Mx. Riley
@riley.pub
Soft creature, wild philosopher, and booster for the commons 🌱 Nonprofits, tech, media, libraries, urbanism, and civics.
@petalumapride.org @northbaypython.org @sonomalibrary.bsky.social prev @matrix.org @opensource.org
she/ella/they/elle 🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️ 🦓 ♾️ 9a 🌹 🐺
@petalumapride.org @northbaypython.org @sonomalibrary.bsky.social prev @matrix.org @opensource.org
she/ella/they/elle 🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️ 🦓 ♾️ 9a 🌹 🐺
Pinned
Mx. Riley
@riley.pub
· Jan 7
I refuse to be fooled. I refuse to live by fear. I refuse to be turned against other vulnerable people. I refuse to be hardened against hope.
I will be solemn and joyful. I will be soft and forceful. I will be in community. I will dream.
A better world is possible and our mandate is to make it so.
I will be solemn and joyful. I will be soft and forceful. I will be in community. I will dream.
A better world is possible and our mandate is to make it so.
I'd file this under "tech cos are not our friends, much less friends of democracy" but I'm afraid that folder is full now.
Reddit, Meta, and Google Voluntarily Gave DHS Info of Anti-ICE Users, Report Says
DHS is expanding its use of administrative subpoenas, which don't come from judges.
gizmodo.com
February 16, 2026 at 4:26 PM
I'd file this under "tech cos are not our friends, much less friends of democracy" but I'm afraid that folder is full now.
Reposted by Mx. Riley
🪶 One of my favorite #WinterSurvivors is the pine warbler. This one seems to be looking hard for signs of spring. #BirdoftheDay #birds #photography
February 16, 2026 at 1:26 PM
🪶 One of my favorite #WinterSurvivors is the pine warbler. This one seems to be looking hard for signs of spring. #BirdoftheDay #birds #photography
Reposted by Mx. Riley
Colorado is considering SB26-097 in the legislature to decriminalize sex work. You can search online and find arguments in favor of that, particularly *from sex workers*, whose opinions matter on this.
In RI, done by mistake, it may have reduced rape and STIs.
newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/dec...
In RI, done by mistake, it may have reduced rape and STIs.
newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/dec...
Decriminalizing prostitution linked to fewer STDs and rapes
A study co-authored by a UCLA public policy professor found some positive effects in Rhode Island after the state accidentally made prostitution legal for seven years.
newsroom.ucla.edu
February 16, 2026 at 3:53 PM
Colorado is considering SB26-097 in the legislature to decriminalize sex work. You can search online and find arguments in favor of that, particularly *from sex workers*, whose opinions matter on this.
In RI, done by mistake, it may have reduced rape and STIs.
newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/dec...
In RI, done by mistake, it may have reduced rape and STIs.
newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/dec...
Reposted by Mx. Riley
And, in Ojibway, we also don’t have a word for “goodbye”. Instead, we say Baamaapii (Bah-mah-pee). It means “until later,” or “I will see you again.” Our language carries the understanding that relationships are never truly ended —even after death, we will see each other in this life or the next.
In Lakota, we don’t have a word for “goodbye.” We know a goodbye is never a “goodbye,” because we’ll see you again in this life or the next. Don’t say “goodbye.” Instead, say, “Tokša.” Phonetically, it’s THOK-SHA. It means, “I’ll see you again.”
February 16, 2026 at 3:57 PM
And, in Ojibway, we also don’t have a word for “goodbye”. Instead, we say Baamaapii (Bah-mah-pee). It means “until later,” or “I will see you again.” Our language carries the understanding that relationships are never truly ended —even after death, we will see each other in this life or the next.
Reposted by Mx. Riley
"It is an act of love for Palestinians to patiently counter myths while their loved ones are being killed."
@soleilho.com went to a dinner where Palestinian food and drink makers shared their history and their grief. Then came the Q&A.
@soleilho.com went to a dinner where Palestinian food and drink makers shared their history and their grief. Then came the Q&A.
Pass the Rice, and Please Explain Your Genocide
At a thoughtfully organized dinner in Oakland, Palestinian culinary activists shared more than just food — they offered their stories, their resilience, and their patience
www.coyotemedia.org
February 16, 2026 at 4:00 PM
"It is an act of love for Palestinians to patiently counter myths while their loved ones are being killed."
@soleilho.com went to a dinner where Palestinian food and drink makers shared their history and their grief. Then came the Q&A.
@soleilho.com went to a dinner where Palestinian food and drink makers shared their history and their grief. Then came the Q&A.
