#North Idaho College

[harriswalz4usabybr]

Speech Vice President Harris gave at Bozeman United Methodist Church!

[batboyblog]

Things the Biden-Harris Administration Did This Week #29

July 26-August 2 2024

President Biden announced his plan to reform the Supreme Court and make sure no President is above the law. The conservative majority on the court ruled that Trump has "absolute immunity" from any prosecution for "official acts" while he was President. In response President Biden is calling for a constitutional amendment to make it clear that Presidents aren't above the law and don't have immunity from prosecution for crimes committed while in office. In response to a wide ranging corruption scandal involving Justice Clarence Thomas, President Biden called on Congress to pass a legally binding code of ethics for the Supreme Court. The code would force Justices to disclose gifts, refrain from public political actions, and force them to recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have conflicts of interest. President Biden also endorsed the idea of term limits for the Justices.

The Biden Administration sent out an email to everyone who has a federal student loan informing them of upcoming debt relief. The debt relief plan will bring the total number of a borrowers who've gotten relief from the Biden-Harris Administration to 30 million. The plan is due to be finalized this fall, and the Department of Education wanted to alert people early to allow them to be ready to quickly take advantage of it when it was in place and get relief as soon as possible.

President Biden announced that the federal government would step in and protect the pension of 600,000 Teamsters. Under the American Rescue Plan, passed by President Biden and the Democrats with no Republican votes, the government was empowered to bail out Union retirement funds which in recent years have faced devastating cut of up to 75% in some cases, leaving retired union workers in desperate situations. The Teamster union is just the latest in a number of such pension protections the President has done in office.

President Biden and Vice-President Harris oversaw the dramatic release of American hostages from Russia. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan held since 2018, Russian-American reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Alsu Kurmasheva convicted of criticizing the Russian Military, were all released from captivity and returned to the US at around midnight August 2nd. They were greeted on the tarmac by the President and Vice-President and their waiting families. The deal also secured the release of German medical worker Rico Krieger sentenced to death in Belarus, Russian-British opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, and 11 Russians convicted of opposing the war against Ukraine or being involved in Alexei Navalny's anti-corruption organization. Early drafts of the hostage deal were meant to include Navalny before his death in Russian custody early this year.

A new Biden Administration rule banning discrimination against LGBT students takes effect, but faces major Republican resistance. The new rule declares that Title IX protects Queer students from discrimination in public schools and any college that takes federal funds. The new rule also expands protections for victims of sexual misconduct and pregnant or parenting students. However Republican resistance means the rule can't take effect nation wide. Lawsuits from Republican controlled states, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming, means the new protections won't come into effect those states till the case is ruled on likely in a Supreme Court ruling. The Biden administration crafted these Title IX rules to reflect the Supreme Court's 2020 Bostock case.

The Biden administration awarded $2 billion to black and minority farmers who were the victims of historic discrimination. Historically black farmers have been denied important loans from the USDA, or given smaller amounts than white farmers. This massive investment will grant 23,000 minority farmers between $10,000 and $500,000 each and a further 20,000 people who wanted to start farms by were improperly denied the loans they needed between $3,500-$6,000 to get started. Most payments went to farmers in Mississippi and Alabama.

The Biden Administration took an important step to stop the criminalization of poverty by changing child safety guidelines so that poverty alone isn't grounds for taking a child into foster care. Studies show that children able to stay with parents or other family have much better outcomes then those separated. Many states have already removed poverty from their guidelines when it comes to removing children from the home, and the HHS guidelines push the remaining states to do the same.

Vice-President Harris announced the Biden Administration's agreement to a plan by North Carolina to forgive the state's medical debt. The plan by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper would forgive the medical debt of 2 million people in the state. North Carolina has the 3rd highest rate of medical debt in the nation. Vice-President Harris applauded the plan, pointing out that the Biden Administration has forgiven $650 million dollars worth of medical debt so far with plans to forgive up to $7 billion by 2026. The Vice-President unveiled plans to exclude medical debt from credit scores and issued a call for states and local governments to forgive debt, like North Carolina is, last month.

The Department of Transportation put forward a new rule to bank junk fees for family air travel. The new rule forces airlines to seat parents next to their children, with no extra cost. Currently parents are forced to pay extra to assure they are seated next to their children, no matter what age, if they don't they run the risk of being separated on a long flight. Airlines would be required to seat children age 13 and under with their parent or accompanying adult at no extra charge.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced it is giving $3.5 billion to combat homelessness. This represents the single largest one year investment in fighting homelessness in HUD's history. The money will be distributed by grants to local organizations and programs. HUD has a special focus on survivors of domestic violence, youth homeless, and people experiencing the unique challenges of homelessness in rural areas.

The Treasury Department announced that Pennsylvania and New Mexico would be joining the IRS' direct file program for 2025. The program was tested as a pilot in a number of states in 2024, saving 140,000 tax payers $5.6 million in filing charges and getting tax returns of $90 million. The program, paid for by President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, will be available to all 50 states, but Republicans strong object. Pennsylvania and New Mexico join Oregon and New Jersey in being new states to join.

Bonus: President Biden with the families of the released hostages calling their loved ones on the plane out of Russia

[zanmor]

Using Your Vote Strategically

Your vote doesn’t matter (probably). Luckily you can make it do a bit more.

Your vote is one of a few hundred million game pieces. Knowing how best to use it requires you to understand your place on the game board. Let’s take a look at that board.

Current polling has the following ten states (yellow on the above map) as highly competitive in this year’s presidential election: Maine, New Jersey, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Virginia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Georgia. Realistically those first three have only gone to Democrats since at least 2000 so speculation is more focused on the last seven (and even New Hampshire has been solidly Democrat since it voted for Bush in 2000).

If you’re one of the roughly 37.5 million voters who lives in one of those states, congratulations! Your vote will actually help decide who wins the presidency in November. As such you should probably vote for one of the major parties. To the other 82% of the electorate, it’s time to think a little harder about how you’ll utilize your vote in the fall.

Meanwhile there are 35 states that solidly belong to one of the two parties and that ain’t changing. They’re blue and red on the map above.

These states have only given electoral votes to their respective party since at least 2000 and current polling (according to 270towin.com) shows that they will do that again this year, well beyond any margin of error in the polls. California for instance is currently polling heavily in favor of the Democratic candidate and has voted for a Democratic candidate since 2000. Obviously that’s not about to change. That’s the case with these other 34 states as well. Which means if there’s any way to “throw your vote away” then it’s by blindly tossing it in with the millions of others that will not impact the electoral college or party platforms in any way.

The states where your vote matters least are:

California, Texas, New York, Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, Alaska, Missouri, Hawaii, Louisiana, Kansas, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Montana, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Idaho, Tennessee, Utah, Arkansas, North Dakota, Wyoming, Mississippi, Alabama, Washington, Massachusetts, Maryland, Oregon, Connecticut, Vermont, Delaware, Washington DC, Rhode Island, and New Mexico.

If you live in one of these states I have no qualms about advising you to vote third party in the general election. It will not change the electoral college outcome. But it can have important benefits you wouldn’t see by simply tossing another ballot on the mountain. I’ll talk below about those benefits. First, the last part of the game board.

The following six states (green on the above map) are technically polling within the margin of error where they could potentially go either way. I personally think it’s unlikely they’ll flip but you can make your own call on that and vote accordingly. If you live in North Carolina, Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, or Colorado, I think you’re likely to get more use from your vote giving it to a third party candidate based on current polling.

As I said above, I don’t expect that third party voting will impact the electoral college outside of those few truly competitive states.

So what does voting third party do?

If enough people vote third party it can do two helpful things: 1. if a party’s candidate receives over 5% of the popular vote then they can get federal matching funds in the next election, helping spread messages currently relegated to the sidelines, and 2. the major parties are more likely to take note of these votes and try to adjust their platforms to grab these voters in later elections. Voting for one of the two major parties doesn’t send any sort of message. What little utility your vote has in that regard is lost.

Voting for a candidate like Jill Stein of the Green Party can accomplish both of the above goals. Her platform is incredibly progressive. Across the board it’s a lot of things that leftists have been clamoring for. It will show establishment Democrats that there is voting support for those policies.

By supporting a third party candidate (not an independent solo candidate) we could see her get 5% of the popular vote and gain federal matching funds in 2028. It’s not about if she would be a good president or if you like her personally—she is not and never will get elected. It’s about hitting that 5% and showing the establishment that if they cater to the folks who like this platform that they can win votes.

Five percent of the 2020 election would have been just under 8 million votes. Four million Californian voters could have voted Green Party and Biden still would have won the state by over a million votes. We can definitely find 4 million votes in the other 40 states that otherwise are unlikely to impact the election. And we should.

[galwednesday]

USA Ballot Measures Nov. 2024

41 states (and Washington DC) have ballot measures this year! Even if your state's electoral college result isn't in question, you may have ballot measures to vote on alongside the presidential election and state-wide elections.

Below the read more link is an alphabetical list of each state with ballot measures. Each state name links to the Ballotpedia.org page for that state's ballot measures, which will be updated with new developments as election day nears (some ballot measures are still tied up in court as of when I'm making this post in late September, so the approved ballot measures may change before you vote). Ballotpedia has information on each ballot measure, including what a yes/no would mean, arguments for and against, who supports/opposes each measure, and the full text of the measure.

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Minnesota

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Utah

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

But wait, there's more!

We also have 2024 ballot measures for:

Washington, D.C.

Local ballot measures

Check the full Ballotpedia.org list of local ballot measure elections in 2024 to see if there are any in your area!

[tanadrin]

The United States should go back to having thirteen states

On the basis that the 13-star flag was the best version, and that 50 is just too many dang states, I present my proposal for a 13-state United States of America. State names are placeholders only; presumably the inhabitants of these states would want to name them something different.

State boundaries are intended to attempt to respect both geographical features and approximate internal cultural borders of the United States, keeping contiguous regional cultures more or less grouped (e.g., the Ozarks are mostly within Texas-Louisiana; all of New England is in the Northeast; the Piedmont region is entirely within the Mid-Atlantic state, etc.). I have also tried to reduce the insane population disparity between states as much as was reasonable; but since the three non-contiguous states, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, are necessarily culturally and geographically distinct, they are kept as separate states. Also since they're each individual states with their present borders, I was lazy and only drew the 10 contiguous states.

