#also for other americans go vote or make sure you have a plan to vote

[dreamingalto]

Hey Something Sorta Cool Happened in Nebraska for once.

Real quick background, back in about 2005 Nebraska had gotten rid of the lifetime ban on voting for felons, switching it to where people with felony convictions could be eligible to vote once they had completed their sentence and went through a two year waiting period.

Earlier this year, state legislators voted on and passed a bill (LB20) that would eliminate the waiting period, making it so those with felony convictions would now be eligible to vote as soon as they have completed their sentence. However, the Nebraska Attorney General, Mike Hilgers, had raised constitutional concerns and stated that the state's board of pardons was the only thing that could restore voting rights. This resulted in the Nebraska Secretary of State, Robert Evnen, to tell election officials to stop registering anyone with a previous felony conviction.

As the article states, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled today, Wednesday October 16th, that LB20 was indeed constitutional and ordered the Secretary of State to remove the disqualifications he imposed in order to comply wirh LB20.

This means all Nebraska residents with previous felony convictions are now eligible to vote and have until October 25th to get registered for the 2024 Election.

If you don't know, this election is pretty important everywhere in the US. But in Nebraska, this is an especially big election. Beyond the presidential election, Nebraska also has some competitive US Senate and House races this year along with several really important initiatives that include both abortion and medicial marijuana.

Not only that, but the neat thing when it comes to the Presidential Election is that Nebraska is special when it comes to its electoral votes. Instead of all the electoral votes going to the popular vote winner of the entire state, the votes get split up by district. The only other state that does this is Maine.

While Nebraska is still mostly a red state, District 2 (which mostly includes Omaha and some of the surrounding areas) has been known to go blue, giving its electoral vote to the democratic candidate. An example of this being the 2020 Election where the District Two electoral vote went to Biden.

This ruling from today is so significant for voting rights in the state, especially when disenfranchisement has been on the rise.

I dont have that much reach to be honest and I really don't have many followers who know even one person from Nebraska, but if you happen to know like anyone from Nebraska, let them know especially if they might know more Nebraskan who might potentially be thinking their are ineligible to vote when they are.

DEADLINE TO REGISTER TO VOTE ONLINE IN NE IS THIS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18TH

DEADLINE TO REGISTER TO VOTE IN-PERSON OR VIA MAIL IN NE IS NEXT FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25TH AT 6PM

Like seriously if you register in person, you could also just get your voting done the same day. I was literally at a Nebraska Election Office yesterday and someone came in and was like "Hey just became a resident rather recently, can I get registered?" And they were like "Yeah, wanna fill out your ballot today too?"

Sorry for the long post, I just saw the story earlier and also was driving past a bunch of billboards in Omaha on my way to my family's house this evening that were directed at getting those with previous felony convictions to register to vote and it gave me just a little bit of good news and hope when it came to the election which is fucking rare.

[qqueenofhades]

I think its genuinely fascinating how Biden has somehow become the bad vibes sin eater for the party. I'm seeing people who were doing the whole "voting doesn't matter both old men are the same" pivot hard into voting as harm reduction. The anti voting rhetoric has COMPLETELY lost The Youths on tiktok. People suddenly remember the good things the Biden administration has done but don't associate Harris with any of the things they didn't like. In my swing state volunteers are signing up in droves. People feel ENERGIZED, the vibe shift pre and post Biden dropping from the race has just been insane

Y'know, that is a... good way of putting it. It's also why I'm quite sure that Biden has probably been planning it for a while. I don't think he was intending to step down, and didn't want to be forced out at the drop of a hat, but after he realized that the circus was never going to stop until he did, he did the honorable fall-on-his-own-sword thing and definitely, DEFINITELY spent some time choreographing this behind the scenes. Because while the roll-out has been very smooth, it could just as easily (as many of us were expecting) have been a total disaster, and that doesn't happen without SOME planning. It's also entirely possible that the campaign staff flipped from Biden to Harris are superhuman, to come up with a massive online roll-out, new branding, new signs (they had plenty of 'em in Wisconsin yesterday), new everything, but I'm guessing it's a combination of both. Biden has spent his entire political career being underestimated, and after we literally made a meme out of Dark Brandon juking the Republicans out of their shoes, we should definitely give credit where credit is due in how masterfully he pulled it off.

