Sean D. Johnson
@seanjohnson.bsky.social
Extragalactic astronomer; LSA Collegiate Fellow & Assistant Professor at @michiganastro. Dog lover. Pronouns: he/him/his 🏳️🌈
Reposted by Sean D. Johnson
Nov 25 2025 @rikiwilchins.bsky.social -- At least four federal judges have now blocked portions of or the entirety of invasive DOJ subpoenas served on 20 health providers of gender-affirming medical care for trans minors.
Multiple judges call out DOJ's methods of defending its invasive trans care subpoenas
A trio of public rulings, including one on Friday, all side with providers. Two rulings also raised sharp questions about DOJ's moves in recent months.
www.lawdork.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Nov 25 2025 @rikiwilchins.bsky.social -- At least four federal judges have now blocked portions of or the entirety of invasive DOJ subpoenas served on 20 health providers of gender-affirming medical care for trans minors.
Reposted by Sean D. Johnson
Nov 2025 @rikiwilchins.bsky.social -- Reps privately push ban on trans care in ACA/Obamacare as part of moving any subsidy deal forward. It was stripped from the last ACA deal. This one would hurt perhaps 500k trans ppl among the 20m who need Obamacare subsidies. Even blue states would be impacted.
Republicans Privately Pushing Anti-Trans Funding Ban For ACA Subsidy Deal After Shutdown Compromise
The proposal, which was first detailed in the Wall Street Journal, could harm transgender people even in blue states if it becomes part of the negotiated deal.
www.erininthemorning.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Nov 2025 @rikiwilchins.bsky.social -- Reps privately push ban on trans care in ACA/Obamacare as part of moving any subsidy deal forward. It was stripped from the last ACA deal. This one would hurt perhaps 500k trans ppl among the 20m who need Obamacare subsidies. Even blue states would be impacted.
And you may look the other way
But we can try to understand
The New York Times' effect on man
But we can try to understand
The New York Times' effect on man
November 13, 2025 at 3:31 AM
And you may look the other way
But we can try to understand
The New York Times' effect on man
But we can try to understand
The New York Times' effect on man
With UM daily parking permits (saves $ if you walk/bike/bus on most days), the new parking system doesn't select your license plate by default when buying refills. So despite having 10 valid passes on the permit that let me enter the lot, they claim I owe a $75 ticket. Incompetent UI design.
November 4, 2025 at 1:08 AM
With UM daily parking permits (saves $ if you walk/bike/bus on most days), the new parking system doesn't select your license plate by default when buying refills. So despite having 10 valid passes on the permit that let me enter the lot, they claim I owe a $75 ticket. Incompetent UI design.
There are negative aspects of the LANL+UMich facility proposed in Ypsi, but it isn’t an AI data center. It is for high performance computing, mostly nuke simulations.
Nukes are very bad, but nukes+active testing is worse. Accurate sims mean DOE/DOD don’t need to explode actual bombs in tests.
Nukes are very bad, but nukes+active testing is worse. Accurate sims mean DOE/DOD don’t need to explode actual bombs in tests.
October 30, 2025 at 12:53 PM
There are negative aspects of the LANL+UMich facility proposed in Ypsi, but it isn’t an AI data center. It is for high performance computing, mostly nuke simulations.
Nukes are very bad, but nukes+active testing is worse. Accurate sims mean DOE/DOD don’t need to explode actual bombs in tests.
Nukes are very bad, but nukes+active testing is worse. Accurate sims mean DOE/DOD don’t need to explode actual bombs in tests.
Reposted by Sean D. Johnson
There has been a lot of hay made over the Kim Davis challenge against Obergefell at SCOTUS, whether or not they'll decide to take up the case. IMO, I'd pay a lot more attention to efforts like this to erode gay marriage:
NEW: On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court made a comment on the state judicial code of conduct that says judges who refuse to conduct gay weddings "on a sincerely held religious belief" won't be sanctioned. It's part of a messy legal fight over gay marriage in Texas.
www.chron.com/culture/reli...
www.chron.com/culture/reli...