The thirteen states are:

Northeast: About 34 million inhabitants. Capital: Boston; House delegation: 42 members; Senators: 10; EC votes: 52

Mid-Atlantic: About 41 million inhabitants. Capital: Richmond; House delegation: 51 members; Senators: 12; EC votes: 63. Contains the national capital (Washington-D.C.)

Ohio River-Appalachia: About 39 million inhabitants. Capital: Wheeling; House delegation: 48; Senators: 12; EC votes: 60

Southeast: About 44 million inhabitants. Capital: Jacksonville; House delegation: 54; Senators: 12; EC votes: 66

Michigan-Superior: About 37 million inhabitants. Capital: Green Bay; House delegation: 46; Senators: 10; EC votes: 56

Kansas-Missouri: About 24 million inhabitants. Capital: Kansas City; House delegation: 30; Senators: 6; EC votes: 36

Texas-Louisiana: About 40 million inhabitants. Capital: Shreveport; House delegation: 50; Senators: 12; EC votes; 62

Cascadia-North Plains: About 26 million inhabitants. Capital: Idaho Falls; House delegation: 32; Senators: 8; EC votes: 40

California: About 41 million inhabitants. Capital: Sacramento; House delegation: 51 members; Senators: 12; EC votes: 63

Arizona-New Mexico: About 19 million inhabitants; Capital: Albequerque; House delegation: 24; Senators: 6; EC votes: 30

Alaska: About 730,000 inhabitants. House members: 1; Senators: 1; EC votes: 3

Hawaii: About 1.4 million inhabitants. House delegation: 2; Senators: 1; EC votes: 3

Puerto Rico: About 3 million inhabitants. House delegation: 4; Senators: 1; EC votes: 5.

Total House size is 435, total Senate size is 103, and the total number of EC votes is still 538.

(Obviously in principle I would support abolishing both the Senate and the Electoral College, but if for some reason you were going to keep them, I think at minimum you would have to reform the whole "one state, two senators" rule, ergo I have gone for a form of proportionality here, although not so proportional as House delegations.)

[patriottruth]

Dumb donald Chump crossed all my lines, so I told his crimes to the FBI. 'Cause Kamala needed cold hard proof, so I gave her some. Now she's got the envelope, where you think she got it from?

To report donald j. trump and all of his potential allies to the FBI for the federal crimes of 2024 election fraud:

https://tips.fbi.gov/home Choice 1: Federal Election Crime

Choice 2: Voter/Ballot Fraud/Corrupt Election Official

For the "Subject" information, choose "This subject is a business" Business Name: Electors and governors attempting to elect insurrectionist Donald J. Trump in violation of Sec3/14A

When did the crime occur? 11/05/2024

Where did the crime occur? Specific location: AL, AK, AZ, AR, FL, GA, ID, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MI, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NC, ND, OH, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, WV, WI, WY

How did you discover the election fraud? Donald J. Trump is an impeached, congressionally investigated, criminally indicted and prosecuted insurrectionist attempting to hold federal office in violation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

What false information was provided? The lies that a U.S. national popular vote, or a ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court, could clear Donald J. Trump's insurrectionist disqualification, instead of a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate.

Did the individual receive something in exchange for their illegal voting activity? Unknown

Did the subject vote multiple times or vote when ineligible to vote? Yes

Did an election official violate a voting law? Yes

Were ballots from the election destroyed? Unknown

Were vote tallies falsified? Unknown

Was there a voting machine/tabulation/software malfunction? Unknown

Please provide a brief description of the incident: On December 17th, 2024, state electors and governors from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming will be faced with the choices of engaging in fraud by an elections official or other individual, conspiracy against the United States, corruptly obstructing, influencing, and impeding an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights by giving aid and comfort to disqualified insurrectionist Donald J. Trump in violation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. State electors and governors attempting to vote for and create certificates of ascertainment to elect Donald J. Trump would be instantly disqualified from holding office per Sec3/14A, thereby rendering all their actions unlawful.

Are you reporting on behalf of yourself or someone else? Someone else

Victim Information: First Name: Kamala Middle Name: Devi Last Name: Harris Date of Birth: 10/20/1964 Phone Number: Business: (202) 456-1111 Email: vice.president@whitehouse.gov Address: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500

Complainant Information: Please uncheck any fields you would prefer not to answer. You don't have to enter your personal information here if you don't want to.

Reported To Law Enforcement: Have you reported this information to another law enforcement or government agency (local, state, or federal)? No

At this point, you can click "Show All" to review your tip. Once you're satisfied with it, just click "Submit Tip" and you're good to go.

For anyone suggesting this is inaccurate, here you go (compiled from Wikipedia):

Article 2: Clause 3: Electoral College See also: Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Contingent election, Electoral College abolition amendment, Efforts to reform the United States Electoral College, and National Popular Vote Interstate Compact The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse [sic] by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse [sic] the President. But in chusing [sic] the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse [sic] from them by Ballot the Vice President.

Electoral College Elector Selection Process Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution requires each state legislature to determine how electors for the state are to be chosen, but it disqualifies any person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, from being an elector. Under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, any person who has sworn an oath to support the United States Constitution in order to hold either a state or federal office, and later rebelled against the United States directly or by giving assistance to those doing so, is disqualified from being an elector. Congress may remove this disqualification by a two-thirds vote in each house. (Wikipedia)

Conspiracy against the United States, or conspiracy to defraud the United States, is a federal offense in the United States of America under 18 U.S.C. § 371. The statute originated under a federal law enacted in 1867 that was codified in the Revised Statutes of the United States in 1874, in a subsequent codification of federal penal statutes in 1909, and ultimately in the United States Code in 1948. The crime is that of two or more persons who conspire to commit an offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States.

Statute 18 U.S.C. § 371 provides that:

If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

Corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding is a felony under U.S. federal law. It was enacted as part of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 in reaction to the Enron scandal, and closed a legal loophole on who could be charged with evidence tampering by defining the new crime very broadly.

This part of the Act later became known as a charge against defendants associated with the 2021 U.S. Capitol attack for attempting to obstruct that year's Electoral College vote count, as well as former President Donald Trump for broader alleged activities to obstruct the election. In June 2024, the Supreme Court ruled in Fischer v. United States that the statute could only be applied when the defendant impaired a physical document or object used in an official proceeding or attempted to do so, a higher bar for conviction than had been used in trials to that point.

Legal basis The crime is codified as 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2). The relevant subsection reads:

(c) Whoever corruptly—

(1) alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a record, document, or other object, or attempts to do so, with the intent to impair the object's integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding; or (2) otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.

The term "official proceeding" is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1515(a)(1) to include proceedings before federal judges, Congress, federal government agencies, and regulators of insurance businesses.

Conspiracy against rights is a federal offense in the United States of America under 18 U.S.C. § 241:

If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person […] in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same;…

They shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, they shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.

Charges of conspiracy against rights concerning federal election offenses cover activities subverting the integrity of federal elections and do not require direct action towards an individual voter. Election conspiracies prosecuted under conspiracy against rights can be classified as either public schemes (where public officials commit a §241 violation under color of law) or private schemes (where conspirators impinge on the ability for voters to vote).

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced on July 18, 2023, that she had charged sixteen individuals with eight felony counts each, including forgery and conspiracy, alleging they had knowingly signed certificates of ascertainment falsely claiming they were "duly elected and qualified electors" for Michigan. One defendant entered into a cooperation agreement with prosecutors in October 2023 in exchange for charges against him being dropped. Nessel's office disclosed during an April 2024 court hearing that Trump, Meadows, Giuliani and Ellis were unindicted co-conspirators.

On August 1, 2023, at the request of Jack Smith and the Justice Department, a federal grand jury indicted Trump on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy against rights, obstructing an official proceeding and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. The indictment accused Trump of orchestrating a criminal conspiracy to subvert the 2020 election, and identified the fake electors scheme as part of the conspiracy.

On August 15, 2023, Trump and eighteen others were indicted in Georgia. The defendants, who included Trump, Giuliani, Eastman, Meadows, Chesebro, Sidney Powell, David Shafer and Shawn Still among others, were charged with a variety of offenses, many of which related to involvement in the fake electors plot. On October 20, Chesebro pleaded guilty to conspiring to file a false document and was sentenced to five years of probation; he also agreed to testify against the other defendants. Three other defendants (including Powell) also pleaded guilty to charges.

On December 6, 2023, a Clark County, Nevada, grand jury indicted six Republican party officials, including the chair of the Nevada Republican Party, on two felony charges each of submitting fraudulent documents to state and local officials.

By December 2023, 24 fake electors had been criminally charged in three states, and Chesebro was "a witness in all of the cases". However, in January 2024, the Attorney General of New Mexico stated that the fake electors couldn't be prosecuted given the laws of that state.

An Arizona grand jury named eleven alleged fake electors in an April 2024 indictment. Among those named were former Arizona Republican Party chair Kelli Ward and Tyler Bowyer, chief operating officer of Turning Point USA. Names of seven others charged were redacted from the indictment, and Trump was listed as "Unindicted Coconspirator 1". The Washington Post reported the redacted individuals were Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, John Eastman, Christina Bobb, Boris Epshteyn and Mike Roman. The Post reported that names of those indicted who were not in Arizona were redacted until they could be served with their indictments.

[confettimafia]

Hey you, yeah you!

Procrastinated something voting related and think you can’t vote? You have a weird circumstance and aren’t sure? You are registered but haven’t checked recently?

This is the post for you! I’m gonna go through a few different options, links, and definitions for people so you can ensure that if you are eligible, that you can vote. (Yes, this repeats some links for convenience.)

I think I am registered but I haven’t checked: You should. There are many legal battles going on right now trying to purge voting rolls and such. Also mistakes happen. CHECK HERE. REGISTER HERE.

I have not registered to vote but I will be eligible otherwise: Many states have a late registration deadline, it might still be possible, sometimes even online! CHECK HERE. REGISTER HERE.

