Nec Hoc Nec Ilud

* "Supporters of Niger's coup march, waving Russian flags and denouncing France:" https://www.npr.org/2023/07/30/1190969703/supporters-of-nigers-coup-march-waving-russian-flags-and-denouncing-france

* "West African leaders meet over Niger coup, junta warns against intervention:" https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/west-african-leaders-meet-over-niger-coup-junta-warns-against-intervention-2023-07-30/

* "As regional bloc threatens intervention in Niger, neighboring juntas vow mutual defense:" https://apnews.com/article/niger-coup-west-africa-use-of-force-mali-burkina-faso-0b951ec77a89033c84e6f0972cc21b5f

* "Tens of Thousands of Israelis Protest Netanyahu Government's Judicial Overhaul:" https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-07-29/ty-article/tens-of-thousands-of-israelis-protest-netanyahu-governments-judicial-overhaul/00000189-a306-d00f-a7db-b39f9dbf0000

* "Masked, Unidentifiable Cops Beat Israeli Civilians With Impunity – How Long Can It Go On?:" https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-07-30/ty-article-magazine/.premium/masked-unidentifiable-cops-beat-israeli-civilians-with-impunity-how-long-can-it-go-on/00000189-a835-d00f-a7db-b9bfb10c0000

* "Spain election repeat more likely after expat vote count:" https://www.politico.eu/article/election-repeat-spain-likely-expat-vote-tie-parliament/

* "Parish council denies homophobia after rejecting seats for two people with LGBTQ+ links:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/29/parish-council-denies-homophobia-after-rejecting-seats-for-two-people-with-lgbtq-links/

* "New Barbie-themed anti-Tory ads spotted in London: ‘This Barbie is gagging to deport your grandma’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/08/01/barbie-tory-mps-liz-truss-jacob-rees-mogg-kemi-badenoch-suella-braverman/

* "Saudi football ‘sportswashing’ and using multi-million-pound deals to distract from human rights issues:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/28/saudi-arabia-lgbtq-jordan-henderson-allyship/

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* "Let's talk about Putin, Russia, and Africa....:"

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* "How Russian colonialism took the Western anti-imperialist Left for a ride:" https://www.salon.com/2023/07/29/how-russian-colonialism-took-the-western-anti-imperialist-left-for-a-ride/

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* "'Kill the gays' law in Uganda tests Biden admin with huge amounts of aid money at stake:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/-kill-the-gays-law-in-uganda-tests-biden-admin-with-huge-amounts-of-aid-money-at-stake-189679685964

* "Kamala Harris Gives Fiery Speech About Florida Whitewashing History of Slavery:" https://www.advocate.com/history/kamala-harris-fiery-slavery-speech

* "Biden names CIA Director William Burns to his cabinet:" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cia-director-william-burns-biden-cabinet/

* "Let's talk about Hunter, Archer, and an old video....:"

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* "Woman Who Brought Anti-LGBTQ+ SCOTUS Case Did Make a Wedding Website:" https://www.advocate.com/news/303-creative-website-previous

* "GOP's New MAGA: Make America Go Ass-Backward:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/gop-new-maga-america-backward

* "Ro Khanna: Democratic Lawmakers Must Take a Stand for Transgender Rights:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/ro-khanna-democrats-trans-rights

* "House of Representatives debate on trans healthcare descends into pure transphobia:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/31/house-of-representatives-debate-trans-healthcare/

* "Republican Lawmakers Look to Ban Pride Flags at Stonewall, Other National Sites:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/pride-flag-ban-stonewall-republicans

* "The Kids Online Safety Act Would Harm LGBTQ+ Youth, Restrict Access to Information and Community:" https://www.teenvogue.com/story/kids-online-safety-act-lgbtq-youth?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

* "You Can Help Stop These Bad Internet Bills:" https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/you-can-help-stop-these-bad-internet-bills

* Have something you want to tell your Congress Critters? If you can't safely contact them 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.

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/

* The Indivisible Guide: "A Practical Guide to defeating MAGA:" https://indivisible.org/sites/default/files/2023-01/20220104_Indivisible_%20A%20Practical%20Guide%20to%20Defeating%20MAGA.pdf

* Ohioans! Have you voted? If not, why not do it now? "Top 5 reasons to Vote NO on Issue 1 on August 8th:" https://www.acluohio.org/en/news/top-5-reasons-vote-no-issue-1-august-8th-0

* "From home rule to the initiative itself, Ohio would have never won many reforms under a 60% rule:" https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/07/31/from-home-rule-to-the-initiative-itself-ohio-would-have-never-won-many-reforms-under-a-60-rule/

* "Deacon: 'No' on Issue 1 to protect Ohio from greed, stop 1 county from blocking will of majority:" https://www.dispatch.com/story/opinion/columns/guest/2023/07/29/reverand-ohio-issue-1-august-special-election-8-will-let-one-county-to-decide-for-all-others-vote-no/70440467007/

* "Tensions flare as California GOP gives Trump a boost by overhauling state primary rules:" https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-07-29/california-republican-primary-delegates-trump-desantis-presidential-election-2024

* "Let's talk about the Michigan elector claims getting strange....:"

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* "Let's talk about Rudy, truth, and the law....:"

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* "Arizona’s GOP Went All In on Trump’s Big Lie—Now It’s Broke:" https://www.thedailybeast.com/arizonas-gop-went-all-in-on-trumps-big-lienow-its-broke

* "Michigan Republican Party's bank accounts down to $93K, recording reveals:" https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/michigan/2023/07/14/michigan-republican-party-bankruptcy-kristina-karamo-financial-problems-debt-clare-meeting-fight/70414759007/

* "'Exciting, blustering nutjobs': Money problems, chaos seen in state Republican Parties:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/-exciting-blustering-nutjobs-money-problems-chaos-seen-in-state-republican-parties-189681221719

* "Julie Johnson Running to Be Texas's First Out Member of Congress:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/julie-johnson-texas-lgbtq

* "California Voters to Decide Fate of State's Prop 8 Same-Sex Marriage Ban in 2024:" https://www.advocate.com/law/prop-8-california-voters-2024

* "Let's talk about Christie vs Trump....:"

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* "DeSantis's DiSastrous Campaign: Burning Cash, Firing Staff:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/ron-desantis-disastrous-campaign

* "Ron DeSantis Attacks Trump for Promising to Protect LGBTQ+ People From Terrorists:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/ron-desantis-donald-trump-ad

* "Ron DeSantis Campaign Staff, Supporters Allegedly Assault LGBTQ+ Activists:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/ron-desantis-staff-assault-activists

* "Trump’s campaign finances are strained as legal peril mounts:" https://apnews.com/article/trump-legal-bills-pac-defense-fund-campaign-filing-2024-36fe10e4988a56de34f120cff38e1552

* "Louisiana Republicans Overturn Veto on Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth Ban:" https://www.advocate.com/law/gender-affirming-care-louisiana-veto

* "Ohio Republicans Seek to Criminalize Drag Performers:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/ohio-tries-criminalize-drag

* "Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer Outlaws Conversion Therapy on Minors:" https://www.advocate.com/law/michigan-conversion-therapy-ban

* "Inside the Party Switch That Blew Up North Carolina Politics:" https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/30/us/inside-the-party-switch-that-blew-up-north-carolina-politics.html

* "'Betrayal:' North Carolina lawmaker who switched parties was courted by GOP before election:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/-betrayal-north-carolina-lawmaker-who-switched-parties-was-courted-by-gop-before-election-189670981895

* "Minnesota Mayor Told to Resign by LGBTQ+ Group Over ‘Sin and Brokenness’ Comments:" https://www.advocate.com/news/minnesota-mayor-resignation-homophobia

* "North Carolina School Board Member Censured for Anti-LGBTQ+ Facebook Post:" https://www.advocate.com/news/censured-board-member-nc-airy

* "Ken Paxton doesn’t get to pick his jury:" https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2023/07/25/ken-paxton-doesnt-get-to-pick-his-jury/

* "Pro-Paxton group gives $3 million to impeachment trial judge Dan Patrick:" https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/18/ken-paxton-impeachment-dan-patrick/

* "Ken Paxton, impeached and suspended from office, raised $1.7 million in less than 2 weeks:" https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/17/ken-paxton-fundraising-impeachment/

* "Ken Paxton’s far-right billionaire backers are fighting hard to save him:" https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/24/ken-paxton-impeachment-dunn-wilks/

* "Ken Paxton will not testify at impeachment trial, defense attorney says:" https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/04/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-impeachment/

* "Gag order issued ahead of Texas AG Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial after ‘inflammatory’ remarks:" https://apnews.com/article/texas-paxton-impeachment-c264530978d369c9a0fb4b7cbdc65305

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* "Judge dismisses Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ lawsuit against CNN:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/29/judge-dismisses-trump-defamation-lawsuit-00108871

* "Georgia judge skewers Trump’s bid to derail potential charges:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/31/georgia-judge-trump-charges-fulton-county-00108968

* "Georgia Prosecutor to Give Donald Trump the Label He’s Deserved for Years: Racketeer:" https://newrepublic.com/post/174504/georgia-prosecutor-preps-devastating-racketeering-indictment-trump

* "Trump indicted for efforts to overturn 2020 election and block transfer of power:" https://apnews.com/article/trump-indicted-jan-6-investigation-special-counsel-debb59bb7a4d9f93f7e2dace01feccdc

* "Rep. Zoe Lofgren of January 6 Committee on Donald Trump’s Indictment:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/trump-indictment-zoe-lofgren

* "Maddow: History's judgment looms as citizen Trump faces accountability:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/maddow-history-s-judgment-looms-as-citizen-trump-faces-accountability-189771333594

* "Ex-NYPD Boss Handing Over Trump Records to Jack Smith:" https://www.thedailybeast.com/ex-nypd-boss-bernie-kerik-handing-over-trump-records-to-jack-smith?ref=home

* "'They knew to count on violence': Trump indictment shows willingness to seize power by force:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/-they-knew-to-count-on-violence-trump-indictment-shows-willingness-to-seize-power-by-force-189773893815

* "'Have your ducks in a row': What to know about the judge in the Trump 2020 case:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/-have-your-ducks-in-a-row-what-to-know-about-the-judge-in-the-trump-2020-case-189777477796

* This is the last week ones, but I couldn't remember if I posted them here. "Trump charged with new crimes in classified documents case :" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/27/feds-add-new-charges-against-trump-in-classified-documents-case-00108667

* "Before Jan. 6, Mark Meadows joked about Trump’s election claims:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/22/mark-meadows-georgia-election-results-2020-fraud-claims/

---

* "Mike Lindell’s Pillow Talk With Trump Ends in a Bad Dream:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/mike-lindell-pillow-talk-trump

* "Patriot Front members to serve just three days in jail for plan to storm Idaho Pride event:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/23/patriot-front-sentenced-days-jail-lgbtq-pride-idaho/

* "United States tops 400 mass shootings in 2023:" https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/24/politics/us-400-mass-shootings/index.html

* "Lesbian Couple Gunned Down in Washington State Mass Shooting:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/lesbians-killed-washington-shooting

* "Translating the Language of the Border:" https://thebaffler.com/latest/translating-the-language-of-the-border-del-valle

* "‘I can’t die like this’: Video shows trans man beaten by deputy during stop:" https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-07-23/video-trans-man-beaten-la-county-sheriff-deputy

* "Tennessee Radio Station Owner Makes Racist Remark About Karine Jean-Pierre:" https://www.advocate.com/media/karine-jean-pierre-tennessee-radio

* "Texas A&M President Katherine Banks resigns amid fallout from failed hiring of journalism professor:" https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/21/tamu-president-resign-journalism/

* "Judge temporarily blocks Montana’s vaguely worded anti-drag bill:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/29/judge-temporarily-blocks-montanas-vaguely-worded-anti-drag-bill/

* CW: Antisemitism, Holocaust "Fox News Host: 'You Had to Be Useful' in Holocaust Death Camps :" https://advocatechannel.com/fox-news-greg-gutfeld-holocaust

* Remember to vote in all school board elections. "School board in Missouri, now controlled by conservatives, revokes anti-racism resolution:" https://apnews.com/article/missouri-school-board-drops-antiracism-resolution-9d857b0e316950b600684e0050b85229

* Republicans are winning their War on Education. "HISD to eliminate librarians and convert libraries into disciplinary centers at NES schools:" https://abc13.com/hisd-libraries-librarians-media-specialists-houston-isd/13548483/

* "Let's talk about Texas libraries....:"

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* They were going to round up librarians and charge them with felonies for having any books the fascist extremists in Arkansas did not like. "Judge blocks Arkansas law allowing librarians to be criminally charged over ‘harmful’ materials:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/29/arkansas-law-librarian-criminal-charges-00108883

* "Montana Libraries Divorce National Organization Over 'Marxist Lesbian' President:" https://advocatechannel.com/montana-libraries-marxist-lesbian-president

* "ACLU Warns New Jersey Library Not to Censor LGBTQ+ Book:" https://www.advocate.com/books/new-jersey-library-censoring-book

* CW: Rape. "Nonbinary Activist Says They Were Drugged and Sexually Assaulted:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/deni-todorovic-victim-sexual-assault

* CW: CSA. "Child rape charge for Alabama state employee who ran anti-abortion committee:" https://boingboing.net/2023/07/24/child-rape-charge-for-alabama-official-who-ran-anti-abortion-committee.html

* CW: Suicide, Domestic Violence. "Pregnant trans man killed by partner in ‘horrific’ murder-suicide in Florida:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/29/pregnant-trans-man-killed-by-partner-in-murder-suicide-in-florida/

* "More than 80 per cent of women working in football have experienced discrimination, study finds:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/28/women-football-discrimination-study/

* "Disabled lesbian explains why we all must come together to fight common enemy:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/31/disability-pride-month-lgbtq-fight-future/

* "Police called after boy with autism used cinema toilet with mum, because manager thought he was trans:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/27/cinemark-trans-toilet-police-called/

* "Ohio Man Has Epic Meltdown at Petco Over Gender-Neutral Bathroom:" https://www.advocate.com/news/gender-neutral-bathroom-ohio-petco

* "Abortion providers sue Alabama to block prosecution over out-of-state travel:" https://www.reuters.com/legal/abortion-providers-sue-alabama-block-prosecution-over-out-of-state-travel-2023-07-31/

* "Why does Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor think your health information is his business?:" https://www.adn.com/opinions/editorials/2023/07/22/editorial-why-does-alaska-attorney-general-treg-taylor-think-your-health-information-is-his-business/

* "Kenya could follow Uganda as East African nations wage war on LGBT rights:" https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/kenya-could-follow-uganda-east-african-nations-wage-war-lgbt-rights-2023-06-22/

* "Anti-LGBTQ crackdown worsens in Tanzania:" https://www.washingtonblade.com/2023/07/11/anti-lgbtq-crackdown-worsens-in-tanzania/

* "Russia: Putin’s sweeping new trans ban is latest attack in global war on LGBTQ+ rights:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/25/russia-trans-gender-affirming-healthcare-ban-lgbtq-rights-global/

* "Ghana High Court Tosses Challenge to Draconian Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill:" https://www.advocate.com/law/ghana-anti-lgbtq-bill

* "Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov accused of ordering torture and murder of missing gay man:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/27/zelimkhan-bakaev-ramzan-kadyrov-chechnya/

* "Trans men entering Miss Italy in protest demand apology amid ‘continuous transphobia’ across country:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/27/trans-miss-italy-protestors-fight-against-trasphobia/

* "‘Unapologetically trans-inclusive’ Belfast Pride Parade set to be city’s biggest to date:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/29/unapologetically-trans-inclusive-belfast-pride-parade-set-to-be-citys-biggest-to-date/

* "Canadian couple win case against right-wing party that used photo of their newborn son in an anti-LGBTQ+ campaign:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/30/canadian-couple-win-case-against-right-wing-party-that-used-photo-of-their-newborn-son-in-an-anti-lgbtq-campaign/

* "Canada’s Unions are Organizing to Defend Workers From Far-Right Anti-2SLGBTQ+ Hate Groups:" https://pressprogress.ca/canadas-unions-are-organizing-to-defend-workers-from-far-right-anti-2slgbtq-hate-groups/

* "Investigation launched after two men stabbed by machete-wielding man in Australia’s LGBTQ+ mecca:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/30/investigation-launched-after-two-men-stabbed-by-machete-wielding-man-in-australias-lgbtq-mecca/

* "Labour attack on Scottish gender reform is ‘dishonest’ and ‘shameful’, say Scots politicians:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/25/labour-anneliese-dodds-gender-recognition-reform-scotland/

* "Rishi Sunak warned that trans schools guidance would put teachers in impossible bind and endanger children:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/29/rishi-sunak-trans-schools-guidance-psychologist/

* "Teacher and parent warn government must not ‘out’ trans pupils to unsupportive parents:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/30/teacher-and-parent-warn-government-must-not-out-trans-pupils-to-unsupportive-parents/

* "Estate agent jailed for vicious Birmingham attack on gay men with glass bottle and metal pipe:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/24/birmingham-usman-murtza-attack-gay/

* CW: Suicide. "Grimsby teacher’s inquest hears he took his own life after ‘vile homophobic abuse’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/29/inquest-finds-teacher-took-his-life-after-homophobic-abuse/

* CW: Suicide. "Helen Joyce Misquotes Bible, Suggests Rachel Levine Kill Herself:" https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/helen-joyce-misquotes-bible-to-say-rachel-levine-should-kill-herself

* "Kansas Republican AG Sues Democrat Governor Over Trans Drivers Licenses:" https://www.advocate.com/law/drivers-license-transgender-kansas

* "Tennessee Attorney General Obtains Confidential Medical Records of Trans Patients:" https://www.advocate.com/news/tennessee-ag-medical-records-transgender

* "Missouri Families Sue to Block Ban on Gender-Affirming Care:" https://www.advocate.com/law/missouri-transgender-lawsuit

* "Idaho Families Scramble to Stop Ban on Trans Health Care:" https://www.advocate.com/law/idaho-trans-youth-lawsuit

* "School Board Boots California Schools Chief From Meeting on Trans Policies:" https://www.advocate.com/news/california-superintendent-ousted-school-meeting

* "Texas Ag Dept. Shocked That Antidiscrimination Training Included Gender Identity:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/texas-anti-trans-discrimination-training

* "Puerto Rican Afro-Latina Trans Woman Chanell Perez Ortiz Fatally Shot:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/trans-woman-killed-puerto-rico

* "Florida Gay Man Brutally Attacked by Two Men Yelling Antigay Slurs:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/antigay-attack-miami-florida

* "Florida Reverends, Rabbi Slam DeSantis, Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/florida-reverends-rabbi-slam-desantis

* "Christian College Fires Gay Soccer Coach Over Instagram Stories:" https://www.advocate.com/news/gay-coach-fired-christian-college

* "Indiana Catholic School OK to Fire Staffer in Same-Sex Marriage: Appeals Court:" https://www.advocate.com/law/catholic-school-firing-upheld

* Neo-NAZI group continues its War on Children. "Moms for Liberty Outnumbered by LGBTQ+ Supporters Outside Youth Center:" https://www.advocate.com/news/moms-for-liberty-youth-center

* "TWIBS: The Transgenders Are Ruining… Military Enlistment Rates?!:" https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/fox-military-story-doesnt-add-up

* "No, Inclusive Church Was Not Hosting Same-Sex Wedding When It Caught Fire:" https://www.advocate.com/religion/church-destruction-claim-debunked

* "First Transgender NFL Cheerleader Stands Proud in Face of Hateful Trolls:" https://www.advocate.com/people/nfl-cheerleader-transgender-first

* "Coming out… again:"

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* "How ADHD affects me:"

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* "Revenge of the gaslit patients: Now, as scientists, they’re tackling Ehlers-Danlos syndromes:" https://www.statnews.com/2022/12/12/ehlers-danlos-syndrome-patients-turned-researchers/

* "Some Humans Create This Temporary, Alien Organ Which Has Baffled Scientists Until Now:" https://www.inverse.com/health/humans-create-temporary-alien-organ-baffled-scientists-until-now

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* "We are in an 'era of global boiling' as nearly half of all Americans are under heat advisories:" https://www.msnbc.com/jonathan-capehart/watch/we-are-in-an-era-of-global-boiling-as-nearly-half-of-all-americans-are-under-heat-advisories-189546053685

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* "Empty Office Buildings Are Being Turned Into Vertical Farms:" https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/empty-office-buildings-are-being-turned-into-vertical-farms-180982502/

* "Why pedestrian deaths in the US are at a 40-year high :" https://www.vox.com/23784549/pedestrian-deaths-traffic-safety-fatalities-governors-association

* "The ‘Darting Children’ That Helped Japan Win Its War on Traffic Accidents:" https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/tobita-kun-japanese-road-safety-signs

* "Self-healing metal? It's not just the stuff of science fiction:" https://www.reuters.com/science/self-healing-metal-its-not-just-stuff-science-fiction-2023-07-19/

* "Elon Musk took x Twitter handle from its original owner without asking:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/27/elon-musk-twitter-x-username-gene-x-hwang/

* "Rare ‘Trojan’ world may share the same orbit as another planet :" https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/19/world/exoplanet-trojan-sibling-pds-70-scn/index.html

* "‘Zombifying’ worms are evolutionary oddballs, missing genes all other animals have :" https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/18/world/horsehair-worms-parasites-missing-genes-scn/index.html

* "An extraordinary fossil captures the struggle for existence during the Mesozoic:" https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-37545-8

* "Kitchen shrine serpents and more fascinating new Pompeii discoveries:" https://news.yahoo.com/kitchen-shrine-serpents-other-fascinating-234506478.html

* "How Homophobia Impacted the NYPD's Search for a Serial Killer:" https://www.advocate.com/television/last-call-serial-killer-gay

* "Gay Serial Killer Suspect's Estate Turns Up Two More DNA Samples:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/herbert-baumeister-new-dna-victims

* "Jonathan D. Lewis, Gay Activist Against Prop. 8 and DADT, Dead at 64:" https://www.advocate.com/obituaries/activist-jonathan-lewis-obituary

* "Paul Reubens, Pee-wee Herman Actor, Dies at 70 After Private Bout of Cancer :" https://variety.com/2023/film/news/paul-reubens-dead-pee-wee-herman-1235683504/

* "Pee-wee Herman Actor Paul Reubens Dead at 70:" https://www.advocate.com/obituaries/paul-reubens-pee-wee-herman

* "Meet a new generation of Black American ‘cowboys’:" https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/for-freedoms-american-history-black-equestrians

* "When is Dinner, By State:" https://flowingdata.com/2023/07/25/when-is-dinner-by-state/

* "True Facts: Elephants:"

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* It was a little cooler Sunday, so we went to the Waterfall park instead to wade and have a picnic, and then came back for proper dinner and cake for Nearby Millennial's birthday. I was really fun watching goth Millennial messing about in the water and Newest Millennial continuing to fall in love with the PNW, much as I did when I first came west.

