#Sacramento City College

[sonyachristian]

Wrapping up an academic year

I started my week in DC for a White House AI summit, and so did my Washington Monument photo ritual… Back in Sacramento, the executive team had a two-day planning meeting, and we also celebrated Deputy Chancellor Daisy Gonzales who is transitioning to lead the California Student Aid Commission: *** It was also a time to honor Juneteenth, a federal holiday to commemorate the ending of slavery…

[flatoatchi]

i think its kinda funny how americans in general still think california is this unaffordable superhell, including californians. they do NOT like it when i tell them part of why we're moving there is because massachusetts currently has the highest overall cost of living and my friend and i will be able to very comfortably split a 2br/2ba apartment without having to get on a 20 year waitlist

[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.)

[xanadontit]

College Chronicles

Since the deadline to make a decision is nigh, my brother is finally actually touring of some of the schools he's been accepted to.

San Jose State (SJSU) is the current front runner. He needs to get a 3 on the AP Calculus exam to be officially in, although the admissions counselor said there was a work-around there if he didn't. I think it's a test they administer through the university? One of his best friends has also committed to SJSU and said if my brother goes he'd like to room with him. My dad is being a total jackass about this. "It's too close to home." OK? Then you shouldn't have allowed him to apply there! And seriously? We're going to punish the kid because he happened to grow up in an area where there are a ton of great opportunities because you've decided he "needs" to go far away? Shut up.

Chico State (CSCU) is out but my brother said if you could move the campus slightly closer to a city he'd definitely consider it seriously. Totally fair. It's a cute, affordable college town but Sacramento is 1.5 hours away on a good day. I'm glad he's weighing the schools and considering he has to live there.

Long Beach is old and rundown and felt depressing, according to him lol. Fullerton had a nice campus and people were smiling and seemed happy but he finds the 97% commuter aspect off-putting. He also liked the campus at Cal Poly Pomona and said the chemical engineering program sounds fantastic but it's basically Chico but further south (remote, not much going on in the area). But, he hasn't officially eliminated it.

SF State is also an option but is even closer to my parents' house than SJSU (my stepmom drives past it on her way to work most days) and so again, my dad is being a pill about it. My brother doesn't seem terribly excited about it, anyway, other than he knows the area and spends time in the city anyway so it's comfortable.

He hasn't visited Sonoma or Northridge. He turned down UC Santa Cruz's waitlist spot. At one point UC Davis was also in the mix (waitlisted) but he didn't love it when he visited and told me he had it at the top of his list because it's a UC and "everyone told me to be into it."

I told him if he wants to talk through his thoughts/concerns I'd be happy to help him make some pro/con lists or figure out his non-negotiables or just listen to him vent and he said he knows and loves me (omg) and he's going to sleep on it and talk to his girlfriend (who also got into SJSU and liked it, FYI) and he may call me to talk later. At this point I may offer to be there when he tells his parents his decision if for no other reason than to whip something at my dad's head if he expresses anything other than enthusiastic support.

@pelicanhypeman and I are pretty sure it's going to be SJSU. My dad thinks I support this because it's 10 minutes from my house and uhhhh... if the kid wanted to go to school in Japan I'd support him! What is there to be gained by shitting on his decision, especially if it's not an inherently harmful one? He'll pull away from us out of hurt, not out of finding independence. I don't want that kind of relationship with him.

Now I need to figure out what to get him as a graduation present (I still owe him a trip from 8ther grade graduation in 2020) and order the bullhorn for the ceremony.

[racefortheironthrone]

Not that this is the only example, but just watched "Lady Bird" where a major part of the plot is if the protagonist will go to NYU or UC Davis. As somebody who doesn't live in the United States and there aren't any "private universities" here just wondering if state schools are so bad? Why do they have such bad reputations or maybe just I'm just thinking too much of American-made entertainment?

This is a great question, because it allows me to talk about a topic that I find endlessly fascinating: how the cultural politics of class intersect with higher education.

With regards to Lady Bird, I think the first thing to understand is that it's a highly autobiographical film: Greta Gerwig also grew up in Sacramento, her parents had the same jobs as Lady Bird's parents, and Greta was also a theater kid who ended up going to a prestigious private university in New York City because she wanted to have a career in the performing arts. So what we're getting is not necessarily a universal experience, but how Greta Gerwig herself felt when she was a teenager.

