1/6/25 - 1/9/25
Jan. 9th, 2025 02:00 am* "Resources for helping Gaza, Sudan and Congo:" https://www.tumblr.com/swallowedabug/758070860436439040?source=share
* "Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza amid stepped up ceasefire push:" https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-strikes-kill-dozens-gaza-us-pushes-ceasefire-2025-01-08/
******
* "Why is my life considered more important than a Ukrainian life?:" https://kyivindependent.com/opinion-why-is-my-life-considered-more-important-than-a-ukrainian-life/
* "Trudeau stepping down as Canada’s PM after rapid decline in public approval:" https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trudeau-stepping-down-as-canadas-pm-after-rapid-decline-in-public-approval
* "The UN says more than 5,600 people were killed in Haiti last year as gangs rampage:" https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/5600-people-killed-haiti-year-gangs-rampage-117418238
* "Key takeaways from Haiti’s multinational mission: progress, setbacks, and future challenges:" https://haitiantimes.com/2025/01/08/key-takeaways-from-haiti-multinational-mission/
* "U.K. leader Starmer slams 'lies and misinformation' after attacks from Elon Musk:" https://www.npr.org/2025/01/07/g-s1-41296/starmer-attacks-elon-musk
* "Narendra Modi’s Populist Facade Is Cracking:" https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/02/modi-nationalism-demagoguery-limitations/681094/?
* "Biden signs bill boosting Social Security payments for millions:" https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/higher-social-security-payments-coming-millions-people-bill-117343285
Meanwhile, republicans are promising deep cuts to social security to pay for tax cuts for a handful of billionaires who already pay nothing even close to their share.
* "Biden bans new offshore drilling along most of the U.S. coastline:" https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/biden-bans-new-offshore-drilling-us-coastline-atlantic-pacific-trump-rcna186338
* "Trump promises to undo Biden lame-duck drilling ban:" https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/01/06/congress/donald-trump-drilling-ban-00196667
Biden should have done this four years ago, but doing it at all adds to things Trump has to remember to undo. Anything that slows Trump even a little is still something, given how lazy he is and the long list of things he has planned.
* "Fed officials are worried about the inflation impacts from Trump’s policies, minutes show:" https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/08/fed-minutes-january-2025.html
* "Watch Kamala Harris keep her cool on a day of contrasts at U.S. Senate with warm moments and not-so-warm ones:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/kamala-harris-swearing-in-senators
* "Speaker Mike Johnson quietly enacts ‘cruel’ anti-transgender bathroom ban in U.S. House of Representatives:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/republican-house-transgender-bathrooms
Asshole soaked up the good press for not doing it, then did it quietly, hoping no one would notice.
* "Republican Sen. Tuberville wants to ban trans girls from school sports...again:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/gop-tuberville-transgender-sports
*****
* Our job for the next two years is to survive, to build grassroots resistance, to do all in our power to slow the republican Christo-fascist agenda, and to prepare for 2026 in case there is still Democracy.
We are trying to build a good list of resistance resources.
Please add more below if you have them.
Trump 2.0 Indivisible Guide. https://indivisible.org/resource/guide
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/
To get your Critters' numbers to call direct: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member
Five Calls to your critters: https://5calls.org/
Useful organizing links and resources: https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/771859083592613888/hater-of-terfs-ive-already-reblogged-a-link-to?source=share
Run for Something: https://runforsomething.net/
How to render emergency aid in a riot: https://riotmedicine.net/static/downloads/riot-medicine_a5.pdf
"How to Safely and Ethically Film Police Misconduct:" https://www.teenvogue.com/story/how-to-film-police-safely
Avoiding Activist Burnout: https://www.tumblr.com/veluigi/771755723969478656/on-twitter-im-seeing-dozens-of-threads-from-black?source=share
*****
* This is some bullshit. The Republican War on free and fair elections continues. They have no proof of fraudulent voting, but they are blocking it anyway because they want to illegally stack the court. "GOP-controlled N.C. Supreme Court blocks certification of Democrat as winner of close high court race:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/north-carolina-supreme-court-blocks-certification-democrat-winner-clos-rcna186662
* "Oregon swears in first LGBTQ+ treasurer, Dr. Elizabeth Steiner:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/oregon-lgbtq-treasurer
* "Idaho Republicans file resolution to repeal marriage equality:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/idaho-republicans-marriage-equality-challenge
* "George Santos wins sentencing delay in fraud case, but less than he asked for:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/george-santos-wins-sentencing-delay
* "Judge finds Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court in defamation case:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/rudy-giuliani-resume-testimony-contempt-hearing-defamation-case-rcna186216
* "Why I'm quitting the Washington Post:" https://anntelnaes.substack.com/p/why-im-quitting-the-washington-post
* "Winning coalitions aren't always governing coalitions:" https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/06/how-the-sausage-gets-made/
NOTE: I am moving the Trump section up the page soon, but I'm waiting until the hand over on the 20th.
