#I haven’t been able to vote in my birth country or the country I lived in for close to a decade

[hushedhands]

Challenge 79

For @tardis-23‘s voting challenge, I wrote a little retrospective of Lenore and Xavier’s relationship so far including a couple of dates. I wanted this challenge to feel like a chai latte: a little spicy, very sweet, and warm all the way down!

Lenore woke up the morning after the six month anniversary of her first date with Xavier to the sun peeking through the window shades on her eyes. She turned her head and there was Xay, fast asleep, absolutely glowing in the morning light. If she was any kind of artist, she’d memorize every detail and recreate it for him later because he had absolutely no idea what it was like to wake up next to him in the morning. Like waking up next to a work of art. She couldn’t wait for those brown eyes to flicker open and catch the morning light too.

Lenore usually woke up first so she often got to see him this way. It was fair though, because she was usually the first to sleep and that’s when Xavier got to stare at her in the moonlight. She’d never thought of herself as the kind of person who falls asleep first with someone else in the room, but Xavier had this way of making everything inside of her go quiet. Just like she made everything inside of him spark like electric currents. Electrons flowed from her to him and he flickered to life. Or so he said. Electrical engineers had a strange way of flirting.

Lenore stretched her back and rolled over so that her body was facing his. She slinked an arm over his waist under the warm covers and leaned forward, pressing her lips to his. She could feel the moment he returned to her from his dreams, when his lips responded and he slid his own hand across her bare stomach, teasing her ribs with the pad of his thumb.

“It’s early, Lenna.” he complained, but he wasn’t mad at her technique.

“Not that early, Xay.” she challenged. “We missed the sunrise.”

“Hmm.” Xavier didn’t seem to mind. He pulled her closer and kissed her again, completely uninterested in time.

Time was the thing Lenore was most interested in, though. “We have all day.” she murmured against his mouth. “I don’t want to miss it.”

“Who’s missing it?” he challenged her with a wicked smile.

It wasn’t very often that they got to spend a whole weekend together with no homework or exam revisions or projects to distract them from each other. Lenore refused to spend it all in bed, avoiding the sun. But she could afford to spend a little longer in bed.

Everything about the past six months had been a whirlwind for Lenore. She hadn’t thought she was the kind of girl to get a silly crush on a boy, but from the moment she’d laid eyes on Xavier for the first time, he’d dominated her thoughts in a way that would have dropped her grades at school if she hadn’t done something about it. He was just that cute.

And then they’d started talking. And then that crush had become more.

Before being swept off her feet by Xavier, Lenore thought that sappy, gooey, stupid love was only for movie characters or gorgeous wealthy, entitled princesses. Adrienne was the most likely candidate to experience it in real life, because her genetics were a mix of the most powerful man in the world and a woman who had basically won a beauty pageant to become his bride. Addy inherited looks and wealth, and anyone in the world would trip over themselves for the chance to date her. Fairytale love was her birthright, so no one was more surprised than Lenore when Addy’s relationship with her first boyfriend crashed and burned just as Lenore’s relationship with Xavier really caught fire.

She kept the details to herself to avoid rubbing salt in Addy’s wounded heart, but Lenore was stupidly, idiotically, unreasonably in love with this man, and she was done trying to fight it.

She still remembered their first date, getting to know one another over milkshakes. Lenore learned all about Xavier’s family: all astoundingly good people, it turned out.

“How do you not hate the royal family, I just don’t get it.” Lenore had asked, shaking her head. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like the Brat.”

Xavier had chuckled at Lenore’s nickname for the Princess of Illéa.

“But even so… you lost your dad so that she could have hers.”

Xavier had been asked this question before, but he paused to think it over so that he could give Lenore her own unique answer, “I only have one memory of my dad. Nothing special, we were just playing outside. I have a dozen memories of the King treating me and my mother like family. He’s a good man, and I’m proud of my father for saving his life. I don’t hate Princess Adrienne for that, it’s not her fault.”

“I guess hate was the wrong word… maybe resent? I mean, they get your tax dollars and your father? That’s too much.”

Xavier tried again, “Lenore, my dad guarded the King since he was still just a prince. He knew him and Queen America very well. The anniversary of my dad’s death is right before Addy’s birthday. Think about it… the rebel attack that killed my dad came just weeks before the queen gave birth. I’ve thought a lot about what my dad must have been thinking in the split second before he died, when he made the decision to sacrifice himself. Sure, I think he wanted the King, his friend, to have the chance to meet his child the way my dad got to meet me. But mostly, I believe he was thinking of me. I think he wanted King Maxon to be in charge of the country where I grew up, and to be able to teach his heir to be a kind and thoughtful ruler too. If it wasn’t for my dad, Addy’s life would be totally different and none of her brothers and sisters would exist. I don’t hate the royal family, my dad is the reason they’re alive today. They’re basically my responsibility, like plants or pets.” he’d laughed.  

Lenore rubbed her face to hide the fact that she was laughing too. When she emerged she decried, “I just don’t know that Brat-face is worth such a sacrifice.”

“Yes you do.” Xavier pushed back. “Even if you didn’t, it wouldn’t be your calculation to make. A lot of the men in my dad’s generation were drafted into the service. My dad volunteered. He wanted to dedicate his life to preserving the Illéan royal family because he believed in Prince Maxon. That’s exactly what he ended up doing, and you and I both know he was right. King Maxon is extraordinary.”

“We shouldn’t have a monarchy though.” Lenore had mumbled into her milkshake, and Xavier had laughed again.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” he’d rolled those gorgeous eyes at her, completely unfazed by her treason, and that was the moment she knew. She was in way over her head with this boy. 

But how could she make him like her as much as she liked him? She came back with her own story, “My big brother voluntarily enlisted, just like your dad.”

“Really?” she had his attention. Good.

“We haven’t been at war since he was just a baby, but my parents remember the terror of the New Asian war really well. They were so scared when he told them he was enlisting, but I wasn’t scared. I was furious. Why should some stupid man in a stupid golden hat get to decide on a whim where my brother goes and what kind of dangerous things he does? It was ridiculous. But it’s like you said, it wasn’t my calculation to make. Only he gets to decide what his life is worth and how he wants to spend it.”

“How is he?” Xavier asked. It was the kind of question that carried extra meaning between military families.

“Good. He loves it, the big old stupid head.” Lenore had grinned. “He’ll be home for a visit from Fort Eisner in a few months. If you play your cards right, maybe you’ll get to meet him.”

And Xavier played his cards very, very right.

Lenore met his mom over dinner one rainy night in Angeles, and then he joined Lenore for a road trip home to visit her family when her brother returned on leave. Had she ever expected to introduce her whole family to a boy she’d only been dating for a few months? No! 

But that wasn’t the only thing she’d underestimated: she’d had no idea how much she was going to hate her roommates by the end of the semester, so much that she spent almost every night at Xavier’s studio apartment just off of campus instead. Living with her boyfriend? Who was she??

And now that she was used to falling asleep in his arms and waking up next to him in the morning, she never wanted to go back.

She’d expected to spend her twenties and thirties single and focused on her career, and then maybe settle down with someone once she had met some of her other life goals. But if this boy was crazy enough to propose to her, Lenore knew without a doubt that she’d say yes. And she’d only known him for six months. What was wrong with her? 

By the time Xavier and Lenore made it out of bed, the restaurant they were going to was done selling breakfast. They settled for an early lunch before heading to the movie theater for a matinee showing of a classic science fiction movie. Lenore liked the metaphors about society and Xavier liked the special effects. Afterwards, they went grocery shopping for his apartment together and he promised to cook something extra special on the night she would have to stay late on campus to meet with her study group, so she’d have something to look forward to.

How could she tell him that he was what she looked forward to?

When the groceries were put away, they got in his car and went for a drive north, through the back roads, looking for changing leaves. Along the way they found a lookout with a perfect view of the sunset and all the bright little stars that burst forth after dusk. Lenore felt like one of those stars; she’d always been burning, but now she was bright.

She fell asleep on the ride home.

The ride back to his studio apartment.

The ride home.

She was ready for the morning, when she could wake up to that face again.

[kokujin-josei-simmer]

THIS IS A LONG POST NOT RELATED TO THE SIMS, SORRY BUT I JUST NEED AN OUTLET. THIS POST IS ABOUT JAPAN.

1st picture is of Norihisa Tamura, Japan’s Minister of Health, Labor & Welfare on tv with no mask and what’s supposed to be a face shield. That man went on national TV looking that ridiculous.

The other photo is in Kabukicho, Tokyo after 8PM...when all the bars/restaurants are supposed to close but 40% of them are ignoring the request (yes, the government keeps asking them to close because the law limits them) mainly because they can’t afford to close.

More about that here:

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210817/p2a/00m/0na/023000c

And the last picture is rush hour in Tokyo, ALL of those people are getting on/off the train and all during Tokyo’s 4th (yes FOUR) State of Emergency. The pictures highlight the incompetence of Japan’s leaders & the slow/ineffective measures they’ve taken to fight the spread of the virus. Allowing The Olympics to go forward was pretty much the point of no return *the 2 photos of the crowds were taken last month, Aug 2021*

I’m talking about Japan because my bf is leaving soon (Saturday) to visit Japan. 

Don’t mistake this post for any sort of travel advice: don’t try to book a trip there if you have no business going there, besides...you’ll be banned from entering the country. Even folks who have business in Japan (foreign students/employees who already have their visas) are still banned from entering the country.

He’s going back because he has a relative in the hospital whose condition was worsening (it seems their condition has slightly improved) and it’s unrelated to COVID-19. He wouldn’t jump on a plane to Japan, during a pandemic, if he had any other choice. He’s fully vaccinated and always wears a mask (double mask) when out in public.

I know a lot of weebs on here who probably think Japan is “doing well” because the numbers are much lower than the US (always the constant comparison to the US but never mind the fact that the US pop is 360M compared to Japan’s 126M) but the reality is: Japan still, to this day, doesn’t have mass testing sites meaning lower number of people are being tested daily. No lockdowns, extremely slow vaccine rollout, and they just threw out over a million doses of Moderna due to contamination.

The hospitals cannot handle the number of infections and many people have been turned away from the hospital which has lead to deadly consequences for some, like the pregnant woman who was forced to give birth at home which resulted in her newborn baby dying. A woman in her 70′s who had diabetes was denied a hospital room, she too died as a result. Now I’m just reading about the actress, Haruka Ayase, who has pneumonia due to COVID-19 yet the hospital made room for her. I’m not saying she deserved to die but Japan is clearly picking & choosing who is more important.

I think the only upside to this is the fact that my bf will have to quarantine at his parents home for 2 weeks in Osaka (not Tokyo, which is good since the biggest outbreak is of course in the largest city, Tokyo) so (hopefully) he won’t be exposed to the virus if he stays at home. Plus he has to quarantine, the government requires anyone returning to Japan to install an app that allows them to call you at home (video-calls) to verify that you are your quarantine location. I read one woman’s account, she’s a permanent resident, about how they video-called her twice in the same day: within 30 minutes actually. They most likely won’t do that to my bf because he isn’t a “scary foreigner” since quite a few Japanese folks (including racist, ultra right-wing politicians) are still lying & blaming foreigners for all the cases in Japan.

Oh and a FYI: from the folks I follow on Twitter (foreigners living in Japan), they’ve stated that lots of folks in Japan, especially Tokyo, are ignoring the State of Emergency. They continue to go out to bars, restaurants which increases the spread and the risk of infecting their loved ones at home/coworkers/classmates/etc.

It’s irritating knowing all this and reading posts from people who have no ties to Japan, don’t know anyone from Japan and can’t even be bothered to read posts from people who actually live there claiming “they defeated the virus” or still denying that it’s actually a hell of a lot worse than they’re letting on.

We can compare cities, we can compare Tokyo to NYC and see how the response to the virus has been. NYC had a lockdown, rent relief for its residents ($2.7B available but the payout has been disastrous, the new Governor is trying to speed it up), workers & students were allowed to work/attend classes from home meaning no crowded mass transit. We had mask mandates & even now NYC requires proof of vaccination to go to most places like restaurants, gyms, etc.

Tokyo is not allowing workers/students to work/attend class from home so their mass transit (a city of 13 MILLION, 37 MILLION in the metro area, quite a few more than here in NYC) is PACKED. There was no real lockdown because the government is limited in its power, they’re just now *over a year later* trying to vote to change that. I haven’t heard anything about any rent relief just the ¥100000 paid out once, that’s about $930 USD, to adults and a one-time stimulus payment to businesses that was less than $20K USD. There’s no mass testing site meaning testing throughout the country is still limited.

Tokyo set up a “lottery” the other day in Shibuya which required people to go the location to try and earn a spot for a vaccine. They could’ve had this lottery online but Japan is so behind the times they clearly didn’t think this was a problem...to have a large number of people moving around during a pandemic. Of course it was a mess and the governor of Tokyo (Koike) had the nerve to try to blame the staff for the large crowds.

My bf has to get a PCR test document (in Japanese) & it has to be SIGNED by someone at the clinic. Fortunately he’s able to get it in one day (day before his flight) but it’s just the fact that Japan is the only country in the world pulling this nonsense. If we didn’t find out about the handwritten/signed document he would’ve flew all the way there and been denied entry into the country.

He’ll be there for 3 weeks, the other positive side of this trip (other than being able to see his family/relative in the hospital & not having to be in Tokyo) is that he is, of course, picking up some stuff for me. But only if it’s safe to do so though, I don’t want him going to jam-packed stores, since he has a week to look around it should be less crowded at the stores during business hours when most people are at work/school.

My list:

Famima socks & imabari towel *I think it’s actually a handkerchief ( ファミリーマート (Family Mart) convenience store has a clothing line)

Some donuts from Mister Donut (I’m not joking, as long as there’s no cream they’ll last outside of the fridge for 2-3 days before getting stale)

Muji cotton headbands (they no longer sell them at the NYC locations)

Baton d’or (fancier alternative to Pocky, they cost almost $10 a box)

Amanatto (look up natto, it’s a candied version of that)

Some little knicknacks from Osaka like fridge magnets, he thinks a hoodie/sweater with Osaka on it might be too cheesy/touristy

Maybe Melano CC, it’s cheaper than ordering online ($11 vs $20+)

Probably some other food/snacks

Etc. - still thinking if I need/want anything else

He’s also giving me a video tour of Osaka (大阪) so I can see places like his parents town Izumi ( 和泉市) & places he used to hang out in like Amemura ( アメリカ村  - full name is Amerikamura Village) so I’m just trying to get into the positive side of this and enjoy seeing Osaka beyond G.Map.

So to wrap this up, it’s already too long but I just wanted folks to know that things aren’t so peachy in Nippon, and it won’t be for a while. Hopefully, with more people getting sick of Suga’s (Prime Minister) inaction over the pandemic they’ll be more motivated to vote out the useless, racist LDP (Liberal Democratic Party: don’t be fooled by the Democratic part, they’re quite right wing and conservative) party. He’s already suffered several embarrassing setbacks from recent elections such as an LDP candidate losing the Yokohama mayoral race to an opponent, very embarrassing since Yokohama is Suga’s hometown.

So I’m hoping for a better future for Japan (for everyone, but I’m actually hoping for the imperialist, oligarchy of the US to collapse) and for safe travels for my bf and anyone else who has to travel during this pandemic.

[joeyarnoldvn]

2021, February

Biden Law, Five Years Lockdown Monday the first day of February of 2021. Canada Kidnapping Themselves Tuesday. All About Hive Blog Wednesday. Alex Jones and DR. STEVE PIECZENIK Thursday. Are you ready for Weapons of Mass Distraction Friday. Amazon Spies Saturday.

Instagram Rising

I was banned on Bittrex Sunday the 8th. My Cash App is $joeyarnoldvn Monday. Cronyism Sucks Tuesday. Gold-Backed Crypto Wednesday. Protonmail problem on my 36th birthday Thursday. Just kidding. Brother Joined Hive Friday. Shoveling Snow Saturday.

Ice Killed Texans

Happy Valentines Day Sunday the 14th. President's Day. Party at Five Monday. Texas Freezing Tuesday. Vietnamese pho dinner was yummy. Travel Post Banned For Not Being a Travel Post Wednesday. Photoshop Funny Thursday. We Need County Coin Friday. Why is Sweden banning masks Saturday.

Can't Disrupt Commerce lol

Strung up pea strings. The Healthy American Sunday the 21st. Pho dinner. Musical chairs. Weekly Oatmeal Show - Episode 001 Monday. Gina Carona Interview with Ben Shapiro Tuesday. Digging up potatoes. Bible study revived. Being Dead Due To Birth Wednesday. Captain Biden Flying Around Zapping Brown Kids Thursday. My-Body-My-Choice No-Mask Sign Friday. Cleaned Out a Chicken House Saturday. DEADLY-ALLERGIC to YOUR-OWN-BODY Sunday.

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Oatmeal Monthly - 2021-02 - February of 2021 Published in February of 2021

I enjoyed watching season 1 of Tell Me Your Secrets

By Oatmeal Joey Arnold

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Biden Law, Five Years Lockdown Plan

2021-02-01 - Monday

Hello Pocahontas

Americans to be placed under Extreme Lockdown House-Arrest for at least 12 months, that is the plan. You will be stuck in your house like they did in China. You will starve to death and die. The plan is to begin this before 2022, as in as soon as possible. Your loved ones will die from Covid Vaccines which is already murdering hundreds to thousands of people. This is a hole straight down to the pits of Hell.

Canada Kidnapping Themselves

2021-02-02 - Tuesday

Biden, Harris, Napoleon Dynamite Voting Meme

When Canadians return to their home country, Canada, they're federally kidnapped, imprisoned in Covid Concentration Camps for many days, and then charged at least $2,000. Wow. Justin is so liberal. Let's all move to the Land of the Moose. 2 masks at least says CDC. Go to their website and read the article.

