Nec Hoc Nec Ilud

* This is a really bad one. It's a massive fire and explosion in Beirut with a high casualty count, which as of this writing was rising. There is no proper ambulance service and the private services were already swamped with COVID victims, so people are having to find ways to transport the injured themselves. There is a lot of speculating, so I'll check in later when there is firmer intel. I had to cut off my watching of the coverage for mental health reasons. BBC has a lot of good verified eyewitness stuff if you are looking. I'm posting the CNN feed here, as it has a lot of non-speculative bigger picture stuff.

"Beirut explosion generated seismic waves equivalent of a magnitude 3.3 earthquake:" https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/lebanon-beirut-explosion-live-updates-dle-intl/h_da222628bccbcd0736247682b65a8675

* Want to help people in Beirut? https://karolinadeaen.tumblr.com/post/625576504313741312

* I know this looks like a repeat, but it's worse now Hong Kong has fallen. "'The fear is real': Chinese students in Australia dread reprisal from Beijing:" https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-fear-is-real-chinese-students-in-australia-dread-reprisal-from-beijing-20200804-p55iht.html

* "Ayodhya prepares for Modi to lay foundation stone of Hindu temple at disputed site:" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/04/ayodhya-modi-india-foundation-stone-hindu-temple-disputed-site

* "Uighur model sends rare video from Chinese detention:" https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-53650246

* "Spain speculates over whereabouts of scandal-hit ex-king Juan Carlos:" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/04/spain-speculates-scandal-hit-former-king-whereabouts-juan-carlos

* "29 Dead After ISIS Attack on Afghan Prison:" https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/03/world/asia/afghanistan-prison-isis-taliban.html

* TW: Rape "Nadia Murad - Surviving ISIS and Fighting Against Genocide:"

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* "Multiple Killings in Nigeria’s Kaduna State:" https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/07/31/multiple-killings-nigerias-kaduna-state#

* "'Europe's last dictator' battles coronavirus, mass protests and suspected Russian mercenaries to stay in power:" https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/03/belarus-election-lukashenko-battles-coronavirus-protests-and-russia-tensions.html

* "India and China race to build along a tense frontier:" https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53171124

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* "The odd, growing list of Covid-19 symptoms, explained:" https://www.vox.com/2020/7/29/21327317/symptoms-of-covid-19-coronavirus-fever-cough-toes-rash-loss-of-taste-smell

* "We Need to Talk About Ventilation:" https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/07/why-arent-we-talking-more-about-airborne-transmission/614737/

* "Biobot's Poop-Centric COVID-19 Research:"

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* "A coronavirus vaccine won’t change the world right away:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/08/02/covid-vaccine/

* "Global coronavirus deaths exceed 700,000, one person dies every 15 seconds on average:" https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-casualties/global-coronavirus-deaths-exceed-700000-one-person-dies-every-15-seconds-on-average-idUSKCN2510EN

* "New coronavirus cases rise 54% in mainland France in a week:" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/31/coronavirus-cases-rise-54-in-mainland-france-in-a-week

* "Vietnam records first Covid-19 deaths:" https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53606917

* This is no surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention, but it’s very important to quantify it. "Data leak reveals Iran cover-up of Covid-19 deaths:" https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53598965

* "Mexico's COVID-19 Death Toll Now World's Third Highest:" https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/08/03/mexico-coronavirus-schools

* "Colombia Coronavirus Quarantine to Be Extended Until Aug 30:" https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-07-28/colombia-coronavirus-quarantine-to-be-extended-until-aug-30

* You think?!? "'We Have Made Mistakes': Norway Cruise Company Reports COVID-19 Outbreak:" https://www.npr.org/2020/08/03/898690128/we-have-made-mistakes-norway-cruise-company-reports-covid-19-outbreak

* "Violence Is Exploding in Europe's Most Notorious Migrant Camp:" https://www.newsbreak.com/news/1582837644663/violence-is-exploding-in-europes-most-notorious-migrant-camp

* "Infections Swamp the U.S., Which Recorded 42% of All Its Coronavirus Cases in July:" https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/01/world/coronavirus-covid-19.html

