#Children's Home Society of Minnesota

[britishchick09]

facts about josefina, kirsten, addy, kit and julie! :D

(from their new pages!)

✿ To learn more about what Josefina’s life would have been like, author Valerie Tripp spent two summers in New Mexico. She visited living history museums and interviewed elderly New Mexican women about the daily lives of Hispanic families and children in rural New Mexico.

The models for Josefina’s home were la El Rancho de las Golondrinas near Santa Fe and Hacienda de los Martinez near Taos, NM. Both are former ranchos from Josefina’s time and now living history museums that you can visit today.

Josefina’s first and last names are drawn from the New Mexican censuses of 1790 and 1823.

American Girl worked closely with the advisory board to decide what Josefina would look like. Board member Felipe Mirabal even cut off a lock of his own hair and sent it to AG to ensure that the Josefina doll’s hair color was just right!

Although Josefina is actually a Mexican citizen, the advisory board felt comfortable calling her an “American girl” because her story presents a history and heritage that’s an integral part of America today.

By the end of her series, Josefina has a new mother. This plot element symbolizes the change for the Spanish settlers of New Mexico and the Southwest, who lost their mother country of Mexico when they became citizens of the United States, their new mother country. ✿

✿ Kirsten was one of the first three characters in The American Girls Collection, along with Samantha and Molly, when Pleasant Company debuted.

The Kirsten doll and accessories were “archived” in 2010 and have only been rereleased once in 2021 and once in 2024 since then.

One of the outfits that was sold for Kirsten was a housecoat and sockor, or wool slippers. The sockor for the Kirsten doll were handmade by a woman in Sweden beginning in 1987 for twenty years.

The original family portrait in Kirsten’s books is made to look like a daguerreotype, which is a type of photograph from the time. Later, the portraits of Kirsten’s family and friends were done individually to match the other American Girl books.

In Pleasant Rowland’s original business plan, Kirsten was named Rebecca, and was a Norwegian immigrant in 1865.

The team who created Kirsten did a lot of research with the Minnesota and Wisconsin Historical Societies, who had a lot of information about the Swedish settlers who came to these states in the 1800s.

Kirsten’s Swedish dirndl and kerchief outfit were first released in 1989. ✿

✿ Addy was the first American Girl doll that came with pierced ears.

The cowrie shell necklace that Addy wears is special, as the cowrie has ritual significance for some West African cultures.

The Addy doll and books debuted in September 1993. She was the fifth historical character and the first Black character.

Pleasant Rowland, the founder of American Girl, reached out to author Connie Porter to write the Addy book series after reading her adult novel All-Bright Court.

To promote the Addy book series, American Girl took author Connie Porter on a 10-city author tour to bookstores, libraries, and schools, reaching an audience of more than 15,000 people.

Researchers on Addy confirmed when the full moon would have been during Addy and her mother’s escape from enslavement in 1864 to ensure historical accuracy in the timing.

The museum program, Addy at Ohio Village, debuted in 1998.

The dialect used in the Addy books was created by author Connie Porter to be a balance between what speech of the time would’ve sounded like and what is accessible for young readers and was reviewed by two dialect experts at Jacksonville State University in Alabama.

Addy was the first American Girl character to have an advisory board. Addy’s advisory board was made up of Black historians, educators, and museum curators who ensured the depiction of Addy’s life and times was historically accurate.

The advisory board for Addy included: Lonnie Bunch, Cheryl Chisholm, Spencer Crew, Violet Harris, Wilma King, June Powell, and Janet Sims-Wood.

Addy’s first three books sold more than a million copies in the year they were released.

Some of the original time periods discussed for American Girl’s first Black character included the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights era, which were used later for Claudie Wells and Melody Ellison, respectively. ✿

✿ Kit Kittredge is the seventh historical character that American Girl created.

When she wrote the Kit books, author Valerie Tripp was inspired by her mother, who was Kit’s age in 1932.

The movie Kit Kittredge: An American Girl was released in 2008 and starred Abigail Breslin as Kit—plus actors Chris O’Donnell, Julia Ormond, Joan Cusack, and Stanley Tucci.

Illustrator Walter Rane used himself as a model for the grumpy grocery store owner in Kit’s stories.

When Kit launched, American Girl held events called Kit’s Share and Care Party where girls were invited to donate canned goods for a food drive.

Like Kit’s dad, author Valerie Tripp’s grandfather paid his staff out of his own pocket as long as he could, but eventually had to close his hotel during the Great Depression.

Kit was the first American Girl character doll with freckles and the first with short hair.

Development on Kit was started before Mattel purchased Pleasant Company (American Girl’s original company name) but she was launched after the purchase.

After the launch of the Kit doll and books, Valerie Tripp received a letter from a woman named Kit Kittredge who had grown up in Cincinnati during the Depression and was very excited about the coincidence!

American Girl’s Claudie Wells, whose stories are set in the 1920s, could have faced the challenges of the Great Depression in her teens and twenties. ✿

✿ When Julie launched, in 2007, American Girl historical characters’ years had always ended in 4, so Julie’s year was set as 1974—even though her stories begin in 1975.

Julie’s stories are set in San Francisco to express the open-minded, progressive spirit of her time. At the forefront of the hippie counterculture, San Francisco’s colorful, creative, free-wheeling vibe strongly influenced the music, fashion, and art of the 1970s.

When Julie debuted, some customers felt American Girl should not depict a girl with divorced parents. But since about 50% of kids today live with divorced parents, the creators of Julie felt it was important to have a character and doll who represented their experience.

Author Megan McDonald has four sisters who inspire many of her stories. Quite a few of the scenes between Julie and her teenage sister Tracy were inspired by Megan’s experience growing up with her sisters.

When she’s running for election to student body president, Julie debates her opponent, a popular sixth-grade boy. The 1976 Ford-Carter election debates inspired author Megan McDonald to come up with this plotline.

When author Megan McDonald was ten, her first published story appeared in her school newspaper. Her story was about a pencil sharpener! ✿

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Lil Kalish at HuffPost (09.13.2024):

Daniel Trujillo’s first month of junior year has been a “cakewalk.” He’s in two different jazz bands and is a member of his school’s chapter of March for Our Lives chapter, a student-led organization promoting gun control. He dreams of studying music in college. But getting there has not been easy for Daniel and his family ― especially in Arizona, where a barrage of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and rhetoric has threatened their sense of safety. In 2022, state Republicans banned gender-affirming surgeries for minors in Arizona, though those procedures were already rare, and barred trans girls from playing on girls sports teams in schools. (A federal appeals court decision this week stopped the latter law from going into effect.)

Lizette Trujillo, Daniel’s mom, has traveled from their home in Tucson to Phoenix each legislative session over the last six years, taking time off work to testify in opposition to such anti-LGBTQ+ bills. Daniel has joined her on those trips since 2020. “My husband and I are small business owners, and it’s given me the flexibility to devote my life in this really distinct way to fighting the trans legislation in our state. If I clocked the hours of free volunteer time, it’s significant,” Lizette Trujillo told HuffPost. And when they aren’t traveling to the state Capitol, the Trujillo family is focused on cultivating a safe, accepting community in their city. [...] Organizers across the country are sounding the alarm about the high stakes of the November presidential election and the looming threat of Project 2025, the conservative playbook for a second Trump presidency spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation. Project 2025 equates being transgender with pornography, calls for federal government to enforce sex discrimination protections based on the “binary biological meaning of ‘sex,’” and argues that educators and librarians who share materials about trans identity should have to register as sex offenders. In addition, Trump has vowed to roll back Title IX protections for transgender students and criminalize doctors who provide gender-affirming care if he’s reelected. The former president has spent the last few weeks repeating false claims that children are undergoing gender transition surgery at school and without parental consent. This week, he also refused to answer whether he’d veto a national abortion ban. By contrast, Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris has campaigned on the promise of restoring access to abortion and the “woman’s right to make decisions about her own body.” Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, has been a champion of trans rights in his home state.

A forthcoming Supreme Court case, L.W. v. Skrmetti, will decide the legality of Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for youth. Justices will begin hearing oral arguments next month, and their decision, which is expected next summer, could have sweeping ramifications for the state of gender-affirming health care for trans youth nationwide. Activists argue that the outcome of the election and the court’s decision on gender-affirming care, like its decision overturning the right to an abortion, will affect all kinds of people who are made vulnerable in society. That’s why organizers are working so hard to bring those fights together, under the umbrella of the broader struggle for bodily autonomy — and to do so while also celebrating the beauty of self-determination. Daniel’s story is one of nine about trans and gender-nonconforming young people featured in the American Civil Liberties Union’s new “Freedom To Be” campaign, which launched this week and aims to spotlight two things that advocates say are largely missing from mainstream stories and coverage of transgender youth: joy and intersectional identities. And on Saturday, the Gender Liberation Movement — a new group to help bridge the gap between the trans rights and reproductive rights movements — will hold its first march and festival at Columbus Circle in Washington D.C., one block away from the Heritage Foundation’s headquarters. Daniel and Lizette Trujillo are slated to take the stage at the event, along with trans rights advocate Miss Major and actors Elliot Page and Julio Torres.

