#The Relief of America

[uwmspeccoll]

Independence Day Poems, Indigenously

This 4th of July we bring you some poems on the American nation from an indigenous point of view in Diane Glancy's (Cherokee, b. 1941) The Relief of America published in Chicago by Tia Chucha Press in 2000. A little bit of celebration, a little bit of snark . . . well, mostly snark. Published 24 years ago, many of the poems seem even more relevant today.

Diane Glancy is a poet, playwright, and educator of Cherokee, German, and English descent. This book is one of 40 by Glancy that form part of our Native American Literature Collection.

We wish you a safe and happy 4th of July . . . Indigenously.

View posts from Independence Days past.

View other posts from our Native American Literature Collection.

[reasonsforhope]

"In a major change that could affect millions of Americans' credit scores, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday [January 7, 2025] finalized a rule to remove medical debt from consumer credit reports.

The rule would erase an estimated $49 billion in unpaid medical bills from the credit reports of roughly 15 million Americans, the CFPB said.

That could help boost those borrowers' credit scores by an average of 20 points, helping them qualify for mortgages and other loans.

"No one should be denied economic opportunity because they got sick or experienced a medical emergency," Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement touting the new rule.

She announced the proposal for the rule last June alongside CFPB Director Rohit Chopra.

"This will be life-changing for millions of families, making it easier for them to be approved for a car loan, a home loan or a small-business loan," Harris added.

Major credit reporting agencies have already announced voluntary steps to remove medical debt from their reports.

The final rule is set to take effect in March [2025] – but that timeline could be delayed by legal challenges."

-via ABC News, January 7, 2025

[mapsontheweb]

Topographic and bathymetric map of North America

[pixierainbows]

“ If you use augmentative or alternative technology to communicate and have equipment lost or damaged due to a national disaster, we can help!

Who We Are

USSAAC's Disaster Relief Committee responds to nationally declared disasters on behalf of USSAAC members, people who use AAC, their families, and other AAC stakeholders. We work collaboratively with other organizations to replace AAC tools and devices that are lost or damaged.

How We Can Help

I Have a Need

If your AAC equipment has been lost or damaged, we can help with a replacement at no cost. Use the ‘I Have a Need’ button at https://aacdisasterrelief.recovers.org

I Want to Donate

To support USSAAC's efforts with monetary donations, communication devices, AAC app codes, or other AAC-related items, use the ‘I Want to Give’ button at https://aacdisasterrelief.recovers.org

I Want to Volunteer

Enter your skills and location using the 'I Want to Volunteer' button at https://aacdisasterrelief.recovers.org

FAQs

What equipment IS covered?

*Speech-generating devices

*Access switches

*Device mounting systems

*Communication boards and books

*AAC device batteries and chargers

What Happens Next?

Requests - we will contact you to get more detailed information about your AAC needs.

Donations - we will contact you when there is a need that matches your offer.

Volunteers - we will contact you when there is a need that matches your skills, time, and location.

Contact Us “

https://aacdisasterrelief.recovers.org

[ahedalshaer]

‏Please, this is important. We are drowning in Gaza🚨📣.

‏ On the 352nd day of the war on Gaza, with the approach of winter for the second time during the war. Today we went through the worst day of rain since dawn. It began to fall on us and flooded our tent, our food, our clothes, and even our bed. Sand and water became everywhere. Not only do we suffer from missiles, there are many things we suffer from that are a million times more difficult

‏So today I beg you, after we have lost. hope in the world, to help us and stand by us before the winter comes and we drown again. We want to buy a tent or nylon so that we can control the situation, and you know that in Gaza, one needs the minimum of $1,000. We are a family of 7 members, all of us over the age of 18. My mother is sick and has an infection in her chest, and my father is diabetic. Two days ago, my brother Hamdan suffered an injury to his hand and we lost a son. My uncle, about two weeks ago, in the recent massacre on the Rafah highways

Verified by: butterfly effect project Line No40

‏Every contribution, big or small, saves them and helps them before it is too late.* Please donate today and help my family find the peace and security they deserve. And protect ourselves from the cold of winter, rain and drowning.

