#ak-nm

[ak-nm]

[dogandcat365]

High-Quality Dog Training Course To Improve A Dog's Intelligence And Behavior, Plus Easy Instructions For Training.

Click Here Lean Now

[mahinew]

[batboyblog]

House Election 2024

In the House Republican have a majority of just 4 seats, flip 4 seats and Democrats get a majority and can pass things like national abortion rights, voting rights, bills on student loan debt and medical debt and much more. So here's a list of the key races for control of the House, so look up your district and find a way to get involved.

Find your House District

Alabama

Shomari Figures (AL-02) Flip

Alaska

Mary Peltola (AK-AL) Hold

Arizona

Amish Shah (AZ-01) Flip

Kirsten Engel (AZ-06) Flip

California

Jessica Morse (CA-03) Flip

Josh Harder (CA-09) Hold

Adam Gray (CA-13) Flip

Rudy Salas (CA-22) Flip

George Whitesides (CA-27) Flip

Joe Kerr (CA-40) Flip

Will Rollins (CA-41) Flip

Derek Tran (CA-45) Flip

Dave Min (CA-47) Hold

Mike Levin (CA-49) Hold

Colorado

Adam Frisch (CO-03) Flip

Yadira Caraveo (CO-08) Hold

Connecticut

Jahana Hayes (CT-05) Hold

Florida

Darren Soto (FL-09) Hold

Whitney Fox (FL-13) Flip

Jared Moskowitz (FL-23) Hold

Illinois

Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) Hold

Eric Sorensen (IL-17) Hold

Indiana

Frank Mrvan (IN-01) Hold

Iowa

Christina Bohannan (IA-01) Flip

Lanon Baccam (IA-03) Flip

Kansas

Sharice Davids (KS-03) Hold

Maine

Jared Golden (ME-02) Hold

Maryland

April McClain-Delaney (MD-06) Hold

Michigan

Hillary Scholten (MI-03) Hold

Curtis Hertel (MI-07) Hold

Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-08) Hold

Carl Marlinga (MI-10) Flip

Minnesota

Angie Craig (MN-02) Hold

Montana

Monica Tranel (MT-01) Flip

Nebraska

Tony Vargas (NE-02) Flip

Nevada

Dina Titus (NV-01) Hold

Susie Lee (NV-03) Hold

Steven Horsford (NV-04) Hold

New Hampshire

Chris Pappas (NH-01) Hold

New Jersey

Sue Altman (NJ-07) Flip

New Mexico

Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) Hold

New York

John Avlon (NY-01) Flip

Tom Suozzi (NY-03) Hold

Laura Gillen (NY-04) Flip

Mondaire Jones (NY-17) Flip

Pat Ryan (NY-18) Hold

Josh Riley (NY-19) Flip

John Mannion (NY-22) Flip

North Carolina

Don Davis (NC-01) Hold

Ohio

Greg Landsman (OH-01) Hold

Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) Hold

Emilia Sykes (OH-13) Hold

Oregon

Val Hoyle (OR-04) Hold

Janelle Bynum (OR-05) Flip

Andrea Salinas (OR-06) Hold

Pennsylvania

Ashley Ehasz (PA-01) Flip

Susan Wild (PA-07) Hold

Matt Cartwright (PA-08) Hold

Janelle Stelson (PA-10) Flip

Chris Deluzio (PA-17) Hold

Texas

Michelle Vallejo (TX-15) Flip

Henry Cuellar (TX-28) Hold

Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34) Hold

Virginia

Missy Cotter Smasal (VA-02) Flip

Eugene Vindman (VA-07) Hold

Washington

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03) Hold

Kim Schrier (WA-08) Hold

Wisconsin

Peter Barca (WI-01) Flip

Rebecca Cooke (WI-03) Flip

If you live in any of these congressional districts (or close to them) you absolutely must sign up to volunteer and help! you! yes you! get to decide what America looks like in 2025, is it gonna be Project 2025 and Trump? or Kamala Harris, Tim Walz and the Democrats protecting your right to control your own body, taking action on the climate and making life more affordable? its up to each of us to do all we can to get to the country we want.

[directactionforhope]

Late notice but

Today 10/5 is an international day of action protesting one year of the Gaza genocide!

Find a protest near you today or tomorrow 10/6! If you're in the US, look at the links below, from the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights!