“At the heart of this effort is looking at the connections between all of the attacks, particularly from the right, on communities on the margins,” said Raquel Willis, a Black trans activist and writer who co-founded the Gender Liberation Movement with Eliel Cruz, an organizer and communications worker, and others. “We know that restrictions around access to abortion and reproductive justice have been a galvanizing fight for a lot of people on the left, and in queer and trans circles a lot of us have been fighting against restrictions around access to gender-affirming care.” Conservatives often use the same political playbook to target both abortion and trans rights, Willis said.

“The strongest connective tissue between our struggles is bodily autonomy,” she added. Restrictions on reproductive rights go hand in hand with the rollback of LGBTQ+ rights, harsher immigration policy and restrictions on what parts of U.S. history can be taught in schools — and what should be censored, Willis said. Everyone is harmed by anti-trans laws and rhetoric, she added, but especially cisgender women of color and gender-nonconforming women. For example, she pointed to Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, whose recent Olympic win in women’s boxing was heavily criticized by Trump, author J.K. Rowling and billionaire Elon Musk. They falsely claimed Khelif is trans and helped drum up a barrage of online abuse against her.

This past weekend featured a new protest movement called the Gender Liberation Movement that tackles abortion, gender-affirming care, and bodily autonomy.

[aggiepython]

a piece i did for a class on native american history, inspired by Murder on the Red River by Marcie Rendon (more info under cut)

“She bounded down two concrete stairs and stepped out on to the green grass of the campus mall, surrounded on either side by thick stately oaks. She could tell each one had been strategically planted along the winding sidewalks between the red brick buildings. Even with groups of students sitting on the grass, leaning against their trunks, the trees seemed lonely. Nothing like the oaks along the river that grew where they wanted to grow and leaned in and touched each other with their middle branches, whose voices sang through their leaves like the hum of electric wires running alongside the country roads.” From Murder on the Red River

This piece is inspired by Murder on the Red River, a mystery novel by Marcie Rendon. It’s about Cash Blackbear, a young Ojibwe woman who investigates the murder of a Native man. Cash was taken from her mother and siblings as a young child and lived in a series of foster homes, most of which were abusive. About a third of Native American children were taken from their parents and placed in foster homes, even when they could have been placed with relatives instead of being separated from their community members and culture. Native American boarding schools, which also separated children from their families and culture, had mostly all been shut down by the 1970s (Katherine Beane), when Murder on the Red River takes place. But the removal of children to foster homes was just another way that the government tried to force Native Americans to assimilate into white culture. The Indian Child Welfare Act was passed in 1978. It set requirements to keep Native children with relatives when safe and possible, and to work with the tribe and family of children. This act has made progress, though Native children are still adopted or placed in foster care at a higher rate than non-Native children (NICWA). In my illustration, there are four trees, representing Cash, her mother, and her two siblings. In the image on the right, the trees are growing as they do in their natural forest habitat, winding together. In the image on the left, the trees have been planted on the neat lawn of the college campus, a place where white culture is dominant. The trees are apart from each other, separated as Cash’s family were torn apart. They were forced to assimilate as many Native Americans were. The trees are bur oaks, aka Quercus macrocarpa, a species native to North Dakota where the book takes place. Their range encompasses much of the U.S. and parts of Canada (Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center). The grass on the right image is Kentucky Bluegrass, aka Poa pratensis. It is invasive to North America. It was introduced in the 17th century from Europe, and is now found all over North America. It is commonly used for lawns and pasture, and can outcompete native prairie plants (North Dakota State Library). The Red River borders North Dakota and Minnesota. The Ojibwe have lived in Minnesota since before the 17th century, after migrating from Northeastern North America over hundreds of years (Minnesota Historical Society). The shape of the Red River traces through the image, weaving and intermingling through the branches of the trees, showing Cash’s deep connection with the land she is from.

Works Cited “About IWCA” National Indian Child Welfare Association, https://www.nicwa.org/about-icwa/ Beane, Katherine, American Indians in Minnesota, 12 March 2024, Nicholson Hall, Minneapolis, MN. Lecture. “Kentucky Bluegrass”, North Dakota State Library. https://www.library.nd.gov/statedocs/AgDept/Kentuckybluegrass20070703.pdf Rendon, Marcie. Murder on the Red River. Soho Crime, 2017. “The Ojibwe People”, Minnesota Historical Society, https://www.mnhs.org/fortsnelling/learn/native-americans/ojibwe-people “Quercus macrocarpa”, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=QUMA2

[rockislandadultreads]

Read-Alike Friday: The Lace Widow by Mollie Ann Cox

The Lace Widow by Mollie Ann Cox

New York, 1804. America’s beloved Alexander Hamilton lies dead after a duel with Aaron Burr. Meanwhile, Eliza Hamilton’s eighteen-year-old son, Alexander Jr., was seen fighting with a man in a tavern the night before his father’s duel and quickly comes under suspicion for murder when the man turns up dead.

Eliza searches for ways to clear her son’s name, even as she is grieving, but as she combs through her late husband’s papers, she finds evidence of a plot to steal money from the government during his tenure as secretary of state. Hamilton was accused of stealing that money, and it was a scandal that almost broke the family���but is Eliza now holding proof of Alexander’s innocence?

Deep in debt and despair, with eight children to support, Eliza turns to selling her handmade lace—and is drawn into a mysterious network of widow lacemakers who are intimately connected to New York’s high-society families. They know their dead husbands’ secrets—and soon, Eliza begins to piece together the truth.

There’s a dark plot connected with the duel, as one by one, witnesses to the bout are being killed. Now, Eliza must not only clear her husband’s and son’s names but keep herself out of the killer’s sights.

Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Amanda Flower

January 1855: Willa Noble knew it was bad luck when it was pouring rain on the day of her ever-important job interview at the Dickinson home in Amherst, Massachusetts. When she arrived late, disheveled with her skirts sodden and filthy, she'd lost all hope of being hired for the position. As the housekeeper politely told her they'd be in touch, Willa started toward the door of the stately home only to be called back by the soft but strong voice of Emily Dickinson. What begins as tenuous employment turns to friendship as the reclusive poet takes Willa under her wing.

Tragedy soon strikes and Willa's beloved brother, Henry, is killed in a tragic accident at the town stables. With no other family and nowhere else to turn, Willa tells Emily about her brother's death and why she believes it was no accident. Willa is convinced it was murder. Henry had been very secretive of late, only hinting to Willa that he'd found a way to earn money to take care of them both. Viewing it first as a puzzle to piece together, Emily offers to help, only to realize that she and Willa are caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse that reveals corruption in Amherst that is generations deep. Some very high-powered people will stop at nothing to keep their profitable secrets even if that means forever silencing Willa and her new mistress...

This is the first volume of the "Emily Dickinson Mystery" series.

What the Dead Leave Behind by David Housewright

Once a police detective in St. Paul, Minnesota, Rushmore McKenzie has become not only an unlikely millionaire, but an occasional unlicensed private investigator, doing favors for friends and people in need. When his stepdaughter Erica asks him for just such a favor, McKenzie doesn t have it in him to refuse. Even though it sounds like a very bad idea right from the start.

The father of Malcolm Harris, a college friend of Erica's, was found murdered a year ago in a park in New Brighton, a town just outside the Twin Cities. With no real clues and all the obvious suspects with concrete alibis, the case has long since gone cold. As McKenzie begins poking around, he soon discovers another unsolved murder that's tangentially related to this one. And all connections seem to lead back to a group of friends the victim was close with. But all McKenzie has is a series of odd, even suspicious, coincidences until someone decides to make it all that more serious and personal.

This is the 14th volume of the "Mac McKenzie" series.

A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas

With her inquisitive mind, Charlotte Holmes has never felt comfortable with the demureness expected of the fairer sex in upper class society. But even she never thought that she would become a social pariah, an outcast fending for herself on the mean streets of London.

When the city is struck by a trio of unexpected deaths and suspicion falls on her sister and her father, Charlotte is desperate to find the true culprits and clear the family name. She’ll have help from friends new and old—a kind-hearted widow, a police inspector, and a man who has long loved her.

But in the end, it will be up to Charlotte, under the assumed name Sherlock Holmes, to challenge society’s expectations and match wits against an unseen mastermind.

This is the first volume of the "Lady Sherlock" series.

