Pinned
Matt Bowen
@mattbowen.net
· Mar 2
Today is a good day to remember that trans people are people and are significant and deserve lives of joy and dignity. The attacks on them are attacks on all of us, and will be materially expanded to all of us. We have to resist and fight back accordingly. Abandoning trans people is giving up.
Reposted by Matt Bowen
hi, cis folks!
if you said you’d stand with trans people, we need you now.
the FY26 budget bill gets a vote by 9/30. the GOP wants to jam a ban on federal funding for ALL health services that provide trans care for ANY AGE.
we need you to call senators: reps.fyi
more info & script downthread.🧵
if you said you’d stand with trans people, we need you now.
the FY26 budget bill gets a vote by 9/30. the GOP wants to jam a ban on federal funding for ALL health services that provide trans care for ANY AGE.
we need you to call senators: reps.fyi
more info & script downthread.🧵
NEWS: House Appropriations Committee Republicans released their spending bill for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. The legislation would prohibit taxpayer dollars for any type of gender-affirming care for transgender people. This would include programs like Medicaid
September 9, 2025 at 3:14 PM
hi, cis folks!
if you said you’d stand with trans people, we need you now.
the FY26 budget bill gets a vote by 9/30. the GOP wants to jam a ban on federal funding for ALL health services that provide trans care for ANY AGE.
we need you to call senators: reps.fyi
more info & script downthread.🧵
if you said you’d stand with trans people, we need you now.
the FY26 budget bill gets a vote by 9/30. the GOP wants to jam a ban on federal funding for ALL health services that provide trans care for ANY AGE.
we need you to call senators: reps.fyi
more info & script downthread.🧵
Oh goodness yes – it sells lies that strips men of even more of our humanity than patriarchy took as we were brought up. It harms literally everyone.
i wanna try something. quote this post if you’re a man who hates the manosphere
August 1, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Oh goodness yes – it sells lies that strips men of even more of our humanity than patriarchy took as we were brought up. It harms literally everyone.
We also saw this cool red-spotted purple. It’s none of of those colors (maybe a tiny bit of red at the edge of a wing?) but it is stunning. #buttyflysky
July 31, 2025 at 5:03 PM
We also saw this cool red-spotted purple. It’s none of of those colors (maybe a tiny bit of red at the edge of a wing?) but it is stunning. #buttyflysky
The tells me not to, but i still chase ‘em. Muddy Creek Waterfall on the Swallow Falls Canyon Trail. #StatePark #Maryland
July 31, 2025 at 4:46 PM
The tells me not to, but i still chase ‘em. Muddy Creek Waterfall on the Swallow Falls Canyon Trail. #StatePark #Maryland
At the IRS, the accessibility check was known to kill projects right before deployment. Thanks to Jared and a small team of dedicated practitioners, Direct File’s was chill and collegial. We are lucky to get to learn from such a dedicated and skilled practitioner.
I wrote a post about playing drums, building muscle memory, and how that relates to centering accessibility in every product decision as something we do instinctively.
jaredcunha.com/blog/buildin...
jaredcunha.com/blog/buildin...
Building muscle memory for accessibility
Just as musicians develop muscle memory through hours of practicing rudimentary techniques until complex mechanics become second nature, we have to build own muscle memory with assistive technologies ...
jaredcunha.com
July 31, 2025 at 1:38 PM
At the IRS, the accessibility check was known to kill projects right before deployment. Thanks to Jared and a small team of dedicated practitioners, Direct File’s was chill and collegial. We are lucky to get to learn from such a dedicated and skilled practitioner.
This is Zip. He’s a little guy.
July 23, 2025 at 1:45 AM
This is Zip. He’s a little guy.
Taps the sign
Today is a good day to remember that trans people are people and are significant and deserve lives of joy and dignity. The attacks on them are attacks on all of us, and will be materially expanded to all of us. We have to resist and fight back accordingly. Abandoning trans people is giving up.