Texas judges can refuse to marry gay couples without punishment, court says
The decision stems from a judge in a tiny Texas county who refuses to officiate gay weddings.
www.chron.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:18 PM
There has been a lot of hay made over the Kim Davis challenge against Obergefell at SCOTUS, whether or not they'll decide to take up the case. IMO, I'd pay a lot more attention to efforts like this to erode gay marriage:
Would be great if the NYT went on record about exactly what level of influence and resources they think Area studies departments have, cause I’d love to compare their vibes-based assertions with reality.
October 29, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Would be great if the NYT went on record about exactly what level of influence and resources they think Area studies departments have, cause I’d love to compare their vibes-based assertions with reality.
The receipts @astromonnier.bsky.social!
October 24, 2025 at 4:28 PM
The receipts @astromonnier.bsky.social!
Shared with a British friend who informed me that “louvre” is the correct British English spelling. So I guess my observing logs are just a bit posh?
Observing while the Louvre is in the news, and it slowly dawned on me that I’ve been misspelling “louver” for years. Literally a decade of fits files and logs with me saying things like “louvre flats at 50% open”.
October 22, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Shared with a British friend who informed me that “louvre” is the correct British English spelling. So I guess my observing logs are just a bit posh?
Observing while the Louvre is in the news, and it slowly dawned on me that I’ve been misspelling “louver” for years. Literally a decade of fits files and logs with me saying things like “louvre flats at 50% open”.
October 22, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Observing while the Louvre is in the news, and it slowly dawned on me that I’ve been misspelling “louver” for years. Literally a decade of fits files and logs with me saying things like “louvre flats at 50% open”.
Reposted by Sean D. Johnson
The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the human rights of a transgender weightlifter were violated when USA Powerlifting refused to let her compete as a woman at two of their events held in Minnesota, but elements of the lawsuit remain unsettled.
In nuanced opinion, state Supreme Court rules transgender weightlifter’s human rights were violated
The opinion leaves open the question of whether USA Powerlifting had a legitimate business reason to not allow JayCee Cooper to compete as a female at two weightlifting events in Minnesota.
bit.ly
October 22, 2025 at 7:30 PM
The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the human rights of a transgender weightlifter were violated when USA Powerlifting refused to let her compete as a woman at two of their events held in Minnesota, but elements of the lawsuit remain unsettled.
"Enthusiasm for testosterone [for cis people] cuts across political lines. [Cis] women [in] religious communities that [...] oppose gender-affirming care [... take] testosterone in amounts comparable to [...] trans men."
Corrections above.
Bodily autonomy for all.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/m...
Corrections above.
Bodily autonomy for all.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/m...
‘I’m on Fire’: Testosterone Is Giving Women Back Their Sex Drive — and Then Some
www.nytimes.com
October 22, 2025 at 7:29 PM
"Enthusiasm for testosterone [for cis people] cuts across political lines. [Cis] women [in] religious communities that [...] oppose gender-affirming care [... take] testosterone in amounts comparable to [...] trans men."
Corrections above.
Bodily autonomy for all.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/m...
Corrections above.
Bodily autonomy for all.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/m...
0.35” seeing!!!
a man and a woman are jumping in the air in a living room .
Alt: a man and a woman are jumping in the air in a living room .
media.tenor.com
October 20, 2025 at 4:24 AM
0.35” seeing!!!
It seems a number of us had the idea of going to Detroit Shipping before Rocky Horror at the Masonic Temple
a close up of a woman with makeup on her face and the words `` well , how ' bout that ? ''
Alt: a close up of a woman with makeup on her face and the words `` well , how ' bout that ? ''
media.tenor.com
October 18, 2025 at 10:25 PM
It seems a number of us had the idea of going to Detroit Shipping before Rocky Horror at the Masonic Temple
Reposted by Sean D. Johnson
It should be noted that the entire justification underpinning this policy is Texas House Bill 229, a law that only says that state documents may only have "male" or "female" on them and enshrines definition of "male" and "female" into law. The bill says absolutely nothing about class curriculum.
A Texas public university administrator's notes for a meeting with faculty.
"No daylight": faculty "cannot discuss or teach anything regarding transgender - only male and female." They must "scrub" syllabi for "transgender items."
And keep everything out of writing: "Don't email; talk directly."
"No daylight": faculty "cannot discuss or teach anything regarding transgender - only male and female." They must "scrub" syllabi for "transgender items."