* Consequences. "Honduras Threatens US Military Bases Over Trump's Mass Deportations:" https://www.newsweek.com/honduras-threatens-shut-down-us-military-bases-mass-deportations-2009110
* "Trump's anti-immigrant agenda ensures confrontation from day one as opponents prepare:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-s-anti-immigrant-agenda-ensures-confrontation-from-day-one-as-opponents-prepare-228633669599
* "Trump says he will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico. Can he do that?:" https://apnews.com/article/trump-gulf-of-mexico-bc438f4feca1234475a1adef99344da7
* "Marjorie Taylor Greene champions bill on 'Gulf of America' name change:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/marjorie-taylor-greene-champions-bill-on-gulf-of-america-name-change-228830277766
* "Trump Says America Could Use Military to Seize Other Nations:" https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-america-military-seize-greenland-panama-1235227860/
* "'Obviously ridiculous': Trump veers into bizarre fixation on adding neighboring countries as states:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/-obviously-ridiculous-trump-veers-into-bizarre-fixation-on-adding-neighboring-countries-as-states-228743237795
* "'It ain't gonna happen': Himes blasts Trump's empire ambitions as distraction ploy:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/-it-ain-t-gonna-happen-himes-blasts-trump-s-empire-ambitions-as-distraction-ploy-228747845533
* "Trump’s Jan. 6 Pardon Promise Would Put Police-Assaulters Back On The Streets:" https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-pardons-police-assaulters-jan-6_n_676d685de4b05de1fe06963c
* "After taunting Panama, Trump taps ambassador for the country:" https://www.politico.com/news/2024/12/25/trump-cabrera-panama-ambassador-00196034
* In case you don't know the history and need a Trump panama lie debunking. "Yes, US Used to Own the Panama Canal. Here's the History:" https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/01/08/trump-panama-canal-history/
* I don't directly link the Washington Post lightly, but I thought some people might want to read the full text instead of a summary. "Joe Biden: What Americans should remember about Jan. 6:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/01/05/president-biden-jan-6-democracy/
* "Biden calls on Americans not to forget Jan 6 attack:" https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-calls-americans-not-forget-jan-6-attack-2025-01-06/
* "Four years later: The unapologetic nature of Trump's political renaissance is an ongoing menace:" https://www.slowboring.com/p/four-years-later
* "As Trump rewrites history, victims of the Jan. 6 riot say they feel 'betrayed':" https://www.npr.org/2025/01/05/nx-s1-5200594/jan-6-attack-capitol-riot-victims-violence
* "Trump’s Propaganda Victory: The Rewriting Of Jan. 6:" https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-jan-6-lost-cause_n_67786658e4b03c84a28dacd5
* "He Got Away With It: Donald Trump instigated a violent attack on the Capitol. In two weeks, he’ll be sworn in as president at the very same building:" https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-got-away-with-instigating-jan-6-capitol-attack-1235226493/
* "Maddow: January 6 becomes marker of Trump's degradation of wall between violence and politics:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/maddow-january-6-becomes-marker-of-trump-s-degradation-of-wall-between-violence-and-politics-228631621688
* "Our National Day of Shame: Four years later, the shock of that day is replaced by the shock of how that day has become accepted.:" https://www.thebulwark.com/p/our-national-day-of-shame
* "The Looming Danger of Trump’s January 6 Pardons:" https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/12/trump-pardons-january6-insurrection-congress-security/
* "Statement of Cardinal Robert McElroy on the announcement of his appointment as archbishop of Washington:" https://www.cathstan.org/local/statement-of-cardinal-robert-mcelroy-on-the-announcement-of-his-appointment-as-archbishop-of-washington
* "New D.C. Catholic archbishop is pro-LGBTQ+ and anti-Trump:" https://www.advocate.com/news/pro-lgbtq-dc-archbishop
* "Donald Trump’s endless assault on our nation is exhausting. But complacency is not an option.:" https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/01/donald-trumps-endless-assault-on-our-nation-is-exhausting-but-complacency-is-not-an-option/
* "Donald Trump’s “Shock and Awe” Campaign:" https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/donald-trumps-shock-and-awe-campaign
* "Trump invites House Republicans to Mar-a-Lago ahead of inauguration:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/trump-invites-house-republicans-mar-lago-rcna186296
* "Trump mulls economic emergency declaration to back universal tariff plans, CNN reports:" https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/trump-mulls-national-economic-emergency-declaration-allow-new-tariff-program-cnn-2025-01-08/
* "A Complete Guide to Trump's Cabinet Appointees:" https://www.snopes.com/articles/468475/trump-cabinet-appointees/
* "Donald Trump nominates lesbian Fox News host Tammy Bruce, who said Democrats fund creating 'mutants':" https://www.advocate.com/politics/donald-trump-nominates-tammy-bruce
* The suspicions are true. "Trump's Team Was Fed Questions by Fox News Insider Before Town Hall: Book:" https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-iowa-town-hall-fox-news-2012072
* "Watchdog group accuses RFK Jr. of voter fraud:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/08/rfk-voter-ny-accusations-00196984
* "Watchdog finds signs politics drove Trump DOJ’s probes of pandemic nursing home deaths:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/07/watchdog-finds-signs-politics-drove-trump-doj-probes-pandemic-nursing-home-deaths-002055