[pashterlengkap]

South Carolina sued to stop their ban on gender-affirming care

Yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina announced that they are filing a lawsuit against heavy restrictions on gender-affirming care in the state owing to a recently passed bill. “A law that takes away healthcare from people, that strips away the ability of parents to make medical decisions for their children, that criminalizes doctors who follow the established standards of care isn’t just mean-spirited and harmful – it’s also unconstitutional,” said Jace Woodrum, Executive Director of the ACLU of South Carolina. “Transgender South Carolinians should be able to get the medical care they need without politicians coming into their doctors’ offices with them. That’s why we’re challenging this dangerous law.” Related Trans-affirming medical providers face increased stress & risk as states ban trans health care “The waitlist is what keeps me up at night,” one doctor in Minnesota – which has seen an increase in people from red states seeking care – said. The lawsuit concerns H.B. 4624, a total ban on gender-affirming care for minors that also restricts care for adults by removing gender-affirming care from the state Medicaid plan and by prohibiting the use of public funds for this care. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today This ban led to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), the only public, statewide hospital system in the state, shutting down their gender-affirming care treatments, leading to many people being forcibly removed from their gender-affirming care plans. The plaintiffs and their lawyers argue that, because the restrictions only apply to transgender people’s gender-affirmign care and are not implemented broadly, it constitutes discrimination against transgender individuals and thus is a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Affordable Care Act, the American Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act. The Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause requires government impartiality, while the other three laws ban discrimination in various areas, including in health care. A primary part of the argument is that there is no legal justification for the bans and that they are the result of an ideological slant by lawmakers in the state. The complaint references how organizations like the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and the Endocrine Society back gender-affirming care. It also discusses the harms that this ban would do to those who are currently seeking out or undergoing gender-affirming care in the state, likely forcing them to move to another state. They reference the harm this would do to the plaintiffs, who include both adult and minor transgender individuals. This includes forcing them to go off of their gender-affirming care, being forcibly detransitioned, being unable to afford treatment, and being forced to undergo a puberty that they don’t want to. One plaintiff even is having his surgery delayed because of MUSC’s shutdown, which is causing additional financial and potentially physical harm. The ACLU is seeking out relevant temporary and permanent injunctions against the defendants and H.B. 4624, a waiving of fees for the plaintiffs, and for the costs and expenses of the plaintiffs to be covered. South Carolina House Majority Leader and bill sponsor David Hiott (R) said to Live 5 News shortly after the bill was passed, “When God created us, he created us male and female, and that’s it. There is no other choice, and all these other folks that want to change that from birth or change that through their life, we need to stand up against that.” “I feel so lucky and fortunate to be supported and affirmed by so many wonderful people who accept me for who I am,” said plaintiff Sterling Misanin of Charleston, South Carolina, in a written statement. “My family continues to be extremely supportive of me living as… http://dlvr.it/TClKqw

[masterofd1saster]

CJ current events 13jun24

Democracy and law

 South Dakota voters ousted pro-pornography Republican state Senator Michael Walsh, scuttling his reelection bid in the Republican primary Tuesday. Walsh’s loss came just over three months after he was the deciding vote to kill an age-verification bill that would have protected children from online pornography. Challenger Greg Blanc unseated Walsh, garnering 55% of the vote compared to the incumbent’s 39%.  On February 29, the South Dakota Senate Judiciary Committee voted 4-3 to “defer HB 1257 to the 41st legislative day.” At the time, the Washington Examiner explained that the move effectively stopped the bill’s chances of becoming law.

Most states that have passed age-verification have passed them by near-unanimous bipartisan margins.  South Dakota’s HB 1257 therefore was unique among such bills in that it had received significant opposition from Republicans.*** https://catholicvote.org/voters-oust-pro-porn-gop-senator-in-south-dakota-primary-election

If you don't like your state's laws, vote for someone different.

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Society without effective law enforcement

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Wow!

A Minnesota jury has convicted four men and one woman for their participation in a sprawling scheme to steal more than $40 million in funds earmarked for hungry children during the pandemic. The case garnered national attention after a brazen bribe attempt in which a Hallmark gift bag stuffed with $120,000 cash was delivered to a juror’s home the night before the jury was scheduled to be in court to hear closing arguments. The juror was dismissed before deliberations, along with a second juror who had learned about the attempted bribe.*** In all, more than $250 million in federal funds were pilfered in the scheme, with just $50 million recovered so far, according to authorities.*** A woman dropped the would-be bribe off at Juror 52’s suburban Minneapolis home Sunday evening in a gift bag adorned with curly ribbons and pictures of flowers and butterflies. She rang the doorbell and passed the gift bag loaded with $20, $50 and $100 bills to a relative who answered the door, calling it a “present” for the juror.*** According to an FBI affidavit, the woman knew the juror’s first name, despite none of the jurors’ identities being made public. The woman told the family member to tell the juror there’d be more money coming if she voted to acquit in court the next day.*** https://nypost.com/2024/06/07/us-news/5-convicted-in-250m-fraud-cause-after-juror-had-120k-bribe-delivered-to-her-door-in-a-sack/

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Babylon Bee-

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School shooter manifesto

The Tennessee Star has obtained dozens of handwritten pages authored by Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who committed the horrific Covenant School shooting on March 27, 2023. The Star reviewed nearly four dozen images of notebook pages written by Hale that were recovered from the vehicle she drove to the Covenant School which were obtained from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation. One of the pages reviewed by The Star is a journal or diary entry, written by Hale, that is dated February 20, 2023, or just 35 days before Hale committed the attack.*** Biologically a female, Hale identified as a transgender man at the time of her devastating attack on The Covenant School, which claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students and three faculty members. “So now in America, it makes one a criminal to have a gun or, be transgender, or non-binary,” wrote Hale. She added, “God I hate those s***head politicians.”*** Both Michael Patrick Leahy, who is the editor-in-chief of The Star, and Star News Digital Media, Inc., which owns and operates The Star, are plaintiffs in separate lawsuits which seek to compel both the FBI and the Metro Nashville Police Department to release the written materials left by Hale.***

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The Tennessee Star confirmed on Wednesday it obtained nearly four dozen pages of Hale’s writings from a source familiar with the Covenant investigation, including the March 11, 2023 entry discussing her desire to have a male anatomy. Hale’s diary or journal entry begins with the title “My Imaginary Penis” and includes a crude drawing. “My penis exists in my head. I swear to god I’m a male,” wrote Hale in the diary or journal recovered by police. She then wrote about her desire to have a penis for the purpose of heterosexual sex with a woman. While the entry is sexually explicit in nature, Hale also wrote about her experience using the name Aiden, which she began using during her transition. Hale explained that using the name on a job application for a delivery position resulted in issues with the company’s background check. She also described being raised a girl as “torture.” She claimed she feared “being called a dyke or a f*****” during high school before feeling liberated in college and eventually learning about transgenderism in her early 20s.*** About her parents, Hale added, “I hate parental views; how my mom sees me as a daughter – and she’d not bear to want to lose that daughter because a son would be the death of Audrey.” On the second page of the entry, Hale continued to disparage her parents for their alleged refusal to support her transition but also wrote about the advent of puberty blockers in 2007. “I’d kill to have those resources; 2007 was the birth of puberty blockers and a newfound discovery for treatment of non-conforming transgender children,” wrote Hale. She then acknowledged, “I was in the 6th grade, puberty already hit me.” [emphasis added] At the bottom of the second page, and into the third, Hale revealed that she fantasized about experiencing intercourse as a man by creating scenes with her stuffed animals. “I can pretend to be them [and] do the things boys do [and] experience my boy self as Tony,” which Hale explained is her “stuffed boy doll” which she wrote “is like the boy I am in another form.” In the entry, Hale proceeded to describe simulating intercourse between the “stuffed boy doll” and another stuffed animal over the course of hours.***

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In other news, electric scooters can burn rubber.

There is a crosswalk at Riverfront Park in Spokane, Washington. The crosswalk is painted like a pride flag.

19-year-old Ruslan V. V. Turko and two minors were arrested for first-degree malicious mischief.  Turko appeared in court Thursday. Prosecutors requested a $15,000 bond due to the estimated cost of re-painting the mural.  https://www.krem.com/article/news/local/arrests-wednesday-at-newly-painted-pride-crosswalk-mural/293-57722e04-0df0-4484-856e-fed3d7a37c23

They had left skidmarks on the crosswalk with their Lime scooters on or about 5jun24. Lime scooters are apparently battery powered. The youths allegedly said mean things to people who protested their scooter skidding. No transcript or recording of what the protesters said to the youths.

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BB's helpful input -

BB- 11jun24 -

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Even though the laptop was in FBI custody when you signed, and it's in evidence in federal court now?

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Nobody will notice $15M. YOLO!!!

The former assistant city attorney of Atlanta, who was also a life advice podcaster, has been jailed for seven years after fraudulently obtaining approximately $15 million in COVID relief loans. Shelitha Robertson, 62, used the illegally gained funds to splash out on luxuries such as a 10 carat diamond ring, a Rolls Royce and a motorbike.  The former police officer had obtained the money under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a federal stimulus program that was set up during the pandemic. *** Court documents show that Robertson falsely claimed she was responsible for a 427 employees. The number of 'staff' in her 'companies' allowed her to obtain enormous PPP loans, which were designed to keep legitimate businesses afloat through the pandemic.***

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Good luck with that. Let me know how that works out for you.

Senate Democrats appear split on whether to subpoena Chief Justice John Roberts in the fight for judicial ethics reform. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill., are pushing for a Senate vote on the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act, after Justice Samuel Alito was reported flying the revolutionary war flag, "An Appeal to Heaven," outside his beach house. Dems also have raised concerns about lavish gifts and vacations received by Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas. However, it is unclear whether they could even get majority support on the committee. "I'm not sure," Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., told The Hill after being asked whether all 11 Democrats on the panel would support a subpoena effort. "It's the reality of an 11-10 [majority]. … It just takes one."***

IRL, this is about pacifying the far left wing of the Dem party. Most Dems don't want to open this can of worms. Everyone knows that the most left wing justices take the same trips and gifts as J.J. Thomas and Alito.