Second, state schools are not bad but their reputations are ...complicated. The land grant universities are generally reasonably well-resourced, they have good reputations, and they provide an extremely solid middle class credential that provides a major pathway for social and economic mobility in the United States.

However, there is usually a hierarchy within the state school systems between the flagship campus(es) which are usually nationally ranked research universities - U.C Berkeley, UCLA, Ann Arbor (UMichigan), University of Wisconsin-Madison, UMass Amherst, etc. - and the other campuses in the same system, which tend to be less selective, less nationally well-known, and more focused on teaching.

This sometimes leads to state schools having a reputation among middle-class to affluent families with college educations as being less "aspirational" compared to selective private universities. (This doesn't apply to the flagship campuses, because they are more selective and thus more similar to elite private universities in terms of their reputations.) Kids from those families still apply to (and attend) state schools in large numbers, but the term that's often used for them is "safety schools" - they're the schools you apply to in case you don't get into the highly selective private schools who take 10% or less of their applicants.

Third, NYU versus UC Davis is actually a slightly odd fit for the "state school" versus "private university" comparison. NYU is not actually that selective: it takes in 13% of applicants, which makes it about the 40th most selective college in the U.S. That's surprisingly low down the totem pole, given that the annual cost of attending NYU would be around $84,000 for Lady Bird. (NYU actually has to be less selective than other private universities, because it has a fairly small endowment compared to the selective private universities, and is thus more reliant on tuition dollars for revenue.)

However, Lady Bird's conflict isn't so much about academics generally - it's more specific than that. Remember that Lady Bird/Greta Gerwig is a theater kid who wants a career in the performing arts. If you narrow your focus from which is the best university overall to which university has the best Film Studies program, NYU is the second-best film school in the country, and because it's right in NYC there's a direct pipeline to one of the main hubs of the film and tv industry.

At the same time, Lady Bird probably should have done a bit more research about California's public university system. Because of the legacy of the California Master Plan, there is a robust transfer system within California's public universities that allows students who are really on the grind to move their way up, so that you can potentially start at the least selective community colleges and end up graduating from the most selective flagship UC campuses. So Lady Bird could have easily gone straight from UC Davis to UCLA (because while UCLA takes in only ~11% of applicants, making it more selective than NYU, it takes in about 24% of transfers), which is also one of the best film schools in the country with a direct pipeline to Hollywood, and it doesn't cost $84,000 a year.

(Ironically, Greta Gerwig herself didn't actually end up going to film school - she ended up going to Barnard which isn't particularly known for film, ended up going into English Lit because she was intending to be a playwright, before becoming a breakout actor in the indie film world, and then zig-zagging from there into directing and back into writing.)

[max--phillips]

Anyway I just saw a post saying that the protests here in the US are “taking away attention” from what’s actually happening in Gaza and “LARPing oppression” as if 1) the whole point of the protests is to put attention on Gaza and call for a ceasefire and 1.5) shows they’re exclusively getting their news from mainstream cable networks and 2) it’s not the fuckin media’s own fault they’re more interested in covering protests than the actual genocide, and 3) the students are somehow not facing oppression ???????

For one, what’s the solution here? Tell these students who feel very strongly (and rightfully so!) about this issue to just give up and go home? Who exactly does that benefit? Oh, right, the universities who are benefiting from this genocide, as well as the federal government. Good plan.

For two, I realize that the university at the center of this is an Ivy League school, and that the students who are there are privileged in many ways. However, that does not change the fact they are facing violence from the university and from police. That does not change the fact many of these students are Palestinian, Jewish, or other minorities. Beyond that, Columbia is not the only school where protests are happening. Emerson, USC, Yale, Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Cal Poly Humboldt, NYU, Vanderbilt, Brown, University of Michigan, UC Berkeley, Emory, Indiana University, Purdue, George Washington University, UCLA, Northeastern, Ohio State, UT Austin, Arizona State, Washington University St Louis, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, University of Georgia Athens, Sonoma State, San Francisco State, Sacramento State, University of Washington, Virginia Tech, Princeton, University of Minnesota, UConn, USC, University of Illinois, University of Utah, McGill, Portland State, UNC Chapel Hill, Tulane, University of Florida Gainesville, University of Colorado Denver, Case Western Reserve, City College of New York, Rutgers, Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland College Park, Barnard College, Pomona College, DePaul, Georgetown, University of Delaware, University of Arizona, University of New Mexico, University of Wisconsin, Virginia Commonwealth University, Oberlin, UC San Diego, University of San Diego, and I’m sure many others have or are currently participating in protests. Many of these schools are not elite universities only the best of the best (or the most money) get in. For crying out loud, my ass got into Indiana University.

