(no subject)

* "Something is happening in Iran. But what?:" https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/20/middleeast/iran-fuel-protests-intl/index.html

* "‘Our Patience Is Over’: Why Iraqis Are Protesting:" https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/20/world/middleeast/iraq-protests-sadr-city.html

* "Lebanon Protesters Shut Down Parliament and Clash With Police:" https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/19/world/middleeast/lebanon-parliament-protest.html

* "Boy, 12, is youngest convict in Hong Kong protests:" https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-50501084

* "FBI asked to interview whistleblower:" https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/20/politics/fbi-whistleblower/index.html

* "Opening statement before the House Intelligence Committee from Gordon Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the European Union:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/opening-statement-before-the-house-intelligence-committee-from-gordon-sondland-u-s-ambassador-to-the-european-union/c6fe4516-df6b-49e1-8943-de6ccc73175f/

* "Five takeaways from Gordon Sondland's bombshell testimony:" https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/20/politics/gordon-sondland-hearing-takeaways/index.html

* "‘It was no secret’: Sondland says Trump ordered Ukraine pressure campaign:" https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/20/gordon-sondland-impeachment-testimony-071708

* "Sondland Kept Pompeo Informed on Ukraine Pressure Campaign:" https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/20/us/politics/sondland-pompeo-ukraine.html

* "John Heilemann & Alex Wagner: Sondland's Testimony "Burned The House Down":"

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* "Nikki Haley Used System for Unclassified Material to Send ‘Confidential’ Information:" https://www.thedailybeast.com/nikki-haley-used-system-for-unclassified-material-to-send-confidential-information

* "Donald Trump’s latest adviser is a right-wing commentator who thinks homosexuality is an ‘abomination’:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/11/20/donald-trump-clarence-mason-weaver-new-adviser-homophobic-anti-gay-abomination/

* "Alex Wagner & John Heilemann: Cory Booker's "Weed" Comment Will Go Far:"

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* "Alicia Menendez - "The Likeability Trap" and Unique Challenges Faced by Female Political Candidates:"

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* It turned out that “Post debate coverage” = Rebroadcast, so I got to watch most of the debate, which I very much wanted to do. I kind of love how substantive it was. I was unfortunately exhausted and not taking in as much as I normally would. I’m too tired to comment sensibly on the debate as a whole, so I’m going to give you mildly edited random stuff I paged a friend, mostly. I did move things around so different things I said about one person were grouped together. For the record, participants were: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren, and Andrew Yang.

Me watching the debate: Fuck you Tulsi Gabbard! (She’s the Putin backed candidate this year, though I hate her for a host of other reasons having entirely to do with her own words, positions, and the fact that she only decided I was a person deserving human and possibly civil rights after she started running.) Kamala kept her cool and did not physically slap her for calling Ms. Harris a liar to her face, but I think I was not the only one thinking of it.

Me: Oh right. Tom Steyer exists. I wish Steyer would go awaaaay. It’s like he doesn’t understand the systems he’ trying to rip up by the roots. Reform needs to take into consideration why structures exist as they do so that babies don’t get tossed with the bathwater. If you pull out functional bits, you need to replace those functional bits at the same time. It’s like he has zero knowledge of how government actually works beyond an 8th grade civics course.

Biden actually just got good on off! I really don’t want him, though I’ll vote for him if he wins. Doesn’t stop me being impressed when he pulls a good debate answer off. (Unfortunately later, he made rather a mess of the domestic violence question and most of his other stuff was bland.)

Booker’s kind of on fire tonight, passionate, genuine, and occasionally funny. Also? I like Mr. Booker’s housing idea. It’s not far enough by itself, but it’s clever and if you combine it with some of the more conventional ones, they’d all be better together than the sum of their parts. Me, later: look at all that beautiful intersectional and systemic approach to problem solving! Unfortunately I am not into a bunch of his policies, and he tends to dismiss other people's good ideas.

It was good to see more issues covered, even if only shortly, like white supremacy, domestic violence, etc.. Most of the previous debates got super repetitive because it was the same few questions rephrased over and over most of the time.

I kind of love some of Kamala’s answers, particularly the longish intersectional piece and the how we win coalition ones towards the end.