* "19,000 more Americans could die from Covid-19 in the next 20 days, CDC composite forecast shows:" https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/02/health/us-coronavirus-sunday/index.html

* "A Viral Epidemic Splintering Into Deadly Pieces:" https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/health/coronavirus-future-america.html

* "Gottlieb warns "It's going to be hard to keep the virus out":" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/scott-gottlieb-coronavirus-warns-its-going-to-be-hard-to-keep-the-virus-out/

* "Trump on Covid death toll: 'It is what it is':" https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/04/politics/trump-covid-death-toll-is-what-it-is/index.html

45 congratulated himself on his excellent job in causing the US to have 4,752,000 COVID-19 cases and 157,000 deaths through his refusal to do his job and deliberate sabotage of measures designed to the slow spread and save lives. Given how proud he is of his terrible performance and how much he brags about it, really one can only assume that this carnage was his goal. We are now approximately 23% of global cases by ourselves.

* "Birx warns US is 'in a new phase' of coronavirus pandemic with more widespread cases:" https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/02/politics/birx-coronavirus-new-phase-cnntv/index.html

* "Oversight Subcommittee Investigation Reveals How Trump Administration Deprived Country of Needed Ventilators and Squandered More Than $500 Million in Taxpayer Funding:" https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/oversight-subcommittee-investigation-reveals-how-trump-administration-deprived

* "There’s no national testing strategy for coronavirus. These states banded together to make one.:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/coronavirus/coronavirus-state-testing-compact/2020/08/04/8b73bed8-d66f-11ea-9c3b-dfc394c03988_story.html

* "463 new COVID-19 cases in Kentucky:" https://www.lex18.com/news/coronavirus/463-new-covid-19-cases-in-kentucky

* "Inslee extends 25 proclamations relating to COVID-19:" https://www.governor.wa.gov/news-media/inslee-extends-25-proclamations-relating-covid-19

* "Tracing the Invisible Danger of Household Crowding:" https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-21/gentrification-and-crowding-boost-covid-19-risk

* "One-third of black adults know a covid-19 victim:" https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/one-third-of-black-adults-know-a-covid-19-victim/

* "Coronavirus Is Devastating Navajo Nation:"

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* "Trump gives Microsoft 45 days to clinch TikTok deal:" https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tiktok-trump-exclusive/exclusive-trump-to-give-tiktoks-chinese-owner-45-days-to-reach-deal-to-sell-sources-idUSKBN24Y0UD

* "Trump Says He'll Ban Chinese-Owned TikTok From U.S.:" https://www.advocate.com/business/2020/8/01/trump-says-hell-ban-chinese-owned-tiktok-us

* "Deutsche Bank Opens Review Into Personal Banker to Trump and Kushner:" https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/02/business/kushner-deutsche-trump-rosemary-vrablic.html

* "NY prosecutors say Trump investigation extends beyond hush money payments:" https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/03/politics/trump-new-york-vance-investigation/index.html

* "House committee subpoenas 4 top Pompeo aides:" https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/03/mike-pompeo-aides-subpoena-house-foreign-affairs-committee-390921

* "Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner earned at least $36 million in outside income last year, new disclosures show:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ivanka-trump-and-jared-kushner-earned-at-least-36-million-in-outside-income-last-year-new-disclosures-show/2020/07/31/9eb71e66-d36a-11ea-8c55-61e7fa5e82ab_story.html

* "Michael Tubbs - "Stockton on My Mind," Curbing Police Violence and Ensuring Guaranteed Income:"

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* "White House eyes executive orders to upend virus negotiations:" https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/04/trump-executive-order-coronavirus-391305

* "U.S. Small Business Bailout Money Flowed to Chinese-Owned Companies:" https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/02/us/politics/virus-china-ppp-small-business-loans.html

* "Defense contractor with billions in sales got millions in pandemic loans intended for small businesses:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/08/03/defense-contractor-with-billions-sales-got-millions-pandemic-loans-intended-small-businesses/

* "House Democrats call postmaster general to testify on USPS changes under Trump:" https://www.axios.com/usps-postmaster-general-trump-18ddfd55-e47c-4439-ab76-78395e76fb85.html