That begs another question as well. Yes, these students at Ivy League schools have privilege. How else would you prefer they use it? When one has privilege, it is imperative to utilize it for the benefit of those one has privilege over.

Anyway. Free Palestine. Defund the police.

“Taking away attention from what’s actually going on” this is like saying the university protests against the Vietnam War were taking away attention from what’s actually going on in Vietnam. (Which I’m realizing now was probably an actual talking point at the time, but sounds ridiculous now.)

[wolfiemcwolferson]

hey logaaaaan💖 i'm here to request a fic for number 16!!

Hi Justi babe,

This song is uh, not what I would normally write as a prompt, because it’s not exactly. Happy. BUT, I’ll give it a hopeful ending.

Pierre moves back in with his parents.

It’s not like he’s got a choice.

He was barely making ends meet living with Lance - with Lance and his stupid money paying most of their overpriced, overinflated rent and Pierre’s entire life really while Pierre dumped EVERYTHING into traveling and promotions and last minute club nights.

Because Lance believed in him and he loved him.

And yeah, no one expected the two of them to last - not even Pierre - but, he hadn’t expected the two of them to go out like THAT.

Pierre can’t think about it too long or he starts to feel nauseous. And he can’t think about the impossible trek he’ll have to make from fucking Sacramento into the city so he can still DJ at the few nights he’s managed to secure in advance.

He’s decidedly not thinking about it now, standing in line at the grocery store down the street with an armful of last minute things his mom needed for their dinner party, trying not to feel like a loser while he clutches the 40 dollars she slipped him.

He can’t even pay for some whole grain mustard and some lemons and a bottle of wine.

It’s shameful and ridiculous and he is burning alive with the need to…go.

To burn off this rage. This nastiness that he’s feeling towards his friends in the city. The bubble under his skin that dancing or DJing or fucking would release.

Instead, he’s watching a cashier move slower than the melting glaciers and clutching a bottle of wine.

“Pierre?”

Pierre is lucky he doesn’t die on the spot because that voice…

“Pierre,” he says again, as Pierre turns towards the voice to find Charles behind him, smiling in that brilliant way he does, already moving around the side of his own cart - a cart piled high with fresh vegetables and normal person food - reaching out to hug Pierre.

Pierre desperately wants to hug him, but Charles sees all of Pierre’s armful of groceries and he laughs, bright and high, shifting to tug the wine from his grip, placing it in his own cart.

“I did not know you were in town,” Charles says, taking the mustard from him too. “I just had dinner with you mom two weeks ago and she was talking about you getting booked into this festival in Ibiza.”

He says Ibiza like his mom does. Eeeeeebeeeeezah. Pierre finds, in the face of it - in the face of Charles - his oldest friend, the person who went to prom with him, the guy he thought was lost to him after that drunken hookup during Pierre’s freshman year of college - he doesn’t mind so much.

“Cha,” Pierre hands him the mustard, “you look -“

Charles laughs as he throws himself into Pierre’s arms. “All grown up?” He asks in Pierre’s ear, “or were you going to tell me how beautiful I look now?”

He pulls away and bats his eyelashess and Pierre throws his head back and laughs.

“Well, I am grown up.” Charles says, pinching the skin of Pierre’s wrist.

They stare at each other.

Pierre has so much he should say.

He should apologize for what happened between them. He should ask why Charles was having dinner with Pierre’s Pascale. He should ask what Charles is doing in Sacramento when last he heard, he was in San Diego.

But Charles reaches over again, soothes his thumb over where he just pinched Pierre, and Pierre stares down at the contact.

“I know your mom is doing that dinner party thing tonight,” and then he says softer, “but I’d like to see you while you’re in town.”

Pierre looks up at him. At his blush. At his eyes.

“Catch up.”

Pierre shouldn’t.

But.

“If you drop me by my parents, I’ll run this stuff in and then we could -“

“Yes,” Charles cuts him off and then Pierre watches as the blush deepens. “I can’t promise my cooking is near as good as your mom’s but -“

Pierre has to fish his bottle of wine from Charles’ basket because the conveyor belt now has space for his items.

“I’d love to catch up.”

Pierre smiles at him. “I’d love to catch up too, Cha.”