* It isn't her jurisdiction. If we still had rule of law she wouldn't have a say. "Cannon temporarily blocks release of Jack Smith report:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/07/aileen-cannon-blocks-jack-smith-report-release-00196863
* If they don't release it before Trump takes power it will likely disappear, hence the urgency. "Justice Department wants to release only part of its report on Trump cases:" https://www.npr.org/2025/01/08/g-s1-41562/jack-smith-trump-appeal
* "Trump moves to cancel hush money sentencing on Friday:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/06/trump-moves-to-cancel-hush-money-sentencing-on-friday-00196589
* "Alito, Trump spoke a day before Supreme Court filing in hush-money case:" https://www.npr.org/2025/01/08/g-s1-41551/trump-supreme-court-hush-money-case-sentencing
* "Trump frantic to slow wheels of justice until he is safe in the White House:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/trump-frantic-to-slow-wheels-of-justice-until-he-is-safe-in-the-white-house-228746309609
* "New Orleans gay bars feel impact of Bourbon Street terror attack:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/new-orleans-terror-attack
* "McDonald's ends some DEI practices, cites SCOTUS ruling and 'other companies' (exclusive):" https://www.advocate.com/news/mcdonalds-ends-dei-practices
* "More companies than ever have this DEI practice, despite anti-LGBTQ+ push:" https://www.advocate.com/news/companies-with-dei-hrc-cei
* CW: Child Abuse. "Former Virginia nurse charged with felony child abuse amid probe into NICU babies suffering 'unexplained fractures':" https://abcnews.go.com/US/former-virginia-nurse-charged-felony-child-abuse-amid/story?id=117425169
* "TERFs, Trans Mascs, and Two Steve Feminism:" https://jude-doyle.ghost.io/terfs-trans-mascs-and-two-steve-feminism/
* "Only 0.1 percent of youth receive gender-affirming meds: study:" https://www.advocate.com/health/gender-affirming-care-youth-rare
* "Hayes: The trans population is far smaller than the right would have you believe:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/hayes-the-trans-population-is-far-smaller-than-the-right-would-have-you-believe-228830277832
* "Russian man fined for joking that he started international LGBTQ+ movement:" https://www.advocate.com/news/russian-fined-lgbtq-propaganda
* "Defense Dept. reaches settlement with vets discharged under 'don't ask, don't tell' and earlier ban:" https://www.advocate.com/news/discharged-troops-settlement-dadt
* "Eight California sheriff's deputies sacked for covering up a fellow officer's attack on trans man:" https://www.advocate.com/news/police-beating-trans-man-coverup
* "New Orleans activists fundraise to replace stolen plaque remembering an arson that killed 32 queer people:" https://www.advocate.com/news/upstairs-lounge-fire-plaque-fundraiser
Fundraiser here: https://www.eservicepayments.com/cgi-bin/Vanco_ver3.vps?appver3=tYgT1GfNxRUldiimjHMvOQ43yt9fYqgnnIoZwKBOirW1q4qJDDuf89STNCYkcYRM2evTpo0mld6BrVzd2nG0p0DFqXx82BKqCdJwvoK-S_8=&ver=3
* "Breaking down barriers in mental health equity:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/lgbtq-youth-mental-health
* "Thousands flee as wildfires burn out of control in and around Los Angeles and homes are destroyed:" https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-southern-california-santa-ana-winds-b565a3bd043d6444820f1571b2307bf1
* "'So little water': California firefighters struggle as hoses run dry:" https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/-so-little-water-california-firefighters-struggle-as-hoses-run-dry-228842565698
* "Photos capture how wildfires ravaged through Southern California:" https://apnews.com/article/california-pacific-palisades-wildfires-los-angeles-4b67b7f29d0d6eb7321a52ef60c17d60
* "It’s not really the right time for nasty California fires. What are the factors that changed that?:" https://apnews.com/article/fire-devastation-climate-change-santa-ana-winds-a46e2bb6785b1e325f6076fb22c8fcc5
* "Meet the gay man helping FEMA fight misinformation during natural disasters:" https://www.advocate.com/people/fema-justin-knighten-gay-communication
* "How the Arrival of an Endangered Bird Indicates What’s Possible for the L.A. River:" https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-the-arrival-of-an-endangered-bird-indicates-whats-possible-for-the-la-river-180985390/
* "Apple auto-opts everyone into having their photos analyzed by AI for landmarks:" https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/03/apple_enhanced_visual_search/
* "The danger of Meta’s big fact-checking changes:" https://www.vox.com/politics/393863/meta-mark-zuckerberg-fact-checking-trump
* "What LGBTQ+ people should know about Meta’s new rules:" https://www.advocate.com/news/meta-policies-lgbtq-attacks
* "Hayes: Zuckerberg and tech execs cozying up to Trump is chilling—but 'very clarifying':" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/hayes-zuckerberg-and-tech-execs-cozying-up-to-trump-is-chilling-but-very-clarifying-228723781895
* "Meta blocked teens from seeing LGBTQ+ content on Instagram: report:" https://www.advocate.com/news/instagram-blocked-teens-lgbtq
* "The Ocean Teems With Networks of Interconnected Bacteria:" https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-ocean-teems-with-networks-of-interconnected-bacteria-20250106/
* "Inside the hands-on lab of an experimental archaeologist:" https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/01/inside-the-hands-on-lab-of-an-experimental-archaeologist/
* "When Picasso Was Arrested for Stealing the “Mona Lisa”:" https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/01/13/when-picasso-was-arrested-for-stealing-the-mona-lisa?