* 45 says he can illegally over ride the constitution in order to force people to risk COVID infections to vote. "Trump claims right to issue executive order on vote-by-mail:" https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/03/trump-mail-in-voting-order-391066

* "Trump’s assault on mail voting threatens his reelection bid:" https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/03/trumps-assault-on-mail-voting-threatens-his-reelection-bid-390949

* "Trump pledges lawsuit to block mail-in voting in Nevada:" https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/03/trump-nevada-mail-voting-lawsuit-390878

* "A School Reopens, and the Coronavirus Creeps In:" https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/01/us/schools-reopening-indiana-coronavirus.html

* It's being done for political reasons in hopes of starving cities and cutting blue state representation in congress. IF YOU DON'T COMPLETE THE CENSUS YOU ARE HELPING THE REPUBLICANS. DO IT NOW IF YOU HAVEN"T!!! "Census Cuts All Counting Efforts Short By A Month:" https://www.npr.org/2020/08/03/898548910/census-cut-short-a-month-rushes-to-finish-all-counting-efforts-by-sept-30

* "He was promised a job in the U.S. He found himself trapped in a nightmare.:" https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/h2a-visa-program-for-farmworkers-surging-under-trump-and-labor-violations/

* "DHS official whose office compiled ‘intelligence reports’ on journalists and protesters has been removed from his job:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/dhs-official-whose-office-compiled-intelligence-reports-on-journalists-and-protesters-has-been-removed-from-his-job/2020/08/01/f01247be-d3ff-11ea-8d32-1ebf4e9d8e0d_story.html

* Mass Arrests in 2020 Echo the Brutality Endured by RNC Protesters 20 Years Ago":" https://truthout.org/articles/mass-arrests-in-2020-echo-the-brutality-endured-by-rnc-protesters-20-years-ago/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=30f0eebc-6d95-4641-adac-30d9cf2d66f0

* "What Has Happened to Police Filmed Hurting Protesters? So Far, Very Little.:" https://www.propublica.org/article/what-has-happened-to-police-filmed-hurting-protesters-so-far-very-little

* They decided to slowly suffocate a kid to death for throwing a sandwich. CW: partially obscured footage showing adults murdering a teenager. "Dangerous Restraints Were Routine at This Youth Home. Then a Black Teen Died:"

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* "Recall effort underway for Thurston County sheriff over not enforcing face mask mandate:" https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/recall-effort-underway-for-thurston-county-sheriff-over-not-enforcing-face-mask-mandate/281-ec2c7f0a-806b-4154-9782-18fc08465c7f

* "For Some Bad Cops, A Second Chance Is Actually Their Third:"

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* "Many Americans Are Convinced Crime Is Rising In The U.S. They’re Wrong.:" https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/many-americans-are-convinced-crime-is-rising-in-the-u-s-theyre-wrong/

* "Why Statistics Don’t Capture The Full Extent Of The Systemic Bias In Policing:" https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-statistics-dont-capture-the-full-extent-of-the-systemic-bias-in-policing/

* "Companies Issuing Bogus Copyright Claims To Hide Police Training Materials From The Public:" https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200625/18351444792/companies-issuing-bogus-copyright-claims-to-hide-police-training-materials-public.shtml

* As a former teacher, I call bullshit on their explanations for why they did this terrible thing. "Oakland Co. girl jailed for not doing homework gets released:" https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/oakland-county/2020/07/31/oakland-co-girl-jailed-not-doing-homework-ordered-release/5557997002/

* "Preserving Sacred Traditions During a Pandemic:" https://doc.wa.gov/news/2020/07292020.htm

* "Trump USAID appointee unloads as rocky tenure ends:" https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/03/usaid-appointee-unloads-as-rocky-tenure-ends-390972

* "Advocates Rally to Tear Down Highways That Bulldozed Black Neighborhoods:" https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2020/07/28/advocates-rally-to-tear-down-highways-that-bulldozed-black-neighborhoods

* CW: Pedophilia. "Trump defends wishing Ghislaine Maxwell well and questions if Epstein's death was suicide:" https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/04/politics/donald-trump-ghislaine-maxwell-axios/index.html

