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I think now is a good time for us all to review the principle of Jury Nullification.

Jury Nullification is when a jury finds a defendant Not Guilty even though they (perhaps secretly) believe them to be guilty.

In the United States, this has come up primarily in the case of 'escaped slave laws'. Good people are not willing to send formerly enslaved people back to their captors.

Governments hate this sort of behavior. But it's hard to stop. How have they tried?

1. They keep it secret. Jurors are not informed of this possibility. Activists who talk to jurors in front of courthouses have been arrested.

2. Jury Selection. Anyone who brings up nullification in jury selection gets removed. All jurors musts agree to "accept as correct the rulings and instructions of the law as provided by the judge." But they can't stop you from changing your mind.

3. Declare a Mistrial. If the defense or anyone else mentions nullification, they can scrub the whole thing and try again with a fresh jury. They will also find excuses to strike individual jurors if they need to.

4. They Flat Out Lie to You. Quoting Wikipedia here:

In 2017, a jury was instructed: "You cannot substitute your sense of justice, whatever that means, for your duty to follow the law, whether you agree with it or not. It is not for you to determine whether the law is just or whether the law is unjust. That cannot be your task. There is no such thing as valid jury nullification. You would violate your oath and the law if you willfully brought a verdict contrary to the law given to you in this case." The Ninth Circuit upheld the first three sentences of the jury's instruction and overruled the remainder but deemed that instruction a harmless error and affirmed the conviction.[67]

So expect scary people to tell you that you are breaking the law if don't give the verdict they want you to give.

But you don't have to do what they tell you to. If you find yourself on a jury you can come to whatever conclusions your conscience demands.

Maybe that bag of weed looks like oregano to you. Maybe that gun looks like a prop. Maybe the cop or the prosecutor seems shifty. Perhaps the defendant just has an honest face.

You can always find a reasonable doubt. Fuck you I won't do what you tell me to.

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With how much misinformation is being spread I thought I’d leave this here.

Few notes to keep in mind:

As we all know by now, news sources are typically very biased. Please do not trust 100% of the things you see from any news outlets, I’ve already noticed a lot of issues with their reporting.

His lawyer had a press conference yesterday. I highly recommend watching it for information you can trust (it’s vague because it’s an ongoing legal matter). I would also encourage you to pay attention to all future communications from his lawyer and (if possible) to watch the trial yourself when the time comes.

IMO: this is not the work of someone irrational. This is factual and well thought out. Take that as you will.

I do not encourage violence against anyone. This is an important moment in US history, policy, law, etc. This is purely to aid in factual reporting

All credit to Ken Klippenstein via Bluesky

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I hate knowing that when my mental health is at its worse, I feel like myself again

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Being so excited about something just to get immediately shut down by someone you care about is so.. exhausting

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You think THATS a denim jacket?

Surely you

Jest

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The tension between me and going back to college is insane

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I’m going to share something deeply personal, forgive me

I hate being bad at things. I give up the second i realize I’m not naturally talented, but there are so many things I want to do.

Painting has always been one of those things. I was so scared to start because I knew I’d be bad at it.

I’m a writer and I’m fairly good at it, but writing doesn’t capture the way I see the world in the way I want it to. I’ve always been drawn to painting because I feel like I would be able to capture the beauty of the world better with images than words.

The thing is, I’m 22 and I don’t think I’ve painted anything since elementary school.

I’ve mentioned this a few times to my boyfriend, especially when I see a painting I love. The other day he bought me an easel he found at a garage sale. He knows I don’t paint. He knows moneys tight and yet he chose to get me something I possibly wouldn’t ever touch for the sake of getting me started. Tbh, it worked. It gave me a push and I bought my first paint brushes and pigment today.

I wanted to start with watercolor. I know it’s a difficult medium but I do really love watercolor. I knew I’d be bad at it so I bought the cheapest materials I could find because that’s what I’ve always done with new hobbies.

This time though, I didn’t have a little voice in my head telling me I’d just give it up. That it’d be a passing hobby. I sat down tonight (after a few glasses of wine) and just started painting what was in front of me.

And you know what I realized?