* "Women’s Work: Fighting to Serve — Black Nurses in World War II:" https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2024/12/womens-work-fighting-to-serve-black-nurses-in-world-war-ii/
* Good news! "Jean-Marie Le Pen, French fiery far-right leader, dies at 96:" https://www.npr.org/2025/01/07/nx-s1-5251155/jean-marie-le-pen-france-obit
* "Sheldon 'Turner' Freeman, gay D.C. librarian and activist, dead at 64:" https://www.advocate.com/news/gay-librarian-turner-freeman-obituary
* "How Do Igloos Keep People Warm?:" https://www.mentalfloss.com/how-igloos-stay-warm
* "Cry about it: The tradition of town criers is slowly dwindling in Canada. But those who are left vow to cry to their last breath.:" https://archive.ph/9PCB6#selection-2685.0-2685.115
* I'm really struggling with the physio right now. My body insists it is injured from the eye thing, which is still giving me headaches when I read, etc., plus the weather is the kind of variable that really messes with my AS. I suspect Tavy wanting to sit on my shoulder for hours at a time is not helping.
Monday, Goth Millennial came with me to the eye doctor and the trip back was slow and dramatic because the fog was occasionally a real pea souper. The regular eye doctor is across town from where I live and we stuck to surface streets because the fog was so bad.
While it's nice they give us this big frame allowance rather than make us pick from six government frames as they used to, there is no world in which I'd use the whole frame allowance and if they'd let me use the extra for things like (required) bifocals and (required) ultra lights I absolutely need the glasses would be free instead of a major expense I struggle to cover. On the upside, a benefactor set an end of year gift that should cover them and the car tax this month, plus the stupid HOA fee they charged me because they fucked up payments in December. This is good as not being behind in Housing Tax season is essential and that comes next.
You may notice I posted very little on Monday if you were on Tumblr even by my Monday and Tuesday standards. That's because the headache was so bad I just gave up and went to bed early. I ended up staying there 15-16 hours and still being kind of crap Thursday evening.
On the upside I found the missing library books. It turns out I'd put them in a bag to go back and the one cleaner visit between June and November resulted in them getting moved on top of the cardboard boxes where I keep medium term document storage. (I don't want to move things to long term for a year because periodically a bureaucracy thing will require something and it's better to have it close to hand. Occasionally I need long term storage things, but it's rare. I actually need to clear out long term storage paperwork, but I can't physically do it by myself, so some boxes end up staying longer than seven years. Sigh. Boxes all get dates so I know when things are safe to get rid of).
Anyway, no wonder we couldn't find the missing books despite a couple months of searching. We were looking in logical places, like my car or my bedroom. If you combine camouflage with non-intuitive placement the things might as well have been invisible. I only worked it out because I did the math on when they had to have been lost and realized the could have been moved that one particular week while outgoing instead of incoming or in a reading location. I'd checked them off in my head when I bagged them and put them where I'd grab them on the way out the door, then assumed they were on the way back as i hadn't had time to read them what with everything that had been going on.
Sigh. I didn't make it out when the library was still open, but I did turn them in at the night drop so there's eighty dollars I don't owe after all.
I am so tired and everything hurts so, so much.
*****
* 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.
