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L.A. Kauffman

@lakauffman.bsky.social
2.3K followers 299 following 176 posts

Veteran organizer, writer. She/her. Books: DIRECT ACTION and HOW TO READ A PROTEST. Occasional newsletter: DETOUR AMERICA lakauffman.substack.com

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Reposted by L.A. Kauffman
L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Standing-room-only crowd at @blueheronbooksny.bsky.social last night as @stephaniedavies.bsky.social read from her new essay collection, SURVIVING A PATRIARCHY ON STEROIDS. She shared my favorite of the pieces in this lovely book, a meditation on feminisms and trans survival in an era of backlash.
Stephanie Davies reads from her new essay collection SURVIVING A PATRIARCHY ON STEROIDS at Blue Heron Books in High Falls, NY. Davies, a white woman with black glasses, wears loose brown pants and a tshirt bearing the title of her book. Poet Jacinta Lanz, who read from her collection ON OUR WAY/EN NUESTRO CAMINO, looks on. The space behind Davies is filled with art by Nancy Ostrovsky, who designed the book cover, as well as numerous books; you can just glimpse the edge of a rainbow pride flag hanging above Davies' right. The cover of SURVIVING A PATRIARCHY ON STEROIDS by Stephanie Davies, featuring bird/woman art by Nancy Ostrovsky.
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
More on the book at the website of @bedazzledink.bsky.social publishing: www.bedazzledink.com/surviving-a-...
bedazzledink.com
Bedazzled Ink - Surviving a Patriarchy on Steroids
by Stephanie Davies
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Standing-room-only crowd at @blueheronbooksny.bsky.social last night as @stephaniedavies.bsky.social read from her new essay collection, SURVIVING A PATRIARCHY ON STEROIDS. She shared my favorite of the pieces in this lovely book, a meditation on feminisms and trans survival in an era of backlash.
Stephanie Davies reads from her new essay collection SURVIVING A PATRIARCHY ON STEROIDS at Blue Heron Books in High Falls, NY. Davies, a white woman with black glasses, wears loose brown pants and a tshirt bearing the title of her book. Poet Jacinta Lanz, who read from her collection ON OUR WAY/EN NUESTRO CAMINO, looks on. The space behind Davies is filled with art by Nancy Ostrovsky, who designed the book cover, as well as numerous books; you can just glimpse the edge of a rainbow pride flag hanging above Davies' right. The cover of SURVIVING A PATRIARCHY ON STEROIDS by Stephanie Davies, featuring bird/woman art by Nancy Ostrovsky.
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Our public sphere is so broken, journalism and publishing have imploded so horribly, and surviving as a writer is harder than it ever has been. Please, y'all, be mindful of where you're directing your frustrations, and why. Save the righteous rage for the real villains -- there's no shortage.
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
If you find Substack to be a singularly noxious force in this dystopian world, of course, say so and go after its owners and investors. By all means, promote your alternative platform. But please stop with boycotting and denouncing other writers, unless you happen to live in a perfect glass house.
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Writers need to go where audiences are -- that's why so many still use Meta. And that's also why so many prominent progressives post on Substack -- they have the organizer's impulse to spread their message as widely as possible.
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Personally, I don't post on Meta any more -- I can't stomach it, or the vast harm it has done in the world. But I know why others continue to use it, and if I publish another book, I'll probably find myself needing to get over my queasiness and go back -- it's one of the realities of publishing.
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Denouncing writers for using a platform with a tiny fraction of the scale and power and evil impact of Meta is just freaking weird. I don't understand the pile-on that happens here, why there's such a fashion for going after the precarious for making a pragmatic choice in a shitty media landscape.
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
I'm not defending Substack, though I have tiny and infrequent newsletter there (it earns me about the cost of my internet service). But I'm weary of how denouncing it has become a fashionable purity flex, how the animus toward gross algorithms in our info hellscape gets directed at other writers.
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
It's sleazy and dangerous that Substack allows Nazi thinkers to use its platform, to be sure. But if we're rating sleaze, is there any comparison to Meta, which has been directly implicated in fomenting genocide? Yet somehow you never see writers scolding other writers for using Meta.