I fucking suck lmao

It’s a horrible little painting but it made me so happy. I didn’t get frustrated when the color started to bleed more than I wanted or when I realized too late that I didn’t get a water safe pen. I just made my tan rabbit a black one and kept going. Then I started another one (I got really little canvases) and let the shapes I had planned turn to little blobs of color.

I didn’t get frustrated. I didn’t get upset. I just made a mental note for next time to get water safe pens and to not use so much water.

For next time

I truly think this is the first time in my life that I’m ok with being bad, because I’m happy. I’m so proud of myself for taking that step and I’ve already seen progress in my very new skill.

Would my tiny little paintings horrify an experienced painter? Absolutely. But I don’t care. I love that I don’t care.

I love that I love this and that I truly want to do it more in order to get better.

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Ok one of them is going to have to change…

I actually got to hold Dottie and cuddle her and smush my face in her fur today and she purred a little bit 🥺❤️

and yes, when she left she ran away and THUMPED, but then she zoomed back and told me to pet her head some more. (She’ll always tell you when you violate rabbit safety regulations either with one 🚨THUMP🚨or a big un-ladylike SNORT 😤 but she’ll waive any shunning-you-for your-crimes to get more head pat-pats)

Literally I cried. Like. She’s such sweet girl.

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If you download, download it as a file to your phone/computer! Your kindle library or other websites are still at risk of having them removed

if you are in the united states, trump WILL be banning MANY books that were previously banned then unbanned. he will censor anything and everything that goes against his bigoted, ignorant rhetoric. these books will be taken off shelves for sale, and removed from libraries and public domains. if you have the funds, please buy these books or download them. get your hands on these books in any possible.

knowledge is resistance. resistance is power. do not let fascism win.

EDIT: here is the list i have compiled so far

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We are a very very dumb, stupid people

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Ursula K. Le Guin’s Passionate Defense of Art over Profits, National Book Foundations Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 2014

“We live under capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art.” - Ursula K. Le Guin

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in all seriousness, I was not expecting trump to actually win

at times like this it’s important that we stay strong. We need to live through this. I don’t want any of you to go for a dirt nap over this. Live out of spite. Be the change you want to see. Live your life as you need to, despite the odds

TAKE FATE BY THE NECK AND SURVIVE

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What is a book ban and is it going to change? - A brief explanation and non-exhaustive list

For the last several years, the concept of banning books has been a widely debated topic. With some opposed to the ban, citing freedom of speech, others claim that the ban protects school age children from pre-mature exposure to adult concepts and topics. My goal throughout this post is to help clarify what exactly a book ban is (as of 2024) and provide my opinion on the future of book banning. I will also be linking several websites which delve deeper into the topic and provide full lists of banned or challenged books throughout the US. Grab your popcorn kiddos this is going to be a long one.

So, what exactly is a book ban? Well, in the US (again, as of 2024) banning books predominantly means that these titles are no longer available in public school libraries and classrooms. This means that if a student wishes to read a banned title, they must purchase or borrow the book from a non-school facility. This could be Amazon, Barns and Noble, Target, etc. In many cases, students will also be able to access many of these titles in a public library.

Now, public libraries are tricky. In some states, public libraries don't have too much of an issue with banned books. In others however, libraries can face serious backlash for having banned books. Libraries are government funded which means that if a state determines a book is banned, they have the ability to defund a library containing these titles. Many libraries choose to remove these titles in order to protect their jobs and funding. Ultimately, it depends on 2 factors: Is a book banned through the state and is the state strict with the banning laws. I know here in California, many titles have been classified as banned, but are still available through public libraries as it's typically only enforced in public school curriculum.

The criteria to ban a book ranges depending on the state. In most situations, a book could be flagged for containing topics such as non-heteronormative sexuality, critical race theory, anti democratic views, and non-Christian views. Basically if it hurts Christian/republican feelings it gets banned. For the sake of keeping this from getting too long, I wont go into how a book is banned, but it is important to remember what types topics tend to be targeted.

Now, to play devils advocate here I will admit I do believe there are some books that should not be in school libraries. Despite this, I think the term 'banned' is much too harsh a word to use. For instance, A Clockwork Orange is banned in California due to depictions of sexual violence, however, you can still easily find this title in libraries and book stores. The ban extends to public schools meaning that they cannot teach or offer the book to students. A Clockwork Orange is not a book I would consider appropriate to use as teaching material in classrooms when there are other books teachers can use with similar yet less adult themes.