[thedepressedweasel]

I know that there are many Jewish individuals everywhere in the world who support Palestine (and rightfully so). However, the great majority of the only Jewish people that I know so far are completely brainwashed into blindly supporting Israhell and all of its genocidal war crimes just because they have relatives who live there. As for our misleaders (and Netanyahu and his ignorant white American supporters), they are only cheering on Israhell just because they could and because they hate Muslims and, therefore, want them dead.

Also, I remember that one time when I was first going to Sacramento City College last year for Spring 2022 semester and I said that I refused to go to Israhell and one of my professors at the time didn't like it. Well, screw you, bitch! The word "Zionism" isn't abused by anyone; you're just one of Netanyahu's ignorant American supporters!

Now, let's talk about hostages from both sides. When the Israeli hostages were released, they openly said that Hamas treated them well (which they did, in some way), whereas the Palestinian hostages, on the other hand, were actually abused and neglected in cold blood by their Israeli Offense Forces terrorists for captors. One Palestinian kid had his fingers broken by his aforementioned captors, whereas the Palestinian women and girls were either raped or routinely threatened with rape. By the same IOF captors, of course.

"WaAaAaAaAh YoU aRe AnTiSeMiTiC bEcAuSe--" Shut your white supremacist American ass up and stop weaponizing antisemitism! It doesn't help Palestinians! Palestine is not Hamas. Nobody who supports Palestine is ever supporting terrorism of any kind; they just want to push our misleaders into imposing a permanent ceasefire! Jewish people are not their government; they are their own people. And I know most of them are rightly appalled by Israhell's actions and behavior. Now take a good look at the bigger picture before jumping into idiotic conclusions!

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

P.S. Anyone who screams "BuT hAmAs--" or "WaAaAaAaH yOu ArE aNtIsEmItIc BeCaUsE--" will get blocked and reported for harassment!

[w1ng3dw01f]

some resources for things I care about part 2

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/07/congresss-push-protect-kids-online-is-crossroads/

[lboogie1906]

Donald Lavert Rogers (September 17, 1962 – June 27, 1986) was a football player who was a safety in the NFL for two seasons during the mid-1980s. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and was recognized as an All-American. He played professionally for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, but his career was cut short when he died of a heart attack caused by cocaine use in 1986.

He was born in Texarkana, Arkansas. He graduated from Norte Del Rio High School in Sacramento, California, where he excelled in football, basketball, and baseball, garnering All-City honors in all three sports. His brother Reggie Rogers played in the NFL

He attended UCLA, where he played for the Bruins. He was a Co-Player of the Game in the 1983 Rose Bowl for UCLA, along with quarterback Tom Ramsey. He tied a Rose Bowl record in the 1984 Rose Bowl when he made two interceptions from Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Jack Trudeau.

He was selected in the first round with the 18th overall pick of the 1984 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. He played two seasons with the Browns (1984-85).

He died of a heart attack caused by a cocaine overdose the day before his wedding. His death came only eight days after that of Len Bias, an NBA draft pick who died of cocaine abuse, prompting a national discussion about the relationship between illegal drugs and athletes. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[danieljreboot]

Friday Night Movie ... 'Lady Bird' with Saoirse Ronan, Timothee Chalamet, and Lucas Hedges

Going by the name of "Lady Bird", outspoken Catholic high-school senior student Christine McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) is dreaming big of finally leaving her hometown of Sacramento, California, practically on pins and needles to attend a sophisticated New York City college. However, with her average grades and her family struggling to keep afloat, attending a public university closer to home would be a lot cheaper and safer, especially after last year's devastating 9/11 attack. In the end, amid grades, numerous college applications, blooming teenage sexuality, and a strong-willed mother who is a real mother-hen, Lady Bird must find a way to make her dreams happen. Can she survive life's bumps and cracks?—Nick Riganas

[sonyachristian]

June 1, 2024 -- one year under my belt

[queeryouthautonomy]

State march masterpost (updated as information comes in!)