please reblog as much as you can

@el-shab-hussein @commissions4aid-international @nabulsi @90-ghost @appsa @turian @journalsforpalestine @mansbutchery @palestinecharitycommissionsassoc @palestinegenocide @palistani i @buttercuparry @burtlebabe @neshamama @baguetttee @magnus-rhymes-with-swagness @divinefeline28 @brutaliakhoa @riding-with-the-wild-hunt @komsomolka @schoolhater @gayorc c @aces-and-angels @neptunerings @omegomagnit @heritageposts @feluka @feluart @drangues @afro-elf f @transmutationisms @triviallytrue @jezior0 @think-queer @lune-tic @imjustheretotrytohelp @watermelllonarchive @papsl @velvetys @visual-poetry @gothhabiba @joshpeck @kuuhaiyu @valtsv @moringmark @qrowpilled @soracities @moayesh @cyberianpunks

[jangillman]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by David Harris Jr (@davidjharrisjr)

All you dumbass Democrat voters....you must be so proud of your Commander (clown) in Chief! He fell asleep in Angola, Africa whilst giving them 1 billion of your hard earned tax dollars AND he's washing ANOTHER $700+ Million through Ukraine and pardoning his two bit criminal son! Oh yeah, and he's considering pardoning Fauci, Cheney too! If this doesn't enrage you, you're unamerican!

[onlytiktoks]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2025/02/04/musk-trump-purge-of-usaid-cuts-off-workers-in-ukraine/

[hearts-of-palestinian]

Alhamdulillah, ♥️♥️then your kindness and donations, we were able to buy a tent. It was originally intended to be a help to us, but we do not know what to say. Yes, it is part of the Qatari aid that should be distributed to all the displaced.

Please, you are my hope to save my family from hunger and death😭😭

🙏 My name is Ahed, @ahedalshaer a dentist from Gaza🍉. I am 22 years old. I am asking for your help. You can look at the link to Gofoundme and read the story of me and my family. please add my link on your list.

I hope that my message reaches all the free people in the world and those with compassionate hearts. I ask you to save my family, because they are in danger.I haven't found anyone to support me and my family or amplify my voice to the world to reach safety.Please do not read this story as a tragic story. I am here to ask you to prevent it from having more tragedy and help us start our lives. Again. I am here to ask for your help not your sympathy, to ask you to take action whether by donating or by sharing this with everyone you know who can help, please read this with your heart and take action as if it were your family or your mom, your siblings who are living in these circumstances .

Please don't leave me alone 🙏

Vetted By:

1-Butterfly Effect Project No.407

Here

2- @gaza-evacuation-funds @nabulsi27 @irhabiya Here👇👇👇👇

Please Donate As Much As You Can And Reblog

[shorooq-mahmoud]

“Help a Family from Gaza: Help Mohammed, Shorouq, and Baby Jamal Survive!”

In the heart of Gaza, where war, hunger, and despair are everyday realities, one small family is fighting to survive. Mohammed, his wife Shorouq, and their one-year-old son Jamal have lost everything but their hope—and now, they are reaching out for your help.

Mohammed works in vegetable trading, the only source of income for his family. But the war has shattered markets, destroyed livelihoods, and left him struggling to provide even a loaf of bread for his loved ones.

Shorouq, a young and ambitious graduate of midwifery nursing, once dreamed of helping mothers and saving lives. Instead, the harsh realities of war and unemployment have trapped her in a constant fight to protect her baby and keep her family afloat.

And then there’s Jamal, their innocent one-year-old boy. Too young to understand the horrors around him, but old enough to feel hunger, fear, and the cold absence of safety. A child who deserves warmth, food, and a chance at a brighter tomorrow.

This small family now faces unimaginable challenges: war-torn streets, empty markets, and empty stomachs. They need your compassion, your kindness, and your support to survive.

Today, you can make a difference.

Your donation—no matter how small—can provide food, medicine, and basic essentials to help Mohammed, Shorouq, and Jamal endure these dark times. Your support can give hope to a family that feels forgotten by the world.

How you can help:

• Donate to their GoFundMe campaign.

• Share their story with your friends, family, and on social media to amplify their voice.

GoFundMe Link:

Together, we can help this family survive and rebuild their lives. Your generosity is their lifeline, and every small act of kindness creates a ripple of hope.

