Two+ Weeks Behind

* "Why Germany’s far-right AfD is blamed over racist violence:" https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51588602

* "IS supporter admits St Paul's bomb plot:" https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-51583815

* "Coronavirus spikes outside China show travel bans aren’t working:" https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/02/why-travel-restrictions-are-not-stopping-coronavirus-covid-19/

* "CDC has confirmed 35 cases of novel coronavirus in the US:" https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/21/health/cdc-coronavirus-update/index.html

* "U.S. Stocks Plunge as Coronavirus Crisis Spreads:" https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/24/business/stock-market-coronavirus.html

* "White House fears coronavirus could shape Trump's 2020 fortunes:" https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/21/coronavirus-trump-white-house-116650

* 45 made no mention of Kashmir. "India rolls out the MAGA carpet for Trump:" https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/24/donald-trump-india-spectacle-117112

* How does he not know what that song was about? I was a kid when this came out and I knew what it was about. "Donald Trump arrived at a rally to the Village People’s Macho Man, to the confusion of pretty much everyone:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/02/24/donald-trump-village-people-macho-man-india-ahmedabad-rally/

* "Trump’s New Spy Chief Used to Work for a Foreign Politician the U.S. Accused of Corruption:" https://www.propublica.org/article/trumps-new-spy-chief-used-to-work-for-a-foreign-politician-the-us-accused-of-corruption

* Meanwhile, in Autocracy news, the purges continue. "Trump wants fewer people on his team -- but more loyalists:" https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/24/politics/trump-administration-purge/index.html

* In yet more Autocracy news.... "Trump reportedly calls John Bolton a 'traitor' and wants to block his book:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/22/trump-john-bolton-traitor-book-marie-yovanovitch

* "Trump engaged in 'jury tampering on a mass, national scale':" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-engaged-in-jury-tampering-on-a-mass-national-scale-79377989891

* "Trump, Barr imposition sets D.C. federal prosecutors on edge:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-barr-imposition-sets-d-c-federal-prosecutors-on-edge-79379013795

* "Dueling Narratives Emerge From Muddied Account of Russia’s 2020 Interference:" https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/23/us/politics/russia-2020-election-interference.html

* "Right-wing pundit Glenn Beck says Pete Buttigieg can’t cite the Bible because it supports the ‘stoning of homosexuals’:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/02/23/right-wing-pundit-says-pete-buttigieg-bible-because-stoning-homosexuals/

* So Bloomburg is adding homophobia to his resume of racism, transphobia, sexism, and lying about the causes of the W. Bush financial crash. Fuck off Dino! "Bloomberg Campaign Tweets About Sanders Lusting After Putin:" https://www.advocate.com/election/2020/2/24/bloomberg-campaign-tweets-about-sanders-lusting-after-putin

* "Democratic Super PAC set to air new anti-Trump ads in key states:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/democratic-super-pac-set-to-air-new-anti-trump-ads-in-key-states-79380037672

* TW: Rape. "Harvey Weinstein Convicted on Charges of Rape, Sexual Assault:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/2020/2/24/harvey-weinstein-convicted-charges-rape-sexual-assault

* "No Scottish police officers have been trained to tackle LGBT hate crime in four years despite being a ‘priority’:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/02/23/police-scotland-lgbt-hate-crime-equality-network-training-daily-record/

* "Government refuses to deny plans to reform the Gender Recognition Act have been scrapped:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/02/24/gender-recognition-act-gra-reform-government-equalities-office-transgender-theresa-may/

This sure looks like helping, not harming children to me, but the Tories insist outing them is better for them:

"Campaigners are calling for 16- and 17-year-olds to be able to access this process, so that trans teenagers do not gain school certificates and other documents in a name and gender that they will then have to use to apply for university. Lowering the age limit to 16 would protect these trans youth’s privacy – but it is merely an administrative change."