Moreover, most Dems don't want to pack the Court. The far left wing is eager to do it.

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The Hunter Biden case

The jury convicted Hunter Biden on 11jun24. It had deliberated for three hours over Mon & this morning.

It found him guilty of "in connection with the acquisition *** of any firearm or ammunition from a *** licensed dealer***, knowingly [making a] false or fictitious oral or written statement." 18 U.S.C. §922(a)(6). He lied by checking box e "no" on his ATF Form 4473.

I think everyone expects U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika will just tap him. I don't know anyone who expects her to body slam him.

U.S. Sentencing Guideline §2K2.1 says his base offense level is 14, as he "was a prohibited person at the time the defendant committed the instant offense; (B) is convicted under *** 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6)." With no prior convictions nor adjustments nor departures, Hunter's guideline sentence imprisonment would be from 15 to 21 months.

If you're interested in statistics for federal firearms offenders, checkout https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/annual-reports-and-sourcebooks/2023/Firearms-Offenses-Section.pdf. About 22% of the people sentenced per 2K2.1 are white; about 96% are male. <2% are college grads.

+++

BB 12jun24 -

***

Good on Archbishop Burke

Crime’s gotten so bad in Hartford, Conn., that residents have formed armed patrols to keep one area safe — and the town’s woke officialdom is pooh-poohing the people trying to defend themselves.  A “Self-Defense Brigade,” made up of about 40 legally armed citizens and formed at the request of local religious leader Archbishop Dexter Burke, protects the streets of Hartford’s predominantly black North End.  After February saw two men murdered near his church, Burke finally had enough.  And rightly so: Hartford, a town of about 121,000, saw 36 murders in 2023 and 40 in 2022 — that last being a near two-decade high.  In per capita terms, 36 murders there is like New York notching 2,456 homicides. ***

***

Nice whistle you blew there. Now stop resisting!

Eithan Haim, 34, is at the beginning of his career as a surgeon. He and his wife are expecting their first child in the fall. And now he is facing a four-count federal felony indictment for blowing the whistle on Texas Children’s Hospital, where he worked while a resident.  At TCH, he discovered the hospital was secretly continuing gender transition treatments on minors—including hormonal intervention on patients as young as 11 years old—after publicly declaring, in March of 2022, it would no longer provide such services. The hospital unwillingly backed away from the treatments under pressure from the Texas governor and attorney general. But Haim found not only were the treatments continuing—the program appeared to be expanding. He recorded several online presentations by medical staff encouraging the transition of children—one social worker described how she deliberately did not make note of such treatment in the medical charts of patients to avoid leaving a paper trail. Haim told me, “They were talking publicly about how they were concealing what they were doing. You can’t take care of your patient without trust. For me as a doctor, to not do something about this was unconscionable.”*** He contacted conservative journalist Christopher Rufo, who published an exposé without naming Haim. Before giving Rufo evidence that puberty blockers were still being surgically implanted in young patients, Haim made sure the patient’s names and other identifying information were redacted. This was both to protect patient privacy, and himself from violating the law known as HIPAA, which protects individual patient identities while also allowing various uses of medical information. The story Haim gave to Rufo was published May 16, 2023. The next day, the Texas legislature voted to ban the medical gender transition of minors. Haim says there was no immediate aftermath: “Everything went quiet. I was anonymous and went on with my life.” Then June 23 of last year, the day Haim was to graduate from his residency, two federal agents from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services showed up at his house to have a little chat. Haim’s wife, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, a different division of the U.S. Attorney’s office than the one that has indicted her husband, advised him not to talk.  As Haim later wrote in City Journal, “Before leaving, they handed me a letter revealing that I was a ‘potential target’ of an investigation involving alleged violation of federal criminal law related to medical records.” Haim then went public about the threat facing him in an interview with Rufo. (The U.S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas did not respond to a request for comment.) Haim was indicted last week, but, as of this writing, he and his attorneys do not yet know the precise nature of the charges. One of his lawyers, Mark Lytle, told me it’s very unusual to bring felony charges for an alleged HIPAA violation unless there is a significant underlying crime, such as a hospital clerk selling a celebrity’s medical records. He said the indictment of Haim seems politically motivated. *** Haim is raising money for his legal fees through this GiveSendGo account.***

+++

The potential penalties in 42 U.S.C. §1320d–6 are insane, up to 10 years if the HIPAA crime was committed "with intent to sell, transfer, or use individually identifiable health information for commercial advantage, personal gain, or malicious harm." The basic crime is

knowingly and in violation of [HIPAA]- (1) uses or causes to be used a unique health identifier; (2) obtains individually identifiable health information relating to an individual; or (3) discloses individually identifiable health information to another person

Good luck proving that he knowingly used or disclosed an identifier or identifiable info.

National Review notes that

Based on the publicly available information, there is no reason to believe Haim violated HIPAA. Both Haim and Rufo insist that sensitive personal information was redacted in the documents they exchanged; it was redacted in what Rufo published. The wrongdoers here are not the ones the administration has identified.

***

Ocean's 15 or whatever - wild, weird case

Prosecutors on Friday dropped all charges against a former Monarch Casino Resort and Spa employee who took $500,000 in cash from the casino, conceding that the woman was scammed by likely international thieves. During a court hearing Friday, prosecutors with the First Judicial District Attorney’s office said an extensive investigation into the theft revealed the casino employee fell victim to a likely international conspiracy to scam casino employees into removing money from the casino and delivering that money to thieves, and that similar schemes were perpetrated across the U.S. in the summer of 2023. Prosecutors said they could not ethically proceed with the case against former casino employee Sabrina Eddy, who did not profit from the theft. The half-million-dollar heist last year was the biggest casino theft in Colorado since gambling was legalized in 1991*** Eddy was working as a cage cashier at the casino on March 12, 2023, and was responsible for casino money. Shortly before 1 a.m., Eddy received a call on the casino’s phone from a man who claimed to be the casino’s head of operations, as well as texts from a man she believed to be her immediate supervisor. The caller and texter told Eddy that the casino was having difficult with the UPS delivery of some important equipment. They explained that Eddy needed to bring $300,000 to a lawyer who would meet her at St. Anthony’s Hospital in order to protect the casino from being “in breach of contract,” according to an affidavit filed against Eddy. Eddy then pulled bricks of cash from the casino’s cage and put them into boxes, which she packed with rags and then taped shut. She drove to the hospital’s emergency room and handed the cash to a man she believed to be the attorney. After returning to the casino, Eddy received another text at 3 a.m. that explained the lawyer needed another $200,000, according to the affidavit. Eddy then loaded up more bricks of cash, drove them to the hospital and gave them to the same man, handing it over at about 4:30 a.m. She was told to wait at the hospital after handing over the cash. But as she waited, Eddy attempted to call back the men she believed to be her bosses. When they did not answer, she called the casino, admitted she’d taken the money and said she was worried she might be arrested. Eddy initially claimed she was scammed but later changed her story and claimed that associates of her dead ex-husband “forced her to engage in the theft after levying threats against her family members,” the affidavit reads. In March, the man who received the cash from Eddy that night, Juan Ivan Gutierrez Zambrano, pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal mischief — one a low-level felony and the other a misdemeanor charge. Prosecutors alleged Zambrano, a citizen of Mexico, was paid to receive the boxes of stolen cash.***

***

Prolly don't want to say that out loud

Thornton, Colorado police pursued a Camaro with no plates on 30apr24. The driver was apparently Joby Vigil. A passenger was Jasmine Castro. Vigil fled into Lakewood, which is rather a trip.

Police allege that the Camaro's occupants fired at them, and police definitely shot both Vigil & Castro to death. Police bodycam records one officer saying “…You might want to do some CPR on him even though he’s got that huge hole in his head.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/family-of-man-killed-by-thornton-police-say-he-was-innocent-want-justice

***

Nice bridge, too bad you don't have law enforcement

LA's "6th Street bridge [was] an instant L.A. icon" when it opened in 2022 according to the Times. It was shut down for three nights almost as soon as it opened because of constant crime and disorder.

Now the bridge is dark. Thieves stole seven miles of copper wire from the bridge. https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/thieves-steal-miles-worth-of-copper-wire-leaving-sixth-street-bridge-in-the-dark/3434283/

***Billy Avellan, said he's been documenting the vandalism and that the issue has been going on for months. "I first reported it to 311 six months ago," said Avellan. "It's sad. I walk this bridge every day, I can’t take a regular walk that you tax me for every time – because it's too dark. It's not safe.“ Earlier this year Los Angeles city leaders called for action against the ongoing copper theft in the city, stating that it was costing taxpayers millions of dollars to replace. At a press conference back in January, city leaders called for a $400,000 plan to create a "copper wire theft task force" to help curb the crime.***

***

[ear-worthy]

The Art Career Podcast: Painting To Help With PTSD & Domestic Violence

When The Burning Bed movie with Farah Fawcett was shown on TV in 1984, American culture had finally awakened to the sad realization that domestic violence was a well-established and pervasive secret of a male-dominated society. 