“Your donation could be the reason a child sleeps with a full stomach tonight. Let’s stand together for Mohammed, Shorouq, and baby Jamal.”

Verified and Shared by @bilal-salah0 here

@wellwaterhysteria @sar-soor @appsandbeads @applebunch @irhabiya @sayruq @xxx-sparkydemon-xxx

@junglejim4322 @reptilianspeed83 @neptunerings @tamamita @cantsayidont @fairweathermyth @dear-indies @eruthiawenluin @katealot @lenasai

@stalinistqueens @dlxxv-vetted-donations @tododeku-or-bust @a-shade-of-blue @gaza-relief-fund @catnapdreams @northgazaupdates2 @buttercupart @stuckinaprill @opencommunion @notallmensheviks

@malcriada @feluka

@dirhwangdaseul @sawasawako @memingursa

@schoolhater98 @lapithae @ryo0o0o @paper-mario-wiki @comintoyoulivecoite @strangeauthor

@neechees @dirhwangdaseul

@autisticmudkip @postanagramgenerator @kase-no-kisu @vague-humanoid @jmadorran @wonhos-fabuloso @divorcedyaoi @turian @cottageaesthetic

[idleronanisle]

Something about a man with a cat

[uwmspeccoll]

Milestone Monday

May 6th marks the first full week of May and with it, Great Lakes Awareness Day. Established in 2014, Great Lakes Awareness Day celebrates lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario and draws attention to water conservation and preservation efforts. In celebration of the day, we’re sharing artist Laura Brown’s (b. 1981) The Great Lakes of North America published in 2012 by Women’s Studio Workshop.  

Women’s Studio Workshop describes The Great Lakes of North America as “. . . a visual examination of the Great Lakes region. Using layers of color reminiscent of a 1960’s school textbook, maps of the Lakes are rearranged and layered with routes traveled by French explorers, freight ships, and the artist’s own family.” The resulting double-pamphlet stitch is a vibrant record of the Great Lakes’ shoreline replete with noted natural landmarks like Pictured Rocks and Indiana Dunes.  

Brown’s book was made in a limited edition of 50 copies signed by the artist during a residency at the Women’s Studio Workshop utilizing screen print, letterpress, wood block, and polymer relief printing.  

Read other Milestone Monday posts here! 

– Jenna, Special Collections Graduate Intern 

[reasonsforhope]

"As hundreds of thousands of Californians grieve the loss of their homes and communities in the face of record-breaking wildfires this week, countless have shown up to help.

Officials report that an estimated 10,000 structures and more than 35,000 acres have been in the Palisades and Eaton fires, with over 180,000 forced to evacuate in recent days.

Aid agencies and nonprofits have stepped in to provide food, temporary shelter, and other essentials, but for many who have lost everything, the rebuilding process begins immediately.

Seconds Market, a secondhand clothing organization based in Los Angeles, normally buys gently used clothes from locals and hosts pop-up sales in the LA area for secondhand shoppers.

But in the wake of this devastation, Seconds Market decided to use its platform to connect Californians in need with clothing donors from across the country.

“Have spare clothes lying around? A Poshmark or Depop pile? We’ll connect you with someone who needs them,” the group shared on Instagram on Wednesday.

“Wearing secondhand is hot, but donating to your community is hotter.” 

Their post directs followers to a sign-up link where people can request support or volunteer to donate items. Folks are then paired up, based on clothing size, age, and gender to ensure that people get items that are appropriate for them.

Over the course of 48 hours, 20,000 donors had signed up, according to the Seconds Market Instagram page.

Iluka, the founder of Seconds Market, shared that the match program is different from a donation drop-off, helping people get their needs met by having items shipped directly to them, rather than using the labor required to sort through donated items.

That said, she shared in an Instagram story that she was hoping to set up a free “store” so that fire victims could shop for donated items in the coming days and weeks, as well.

“This match initiative was a way for me to connect friends who wanted to help LA victims directly. Helping one person would’ve been a win in my book,” Iluka wrote in a statement.

“Since ‘launch’ we’ve had 20,000 (and counting) of you from across the U.S. sign up to donate — directly from your closets — wardrobe to wardrobe.”