* Minoan miss needs funds to get around for training: https://minoanmiss.dreamwidth.org/1232423.html#cutid1

* I admit to having a wicked good time tormenting myself and other history geeks with my polls: https://www.tumblr.com/gwydpolls

* Contains Dracula Spoilers to the end of the book. "Four Times Jack Fakes a Death Certificate and One Time he Doesn't :" https://www.tumblr.com/animate-mush/724191083716820992/four-times-jack-fakes-a-death-certificate-and-one?source=share

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

The help links are at the bottom under the cut.

* Want to help queer folk in Russia?

Queer Svit - https://queersvit.taplink.ws/ Helping LGBTQ+ and BIPOC аffected by the war and political repressions
Center-T - https://centre-t.com/english Helping transgender people in Russia
КилькоТ-Действие - https://boosty.to/kilkota
Delo LGBT+ - https://www.delo.lgbt/ || https://boosty.to/delolgbt

* BPAL Charity Fundraiser "TRIUMPH IN MY SONG:" https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/activism/triumph-in-my-song/

* Support the WGA. "Entertainment Community Fund:" https://entertainmentcommunity.org/

* "DIY Box Fan Air Filter Directions:" https://aghealth.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk261/files/inline-files/DIY%20Air%20Purifier%20Directions_English.Spanish_0.pdf

* Useful state of trans links for making an arguement that we are real and nead human and civil rights: https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/722268284819570688/you-are-a-great-source-of-news-and-information-and?source=share

* Fundraiser to help some friends of a friend survive: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-tara-candice-survive-unemployment

* Minoan miss needs funds to get around for training: https://minoanmiss.dreamwidth.org/1232423.html#cutid1

* Cool Blackwork Embroidery Patterns for Beginners: https://www.etsy.com/shop/thehaberdasheress/?etsrc=sdt

* If you would like to help support me and the Cats: paypal.me/Gwydion

( Links Underneath: )

* Not even close to all the news, but I need to cut off somewhere.

* "‘I will not stay quiet': Israel evicts Palestinian family from home after 45-year legal battle:" https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-jerusalem-old-city-evictions-east-c53ae70f2fa76e4b1f4b528bca4ff35e

* "French authorities ban protest against police violence in Paris:" https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20230715-france-ban-protest-police-violence-paris-death-nahel-darmanin

* "Spain’s election could put the far-right in power – with disastrous consequences for LGBTQ+ people:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/21/spain-general-election-lgbtq-vox-peoples-party-right-wing/

* "Tories’ brutal by-election losses prove anti-trans hate doesn’t win votes:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/21/by-election-england-conservative-rishi-sunak-lgbtq/

* "Keir Mather: Labour’s out gay winner of Selby and Ainsty by-election is youngest MP in parliament:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/21/keir-mather-labour-selby-by-election-gay/

* "Laurence Fox stands in Boris Johnson’s former seat and loses his deposit … again:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/21/laurence-fox-uxbridge-by-election-result-deposit/

* "Government condemned for passing ‘racist’ and ‘inhumane’ migration bill:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/19/illegal-migration-bill-lgbtq-conservative-government/

* I'm furious. This is shameful. "Disability campaign group loses fight over Grenfell recommendations:" https://ca.style.yahoo.com/style/disability-campaign-group-loses-fight-115225897.html

* "New British Library report confirms Norfolk libraries are an engine of economic recovery and growth:" https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/news/2023/07/new-british-library-report-confirms-norfolk-libraries-are-an-engine-of-economic-recovery-and-growth

* "European Court of Human Rights strikes down Russia's claims against Ukraine:" https://news.yahoo.com/european-court-human-rights-strikes-101340048.html

* "IOC declines to give Russia and Belarus formal invitations to Paris Olympics 1 year out:" https://apnews.com/article/ioc-paris-olympics-russia-belarus-invitations-817a9e3f159fd97093ec27ed61241596

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* "G7 signs declaration of security guarantees for Ukraine; Kremlin warns West is making a ‘dangerous mistake’:" https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/12/russia-ukraine-live-updates.html

* "Wagner mercenaries not part of front-line fight in Ukraine, U.S. says:" https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-ukraine-putin-pentagon-wagner-mercenary-prigozhin-rcna94223

* "Ukraine, Poland say Wagner fighters arrive in Belarus:" https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-poland-say-wagner-fighters-arrive-belarus-2023-07-16/

* "Locals near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant brace for potential disaster: 'It would be the end of us':" https://kyivindependent.com/locals-near-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-brace-for-potential-disaster-it-would-be-the-end-of-us/

---

* "Kerry’s trip to China yields no breakthrough on climate :" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/19/kerrys-effort-to-secure-climate-deal-with-china-falls-short-00107022

* "Let's talk about what the White House can learn from the commentators....:"

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* "U.S. Is Destroying the Last of Its Once-Vast Chemical Weapons Arsenal:" https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/06/us/chemical-weapons-stockpile.html

* "​Biden Announces New Student Debt Relief Plan, Says 'Republicans Snatched Away Hope'​ :" https://advocatechannel.com/biden-new-student-debt-relief-plan

* "Biden administration unveils $39B of student debt relief as part of income-driven repayment fix:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/14/biden-administration-student-debt-relief-00106366

* "You could still be eligible for student loan forgiveness under this plan:" https://www.npr.org/2023/07/14/1187545921/student-loan-forgiveness-save-repayment

* "Kamala Harris Makes Historic Visit to Stonewall Inn, Vows to Fight Anti-LGBTQ+ Hate:" https://www.advocate.com/gay-pride-parade/kamala-harris-stonewall-visit

* "Manchin opposes Julie Su for Labor secretary, jeopardizing nomination:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/13/manchin-opposes-julie-su-for-labor-secretary-jeopardizing-nomination-00106237

* "A monumental LGBTQ rights case is barreling toward the Supreme Court:" https://www.vox.com/scotus/2023/7/10/23789633/supreme-court-lgbtq-lw-skrmetti-transgender-health-care-jeffrey-sutton-sixth-circuit

* "The Self-Fulfilling Prophecies of Clarence Thomas:" https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-self-fulfilling-prophecies-of-clarence-thomas

* "Supreme Court’s shift to right poses risk to LGBTQ rights:" https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4097224-supreme-courts-shift-to-right-poses-risk-to-lgbtq-rights/

* "Influential activist Leonard Leo helped fund media campaign lionizing Clarence Thomas:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/07/20/leonard-leo-clarence-thomas-paoletta/

* "How Harlan Crow Slashed his Tax Bill by Taking Clarence Thomas on Superyacht Cruises:" https://www.propublica.org/article/harlan-crow-slashed-tax-bill-clarence-thomas-superyacht

* Don't hold your breath. Republicans are strongly opposed to Ethics of any kind. "Senate Judiciary moves SCOTUS ethics bill forward — toward a dim future:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/20/supreme-court-ethics-congress-00107413

* "Biden Touts 'Bidenomics In Action' as Inflation Cools:" https://www.msnbc.com/jonathan-capehart/watch/biden-touts-bidenomics-in-action-as-inflation-cools-188569669907

* "Here are the 70 House Republicans who voted to cut off all US military aid to Ukraine:" https://www.businessinsider.com/which-house-republicans-voted-gaetz-end-military-aid-ukraine-2023-7

* "‘An ode to bigotry and ignorance': Democrats thrash defense bill loaded with GOP amendments:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/14/mccarthy-conservative-amendments-pentagon-bill-00106338

* "House blocks Pentagon abortion policy in defense bill, imperiling passage:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/13/kevin-mccarthy-defense-bill-deal-culture-wars-00106092

* "House Approves GOP Measure Banning Military DEI Initiatives by One Vote:" https://www.thedailybeast.com/house-approves-gop-measure-banning-military-dei-initiatives-by-one-vote

* "Human rights groups slam far-right anti-LGBTQ+ defence budget amendments after House vote:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/15/national-defence-reform-human-rights-campaign-aclu-erin-reed/

* "Arizona Republican refers to Black Americans as 'colored people' in House floor debate:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/rep-eli-crane-refers-black-americans-colored-people-house-floor-rcna94200

* "House GOP Adds Culture War Amendments To Defense Bill:" https://www.msnbc.com/jonathan-capehart/watch/house-gop-adds-culture-war-amendments-to-defense-bill-188535877909

* "Republican lawmakers spark outrage with comments on race:" https://www.msnbc.com/jonathan-capehart/watch/republican-lawmakers-spark-outrage-with-comments-on-race-188569669913

* "House Republican ‘Terrorists’ Target LGBTQ+ Community Center Funding in ‘Unprecedented’ Move:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/republicans-strip-lgbtq-funding

* I don't have kids. I will never have kids. I am 100% for making Child Tax Credit Permanent. It does so much good. "As Inflation Falls to Lowest in 2+ Years, Dems Consider Making Child Tax Credit Permanent:" https://www.msnbc.com/jonathan-capehart/watch/as-inflation-falls-to-lowest-in-2-years-dems-consider-making-child-tax-credit-permanent-188536389509

* I'm not holding my breath, but this is very much the right thing to do. "How the Child Tax Credit Became a Partisan Issue:" https://newrepublic.com/article/174275/republicans-made-child-tax-credit-partisan-issue

* "As Inflation Falls to Lowest in 2+ Years, Dems Consider Making Child Tax Credit Permanent:" https://www.msnbc.com/jonathan-capehart/watch/as-inflation-falls-to-lowest-in-2-years-dems-consider-making-child-tax-credit-permanent-188536389509

* "Teamsters president says he’s asked the White House not to intervene if UPS workers go on strike:" https://apnews.com/article/ups-strike-teamsters-biden-delivery-cb586d2f6160a92cda9318d6290ac8ea

* "UPS CEO’s Political Donations Boost Anti-Union Republicans :" https://theintercept.com/2023/07/14/ups-strike-carol-tome-anti-union-republicans/

* Don't Be a Scab! "UPS strike: Logistics company to train non-union employees ahead of possible disruption:" https://www.courier-journal.com/story/money/companies/2023/07/14/ups-strike-company-train-non-union-employees-ahead-of-possible-strike/70415447007/

* "Heat hits UPS drivers as potential strike looms:" https://www.abc15.com/news/local-news/heat-hits-ups-drivers-as-potential-strike-looms

* "UPS pilots vow to not cross strike picket lines:" https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/ups-pilots-vow-to-not-cross-strike-picket-lines/

* "American Airlines flight attendants asked to authorize union to call a strike:" https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/american-airlines-flight-attendants-asked-to-authorize-union-to-call-a-strike/3298223/

* "California hotel workers on strike demand higher wages and a chance to live closer to work:" https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/california-hotel-workers-strike-demand-higher-wages-chance-live-closer-rcna93723

* "On the picket line, a telling alliance between hotel workers and screenwriter:" https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-07-14/strike-los-angeles-wga-unite-here-sag-aftra

* "Hotel Workers And Operators Resume Talks On Tuesday:" https://laist.com/news/hotel-workers-and-operators-resume-talks-on-tuesday

* "Fast Food Workers Strike in 100 Cities:" https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/takeaway/segments/fast-food-workers-strike

* "Actors’ Strike: SAG-AFTRA Releases List of Proposals and Studios’ Counterproposals:" https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/sag-aftra-strike-proposals-amptp-counterproposals-list-actors-hollywood-1234790077/

* "'Pay up!:' Hollywood actors, writers team on picket lines:" https://www.reuters.com/world/us/hollywoods-striking-actors-writers-walk-picket-lines-friday-2023-07-14/

How to donate to support the strikers: https://entertainmentcommunity.org/

* "Column: The studios thought they could handle a strike. They might end up sparking a revolution:" https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-07-18/sag-aftra-strike-bob-iger-fran-drescher-barry-diller-david-zaslav-revolution

* "Striking writers and actors throw shade over tree trimming at Universal picket line:" https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-07-18/sag-aftra-wga-nlrb-complaint-universal-pickets

* "Orange is the New Black stars speak out about ‘crazy and unjust’ pay for Netflix megahit:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/14/orange-is-the-new-black-cast-members-slam-netflix-pay-inequality/

* "'Power Rangers' Actor Says He Only Made $150 to Portray the Face of Zordon in Hundreds of Episodes:" https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/07/18/power-rangers-zordon-actor-pay/

* "IATSE averts strike, reaches tentative deal with Broadway League, Disney Theatrical:" https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/iatse-averts-strike-reaches-tentative-deal-with-broadway-league-disney-theatrical/

* They really need a Union. "Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Production Workers Launch Unionization Effort:" https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/wb-animation-cartoon-network-production-workers-unionization-effort-1235540007/

* "Amazon hit with labor complaint over failing to bargain with Staten Island union:" https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/12/amazon-hit-with-labor-complaint-over-failing-to-bargain-with-union.html

* "Grindr Employees to Unionize Amid the Rise in Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation, Tech Layoffs:" https://www.advocate.com/business/grindr-union-layoffs-arison

* "McCarthy burned by reported promise to placate crabby Trump by expunging impeachments:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/mccarthy-burned-by-reported-promise-to-placate-crabby-trump-by-expunging-impeachments-188960325643

* "Republicans grill FBI Director During House Hearing:" https://www.msnbc.com/jonathan-capehart/watch/republicans-grill-fbi-director-during-house-hearing-188569669894

* "House Republicans propose planting a trillion trees as they move away from climate change denial:" https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-republicans-trillion-trees-01e455acce4397c0376e82bfa18b72c2

This would require roughly the entire continental United states to be turned into a forest and would only do half as much as needed. I'm going to assume this is trolling.

* Have something you want to tell your Congress Critters? If you can't safely contact them 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.

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/

* The Indivisible Guide: "A Practical Guide to defeating MAGA:" https://indivisible.org/sites/default/files/2023-01/20220104_Indivisible_%20A%20Practical%20Guide%20to%20Defeating%20MAGA.pdf

* "Alabama GOP invites court smackdown; defies order to draw fair map:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/alabama-gop-invites-court-smackdown-defies-order-to-draw-fair-map-189042245717

* Vote now! "Group opposing Ohio push to make changing constitution harder launches new TV ad:" https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/group-opposing-ohio-push-make-changing-constitution-harder-launches-ne-rcna93899

* "Michigan attorney general charges 'false electors' over efforts to overturn the 2020 election:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/michigan-attorney-general-charges-false-electors-efforts-overturn-2020-rcna94838

* "'The very center of the entire conspiracy': Raskin hails DOJ progress in Trump probe:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/-the-very-center-of-the-entire-conspiracy-raskin-hails-doj-progress-in-trump-probe-188772933773

* "Shaker Heights attorney, a Trump supporter, tells judge he voted twice in last two elections by accident:" https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2023/07/shaker-heights-attorney-a-trump-supporter-tells-judge-he-voted-twice-in-last-two-elections-by-accident.html

He's a lawyer for the IRS, yet somehow he claims he keeps doing illegal stuff by accident. If Republicans are as against voter fraud ads they claim, why do they keep doing it? It's as if every accusation they make is a confession.

* "Marjorie Taylor Greene Praises Joe Biden in Viral Campaign Ad:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-praise-biden

* "How Biden can harness the anger behind the 'summer of strikes' to beat Trump:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/how-biden-can-harness-the-anger-behind-the-summer-of-strikes-to-beat-trump-188961349800

* "RFK Jr. denies comments on ‘ethnically targeted’ Covid-19 were anti-Semitic:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/15/rfk-jr-covid-19-ethnically-targeted-00106478

Spoiler: They were.

* "Right-Wing Websites Connected to Former Trump Lawyer Are Scamming Loyal Followers With Phony Celebrity Pitches:" https://www.propublica.org/article/right-wing-websites-scam-readers-phony-celebrity-pitches

* "Trump and Allies Forge Plans to Increase Presidential Power in 2025:" https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/17/us/politics/trump-plans-2025.html

Republicans have stopped pretending that the goal is anything other than overthrowing the government in favor of fascist dictatorship.

We are in the end game for democracy in America now.

* "Trump, Republican allies make plan to concentrate power in Trump's hands: NYTimes:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-republican-allies-make-plan-to-concentrate-power-in-trump-s-hands-nytimes-188688965630

* "Trump unveils new education policy loaded with culture war proposals:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/26/trump-unveils-education-policy-culture-war-00079784

* "A brief history of DeSantis comments — and dodges — on Trump and Jan. 6:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/19/desantis-jan-6-trump/

* "Christie pokes at DeSantis: ‘We don’t make our country better by continuing to rumormonger things’:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/19/2024-campaign-christie-desantis-00107242

* "Private GOP Polling Data Reveals Why DeSantis’ Campaign Is Sputtering:" https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/ron-desantis-donald-trump-covid-vaccine-polling-2024-1234789843/

* "The Humiliation of Ron DeSantis:" https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/07/ron-desantis-cnn-interview/674751/

* Women who voted for the Leopards Eating faces Party continue to be shocked when Leopards eat their faces. "Republican women learn the hard way: Complicity will not protect you:" https://www.salon.com/2023/07/11/women-learn-the-hard-way-complicity-will-not-protect-you/

* This is so destructively nonsensical I can't wrap my head around it. "Florida moves forward on radioactive road paving plan as Gov. DeSantis signs new law:" https://www.npr.org/2023/06/30/1185280180/florida-roads-radioactive-desantis-signs-law

* "Why recruits are walking away from Ron DeSantis’ new State Guard:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/recruits-are-walking-away-ron-desantis-new-state-guard-rcna94636

* "Malaria Detected in Florida as Key Infectious Disease Positions Sit Vacant:" https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/malaria-detected-florida-desantis-public-health-positions-vacant-1234784402/

* "Secretive Furries Group Is Hacking Anti-Transgender State Governments:" https://www.advocate.com/news/furries-gay-hacking

* "Ron DeSantis rants about ‘indoctrinating children’ after seeing one single Pride flag:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/18/ron-desantis-pride-flag-presidential-2024/

* "State senator says Gov. DeSantis needs to ‘come home,’ call special session to address property insurance crisis:" https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2023/07/12/state-senator-says-gov-desantis-needs-to-come-home-call-special-session-to-address-property-insurance-crisis/

* "Oh, the Delusion: George Santos Compares Himself to Rosa Parks and Gets Dragged to High Hell:" https://www.theroot.com/oh-the-delusion-george-santos-compares-himself-to-ros-1850631514

* "Disney asks Florida judge to toss out lawsuit from DeSantis appointees:" https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/disney-asks-florida-judge-to-toss-out-lawsuit-from-desantis-appointees

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* "Georgia Supreme Court rejects Trump bid to head off potential indictment :" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/17/georgia-supreme-court-trump-indictment-00106710

* "Prosecutorial feeding frenzy takes shape around Trump's effort to subvert 2020 election:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/prosecutorial-feeding-frenzy-takes-shape-around-trump-s-effort-to-subvert-2020-election-188682309857

* "Let's talk about Smith, Trump, and trial dates....:"

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* "Judge in Trump classified documents case tells prosecutors that a mid-December trial date would be too soon:" https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/18/politics/trump-classified-documents-hearing/index.html

* "Trump's court defense exposes insincerity of his public protestations:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/trump-s-court-defense-exposes-insincerity-of-his-public-protestations-188774981697

* "Jared Kushner Testifies Before Grand Jury Investigating His Father-in-Law: Report:" https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-jared-kushner-testifies-grand-jury-2020-election-1234788305/

* "Trump says he’s received a target letter from special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 investigators:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/18/trump-says-hes-received-a-target-letter-from-special-counsel-jack-smiths-jan-6-investigators-00106776

* "How to understand the federal statutes cited in Donald Trump's latest target letter:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/how-to-understand-the-federal-statutes-cited-in-donald-trump-s-latest-target-letter-188849733976

* "'The very center of the entire conspiracy': Raskin hails DOJ progress in Trump probe:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/-the-very-center-of-the-entire-conspiracy-raskin-hails-doj-progress-in-trump-probe-188772933773

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* "Justice Department appeals Jan. 6 prison sentences for Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/12/doj-appeals-oath-keepers-sentences-00106040

* "The QAnon Shaman's plan to get his guilty plea reversed is 'silly' — and might land him back in prison, ex-prosecutor says:" https://www.businessinsider.com/qanon-shaman-plan-guilty-plea-reversed-silly-former-prosecutor-says-2023-7

* "Ron DeSantis endorses 'deadly force' against migrants suspected of trafficking drugs:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/ron-desantis-vows-send-military-block-drugs-reaching-mexican-ports-rcna91121

* "Releasing people pretrial doesn’t harm public safety :" https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2023/07/06/bail-reform/

* "KKK Flyers Protest Pride Celebrations at Virginia Elementary School:" https://www.advocate.com/news/kkk-virginia-pride-school

* "Hollywood Diversity Initiatives May Be Challenged After Supreme Court Affirmative Action Ruling:" https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/dei-supreme-court-affirmative-action-hollywood-1235532273/

* "Alabama lawmakers seek to slash funding from state archives after LGBTQ+ history lecture:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/15/alabama-lgbtq-history-lecture-archives-department/

* "'Poisoning the well': Florida middle schoolers to be dragged into DeSantis' war on history:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/-poisoning-the-well-florida-middle-schoolers-to-be-dragged-into-desantis-war-on-history-188959813519

They are requiring schools to lie to children that slavery was for the benefit of the enslaved and that white people massacring black communities for trying to vote was really violence done by and too black people.