* "Boys may be hiding their feelings less amid the coronavirus pandemic:" https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/27/health/boys-gender-roles-feelings-wellness/index.html

* NOTE: This article contains a slur, but foregrounds UK Romani voices and contains important information, so i decided to post it anyway. "This is the constant battle trans Travellers face while living through the pandemic: ‘It’s like how a mouse feels when standing on a trap’:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/08/04/traveller-pride-trans-solidarity-fund-gypsy-roma-grt-coronavirus-pandemic-tyler-hatwell/

* "Man charged with hate crime after stealing a rainbow flag and setting it on fire during Brighton’s Pride weekend:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/08/04/brighton-pride-flag-burned-arson-hate-crime-abdelhakim-ismaili/

* Why did the second school hire him? They already knew he was smugly bigoted. "Teacher who was fired after repeatedly misgendering a trans boy blames the ‘LGBT+ mafia’ for losing his job:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/08/03/joshua-sutcliffe-oxford-cherwell-school-st-aloysius-catholic-primary-school-transphobia-lgbt-islam-mafia/

* "This Activist Ensures Black Trans People Don't Go Hungry:" This Activist Ensures Black Trans People Don't Go Hungry

* "Non-Affirming Therapists Endanger Trans Youth:" https://www.teenvogue.com/story/gender-critical-support-board-trans-youth

* "Trans Woman Stabbed to Death at Vigil in Portland:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/2020/8/04/trans-woman-stabbed-death-vigil-portland

* "Empathy is not endorsement:" https://www.ted.com/talks/dylan_marron_empathy_is_not_endorsement?language=en

* "Deaf association sues to force White House to use sign language interpreters at coronavirus briefings:" https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/03/politics/sign-language-interpreters-coronavirus-briefings/index.html

* "Dementia on the Retreat in the U.S. and Europe:" https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/03/health/alzheimers-dementia-rates.html

* "Significant jump in Emperor penguins numbers:" https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53549299

* "How the Ultimate Live-in Boyfriend Evolved His Way Around Rejection:" https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/science/anglerfish-immune-rejection.html

* "Mayan Ruins in Guatemala Could Become a U.S.-Funded Tourist Attraction:"

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* "Logic | Philosophy Tube:"

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* "'So much to learn': The untold stories of slavery in Canada:" https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/so-much-to-learn-the-untold-stories-of-slavery-in-canada-1.5047238#_gus&_gucid=&_gup=twitter&_gsc=oYiIaUQ

* "The Myth of the Kindly General Lee:" https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/06/the-myth-of-the-kindly-general-lee/529038/

* "Europe in the Global Age: Crash Course European History #48:"

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* "Trump cites Lewis' decision to not attend inauguration to downplay legacy of civil rights icon:" https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/04/politics/trump-john-lewis-axios/index.html

* "John Hume obituary:" https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/aug/03/john-hume-obituary

* "The GOP's Planned Unemployment Cuts & Trump's FBI Grift :"

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* "Keeping Up with Coronavirus - Second Wave Scares & Trump's Bizarre Doctor Endorsement :"

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* "Lewis Black Hates Outdoor Dining More Than Ever:"

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* "If You Don't Know, Now You Know - Black Women's Erasure from Social Justice History :"

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* "Historic Black Emmy Nominations, China Mails Mystery Seeds & Trump Shrugs Off Russian Bounties:"

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* "COVID-19 Fallout Continues & Herman Cain Dies of Coronavirus:"

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* "Trump Suggests Delaying the 2020 Election and Stokes Racism:"

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* "Justice for Breonna Taylor :"

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* "U.S. History: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver :"

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* "Betsy DeVos Stars In "The Tragic School Bus":"

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* "Meanwhile... A Late Show Is Cake:"

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* "How a Cheese Goes Extinct:" https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-gastronomy/how-a-cheese-goes-extinct

* "Sunday Sweets Celebrates All Things CANDY:" https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/2020/8/2/sunday-sweets-celebrates-all-things-candy

* On Marginaized People Reading Lovecraft: https://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/625347715534077952/hi-would-you-ever-consider-doing-that-spirited