I do wish Warren had been less on her talking points and more… I don’t know, responsive to the particular thing being discussed. I did really like the part about the refugees though, since it felt less canned. Bernie seemed rather lack luster too, and Biden really only had that one good answer. Biden mostly seemed to be riding one set of coat tails or another.

Buttigeig seemed solid and to the point, but nothing much is standing out except the thing with coalitions leading to rights for people like him, which was genuinely moving. I notice Klobacher keeps mentioning her experience, especially after Buttigeig talks. *snerk*

It’s nice to see a whole bunch of them talking election reform and fighting voter suppression.

Oooo! Gabbard and Buttigeig are going hard head to head! That was brutal!

(At this point my coverage cut out. Ooops! Summary from the bits I could see below).

Honestly, most of them are being pretty coherent, doing more complex answers, and putting in real policy proposals. Yang even had a bit more than his one issue stuff which is nice. I think this format is working way better than the earlier experiments and it’s incredibly helpful to not have a dozen combative no hopers bellowing nonsense over the real candidate’s answers.

* "Democratic Debate Ignores Transgender Day of Remembrance:" https://www.advocate.com/election/2019/11/20/democratic-debate-ignores-transgender-day-remembrance

* "Trump White House Blasts Out Anti-Vindman Talking Points to Surrogates:" https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-white-house-spreads-anti-vindman-talking-points-to-surrogates

* "This Queer DACA Recipient Still Believes in the American Dream:" https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2019/11/19/queer-daca-recipient-still-believes-american-dream

* "Remembering the 311 trans people murdered in the last year on Transgender Day of Remembrance:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/11/20/ransgender-day-remembrance-311-murdered-transrespect-versus-transphobia-worldwide/

* "Lib Dem manifesto pledges Gender Recognition Act reform, Gender X passports, LGBT+ asylum reforms:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/11/20/liberal-democrat-manifesto-lib-dem-gender-recognition-act-reform-x-passports-lgbt-asylum/

* "MSPs invite academic who brands trans women ‘parasites’ to speak on Transgender Day of Remembrance:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/11/20/trans-day-remembrance-anti-trans-joan-mcalpine-sheila-jeffreys-scottish-parliament-snp-labour/

"“The Declaration repeatedly refers to trans women as men, and calls on governments to treat trans people in all law, policies and practices only as the sex they were registered at birth,” the letter – which was signed by Stonewall Scotland, Scottish Trans Alliance, LGBT Health and Wellbeing, Equality Network and LGBT Youth Scotland – continues."

* "Nancy Pelosi Honors Trans Day of Remembrance, Slams Trump's Cruelty:" https://www.advocate.com/transgender/2019/11/20/nancy-pelosi-honors-trans-day-remembrance-slams-trumps-cruelty

* "A Texas Republican – yes, a Texas Republican – just came out with an infallible argument why Supreme Court must protect LGBT workers:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/11/20/texas-republican-supreme-court-must-protect-lgbt-workers/

* "Will the Supreme Court Protect People Like Me?:" https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2019/11/20/will-supreme-court-protect-people-me

* "These Trans Women of Color Will No Longer Accept the Status Quo:" https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2019/11/20/these-trans-women-color-will-no-longer-accept-status-quo

* "Is This Kansas Politician Threatening Employers of LGBTQ Activists?:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/2019/11/20/kansas-politician-threatening-lgbtq-actvists-employers

* "Third Judge Voids Trump's Rule Allowing Discrimination in Health Care:" https://www.advocate.com/health/2019/11/19/third-judge-voids-trumps-rule-allowing-discrimination-health-care

* "Massive Australian blazes will ‘reframe our understanding of bushfire’:" https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/11/massive-australian-blazes-will-reframe-our-understanding-bushfire

* "Regular Clowns Brawl with Pennywise & Joker:"

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* "The Census: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver:"

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* "Impeachment Hearings: All The President’s Men Colluded:"

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* "Stephen Miller Is Garbage And Needs To Be Fired Immediately:"

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* "A #MeToo Thanksgiving:"

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* "The Fifth 2020 Democratic Debate & Gordon Sondland's Impeachment Testimony:"

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* "Who Will Win the Black Vote in 2020?:"

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* I was just dead exhausted today and people kept calling to talk to me about important things. I didn't even try to forage, but at five I thought, I have an hour to dress and go pay small bill and get my library books before they close. It's tight, but I can do it!