All times are local time unless otherwise specified. Reblogs are off because this is a living, regularly updated post; please see our website or send an ask for more information! Post you can reblog is here. Alabama: Florence—114 W Mobile St -> 200 S Court St, 3/31, 3:30pm (link) Montgomery—Alabama State House, 3/31, 1pm (link)

Alaska: Anchorage—Dimond Center -> Costco Wholesale, 3/31, 12pm

Arizona: Prescott—Prescott Courthouse, 3/31, 2pm Sierra Vista—Fry and Coronado -> City Hall, 3/31, 3pm (link) Tuscon—Tuscon City Hall, 3/31, 4pm (link)

Arkansas: Eureka Springs—Basin Spring Park, 3/31, 6pm (link) Little Rock—Lucie’s Place, 3/31, 6pm Marion—Brunetti Park -> Marion City Hall, 3/31, 5pm

California: Castro Valley—Castro Valley High School (non-students please join in once the protest has left school grounds) -> Corner of Redwood Rd and Castro Valley Blvd, 3/30, 3:35pm (link) Fresno—N Blackstone Ave & E Nees Ave, 3/31, 4pm (link) Hollywood—Corner of Sunset & Vine, 3/30, 4:15pm Merced—3055 Loughborough Dr -> Laura's Fountain -Applegate Park 1045 W 25th St, 3/31, 4:30pm (link) Pomona—Pomona Pride Center 836 S -> City Hall, 3/31, 4pm (link) Riverside—Back To The Grind Coffee Shop –> Riverside City Hall, 3/31, 4pm (link) Sacramento—Capitol Complex, 3/31, 12pm (link) San Diego—Balboa Park at the Bea Evenson Foundation -> El Prado, 3/31, 5pm San Francisco—Corner of Turk & Taylor -> City Hall, 3/25, 11am (link) | Patricia's Green -> City Hall, 3/31, 2:15pm (link) San Jose—San Jose City Hall, 3/31, 5:30pm (link) Santa Ana—Brad Brafford LGBT Center on 4th, 3/31, 6pm (link)

Colorado: Denver—Civic Center Park, 3/17, 8:30pm | West Steps of the Capitol, 3/24, 11am (link)

Connecticut: Bristol—131 N Main Street, 3/31, 1pm Fairfield—Upper Quad of Sacred Heart University, 3/31, 4pm New Haven—corner of Chaple and Church St, 3/31, 4pm

Delaware: Wilmington—Delaware Historical Society –> Rodney Square, 3/31, 6pm (link)

District of Colombia: Union Station -> US Capitol, 3/31, 3pm (link)

Florida: Altamonte Springs—3/31, 9am (link) Naples—Cambier Park, 3/31, 6pm (link) Ocala—Pine Plaza -> City Hall, 3/31, 3:30pm Orlando—Dr Philips Performing Arts Center, 3/31, 11am Port Orange—Corner of Yorktowne Blvd. and Dunlawton Ave -> Port Orange Regional Library, 3/31, 4:30pm Tallahassee—state Capitol building, 3/31, 2pm (link) Venice—Town Center -> Venice Beach, 3/31, 10:30am

Georgia: Atlanta—state Capitol building, 3/31, 12pm (link) Dalton—3/31, 11am (link) Gainesville—Gainesville Square –> Jesse Jewell Parkway (in front of CVS), 3/31, 5pm Savannah—Forsyth Park -> City Hall & back, 3/31, 6pm

Hawaii: Honolulu—state Capitol building, 3/31, 3:30pm

Idaho: Boise—TBD Shelley—Shelley City Park, 3/31, 2pm

Illinois: Champaign—McKinley Foundation Church Chapel, University of Illinois, 3/31, 5:30pm Chicago—Grant Park, 3/31, 5pm Rockford—1005 5th Ave, 3/31, 5pm (link) Streamwood—7 Augusta Dr –> 7 S Sutton Rd, 3/31, 8am (link)

Indiana: Fort Wayne—Boone Street Playlot -> Allen County Courthouse, 3/23, 3pm (link) | Allen County Courthouse, 3/31, 5pm (link) Hanover—Hanover College Quad, 3/31, 1pm Indianapolis—433 N Capital Ave -> 1 Monument Circle, 3/31, 3pm Terre Haute—Terre Haute Courthouse, 3/31, 5pm

Iowa: Des Moines—state Capitol building (West Capitol Terrace Stage), 3/31, 6pm (link) Dubuque—Dubuque Courthouse -> Washington Park, 3/31, 4pm (link) Iowa City—Pentacrest -> Wesley Center, 3/31, 6pm (link)

Kansas: Lenexa—Lenexa Rec Center -> City Hall, 3/31, 5pm Topeka—state Capitol building entrance, 3/31, 5pm (link) Wichita—121 E Douglas Ave, 3/31, 4pm (link)

Kentucky: Frankfort—front of Annex Building, 3/29, 9:30am (link) | Kentucky State Capitol, 4/8, 1pm (link) Lawrenceburg—Anderson County Courthouse -> 44 Anna Mac Clarke Ave, 4/3, 3pm (link) Lexington—Robert F. Stephens Courthouse Plaza, 3/31, 4:30pm | Outside of the Old Fayette County Courthouse, 3/31, 6pm