I have no words that are printable in my fury.

* "Obama Slams LGBTQ+ Book Bans in Open Letter to American Librarians:" https://www.advocate.com/news/obama-slams-book-bans

* "Arkansas Legislator Vows to ‘Eliminate All the Funding for Public Libraries’ Affiliated With the ALA:" https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/arkansas-legislator-vows-to-eliminate-all-the-funding-for-public-libraries-affiliated-with-the-ala/

* "South Carolina Library System Removes All Displays That Showcase LGBTQ+ Books:" https://www.advocate.com/books/lgbtq-books-greenville-county

* CW: Rape. "Singapore: Autistic trans woman faces being sent back to institute ‘where she was raped’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/14/singapore-lgbtq-queer-trans-asylum-attacks/

* "Love Your Rainbow Body: Pride in LGBTQ+ Body Positivity:" https://www.out.com/gay-lifestyle/love-your-rainbow-body-pride-in-lgbtq-body-positivity

---

* "'It’s a very short path': Is there a lesson for the U.S. in Poland's extreme anti-abortion law and the popular backlash it has provoked?:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/rachel-maddow-presents-deja-news/episode-4-s-short-path-rcna93352

* "Arizona governor greenlights over-the-counter birth control:" https://www.yahoo.com/news/arizona-governor-greenlights-over-counter-023816190.html

* "Judge temporarily blocks Iowa's 'fetal heartbeat' abortion ban as court challenge continues:" https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2023/07/17/iowa-fetal-heartbeat-abortion-law-court-ruling-temporary-injunction-kim-reynolds-pregnancy/70420027007/

* "Tennessee AG Skrmetti opposes rule change aimed at protecting abortion health records:" https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2023/07/17/tennessee-ag-skrmetti-opposes-federal-rule-change-on-abortion-records/70421514007/

* "Cameron wants Kentuckians' out-of-state abortion records to be available to authorities:" https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2023/07/17/kentucky-ag-daniel-cameron-opposes-proposed-hhs-privacy-rule-on-out-of-state-abortion-records/70420153007/

* "AG Lynn Fitch wants to make info on out-of-state abortions available to Mississippi authorities:" https://mississippitoday.org/2023/07/13/lynn-fitch-abortion-rules-change-track-info/

* "Arkansas attorney general wants to know about your out-of-state abortion:" https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2023/07/16/arkansas-attorney-general-wants-to-know-about-your-out-of-state-abortion

* "Republican attorneys general demand access to out-of-state abortion medical records:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/republican-attorneys-general-demand-access-to-out-of-state-abortion-medical-records-188688453806

---

* "Russian lawmakers approve ban on gender-affirming medical care:" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-gender-affirming-medical-care-surgery-ban/

* Want to help queer folk in Russia?

Queer Svit - https://queersvit.taplink.ws/ Helping LGBTQ+ and BIPOC аffected by the war and political repressions
Center-T - https://centre-t.com/english Helping transgender people in Russia
КилькоТ-Действие - https://boosty.to/kilkota
Delo LGBT+ - https://www.delo.lgbt/ || https://boosty.to/delolgbt

* As with the similar folks in Türkiye. I believe people who come out for these protests are heroes. "Thousands turn out for Budapest Pride in courageous protest of Viktor Orbán:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/17/hungary-budapest-pride-viktor-orban/

* "Hungarian bookstore fined thousands for not concealing Heartstopper graphic novel:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/14/hungary-bookstore-fine-heartstopper-lgbtq/

* "Alice Oseman slams decision to fine Hungarian bookshop for selling Heartstopper: ‘Sad and angry’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/19/alice-oseman-slams-fine-hungarian-bookshop-heartstopper/

* "Italy begins removing lesbian mums from their children’s birth certificates:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/18/italy-lesbian-mums-removed-birth-certificates/

* "Hundreds Marry as Mexico Celebrates Marriage Equality, Gender ID Law:" https://www.advocate.com/world/mexico-celebrates-marriage-gender-id

* "Ukrainian pop singer and refugee Natisa Gogol on using her music to fight for queer people:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/14/natisa-gogol-ukrainian-singer-refugee-fighting-for-queer-community/

* "Civil servants slam draft gender policy for ‘centring anti-trans views’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/16/civil-service-draft-gender-policy-trans/

* "Kemi Badenoch issues chilling hint that UK government will force teachers to out trans kids to parents:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/17/kemi-badenoch-schools-trans-guidance/

* "Tories launch official ‘probe’ into sanitary products in men’s toilets at government office:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/19/government-probe-sanitary-products-mens-toilets-defra/

* "Rishi Sunak apologises to LGBTQ+ veterans, calling military ban an ‘appalling failure’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/19/rishi-sunak-lgbtq-veterans-independent-review-published/

* "Homophobic vandals cause thousands of pounds of damage in attack on local Pride event:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/17/dewsbury-pride-vandals-fundraiser/

* "Investigation into school at centre of cat gender row finds ‘no serious concerns’ at school of ‘kindness’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/14/cat-gender-school-row-investigation/

* "“Safety Concern” Used to Justify Kansas Drivers License Restrictions:" https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/safety-concern-used-to-justify-kansas-drivers-license-restrictions

* "Utah Governor Justifies Bans on Trans Healthcare Echoing Conspiracy Claims:" https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/utah-governor-justifies-bans-on-trans-healthcare-echoing-conspiracy-claims

* "Glenn Youngkin Goes After Transgender Kids in Revised School Policies:" https://www.advocate.com/news/glenn-youngkin-transgender-students-safety

* "Anti-LGBTQ+ Texas judge says Supreme Court ruling gives her the right to refuse same-sex weddings:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/14/texas-judge-dianne-hensley-same-sex-marriage/

* "Florida Reverends, Rabbi Slam DeSantis, Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/florida-reverends-rabbi-slam-desantis

* "Michigan Senate Passes Legislation Banning Conversion Therapy for Minors:" https://www.advocate.com/law/conversion-therapy-michigan-senate

* "Judges Block Tennessee, Kentucky Bans on Transition Care for Minors:" https://www.advocate.com/law/tennessee-kentucky-trans-bans

* "Montana Judge Rules Transgender Birth Certificate Law Unconstitutional:" https://www.advocate.com/law/montana-judge-transgender-birth-certificate

* "Judge sides with trans 6th grader in fight to get her school to treat her fairly:" https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/07/judge-sides-with-trans-6th-grader-in-fight-to-get-her-school-to-treat-her-fairly/

* "Anti-LGBTQ+ hate and extremism spiked during Pride Month 2023, report finds:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/14/glaad-hate-extremism-hate-pride-month-2023/

* "Alabama Man Sentenced to Life for Killing Man He Lured on Grindr:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/grindr-murderer-sentenced

* "South Carolina Trans Teen Killed; Man He Met for Date Charged With Murder:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/trans-teen-jacob-williamson-killed

* "Cisgender woman killed by man who thought she was trans:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/14/indiana-michelle-dionne-peacock-trans-killed/

* "'He was a protector': Friends say Oregon man died while defending LGBTQ friend:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/14/man-stabbed-to-death-protecting-trans-co-worker/

* They attacked an autistic person in a wheelchair for the crime of shopping, then drove away. Bet their moms are super proud of these cowards. "Trans man hospitalised after being shot with pellet gun while shopping for groceries:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/17/trans-man-shot-pellet-gun-pontiac-michigan/

* "Pride Fireworks Attack Near L.A. Remains Unsolved:" https://www.advocate.com/hate-crimes/pride-fireworks-attack-near-la

* "Conservative Christian caught on CCTV flinging dead rat into gay couple’s restaurant:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/16/christian-couple-virginia-the-front-porch/

* "To Escape Bullies, Military ‘Forced to Move’ Families with LGBTQ+ Kids:" https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2023/06/escape-bullies-military-forced-move-families-lgbtq-kids/387214/

* "As bans on transgender care for minors grow, a migration of sorts is underway:" https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/14/business/bans-transgender-care-minors-grow-migration-sorts-is-underway/

* "Chi Omega Invalidates Nonbinary Sorority Sister's Membership:" https://www.advocate.com/news/chi-omega-sorority-nonbinary

* "Salon owner condemned for telling LGBTQ+ people to go to ‘pet groomer’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/16/salon-9-lgbtq-pet-groomer-michigan/

* "Brighton sees biggest ever turnout for 10th anniversary Trans Pride: ‘A beacon of hope’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/16/brighton-trans-pride-2023/

* "CNN apologises after journalists misgender Dylan Mulvaney in ‘unbelievably bad’ Bud Light report:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/15/dylan-mulvaney-cnn-bud-light/

* "The Black Maternal Mortality Crisis and Why It Remains an Issue:" https://www.npr.org/2023/07/05/1186019422/the-black-maternal-mortality-crisis-and-why-it-remains-an-issue

* "World's 1st 'tooth regrowth' medicine moves toward clinical trials in Japan:" https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230609/p2a/00m/0sc/026000c

---

* "Let's talk about warming waters in Florida....:"

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* "Europe battles heat and fires; sweltering temperatures scorch China, US:" https://www.reuters.com/world/record-heat-wave-grips-china-flood-toll-rises-south-korea-2023-07-19/

* "How Canada’s Record Wildfires Got So Bad, So Fast:" https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/07/18/climate/canada-record-wildfires.html

* "Record-breaking 10 million hectares of land burned in Canada's wildfires:" https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/record-breaking-10-million-hectares-of-land-burned-in-canada-s-wildfires-1.6481870

* "Canadian firefighter dies battling wildfire in Northwest Territories:" https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/canadian-firefighter-dies-battling-wildfire-northwest-territories-101327286

* "Extreme heat and wildfire smoke can collide in deadly ways:" https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/canada-wildfire-smoke-heat-wave-air-quality-record-temperatures-rcna94869

* "South Korea flood death toll rises to 40, Yoon blames botched responses:" https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-flood-death-toll-rises-39-yoon-orders-all-out-effort-2023-07-17/

* CW: Child Death "5 people were killed by raging floodwaters in southeastern Pennsylvania. 2 children are still missing:" https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/16/weather/northeast-storms-sunday/index.html

* "The 'Great Kentucky Flood' of July 2023:" https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/the-great-kentucky-flood-of-july-2023/article_0693b5d4-268e-11ee-bc6f-bb5f45531c66.html

* "Northeast floods devastate farmers as months of labor and crops are swept away:" https://apnews.com/article/floods-northeast-vermont-farms-crops-577818980a7c1db0e67ff1cf3df51156

* "Al Gore on Extreme Heat and the Fight Against Fossil Fuels:" https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/18/climate/al-gore-on-extreme-heat-and-the-fight-against-fossil-fuels.html

* "Phoenix breaks city record with 19 consecutive days of 110-degree heat:" https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/heat-torching-records-spreading-us-europe-rcna94851

* "Bangladesh’s historic heat wave is making work “living hell” for IT workers:" https://restofworld.org/2023/bangladesh-electricity-crisis-bpo-workers/

---

* "Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon drops 34% in first half 2023:" https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/deforestation-brazils-amazon-drops-34-first-half-2023-2023-07-06/

* "The Hidden Cost of Gasoline:" https://grist.org/accountability/gas-stations-underground-storage-tank-leaks-environmental-disaster/

* "Chinese scientists create edible food packaging to replace plastic:" https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/all-news/article-748532

* "We started an Underwater Forest - the results are insane:"

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* "‘Great news’: EU hails discovery of massive phosphate rock deposit in Norway:" https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/great-news-eu-hails-discovery-of-massive-phosphate-rock-deposit-in-norway/

* "OceanGate Is Getting Majorly Sued:"

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* "From “Heavy Purchasers” of Pregnancy Tests to the Depression-Prone: We Found 650,000 Ways Advertisers Label You:" https://themarkup.org/privacy/2023/06/08/from-heavy-purchasers-of-pregnancy-tests-to-the-depression-prone-we-found-650000-ways-advertisers-label-you

* "Twitter claims hate speech is 30 per cent lower since Elon Musk acquisition. Experts disagree:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/20/twitter-hate-speech-drops-experts-disagree/

* "Ukraine's Botanists Risked Their Lives for a Priceless Collection:" https://www.wired.co.uk/article/ukraine-scientists-braved-shelling-herbarium

* "Apparently Magpies and Crows Are Using "Anti-Bird Spikes" to Make Their Nests:" https://www.audubon.org/news/apparently-magpies-and-crows-are-using-anti-bird-spikes-make-their-nests

* "No Longer Endangered: The Bald Eagle is an Icon of the USA:" https://dwr.virginia.gov/blog/no-longer-endangered-the-bald-eagle-is-an-icon-of-the-esa/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nftf&utm_content=nftf_all_esa_bald_eagles

* "The Underground Railroad Was the Ultimate Conspiracy to Southern Enslavers:" https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/underground-railroad-as-southern-conspiracy-theory

* "The Forgotten Housewife who Invented your Dishwasher:" https://www.messynessychic.com/2023/07/12/the-forgotten-housewife-who-invented-your-dishwasher/

* "Prop 8’s Sandy Stier & Kris Perry Mark 10 Years of Marriage at VP Kamala Harris’s Home:" https://www.advocate.com/news/prop-8-stier-perry-harris

* "Lilli Vincenz, LGBTQ+ Activist and Filmmaker, Dies at 85:" https://www.advocate.com/obituaries/lilli-vincenz-lesbian-activist

* "Morocco’s historic Women’s World Cup debut inspires girls even if some in the Arab world ignore it:" https://apnews.com/article/morocco-womens-arab-world-cup-debut-4e5aa560e22e36f2cc766aff995665e3

* "LegalEagle's Devin Stone Answers Law Questions From Twitter:"

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* "The History of Gay Hollywood:"

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* "The Black Reclamation of the Body Snatchers:"

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* "RENT and the Mainstreaming of Queer Suffering:"

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* "Right-wing media accuses Barbie of ‘forgetting core audience’ by ‘pushing’ LGBTQ+ stories:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/19/barbie-right-wing-media-lgbt-stories-characters-reactions/

* My heart did not take damage.

I am exhausted as people and robots keep phoning me and I had things like mandatory bureaucracy this week. Cleaners came though, both the replacement cleaner Tuesday to make up for none last week, who was another ex-teacher like me, and the Friday Cleaner. Like all but two of the cleaners (If you count the uncleaner), Friday Cleaner came all the way from the Reservation. The others were all my ageish or Millennials. I'm always super polite to the cleaners as it's hard work and the people doing it deserve politeness. If it's a Friday, I offer free vegetables, because they send more than we need from forage delivery.

This one was an Elder. I was raised with deference to older relatives, and I'm particularly aware of the kind of things her generation went through at the hands of the US government and white people in general as well as cultural stuff around treatment of elders. I felt very, very weird asking her to do anything because it went against pretty much every ingrained instinct in my body.

I was super extra polite explaining the cats and setting her up in the kitchen, then left her to it. She was so quiet as she worked that poor Livia thought she was gone and eventually came out for loves, only to discover after a snack and second pettins that the stranger was Still here. Tavy ended up really liking her. she had a very cat vibe and interesting smelling shoes and she talked sweet to him, but gave him space.

Her cleaning was excellent, very detailed. Apparently she was worried that I'd be distressed by how slow it went, because she was deep cleaning in there. Me: No really, we need that as no one has had time to do it in a while. My style is very ex-middle school teacher. I'd wander quietly over to get something or put something away, and take in what she was up to without looking like that's what I'm doing. I saw how in depth she was going and suggested an extra thing she might do in there. Last half hour I gave her a different meticulous in depth thing, and sent her home a few minutes early with a bag of food.

She was really cool. Apparently she and her friends were all at an outdoor music part party, all dancing together, and we just generally had a nice chat while she was getting ready to go about cats and things. I really liked her and would love her back. At the same time I'll never not be angry that economics means she's having to work. Elders should not be having to clean the homes of white people. Not even relatively vigorous ones.

* "7 Queer Historic Images from Lesbian Photographers Bolette Berg and Marie Hoeg:" https://www.advocate.com/photography/lesbian-norway-photographers-berg-hoeg

* "15 Unearthed Images of Pride, From 1969 to Now :" https://www.advocate.com/photography/history-of-pride-marches

* "21 Historic Photos of Queer Nightlife and Activism:" https://www.advocate.com/photography/photos-of-queer-nightlife-activism

* "This Is What It Looked Like to Party in Fire Island in 1999 :" https://www.out.com/nightlife/fire-island-pines-99-party

* "63 Photos of Kamala Harris's 2023 Pride Month Celebration :" https://www.advocate.com/gay-pride-parade/kamala-harris-pride-photos-glaad

* "Mae Martin marks Non-Binary Awareness Week with proud topless selfie: ‘Trans joy’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/13/mae-martin-non-binary-awareness-week-topless-selfie-trans-joy/

* "Lucius as red and Frenchie as purple:" https://www.tumblr.com/johannestevans/723078428228812800?source=share

* "Thinking about "nocturnal existence" and Dracula's influence and Jonathan.:" https://www.tumblr.com/thegoatsongs/722674663032061952/thinking-about-nocturnal-existence-and-draculas?source=share

* Interpretations of Orpheus and Eurydice: https://www.tumblr.com/seananmcguire/722605501548019712?source=share

* Lucy and Jonathan Parallels. Dracula Spoilers: https://www.tumblr.com/vickyvicarious/723228213096153088/i-didnt-want-to-clog-up-your-post-about-being?source=share

* "Midnight Pals: Italian Developments:" https://www.tumblr.com/bitterkarella/723184559246688256/midnight-pals-italian-developments?source=share

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

The help links are at the bottom under the cut.

* Want to help queer folk in Russia?

Queer Svit - https://queersvit.taplink.ws/ Helping LGBTQ+ and BIPOC аffected by the war and political repressions
Center-T - https://centre-t.com/english Helping transgender people in Russia
КилькоТ-Действие - https://boosty.to/kilkota
Delo LGBT+ - https://www.delo.lgbt/ || https://boosty.to/delolgbt

* BPAL Charity Fundraiser "TRIUMPH IN MY SONG:" https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/activism/triumph-in-my-song/

* Support the WGA. "Entertainment Community Fund:" https://entertainmentcommunity.org/

* "DIY Box Fan Air Filter Directions:" https://aghealth.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk261/files/inline-files/DIY%20Air%20Purifier%20Directions_English.Spanish_0.pdf

* Useful state of trans links for making an arguement that we are real and nead human and civil rights: https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/722268284819570688/you-are-a-great-source-of-news-and-information-and?source=share

* Fundraiser to help some fruiends of a friend survive: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-tara-candice-survive-unemployment

* Cool Blackwork Embroidery Patterns for Beginners: https://www.etsy.com/shop/thehaberdasheress/?etsrc=sdt

* If you would like to help support me and the Cats: paypal.me/Gwydion

( Links Underneath: )

* The aggregate went up late this week because of chaos detailed below. My body is still completely thrashed from the Friday uncleaning. I am doing my best, but only a tiny portion of news made it up.