While I fully believe we have the right to choose what books we read, I do think its important to remember that not all books are meant for children. I think it is entirely appropriate for parents and teachers to decide that a book contains themes and topics not appropriate for school age children, and limit overall access to that. It should then be individual families decisions to allow their own children to read a book that might contain sensitive topics.

Ok now to my main point:

With the recent election results, the concept of banning books will come into play a lot more. We have truly no idea what might happen and how the previous explanation of book bans will change. In my opinion, I believe that they will try to prohibit publishers and manufacturers from producing these titles which would mean it would be difficult, if not illegal, to purchase and sell banned books. While I have no idea if it will truly happen, I would like to start preparing for a situation like this. For the record, I do not think this is going to be a Fahrenheit 451 situation so obtaining physical copies of these books is likely our best bet.

If you would like to start purchasing banned books, please keep a few things in mind:

You will need the physical copy. I love my Kindle, but it is all too easy to remove a book from my library and if a strict ban is in place this could happen.

You do not need a copy of every single book. The full list is incredibly long.

Please only purchase one copy of the books you would like. I truly believe there will be a surge in purchases for these books and the point of this is to maintain widespread access to them. Hoarding 10 copies of The Great Gatsby is potentially taking away 9 peoples opportunity to have them as well.

When looking for banned books, I've been using a PDF my state posted on their website (CA Library). If you are not in California, you can find your state library website by typing '[Your state] Library' and it should be one of the first links. Again these are government funded facilities so check and make sure it has a .gov to confirm that it is the official site.

I have also been using Pen.org to identify titles that have been banned in other states, as well as get information regarding book banning.

If you would like to not sift through a long list of books here is a list of 10 books I believe are at a large risk. These are not all of the books I believe are at risk, just enough to get you started.

The Handmaids Tale

To Kill a Mocking Bird

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

All of the Hunger Games books

Brave New World

Fahrenheit 451

All of Toni Morrisons books

Gender Queer: A Memoir

Slaughterhouse 5

Animal Farm

I hate that I had to do this.

As a final note I would just like to say that this post is meant to prepare for worst case scenario. I am NOT saying this is 100% happening. I am a little bookworm with a huge respect for literature and it makes me beyond furious that the US is on the verge of attacking our right to read. I want to have copies of these books because I love them and I want to be able to pass them down to others when needed. I don't want to see them disappear from our society and I hope you don't either.

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and American women i am being SO serious when i say we need to learn from our South Korean sisters and follow their steps with the 4B movement. the house of representatives, the senate, the supreme court, and the president are ALL red now. if american men want to control our bodies and choices so much then let’s give them HELL!

read about the 4B movement:

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It is less than 24 hours after the election and the whole day I have felt completely helpless. Like nothing I do can change what happens. I've been battling a sense of dread so overwhelming it feels as through I'm suffocating. As I sat in bed, scrolling through my social media, the feelings I've been experiencing began to bubble to the surface. I want to cry and scream and fight with every cell in my body. I want to do something. I need to do something. I've always through that my voice was only that. I signed petitions and voted and shared my support, but it never felt like it was enough.

I was wrong.

I believe that now more than ever we must all do everything we can to support one another, no matter how small it may seem. If sharing my thoughts helps even one person feel less alone, then its worth it. Right now, we need one another. We need to protect and comfort one another. We are on the verge of major change and it's terrifying. We need to be prepared.

I'm not sure why im writing all of this. I suppose I just need to get it off my chest. To voice my support and love for all of you who are suffering right now. I dont have a lot to offer, but what I do I give wholeheartedly.

I have a BA in English. Books have been my whole life. I follow publishing news and historical discussions on the classics. What I have revolves around books. Because of this, I plan on publishing a list of books tomorrow that I believe will be banned in the following years. I choose to believe these books will remain on shelves, but I also choose to prepare for the worst. We dont know what's going to happen, we dont know if these are our last few months to hold onto a tangible symbol of our history, our identities.

Our world is so digital now. It is something that be given in a second and taken away just as fast. I cannot stress enough how important it is to hold onto tangible pieces of our voices. To hold on to who we were and who we are.

It is time to be a community.