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

* Want to help people in Beirut? https://karolinadeaen.tumblr.com/post/625576504313741312

* Organizations to help trans folk: https://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/620857152453640195/about-us

* "How to Safely and Ethically Film Police Misconduct:" https://www.teenvogue.com/story/how-to-film-police-safely

* Master Post for how to help organizations fighting Police violence: https://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/620861026680881152/oberynmartell-list-of-black-lives-matter-and

* How to donate to Doctors Without Borders: https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/onetime.cfm?source=ADD200U0U00&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=googlepaid&utm_content=brand&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIz8D9kYu46QIVqh6tBh2WogxQEAAYASAAEgK4FfD_BwE

* "More on the Mashpee Wampanoag Reservation and Reaffirmation Act:" https://amaebi.dreamwidth.org/1769250.html

* "Covid 19 Support for Indigenous Communities:" https://bibliomancer7.tumblr.com/post/616704253038395392/covid-19-support-for-indigenous-communities

* "Navajo Nation COVID-19 Relief Fund:" http://www.nndoh.org/donate.html

* "NYSCI has a set of activities and resources up on their website:" https://conuly.dreamwidth.org/2999942.html

* "How to Help Librarians and Archivists From Your Living Room:" https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/archives-to-browse-from-home

* "Free Meals:" https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/food/free-meals

* "Learning Through Play: 101 Ways To Keep Young Minds Occupied At Home:" https://www.marksdailyapple.com/importance-of-play/

* Free lessons: https://www.mybluprint.com/

* CDC Foundation: https://www.cdcfoundation.org/give/ways-to-give

* "SUPPORT WORKERS IN CRISIS:" https://ofwemergencyfund.org/

* "Make to Give - Support Our Medical Personnel:" https://www.joann.com/make-to-give-response/

* "Snopes on COVID-19 Fact-Checking:" https://www.snopes.com/2020/03/20/snopes-on-covid-19-fact-checking/

* "Help the California food industry survive this crisis:" https://www.change.org/p/governor-gavin-newsom-support-the-california-food-industries-most-vulnerable-workers

* "Support Artists Impacted By the Covid-19 Pandemic:" https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/bandcamp-covid-19-fundraiser

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

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

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

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

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

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

Doug Jones - Alabama
Gary Peters - Michigan

* Want to get rid of Mitch McConnell? Help Amy McGrath: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/mcgrath2020-dd-om-gsearch?utm_source=g&utm_medium=om&utm_campaign=dd&utm_content=om_g_dd_20190709_g-dd-namenat-search_namedon-nat_amosdn&refcode=om_g_dd_20190709_g-dd-namenat-search_namedon-nat_amosdn&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5IL1uLKa6gIVcz2tBh1njwpEEAAYASAAEgLCYvD_BwE

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

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

* Want to help Ritchie Torres beat a homophobe in New York? https://secure.actblue.com/donate/dkendorsestorres?refcode=20200605fpdn1mid

* Want to help Doug Jones defend his seat against a Trumpist homophobe? https://secure.actblue.com/donate/stand-with-doug?refcode=gaa1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIx8n4rdfT6gIVvxitBh0BfQmNEAAYASAAEgJSwfD_BwE

* Want to help Sara Gideon unseat Susan Collins? https://secure.actblue.com/donate/adopt-me-dem-susan-collins-seat

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

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

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

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

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

* "Keep Me Safe! Help me get a gate organized by Briel Moore:" https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-me-safe-help-me-get-a-gate?utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet+expWdV

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

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

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

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

* "Turkey brain drain: Crackdown pushes intellectuals out:" http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42433668

* "Jailed Russian says he hacked DNC on Kremlin’s orders and can prove it:" www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article191857354.html

* "Trump opens up about Mueller, Russia probe:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-opens-up-about-mueller-russia-probe-in-impromptu-interview-1125658691688

* "Trump asserts 'absolute right' to act on DoJ:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-asserts-absolute-right-to-do-what-he-wants-with-justice-1125656643917

* "Trump assertions on DoJ farther than Nixon:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-doj-assertion-more-than-nixon-would-have-dared-beschloss-1125664323927

