Melissa Gira Grant
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melissagiragrant.com
Melissa Gira Grant
@melissagiragrant.com
100K followers 3.4K following 8.6K posts
staff writer at The New Republic // A WOMAN IS AGAINST THE LAW (Little, Brown) forthcoming // PLAYING THE WHORE (Verso) // member, NewsGuild of New York

melissagiragrant.com

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melissagiragrant.com
last little guys of the season
a sprawly pale pink begonia with a few petals left
November 11, 2025 at 1:59 AM
melissagiragrant.com
last one
ZOHRAN FOR NEW YORK CITY generator image reading: SHE CAME FROM GREECE SHE HAD A THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE
November 9, 2025 at 3:55 AM
melissagiragrant.com
ZOHRAN FOR NEW YORK CITY generator image, reading: BOYS FOR PELE
November 9, 2025 at 1:32 AM
melissagiragrant.com
They helpfully drew up this bad words table— including how often a book on sex work includes the word “sex”
A table, reading: Profanity & Sexual or Derogatory Terms Count Ass / Jackass / Asshole etc. - 3 Breast / Tit - 3 Dick - 1 Dyke / Dike - 1 Fuck, Fucked, Fucking etc. - 11 Pussy - 1 Shit / Bullshit etc. - 1 Whore - 68 Slut - 20 Sacrilegious & other offensive language usage Count Damn - 2 Hell - 1 Red Flag Words Count Porn - 51 Sex - 814 Sex Worker - 329
November 9, 2025 at 12:12 AM
melissagiragrant.com
these particular cases + use of "generational wins" just reminds me of this nightmarish document pafamily.org/wp-content/u...
ABOUT THE GENERATIONAL WINS PRAYER INITIATIVE: Much of America has turned away from God and His truth, and as a result our God-given freedoms are facing increasing threats. For this reason, Alliance Defending Freedom has launched the Generational Wins Prayer Initiative: to mobilize and equip 5 to 10 million Christians to pray for the preservation of freedom for future generations. We believe that prayer is the catalyst for not only preserving freedom’s future, but also for seeing the great spiritual awakening and societal transformation that America desperately needs. What is a Generational Win? A Generational Win achieves significant victory that changes the law and culture of the nation for a generation. A win is sustained by deliberate action, so the victory endures for generations to come. These are ADF’s Five Generational Wins: Life Is Safeguarded — Guaranteeing the right to life from conception to natural death. Religious Freedom Prevails — Restoring religious freedom as a fundamental right. All Can Speak Freely — Securing Free speech for all. Marriage And Family Are Protected — Ensuring the law respects God’s creative order of marriage, the family, and human sexuality. Parental Rights Are Guaranteed — Guaranteeing the fundamental rights of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children. Join us in praying for freedom’s future by visiting www.adflegal.org/prayer and sign up to receive weekly Generational Wins prayer updates.
November 6, 2025 at 5:26 PM
melissagiragrant.com
even though they moved the issuing of press cards out of the NYPD (I know) as of January 2022, the application still asks...
Do you have an open case for a lawful arrest for a misdemeanor while newsgathering or a felony? [dropdown menu] Have you been convicted of a misdemeanor while newsgathering or a felony? [dropdown menu]
November 5, 2025 at 4:58 PM
melissagiragrant.com
yessssss
HELL GATE HAS SEEN ENOUGH ZOHRAN MAMDANI 111TH MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY
November 5, 2025 at 2:38 AM
melissagiragrant.com
important call just in
CHANI app notification banner: GO LOOK AT THE MOON 🌕 Luna is getting full and feeling itself.
November 5, 2025 at 1:01 AM
melissagiragrant.com
the description of this alleged "conspiracy" is... flimsy? alarming? the work being done here is to float the argument that if six people at a protest are (allegedly) observed engaging in the same activity, this is now a "conspiracy"
4. It was part of the conspiracy that, as Agent A drove the Government Vehicle and reached the vicinity of the BSSA on or about September 26, 2025, and turned west onto Harvard Street in Broadview, a group of individuals, including RABBITT, ABUGHAZALEH, MARTIN, SHARP, STRAW and WALSH, surrounded the Government Vehicle, with the intent to hinder and impede Agent A from proceeding to the BSSA and discharging the duties of his office. 5. It was further part of the conspiracy that, while surrounding the Government Vehicle, RABBITT, ABUGHAZALEH, MARTIN, SHARP, STRAW, WALSH, and others, among other things, banged aggressively on the Government Vehicle’s side and back windows, hood, and other vehicle body parts; crowded together in the front and side of the Government Vehicle and pushed against the vehicle to hinder and impede its movement; scratched the body of the Government Vehicle, including etching a message into the body of the vehicle, specifically the word “PIG;” broke one of the Government Vehicle’s side mirrors; and broke a rear windshield wiper off the Government Vehicle.