June 18, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Taps the sign
Reposted by Matt Bowen
This looks pretty cool.
Bonfire’s new software lets users build their own social communities, free from platform control techcrunch.com/2025/...
Bonfire's new software lets users build their own social communities, free from platform control | TechCrunch
Bonfire's mission is to build social software where people get to make the decisions, not big tech platform makers like Meta or Google.
techcrunch.com
June 6, 2025 at 6:33 PM
This looks pretty cool.
After a couple months of LLM-assisted coding, I have a prediction: LLMs will impact productivity in a way similar to the change that came from moving from email to slack
June 4, 2025 at 9:06 PM
After a couple months of LLM-assisted coding, I have a prediction: LLMs will impact productivity in a way similar to the change that came from moving from email to slack
This makes my night. Some of the best (and most ridiculous) work I ever did is in that repo and now it’s not lost to time.
IRS’s Direct File wasn't open source while it was being developed. But somebody just made it public!
GitHub - IRS-Public/direct-file: Direct File
Direct File. Contribute to IRS-Public/direct-file development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
May 30, 2025 at 2:55 AM
This makes my night. Some of the best (and most ridiculous) work I ever did is in that repo and now it’s not lost to time.
I worked with Merici on direct file — she is a dedicated public servant and it was an honor to work with her and build something people loved. It’s heart breaking to see all that torn apart, and I’m grateful she is able to share some of what she saw with such a wide audience.
“I came to government to really build great experiences for people, to interact with government to get their benefits easier, to file their taxes easier, to get their tax refunds quicker. That’s why I joined government. What I see DOGE is doing is, they’re actually breaking a lot of that down."
‘It is a wrecking ball’: Former DOGE worker describes Musk-led government-slashing effort from the inside | CNN Politics
Elon Musk has claimed the Department of Government Efficiency is “the most transparent organization in government ever.” But Merici Vinton, a federal worker who recently left her job at the government...
www.cnn.com
April 9, 2025 at 2:12 AM
I worked with Merici on direct file — she is a dedicated public servant and it was an honor to work with her and build something people loved. It’s heart breaking to see all that torn apart, and I’m grateful she is able to share some of what she saw with such a wide audience.
Reposted by Matt Bowen
Hey it's annual Buy A Trans Woman A Pizza Day, in memorial of Mira Bellwether.
See all these visible trans people? Find one that's hungry and give them food.
See all these visible trans people? Find one that's hungry and give them food.
March 31, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Hey it's annual Buy A Trans Woman A Pizza Day, in memorial of Mira Bellwether.
See all these visible trans people? Find one that's hungry and give them food.
See all these visible trans people? Find one that's hungry and give them food.
This honestly is a good chance to reflect on some of the things that make opsec on signal hard for everyone, including activists:
1. Managing who is in a group has tough UX and only gets harder as people make their identities ambiguous
2. The group’s security is as good as its sloppiest member
1. Managing who is in a group has tough UX and only gets harder as people make their identities ambiguous
2. The group’s security is as good as its sloppiest member
In 25 years of covering national security, I’ve never seen a story like this: Senior Trump officials discussed planning for the U.S. attack on Yemen in a Signal group--and inadvertently added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.
www.theatlantic.com
March 24, 2025 at 10:57 PM
This honestly is a good chance to reflect on some of the things that make opsec on signal hard for everyone, including activists:
1. Managing who is in a group has tough UX and only gets harder as people make their identities ambiguous
2. The group’s security is as good as its sloppiest member
1. Managing who is in a group has tough UX and only gets harder as people make their identities ambiguous
2. The group’s security is as good as its sloppiest member
@alsobrooks.senate.gov @vanhollen.senate.gov is this true? Were you all on board with @schumer.senate.gov saying the dems would vote against the CR and then letting it pass? That move felt like an attempt to mislead constituents, so as a constituent, I need to know now. I’ve been trusting you.