October 5, 2024

Note: Tumblr has capped the number of outgoing links you can use in one post. Go to the USCPR link above and click on a protest for a flyer/organizer info for each and every one of these events.

Albany, NY | 4:30PM Dana Park

Albuquerque, NM | 2PM Robinson Park

Amherst, MA | Amherst Town Common

Anchorage, AK | 2PM Townsquare Park

Atlanta, GA | 2PM 190 Marietta SW

Austin, TX | 1PM Austin City Hall

Birmingham, AL | 2PM Victoria Square

Blacksburg, VA | 3PM Pylons

Boston, MA | 2PM Cambridge City Hall

Burlington, VT | 1PM Battery Park

Charleston, SC | 2PM Marion Square Park

Chicago, IL | 2PM Water Tower Park

Cleveland, OH | 3PM 11804 Lorain Ave

Columbus, OH | 2PM Goodale Park

Corvallis, OR | 12 NOON County Courthoue

Dallas, TX | 12PM The Grassy Knoll

Denver, CO | 12PM 400 Josephine St

Detroit, MI | 2PM 5 Woodward Ave, Detroit

Dover, DE | 12 NOON 250 Gateway S Blvd

Fort Myers, FL | 6PM Centennial Park

Gainseville, FL | 2PM City Hall

Honolulu, HI | 11AM Ala Moana & Atkinson

Houston, TX | 2PM Houston City Hall

Indianapolis, IL |  2PM Lugar Plaza

Kansas City | 1PM Mill Creek Park

Kona, HI | 12:30PM Old airport by the skating rink

Las Vegas, NV | 2PM 3449 S Sammy Davis Jr Dr

Little Rock, AK | 4PM 1200 Main St

Los Angeles, CA | 2PM Pershing Square

Louisville, KY | 3PM Water Front Park

Maui, HI | 11AM Kapuka’ulua (Baldwin Beach)

Memphis, TN | 2PM City Hall

Miami, FL | 5PM Torch of Friendship

Milwaukee, WI | 2PM Zedler Union Square Park

Missoula, MT | 7PM 200 W Broadway

Nashville, TN | 2PM Centennial Park

New York, NY | 2PM Times Square

New Haven, CT | 1PM New Haven Green

New Orleans, LA | 5PM Congo Square

Ottawa, Ontario | 2PM Parliment Hill

Orlando, FL | 4PM Orlando City Hall

Pensacola, FL | 5PM Palafox & Gregorary St.

Pittsburgh, PA | Film screening, 3PM 100 S Commons St.

Portland, ME | 5PM Monument Square

Portland, OR | 3PM Unthank Park

Providence, RI | 3PM RI State House steps & 5:30PM 1 Finance Way

Raleigh, NC | 3PM Moore Square

Rochester, NY | 1PM MLK Park

Sacramento, CA | 2PM West steps of the Capitol

Salt Lake City, UT | 2PM 125 S State St

San Antonio, TX | 1PM Travis Park

San Diego, CA | 2:00PM 1600 Pacific Highway

Seattle, WA | 2PM TBA, with car caravans from Spokane, Pasco, Ellensburg

St. Louis, MO | Liberation weekend, 9AM-8PM 475 East Lockwood Ave

Tampa, FL | 2PM Bank of America Plaza

Toronto, Ontario | 2PM Yonge Dundas Square

Urbana, IL | 2PM 101 E Main St

Ventura, CA | 2PM 501 Poli St

Washington, DC | 4PM White House

West Plains, MO | 12 NOON Downtown Square

Wichita, KS | 12:30PM Spirit Aerosystems

October 6, 2024

Amityville, NY | 1PM LIRR

Boston, MA | 1PM Boston Common

Green Bay, WI | 5:30PM Leicht Memorial Park

Los Angeles, CA | Vigil, 6:30PM Echo Park Lake

Minneapolis, MN | 1:30PM Gateway Park Fountain

Ontario, CA | 1PM Euclid & C St

Paterson, NJ | 2PM Palestine Way with Gould Avenue

Roanoke, VA | Vigil, 6PM Heights Community Church courtyard

San Diego, CA | 4PM Centro Cultural de La Raza

San Francisco, CA | 1PM 16th & Valencia

San Jose, CA | 12 NOON City Hall

St. Louis, MO | 1PM Choteau Park

[welcometoqueer]

Recount Possibility Update:

There’s some new speculation that the Harris/Walz campaign might be quietly moving towards requesting a recount despite nothing being publicly announced.