Because we have had eight years defined by the central question of Whether The President Is a God King Who Should Serve For Life (the MAGAts obviously think yes), the sheer idea of a president willingly giving up his power BEFORE he had to is also novel and admirable. It's sad that this is the case, but so be it. The Republicans also got a heaping helping of Be Careful What You Wish For that was undoubtedly brilliant; they've been yelling for years that Biden is old and frail and can't serve and should step down. Biden went "lol okay" and gave it to them, and now they're fucked.

Aside from that, on the most basic level, it's far, far easier to see the actual difference in the parties with Harris as the nominee, just because it shows that one party is willing to make progress and reflect the new demographic reality and social mores of America, and the other one is not. Now to be clear, Biden deserves an incredible amount of credit for coming out of retirement (he was ALREADY 77 years old when he became president and had had decades of a long and respected career in public service behind him) to fight, beat Trump, and deliver an incredibly successful presidency. He held the line against authoritarianism at home and abroad, he rescued the trashed American economy and managed a world-leading recovery from Covid, he stood up for democracy, he spent four years filling the benches with liberal judges to reverse even some of the Trump/McConnell hack job, he finally passed comprehensive infrastructure investment and the Green New Deal under the name of the Inflation Reduction Act -- and so on. Many of these priorities had been languishing for decades or were completely trashed under Trump, and he could not have done so much in just 4 years without all that age, skill, and experience. Hence why all the Ageism!!! was (aside from being a Republican/media smear job) dumb. He's able to do the job because he has had decades to study. Turns out that makes you actually pretty damn good at it.

Yes, Biden could not do as much as he wanted or originally planned, had to deal with MAGA Republicans and Joe Manchin/Kyrsten Sinema sabotaging him the whole time (lololol Manchin, possible possessor of the World's Biggest Ego and with Trump around that's saying something, popping out of obscurity to self-righteously announce he would not be willing to be Kamala's VP. YEAH ASSHOLE. LITERALLY NOBODY ASKED YOU. NOBODY WHATSOEVER. NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS AT LEAST WE WILL SOON NO LONGER HAVE MANCHIN IN THE SENATE). And yes, Biden made some serious mistakes of his own, because he IS from an older generation and a different style of doing politics/different beliefs that no longer resonate with the younger segments of the electorate. But this old white Catholic guy at the age of almost 80 still managed to be the most progressive president ever, coming in at a moment of incredible domestic and international crisis and getting us safely to the other side, and all cynicism, criticizing, and caveating aside, he deserves an incredible amount of credit for that. I mean that absolutely, and I am very grateful.

As I said, willingly relinquishing that power takes guts, and when Biden saw the writing on the wall that he had to sacrifice himself, he took his time, he didn't jump too early, and he didn't jump too late. On the most basic level, it becomes a hell of a lot easier to make the "both parties are not the same" argument when one is running a (comparatively) young brown woman and the other is still running their loathed felonious old demented orange traitor. Most Americans are not plugged into policy minutiae and details. They look at Biden-Trump, they see two old white guys. When you take one of those old white guys away (who goes in a self-sacrificially heroic manner and in sharp contrast with the coup-happy fascist) and put Kamala Harris in there instead, it generates an obvious jolt. People can see for themselves that there is a real difference that doesn't rely on closely reading news and tracking complex policy, because as noted, most Americans simply don't. The brown first-generation American daughter of brown immigrants is a quantifiably different story from "old white guy career politician," which for better or worse is how Biden was seen, especially the old part. We needed that establishment expertise to beat Trump in 2020; I still think Biden is the only one who could have done it, and as noted, we owe him a great debt for doing so.

However.... 2024 is not 2020, and it is not 2016. There has been this HUGE and unbelievable swing to Kamala because she represents the antithesis of what the last eight years of Trump-induced anger, fear, panic, chaos, and hatred has stirred up. That's why people are so ready to rally around her, just as they were (I daresay) around Obama in 2008, after the exhaustion, chaos, war, and mounting economic misery of Bush. Trump has been out of office for the last four years, but his shadow over the American political landscape has been omnipresent. Now people know that we finally have a real chance at getting rid of him forever, and just as Biden was uniquely positioned to capitalize on that in 2020, so Harris is now. Which is why, however tough it will be, she has a real shot at winning. I can guarantee the Republicans know that, and are shit scared. Because the Black Lady Army of Democracy has indeed arrived in force to Get This Shit Done and I don't know about you, but I found that incalculably comforting:

Yikes! All lined up for Kamala pic.twitter.com/Dt4OCDp7WX

— Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) July 24, 2024

This, at the most basic level, is what scares fascists the most, it's exactly what we need now, and what Harris is uniquely positioned to mobilize, along with her gangbusters appeal to young voters:

This is the energy we need. This is what Biden saw and planned for and which he launched us into, and where all that experience and age paid off. This is why people, even people otherwise disengaged, disillusioned, or checked out of the tedious and mind-numbering drudgery and depression of American politics, are responding to it. Because it's easy to understand, it offers hope, and it tells a very simple story that is nonetheless long overdue:

Thanks so much, Joe. Go absolutely waste that orange fucker, Kamala. We got your back.

