littlebetesofeverything

[littlebetesofeverything]

Zelenskyy should be allowed to kill trump and all american diplomats live on air with no repercussions

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Enemy (2013) dir. Denis Villeneuve

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I am aggressively fine with other countries treating Trump and his administration with absolute derision and contempt. Do it more. Do it harder. Go all in. Acting like this can work somehow is not working for any of us. Let's end the pretense.

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Nightvale quotes that go hard as fuck entry ♾️

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Ninety cases of measles have been reported in Texas in less than a month, marking the worst outbreak of the disease in the border state in more than 30 years. At least 16 people have been admitted to the hospital. Nine cases of measles have also been reported in the neighboring state of New Mexico.

According to officials at the Texas Department of State Health Services, the outbreak has been concentrated in the northwest of the state. At least 77 of these cases are in children, with 26 being 4 years old or younger.

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that can be deadly. Early symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, and conjunctivitis. It is usually distinguished by white spots on the inside of the mouth as well as a generalized rash all over the body.

According to the Pan American Health Organization, measles once killed 2.6 million people a year worldwide, with 12,000 of these victims being in the Americas. The first measles vaccine arrived in 1963, and following its rollout in the US, cases across the country fell by 97 percent between 1965 and 1968. Massive worldwide vaccination campaigns then spread these gains across the globe. Between 1980 and 2015, worldwide cases fell by 95 percent thanks to the combined vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), which is given in two doses starting at 1 year of age.

However, skepticism about the effects of vaccines, including MMR, has spread throughout the world. For example, the current outbreak in Texas has centered around Gaines County, which has one of the highest vaccine exemption rates in the state (18 percent). Many of the patients are children whose parents chose not to immunize them against measles.

While most states in the US require students to have the MMR vaccine to attend school, some states allow families to request an exemption from vaccination for their children, even for nonmedical reasons. Texas is one such state. In the current outbreak, 85 of the 90 measles cases are in unvaccinated people.

“We respect everyone’s right to get vaccinated or not,” Albert Pilkington, CEO of the Seminole Hospital District in Gaines Country, told the Texas Standard. “That’s what being an American is all about, isn’t it?”

In 2024, 285 measles cases were reported in the United States, the highest number since 2019. Forty-two percent were children under the age of 5.

The outlook for preventing this disease is not bright. The measles outbreak in Texas comes just a week after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as head of the US Department of Health and Human Services. RFK Jr. rose to prominence first as an environmental advocate and then as a notorious anti-vaccine activist.

Kennedy has repeatedly spread vaccine misinformation—for example, that autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are caused by, among other factors, harmful agents in vaccines. In 2021 he was named by the Center for Countering Digital Hate as one of the “Disinformation Dozen”—one of 12 leading online anti-vaxxers.

Neither Robert F. Kennedy Jr. nor Texas governor Greg Abbott have commented on the state’s health emergency. Neither responded immediately to a request for comment from WIRED.

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Elon Musk attacked democracy defender and superstar court lawyer Marc Elias as “undermining civilization,” taunting him by asking if he suffered “generational trauma.”

Elias’s response was brilliant and worth amplifying:

Mr. Musk,

You recently criticized me and another prominent lawyer fighting for the rule of law and democracy in the United States. I am used to being attacked for my work, particularly on the platform you own and dominate.

I used to be a regular on Twitter, where I amassed over 900,000 followers — all organic except for the right-wing bots who seemed to grow in number. Like many others, I stopped regularly posting on the site because, under your stewardship, it became a hellscape of hate and misinformation.

I also used to buy your cars — first a Model X and then a Model S — back when you spoke optimistically about solving the climate crisis. My family no longer owns any of your cars and never will.

But this is not the reason I am writing. You don’t know me. You have no idea whether I have suffered trauma and if I have, how it has manifested. And it’s none of your business.

However, I will address your last point about generational trauma. I am Jewish, though many on your site simply call me “a jew.” Honestly, it’s often worse than that, but I’m sure you get the point. There was a time when Twitter would remove antisemitic posts, but under your leadership, tolerating the world’s oldest hatred now seems to be a permissible part of your “free speech” agenda.

Like many Jewish families, mine came to America because of trauma. They were fleeing persecution in the Pale of Settlement — the only area in the Russian Empire where Jews were legally allowed to reside. Even there, life was difficult — often traumatic. My family, like others, lived in a shtetl and was poor. Worse, pogroms were common — violent riots in which Jews were beaten, killed and expelled from their villages.

By the time my family fled, life in the Pale had become all but impossible for Jews. Tsar Nicholas II’s government spread anti-Jewish propaganda that encouraged Russians to attack and steal from Jews in their communities. My great-grandfather was fortunate to leave when he did. Those who stayed faced even worse circumstances when Hitler’s army later invaded.