The speculation mostly comes from supporters noticing that the messaging at the bottom of Harris/Walz campaign emails and donation page has changed.

While the campaign previously simply thanked supporters at the end of its emails and donation page, it now includes a message that claims a portion of donations will now be put towards the “Harris for President’s Recount Account.”

Nothing regarding a recount has been directly announced by the Harris/Walz campaign.

NEW Campaign Fine Print:

Check out the fine print yourself (scroll to the bottom, no pressure to actually donate):

Video speculation (can watch through browser):

WSJ Article Excerpt:

Wall Street Journal: “Harris Fundraising Fine Print Signals Recount Effort”

[ID:

Two screenshots.

The first is a screenshot of a portion of new fine print included on the Harris campaign donation site. It reads:

"The first $41,300/$15,000 from a person/multicandidate committee ("PAC") will be allocated to the DNC. The next $3,300/$5,000 from a person/PAC will be allocated to Harris for President's Recount Account. The next $510,000/$255,000 from a person/PAC will be split equally among the Democratic state parties from these states: AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, and WY. Any additional funds will be allocated to the DNC, subject to applicable contribution limits. A contributor may designate their contribution for a particular participant by contacting info@kamalaharris.com. The allocation formula above may change if following it would result in an excessive contribution."

The second is a screenshot of the WSJ article on the possibility of a recount by the Harris campaign. It reads:

"The Harris Victory Fund-a joint fundraising committee that allocates contributions to her campaign, the Democratic National Committee and to state Democratic committees- quietly updated the information on its donations page on Wednesday morning. The donation page now says that a portion of money donated to the fund will be allocated to "Harris for President's Recount Account," signaling that Kamala Harris's team is gearing up to watch the count of votes in contested states closely. "This is a razor thin race. We need your help to make sure every vote is counted," it says. The Harris campaign didn't immediately respond to a request for comment."

/end ID]

[walks-the-ages]

Before you scream and cry "who else can we vote for except Genocide Joe Biden??? 😭" How about you actually do some research into different candidates who are on your state's ballot?

[ID: a graph of the USA state map, with most states deep green, one light green state, two purple states, one orange state, and the rest of the states in yellow.

Deep Green states have the Green Party on the ballot, and are: ME, MI, WV, NC,SC, GA, FL, MS, AR, LA, TX, NM, AZ, CO, UT, NV, CA, OR, MT, and WI.

Light Green states have Jill herself on the ballot instead of the Green party, and is: ID.

Purple States have the ballot awaiting certification, and are NY and AK.

Orange States are building a team, and is OK.

Yellow States are actively petitioning to get the Green Party/Jill on the Ballot, and are: WA, WY, ND. SD, NE, KS, MN, IA, MO, IL, IN, OH, KY, TN, AL, PA, VT,NH, MA, CT, NJ, MD, and VA.

End ID]

Instead of voting for "99% Hitler who is currently commiting genocide", have you considered voting for someone ELSE who actually opposes genocide and actually cares about all the issues that Democrats claim to care about but usually do the opposite of when they gain office?

Did you know that the minimum wage in the United States of America is still $7.25 per hour

($3.34 an hour for disabled workers, and $2.13 an hour for tipped workers)

despite "Fight for $15" movement starting Twelve Fucking Years Ago in 2012???

Did you know that even if they made the federal minimum wage $15 tomorrow, that still over a fucking decade outdated and the current livable wage is over $20, especially if you're trying to raise kids??

Jill Stein wants to raise the minimum wage federally to $25 an hour.

From the $7.25 that it's been stuck at for fifteen years and it wasn't realistic even then?

[mapsontheweb]

McDonald's Restaurants by Magnitude of Mountain Backdrop / Rut

by u/Gigitoe

Eating a Big Mac® while gazing at Big Mountains is an experience that millions of Americans can relate to. But little do we ask ourselves, which McDonald's restaurants have the biggest, baddest mountain backdrop?

So I set out to answer this question, using rut, a topographic metric that does particularly well at identifying cities with badass mountain backdrops. (For more info, check out this Mercury News article by John Metcalfe, or my research paper)

Roughly speaking, this is how rut works:

The higher the mountains rise above a restaurant, the more impressive they appear, and the greater the rut.

The more steeply the mountains rise above a restaurant, the more impressive they appear, and the greater the rut.

