#National Park of American Samoa

[iicraft505]

Si'u Point Trail, Ta'u Island, National Park of American Samoa | U.S. Department of the Interior

[orkowhereheshouldntbe]

[ID in ALT!]

Orko at American Samoa National Park. Will he get too warm in that scarf?

[kittyhazelnut]

my grandmother passed away in 2019 and my mom was going through her (my mom's not my grandmother's) room and found all the coins my grandmother collected before she passed and apparently she had quarter books for me and my brothers trying to collect all 50 state quarters for each of us and I also used to collect coins so I went through my coin collection and I put in the states I had that she didn't and I completed one collection, one is just missing Arizona, and the third is only missing six states :,)

[impossibleturtlecrusade]

National Park of American Samoa

[emilybeemartin]

Inktober day 5: "Murky." Lassen Volcanic National Park

Day 6: "Iridescent." National Park of American Samoa

Day 7: "Frothy." New River Gorge National Park

Day 8:: "Humdinger." Canyonlands National Park

[weirdestbooks]

Sammy and Sammy Junior (Wattpad | Ao3)

For @aloha-from-angel

Tonga’s favorite time of the month was when it was time for her and the rest of Polynesia to meet on their islands and catch up. It allowed them to be a little human, and despite all the stupid rivalries and that one arson incident, it was always an enjoyable time.

This month, American Samoa was hosting and was planning on taking them to his national park, as well as trying and failing to keep them from embarrassing him in front of his crush.

Tonga had arrived a day early, along with Māori and Samoa. Now, they were looking for American Samoa, hoping to catch him with his crush so they could embarrass him and meet the person who had caught his attention.

She didn’t expect to find what they did.

When they finally managed to track down American Samoa, they didn’t find him with his crushed, but instead found him messing around with a bespeckled man on the beach. The man was tall and looked similar to American Samoa, but then again, you could always find so many similarities between a personification and their people in terms of people.

“Tahi, do you know who that is?” Samoa asked. Tonga shot her an annoyed look.

“Why would I know one of Malosi’s people?” Tonga asked. Māori furrowed his eyebrows.

“I don’t know if he is one of Malosi’s people. He looks familiar, but I can’t remember from where. Maybe he’s an outlier?” Māori asked, turning to face Tonga, the self-proclaimed family tree keeper.

“What kinda outlier is that tall, Kahurangi?” Tonga responded, raising an eyebrow, “They are all tiny, even the largest ones. Even–”

Tonga cut herself off as they got closer to American Samoa and the strange man, as they began to overhear snippets of their conversation and one work in particular.

Tama. The Samoan word for father.

American Samoa called the strange man dad.

He wasn’t one of his people or an outlier.  

That man was the United States of America.

Tonga quickly ducked her head, taking care not to look at America any more than she already had, and she could see Samoa do the same as one of her wings covered Māori’s face. They all understood how many countries viewed their human faces and did not want to risk causing him distress.

But Tonga could still feel the tension that had suddenly appeared.

They stumbled onto one of the greatest secrets of one of the most paranoid men in the world.

This could only end poorly.

Panic was the only thing America felt as he stared at the group of people in front of him. He dimly registered his son talking to him, but it sounded muffled like he was underwater. Fear gripping tightly at his soul, America did the only thing he could and vanished back to his apartment, struggling to start his breathing exercises as panicked tears poured down his face.

They had seen his face. They had heard American Samoa call him dad.

They knew what he looked like.

America was fine with Hawai’i knowing, as she was one of his states, and he was okay with American Samoa showing the other Polynesians his human face, as that was his choice. Still, America never wanted any Polynesian nations other than those two to see his face. He knew American Samoa didn’t do this on purpose; their meeting wasn’t supposed to be until tomorrow, but the paranoid part of himself wondered like it always had.

His face was his safety net, the protection that allowed him to be a little human and escape the standards and obligations the United States of America was under.

Now, he was at risk of losing that.

What was he going to do?

—————————

American Samoa stared at the place where his father had just been before turning around and facing the Polynesians standing there: Tonga, Samoa, and Māori.

“You can look now.” American Samoa said, voice shocked as he tried to process what had happened.

“Was that–” Tonga began before American Samoa cut her off, panic rushing through him. 