* "Effigy of Gay Couple With Child Burned at European Carnival:" https://www.advocate.com/world/2020/2/24/effigy-gay-couple-child-burned-european-carnival

* "SCOTUS to Decide Whether Foster Agencies Can Reject LGBTQ Parents:" https://www.advocate.com/news/2020/2/24/scotus-decide-whether-foster-agencies-can-reject-lgbtq-parents

* TW: Sexual Assault "Man details alleged sexual abuse by university doctor who treated ‘all the gay men’ 50 years ago:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/02/21/sexual-abuse-university-michigan-doctor-gay-men-robert-anderson/

* "Katherine Johnson, NASA Mathematician And An Inspiration For 'Hidden Figures,' Dies:" https://www.npr.org/2020/02/24/517784975/katherine-johnson-nasa-mathematician-and-an-inspiration-for-hidden-figures-dies?utm_source=tumblr.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20200224

* "'I hated my homophobic stepdad, then he came out':" https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-51566445

* "Frederick Koch, Subject of Brothers' Antigay Blackmail Plot, Has Died:" https://www.advocate.com/news/2020/2/13/frederick-koch-subject-brothers-antigay-blackmail-plot-has-died

* Thanks to a benefactor, we had enough money not only to reup my car registration for the year, but to pay the half tax on the apartment, which means our housing is safe for another six months. I sorted that out after forage today.

The weather's been early springish for about a week and I leave to window open a couple of hours in the afternoon so the wee beasties can enjoy it before the chill sets in. Elder Kitty really is warming up to Baby Girl, which is huge relief to Baby Girl who just wants to make friends and hang out peacefully as a clowder.

Get this. Livia was chilling on the sofa back, which this desk is pressed against. Elder Kitty went up on the desk on her way to the sofa nap spots and got within a foot of Livia. Instead of making a drama and chasing her off, she just went and napped on the left hand desk in that spot she likes. No hissing. No growling. No stress for Livia. Progress.

I am still living in renovation chaos, but it is helpful that the end really is in sight, and it is stupidly exciting that for the first time in my life, all the plumbing and appliances in he place I am living work and are in good shape. I am stupidly delighted every time I use the patio door handle and it remains sturdy and not broken.

Alas, more bureaucracy came in to day. It is lucky I still had another bureaucracy thing on my to do list and hadn’t disassembled the back pack ‘o bureaucracy stuff. It’s not quite as bad as end of the year bureaucracy, but is multi-stage and essential. I managed stage one, but I’m going to need to fine tooth it with the documentation assemblage, then make MORE copies of things, and, and... sigh.

* Humans and Aliens: Give a human a Screwdriver: https://thewightknight.tumblr.com/post/610891457213186048/gabriel-wolfe-wordsmith-callmebliss

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

* Register to vote: https://vote.gov/

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

* The Indivisble guide exists to help you organize effective resistance: https://indivisible.org/

* Here’s a list of vulnerable republican senators up for election this year:

Martha McSally - Arizona
Susan Collins - Maine
Cory Gardner - Colorado
Thom Tillis - North Carolina
Pat Roberts - Kansas
David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler - Georgia
Joni Ernst - Iowa

Here’s a list of vulnerable democratic senators that NEED votes to keep their seats:

Doug Jones - Alabama
Gary Peters - Michigan

* Want to get rid of Mitch McConnell? Help Amy McGrath: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/am-website?refcode=website-nav

* Want to get rid of Lindsey Graham? Help Jaime Harrison: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_harrison_fr_q12019_jaime-a?refcode=MS_AD_D-DD_2019.03.08_X_GG_KW__X__eyJjcmVhdGl2ZSI6IkFkZCBEb25hdGlvbiBOb3ciLCJhdWRpZW5jZSI6IkphaW1lSGFycmlzb24ifQ&recurring=TRUE&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIn4a_583I5gIVC8RkCh0MowFeEAAYASAAEgIXZfD_BwE

* There's a decent chance of flipping this Senate seat blue. Want to help? https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ads-mek-egsearch_dtd?refcode=ads-200108-gs-evergreensearch-dtd-natl-mix-8753679275-87807510469-410037583123-%2Bmark%20%2Bkelly%20%2Bdonate&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpKSR192K5wIVAsNkCh0EeAFSEAAYASAAEgLY7fD_BwE

* Want to support Christy Smith in the primary for Katie Hill's seat?: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/dw_ca25

* 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/

* Some RL friends of mine who were barely scraping by just lost one of the part time jobs they collectively hold and it's really fucking things up for them. These are good people, who do so much for others. Want to help? https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-a-gig-worker-get-through-the-winter/share

* 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

The dry food I was going to try is this one: https://www.chewy.com/blue-buffalo-wilderness-flatland/dp/176663

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