Here's a tier list that shows the rut of the ruttiest McDonald's restaurant in various cities. The cutoffs are rather arbitrary, so please don't poison me with a Grimace Shake if your city doesn't get the tier you like :)

S tier - rut > 400 m (i'm lovin' it. would visit just for mountain views)

Palm Springs, CA (647 m) | Weed, CA (624 m) | Springville, UT (609 m) | Lone Pine, CA (521 m) | Rancho Cucamonga, CA (503 m) | Kailua Kona, HI (432 m) | Salt Lake City, UT (404 m)

A tier - rut between 200 to 400 m (impressive, but probably wouldn't visit just for mountain views)

Colorado Springs, CO (383 m) | Gatlinburg, TN (273 m) | Tacoma, WA (267 m) | Tucson, AZ (246 m) | Juneau, AK (223 m) | Tucson, AZ (209 m) | Albuquerque, NM (215 m) | Las Vegas, NV (209 m)

B tier - rut between 100 and 200 m (mountains nearby, or distant big mountains, or very distant huge mountains)

Anchorage, AK (192 m) | Seattle, WA (185 m) | Manchester, VT (166 m) | El Paso, TX (160 m) | Los Angeles, CA (153 m) | Portland, OR (144 m) | Denver, CO (126 m) | Boise, ID (106 m)

C tier - rut between 50 and 100 m (big hills nearby, or distant mountains, or very distant big mountains)

Rutland, VT (99 m) | San Diego, CA (84 m) | Asheville, NC (75 m) | Middlesboro, KY (70 m) | Phoenix, AZ (67 m) | Roanoke, VA (46 m)

D tier - rut between 25 and 50 m (hills nearby, or distant big hills, or very distant mountains)

Billings, MT (40 m) | Rapid City, SD (37 m) | Dalton, GA (38 m) | Hot Springs, AR (37 m) | Pittsburgh, PA (33 m) | San Francisco, CA (30 m) | Portsmouth, OH (26 m) | Greenville, SC (26 m) | Huntsville, AL (25 m)

E tier - rut between 10 and 25 m (small hills nearby, or hills in the distance, or very distant big hills)

Syracuse, NY (21 m) | Concord, NH (20 m) | Duluth, MN (20 m) | New Haven, CT (14 m) | Cincinnati, OH (13 m) | Wausau, WI (13 m) | Portland, ME (10 m)

F tier - rut between 0 and 10 m (flatter than a patty)

Nashville, TN (8.5 m) | New York City (4.3 m) | Kansas City (2.8 m) | Miami, FL (1.7 m) | Houston (1.6 m), TX | Chicago, IL (0.6 m)

For more locations, here's a spreadsheet with the rut of every McDonald's on this map.

----------------

Note: a rut of X doesn't mean the surrounding mountains rise a height of X above the restaurant. Instead, a rut of X means that a restaurant's mountain backdrop is as impressive as a restaurant at the base of a vertical cliff of height X. The less steeply the surrounding mountains rise above the restaurant, the lower the rut.

Also note: rut only considers rise above surroundings (relative height differences and angle of elevation). it does not consider absolute elevation, nor the "aesthetics" of a mountain, nor visibility (or lack thereof) due to weather or smog.

Attributions: Gavin Rehkemper (locations), FABDEM (elevation model), Google Earth Engine (calculations), ESRI (basemap), Kai Xu (rut metric and map)

If you like rut, you'll probably like its older brother jut even more. Jut measures how impressive, spectacular, or badass a mountain is—considering both its height above surroundings and steepness. If you want to find the most impressive mountains near you or worldwide, you may find the link above to be useful.

Let us know if you have any questions or comments—I'm happy to address them!

[poll-boy]

what state r u in? (all 50 or pairs of 2-4) w/ a "not in us" option

i am using regions to split them up, but mountain and west north central are split up because it looks like those are the largest regions (im not positive i didn’t actually fact check, maybe i should’ve done south atlantic since it is so large and has more states). i split them up the way i did based on my knowledge of the landscape, and i know that’s not exact because at least some of these states have v diverse landscapes but i did my best!

- if you want to submit a poll, you can on my blog! any and all suggestions are appreciated :)

[disasterhimbo]

Source

[ID: a quote tweet by Stephen Semler (@stephensemler) dated March 23, 2024. It is responding to a tweet by the Associated Press (@AP) that says, “BREAKING: Senate passes $1.2 trillion funding package in early morning vote, ending threat of partial shutdown.”