“You can’t tell anyone!” He begged, “Please! Fa'amolemole!”

American Samoa trusted them; he did, but he had to be sure, for his Tamā was so afraid of being vulnerable that even using his human form in the first place made him anxious.

“Tupua, please,” American Samoa begged again, not liking the silence that fell upon his first request.

“Okay, I won’t. We won’t, Malosi. It’s okay.” Tonga said, meeting his eyes, as Māori nodded in what American Samoa hoped was agreement, his eyes distant.

“Tuafafine?” American Samoa asked, turning to his sister, who looked stricken.

“Tuagane, why is your father not white?” Samoa asked, causing American Samoa to give her an odd look.

“Cause his people aren’t? Talia, he’s been mixed for longer than I’ve been alive.” American Samoa answered. Samoa looked furious at that.

”Does that mean that all this time—“

”Britain’s been mixed and probably not white passing this entire time? Yeah, most likely. He’s a hypocrite and a controlling bastard. We know this.” American Samoa chimed in. Māori sighed deeply.

”I thought as much.” He muttered, getting a surprised look from Tonga.

”Kahurangi, you knew this?” Tonga asked. Māori shrugged.

”I had suspicions, but very few empires will prove it.” Māori said, “They keep a lot close to their chest. And any of them confessing they were white was probably a death sentence for them. It makes sense, though. Haven’t you all noticed your human forms change over the years? Why wouldn’t America’s? Being an empire doesn’t make him immune to that. He’s still a country same as us.”

“Yeah…I…it’s just…” Tonga sputtered.

“Not something you ever thought about?” American Samoa asked. Tonga nodded. 

“People rarely do.” American Samoa said with a shrug, “And Tama doesn’t advertise anything involving his human form, even if it might make him more likable to certain people. He’s…I think you all know that for all his strength, my tama is scared of many things.”

“That’s because America understands that his power doesn’t make him infallible, just a target. He’s not an idiot.” Māori said, “That’s why he panicked when we came here. He thought he was safe 'cause we weren’t supposed to be here yet, and now he feels exposed because we accidentally saw some of his safeguard.”

“Yeah…yeah, that’s it exactly, Tupua. I can talk to Tama and hopefully soothe his worries, but he will probably want to talk to you about it all.” American Samoa said, shifting his feet as he prepared to bring himself to his Tama’s main house, hoping he would be there.

“We’re ready to talk to him if he needs to,” Tonga said.

“And we won’t say anything. Make sure he knows that, tuagane.” Samoa said. American Samoa nodded.

“I will. Fa'afetai tele.” American Samoa said before rushing off to find his dad before he spiraled even more, now that Unorganized Territory wasn’t there to help coax him out of his head.

God, this was a mess.

[countyflagchampionship]

The future of countyflagchampionship

We all had fun with flags. now lets have fun with parks. We here at countyflagchampionship have a great new competition featuring the National Park Service. it'll be good, fun, and--above all else--entirely accurate. featuring all-new, hand-crafted image graphics, the likes of which have never been attempted before. Photos will be provided, showing each distinct section of the parks and no one needs to worry about the photos being inaccurate. google images is a great tool and gives you images of the exact locations you are looking for every time. if you ever see a photo that clearly isnt where it says it is, let me know and ill shut down the competition and also delete the blog. "you didnt include american samoa or virgin islands" oh crappers . Well I was hoping no one noticed that

This isnt just each park pitted against eachother in a fight. this is national park Sections, delineated by county lines. i'm hoping no one has done this before. as a park visitor, its striking how varied the landscapes actually are, and there are parts of parks that are duds and other parts that are pulling the full weight of the park's fame. Take for instance, Guadalupe Mountains. The east side is rocky and mountainous, and the west side is pure sand dunes. Or the Montana and Idaho sections of yellowstone... where theres not really much to do except enter the park.

With each contestant, i've included 3 photos of that section of the park and a map graphic showcasing where the county is and how much of the whole national park it contains. I hope I've made it easy for people to understand and make a decision without having to do research of their own. of course, if you want to do your own research I will not stop you.