October 29, 2025 at 5:24 PM
melissagiragrant.com
and rich guys who loves cops. because odds are at least one of these 25 billionaires is a client, a stingy one, and one who thrills at having the leverage of an arrest over the women he hires www.thenation.com/article/poli...
Ackman is not the only billionaire bigot lining up behind Cuomo. As Forbes reports, 25 billionaires have donated a combined total of at least $22 million to Cuomo's mayoral bid. Like Ackman, these billionaires seem to be the prime promoters of Cuomo's racist and Islamophobic strategy. As Mamdani posted on Thursday, "It's not just what Andrew Cuomo is saying—it's who's funding him. The single largest donor to a pro-Cuomo SuperPAC is Airbnb cofounder/board member Joe Gebbia, who promotes vile and racist messages about immigrants.
October 27, 2025 at 5:23 PM
melissagiragrant.com
Cuomo, in one of his final attempts to cling to political power, has correctly linked opposition to sex work decrim with support for racism and bigotry www.thenation.com/article/poli...
The previous night, Cuomo's campaign had briefly posted a disturbing, ultra-racist Al-generated video that showed, as The New York Times notes, "Mamdani's supporters as trespassers, domestic abusers, pimps, drug dealers and drunken drivers, and showing a Black shoplifter in a kaffiyeh." In the video, a seemingly 1970s-era Black pimp shows the back of his van, which is filled with young, white sex workers. The video also shows Mamdani eating rice with his hands—a clear invocation of a far-right anti-Mamdani trope that has surfaced during the election. During Wednesday's mayoral debate, Cuomo explicitly tried to create a wedge between Sunni and Shia Muslims, saying, "To Zohran, I believe you have been a divisive force in New York, and I believe that's toxic energy for New York. It's with the Sunni Muslims when you say decriminalize prostitution, which is haram."
October 27, 2025 at 5:20 PM
melissagiragrant.com
today’s the anniversary of Bush signing the USA PATRIOT Act, did not remember at the time seeing this meta-surveillance moment with Senator Leahy apnews.com/today-in-his...
AP photo captioned: “Sen Patrick Leahy D-Vt. peers over the shoulder with his camera as President Bush signs the Patriot Act Bill during a ceremony in the White House East Room, Friday, Oct. 26, 2001. Left to right behind Bush are: Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Sen. Leahy, and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. (AP Photo/Doug Mills)” AP text: “In 2001, President George W. Bush signed the USA Patriot Act, giving authorities unprecedented ability to search, seize, detain or eavesdrop in their pursuit of possible terrorists.”
October 26, 2025 at 2:11 PM
melissagiragrant.com
My reporting plan for Chicago was pretty focused (I had lots of specific people to go out with, who I’d miss if I were injured or arrested) so here’s what I had with me:
Chicago steal my mid-risk kit for reporting on rapid response to ICE: on my person: KN95, plastic whistle, lightweight audio recorder, pocket notebook, pen, press ID, phone, hot hands in backpack: TRO printouts, ear plugs, ID, small emergency kit (first aid kit + extra phone battery, extra recorder batteries, multi tool, electrolytes, energy bar, extra masks), extra pens and notebook, hat, hoodie, water bottle
October 26, 2025 at 12:39 AM
melissagiragrant.com
signs like these are up all over Chicago cafes and storefronts (here, cafes in Brighton Park and Back of the Yards) warning ICE not to enter without a judicial warrant
Glass storefront door in Brighton Park, with sign in English and Spanish, reading: ATTENTION ICE/CBP AGENTS STOP YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED ENTRANCE INTO THIS BUSINESS WITHOUT A VALID JUDICIAL WARRANT ATENCION AGENTES DE ICE/CBP STOP NO SE LE PERMITE LA ENTRADA A ESTE NEGOCIO SIN UNA ORDEN JUDICIAL VALIDA Glass storefront door with sign reading: PRIVATE PROPERTY NO ICE YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO ENTER NON-PUBLIC AREAS OF THIS SPACE WITHOUT A VALID JUDICIAL WARRANT SIGNED BY A FEDERAL JUDGE and a second sign: PLEASE USE DOOR ON 47TH ST. BACK OF THE YARDS
October 25, 2025 at 11:54 PM
melissagiragrant.com
guys
a large lit up billboard, showing a small pig standing upright at a security gate and a big TSA looking dude next to him, and it reads: “Pigs don’t fly. Let’s keep it that way. Foods containing pork can carry disease into the U.S.” “Stop African Swine Fever”
October 25, 2025 at 8:41 PM
melissagiragrant.com
the last time I went to Mass was Ash Wednesday in New Orleans while reporting on a dancer uprising in 2018. today in Chicago, seeing a photo of this church late last night got me out this morning
a black silhouette of a woman seated in a pew in a fairly stunning Catholic church a close-up of the silhouette’s front, with a sign across her shoulders: PRAY FOR ME ORA POR MI
October 25, 2025 at 2:49 PM
melissagiragrant.com
GET A JOB / STAY AWAY FROM HER
October 17, 2025 at 2:39 AM
melissagiragrant.com
how can you do this job and not know what these words mean www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/p...