I have not registered to vote, I will be eligible otherwise, and the voter registration deadline has passed: Some states allow voting by affidavit or casting a provisional ballot. This means you take an extra step to sign a thing that documents that you are eligible to vote and after the fact this is verified. More people need to know about this. This covers a lot of weird circumstances. “As of March 2024, Idaho and Minnesota did not provide for provisional voting. New Hampshire provides for provisional balloting only when a voter does not provide the required documentation at the time of registration, and North Dakota provides for provisional balloting only in the event of a court order extending polling hours.” To be safe, if you don’t know and this is your only option, you should go to your polling place and ask if they do this. FIND YOUR POLLING PLACE HERE.

I won’t be home for Election Day but I can vote: Some states have early voting right now. CHECK HERE. Some states are still accepting absentee ballot applications. CHECK HERE.

I will be at college during election day: you can either get absentee ballot or early voting at home OR you can register to vote where you go to college. Generally speaking you spend enough time at both places as a college student it’s allowed to register at either location, you can switch you’re registration to college if you’ve met the standards of living there long enough etc. See above for absentee and early voting, but I will relink the registration link HERE.

I will reemphasize affidavit voting. I personally have used this after relocating within a state and forgetting to change registrations. It was a simple form. If you are 18 or will be on Election Day, a citizen, and haven’t had your voting rights stripped from you via felony or something PLEASE check and make absolutely sure you can’t vote. I guarantee you there are thousands if not millions of people who are not going to vote simply because they do not know they can. It’s confusing and annoying, and people have paid a lot of money to keep it that way. Don’t let them take your vote away.

Yes especially get this out to peeps in swing states BUT REMEMBER. Everything down ballot is also incredibly important with slim margins. Even if you are not in a swing state there is so much else you can do with your vote.

(Some more affidavit voting reasons for New York as an example, though these vary per state:

* “If the voter has been issued an absentee, military or special ballot, but wishes to vote in person during early voting or on election day,

* If the voter is voting for the first time and is unable to provide identification,

* If the voter’s name does not appear in the poll records

* If in a primary election, the voter is listed as being a member of one party but wishes to vote as a member of a different party (Does not apply in November)”)

After all this, you are absolutely positive you can’t vote in this election but could in the future: Register now! Then it will be taken care of for the future until it needs to be updated again. This stuff won’t suddenly stop being important and literally life and death at times. REGISTER HERE.

All of this has been incredibly anxiety inducing, but sharing stuff like this to get the word out to frankly a large young left leaning audience here on tumblr is helpful. It helps to do something actionable. For those of you who can’t vote, encouraging people like this helps in its own way too.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

By Jess Thomson

Samples from wastewater in several U.S. states have tested "very high" or "high" for levels of the virus that causes COVID-19.

SARS-CoV-2 levels were found by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to be "very high" in New Mexico for the period November 10 to November 16, 2024, and "high" in Arizona, Kentucky, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota.

"Moderate" levels of the virus were detected in Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, and Wyoming.

More From Newsweek Vault: What Is a Health Savings Account?

19 states had "low" levels detected, while "minimal" levels were spotted in 14 states and D.C.

(follow the link for an interactive map!)

However, the data from Arizona, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Mississippi, and Ohio all have limited coverage, meaning that it is "based on a small segment (less than 5 percent) of the population and may not be representative of the state/territory," the CDC explained. North Dakota also has no data for this period.

The week prior, between November 3 and November 9, "very high" levels of viral activity were also detected in New Mexico, with "high" levels being found in Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota.

Many viruses are excreted in feces, even if the infected individual has no symptoms. This includes SARS-CoV-2, which has been shown to be present in the gastrointestinal tract of infected individuals. Once in the wastewater system, viral particles, or fragments of their genetic material, are carried to treatment plants. Testing of this wastewater can detect these fragments, providing valuable information about the presence of the virus in a community.

By regularly testing wastewater, the CDC can track trends in viral levels, helping public health officials assess whether COVID-19 cases are increasing, decreasing, or remaining stable in a community.

"Wastewater monitoring can detect viruses spreading from one person to another within a community earlier than clinical testing and before people who are sick go to their doctor or hospital. It can also detect infections without symptoms. If you see increased wastewater viral activity levels, it might indicate that there is a higher risk of infection," the CDC explains.

CDC data shows that COVID virus levels have hugely dropped since the summer months, with most regions still trending downwards. However, there is a slight uptick in virus activity in the Northeast and the Midwest

As of November 16, subvariant KP.3.1.1 made up 34 percent of COVID-19 cases in U.S. wastewater over the previous two weeks. New XEC variant made up 21 percent, KP.3 made up 18 percent, JN.1 made up 13 percent, and "other" made up 15 percent.

"There is no evidence, and no particular reason to believe, that XEC causes different symptoms than all the other SARS-CoV-2 currently in circulation," Francois Balloux, a profesor of computational systems biology at University College London in England, previously told Newsweek. "XEC is not expected to cause more (or less) severe symptoms than other lineages currently in circulation."

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Alix Breeden at Daily Kos:

A  hate-filled tsunami made landfall following Donald Trump’s election victory—this one directed at women, transgender people, and, basically, anyone who isn’t cisgender and white.  Floods of “your body, my choice” echoed across social media while violent race-targeted text messages were sent to Black students in high schools and colleges around the country.  And the bigoted bathroom bans that target transgender people have popped up in Ohio and in the halls of Congress.  Following the felon-elect’s win, Ohio became the latest state to enact anti-trans legislation banning K-12 students from using bathrooms that align with their gender identities.

This ban is the largest of its type so far, as it also applies to private colleges and universities.  Additionally, the bill mandates that schools cannot have “all-gender” restrooms or locker rooms aside from single-occupancy or family facilities. However, Ohio’s new bill, passed by the Republican-controlled legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine the day before Thanksgiving, doesn’t stand alone.  As NBC News reported, several other states have passed similar bills since 2022, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah.  Republican lawmakers, including in Ohio, often cite baseless reports that allowing transgender people to use bathrooms of their choice puts people at physical risk and increases violence. But as NBC News noted, there’s no evidence to support such claims. 

In other words, it’s just hate-filled rhetoric to justify bigotry.

The return of the transphobe-elect to the White House has brought out the transphobic bathroom police extremists into force.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Ryan Burge

Published: Mar 25, 2024

I give a lot of talks about the "nones." This includes Zoom meetings, webinars, lecture series, and sermons at various venues such as churches, colleges, and social organizations. My slide deck is as dialed in as it can be. I know which statements will resonate, how to elicit a quick laugh, when to speed through a graph, and when to pause to let people take photos of a slide.

I aim to provide the audience with a few key takeaways from the talk. One of them is this: most "nones" are not atheists. I believe that when most people hear the term "none," they immediately picture an atheist. However, I emphasize the "nothing in particular" group more because it's significantly larger.

I do, however, believe that atheists are crucial for the future of American society and politics. As I've previously written, they are among the most politically active groups in the United States.

Link: No One Participates in Politics More than Atheists (paid article)

But how many are there? The Cooperative Election Study can help us with an estimate.

According to this data, about three percent of the adult population were atheists in 2008. This number has slowly risen over the last fifteen years. It was five percent in 2014, then increased to 6% by 2016. What's striking is that there hasn't been any appreciable increase between 2015 and 2022; it's remained around six percent.

I've also attempted to generate state-level estimates of atheists, which is not straightforward. When a group comprises only 6% of the general population, the margin of error increases. This is even more challenging at the state level, requiring a large sample size to include enough respondents from states like Vermont or Wyoming to produce confident calculations. Yet, I'm giving it a try.

Below, you'll find estimates of the atheist population for all 50 states. I used two sources: the Cooperative Election Study (CES) data from 2016-2022 and an estimate from Nationscape with has over 477,000 respondents. Despite the large sample sizes, four states in the Nationscape sample had fewer than 1000 respondents—Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, and North Dakota. However, this is as accurate as it gets with the available data.

I visualized the estimates with 84% confidence intervals. A rule of thumb is that if the error bars from each survey overlap, the estimates are statistically similar. This occurs in some states like Georgia, Idaho, Maryland, and Mississippi. Generally, the CES tends to have higher atheist estimates than the Nationscape survey, but the differences aren't substantial, averaging a discrepancy of 1.9 points.

I'll now share the atheist estimates from both surveys for all fifty states to illustrate the range of these numbers.

In several states, one estimate may be 4% and another 5%, such as in Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Texas, and Florida. It's reasonable to conclude that in these locations, atheists may constitute one in twenty adults. Other states fall into a similar range, like Pennsylvania, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas. The largest discrepancies were found in Washington (4 points) and Oregon (5 points), it’s hard to figure out why this is happening in these two states.

To generate my best guess, I averaged the estimates from the CES and Nationscape surveys. Although the CES estimate might be slightly high and the Nationscape slightly low, the midpoint should provide a close approximation of the actual percentage.

It's reassuring when the data align with perceptions - that’s the case here. For example, the Bible Belt displays a lower atheist percentage, with states like Mississippi, Alabama, and Kentucky showing shares below 3%. North Dakota's outlier status likely reflects the impact of sample size.

The atheist population in most states falls within the 4-6% range, encompassing the upper Midwest, the Rust Belt, and parts of the Southwest. Missouri, with a 5.1% atheist population, serves as the median state, aligning more with its northern neighbors than those to the south.

The dark blue states, which are most likely to have atheists, can be best described as including the Pacific Northwest, some Great Plains states, and New England. However, the epicenter is undoubtedly in the top left part of the map, with Oregon at 9.2% atheists and Washington at 8.2%. The only other states that come close are the relatively small ones: New Hampshire (9.4%) and Vermont (9.2%).

Let’s have some fun now, though. What factors predict a greater percentage of atheists? I think even amateur social scientists can probably do a bit of theorizing at this stage. Let’s start with some low hanging fruit - age. This is a scatterplot of median age on the x-axis and the share of atheists on the y-axis.

The trend line is unmistakably positive—states with older populations tend to have more atheists. Surprising, isn't it? Take note of the three outliers in the top right—New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. These states are both significantly older and have higher proportions of atheists than the norm. On the other end of the spectrum lies Utah, a notable outlier. Despite its relatively young median age of 31.5, its estimated atheist share is 5.4%, which significantly exceeds the expected trend of 4%.

But what does this correlation translate to in concrete terms? If a state were to age by five years, on average, it could anticipate a one percentage point increase in its atheist population. This change might not seem substantial, but considering the implications of a statewide median age shift of five years, the impact is noteworthy.