We will be beginning with 12 preliminary qualifying rounds shortly. The entire bracket is pictured below

the fake faq will also be updated for the new contest

[parisbytaylorswift]

1. Acadia National Park, Maine

2. American Samoa National Park, American Samoa

3. Arches National Park, Utah

4. Badlands National Park, South Dakota

5. Big Bend National Park, Texas

6. Biscayne National Park, Florida

7. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado

8. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

9. Canyonlands National Park, Utah

10. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

11. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico

12. Channel Islands National Park, California

13. Congaree National Park, South Carolina

14. Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

15. Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio

16. Death Valley National Park, California & Nevada

17. Denali National Park, Alaska

18. Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida

19. Everglades National Park, Florida

20. Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska

21. Gateway Arch National Park, Missouri

22. Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

23. Glacier National Park, Montana

24. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

25. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

26. Great Basin National Park, Nevada

27. Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

28. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee & North Carolina

29. Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas

30. Haleakalā National Park, Hawaii

31. Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii

32. Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas

33. Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana

34. Isle Royale National Park, Michigan

35. Joshua Tree National Park, California

36. Katmai National Park, Alaska

37. Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska

38. Kings Canyon National Park, California

39. Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska

40. Lake Clark National Park, Alaska

41. Lassen Volcanic National Park, California

42. Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky

43. Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

44. Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

45. New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, West Virginia

46. North Cascades National Park, Washington

47. Olympic National Park, Washington

48. Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

49. Pinnacles National Park, California

50. Redwood National Park, California

51. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

52. Saguaro National Park, Arizona

53. Sequoia National Park, California

54. Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

55. Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota

56. Virgin Islands National Park, United States Virgin Islands

57. Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota

58. White Sands National Park, New Mexico

59. Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota

60. Wrangell—St. Elias National Park, Alaska

61. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana & Idaho

62. Yosemite National Park, California

63. Zion National Park, Utah

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Adam Zyglis

* * *

General observations about the campaign

The disinformation efforts are in high gear and are compounded by difficult-to-interpret early voting numbers. Others have written extensively about how to interpret early voting (Simon Rosenberg and Jay Kuo). My overly simplistic interpretation is that we are seeing the natural phenomenon of regression to the mean in early voting as the distortions in early voting caused by the Covid lockdown in 2020 are no longer present. That makes percentage comparisons and trends between 2020 and 2024 misleading.

In general, the core data conforms to what the political moment suggests should happen: Democrats are seeing strong(er) results based on the overriding issue of the 2024 election: The abrogation of the right of reproductive liberty in Dobbs that demoted more than half of America’s population to second class citizens. (See Jay Kuo’s article, linked above).

Democrats overperformed expectations in nearly every election since Dobbs. But pollsters and pundits keep trying to model 2024 based on 2020 and 2016. Not only do those elections lack the post-Dobbs effect, neither of them involved a candidate who mounted a coup and incited an insurrection, was convicted of 34 felonies, withheld national defense documents after a demand for their return, and was found to be civilly liable for sexual assault.

None of the above is meant to dismiss the consistent signal in the polls that the election will be close. But the relative advantage generated by enthusiasm and momentum cannot be ignored—as most pollsters seem to do.

In an incredible gift to the Harris campaign, Trump's surrogates have been saying the ugly part out loud:

Speaker Mike Johnson admitted that Republicans still want to repeal Obamacare a.k.a. the Affordable Care Act. See Vox, Republicans are serious about cutting people’s health care

RFK Jr. speaks openly about managing multiple cabinet-level agencies and sub-agencies across the federal landscape. What could go wrong with a guy who dumped a dead bear-cub in Central Park, used a chain saw to decapitate a dead whale, and contributed to a deadly measles outbreak in Samoa? (How RFK Jr. Falsely Denied His Connection to a Deadly Measles Outbreak in Samoa – Mother Jones).  

The Trump-Vance transition chair, Howard Lutnick, (CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald), repeatedly questioned the effectiveness of vaccines in an interview with Caitlin Collins on CNN. Video: Kaitlan Collins spars with Trump-Vance transition co-chair about RFK Jr. and vaccines | CNN Politics.

And of course, Trump chose five days before Election Day to tell women that he is going to exert control over them “whether the women like it or not:

I want to protect the women of our country. I want to protect the women [even though my advisors said it was] very inappropriate for you to say. "I said, 'Well, I'm going to do it, whether the women like it or not . . .

See Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Harris rips Trump for saying he'll protect women whether they 'like it or not'.

And on Thursday evening, Trump said in an interview with Tucker Carlson that Liz Cheney should have “guns trained on her” to see how she feels. He said:

“Let's put her with a rifle standing there with 9 barrels shooting at her. Let's see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face."

The media should write about nothing else for the next five days. Trump is implying an execution of a political opponent. On Thursday, the Times and WaPo devoted front-page coverage to a non-story about Joe Biden condemning the comedian who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” In comparison, Trump’s comments deserve 100X as much coverage—and condemnation.

The above missteps are damaging before we even get to the slurs and threats to wide swaths of Americans: Puerto Ricans, Black voters, Jewish voters, and anyone who opposes Trump's political agenda.

And Trump's effort to hold a press conference from a garbage truck was a public relations disaster because (a) Trump reminded everyone of the “floating island of garbage” comment, and (b) Trump visibly struggled to open the truck door and appeared to stumble due to lack of balance issues.

As always, we cannot rely on Republicans to defeat themselves, even though they are doing their best to do so. Indeed, it is unavoidable because the Republican platform (to the extent it exists) seeks to advantage millionaires and billionaires at the expense of everyone else. It is tough to build a winning message on that platform. Grievance and division will take you only so far. After that, you must appeal to people who want a president who will improve their lives. That isn’t Trump. It is Kamala Harris.

Trump has helped to crystalize the candidates' differences in the campaign's final weeks. That can only help Democrats up and down the ballot. As the saying goes, “Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good.” Fortunately, Kamala Harris is both!

[Robert Hubbell Newsletter]

[countriesgame]

Please reblog for a bigger sample size!

If you have any fun fact about American Samoa, please tell us and I'll reblog it!

Be respectful in your comments. You can criticize a government without offending its people.

[rjzimmerman]

Climate Workers Wanted. (New York Times)

Excerpt from this New York Times story:

Three years ago, Alexsandra Sesepasara moved home to American Samoa, a remote chain of Pacific islands, with her family after more than a decade of military service. She took a job as a water resources engineer for the utility that provides power, cleans up trash and manages drinking water for the more than 49,000 residents of the territory.

But soon after she arrived, she realized that rising seas and worsening storms, fueled by climate change, had brought new problems to her homeland, while exacerbating old ones. Saltwater was seeping into the islands’ fresh water supply, shutting down schools and leading to boil water notices. In December, the issue caused a nearby hospital to close all nonessential services for nearly a week.

There was another problem, Sesepasara said: American Samoa didn’t have enough workers to fix its water issues.

But this summer, the American Samoa Power Authority, her employer, became one of nine entities across the country to receive funding under a $60 million federal program intended to help train workers to combat the growing challenges of climate change.

The climate jobs of the future, experts told me, may mean adjusting how we think of the jobs of the past: Electricians may need to learn to install solar panels, construction workers may need to deal with new engineering requirements and bankers may need to manage climate risk.

“This is a model of us adapting our jobs in real time to the reality and need of the moment,” said Ned Gardiner, a program manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Program Office, which is coordinating technical assistance for the grantees.

The funding comes as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which included hundreds of billions in tax incentives for clean energy and climate programs across the country.

While most of the applications NOAA received for the grant program focused on coastal resilience and protecting marine economies, the agency was open to proposals from sectors like shipping, engineering and finance, Gardiner said.

“Every job will be affected by climate change,” said Lara Skinner, founding executive director of the Climate Jobs Institute at Cornell University. “We look at every sector of the economy, and every sector will have to change. This isn’t some little transition.”

The tax incentives in the I.R.A. could ultimately help fund more than 6,200 projects in utility-scale clean energy and storage and almost four million jobs, according to the Climate Jobs National Resource Center, a labor organization educating workers on climate action.

NOAA’s work force program isn’t the only funding for jobs included in the I.R.A. Hundreds of millions of dollars are also available to hire employees in the National Park Service and workers to expedite clean energy projects in rural America, as well as to train a new generation of Indigenous workers through the Indian Youth Service Corps.