Reposted by Mx. Riley
these two young white guys on IG go to an NYC restaurant each week to try food from a different country. they posted a video bringing together the owners of their first 12 stops & it made me cry bc it was simple & beautiful. just people from all over the world hanging & being pals. how it should be.
February 16, 2026 at 4:55 AM
these two young white guys on IG go to an NYC restaurant each week to try food from a different country. they posted a video bringing together the owners of their first 12 stops & it made me cry bc it was simple & beautiful. just people from all over the world hanging & being pals. how it should be.
Reposted by Mx. Riley
from the perspective of someone who might want to be president, the best time to run for the white house is now, not later. so if AOC is thinking about it — if the white house is her ambition — then her best bet is to throw her hat in the ring
You Know What? Maybe the Time Is Right for an AOC Presidential Bid
She’s only 36, and there’s a good argument that she should run for Senate and bide her time. But she also could be a formidable White House candidate.
newrepublic.com
February 16, 2026 at 2:13 PM
from the perspective of someone who might want to be president, the best time to run for the white house is now, not later. so if AOC is thinking about it — if the white house is her ambition — then her best bet is to throw her hat in the ring
Reposted by Mx. Riley
Since the government is about to introduce a social media ban for under-16s based largely on vibes – and Jonathan Haidt's shitty book – in the hopes it boosts its popularity (it won't), I'll re-up this.
If we're banning under-16s, why not over-60s?
If we're banning under-16s, why not over-60s?
On almost everything – fraud, polarisation, radicalisation, misinformation – evidence suggests that over 60s are in much more urgent need of online protection and education than teenagers.
But that issue gets zero political attention, and is a total non-starter. Nothing good will come of it.
But that issue gets zero political attention, and is a total non-starter. Nothing good will come of it.
This was a minor story on London news this morning - but suspect is a real cautionary (and alarming) tale of an older man getting radicalised online.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
February 16, 2026 at 9:48 AM
Since the government is about to introduce a social media ban for under-16s based largely on vibes – and Jonathan Haidt's shitty book – in the hopes it boosts its popularity (it won't), I'll re-up this.
If we're banning under-16s, why not over-60s?
If we're banning under-16s, why not over-60s?
Reposted by Mx. Riley
More from @liberalcurrents.com, from November by @zeblarson.bsky.social. It deserves to be widely read. It's the most sober-minded version of how liberal backlash to COVID mitigation measures set the table for the take-over of public health by the far-right. www.liberalcurrents.com/propaganda-r...
Propaganda, Rather than Pandemic Policies, Caused the War on Public Health
The backlash narrative ignores basic facts of the case.
www.liberalcurrents.com
February 16, 2026 at 10:50 AM
More from @liberalcurrents.com, from November by @zeblarson.bsky.social. It deserves to be widely read. It's the most sober-minded version of how liberal backlash to COVID mitigation measures set the table for the take-over of public health by the far-right. www.liberalcurrents.com/propaganda-r...
Reposted by Mx. Riley
New from me: an example of how the voices of "moderation" have ALWAYS gotten it wrong in struggles for civil rights & equality. This would be a very good time to FINALLY collectively figure this out.
White ‘Moderates’ and Despotism: An Example from the Archive | Historian @wihorne.bsky.social looks back at a letter written by a Bucks County teacher to President Lincoln’s Secretary of War to draw lessons for today about resistance in the face of white supremacist threats to democracy.
White ‘Moderates’ and Despotism: An Example from the Archive - Bucks County Beacon
Historian William Horne looks back at a letter written by a Bucks County teacher to President Lincoln’s Secretary of War to draw lessons for today about resistance in the face of white supremacist thr...
buckscountybeacon.com
February 16, 2026 at 2:07 PM
New from me: an example of how the voices of "moderation" have ALWAYS gotten it wrong in struggles for civil rights & equality. This would be a very good time to FINALLY collectively figure this out.
Reposted by Mx. Riley
Reading American history will break your heart a thousand times but it will also fill you with such admiration and awe for all the people who were excluded from the protection of America’s founding principles and fought to promote, protect and expand them anyways
February 16, 2026 at 12:19 AM
Reading American history will break your heart a thousand times but it will also fill you with such admiration and awe for all the people who were excluded from the protection of America’s founding principles and fought to promote, protect and expand them anyways
Reposted by Mx. Riley
I wish people understood how much unseen labor goes into every visible ounce of activism
and how much labor by so many people towards change is deliberately invisible and never meant to be known
and how much labor by so many people towards change is deliberately invisible and never meant to be known
February 15, 2026 at 10:18 PM
I wish people understood how much unseen labor goes into every visible ounce of activism
and how much labor by so many people towards change is deliberately invisible and never meant to be known
and how much labor by so many people towards change is deliberately invisible and never meant to be known
There's a house in Petaluma with a giant skeleton – same story, started one Halloween and just gets updated seasonally. I make sure to travel through just to see it 😂 I appreciate neighbors who dial up the whimsy.
a neighbor set up this werewolf for halloween and instead of taking it down they just update it with seasonal outfit changes. now it’s dressed for valentine’s day and holding a sign with a picture of bad bunny and his super bowl slogan. i love him.