Try To Withdraw Money

If you try to take your money out of your bank, they'll flag you, stick the IRS up your butt. Just try it, I dare you. When you try to withdraw cash, watch what happens, and don't get me started with if you ask for gold when you try to cash out. Paper money was supposed to be an "I-Owe-You" check which is supposed to be exchangeable for actual gold, a place-holder.

All About Hive Blog

2021-02-03 - Wednesday

Picture of Joey Arnold

Hive is like Facebook except it pays you to post. Did you know Covid is also called SARS-COV-2? Wait a minute, whatever happened to SARS-COV-1? Did we have a pandemic for the first one? How are we already in the second one? Was I sleeping while the first one was going around? How many years ago was the first one? Is China stealing oil from Texas? Why was Joe Biden refused a Pentagon security clearance? There has been documented cases where people were missing over 90% of their brain tissue but where still able to function like a normal person. One person to even had just a thin layer around the inside of the skull. Literally an empty head and yet could still function as a human. They are destroying the second amendment right now. You have no idea.

Alex Jones and DR. STEVE PIECZENIK

2021-02-04 - Thursday

Trump Terminator

Big interview between Alex Jones and DR. STEVE PIECZENIK today, 2nd hour of the show. The dollar could lose over 20% of its value under Lord Biden before 2022 and much more the following 12 months. It is likely the dollar will die sooner or later meaning you must convert your dollars into something else while you still can. This is financial advice. You have been warned. Your money is on fire but not in a good way. You're leaking value each day. You might as well give me your money as you're losing your money each second. You're wasting your money as you let inflation destroy the value of fiat. Was the Burma Election stolen like it was in America? If you think Biden won, then you do NOT know who won in Burma. I don't care what military is doing. Who won the election in Burma? I'm asking who got the most real votes excluding the fake votes. I want to know who really won. Please let the REAL WINNER be the leader of what you call Myanmar. Whoever actually won should be allowed to run that country, period. Military should help whoever got the most legal votes in that nation. Period. I don't know who won. I am just saying let the real winner have the power, good or bad.

Fall or Rise of Empires

This is what Mike Adams said today. He said something bad could happen over night, that is to the extent the dollar crashes, they'll try to blame the crazy Redditters, the conservatives, for destroying the money, they'll come up with crazy excuses, conspiracy theories, and then say how they saved us by giving us Biden Coins or whatever they want to call it. They are trying to have one centralized global digital currency, no cash, no decentralized cryptocurrencies. So, I agree this could happen at any time, especially if three or more stimulus checks come out in 2021, as they spend more and more money, as people demand silver, gold, etc. The centralized banking system could fall in the next few years or sooner. As that happens, either the good guys or the crazy globalists and baby eaters can take over as that happens. So, in other words, we are in a major transition in global history similar to the rise or fall of other great empires like that of Rome, Babylon, Persia, England, China, etc. But I can't say if we are in the middle of the fall or the rise of an evil authoritarian regime.

Are you ready for Weapons of Mass Distraction?

2021-02-05 - Friday

Alex Jones

Happy birthday brother. Are you ready for Weapons of Mass Distraction? In order to buy guns in 2021 in America, you either have to right now or potentially soon will have to pay too many taxes, additional taxes, including gun related taxes, and pass a test which includes questions relating to if you want to own a gun. If you answer you want a gun, you fail the test because only crazy bad guys want guns. If you want a gun, pass a test. The only way to pass the test is to answer you do not want a gun. Once you answer you do not want a gun, then the genie in the bottle comes out and says in the voice of Robin Williams in Disney's cartoon movie, Aladdin, "As you wish." There were at least two 2020 USA General Election court cases which heard evidence meaning the other dozen or more cases were unconstitutionally dismissed by compromised judges. There is one case in Arizona which is leading towards potential ballot auditing. There may be other legal cases pending in other states in the United States of America. New court cases may rise. Others are ongoing. Some may be, if they haven't yet, potentially, refiled or retried. In some cases, you can do that. It's not double-jeopardy in some cases. It depends but you can sometimes do this depending on the details. A federal case for example could be then tried on the state level. That is not double jeopardy. You can pressure your local counties to call for ballot audits today. Join the revolution.

Nullifying Federal Executive Orders

North Dakota is planning to nullify (on a state level) unconstitutional federal executive orders. If you're not living in this state, you should either go there or encourage your state to call up North Dakota. Hello Texas, Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona, etc. In the world of rock paper scissor, you can see state and federal power. However, never underestimate the power of the county sheriff which trumps over them. You should make friends with your local sheriffs and talk to them about the rule of law regarding what you have to do in your county, legally speaking. Don't go against the sheriffs. Find out what they expect from you as a citizen of the county you're living in.

Amazon Spies

2021-02-06 - Saturday

Trump

Amazon vans have cameras actively spying on people, as in anybody and everybody as they drive around delivering packages, not just their customers but also neighbors and everyone else as well. They collect the data in order to develop a China Social Credit Score Database. Even if you're not on Facebook, they'll still have your data. If you do something that our overlords deem not right, your social credit score begins to go down and down. A lower Social Credit Score means you will not be able to buy and sell, travel, have food, have protection, have safety, have a job, have schooling, have a house, have children, have parents, have organs, have water, have power, have Internet, have apps, have trash, have doctors, have hospitals, have health care. When you call 911 and say somebody cut off your arm and you are bleeding to death, the operator will answer the phone and say, "Sorry, your social credit score is too low, please raise it to an acceptable level and try your call again. Have a good day. Good bye."

I was banned on Bittrex

2021-02-07 - Sunday

I was banned on Bittrex

Banks and big tech companies are making special cities all around the world. Covid to End on the 31st of March of 2025 according to WorldBank.org.

My Cash App is $joeyarnoldvn

2021-02-08 - Monday

Facebook Restricted

My Cash App is $joeyarnoldvn and what is yours? Let's have a party before the dollar dies. Let's come up with backup plans and come together in local communities while we still can. Now is the time.

Cronyism Sucks

2021-02-09 - Tuesday

Cronyism Sucks

George Washington did NOT say, "My fellow Americans, read my lips, I hereby grant you some rights which we can then take away if there is a pandemic or if you feel a little unsafe regarding your neighbor's cannons." You can either help your state leave the United States of Satan or you can leave that state. A woman in Vancouver, Washington went to a hospital. Nurses and doctors tried to stick a needle in her arm against her wishes. She said no. The hospital called the police who came and kidnapped her for not breaking the law. No crime. The hospital and the police committed crime against her. And believe all women. And what if I told you she was black and black lives matter. And police are bad. The police might as well sell her to sex trafficking. Don't we want to defund the police? And I am Pro-Choice too. My Body My Choice. And none of your business. Thousands of people go to Oakes Farms Market in Florida daily without masks in 2020 and many of them go there seven days a week because it's the new Disneyland, the happiest place on earth, even some of their staff are 80 years old or older and yet are not getting sick. But if you do want to wear a mask, have at it. Hundreds of new customers come in each day from out of state, some come as far as like New York. You can tell they're new because when they enter the store, their jaws drop like as if they're cartoon characters.

Cash App

My Cash App is $joeyarnoldvn and what is yours? Let's have a party before the dollar dies. Let's come up with backup plans and come together in local communities while we still can. Now is the time. I will invest in a gold-backed cryptocurrency, as much as I can. Is there such a thing yet? Sign up to be a First Responder today, just call, not toll-free, at 1-800-Get-A-Gun-Duh. Don't kill your chickens, wait until they die of old age, say a little prayer to remember the wonderful life Chicken Little had and then get out your knife and prepare for a feast in honor of the life of the little guy. Study shows over 80% of Covid-19 Patients have vitamin D deficiency. Nurses stick stuff inside babies causing hearts to stop. After that, they try their best to restart the infant's hearts. Too many do die. It is covered up. You don't hear about it. Most viruses die in the air within seconds. Over 85 percent of child trafficking related things seem to be happening on Facebook Messenger.

Gold-Backed Crypto

2021-02-10 - Wednesday

Find me on Instagram at Joeyarnoldvn

Gold and silver are accepted as legal currencies in Utah, Oregon, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Missouri. Before 2030, globalists will most likely murder over 6 billion people. The good news is, number one, we can try to stop some of that, and, number two, regardless, you don't have to be one of them, you don't have to die, there may be only a billion people left on our planet soon. Come join me and survive this coming Holocaust. The greatest Holocaust ever. Save as many people as you can. But at the same time, you don't have to die. Get out of the big cities. Find a farm while you still can. You are running out of time. Find a community of like-minded people and get a room, I mean a community, a neighborhood, a state where you can find like-minded people. Do it while you still can.

Genocide Coming

Because there may be over 7 billion people who support the globalist agenda, they will end up dying most likely in the next few years. You must be prepared for this probability or worst case scenario. Every day you're still not dead yet is precious. You get what you promote. Justice is coming. There are consequences and rewards for the actions we take in life. Will you buy smart underwear which will be connected to the NSA? How do we detox from the lead which is in the soil? I have a friend named Tim Osman. Please don't Google his name. You can make money posting to blockchain social networks, I can help you sign up for free, no credit cards, no money required. I post on these websites and I make money. I did not put any money into them. You can take the money out. You can wire the money to crypto exchanges, banks, wallets.

Protonmail Banned Me on my 36th birthday.

2021-02-11 - Thursday

Protonmail Banned Me on my 36th birthday.

Protonmail Banned Me on my 36th birthday. Step one, find out how many people died annually for the last ten years in your country. Step two, please post those statistics for each individual year including 2020 in your report. We will copy and paste what you find everywhere. Thank you very much. Leftists say you have to say chest, can't say your baby is sucking on your breasts. You have to say human milk. You cannot say it is the milk of the mother. Oh My God. Russia killed the ALL-MIGHTY DOLLAR! I hate you RUSSIA! Are you happy America is becoming Venezuela in the next few years or much sooner because you do nothing, isn't that really cool that you're helping this republic and the world crumble? Are you excited as millions of people die? Do you wake up each morning happy that you don't care about this? Covid Vaccine has over 5 different viruses which it programs and mass produces in your cells to eat up your body from the inside-out, to attack the proteins, to kill your babies, to give you HIV, to kill your immune system and cause you to die from the common cold within months to the extend you're lacking enough essential vitamins.

Regarding Gold-Backed Cryptocurrencies

But the idea of a gold-backed cryptocurrency could at least in theory become a 2-in-1 deal where it might be backed by gold and yet as a fail-safe if all else goes wrong, if governments and others come in to confiscate the gold, you would still have something like Bitcoin or whatever type of cryptocurrency it may be. I see that as a potential two in one deal. Of course the risks, liability, privacy risks of having governments seek to imprison people for having gold which might be connected to a cryptocurrency, I understand that might be too big of a risk in some situations, it may be harder to be anonymous if police were to spot you holding some gold. Finding ways to stay as anonymous online in the mist of tyranny is a worthy cause and that is why I value the 4th amendment of the U.S. constitution. Cartoons and other children shows are actively singing songs and otherwise encouraging toddlers to wear masks, to not shake hands, hug, or get close to other people; to simply not be humans at all, this will scar these kids for the rest of their lives, deep intellectual abuse.

Brother Joined Hive

2021-02-12 - Friday

My brother joined Hive - When I Was Young, Busted Knees, No Helmets, No Limits

Mother cries as insulin for his son who could die without it costs more than $500 even as it only costs pennies to make. Biden did this. Watch the video of this mother in her car video. Listen to her passion as she speaks truth. They say even after everyone on the planet is vaccinated, we still must have lockdown globally, even in ten years from now. Are you happy for living on Planet Wall-E as Fat People stuck in The Matrix? Over ten million starved to death in 2020 thanks to people staying at home and being safe. We kept ourselves so safe, we ended up dying because we had no food. We are so scared, we make the problem worse. The odds of coming up with the exact numbers of the 2020 U.S. General Elections, Mathematician Expert Edward Solomon says there aren't enough stars in the known universe to have it come up by chance apart from electronic manipulation, statistically, it's astronomical, he went on to say there aren't even enough atoms in the universe. Biden won exactly the same percentage points across multiple precincts at designated times a day just long enough to put him in the lead. One example in Fulton County, Georgia on starting at 12:54 AM on Wednesday, the 4th of November of 2020, the percentage was set 5.5555%, and every 30 minutes to an hour plus a few times on Thursday, that is eleven separate times, each time it was exactly 5.555% percent, and that is humanly impossible to replicate by hand without the help of voting software.

Elmo Vaccine

Elmo got the vaccine and people on Sesame Street are locked in their homes like as if they were living in China. Children are being brainwashed. This is worse than sexual abuse. Green means you can travel. Different colors means different things under the Chinese Credit Score which is going to Europe, Australia, Canada, and is also slowly getting into America. If the centralized powers don't like you or your friends, then you can't work, school, travel, buy, sell, have your kids, have Internet, have a phone plan, health care, police care, fire care, water, sewer, garbage, food, etc. There is an alleged James Clapper interrogation audio tape which I'm listening to right now.

Shoveling Snow

2021-02-13 - Saturday

Michelle Obama, "Joe Biden, get your hands off my dick."

Before getting the Covid Vaccine, read the ingredients, the insert. And tell yourself, oh, I am putting this thing in my body, that is awesome. And oh, I am putting this other thing in my body. It is not a vaccine. Ignorance is Bliss. It's cool when you don't know you don't know something. It's cool when millions of people are likely to die or very close to it in 2021 because of Covid Vaccines.

Money is Dying

Cannot wait for the dollar to die. A study found that over 80% of those who got Covid were vitamin-D deficient. And the Flu magically disappeared during the winter. If you're going off the CDC website, you should make a list of the exact numbers.

Happy Valentines Day

2021-02-14 - Sunday

Joe Biden in like 2003

Happy Valentines Day. America has been dead for 209 years. They try to kill people via nano bots which goes into the body to cause flu like symptoms. That is fused with 5G, geoengineering, chemicals, waves, a variety of things working together. You must actively try ten times harder to counter as much of it all as you can, your ignorance is bliss, your children will suffer to the extent you try not to counter things you are yet to know. I repeat, things you are yet to know. Apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons a day but broken up gradually throughout the day, can help you. Encouraging healthy pH blood level balance minimizes cancer, detoxifies the liver, dissolves viruses, and helps the heart. The brain-gut connection. Is it true the last U.S. President to take the oath for the united states for America was back in around 1812? Has America been dead for over two centuries now? Did you know there is a star inside our earth? Biden is telling Americans to wear masks until 2022.

Reducing Zombism

Candida is a type of fungus which helps decompose dead bodies but the problem comes when the people are still alive while Candida is excessively growing and eating up your body even before you are actually dead. Therefore, you want to look at fasting, at starving those little guys at least once every ten years if not as often as you can to minimize how much of them you have inside of your biology. Borax detoxes fluoride from the brain. Inside your body are the bad guys, the fungi, which wants your body to die, and the good guys, which are the bacteria which wants your body to live, that is the civil war within your chemical makeup. The pineal gland in our brain is a spiritual window into the Supernatural Internet which transcends space and time, it truly is the third eye, but fluoride blocks it. Does the earth have two moons?

Party at Five

2021-02-15 - Monday

Star Wars Luke Kenobi Father Vader Anakin Floor is Lava Game Sucks He Was And Died Hahaha Meme

Party at Five. RINOs are Republican In Name Only and PINOs are Patriots In Name Only. Thousands of refugees are being allowed into California and Texas from Mexico but without being tested for Covid, no masks, no safety. But if you want to go anywhere or do anything, you have to get tested. When immigrants come in, as they do right now, they are NOT being tested for anything really, they can pass on diseases to you and you are not allowed to do anything period.

Texas Freezing

2021-02-16 - Tuesday

Girl from Firefly show

A 28 YEAR OLD WISCONSIN MOM DIES DAYS AFTER SECOND PFIZER SHOT. Why are kids sneaking out of the White House? Is Tom Cruise part of an off-planet corporation called Umbrella? You can find really old videos on the Internet of really tall people, some of them may be 14 feet tall or taller as you can see people and horses almost reach the height of this man's knees. Did you really think those videos were fake? Many times you'll find truth hiding in plain sight. Truth is often lying underneath your nose all along. This takes the Mandela Effect to a whole new level. Is the South Pole actually the North Pole? It's below zero degrees in Texas right now, they refusing to turn the power back on as people freeze to death, they're shutting down stores as people starve to death, and they're refusing to plow roads. You can literally watch videos of giant semi-trucks crashing into other trucks, at least three giant trucks, one which was going at least 70 MPH and the others were going pretty fast too, several people died in just that pile up alone.

Who is Oatmeal Joey Arnold?

I am single, 36 years old, I live in Shelton, I am Christian, no kids, I live with my parents, I don't wear a mask ever, I listen to Alex Jones, I love Trump, I am a little bit crazy, I don't work. I don't have a job. I just sit on a computer all day writing on my blog and that is it. Was the inspiration behind the Star Gate movies and shows stolen from the Native American Indians? Weather manipulation meetings at your local town hall in a county or state near you, why are you not there to ask them questions? Things got so bad in India that they created a task force and then ended up banning the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. That's how EVIL India is. Hey folks, how could India keep out our SAVIORS? We all know Bill Gates is the second coming of Jesus Christ. Kissinger wrote a report back in the 1970s regarding how to control the African population.

Travel Post Banned For Not Being a Travel Post

2021-02-17 - Wednesday

White Culture Dont Have Any Joke Yes We Do

Texas Dark Winter to last for weeks, people are freezing and starving to death, people are so excited as the globalists take over the world, Biden said the Dark Winter was coming, he was right. Be prepared for a new biological weapon, a new Covid disease, coming either this year in 2021 or at least before 2025. It will kill at least 4 billion people. Don't tell me I didn't warn you. I'm on record trying to tell you how bad things are. If you're reading this, you're guilty of not caring. Please, do something. The clock is ticking. Will China be aiming nuclear weapons at 24 targets across the globe, will it be real, will it be staged, will it be an excuse to lockdown the world, what is going to happen? Will it be exactly 24 different places in different countries around this planet? Will this be a good thing or a bad thing? Will the good guys or the bad guys be able to take control of whatever that might happen in February of 2021? Will it be any day now? Will people fall for false flags? Is there anything we can do right now?