...And I promptly discovered I needed to strip and redo my bed for the third time in three days. I dressed and took first meds, the got Squirrel to help since he was awake. I went to collect yesterday's laundry, including the other liner, the bed pad, and both fitted sheets and caught Elder kitty pissing in my laundry. (There is a reason I assumed she had branched out on incontinence this summer instead of suspecting Baby Girl. She also pooped in the kitchen a couple nights ago which was not fun for me to clean. She's ancient, fragile, and low key senile. It is for real not her fault, but jeus fuck!) Not the liner and pad, luckily, but I had to wash every damned thing else. I started the (I think) fifth laundry load in three days. I used the least torn of the back up fitted sheets, but it's so fragile, my foot will be through it in a day or two.

I made it out with 32 minutes to make a downtown loop in rush hour traffic. The big artery was a mess. There was nearly an accident because some asshole at the T didn't look to see if there was room before left turning and nearly rear ended someone, also losing three lanes of traffic a whole light by helpfully completely blocking an intersection with their truck. It nearly happened again when the light turned green for the same street, but that car was looking where they were going and there was enough room at the last minute for them not to block two lanes of traffic as they had originally intended.

Luckily, once hit the next light and made my left it was clear sailing to the library. It was that magical gap where the people leaving work were already home and the people who changed before going to a restaurant or bar had not quite made it downtown yet. My the time I changed my books, Northwestbound was packed and parking was long gone, but luckily, I was going southeast. AhHa! So I did my two things. If it hadn't been for the bed change I might have squeaked under at forage, but by the time I'd paid small bill I had 8 minutes and really I'd have needed fifteen to get safely over there under the wire.

I just had next to no spoons. I only got half the books in from the car. I did change a tank and force myself to make gravy. (I was hoping protein would help and gravy means a week of easy protein once I get it made. The protein did not help. Nor the caffeine even though tonight was intended to be caffeine free). I'd go to bed, but I'm signing papers with the city for the renovations at too damned early in the morning and if I sleep I'll not be wearing clothes and coherent when the nice lady comes. I'm barely coherent now. I keep having to reread impeachment things and I kept having to back up debate sections to rewatch.

So I am kind of a mess and postings likely reflect that.

*****
* Full list of Resistance and charity links has been migrated to my profile as it was getting out of hand.

* "How you can help Hurricane Dorian disaster relief:" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/08/hurricane-dorian-disaster-relief-how-you-can-help

* A small, cheap thing to help climate change if you have little money to spare: https://onetreeplanted.org/products/amazon-rainforest-peru

* How to donate to Rainbow Road: https://www.rainbowrailroad.com/donate

* Here are a bunch of state level links to help people in immigrant detention: https://taibhsearachd.tumblr.com/post/186058182962/woundability-this-4th-of-july-celebrate-the

* Angry about the concentration camps on our Southern Border? Here is a list of useful things you can do: https://medium.com/@togetherandfree/feel-helpless-amidst-the-horrific-immigration-news-youre-not-how-you-can-make-difference-today-108dc42de88e

* "More Organizations to Support Helping Kids in Concentration Camps:" https://thisfinecrew.dreamwidth.org/201920.html

Here is a massive list of things you can do to help refugees inside and outside of the Camps: https://s-leary.tumblr.com/post/185783586806/so-youve-probably-seen-the-post-going-around

* A list of organizations to help you run for office: http://lovingmyselfishard.tumblr.com/post/167330144634/psst-hey

* Have something you want to tell your Congress Critters? If you can not protest in person, here are some other options:

Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to the representative of your choice.

This App phones your rep for you: http://takeastance.us/

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resistbot.io/

* This is a cool person and the clothes are being made from an ethical source. Looking for cool inclusive Pride themed merch? www.nerdykeppie.com

* HorrorMux is open for apping the next story, which is a Max Mad type thing. Available Archetypes are here. I'm Martyr if you want to find me.: http://horrormu.com/index.php/Available

* Help pay for cat food, litter, meds, medical copays: Paypal Lethran@gmail.com or paypal.me/Gwydion

* If you are interested in helping, right now the Cat thing we need most is:
https://www.chewy.com/wellness-core-signature-selects/dp/147047

Or possibly this: https://www.chewy.com/instinct-by-natures-variety-limited/dp/44654

* Birthday/Solstice master list: https://gwydion.dreamwidth.org/2108835.html