Let’s explore another influential factor: politics. I analyzed Trump’s vote share from the 2020 presidential election and plotted it against the share of atheists.

This relationship should be relatively straightforward to understand—the higher the percentage of Trump voters in a state, the lower the percentage of atheists. Vermont stands out as an anomaly in the top left, where only 31% of voters supported Trump and 9.2% of the population identifies as atheist. Massachusetts presents an interesting case for comparison; its Trump vote share was nearly identical, yet its atheist share was two percentage points lower.

Montana, Alaska, and Wyoming significantly deviate from the trend. I attribute this to two main factors: the small sample size and the unique political landscape in these states, where conservatism is not primarily driven by religious motives. A Republican in Montana is markedly different from one in Mississippi.

But what does this correlation look like in real numbers? For every ten-point increase in Trump’s vote share, the percentage of atheists decreases by about 0.9%. This is less than a single percentage point. For example, if Vermont's Trump vote share increased from 31% to 51%, we might expect its atheist share to decrease from 9.2% to 7.4%.

Before concluding this post, I put together a regression model with additional variables such as the percentage of the state population with a college degree, the median income, and the gender ratio to identify factors that influence the percentage of atheists. Here are the findings.

Education, age, and income did not provide statistical significance in this analysis, which is certainly noteworthy. The primary factor influencing the atheist percentage was political orientation. A higher number of Trump voters correlates with fewer atheists, all else being equal. Additionally, two demographic variables—higher percentages of white people and men—were associated with increased atheism rates. The effects of these variables were positive and of similar magnitudes, indicating that neither is significantly more predictive than the other.

It's important to emphasize that atheists have not been growing at an exponential rate in America. They accounted for six percent of the population when Donald Trump was elected President, and this figure remained unchanged as of 2022. The increase in "nones" is attributed more to a rise in individuals identifying with "nothing in particular" rather than a surge in atheism. While states like Oregon and Vermont have notable atheist populations, atheism is relatively rare in places like Alabama.

Link: Atheists Just Don't Have Many Kids (paid article)

The inverse relationship between age and atheism deserves further reflection. When combined with data from a previous analysis highlighting the low fertility rate among atheists, it becomes clear that the growth of atheism likely depends more on converting individuals from other traditions than on passing atheistic beliefs down through generations.

However, the relatively high incomes and education levels of atheists, coupled with their lower fertility rates, position them to continue exerting significant influence across various aspects of American life, both now and in the future.

==

Keep in mind that I understand Ryan's definition of "atheism" to be, "believes that no god exists."

A better definition is anyone who isn't a theist. If you don't positively affirm belief in a god or gods, you're an atheist.

[saurongorthaur9]

For the "Wanna be nosy" ask game! 36 and 44?

36. Where I would like to live

The absolute utter dream for me would be to one day move to New Zealand. I fell in love with it the two weeks I got to visit there. Not only is the landscape beautiful, the culture rich, and it's freaking Middle-earth, but it's a lot more progressive than the US in terms of stuff like healthcare and work-life balance. A more realistic dream is to live in the north-west of the US (Washington, Oregon, Idaho). I've always loved that part of the US and had the dream of moving there one day since I graduated from college. (And there's the possibility that I may be moving there soon!)

44: A random fact about anything

Praying mantises have personalities, likes cats or dogs. I raised praying mantises for 14 years, and the range of personalities was just amazing. I had one mantis named Maedhros (so named because he was missing part of his right front arm) who was the chillest mantis I've ever had. Would let me take pictures, hold him, pet him, etc. I had another mantis named Skadi who was the exact opposite of chill; she would attack my hands whenever I fed her or tried to take her out or even if I bumped the branch she was on. And then I had another mantis named Astaldo who loved riding on my shoulders and was absolutely obsessed with our TV. Every mantis I had was a completely different individual, just as much as different cats or dogs.

Thanks for the asks!

[harriswalz4usabybr]

Sunday, August 18, 2024 - Kamala Harris

Today Vice President Harris hit two states, Idaho and Montana, with Senators Schatz, Tester and US Representative Nanette Barragán. Tomorrow she will head to the Democratic National Convention. Today's schedule, is below. No additional details for press will be provided, with the exception of a speech given in Bozeman.

Coeur d'Alene, ID Event Location: North Idaho College Event Type: Listening Tour Event Time: 8:00 - 9:30 PT *This event invited Assistant US Attorneys, Assistant District Attorneys, Assistant Attorneys General, and County Sheriffs to come and share ideas for how a Justice Department under a Harris-Walz could help them in their efforts to carry out justice. Many local and national laws were discussed as were some problematic cases from prior years.

Missoula, MT Event Location: University of Mississippi Event Type: Get Out the Vote Event Time: 12:00 - 14:00 MT

Helena, MT Event Location: Silver Star Steak Company Event Type: Lunch with State Senators and Assemblyman Event Time: 16:00 - 18:00 MT *16 State Senators from the Democratic Party and 32 Democratic State Assembly Members were invited as was the whole of the Helena Mayor and City Council. All but three were able to attend.

Bozeman, MT Event Location: Bozeman United Methodist Church Event Type: Special Evening Church Service, where VP Harris was invited to make remarks about division. Speech to be shared shortly. Event Time: 19:30 - 21:00 MT

~BR~

[goalhofer]

2024 olympics U.S.A. roster

Archery

Brady Ellison (Chula Vista, California)

Catalina Gnoriega (Mexicali, Mexico)

Casey Kaufhold (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)

Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez (Ciudad Mexico, Mexico)

Athletics

Capers Williamson (Greenville, South Carolina)

Kenneth Bednarek (Rice Lake, Wisconsin)

Fred Kerley (Taylor, Texas)

Noah Lyles (Alexandria, Virginia)

Erriyon Knighton (Tampa, Florida)

Christopher Bailey (Atlanta, Georgia)

Quincy Hall (Kansas City, Missouri)

Michael Norman; Jr. (Murrieta, California)

Bryce Hoppel (Midland, Texas)

Hobbs Kessler (Ann Arbor, Michigan)

Brandon Miller (St. Louis, Missouri)

Cole Hocker (Indianapolis, Indiana)

Yared Nuguse (Louisville, Kentucky)

Grant Fisher (Park City, Utah)

Abdi Nur (Phoenix, Arizona)

William Kincaid (Littleton, Colorado)

Nico Young (Newbury Park, California)

Freddie Crittenden III (Shelby Township, Michigan)

Stanley Holloway; Jr. (Chesapeake, Virginia)

Daniel Roberts (Hampton, Georgia)

C.J. Allen (Mason County, Washington)

Trevor Bassitt (Richland Township, Ohio)

Rai Benjamin (Mt. Vernon, New York)

James Corrigan (Los Angeles, California)

Kenneth Rooks (College Place, Washington)

Matthew Wilkinson (Minnetonka, Minnesota)

Quincy Wilson (Gaithersburg, Maryland)

Leonard Korir (Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Conner Mantz (Smithfield, Utah)

Clayton Young (American Fork, Utah)

Salif Mane (Bronx, New York)

Donald Scott (Apopka, Florida)

Shelby McEwen (Abbeville, Mississippi)

Sam Kendricks (Oxford, Mississippi)

Chris Nilsen (Kansas City, Missouri)

Jacob Wooten (Tomball, Texas)

Ryan Crouser (Clackamas County, Oregon)

Joe Kovacs (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)

Payton Otterdahl (Rosemount, Minnesota)

Joseph Brown (Mansfield, Texas)

Andrew Evans (Portage, Michigan)

Curtis Thompson (Florence Township, New Jersey)

Daniel Haugh (Marietta, Georgia)

Rudy Winkler (Sand Lake, New York)

Heath Baldwin (Kalamazoo, Michigan)

Harrison Williams (Houston, Texas)

Zach Ziemek (Addison Township, Illinois)

Malcolm Clemens (Oakland, California)

Vernon Turner (Yukon, Oklahoma)

Jeremiah Davis (Lee County, Florida)

Jarrion Lawson (Texarkana, Texas)

Russell Robinson (Winter Garden, Florida)

JuVaughn Harrison (Huntsville, Alabama)

Sam Mattis (East Brunswick Township, New Jersey)

Graham Blanks (Athens, Georgia)

Christian Coleman (Fayetteville, Georgia)

Courtney Lindsey (Rock Island, Illinois)

Kyree King (Ontario, California)

Vernon Norwood (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Bryce Dedmon (MIssouri City, Texas)

Melissa Jefferson (Georgetown, South Carolina)

Sha'Carri Richardson (Dallas, Texas)

Twanisha Terry (Miami, Florida)

Brittany Brown (Upland, California)

McKenzie Long (Pickerington, Ohio)

Gabby Thomas (Northampton, Massachusetts)

Aaliyah Butler (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida)

Kendall Ellis (Pembroke Pines, Florida)

Alexis Holmes (Hamden, Connecticut)

Nia Akins (San Diego, California)

Juliette Whittaker (Laurel, Maryland)

Isabella Whittaker (Laurel, Maryland)

Allie Wilson (Nether Providence Township, Pennsylvania)

Emily Mackay (Union, New York)

Elle Purrier-St. Pierre (Montgomery, Vermont)

Elise Cranny (Boulder County, Colorado)

Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa)

Weini Kelati-Frezghi (Leesburg, Virginia)

Alaysha Johnson (Houston, Texas)

Masai Russell (Montgomery County, Maryland)

Grace Stark (White Lake Charter Township, Michigan)

Anna Cockrell (Charlotte, North Carolina)

Jasmine Jones (Atlanta, Georgia)

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (Dunellen, New Jersey)

Valerie Constien (Vail, Colorado)

Marisa Howard (Boise, Idaho)

Courtney Wayment-Smith (Layton, Utah)

Dakotah Lindwurm (St. Francis, Minnesota)

Fiona O'Keeffe (Davis, California)

Emily Sisson (Chesterfield, Missouri)

Tara Davis-Woodhall (Agoura Hills, California)

Jasmine Moore (Grand Prairie, Texas)

Monae Nichols (Winter Haven, Florida)

Tori Franklin (Chicago, Illinois)

Keturah Orji (Mt. Olive Township, New Jersey)

Vashti Cunningham (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Rachel Glenn (Long Beach, California)

Brynn King (Montgomery County, Texas)

Katie Moon (Olmsted Falls, Ohio)