Bill Gates Over Biden

Biden won't speak to world leaders. Boris Johnson said Bill Gates is really the head of the G8. This is how globalism works. They're getting the general population used to the world being run by technocracy. In a secret video, Mark Zuckerberg told his Facebook staff he didn't trust the Covid Vaccine. So, why isn't Mark telling his 2 billion users this? Why keep such a thing a secret? In the 1960s, America asked Russia to start a world war against China but Russia declined. That was declassified.

Photoshop Funny

2021-02-18 - Thursday

1776 Put Mask On Americans No Way

Funny story today, somebody used photoshop to try to fool me ahahahahhaaa! Biden is taking over the Texan Power-Grid, red alert, warning warning. We know their plan. We know the patterns. They'll say deadlier strands are out there now. This will likely be by the fall of 2021 if not a lot sooner. The strands will generally be less deadly. But it's extremely coordinated, scripted, they will all try their best to make you gulp down this Kool-Aid of Death. Shifting into Techno-Scientific Dictatorship, they're phasing the general public to accept this shift in world history globally, most people are stuck in a trance and they do NOT even know it. Even if you tell them, they will say to you, "You are crazy." THEY'RE PUTTING CHEMICALS IN THE SKY THAT MAKES THE SNOW GAY. The power grid was an attack on water-power devices, especially in the 1930s. Some people had water-powered devices. They didn't need electricity because they water-powered devices.

Scaring Children to Death

A ten year old was admitted to the hospital because he was losing weight because he was refusing to eat for so long because he was afraid he would get Covid and die. Sergeant Major said they don't call it a Lie-Berry for nothing. Did you know they used to have water-powered mechanical devices? You were not told real history. A lot of stuff covered up. Why not get back to water power? Aren't you even just a little bit curious? People had free electricity thanks to tap water in the early 1900s. So, why would people give that up? What happened? Why trade that in for a monthly electricity bill?

We Need County Coin

2021-02-19 - Friday

Lauren Chen was on Friday Night Tights

Steele mentioned the idea of CountyNet. Also, he mentioned an idea of a CountyCoin which loses value the farther away from the county the coin moves in order to incentivize investing back into the same community as opposed to going excessively and obsessively overseas aggressively, as in too much and too often. I confess I fell for fake news when I thought Babbit died. I was wrong. Steele says Wall Street and others stolen 100 trillion dollars. People in power plants in Texas were ordered to lower down, to power down to zero percent in most cases, the documents are here, you can read the documents, they were ordered to do this on purpose, this is KILLING PEOPLE, and YOU DO NOT CARE. Do you have no friends or family in Texas? 2021-02-14 - Sunday - 08:51 PM EST - The 14th of February of 2021 - DOE Order Number 202-21-1 was issued for Texas (ERCOT), for more info, go to Energy dot gov, their official government website.

Texas Being Murdered

The Department of Energy (DOE) was ordered to turn off the power in Texas which is causing people to die. They're literally murdering people and nobody cares. The evidence is right there, we can all grab and share it. But nobody cares that thousands to millions of Texans are starving and freezing to death. I said, to death. The Department of Energy told Texas they CANNOT produce more energy, that is why people are dying. DOE Order Number 202-21-1 mentions ERCOT (ISO), this document can be read on their official government website, you can go there, you can read it, you can pass it on to your friends, or you can let your friends die in the cold in Texas with no power. Texas electricity bill for your power, just this week now, went from $50 per Megawatt to over $9000 per Megawatt. Breaking News,  Megan Fox is an Anti-Masker which means she is Pro-Vitamin, we are all going to die.

Why is Sweden banning masks?

2021-02-20 - Saturday

Alpha Heater

Why is Sweden banning masks? Many times, they ban people from YouTube but then let other upload the same videos or similar videos and profit from them. The Covid Vaccine is not a remedy but an operating system.

The Healthy American

2021-02-21 - Sunday

We Stole It Fair & Square

Stores are not legally allowed to discriminate or disrupt commerce which comes from even the customers who refuses to wear masks. Stores can say it's private property. However, because the stores are open to the public, thanks to the 4th amendment, thanks to other things as well, prohibiting customers is discrimination among other things as well. The maskless buyer is not trespassing if he or she is not disrupting commerce. Moreover, when you prohibit customers from stores, then you are engaging in the disruption of commerce which may be illegal among other things as well partly because the customers are part of the free market exchange system which we call commerce. Stopping customers means you are disrupting commerce. That is illegal. You should go to jail for disrupting commerce. It may be many different things, not just that. Stores and states must be held accountable for violating laws. Stores are public. They cannot enforce masks. Churches however are legally considered to be private and can enforce masks.

Weekly Oatmeal Show - Episode 001

2021-02-22 - Monday

Coco Cola White Polar Bear Fired For Being Too White

Sound of Freedom is a great movie. The only preparedness that counts is the preparedness that happens when you don't yet need it. One day without notice, you will wake up and you will go to an ATM and it will not work. You will have no food in your house for many weeks to many months or longer. It takes less energy to walk on two legs than it takes to run four legs. The majority of suicides are from white male adults. Second spot is held by black male adults. Why was Bill Gates thrown out of 32 countries? New monthly vaccines for the virus of the month. Are you excited? He said now we have to difficult work of "Untying this knot," that is code for crazy people have to be sent off to re-educational FEMA camps where they will either recant or be murdered.

Gina Carona Interview with Ben Shapiro

2021-02-23 - Tuesday

Gina Carona Interview with Ben Shapiro

Gina interview. Why did NASA stop looking for life on Mars in 1976, why did they transition after that to geology, to looking for rocks? Trump got over 80 million votes while Biden got less than 40 million. Why are so many world leaders saying Covid-19 is permanent? They refuse to test it on animals because it kills animals or worse. No animals were harm in the making of this post. God save the animals. I'm glad we skipped animal-testing.

Being Dead Due To Birth

2021-02-24 - Wednesday

Tell Me Your Secrets

The only time your name is written in all uppercase capital letters is on your tombstone and yet that is how it's formatted on birth certificates, when parents sign it IN CURSIVE LETTERS when you are born, that is necromancy. When they say you can't leave the hospital with your own newborn infant baby without signing it, that is theft or worse. Legally speaking, it is a literal death sentence as you are literally selling away your baby. You need to live in groups of at least ten people. Zombies will be coming from the big cities. Protect your family from the walking dead. Why are so many big people being arrested around the world each day? Why?

Who Controls The Military Right Now?

Was an executive order or other items signed officially in 2019 authorizing a former (allegedly incumbent) U.S. President full control of the military even up to 60 days after an alleged inauguration of a alleged new administration (that is the new but fake President of the possibly defunct United Corporate States of America) which would end in or around, approximately, on the 20th of March of 2021? Please let me know such things were not signed. Please let your friends know nothing at all happened in 2019 at all. I'm only asking. I have no idea what happened.

Captain Biden Flying Around Zapping Brown Kids

2021-02-25 - Thursday

Captain Biden Flying Around Zapping Brown Kids

My gender is oatmeal. That is the kind of sex or gender I am. In India, doctors are saying women who get the Covid Vaccines are showing signs of the beginning stages of sudden breast cancer. Wow. This is amazing. Sign me up. Now we can all be Booby-Free Angelina Jolie. Please stick ten of those things in my arms today. Quick, this cannot come fast enough. Make boobs not great again. Please tell your friends how awesome this is. Learn To Say No Just For One Day Article. Tree Court Article.

Globalist vs Brazil

In Brazil, they're trying to force the government to not only waive all liability for the Covid Vaccines but also to sign over military bases over to them as well, it's insane but crazy things happen daily if only you knew the half of it. Back to American news. The Supreme Court has committed treason against the constitution and the republic of these American states. They've ruled saying whoever cheats the most in an election gets to be the alleged president of this defunct fake corporation which we illegally call in all caps THE UNITED STATES OF [not 'for'] AMERICA. Cheating is not only allowed but now also endorsed by the highest court of the land.

My-Body-My-Choice No-Mask Sign

2021-02-26 - Friday

My-Body-My-Choice No-Mask Sign

Masks Causes Bacteria Pneumonia. My-Body-My-Choice No-Mask Sign. Their goal is to make all humans unable to naturally reproduce by 2030. Why is South Africa cancelling the Covid Vaccine? There is also related news in Brazil, India, etc. See, people are dying from vaccines. They've been spending billions to trillions of dollars covering up vaccine deaths for decades globally. They murder people who expose this or worse in most cases. You have no idea how bad it is. Bill Gates and others are involved in giving vaccines to people around the world. That is why Bill Gates is banned in so many countries. In other news, there may be someday selling cloned synthetic children meat to encourage people to eat. Hell, they may have it ready already. Celebrity meat actually. The only we defeat this invisible enemy is to decide our own destiny. 80% of people who died of Covid in Canada were in nursing homes. 101 Pocketball Journal Scans Uploaded.

Covid Vaccines Are Murdering People

Why are over 75% of U.S. military troops refusing the Covid Vaccine? Because vaccines kill people. But more than that, the Covid Vaccine is not a vaccine. It utilizes mRNA which turns your cells into virus factories. That is what mRNA is. See, the M on mRNA means MESSENGER. This is Basic Biology & Science 101 For Dummies here. The vaccine literally sends messages or mRNA into the cell nucleus to tell it to make specific items. Covid-19 and the alleged vaccines in response to it are both GMO-like chimera monsters. They're a combination of different viruses, different things, I'm talking Frankenstein on a microscopic level. I've been talking about this many times. That is why so many people and so many countries are saying no to the vaccines. And again, the Covid Vaccines are not even vaccines to begin with. I wouldn't even be surprised if nano-tech is involved among other things in regards to these things which are murdering people right now. Sadly, they're blaming the mRNA deaths on Covid. So, they're trying very hard to make you think that you need to take monthly vaccines. And the more people die, the more they'll say, "Hurry up, you need even more vaccines, etc." Remember, they have spent billions to trillions of dollars covering up vaccine deaths. They murdered many people who tried exposing them. Fake news would never tell you all of this because they're fake news.

Cleaned Out a Chicken House

2021-02-27 - Saturday

Alex Jones Predicting Covid-19 Back in 2010

Wear a mask or I'm calling the cops. Alright, call the cops. I'm suing them. In 2020, over 40 million alleged votes for Biden were fake. In 2008, it was reported that HAARP was learning how to steer hurricanes via high-atmosphere heat injection, kind of like guiding a kitten with a string. Watch out for Bioterrorism says Bill Gates. Which reminds me, kind of funny how Texas was suddenly colder than Montana. Wow. Out of nowhere. What happened on this day in 1933? Reich Fire. Hitler. Germany. Klaus Schwab says you will ONLY ONLY ONLY eat bugs and will love it.

What is in the Covid Vaccine?

Some of the ingredients for the mRNA Covid Vaccine includes some of the most commonly consumed things including vinegar, salt, sugar, plus a few very common preservatives found in so many food items. Too many people buy processed foods which includes preservatives in them. So, why are these commonly consumed items in the vaccine? It is there to trigger autoimmune responses in your body's immune system. It may takes years for your body to get there, but slowly over time, your body will begin to develop allergies to salt, sugar, vinegar, etc. These allergies may spiral out of control into even worse problems over time. Now, that is just the tip of the iceberg. But it is a good thing to start with and share with others. Don't believe me. Don't take my word for it. Go get a list of the ingredients to these vaccines and post them here. I will wait for your awesome responses. Thank you so much in advance for responding with the real list of ingredients. Prove me wrong. Easy to do. Just show me the ingredients. Show me these items, like salt, is not in the vaccine.

DEADLY-ALLERGIC to YOUR-OWN-BODY

2021-02-28 - Sunday

Covid Vaccine Ingredients

Your body will become DEADLY-ALLERGIC to YOUR-OWN-BODY. Why is Pfizer giving their customers one thing but their staff a different thing? Pfizer got a new drug out which is going to help people deal with one of the side-effects of their own vaccines. So, they make money trying to fool you into getting one and then even more money when you have to come back to take some of their drugs to deal with the deadly side-effects. Have fun, kids. You WILL swell up like a balloon. I warned you. Why were thousands to millions of 2020 ballots had computer-printed vote marks as opposed hand-written vote marks all for Biden and none for Trump?

Trump 2024 is Retarded

Downvote because Trump won in 2020. See, they can steal it from Trump in 2024 too. We have to call for FORENSIC-STYLE ballot audits in each county each day. Call people. Email people. You can make a difference. Call the military. Call Congress. Call judges. Write letters. Protest in person. Make videos. Write articles. Share things everywhere. Do something. If you are reading this and you are doing nothing, then you deserve Biden and the Chinese takeover of America.

Who is Oatmeal Joey Arnold?

Telling The Truth in a World of Lies

Biden Law, Five Years Lockdown Plan

Canada Kidnapping Themselves

All About Hive Blog

Alex Jones and DR. STEVE PIECZENIK

Are you ready for Weapons of Mass Distraction?

Amazon Spies

I was banned on Bittrex

My Cash App is $joeyarnoldvn

Cronyism Sucks

Gold-Backed Crypto

Protonmail Banned Me on my 36th birthday

Brother Joined Hive

Shoveling Snow

Happy Valentines Day

Party at Five

Texas Freezing

Travel Post Banned For Not Being a Travel Post

Photoshop Funny

We Need County Coin

Why is Sweden banning masks?

The Healthy American

Weekly Oatmeal Show - Episode 001

Gina Carona Interview with Ben Shapiro

Being Dead Due To Birth

Captain Biden Flying Around Zapping Brown Kids

My-Body-My-Choice No-Mask Sign

Cleaned Out a Chicken House

DEADLY-ALLERGIC to YOUR-OWN-BODY

[purplesurveys]

525

This survey is literally called Adult Survey so let’s see just how bad I am at being one 👉😎👉 What grocery store do you shop at the most? My mom does most of her shopping in SM supermarkets, but sometimes she’ll stick with Freshto.

Which stovetop burner do you use the most? Uhhhh I haven’t used the stove in a while, especially since it almost exploded in my face the last time I used it – but I used to go with the rightmost one since it was the largest, and it fit the pan that I typically used. Do you use a dishwasher or wash dishes by hand? We wash dishes by hand here. I can’t name you anyone who actually bought themselves a dishwasher here in the Philippines.

What color is your favorite laundry basket? Idk, I don’t have a favorite. What color was your first car? White. If we’re talking about the car bought by my parents.

What was your first job? Never had one yet. What is the best job you've had? What is the best pharmacy near you? Not sure about the best, but we have one right across the village that we head to. Do you use public transportation? NO. Public transport in this country is an embarrassment, a joke, and one of the reasons I’m hell-bent on moving out entirely. If you ever needed a country that has trains regularly break down every week (forcing its passengers to walk to their destinations even when they’re nowhere near), trains with poor air conditioning, smoke-belching jeepneys, buses driven by murderous drivers, and public transportation that all in all will force you to wake up 3 hours earlier and STILL end up late to school/work, the Philippines is for you. Which bank do you use? I don’t have any sort of card yet.

Do you have a credit card? ^ What is your favorite fast food restaurant? As questionable as every branch of theirs smells like, I have to give the crown to KFC. What do you want to name your kids? Olivia and Mia are pretty much locked in for me. Still clueless about boy names. How many tattoos do you have? No tattoos. What year did you graduate high school? 2016. Three years, but it’s felt like forever ago. What chore do you hate the most? I haaaaate washing dishes. Thankfully Gabie loves doing it, so it’ll be easier for me when we move in together haha. What is your favorite shampoo to use? Dove is fine. How do you remove stains from clothes? Water and tissue usually do the trick. Do you carry pepper spray? I don’t. I really should. What highway do you drive on the most? Marcos Highway. I live on it and have to go through it if I want to go anywhere. Do you like driving? It’s convenient and I like being out on my own time without the pressure of tiring out/going overtime on a personal driver; but being stuck in traffic for hours all by yourself can be very draining. What is your favorite radio station? I listen to 93.1 in the morning for my favorite radio program, but for the rest of the day I’d switch between that, 99.5, 94.7, and 87.5. What do you use for an alarm clock (phone, stereo, actual clock, etc.)? I use my phone and I have like 5 alarms set everyday because I’m pretty difficult to wake up. Which department store do you shop at the most? I don’t shop for stuff a lot; most of my money goes to food haha. Which dollar store is your favorite? Do you shop at the dollar store often? We don’t even use dollars, sis. What is your favorite gas station? I don’t have a favorite but I like going to Petron just out of habit. Do you burn candles often? I never burn candles. How do you relax? It depends on what I feel like doing. I can choose to watch YouTube videos, watch Friends, take a survey, take a nap, or binge-eat. What's your favorite app on your phone? Twitter or Reddit. What do you cook the most? I can’t :( When was the last time you relaxed in a hot bath? Over a year ago? I dunno, I don’t get to do this a lot. Do you take showers or baths normally? Showers. What is your favorite candle scent? Whatever smells like food, like a bakery or cinnamon. Floral scents make me gag. How much does it cost for you to laundry (if you use a slot machine)? Do you make your bed every day? Yes. It feels so much nicer coming home to a fixed bed. Do you have any pets? Yes, I have a dog. Do you have kids? Nope. Are you married? Also nope. Do you save receipts? Receipts from important dates, sure. I like keeping the little details. Do you use re-usable bags at the grocery store? I think my mom does. What color is your carpet? We have a big brown carpet in the living room, but other than that the rest of the house isn’t carpeted. Have you ever burnt yourself with the glue gun? No and I am too scared to know what it feels like so I’ve never held a glue gun before. We actually had to use one fairly recently to make props for an org event, but I told my orgmates I wasn’t gonna help in that department and I could work anywhere else I was needed instead. Do you write checks? Nah. I’ve had my parents ask me to pay with one, though. Ever had a garage sale? My parents never held one, but we’ve been to several. What have been some of your best garage sale finds? I don’t think we bought anything from them. What time do you wake up in the morning? Depends if I have something to do that day. Are you a morning person? God no. I hate having to report to school early and I usually need an hour or two to adjust to the surroundings. I have a 7 AM class on Wednesdays and Fridays and my brain just refuses to cooperate every time.