* "Waterloo university stabbing was ‘targeted anti-LGBTQ+ attack’, police say as suspect charged:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/30/waterloo-university-stabbing-was-targeted-anti-lgbtq-attack-police-say-as-suspected-charged/

* "Bigots blame stabbing attack in a Canadian University’s Gender Issues class on trans people being too trans in public:" https://www.wehuntedthemammoth.com/2023/06/29/bigots-blame-stabbing-attack-in-a-canadian-universitys-gender-issues-class-on-trans-people-being-too-trans-in-public/

* "Russia conducts tactical fighter jet drills over Baltic Sea:" https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-conducts-tactical-fighter-jet-drills-over-baltic-sea-2023-06-27/

* "Putin tells rebellious Russian fighters to swear allegiance or leave for Belarus:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/26/putin-rebellion-troops-belarus-00103695

* "Some Russians welcomed Wagner mercenaries who appeared in their streets during brief insurrection:" https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/26/europe/russia-wagner-rostov-sympathy-ukraine-intl-cmd/index.html

* "Plot Thickens: Russian Generals Supported Wagner Mutiny but Backed Out – US Intelligence:" https://www.kyivpost.com/post/18817

* "Wagner’s Prigozhin Planned to Capture Russian Military Leaders:" https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/wagners-prigozhin-planned-to-capture-russian-military-leaders-805345cf

* "Putin Moves to Punish Prigozhin Allies:" https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/28/world/europe/putin-prigozhin-russia.html

* "Prigozhin May Be Gone, but Not the Failings He Ranted About:" https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/29/world/europe/prigozhin-shoigu-gerasimov-surovikin-russia-military.html

* "The poppycock of Myanmar drug suppression:" https://asiatimes.com/2023/06/the-poppycock-of-myanmar-drug-suppression/

* "SNP politicians accuse Tories of ‘rank hypocrisy’ for supporting devolution ‘where it suits them’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/30/snp-hannah-bardell-gender-recognition-reform/

* "Politician who allegedly said all white men should have Black slave is suspended:" https://thegrio.com/2023/04/14/british-politician-andrew-edwards-white-men-black-slave/

---

* "Ukraine spy chief accuses Russia of 'mining' cooling pond at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant:" https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-spy-chief-accuses-russia-mining-cooling-pond-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-2023-06-20/

---

* This is a really helpful thing explaining why Biden's wanting bridges without weight restrictions is correct from a civil engineering perspective: https://www.tumblr.com/whovianuncle/721335205966823424/surely-this-is-a-good-idea-that-doesnt-have-the?source=share

* This win was essential for saving democracy and a huge relief. "Supreme Court denies state legislatures the unchecked power to set election rules:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/27/supreme-court-rejects-independent-state-legislature-theory-00103793

* "Hayes: Supreme Court has ruled against the right’s ‘slow-motion insurrection’:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/hayes-supreme-court-has-ruled-against-the-right-s-slow-motion-insurrection-185338437718

* "Ketanji Brown Jackson Dismantles SCOTUS Conservatives in Blistering Dissent:" https://www.thedailybeast.com/ketanji-brown-jackson-dismantles-scotus-conservatives-in-blistering-affirmative-action-dissent

* "US Supreme Court's two Black justices clash over affirmative action ruling:" https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-justices-jackson-thomas-illustrate-heated-us-debate-race-2023-06-29/

* "How Clarence Thomas ‘pulled the ladder up behind him’ on affirmative action:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/how-clarence-thomas-pulled-the-ladder-up-behind-him-on-affirmative-action-185974341842

* "Conservative justices welcome affirmative action—of legacy students:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/joy-conservative-justices-welcome-affirmative-action-of-legacy-students-185984069671

* "Battle for belonging: Steps toward racial progress in U.S. met with pushback: book:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/battle-for-belonging-steps-toward-racial-progress-in-u-s-met-with-pushback-book-185401925504

* "End of affirmative action checks another box on list of long term conservative projects:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/end-of-affirmative-action-checks-another-box-on-list-of-long-term-conservative-projects-186013253633

* "How the repercussions of affirmative action's end will reach far beyond college admissions:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/how-the-repercussions-of-affirmative-action-s-end-will-reach-far-beyond-college-admissions-186014277620

* "Supreme Court: Affirmative Action Is OK — If the Students Are Getting Sent to Die in Wars:" https://theintercept.com/2023/06/29/supreme-court-affirmative-action-military-academy/

* "Biden slams SCOTUS affirmative action decision: 'Discrimination still exists in America':" https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-supreme-court-affirmative-action-decision-word/story?id=100491437

* "Why the Supreme Court decision on affirmative action matters:" https://www.npr.org/2023/06/29/1176715957/why-the-supreme-court-decision-on-affirmative-action-matters

* "Harvard 'legacy' policy challenged on heels of affirmative action ruling:" https://www.reuters.com/world/us/harvard-legacy-policy-challenged-heels-affirmative-action-ruling-2023-07-03/

* "Capitol Hill reacts to Supreme Court rulings:" https://www.msnbc.com/jonathan-capehart/watch/capitol-hill-reacts-to-supreme-court-rulings-186388549870

* "Naive emphasis on 'colorblindness' ignores racial reality in U.S.:" https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/naive-emphasis-on-colorblindness-ignores-racial-reality-in-u-s-186697285583

* "Supreme Court rejects challenge to Jim Crow-era Mississippi voting law:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-rejects-challenge-jim-crow-era-mississippi-voting-law-rcna85633

* "Supreme Court strikes down Biden’s student debt relief plan:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/30/supreme-court-strikes-down-bidens-student-debt-relief-plan-00104409

* "The Student Loan Case’s Unwilling Participant:" https://prospect.org/justice/2023-06-19-student-loan-cancellation-supreme-court-mohela/

The Republicans sued to end student debt relief on MOHELA's behalf against their will and against their best interests since the state government didn't have standing for the suit, and Republicans Supreme Court justices found for the state anyway because that's how much they hate poor and middle class students having access to college and want to punish them with crushing life long debt for daring to try to get an education.

All precedent and the legal requirement that the people doing the suing have an injury and standing have been thrown out.

* "Elena Kagan Has Had Enough:" https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/01/opinion/elena-kagan-dissent-supreme-court.html

* "What is the Higher Education Act —and could it still lead to student loan forgiveness?:" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-is-the-higher-education-act-and-could-it-still-lead-to-student-loan-forgiveness/

* "US Supreme Court says Colorado designer can refuse LGBTQ+ customers: ‘License to discriminate’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/30/us-supreme-court-lgbtq/

* "The man named in the Supreme Court’s gay rights ruling says he didn’t request a wedding website:" https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-gay-rights-lgbtq-website-385ec911ce0ca2f415966078eddb66da

This doesn't say it invalidates all anti-discrimination laws in this country of any kind, but in effect, it does since there is no limit on who or why you can discriminate against in this ruling.

Bonus points for the woman they found in favour lying in her filings about nearly everything in them, basically. her business is hypothetical. The person she claimed asked for a website didn't and wasn't aware the case was happening or involved him until it was already in front of the Supreme Court, etc.

I don't understand how any of that is legal, but that's just how eager the Republican Partizans on the supreme court are to make all discrimination legal: They ruled in an entirely hypothetical lawsuit about a dispute that didn't exist based on perjured depositions and filings without even informing the other party they were in a lawsuit about a thing they didn't do.

* "Reactions to SCOTUS' major blow to LGBTQ rights:" https://www.msnbc.com/jonathan-capehart/watch/reactions-to-scotus-major-blow-to-lgbtq-rights-186388037861

* "Supreme Court rules for Christian mail carrier who refused to work Sundays:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-rules-christian-postal-worker-refused-work-sundays-rcna84868

My assumption is they will use this precedent to allow EMTs, Doctors, hospitals, and pharmacists to deny trans people life saving health care, a thing that is already happening, but not currently legal.

I absolutely think hijabs etc. should be covered under the first amendment and anti-discrimination laws. I do think if Christians get their holidays off so should the rest of us.

it’s different if you say up front you can’t work certain holidays, but for me this is of a piece with the recent SCOTUS decision striking down all anti-discrimination laws.

The web designer one allows people and businesses to discriminate against any one for any reason. They deliberately put no limits on that.

This decision contradicts that, by saying that in the case of Christians, that previous ruling doesn’t apply, since Christians can’t experience any sanctions at all for signing up for a job they then refuse to do.

Sure looks like “rules for thee, but not for me.”

I’d love to be wrong, but I'd rather not bet my life on it next time I have to go to the Christian hospital where they group pray every morning, which is the only one servicing my small city.

* "John Roberts' Supreme Court rolls back civil rights one marginalized group at a time:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/john-roberts-supreme-court-rolls-back-civil-rights-one-marginalized-group-at-a-time-186273349702

* "'Galling': Hayes on the 'imperial mindset' of the Supreme Court conservatives:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/-galling-hayes-on-the-imperial-mindset-of-the-supreme-court-conservatives-186215493589

* "Pressley, Ocasio-Cortez call for changes to the Supreme Court:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/02/pressley-aoc-changes-supreme-court-00104537

* "Writers Strike Messaging War Reshapes Standoff With Studios:" https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/writers-strike-messaging-studios-1235523786/

* "Elizabeth Warren, Susan Collins Introduce Tax Bill to Help Married Same-Sex Couples:" https://www.advocate.com/law/elizabeth-warren-refund-equality-act


* Have something you want to tell your Congress Critters? If you can't safely contact them 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.

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/

* The Indivisible Guide: "A Practical Guide to defeating MAGA:" https://indivisible.org/sites/default/files/2023-01/20220104_Indivisible_%20A%20Practical%20Guide%20to%20Defeating%20MAGA.pdf

* "America's Family Secret:" https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-slavery-lawmakers/

* "Once a Trump target, arc of the moral universe bends for Yusef Salaam:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/once-a-trump-target-arc-of-the-moral-universe-bends-for-yusef-salaam-185706565996

* "Candidate turns lessons of public, personal struggle into winning platform:" https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/candidate-turns-lessons-of-public-personal-struggle-into-winning-platform-186699333718

* "RFK Jr. Claims ‘Vaccine Research’ Likely Responsible for HIV and the Spanish Flu:" https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/06/robert-f-kennedy-jr-does-vaccine-make-fork-stick-to-me.html

* "The MAGA right is going all in on RFK Jr. That could backfire.:" https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/robert-kennedy-republican-super-pac-biden-rcna91176

* "DeSantis’s latest appeal to MAGA tops Trump in performative cruelty:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/27/desantis-immigration-border-plan-trump-maga/

* "Pete Buttigieg slams Ron DeSantis for ‘trying to prove his manhood’ with anti-LGBTQ+ video:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/03/pete-buttigieg-ron-desantis-anti-lgbtq-video/

* "Lindsey Graham booed, called ‘traitor’ at Trump rally in his home state:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/lindsey-graham-booed-called-traitor-at-trump-rally-in-his-home-state-186648645849

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* "Court upholds sanctions for some − not all − lawyers for suit to overturn Mich. election:" https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2023/06/23/court-upholds-sanctions-for-only-some-kraken-attorneys/69493140007/

* "Rudy Giuliani interviewed in DOJ probe into 2020 election:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/report-rudy-giuliani-interviewed-in-doj-probe-into-2020-election-185342533732

* "Giuliani, at center of Trump election subversion schemes, spoke with federal prosecutors:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/giuliani-at-center-of-trump-election-subversion-schemes-spoke-with-federal-prosecutors-185703493978

* "WSJ: Giuliani testified for 8 hours in DOJ probe, questioned on Sidney Powell:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/wsj-giuliani-testified-for-8-hours-in-doj-probe-questioned-on-sidney-powell-186650693895

* "Stephanie Grisham: Trump showed secret documents to Mar-a-Lago diners :" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/stephanie-grisham-trump-showed-secret-documents-to-mar-a-lago-diners-186645573966

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* "Senate report blasts intelligence failures ahead of Jan 6; bias, 'chilling effect' noted:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/senate-report-blasts-intelligence-failures-ahead-of-jan-6-bias-chilling-effect-noted-185394757922

* "Man wanted on Jan. 6 charges arrested with weapons near Barack Obama’s Washington home:" https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-insurrection-obama-weapons-857bad453191c67480b020ec0d1f980a

* "Drag Doesn't Kill People — Guns Do:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/drag-queens-guns

* "Baltimore mass shooting leaves 2 dead; half of 28 injured were children:" https://www.reuters.com/world/us/baltimore-police-scene-mass-shooting-incident-media-2023-07-02/

* "In wake of deadly mass shooting in Baltimore, mayor decries ghost guns, trafficking:" https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/in-wake-of-deadly-mass-shooting-in-baltimore-mayor-decries-ghost-guns-trafficking-186686021667

* "The Disturbing New Face of Mass Incarceration:"

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* "Shipping containers used for Arizona's makeshift border wall are now for sale, but buyer beware:" https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2023/06/30/arizonas-shipping-container-border-wall-boxes-are-now-for-sale/70361464007/

* "Thousands more prisoners across the US will get free college paid for by the government:" https://apnews.com/article/prison-pell-grant-college-graduation-ff3f0b80b5bc0e44dde0408c3dedea19

* "Judge awards a Black church $1M over BLM banner burned by Proud Boys during protest:" https://www.npr.org/2023/07/01/1185630152/judge-awards-a-black-church-1m-over-blm-banner-burned-by-proud-boys-during-prote

* "Georgia teacher faces termination after reading book about acceptance to class:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/georgia-teacher-faces-termination-after-reading-book-about-acceptance-to-class-185672261786

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* "Reproductive rights battle especially poignant in context of Black maternal health:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/reproductive-rights-battle-especially-poignant-in-context-of-black-maternal-health-184461893607

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* "Hundreds detained at banned Pride marches in Turkey: ‘They are aware of our strength’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/27/turkey-pride-arrests-istanbul-izmir/

---

* "Climate Central analysis shows that human-caused climate change is making the near-record heat forecast in large parts of Texas and Mexico at least 5 times more likely.:" https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-shift-index-alert

* "Forest fire centre declares 2023 already worst year ever for Canadian wildfires:" https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2023/06/26/quebec-wildfire-smoke-causes-widespread-smog-warnings-grounds-some-water-bombers.html

* "Canadian wildfire emissions hit record high as smoke reaches Europe:" https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/canadian-wildfire-emissions-reach-record-high-2023-2023-06-27/

* "Rainfall likely won’t be enough to extinguish Quebec wildfires causing US smoke, officials say:" https://apnews.com/article/canada-wildfires-smoke-quebec-rain-a0e287ea5117cccadb9e6917304635ea

* "Air quality plummets as Canadian wildfire smoke stretches across the Midwest :" https://www.npr.org/2023/06/28/1184812177/chicago-detroit-pittsburgh-canada-wildfire-smoke

* "DIY Box Fan Air Filte rDirections:" https://aghealth.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk261/files/inline-files/DIY%20Air%20Purifier%20Directions_English.Spanish_0.pdf

* "Brutal heat wave makes Texas among the hottest places on Earth:" https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/brutal-heat-wave-makes-texas-hottest-places-earth-rcna91584

* "Heat and smoke are smothering most of the U.S., putting lives at risk:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/06/28/extreme-heat-wave-texas-southern-states/

* Pro-Life Republicans act swiftly to cause more deaths because they believe people aren't dying fast enough. "Workers Die in Texas Heat as Greg Abbott's Water Break Ban Comes Under Fire:" https://www.newsweek.com/workers-die-texas-heat-greg-abbotts-water-break-ban-comes-under-fire-1808610

* "Critics Blast New Law After Dallas Postman Dies Amid Extreme Heat :" https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-usps-worker-dies-in-extreme-heat-critics-slam-hb-2127-16896591

* "35-year-old lineman dies after working to restore power in East Texas :" https://www.ketk.com/news/local-news/35-year-old-lineman-dies-after-working-to-restore-power-in-east-texas/

* "Teen and Stepfather Die on Hike in Near-Record Texas Heat:" https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/26/us/texas-heat-hiker-deaths.html

* "Inmates are dying in stifling Texas prisons, but the state seldom acknowledges heat as a cause of death:" https://www.kiiitv.com/article/news/local/texas/inmates-are-dying-in-stifling-texas-prisons/503-810c66fc-2bf2-4b7c-946f-c1cbac2ad58e

* What would Jesus do? Deny prisoners succor so that they die locked up in oven like conditions they can't escape. "Push to put air conditioning in Texas prisons fails:" https://www.corsicanadailysun.com/news/push-to-put-air-conditioning-in-texas-prisons-fails/article_257e94fe-0b00-11ee-a1ea-8bf9f4e3447f.html

* "Solar power proves its worth as heat wave grips the state:" https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/28/texas-solar-power-grid-heat-wave/

* "Gov. Greg Abbott vows to exclude renewable energy from any revived economic incentive program:" https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/01/chapter-313-texas-renewables-economic-development/

Solar Energy is saving Texas' butt right now and keeping their crappy proprietary grid afloat, but in March Republicans decided doubling down on the oil and gas industry while planning to make renewable energy harder to develop in order to make everything so much worse.

* "As Texans suffer in the heat, state Republicans play politics:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/as-texans-suffer-in-the-heat-state-republicans-play-politics-185722949628

* "Heat wave hits Southern California with a scorching Fourth of July weekend:" https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-06-30/heat-wave-southern-california-fourth-of-july-weekend

* "The Titan Submersible Was “an Accident Waiting to Happen”:" https://www.newyorker.com/news/a-reporter-at-large/the-titan-submersible-was-an-accident-waiting-to-happen

---

* "It's Called Micro Metro:" https://www.youtube.com/shorts/O-ZiycBMULI

* "National Geographic magazine has laid off the last of its staff writers:" https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/28/media/national-geographic-magazine-staff-writers/index.html

* "We Cleaned Up The Ocean Floor At 40 Meters Depth:"

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* "How to Disable Ad ID Tracking on iOS and Android, and Why You Should Do It Now:" https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/05/how-disable-ad-id-tracking-ios-and-android-and-why-you-should-do-it-now

* "Google Says It'll Scrape Everything You Post Online for AI:" https://gizmodo.com/google-says-itll-scrape-everything-you-post-online-for-1850601486

* "A Four-Decade Secret: One Man’s Story of Sabotaging Carter’s Re-election:" https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/18/us/politics/jimmy-carter-october-surprise-iran-hostages.html

* He was incredibly talented. I loved him particularly in naked Lunch, Warlock and Impromptu, but he was in so many things. It's terrible he's gone, but at least the family have him back to mourn properly. In my experience, waiting is worse than knowing. "Julian Sands’ remains found in Mt. Baldy area, San Bernardino officials confirm:" https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-06-27/julian-sands-remains-found-mt-baldy-san-bernardino

* "Bonus 4: Queering the Gothic:" https://www.scribd.com/podcast/655892341/Bonus-4-Queering-the-Gothic-Stephen-interviews-Dr-Jamie-Bernthal-Hooker?irclickid=3kxxPHRpOzhvU%3A11aUXpLwX1UkF2jZSFRRYS3E0&irpid=2003851&utm_source=impact&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=affiliate_pdm_acquisition_Bing%20Rebates%20by%20Microsoft&sharedid=bing&irgwc=1

* "Good Omens Parody by The Hillywood Show®:"

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* Tuesday I went to the Doctor and had a blood draw. She's mostly caught up. Nothing can likely be done about the allergy treatments unless I want to day trip to Everett every two weeks starting in September, but i am so tired and the pain meds make me even more so. there is concern about no meds causing heart palpatations, but we are going to try a pill twice a day anyway, so i can get coverage in my sleep. Let us all hope I don't start hallucinating.

Given the hallucination risk I stayed at minimum for the Wednesday errands as the last thing I wanted was to start hallucinating while driving.

Some sort of blight has hit one of the garden tubs, but only one species of volunteer plant, which we removed in hopes it isn't in the soil and hasn't spread to the others. The other volunteers and the thing that actually is meant to be growing there look okay, but we are going to try to identify the species of ick, in case we need to sterilize and start over. I will be pissed if that's the case as it's one of the big whiskey barrel planters with the most expensive things in the garden in it. *fingers crossed*

Wednesday was the first day I woke up with bad collapsey legs since I started the new meds and on the scale of bad legs it was about medium. My arms we ironically less collapsey than average for the last week.

Bodies are weird.

* I think I need to tell you about the Cleaner, because OMG, but for that you will need context on my pain/meds situation.

So less pain does not remotely equal no pain. My hip joints were a mess Wednesday, and only a little better Thursday. My shoulder joints, and thus my arms, started to go bad Thursday. The fundamental things wrong with my body aren't fixable, but the new meds are doing a stellar job on what I think of as the secondary pain, IE: everything else not joint or tendon or in their immediate vicinity. It is far more effective than the muscle relaxants I've been using for decades at this since it's hitting the nerves and not just the muscles. It also adds to the tired. So much to the tired. Bonus: on the new dose, I get dizzy if I don't rest enough, and the heart palpitations hit longer and harder when they hit.

Dramatically better means for an extreme chronic pain/chronic illness perspective, not from a remotely healthy person's perspective, if you follow. I was into about a month of unbearable torment when we tried the one pill dosage. I'm still not sure my system can handle the two pills, and I plan to stick to this dose. They are supposed to last eight hours, but I get an extra four hours of partial coverage per pill, and like I said the side effects are scaling up on me.

So right now my balance sucks, I'm exhausted, and my shoulder joints scream at me if I try to do anything remotely strenuous with them, you follow?

So far I've had four different cleaners turn up, two of them twice. Three of those are hard and thorough workers. One of those will not wear her mask. I put up with it because I am wearing mine and turn on all the fans and I'm scared if I don't take her, no one will come. (see five skipped cleaning appointments in a row).

Cleaning is a hard fucking job and they are underpaid, get no benefits, no set hours, and have to pay their own travel costs including for the ferry if they are coming from the reservation and that is a lot of gas. I respect cleaners. I've done it, after all, amoung the many shit jobs I had over the years. I trust them to know what they are doing. This has been the case in three instances. Most of the conversation with those three cleaners has been things like: Where does this go? Where is (whatever) kept? What should i do next? I refuse to micro manage. In my experience, micro managing is dramatically less efficient and just insults the person doing the job. I know I hated it, when I was the person being micro-managed. This works great for Goth Millennial and for the other three cleaners on the other four occasions.

I'm sure you are sensing the big but here.

So the cleaner who came today, turned up the other time she was here high as a kite. I don't mean a little buzzed, which is fairly normal in this town and this state. Weed's been legal here for ages. People with shitty service jobs occasionally come to work a schootch high. It doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things if, say, your barista's a little buzzed. I don't partake myself for a host of reasons, but most of my friends since... I'm going to say 1985, have/do. A little high is no big deal.

Orbiting Pluto without a suit is. She was way out of it girl at a party who's friends have to watch her like a hawk high. She was barely coherent high. She drove here. O.o. She drove home. This terrifies me. after some consultation with my friends including them seeing the mess she made and me acting out vignettes, our best guess is she must have dramatically misjudged an edible. (It had to be vape or edible. I would have smelled smoke. Edible makes the most sense for both the degree of Jesus fuck high and the thinking she was fine when she left home, but waaaay not fine when she got here. Surely she would have cancelled otherwise, right?).

So basically instead of my working away at the aggregate or tumblr queue programming or whatever, it was a lot like baby sitting a toddler who would not shut up, only the toddler would make more sense and the mess would have likely been confined to things in a toddler's reach. I had to go around after she left and actually use the forbidden to me for safety reasons ladder to save a bunch of my cups and glasses from the accident I could see happening the second Squirrel opened a dish cupboard because he had jammed them in their so precariously that the door was the only thing preventing them falling. Goth Millennial came the next day and had to take everything out and restack it. I could live with the fitted sheet being inside out, so we left that for today.

I did not turn her in to the asshole agency because 1. worker solidarity. I never went to work on a substance, but I've worked so, so many shit jobs and the Asshole Agency is terrible. 2. I was pretty sure it was a mistake involving an edible. 3. I was big on giving people another chance when I was teaching. On fuck up shouldn't lat for ever unless that fuck up was malicious or really damaging to other people.