Last year, the Biden administration also launched the American Climate Corps to put 20,000 young Americans into jobs addressing global warming.

In the short term, there’s a lot of physical work that can be done to mitigate the climate crisis, like building more flood-resilient communities.

[iicraft505]

American Samoa National Park | Stephen Rees

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 7.16

Holidays

Accountant and Auditor Day (Ukraine)

Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day

Assata Shakur Day

Atomic Bomb Day

Catcher in the Rye Day

Closet Space Appreciation Day

DC Day

Dixie Cup Day

Elderly Women Day (Kiribati)

Engineer’s Day (Honduras)

Festival of Convivial Tools

Fiesta de La Tirana (Tarapacá Region, Chile)

Guinea Pig Appreciation Day

Harela (Uttarakhand, India)

Holocaust Memorial Day (France)

International Disability Awareness Day

International Drag Day

International Juggling Day

Islamic Calendar Day

Lady of Carmen Day (Chile)

La Paz Day (Bolivia)

National Atomic Veterans Day

National Change Your Font Day

National D.R.E.S.S. Syndrome Day

National Emily Day

National Geordie Day (UK)

National Jerry Day

National Peace Day (Dia de la Paz; Bolivia)

National Stick Shift Day

National Take the Stairs Day

National Wedding Invitation Day

No Kissing Day

Order of the Arrow Day (BSA)

Parking Meter Day

Parks Day (Canada)

Reading Together Day (UK)

Rural Transit Day

716 Day

Talk to a Telemarketer Day

Tare Day (French Republic)

Trinity Test Day

Urs Shah-I-Hamdan Sahib (Kashmir, India)

Val d’hie Roundup Anniversary Day

World PR Day

World Snake Day

World Wizkid Day (Nigeria)

Food & Drink Celebrations

Fresh Spinach Day

Hot Coal Chicken Day (Peru)

Hot Dog Night

Ice Cream Cone Day

National Cherry Day (UK)

National Corn Fritter Day

National Funnel Cake Day

National Personal Chef Day [also 2.26]

Independence & Related Days

Custosia (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

La Paz Day (Bolivia)

Manu’s Cession Day (American Samoa)

Ozamiz City Charter Day (Philippines)

3rd Tuesday in July

National Children’s Book Day (Philippines) [3rd Tuesday]

Taco Tuesday [Every Tuesday]

Weekly Holidays beginning July 16 (3rd Week of July)

Prime Days (Amazon) [thru 7.17]

Festivals Beginning July 16, 2024

Beanpole Days (Pequot Lakes, Minnesota) [thru 7.17]

Fiesta Topeka (Topeka, Kansas) [thru 7.20]

Les Escales du Cargo (Arles, France) [thru 7.21]

Feast Days

Andrea del Sarto (Artology)

Asalha Puja Day (Buddhist Lent begins)

Athenogenes (Christian; Martyr)

Bobby Henderson Day (Pastafarian; Saint)

Charles Sheeler (Artology)

Day of Erzulie Dantor (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Dr. Doom Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Display of the Embarrassing Swimsuits (Church of the SubGenius)

Elembiuos (a.k.a. Clam-time; Celtic Book of Days)

Eustathius of Antioch (Christian; Saint)

Feast of the Commemoration of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Carmelite Order; Christian)

First Sermon of Lord Buddha (Bhutan)

Flight of Muhammad (the Hegira; 622)

Fulrad (Christian; Saint)

Gergetoba (Day of Spiritual Love; Georgia)

Gondulphus of Tongeren (Christian; Saint)

Great Schism Anniversary Day (1054)

Harela (Day of Green; Hinduism)

Hejira (First Day of Islamic Calendar; 622) [original date]

Helier (a.k.a. Elier; Christian; Saint)

Immolation Day (Ancient Greece)

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (Artology)

Joshua Reynolds (Artology)

Mary Magdalen Postel (Christian; Saint & Virgin)

Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Christian)

Petal-Hopping for Non-Starters (Shamanism)

Phoebe Cates Day (Humanism)

Reineldis (Christian; Saint & Virgin)

Robert Sheckley (Writerism)

Rotary Doozer (Muppetism)

Saut d’Eau Waterfall Pilgrimage (Voodoo; Haiti; Everyday Wicca)

Skip This Day Day (Pastafarian)

Solstitium XI (Pagan)

Tony Kushner (Writerism)

The Troubadours (Positivist; Saint)

Vardavar (Pagan Prank Day; Armenia) [14 Weeks after Easter]

Zoot (Muppetism)

Islamic Lunar Holidays

Ashura (Islamic) [Begins at Sundown; Muharram 9-10] (a.k.a. ... 