Are you more of a morning person now than you used to be? Haha I don’t think I ever was a morning person. Do you like to read? I used to. Nowadays I’ll read something every now and then, but it’s not my favorite hobby anymore. What was the first election you voted in? 2016. Who is on speed dial in your phone? We don’t have speed dial. Do you play games on your phone? Sure. I used to have no games at all cos I thought it was a waste of storage, but now I have like 10 games on my phone because of all the advertisements I see hahaha. What phone do you have? I have an iPhone 8. What was your first phone? I keep forgetting the exact model, but it was the iconic Nokia one that had a green screen and early versions of Snake and Space Impact. What kind of computer do you have? I was too young to ever pay attention to the brand and the model, tbh. I did reach the era where connecting to the internet meant weird sounds and not being able to use the landline, so there’s that. Wall calendar or desk calendar? Phone and laptop calendar. If you read a daily devotional, which one are you using currently? I don’t. What is your favorite book? I’ve read a lot of books but I don’t think I’ve encountered my favorite yet. What is the strangest food you've had? I absolutely love Indian food and would do anything for it, but gulab jamun was pretty horrid. The taste confused me so much and the wet, sticky texture didn’t help either. What do you do when the power goes out? Curse out Meralco on social media, especially if it was an unannounced outage. Then I’d stay with my dog so that he doesn’t get scared. Does your home have a basement? Nope. How often do you clean? My mom likes to be in charge of general cleaning, and she does so once in a few months. How often do you go grocery shopping? An hour or so seems like it. Ever bought a lottery ticket? Nah, I don’t want to grow obsessed with it hahaha. Do you gamble? Nope. What does your purse look like? My *wallet has several essential cards/IDs, my savings, and old receipts and papers I never got around to throwing away. Do you ever sleep on the floor? No. I slept on the floor a lot as a kid and I hated it, so I stay away from the possibility completely now. Which room do you stay in the most? Mine? What is your bedtime? I don’t have one, but I always strive to be in bed by 10 or 11 PM. Ever worked two jobs or more at once? This hasn’t happened to me. Do you live in an apartment, condo, house, or dorm? I live in my parents’ house. What does your dream house look like? Modern, minimalist, square-shaped, lots of glass, white. Describe your dream wedding. I haven’t figured out what location I want, but I wouldn’t want it to be in church, at the beach, or in a barn. I want an all-white (or at least almost all-white) motif, a laaaaarge guest list (I’ll only get one wedding so I’m making it huge lmao), free flowing drinks, cupcake racks, and I wouldn’t want it to be too formal nor too casual. That’s like 6 elements out of the hundred I’ll probably end up thinking of, but it’s a start. How often do you go on vacation? As often as my dad is home, so like a few times every 4 months. What is your favorite type of weather? Rainy/stormy, dark, and bleak. What do you do when you have a sore throat? Hate myself. And continue eating whatever because a sore throat isn’t gonna stop me from eating delicious food. How often do you go see a doctor? When it’s required lol Do you have acid reflux? I don’t. Do you snore? I snore only when I’m ridiculously exhausted after a day. And when I do it’s only like once then I stop. Are you on birth control? I’m not. I don’t need it currently. What kind of toothpaste do you use? A normal one? Idk, I just use Colgate. Do you wear glasses or contacts? I have glasses. How often do you wear make-up? Only when I go to parties, which isn’t often. Do you put on make-up in the bathroom or the bedroom? Gabie usually puts makeup on me in her room. Do you have a swimming pool? Nope. What is the first site you go to when you turn on your computer? It differs, based on what I feel like doing/have to do. Typically, though, it’s Twitter. Which email service do you use? Gmail. How often do you check your email? Everyday, because I guess I’M AN ADULT NOW AND I HAVE TO SUCK IT UP. How old were you when you got your first phone? I was 7. I’m pretty sure my parents didn’t want to get it for me, but I was 7 in a private school, everyone was getting their own phones (and this was when phones was starting to get big among kids), and I was feeling pressured to get my own. What was your favorite boy band back in the 90's? I wasn’t conscious for most of the 90s. Did you own a Britney Spears album? Nope.

[pinkchaosart]

In response to Mr. Prager

If you haven’t seen it, this is the video that this essay is in response to

So, obviously I disagree with this video. Let’s go through it: welcome to my ted talk.

1. Universities - First of all, let’s get this out of the way: just because one professor has an opinion about his school becoming a “laughing stock,” doesn’t mean that all education is going down the tubes. In reality, more people of colour and women are being educated than ever before. Kids are graduating high school more than ever, and education is more accessible than ever, at least according to the National Centre for Education Statistics. I don’t know if Mr. Prager has ever been to a modern, public university, but the only people that shut down vs debate are people who are not open to new ideas, who feel overwhelmed and persecuted because their opinion isn’t the only one in the school. Also, Christopher Columbus (pictured in the video as a pillar of education) was a genocidal lunatic. He murdered the Tainos people, didn’t discover America, and didn’t prove the earth was round. Go read about that.

2. The Arts - “The primary purpose of art was to elevate people.” I don’t know if there is a single time in human history when this stands true. This is a topic I’ve personally studied and so I’m going to tell you that, for most of human history, the primary purpose of art was for the rich to show off their money. Portraits were paid for by wealthy people to immortalize themselves. Selfie culture who? I also want to point out that, in the animation in the video, an example of “classic art” given is a painting by Monet, a modern artist who’s work was seen as shocking at the time due to it’s non-photorealism. The only reason we see it as beautiful now is because of time and the art prestige classifying it as such. I would also like to point out that the urinal in the next bit of the video was actually “made” around the same point in time. By no means is it something anyone would consider a current piece of art. I would also like to point out that Mr. Prager is being a hypocrite here, employing the imagery of “urine and feces” for shock value, the very thing he had just criticized. Pablo Picasso said, “What do you think an artist is? ...he is a political being, constantly aware of the heart breaking, passionate, or delightful things that happen in the world, shaping himself completely in their image. Painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war.” Art isn’t for beauty, it’s all politics, war, sex and money.

3. Literature - “The English department of the university of Pennsylvania replaced the portrait of the greatest English writer who ever lived, William Shakespeare, with a picture of a black lesbian poet.” Yes they did, and that poet’s name is Audre Lorde. First, William Shakespeare’s work is not prestigious. His work was not considered refined when it was produced. It’s full of lewd and ridiculous jokes. “Much ado about nothing” roughly translates to “everyone wants the pussy”. “Nothing” was slang back then for vagina. But let’s go back to Lorde. Mr. Prager said that they replaced Shakespeare with her because they value diversity over excellence. What he’s implying is that Lorde is not worth revering, despite being a very important writer of her time, five thousand times more serious than Shakespeare ever was, and her writings are much deeper than Prager gives her credit for. In fact, he gave her no credit, didn’t even say her name.

4. Late-night television - “In America, late-night shows were completely apolitical” This is completely wrong. Late night TV started in the 1940-50’s, and often they were based on politically charged comedy, just like they are now.

5. Religion - “In many churches and synagogues, one is more likely to hear the clergy talk about political issues than about any other subject, including the Bible.” First of all, I would like to point out that political issues were what Jesus mostly talked about. “Love your neighbour” was a direct comment at the racism Jews experienced and held towards others. “Turn the other cheek” was about how to make your aggressor look like a total jerk. What is the point of church if not to give people usable tools in our modern world? That’s what Jesus did. I would also like to point out that, again, this is Prager’s opinion, and it’s clear what kind of content he thinks should be taught.

6. Freedom of Speech: “Yet the whole point of free speech is that it allows people to express any political or social position, including what any one of us considers hate speech.” Except that it doesn’t. Freedom of speech is described: “everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference” by the International Human Rights Law, but it also states that the rights carry “special duties and responsibilities” and are “therefore ....subject to certain restrictions ... for respect of the rights or reputation of others ....or the protection of national security of public order or of public health or morals.” Freedom of speech is not absolute, and common boundaries are hate speech, food labeling, pornography, obscenity, slander, copyrights, etc. I would also like to point out that him arguing to be allowed to use hateful words is pointing out the obvious: that he hates us, ie: people that he describes in or agrees with this video.

7. Race - “America has become the least racist multiracial society in world history” ding dong, this is so unbelievably wrong. Let’s talk about “systemic racism” for a minute. This isn’t some “angry diatribe,” but a legitimate and historically accurate concern. It is a form of racism expressed in the practice of social and political institutions, reflected in disparities regarding wealth, income, criminal justice, employment, housing, health care, political power, and education, among others. It is a reality that millions of North Americans (yes, Canada’s not clean on this issue) experience daily. For example, Caucasian people and black people consume the same amount of pot on a national scale. Black people are way more likely to be arrested and receive convictions for it. In America, once you receive a criminal conviction, you are no longer able to vote. So even though equal amounts of white and black people use marijuana, black people are arrested and convicted (and therefore cannot vote) because of a system designed to take away their voice. Let’s also touch on the “red lining” from a half-century ago which allowed banks to not lend money to people of colour which created ghettos, which is now home to an overwhelmingly poor and coloured population. That’s systemic oppression and it has been going on for decades. Mr. Prager is the epitome of White Privilege. I’m as white as he is and even I can see that this man hasn’t had to question his good fortune a day in his life and instead chooses to blame others for not “working hard enough” even though they’ve worked harder than he ever has.

8. The Boy Scouts - “They’re not even the Boy Scouts anymore, they’re just the Scouts. The left forced them to admit girls” - So? “The Boy Scouts have helped shape tens of millions of boys into independent and strong good men.” Okay, so wouldn’t you want your girls to grow up strong and independent? How is adding MORE PARTICIPANTS destroying the Scouts exactly?

9. Male-Female - “In New York City, parents do not have to select male or female on a newborn’s birth certificate.” Again, so what? How is that going to affect anyone other than that family. Also, designations of gender at birth on a certificate aren’t set in stone, they can be changed later. It’s not a big deal. Allowing a child to grow up unrestricted in gender norms, won’t create confused people. Letting your boys play with dolls isn’t going to make them want to be a girl, and letting your daughter roll around in the dirt won’t make her a lesbian. Mass confusion doesn’t just happen because of an “x” on a birth certificate.

“America is only bad compared to Utopia.” No, America is bad in comparison to most other first-world countries. The only thing that America excels in is making war. It spends billions of dollars occupying other countries while its people can’t afford health care, food, education, and other basic human rights.

What i find really interesting about this video is that it is completely his opinion. There’s no facts or sources given, he’s chosen his quotes very carefully (even taken them out of context), and I have to conclude that a video like this is only meant to drive the “us vs them” mentality. At it’s best this philosophy is unhealthy, at it’s worst it can kill millions of people and has started countless wars. Mr. Prager isn’t well-educated on most of what he’s talked about. He has an undergraduate in Middle Eastern Studies. Everything else he’s studied appears to be related to orthodox religions. He hasn’t done his research, got some of the most basic ideas completely wrong, and nobody should be listening to a word he has to say on any of the topics he’s talked about in this video.

As someone who used to go to a radical church and was part of the “us vs them” mentality for a number of years, I know that my words aren’t going to change many people’s minds. But what I will say is that we have more in common than we have differences. He said he wants us to debate, so here’s a rebuttal. You can have your opinion but only if you can defend it (not using religious texts). Videos like this are just dividing our culture even more than it already is. My uncle referred to “leftists” as vultures. How awful is that? To dehumanize people so extremely is a great first step to calling for their destruction.

Just ask your German Jewish friends, Mr. Prager.

[random2908]

Seen on Twitter, https://twitter.com/alexandraerin/status/1035196520918863873?s=21

a transcript of the tweet thread (tweets quoted within are italicized including links) since I could only otherwise find difficult-to-read screenshots:

A while back, I tweeted that in case anyone isn't clear, we are well past the "first they came for" point.

This is a big story and I'm not sure it's possible for it to get enough attention.

In some cases, passport applicants with official U.S. birth certificates are being jailed in immigration detention centers and entered into deportation proceedings.” Article: http://wapo.st/2PNIf68

I'm sure the "no need to panic" brigade would want us to point out that this affecting "only" hundreds or thousands of Latinx Americans living in a narrow region along the border.

But.

First of all, that's too many people.

Because...

Because here is the thing about due process.

Everybody gets it, or no one really has it.

And from the moment the Trump regime decided it just doesn't apply to "illegal" immigrants, we were always heading here.

Some (white) people replied to suspension of due process for non-citizens by saying "Well, I could prove my citizenship easily." But how do you do that when you're not entitled to any process to prove anything?

If we passed an amendment to the Constitution saying that Constitutional protections don't apply to waterbed repair technicians named Sleven Trusbucket, all the government would have to do is say that's you and you would be out of options for proving them wrong.

And to the sort of person who is sure that life operates on formal logic and strict proof, the sort of person who is sure if they can present the right argument just the right way they can convince anyone of the truth of anything, it feels like there must be some way around that.

But that's part of the horror of a situation like this, part of why Kafka's The Trial is so viscerally uncomfortable to read. The proof does not matter if no one is bound to accept the proof. It feels like it should. It always feels like truth should matter, proof should matter.

Now I said long ago, and again at the head of this thread, that we're past the point of "first they came for". For most of the people reading this, they're still not up to "they came for me", and probably won't be for a while. They're working to expand the ranks of "non-American"

They redefined huge swathes of undocumented immigrants -- including ones working with the system to fix their status -- as "criminals" and "gangmembers" and "animals". They slammed the door in the face of immigrants with papers, finding pretexts to call them "illegal".

They started revoking the citizenship of naturalized citizens for whatever excuse they could find, and the next step is to strip citizenship of natural born citizens who don't fit their profile of a Real American.

Right now their excuse for doing so is restricting them to people born in a border region but the excuse will widen and so will the scope of the action.

And they aren't just moving in one direction here. They've been revoking the passports of trans people while all this is happening.

Now, the flipside of revoking citizenship and "deporting" someone is: the United States cannot bestow citizenship for another country. Just because the man in the low castle thinks someone looks "Mexican" doesn't mean they default to that when they lose US citizenship.

There's been a lot of talk on Twitter about the dangers of statelessness, in regard to Canada and ending birthright citizenship (something the Trumpers would love to do if they can swing it.)

People who lose their citizenship are thrown into a legal limbo, effectively becoming unpersoned for many purposes.”

Tweet/ https://twitter.com/bashirmoham…/status/1033585831544410112… “I am shocked and disturbed that the Conservative Party of Canada voted to end birth right citizenship in Canada.

I say this as someone who was born stateless - legally without a country. I'll tell you my story and why this is move is so reckless and dangerous.”

And while nationalists whip up fear of the foreign, they hate and despise the stateless even more. They're deliberately making the "immigration crisis" worse.

Nazi apologists will be happy to tell you that the great humanitarian Hitler tried so hard to get Jewish Germans settled happily and healthily elsewhere but that no one would take them in, thus leaving him with a problem in need of a final solution.

So what's going to happen when Trump has stripped citizenship from everyone who doesn't "look American", doesn't "look like they should be voting", but there's nowhere to deport all these people, no home country for them to return to?

And maybe you're thinking that we don't have the resources to actually disenfranchise and denaturalize *everybody* who doesn't "look American" buuuut the magic of not giving due process is they don't have to.

If you knew that people whose last names are in the same language as yours are getting rounded up, stripped of rights, and arrested when they go to apply for or renew a passport... how dire would it have to be, before you'd dare try?

And then what if it expands to, say, people showing up at polling places? DMVs? Hospitals?

What if it goes on to the point where "everyone knows" that people with certain names and/or skin tones aren't really citizens and don't have to be afforded any particular rights?

Before the SCOTUS struck down sodomy laws, in a lot of states being seen as gay could be used to justify just about any level of discrimination. Gay couple needs an apartment? "We can't make landlords rent to a criminal if they don't want to." Were the couple ever convicted? No.

But ~*everybody knew*~ what gay people got up into their bedrooms was illegal, doing illegal things made you a criminal, and being a criminal was grounds for termination, eviction, expulsion, exclusion.

Or if you want to see what the future of law enforcement looks like in a fascist state, look at the standards used to arrest and prosecute sex workers.

For years now, in the land of Innocent Until Proven Guilty, you could be arrested for "suspicion" of a victimless crime because of entirely legal materials in your purse and entirely legal conduct within a place you had every legal right to be.

The actual ideal is that the cops could know you're a sex worker, could know for a certain fact that you're engaged in sex work, but if they couldn't prove it then you are an innocent in the eyes of the law. That's how it's supposed to work and how it works for some crimes.

Everyone in town can know that J. Doe up on the hill beats his wife and kids but if the cops can't prove it they will tell you nothing can be done, and proof has to be more than the fear in their eyes or bruises on their arms. Or even him "allegedly" bragging about it.

Meanwhile they'll pick people up off the street for ~*suspicion*~ of sex work and "prove" it through entirely circumstantial means, none of which points to actual lawbreaking.

Now here's the crux of that: being able to claim that any woman carrying condoms (for instance) is a sex worker doesn't mean they detain everyone and make them turn out their pockets.

It just gives them a tool, a weapon, to use when they feel like it.

And that's the future of policing. Increasingly broad rules that could apply to increasingly wide swaths of the population, that can be deployed by the authorities when someone "looks" like they might be trouble, much less starts to actually make any.

They practice these techniques on populations they think they can get away with practicing them on, and when they do get away with it, they start looking to expand.