Well, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice shame on me.

No, she was not noticeably high this time, though I couldn't rule a mild buzz out. She also had a shamefaced and subdued demeanor that clearly told me she knew how badly she'd fucked up last time. She said she'd signed up for me on purpose instead of her other option because I was really nice to her and my apartment was full of interesting things to look at while she cleaned. My apartment is full of interesting things to look at and I suspect she liked me because I was consistently kind to her when she was a mess last time and hadn’t turned her in. She really is sweet and nice and she is clearly trying her best but not remotely the sharpest tool in the shed. Which can be fine. I've known a lot of good workers over the years with significant developmental or accident related challenges and they did fine. She wasn't in that category, but I realized she'd need extra supervision compared to the others. I underestimated how much.

She did walk right up to Tavy and start petting him right away like last time which again confused and alarmed him. Sure, Squirrel and I and a couple of the Millennials can do that because we are his particular friends, but he barely knows her and and she would NOT stop doing that last time no matter how many times I told her he was a biter and apt to maul when he was worked up. I was so proud of him because he did not attack her the first three times, and honestly the forth time, I would have bitten her too in his place.

Tavy was noticeably wary of her. He did want to watch what she was doing, but he remembered her. (By contrast, the other cleaners he'd watch from a distance for a while, and then follow around and in a couple cases, get me to pick him up so he could get a better look. He really took to the GNC person who came once, and kept sniffing their legs). He did let her pet him without biting her, and she was together enough to stop when I told her he was down, and leave him alone for the rest of the two hours when I said he was in a mood to hang out and watch but not interact.

I got her through the linen change okay and last time she was so high she forgot we had a dishwasher after she'd emptied it and it took her most of her shift except the linen change, but the dishes looked and smelled clean, so I set her to that and did not remotely supervise her enough. This I did not discover until evening, but we'll get to that.

Then I set her to sweep and mop, which... Like I've worked a lot of restaurant jobs, often with people in a supported worker with severe intellectual challenges. I've never seen one who'd been doing it for years who couldn't do it correctly. She said she'd been doing this for several years.

Assuming makes an ass out of me, doesn't it?

Oh gods the mess she made! I should have known it was too hard for her when she started prepping for mopping before sweeping. So I told her to sweep first, which she did. I told her to dump the water in the sink, not the tub, which turned out to be very, very lucky. (The tub is the most expensive thing I own. A city program that remodels for elderly and disabled people paid for it. I will never be able to afford to fix or replace it. There are super strict cleaning directions for a reason, because the mechanism is delicate.) I told her to use the liquid all purpose cleaner under the sink. I should have got it out and prepped the bucket myself, but bending hurts and I was exhausted and dizzy and my arm situation was deteriorating. I should have done it anyway, because this is So. Much. Worse.

She used a ton of water. Like way, way to much water in a way that suggested she did not wring the mop and/or she was dumping puddles out of the bucket. It was a terrifying fall risk situation because this was the end of her shift and I really really needed to get ready for bed as soon as she left and forage delivery was late so I had to go drag it in, just as I'd given up and settled into bed. So I'm dizzy with unreliable legs, using both hands and going careful back and forth over this swamp of a floor with a weird gritty, soapy texture. Which is... not what you want in a cleaner for elderly and disabled people. I could fall and end up in the hospital under those conditions. And it;'s not like I could want a couple hours for it to dry. There was no point in washing my feet in the bathroom, so I kept using wipes on them before getting into bed.

Then I woke up to pee and realized just how bad it really was. *head desk* My best guess is she used Ajax, which is stored under a bookshelf in the bathroom, not under the sink. Like a TON of Ajax. The kitchen sink and nearby counter was caked with it and the floor was tacky and gritty and full of muddy footprints. I couldn't leave it like that. I cleaned the sink. I took the other mop with the disability friendly easy to wring it out attachment which had been to complicated for her head and wet mopped it all again, frequently rinsing and wringing it out, until my arms basically gave out and I had to wash up and take a nap.

It's still incredibly dirty. I feel like crying, because I can't feel clean unless my feet are. I've been skating around on damp towels, but though my hip joints are a lot better this evening, I wear out fast and it hurts quite a bit if I do it too much. I hate leaving a terrible mess like this for the millennial, but I simply can't mop any more with these arms. I'd have been so much better off giving her something else to do, but I couldn't think of anything else simple enough for her, and I know from last time she will not leave early no matter how much I tell her she can just clock out at the end of the hour.

At this point I was debating what to do. I had settled on calling Monday and asking them to put her on my no list without giving a reason, because I simply can't go through this again. It's too hard on my body and it's incredibly could seriously injure me dangerous.

Then I went to feed the Empress Livia and discovered something worse.

I'm medically fragile. Amoung so many other things, I have an immune system that is far more interested in own goals than fighting pathogens. I can and will catch anything you expose me too. Anything. I also have a dicey digestive system. Anything I use to prepare food or eat or drink needs to be really fucking clean. We prewash for grease and stuck on food then run them through the washer to make sure the soap and anything else is off. yes, I know this is bad for the environment as it uses extra water, but it’s a serious safety issue for me.

I was very, very clear on directions because I remembered last time. “Wash the dishes and then put the in the dishwasher. The dishes in there are dirty, so don’t put them away. I will run the washer after you leave.” Did she do that? No. Were the dishes cleaned and dried, which would be reasonably acceptable as an alternative? No. They were jammed in with the clean dishes, soaking wet and covered in soap bubbles six or seven hours after she left. We'll have to go through all the pans tomorrow. I pulled the pans and dishes I remembered were in the sink yesterday. I have no way of guessing with the glasses and flatware and I don't know which things Squirrel put in there.

I am exhausted and I hurt and I've been pushed way past the limit of what my body can handle in a day and I can't trust my dishes or the glass I'm drinking out of and I can't get the dirty Ajax grit off my feet. I'm going to go take a bath, but my feet will be dirty again the second I touch the floor.

She's another poor person. I feel like a class traitor just putting her on my no list, but she could theoretically kill an elderly person with her mopping, and I can't decide if I should say something, because anything I do will be a terrible option.

This person literally uncleaned my apartment. I just....

Look, I know it’s a free service, but this is so very much worse than when they don’t send anyone.

* Squirrel was horified because he works with elderly people and he knows better than anyone that falls kill. He insisted I call right away about her. Squirrel: Even I know not to use Ajax on floors!

It turns out they take calls on the weekends. I admit i broke down a bit. My arm was screaming at me and we are looking at weeks of cleaning to get all the Ajax up. It turns out they literally don't fire people for any reason so ethically I feel a lot better about calling, but at the same time she could literally kill an elderly person and also they could send someone even more dangerous because there is no check on that. O.o. so she's blocked on the app from seeing my jobs. I ordered an extra cleaner, but I don't really think they'll send one. IDK.

I spent hours last night trying to fix it last night. Goth millenial spent hours on it today. It still is incredibly dirty. I'm scared the cats are eating the Ajax dirt that clings to their paws. Tavy is really traumatized and wouldn't even let Goth millenial pet him today and he mostly avoided the other millenials who were here breifly. he keeps needing reassurance cuddles and held blerpfest last night in the living room. I don't blame them.

At lets cancelling five times in a row wasn't actively destrucxtive. This was. It was so very very destructive.

It is freaking me out that shge's out there driveing, that she's likely endangering other people and their pets with the uncleaning.

Bonus: She waited long enough to clock out after i told her to clock out that her five minute delay stoole a half hour of cleaning from me.

* Sunday I took some of the Millennials for swimming/picnic at the Lake for the first time this season. I got to watch New Millennial fall in love with the PNW landscape exactly the way I did more than thirty years ago.

You can really tell which of us grew up with cold Northern Ocean. Me: wading steadily deeper and deeper once I'm far enough in to keep my balance by my self on the rocks and the bottom gets a little smoother, then slowly swimming out a little deeper in search of the warmer tide. (It's a run off fed lake, and the mixing of the cold inflow with the water that's been in the lowlands long enough, makes these weird little temperature striations you can very much feel even after you cold adapt). Everybody Else: Wading crotch deep and thinking for a while about whether they want to swim after all, then going way slower and stopping a lot to rethink.

I love my Millennials. The other two each had one of the newest Millennial's arms to help them over the rocks because the rocks suck and I'd forgotten to warn them. Me, urging them on: Keep coming! I found the warm current! New Millennial: Looking concerned this might be hazing, followed by the moment of delight and surprise on finding I was not. Look, it's only like ten or fifteen degrees on a good day, but it does make a difference and the activity of swimming or treading water and the adaptation once you go up to your neck and then duck your head, all add up. You just need to get into a sweet spot.

I discovered on the way back that my fucked up arms really, really don;t want to do backstroke. I managed a lopsided curve towards shore until I was far enough in to pull along the rocks with my hands and kick. So Goth Millennial is hanging close on the way to the shallows, because I can't really get out safely by myself and need help getting up onto my feet and staying there until I'm reasonably sure they are working, at which point either Goth Millennial (or Techie Millennial, who couldn't come), would grab my crutch so I could use it and their arm to get out onto the "beach."

My crutch was not where I left it. My crutch was not anywhere nearby where someone might have moved it if it were in the way of say launching a jet ski from the wrong stretch of "beach" instead of the boat and jet ski launch area. I mention jet skis as their were two anchored in the swimming area where they were not meant to be we we arrived, one of which way out past the swim buoys where it was meant to be, and the other parked on the "beach" where it emphatically should not be, surrounded by mostly kids, obscuring view of the corner where the "beach hits the cit off with the higher land and grass. But I hadn't gone near that, and I needed the crutch to get out to look to see if the crutch was there.

I am still angry about that fad a decade or so ago when asshole able bodied art students would steal poor people's wheelchairs for shitty "art projects" and then brag about it on line as if stealing an expensive thing someone couldn't afford to replace and stranding them somewhere like a park or a bathroom or an inaccessible public building was something virtuous and clever instead of an incredibly cruel things to do to someone, as if their crap project was worth more than someone else's independence. My crutch is basically one of my legs. Someone's wheels are their legs.

Every time I go into the water anywhere, I know there is a chance someone will steal my crutch. This is the PNW, and I think someone leaving a mobility aid next to the water makes sense to the ableds, whereas someone leaving a wheelchair on the pavement in a park doesn't for some asshole shitty lack of empathy and imagination neurotypical reason, I guess.

So I'm starting to get really upset and Goth Millennial is really worried and we are having a loud conversation along the lines of Me: shit! I can you see my crutch anywhere? I left it right there. I think someone may have stolen !it! Millennial standing up and going to look across the bad rock stretch craning their head around to see if some asshole maybe put it on the grassy bit above the cut: I can't see it! It's not there!" Middle School age, glaring resentfully at one of the younger kids, stomps around to the other side of the illegal parked jet ski, where we had zero chance of seeing it, retrieves it and hands it to me. Me: you're very kind! Thank you! Goth Millennial hoists me to my feet while I use their arm and the crutch to just barely get my balance. This is a complicated and painful procedure, returning to gravity after freedom, and I need to stand their awhile like two or three feet away from Asshole Jet Ski Extended family. These kids just stare at me the whole time we are doing this. It is very, very obvious that my normally invisible disability is very, very real. Grumpy teen in charge to a younger kid: You better go apologize. No one apologizes. They keep staring at us hobble slowly and carefully up the shallow stairs. After I went to pee and wash lake water off my hands before eating, I went to set my crutch down by my chair and all this water poured out of it. I'd left it on dry land.

Asshole Family who was too privileged to use the boat and jet ski launch who thus had to drive their jet skis through the swim area had stolen my fucking crutch to play with in the water and the missing adults and the grumpy teen in charge had let them, and then they hid it behind their angled jet ski so no one could see it afterwards. They could have lost it in the lake. They could have kept it.

We found out when our friends came out of the water that they’d also stolen and hid our blind friend's flip flops, which they grudgingly had returned when it was clear they were hers.

Rich people are the worst.

So we go get dinner stuff at the grocery store and drop a Millennial off and I'm in my kitchen searching for my reusable straws, of which I own four. I have one I was using for lemonade which I put in the refrigerator last night. I had assumed the other three were in the wash or something up until now, but I searched the dishwasher and they weren't there. All the flatware are in the dishwasher except the chopsticks and some specialty use items, since we didn't know which the Asshole Cleaner hadn't cleaned properly before putting back. we’d emptied the trays. I search there and around there anyway. There are no reusable straws in the kitchen except the one I was drinking out of Friday when Asshole Stoner Cleaner was uncleaning the apartment.

The time she was here high as a kite she kept wiggling them and shouting "Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle!" She was obsessed with them. They were a gift from Goth Millennial. I don't think they were that expensive, but they were cute and had a nice texture and are earth friendly. (Some people can't use reuseable straws for a bunch of reasons and we have emergency plastic straws here. This is not any sort of judgement on people who use single use. Let's ban fishing industry plastics which are most of the ocean plastic pollution before going after disabled people's straws, okay?)

I think the only reason she didn't steal the forth straw was it was right next to me so I could poke it up under the mask for brief sips. I'd left it and the cup in the fridge because I don't like to put them to wash until I see a new clean straw I can use in situations like this or when my arms are bad, and it's easier and safer to hold the cup low, or sometimes just because. They are reusable! It hurts nothing. I wanted a straw because my body wasn't working and I wanted to drink the juice I'd bought for dinner while lying down and waiting for things to stop hurting so much.

There is zero chance the other three are still here.

I had checked my bedroom right after she left for small, easily stealable things missing from the bookshelf where I put curios right after she left because the comment about my interesting things felt like something a person might say anyway, but also a things someone who might pocket once would say and I was already upset and wary of her because of everything. There are things it would be hard to check, like my BPAL Collection, but odds are she wouldn't steal those. She'd have had to climb on the bed and go through the little boxes and she was only unsupervised in there for a few minutes with the sweep and mop. I will need to see if she stole the bottle where I keep a few tramadol in case I wake up unable to get out of bet or occasionally, even roll over without an hour or more of slow, excruciating effort. While they clean, I'm sitting at my desk right next to the bottled meds collection that mostly feed assorted pill organizers, and the shelf above where the things I need to grab quick in an emergency are not surprisingly untouched. If anything had been stolen when I got up to go to the bathroom the parent tramadol bottle would be easiest to raid and the only really attractive thing to steal except throat pearls, and you'd have to know what they were and they are not recreational, just a little expensive and perscription. The altar and display shelf over the sofa seems fine, and she definitely didn't go in grabbing distance anyway.

When I went into the bathroom to bathe the lake water away, I noticed some small things missing. One of them I'd assumed was in the wash, but I have done a bunch of laundry over the weekend since the Ajax tainted clothes get washed separately and I don't want the dye to be leached by cleanser by letting them sit unwashed, and we have to wash the mop head by itself between uses to get all the ajax out. It's not in the wash. It's gone, a small, very useful thing. Nothing expensive is missing that I've noticed yet, but I haven't properly inventoried all the otc things and the prescription ointments and such, but I'm guessing those wouldn't be attractive. I doubt she'd steal books. She didn't strike me as a reader, but when I am in less pain and less exhausted, I'll inventory them better.

Asshole. Fucking asshole.

I know it could have been worse. Every little curio and most of the art except some things in the bathroom that are there because of the risk of steam or water damage have a story. They were given to me by friends or lovers or made by me when my hands still worked right or purchased at particular events or on particular occasions. These are memories and irreplaceable regardless because they are mostly hand made or limited edition from conventions.

We don't have money for replacing straws right now. They haven't paid Goth Millennial for a month and a half, not even for the supposedly paid training sessions. I owe money to the Honest Mechanic for the third time in three months and am about to burn two thirds of my bill money tomorrow on that, because you never ever fuck over a small business, just like you never ever fuck over another poor person. (I don’t steal, but I think ethically, stealing from a big chain to feed your kids is okay, and very much better than letting you kids starve, especially given the wage theft and lobbying against the social safety net and minimum wage those chains do. They steal from the poor, particularly their workers and if they hadn’t paid politicians to do things that prevent people from having enough to eat, then which is the bigger evil? Mom and pops? Family Businesses? Little micro businesses and artists and what have you? Never, ever okay. Small businesses are the life blood of a community online and RL, and letting me defer payment is a major fucking favor, so they are next after housing, whatever happens to my other bills. The other few things I spotted are replaceable if we had money for it.

I am so fucking angry anyway. I already felt my home was desecrated by her uncleaning it and distressing Tavy and the all over fuckery of it, but this small thing, this thing that wouldn't matter if I were a little better off or they weren't a gift, but feel like a big thing when added to all the rest.

It takes a lot to make me hate someone. We are not there yet, but if I do find something important I overlooked gone, I will, much like I still hate the ex-friend from first college who took three important things with sentimental value that were/are irreplaceable when he dropped out. This is how he became an ex-friend. He knew that the plaque was the last thing the artist my first freshman lover bought it from made and that it had a bunch of layered meanings in what was written on it. The things he stole from me and another friend were like that. Very personal and chosen with surgical precision to cause the most distress. (He did other, worse things, then made sure everyone thought, I’d done them and I was a monster. none of this we found out until he’d gone and we none of us could figure out why. Okay, the terrible things he needed someone to frame, but the rest... Sociopathy was the best guess for all of it really. Last I checked he was still working with children and there was fuck all provable we can do about it, but he really, really shouldn’t have been working with children). These things the Uncleaner stole were small, replaceable things, not something where there is no other one even if memories weren’t attached.

All the things missing I've looked for off and on since the time she was here high, under the belief they were misplaced or in the wash. I wouldn't be surprised if that's when she took them and that's part of why she was so embarrassed the second time, but if she were really embarrassed she could have brought them back then and I'd never have known. Like, she could have tossed them into one washer or the other, or tucked them around the sink, and I'd have just thought that was where they were.

I know the Asshole Agency will do fuck all, but I'm going to call them anyway. Goth Millennial said before we knew about the theft that she was the one who was a class traitor, because you don't do shit like this to another poor person. I have no idea when my apartment will actually be clean again. I'm doubting that an extra two hours this week even if someone turns up will do it.

We are still baffled by the thought process.

If she'd put the dishes into the dishwasher like I'd asked, it would have been fine and not tons of extra time and work cleaning everything. I still need to sit on the kitchen floor in the Ajax to go through all the pots and pans in case the extra cleaner does come. If she'd rinsed and dried them before putting them away, it would have been not ideal, but likely fine. She did neither for no reason we can understand. Putting them away wet and soapy was actually more work than racking them in the dishwasher like I asked.

Not only was the bottle of liquid all purpose cleaner right in front when I opened the cabinet under the sink to hand it to Goth Millennial Saturday when they decided wet mopping wouldn't be enough, there was a literal second full bottle behind it because I hate running out of things so I tend to buy two at once if I have enough cash for it and the trip to get the one I like that is effective but doesn't make bad smells is annoying if I don't want a big mark up. It was right there. couldn't have missed it if she'd opened the compartment. To get at the Ajax I use only for the toilet, she had to go past the dish soap for the sink and tub and the shampoo and conditioner I bought before the engine light went on last month. She could have used the dish soap and it would have been not ideal, but fine except for all the extra water. A wet mop after she left would have solved it. She had to go on her hands and knees and move things to get the Ajax. Following directions was Easier. Asking me to get it if she somehow couldn't recognize it as a bottle of liquid cleaner was easier. Getting about a third to a half of a big cylinder of Ajax out of those small holes was definitely harder than doing it properly.

WTF!?!

I get that stealing small stuff you don't need is actually a symptom of mental illness that requires therapy she likely can't afford, and given how high she was she really had no observable impulse control I could see, hence her repeatedly stopping work to pet a cat I'd warned her not to, and the 'wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, and all the many other things. This is the only explicable part of it. Like I get it. If that's all she'd done I would have been mildly miffed and reported and blocked her because I don't like people stealing my stuff and she might take something from someone else they couldn't eventually replace, but I wouldn't be this kind of furious. A compulsion to steal and/or walking away with something because one is borderline incoherent high and then going oops later are pretty easy to understand motivation wise.

Doing all this extra work to do so much damage to someone you barely know makes zero sense. I was nice to her! I sent her home with a big bag of food each time! We none of us think this was malice. It can't be laziness as this took so much extra work than not doing damage would. so seriously WTF, with the dishes and the Ajax? This question haunts us all.

UPDate: Asshole Agency now says they will file a ticket and investigate. I trust nothing they say, as they've lied to me before, most recently Saturday, when they claimed there was nothing to be done except blocking her from coming here. Today's guy says they weren't supposed to blow be off like that and their is a system. There is no way to tell which of them is lying. I hope the ticket system is not fictional like half of their cancellation calls and I hope there is an investigation system that is not made of bullshit and rubber stamps. That would be nice.

It really does scare me should could accidentally kill someone or their pets and it worries me she's out their in the homes of vulnerable elderly people who may not have a support system to handle the devastation. I'm still having trouble turning my head and lifting a full glass of liquid with my dominant arm above my shoulder. I don't know what long term health effects the Ajax will have on the cats. Livia's on a special diet for her urinary system. I did not fall and I could hide in my bed until all the water dried. The stuff she stole was small and that big a deal. I have Goth Millennial and to a lesser extent the others to help me clean up, but this is exhausting them. None of them have to do that and I appreciate that so much.

If I were older though? I could have broken a hip or had a serious head injury with no one to help.

It still freaks me out she was driving like that the previous time.

I've done a whole lot of shit jobs out of poverty. I have never harmed someone like she harmed me. I never would. I hate that I am harming her now, by reporting, but I had to try to protect whoever next after me. I hate the Asshole Agency. I hate them for the terrible way they treat the cleaners and whole fucking gig economy, and the predatory capitalism that makes this the business model now, and the shiftiness of it all. I wonder how many people before me tried to report her and how many gave up trying to get the asshole agency to care and just blocked her. Did she trash anyone's home before mine?