It says, “All but two Democratic senators just voted to:

-give Israel $3.8B in weapons, violating US law

-defund a UN inquiry into Israel's violations of international law

-defund UNRWA, worsening famine in Gaza

-sanction the UN Human Rights Council if it highlights Israeli abuses.”

It contains an image of only text showing who voted yea, who voted nay, and who abstained. 74 senators voted yea, including 47 democrats, 25 republicans, and 2 independents. 24 senators voted nay: all republicans except Senator Bennet (Democrat, Colorado), and Senator Sanders (Independent, Vermont). 2 Republican senators abstained. Full transcription of this image under the cut.]

Transcript of the image contained in the tweet:

“YEAS --- 74

Baldwin (D-WI)

Blumenthal (D-CT)

Booker (D-NJ)

Boozman (R-AR)

Britt (R-AL)

Brown (D-OH)

Butler (D-CA)

Cantwell (D-WA)

Capito (R-WV)

Cardin (D-MD)

Carper (D-DE)

Casey (D-PA)

Cassidy (R-LA)

Collins (R-ME)

Coons (D-DE)

Cornyn (R-TX)

Cortez Masto (D-NV)

Cotton (R-AR)

Cramer (R-ND)

Duckworth (D-IL)

Durbin (D-IL)

Ernst (R-IA)

Fetterman (D-PA)

Fischer (R-NE)

Gillibrand (D-NY)

Graham (R-SC)

Grassley (R-IA)

Hassan (D-NH)

Heinrich (D-NM)

Hickenlooper (D-CO)

Hirono (D-HI)

Hoeven (R-ND)

Hyde-Smith (R-MS)

Kaine (D-VA)

Kelly (D-AZ)

King (1-ME)

Klobuchar (D-MN)

Lujan (D-NM)

Manchin (D-WV)

Markey (D-MA)

McConnell (R-KY)

Menendez (D-NJ)

Merkley (D-OR)

Moran (R-KS)

Mullin (R-OK)

Murkowski (R-AK)

Murphy (D-CT)

Murray (D-WA)

Ossoff (D-GA)

Padilla (D-CA)

Peters (D-MI)

Reed (D-RI)

Romney (R-UT)

Rosen (D-NV)

Rounds (R-SD)

Schatz (D-HI)

Schumer (D-NY)

Shaheen (D-NH)

Sinema (I-AZ)

Smith (D-MN)

Stabenow (D-MI)

Sullivan (R-AK)

Tester (D-MT)

Thune (R-SD)

Tillis (R-NC)

Van Hollen (D-MD)

Warner (D-VA)

Warnock (D-GA)

Warren (D-MA)

Welch (D-VT)

Whitehouse (D-RI)

Wicker (R-MS)

Wyden (D-OR)

Young (R-IN)

(This is the end of the yeas.)

NAYS --- 24

Barrasso (R-WY)

Bennet (D-CO)

Blackburn (R-TN)

Budd (R-NC)

Crapo (R-ID)

Cruz (R-TX)

Daines (R-MT)

Hagerty (R-TN)

Hawley (R-MO)

Johnson (R-WI)

Kennedy (R-LA)

Lankford (R-OK)

Lee (R-UT)

Lummis (R-WY)

Marshall (R-KS)

Paul (R-KY)

Ricketts (R-NE)

Risch (R-ID)

Rubio (R-FL)

Sanders (I-VT)

Schmitt (R-MO)

Scott (R-SC)

Tuberville (R-AL)

Vance (R-OH)

(This is the end of the nays.)

Not Voting - 2

Braun (R-IN)

Scott (R-FL)”

(This is the end of the transcribed image.)

[thatlovequeerauthor]

Here's your daily reminder to vote for Jasmine Sherman and to pressure your legislators to pass National Popular Vote!

I will be reminding you everyday

[darkhawk1126]

Hehehe training the cat to strangle people… nice.. thank you @misssquirrel

[mamadoc]

1, 2, 11, 20😊

1 - Talk about someone who changed your life.

Okay. I took far too long to think about this. Since we're all in a post 6x6 and TTPD era, here's a vulnerable, tortured answer.