[batboyblog]

I just saw someone call "vote blue people" fascists today on this godforsaken website. They also rambled about Jews Zionists a little too much and repeated some blatant blood libel points so like, I shouldn't take anything they say seriously but.

Is that what we've come to? People voting for Democrats, the party that wants to destroy the world and its people the least... Fascists? Is there no winning with these damn people? What the hell is considered acceptable to them anymore?

hm, I mean I think there are a number of different types of these people. I think there are people who grew up in Republican households and took on all the anti-Democrat baggage and their leftism is rebellion against mommy and daddy but not very deep.

I think there are people influenced by the silly idea that the worse things get the better it is for the Communist Revolution thats totally about to happen any day now we swear, Karl Marx the once and future King will rise from his sleep to lead Britain in its hour of greatest need or whatever.

I think the media are really failing, because they love an idea of "balance" but like when it comes to say Republican criminality there isn't balance? there's no Democratic counter point? so they have to under cover Republican scandal and also lean into an unthinking narrative that whatever Republicans do is somehow Democrats fault? in some way "why didn't Democrats stop them?" well because thats not how it works? why did Republicans do it in the first place? why wasn't the public aware thats what Republicans would do if elected?

I think the antisemitism is a big factor this time around as you mentioned the raving about Zionists or whatever, putting all issues on the back burner to somehow "punish" Democrats for the fact a war broke out in a foreign country on the other side of the world when a Democrat happened to President.

which leads me to the final part, propaganda. When Trump was President he recognized Israel's annexation of two areas, East Jerusalem which has long been talked about as the site for a Palestinian capital, and the Golan Heights a legal part of Syria. This is the first time an American President (or any world leader) had recognized land occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War as a PART of Israel, rather than occupied. Trump went further and put forward a plan drafted by Israel and right wing American Israel hawks which would have reduced Palestine to a bunch of little islands of sovereignty cut off from each other by land annexed to Israel. A Palestine of bridges and tunnels. And Netanyahu claimed, and I believe him, that Trump said he could go ahead and annex that land even if the Palestinians said no to the deal (which they did)

do you remember the big protests then? no? none? you don't recall any of this? strange... because there are big bot networks boosting content about this conflict, making sure it makes it into your timeline, making sure you tie it to somehow be Democrats fault and that its the most important thing in the world and showing how upset you are by it is the single most important thing imaginable. All day, every day.

As far as Palestine goes, there are two options. The Party that believes in a two state answer, and the party that doesn't. Trump already signed off on annexation once, when he's back in office, now, after October 7th? ooof. Any one who's serious and not cooked knows which is the better choice.

[eowyntheavenger]

Hi! I saw your post on telling Americans to vote, and I was wondering what you think of posts from people from other parts of the world who are calling Americans evil for voting for Biden because of his support for Israel. I've seen a few already. They seem to be completely convinced that Americans deliberately voted for Biden specifically to side against Palestine and no other reason, and spread the general (pretty ignorant and hateful) message of "Americans are evil because of the actions of their government and because they collectively refuse to vote for a president who is good and not simply 'the lesser of two evils'". It frustrates me because they seem to think they're experts on US politics, culture, and society and have all the answers, but it also makes me concerned because it reminds me of the whole Russian bot thing from last time. Like, I'm 99% sure the people reblogging these posts aren't Russian bots (don't know about the OPs though), and they unquestioningly believe this. What do you think of this and how would you go about addressing this issue? Do you think it's possible to get them to understand how little they actually know about the US and how they're actually promoting a message that makes things worse for everyone? I've also seen less scathing posts that are just disheartened and don't seem to believe the democrats are truly better to vote for than the republicans and so it's just two sides of the same coin. To be fair, I think that sort of feeling is only further encouraged because there didn't really seem to be much if any progress made with Biden, not even back to square one after Trump moved the country so far backwards. I think most Americans really wish the elections actually had good candidates and they could pick the best of two goods, but are frustrated and stuck with the current system and don't know how to actually get to the point where there are good candidates. (Though personally I think voting for the one who isn't actively trying to make themselves a king with unlimited terms is a decent start. I can understand the frustration though.)