This was supposed to be extra help, but this is so much harm, so much extra pain, so much extra stress. Medicare pays them money to send untrained, unvetted people into the homes of vulnerable adults run by an agency who's first recourse is to lie to you if you complain about anything, and only calls you half the time to tell you the cleaner cancelled.

I am tired of being upset about all this. It will hard to be not upset about it until my apartment is clean and smells normal again. The chemicals give me a headache, which does not help either.

* On Monday night the extra cleaner I ordered for Tuesday called. They generally do this to check in. i tell them where to park and to call on arrival so I can pop out and wave them in and that they should wear a mask and headphones atre fine if they want to wear them. I began to hope a cleaner really would turn up despite the holiday.

An hour before the scheduled time of arrival, the Asshole Agency called, because they couldn't reach the cleaner. Me: she called last night. Everything seemed fine. Them: do you know how to reach her? Me: No. O.o

She was a couple minutes late, having taken the wrong entrance to my apartment complex, which happens a lot. It was fine. I explained the situation with dishes and floors. she did all the dishes and followed directions. She actually solved the floors with time to spare. O.o. i'll feel better with an extra mopping in the bathroom, but the Ajax spell is gone and she even got the caked crust around the edges in the bathroom. Then she took out the trash and organized the pots and pans, which have been a mess since the silverware drawer broke.

She was respectful of Tavy's space, which was a huge help, since the Uncleaner traimatized him to the point he's having his nightmares again. Livia hid of course, sensible girl.

Goth Millenial wanted to come hang out, so I went and got them. We had a nice dinner and watched Dark Winds. This is a rewatch for me, but they'd only seen the first episode. It's both worth a rewatch and the new season starts soon, so the timing is excellent. Tavy was so worn out from supervising the cleaner from afar, he slept through the visit.

After Lung Time Livia came out of hiding for a love and a snack, just in time for them all to be panicked by fireworks in the parking lot. They both Noped odff to their hides for hours. Livia only came out a couple hours later. She got a love and a snack, and then the fireworks started again, luckily not nearly as loud, so at least Tavy was okay.

The imperial couple decree no more fireworks ever, please.

The Ajax took the shiny protective layer off the flooring, which makes me sad, but I suspected this would be the case when I realized what she'd done to me.

Otherwise, things are normalish here at the cat asylum. It was almost midnight as I wrote this and the wind from Alaska is finally blowing the smell of Canada burning out of our little valley by the bay.

I would like to thank the donor who paid for the latest car repair and to anyone who chipped in in the last slightly over a year and a half when the catastrophic string of things falling apart including two appliances, an apartment electrical system, my teeth, A fire alarm, a tire, and.... Was it five car repairs on my aged and slowly failing vehicle?

I would like to thank you all for the kind words and support you all give me. I notice and it does matter.

* A thing I wrote for Tumblr on the evening of the 4th:

I have a lot of new followers who joined in the last year. You may have noticed that my 4th of July programming is not what one might expect from an American. It is deliberate. I think it is more valuable to see the country for what it is, what’s best and most important about it and fight for what it could be than to bellow self congratulatory platitudes wrapped in a flag.

The fight has gotten so much harder in the last 7 or so years, but it always was hard. Those of us who could never afford the rose colored glasses need to stick together, to have each other’s backs. To those who see the rising tide of fascism and are joining the cause and for those young enough that this is all pretty new, welcome.

We really do need to hang together or we really will hang separately. I said back in 2016 this was going to be a marathon and not a sprint and we have so very many miles to go. There is still time to save what is good about this country, and to build something new and better on part of the foundation that is still good. We can do it if we stick together and leave no one behind this time. We can do it if we don’t let them split us and get us all scrambling for the crumbs instead of insisting on pie for everyone.

This isn’t over. Not quite yet, though it might feel like it may be for some of us. Let us not go softly into that good night. Let us rage together at the dying of the light.

* "Midnight Pals: Jewish Noir:" https://www.tumblr.com/bitterkarella/721215690590339072/midnight-pals-jewish-noir?source=share

* "Midnight Pals: A Fable:" https://www.tumblr.com/bitterkarella/721521022058233856/midnight-pals-a-fable?source=share

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

The help links are at the bottom under the cut.

* BPAL Charity Fundraiser "TRIUMPH IN MY SONG:" https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/activism/triumph-in-my-song/

* Support the WGA. "Entertainment Community Fund:" https://entertainmentcommunity.org/

* "DIY Box Fan Air Filter Directions:" https://aghealth.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk261/files/inline-files/DIY%20Air%20Purifier%20Directions_English.Spanish_0.pdf

* My oldest continuous friend is trying to raise money to buy games for a Cat Rescue fundraiser. This cat rescue is no kill and places most cats in foster homes until they can be adopted. They are good people there and it's a huge number of cats many needing basic or more serious healthcare.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/318lgf6fa0?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cf%20share-flow-1&fbclid=IwAR1smSQTz7deMSVUBsEg30AdhQ-zeAEHGXOcHXqVUILTlF2MqnIIW49SDVU

* Cool Blackwork Embroidery Patterns for Beginners: https://www.etsy.com/shop/thehaberdasheress/?etsrc=sdt

* If you would like to help support me and the Cats: paypal.me/Gwydion

( Links Underneath: )

* "Bombing of herders highlights pattern of deadly aerial assaults by the Nigerian military :" https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/nigeria-military-civilian-airstrikes/

* "A boat carrying 180 Rohingya refugees vanished.:" https://apnews.com/article/rohingya-investigation-missing-boat-refugees-bangladesh-myanmar-migration-1b94b4472a42b26eb066bef47b7bcf7e

* "A pop-up restaurant in Kabul is run by women for women. The Taliban is watching:" https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/06/01/1179134749/a-pop-up-restaurant-in-kabul-is-run-by-women-for-women-the-taliban-is-watching

* "Nicola Sturgeon arrested in SNP finances investigation:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/11/nicola-sturgeon-arrested-in-snp-finances-investigation/

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* "Blasts at major dam in southern Ukraine unleash floodwaters" https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-says-russia-blows-up-major-nova-kakhovka-dam-southern-ukraine-2023-06-06/

* CW: Animal Death. "Hundreds of Animals Killed After Dam Attack Floods Ukraine Zoo:" https://www.newsweek.com/hundreds-animals-killed-after-dam-attack-floods-ukraine-zoo-1804856

I have a particular horror of things like floods hitting zoos.

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* "Russian cybercrime gang hacks federal agencies :" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/15/multiple-federal-agencies-hit-by-hack-00102229

* "Wyden launches investigation into PGA Tour's merger with Saudi-funded LIV Golf:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/wyden-launches-investigation-pga-tours-merger-saudi-funded-liv-golf-rcna89522

Look, I object to Golf on a lot of grounds: Environmental, Water Wastage, Class Issues, etc..

At the same time, I oppose sports washing and global monopolies.

I can do both.

* "President Joe Biden marks one year since the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act:" https://www.msnbc.com/jonathan-capehart/watch/president-joe-biden-marks-one-year-since-the-bipartisan-safer-communities-act-182904901698

* "White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre violated the Hatch Act, watchdog says:" https://www.npr.org/2023/06/14/1182181752/karine-jean-pierre-white-house-hatch-act

* "Karine Jean Pierre shuts down ‘irresponsible’ trans sport question at White House press conference:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/14/karine-jean-pierre-trans-athletes-white-house-press-briefing/

* The Indian Child Welfare Act prevents the kidnapping of indigenous children to be raised by white people, and the adoption of indigenous children away from their community by non-natives, activities which have been part of the US Government's genocide against Native Americans. "The Supreme Court leaves Indian Child Welfare Act intact:" https://www.npr.org/2023/06/15/1182121455/indian-child-welfare-act-supreme-court-decision

* "U.S. consumer price growth slowed last month, though underlying inflation measures stayed high:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/13/us-consumer-price-growth-slowed-last-month-00101680

* "More than 725K pushed off Medicaid rolls by redeterminations:" https://www.axios.com/2023/06/12/pushed-off-medicaid-rolls-kff

* "Korean writers picket in solidarity with Writers Guild of America:" https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/1096126.html

* "SAG-AFTRA Members Vote 97.9% in Favor of Strike Authorization:" https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/sag-aftra-strike-authorization-vote-writers-1235633850/

* "UPS workers facing extreme heat win a deal to get air conditioning in new trucks:" https://www.npr.org/2023/06/14/1182147381/ups-workers-facing-extreme-heat-win-a-deal-to-get-air-conditioning-in-new-trucks

* "LGBTQ+ Professionals Fear New Laws Could Jeopardize Their Careers:" https://www.advocate.com/business/lgbtq-professionals-worry-targeted-laws

* "Freedom Caucus adds new members in the wake of House floor rebellion :" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/13/house-freedom-caucus-new-members-00101713

* "House rejects bid to censure Adam Schiff over Trump investigations:" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/adam-schiff-censure-resolution-house-vote/

* "Matt Gaetz May Have Trouble Ahead — House Ethics Committee Quietly Reopens Its Probe into His Conduct: Report:" https://people.com/matt-gaetz-house-ethics-committee-investigation-reopened-report-7510266

* "Democratic Congressman Reveals the Fatal Flaw in GOP’s Biden Investigation:" https://newrepublic.com/post/173657/democratic-congressman-goldman-reveals-flaw-gop-biden-investigation

* "Comer: ‘MSNBC makes fun of me’ because Biden witnesses 'are currently missing’:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/comer-msnbc-makes-fun-of-me-because-biden-witnesses-are-currently-missing-182735941516

* "As Trump is arraigned, Republicans honor the insurrectionists:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/16/house-gop-trump-indictment-reaction-jan-6/

* "Gaetz hosted odd, fake January 6 hearing on Trump's indictment day:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/gaetz-hosted-odd-fake-january-6-hearing-on-trump-s-indictment-day-182770757767

* Have something you want to tell your Congress Critters? If you can't safely contact them 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.

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/

* The Indivisible Guide: "A Practical Guide to defeating MAGA:" https://indivisible.org/sites/default/files/2023-01/20220104_Indivisible_%20A%20Practical%20Guide%20to%20Defeating%20MAGA.pdf

* "Voting Laws Roundup: June 2023:" https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-june-2023

* Hint: Fair elections are bad for fascists so they are strongly opposed to ERIC. "The far right's growing influence and 4 other takeaways from NPR's ERIC investigation:" https://www.npr.org/2023/06/07/1180630924/takeaways-npr-eric-investigation-voter-data-election-integrity

* "Disgraced former NYPD chief Kerik sought millions for election subversion scheme:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/disgraced-former-nypd-chief-kerik-sought-millions-for-election-subversion-scheme-182767685608

* "Nevada 'fake electors' appear before D.C. grand jury investigating Jan. 6:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/nevada-fake-electors-appear-dc-jan-6-grand-jury-rcna89084

* "Bernie Kerik Pitched Mark Meadows on ‘$5 to $8’ Million Plan To Reverse Trump 2020 Loss:" https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/bernie-kerik-pitched-mark-meadows-on-5-to-8-million-plan-to-reverse-trump-2020-loss

* "Fox News says it ‘addressed’ onscreen message that called Biden a ‘wannabe dictator’:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/republicans-privately-acknowledge-trumps-legal-woes-are-serious-rcna88968

* "Why Is Minnesota So Blue? :" https://advocatechannel.com/why-is-minnesota-so-blue

* "Warning of terrorism attacks on LGBTQ+ community during 2024 presidential race:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/15/lgbtq-community-terrorism-warning-2024-election/

* "G.O.P. Rivals See Trump’s Indictment as a Big Problem (for Them):" https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/14/us/politics/trump-indictment-republican-rivals.html

* "Sharpening their knives: GOP primary opponents look for advantage in Trump legal morass:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/sharpening-their-knives-gop-primary-opponents-look-for-advantage-in-trump-legal-morass-182059077903

* "Trump vows to stay in the race even if convicted:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/10/trump-vows-to-stay-in-the-race-even-if-convicted-00101403

* "DeSantis favorability ratings crater after campaign announcement:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/desantis-favorability-ratings-crater-after-campaign-announcement-182517317555

* Republicans have a veto proof majority. Now might be a good time for North Carolinians to pressure them to flip. "Cooper vetoes limits on politics, race discussion in state workplaces:" https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/news/2023/06/17/cooper-vetoes-limits-on-politics--race-discussion-in-state-workplaces

* "The Awful 88th:" https://www.texasobserver.org/88th-session-texas-legislature-lgbtq-energy-schools/

* "Gay Congressman David Cicilline on 12 Years Fighting for LGBTQ Rights in the House:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/david-cicilline-12-years-congress

* A stopped clock...."Ted Cruz Attacked by Conservative Pundits for Opposing Uganda’s Antigay Law:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/ted-cruz-attacked-uganda-law

* "North Carolina GOP votes to censure Sen. Thom Tillis for straying from party platform:" https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4044088-north-carolina-gop-censures-thom-tillis/

* "Schiff denounces brawl at California school over Pride Month resolution: ‘We will not go back’:" https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4039162-schiff-denounces-pride-month-brawl/

********************

* "Trump CNN Remarks Allowed in E. Jean Carroll’s Expanded Defamation Suit:" https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-13/trump-s-cnn-comments-can-be-added-to-carroll-defamation-suit?sref=MIBMEEoj#xj4y7vzkg

* "Trump rejected lawyers’ efforts to avoid classified documents indictment:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/06/14/trump-indictment-classified-documents-settlement/

* "Jack Smith’s Backup Option:" https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/06/trump-indictment-florida-new-jersey-classified/674393/

* "‘The Bedminster mystery:’ Why Trump could also face charges in New Jersey:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/-the-bedminster-mystery-why-trump-could-also-face-charges-in-new-jersey-182515269799

* "Judge in Trump Documents Case Has Scant Criminal Trial Experience:" https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/14/us/politics/aileen-cannon-judge-trump-documents.html

* "Why the 'alarming' inexperience of the Trump judge in the classified documents case matters:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/why-the-alarming-inexperience-of-the-trump-judge-in-the-classified-documents-case-matters-182306373649

* This is the action of an Autocrat and the end of the rule of law. "Team Trump Scrambles to Unmask the Feds Investigating Him:" https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-fbi-justice-department-purge-1234743318/

* "Hayes: Trump’s main legal defense strategy? Winning in 2024.:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/hayes-trump-s-main-legal-defense-strategy-winning-in-2024-182282821661

* "Trump's Moves Are Right Out of the Authoritarian Playbook:" https://www.msnbc.com/jonathan-capehart/watch/trump-s-moves-are-right-out-of-the-authoritarian-playbook-182904389744

* "The Radical Strategy Behind Trump’s Promise to ‘Go After’ Biden:" https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/15/us/politics/trump-indictment-justice-department.html

* "Michael Cohen’s advice to Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta: Run.:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/michael-cohen-s-advice-to-trump-co-defendant-walt-nauta-run-181822021591

* "Trump pleads not guilty in classified documents case :" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/13/trump-arraignment-classified-documents-case-00101698

* "Trump's Bombshell Federal Document Indictment:"

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* "'Goldilocks documents': How to try an Espionage Act case without spilling national secrets:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/-goldilocks-documents-how-to-try-an-espionage-act-case-without-spilling-national-secrets-182310981744

* "‘Stark contrast:’ The Trump case vs. the Reality Winner case:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/-stark-contrast-the-trump-case-vs-the-reality-winner-case-182280261689

* "Why banning Trump from public office could tempt DOJ on a no-jail plea deal:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/why-banning-trump-from-public-office-could-tempt-doj-on-a-no-jail-plea-deal-181847109787

* "Republicans privately acknowledge Trump's legal woes are serious this time:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/republicans-privately-acknowledge-trumps-legal-woes-are-serious-rcna88968

* "GOP Senators Can’t Be Bothered to Read Trump’s Indictment:" https://presspass.thebulwark.com/p/gop-senators-cant-be-bothered-to

********************

* "Trump Supporters’ Violent Rhetoric in His Defense Disturbs Experts:" https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/10/us/politics/trump-supporter-violent-rhetoric.html

* "Coded comments from GOP congressmen add to concerns about violence around Trump case:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/coded-comments-from-gop-congressmen-add-to-concerns-about-violence-around-trump-case-181538373880

* "Two active-duty Marines plead guilty to Jan. 6 Capitol riot charges:" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/two-active-duty-marines-plead-guilty-jan-6-capitol-riot-charges/

* "Ex-NSA employee gets 14 days in jail for storming Capitol with members of white nationalist movement:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/ex-nsa-employee-gets-14-days-jail-storming-capitol-rcna89273

* "Man Charged With Spraying Police With Insecticide on Jan. 6:" https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/07/us/politics/jan-6-rioter-insecticide.html

* "Jessica Watkins, Transgender Oath Keepers Insurrectionist, Sentenced for Jan. 6:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/oath-keepers-transgender-jessica-watkins

* An employee of Discount Gun Mart targeted Anti-fascist activist Chad Loder for terrorist threats by a Neo-NAZI group using the information the range collected. "They went to a gun range for a birthday celebration. Then came the threats from right-wing extremists. :" https://inewsource.org/2023/06/06/discount-gun-mart-chad-loder-leak-data-right-wing-extremists/

* "Man jailed for 18 years over gun plot to ‘clean’ entire town of its LGBTQ+ community:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/15/gun-plot-hate-crime-montana/

* "New York Woman Indicted for Threatening to Shoot Up LGBTQ+ Businesses in Colorado:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/colorado-lgbtq-threats-woman-indicted

* "Club Q shooter blames steroids for devastating mass-murder of five LGBTQ+ people:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/16/club-q-steroids-plea-deal/

* "Pittsburgh synagogue gunman found guilty on all federal charges:" https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting-ruling-verdict-jury-hate-crimes-robert-b-rcna89337

* "Busload of migrants arrives in Los Angeles from Texas:" https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/busload-of-migrants-arrives-in-los-angeles-from-texas/3170652/

* "GOP 'lust to be mean to fellow human beings' manifests in DeSantis, Abbott migrant stunts:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/gop-lust-to-be-mean-to-fellow-human-beings-manifests-in-desantis-abbott-migrant-stunts-182547525739

* "Video shows Florida Republican begging Latinos not to leave:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/florida-gop-latinos-anti-immigration-law-desantis-rcna87966

* "L.A. Sheriff’s Deputies Arrested a Trans Activist for ‘Robbery.’ Video Tells a Completely Different Story:" https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trans-rights-pride-2023-arrest-activist-1234765063/

* "The Gutsy Undercover Cop Who Took Down Chicago P.D.’s Most Crooked Crew:" https://www.narratively.com/p/the-gutsy-undercover-cop-who-took

* "6 key points from the scathing report on Minneapolis police after George Floyd’s killing:" https://apnews.com/article/minneapolis-police-report-investigation-george-floyd-358033a677e82f4b48c6b15197352d45

* "'Shocking': DOJ report outlines rampant abuses by Minneapolis police:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/-shocking-doj-report-outlines-rampant-abuses-by-minneapolis-police-182765125736

* "Trans Woman Inmate Reaches Landmark Settlement with Minnesota Prison System:" https://www.advocate.com/law/minnesota-transgender-incarcerated

* "This rare, underfunded program is a crucial lifeline for incarcerated moms and their kids:" https://apnews.com/article/prison-women-children-visit-illinois-282589dffea38ee1aa27bc58c1b889ce

* "Let People Living With HIV Enter Armed Forces, Lambda Legal Tells Court:" https://www.advocate.com/law/military-hiv-lawsuit

* "Pride in the Military, a Decade+ After 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell':" https://www.advocate.com/voices/pride-evolution-military-after-dadt

* "Pentagon Cancels Drag Show at Nevada Air Force Base Ahead of Pride Month:" https://www.advocate.com/news/drag-cancelled-pentagon-nevada

* "South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem Calls for Drag, Pronoun Ban at Colleges:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/south-dakota-noem-colleges-drag

* "Even Furries Are Feeling Impacted by Anti-Drag Laws:" https://advocatechannel.com/furries-impacted-anti-drag-laws

* "What the Censors Want:" https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/06/what-the-right-wings-censors-really-want.html

* "Teacher ordered to stop 'illegal' lesson; racism 'too heavy to discuss,' student complains:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/teacher-ordered-to-stop-illegal-lesson-racism-too-heavy-to-discuss-student-complains-182532677533

* "Illinois becomes first state to pass law curtailing book bans:" https://www.reuters.com/world/us/illinois-becomes-first-state-pass-law-curtailing-book-bans-2023-06-13/

* "Publishing company will offer free Black history e-books, especially in Florida:" https://thehill.com/homenews/3845798-publishing-company-will-offer-free-black-history-e-books-especially-in-florida/

* "Vermont Bookstore Fights Book Bans with Pride Readathon for June:" https://www.advocate.com/books/banned-books-vermont-readathon

* "Indiana High Schoolers Bravely Perform LGBTQ-Inclusive Play Despite School’s Ban:" https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/indiana-school-play-ban-marian

* "Utah School District Removed the Bible, Now It Might Remove Book of Mormon:" https://www.advocate.com/news/book-of-mormon-bible-utah

* "Arkansas Parents Sue Library System Over LGBTQ+ Book Censorship:" https://www.advocate.com/law/arkansas-library-sued-lgbtq-books

* "GOP party chairman who was busted passed out in his car holding a crack pipe is arrested again for child molestation:" https://deadstate.org/gop-party-chairman-who-was-busted-passed-out-in-his-car-holding-a-crack-pipe-is-arrested-again-for-child-molestation/

---

* "Nebraska Sued Over Law Restricting Abortion and Gender-Affirming Care:" https://www.advocate.com/law/nebraska-abortion-transgender-lawsuit