* "We have a right to safety, privacy, and protest. Say no to mask bans.:" https://www.stopmaskbans.com/
* "Here are 26 organizations fighting Donald Trump that you can donate to:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/anti-donald-trump-charities
* Run for Something: https://runforsomething.net/
* "LGBTQ+ Victory Fund:" https://victoryfund.org/
* "Palestine Children’s Relief Fund:" https://pcrf1.app.neoncrm.com/forms/gaza-recovery
* Disaster Preparedness stuff from the US Government: https://www.ready.gov/publications
* Useful organizing links and resources: https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/771859083592613888/hater-of-terfs-ive-already-reblogged-a-link-to?source=share
* Five Calls to your critters: https://5calls.org/
* Avoiding Activist Burnout: https://www.tumblr.com/veluigi/771755723969478656/on-twitter-im-seeing-dozens-of-threads-from-black?source=share
( More Links Underneath: )
* "Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza amid stepped up ceasefire push:" https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-strikes-kill-dozens-gaza-us-pushes-ceasefire-2025-01-08/
******
* "Why is my life considered more important than a Ukrainian life?:" https://kyivindependent.com/opinion-why-is-my-life-considered-more-important-than-a-ukrainian-life/
* "Trudeau stepping down as Canada’s PM after rapid decline in public approval:" https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trudeau-stepping-down-as-canadas-pm-after-rapid-decline-in-public-approval
* "The UN says more than 5,600 people were killed in Haiti last year as gangs rampage:" https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/5600-people-killed-haiti-year-gangs-rampage-117418238
* "Key takeaways from Haiti’s multinational mission: progress, setbacks, and future challenges:" https://haitiantimes.com/2025/01/08/key-takeaways-from-haiti-multinational-mission/
* "U.K. leader Starmer slams 'lies and misinformation' after attacks from Elon Musk:" https://www.npr.org/2025/01/07/g-s1-41296/starmer-attacks-elon-musk
* "Narendra Modi’s Populist Facade Is Cracking:" https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/02/modi-nationalism-demagoguery-limitations/681094/?
* "Biden signs bill boosting Social Security payments for millions:" https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/higher-social-security-payments-coming-millions-people-bill-117343285
Meanwhile, republicans are promising deep cuts to social security to pay for tax cuts for a handful of billionaires who already pay nothing even close to their share.
* "Biden bans new offshore drilling along most of the U.S. coastline:" https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/biden-bans-new-offshore-drilling-us-coastline-atlantic-pacific-trump-rcna186338
* "Trump promises to undo Biden lame-duck drilling ban:" https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/01/06/congress/donald-trump-drilling-ban-00196667
Biden should have done this four years ago, but doing it at all adds to things Trump has to remember to undo. Anything that slows Trump even a little is still something, given how lazy he is and the long list of things he has planned.
* "Fed officials are worried about the inflation impacts from Trump’s policies, minutes show:" https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/08/fed-minutes-january-2025.html
* "Watch Kamala Harris keep her cool on a day of contrasts at U.S. Senate with warm moments and not-so-warm ones:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/kamala-harris-swearing-in-senators
* "Speaker Mike Johnson quietly enacts ‘cruel’ anti-transgender bathroom ban in U.S. House of Representatives:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/republican-house-transgender-bathrooms
Asshole soaked up the good press for not doing it, then did it quietly, hoping no one would notice.
* "Republican Sen. Tuberville wants to ban trans girls from school sports...again:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/gop-tuberville-transgender-sports
*****
* Our job for the next two years is to survive, to build grassroots resistance, to do all in our power to slow the republican Christo-fascist agenda, and to prepare for 2026 in case there is still Democracy.
We are trying to build a good list of resistance resources.
Please add more below if you have them.
Trump 2.0 Indivisible Guide. https://indivisible.org/resource/guide
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/
To get your Critters' numbers to call direct: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member
Five Calls to your critters: https://5calls.org/
Useful organizing links and resources: https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/771859083592613888/hater-of-terfs-ive-already-reblogged-a-link-to?source=share
Run for Something: https://runforsomething.net/
How to render emergency aid in a riot: https://riotmedicine.net/static/downloads/riot-medicine_a5.pdf
"How to Safely and Ethically Film Police Misconduct:" https://www.teenvogue.com/story/how-to-film-police-safely
Avoiding Activist Burnout: https://www.tumblr.com/veluigi/771755723969478656/on-twitter-im-seeing-dozens-of-threads-from-black?source=share
*****
* This is some bullshit. The Republican War on free and fair elections continues. They have no proof of fraudulent voting, but they are blocking it anyway because they want to illegally stack the court. "GOP-controlled N.C. Supreme Court blocks certification of Democrat as winner of close high court race:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/north-carolina-supreme-court-blocks-certification-democrat-winner-clos-rcna186662
* "Oregon swears in first LGBTQ+ treasurer, Dr. Elizabeth Steiner:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/oregon-lgbtq-treasurer
* "Idaho Republicans file resolution to repeal marriage equality:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/idaho-republicans-marriage-equality-challenge
* "George Santos wins sentencing delay in fraud case, but less than he asked for:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/george-santos-wins-sentencing-delay
* "Judge finds Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court in defamation case:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/rudy-giuliani-resume-testimony-contempt-hearing-defamation-case-rcna186216
* "Why I'm quitting the Washington Post:" https://anntelnaes.substack.com/p/why-im-quitting-the-washington-post
* "Winning coalitions aren't always governing coalitions:" https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/06/how-the-sausage-gets-made/
NOTE: I am moving the Trump section up the page soon, but I'm waiting until the hand over on the 20th.