Donors are responsible for the cost of packaging and shipping items after being connected with someone in need — and donations are not limited to clothing, but rather anything they can offer their “match.”

Experts suggest that major influxes of donations can be overwhelming to folks immediately working to rebuild their lives, though anecdotal evidence from others who have survived house fires suggests that it helps to be given something right away instead of having to go shopping amid recovery.

It’s that immediate need Iluka hopes to fill with Seconds Market.

She wrote on Instagram: “[This is] giving 20,000 people the opportunity to have one less thing to worry about when they wake up today.”"

-via GoodGoodGood, January 10, 2025

[mapsontheweb]

Map showing Terrain of North America.

by u/hemedlungo_725

[mystybird]

flapper girl amelia 🧎

[ahedalshaer]

Imagine that you are asleep and wake up to the sound of a belt of fire near you and one of your relatives becomes a martyr😔💔.

This happened to us tonight. What is our fault that we live under genocide every day? Every second we are exposed to danger and face death in all its forms.

The Al-Mawasi massacre, in which tents were buried in sand, resulted in more than 75 casualties, including martyrs, missing persons, and injured. This is not the first massacre, and it may not be the last, and we may be among the martyrs in the next massacre

This is the family martyr, the child Salem Al-Shaer. He is my father’s cousin .😭😭🕊️🕊️One of the innocent victims of this massacre.

I do not want to be one of the victims in this war. I do not want to be a number. I and my family want to live with my family in safety. Please, I ask for your help after all paths have been cut off. Please help me and my family to get out of here before it is too late, before I become one of the missing or in pieces. Please, help me and my family to get out of here before it is too late. Before I become missing or in pieces. Please.😭😭😭😭😭😭🙏🙏🥹🥹🥹

Help me reach the campaign goal as soon as possible. We cannot wait more than 11 months for this genocide without stopping. What else does the world expect from us?

Please donate and share to your followers, encourage them to help and spread this on other social media. I cannot achieve this goal without you, please continue to advocate for me.

@el-shab-hussein @commissions4aid-international @nabulsi @90-ghost @appsa @turian @journalsforpalestine @mansbutchery @palestinecharitycommissionsassoc @palestinegenocide @palistani @buttercuparry @burtlebabe @neshamama @baguetttee @sar-soor @divinefeline28 @brutaliakhoa @riding-with-the-wild-hunt @komsomolka @schoolhater @gayorc @aces-and-angels @neptunerings @omegomagnit @heritageposts @feluka @feluart @drangues @afro-elf @transmechanicus @transmutationisms @triviallytrue @sabakos @jezior0 @think-queer @lune-tic @forpalestine @watermelllonarchive @papsl0ver-deactivated20240908 @velvetys @visual-poetry @gothhabiba @joshpeck @kuuhaiyu @valtsv @moringmark @qrowpilled @moayesh @cyberianpunks

[godsfavoriteasian]

If you're a leftist and you're reacting with joy about climate cause disasters devastate the South your racism and classism is showing.

The South In comparison to other regions of Amerikkka Is home to the poorest counties in the nation. The South is also home of a majority of Black on brown voters of color.

The South also has corrupt politicians both Dems and Republicans alike. Both parties offer no alternative other than capitalism and grinding impoverished and marginalized people into the dust (E.x. Hurricane Katrina).

Demonizing the South further alienates working class and poor marginalized people in the south. This especially affects Black and Brown people In the South who are often the target of yt supremacy in state sanctioned violence.

If one discounts the South and all the hard-working leftists who are fighting the good fight against capitalism and against far-right politicians and government authoritarianism, and yt supremacy. It emboldens & allows far-right and neoliberal People to Target marginalized people even more.

Cuz who do you think will be first affected by climate change cause disasters? Not the rich GOP and damn politicians who take vacays to Mexico when SHTF in their states. It's ppl in trailers, disabled ppl, ppl w/o cars, BIPOC, unhoused ppl who are going to be affected.

Let's be honest here, fascism is already here. This country was built as a settler colonial state on the genocide and labour f indigenous and Black people. Just because you're from the north or from the cities or from the West Coast doesn't mean you get to look down upon ppl.