Bridget Williams (Hempfield Township, Pennsylvania)

Chase Jackson (Los Alamos County, New Mexico)

Jaida Ross (Medford, Oregon)

Raven Saunders (Charleston, South Carolina)

Valarie Allman (Longmont, Colorado)

Veronica Fraley (Zebulon, North Carolina)

Maggie Malone-Hardin (Lincoln, Nebraska)

Annette Echikunwoke (Pickerington, Ohio)

DeAnna Price (Troy, Missouri)

Erin Reese (Elk Grove Township, Illinois)

Taliyah Brooks (Wichita Falls, Texas)

Anna Hall (Douglas County, Colorado)

Chari Hawkins (Rexburg, Idaho)

Whittni Morgan (Panguitch, Utah)

Parker Valby (Tampa, Florida)

Rachel Tanczos (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)

Jayden Ulrich (Wood River, Illinois)

Aleia Hobbs (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Tamari Davis (Gainesville, Florida)

Kaylyn Brown (Charlotte, North Carolina)

Quanera Hayes (Hope Mills, North Carolina)

Shamier Little (Chicago, Illinois)

Badminton

Joshua Yuan (Fremont, California)

Howard Shu (Los Angeles, California)

Vinson Chiu (Milpitas, California)

Zhang Beiwen (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Annie Xu (San José, California)

Kerry Xu (San José, California)

Jennie Gai (Fremont, California)

Basketball

Wardell Curry; Jr. (Charlotte, North Carolina)

Anthony Edwards (Atlanta, Georgia)

LeBron James (Akron, Ohio)

Kevin Durant (Rockville, Maryland)

Kawhi Leonard (Riverside, California)

Tyrese Haliburton (Oshkosh, Wisconsin)

Jayson Tatum (Creve Coeur, Missouri)

Joel Embiid (Gainesville, Florida)

Jrue Holiday (Los Angeles, California)

Edrice Adebayo (Pinetown, North Carolina)

Anthony Davis; Jr. (Chicago, Illinois)

Devin Booker (Moss Point, Mississippi)

Canyon Barry (Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Jim Fredette (Glens Falls, New York)

Kareem Maddox (Ventura County, California)

Dylan Travis (Bellevue, Nebraska)

Jewell Loyd (Niles Township, Illinois)

Kelsey Plum (La Jolla, California)

Sabrina Ionescu (Orinda, California)

Kahleah Copper (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Chelsea Gray (Manteca, California)

A'Ja Wilson (Columbia, South Carolina)

Breanna Stewart (Cicero, New York)

Napheesa Collier (Jefferson City, Missouri)

Diana Taurasi (Chino, California)

Jackie Young (Princeton, Indiana)

Alyssa Thomas (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)

Brittney Griner (Houston, Texas)

Cassidie Burdick (Matthews, North Carolina)

Dearica Hamby (Norcross, Georgia)

Rhyne Howard (Cleveland, Tennessee)

Hailey Van Lith (Wenatchee, Washington)

Boxing

Roscoe Hill (Houston, Texas)

Jahmal Harvey (Prince George's County, Maryland)

Omari Jones (Orlando, Florida)

Joshua Edwards (Houston, Texas)

Jennifer Lozano (Laredo, Texas)

Alyssa Mendoza (Caldwell, Idaho)

Jajaira Gonzalez (Glendora, California)

Morelle McCane (Cleveland, Ohio)

Breakdancing

Jeff Louis (Houston, Texas)

Victor Montalvo (Kissimmee, Florida)

Logan Edra (Chula Vista, California)

Sunny Choi (Queens, New York)

Canoeing

Casey Eichfeld (Charlotte, North Carolina)

Aaron Small (Seattle, Washington)

Jonas Ecker (Bellingham, Washington)

Evy Leibfarth (Sylva, North Carolina)

Nevin Harrison (Seattle, Washington)

Cycling

Marcus Christopher (Canton, Ohio)

Cameron Wood (Great Falls, Montana)

Matteo Jorgenson (Boise, Idaho)

Brandon McNulty (Phoenix, Arizona)

Magnus Sheffield (Pittsford, New York)

Grant Koontz (Houston, Texas)

Riley Amos (Durango, Colorado)

Christopher Blevins (Durango, Colorado)

Justin Dowell (Virginia Beach, Virginia)

Kamren Larsen (Bakersfield, California)

Daleny Vaughn (Tucson, Arizona)

Chloé Dygert (Brownsburg, Indiana)

Olivia Cummins (Ft. Collins, Colorado)

Kristen Faulkner (Homer, Alaska)

Jennifer Valente (San Diego, California)

Lily Williams (Tallahassee, Florida)

Haley Batten (Park City, Utah)

Savilia Blunk (Marin County, California)

Perris Benegas (Raleigh, North Carolina)

Hannah Roberts (Buchanan, Michigan)

Felicia Stancil (Lake Villa Township, Illinois)

Alise Willoughby (St. Cloud, Minnesota)

Diving

Andrew Capobianco (Holly Springs, North Carolina)

Carson Tyler (Moultrie, Georgia)

Tyler Downs (Ballwin, Missouri)

Greg Duncan (Fairfax County, Virginia)

Daryn Wright (Plainfield, Indiana)

Sarah Bacon (Indianapolis, Indiana)

Alison Gibson (Houston, Texas)

Delaney Schnell (Tucson, Arizona)

Kassidy Cook (Montgomery County, Texas)

Jessica Parratto (Dover, New Hampshire)

Equestrian

Marcus Orlob (Palm Beach County, Florida)

Steffen Peters (San Diego, California)

William Coleman III (Madison County, Virginia)

Boyd Martin (West Fallowfield Township, Pennsylvania)

Kent Farrington (Chicago, Illinois)

McLain Ward (Southeast, New York)

Caroline Pamukcu (Springhill, Pennsylvania)

Adrienne Lyle (Coupeville, Washington)

Laura Kraut (Camden, South Carolina)

Fencing

Colin Heathcock (Beijing, China)

Filip Dolegiewicz (Park Ridge, Illinois)

Nick Itkin (Los Angeles, California)

Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, California)

Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, California)

Miles Chamley-Watson (New York, New York)

Eli Dershwitz (Sherborn, Massachusetts)

Mitchell Saron (Ridgewood, New Jersey)

Anne Cebula (New York, New York)

Hadley Husisian (Fairfax County, Virginia)

Margherita Guzzi-Vincenti (Delafield Township, Wisconsin)

Lauren Scruggs (Queens, New York)

Tatiana Nazlymov (Montgomery County, Maryland)

Magda Skarbonkiewicz (Portland, Oregon)

Elizabeth Tartakovsky (Livingston Township, New Jersey)

Maia Chamberlain (Menlo Park, California)

Kat Holmes (Washington, D.C.)

Jacqueline Dubrovich (Maplewood Township, New Jersey)

Lee Kiefer (Lexington, Kentucky)

Maia Weintraub (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Field Hockey

Kelee Lepage (Honey Brook, Pennsylvania)

Abigail Tamer (Dexter, Michigan)

Ashley Sessa (Royersford, Pennsylvania)

Megan Valzonis (San Diego, California)

Brooke DeBerdine (Millersville, Pennsylvania)

Emma DeBerdine (Millersville, Pennsylvania)

Madeleine Zimmer (Derry Township, Pennsylvania)

Amanda Golini (Randolph Township, New Jersey)

Ashley Hoffman (Mohnton, Pennsylvania)

Elizabeth Yeager (Greenwich, Connecticut)

Leah Crouse (Virginia Beach, Virginia)

Alexandra Hammel (Duxbury, Massachusetts)

Sophia Gladieux (Olney Township, Pennsylvania)

Karlie Kisha (Hamburg, Pennsylvania)

Kelsey Bing (Houston, Texas)

Meredith Sholder (Alburtis, Pennsylvania)

Soccer

Patrick Schulte (St. Charles, Missouri)

Gabriel Slonina (Addison Township, Illinois)

Nathan Harriel (Oldsmar, Florida)

John Tolkin (Chatham, New Jersey)

Maximilian Dietz (New York, New York)

Caleb Wiley (Atlanta, Georgia)

Walker Zimmerman (Lawrenceville, Georgia)

Miles Robinson (Arlington, Massachusetts)

Francis Tessmann (Birmingham, Alabama)

Djordje Mihailović (Chicago, Illinois)

Jack McGlynn (Queens, New York)

Gianluca Busio (Kansas City, Missouri)

Benjamín Cremaschi (Miami, Florida)

Paxten Aaronson (Medford Township, New Jersey)

Duncan McGuire (Omaha, Nebraska)

Taylor Booth (Weber County, Utah)

Griffin Yow (Clifton, Virginia)

Kevin Paredes (Loudoun County, Virginia)

Alyssa Naeher (Bridgeport, Connecticut)

Emily Fox (Loudoun County, Virginia)

Korbin Albert (Avon Township, Illinois)

Naomi Girma-Aweke (San José, California)

Trinity Rodman-Moyer (Newport Beach, California)

Casey Krueger (Naperville, Illinois)

Crystal Soubrier (Hempstead, New York)

Catarina Macário (San Diego, California)

Mallory Swanson (Chicago, Illinois)

Lindsey Horan (Golden, Colorado)

Sophia Smith (Windsor, Colorado)

Tierna Davidson (Menlo Park, California)

Jenna Nighswonger (Newport Beach, California)

Emily Sonnett (Marietta, Georgia)

Jaedyn Shaw (Frisco, Texas)

Rose Lavelle (Cincinnati, Ohio)

Samantha Coffey (Mt. Pleasant, New York)

Casey Murphy (Bridgewater Township, New Jersey)

Carolyn Campbell (Kennesaw, Georgia)

Croix Bethune (Alpharetta, Georgia)

Katherine Hershfelt (Marietta, Georgia)

Lynn Williams (Fresno, California)

Golf

Wyndham Clark (Scottsdale, Arizona)

Collin Morikawa (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Xander Schauffele (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Scottie Scheffler (Dallas, Texas)

Nelly Korda (Bradenton, Florida)

Lilia Vu (Fountain Valley, California)

Rose Zhang (Irvine, California)

Gymnastics

Asher Hong (Tomball, Texas)

Paul Juda (Vernon Township, Illinois)

John Malone (Sarasota, Florida)