* Consequences. "Honduras Threatens US Military Bases Over Trump's Mass Deportations:" https://www.newsweek.com/honduras-threatens-shut-down-us-military-bases-mass-deportations-2009110
* "Trump's anti-immigrant agenda ensures confrontation from day one as opponents prepare:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-s-anti-immigrant-agenda-ensures-confrontation-from-day-one-as-opponents-prepare-228633669599
* "Trump says he will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico. Can he do that?:" https://apnews.com/article/trump-gulf-of-mexico-bc438f4feca1234475a1adef99344da7
* "Marjorie Taylor Greene champions bill on 'Gulf of America' name change:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/marjorie-taylor-greene-champions-bill-on-gulf-of-america-name-change-228830277766
* "Trump Says America Could Use Military to Seize Other Nations:" https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-america-military-seize-greenland-panama-1235227860/
* "'Obviously ridiculous': Trump veers into bizarre fixation on adding neighboring countries as states:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/-obviously-ridiculous-trump-veers-into-bizarre-fixation-on-adding-neighboring-countries-as-states-228743237795
* "'It ain't gonna happen': Himes blasts Trump's empire ambitions as distraction ploy:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/-it-ain-t-gonna-happen-himes-blasts-trump-s-empire-ambitions-as-distraction-ploy-228747845533
* "Trump’s Jan. 6 Pardon Promise Would Put Police-Assaulters Back On The Streets:" https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-pardons-police-assaulters-jan-6_n_676d685de4b05de1fe06963c
* "After taunting Panama, Trump taps ambassador for the country:" https://www.politico.com/news/2024/12/25/trump-cabrera-panama-ambassador-00196034
* In case you don't know the history and need a Trump panama lie debunking. "Yes, US Used to Own the Panama Canal. Here's the History:" https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/01/08/trump-panama-canal-history/
* I don't directly link the Washington Post lightly, but I thought some people might want to read the full text instead of a summary. "Joe Biden: What Americans should remember about Jan. 6:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/01/05/president-biden-jan-6-democracy/
* "Biden calls on Americans not to forget Jan 6 attack:" https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-calls-americans-not-forget-jan-6-attack-2025-01-06/
* "Four years later: The unapologetic nature of Trump's political renaissance is an ongoing menace:" https://www.slowboring.com/p/four-years-later
* "As Trump rewrites history, victims of the Jan. 6 riot say they feel 'betrayed':" https://www.npr.org/2025/01/05/nx-s1-5200594/jan-6-attack-capitol-riot-victims-violence
* "Trump’s Propaganda Victory: The Rewriting Of Jan. 6:" https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-jan-6-lost-cause_n_67786658e4b03c84a28dacd5
* "He Got Away With It: Donald Trump instigated a violent attack on the Capitol. In two weeks, he’ll be sworn in as president at the very same building:" https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-got-away-with-instigating-jan-6-capitol-attack-1235226493/
* "Maddow: January 6 becomes marker of Trump's degradation of wall between violence and politics:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/maddow-january-6-becomes-marker-of-trump-s-degradation-of-wall-between-violence-and-politics-228631621688
* "Our National Day of Shame: Four years later, the shock of that day is replaced by the shock of how that day has become accepted.:" https://www.thebulwark.com/p/our-national-day-of-shame
* "The Looming Danger of Trump’s January 6 Pardons:" https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/12/trump-pardons-january6-insurrection-congress-security/
* "Statement of Cardinal Robert McElroy on the announcement of his appointment as archbishop of Washington:" https://www.cathstan.org/local/statement-of-cardinal-robert-mcelroy-on-the-announcement-of-his-appointment-as-archbishop-of-washington
* "New D.C. Catholic archbishop is pro-LGBTQ+ and anti-Trump:" https://www.advocate.com/news/pro-lgbtq-dc-archbishop
* "Donald Trump’s endless assault on our nation is exhausting. But complacency is not an option.:" https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/01/donald-trumps-endless-assault-on-our-nation-is-exhausting-but-complacency-is-not-an-option/
* "Donald Trump’s “Shock and Awe” Campaign:" https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/donald-trumps-shock-and-awe-campaign
* "Trump invites House Republicans to Mar-a-Lago ahead of inauguration:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/trump-invites-house-republicans-mar-lago-rcna186296
* "Trump mulls economic emergency declaration to back universal tariff plans, CNN reports:" https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/trump-mulls-national-economic-emergency-declaration-allow-new-tariff-program-cnn-2025-01-08/
* "A Complete Guide to Trump's Cabinet Appointees:" https://www.snopes.com/articles/468475/trump-cabinet-appointees/
* "Donald Trump nominates lesbian Fox News host Tammy Bruce, who said Democrats fund creating 'mutants':" https://www.advocate.com/politics/donald-trump-nominates-tammy-bruce
* The suspicions are true. "Trump's Team Was Fed Questions by Fox News Insider Before Town Hall: Book:" https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-iowa-town-hall-fox-news-2012072
* "Watchdog group accuses RFK Jr. of voter fraud:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/08/rfk-voter-ny-accusations-00196984
* "Watchdog finds signs politics drove Trump DOJ’s probes of pandemic nursing home deaths:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/07/watchdog-finds-signs-politics-drove-trump-doj-probes-pandemic-nursing-home-deaths-002055
