moderndaypandora

[moderndaypandora]

There’s not too much point in talking about the election anymore, but I think some people are misconstruing the results. 21% of the American population voted for trump. He won the popular vote with polls only recording a 43.7% approval rating, and he has never held an approval rating over 50%, something that Biden and (arguably) Harris have. He lost millions of votes from 2020 to 2024, it’s just that Harris lost millions more.

All this is to say that there is not some ‘silent majority’ of trump supporters in America. While some people will definitely be emboldened in their rhetoric and action by the results of the election, Trump was a deeply unpopular president, and is shaping up to be one again. He will enact unpopular policies that are against the will of the average American, but that doesn’t mean every American is out to get you. Engage with your local community, check in on loved ones, and maybe even take a look at local political offices in the coming few years. If you dislike the two party system, volunteer or donate to a third party. It’s altogether likely we see another 2022 situation, resentment grows further against the Republican Party, and the midterms offer a lot of opportunity to alternatives, at every level of government.

It may all feel like the end, but it’s not. We’ve been through it before, and no matter what we do, hate and ignorance will bleed through the cracks in society again in the future. It’s going to get better, but that’s easier to say if we make it better.

[moderndaypandora]

Reblog if you're hoping 2011 will be a fresh start.

[moderndaypandora]

gotta love the mics

[moderndaypandora]

Shoutout to the two coworkers today who casually announced that they were voting for Trump, then asked me who I was voting for. I told them "I did early voting, and I voted for the candidate who isn't going to make it harder for me to exist as a trans person" and both of these women had to awkwardly try and assure me that it wasn't personal, and it's not like they hated Harris or anything, they actually do like some things about her, and they definitely don't hate me, of course not, it's just that, you know, well, it's like, well, you know, it's just, like, and no matter how many times they tried to pass the shovel off to me, I just let them hold onto it

[moderndaypandora]

my brother blocked me on twitter and i’m really upset because his tweets are pure gold

[moderndaypandora]

Fred Rogers Acceptance Speech - 1997

[moderndaypandora]

dominatrix paul revere the british arent coming until I say so. paul revere orgasm denial the british arent coming. paul

[moderndaypandora]

@yeahitsak

[moderndaypandora]

Sharpe + Text Posts (Part 20)

NOTE: the Agriculture text post is a reference to Wellington in Waterloo (1970) where an officer praises the beans to which Wellington replies: "If there's one thing about which I know positively nothing- it's agriculture."

The Feminism text post, on the other hand is a reference to the Duke's relationship with women- the Duke took their opinions seriously and enjoyed discussing events with them- he did not treat women as intellectually inferior, nor did he feel anything was wrong with them being involved in political discussions.

[moderndaypandora]

every time i see someone call kirk and spock the oldest ship, i'm filled with the urge to go "hmm actually the holmes and watson girlies have been here for a hundred years now", and i refrain because i know the natural conclusion of this game is gilgamesh and enkidu

[moderndaypandora]

on november 19, 2024 the united states food and drug administration (FDA) published a warning letter written earlier in the month to tom's of maine for being fucking disgusting and not adequately responding to accusations of being fucking disgusting. the FDA found black mold-like substances growing around production equipment as well as water contaminated with disease-causing bacteria.

that contaminated water was used both for cleaning equipment and as an ingredient in toothpaste.

here are some snippets from the FDA letter.

Your firm produced (b)(4) water and used it as a component in your OTC drug products and as a final rinse after equipment cleaning. A. You recovered Pseudomonas aeruginosa in multiple (b)(4) water samples, from June 2021 to October 2022. This water was used to manufacture Tom’s Simply White Clean Mint Paste, batch (b)(4), and for the final rinse of numerous equipment cleaning processes. None of these incidents were investigated to assess product impact and water system performance. B. You also reported multiple incidents where too numerous to count (TNTC) Ralstonia insidiosa was recovered from water points of use. Your investigations included testing of new samples collected at least 4 days after the initial sampling. Batches manufactured after these incidents were released based on the microbial testing of the finished OTC product despite the quality of the water used as a component or to clean the equipment. C. You recovered gram-negative cocco-bacilli Paracoccus yeei in your OTC finished product, Wicked Cool! Anticavity Toothpaste, batch 3025UST11B. Your investigation concluded, without sufficient justification, that the growth was due to sample contamination. The batch was released based on retest results.

...

Your complaint procedure is inadequate because not all quality related issues are investigated.

...

