iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Katherine Alejandra Cross

What’s astonishing is how I keep hearing from the same doomers how their many many years of policy experience informs them that endless doomposting is necessary, but we’re only just seeing a model legislation tactic in 2026?? The fuck have we been doing, people

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Crystal Frasier @amazonchique.bsky.social · 1h

Oh SNAP! My very last Mutants & Masterminds project is finally live and ready for YOU!

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Calliope @calliope5431.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Paul Ehrlich sincerely believed nuclear war between the US and Japan would occur in the 70s because of overpopulation. Overpopulation, Peak Oil, and The Coming War With Japan were existential risks if you were in the pundit class, if everyone didn't die of viruses brought back from space first.

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Starfire’s Deranged Neocon Foreign Policy Podcast @irhottakes.bsky.social · 11h

This is good but still presents an implementation challenge because Throw polling at 60% is misleading when Take polls at 5%.

A dog asks his human to throw his ball without taking the ball from him.

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Sharon 🪳🌹 @sharonk.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

this still makes me giggle uncontrollably

I was thinking about why so many in the radical left participate in "speedrunning"
The reason is the left's lack of work ethic ('go fast' rather than 'do it right') and, in a Petersonian sense, to elevate alternative sexual archetypes in the marketplace ('fastest mario')

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Micah @rincewind.run · 20h

not that it was ever very good but I am well and truly over the Newsom trolling approach to Trump social media bullshit

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Jessica Ritchey @jmritchey.bsky.social · 4h

One of the great host segments. youtu.be/lEgP3TR3TQk?...

youtu.be

MST3K - Civil Defense Quiz Bowl

YouTube video by Burntpinz

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Liberal Currents @liberalcurrents.com · 19h

"The rise of the cheap precision strike is reshaping the fundamental strategic concepts we have inherited from the past two centuries." www.liberalcurrents.com/the-return-o...

The Return of the Cutting-Off Way

Structural changes are driving us towards a more chaotic world, defined by "neither peace nor war, but conflict."

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Wyrd Science Magazine @wyrdscience.bsky.social · 19h

Interesting… Ben Robbins is producing a new edition of Microscope, a game which if I’m sure you let him @kierongillen.bsky.social will tell you about. Kickstarter launches next week. www.kickstarter.com/projects/lam...

kickstarter.com

Coming soon: Microscope (2nd Edition)

The fractal game of epic histories

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Rubyloon Foxo @rubyloon.bsky.social · 16h

My mental health issues (PTSD, anxiety, bipolar) have been directly affected and exasperated by these efforts to sow panic. "Staying informed" on here has enabled a doom loop cycle feeding my paranoia until I'm in the midst of another mania-induced psychosis that takes days to break out of.

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Katherine Alejandra Cross @quinnae.com · 22h

Truly, this has been a day of serious honkbal.

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Ivy @poisonivy.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

i love when these creeps are stupid enough to fuck up their own PR all the 'well there's no proof the CNC orgy is an AI networking event' people in shambles

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Katherine Alejandra Cross @quinnae.com · 30/09/2026

You'll note that I do give you a positive shoutout at the end.

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Majestic Twelve (plus one for spooky szn) @majestic12.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Hey look! Let’s shit on democrats for *checks notes* doing the right thing.

The party-line vote was 53 to 47. While the bill adds more constraints on
lawmaker stock trading than what exists under the current law, all Democrats opposed it, saying it did not go far enough to outright end the practice. Democrats also disapproved of the Republican decision to attach changes to voter ID requirements to the legislation.

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Reposted by Katherine Alejandra Cross

Emily Gorcenski @emily.gorcen.ski · 30/09/2026

In other words, when one side says very explicitly that their strategy is to trigger the libs, it’s a pretty good idea to not voluntarily give them that reaction.

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Emily Gorcenski @emily.gorcen.ski · 30/09/2026

Any asshole in any assembly can submit any stupid bill, and most of them are DOA but the one thing that brings them to life is when Republicans see a large scale freakout that validates their approach.

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Reposted by Katherine Alejandra Cross

Emily Gorcenski @emily.gorcen.ski · 30/09/2026

Hyperfocusing on every bill submitted for consideration does CONSIDERABLY more harm than good and these bills are not worth talking about or (because so many are duplicates) even counting until the reach a serious committee level discussion, largely because local orgs are usually already on it.