Cf. stop and frisk in New York City, where white kids were more likely to have marijuana but less likely to be stopped and ordered to turn out their pockets. It was a tool of control.

Obviously I'm talking about practices that go back years before when Trump came to power. He's part of a progression, not the source.

And if you want to know where the progression is heading, just look at how the law has treated people on the margins since the year seventeen seventy forever.

That's where we're heading.

And I don't think enough people are alarmed enough by this.

I saw somebody QTing the Washington Post story at the head of this thread with "And Democrats want to tell us to vote every two years like that's enough."

It's not enough. But we haven't been voting every two years, and that's part of how we got here. Just part. A crucial part.

I think we should add this (specifically: stripping people near the border of citizenship) to the things we call our representatives about, especially but not only if you're in Texas. And if we can vote in a Democratic majority we'll have more tractable reps to yell at about it.

Tweet/ https://twitter.com/herhandsmyh…/status/1035206932938801152… “Plus: we have to start somewhere. Voting every single time is an essential step.”

Essential. Necessary. Not sufficient, but necessary.

A scary thing in all of this: the wave of revocation of trans passports I alluded to upthread doesn't appear to have *originated* anywhere. Select federal employees just decided it's time to start doing it.

I can't tell you from the outside which escalations of "enforcement" (to abuse the term) against immigrants and what I guess are "accused immigrants" among citizens were also spontaneous decisions made at the level at which they occur but I'm sure some of them were.

What I'm saying is, there have always been people within the federal enforcement apparatus and bureaucracy who were waiting for favorable winds to launch their warships.

Tweet/ https://twitter.com/queer_i_am/status/1035207525363200001… “Anti-homeless laws are also a really good example, especially because they target actions _everyone_ does. Pull over after working a night shift to nap and avoid an accident? Illegal.

I stopped to watch a cop once and he got in my space and threatened to take me in on loitering.”

See also: anti-loitering laws. A law against existing in space. Used to run off white kids who aren't driving business, run in anyone the cops feel like making a criminal. Not enforced against anyone ~*respectable*~, who "belongs".

With so much of this enforcement being subjective and self-directed, it is also decentralized. Which makes it harder to block or even attack.

Bank involvement in forfeiture/seizure of assets. (h/t @herhandsmyhands) This should scare you.

Tweet/https://twitter.com/sacbee_news/status/1035172325463736320… “Bank of America freezing accounts of customers suspected of not being US citizens : https://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article217567300.html

I know people are waiting for a point where it feels real, where it really feels like Nazi Germany. That point is going to be too far along to have any practical chance of stopping it.

Instead it's going to keep happening piecmeal and every time it happens, those who sound the alarm will be met with "You're overreacting, this isn't like a law against Jewish business ownership, this is only affecting a specific group of people in specific circumstances."

Relax: The monster's not eating your whole body, it's just eating one bite at a time.

The piecemeal, self-directed, subjective nature of these actions makes them harder to fight. Bank of America, the State Department, and DHS are all saying the same thing when questioned on this: "This is the same policy we've always followed." It's just being applied differently.

"We've always exercised discretion..." but now it's being exercised in different directions, towards different ends.

Someone asked what to do, besides be scared:

Make a lot of noise. If we are silent, we are complicit. If the only voices heard are those who support what's happening, they can claim universal assent.

If you work in a workplace, try telling your coworkers, "You know, they're taking citizenship away from people who live near the borders. If they can do that to anyone, they could do that to us. I don't think it's right." You don't have to make it partisan or anti-Trump.

Yell at your elected representatives. Democratic politicians should be aware that the GOP is reshaping the electorate in their favor. It's cynical, but they have to care about that.

Tweet about it, share it on social media. These things are not sufficient but they are necessary.

Vote in November. Same.

I know it feels like making noise isn't doing anything except complaining and we're taught that talk is the opposite of action but I promise you: talk is an action. When there is enough of an outcry they back down. Not all the way always. But slowing and mitigating damage helps.

[berniesrevolution]

JACOBIN MAGAZINE

Call him whatever you want — but don’t call him inconsistent. Bernie Sanders has been on message for more than half a century. And while liberals scramble from scandal to scandal under President Trump, Sanders is like a slow-moving tank rumbling through enemy lines.

And it’s his powerful message that carried Sanders from obscurity to become America’s most popular politician. His 2016 presidential campaign started with some haphazard remarks delivered to an empty National Mall. Bernie stood calmly behind a podium, said a few words about inequality, and then walked out of frame as if nothing had happened.

His political life started in obscurity too, in the dying remnants of the Socialist Party of America. He threw himself into civil rights and labor struggles through the 1960s, but by the end of the decade the native New Yorker retreated to rural life in Vermont. His first foray into electoral politics there yielded results familiar to the American left — 2.2 percent of the vote, in a 1972 Senate special election.

But Bernie was dogged and his message was simple, denouncing “the world of Richard Nixon, and the millionaires and billionaires whom he represents.” Even back then he was reminding audiences that, “This is the world of the 2 percent of the population that owns more than one third of the personally held wealth in America.”

His words were too clear not to resonate. Though his electoral itinerary was dotted with noble failures throughout the 1970s, he triumphed in his campaign as an independent socialist running for Burlington mayor at the height of Reaganism. In the thirty years since, the contours of Bernie’s appeal haven’t changed: inequality in America is a yawning chasm and only a coalition of working people can close it. In 2016, when he married this message to a program of single-payer health care, tuition-free college, and a $15 national minimum wage, it won the support of millions. Most of them had never heard much about socialism, but were ready for a politics that put their needs first.

Almost all of the US left embraced the Bernie movement, but there were questions over just what he meant by “socialism.” The senator would invoke the legacy of Eugene V.Debs in the same breath as the Danish welfare state. But far from being “just” a modern social democrat, Sanders’s path to reform was through confrontation with elites. Rather than saying we were all going to work together to make a better America, Sanders declared that we were going to take what’s ours from the same “millionaires and billionaires” that he’d denounced a half-century ago.

Bernie Sanders, the ultimate political survivor, gave American socialism a lifeline by returning it to its roots: class struggle and a class base.

But even with millions supporting him, he came up just short in 2016. The optimism of his campaign gave way, first to the cold calculation of Clinton liberalism and then to the wasteland of the Trump presidency. Yet its importance endures in American politics, whose lexicon now includes socialism and class politics for the first time in decades, and whose leading figures have been forced to debate the centerpiece demand of Bernie’s campaign: Medicare for All.

Bernie is the Left’s only logical choice for a 2020 presidential candidate. Though he may share some of the same policy goals as progressives like Elizabeth Warren, his confrontational vision of social change makes him a more dangerous foe to the establishment. Sanders is far better positioned than he was three years ago, with widespread name recognition, a young activist base, and a huge number of small donors.

But even if he does run and win in 2020 — a distinct possibility, in the view of this publication — it will mark the beginning of the fight, not its end. A Sanders presidency would face a hostile Congress and tremendous pressure from elites. Without mobilization from social movements and a rank-and-file resurgence within labor, it’s hard to imagine his program being put into place.

Though gaining power appears possible for the Left for the first time in generations, making good on the promise of power seems less likely. Yet a Sanders presidency would bring an end to American socialism’s long years in the wilderness. We’ve become accustomed to marginality; now we may have an opportunity to shape not just a presidential term or two, but decades of world politics.

Debs, whose portrait still hangs in Bernie’s Senate office, used to say that he was no Moses, that those who followed him had to lead themselves to the promised land. To win even desperately needed reforms — let alone loftier triumphs — we’ll need to build movements beyond the Sanders campaign. But as we do, we shouldn’t forget the debt of gratitude we owe the senator from Vermont.

Bernie Sanders isn’t the easiest interviewee — his well-known message discipline was on display in the interview that follows. But he was gracious enough to speak with Jacobin for this issue.

Bhaskar Sankara:

The Right controls all branches of government — why the push around Medicare for All now when the chance of passage seems so fleeting?

Bernie Sanders:

I have no illusions that under a Republican Senate, a very right-wing House, and an extremely right-wing president, we’re suddenly going to see a Medicare-for-all, single-payer system passed.

We are bringing this up today to force a conversation about why we are the only major country in the world that does not guarantee health care to all. Our health care system is in crisis. More than 30 million people are uninsured and even more can’t afford outrageously high deductibles and co-payments. But the crisis we are discussing today is not only about health care. It is a political crisis which speaks to the incredible power of the insurance companies, the drug companies, and all those who make billions off of the current system.

Legislation which deals with one-sixth of our economy is complex and nobody, including myself, has all the answers. Unlike the Republican leadership, which tried to pass massive and destructive health care reform without one public hearing, our job now is to take this legislation to every state in the country. We want to hear from medical providers, hospitals, patient advocates, and ordinary citizens as to how we can make this bill even stronger and more effective. We want to hear from the American people.

This struggle will not be won overnight and ultimately will not be won here on Capitol Hill, but through grassroots activism all across this country. We can’t wait until 2021 to start this fight. The reality is that when millions of Americans stand up and fight back there is nothing we cannot accomplish. At that point, we will finally do what we should have accomplished decades ago, and that is to provide quality health care to every man, woman, and child in this country as a right.

Bhaskar Sankara:

What alternative models do you see for the United States abroad?

Bernie Sanders:

I recently traveled to Toronto to better understand how they are able to guarantee health care to all people as a right. What I learned on that trip, and that I hope my colleagues in the US Congress will understand, is that we are spending twice as much on health care per person as they are spending in Canada, yet we have far worse outcomes. Canadians live nearly three years longer than Americans, even though they spend just 11 percent of their GDP on health care in contrast to the nearly 18 percent we spend in the United States.

So I say to my conservative friends, people who don’t like to waste money: How are we not looking at our neighbors to the north for ideas on how to improve our health care system?

Is the Canadian health care system, perfect? No. It is true that there are sometimes wait times for hip replacements, cataract surgery, or nonemergency advanced imaging. They also need to do a better job covering prescription drugs. However, in the United States, tens of millions of Americans are turned away from these procedures because they can’t afford them.

But when Canadians are sick, when they give birth, when they get cancer or have a heart attack, they can get the care they need without being forced into bankruptcy. That is all too often a reality for people in America.

We have much to learn from Canada and other major countries around the world who have long understood health care is a right, not a privilege.

(Continue Reading)

[newsfact]

Bill Maher rails against COVID restrictions: It’s time to admit pandemic is ‘over’

“Real Time” host Bill Maher railed against ongoing COVID restrictions, declaring the pandemic “over.”

Maher kicked off the show’s panel discussion Friday night by expressing relief that Dr. Anthony Fauci has given the green light on Halloween since it’s been Maher’s “position since the beginning of this.”

“Just resume living,” Maher told his audience. “I know some people seem to not want to give up on the wonderful pandemic, but you know what? It’s over. There’s always going to be a variant. You shouldn’t have to wear masks. I should be to … I haven’t had a meeting with my staff since March of 2020. Why?”

“I know some people seem to not want to give up on the wonderful pandemic, but you know what? It’s over.”

— Bill Maher

‘Blue states are a pain in the a–’ with their coronavirus rules, Bill Maher says. (HBO)

“Also, vaccine, mask, pick one! You’ve got to pick. You can’t make me mask if I’ve had the vaccine,” Maher added. 

BILL MAHER WARNS VIRGINIA DEMS: MCAULIFFE COULD LOSE ELECTION OVER SCHOOLS ISSUE BECAUSE ‘PARENTS VOTE’

The Atlantic staff writer Caitlin Flanagan told Maher she had “broken up with COVID” after the first year of the pandemic, comparing it to an “abusive” boyfriend. 

“And I got the vaccine. I walked out of the CVS. I hadn’t been that thrilled coming out of the drugstore since I got the birth control pill in 1981,” Flanagan quipped. “I’ve had cancer. I’m triple vaxxed. If it gets me, fair play to it because it will put up a fight against me but I’m not staying in my house again.”

“I got the vaccine. … I hadn’t been that thrilled coming out of the drugstore since I got the birth control pill in 1981.”

— Caitlin Flanagan, The Atlantic

Caitlin Flanagan. (The Atlantic)

Maher then pressed his guest, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., since “it’s the Democrats” that keep enforcing COVID restrictions. 

“I travel in every state now, back on the road, and the red states are a joy and the blue states are a pain in the a–. For no reason,” Maher said. 

“One of the critical things that’s being discussed right now by President Biden, one of the things we have to recommit ourselves to, is supporting vaccination around the rest of the world,” Coons responded. “There’s still a lot of countries that are very, very minimally vaccinated because if a variant develops out in the world that is able to defeat the vaccine, we are all the way back to the beginning. So in the United States, in most of the western world, we’re ready to be done with this, but we’re not done until the world is safe and we’re not safe as a world until the world’s vaccinated.”

“If a variant develops out in the world that is able to defeat the vaccine, we are all the way back to the beginning.”

— Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020.  (Associated Press)

BILL MAHER DEFENDS DAVE CHAPPELLE, KNOCKS CRITICS: ‘EVERYONE NEEDS TO NETFLIX AND CHILL THE F— OUT’

“Except the world recognizes natural immunity. We don’t,” Maher pushed back, “because everything in this country has to go through the pharmaceutical companies. Natural immunity is the best kind of immunity. We shouldn’t fire people who have natural immunity because they don’t get the vaccine. We should hire them. Yes?”

“If someone is having tested with antibodies,” Coons conceded. 

“Well, OK. But you know, people who’ve had it – I’ve had it,” Maher said. “I mean, I shouldn’t be tested anymore. I got the vaccine.”

“And if someone’s willing to be a fireman, if someone’s willing to be a policeman, if someone’s willing to go into a burning building and says, ‘I’m just not that afraid of COVID and I don’t want to take the vaccine,’ that should be enough,” Flanagan interjected. “You shouldn’t be losing a job, you shouldn’t be furloughed without pay, the guy that saves lives because he doesn’t want to take the vaccine. It’s ridiculous.”

‘Stupid’ messaging

The HBO star complained about the “messaging” regarding COVID, pointing to people he had seen outside “alone walking with a mask,” stressing “it’s so stupid.”

“It’s an amulet, you know? A charm people wear around the neck that wards away evil spirits. It means nothing,” Maher said. “I mean, can’t we get people to understand the facts more?”

“It’s an amulet, you know? A charm people wear around the neck that wards away evil spirits. It means nothing.”

— Bill Maher

Maher went on to slam Democrats over a poll that showed “41%” of them believed unvaccinated people have “over 50%” risk of hospitalization when it’s actually “0.89%,” adding that it’s “0.01%” for vaccinated people. 

BILL MAHER SAYS US-MEXICO BORDER CRISIS MAY BE DEMOCRATS’ ‘ACHILLES’ HEEL’ COME ELECTION TIME

“So in both cases, the correct answer is less than 1%. They thought it was over 50. How do people, especially of one party, get such a bad idea? Where did that come from?” Maher asked. 

Coons reiterated that “we frankly shouldn’t let up on the urgency of still promoting vaccination” so that “we can enjoy reopening our society.” 

‘Take our chances’

But Maher pushed back on the lack of “consensus” on how many people have actually died from COVID, pointing to the recent passing of former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who Maher pointed out had cancer and Parkinson’s disease but died of “complications from COVID.”

“We’re looking at people with complicated health histories a lot of the time,” Flanagan said. “We’re looking at obesity as an issue but no one wants to say it because it’s body positivity. And we’re looking at poverty. That’s what we need to be focused on, people who live really close together. But there’s a lot of people within different poor communities so don’t want to take it. We just have to take our chances, be thoughtful and careful and go back out there and make sure that people who live in dense housing have complete access to the vaccine. And if they don’t want to take it …”

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“We have to get back to life,” Maher agreed. “I mean, you might look at the sporting events that are … all three sports are playing now including basketball, which is inside. Nobody seems to be having super-spreader events. I mean, you know, it was great. It was so much fun having a pandemic but, you know, buh-bye.” 