* "Trump falsely claims he broke a legislative record:" https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/27/trump-legislation-record-truman-319542

* And is charging tax payers for it. "Trump has spent nearly one-third of his presidency at a Trump property:" https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/22/politics/trump-mar-a-lago-golf/index.html

* "Appeals court rejects challenge to Trump voter fraud panel:" http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/366482-appeals-court-rejects-challenge-to-trump-voter-fraud-panel

* "Mueller probe outgrows its ‘witch hunt’ phase:" https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mueller-probe-outgrows-witch-hunt-phase-100045988.html

* "Robert Mueller May Indict Paul Manafort Again:" https://www.thedailybeast.com/robert-mueller-may-indict-paul-manafort-again

* "Trump White House Saw Record Number of First-Year Staff Departures:" https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-white-house-saw-record-number-of-first-year-staff-departures-1514457002

* "Trump nominee's racist roots raises alarm:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-nominee-s-racist-roots-raises-alarm-1125679683616

* The Republican Class warfare continues. "Jeff Sessions Takes a Stand for Debtors’ Prisons:" https://www.aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/race-and-criminal-justice/jeff-sessions-takes-stand-debtors-prisons

* "African-American vote threatens red South:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/african-american-vote-threatens-redness-of-southern-states-1125675587986

* "Where Roy Moore's Voter Fraud Claims Fall Flat:" https://www.npr.org/2017/12/28/574222257/fact-check-where-roy-moores-voter-fraud-claims-fall-flat

* "Truckloads of food meant for Puerto Rico will instead help Central Florida evacuees:" http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/puerto-rico-hurricane-recovery/os-puerto-rican-evacuees-food-donations-20171226-story.html

* "Puerto Rico crisis lingers as Trump moves on:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/puerto-rico-crisis-lingers-as-trump-administration-moves-on-1125682243777

* "Defense Department-Lawsuit story:" https://apnews.com/fe6b9e57e01c4dd89dbb6b520f9c5bf3/Cities-sue-Defense-Dept.-over-gun-check-system-failures

* Only 27. Damn. "Eric Garner's daughter and prominent activist is brain-dead with no chance of recovery, reports say:" http://www.newsweek.com/erica-garner-eric-heart-attack-762221

* "Like Humans, Chimps Try Harder to Warn Unaware Pals:" https://www.livescience.com/60955-chimps-warn-unwary-pals.html

* "Sweden's giant Gavle goat survives Christmas:" http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42502375

* I'm ill again and needed to rest Thursday. I SHOULD have gone out for 9AM bureaucracy, but Livia had appropriated the bureaucracy bag, it was cold, and I was exhausted. I really did get as far as shows on, but she was napping and when I went to get it, she blinked at me all sleepy and trusting. I decided that this was the last straw and went to bed instead. Somehow i managed to injure a nipple in my sleep. how does anybody do that? It was so bad I had to take one of the good pain killers to get back to sleep.

I've not been able to pay one of the big bills this month, which means I'm going to be 120-140 down next month at a time when I'm running out of a bunch of stupid basic things like shampoo, litter, tp, the multi vitamins I'm ordered to take to counter nutrient leaching, etc.. I really need to do another round of auctions. I've selected sacrifices, but I don't want to handle oils while i'm contagious, so I've pushed that to hopefully next week. Sigh.

* So a little over a week ago, one of my meat space friends referred to me as "easy going," which is something that startled me. The thing is, in a lot of ways I am like the Hulk in that some part of me is always angry. I am furious that the men who murdered Tamir Rice are still walking free and their are zero plans ever to bring them to justice, for example, and for all the similar cases where there will be no attempt at bringing the criminals to justice because racism. I am constantly, endlessly furious that we are re litigating things like are NAZIsm and pedophilia good or bad, whether women are fully human and capable of making their own medical decisions, should people of colour and trans people have human rights. I am furious that there is still not safe water in Flint and Puerto Rico, that the lights will likely stay off in Puerto Rico for 8 months or more. I am furious about all the ways we've gone backward in the last year and the rob the poor to give to the rich tax bill that just passed. The list goes on and on. I am in so many ways a ball of rage and have been since I was eight.