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Unpopular opinion: Writers who boycott and/or publicly criticize other writers for using Substack, while they themselves post on Meta, have seriously lost the plot. Sometimes I feel like we're back with the 90s punk rock purity police. All the platform choices suck, my friends.
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Reposted by L.A. Kauffman
Erin Biba @erinbiba.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Disability accommodations are a rare thing that actually trickles down. You like curb cutouts? Auto-opening doors? Jar openers? Ramps? Hand rails? YOU’RE WELCOME Even as an abled person you use disability accommodations every single day. Supporting accommodations actually helps everyone.
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
(Okay, it was a LOT of faxes. The district attorney declined to prosecute.) www.nytimes.com/1997/11/23/n...
A screenshot of an article from the New York Times, dated November 23 1997: EAST VILLAGE; Fax Attack Puts Garden Defender in Legal Paper Jam by Jesse McKinley
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
I was arrested at home by NYPD detectives and charged under a stalking law for sending faxes to New York City's chamber of commerce
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Yes -- this. And what paid organizing jobs exist are almost all entry-level and poorly compensated. The more senior level jobs in progressive nonprofits rarely involve direct organizing.
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Agree. In some circles people even refer to organizing as "the work," but it's work that people are somehow expected to do, indefinitely, without compensation, benefits, or support.
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Appreciate this lifting up of Giuffre's courage. But real justice and accountability for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor would include accountability for his part in her tragic death.
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Reposted by L.A. Kauffman
Micah Sifry ❌👑 @msifry.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
I'm back from a week of vacation with a report on the next wave of the Defiance: The Singing Resistance. It's easy to join; it's addictive once you do it; and it converts rage into loving action. Link below: open.substack.com/pub/theconne...
open.substack.com
This Machine Quells Fascists
All across the nation, there's a new vibration, spreading from Minneapolis and traveling at the speed of song.
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Fantastic - congratulations!
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
He gives a special mention this week to ten dogs who were rescued by a neighbor from empty apartments "after their humans were disappeared by ICE"
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Reposted by L.A. Kauffman
Minnesota Star Tribune @startribune.com · 22/01/2026
Tomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
A truly impressive list of Minnesota businesses and organizations that will be closing for tomorrow's anti-ICE strike > bringmethenews.com/minnesota-li...
bringmethenews.com
List of Minnesota businesses closing for Jan. 23 anti-ICE strike
First announced by faith leaders and unions on Jan. 13, Minnesota businesses have begun announcing plans to join the action.
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
A remarkable sign of the times: Legendary nonviolent resistance scholar and trainer @mariajstephan.bsky.social will be on @colbertlateshow.bsky.social tonight to discuss "what nonviolent action is, why it works, and how to take part in this growing broad-front pro-democracy movement."
An ad reading "THURS 1/22 ON LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT - MARIA J. STEPAHN" at 1:35/10:35c on CBS|Paramount"
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Reposted by L.A. Kauffman
Ana Marie Cox @anamariecox.com · 22/01/2026
I know people keep saying this but it’s hard to communicate the depth of active resistance here. Like, I’m on random cafes and people are checking in for observation shifts. Signs everywhere. Folks in visibility vests on the corners. It’s wild. Absolutely wild.
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
A remarkable sign of the times: Legendary nonviolent resistance scholar and trainer @mariajstephan.bsky.social will be on @colbertlateshow.bsky.social tonight to discuss "what nonviolent action is, why it works, and how to take part in this growing broad-front pro-democracy movement."
An ad reading "THURS 1/22 ON LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT - MARIA J. STEPAHN" at 1:35/10:35c on CBS|Paramount"
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Reposted by L.A. Kauffman
More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Minnesota’s coalition is demanding: 1: ICE must leave Minnesota now. 2: Renee Good’s killer, Jonathan Ross, must be held legally accountable. 3: No additional federal funding for ICE in the upcoming budget. “These are moral common sense for a state that values truth, freedom, and life.”
facebook.com
ICE OUT OF MINNESOTA: DAY OF TRUTH & FREEDOM
Event in Minneapolis, MN by Faith In Minnesota and 15 others on Friday, January 23 2026 with 12K people interested and 3.2K people going. 61 posts in the discussion.