I had a very close friend for several years. My husband and I were very close to her and her husband. Our kids were friends. We went to the same church, all loved to travel, had similar interests and tastes, had all lived internationally, went on double dates, etc. We even considered having them raise our kids if my husband and I both passed away. In sum, we were super close.

Then COVID hit. As a doctor COVID was difficult. I struggled a lot because I was taking care of sick patients. I recall one tearful day of talking to a pregnant mom who was about to be transferred to the ICU and was saying goodbye to her other children. It really wasn't safe or comfortable to go to work for a long time. I wasn't really dealing with it well, especially with the people around me treating it like it didn't matter. I was really depressed for the first time in my life.

This friend didn't understand that or if she did, she didn't care. So, when I said I wasn't interested in going out in public and having any type of birthday celebration for my birthday (who wants to celebrate turning 41 anyway?), she started attacking me on a personal level. I was already in a dark place and instead of being a good friend and supporting me, she just keep sending me hateful messages.

That was the first and only time in my life I considered suicide. I reached out for help and got it. I wasn't in that dark pit for a long time. I'm much better now. I mostly have my sister to thank for that.

I brought her flowers for Valentine's Day with an apology note a few weeks after that. She never apologized. I brought treats to her a few weeks after that with an apology note explaining why I felt so hurt. I tried to call to explain how I felt so that I could heal. She never answered the phone.

I'm still not sure what I have to apologize for or why she never seemed to accept or offer an apology. But that was two years ago. We still don't talk. Our husbands don't talk. Our kids don't play together anymore. For a long time, I didn't like going to church because I knew I'd have to see her.

Most of that is better now. I'm just sad for a lost friendship and for the dark place I had to crawl out of.

I've used a slight modification of her name for a character in one of my stories who betrayed Lucy. I thought that might be therapeutic, but it just brought the situation up to the surface again.

Uhhh... I can't believe I just wrote all of that. I'll try to keep the rest of the answers a bit lighter.

2 - Talk about something you really want to do.

I LOVE to travel. I've been to 47 states and 16 countries. My husband and I had all of our plans in place to get to all 50 states before we turned 40. Then COVID hit and all of our plans were dashed when travel shut down. We're going at a slower pace now, but we're getting close to it. #48 (NM) in October, #49 (HI) July 2025 as a 20th anniversary trip, and #50 (AK) the summer of 2026.

11 - Share something you're proud of.

According to AO3's stats, I've posted over 339k words since I started posting 7 months ago (plus another 9-10k chapter I hope to finish tonight). I know there are those that blow me out of the water (Ahem, ahem @girlintotv and @centralperkchenford) with their numbers, but I'm pretty proud of that as a first-time writer and working mom with 4 young kids.

20 - Share with us a random fact or two.

I'm afraid I've already overshared. *yikes* But here we go.

I'm the oldest of 6 kids. The first 4 of us are all 23 months apart, then 27 months apart, and 25 months apart. So, we're essentially every 2 years for 10 years with all of our birthdays clustered together. 3 boys and 3 girls.

I had the chicken pox for my eighth birthday. My grandparents came to visit for my birthday, but they were afraid of getting shingles. So, I had to stay in my bedroom on the second floor, and they stayed on the first floor for the whole time they were visiting. I still remember standing in the hallway near the dining room while they sang happy birthday. One of my siblings blew out the candles for me and my mom brought me a piece of cake in the hallway. (Man, I'm still rocking those depressing TTPD vibes, aren't I?) I was officially not contagious the day my mom came home from the hospital with baby #5 in our family, and I remember being so excited to be healthy enough to hold my baby brother.

Sheesh. Now you probably won't ever ask me anything again. Between TTPD, 6x6, and the angst I'm supposed to be writing right now, I'm coming up with some strange answers.

Sorry to be the Eeyore in the crowd. Thanks for asking me to play though.

Ask game

[meret118]

— The fossil fuel industry is apparently paying off Republicans — in a practice legalized by Republicans on the Supreme Court — to make sure Congress never passes legislation to hold them accountable for all the death and destruction they’ve caused by lying about climate change for the past 50 years.