For example, approximately 400 complaints related to odor, color, and taste in your toothpaste products, including those for children, were not investigated. These complaints are not investigated because your procedure requires an investigation only if a trend is identified.

and they ignored HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS, AT LEAST. including in products meant for children!

and most importantly, despite how many details are in the FDA warning letter, it explicitly states the list of violations is not comprehensive. this is not everything tom's of maine has fucked up, ignored, or blatantly tried to sweep under the rug.

you can find the whole FDA warning letter here.

you may note in the CBS article that tom's of maine basically said they investigated themselves and found nothing wrong using their own investigation process. considering their investigation process itself is under scrutiny by the FDA, take their response with a grain of salt.

if you use tom's of maine toothpaste, you might want to consider using something else, especially if your immune system is not the best. the FDA letter is pretty damning. these are choices that were made on purpose to prioritize profit over safety. I am definitely going to think twice before buying anything from them from now on.

tom's of maine is owned by colgate-palmolive.

this is not a recall. tom's of maine products potentially made using contaminated water, including those aimed at children, remain on shelves.

[moderndaypandora]

I have seen little to no support for the strike from fellow Canadians about the current Canadian Postal workers who are out there protesting for better work conditions. Canadian Postal workers =/= Canada post. Currently workers are striking for pay that has been stagnated as well as benefits being halted. Some of the things I want to debunk with all anti-worker talk about the strike. 1) "Our tax dollars pay for them! They should just go back to work! They are losing money!" False! They aren't GOVERNMENT JOBS they are a CROWN CORPORATION, they are still structured and operated as a legal corporation. The head people are still CEOS who get paid millions in bonuses as the corporation fails or makes bad decisions such as buying new vehicles that make workers feel unsafe, can't fit in urban areas, cost so much more! 2) "They don't provide a useful service its only flyers" "what about my cheque!" It can't be both, you can't claim Canada Post workers are useless for spam mail while also touting small businesses are failing, people needing their pay, and delivering where other courier services wont! Currently Canadian Postal workers will deliver benefit checks and child support on volunteer. 3)"Why are they striking now when its busiest??" They are striking now because it will affect you to care, its moot point to strike when there is little to no leverage against. THATS THE POINT OF ANY PROTEST! Show solidarity with the workers, if you have issues and want the strike to end complain to the company to work with the union (who have been asking for a resolution for years before wanting to strike) RAISE AWARENESS FOR IT.

[moderndaypandora]

Friends!

Are you feeling hopeless in the face of the oncoming MAGA-pocalypse? Want to do something fast, easy, and free that will make a difference?

If you're in Michigan, keep reading! If you're not, signal boost this to your Mitten State Mutuals!

Michiganders, it's time to contact your state reps and tell them to vote YES on HB 6034 and HB 6035. Together, these two bills comprise the Freedom to Read Act and they severely limit the ability of assholes to ban books in the state of Michigan.

Want to read the bills for yourself? Click here:

https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Search/ExecuteSearch?sessions=2023-2024&docTypes=House%20Bill,Senate%20Bill&contentFullText=%22freedom%20to%20read%22

Tl;dr? Here's an article and video summarizing the Act from CBS News:

Not sure how to contact your Michigan state representatives? Text RESIST to 50409 and Resistbot will walk you through it.

It's easy, it takes about 5 minutes, and you can do it from your couch/bed/puddle of despair.

Tips for contacting elected officials:

1) If you're asking them to vote YES or NO on something, say that in the first line. Bonus points if you can tag the actual bill (HB/House Bill) number.

2) Only include ONE issue per communication.

3) 1&2 are because these are being skimmed by interns who keep a running tally of what each communication is about. One communication = one point.

3a) Don't be a dick to the interns. Their lives are hard enough.

4) Keep it short. One sentence very clearly stating what you want. One or two sentences about why they should care about what you want ("As a resident of your district, I know you agree that SOMETHING SOMETHING FREEDOM, SOMETHING SOMETHING LIBERTY, SOMETHING SOMETHING THINK OF THE CHILDREN.") Appeal to the person they claim to be in their campaign ads. Get it, give them clear instructions, get out.

5) No profanity.

6) No threats.

7) No memes/ slang/ sarcasm/ lols. You are cosplaying as someone who thinks salt is too spicy and whose greatest joy in life is sorting their collection of plain white socks.

8) 5, 6, & 7 are because anything you communicate to an elected official will become a matter of public record. It goes into a file. And if anyone ever pulls that file, you want to be on record as the most boring, conscientious, polite, non-threatening motherfucker who ever lived.

Now go forth and make your voice heard!

(Hey @unpretty and @official-michigan-posts, can you help get the word out?)

[moderndaypandora]

(...I really don't want to hunt that up typo just now. I'll fix it when I fix it. The Tose Lace Kitting Book, indeed.)

Which is beyond the point. The point is, the patterns are live! Go forth and knit pretty laces!

[moderndaypandora]

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