Hi! Thanks for the ask. This stuff worries me too. I've gotten comments on my posts like that too, telling me/other Americans that we're evil for voting for Biden.

But I've seen a much larger number of comments and posts from people outside the United States BEGGING us to vote for Biden. I literally get tags like that on my posts EVERY DAY urging Americans to vote blue. So I think that's valuable context, even if it doesn't solve the problem of the "I hate everybody who votes for Biden" crowd.

And yes, it's definitely a shitty argument on their part to claim that people voting for Biden are specifically siding against Palestine. Literally every single person I know in real life and online who plans to vote for Biden has been criticizing and protesting his policies on Palestine.

In terms of convincing the anti-voters that they're wrong, honestly, I don't know. They don't listen to reason and they seem intent on spreading despair. Some of Biden's policies have been terrible (Willow oil-drilling project), some of them have been downright evil (military aid to Israel), but I'm a rational person and I know that Trump is worse in every respect.

I've tried debating them. It's been pointless every time. They genuinely don't know how the government works, which scares me. Common takes include: 1) a genuine lack of awareness of how pro-Israel Trump and the right wing are, combined with magical thinking that a virtually unknown third party candidate can win the presidential election, 2) truly impressive mental gymnastics blaming Biden for the overturn of Roe v. Wade, and 3) continuing the mental gymnastics to blame Biden and the Democrats for anti-trans policies...

I guess my advice is to either ignore them and move on, or debunk things when you have time/energy? It's easier said than done, I know. There's nothing more annoying than someone being stupid on the internet, especially when they accuse you of stuff that just isn't true, and especially when they're spreading dangerous misinformation or voter-suppression rhetoric.

Like you, I'm highly suspicious of anyone who advocates AGAINST voting, or against voting blue. And I agree, many of these people are not bots, like you said, but I call them useful idiots, because they're doing the bots' work for them.

The one thing you said that I'm going to push back on is "there didn't really seem to be much if any progress made with Biden." Biden's actually made lots of progress on a variety of issues, and reversed some of Trump’s damage, it just doesn't get a lot of fanfare and it’s unfortunately happening at the same time as Republican gains in state legislatures and while they control the Supreme Court. But Biden and his administration have:

• invested billions in green architecture and clean energy, including making sure federal investments benefit low-income communities

• introduced new fines for companies' methane emissions

• introduced a plan to cut the federal government's greenhouse gas emissions by 65% by 2030 (that includes the military, which is a huge emitter)

• passed a huge bill for improving the country's infrastructure, including bridges, roads, broadband and more

• introduced first-ever national strategy on gender equality and equity and pushed Congress to pass the Equal Rights Amendment

• fought for women's reproductive rights after the overturn of Roe v. Wade

• put more women, people of color, and women of color on the federal bench than any of his predecessors combined

• nominated Kentaji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court

• boosted funding to historically Black colleges

• ordered the DOJ to end the use of private prisons by the federal government

• pardoned thousands of people convicted on federal marijuana charges

• created a White House office of gun violence prevention

• passed the Respect for Marriage Act, guaranteeing federal rights and benefits for same-sex couples

• rolled out a series of actions to protect the rights and safety of the LGBTQ+ community, including protecting queer and trans foster youth, improving access to mental health services, and addressing the rise in hate crimes

• challenged discriminatory state bans against gender-affirming care and trans athletes

• called to support trans youth in State of the Union address and restored the White House tradition of recognizing Pride Month

• changed passport rules so that people can obtain a passport with no gender marker

• examined efforts by each federal agency to advance LGBTQ+ rights around the world

• reversed Trump's transgender military ban

• protected the rights of incarcerated trans people

• forgave billions in student debt, repeatedly, and introduced penalties for college programs that trap students in debt

• slashed bank overdraft fees

• expanded guaranteed overtime pay for millions of people

• made union-busting harder

• prevented discriminatory mortgage lending

• made efforts to expand the child tax credit, which could lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty

• cracked down on agriculture monopolies to support farmers and small businesses

• made it so the government is going to start taking drug companies' patents away if they don't make affordable drugs

• made over-the-counter birth control pills available for the first time

• lowered the cost of hearing aids and expanded access to them

• spent millions of dollars on students' mental health

• reversed discriminatory healthcare rules

• reinvigorated cancer research

• announced plans to replace all leaded pipes in the next ten years as well as combatting lead exposure abroad