Stephen Nedoroscik (Sarasota, Florida)

Fred Richard (Stoughton, Massachusetts)

Aliaksei Shostak (Lafayette, Indiana)

Simone Biles-Owens (Houston, Texas)

Jade Carey (Corvallis, Oregon)

Jordan Chiles (Los Angeles, California)

Suni Lee (Auburn, Alabama)

Hezly Rivera (Plano, Texas)

Evita Griškėnas (Orland Township, Illinois)

Jessica Stevens (Howard County, Maryland)

Judo

Jack Yonezuka (West Long Branch, New Jersey)

John Jayne (Chicago, Illinois)

Marie Laborde (Kenosha, Wisconsin)

Angelica Delgado (Miami, Florida)

Pentathlon

Jess Davis (Bethlehem, Connecticut)

Rowing

William Bender (Norwich, Vermont)

Oliver Bub (Westport, Connecticut)

Ben Davison (Inverness, Florida)

Sorin Koszyk (Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan)

Chris Carlson (Bedford, New Hampshire)

Peter Chatain (New Trier Township, Illinois)

Henry Hollingsworth (Dover, Massachusetts)

Rielly Milne (Woodinville, Washington)

Evan Olson (Bothell, Washington)

Pieter Quinton (Portland, Oregon)

Nicholas Rusher (West Bend, Wisconsin)

Christian Tabash (Alexandria, Virginia)

James Plihal (St. Louis, Missouri)

Justin Best (Kennett Square, Pennsylvania)

Liam Corrigan (Old Lyme, Connecticut)

Michael Grady (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

Nick Mead (Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania)

Clark Dean (Sarasota, Florida)

Azja Czajkowski (Chula Vista, California)

Sophia Vitas (Franklin, Wisconsin)

Kristi Wagner (Weston, Massachusetts)

Emily Kallfelz (Jamestown, Rhode Island)

Kaitlin Knifton (Austin, Texas)

Mary Mazzio-Manson (Wellsley, Massachusetts)

Kelsey Reelick (Brookfield, Connecticut)

Teal Cohen (Dallas, Texas)

Emily Delleman (Davenport, Iowa)

Grace Joyce (Northfield Township, Illinois)

Lauren O'Connor (Westfield, Massachusetts)

Cristina Castagna (Cincinnati, Ohio)

Claire Collins (Fairfax County, Virginia)

Margaret Hedeman (Concord, Massachusetts)

Kara Kohler (Clayton, California)

Jessica Thoennes (Madison, Wisconsin)

Mary Reckford (Millburn Township, New Jersey)

Michelle Sechser (San Luis Obispo, California)

Molly Bruggeman (Dayton, Ohio)

Charlotte Buck (Orangetown, New York)

Olivia Coffey (Elmira, New York)

Meghan Musnicki (Naples, New York)

Regina Salmons (Methuen, Massachusetts)

Madeleine Wanamaker (Neenah, Wisconsin)

Rugby

Aaron Cummings (Grand Haven, Michigan)

Orrin Bizer (Montgomery County, Texas)

Naima Fuala'au (Hayward, California)

Malacchi Esdale (Newark, Delaware)

Kisi Unufe (Provo, Utah)

Matai Leuta (Seaside, California)

Marcus Tupuola (Carson, California)

Kevon Williams (Houston, Texas)

Stephen Tomasin (Santa Rosa, California)

Madison Hughes (Lancaster, Massachusetts)

Perry Baker (Port Orange, Florida)

Lucas Lacamp (San Diego, California)

Ariana Ramsey (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

Sarah Levy (San Diego, California)

Alexandria Sedrick (Herriman, Utah)

Alena Olsen (Grand Rapids, Michigan)

Leyla Kelter (Anchorage, Alaska)

Ilona Maher (Burlington, Vermont)

Kayla Canett (Fallbrook, California)

Kristi Kirsche (Franklin, Massachusetts)

Lauren Doyle (Macon, Illinois)

Naya Tapper (Charlotte, North Carolina)

Samantha Sullivan (Fayetteville, North Carolina)

Stephanie Rovetti (Reno, Nevada)

Sailing

Noah Lyons (Clearwater, Florida)

Markus Edegran (West Palm Beach, Florida)

Ian Barrows (St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands)

David Liebenberg (Richmond, California)

Hans Henken (Laguna Beach, California)

Stuart McNay (Marion, Massachusetts)

Dominique Stater (Montgomery County, Maryland)

Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida)

Sarah Newberry-Moore (Miami, Florida)

Daniela Moroz (Berkeley, California)

Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wisconsin)

Maggie Shea (New Trier Township, Illinois)

Lara Dallman-Weiss (Miami, Florida)

Shooting

Sgt. Ivan Roe (Manhattan, Montana)

Will Hinton (Dacula, Georgia)

Conner Prince (Burleson, Texas)

Henry Leverett (Bainbridge, Georgia)

Sfc. Keith Sanderson (Plymouth, Massachusetts)

Derrick Mein (Paola, Kansas)

Vincent Hancock (Ft. Worth, Texas)

Katelyn Abeln (Douglasville, Georgia)

Ada Korkhin (Brookline, Massachusetts)

Ryann Phillips (Borden County, Texas)

Sgt. Sagen Maddelena (Woodland, California)

Mary Tucker (Pineville, North Carolina)

Alexis Lagan (Boulder City, Nevada)

Rachel Tozier (Pattonsburg, Missouri)

Austen Smith (Dallas, Texas)

Dania Vizzi (Pasco County, Florida)

Skateboarding

Gavin Bottger (Vista, California)

Tate Carew (San Diego, California)

Chris Joslin (Cerritos, California)

Tom Schaar (Malibu, California)

Jagger Eaton (Mesa, Arizona)

Nyjah Huston (Davis, California)

Ruby Lilley (Oceanside, California)

Minna Stess (Petaluma, California)

Paige Heyn (Tempe, Arizona)

Poe Pinson (Fernandina Beach, Florida)

Bryce Wettstein (Encinitas, California)

Mariah Duran (Albuquerque, New Mexico)

Swimming

Caeleb Dressel (Orange Park, Florida)

Chris Guiliano (Amity Township, Pennsylvania)

Jack Alexy (Mendham Borough, New Jersey)

Luke Hobson (Reno, Nevada)

Aaron Shackell (Carmel, Indiana)

Kieran Smith (Ridgefield, Connecticut)

Robert Finke (Clearwater, Florida)

Luke Whitlock (Noblesville, Indiana)

David Johnston (Lake Forest, California)

Joseph Armstrong (Dover, Ohio)

Ryan Murphy (Jacksonville, Florida)

Keaton Jones (Gilbert, Arizona)

Nic Fink (Morristown, New Jersey)

Charlie Swanson (Richmond, Virginia)

Matthew Fallon (Warren Township, New Jersey)

Josh Matheny (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

Thomas Heilman (Albemarle County, Virginia)

Luca Urlando (Sacramento, California)

Shaine Casas (McAllen, Texas)

Carson Foster (Cincinnati, Ohio)

Chase Kalisz (Harford County, Maryland)

Ryan Held (Springfield, Illinois)

Matt King (Snohomish, Washington)

Brooks Curry (Dunwoody, Georgia)

Drew Kibler (Carmel, Indiana)

B.J. Pieroni (Chesterton, Indiana)

Ivan Puskovitch (West Chester, Pennsylvania)

Jaime Czarkowski (Calgary, Alberta)

Keana Hunter (Issaquah, Washington)

Audrey Kwon (Seattle, Washington)

Jacklyn Luu (Milpitas, California)

Daniella Ramirez (Miami, Florida)

Ruby Remati (Andover, Massachusetts)

Megumi Field (Cerritos, California)

Anita Alvarez (Buffalo, New York)

Simone Manuel (Sugar Land, Texas)

Gretchen Walsh (Nashville, Tennessee)

Alexandra Walsh (Greenwich, Connecticut)

Kate Douglass (Pelham, New York)

Torri Huske (Arlington County, Virginia)

Erin Gemmell (Montgomery County, Maryland)

Claire Weinstein (White Plains, New York)

Katie Ledecky (Montgomery County, Maryland)

Paige Madden (Mobile, Alabama)

Katie Grimes (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Katherine Berkoff (Missoula, Montana)

Regan Smith (Lakeville, Minnesota)

Phoebe Bacon (Chevy Chase, Maryland)

Lilly King (Evansville, Indiana)

Emma Weber (Denver, Colorado)

Alexandra Shackell (Carmel, Indiana)

Emma Weyant (Sarasota, Florida)

Erika Connolly (Cornelius, North Carolina)

Abbey Weitzeil (Santa Clarita, California)

Anna Peplowski (Metamora Township, Illinois)

Mariah Denigan (Fairfield, Ohio)

Rock climbing

Zach Hammer (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Colin Duffy (Broomfield, Colorado)

Jesse Grupper (New York, New York)

Sam Watson (Southlake, Texas)

Natalia Grossman (Boulder, Colorado)

Brooke Raboutou (Boulder, Colorado)

Emma Hunt (Woodstock, Georgia)

Piper Kelly (Indianapolis, Indiana)

Surfing

Griffin Colapinto (San Clemente, California)

John Florence (Honolulu County, Hawaii)

Caroline Marks (Melbourne Beach, Florida)

Carissa Moore (Honolulu, Hawaii)

Caitlin Simmers (Oceanside, California)

Table tennis

Kanak Jha (Milpitas, California)

Rachel Sung (San José, California)

Amy Wang (Mantua Township, New Jersey)

Lily Zhang (Redwood City, California)

Taekwondo

Carl Nickolas; Jr. (Brentwood, California)

Jonathan Healy (Houston, Texas)

Faith Dillon (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Kristina Teachout (Palm Bay, Florida)

Tennis

Christopher Eubanks (Atlanta, Georgia)

Taylor Fritz (Rancho Palos Verdes, California)

Marcos Girón (Thousand Oaks, California)

Tommy Paul (Boca Raton, Florida)

Austin Krajicek (Plano, Texas)

Rajeev Ram (Carmel, Indiana)

Danielle Collins (St. Petersburg, Florida)

Cori Gauff (Delray Beach, Florida)

Emma Navarro (Charleston, South Carolina)

Jessica Pegula (Boca Raton, Florida)

Desirae Krawczyk (Palm Desert, California)