Louisiana: Lake Charles—Prein Lake Park, 3/31, 12pm New Orleans—Washington Square Park 700 Elysian Fields Ave, 3/31, 5pm (link)

Maine: Bangor—West Market Square, 3/31, 6pm Portland—456 Congress St, 3/31, 6pm (link) Rockland—Intersection of Main Street and Park Street (near Walgreens and Maine Sport) –> Chapman Park, 3/31, 5:30pm

Maryland: Baltimore—400 E Biddle St, 3/31, 5pm Oakland—32 Oak St –> 305 E Oak St, 3/31, 3pm (link)

Massachusetts: Boston—state house, 3/18, 11am (link) | state house, 3/28, 10am (link) Sunderland—North Star, 45 Amherst Road, 3/31, 12pm

Michigan: Detroit—Woodward-Warren Park, 3/31, 5pm (link) Fenton—Rackham Park, 3/31, 6pm (link) Grand Rapids—Downtown, 3/31, 5pm Lansing—state Capitol building, 3/31, 11am

Minnesota: Saint Paul—state Capitol building, 3/31, 9am (link)

Mississippi:

Missouri: Columbia—701 East Broadway Blvd, 3/31, 5:30pm (link) | Uptown Columbia –> Downtown Columbia, 4/15, 9am Jefferson City—Missouri State Capitol, 3/29, 2pm (link) St Louis—11911 Dorsett Rd –> 715 NW Plz Dr, 4/27, 1pm

Montana: Missoula—Missoula Courthouse, 3/31, 5pm (link)

Nebraska: Lincoln—state Capitol building, 3/31, 5:30pm

Nevada: Las Vegas—Las Vegas TransPride Center -> The LGBTQ Center of Southern Nevada, 3/31, 11am (link)

New Hampshire: Keene—Keene State College Campus Main Entrance -> Center Square, 3/31, 5pm (link)

New Jersey: Flemington—Flemington Historic Courthouse -> Flemington DIY, 3/31, 3:45pm (link) Trenton—State House, 3/31, 3pm (link)

New Mexico: Albuquerque—Civic Plaza, 3/31, 5pm Santa Fe—State Capitol -> the Attorney General's office, 3/31, 11am

New York: Albany—Washington Square Park -> Capitol Park, 3/31, 1pm Canandaigua—7 Mill St, 3/31, 3pm Forest Hills—Forest Hills Station, 3/31, 2:30pm New Paltz—SUNY New Paltz Campus, 3/31, 3:30pm New York City—Union Square -> Washington Square Park, 3/31, 5pm (link) | Times Square, 3/31, 5pm Penn Yan—Yates County Courthouse, 3/31, 3pm (link) Plattsburgh—Hawkins Pond -> Samuel Champlain Monument Park, 3/23, 3pm Utica—Genesee-Parkway Intersection, 3/31, 5pm Westchester—SUNY Purchase College, 3/31, 5pm

North Carolina: Asheville—TBD Mooresville—Freedom Park -> Town Hall, 3/31, 2:30pm (link) Raleigh—John Chavis Memorial Park, 3/31, 1pm Wilmington—Historic Thalian Hall Steps, 3/31, 5pm (link)

North Dakota:

Ohio: Cleveland—Free Stamp @ Willard Park -> City Hall, 3/31, 4pm Cleveland Heights—City Hall, 3/31, 11am (link) Columbus—Goodale Park, 3/31, 5pm Dayton—Lily’s Dayton (329 E 5th St) –> Courthouse Square (23 N Main St), 3/31, 4pm Lakewood Park—Lakewood Park, 3/31, 4pm (link) Madison—Madison Village Square Park, 3/31, 4pm (link)

Oklahoma: Oklahoma City—Supreme Court of Oklahoma -> state Capitol building, 3/31, 5pm Tulsa—Central Library, 3/31, 4pm (link)

Oregon: Bend—Drake Park, 3/31, 5pm Hillsboro—Civic Center -> 145 NE 2nd Ave, 3/31, 5pm Medford—Vogel Plaza 200 E. Main Street, 3/31, 4pm Portland—Tom McCall Waterfront Park -> Pioneer Courthouse, 3/31, 2pm