And keep everything out of writing: "Don't email; talk directly."
October 17, 2025 at 2:40 PM
It should be noted that the entire justification underpinning this policy is Texas House Bill 229, a law that only says that state documents may only have "male" or "female" on them and enshrines definition of "male" and "female" into law. The bill says absolutely nothing about class curriculum.
Am I missing something, or does the Astro Data Lab at NOIRLab really not have a finder chart generator?
October 17, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Am I missing something, or does the Astro Data Lab at NOIRLab really not have a finder chart generator?
Accidentally taught a lesson in balloon animal biology in ASTRO 102 today. Turns out, balloon animals can undergo mitosis after hibernating in liquid nitrogen!
October 16, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Accidentally taught a lesson in balloon animal biology in ASTRO 102 today. Turns out, balloon animals can undergo mitosis after hibernating in liquid nitrogen!
Reposted by Sean D. Johnson
A body blow to LGBTQ+ news and trans news in particular. NBC Out was the best of the best. Jo Yurcaba's work in particular (not tagging them bc it seems rude) was the best of the best.
October 15, 2025 at 9:31 PM
A body blow to LGBTQ+ news and trans news in particular. NBC Out was the best of the best. Jo Yurcaba's work in particular (not tagging them bc it seems rude) was the best of the best.
I have reached the stage of JWST proposaling that involves zooming in on figures so much that I can identify the absolute heroes of astronomy who are still using SuperMongo and pgplot.
October 14, 2025 at 4:04 PM
I have reached the stage of JWST proposaling that involves zooming in on figures so much that I can identify the absolute heroes of astronomy who are still using SuperMongo and pgplot.
Reposted by Sean D. Johnson
What’s especially wild (legally) about this is that NSBP, NSHP, and SACNAS have always welcomed people of all backgrounds, including white people. NSHP has had a white president, my SACNAS leadership institute class has several white members, and NSBP has a sizable white membership.
Very bad: OSU unilaterally cancelled the registration of grad students attending the joint conference of the National Society of Black Physicists and the National Society of Hispanic Physicists. And OSU won't fund recruiting at the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science.
Ohio State changes policy on group conferences after Trump administration threats
A federal investigation into potentially discriminatory practices at Ohio State prompted the university to change its policies regarding conferences.
www.dispatch.com
October 14, 2025 at 1:13 PM
What’s especially wild (legally) about this is that NSBP, NSHP, and SACNAS have always welcomed people of all backgrounds, including white people. NSHP has had a white president, my SACNAS leadership institute class has several white members, and NSBP has a sizable white membership.
Reposted by Sean D. Johnson
🙋🏼♀️ Raises hand as white person who has been (warmly!) welcomed at NSBP for many years.
Also from a state (Michigan) that has been operating under an “affirmative action ban” for almost two decades … so our lawyers know that it’s perfectly legal to attend these events
Also from a state (Michigan) that has been operating under an “affirmative action ban” for almost two decades … so our lawyers know that it’s perfectly legal to attend these events
October 14, 2025 at 2:10 PM
🙋🏼♀️ Raises hand as white person who has been (warmly!) welcomed at NSBP for many years.
Also from a state (Michigan) that has been operating under an “affirmative action ban” for almost two decades … so our lawyers know that it’s perfectly legal to attend these events
Also from a state (Michigan) that has been operating under an “affirmative action ban” for almost two decades … so our lawyers know that it’s perfectly legal to attend these events
Reposted by Sean D. Johnson
I wrote a little about some of the little details you might have missed in this video and why it hit me so hard as a trans person this morning:
www.burnsnotice.com/you-have-to-...
www.burnsnotice.com/you-have-to-...
October 11, 2025 at 2:53 PM
I wrote a little about some of the little details you might have missed in this video and why it hit me so hard as a trans person this morning:
www.burnsnotice.com/you-have-to-...
www.burnsnotice.com/you-have-to-...
The message, the history, and even the choice of music. This is stunningly good.
UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera
In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.
As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.
In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.
As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.
October 12, 2025 at 2:22 AM
The message, the history, and even the choice of music. This is stunningly good.
Seeing Frog at a lot of protests. My question: where is Toad??
protests.is
October 11, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Seeing Frog at a lot of protests. My question: where is Toad??