But she's not wrong either, once I thought about it, because on the personal level, on the dealing with people level, I am still living by the noble lie I adopted when I started teaching, and I don't take much personally unless there is a good reason to. The decades I invested on working on my anger, on healing old wounds, on meditation, did win me something. They often tell survivors of abuse of any kind that they must forgive to get better, but I think this is simply not true. I don't have to forgive or forget the gaslighting. I have chosen to retain most of the survival skills I learned during my grim little war. Oh, I went through and carefully audited my defenses and responses and carefully weeded out the ones that were no longer useful to adult me, but I refused to throw the baby out with the bath water. My particular set of strategic and tactical skills, the particular ways in which I am stubborn in the face of existential threat, my way of triaging crises, a whole toolkit of people observational skills honed to tell actual threats from people just being thoughtless or self involved and from people who are worth being friends with, are all still damned useful. I refuse to root out a whole collection of survival mechanisms that are dormant most of the time, but useful as anything in certain rare, but occasional threat situations. I am proud of my survival. I am proud of the disciplined and occasionally ruthless way I have gone about protecting my core values, myself, and the people I care about. I am proud of having refused to forsake empathy, and of having kept my memories of just how grim shit can get for children and young teens and for having used that in my teaching to help the kids most in need of true kindness from an adult with authority over them. Every time some whiny sexist geek boy pretends that he gets a pass on being a bully himself as an adult on account of his past, I am furious, because that behavior is a choice and I think people who have been harmed have LESS of an excuse for a lack of empathy and decency than people who have no idea what it feels like to be systematically abused. At eight, I could distinguish between true malevolence, adults doing terrible harm because lying to themselves protected them from having to do better, adults who meant well but for one reason or another could not work out an effective course of action and instead were useless at best or extremely harmful for all their good intentions at worst, those who were powerless to intervene but would have liked to, and children who were doing terrible things to save themselves. I never forgave the first category, and have very little sympathy for the second. The others though? I understood and forgave. If I could manage that level of nuance at eight, how much more so at 48.

Like I said, like the hulk, some part of me is always angry, but I get to chose to use that anger for good or for ill. I can chose to direct it at people in power doing harm or on taking it out on innocent people around me. I invariably chose the former instead of the later. It's there when the anti-choice assholes are screaming at woman down at the Grocery Outlet and I go to stand with the women being screamed at. It's there when I right about the abuses the system inflicts. It is there to keep me fighting when the world is as horrible as it is in Trump's America. I do not have to forgive abusers; I just have to be decent where decency is called for.

The Wednesday forage line was a block long Wednesday, despite the snow that was falling, as people are always foraging at the end of the month. I had a lung full of cigarette smoke and couldn't stop talking because one dude towards the end of the line refused to step away far enough like the other smokers were doing. I was cold, I was in pain, I was standing on damaged joints and was going to be for a long time. I could not read or sit down because of the snow. The guy ahead of me started ranting about a women further up the line who was on her cell to a friend working out which of their group had the Costco card, transport, and where to meet up. I was not particularly eavesdropping as she was loud and I wasn't reading. The man was building up a rant about how if she was rich enough for a Costco card, why was she in the forage line and how that was like someone he once saw driving a BMW there. I said something like, "Someone could have bought the car before they lost their job. It could easily be several years old." I pointed out that last time I had the money for it, I bought a really good coat and getting rid of a warm sturdy coat wouldn't be worth the small amount of money I could get selling it. I pointed out that the lady, who was clearly sharing a car and a Costco card with at least two other adults from the bit of her conversation we'd heard, might have clubbed in with a bunch of friends to share a card. I can't afford to do that now, but I'd shared the membership fee with three or four other people at various times in the pat when I could afford to chip in for one and that ten or fifteen dollars is not that large an investment if you are in a position to make it. The man visibly calmed down. I could see him thinking about the woman and her shared Costco card from a different perspective. I could see him applying empathy where escalating anger and resentment had been. I'm glad I spoke up, because I feel like even though it is a drop of water against an ocean, anything we can do to make people see that it is possible to read the same set of facts from a kind perspective instead of a judgemental perspective is good. I used to do something similar when the native born students started getting paranoid about the Ukrainian kids.