* It isn't her jurisdiction. If we still had rule of law she wouldn't have a say. "Cannon temporarily blocks release of Jack Smith report:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/07/aileen-cannon-blocks-jack-smith-report-release-00196863
* If they don't release it before Trump takes power it will likely disappear, hence the urgency. "Justice Department wants to release only part of its report on Trump cases:" https://www.npr.org/2025/01/08/g-s1-41562/jack-smith-trump-appeal
* "Trump moves to cancel hush money sentencing on Friday:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/06/trump-moves-to-cancel-hush-money-sentencing-on-friday-00196589
* "Alito, Trump spoke a day before Supreme Court filing in hush-money case:" https://www.npr.org/2025/01/08/g-s1-41551/trump-supreme-court-hush-money-case-sentencing
* "Trump frantic to slow wheels of justice until he is safe in the White House:" https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/trump-frantic-to-slow-wheels-of-justice-until-he-is-safe-in-the-white-house-228746309609
* "New Orleans gay bars feel impact of Bourbon Street terror attack:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/new-orleans-terror-attack
* "McDonald's ends some DEI practices, cites SCOTUS ruling and 'other companies' (exclusive):" https://www.advocate.com/news/mcdonalds-ends-dei-practices
* "More companies than ever have this DEI practice, despite anti-LGBTQ+ push:" https://www.advocate.com/news/companies-with-dei-hrc-cei
* CW: Child Abuse. "Former Virginia nurse charged with felony child abuse amid probe into NICU babies suffering 'unexplained fractures':" https://abcnews.go.com/US/former-virginia-nurse-charged-felony-child-abuse-amid/story?id=117425169
* "TERFs, Trans Mascs, and Two Steve Feminism:" https://jude-doyle.ghost.io/terfs-trans-mascs-and-two-steve-feminism/
* "Only 0.1 percent of youth receive gender-affirming meds: study:" https://www.advocate.com/health/gender-affirming-care-youth-rare
* "Hayes: The trans population is far smaller than the right would have you believe:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/hayes-the-trans-population-is-far-smaller-than-the-right-would-have-you-believe-228830277832
* "Russian man fined for joking that he started international LGBTQ+ movement:" https://www.advocate.com/news/russian-fined-lgbtq-propaganda
* "Defense Dept. reaches settlement with vets discharged under 'don't ask, don't tell' and earlier ban:" https://www.advocate.com/news/discharged-troops-settlement-dadt
* "Eight California sheriff's deputies sacked for covering up a fellow officer's attack on trans man:" https://www.advocate.com/news/police-beating-trans-man-coverup
* "New Orleans activists fundraise to replace stolen plaque remembering an arson that killed 32 queer people:" https://www.advocate.com/news/upstairs-lounge-fire-plaque-fundraiser
Fundraiser here: https://www.eservicepayments.com/cgi-bin/Vanco_ver3.vps?appver3=tYgT1GfNxRUldiimjHMvOQ43yt9fYqgnnIoZwKBOirW1q4qJDDuf89STNCYkcYRM2evTpo0mld6BrVzd2nG0p0DFqXx82BKqCdJwvoK-S_8=&ver=3
* "Breaking down barriers in mental health equity:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/lgbtq-youth-mental-health
* "Thousands flee as wildfires burn out of control in and around Los Angeles and homes are destroyed:" https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-southern-california-santa-ana-winds-b565a3bd043d6444820f1571b2307bf1
* "'So little water': California firefighters struggle as hoses run dry:" https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/-so-little-water-california-firefighters-struggle-as-hoses-run-dry-228842565698
* "Photos capture how wildfires ravaged through Southern California:" https://apnews.com/article/california-pacific-palisades-wildfires-los-angeles-4b67b7f29d0d6eb7321a52ef60c17d60
* "It’s not really the right time for nasty California fires. What are the factors that changed that?:" https://apnews.com/article/fire-devastation-climate-change-santa-ana-winds-a46e2bb6785b1e325f6076fb22c8fcc5
* "Meet the gay man helping FEMA fight misinformation during natural disasters:" https://www.advocate.com/people/fema-justin-knighten-gay-communication
* "How the Arrival of an Endangered Bird Indicates What’s Possible for the L.A. River:" https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-the-arrival-of-an-endangered-bird-indicates-whats-possible-for-the-la-river-180985390/
* "Apple auto-opts everyone into having their photos analyzed by AI for landmarks:" https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/03/apple_enhanced_visual_search/
* "The danger of Meta’s big fact-checking changes:" https://www.vox.com/politics/393863/meta-mark-zuckerberg-fact-checking-trump
* "What LGBTQ+ people should know about Meta’s new rules:" https://www.advocate.com/news/meta-policies-lgbtq-attacks
* "Hayes: Zuckerberg and tech execs cozying up to Trump is chilling—but 'very clarifying':" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/hayes-zuckerberg-and-tech-execs-cozying-up-to-trump-is-chilling-but-very-clarifying-228723781895
* "Meta blocked teens from seeing LGBTQ+ content on Instagram: report:" https://www.advocate.com/news/instagram-blocked-teens-lgbtq
* "The Ocean Teems With Networks of Interconnected Bacteria:" https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-ocean-teems-with-networks-of-interconnected-bacteria-20250106/
* "Inside the hands-on lab of an experimental archaeologist:" https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/01/inside-the-hands-on-lab-of-an-experimental-archaeologist/
* "When Picasso Was Arrested for Stealing the “Mona Lisa”:" https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/01/13/when-picasso-was-arrested-for-stealing-the-mona-lisa?