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Emily Gorcenski @emily.gorcen.ski · 30/09/2026

I guess maybe that’s true in the sense that the fact that six assemblymen in West Bumfuck submit nearly identical versions of a bill destined to die in subcommittee doesn’t fit any of the descriptions of a genocide or even anything that leads to a genocide, but hey

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Emily Gorcenski @emily.gorcen.ski · 30/09/2026

I’ve been saying this for *years* and when I first started saying it I was called a genocide denier lmao

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Katherine Alejandra Cross @quinnae.com · 30/09/2026

Imagine winning a must-win game with an ABS Challenge.

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Katherine Alejandra Cross @quinnae.com · 30/09/2026

Okay, this Phillies-Braves game is proving to be one a-spicy baseball.

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Katherine Alejandra Cross @quinnae.com · 30/09/2026

That's interesting to note! There's been a lot of back and forth about it, especially given the source. Would be interested in your thoughts in a longer format, to be sure.

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Katherine Alejandra Cross @quinnae.com · 30/09/2026

Yes, I deleted the direct link and another post. Given The Needle's dubious reputation, I think it's worth taking extra care here.

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Katelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 30/09/2026

I don't believe that every trans person in America should immediately be made aware of every single evil bill introduced by some podunk state rep in a random red state they don't live in I don't think that's healthy. I have always needed to see a likelihood of advancement before I would write it up

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Reposted by Katherine Alejandra Cross

Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The "all anti-Zionism is always and forever antisemitism" people and the "all antisemitism becomes fine if we just say it's anti-Zionism, even if we're ranting about the Talmud" people reinforce one another, even if both sides utterly fail to see it.

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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Significant numbers of leftists think Mayor Mamdani has betrayed the left by putting out an anti-antisemitism plan at all, and groups that claim to fight antisemitism like the ADL are giving Mamdani zero credit because he has not suddenly endorsed Zionism, and I am caught between and I am tired.

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Katherine Alejandra Cross @quinnae.com · 30/09/2026

Decided to delete the direct link to The Needle piece. On further evaluation, if *I'm* feeling so uncertain about it, then even sharing with caveats is probably not the best idea. I shouldn't lean in to my own confirmation bias, after all!

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Katherine Alejandra Cross @quinnae.com · 30/09/2026

One thing is certain. If The Needle's story *doesn't* hold up, then they're the ones who are finished here. It's pretty dismal that this is what trans media has come to--this Mexican standoff.

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Katherine Alejandra Cross @quinnae.com · 30/09/2026

I will also point out that part of the reason I'm hedging here is because The Needle has... shall we say some perverse incentive problems of its own in this department. Note what this retracted story was claiming.

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Katherine Alejandra Cross @quinnae.com · 30/09/2026

Truly one of my favourite Canadian Heritage Minutes.

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Sharon 🪳🌹 @sharonk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

speaking of air crash investigations, i still love this YouTube edit of the Gimli Glider (successful landing via drift of Air Canada flight)

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David Bahry @davidbahry.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

the Washington Sun source article had quotes both from Platner and from Wood. One of the Wood quotes, Reed mistakenly attributes to Platner. (The Needle itself mistakenly claimed that the source had no Platner quotes at all, but it did, and Reed quoted it correctly.)

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Rachel Cole @rmartincole.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

With both the Cubs and the White Sox playing in the MLB Wild Card Series today, here's a baseball-themed cover from CTA Transit News, the CTA's employee newsletter, from March 1968. www.instagram.com/p/Dd674z8Grkw/

Cover of March 1968 CTA Transit News, with a baseball-themed illustration of a runner sliding into base with the baseman about to catch the ball. An inset photo shows signs reading "BASE BALL WRIGLEY FIELD TODAY" and "BASE BALL COMISKEY PARK TODAY."

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Katherine Alejandra Cross @quinnae.com · 30/09/2026

As I always say, Cultural Christianity is a hell of a drug.

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Maladroithe @maladroithe.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I think a lot about how some ex-fundamentalist Christians adopt toxic leftist praxis and ideology as a stand-in for their former religion because they still crave the same high-control, high-shame relationship with the world

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Emily St. James @emilystjams.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Was really glad Katherine talked to me for this piece, and I think back on this interview often!

