Never News: The cooldown tent
[A forest of evergreens. It's a sunny day, unusual for this time of year in the Pacific Northwest, and through the trees sunlight leaves a shimmering, dappled effect on your path. Around you are the sounds of life — percussive birdsong, the rustle of squirrels darting across branches. And the scent, a luscious combination of sap, pine needles, and the briny reminder of the sea.
You have no sense of urgency, no destination as you meander along, allowing this natural path in the brush to take you wherever it leads. Soon, you see that you're approach a clearing, awash in sunlight. Another unexpected surprise, you discover that the ground is covered in flowers, little purple and pink petals that dot the grass like a thousand freckles.
In the center of the field, lying on her back among the flowers, is our narrator. Hearing you approach she lazily props herself up on an elbow and waves you over.]
Hey guys, come and sit down here with me. I wanted to offer something a little different this week considering everything, and I hope you don't mind that I conjured the field of flowers scene in Twilight — is that weird? I've been re-watching the whole series and it just kind of stuck in my mind as a comforting image, so here we are. Sorry, no vampires or werewolves in this one. Unless...? Nah, maybe next time.
You are probably, like me, on the business end of a firehose of discourse about the election and its aftermath. There are times to turn inward, to take action, and to find community as we look at the road ahead of us. I'm going to endeavor to offer options to do all three of those things in this week's newsletter.
No aperitifs this time, let's jump right in.
ACLU: Sign the "Defend Trans Freedom" Petition
This petition comes ahead of December 4th oral arguments in the case U.S. v. Skrmetti, a case that will determine whether trans children in Tennessee will have access to gender-affirming care under the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. Currently, the state is only allowing cis children to receive this kind of care, which can range from puberty blockers, hormones, or any gender-affirming care offered by a healthcare professional. This is a huge, huge deal, obviously, considering the impending Trump presidential term. Trans kids deserve the same care as everyone else, and this case's decision (coupled with the Trump administration writ large) could make for open season on trans rights across the country. You can read more about this case and its implications here.
SHOW NEWS: take our audience survey!!
As the year comes to a close, we've concocted a way to get to know you a little better: an audience survey! This will help us make Never Post even better than it is, if that's even possible. The entire survey takes no more than 10 minutes, and it is a huge, huge help to us. So please, I implore you, why won't you take our survey out for a spin?
In "I can't believe this is really happening" news that actually feels kind of good, the satirical publication The Onion did, uh, quite literally buy InfoWars, the alt-right cesspool of the Internet and the reason anyone knows that Alex Jones exists. The Onion released a spoof press release announcing the acquisition via the fictional character of Bryce P. Tetraeder, C.E.O. of Global Tetrahedron. It includes such incredible sentences such as "This is a coup for our company and a well-deserved victory for multinational elites the world over." So, obviously, I suggest reading the whole thing.
404 MEDIA: Users flock to Bluesky, sick of social media overlords
I have yet to actually make a Bluesky account, but if nothing else has convinced me to do so, this piece just might. I've been thinking a lot recently about how much we're actually able to personalize in terms of our social media experience, and Bluesky has come up again and again as a potential alternative to the likes of the platform formerly known as Twitter, which will, I am sure, become indescribably worse in the four years to come. I find comfort in the idea of creating new ways to exist online, divorced from the ever-watching eye of Corporate Daddy.
And thus we come to a close on this installment of Never News. I hope that you all get time to take a walk, lie on your bed and stare at the ceiling, what have you, but that you don't languish there. To get sincere for a moment and repeat a sentiment you have likely heard already, the best way through times like these is through community. I'm grateful you're all here with me, and with us. See ya next time.
Actually, before I go, one more thing. I've tried to stay off TikTok for a bit, so I'm offering you, as an end cap, one of my favorite songs — something that may bring a little sweetness to you as you deal with the rest.