Pennsylvania: Harrisburg—state Capitol building, 3/31, 1pm (link) Oil City—Oil City -> Franklin, 3/31, 8am Philadelphia—Temple University Bell Tower, 3/29, 1pm (link) | City Hall, 3/31, 6pm (link) Pittsburgh—City County Building, 3/31, 5pm (link)

Rhode Island: Providence—the Wheeler School -> state Capitol building, 3/31, 11:30am

South Carolina: Columbia—State House Grounds, 3/31, 2pm Greenville—300 S Main St, 3/31, 3pm (link)

South Dakota: Brookings—City Council Building, 3/31, 5pm (link) Rapid City—Main Street Square, 3/31, 5pm

Tennessee: Knoxville—Downtown Hilton, 3/31, 10:30am (link) | Gay Street & Market Square (where the water fountain markers are), 3/31, 2pm Memphis—Civic Center Plaza, 3/16, 4pm

Texas: Amarillo—Amarillo Chamber of Commerce -> Potter County Courthouse, 3/31, 5pm Austin—state Capitol building, 3/20, 9am (link) Dallas—Main St Garden Park 1902 Main St, 3/18, 12pm (link) | Pacific Plaza, 3/31, 3pm Houston—Discovery Green Park -> City Hall, 3/31, 11:30am Killeen—101 N College St -> 1114 N Fort Hood St, 3/31, 5:30pm Lubbock—Mahon Library parking lot -> county Courthouse, 3/31, 5pm San Antonio—San Antonio Courthouse, 3/31, 6:30pm (link)

Utah: Salt Lake City—state Capitol building, 3/31, 5pm (link)

Vermont: Montpelier—Montpelier State House, 3/31, 12pm (link)

Virginia: Richmond—Open High School -> state Capitol building, 3/31, 3pm

Washington: La Center—by the bridge into town, 3/31, 5pm Olympia—Heritage Park -> state Capitol building, 3/31, 3:30pm Seattle—SeaTac Airport Station, 3/31, 1pm | Volunteer Park -> Seattle Courthouse, 3/31, 4pm (link) Spokane—Cracker Building, 3/18, 12pm (link) Walla Walla—Pioneer Park -> Land Title Plaza, 3/31, 3:45pm (link) Wenatchee—Memorial Park, 3/31, 4pm

West Virginia: Charleston—3/31, 4:30pm

Wisconsin: Appleton—Houdini Plaza, 3/31, 10am (link) Janesville—Corner of East Court Street/Jackman Street -> Corner of West Court Street/South Locust Street, 3/31, 2pm Kenosha—Civic Center Park, 3/31, 12pm Madison—Library Mall, 3/18, 2:30pm (link) | 534 State St –> Wisconsin State Capitol, 3/31, 12pm Milwaukee—TBD

Wyoming:

CANADA: Toronto, Ontario 3/17, 3pm, US Consulate (link)

[epersonae]

top 5 California history facts 🤓

so the funny thing is that I didn't take California history in high school (we had a "pick two" thing with social studies classes, and iirc CA history conflicted with something else that year?), so the last time I formally studied California history was probably 10 years old, which is a very long time ago. but random tidbits that float around in my head:

Sacramento, the state capitol, was built on more or less a seasonal swamp, and flooded regularly during the first years of statehood.

Los Angeles was tiny until the 1900s, and a small city until after WWII; San Francisco was the major city of California until the 1920s.

California statehood was part of the Compromise of 1850, after war with Mexico and the discovery of gold, and was the one exception to the Missouri Compromise Line (the provisional CA legislature didn't want to split the state, plus southern California was thinly populated, see prev, mostly Mexican, and had no slaves).

California state colleges used to be free, rip and fuck Ronald Reagan. (it's more complicated than that, but that's the tl;dr)

this isn't a fact, just a cool postcard of an interesting place near where I grew up:

[bigtimesinsmallspaces]

Post 6: A Tale of Two Zephyrs Part One

Even the word Zephyr sounds beautiful, and has a poetic meaning of “gentle winds”. Boarding this train FELT poetic and momentous. We had worked hard to get here. This was also the one segment of the trip that we had booked outside of our Rail Pass and upgraded to an actual sleeper. So for 24 hours we would be living the life of luxury, in our own roomette, with meals in the dining car. I was ready to sleep laying down on the train!!