Schumer: "My caucus and I are in sync. Everyone knew what I was doing and respected it."
March 16, 2025 at 12:29 AM
@alsobrooks.senate.gov @vanhollen.senate.gov is this true? Were you all on board with @schumer.senate.gov saying the dems would vote against the CR and then letting it pass? That move felt like an attempt to mislead constituents, so as a constituent, I need to know now. I’ve been trusting you.
They live up to the hype
March 14, 2025 at 1:22 PM
They live up to the hype
Alright this has gotten out of hand. Now we need a subscription to gaze into the abyss?
March 9, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Alright this has gotten out of hand. Now we need a subscription to gaze into the abyss?
Reposted by Matt Bowen
Supporting bathroom, sports and healthcare bans for trans people means signing on to a moral panic about problems that DON'T EXIST.
When people say Democrats should "moderate" on these issues, they are suggesting that we legislate a group out of public life based on lies.
When people say Democrats should "moderate" on these issues, they are suggesting that we legislate a group out of public life based on lies.
March 7, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Supporting bathroom, sports and healthcare bans for trans people means signing on to a moral panic about problems that DON'T EXIST.
When people say Democrats should "moderate" on these issues, they are suggesting that we legislate a group out of public life based on lies.
When people say Democrats should "moderate" on these issues, they are suggesting that we legislate a group out of public life based on lies.
We had my daughter’s parent/teacher conference this week, and I felt a genuine sense of gratitude for her IEP. Seeing an attempt to shut down the department of education, I worry others won’t have the same support. A thread. 1/
March 6, 2025 at 1:14 PM
We had my daughter’s parent/teacher conference this week, and I felt a genuine sense of gratitude for her IEP. Seeing an attempt to shut down the department of education, I worry others won’t have the same support. A thread. 1/
Reposted by Matt Bowen
can't believe it's 2025 and i'm stressed about tariffs and measles, like am i a character in an american girl book
March 3, 2025 at 9:09 PM
can't believe it's 2025 and i'm stressed about tariffs and measles, like am i a character in an american girl book
When my daughter was around 2, her favorite stuffed animal was a cat she called “Cool Cat.” One day she looked at me very earnestly and said, “Cool Cat has seen so many stuff in his life.” I feel this way so often anymore.
March 2, 2025 at 3:08 PM
When my daughter was around 2, her favorite stuffed animal was a cat she called “Cool Cat.” One day she looked at me very earnestly and said, “Cool Cat has seen so many stuff in his life.” I feel this way so often anymore.
Today is a good day to remember that trans people are people and are significant and deserve lives of joy and dignity. The attacks on them are attacks on all of us, and will be materially expanded to all of us. We have to resist and fight back accordingly. Abandoning trans people is giving up.
March 2, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Today is a good day to remember that trans people are people and are significant and deserve lives of joy and dignity. The attacks on them are attacks on all of us, and will be materially expanded to all of us. We have to resist and fight back accordingly. Abandoning trans people is giving up.
In my term at USDS, particularly on direct file, I got to work closely with folks from 18F. They brought tremendous skills, experience, and care to their work. To a person, they were there to improve ALL our lives. They --- and honestly all of us --- deserve better than to be shutdown this way.
March 2, 2025 at 1:56 AM
In my term at USDS, particularly on direct file, I got to work closely with folks from 18F. They brought tremendous skills, experience, and care to their work. To a person, they were there to improve ALL our lives. They --- and honestly all of us --- deserve better than to be shutdown this way.
Reposted by Matt Bowen
18F was doing exactly the type of work that DOGE claims to want – yet we were eliminated shortly after midnight. Read our letter to the American people:
18f.org
18f.org
We're not done yet | 18F
18f.org
March 1, 2025 at 11:38 PM
18F was doing exactly the type of work that DOGE claims to want – yet we were eliminated shortly after midnight. Read our letter to the American people:
18f.org
18f.org