Trialthlon

Morgan Pearson (Boulder, Colorado)

Seth Rider (Germantown, Tennessee)

Kirsten Kasper (Boulder, Colorado)

Taylor Knibb (Boulder, Colorado)

Taylor Spivey (Redondo Beach, California)

Volleyball

Andy Benesh (Rancho Palos Verdes, California)

Miles Partain (Los Angeles, California)

Miles Evans (Santa Barbara, California)

Chase Budinger (Carlsbad, California)

Matt Anderson (West Seneca, New York)

Aaron Russell (Howard County, Maryland)

Jeff Jendryk II (Evanston, Illinois)

T.J. DeFalco (Huntington Beach, California)

Micah Christenson (Honolulu, Hawaii)

Maxwell Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio)

Micah Ma'a (Honolulu County, Hawaii)

Thomas Jaeschke (Wheaton, Illinois)

Garrett Muagututia (Oceanside, California)

Taylor Averill (Portland, Oregon)

David Smith (Santa Clarita, California)

Erik Shoji (Honolulu, Hawaii)

Taryn Kloth (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)

Kelly Cheng (Fullerton, California)

Sarah Hughes (Costa Mesa, California)

Jordyn Poulter (Aurora, Colorado)

Avery Skinner (Katy, Texas)

Justine Wong-Orantes (Cypress, California)

Lauren Carlini (Aurora, Illinois)

Jordan Larson (Hooper, Nebraska)

Annie Drews (Elkhart, Indiana)

Jordan Thompson (Edina, Minnesota)

Haleigh Washington (Clear Creek County, Colorado)

Dana Rettke (Riverside Township, Illinois)

Kathryn Plummer (Aliso Viejo, California)

Kelsey Cook (Hanover Township, Illinois)

Chiaka Ogbogu (Coppell, Texas)

Water polo

Adrian Weinberg (Los Angeles, California)

Chase Dodd (Huntington Beach, California)

Ryder Dodd (Huntington Beach, California)

Johnny Hooper (Los Angeles, California)

Marko Vavic (Rancho Palos Verdes, California)

Alex Obert (Loomis, California)

Hannes Daube (Long Beach, California)

Luca Cupido (Newport Beach, California)

Ben Hallock (Los Angeles, California)

Dylan Woodhead (San Anselmo, California)

Alex Bowen (San Diego, California)

Max Irving (Long Beach, California)

Drew Holland (Orinda, California)

Tara Prentice (Murrieta, California)

Jenna Flynn (San José, California)

Jewel Roemer (Lafayette, California)

Emily Ausmus (Riverside, California)

Jovana Sekulic (Newtown Township, Pennsylvania)

Ashleigh Johnson (Miami, Florida)

Maddie Musselman (Newport Beach, California)

Rachel Fattal (Los Alamitos, California)

Maggie Steffens (Danville, California)

Jordan Raney (Santa Monica, California)

Ryann Neushul (Santa Barbara County, California)

Kaleigh Gilchrist (Newport Beach, California)

Amanda Longan (Moorpark, California)

Weightlifting

Hampton Morris (Marrieta, Georgia)

Wes Kitts (Knoxville, Tennessee)

Jourdan Delacruz (Wylie, Texas)

Olivia Reeves (Chattanooga, Tennessee)

Mary Theisen-Lappen (Eau Claire, Wisconsin)

Wrestling

Payton Jacobson (Elkhorn, Wisconsin)

Spencer Lee (Murrysville, Pennsylvania)

Zain Retherford (Benton, Pennsylvania)

Kyle Dake (Lansing, New York)

Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Maryland)

Kyle Snyder (Montgomery County, Maryland)

Mason Parris (Lawrenceburg, Indiana)

Kamal Bey (Oak Park Township, Illinois)

Joe Rau (Chicago, Illinois)

Adam Coon (Handy Township, Michigan)

Sarah Hildebrandt (Clay Township, Indiana)

Dominique Parrish (Scotts Valley, California)

Helen Maroulis (Marquette, Michigan)

Kayla Miracle (Iowa City, Iowa)

Amit Elor (Walnut Creek, California)

Kennedy Blades (Chicago, Illinois)

[contentment-of-cats]

Washington Post article highlights social media's role in pushing birth control misinformation

Search for “birth control” on TikTok or Instagram and a cascade of misleading videos vilifying hormonal contraception appear: Young women blaming their weight gain on the pill. Right-wing commentators claiming that some birth control can lead to infertility. Testimonials complaining of depression and anxiety.

Instead, many social media influencers recommend “natural” alternatives, such as timing sex to menstrual cycles — a less effective birth-control method that doctors warn could result in unwanted pregnancies in a country where abortion is now banned or restricted in nearly half the states.

Physicians say they’re seeing an explosion of birth-control misinformation online targeting a vulnerable demographic: people in their teens and early 20s who are more likely to believe what they see on their phones because of algorithms that feed them a stream of videos reinforcing messages often divorced from scientific evidence. While doctors say hormonal contraception — which includes birth-control pills and intrauterine devices (IUDs) —is safe and effective,they worry the profession’s long-standing lack of transparency about some of the serious but rare side effects has left many patients seeking information from unqualified online communities.

The backlash to birth control comes at a time of rampant misinformation about basic health tenets amid poor digital literacy and a wider political debate over reproductive rights, in which far-right conservatives argue that broad acceptance of birth control has altered traditional gender roles and weakened the family.

Physicians and researchers say little data is available about the scale of this new phenomenon, but anecdotally, more patients are coming in with misconceptions about birth control fueled by influencers and conservative commentators.

“People are putting themselves out there as experts on birth control and speaking to things that the science does not bear out,” said Michael Belmonte, an OB/GYN in D.C. anda family planning expert with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). “I am seeing those direct failures of this misinformation.”

He says women frequently come in for abortions after believing what they see on social media about the dangers of hormonal birth control and the effectiveness of tracking periods to prevent pregnancy. Many of these patients have traveled from states that have completely or partly banned abortions, he said, including Texas, Idaho, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Doctors stand a better chance of dispelling misinformation when they listen to patients’ concerns, said Belmonte, noting that some are more worried about the side effects of birth control than the effectiveness doctors have long been trained to emphasize. He has adopted ACOG’s recommendation that physicians candidly discuss common side effects such as nausea, headaches, breast tenderness and bleeding between periods; many of these resolve on their own or can be mitigated by switching forms of birth control.

Women of color whose communities have historically been exploited by the medical establishment may be particularly vulnerable to misinformation, given the long history of mistrust around birth control in this country, said Kimberly Baker, an assistant professor at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. Forced sterilizations of tens of thousands of primarily Black, Latina and Indigenous women happened under U.S. government programs in the 20th century.

“That’s another huge reason why these negative videos around birth control get a lot of fanfare, because there’s already the stigma attached to it, and that’s steeped in our history,” she said

Why birth control misinformation is on the rise

Birth control misinformation has become prevalent on social media and is particularly dangerous in post-Roe America. For influencers of all political stripes seeking fame and fortune on the internet, negative content draws more clicks, allowing them to reach a wider audience to sell their products and services.

Nicole Bendayan, who has amassed more than 1 million combined followers on Instagram and TikTok for her holistic-health coaching business, shared on social media that she stopped using hormonal birth control because she was concerned about weight gain, low libido and intermittent bleeding, which she had assumed were side effects.

Bendayan’s TikTok about getting off birth control and becoming a “cycle-syncing nutritionist” who teaches women how to live “in tune” with their menstrual cycles has drawn 10.5 million views.

The 29-year-old is not a licensed medical specialist.

“I had a lot of really bad symptoms [and] went to see a bunch of different doctors. Every one of them dismissed me. Even when I asked if it had anything to do with birth control, they all said no,” Bendayan said in an interview with The Washington Post.She had used a vaginal ring for eight years and an IUD for two; she said that when she went off birth control, her symptoms went away.

“I believe that the access to birth control is important,” she said. “I don’t think that we’re given informed consent.”

Bendayan has told her followers that birth control may deplete magnesium, vitamins B, C and E, and zinc levels. She charges hundreds of dollars for a three-month virtual program that includes analyses of blood panels for what she calls hormonal imbalances.

When asked about the science behind why her symptoms resolved after getting off birth control, Bendayan said she did her own research and found studies that backed up what she was feeling. She doesn’t claim to be a doctor, but says she wants to help others.

“I always make it clear in a disclaimer that I’m not a medical professional and that I would happily work with their health-care team,” said Bendayan, who lives in Valencia, Spain. “I’m an educator.”

In recent years, an entire industry has popped up around regulating hormones that experts say is often a cash grab; there is no proven science that the hormone-balancing regimes pushed by some social media influencers such as Bendayanwork.

Social media companies struggle to combat misinformation as they balance free-speech protections. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, says it works hard to protect online communities.

“Our policies are designed to give people a voice, while at the same time keeping people safe on our apps,” said Ryan Daniels, a spokesman for Meta.

TikTok recently removed at least five videos linking birth control to mental health issues and other health problems after The Post asked how the company prevents the spread of misinformation. One of the videos removed was of Bendayan saying certain forms of birth control could make users more susceptible to sexually transmitted infections, which experts say the evidence does not support. A TikTok spokeswoman said the videos violated company policies prohibiting “inaccurate, misleading or false content that may cause significant harm to individuals or society.”

Bendayan told The Post she “fully” supports “the removal of any content that may inadvertently perpetuate misinformation.” She added, “As I often remind my audience, it’s essential for individuals to conduct their own research and seek comprehensive understanding, especially considering the limitations of short-form content.”

An underlying conservative push

Prominent conservative commentators have seized upon mistrust of medical professionals, sowing misinformation as a way to discourage the use of birth control. Some commentators inaccurately depict hormonal contraception as causing abortions. Others say they’re just looking out for women’s health.

Brett Cooper,a media commentator for the conservative Daily Wire, argued in a viral TikTok clip that birth control can impact fertility, cause women to gain weight and even alter whom they are attracted to. It racked up over 219,000 “likes” before TikTok removed it following The Post’s inquiry.

In a Daily Wire video, Cooper and political commentator Candace Owens denounce birth-control pills and IUDs as “unnatural,” with Owens saying she’s a “big advocate of getting women to realize this stuff is not normal,” and claiming that viewers of her content told her copper IUDs can harm women’s fertility. Medical experts say there is no evidence birth control impacts fertility long term.