That is the generational trauma I carry. The trauma of being treated as “other” by countrymen you once thought were your friends. The trauma of being scapegoated by authoritarian leaders. The trauma of fleeing while millions of others were systematically murdered. The trauma of watching powerful men treat it all as a joke — or worse.

As an immigrant yourself, you can no doubt sympathize with what it means to leave behind your country, extended family, friends and neighbors to come to the United States. Of course, you probably had more than 86 rubles in your pocket. You probably didn’t ride for nine days in the bottom of a ship or have your surname changed by immigration officials. Here is the ship manifest showing that my family did. Aron, age three, was my grandfather.

[see image in comments]

As new immigrants, life wasn’t easy. My family lived in cramped housing without hot water. They worked menial jobs — the kind immigrants still perform today.

Some may look down on those immigrants — the ones without fancy degrees — but my family was proud to work and grateful that the United States took them in. They found support within their Jewish community and a political home in the Democratic Party.

I became a lawyer to give back to the country that gave my family a chance. I specialize in representing Democratic campaigns because I believe in the party. I litigate voting rights cases because the right to vote is the bedrock of our democracy. I speak out about free and fair elections because they are under threat.

Now let me address the real crux of your post.

You are very rich and very powerful. You have thrown in with Donald Trump. Whether it is because you think you can control him or because you share his authoritarian vision, I do not know. I do not care.

Together, you and he are dismantling our government, undermining the rule of law and harming the most vulnerable in our society. I am just a lawyer. I do not have your wealth or your platform. I do not control the vast power of the federal government, nor do I have millions of adherents at my disposal to harass and intimidate my opponents. I may even carry generational trauma.

But you need to know this about me. I am the great-grandson of a man who led his family out of the shtetl to a strange land in search of a better life. I am the grandson of the three-year-old boy on that journey. As you know, my English name is Marc, but my Hebrew name is Elhanan (אֶלְחָנָן) — after the great warrior in David’s army who slew a powerful giant.

I will use every tool at my disposal to protect this country from Trump. I will litigate to defend voting rights until there are no cases left to bring. I will speak out against authoritarianism until my last breath.

I will not back down. I will not bow or scrape. I will never obey.

Defiantly,

Marc Elias

[littlebetesofeverything]

This is an interesting thing. Looks like testimonies of people who left the MAGA movement- how they got into it and why.

Leaving a cult is really hard, so I really respect the people who are speaking from this place.

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Oh no. The fascists are getting scared of being yelled at and are trying to hide from being yelled at some more. I think y'all know what you need to do (i.e. keep yelling at them).

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I’m all for fucking around and finding out but in this situation (trump & the billionaires trying to drag america into tech bro fascist hell) too many people are being hurt and too many more WILL die if things do not change. you do not need to forgive those who voted for him, you do not need to find the sympathy to feel bad for them now that they’re being affected by his policies. but we cannot turn them away once they turn on trump— and they are. too little too late, maybe. studying for the test after they failed, sure. but I’m so serious when I say this is not the time for perfectionism. this is the time to push a dictator & his cronies out with any hands that are willing to shove

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Tonight House Republicans voted 217 to 215 for a budget that'll take $1 TRILLION dollars from Medicaid, attack food benefits for kids, hurt seniors and vets.

but I don't want to talk about that, I want to talk about these two Democratic members of Congress you've never ever heard of.

Democrats, Congressman Kevin Mullin of California and Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen of Colorado.

Congressman Mullin had knee surgery that didn't go well, two surgeries, a life threatening blood clot and a week long stay in the hospital, and the moment he was discharged from the hospital he got on a five hour flight to DC to vote against the Republicans evil budget, using a walker to get to the floor of the House

Congresswoman Pettersen gave birth to her son Sam, in the picture, exactly one month ago on January 25th. They flew from Colorado to DC after Republicans refused to allow her to vote by proxy after having a baby. Congresswoman Pettersen took Sam onto the floor of the House to vote to protect the Health care of 400,000 Colorado kids.

why talk about this? because so much of the conversion is about telling people there's no one good, no one worthy, no one fighting. I promise you there are people undergoing personal hardship to do the right thing.

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If you would like to call the GOP reps who flipped to support tonight's disastrous House budget reso, please see the following contact pages and info:

Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.)

Warren Davidson (R-Ohio)

Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.)

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Feeling rough lately.

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NEW FISH JUST DROPPED

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Allies, this is your playbook.

“Gather your justice and your humanity and do not let the tragic spirit of despair overcome us when our country needs us the most.”

From Illinois Governor JB Pritzker's State of the State address on Feb 19, 2025 - watch the entire speech in full on Youtube here.

[littlebetesofeverything]

hey does anyone wanna do the funniest thing ever

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“This thing is legally dubious and therefore technically unenforceable.” Is not a “useless liberal gotcha” it’s how legalism works in this country. Tying up stupidly worded EOs in court is the quickest way to keep them from being implemented. It is the definition of “doing something.” But it doesn’t usually involve much tweeting so of course a certain type of leftist feels obligated to mock it.