Nearly 40 years later, things are better. Domestic violence shelters, support programs and greater awareness has made some inroads into this centuries-long issue. 

But it still occurs more than we like to think. Witness the latest episode of The Art Career podcast with Emily McElwreath. 

This latest episode is actually a rerun from last season, but with an interesting twist. In the beginning, we hear from the guest / victim, Meg Lionel Murphy, about how she's coping today, as she informs listeners that she has a storefront art studio in rural Wisconsin and has a burgeoning art career. 

 Meg Lionel Murphy received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities, with three majors: Art, Art History, and English Literature. Additionally, Meg studied classical oil painting in Florence, Italy. After graduation, she worked as a children’s illustrator, co-founded the literary and art magazine, Paper Darts, and co-directed the arts and social justice non-profit, Pollen Midwest.

All that disintegrated because of her mentally and physically abusive husband.

Before we hear the Redux interview, Ms. Murphy tells listeners that she's coping by "living in her work."

 That's why I like The Art Career podcast with Emily McElwreath so much. The podcast celebrates the arts, the people involved, and the value the arts add to the vibrancy of our culture. Most importantly to me, the podcast illustrates that the arts can be a solution, a coping mechanism, and a way forward when dealing with chronic societal problems like domestic violence.

The host, Emily McElwreath, asserts, "With each episode, our mission is to empower you, expanding your journey through the arts." 

To be clear, McElwreath doesn't just have guests who are artists in the sense of painting. To her, "artist" is an expansive term, so she has writers, fashion experts, poets, educators, and even a critic.

The Art Career podcast is in the middle of its fourth season, which began in mid-October with an episode named, Matthew Tully Dugan: Caviar, Vampires, and Warhol.

In the interview, Ms. Murphy narrates her gradual descent from marriage partner to assault victim, and being controlled by her husband.

After finally getting free and pursuing divorce, her abuser husband tells her that he has just bought a gun, insinuating that if she signed the divorce papers, he would use it -- on her.

Listen to this episode that plunges us into Murphy's hellscape, and then transfixes us as we learn about her strength and courage as she rebuilds her life through the lens of pain.

A diagnosis of severe PTSD from domestic violence led Murphy to leave her career in publishing to focus on painting and healing. She moved back to her childhood home in rural Wisconsin, where she started painting in her father’s junkyard, in a studio shack that was converted from an industrial cooler. As her art took off, she moved her studio to an old storefront—that was built as a church in the 1880s.

Recent solo shows include “Traumatica Dramatica'' at The Untitled Space Gallery (New York), “Interior Violence” at CoExhibitions Gallery (Minneapolis), and solo booths with SPRING/BREAK Art Show (New York and Los Angeles). Recent group shows include “10 @ 10” at The Wisconsin Museum of Art, “Pleasure Garden'' at Laurie Shapiro Gallery (Los Angeles), and “In Her World” at Voltz Clarke (New York). 

Check out this episode, how one woman suffered from domestic violence and the resulting PTSD, but refused to be a passive victim. Listen how she has rebuilt her life, even with the vestige of pain, trauma, and damage. 

[laresearchette]

Wednesday, September 20, 2023 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: THE SUPER MODELS (Apple TV+) NAKED ATTRACTION (discovery +) AMERICAN HORROR STORY: DELICATE (FX Canada) 10:00pm

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

DISNEY + STAR IRRESISTIBLE (Season 1) MARVEL STUDIOS ASSEMBLED: THE MAKING OF SECRET INVASION MIRACULOUS: TALES OF LADYBUG & CAT NOIR (Season 5)

NETFLIX CANADA AMERICAN HUSTLE HARD BROKEN (LB) MURDAUGH MURDERS: A SOUTHERN SCANDAL

MLB BASEBALL (SN) 2:00pm: Red Sox vs. Rangers (SN Now) 2:00pm: Orioles vs. Astros (SN1) 3:30pm: Mariners vs. A’s (SN1/SN Now) 6:30pm: Angels vs. Rays (SN) 7:00pm: Jays vs. Yankees (SN1) 10:00pm: Tigers vs. Dodgers

MLS SOCCER (TSN/TSN4/TSN5) 7:30pm: Miami vs. Toronto FC (TSN/TSN4) 10:30pm: LA Galaxy vs. Minnesota

THE PASSIONATE EYE (CBC) 8:00pm Cyborg Society: Looking at the recent influx of AI technologies and considering if it is changing society.

FANTASTIC FRIENDS (CTV Life) 8:00pm: James and Oliver Phepls set out on a road trip to Lake Como with fellow motorcycle enthusiast Stan Ianevski; the brothers take their CBT through the vineyards of France, and the Swiss Alps, before eventually arriving in northern Italy.

BONES OF CROWS (CBC/APTN) 9:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE): Cree piano prodigy Aline Spears and her siblings are taken from their family home as children and forced into residential school. Spears, now a World War II code talker, and her husband, Adam Wallach, confront the spectres of their pasts.

SOUTHERN CHARM (Slice) 10:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE): The Charmers celebrate Madison's marriage to her Prince Charming, but everyone isn't in a festive mood; Austen comes face-to-face with multiple exes; Craig gets caught in the crossfire of an icy reunion between Shep and Taylor.

[msclaritea]

Violent attack spurs a welcome change of heart

PUBLIC SAFETY

Written by David Zimmer | September 7, 2023

Violent attack spurs a welcome change of heart

Earlier this week, in broad daylight, Shivanthi Sathanandan was violently attacked and carjacked by a group of armed young men in the driveway of her Minneapolis home. The attack left Sathanandan with a broken leg, and cuts and bruises over much of her body. Her children witnessed the assault, and her neighbors who tried to come to her aid were allegedly robbed by the assailants as well. According to reports, Sathanandan’s car was abandoned and later recovered by the Minneapolis Police Department.

Notably, Sathanandan is the vice chair of the Minnesota DFL party, which for years has taken a soft on crime, reform based, public safety stance. It’s also the party that has endorsed the likes of local prosecutors and city council members who have championed soft on crime reforms and have openly advocated for the defunding of police and the dismantling of the Minneapolis Police Department.

Sathanandan herself has been a vocal advocate of the “Defund the Police “movement. In 2020 she posted on her Facebook page with Minneapolis City Councilmen Jeremiah Ellison and Phillipe Cunningham,

“We are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department.  Say it with me.  Dismantle. The. Minneapolis. Police. Department.”  

Not surprisingly, after the carjacking, Sathanandan has taken on a less than progressive tone. 

“I’m now part of the statistics. I wasn’t silent when I fought these men to save my life and my babies, and I won’t be silent now. We need to get illegal guns off of our streets, catch these young people who are running wild creating chaos across our city and HOLD THEM IN CUSTODY AND PROSECUTE THEM.”

Those who support law and order, and the value of holding criminals accountable, welcome Sathanandan’s change of position, and honestly wish her well. Perhaps something positive can come out of this tragic situation. It’s frustrating that tragedy must strike before eyes are opened to the value to our society that strong unwavering support for law and order offers. 

Also notable is this story comes on the heels of yet another attempt by many on the left to suggest “crime is on the decline” in Minneapolis. Just this past weekend, the Star Tribune ran a story, shared on social media by the mayor and others, that parsed out crime data in an attempt to persuade readers that crime in Minneapolis was on its heals.

The truth of the matter is that the crime data in Minneapolis doesn’t accurately quantify or qualify the crime problem in 2023. Crime today has taken on a randomness and heightened level of violence that we’ve never experienced in the past. 

Throughout our history, it has been relatively easy to avoid becoming a crime victim in Minneapolis, by avoiding certain areas, and avoiding certain activities at certain times of the day. All that is out the window in 2023, and it has become a reality that doing traditionally safe things like pulling into your garage with your children, walking your dog, going to the grocery store, or doing yard work is just not as safe as it once was — and no chart can change that.

Many DFLers and other advocates of the public safety reform movement have been effective in their efforts to undermine law enforcement and pressure criminal justice system partners to reduce accountability for criminal offenders. Their efforts have brought about a recruitment and retention crisis in local law enforcement, which can accurately be described as defunding the police through attrition. 

The Minneapolis Police Department is down nearly 300 officers since 2020 and continues to lose more officers each month than they can attract to the job. That is an unsustainable situation that makes the kind of attack Sathanandan suffered more likely to happen to others — and the fault lies squarely on the shoulders of those who have been so determined to undermined law enforcement.

Of course, the people who bear the brunt of violent crime in our state aren’t often DFL leaders, they are people of color living in some the worst situations our state has to offer. Their plight never seems to be enough to counter the war on cops effort.  Perhaps Sathanandan’s attack will serve as a catalyst for those on the left to place more value on strong law and order strategies. Time will tell.

Looks like the shoe has found it's way to the other foot for Ms Sathanandan.  Also, she is not a real Democrat and has no business being in charge of any Democratic offices.

[spoopyvixx]

Tracing the History of Minneapolis: A Tour of the Mill District and Mill City Museum

Minneapolis, the largest city in the state of Minnesota, has a rich history that is deeply rooted in its milling industry. The Mill District and Mill City Museum offer a glimpse into this history, tracing the city's growth from a small trading post to a major industrial center.