The #6 California Zephyr originates outside of San Francisco. Boarding two hours down the line at Sacramento (after that razzle dazzle to get us to the train on time) we would travel eastward for the next 24 hours through Truckee, Reno, and Salt Lake City, to our next stop in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Shortly after getting on the train we were slowly climbing in elevation. Soon we would be riding through Truckee and the Sierra Nevadas. Truckee is a snowy, cold ski and recreational town. The Donner Pass is here and you can Google the details. Suffice it to say I would not wish to be in a wagon train stuck for the winter of 1846 at Donner Pass. At over 7,000 feet this was also the only area where I felt the impact of high elevation— slight nausea and a bit breathless. This quickly subsided as we came down out of the mountains and later had a stop at Reno.

Having access to the dining car and full meal service was a real treat after many days of picking through our bag of snacks and eating cafe food. The dining car may not meet the standards of those who reminisce about the grand ‘ole days on the train (yes, I do own some china once used on the Norfolk and Western Line) but it was top notch to me. I’ll do a separate blog later discussing in greater detail the logistics of what it’s like to live on the train for nine days. For now I’ll just say that in this 24 hour segment we had some good food.

We met some very nice people along the way, as well as many wonderful Amtrak employees. But an interesting aspect of the dining car is that Amtrak must maximize its dining capacity, and therefore enforces community dining— that is, there are no tables for one or two. You are seated with other passengers. On this segment we were “matched with” a young woman for both our lunch and dinner. She was traveling from Florida in between jobs and happened to have gone to college near where I grew up in Virginia. I say “matched with” because the dining room attendant, Drew, entertained us (past the dinner hour) with stories about his job. He said he literally did try to match people up in the seatings. In fact he said he matched a couple who returned to the train a year later to be married (while the train was in the Moffet Tunnel no less) and he served as the officiant. At breakfast we were “matched” with a retired gentleman who happened to live in the neighborhood outside American University where Allison went to school. It was interesting to share our excitement and experiences with others.

After an oversized dinner dessert we were ready for our undersized bunk beds in our even more undersized 22 square foot roomette (that is NOT a typo) with equally unimpressive two inch mattresses. Regardless, we were in HORIZONTAL heaven!! We slept beneath some battery operated Christmas lights we strung up for ambiance or just in case we lost power in a tunnel (hey, after reading about Donners Pass some lights and a plethora of snacks seemed like a minimal effort). Let me say, regardless of how it’s done, there is just nothing like sleeping (or trying to sleep) on a train. The sound of the whistle throughout the night, along with the rocking of the train, and the sense of catapulting through space is absolutely mesmerizing. For me it’s often trying to sleep, it’s just so wonderful I don’t even want to miss a minute!

The next morning we were greeted with a pot of coffee right outside our room. While we were at breakfast our wonderful car attendent LaShonda transformed our tiny beds back to seats as we enjoyed the beautiful ride into Utah.

Pictures below: At the Sacramento Station preparing to board the Zephyr, scenes from the Sierra Nevadas and Donner Pass, Dinner in the dining car with Drew, the 22 sq ft roomette at bedtime.

[tieflingkisser]

Mass Protests and Direct Actions in Solidarity With Palestine Grow into Student Occupations and Blockades

Direct actions, mass demonstrations, and increasingly, disruptive protests in support of occupied Palestine and to demand an immediate ceasefire by the US backed Israeli state have continued unabated and in many areas, have intensified. While mass marches and protests in many cities have continued, the movement has also expanded into direct action campaigns targeting weapons contractors and corporations, student occupations of university buildings, and disruptive protests and blockades. Over the past week, thousands marched and blockaded delegates in San Francisco, during Biden’s recent visit during the APEC conference; actions which culminated in protesters blockading the bay bridge for hours. In Washington DC, police injured reportedly up to 90 people when they attempted to stop protesters from locking arms in front of a DNC meeting, while in Sacramento, California, another meeting by Democrats was disrupted, “taken over,” and shut down by protesters who held a sit-in and demanded an end to the US backed war. In Los Angeles, Boston, New York, and Chicago, thousands marched, blocked streets, targeted businesses directly helping to fund the war, and in some cases, pushed passed police to shutdown roadways. Meanwhile, student protests on college campuses are upping the ante. Occupations of an administrative building have occurred at the University of Michigan, Occidental College in Los Angeles, and a hall at Harvard in Cambridge, MA, while walkouts and protests organized by pro-Palestinian students across the US have continued. Direct actions and claimed acts of sabotage also continue to take place across the US. A claim of responsibility posted to Indybay and other websites, claimed credit for helping to shut down a fundraiser for the IDF in San Francisco, California.