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[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #468

“recollect me, darling, raise me to your lips  /  two undernourished egos  /  four rotating hips”

Have you ever seen a queen bee outside its hive? I wouldn't know. What comes to mind first, when I say “indie”? The music genre. Have you ever used Duolingo? I have not. Do you think number 13 is unlucky? No. Do you watch any old films? If so, name a few of your favourites. Through all the years in school and reading classic novels, we would usually watch the movie afterwards, so I've seen a good number and understand why they're classics, like The Outsiders, A Raisin in the Sun, Steel Magnolias... Who are some of your classic era film actors and actresses, if any? I don't know enough, honestly. Do you have any novelty ice cube trays? No. What radio station do you most often listen to? I don't listen to the radio. Have you ever been in a Catholic confessional? Yes, because I was raised Roman Catholic, and it was routine to go occasionally. Those things are so awful. Who was the last non-relative you rode in a vehicle with? Oh wow, I don't know. What movie are you looking forward to coming out? HOCUS POCUS 2!!!!!!!!!!!!! :') What color was the hair of the last person you kissed? HAHAHA he's gonna fuckin hate me for this. He has black hair, but with a bit of gray throughout already. What letter does your last name begin with? D. Have you ever liked someone and never told them? Yep. Do you regret it? Nah. Who was the last person to buy you a drink? You're talking like, a drink drink? In which case, my mother. Who was the last person to buy you dinner? Girt. How old is the oldest person you’ve dated? Idk exactly how old Juan is, but he's probably the oldest? Of the ages I actually remember, that'd be Girt; he'll be 28 next month. Have you ever found a bug in your food? omg noooooo Do you ever read things you wrote as a kid? What were you like? Fuck no, I'd cringe into oblivion. Your boyfriend's birthday is coming up, and you’re totally broke. What do you do? ... Was this written directed at me??? lmao I'm thinking of just trying to draw 2B from Nier: Automata since she's to him what Pyramid Head is to me, ha ha. Would you be content to turn out just like your mom? In most ways, no. If you could pick one topic for everyone in your country to learn more about, what would you pick? Uhhh... Well, it'd be boring as all fuck hell, but I guess politics. Be actually educated on what's going on in the country and vote more wisely. How do you feel about people your age having children? I'm 25. It's normal, and advisable before 30 anyway before the risk of birth defects and problematic pregnancies rise. When was the last time you were at a park? Jeez... the very beginning of this year, I wanna say? I was taking family pictures for someone. Do you feel like going to funerals helps you in the grieving process? I haven't been to nearly enough to know. Especially as an adult. How do you feel about the whole organic food craze? I'm not educated enough on this to have a proper opinion. Who was the last person you heard snore? My mom, at some point. Is there a TV show you’ve wanted to start watching but never gotten around to? Even though I don't really watch TV, there are some I'm interested in, like The Witcher. Have you ever worn something out in public that made other people stare at you? Oh god, I would avoid that so hard, so probably not. Do you ever make an effort to look stylish or fashionable? Or do you not care about that? I really don't care. I wear what's comfortable. When was the last time you were in denial about something? What about? Idk. Have you ever worn fake eyelashes? If not, would you ever try wearing them? No, but I probably will for my hypothetical wedding. Is there any certain style of architecture you really enjoy? Yeah; Roman, for one. I should be able to list far more, having taken Art History, where architecture played a big part... When’s the last time you made the best of a bad situation? Hm, I dunno. If you watch Parks and Recreation, who is your favorite character? N/A Do you listen to Fall Out Boy? Yeah, they're great. Have you ever been skiing or snowboarding? No. Have you ever forged a note for something at school? No. Are you a YouTube addict? Oh, for sure. I'm always on there. Have you ever found a four leaf clover? Many, actually! It's funny, at our old place, the day my father abandoned my family, I found an actual PATCH of four-leaf clovers right outside. I doubt it meant anything, but it was still cool. From that year on, that spot always had lots of four-leaf ones. Are you good at lighting fires? I wouldn't know. I'm scared to. Name someone who is an excellent listener? Sara. <3 Would you mind living to 100 years old if you were in semi-decent health? Define "semi-decent." If I could still care for myself fine, then sure, I guess? 100 still seems pretty... bold for me, though. How did your parents meet one another? They were co-workers. When's the last time you got heartburn? What do you think caused it? I haven't had it in a while because I have to take a prescription antacid. It's embarrassing to admit, but it's because of my weight; chronic heartburn is common for people of my size. I know for sure that it's the culprit in my case, because when I lost a load of weight? It went away and stayed gone until I started gaining weight back. What's your favorite red fruit? Strawberriessss. Do you enjoy sour candies? If so, which ones? omfg yesssss. Give me like ANY sour candy. Would you want a chance to visit Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory? Ha, it's funny, the first thing that came to mind was hell yeah, so long as I could bring my camera. Can you imagine the photographs? Goddamn right I'd try some candy too, but I'm more interested in the art of it all, really. What is one quirk about each of your parents that you can't stand? Dad is easy: he repeats the FUCK out of himself. Like oh my god. He will cycle a conversation by saying the same exact thing so, so many times. As for Mom... I don't know about a quirk that I can't stand. Have you ever suffered from amnesia before? After I awoke from fainting and receiving a concussion, I did briefly. Like I couldn't remember what happened and was just crying, but it came back to me with time. Do you live with roommates? I live with my mother. Does your body feel older than it actually is? My body feels ancient. Were you always picked last in gym class? I wouldn't say last, but I wasn't a first pick, for sure. Has someone close to you ever passed away from cancer? Pets have. My grandmother died of pancreatic cancer, but we were never close, I'd say. Which form of martial arts would you be most interested in trying? Ngl, I don't know almost any names and what moves they entail. Which type of shoe dominates your wardrobe? Converse. The last time you were high, what was it off of? Never been high. Is there a particular sport you follow on a regular basis? No. Are you waiting for something to arrive in the mail? No. Could you date someone who didn’t drive (and didn’t show an interest in ever getting their license, either)? If they had no interest in getting one, I don't think I could. How would you react if your artwork became famous? Cry. A lot. But in a wonderful way. Have you ever seen an alligator in person? Yeah. I love those lil 'ole dinos. Most instances were at the zoo, but I actually very clearly remember seeing one in a watery ditch following Hurricane Floyd when the local zoo was destroyed. The alligators got out. What does the inside of your shower look like? It's a... normal tub/shower? What primary color is your Christmas tree? It's always green. When I have my own place, I reeeaaaally want a black one with faux snowy tips, white garland, and red ornaments. What is the stupidest thing you’ve done to a friend’s pet? Nothing? Have you ever seen a snake in the road? I have. Have you ever been to the Kentucky Derby? No. Have you ever heard a wolf howl? Not in person, no. When in a race, do you usually win? Ya girl doesn't race. I don't remember if I did any as a kid. Do you get sleepy when you ride in the car? Yes. How is your credit rating? I don't have one. Do you know anyone who lives in Hawaii? Yeah, a cousin of mine. What was the last phone conversation you had about? I was giving someone permission to talk to my mother about some financial stuff. How spicy do you like your food? Spicy, but not as hot as I used to enjoy. I've come to a point where I want to focus more on enjoying the food than the adrenaline of fighting the heat of what I'm eating. When was the last time you were in a very good mood? Two days ago when my boyfriend came over and we were watching some shows together. Who is at your house right now? Just Mom and me. Have you faced any of your fears lately? I mean, it's nothing major at all, but signing myself in and out of doctor appointments gives me anxiety. My mom used to do it for me, but I've been doing it for awhile now. Have you slept next to the last person you kissed? No. We both needed a nap the other day, but we've agreed sleeping together while my nightmares are being figured out is a very bad idea in case I lash out in my sleep and hurt him because I would fucking sob. Has your father met the boy you currently love? Yeah. But not everyone loves boys, you know. Are you closer with your siblings or cousins? Siblings. I barely ever see my cousins because my extended family doesn't live in NC. How many people have you really fell for? Three. Last thing to make you smile? Some stupid meme on Facebook lol. Does the person you like, like you too? Ye! Next event you’ll wear a dress to: Idk. Is there someone in your past you thought you’d never get over, and then did? Believe this shit or not... I haven't been thinking of Jason as much lately. I VERY much doubt I'll ever be totally over him, but I'm very much focused on and into my current boyfriend. How many arguments have you had with the last person you dated? We've actually never argued. Your girlfriend/boyfriend buys you flowers, you say? With our sense of humor, I'd probably say some shit like, "You killed them for me?" in an adoring voice, ha ha. Describe your life in one word? Dull. Did the last person you kiss have a tattoo? No, but he wants a sleeve tattoo AND I AM SO FUCKING FOR IT Were you intoxicated the last time you threw up? Nope.

[pointgiven4517]

I haven't posted on Tumblr in so long, but I needed to share something a patient of mine's dad wrote. It hits all of my emotions so hard...

This is a long post, specifically written for fellow believers in Christ who have chosen to not get themselves vaccinated. It may come across as quite direct. It may cause one to feel uncomfortable or confronted. Please know that I've written all of this because I love you, I want you to take care of yourselves and your neighbors, and I care deeply for my family, especially our Adair who is put at risk by all unvaccinated people. If you're a fellow Christian who is unvaccinated, please read this, even if you haven't read anything else I've written on the pandemic or vaccines. Here we go...

A friend had some wise words for me today as we were discussing the pandemic, vaccines, and our faith. He said that he believes bible study is the effort to know God's will, and science is the effort to know God's work.

I thought that this was profound and wanted to share some of my intersecting thoughts on this.

In my opinion, modern, American, Evangelical Christianity has increasingly become linked to a general distrust of science. Concurrently, the Republican Party has increasingly sought to brand themselves as the Christian Party (especially since the 1980s with Ronald Reagan), and not only that, but they've sought to demonize the Democratic Party. I'm mentioning both of these concepts, because they are interwoven in today's political and religious landscapes.

For many American Christians, it is deeply woven into the fabric of their lives that they must vote for a Republican in order to be a good Christian (I used to believe this myself). Furthermore, they believe that the word of God is in opposition to scientific discovery. Now don't get me wrong, I'm actually much more conservative in my biblical interpretation than you'd think, but I also believe that the earth is God's creation, broken by sin, but is still his creation, just as we all are. Scientific discovery is a gift from God and further reveals God's work in our lives. It is not the enemy.

Because many American Christians have universally linked their faith with the Republican Party and have put their faith on par with their loyalty to the party, they have set up a construct where they have made anything and everything that is in opposition to the Republican Party an enemy in the name of faith.

This all has been going on for decades, and has really come to a head over the last several years. Before I make additional statements, I want to make it clear that I believe (and the bible teaches) that all people are sinful from birth. I believe that when we put our faith in people as opposed to God and Jesus, we will always be let down. This is true, regardless of denomination, political party, etc.

All of that being said, I believe that the devil has been at work in these divisions and linkages. Here, I want to specifically focus on how the devil has been delighting in the alignment of Christianity with the Republican Party in America. I believe we saw that on full display with the election of Donald Trump. In my opinion, through Donald Trump, the devil worked to see how far he could push Christians away from the teachings of Christ. Donald Trump said that he was a Christian, but he also said that he didn't need forgiveness (example of that here: https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-on-god-i-dont-like-to-have-to-ask-for-forgiveness-2016-1). This is a cornerstone of Christianity - the knowledge that we are sinful, in need of Christ's forgiveness, and that faith in his saving work on the cross and resurrection is the path to heaven. There are so many examples of Donald Trump's overt bullying, lying, xenophobia, cheating, horrible business practices, and the list goes on (I use the word overt, because Donald Trump has been bold in his un-Christian behaviors, seeing them as a badge of honor) - yet the Republican Party and an overwhelming number of Christians have followed along in the name of faith. From my perspective, this is exactly what the devil wanted. He wanted to see how far he could push people away from the teachings of the bible by following an antichrist as the leader of this nation.

Don't get me wrong, there are countless examples throughout history of leaders from all political persuasions that have been terrible witnesses for Christ, even though they said they were Christians. Donald Trump is the first one that I'm aware of, though, that claimed to be a Christian yet stated that he didn't need Christ's forgiveness. That is critical for the Christian person to consider.

Donald Trump is, objectively, a compulsive liar and master manipulator. I can hear people now - so are all politicians. Ok, I get it. Many are, yes, and increasingly so in order to win votes. BUT, Donald Trump was so compulsive in his lying that he would lie about things that were irrelevant. He couldn't help himself in his lying. In my opinion, Trump, a lifelong Democrat, knew of the linkage between Christianity and the Republican Party, and used that to his advantage. He claimed to be a Christian even though he isn't. He claimed to be pro-life (THE issue for Republican, Christian voters), even though he's been pro-choice his entire life. And he branded himself as the person who was going to look out for the little guy, be the hero of the all-American family, and bring back American values and strength. But what he did was tap into things that have been building for decades and things that have been lying under the surface for a long time - the linkage between Christianity and Republican Party, underlying systems of racism and oppression; he built upon the strong emotion of fear and made immigrants his enemies, he made the made-up issue of voter fraud come alive in people's minds, and he sought to pit one side against the other, winner take all, at all costs.

His strategy was working in a lot of ways too. And then a novel coronavirus struck the world. And for Donald Trump, a man that refuses to be anything but a strong-man, refuses to acknowledge that he needs help from anybody or anything, a man that believes that he knows all and knows best, the virus moved upon him and our country with a vengeance (and continues to do so).

This virus doesn't care about political affiliation, personalities, conspiracy theories, or anything else. It seeks viable hosts in which to replicate and improve itself through variants.

And because of Donald Trump's ignorance and arrogance, because of his nepotism, because of his belief that he cannot be conquered, over 600,000 Americans have died due to COVID-19. Furthermore, his sewing of conspiracy theories, lies, deception, misinformation, etc have caused a large portion of our country to doubt cold, hard facts, to doubt credible experts, to doubt medical professionals, to doubt experts in communicable disease in favor of what have been deemed the only sources of credible information - Donald Trump and the Republican Party. Donald Trump and his enablers have sewed seeds of discord and doubt in their followers to the extent that facts are viewed as fiction. They have willfully spread lies about this virus and about the vaccines.

And all the while, Christians who have conflated their loyalty to party with their faith are praying for an end to this pandemic when one has been staring them in the faces for months. God's gift of science - that effort to know God's amazing work - quickly discovered a way to neutralize a global pandemic. The answer to our prayers is already here in the form of a vaccine. It is a fact that COVID-19 is deadly serious and it's only getting worse with the Delta Variant. It's also a fact that the vaccines are miraculously safe and effective. We don't know with certainty the long-term effects of COVID or the vaccines, but we do know a lot about the short-term and medium-term effects of them. COVID-19 is deadly, and it also damages multiple organs systems within the body, even in cases with few symptoms, leading to what will likely be long-term disabilities. The vaccines may have some minor risks that are easily treatable, but their benefits outweigh the risks by multiple orders of magnitude. Additionally, almost all vaccine injuries occur in the very near term, so with the data we have, it's logical to believe that the vaccines will be safe in the long-term, whereas COVID continues to show us that it will be devastating in the long-term.

The vaccines are the answer to our prayers, and it continues to befuddle me as to why so many right-leaning Christians refuse to acknowledge that fact.

I'll go a few steps further and say some things that have been on my heart. The job of the Christian this side of the resurrection is to be a witness for Christ and a light in this world. By promoting false conspiracy theories, by propping up wicked men and their actions, by denying facts and science, and by latching onto verifiably false beliefs, the Christian-Right has weakened the credibility of its witness for Jesus. If our role as Christians is to talk credibly to non-believers about Jesus and his saving work, why would any non-believer believe us about an invisible God if we are promoting verifiably false information? When we deny proven truth, facts, science, and reality, we hurt the credibility of our witness for Jesus. Our job isn't to try and look good for our fellow Christians - it's to be a credible witness for Jesus.

I'll end this with a desperate plea for everybody to get vaccinated who is medically able to do so as well as an excerpt from the writings of Martin Luther on the plague:

"Others sin on the right hand. They are much too rash and reckless, tempting God and disregarding everything which might counteract death and the plague. They disdain the use of medicines; they do not avoid places and persons infected by the plague, but lightheartedly make sport of it and wish to prove how independent they are. They say that it is God’s punishment; if he wants to protect them he can do so without medicines or our carefulness. This is not trusting God but tempting him. God has created medicines and provided us with intelligence to guard and take good care of the body so that we can live in good health.

If one makes no use of intelligence or medicine when he could do so without detriment to his neighbor, such a person injures his body and must beware lest he become a suicide in God’s eyes. By the same reasoning a person might forego eating and drinking, clothing and shelter, and boldly proclaim his faith that if God wanted to preserve him from starvation and cold, he could do so without food and clothing. Actually that would be suicide. It is even more shameful for a person to pay no heed to his own body and to fail to protect it against the plague the best he is able, and then to infect and poison others who might have remained alive if he had taken care of his body as he should have. He is thus responsible before God for his neighbor’s death and is a murderer many times over. Indeed, such people behave as though a house were burning in the city and nobody were trying to put the fire out. Instead they give leeway to the flames so that the whole city is consumed, saying that if God so willed, he could save the city without water to quench the fire.

No, my dear friends, that is no good. Use medicine; take potions which can help you; fumigate house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor does not need your presence or has recovered, and act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city. What else is the epidemic but a fire which instead of consuming wood and straw devours life and body? You ought to think this way: “Very well, by God’s decree the enemy has sent us poison and deadly offal. Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine, and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely, as stated above. See, this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God."

[md-admissions]

2017 in Review

By tradition, it’s time for my annual review!

1 - What did you do in 2017 that you’d never done before?

Interviewed and got into fellowship, finally became 100% happy with being single, wrote a research manuscript from start to finish, burned out, recovered from the burn out, went to a protest, called a senator, called a rep, did a moonlighting gig, yelled at a patient, attended the funeral of someone near my age, baked bread, played D&D 2 - Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Last year’s resolutions were: Make my health a priority (ehhhh), get into the top ID fellowship of my choice (yes!), and increase my romantic confidence (yes!).

This coming year, I resolve to find an exercise or daily activity I like that I can commit to at least on a weekly basis!

3 - Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yeah!

4 - Did anyone close to you die?

Yeah, my cousin. 

5 - What countries did you visit?

Went out of the country for my cousin’s funeral

6 - What would you like to have in 2018 that you lacked in 2017?

More “life skills” like doing my own taxes, hosting dinner parties, an exercise routine or just a way to move around and stay fit on a frequent basis, more art and reading for leisure 7 - What date from 2017 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

6/12/17, the day my cousin passed away and 12/6/17, the day I matched into fellowship. I’m only realizing now as I type this the pattern in the numbers. 

8 - What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Getting into the fellowship of my choice!!!

9 - What was your biggest failure?

Due to my laziness, several bouts of illness, family tragedy, and multiple call months, I haven’t been able to stick with dancing. I hope I can change that next year! 10 - Did you suffer illness or injury?

Little things, like the flu but otherwise I was okay! 11 - What was the best thing you bought?

Probably the iPhone charging cable that now lives in my car. The number of times that this has saved my dying phone and my resident career is already too many.  12 - Whose behavior merited celebration?

Ladies of color. You are all the MVPs. Thank you to the black women who kept Roy Moore from winning the race in Alabama. Thank you for being the ones on social media and in real life teaching, educating, and supporting our communities through these fraught political times. Thank you for being the leaders when others remain silent.  13 - Whose behavior made you appalled or depressed?

*stares at the US Republicans who voted for the tax reform, Ajit Pai, those who agreed with the immigration ban, climate change deniers, anti-vaxxers* 

Oh was that list too short?

14 - Where did most of your money go?

FELLOWSHIP STUFF. Application fees, airplane tickets, train tickets, dry cleaning for my suit. Then food. So much food. 

15 - What did you get really, really, really excited about?