The story of Minneapolis begins in the early 19th century, when the city was just a small trading post on the banks of the Mississippi River. The city's location, near the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, made it a prime spot for water-powered mills. In 1856, the first water-powered mill was built on the west bank of the Mississippi River, marking the beginning of the city's industrial revolution.

The Mill District, located on the west bank of the Mississippi River, was once home to the largest flour milling complex in the world. The district was comprised of more than 20 different mills, all powered by the river's mighty current. The milling industry in Minneapolis was a major contributor to the city's growth and prosperity, and it played a significant role in the development of the city's infrastructure, including the construction of roads, bridges, and railroads.

Today, the Mill District is a National Historic Landmark and a popular tourist destination. Visitors can take a walk along the Mississippi River and see the remains of the old milling complex, including the Washburn A Mill, which is now the Mill City Museum. The museum offers a unique look into the history of the milling industry in Minneapolis, with exhibits showcasing the technology and equipment used in the mills, as well as the lives of the workers who operated them.

One of the highlights of the museum is the "Flour Tower," an eight-story elevator that takes visitors to the top of the building, offering a panoramic view of the city. The tower is also home to a series of exhibits that highlight the history of the milling industry in Minneapolis, including the impact of the industry on the city's economy and society.

The Mill City Museum also offers a variety of educational programs, including tours of the district, guided tours of the museum, and hands-on activities for children. The museum is also home to a research library, which contains a wealth of information on the history of the milling industry in Minneapolis.

In conclusion, the Mill District and Mill City Museum offer a unique opportunity to explore the history of Minneapolis and its milling industry. The district is a National Historic Landmark and a popular tourist destination, offering visitors a chance to see the remains of the old milling complex and learn about the technology and equipment used in the mills. The Mill City Museum is a must-see for anyone interested in the history of Minneapolis, offering a wealth of information and educational programs that showcase the impact of the milling industry on the city's economy and society.

[metalhead-brainrot]

Everyone meet Sally! My wife and I found her walking our dog.

Sally had no collar, matted fur, and fleas. She was wafer-thin. I had seen her slip into my landlord's shed, and figured that's where she had been staying. But she was clearly starving.

I brought her some tuna while my wife waited with Sally for the Animal Humane Society. They never did; they called back after two hours to tell us everything they had was full. As far as we know there's no shelter available for cats in the Twin Cities metro right now, only fosters.

My wife and I stewarded Sally for a week. We were unable to take her in for a few reasons: I have allergies, Sally had fleas, our dog has no idea what to make of cats. But Sally could stay in our back shed while we fed her cat food and tuna. My wife put in a lot of effort caring for Sally, she even frontlined her to kill her flea infestation. But winter gets cold in Minnesota and Sally would need a permanent home.

We had been asking around but it was only by following the Way that we found Sally a home: a neighbor two houses up. They had two dogs until recently, one had passed unexpectedly and the home needed a new friend. They've since taken her to a vet and been slowly introducing Sally to her new home, complete with young children and a chill elder dog.

It's been a week or so since she got her new home, and my wife and I miss her terribly. We're very excited that she'll have a comfy future indoors and hope she gets really fat.

Been following the way all day and a stray cat just wormed its way into our lives! <3 (pics incoming)

[continuations]

The Power of Culture

The first time I came to the United States was in 1983 for a one-year host family stay in Rochester, Minnesota. Before leaving Germany, there was a weekend long preparation meeting. We were told we would feel homesick, that we might feel alienated and even experience culture shock. Throughout the weekend the instructors mentioned at least a dozen of times “whatever you do, don’t walk around the house naked.” OK, something to pay attention to I noted to myself.

I arrived in Rochester after a very long day of travel from Germany. And right from the start I felt like a fish in water. My host family had two somewhat younger children and everyone was simply wonderfully welcoming. Rochester is a small town but it is home to both the Mayo Clinic and a large IBM facility and so has an unusually high percentage of doctors and engineers. I attended the public high school (John Marshall) and loved it. I also successfully avoided walking around the house naked, which did indeed require some attention as this is a very common thing to do in Germany. And so after six months and feeling completely at home I walked naked out of the bathroom and right into my host mother who shrieked loudly at the sight. We all wound up laughing about it as soon as I had found a towel, but now I understood why the instructors had made such a big point about it. Still, I was left completely puzzled by all the other stuff on culture shock and alienation.

Well, I eventually found the answer to those, but not in the United States. My culture shock and alienation occurred upon my return to Germany. All the sudden many behaviors and attitudes in Germany, that I had never really questioned growing up, seemed exceedingly odd to me. I was not longer a fish in water, many times instead I felt like a fish on land, gasping for air. How could people be so negative? So narrow minded? My immediate reaction was: how do I get back to the US as quickly as possible? And it was only a couple of years later that I wound up returning as an undergraduate student.

This is now nearly forty years ago and I have since developed a much more differentiated appreciation of both cultures, seeing the positives and negatives in each of them more clearly. And of course the cultures themselves haven’t been static. For example, young entrepreneurs in both places are much more alike today.

Still, I came away from this early experience with a fundamental insight that I wish was much more widely understood: so much of what we attribute to “human nature” are really culturally shaped attitudes and behaviors. While it is one thing to grasp this intellectually, it is another to have it as a lived experience. If I could wave a magic wand, everyone would get to live in a different culture for a year at a relatively young age, when one’s mind is still open. I believe we would have much more empathy for each other globally and recognize how much of what we do every day is culturally determined.

To be clear, saying that something is culturally determined doesn’t mean it is easy to change. It simply says that it is to a large degree arbitrary and can be changed, given enough time and effort. For an individual that can happen quite quickly, for societies as whole enough time is measured generations.

[morbidology]

Dennis Jurgens was born in 1961 to teenager, Jerry Sherwood, and her boyfriend. Unable to cope with a baby due to her young age, Jerry reluctantly put Dennis up for adoption. Authorities assured her he would be going to a loving home.

Lois Jurgens was a homemaker and her husband, Harold Jurgens, was an electrician. Louis was a devout Christian, at least in her own eyes, and had an obsession with how she and Harold were perceived by those who knew them. The house was always spotless and the garden immaculate. She came across as the perfect housewife in suburban America. However, Lois and Harold couldn’t have a child. Due to Lois’ prior stint in a psychiatric hospital where she was diagnosed with mixed psychoneurosis, they had to adopt a child privately. Their first adopted son, Robert, fit in well. From a young age, he knew to behave and be tidy to remain on the good side of his new mother. The adoption went so smoothly that authorities concluded that the Jurgens didn’t have to adopt privately. If they wanted to adopt again, they could use official channels.

The couple then adopted Dennis when he was just one-year-old. From the minute he entered the home, he was greeted with a rainbow of bruises. As soon as Lois met him, she didn’t like him. He had spirit, as most toddlers do, and this infuriated Lois. She wanted a silent baby who could fit into her façade of the perfect family. She adopted him despite the fact she disliked him because she was concerned this would discourage the authorities from allowing them to adopt again. Within months, Dennis arrived at A&E with first and second degree burns on his genitalia. Lois claimed he had soiled himself so she put him in the sink where he then turned on the hot water. This explanation was accepted without qualms.

Once home, Dennis was abused and tormented beyond comprehension. If he didn’t eat his food, Lois tied him to the chair and shoved horseradish into his mouth, causing him to vomit. When he vomited, she forced him to eat it. Lois became obsessed with Dennis’ weight and resorted to calling him “Sloppy Fat” and frequently starved him when she wasn’t force feeding him. When Dennis wet his diaper, Lois would place a clothespin on his penis or bite his genitalia. At night, Dennis would be tied spread eagle to his bed so that he couldn’t move. When he went out, he was forced to wear sunglasses to conceal his black eyes.

At the age of three and a half, Dennis’ body finally gave in. It was the early morning hours of 11 April, 1965. It isn’t known what exactly killed Dennis. Was it one specific blow or an accumulation of the years of abuse? When Dennis died, he had zero body fat. His appearance equated to someone who had died from starvation. He had bite marks, scars, and lacerations all over his genitalia. He was bruised and cut from head to toe. At a time when authorities and society alike could not accept the concept of a child being the target of abuse in a middle-class home, his death was marked as “deferred.”

It wouldn’t be until 21 years later that Dennis got some form of justice. His birth mother decided to try and track him down and found that he had perished. Reading his death certificate, she demanded an investigation be opened. The trial was a soul-destroying one, with mortuary photographs of the battered boy being shown to the stunned jury. From the photographs alone it was evident he had been the victim of foul play. Furthermore, numerous witnesses came forward to report that they knew of the abuse but did nothing to stop it. They were afraid of Lois, they claimed, and because of this selfish fear, a three and a half year old was murdered over the course of two years. As it turned out, Lois had adopted four more children after the murder of Dennis. All of these children ran away and begged for help from neighbours after she abused them too. From slamming one’s face into a nail protruding from the wall to forcing them to standing naked out in the snow, the abuse was horrendous. Thankfully, these children were old enough to run away. Dennis wasn’t so lucky. In 1987, Louis was sentenced to 25 years in prison. She was paroled in 1995 and went on to live a quiet life in Stillwater, Minnesota, with her husband who stood by her.

