingmythoughts.org
October 24, 2025 at 8:28 PM
💯💯💯 all of this!!
"Rather than feeling overwhelmed by the vastness of it all, remember: every intervention, every site of contestation, every kindness and act of courage matters."
"Rather than feeling overwhelmed by the vastness of it all, remember: every intervention, every site of contestation, every kindness and act of courage matters."
Reposted by Sam
Federal agents tear gassing the Lake View neighborhood.
October 24, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Federal agents tear gassing the Lake View neighborhood.
Reposted by Sam
Chappell Roan Unveils Midwest Princess Fund for Trans Youth — and She’s Already Raised $400K
Chappell Roan Unveils Midwest Princess Fund for Trans Youth — and She’s Already Raised $400K
Chappell Roan has announced her Midwest Princess Project for trans and LGBTQ+ youth, and the fund has already raised $400K.
bit.ly
October 23, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Chappell Roan Unveils Midwest Princess Fund for Trans Youth — and She’s Already Raised $400K