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Reposted by L.A. Kauffman
More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
A major coalition is launching a general strike in Minnesota tomorrow, aimed at pushing out ICE. It includes: -Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005 -The MN AFL-CIO -SEIU Local 26 -UNITE HERE Local 17 -CWA Local 7250 -Saint Paul and Minneapolis Federations of Educators -Faith leaders And more. 🧵
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Margaret Killjoy @margaret.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
It's genuinely a leaderless (or leaderful) movement, decentralized in a way that the state is absolutely unequipped to handle. There are a few basic skills involved, and so people teach each other those skills, and people are collectively refining them.
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Margaret Killjoy @margaret.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Half the street corners around here have people--from every walk of life, including republicans--standing guard to watch for suspicious vehicles, which are reported to a robust and entirely decentralized network that tracks ICE vehicles and mobilizes responders.
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Reposted by L.A. Kauffman
Mandy Keifetz @besecretandexult.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
So far this morning, I have swept the Lowe’s and harbor Freight for ICE and stood in the freezing cold trying to get my /Democratic /senator to prevent funding ICE. Lotta ICE this morning!
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Micah Sifry ❌👑 @msifry.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Why do so many Democratic officeholders, candidates and political operatives keep following the same playbook, the one that says that if they want to win elections they have to raise tons of money, spend nearly all of it on targeted media... (1/n)
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Reposted by L.A. Kauffman
Douglas Farmer @douglasfarmer.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
DE ICER ICE OUT OF MN Powderhorn Art Sled Rally Minneapolis
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Douglas Farmer @douglasfarmer.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
I'LL TAKE MY HORCHATA WARM CUZ FUCK ICE Powderhorn Art Sled Rally Minneapolis
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
I believe this wonderful essay by Rebecca Solnit is the preaching-to-the-choir reference you're looking for harpers.org/archive/2017...
harpers.org
Preaching to The Choir, by Rebecca Solnit
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
Take a moment to enjoy the joyous dream some of us spun out seven years ago, when we went to the White House and handed out an edition of the Washington Post depicting T's downfall after a massive popular uprising. It's a dream with real lessons for today: lakauffman.substack.com/p/on-dreams-...
lakauffman.substack.com
On Dreams and Pillars
What would it take to bring this nightmare to an end?
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Reposted by L.A. Kauffman
L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
🧵 Seven years ago today, a small team and I fanned out in front of the White House and distributed copies of the Washington Post with a dramatic headline: UNPRESIDENTED - TRUMP HASTILY DEPARTS WHITE HOUSE, ENDING CRISIS The paper was a work of fiction, created with @theyesmen.bsky.social
A reproduction of a parody edition of the Washington Post, featuring the top headline: UNPRESIDENTED: TRUMP HASTILY DEPARTS WHITE HOUSE, ENDING CRISIS and beneath it, a photo of a grim looking Trump exiting a buildingThree people dressed in winter coats and hats stand in front of the White House on January 16, 2019, distributing copies of the UNPRESIDENTED Washington Post
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
If you'd like to enjoy the dream we spun out in 2019, you can still find a PDF of the paper online ... theyesmen.org/sites/defaul...
theyesmen.org
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
What turned the tide, in our story, was when protesters focused their energies not on Trump but on do-nothing Democrats, viewing them as a key "pillar of support" for the regime. The paper was a fantasy, but the strategy behind it is more relevant than ever: lakauffman.substack.com/p/on-dreams-...
lakauffman.substack.com
On Dreams and Pillars
What would it take to bring this nightmare to an end?
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
The point of this fictional paper was to raise morale at a time of low energy, but it was more than that. Co-editor Onnesha Roychoudhuri and I based its stories on real historical examples, most notably Otpor!, the movement that drove the Serbian dictator Slobodan Milošević from power in 2000.