D&D (I know, how have I not played before?), Movies: Star Wars, Thor: Ragnarok, Wonder Woman, Dunkirk, GotG2, Logan, John Wick 2, TV shows: The Defenders, The Punisher, The Unit, GoT, American Gods, Insecure 16 - What song(s) will always remind you of 2017?

DNA-BTS 17 - Compared to this time last year, are you: I. Happier or sadder?

I’m going to say the same as last year. Sadder. I’ve been really fortunate this year, but I think it’s been a tough year. II. Thinner or fatter?

Same.

III. Richer or poorer?

Richer by a tiny bit. 

18 - What do you wish you’d done more of?

More self care. It was hard to discern sometimes from self indulgence with family tragedy and work exhaustion 19 - What do you wish you’d done less of?

using food to cope with stress 20 - How will you be spending/spent christmas?

Star Wars with the family, and we hung out together <3

21 - Did you fall in love in 2017?

A bit more with myself, for the first time ever. 22 - How many one-night stands?

Zero. 23 - What was your favorite tv program?

GoT probably

24 - Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

But of course 25 - What was the best book you read?

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu 26 - What was your greatest musical discovery?

BTS. I said KPop in 2015 but this year I actually listened through most of their music and I really enjoyed BTS in particular 27 - What did you want and get?

My fellowship pick, the opportunity to teach and demonstrate my sincerity to my profession 28 - What was your favorite film of this year?

Thor: Ragnarok

29 - What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

Turned 29, but I didn’t feel like celebrating and actually didn’t say anything. So two of my prior interns actually surprised me with a birthday party!! It was one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me.  30 - What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

If the tax reform had not been passed, I would be less fearful going into 2018.

31 - How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2017?

Sports-wear type scrubs for work. Tailored black and navy pieces with a professional/sporty vibe. 32 - What kept you sane?

family, friends, medblrs. Podcasts like Sawbones and Friends at the Table. Grassroots political action. The Great British Bake Off.  33 - Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Jason Momoa. I didn’t watch Justice League but he is a beautiful human being. 

34 - What political/social issue stirred you the most?

Healthcare equality, DACA/immigration issues, net neutrality 35 - Who did you miss?

My maternal grandparents. My cousin who passed away. @descantforhope because she’s the best and I love her and her kids  36 - Who was the best new person you met?

My work bestie! We sit and commiserate about medical education, stationary, and sci fi. 

37 - Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2017:

We cannot silence ourselves when right and wrong are at stake.

[whoisblackamerica]

Possible Solution?

The Ethnic Discovery Project

    As a young girl, I grew up in a loving household where my parents made sure that my siblings and I were cultured and knew where we came from. As much as they, my parents, could. And I, being the typical naive, young child, I thought that what they told was all there was to our heritage and culture. That my family’s history began with slavery and we’ve always been from the United States. Once I started getting older, I noticed that classmates of mine, white and other people of color, were able to trace back their lineage and family trees miles farther than I was able to. Other African American youths suffer from this confusion too, and in turn can affect them in different ways. 

In the black community, there is an issue with self-identification, in which we don’t know where we come from because of the culture lost during the slave trade.  More specifically, Black people in America face an identity crisis through loss of ancestry, negative stereotypes and images, and low self-esteem. The issue developed once the first Africans were brought to America in 1619. Along with being forced into labor, they were also forced to drop their African customs and cultures. This issue became more prevalent during the civil rights movement because that was, arguably, the birth of Black Nationalism. Black people in America face an identity crisis through loss of ancestry which was scientifically proven to contribute to low-self esteem. I propose that we create a non-profit organization of people who will dedicate time to searching archives and documents, specifically those that are made by, kept by, and created by other African Americans, for people to discover more about their personal heritage, thus finally filling the void that was created by slavery. We could build our own genealogy site, or offer to work with existing ones. This resource would be a cheap, maybe even free, source for curious people who want to know where their family is from, and who right fully deserves it. I think that people who have faced hundreds of years of oppression, racism, and discrimination are owed a lot for their perseverance. However, this resource wouldn’t be limited to only people who identify as African-American, but it would also be for the benefit of  all mixed-raced people.

   Black America has dealt with a lot of oppression since slavery, before and after it was abolished. Some significant events to note are the L.A. riots that were triggered by the brutal beating of Rodney King, the recent police brutality against black people in the past decade, and the gang violence within the black youth, across the country. With the constant fighting within the community and outside of it, it’s very difficult for things to get done to positively uplift out people. Thus, the self-esteem and mental well being of our people is affected. It’s no secret in the black community that our racial identity directly affects our dignity and self-respect. I have known plenty of people, including myself, who felt as if they were worth less because they were born black or a person of color, almost as if being white was so much easier and our lives would actually be worth living. The Encyclopedia of Race and Racism agrees and propose that, “Understanding identity, or individuals' beliefs about the groups to which they belong can help explain variation in their physical and mental health, educational attainment, income levels, and wealth.” (Mason) A general definition of Identity would be a distinguished idea of an individual through certain traits and qualities. The difference between being black in America and being black in Africa is that Black America is only color but Black in Africa is surrounded by language, cuisine, and customs, that many people of my generation and many generations before us haven’t gotten the chance to experience or discover. The Encyclopedia of African American Society states that, “The earliest studies that measured racial identity among African Americans were originally attempts to study black self-esteem. These studies were based on the concept of "reflective appraisal"—the idea that people develop a self-concept based on the way that other people view them.” (Jaynes)

To go further into the actual source of this self-hatred, we can discuss the role that stereotypes and the false representations of African Americans in the United States. White people further influenced the questioning of who we are, by making us feel like less than people. Things like the Three-Fifths compromise (which was a decision agreed upon in 1787 that stated that for population counting purposes for the House of Representatives, slaves would count as 3/5ths of a person or 3 out of every 5 slaves as a person) and not being able to vote in a country we were forced in are just a few examples. Additionally, black youth aren’t being taught the whole truth about slavery. They are learning the watered-down version of American History that is meant to spark patriotism in young one’s minds. I viewed a film in my African American history classed titled: Ethnic Notions: Black Images in the White Mind. The film’s narrator mentioned

“Contained in these cultural images is the history of our national conscience striving to reconcile the paradox of racism in a nation founded on human equality - a conscience coping with this profound contradiction … through caricature. What were the consequences of these caricatures? How did they mold and mirror the reality of racial tensions in America for more than 100 years?” (Notions)

Now think about this. How could this nation have been founded on equality, when it literally was not founded on equality. Additionally, The Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History by Colin A. Palmer explains,

“In the history of race relations in the United States, stereotypes preceded and accompanied the origins and legalization of slavery. Equipped with stereotypes, whites fastened the dogma of inferiority on Africans and African Americans. With the termination of slavery, stereotypes were then extensively employed to legitimate segregationist policies. Throughout the course of American history, such ingrained stereotypes have subverted black identity and seriously undermined the formation of a biracial society based on egalitarian practices. “ (Palmer)

Images like the Mamie, and exaggerated black face were prevalent before the 1960s. After that, black people stopped viewing themselves under the white’s eyes. Because of the civil rights movement, black people began to care more about their people as a whole rather than an “every man for himself” type of mentality. The Encyclopedia of African American Society found that “In fact, when black researchers began to develop their own theories of racial identity, they found that African Americans' sense of self came mainly from the messages they received from parents and friends, not the negative views of whites.” (Jaynes)

To address this issue, I suggest we create a non-profit organization, that’s goal is to search the archives, documents, and records of African Americans from 1619 (the first slaves brought to America in Jamestown, Virginia) to now, to help people discover more about themselves, the families they came from, and the cultures they may have lost during history. The difference between this organization and other ancestry and genealogy sites (ancestry.com, 23andme.com, etc.) is that this won’t stop with finding out where these people’s DNA leads to and is made up of but it will also teach them about the cultures of that area, and hopefully connect them with other people from there. It would be ideal if this organization could partner with a genealogy website, to provide these people with discounted DNA tests or maybe even free. If that is unable to happen, it would be in our best interest to find a laboratory or a scientist willing to do this for little to no money/profit. This organization would mostly have to rely on government funding, fundraisers, and donations because they wouldn’t be selling anything or making a profit. This would be specifically a non-profit, because its main goal would be to enrich the lives of our people and make them more comfortable in their own skin, even when surrounded by the constant negativity around them. This organization could have many benefits, such as creating a larger sense of community, because its black people helping other black people discover themselves and open their minds to a whole new side of them that they hadn’t discovered. There could be offices in place with high populations/concentrations of black people and mixed-race (with black) people, for convenience for them. The amount of offices would depend of the money and revenue that the organization gathers. If they were only able to have a few, let’s say 6 offices with one being the headquarters, would be 1)New York, New York, that has the highest number of black people (at 8,175,133 people!)  2)Detroit, Michigan, which has the highest percentage of the total population of the city at 84.3%, 3) Jackson, Mississippi, 4) Miami Gardens, Florida, 5) Beaumont, Texas, and finally 6) Los Angeles, California.  Unfortunately, the West coast would only have only one official office because the majority of black Americans live in the southern part of the United States and the East coast. Los Angeles, like New York, is a “melting pot” (for lack of a better term), with many different kinds of people, such as mixed-race people and immigrants living there. The headquarters would be in New York, because I feel as though by serving the most amount of black people in America, they would dedicate a lot of time to the cause.  We could collaborate with AfricanAncestry.com,  which is a genealogy website dedicated to find African DNA lineages. On their website they claim that, “African Ancestry uses the world’s largest database of African DNA lineages to determine your country and ethnic group of origin, all with a simple swab of your cheek.” (AfricanAncestry.com homepage) Having a black-owned and black-ran genealogy testing service would provide more credibility to the organization, and attract more black people.

    Unfortunately, African Ancestry’s tests range anywhere from $274.00 (for 2 or $299.00 for one) to $680.00. That is an astronomical price to pay for something that should be in your right as a human being to know. On the website, 23andme.com's services’ prices range from $99 for just the ancestry service to $199 for the “Health + Ancestry” Service. Though, along with ancestrydna.com, they are known for giving somewhat vague results occasionally. ( i.e. broadly sub-Saharan African, or broadly East Asian) The main issues with genealogy test is that it doesn’t address the whole issue that we are presented with. Sure, we get the satisfaction of learning a little about where our ancestors we’re from up until today, but it doesn’t connect us to the culture in anyway. There are also things that have nothing to do with genealogy, but more about the identification itself and not the physically scientific aspect of things. The Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity, or the MIBI for short, is a tool used to asses racial and ethic identity among African Americans in the United States. Patrick L. Mason, a Professor and the Director of African American Studies at the University of Florida states that, “According to the MIBI and the model on which it is based, the Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI), the unique sociocultural history of black Americans both psychologically unifies the group and creates variability in the ways blacks identify with their race. To capture similarities and distinctions across blacks, the MIBI measures racial identity along three dimensions: (1) centrality, (2) regard, and (3) ideology” (Mason).  The issues with this test and others like this is that it only focuses on blacks personal identification in comparison to other blacks, which doesn’t really have anything to do with the issue, which is not knowing the actual places we come from. These tests only asses the effect of the problem. That doesn’t change the fact that it could be very eye opening and interesting to observe, it just isn’t enough.

   Overall, we have plenty of resources to make this proposal happen, however, our current political climate might prevent this from being an easy task. As long as we keep advancing through history and fighting for each other and our rights, anything is possible. Obviously, the psychological well being of African Americans wouldn’t magically become 100% better after my proposed solution, but, it is a huge step in the right direction, and hopefully others think so too.

[oliviacunliffe]

Recently my attention has been caught by the news about America about making abortion illegal in the state of Alabama. When I found this out I was shocked and angered because I believe that abortion is a right for everyone and they should be able to access this facility. I understand that there are people who are against this choice because you are getting rid of an unborn child but I also believe that the foetus is not a baby till this cell has grown human like features, heart beat or a brain. When looking more into this I had found out that there will be no exceptions this includes incest and rape. This is drastic decision and believe that there should have been a state vote on whether they should ban the right to have an abortion. Abortions should be legalised because it’s a way for a woman to feel free and live her life. I don’t understand this decision because what if a woman was raped by a man and she became pregnant and wants to get rid of the baby she should not be punished by making her carry her baby for 9 months and then go to the excruciating of child birth to then have a baby that is a part of her rape attack. I always believe that you should never talk for other people so why are the state of Alabama stopping abortion because its ‘unsafe’ because of this ban I believe that women’s suicide rates will increase as they will be unable to have an abortion. I feel that women are being denied their rights on what they can do with their bodies and how they wish to live their lives. I feel women need sanctuary to feel safe whether it’s just walking down the street without the thought of being raped and becoming pregnant and then being denied to have an abortion and have to carry their rapists’ baby. I feel that they haven’t thought this through because they haven’t thought about the families or single mothers who are unable to take care of the child because their income isn’t big enough to support a child. I had also heard a rumour about the people to agreed that abortion should be banned were all white males. I feel so angered by this because why are men speaking for all the women across Alabama. Also, why where their no women in this vote to me this suggests that the women that are in power disagree with this vote and didn’t want this to go forwards or where they not allowed to be included. Why white men being in control of women’s bodies? It has nothing to do with them. If women agree with abortion then don’t get one but if a woman wants one they shouldn’t be shamed upon. Why are men speaking for women? Why should they be given the choice on what happens to women’s bodies? It’s their choice. When looking into stories upon new websites I had come across that if a doctor is caught giving an abortion they can face up to 99 years in prison which I think it overlay drastic and unrealistic. Also, rapists can sue their victims if they choose to have an abortion because its misconduct of an unborn child. I was disgusted by this and how could anyone in their mind be able to let this happen. The fact that a politician said that rape is ‘will of God’ how is rape and traumatizing a woman be a will of god? Also, to top it off a 12-year old girl was raped by a man he was then awarded join custody of the child. Which is completely against all morals of a human being why put that girl through it again because what makes the government think that he won’t do this again.

When reading into articles I found a video on the BBC website of women expressing their views I completely disagree with some of the points that were made in the video. At the beginning of the video two girls appeared where they expressed their views and I was ‘triggered’ because I couldn’t believe what they were saying was their honest opinion. She claimed that it doesn’t matter if you got pregnant from incest or rape and if you do not want this child you can always give the baby up to adoption. I think this is awfully rude and ignorant because why let more unwanted children to go into care when there are already enough children that are in care. Also, I believe that she was called women who are fertile ungrateful because they were given the ‘gift of life’ and there are so many women out there who cannot have children and we are taking that for granted by having abortions when we can give the baby to unfertile family.

When reading all the dreadful and ridiculous stories I have come to the conclusion that America are going backwards in time and becoming a racist, sexist and a controlling country which reminds me of the world-famous book and tv series called The Handmaids Tale where women are not allowed to have abortions and being forced to get pregnant for unfertile families and the government telling women what they are allowed to do with their bodies. The government are becoming controlling and denying what I believe are human rights. When researching I have come across women protesting in handmaids’ costumes protesting that they should trust women with their choices. In a strange way I believe that Margret Atwood has maybe predicted the future because at the start of the series it shows how the government made changes people didn’t like and then women were being questioned on their choices and being discriminated against. Then as time went on then people of America were trapped in this controlling and abusive country which I think that is where America is heading they are going back in time where they think things were better where they had more control is what people are against because they have been given freedom and then it’s being taken away from them.

I think that this whole situation is complete bullshit because this is not the way that life should be heading and how men are deciding what can happen to women’s bodies. Men have no choice in what happens to women bodies because it has nothing to do with them. This whole experience and situation is outrageous and upsetting because women feel they are being denied a basic human right and for all of the men to make a choice of the other half of the human race that are in their country is unfair and the way that things are going it wouldn’t surprise me if suicide rated went up or accidently death on trying to abort a baby or poverty rate going up because of all the women who cannot afford to look after their unwanted children and women having to take up extra jobs just so that they can get through the week to provide food and essentials to look after a baby and the comment of putting the children up for adoption is not right and unfair for the child because it was brought into a world where it was ‘unwanted’ and to dump the child in care is not the solution and is unfair for everyone.

I have posted a screenshot of all the people who have voted to make abortion illegal.

Banning abortion is not the way forward America.

[racismisasickness]

The following are the unedited notes I used for a talk I gave earlier this week at Widener University.  I was invited by the Women’s and Gender Studies department to be a featured speaker during Women’s History Month.  The title of my talk was “The Photographic Journey of a Sista Who Is Not Alright, But Fights Anyway.” Thank you to the faculty, students and staff who attended and had such thoughtful comments to share afterwards over dinner.

My name is Tieshka Smith…I am glad to be speaking here today.  

 I was born in Chicago, Illinois, a town founded by a Black man.  Many years later, I ended up in Philadelphia, the birthplace of American democracy.

 I am a 44-year-old black woman photographer trying to make sense of 21st century America.

 I love the United States of America. It’s the only home I know.  

 Unfortunately, this country, America, the only country I know, doesn’t really love me back.  

 Why? It’s quite simple, and this is probably not much of a shocking revelation to any of you here today.

 America doesn’t really love me back, because it doesn’t recognize or acknowledge my humanity.  It views my brown skin tone as a threat.  It brands me an enemy of the state, less than human, deserving of its scorn.  It sees me as a target, ripe for exploitation.  

 When America makes mistakes, and man, it has made some big ones, it finds in me a ready scapegoat. Black women are too loud, too single, too welfare-y, too fat, too...everything, and too...nothing.  

 I’m angry. Confused.  Disappointed.  Tired.

 I’m angry that I allowed myself to be indoctrinated to believe all the crap that spewed from the mouths the people I trusted – my parents, my teachers, ministers, and others – all of whom said that success and love and happiness and peace of mind would be mine if I worked hard, stayed in school, held on to my virginity until I found the right one and trade it in for lifelong fidelity and honesty from a young man (of course, that didn’t happen, and of course, it had to be my fault).

 I was told that the best path for me as a woman was to get married, have some kids, make a home, work my way up in the world, and gave back to my community.  Did they know better, or did they do and say the same things that their parents and trusted adults said to them?