* "Vermont's GOP Governor Shock: Protects Trans Care, Abortion Rights:" https://www.advocate.com/law/vermont-protects-abortion-transgender

* "Marion County judge moves forward RFRA challenge to Indiana abortion ban:" https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/indianapolis/2023/06/07/marion-county-judge-moves-forward-rfra-lawsuit-indiana-abortion-ban/70299401007/

---

* "36 Queer Pride Flags You Should Know:" https://www.advocate.com/gay-pride-parade/36-queer-pride-flags-know

* "LGBTQ+ Equality Support Is at Record High But Some Troubling Trends Exist:" https://www.advocate.com/news/glaad-accelerating-acceptance-2023

* "Transgender adults reflect on art they created as kids:" https://www.today.com/parents/family/transgender-kids-childhood-art-rcna87945

* "Russia wants to ban all trans healthcare and gender recognition:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/16/russia-trans-healthcare-ban/

* Our suspicions prove correct, unfortunately. "Government officials attempt to stop Pride festival set up in South Korea:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/17/queer-festival-daegu-south-korea-hong-joon-pyo/

* "The American Medical Association Has Strengthened Its Stance on Gender-Affirming Care:" https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/american-medical-association-strengthened-stance-165953501.html?guccounter=1

* "Sesame Street tweeted support for Pride Month. Take a wild guess how bigots responded:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/13/sesame-street-pride-month-twitter-backlash-boycott/

* We literally noticed their pride flag window displays Wednesday when we were out and about today. They had a really good selection of flags, including non-binary and genderfluid. We were driving slowly past to look at them, but it was clear they all had a placard underneath, presumably with information about them for inside customers. If we'd known there was controversy, wed have taken a picture. "Starbucks denies banning LGBTQ+ Pride decorations in stores:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/14/starbucks-lgbtq-pride/

* "FDA advisers back updated COVID shots for fall vaccinations:" https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/06/15/1182503195/fda-advisers-back-updated-covid-shots-for-fall-vaccinations

---

* "Human-caused climate change to blame for increase in California’s wildfires:" https://news.uci.edu/2023/06/12/human-caused-climate-change-to-blame-for-increase-in-californias-wildfires/

* "Denialists Are Blaming Anything but Climate for Canada’s Fires:" https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/06/08/air-quality-canada-wildfire-smog-fire/

* "Fox News is full-on denying the wildfire crisis:" https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/wildfire-smoke-fox-news-climate-rcna88434?cid=sm_npd_ms_tw_ma&taid=648481f0ab5b67000172cf67

* "How the train crash in eastern India unfolded:" https://www.reuters.com/graphics/INDIA-CRASH/RAIL-INVESTIGATION/dwvkdwnbkpm/index.html

---

* "In a first, a climate lawsuit from young people is going to trial:" https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2023-06-11/youth-climate-trial

* "Rich nations say they're spending billions to fight climate change. Some money is going to strange places.:" https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/climate-change-finance/

* "'Incredibly Disturbing' Docs Reveal Oil Giant Shell Knew About Climate Impacts Even Earlier :" https://www.commondreams.org/news/shell-fossil-fuels-climate-1970s

* "Virginia air board votes to leave interstate carbon-capping alliance opposed by Youngkin:" https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4039213-virginia-air-board-votes-to-leave-interstate-carbon-capping-alliance-opposed-by-youngkin/

* I am old enough to remember this. I don't want this to be our future too. "This is what America looked like before the EPA cleaned it up:" https://www.popsci.com/america-before-epa-photos/

* "For the first time, more money is going into solar power than oil:" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/solar-power-oil-investment-russia-invasion-energy-renewable-boom/

* "Liquid tree to combat air pollution in Belgrade:" https://balkangreenenergynews.com/liquid-tree-to-combat-air-pollution-in-belgrade/

* "Reddit says protesting communities crashed the site:" https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/reddit-down-private-blackout-goes-protest-took-subreddits-rcna88856

* "One of Reddit's largest communities is protesting changes to the platform by posting only photos of John Oliver 'looking sexy':" https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-community-is-protesting-by-posting-sexy-john-oliver-photos-2023-6?amp

* "Elon Musk’s anti-trans tweets continue with views on Megan Fox and her kids:" https://www.siliconvalley.com/2023/06/12/elon-musk-anti-trans-tweets-continue-with-views-on-megan-fox-and-her-kids/

* "Tucker Carlson thinks he’s being ‘silenced’ after being ‘hit with cease and desist’ by Fox News:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/14/tucker-carlson-twitter-fox-news-cease-desist/

* "Fungi seem to 'sweat' to stay cool and scientists don't know why:" https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/plants/fungi-seem-to-sweat-to-stay-cool-and-scientists-dont-know-why

* "David Attenborough fought to put transgender people on TV 45 years ago, secret BBC memo reveals:" https://inews.co.uk/news/david-attenborough-fought-to-put-transgender-people-on-tv-45-years-ago-secret-bbc-memo-reveals-180681

* "Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's ex-prime minister and media mogul, dies at 86:" https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/former-italian-pm-silvio-berlusconi-has-died-italian-media-2023-06-12/

* "Poland’s bus route 666: Farewell to the highway to Hel:" https://www.euronews.com/culture/2023/06/16/polands-bus-route-666-farewell-to-the-highway-to-hel

* "Mary Trump and E. Jean Carroll Join Forces for Romance Novel:" https://www.advocate.com/books/mary-trump-e-jean-carroll

* "Kicking Out The Homophobe | r/AITA:"

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* "13 LGBTQ+ Books to Read and Enjoy Before Spring Is Over :" https://www.advocate.com/books/lgbtq-books-spring-2023

* "Questions You Wish You Could Ask A Gay Transgender Man: A tongue-in-cheek take on cisgender people’s frequently asked questions.:" https://johannestevans.medium.com/questions-you-wish-you-could-ask-a-gay-transgender-man-df6133d4bdb5

* "Building Full of Memories:"

( Cut for Sad Stuff: )

* Tuesday an actual cleaner arrived. The kitchen is very clean. When she was moping, Livia peeked out at the wrong time and the Stranger saw her glowy eyes in the shadowy depths of her fortress of Solitude. This was understandably distressing to Livia. Tavy, on the other hand, made me pick him up to get a better look at her and spent a lot of time staring at her while she worked.

I had the second bad fall in three days after she left, though it was not as bad as Sunday's during which I had nothing at all to grab on the way down and I nearly squashed Tavy. At least my bruising is fairly symmetrical now. The last week plus I've been having arms and or legs cut out at random when I'm trying to use them. The arm thing is super annoying and I keep dropping heavy things. Trips to the bathroom are terrifying. The pain is, as you can imagine, nightmarish even by my standards.

Wednesday we had important time dependent errands which meant an hour and a half less sleep and extra pain, but they were absolutely worth it. We got the essential things done. There was also frustration as I had given away my construction paper a couple of years ago since I wasn't using it, and apparently they no longer sell it locally, which is insane. It was all foam and/or felt mats and/or card stock in the usual places. This is insanity! It's kids home craft season!

Bonus horrible thing: The other Allergy Clinic decided they don't want any new Medicare patients, so I'm likely fucked. I am going to call my medical caseworker during business hours in case she can do the same magic the previous one did last year with dental care and I will see what new doctor can do when I meet them. Realistically though? Fucked.

Oh, and head Millennial isn't getting paid for another month for AID work which hurts both of us.

* Wednesday was productive but so exhausting I couldn't even. Friday they sent a cleaner, who was acceptable, but not as good as the previous three. It's free. She accomplished the main goals. That's all I can reasonably ask for.

Saturday, the engine light came on while I was driving the Head Millennial home. This will be the third trip to the shop in as many months, and I was only just finally catching up on bills. I don't know what I'll pay them with.

* My oldest continuous friend is trying to raise money to buy games for a Cat Rescue fundraiser. This cat rescue is no kill and places most cats in foster homes until they can be adopted. They are good people there and it's a huge number of cats many needing basic or more serious healthcare.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/318lgf6fa0?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cf%20share-flow-1&fbclid=IwAR1smSQTz7deMSVUBsEg30AdhQ-zeAEHGXOcHXqVUILTlF2MqnIIW49SDVU

* Me watching the Strange New Worlds Premiere, squealing with delight: Simka!

* "Midnight Pals: The Good Leaper:" https://www.tumblr.com/bitterkarella/719855901413163008/midnight-pals-the-good-leaper?source=share

* "Midnight Pals: Mr Sandman:" https://www.tumblr.com/bitterkarella/720035495511556096/midnight-pals-mr-sandman?source=share

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

The help links are at the bottom under the cut.

* BPAL Charity Fundraiser "TRIUMPH IN MY SONG:" https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/activism/triumph-in-my-song/

* Support the WGA. "Entertainment Community Fund:" https://entertainmentcommunity.org/

* My oldest continuous friend is trying to raise money to buy games for a Cat Rescue fundraiser. This cat rescue is no kill and places most cats in foster homes until they can be adopted. They are good people there and it's a huge number of cats many needing basic or more serious healthcare.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/318lgf6fa0?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cf%20share-flow-1&fbclid=IwAR1smSQTz7deMSVUBsEg30AdhQ-zeAEHGXOcHXqVUILTlF2MqnIIW49SDVU

* Cool Blackwork Embroidery Patterns for Beginners: https://www.etsy.com/shop/thehaberdasheress/?etsrc=sdt

* If you would like to help support me and the Cats: paypal.me/Gwydion

( Links Underneath: )

* I'm Too Tired Too Weed things that aren't needed in the Debt ceiling section. i'm a little better tpoday, but not great.

* "Sudan military ruler seeks removal of UN envoy in letter to UN chief, who is ‘shocked’ by the demand:" https://apnews.com/article/sudan-war-un-envoy-military-rsf-f88097b73244a90a02158ce781a9e44f

* "Nearly 1.4 million people displaced in Sudan since civil war erupted, UN report says :" https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/28/africa/sudan-displaced-people-gender-violence-intl-hnk/index.html

* "‘As the night descended, they came and killed’: Sudan’s other war:" https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2023/5/30/as-the-night-descended-they-came-and-killed-sudans-other-war

* "Tens of thousands protest overhaul for 21st weekend, but turnout remains lower:" https://www.timesofisrael.com/tens-of-thousands-protest-overhaul-for-21st-weekend-but-turnout-remains-lower/

* "French unions plan June 6 protests against Macron and his pension law:" https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/french-unions-call-new-day-protest-against-pension-reform-june-6-2023-05-02/

* "What's next for French protesters?:" https://www.npr.org/2023/05/29/1178747991/whats-next-for-french-protesters

* I didn't have much hope, but still it makes me sad. "Erdogan cements his power with a victory in Turkey's presidential runoff election:" https://www.npr.org/2023/05/28/1178660299/erdogan-has-claimed-victory-in-turkeys-presidential-runoff-election

* "Türkiye’s president Erdoğan uses election victory speech to take aim at ‘LGBT forces’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/29/recep-tayyip-erdogan-lgbtq-gay-turkey/

* "Israel’s Far Right Government is a Gift to Settlers:"

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* "India cuts periodic table and evolution from school textbooks — experts are baffled:" https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01770-y

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* "Ukraine says Russia plans to simulate accident at nuclear plant:" https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-says-russia-plans-simulate-accident-nuclear-power-plant-2023-05-26/

Publicizing it makes it less likely they'll do it, I suspect.

Honestly, I've been expecting them to arrange an "accidental" meltdown since they seized the plant as it is easier to get plausible deniability than actually nuking Ukraine as they keep threatening to do as part of their genocide, but I limit the amount of speculation I do in print.

* "Russia, Ukraine fail to embrace IAEA plan to protect nuclear plant:" https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/un-nuclear-watchdog-asks-russia-ukraine-protect-zaporizhzhia-plant-2023-05-30/

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* "Supreme Court sides with 94-year-old woman who accused government of stealing her home equity:" https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/supreme-court-sides-94-year-mn-woman-striking/story?id=99600689

* "Let's talk about SCOTUS and checks and balances....:"

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* "Biden reaches milestone in judicial appointments:" https://www.msnbc.com/jonathan-capehart/watch/biden-reaches-milestone-in-judicial-appointments-177593413777

* "Biden signs debt limit bill, avoiding U.S. default:" https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-signs-bill-lifting-us-debt-limit-2023-06-03/

* "Here are the 6 must-know provisions of the new debt ceiling deal :" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/28/6-pillars-of-the-debt-ceiling-deal-00099108

Republicans wanted to dramatically increase the national debt through credit default, by preventing the government from paying the bills, but have settled for a smaller increase in the national debt by increasing the military budget while lowering revenues through cuts to IRS enforcement targeted at billionaire and the major corporation tax cheats.

They are lying when they say they want to lower the debt. They always dramatically increase it when they are in charge and all the things they were demanding in exchange for not blowing up the world economy was designed to increase the debt and harm ordinary people.

Democrats, are far more fiscally responsible generally as the money they tend to want to spend is an investment in things like the economy, education, health care, while all republicans want to do is suck money out of the economy to give to the extremely wealthy and frittering it away on our massively bloated military budget while cutting anything that invests in the future or ordinary Americans.

Never buy the lie of Republican fiscal responsibility.

* Saying the quiet part out loud. "Grassley: GOP ‘not interested’ in whether Biden accusations are ‘accurate’:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/grassley-gop-not-interested-in-whether-biden-accusations-are-accurate-179203141918

* "Marjorie Taylor Greene slays irony, stresses House ‘decorum’:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/marjorie-taylor-greene-slays-irony-stresses-house-decorum-rcna86223

* "Robert Garcia Counters Majorie Taylor Greene's Homophobia With Resolution Honoring All Families:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-garcia-families

* Have something you want to tell your Congress Critters? If you can't safely contact them 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.

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/

* The Indivisible Guide: "A Practical Guide to defeating MAGA:" https://indivisible.org/sites/default/files/2023-01/20220104_Indivisible_%20A%20Practical%20Guide%20to%20Defeating%20MAGA.pdf

* "Minnesota lawmakers bring national popular vote one step closer to reality:" https://minnesotareformer.com/2023/05/24/minnesota-lawmakers-bring-national-popular-vote-one-step-closer-to-reality/

* "Zooey Zephyr & the Politics of Civility:"

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* If she doesn't pay attention to politics or the news, why the fuck is she in politics? "Nebraska senator who voted for anti-trans, anti-abortion bill says she wasn’t paying attention:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/24/nebraska-senator-christy-armanderiz/

* "New RNC Debate Rules Could Limit GOP Primary Field:" https://www.msnbc.com/jonathan-capehart/watch/new-rnc-debate-rules-could-limit-gop-primary-field-179734597857

* "Hayes: Biden delivering on 2020 promises makes for a strong 2024 pitch:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/hayes-biden-delivering-on-2020-promises-makes-for-a-strong-2024-pitch-178522693779

* "Republican Primary Field Expands as 2024 Approaches:" https://www.msnbc.com/jonathan-capehart/watch/republican-primary-field-expands-as-2024-approaches-177592901887

* "One-on-One with 2024 Republican Presidential Candidate Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson:" https://www.msnbc.com/jonathan-capehart/watch/one-on-one-with-2024-republican-presidential-candidate-former-gov-asa-hutchinson-177773125916

* "7 telling moments from Ron DeSantis’ 2024 Twitter launch: Hate, lies and reheated Trumpism:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/25/ron-desantis-twitter-president-bid/

* "Fox News mocks Ron DeSantis after ‘disaster’ presidential launch:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/25/fox-news-ron-desantis-disaster-twitter-2024-campaign/

* "Let's talk about DeSantis and a failure to launch....:"

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* "‘Disastrous position:’ The DeSantis bid to be the anti-vaccine candidate:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/-disastrous-position-the-desantis-bid-to-be-the-anti-vaccine-candidate-179577925819

* "Would Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis be worse for LGBTQ+ rights in the US?:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/26/donald-trump-ron-desantis-president/

* "Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general who said trans youth care is ‘child abuse’, faces impeachment:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/26/ken-paxton-impeachment-texas/

* "Impeached Texas AG Ken Paxton tries out Trump defense playbook:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/impeached-texas-ag-ken-paxton-tries-out-trump-defense-playbook-178524741975

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* "Complexities of a RICO case seen in wide-ranging Georgia investigation of Trump:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/complexities-of-a-rico-case-seen-in-wide-ranging-georgia-investigation-of-trump-179619909811

* "Trump reportedly building revenge list against feds investigating him:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/trump-reportedly-building-revenge-list-against-feds-investigating-him-178556485747

* "Lordy! Special counsel reportedly has audio of Trump talking about secret document he kept:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/lordy-special-counsel-reportedly-has-audio-of-trump-talking-about-secret-document-he-kept-178813509751

* "Hayes: New evidence points to Trump motive in documents case:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/hayes-new-evidence-points-to-trump-motive-in-documents-case-179575877895

* "What the latest Trump tapes twist is all about and why it matters:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/what-the-latest-trump-tapes-twist-is-all-about-and-why-it-matters-179271237736

* "Lordy! Special counsel reportedly has audio of Trump talking about secret document he kept:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/lordy-special-counsel-reportedly-has-audio-of-trump-talking-about-secret-document-he-kept-178813509751

* "Trump's lawyers reportedly beginning to turn on each other:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/trump-s-lawyers-reportedly-beginning-to-turn-on-each-other-178549829715

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* I am wondering what A.L. Milne would think about all of it. "DISD parents concerned about ‘run, hide, fight’ Winnie-the-Pooh book:" https://oakcliff.advocatemag.com/2023/05/winnie-pooh-run-hide-fight/

* "8 people killed, 71 injured in mass shootings over Memorial Day weekend:" https://www.axios.com/2023/05/30/mass-shootings-memorial-day-weekend

* "New Biden Asylum Policy Will Hurt LGBTQ+ Migrants and Others, Activists Say:" https://www.advocate.com/news/biden-asylum-immigration-policy-citicized

* "Transgender Woman Given Another Chance to Fight Deportation by U.S. Supreme Court:" https://www.advocate.com/law/supreme-court-trans-immigration

* "'Our governor is a job-killing moron': DeSantis immigration policy threatens state economy:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/-our-governor-is-a-job-killing-moron-desantis-immigration-policy-threatens-state-economy-179258437978

* The police decided to murder an innocent unarmed 12 year old for the crime of calling the police for help. It is lucky the child lived. "Mom demands answers after 11-year-old son allegedly shot by police officer at home:" https://abcnews.go.com/US/mom-demands-justice-after-11-year-son-shot/story?id=99598767

* "Why Cops Are Untouchable with Joanna Schwartz:"

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* This is an older piece, but I think relevant given the current Target stuff. "How Target Got Cozy With the Cops, Turning Black Neighbors Into Suspects:" https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-08-25/how-target-tgt-police-surveilled-black-neighbors-in-inner-cities

* "In New York Prisons, Guards Who Brutalize Prisoner Rarely Get Fired:" https://www.themarshallproject.org/2023/05/19/new-york-prison-corrections-officer-abuse-prisoners

* CW: Sexual Assault. "Strip searches, trauma, isolation: Trans men describe life behind bars:" https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/strip-searches-trauma-isolation-trans-men-describe-life-bars-rcna6490

* "ESPN Anchor Under Fire For Mocking Indigenous NHL Player's Name:" https://advocatechannel.com/john-anderson-espn-under-fire-mocking-zach-whitecloud-indigenous-name

* "Don’t visit Florida if you’re LGBTQ+, Human Rights Campaign warns: ‘It’s dangerous’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/25/human-rights-campaign-equality-florida-ron-desantis/

* "'Don't Say Gay' Bill Signed in Iowa; GOP Gov. OK's Ratting on Trans Students:" https://www.advocate.com/dont-say-gay/don-t-say-gay-law-signed-in-iowa

* "Marjorie Taylor Greene, who calls drag queens ‘groomers’, thinks it’s fine for her boyfriend to do drag:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/27/marjorie-taylor-greene-drag-partner-hypocrisy/

* "As Predicted, Anti-Drag Laws Are Being Weaponized to Silence Trans People:" https://www.themarysue.com/montana-library-cancels-transgender-speaker-because-of-anti-drag-law/

* "How to Stop Neo-Nazis From Crashing Pride Month:" https://newrepublic.com/article/173096/stop-neo-nazis-crashing-pride-month

* "Florida Rejected Social Studies Lessons — You'll Never Guess Which Ones:" https://advocatechannel.com/florida-rejected-social-studies-lessons-youll-never-guess-which-ones

* "Lost Illusions: The Untold Story of the Hit Show’s Poisonous Culture:" https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/05/lost-tv-show-culture

* CW: Pedophilia, Domestic Abuse. Given how many of the people who think all queer people are pedophiles turn out to be pedophiles, maybe law enforcement ought to take a closer look every time a politician publicly announces they don't understand the concept of consent. "LGBTQ book ban proponent faces felony child molestation charge in Missouri:" https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/lgbtq-book-ban-advocate-faces-felony-child-molestation-charge-missouri-rcna14763

* CW: Pedophilia. "White nationalist pleads guilty in child porn case after arrest for trying to riot at LGBTQ pride:" https://lawandcrime.com/crime/white-nationalist-pleads-guilty-in-child-porn-case-after-arrest-for-trying-to-riot-at-lgbtq-pride/

* CW: Pedophilia. The far right's every accusation is a confession. "Andrew Hazelton, reputed neo-Nazi and son of Westford Select Board member Scott Hazelton, arrested on child porn charges :" https://www.lowellsun.com/2021/05/07/andrew-hazelton-reputed-neonazi-and-son-of-westford-select-board-member-scott-hazelton-arrested-on-child-porn-charges/

* "ITV ‘investigated’ rumours of Phillip Schofield’s relationship with younger employee:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/27/phillip-schofield-itv-affair/

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* "Hospitals in Two States Denied an Abortion to a Miscarrying Patient. Investigators Say They Broke Federal Law.:" https://www.propublica.org/article/two-hospitals-denied-abortion-miscarrying-patient-breaking-federal-law?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