Here, for example, are the biggest recipients of their largesse, according to OpenSecrets: Romney, Mitt (R-UT) $8,291,262; Cornyn, John (R-TX) $4,678,062; Cruz, Ted (R-TX) $4,138,421; McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) $2,852,107; McCarthy, Kevin (R-CA) $2,581,832; Hutchison, Kay Bailey (R-TX) $2,332,021; Inhofe, James M (R-OK) $2,320,139; Pearce, Steve (R-NM) $2,236,714; Barton, Joe (R-TX) $2,211,987; Brady, Kevin (R-TX) $2,087,396; Scalise, Steve (R-LA) $1,847,013; Murkowski, Lisa (R-AK) $1,792,602. If you haven’t yet noticed the trend, just check out the party affiliation of each…

. . .

Without telling us, so far as I can tell, Bloomberg is reporting that the FBI (and the DHS more generally) stopped seriously monitoring and infiltrating violent white supremacist groups two years ago, around the time they were being trashed for such investigations by sedition-, Putin-, and Trump-loving Republicans in the House. The pressure seems to have worked.

. . .

Putin’s internet trolls, operating with huge budgets and the resources of the Russian state behind them, have since become a major force on the top social media sites, and both X and Meta are no longer suppressing their lies and attacks on democracy. Is it fossil fuel billionaires or social media billionaires who are the greatest threat to the future of world peace and democracy? Hard to choose…

. . .

Greedy insurer interrupts cancer surgery in shocking mid-procedure call... Dr. Elisabeth Potter was in the middle of surgery on a breast cancer patient when a nurse ran into the operating theater to say that UnitedHealthcare was on the phone demanding to speak with her. She interrupted the surgery, leaving the unconscious patient whose chest was cut open on the table, to take the call. Here’s her story in her own words, as she told it on Instagram and later confirmed with Newsweek:

“So, I scrubbed out of my case and I called UnitedHealthcare, and the gentleman said he needed some information about her. Wanted to know her diagnosis and whether her inpatient stay should be justified. And I was like, ‘Do you understand this? She's asleep right now and she has breast cancer?’ And the gentleman said, ‘Actually, I don’t — that’s a different department that would know that information.’ And I was like, ‘Well, she does need to stay overnight tonight, and you have all the information with you because I got approval for this surgery, and I need to go back and be with my patient now.’ But, yeah, it’s out of control. Insurance is out of control. I have no other words.”

Indiana Republicans want to threaten rape victims with felonies if they try to get an abortion. Over at her brilliant “Abortion Every Day” substack newsletter, Jessica Valenti tells us that Indiana State Senator Mike Young has proposed legislation that would subject a woman in that state to 2.5 years in prison if she were to claim rape to get an abortion (about the only way to get an abortion in Indiana, unless your life is in danger) and then can’t subsequently prove to the satisfaction of the state’s GOP that she was actually raped. The bill also makes it a crime to possess the abortion drug mifepristone, evoking the possibility of midnight raids with Indiana police kicking in the doors of women who Indiana Republicans think may have purchased the drug from an online telehealth physician. Freedumb!!

. . .

But consider this story from Newsweek titled “Trump Organization Accused of Tax Evasion in Panama.” Just like the way he scammed New York State out of tax dollars (for which he was adjudicated and sentenced last year) his failed hotel in Panama hadn’t been paying its taxes either. Trump’s involved in a huge lawsuit down their right now, and some speculate that toppling the Panamanian government might work out well for his personal interests. Keep an eye on this one!

[salithemage]

while i’m not optimistic that nominating someone else is feasible, i do think voting for someone else in the primaries could be a loud way to tell the Biden administration “We don’t want you. What you’re doing is losing approval from people who vote democrat.” Cause they don’t ignore the numbers in the primaries. So please, if you’re American, show up for your presidential primary.

January 23: NH

February 3: SC

February 6: NV

February 27: MI

March 5: AL AR CA CO ME MA MN NC OK TN TX VT VA

March 12: GA MS WA

March 19: AZ FL IL KS OH

March 23: ID LA MO

April 2nd: CT DE NY RI WI

April 6: AK HI NE

April 13: WY

April 23: PA

April 28: PR

May 7: IN

May 14: MD NE WV

May 21: KY OR

May 23: ID

June 4: DC MT NJ NM SC

June 8: Guam USVI

[star-girl34]

No more lesser of two evils voting!

You can go to the national popular vote website to let your representatives know you want a candidate to be elected via popular vote and not through the electoral college. Third party voting can be an option if enough people make more noise about it. You can find more information about this on their site. When you visit it you can put in your zipcode to find your state representatives and email them with a script. You can add to it if you'd like, just make sure to spread this around!