* "Women’s Work: Fighting to Serve — Black Nurses in World War II:" https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2024/12/womens-work-fighting-to-serve-black-nurses-in-world-war-ii/
* Good news! "Jean-Marie Le Pen, French fiery far-right leader, dies at 96:" https://www.npr.org/2025/01/07/nx-s1-5251155/jean-marie-le-pen-france-obit
* "Sheldon 'Turner' Freeman, gay D.C. librarian and activist, dead at 64:" https://www.advocate.com/news/gay-librarian-turner-freeman-obituary
* "How Do Igloos Keep People Warm?:" https://www.mentalfloss.com/how-igloos-stay-warm
* "Cry about it: The tradition of town criers is slowly dwindling in Canada. But those who are left vow to cry to their last breath.:" https://archive.ph/9PCB6#selection-2685.0-2685.115
* I'm really struggling with the physio right now. My body insists it is injured from the eye thing, which is still giving me headaches when I read, etc., plus the weather is the kind of variable that really messes with my AS. I suspect Tavy wanting to sit on my shoulder for hours at a time is not helping.
Monday, Goth Millennial came with me to the eye doctor and the trip back was slow and dramatic because the fog was occasionally a real pea souper. The regular eye doctor is across town from where I live and we stuck to surface streets because the fog was so bad.
While it's nice they give us this big frame allowance rather than make us pick from six government frames as they used to, there is no world in which I'd use the whole frame allowance and if they'd let me use the extra for things like (required) bifocals and (required) ultra lights I absolutely need the glasses would be free instead of a major expense I struggle to cover. On the upside, a benefactor set an end of year gift that should cover them and the car tax this month, plus the stupid HOA fee they charged me because they fucked up payments in December. This is good as not being behind in Housing Tax season is essential and that comes next.
You may notice I posted very little on Monday if you were on Tumblr even by my Monday and Tuesday standards. That's because the headache was so bad I just gave up and went to bed early. I ended up staying there 15-16 hours and still being kind of crap Thursday evening.
On the upside I found the missing library books. It turns out I'd put them in a bag to go back and the one cleaner visit between June and November resulted in them getting moved on top of the cardboard boxes where I keep medium term document storage. (I don't want to move things to long term for a year because periodically a bureaucracy thing will require something and it's better to have it close to hand. Occasionally I need long term storage things, but it's rare. I actually need to clear out long term storage paperwork, but I can't physically do it by myself, so some boxes end up staying longer than seven years. Sigh. Boxes all get dates so I know when things are safe to get rid of).
Anyway, no wonder we couldn't find the missing books despite a couple months of searching. We were looking in logical places, like my car or my bedroom. If you combine camouflage with non-intuitive placement the things might as well have been invisible. I only worked it out because I did the math on when they had to have been lost and realized the could have been moved that one particular week while outgoing instead of incoming or in a reading location. I'd checked them off in my head when I bagged them and put them where I'd grab them on the way out the door, then assumed they were on the way back as i hadn't had time to read them what with everything that had been going on.
Sigh. I didn't make it out when the library was still open, but I did turn them in at the night drop so there's eighty dollars I don't owe after all.
I am so tired and everything hurts so, so much.
*****
* 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.
* "We have a right to safety, privacy, and protest. Say no to mask bans.:" https://www.stopmaskbans.com/
* "Here are 26 organizations fighting Donald Trump that you can donate to:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/anti-donald-trump-charities
* Run for Something: https://runforsomething.net/
* "LGBTQ+ Victory Fund:" https://victoryfund.org/
* "Palestine Children’s Relief Fund:" https://pcrf1.app.neoncrm.com/forms/gaza-recovery
* Disaster Preparedness stuff from the US Government: https://www.ready.gov/publications
* Useful organizing links and resources: https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/771859083592613888/hater-of-terfs-ive-already-reblogged-a-link-to?source=share
* Five Calls to your critters: https://5calls.org/
* Avoiding Activist Burnout: https://www.tumblr.com/veluigi/771755723969478656/on-twitter-im-seeing-dozens-of-threads-from-black?source=share
( More Links Underneath: )