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* "Pansexual, intersex and transgender people worst represented in LGBTQ+ media, damning survey finds:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/26/just-like-us-lgbt-representation-media-young-adults-survey/

* "As a teacher, I’ve watched students learn misogyny and anti-LGBTQ+ hate from the internet:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/25/teacher-misogyny-anti-lgbtq-schools-andrew-tate/

* "Uganda’s president Museveni signs Anti-Homosexuality Bill into law: ‘How many will die?’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/29/uganda-anti-homosexuality-act-signed-law-yoweri-museveni-lgbt/

* "Polish politician suggests LGBTQ-friendly schools are staffed by ‘paedophiles’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/25/poland-mikolaj-pawlak-schools-lgbtq-investigation/

* "Hong Kong: Queer teachers forced to hide their relationship say marriage equality would change everything:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/24/hong-kong-same-sex-marriage-lgbtq-2/

* "Woman carrying Pride flag shot in head with BB gun after Polish LGBTQ+ parade: ‘Attack on all of us’ :" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/28/poland-lgbtq-equality-march-bb-gun-assault/

* "Malaysia seizes rainbow Pride-themed Swatch watches:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/25/malaysian-swatch-pride-watches/

* "Mexico unveils new non-binary passport: ‘Diversity enriches and flourishes’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/21/mexico-gender-marker-passports/

* "Overturning British colonial-era ‘buggery’ law ‘first step’ to protecting LGBTQ+ people in Guyana:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/21/guyana-lgbtq-rights-british-colonial-law-sasod/

* "EHRC suspends ‘bullying’ investigation into chair Kishwer Falkner:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/26/ehrc-investigation-suspended-baroness-falkner/

* "Anti-trans Tory MP Miriam Cates doesn’t want children ‘changing gender in school’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/27/miriam-cates-tory-trans-children-schools/

* "Tory MP Mark Jenkinson calls trans women ‘men’ in unprompted Twitter attacks:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/25/mark-jenkinson-twitter-trans-women-misgendering/

* "Rishi Sunak asked to condemn schools simply for supporting trans kids:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/24/rishi-sunak-schools-trans-guidance-pronouns/

* "Ex-Mermaids CEO shuts down suggestion Tavistock gender clinic links were inappropriate:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/28/mermaids-telegraph-susie-green-gender-affirming-healthcare/

* Don't ever kid yourselves. They want us all dead. That's the goal. "Sacked anti-trans teacher Joshua Sutcliffe claims ‘all sin deserves the death penalty’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/24/teacher-joshua-sutcliffe-piers-morgan-sin-death-penalty/

* "Oxford University dons back queer students opposing ‘gender-critical’ Kathleen Stock talk :" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/28/oxford-university-kathleen-stock/

* "Drag queen expertly shuts down anti-LGBTQ+ protester at Birmingham Pride parade: ‘The only sin is you spreading hate’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/27/birmingham-pride-drag-queen-protester/

* "Pitiful turnout of anti-drag protesters countered with ‘joyful’ LGBTQ+ street party:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/28/turning-point-uk-drag-event-honor-oak/

* "Trans and non-binary participants in Gender Wars documentary accuse Channel 4 of ‘misleading’ them:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/28/gender-wars-documentary-channel-4-trans-non-binary-backlash/

* "So, a Top Guardian Editor Was Married to the Founder of Mumsnet:" https://judedoyle.medium.com/so-a-top-guardian-editor-was-married-to-the-founder-of-mumsnet-836cddf8fdc4

* "Many transgender health bills came from a handful of far-right interest groups, AP finds:" https://apnews.com/article/transgender-health-model-legislation-5cc4a7cb4ab69150f670d06fd0f361ab

* "Florida's Trans Bathroom Ban Signed: Arrests To Follow Regardless Of Legal Gender Status:" https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/floridas-trans-bathroom-ban-signed

* The Republican War on Reality continues. "Montana signing bill defining sex as binary compared to legislating that Earth is flat:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/24/montana-bill-sex-binary-backlash-zooey-zephyr/

* "Georgia’s new anti-trans law also disparages autistic people like me:" https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/georgias-new-anti-trans-law-also-disparages-autistic-people-rcna76858

* Intersex people are now barred from all public restrooms as well and are classified as "disabled" under the new law. "Kansas now has some of nation's strictest anti-trans laws, banning bathroom access and ID changes:" https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2023-04-27/kansas-now-has-the-nations-strictest-anti-trans-law-banning-access-to-bathrooms-and-shelters

* Six Anti-Trans Bills in Hawaii: https://translegislation.com/bills/2023/HI

* "Cruel bill banning trans healthcare killed off in Louisiana – by just one vote:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/25/louisiana-fred-mills-matt-walsh/

* "Indiana governor signs cruel bill forcing teachers to out trans kids to their parents:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/06/indiana-governor-anti-trans-name-pronouns-bill/

* "Kansas City Is Now Sanctuary City for Those Seeking Gender-Affirming Care:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/sanctuary-city-transgender-kansas-city

* "Kansas City, Missouri becomes an LGBTQ sanctuary city:" https://www.msnbc.com/jonathan-capehart/watch/kansas-city-missouri-becomes-an-lgbtq-sanctuary-city-179736133598

* "San Francisco DA Defends Decision Not to Charge Black Trans Man's Killer:" https://www.advocate.com/news/black-transgender-man-killed-walgreens

* "Mum of disabled son blames anti-trans law for being refused entry to public toilet:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/26/anti-trans-bathroom-bill-kansas-disabled-cisgender-son/

* "Florida Publix Refuses to Write 'Trans' on a Cake, Citing Company Policy:" https://www.advocate.com/business/publix-florida-trans-cake

* "Enraged parents call for boycott of school Pride Day assembly to keep kids ‘innocent’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/29/anti-lgbtq-parents-call-to-boycott-la-school-over-pride-day-assembly/

* "Lil Nas X mocks fragile right-wing backlash to Target Pride collection:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/27/lil-nas-x-target-pride-backlash/

* "LGBTQ+ anti-bullying group receives violent threats amid Target backlash: ‘Dangerous lies’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/29/glsen-target-fox-news/

* "Trans youth hold their own joy-filled prom after teen excluded from graduation:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/23/trans-youth-prom-washington-dc/

* "Bud Light truck drivers targeted with homophobic abuse: ‘Gay beer salesmen’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/27/bud-light-truck-drivers-homophobic-abuse/

* "LA Dodgers issue grovelling apology to drag act after uninviting them from Pride event:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/23/la-dodgers-sisters-of-perpetual-indulgence-pride/

* "British Cycling’s new ‘open’ category will put trans athletes at ‘major disadvantage’, says former racer:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/28/british-cycling-trans-women-ban/

* "Gay & Bisexual Men Now Eligible to Donate Blood Under New FDA Policies:" https://www.advocate.com/health/gay-men-donate-blood-new

* "Blockbuster PrEP Lawsuit: Gilead Wins Over U.S. Government:" https://www.hivplusmag.com/prevention/blockbuster-prep-lawsuit-gilead-wins-over-u-s-government

* "New mpox cases found in UK: ‘The infection has not gone away’:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/25/mpox-new-cases-uk-london/

* Regarding the abusiveness of ABA: https://www.tumblr.com/allaboardthecolumboat/718451358139826176/i-thought-i-had-already-posted-this-here-but-it?source=share

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* "Earth is ‘really quite sick now’ and in danger zone in nearly all ecological ways, study says:" https://apnews.com/article/earth-environment-climate-change-nature-sick-2dded06915af4645253f5c29abff4794

* "Disappearing lakes, dead crops and trucked-in water: Drought-stricken Spain is running dry:" https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/02/europe/spain-drought-catalonia-heat-wave-climate-intl/index.html

* "Eastern Canada's Halifax declares emergency over wildfire, shutting schools:" https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/eastern-canadas-halifax-declares-emergency-over-wildfire-2023-05-29/

* "Across Canada, tens of thousands have evacuated due to wildfires in recent weeks:" https://www.npr.org/2023/05/31/1179241527/across-canada-tens-of-thousands-have-evacuated-due-to-wildfires-in-recent-weeks

* "Avalanche kills 11 members of nomadic tribe in northern Pakistan:" https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/avalanche-kills-11-members-nomadic-tribe-northern-pakistan-2023-05-27/

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* "Climate-fueled insurance crisis hits California:" https://www.politico.com/newsletters/power-switch/2023/05/31/climate-fueled-insurance-crisis-hits-california-00082767

* "‘Murderers’ and ‘criminals’: Meteorologists face unprecedented harassment from conspiracy theorists:" https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/27/world/meteorologists-conspiracy-harassment-abuse-climate-intl/index.html

* "AI Deepfakes of True-Crime Victims Are a Waking Nightmare:" https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/true-crime-tiktok-ai-deepfake-victims-children-1234743895/

This needs to fucking go. It’s incredibly exploitative. It is bad enough to see sensationalist coverage of someone you love who was murdered. It is fucking creepy to see fictionalized and/or thinly veiled versions of a crime that lives forever in your head. This is beyond the pale.

Those poor families.

* I am grumpy that I now know what knotting is because of AI coverage.

* "Combating Global Animal Extinction with Clones and Frozen Sperm:"

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* "Ray Stevenson, Actor in ‘Punisher: War Zone,’ ‘RRR’ and ‘Thor’ Films, Dies at 58 :" https://variety.com/2023/film/people-news/ray-stevenson-dead-punisher-ahsoka-1235621641/

* We've been getting whiffs of the wildfire smoke now and then in other parts of town, but it only reached us here in the cat asylum before dawn of May 26. My lungs have been doing above average well this spring, and when the tree I'm particularly allergic to started mating in earnest earlier this week, it mostly meant a runny nose and a bit of extra itch.

I can already tell, the fire's changing that. I'm starting to gunk up, my eyes are itching, and the smoke is giving me a headache. The smell got really nasty around 8ish AM. We should have put the livingroom filter in, but we've had such good breeze out of Alaska through the weird little wind tunnel where I live, that I was putting it off so the cats could enjoy the open window.

Canada is burning, burning, burning, and the only Republican response is to try to force the repeal of the infrastructure Law's climate measures in debt negotiation.

* Thursday I woke up in bad shape. I've been off an on extreme pain for the last month, and it's pushing my body to it's limits. The arm attached to my damaged shoulder is my dominant one, and it was barely functioning and startlingly painful. I'm struggling with stupid stuff like rolling over in bed and pouring tea. I keep giving myself scalds and small burns because some cooking tasks need two hands doing separate things, and my arm shakes or randomly loses power for tiny intervals. This kind of pain fucks with sleep, and I end up losing hours hear and there because I got a phone call or went to pee and can't get back to sleep which adds more strain to the system.

My arm was doing this and I had the shakes. I woke up exhausted and couldn't go back to sleep after. When I eventually dragged myself out of my room, it was really clear staying up for the Friday morning cleaner was going to be a nightmare, but I did it, and got things done. The aggregate had not nearly all the things in it I wanted to put in, but it went out. I even managed to do a little TUMBLR post programming, which I'd barely managed anything of in the past week. I haven't been this far behind in over a year. I am, in fact, so far behind that my PRIDE Month programming started half a month early. Which is fine, but it means there is very little leeway for me. I kept being to tired to do it.

The cleaner had called Thursday night to ask if they could come early, to which I readily agreed. I picked the time I did on the grounds it would be hard to get anyone to fill an earlier slot. The time they said they'd come passed. No call. No cleaner. The official start time passed. no call, no cleaner. I didn't want to get them in trouble, but I was shaking even worse with pain and exhaustion and with forcing myself to stay up 3-4 hours after my body wanted to go to bed, and also I'd pulled my bedding apart because I needed the sheet changed and my damaged arms really can't do it anymore. (My non-dominant shoulder is also messed up, just not as badly, and the mattress is too heavy for arms that go limp if you push them.).

At twenty past the hour, I call returned the cleaner. No answer. Then I looked up the number for the agency, and left them a call me back. Around the half hour the cleaner got back to me sounding terrible and telling me they'd cancelled. Apparently this is when the Asshole Agency got back to me leaving a message saying they couldn't reach me with a long robot survey thing on the end. This is the only message on the answering service and had a time stamp matching the cleaner call.

I am now furious and frustrated to the point of tears. Why did no one call my to tell me of the cancellation, preferably before I took the bed apart half an hour before the official start time? Why did no one call me at all, leaving it to me to call around? what exactly is the procedure with a cancellation? Do they send someone else? Reschedule? How the fuck am I putting a fitted sheet back on that mattress so I can sleep? I can hear Squirrel snoring. If they had called even ten to fifteen minutes after expected start time to tell me no one was coming, I could have got Squirrel to help.

Insert cursing here.

I still needed a lung treatment and to stay up for forage delivery, so I called asshole agency again and set up a call back. I moved the phone to where I could reach. I set up a treatment. Tavy curled up for lung time on top of me. About half way through the phone panicked him and he clawed the shit out of me in the scramble for safety. Let us hope he hasn't given me yet another staph infection. (I'm pretty sure the sore on my outer thigh that won't heal from last week is another staph infection from his claws as the normal antibiotic cream does nothing). I still have the cream from the January staph infection and had just scaled up to it for the leg infection, so I'm doing the deeper claw marks on my stomach with it, because I really don't want more staph infections on my stomach and I can do it when I'm treating my leg.

Anyway, Asshole agency guy lied to my face that they repeated tried to contact me about the cancellation. I was sitting literally right next to the phone. The ringer is working. It never rang once except when the cleaner called back. They left no message about cancellation, only the one from when I was talking to the cleaner. If they'd tried to call and for some reason neither phone's ringer was working, the TV also puts a message announcing calls on screen which really fucking helps when the lung motor is going. He insisted it was a phone call and not a text. (I only have a landline, but people have trouble grasping that some people don't have text capability.) I can only conclude he lied about one or both of these things. Add white hot fury shaking to the my body is on the verge of cascade failure from being pushed to hard and being in too much pain for too long.

While I had him one the phone I did ask about if I could request the nice hard working cleaner from last week as a first choice. It is allowed apparently. I which there was some sort of instruction manual except for one poorly designed and probably deliberately uninformative web site. I have listed cool queer cleaner as preferred. I also now have answers about the rescheduling system.

Right at hang up they listed how many hours of service I have left for the year. (Things like this reset benefits at the end of the year without carry over). I did the math. I have two extra months of two hour service slots. Which will be great in the exhausting back half of the year, but which is concerning as hell for next year, because that is clearly not enough for a year of weekly two hour cleanings. O.o

But that is next year's problem.

By the time forage delivery came (right as lung time was finishing), and I'd sorted stuff and put away the perishables, and endured the torture of the fitted sheet replacement and putting the rest of the bed stuff back where it goes, I'd been up nearly as long as I would have been if a cleaner had come. I don't blame the cleaner who sounded genuinely awful on the phone. I do blame Asshole Agency. (The company name is so obnoxious and condescending and literally patronizing, that it makes me angry just thinking about it. It was no surprise at all that they exploit the shit out of the workers and lie about phone calls).

Last week cleaner said they were scheduled for next week. Assuming I haven't scared them off, that will be good.

* ....And no cleaner today. At least the Asshole Agendcy called. Twice. Once to reschedule later in the day; once to cancel. These were two of the seven phone calls in the five hour sleep period I had between deciding I was too tired to continue and the alarm for the second cleaner time. I actually missed the second call from Asshole Agency, as The call before them was one of those invasive mandatory health surveys they force Medicare people to do. This wasn't the actual medicare annual harrassment, but the agency the medical social workers work for. So that ate an hour of sleep between that and the not being able to get back to sleep after and then having to get up to sort out the laundry and forage box situation. I didn't think to check messages until the cleaner turned up late. I've tried rescheduling for Tuesday. at least Asshole agency was answering the phone.

I know it's generally considered reasonable and normal to wake up a disabled person in extreme pain six times in a five hour sleep, but I resent it so much. Especially today when even lying still in the safest position the pain was unbearable and trying to ewalk a dangerous nightmare. Plus, you know, my shoulder joint also being a trip to hell all by itself. I had to give in and take a stronger pain pill, always a risky prospect given how I respond to them. At least they all let me sleep after I finished with asshole agency.

Tavy jumping on my head from the upper shelf, where he is not allowed to be, was the blood icing on the pain cake, as he clawed the shit out of my scalp when he landed, and scalp wounds are famously bloody. I had no one to help clean the wounds and ended up getting rubbing alcohol in my eye, mostly becusse my arms are barely working just like my legs right now. He's a tiny terror, but his weight dropped from that height onto my head did not improve my headache either. It took three hours more to get everyone fed and my own dinner made.

This is all way too hard.

* My oldest continuous friend is trying to raise money to buy games for a Cat Rescue fundraiser. This cat rescue is no kill and places most cats in foster homes until they can be adopted. They are good people there and it's a huge number of cats many needing basic or more serious healthcare.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/318lgf6fa0?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cf%20share-flow-1&fbclid=IwAR1smSQTz7deMSVUBsEg30AdhQ-zeAEHGXOcHXqVUILTlF2MqnIIW49SDVU

* I'm still chugging along with the Babylon 5 movies as of this writing. I finished River of souls and moved on to the extras and JMS said something about the central dilemma of the movie that I think was wrong. I mean, yes, there is a debate built in to the Soul Hunter scenario, around what happens after you die, but he's missed the forest for the trees.

The actual debate is simpler than he thinks. The question is not, are the Soul Hunters right about their being no afterlife or reincarnation or what have you. No. The central issue is Consent.

Did the person being Collected consent to being collected? The answer is a pretty resounding no in both the original Soul Hunter episode and this one. The Membari did not consent to having the souls of their notables stolen. They resisted violently the attempt to steal the soul of Dukat. The Souls stolen in the original Soul hunter episode emphatically did not consent. The planet of souls stolen in River of Souls are furious about their imprisonment. The souls are capable of expressing consent or lack thereof, but the Soul Hunters didn't ask them.

It does not matter one whit if there is an after life or reincarnation or nothing at all. Even if the Soul hunters are correct that there is nothing after death in the objective sense, they are still not heroes saving people. They could ask the people they collect if they do or don't want eternal life in a whisper gallery. If they don't, imprisonment is cruel and unusual punishment on an unimaginable scale. If they do want it? Totally fine.

The thing is a character actually brings up that imprisonment against ones will for a million years or possibly forever is a pretty good definition of hell. characters definitely confront the soul Hunter with the consent issue.

It's textual. Death of the author and all that. I think JMS got distracted by the more theological debate and missed the underlying theme in his own work because he's so close to it. It happens. This is not remotely an attack on JMS. One of the many, many things I love about B5 is how important consent and free will are thematically to the whole series, whether you're talking Vorlons and Shadows, or Psy Corps vs. Rogues, or Centauri vs. Narns, or Fascism vs.Sheridan's and Mars's resistance, or individual episodes, like the one with the child that needed surgery or the plague episode or Epsilon 5 or Sinclair and B4 and tons of other things.

B5 is good anti-fascist and anti-colonialist science fiction because it asks hard questions about ethics and theology and government, but never ever lets go of that central championing of consent and free will. It can have all this ethical and cultural complexity because it's built on a foundation of resistance to the people trying to steal the choices away, and it never ever sides with people saying my choice is the only right one for you, even if you like the person trying to imposed their choice on someone else, even if you as an audience member thinks the choice being made is the wrong one.

I fucking love this show. I'll never stop being angry that season 4 ended up too dense because of cancellation, leaving season 5 a bit light. I'll never not be furious Crusade got cancelled after one season. Wear their flaws and problems? Hell yes, but it's still the best TV made in the '90's as far as I'm concerned. (I loved other shows from the '90's deeply, especially the brilliant Deep space Nine, but B5 wins. It just does).

It is heartbreaking that the generations after mine have mostly forgotten it or never have heard of it.

* Van Helsing gives; Dracula takes: https://www.tumblr.com/vickyvicarious/718338134745677824/i-like-the-contrast-to-pointed-out-with-the-loving?source=share

* "Jonathan Harker and Doomed Bride imagery:" https://www.tumblr.com/anony-geist/718672560043311104/jonathan-harker-and-doomed-bride-imagery-lenore?source=share

* "Midnight Pals: What a Deal:" https://www.tumblr.com/bitterkarella/718958767502491648/midnight-pals-what-a-deal?source=share

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

The help links are at the bottom under the cut.

* Support the WGA. "Entertainment Community Fund:" https://entertainmentcommunity.org/

* A resistance website for organizing and publicizing anti-censorship pro-education etc. rallies/protests/walkouts. "Walkout2learn:" https://www.walkout2learn.org/

* New Indivisible Guide! "A Practical Guide to defeating MAG:" https://indivisible.org/sites/default/files/2023-01/20220104_Indivisible_%20A%20Practical%20Guide%20to%20Defeating%20MAGA.pdf

* A very old friend and all around stand up guy wrote this. "Safest Family on the Block: 101 Tips, Tricks, Habits, and Hacks to Protect Your Family at Home, at School, and in the World:" https://www.amazon.com/Safest-Family-Block-Tricks-Protect-ebook/dp/B0C4JZ1QRX

* My oldest continuous friend is trying to raise money to buy games for a Cat Rescue fundraiser. This cat rescue is no kill and places most cats in foster homes until they can be adopted. They are good people there and it's a huge number of cats many needing basic or more serious healthcare.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/318lgf6fa0?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cf%20share-flow-1&fbclid=IwAR1smSQTz7deMSVUBsEg30AdhQ-zeAEHGXOcHXqVUILTlF2MqnIIW49SDVU

* Cool Blackwork Embroidery Patterns for Beginners: https://www.etsy.com/shop/thehaberdasheress/?etsrc=sdt

* If you would like to help support me and the Cats: paypal.me/Gwydion

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