On his show, Ben Shapiro,another right-wing pundit,called discussing birth-control side effects a “political third rail,” while interviewing a guest who proclaimed that women on birth-control pills are attracted to men who are “less traditionally masculine.”

Shapiro, Cooper and Owens did not respond to requests for comment.

The online magazine Evie, describedby Rolling Stoneas the conservative Gen Z’s version of Cosmo, urges readers to ditch hormonal birth control with headlines such as “Why Are So Many Feminists Silent About The Very Real Dangers Of Birth Control?”

Brittany Martinez, founder of Evie Magazine, said in an email that the outlet’s work has made questioning birth control mainstream. “Women have been silenced and shamed by legacy media, the pharmaceutical industry, and, in many cases, by their own doctors who have gaslit them about their experiences with hormonal birth control,” she wrote.

Martinez co-founded a menstrual cycle tracking app called 28that is backed by conservative billionaire and tech mogul Peter Thiel. The company, 28 Wellness, told The Post it does not disclose itsinvestors, but Evie announced Thiel Capital’s support when the product launched. A spokesman for Thiel did not respond to requests for comment. The app’s website declares: “Hormonal birth control promised freedom but tricked our bodies into dysfunction and pain.” The “feminine fitness” app told The Post it has “never been marketed as an alternative to hormonal birth control.”

The influencers’ messaging helps drive potential legislation limiting access to hormonal birth control, said Amanda Stevenson, a sociologist, demographer and assistant professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder who is studying how antiabortion activists and lawmakers are trying to restrict birth control. Already Republican legislators in Missouri have tried, unsuccessfully, to stop the state’s Medicaid program from covering IUDs and emergency contraceptives. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit this month upheld a Texas law requiring minors to obtain parental permission before accessing birth control.

Stevenson pointed to pronouncements by Lila Rose, anantiabortion activist with hundreds of thousands of followers on social media who has urged women to get off birth control, in what Stevenson called an effort to stigmatize it.

“To be anti-fertility is to be anti-woman, and the proliferation of hormonal birth control is just another way of trying to force women to be more like men, with significant consequences for our emotional and physical health,” Rose said in an email.

In a 2017-2019 federal survey, the latest available, 14 percent of women 15 to 49 years old said they were currently using oral contraceptive pills, and 10 percent said they were using long-acting reversible contraceptives such as an IUD. In a federal survey of women ages 15 to 44 who had had sex,the percentage who reported ever having used the pill dropped from 82 percent to 79 percent between 2002 and 2015, while the percentage for those ever having used an IUD more than doubled to 15 percent.

Side effects of birth control

All forms of medication, including hormonal birth control, can have side effects. Some are rare, but serious: Birth-control pills that contain estrogen can lead to blood clots and strokes. IUDs can perforate the uterine wall.

When Sabrina Grimaldi went to urgent care for chest pain last spring, the medical staff told her she had pulled a muscle and sent her home. Weeks later, when her left leg started to swell and turn purple, the 24-year-old from Arizona realized it was more than a pulled muscle. Medical providers discovered blood clots in her leg and in both of her lungs, which she said they told her were caused by her birth-control pills. Grimaldi wrote about her experience in the Zillennial Zine, an online magazine where she is editor in chief, and also shared it on TikTok.

“There’s all of those crazy things on the package that say you might have a blood clot or a heart attack or death, and you’re just like whatever. You don’t actually think that that’s going to happen,” Grimaldi said in an interview, noting that her doctor never discussed potential side effects with her.

The Food and Drug Administration points out that the risk of developing blood clots from using birth-control pills — 3 to 9 women out of 10,000 who are on the pill — remains lower than the risk of developing blood clots in pregnancy and in the postpartum period. Doctors note that Opill, the over-the-counter pill that will soon be available in stores and online, contains only progestin — meaning it does not have the blood clot risk of estrogen-containing pills.

The algorithms behind TikTok, YouTube and Instagram are designed to surface content similar to what viewers have already watched, which experts say leads viewers to believe that more people suffer complications than in reality.

Jenny Wu, an OB/GYN resident at Duke University, noticed that her Gen Zpatients were turning away from IUDs at higher ratesthan her millennial patients — and were referencing TikToks about the pain of IUD insertion. So she analyzed the 100 most popular TikTok videos about IUDs and found that a surprisingly high proportion — almost 40 percent — were negative.

“It’s changed how I practice,” she said. She now routinely offers patients a variety of pain management options including anti-inflammatory drugs, a lidocaine injection into the cervix, or anti-anxiety medication.

Catherine Miller, a junior at the University of Wisconsin at Stout, had never wanted to be on hormonal birth control after going down a rabbit hole of TikTok videos that listed negative side effects without context.

“It created this sense of fear that if I ever needed to be put on birth control, I would become a completely different person, I would gain a bunch of weight, and my life would be over,”the 20-year-old said. “I was like, well, obviously, this is true. This applies to everybody, because it’s the only thing I’m seeing.”

But in the fall, Miller took a human sexual biology class taught by a family physician who had spent decades counseling women on how to choose the right birth control. The professor walked the class through scientific research to dispel some of the misconceptions they had encountered.

After learning that her understanding of the risks was skewed by social media, Miller said, she worries about her generation of women facing a lack of accurate information — and choices. Abortion is banned in Wisconsin after 22 weeks of pregnancy.

“It’s terrifying to think about our options being taken away, and misinformation about the things that we still have access to,” she said. “That’s a combination for disaster.”

[scleroticstatue]

Comfort, Exciting, Sage & Youth for the ask game :)

Comfort — I don't know if it technically qualifies as a comfort character, but Methos from Highlander the Series is just such goals, man. Speaks all the languages, has done all the things, but he's just a person and not a god or an idol. When I'm 240 and on the lam from the government trying to hunt me down for my immortality, I hope I respond to unforeseen situations by considering if I have enough socks.

Exciting — I'm always down for a road trip! But what exactly do we mean by "unplanned?" Because I have several definitions, but I always love "exploring" adventures, where we're heading to a well-known destination (usually home) and we take the back roads, the furthest back roads actually, the back roads that are back roads to the back roads, and maybe two steps further back. That's how I found the space shuttle garden in North Utah and my favorite drive in East Idaho and how I found out there's a chicken farm in my neighborhood that's making me sick.

Sage — my advice to all teenagers and youth is to not go to college. But on a less humdrum note, I'd probably say that you're a sucky person, and that's okay because we all are but you don't have to be, and the best way to be the best version of you is to find the thing that makes you the most sucky, the thing that makes your life hardest and the thing that makes other people not like you and the thing that keeps repeating in your head saying "you're supposed to do this with your life" and work on that until it's the thing you do best. And then do it again with the next thing that makes you the most sucky. And do it again. And again. And again. And eventually, you'll be mediocre instead of sucky, and eventually, you'll be actually successful instead of mediocre, and eventually, you'll be really awesome and successful. Also, get married young because you actually don't have all the time in the world and you're not going to be the same person married as you are single so finding or loving yourself or whatever before you get married is pointless because it's not going to be who you are.

Youth — I am both 17 and 63 at any given time and usually both. I am neither of these ages.

[beardedmrbean]

(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether colleges can continue to consider race as part of their admissions decisions, a practice commonly known as affirmative action.

Here is what to know about the policy, its history and the possible consequences of the court's decision.

WHAT IS AFFIRMATIVE ACTION?

In the context of higher education, affirmative action typically refers to admissions policies.

Colleges that take race into consideration say they do so as part of a holistic approach that reviews every aspect of an application, including grades, test scores and extracurricular activities.

The goal of race-conscious admissions policies is to increase student diversity. Schools also employ recruitment programs and scholarship opportunities intended to boost diversity, but the Supreme Court litigation is focused on admissions.

WHICH SCHOOLS CONSIDER RACE?

While many schools do not disclose details about their admissions processes, taking race into account is more common among selective schools that turn down most of their applicants.

In a 2019 survey by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, 24.6% of schools said race had a "considerable" or "moderate" influence on admissions, while more than half reported that race played no role whatsoever.

Nine states have banned the use of race in admissions policies: Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington.

WHAT IS THE CURRENT LITIGATION ABOUT?

The court is weighing two cases brought by Students for Fair Admissions, a group helmed by Edward Blum, a conservative legal strategist who has spent years fighting affirmative action.

One case contends that Harvard's admissions policy discriminates against Asian American applicants. The other asserts that the University of North Carolina discriminates against Asian American and white applicants.

The schools reject those claims. They say race is determinative in only a small number of cases and that barring the practice would result in a significant drop in the number of minority students on campus.

The court's conservative justices, who hold a 6-3 majority, expressed skepticism about the role of race in admissions during oral arguments in October, and most legal analysts expect the court to rule against the schools. The rulings are due by the end of June.

HOW HAS THE SUPREME COURT RULED IN THE PAST?

The court has largely upheld race-conscious admissions for decades, though not without limits.

A divided Supreme Court took up the issue in the landmark 1978 case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, after schools began using affirmative action in response to the Civil Rights era to correct the effects of segregation.

The swing judge, Justice Lewis Powell, ruled that schools could not use affirmative action to rectify the effects of past racial discrimination and struck down the university's practice of setting aside a certain number of spots for minorities.

Nevertheless, he found that increasing campus diversity was a "compelling interest" because students of all races - not just minorities - would receive a better education if exposed to different viewpoints. He ruled that schools could weigh race in admission, as long as it remained only one factor among many.

In 2003, the court struck down the University of Michigan's use of a system that awarded "points" to minority applicants as going too far, but affirmed Bakke's central finding that schools can use race as one of several admission factors.

The court again upheld the practice in a pair of 2016 cases challenging the University of Texas admissions policies.

WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE OUTCOMES?

The court could choose to maintain the current system, eliminate race-conscious admissions altogether or settle on something in between, such as more stringent limits on the practice.

A decision banning affirmative action would force elite colleges to revamp their policies and search for new ways to ensure diversity. Many schools say other measures will not be as effective, resulting in fewer minority students.

In briefs filed with the court, the University of California and the University of Michigan - top public school systems from states that have outlawed race-conscious admissions - said they have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on alternative programs intended to improve diversity, but that those efforts have fallen far short of their goals.