BARBARO: when you graduate from college, you start to identify not as a Democrat, but as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. And given your bio, being a Democrat feels like it would have been a pretty natural home. So just let me start by asking about what went into that decision, what you were embracing and what you were rejecting in that identification. MAMDANI: I wouldn’t describe those two identities as mutually exclusive. I think that one can live within the other, meaning that I am both a democratic socialist and I’m also a Democrat. One is a description of my political ideology, the other is a description of the party that I belong to. BARBARO: D.S.A. being the ideology. MAMDANI Democratic socialism being the ideology. D.S.A. being an organization. The Democratic Party being the party. BARBARO: Got it.
October 16, 2025 at 8:36 PM
melissagiragrant.com
looks like I was missing out lol
account panel reading: “Muted by ‘Blue Annoyances’”
October 16, 2025 at 4:47 PM
melissagiragrant.com
Meanwhile, if your plan is based on an accurate assessment of current data… www.statnews.com/2025/10/14/c...
from STAT News: What may be lost Potentially among the missing: information about health services, hospitalization, ER visits, office visits, and individual warning signs. "Anything related to any emerging outbreaks are also going to be compromised," Denys Lau, formerly the director of a division that tracks the nation's health care provision and utilization, told STAT. He is now editor-in chief of the American Journal of Public Health. The fruits of NHANES are shared with the public as well as within other federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration. There is nothing flashy about the regular NCHS reports, which…
October 15, 2025 at 12:45 PM
melissagiragrant.com
"...these men, who performed brutality for their own cameras, were always going to riot." organizingmythoughts.org/the-emergenc...
At the Broadview ICE facility, some of us were trying to physically get in the way, blocking cars with our bodies while federal agents fired pepper balls and tear gas canisters at us. Now, the state police have shut down that small window of intervention by walling protesters off in “first amendment zones,” arresting people with an expediency that renders our previous actions untenable. I believe Governor J.B. Pritzker thought that if he restored “order” outside Broadview, Trump would have no “excuse” to send in the National Guard. Trump—whose relationship with reality is contemptuous, at best—called our efforts to halt cars with our bodies, while being gassed and brutalized, “riots.” His agents attacked us, even when we were cooperative and contained, behind a wall of state troopers. While some fretted over the behavior of protesters, these men, who performed brutality for their own cameras, were always going to riot. They have waged violence and terror, making propaganda films of their own chaos, and insisted their monstrous Instagram reels are proof that Chicagoland is a war zone. They have battered and shot people, looted buildings, gassed neighborhoods, contaminating and violating everything they touch—and said, Look what they made us do. They’re out of control. Fascists make their own excuses.
October 8, 2025 at 2:59 PM
melissagiragrant.com
Reuters story headline reading: Trump calls for jailing Democratic leaders as troops prepare for Chicago deployment By Brendan O'Brien, Andy Sullivan and Susan Heavey October 8, 2025 9:41 AM EDT • Updated 36 mins ago
October 8, 2025 at 2:20 PM
melissagiragrant.com
Incredible (via www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...)
A group of apparent armed agents assemble at the end of a street, as seen from the perspective of a person in inflatable frog costume, their frog’s eyes dominating the foreground. The Ice facility in downtown Portland on Monday. Photograph: Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/AFP/Getty Images
October 8, 2025 at 12:30 AM
melissagiragrant.com
feels like the “exonerative tense” has devolved
post screenshot: Eric Lipton NYT Follow @ericlipton.nytimes.com It is not clear that Mr. Trump's image can be featured on a coin. An 1866 law enshrined a tradition that only deceased people could appear on U.S. currency to avoid the appearance that America was a monarchy. Trump admin is planning to do it anyway. By Alan Rappeport www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/b.. post screenshot: The New York Times Follow @nytimes.com Residents of a small New Jersey town mourned the deaths of the 17-year-old friends as a third teenager was charged with hitting them intentionally at 70 miles per hour. 2 Teen Girls Were Run Over on Their Way to Get Ice Cream. Was It Murder? Residents of a small New Jersey town mourned the deaths of the 17-year-old friends as a third
October 4, 2025 at 2:56 PM
melissagiragrant.com
updated Bluesky prompt: “Was silence not an option?”
the bluesky new post box, asking, “What’s up?”
October 4, 2025 at 12:48 AM