Eight measly years for the systematic torture and abuse of six children and the murder of one.

[thedamageofherdays]

Welcome to my final reading log of the year! This is the final reading log for a while but I plan to continue to read and rec fics in 2022. I wish everyone a happy new year and I want to thank everyone in this fandom for all the amazing things they continue to create. You are all awesome! <3

🌻 marks a favourite, 🔒 marks a fic that is only available to ao3 users, 🍀 marks a fic that is only available on Tumblr.

🌻 Blooming Under the Dappled Light by thiccbuckybarnes @thiccbuckybarnesfic [Stucky, 29,6k words, Explicit] (4/7 chapters available)

“Primogeniture (prīmōˈjenəˌCHər) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relative.”

❀❀❀

Despite being the son of a gentleman, James "Bucky" Barnes could scarcely allow himself the hope of one day being tied to another in happy matrimony. In a society where the first-born children are revered and inherit all of a family's wealth, last-born Bucky feels trapped in a life he did not ask for.

When he makes the drastic decision to run away and become a tutor for a wealthy family, he is hoping to save enough pennies to someday have a dowry and be worthy for marriage despite his disposition. What he is not anticipating, however, is falling into the rough and skilled hands of his employer, the rakish widow Lord Steven Rogers.

Tight End in the Corner (Back) by buckybarnesdeservestobehappy (hutchabelle) @buckybarnesdeservestobehappy [Stucky, 1,2k words, Mature]

Steve Rogers, starting tight end for the Minnesota Vikings, has a massive crush on his teammate. Maybe being gay in the NFL isn’t entirely socially acceptable, but no one on the team seems to care. A road game, frigid temperatures, and an invitation are all Steve needs to find his way to Bucky’s hotel room. Thankfully, the door is open.

🌻 coming home to you by NoStringsOnMe @martelldoran [Stucky, 3,7k words, Teen]

He's fine. But he doesn't feel fine.

It's probably nothing, he thinks. It's the excitement of the day, he reasons. But then his eyes land on Bucky with his open shirt collar and flushed cheeks. Bucky and his rolled up sleeves. Bucky and the curl of chestnut brown hair that's fallen out of place and now lies artfully across his forehead.

His eyes land on Bucky and he wants.

|| Or, the one with 5 Christmases in the past, plus 1 in the future.

🌻 Where The Love Light Gleams by Aciremii @aciremii, rissatack (thatemofangirl), thatemofangirl [Stucky, 531 words, Teen]

A short and sweet holiday story, and some bonus art to follow.

Steve's Bad Day by isolatedwriter [Stucky, 1k words, General]

“Is it okay if I stay here for a while?” Steve asked, his voice shaking ever so slightly. 

“Of course it’s okay, it’s always okay,” Bucky responded immediately, ushering him inside.

Come home with me by christywantspizza @christywantspizza [Stucky, 2,1k words, General]

The Avengers spend Christmas Eve in an unexpected place and Bucky gets an unexpected gift.

Must be Santa by rainbow_nerds [Stucky, 2,7k words, Teen]

Steve was bored. He wasn’t a big fan of boredom.

There hadn’t been a mission in close to a month now, which was objectively a good thing for the world, but Steve was bad at doing nothing.

And then he got a call.

🌻 Love Covered Beneath the Snow by Metalbvcky @metalbvcky [Stucky, 14k words, Mature]

Moving out in the middle of the woods wasn't exactly Steve's new years regulation for the upcoming year, but neither was becoming a doctor over ten years ago. He could hardly believe that it was almost 2024, yet here was, trying to enjoy the life he carved out for himself. He had more than one thing to complain about, though the biggest was the absence of a certain someone he'd been searching for way too long.

Oh, and the tree limb that collapsed against the bridge and obstructed his way back to the cabin. Now he'd have to find a different route to bring the tree he'd cut inside. His boots protested underneath the thick and heavy snow, the wind whipping in his grey, combed-back hair.

Before long, he found himself kneeling beside the body he spotted in the distance.

The first thing that caught Steve’s eye was the torn sleeve exposing the boy’s reddened skin, the early stages of frostbite settling in, then the soulmark on the center of his bicep. A soulmark, which was identical to the one that was over Steve’s heart.

“Oh god,” Steve said aloud, taking a second to stare at his soulmate, raking his gaze across that innocent face.

Mistletoe Memories by emilywithoutY @between-a-ship-and-a-hard-place [Stucky, 5k words, Teen]

A glamorous holiday party at the Tower, crowded with strangers in fancy dress looking to get chummy with an American symbol, was far from Steve's idea of a good time. Even worse: tonight the reception venue seemed to be haunted by a very persistent breed of mistletoe.

Steve was all but ready to abandon his friends and escape back to his quiet Brooklyn apartment, when a surprising revelation came, quite literally, crashing down on him.

Or: Five wrong kisses and one right one.

🌻 The Barnes Family Bakery by Alaskan_Outsider @alaskan-outsider [Stucky, 3,2k words, Teen]

When a cute guy walks into Bucky's sister's bakery, Bucky falls and love and can't get him out of his mind. Little did he know, he was falling for Captain America.

[themadamespod]

The Great White Gripe

A lot has been said about the “social commentary” within The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. 

“Since when is Marvel a bunch of SJWs? I don’t need this shit.”

“All this race stuff feels SUPER forced.”

“Oh here we go Marvel tryin to be all woke to get the libs on board.”

If you personally know anyone who spews this brand of ignorance, we’re sorry. 

Let’s make one thing perfectly clear: there is no social commentary on TFATWS. Showrunner Malcolm Spellman and director Kari Skogland simply show the reality of life in America. It’s not their fault that so many (white) people (men) don’t like looking in the mirror.

And some people claim they have no problem with film and television addressing politics and social change.

“Just keep it out of my comic book movies. It doesn’t belong there.”

They could not be anymore wrong, even if Chandler Bing himself was lecturing them. 

If you asked 100 people to name the top ten movies of all time, you’d get 100 different lists. But one thing we can all agree on is that film has power. It has the power to move us, to divide us, to unite us. Entertainment can lead to the kind of discourse that prompts action and positive change.

And that’s why The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and the conversations it’s sparking are so important.

One World, One Reality

“Marvel has always been and always will be a reflection of the world right outside our window.” - Stan Lee

There are two takeaways from that statement:

One: Stan Lee didn’t say that in the 1960s, 1970s, or even the 1980s. He said it in 2017.

Two: Our window, not your window, is a subtle but important distinction, particularly as it relates to TFATWS. The Flag Smashers, led by Karli Morgenthau, live by a simple creed: “One world, One people.” The core message of the show is that white Americans and Black Americans experience the world very differently, but there’s still only one world, one reality. 

It’s just a matter of people opening their eyes and seeing it.

TFATWS is an extension of Marvel’s early support of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1963, Stan Lee created the X-Men as an allegory for the ongoing struggles of the African-American community. Though he didn’t explicitly base Professor X and Magneto on Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, there are ideological similarities.

Five years later, following the assassinations of Dr. King and Robert Kennedy, Stan wrote the following:

“Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today. It’s totally irrational, patently insane to condemn an entire race—to despise an entire nation—to vilify an entire religion. Sooner or later, we must learn to judge each other on our own merits. Sooner or later, if a man is ever to be worthy of his destiny, we must fill our hearts with tolerance.”

In 2021, Stan’s words still resonate. Racism in the United States is as virulent and damaging as it’s ever been. Black Americans are facing deadly policing, Jim Crow 2.0 voting laws, mass incarceration, and countless other roadblocks to mobility that most white people have never encountered.

Through the journeys of Sam and Sarah Wilson, Lemar Hoskins, and the heartbreaking Isaiah Bradley, TFATWS shows the unvarnished truth of what Ira Glass might call Black American Life. And through John Walker, the writers nail home the message that’s really making certain people squirm:

White men are the greatest threat not just to Black Americans, but all Americans, because TFATWS is as much an indictment of toxic masculinity as it is of bigotry. 

As aggressive racism has spread like wildfire since 2016, so has hostile sexism towards women of all colors. John Walker is the embodiment of the hyper aggression that the Proud Boys applaud. The clearest example of this comes when Walker dares to clap the shoulder of Ayo, one of Wakanda’s Dora Milaje.

Her swift and, ahem, pointed response had women the world over screaming like they’d just won the lottery. 

One could also argue that Walker’s dogged pursuit of Karli and displaced peoples supporting the Flag Smasher cause mirrors the Trump administration’s war on immigrants. 

There are plenty of parallels to draw. The point is, none of them are forced or manufactured or exaggerated. And whether we’re talking about a fictional road in Latvia or a real street in Minnesota, white Americans need to stop avoiding conversations that make them uncomfortable.

The Politics of Comics 

In 1938, Americans were still reeling from the Great Depression. Enter Superman, the everyman hero, who made his comic debut while the nation was facing widespread unemployment, rampant poverty, and blatant corruption at every level of government.