It’s neither here nor there for me today.  

 The fact of the matter is this:  America lied.

 After all of my blood, sweat and tears, I have nothing to show for it but a failed marriage (of course that had to be my fault too), strained relationships with my children, student loan debt, stretch marks, high blood pressure and questions.  Lots of questions.  

 Yes, I have questions. Like, why haven’t I had a good night’s sleep in 20 years?  Or, why do my best ideas for presentations like this, come together at the very last minute (trust me, it never, ever fails)? Deadlines take me back to my days of being an undergrad...all nighters are no fun.  I’m sure you can attest to that.

 Seriously though. The main question that keeps me up at night, the one that I have tried to answer over the last seven years that I have occupied space in this world as a human being, as a woman, and as a working artist is this: Why would a country like America, which extols values of exceptionalism, achievement, elect somebody like Donald Trump?

 What does it say about us, as Americans, that this man – a man with no political experience (which, by the way, was said about President #44 – he had the sense to know that he would be criticized in that way and at least tried to get some political experience under his belt) -  was able to parlay a false narrative around his “accomplishments” as a real estate developer and reality TV show star into “winning” enough Electoral College votes to become leader of the entire free world?

 This man whines incessantly about how many people showed up to his inauguration, while carrying on about fake news...he has the nuclear codes, y’all.  If you haven’t let that sink in yet, you should.  

 And why would do people who blissfully lived in an alternate universe (thinking that police brutality aka one frightening form of unchecked state power was no big deal) up until November 9, 2016, expect that now that they’ve finally woke up, ready to fight, that somehow, people like me, who have been fighting, speaking out, working hard to resist, as best we could, unchecked state power for years, have enough reserve mental, psychic and physical energy to fight pernicious and evil forces like Donald Trump?

 To be honest, to do battle with Donald Trump is to do battle with America itself.  

 Let me repeat that. To do battle with Donald Trump is to do battle with the very essence of what America stands for.  

 Why should I do battle with people who support Donald Trump? 53% of those who voted for him were White women!  On top of that, something like 12-18% of his voters were Black Men!  Many of his voters were White college educated men and women.  They voted for him in secret as to not be ostracized or shamed by their more “progressive” family members and friends.

 So to be perfectly honest, I don’t even know what a Donald Trump voter looks like.  There could be people in my own circle who said that they voted for Hillary Clinton and could be lying to my face.  To be really honest, all of this makes me not want to fight, and on top of that, makes me extra anxious and stressed out, because the enemy that can do the most damage is the one that you can’t see.

 Why should I fight alongside people, who, until very recently, had no problems maintaining their deafening silence in the face of state sanctioned brutality and inhumanity, all to prop up a lie?

 Why is it human nature, to hold on to the status quo until it is absolutely, fundamentally necessary to be disattached from it, kicking and screaming, because Rome is burning and the men in our lives took things too damn far?  

 I have a lot of questions.  

 The question I want to pose to you today is this:  In light of this, and in spite of this, why can’t black women and white women get our shit together?  How come it took a scoundrel like Donald Trump to understand that our shared liberation is bound together?  Why can’t you see yourselves in me and those who look like me?

 I don’t have the answers to any of these questions.  But I can show you what I learned over the last seven years, through my photographs, photographs of people in a place that gave birth to freedom and democracy, that someone forgot about people who looked like me.

 Philadelphia – the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection - is full of contradictions and wonder and pain and struggle and joy and humor and irony.  But Philadelphia, if I may be honest, is the boil on America’s ass.  It represents America’s failure to ensure that its democratic ideals – all men and women are created equal – could be realized by everyone. We have a level of deep poverty here unrivaled anywhere else.  Our school system is a cesspool of incompetence and corruption.  We’re completely okay with the police stopping and frisking Black people on the street, even when we know that we’re violating their civil and constitutional rights.  I can tick off many more examples of Philadelphia’s failure to live up to America’s democractic ideals, but I’m sure you get it.  

At any rate, I’ve said this in my writing and I try to convey it in my photography:  If Philadelphia can’t get democracy right, then America is doomed.

 Today, I will share what I learned over the last seven years, lessons that led me to liberation and understanding, photographs that I hope will spark something within you that willl motivate you to make a new friend, consider a new idea, do something outside your own comfort zone, anything that will free you from your own mental shackles. We all have them, it’s what happens when you live in a society that is okay with exerting unchecked power over you and me, and telling you that it isn’t.  

 At this point, I’m not showing you my work in the hopes that it will change your mind.  I’m not asking you to love me or my work.   I’m not even asking you to like me or my work. I’m asking you to see me, the way that I see myself.  I’m asking you to see Philadelphia, our birthplace of American democracy and the resilence that runs deep on its streets.

 I’m also asking you to see what you will inherit and how much work needs to be done and how the old ways don’t work so don’t go into the world and try what has already failed. That’s called insanity.

 I’m asking you to see the people who live and love and live some more even when society tells them that their lives and emotions are worthless, irrational, out of bounds, and that the world would be a better place if they just disappeared.

 I’m asking you to face your fears.  Your arrogance.  Your selfishness.  Your pride. Your shame.  I’m asking you to humble yourselves.  

 Because time is running out and the longer we resist the need to clean our collective dirty laundy, the need to heal our wounds, to talk through and course correct the direction in which America is going, you will lose women like me. You cannot win this fight alone, those of you who are newly woke and on fire, who maybe have marched for the first time and are social media warriors.  

 I can’t speak for other sistas ( I realized this the other night as I was doing my evening workout) , but I can speak for myself and believe my photographs are a proxy for the voiceless.  This sista will keep fighting for the women and girls in my photographs but I don’t have much left for those who have enjoyed the luxury of not really having to fight, until now.  I’m tired of speaking up when others have opted to stay silent while blood, drawn by law enforcement, ran red in the streets, when Dejerrica Becton was tackled – for no reason – by a cop who had a chip on his shoulder, who was called to the scene by a White person, whose colleague took a black young man off camera and beat him bloody for no reason...

 What my journey has taught me, is that many of the sisters I know – White and Black and all of the shades in between – know and understand that our men are broken and by extension, the systems they’ve created to maintain their privilege as men are broken.  They and their systems of opporession are broken and fragile and toxic and despite it all, we love them anyway.  But they really don’t love us, some of our men.  They will – and have – come together as a community, mainly online, finding common ground because of their shared masculine identity, lashing out at “the women.”

 They have no problems setting aside their racial differences if that means strength in numbers to fight what they perceive is an existential threat to their very existence:  Feminism, womanism and equal rights and treatment of those who identify as women.  These men truly believe that a man like Donald J Trump can “Make America Great Again.” They think it’s okay that our 45th President once said it was okay to grab a woman by the pussy, or at the very least, what he said was no big deal.

My journey as a woman took me into the depths of these realms and when I came up for air, I realized that we as women were cowed, shamed, into submission.  We bargained away our freedom for a false sense of security and comfort.  Is it worth it?

 As I take you through my photographic journey, I want you to see what I see:  women and girls of color, poor women, women who were invisible to you (and to me, too) until it became necessary to get your numbers up for a fight to preserve your sense of security and comfort.  

 Ask yourselves, is your sense of security and comfort worth it if those at the bottom who fight, whose lives are very acts and testaments to resistance and resilience, will never have access to the same level of security and comfort you enjoy? What are you willing to sacrifice?

 What is your vision now that you know for sure that Donald J. Trump and his minions care nothing about your security and comfort? He has made his priorities unequivocably clear.

 Think about these questions as I take you on my photographic journey...

[Run through slides of images from Jersey City/Germantown/BrewerytownBroad and Erie/Racism is A Sickness/American Awakening] 

…I wrote in December 2010:  “I believe dreams are the stirrings, rumblings and nudges from the restless corners or my subconscious mind…gently reminding me that I’m still alive and have so much more left to do and see...”

 We must be mindful that in order for the American dream to live on, it must evolve and change.  

 It is my hope that you are all able to recognize and embrace your dreams, despite the nightmare we find ourselves in.  It is my wish that you all seek and work toward the liberation of every single woman you know and don’t know...because when the least of us aren’t free, none of us are truly free, and America can’t continue to live a lie.

 Thank you.

[verytamenow]

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1:Name - Zoe

2:Age - 24

3:3 Fears - Spiders, Heights, Death (lowkey)

4:3 things I love - The sound of a rain storm, Being able to sleep in, Chocolate

5:4 turns on - Confidence, Cuddling, Kindness, Intelligence

6:4 turns off - Cruelty, Bigotry, Rudeness, Unwillingness to listen

7:My best friend - I don’t think I have one.

8:Sexual orientation - Really really really fucking gay

9:My best first date - Haven’t had one.

10:How tall am I - 5′5″

11:What do I miss - A lot of things when I let myself dwell on them. 

12:What time were I born - I honestly have no clue. Is this information people usually have off the top of their head?

13:Favourite color - Blue at the moment

14:Do I have a crush - No.

15:Favourite quote - “It is what it is” / “This too shall pass” / “But the monsters turned out to be just trees”

16:Favourite place - The beach, or by any body of water. Or curled up in bed on a lazy day while it storms.

17:Favourite food - Strawberries.

18:Do I use sarcasm - Who? Me?

19:What am I listening to right now - Road noise

20:First thing I notice in new person - Their smile

21:Shoe size - 8-9

22:Eye color - Blue

23:Hair color - Dark blonde

24:Favourite style of clothing - I kind of live in tshirts and jeans but I really like a sharper look - like suits.

25:Ever done a prank call? - No

27:Meaning behind my URL - There isn’t one? It’s my favourite place, favourite animal, and year of my birth.

28:Favourite movie - Oh this is difficult. The Alien Series, Harry Potter, or Silence of the Lambs

29:Favourite song - Losing My Religion - REM

30:Favourite band - Right now Taylor is my favourite singer, but in terms of bands I’d say the Killers at the moment.

31:How I feel right now - Neutral.

32:Someone I love - My dad.

33:My current relationship status - Single.

34:My relationship with my parents - Good if we haven’t pissed each other off.

35:Favourite holiday - I don’t really have one.

36:Tattoos and piercing i have - None. Not even my ears pierced.

37:Tattoos and piercing i want - Something for my mom, grandfather, and dad. But the monsters turned out to be just trees in Taylor’s handwriting. And maybe something else.

38:The reason I joined Tumblr - Kaylor tbh.

39:Do I and my last ex hate each other? - No, not at all.

40:Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night ” texts? - I’ll sometimes say goodnight or goodmorning to my friends but usually? No.

41:Have I ever kissed the last person you texted? - No.

42:When did I last hold hands? - In a way that wasn’t platonic? Never.

43:How long does it take me to get ready in the morning? - Technically 30-45 minutes.

44:Have You shaved your legs in the past three days? - No. I’m single and live in jeans so I’d rather not deal with the hassle.

45:Where am I right now? - In my bed.

46:If I were drunk & can’t stand, who’s taking care of me? - I don’t drink but if it happened, probably my dad at the moment if anyone.

47:Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level? - Reasonable level but sometimes I’ll blast it in the car.

48:Do I live with my Mom and Dad? - Yes, unashamedly.

49:Am I excited for anything? - Not really. Maybe the upcoming Alien movie.

50:Do I have someone of the opposite sex I can tell everything to? - No.

51:How often do I wear a fake smile? - I don’t usually bother to fake it but I will if I have to.

52:When was the last time I hugged someone? - Last night.

53:What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone else right in front of me? - Impossible.

54:Is there anyone I trust even though I should not? - No.

55:What is something I disliked about today? - I have work.

56:If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be? - If anyone wants to introduce me to my future wife that would be cool. Short of that, meeting Taylor would be cool too.

57:What do I think about most? - Depends on the day.

58:What’s my strangest talent? - I don’t have talent.

59:Do I have any strange phobias? - I think my phobias are pretty typical.

60:Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it? - I suck at taking photos but I hate being in photos more. Just keep the camera away from me altogether.

61:What was the last lie I told? - Not sure. 

62:Do I perfer talking on the phone or video chatting online? - I tend to be quiet on the phone so video chatting instead I guess.

63:Do I believe in ghosts? How about aliens? - I don’t not believe in ghosts and I think it’s a bit arrogant to write off the possibility of other intelligent life in space.

64:Do I believe in magic? - I don’t not believe in it. I believe spells are about as real and powerful as the idea of prayer, for whatever that’s worth.

65:Do I believe in luck? - Yes.

66:What's the weather like right now? - Clear skies and 60 out but it’s meant to hit the mid 80s.

67:What was the last book I've read? - No clue.

68:Do I like the smell of gasoline? - I don’t mind it.

69:Do I have any nicknames? - Not really. Most people don’t bother.

70:What was the worst injury I've ever had? - Probably just a scrape or cut. I’ve never broken anything or needed stitches.

71:Do I spend money or save it? - Save it usually.

72:Can I touch my nose with a tounge? - No.

73:Is there anything pink in 10 feets from me? - No.

74:Favourite animal? - Wolves

75:What was I doing last night at 12 AM? - Sleeping, thankfully

76:What do I think is Satan’s last name is? - I’ve never thought about it. I believe Morningstar is traditional.

77:What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it? - Losing my Religion.

78:How can you win my heart? - Just fucking be there for me. Show up, be patient and kind. Falling for me first may help. 

79:What would I want to be written on my tombstone? - I don’t want a tombstone. But probably something snarky or a pun.

80:What is my favorite word? - In terms of use? Fuck.

81:My top 5 blogs on tumblr - This is hard. @princessandsunshine, @gaylorswift, @gay4tay, @shady-kaylor, @gay-romantics​

82:If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say? -What the fuck? or Impeach the entire republican party.

83:Do I have any relatives in jail? - Not to my knowledge.

84:I accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow me with the super-power of my choice! What is that power? - Omnilingualism or Probability Manipulation

85:What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on? - There’s a fair few to be honest.

86:What is my current desktop picture? - At work it’s a picture of the beach at my home town/

87:Had sex? - No

88:Bought condoms? - Yes

89:Gotten pregnant? - No thank fuck

90:Failed a class? - Yes more than once

91:Kissed a boy? - No

92:Kissed a girl? - No, sadly

93:Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain? - Nope

94:Had job? - Yes

95:Left the house without my wallet? - Yes. I’d lose my head if it weren’t attached some days.

96:Bullied someone on the internet? - No.

97:Had sex in public? - No.

98:Played on a sports team? - Briefly but sports aren’t my thing.

99:Smoked weed? - No

100:Did drugs? - No

101:Smoked cigarettes? - No

102:Drank alcohol? - Tried it but don’t care for it

103:Am I a vegetarian/vegan? - No but I have considered Vegetarianism. Or at least Pesco-Vegetarianism. 

104:Been overweight? - Yes.

105:Been underweight? - No.

106:Been to a wedding? - Yes.

107:Been on the computer for 5 hours straight? - Yes.

108:Watched TV for 5 hours straight? - Yes.

109:Been outside my home country? - Yes, to England.

110:Gotten my heart broken? - Yes. It sucked. 

111:Been to a professional sports game? - Yes.

112:Broken a bone? - No, somehow.

113:Cut myself? - Not intentionally.

114:Been to prom? - No. I skipped mine.

115:Been in airplane? - Yes.

116:Fly by helicopter? - Yes

117:What concerts have I been to? - Rascal Flatts, The Killers, Coldplay at least twice, Snow Patrol, U2, No Doubt, Brooks & Dunn and Reba.

118:Had a crush on someone of the same sex? - Yes.

119:Learned another language? - No, sadly.

120:Wore make up? - Yes but I don’t enjoy it.

121:Lost my virginity before I was 18? - No.

122:Had oral sex? - No.

123:Dyed my hair? - Yes.

124:Voted in a presidential election? - No. Yes, I know with the last election but I accidentally missed the registration date because I’m a dumb ass.

125:Rode in an ambulance? - No, thank FUCK because it’d cost a fortune.

126:Had a surgery? - Yes. Deviated septum and wisdom tooth removal.

127:Met someone famous? - No.

128:Stalked someone on a social network? - No.

129:Peed outside? - No.

130:Been fishing? - No but I want to try it.

131:Helped with charity? - Yes.

132:Been rejected by a crush? - No because I keep crushes to myself usually.

133:Broken a mirror? - No.

134:What do I want for birthday? - I may just ignore mine.

135:How many kids do I want and what will be their names? - I don’t particularly want kids.

136:Was I named after anyone? - My grandmother and great grandmother

137:Do I like my handwriting? - No.

138:What was my favourite toy as a child? - As a little kid I’m not sure, probably legos. Once I was a bit older, probably my gameboy.

139:Favourite Tv Show? - X Files.

140:Where do I want to live when older? - Where can I afford? Ideally near my hometown but I’d never be able to afford it, so probably a house here.

141:Play any musical instrument? - No.

142:One of my scars, how did I get it? - I’ve got an old faint one on my knee but can’t remember how I got it.

143:Favourite pizza toping? - Pepperoni or Mushrooms

144:Am I afraid of the dark? - Not unless I wake up from a nightmare

145:Am I afraid of heights? - Yes.

146:Have I ever got caught sneaking out or doing anything bad? - No

147:Have I ever tried my hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end? - Of course. That’s life.

148:What I'm really bad at - Everything.

149:What my greatest achievments are - I’ve survived over a decade with a brain that actively or passively wants to kill me but you can’t really put that on your resume.

150:The meanest thing somebody has ever said to me - Not sure.

151:What I'd do if I won in a lottery - Pay off my car, buy a small house, pay off my dad’s house, set aside enough to go get a degree at a slow pace if I want, save and invest whatever might be left.

152:What do I like about myself - I’m a little more resilient than I think, I’m an asshole but not a cruel asshole

153:My closest Tumblr friend - probably @princessandsunshine

154:Something I fantasise about - That Thing

155:Any question you'd like? - You didn’t ask one, mate.