Achoura (Algeria)

Ashorra (Parts of India)

Ashoura (Lebanon)

Ashura Holiday (Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia)

Muharram (Parts of India)

Remembrance of Muharram

Tamkharit (Senegal)

Tamxarit (Gambia)

Tasoua Hosseini (Iran)

Tasu’a

Yaum-e-Ashur (Pakistan)

Yawmul Ashura (Gambia)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Prime Number Day: 197 [45 of 72]

Premieres

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, by Diana Ross (Song; 1970)

Alice’s Restaurant Massacree, by Arlo Guthrie (Song; 1976)

Akira (Anime Film; 1988)

Ant-Man (Film; 2015)

Barney Bear and the Uninvited Pest (MGM Cartoon; 1943)

The Big Bite (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1966)

The Blair Witch Project (Film; 1999)

The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger (Novel; 1951)

Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio), by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Opera; 1782)

Dragon Around (Disney Cartoon; 1954)

Drop Dead Gorgeous (Film; 1999)

Eyes Wide Shut (Film; 1999)

False Hare (WB LT Cartoon; 1964)

Free Willy (Film; 1993)

From Up on Poppy Hill (Studio Ghibli Animated Film; 2011)

George of the Jungle (Film; 1997)

The Half-Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling (Novel; 2005) [Harry Potter #6]

Happy Birthdaze (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1943)

Hocus Pocus (Film; 1993)

Inception (Film; 2010)

Indian Serenade (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1937)

Lost and Foundry (Fleischer Popeye Cartoon; 1937)

The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins (Novel; 1868)

Mouse and Garden (WB LT Cartoon; 1960)

The Office Boy (Ub Iwerks Cartoon; 1932)

Once A Day, by Connie Smith (Song; 1964)

Piano Sonata, by Béla Bartók (Piano Sonata; 1927)

Poison Ivy, recorded by The Coasters (Song; 1959)

Pom Poko (Studio Ghibli Animated Film; 1994)

Punch (UK Weekly Satire Magazine; 1842)

Schmigadoon! (TV Series; 2021)

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (TV Series; 2015)

Space Jam: A New Legacy (Animated Film; 2021)

Space Race (Video Game; 1973)

Stargate: Atlantis (TV Series; 2004)

The Timid Pup (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1940)

Topper (Film; 1937)

What a Lion (MGM Cartoon; 1938)

Today’s Name Days

Carmen, Irmgard, Maria (Austria)

Yulian, Yuliana, Yuliya (Bulgaria)

Elvira, Karmela (Croatia)

Luboš (Czech Republic)

Tychos (Denmark)

Rein, Reinhold, Reino, Reinu, Reinut, Rinaldo, Ronald (Estonia)

Reino, Rene (Finland)

Elvire (France)

Carmen, Irmgard (Germany)

Valter (Hungary)

Maria, Vitaliano (Italy)

Hermīne, Rasulite (Latvia)

Danguol��, Faustas, Vaigaudas (Lithuania)

Sanna, Susanne (Norway)

Andrzej, Benedykt, Dziersław, Dzierżysław, Eustachiusz, Eustachy, Faust, Maria Magdalena, Marika, Ostap, Ruta, Stefan (Poland)

Drahomíra (Slovakia)

Carmen (Spain)

Reine, Reinhold (Sweden)

Ruth, Valentina, Valia (Ukraine)

Carmel, Carmela, Carmelo, Carmen, Shelby, Sherman, Sherwood (USA)

Carma, Carmel, Carmela, Carmelita, Carmella, Camelo, Carmélo, Carmen, Carmencita, Carmi, Carmie, Carmina, Carmine, Karmen, Phoebe (Universal)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 198 of 2024; 170 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of Week 29 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Tinne (Holly) [Day 10 of 28]