February 15, 2026 at 11:35 PM
There's a house in Petaluma with a giant skeleton – same story, started one Halloween and just gets updated seasonally. I make sure to travel through just to see it 😂 I appreciate neighbors who dial up the whimsy.
Reposted by Mx. Riley
February 15, 2026 at 8:57 PM
Reposted by Mx. Riley
“the tyranny of the quantifiable”
February 15, 2026 at 7:58 PM
“the tyranny of the quantifiable”
Reposted by Mx. Riley
organizing gets the goods
SFUSD students learned more about solidarity, power, and love this week from UESF and all who supported them than they could possibly have learned in school for the week.
Thank you educators for showing the way 🙏
Thank you educators for showing the way 🙏
February 15, 2026 at 7:06 PM
organizing gets the goods
Reposted by Mx. Riley
A judge ruled that groups representing residents of Louisiana’s Cancer Alley can proceed with their landmark lawsuit seeking a pause on toxic industrial plants in two majority‑Black districts
Black Residents Win Key Ruling in ‘Cancer Alley’ Environmental Racism Case
The lawsuit could force a jury to decide if turning Black communities into sacrifice zones is a legacy of slavery.
capitalbnews.org
February 15, 2026 at 7:21 PM
A judge ruled that groups representing residents of Louisiana’s Cancer Alley can proceed with their landmark lawsuit seeking a pause on toxic industrial plants in two majority‑Black districts
Reposted by Mx. Riley
#BirdoftheDay is #BirdButts, and this Red-shouldered Hawk is my offering, as it fluffs up its feathers, trying to dry off after some rain. #Birds 🪶 #EastCoastKin #Nature #Wildlife
February 15, 2026 at 5:07 PM
#BirdoftheDay is #BirdButts, and this Red-shouldered Hawk is my offering, as it fluffs up its feathers, trying to dry off after some rain. #Birds 🪶 #EastCoastKin #Nature #Wildlife
Reposted by Mx. Riley
Reposted by Mx. Riley
im calling dibs on transitioning to a gas. i want to be a sentient cloud in a person shaped suit so bad.
first trans to:
-create a new internet
-transition from solid to a gas
-abolish the government
-create a robot cow
-free solo el capitan
-win all the olympic events at all the olympics
-make a skin suit out of an irish television comedy writer
-invent a newer faker car
-bring back god to kill again
-create a new internet
-transition from solid to a gas
-abolish the government
-create a robot cow
-free solo el capitan
-win all the olympic events at all the olympics
-make a skin suit out of an irish television comedy writer
-invent a newer faker car
-bring back god to kill again
February 15, 2026 at 6:26 PM
im calling dibs on transitioning to a gas. i want to be a sentient cloud in a person shaped suit so bad.
Reposted by Mx. Riley
A genuine question: what makes you stay hopeful?
February 15, 2026 at 5:45 AM
A genuine question: what makes you stay hopeful?
Reposted by Mx. Riley
When I get just a little too warm under the covers:
The little leg kick out for steering in skeleton is necessary yet crazy.
February 15, 2026 at 6:11 PM
When I get just a little too warm under the covers:
Reposted by Mx. Riley
"In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud"
www.tomshardware.com/speakers/in-...
www.tomshardware.com/speakers/in-...
In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud — 'The mud should sound perfectly awful, but it doesn't,' notes the exper...
Who knew listening to a banana sounded so good?
www.tomshardware.com
February 15, 2026 at 7:10 PM
"In a blind test, audiophiles couldn't tell the difference between audio signals sent through copper wire, a banana, or wet mud"
www.tomshardware.com/speakers/in-...
www.tomshardware.com/speakers/in-...
Reposted by Mx. Riley
We can say no to things.
“Companies operating food delivery robots will not be allowed to expand across parts of Wicker Park and Logan Square following overwhelmingly negative feedback from neighbors, the local alderman said Monday.”
Logan Square, Wicker Park Neighbors Say No To More Delivery Robots
Ald. Daniel La Spata said Coco and Serve Robotics won't expand service in the 1st ward after more than 80 percent of residents who responded to a survey said they didn't want them.
blockclubchicago.org
February 15, 2026 at 5:53 PM
We can say no to things.