The world is full of assholes, but I often come back to my noble lie, which was a Socratic truth. (In case you are curious, the Noble Lie in Plato's republic is "that all men are brothers.") My Noble Lie was that if you show people the Good they will chose it over the alternative and act accordingly. My experience in eight years of teaching was that approximately 1 out of ten people will do the right thing without prompting most of the time. If one goes around openly talking and acting as if the Noble Lie is the truth, another seven or eight out of ten depending on group composition will chose the Good for whatever reason (social pressure, wanting to impress a popular and well liked authority figure, not wanting to look like an asshole in front of their friends, etc.). I never forgot that the noble Lie was a Lie though, and that other 10-20%? I watched like a hawk.

So unless I have good reason to think otherwise (Paul Ryan is clearly intelligent enough to know how destructive and cruel his policies are and is choosing to do them any way for selfish reasons, justifying his cruelty and destructiveness through Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand bullshit, for example, so no excuses and no forgiveness. He chooses to do terrible things to people and the world, on purpose, having a reasonably good idea of the consequences. He is not mistaken or mislead. He chose these things on purpose), I generally look for multiple constructions one could put on a person's actions based on available data. I act as if the innocent ones are more likely as long as the person is doing no obvious or deliberate harm. If there is harm or potential harm, I proceed as if the noble lie is true, because if you do explain or demonstrate the good, gently, kindly, calmly, a majority will chose the good in the end or at least proceed more gently and with more empathy. Nothing can be done about the rest, but people who are not sociopaths/psychopaths generally can be reached with the right approach. I save the direct opposition for real threats; I speak up where I need to, but I try to direct my anger at the people who deserve it and not direct it at someone who likely is doing nothing wrong or someone who just made a mistake. I had a whole lot of success explaining to middle schoolers why a particular sexist, homophobic, ableist, etc. comment was not okay but making the assumption in my soundbite length response that the thing was said out of ignorance. Sometimes it was; sometimes it wasn't. Pretending it was for all first offenses drew the boundary, but gave them a way out. Very few needed a second warning and only one in eight years needed a third and his friends made it clear they were on my side. There was never a forth offense in my hearing.

I suspect all those years of not taking Middle Schooler unpleasantness personally, (because it hardly ever was about me even when it was directed at me), and all those years practicing empathy and liking kids even when they couldn't like themselves does mean that in a sense I am easy going even though it doesn't feel that way on the inside sometimes. A thing to think about anyway.

* I really wish Valkyrie and Diana Prince could meet.

* This misses some things that bothered me, but is close to my reaction. "Doctor Who, Season 11, Episode 0: Twice Upon a Time:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2017/12/doctor-who-season-11-episode-0-twice.html

* I'm not entirely in agreement, but this is very close to my reaction. "The Twelfth Doctor Bows Out With Grace:" https://www.thefandomentals.com/doctor-who-s10-e13/

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

* "Help us stop the humanitarian crisis on Manus:" https://www.asrc.org.au/donate-now/

* "RISE (Refugees, Survivors and Ex-Detainees):" https://www.givenow.com.au/riserefugee/donate

* How to help Rohingya refugees: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/29/world/asia/rohingya-aid-myanmar-bangladesh.html?emc=edit_nn_20171012&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=50784086&te=1&_r=0

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

* Trans Lifeline is one of those organizations you can call at (877) 565-8860 in the US and in Canada (877) 330- 6366.

* The Trevor Project has a 24 hour hotline geared toward helping our youth, and you can call it at 1-866-488-7386

* Resistance links for the tax cuts for the rich: http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/166977878817/fullhalalalchemist-the-gop-is-aiming-for-a-65vc

* Scripts for resisting the Tax Bill: https://laughingacademy.tumblr.com/post/168175070608/the-tax-bill-just-passed-the-senate-heres-what

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

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

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

* Help pay for cat food, litter, meds, medical copays: Paypal Lethran@gmail.com

* Birthday/Solstice master list: https://gwydion.dreamwidth.org/1925021.html

* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com