Chinese: Month 6 (Xin-Wei), Day 11 (Xin-Si)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 10 Tammuz 5784

Islamic: 9 Muharram 1446

J Cal: 18 Red; Foursday [18 of 30]

Julian: 3 July 2024

Moon: 75%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 1 Dante (8th Month) [The Troubadours]

Runic Half Month: Ur (Primal Strength) [Day 8 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 27 of 94)

Week: 3rd Week of July

Zodiac: Cancer (Day 26 of 31)

Calendar Changes

Dante (Modern Epic Poetry) [Month 8 of 13; Positivist]

[projectourworld]

Smithsonian Magazine

In April 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt spent two weeks vacationing at Yellowstone Park, after which he designated the area as America’s first national park, laying a cornerstone at its main entrance. “Nowhere else in any civilized country is there to be found such a tract of veritable wonderland made accessible to all visitors,” he said during his remarks. “This park was created, and is now administered, for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.”

Today, some 120 years later, the National Park Service (NPS), established in 1916, manages more than 400 sites, including about 60 that are designated as national parks. Most are free to enter, allowing the millions who visit each year to enjoy hiking, biking, camping, climbing and exploring these protected lands. Spanning the nation—from California’s Joshua Tree to Shenandoah in Virginia, from Glacier Bay in Alaska to the National Park of American Samoa in the South Pacific—NPS has helped preserve thousands of acres from sea to shining sea and worked to protect the many species of wildlife that call the parks home.

Picture: On a cold, damp morning at Rocky Mountain National Park, a moose stands in the burn scar left from a fire, with the fog giving the impression of smoke rising from the ashes. Photograph; Dawn Wilson, Colorado, 2021 #wildlifephotography

[lickmystamp]

US postage stamp, 2000 American Samoa Scott #3389

Issued: April 17, 2000 - Pago Pago, AS Quantity: 16,000,000 Designer: Howard Paine Printed By: Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd (Lithographed)

American Samoa is a U.S. territory covering 7 South Pacific islands and atolls. Tutuila, the largest island, is home to the capital Pago Pago, whose natural harbor is framed by volcanic peaks including 1,716-ft.-high Rainmaker Mountain. Divided between the islands Tutuila, Ofu and Ta‘ū, the National Park of American Samoa highlights the territory's tropical scenery with rainforests, beaches and reefs.

[yourlilkaiju]

Here is the issue with this statement.

For starters, there are many people who live in gerrymandering states who do not provide the options for more progressive party members, let alone seat holders. And while there are swing states, many still have a majority regressive congress and state representatives. This does not take into account the matter of homelessness, where in some states, without a place of residency, one is not allowed to vote (Or even with a place of residency, like a trailer park and relying on a PO Box, it can still be considered invalid (looking at you Washington)). Furthermore there is also ignoring those who are convicted felons for nonviolent crimes such as marijuana usage. If you are a convicted felon, you cannot vote. This also includes immigrants, and asylum seekers awaiting naturalization. Because regardless of what GOP propaganda says, unless refugees have a green card and documentation that allows them to vote in local elections, they cannot vote in federal elections.

Finally, this completely ignores US Territories. When one resides in a US territory, one cannot participate in federal elections, nor can they involve themselves in federal affairs-regardless of having US citizenship. For the longest time, this included the State of Hawaii. Now, US Territories include: American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Guam, The Northern Mariana Islands, and finally US Virgin Islands. These are all US Citizens that are being ignored and incapable of participating in the nations future. I am from one of these territories. And if I still lived in that territory, I would not be allowed to vote.

Fact of the matter is, to tell someone that they should vote without knowing their situation is not only tone deaf, but it is also classist and ignorant of their situation.

I am not saying that voting doesn't matter. I am saying that the only way that these laws can change is by ensuring that Congress, Senate and the house of representatives is completely flipped upside down and torn apart from the inside to make sure that this happens. These laws were not made to protect us. These laws were made to protect those in power and to ensure that they stay in power without any repercussions.

Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches of government were not meant to serve the people and it is working exactly as it was designed. The system isn't broken. But maybe it should be.

Not for us, though.

Dear Undecided and Both Sides are Evil voters.