Superman could have faced off against any number of supernatural villains. But Siegel and Shuster went a different route, setting a precedent for comic books that has prevailed to this day:

They got political. 

Throughout Superman’s earliest adventures, he fought against evil politicians, apathetic bureaucrats, aggressive police officers, greedy businessmen, and even a Washington lobbyist. 

Then in 1941, Joe Simon & Jack Kirby introduced Captain America just in time to fight the nazis and free the world from fascism. A couple decades later, Kirby and Stan Lee would tell the tale of the aforementioned Erik Lehnsherr, who survived the horrors of Auschwitz. These comics endured because their passion and nuance transcended entertainment. So what was the secret sauce?

Like Siegel and Shuster, Simon, Kirby, and Stan Lee were Jewish. Representation matters, folks. 

Later on, the X-Men weren’t the only conduit through which Marvel supported Civil Rights. In 1966, on the heels of the “March Against Fear” from Memphis, TN to Jackson, MS, Stan Lee & Jack Kirby unveiled Black Panther. When African-Americans were fighting harder than ever, Black children could suddenly read a comic book about T’Challa, the noble warrior king of a highly advanced African nation. 

Marvel has never been shy about critiquing foreign policy either. Tony Stark and Iron Man debuted in 1968 as the conflict in Vietnam was escalating. And let’s not forget, Tony made his MCU debut in a film that is a clear indictment of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We could do this all day, but you get the idea. 

Comic books have always reflected the politics of our times, and so has the MCU. Fanboys can’t start crying now just because they’re on the wrong side of history. And when they do, we defer to the great Jon Bernthal when asked about alt-righters appropriating the Punisher symbol:

“Fuck them.”

Life Imitates Art

In 1986, American men felt the need for speed. After Top Gun was released, applications to U.S. aviation forces increased by a staggering 500%. 

Two years later, Errol Morris exposed police corruption in his film The Thin Blue Line. The documentary prompted a new investigation that eventually exonerated death row inmate Randall Adams for the murder of a police officer.

That same year, the Polish government ceased all executions after leaders were swayed to do so by A Short Film about Killing.

Following the release of Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine in 1999, Kmart bowed to public pressure and stopped selling handgun ammunition. 

And 5 years ago, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif changed the law on honor killings in response to the critically-acclaimed film A Girl in the River. 

Like we said earlier, film has the power to spur social change. Even if the effects aren’t always so direct and immediate, television and movies have always contributed to the process in America. 

Seeing the Ricardos sharing a bed allowed some Americans to start relaxing their prudish ways. 

The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Maude empowered women as they fought for reproductive rights.

The Jeffersons and Good Times facilitated calmer discussions about race relations.

And The Ellen Show led to greater representation of queer people on screen and greater acceptance of queer people in society. Though Ellen herself has become a problematic figure in the last year, that legacy still remains.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is hardly the first show of its kind. And given the impact film has on society, we believe Hollywood has a moral obligation to produce content that exposes society’s ills and fosters productive debate. 

Stan Lee would be very proud of the team behind TFATWS for bringing the stark reality of American life into people’s living rooms. The next time you see someone bitching about it, remind them what Stan himself said just a few years ago: 

“Those stories have room for everyone, regardless of their race, gender, religion, or color of their skin. The only things we don't have room for are hatred, intolerance, and bigotry.”

[shamandrummer]

Winona LaDuke: Native Environmentalism

I had the opportunity to meet Winona LaDuke and hear her speak at a conference years ago. LaDuke is a renowned Anishinaabe environmentalist, economist, writer and past two time vice-presidential candidate (with Ralph Nader), known for her work on tribal land claims and preservation, as well as women's rights. She is from the Makwa Dodaem (Bear Clan) of the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota. LaDuke was raised in Ashland Oregon, the daughter of Betty Bernstein and Vincent (Sun Bear) LaDuke. Her Anishinaabe father worked as an actor in Hollywood in supporting roles in Western movies before establishing himself as an author and spiritual leader in the 1980's. Her mother is an artist and writer who has gained an international reputation for her murals, paintings and sketches. LaDuke attended Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Antioch University. She has testified at the United Nations, U.S. Congress, state hearings, and is an expert witness on economics and the environment. She advocates primarily for the protection of the environment and the rights of women. In 1985, LaDuke helped found the Indigenous Women's Network. She worked with the Native organization Women of All Red Nations to publicize American forced sterilization of Native American women. In 1989, LaDuke founded the White Earth Land Recovery Project in Minnesota with the proceeds of a human rights award from Reebok. The goal is to buy back land in the White Earth Indian Reservation that non-Natives bought and to create enterprises that provide work to Anishinaabe. LaDuke is humorous, enlightening and above all political. She speaks with a Native voice without altering her language for non-Natives. Her words differ from establishment thinking and offer new ways of understanding the world and the solutions we need for the great issues of climate change. She conveys a beautiful and daring vision of political, spiritual and ecological transformation. LaDuke spoke at length about Native environmental issues and challenges. Despite making up a tiny fraction of the world's population, Indigenous peoples hold ancestral rights to some 65 percent of the planet. This poignant fact conveys the enormous role that Native peoples play not only as environmental stewards, but as political actors on the global stage.

All over the world, Native peoples are engaged in battles with hostile corporations and governments that claim the right to set aside small reserves for Native people, and then to seize the rest of their traditional territory. They are confronting the destructive practices of industry and leading the charge against climate change, while defending the rivers, forests and food systems that we all depend on. At the same time, they are blocking governments from eroding basic rights and freedoms and turning to the courts of the world to remedy over 500 years of historical wrongs. Native peoples are putting their lives on the line and fighting back for political autonomy and land rights. And all the while, they are breathing new life into the biocultural heritage that has the potential to sustain the entire human race.

Native Americans often articulate alternative environmental perspectives and relationships to the natural world. Indigenous mythologies and oral traditions express a non-anthropocentric environmental ethic. Indigenous groups offer ancient tried-and-tested knowledge and wisdom based on their own locally developed practices of resource use. And, as Native peoples themselves have insisted for centuries, they often understand and exhibit a holistic, interconnected and interdependent relationship to particular landscapes and to the totality of life, animate and inanimate, found there.

Perhaps the most important aspect of Indigenous cosmology is the conception of creation as a living process, resulting in a living universe in which a kinship exists between all things. Thus the Mother Earth is a living being, as are the Sun, Stars and the Moon. Hence the Creators are our family, our Grandparents or Parents, and all of their creations are children who are also our relations. LaDuke captured the essence of this concept when she said: "Native American teachings describe the relations all around--animals, fish, trees, and rocks--as our brothers, sisters, uncles, and grandpas...These relations are honored in ceremony, song, story, and life that keep relations close--to buffalo, sturgeon, salmon, turtles, bears, wolves, and panthers. These are our older relatives--the ones who came before and taught us how to live."

The industrialized West is largely unaware of how Indigenous societies have functioned, and the strengths they possess that industrial cultures have lacked. Our notions of progress are based on the idea that high tech means better and that industrial cultures are somehow more advanced socially. The current state of our threatened environment demands that communication channels be opened for dialogue and engagement with Native environmental ethics.  

When describing Indigenous environmental activism, LaDuke said, "Grassroots and land-based struggles characterize most of Native environmentalism. We are nations of people with distinct land areas, and our leadership and direction emerge from the land up." Each nation and community has its own unique cultural traditions linked to the land.

LaDuke detailed how different groups of Native people are contending with environmental issues and are seeking to address them at the local, community level. They are also forming national and international organizations that seek to help individual nations, in large part through information sharing and technical assistance. In the final analysis, however, each nation, reserve, or community has to confront its own issues and develop its own leadership. This must be stressed over and over again: each sovereign Native nation will deal with its own environmental issues in its own way. There is no single Native American government that can develop a collective Indigenous response to the crisis we all face. LaDuke emphasized that the environmental awareness of many Native American groups translates into a high level of respect for women in their communities. A good deal of evidence has shown that when women have high status, education, and choices, they tend to greatly enrich a community and to stabilize population growth. Many traditional American societies have been able to maintain balance with their environments because of the high status of women, a long period of nursing for infants, and/or the control of reproductive decisions by women. Many of the leaders in the Native struggle today are women. LaDuke pointed out that respect and humility form the foundation of Native lifeways, since they not only lead to minimal exploitation of other living things but also preclude the arrogance of colonial missionary activity, secular imperialism, and the oppressive patriarchy. She noted that: "In each deliberation we consider the impact on the seventh generation from now. Everything we have today we inherited, we are very, very fortunate today that our ancestors were strong people. We’re very, very fortunate that our ancestors took care of this land so well. We also know that those who are not yet here are counting on us not to mess this up…they’re counting on us to make sure that there will be water for them to drink, that there will still be fish, that the air will not be so poisoned or so hot that they cannot live."

Native people are not only trying to clean up uranium tailings, purify polluted water, and mount opposition to fossil fuel extraction; they are also continuing their spiritual ways of seeking to celebrate and support all life by means of ceremonies and prayers. As LaDuke told us in closing: "In our communities, Native environmentalists sing centuries-old songs to renew life, to give thanks for the strawberries, to call home fish, and to thank Mother Earth for her blessings."