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Dr. Samantha Hancox-Li @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com · 30/09/2026

"if you only know one country, you know no countries." and i don't know just mean sound bites and gotchas. understanding how chile lost its democracy--and got it back--matters. valentin tapia, today: www.liberalcurrents.com/how-chile-re...

liberalcurrents.com

How Chile Recovered Its Democracy

A leader operating beyond the margins of the law can yet eventually be defeated in a free and fair election.

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Katherine Alejandra Cross @quinnae.com · 30/09/2026

We'll see what the response is, and I eagerly await some further expert analysis here. But there's something about this that, even if the exact nature of the AI allegations are overbaked, feels inevitable when the business model is mass producing articles that feed doomer tendencies in 2026.

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Katherine Alejandra Cross @quinnae.com · 30/09/2026

It's because even in the throes of terror it reflects confidence in an outcome. The sure and certain knowledge that this is the worst of all possible worlds (and will never get better) feels safer to some than any entertaining of hope.

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Katherine Alejandra Cross @quinnae.com · 30/09/2026

Yeah, it's why I'm caveating what I'm saying here.

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Katherine Alejandra Cross @quinnae.com · 30/09/2026

A couple of things stand out from The Needle's analysis. I have written professionally for about fifteen years, including for some pretty lofty publications, and I have *never* made 60k a year from writing. The money has to be coming from somewhere. Fear sells, apparently.

8.2: Personal Experience

Jane Migliara Brigham, one of the writers on this story, has spoken to Erin Reed about her journalism in the past.

In Jan. 2025, Brigham was interviewed by Erin Reed for a writing position at Erin in the Morning. She was offered $60,000 to write 4 articles a week at 600-800 words each.

For contrast, in that same month, Artemis T. Douglas, the other writer of this story, interviewed at Colorado Public Radio for a role that would involve daily quick-turn stories, roughly one brief a day, about something that happened in Colorado, for $45,000-$50,000.

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Katherine Alejandra Cross @quinnae.com · 30/09/2026

It is maximally profitable right now to either sell panic *about* trans people, or sell panic *to* trans people. Both impulses feed the media consumer's desire to feel mastery over events. One is simple bigoted conspiracism, the other is a defensive crouch that offers a false sense of security.

Emily: I think about this as a journalist and a novelist: I cannot control how the reader takes what I write. Especially when reporting, I try to be as careful as I can, but somebody might read what I write and conclude, Well, we're all going to die. And there's such an incentive structure to walk right up to the edge of catastrophe or even stick a toe over the line, and even publications I think are terrific will get as close to that line as they can because they know that drives subscription dollars and clicks. That's not just true of trans media; it's true of the media writ large. How do you think about that incentive structure, especially as it relates to social media?

Me: There's two ways to generate clicks about trans issues. One is to sell panic about trans people; the other is to sell panic to trans people. The social media incentive structure there, as it is with so many issues, is the septic, perverted version of that old classic about local TV news: If it bleeds, it leads.

Selling people that sense of control is, as I noted, the same thing at the root of a lot of conspiracism: not to trust mainstream sources who tell you things aren't quite so bad or things could get better or don't panic. It's the cinematic logic of a disaster movie where the people who are saying, "Actually, you should panic!" are correct. Think about everything from the narrative structure of Independence Day or Mass Effect. The catastrophizer is actually correct against all the people saying, "I'll calm down. It won't be so bad." That story structure is very, very popular, and it gets you invested in the protagonist with a pleasing sense of dramatic irony for the audience. They know something many of the other characters don't or refuse to accept.

We are all reared on some version of this story, and it seeps into everyday life. There's an excellent piece from CBS News in 1967 by Eric Sevareid reporting on the findings of the Warren Commission [whi

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Katherine Alejandra Cross @quinnae.com · 30/09/2026

Recently, I did a wonderful interview with the indefatigable @emilystjams.bsky.social about trans people's online information environment and why there are very strong incentives to spread panic. It was a wide-ranging discussion that I think is more relevant than ever.

episodes.ghost.io

What's the matter with trans panic media?

Scholar Katherine Alejandra Cross on why it's so profitable to "sell panic to trans people."

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Kylie Eleison @gonebabygone.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

It is secondarily very telling that the people who are all about protecting "women's sports" in general and Caitlin Clark as the unfairly-brutalized flower of white womanhood in general didn't recognize the name of her fucking team

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Gregk Foley @gregk.co.uk · 29/09/2026

Mystery of glasses theft deepens as they are discovered to have been on my head the whole time

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