A closeup of a portion of the front page of the UNPRESIDENTED Washington Post, featuring the story, "Pres. Pence begins 'clipped duck' term: New president starts term 'Penced In" by predecessor's embarrassing reign of failture and crime."
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
The paper described how, after months of mounting protests and pressure from all sides, Trump had simply given up and abandoned the White House, slipping out of the country quietly in the dead of night. “Celebrations break out worldwide as Trump era ends,” read one front-page headline.
A close up of the front page of the UNPRESIDENTED Washington Post, with the headline "From #MeToo to 'You're Fired' -- 'Finally!' say women"
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
🧵 Seven years ago today, a small team and I fanned out in front of the White House and distributed copies of the Washington Post with a dramatic headline: UNPRESIDENTED - TRUMP HASTILY DEPARTS WHITE HOUSE, ENDING CRISIS The paper was a work of fiction, created with @theyesmen.bsky.social
A reproduction of a parody edition of the Washington Post, featuring the top headline: UNPRESIDENTED: TRUMP HASTILY DEPARTS WHITE HOUSE, ENDING CRISIS and beneath it, a photo of a grim looking Trump exiting a buildingThree people dressed in winter coats and hats stand in front of the White House on January 16, 2019, distributing copies of the UNPRESIDENTED Washington Post
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
On the dream of bringing him down, and how Democratic leadership keeps serving as a pillar holding him up: My latest, about the fictional WaPo we handed out at the White House seven years ago today, and its lessons for the current moment. lakauffman.substack.com/p/on-dreams-...
lakauffman.substack.com
On Dreams and Pillars
What would it take to bring this nightmare to an end?
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
Seven years ago today, a small team and I fanned out in front of the White House to distribute a fictional newspaper that imagined Trump’s downfall after a nationwide popular uprising. It was a dream, yes, but one with lessons for our current nightmare: lakauffman.substack.com/p/on-dreams-...
lakauffman.substack.com
On Dreams and Pillars
What would it take to bring this nightmare to an end?
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Doctora Malka Older @older.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
So appreciate this incredible, thoughtful review: "a thought-provoking, polyphonic collage which manages to engage authentically with nuanced issues while also leaving the reader feeling optimistic and empowered." strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
strangehorizons.com
We Will Rise Again edited by Karen Lord, Annalee Newitz, and Malka Older
We Will Rise Again manages to hold many apparent contradictions within its pages.
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Micah Sifry ❌👑 @msifry.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Many attending a Chester village board mtg Monday night correctly called it a “concentration camp.” Attention is high and public opinion is shifting rapidly against ICE’s operations and existence. This isn't just NIMBYism anymore, it's fierce moral outrage. (2/2) open.substack.com/pub/theconne...
open.substack.com
ICE is Feeding the Whirlwind
Plans for new concentration camps to hold ICE detainees, on top of the assualt on Minneapolis, are triggering rising local opposition and creating new potential fissures in the Republican base
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Micah Sifry ❌👑 @msifry.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
A report from Chester, NY, where unofficial word that ICE is planning to build a new mass detention center in a former Pep Boys warehouse has turbocharged local activists already more in motion because of Renee Good’s murder and the attack on Minneapolis. (1/2)
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
Heartbroken? Disgusted? Alarmed? Join your neighbors at an "ICE Out for Good" event this weekend, organized by a broad coalition of groups including @indivisible.org Event list here: www.mobilize.us?tag_ids=2913... #ICEOutForGood
mobilize.us
Volunteer Opportunities, Events, and Petitions Near Me · Mobilize
Create change in your community. Find events, petitions, volunteer opportunities, and fundraisers in your local area, organized by charities, campaigns, political organizations, grassroots groups, and...
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L.A. Kauffman @lakauffman.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Deleting my last post - I broke my personal rule against arguing with strangers on the internet! But I am so so tired of Serious Thinkers who make confident assertions about protests and activism WITHOUT KNOWING ONE DAMN THING ABOUT THE ORGANIZING BEHIND THEM. /endrant
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