• changed rules for how people can get aid after disasters so they can get more protection and immediate payments more easily

• introduced new data privacy rules protecting people from tech companies

• pushed the federal government to monitor AI risks

• maintained steadfast support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression

• maintained steadfast support for Taiwan in the face of Chinese intimidation

• strengthened ties with allies in Asia and the Pacific Islands

• pledged climate change assistance to low-lying Pacific Island countries

• literally IMMEDIATELY after being elected, Biden fortified DACA, rejoined the Paris Agreement, and ended Trump's discriminatory "Muslim ban", ended the Keystone XL Pipeline and fossil duel development in wildlife monuments, (same as last link) rejoined the WHO, strengthened COVID-19 response measures on a variety of fronts, re-included non-citizens in the U.S. census, and passed executives orders on racial equity in the federal government

And I'm sure there's more I left out.

There are also things Biden does that literally don’t make the news, but matter a lot, like funding the Postal Service, and continuing to have a State Department so we can conduct overseas diplomacy (Trump tried to defund the USPS and wants to purge the State Department and fill it with loyalists).

[odinsblog]

When most people talk about expanding the Supreme Court, they're talking about adding a few Justices, two or four to the bench. But I am not most people. I do not think we should add a few Justices to get into an endless tit for tat with Mitch McConnell and his Federalist Society forces. I think we should blow the lid clear off this incrementally institutionalized motherfucker, and add 20 Justices.

I'd like to tell you about my Court expansion plan and explain why adding many Justices instead of fewer Justices is actually a better reform, fixes more underlying problems with the Court, and works out to be less partisan or political than some of the more incremental plans out there.

Let's start with the basics.

Expanding the number of Justices on the Supreme Court can be done with a simple act of Congress, passed by the Senate and signed by the President. Court expansion does not become easier or harder based on the number of Justices you seek to add to the Court. From a civics perspective, the process to add two Justices to the Court is just the same as the process to add 20.

Arguably, the rationale is the same too.

The current plan, supported by some Democrats, is to add four Justices to the Supreme Court. Their arguments are that the Court has gotten woefully out of step with the American people and the elected branches of government, which is true.

They argue that the country is a lot bigger now than it was in 1869, when Congress set the number of Supreme Court Justices at nine, which is also true. Basically, all of these arguments flow together into the catchphrase, “we have 13 Circuit Courts of Appeal, and so we should have 13 Justices.”

See, back in the day, each Supreme Court Justice was responsible for one lower Circuit Court of Appeal. Procedurally, appeals from the lower circuits are heard first by the Justice responsible for that circuit. But now we have 13 lower Circuit Courts of Appeal, meaning some Justices have to oversee more than one. If we expanded the Court to 13 Justices, we'd get back to a one to one ratio for Supreme Court Justice per Circuit Court of Appeal.

But it doesn't actually matter how many circuits each Justice presides over, because all the Justices do is move an appeal from the lower court to the Supreme Court for the full Court to consider whether to hear the appeal.

Their function is purely clerical.

It doesn't matter.

One justice could oversee all 13 circuits while the other eight went fishing, kind of like hazing a rookie on a team. And it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference in terms of the number of cases the Supreme Court hears. It's just a question of who has to work on Saturdays.

Indeed, I'm not even sure that I want the Court to hear more cases. These people are unelected, and these people already have too much power. More cases just gives them more opportunities to screw things up. I don't need the Court to make more decisions. I need the Court to make fewer shitty decisions. And for that, I need to reform how the Court makes those decisions. And for that, I need more people. And I need those people to make their decisions in panels.

Those lower courts, those 13 Circuit Courts of Appeal, almost all of them operate with more than nine judges. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has — wait for it — 29 judges!

All the lower courts use what's called a panel system. When they catch a case, three judges are chosen at random from all the judges on the circuit to hear the case. Those three judges then issue a ruling. If the majority of the circuit disagrees, they can vote to rehear the case as a full circuit.

The legal jargon here is called “en banc” when the full circuit hears the case.

But most of the time, that three judge panel ruling is the final ruling on the issue, with the circuit going en banc only when they believe the three judge panel got it clearly wrong.

Think about how different it would be if our Supreme Court operated on a panel system instead of showing up to Court knowing that six conservative Justices were against you, or the one or two conservative Justices that you invited onto your super yacht are guaranteed to hear your case.

You literally wouldn't know which Justices you'd get on your panel.

Even on a six-three conservative court, you might draw a panel that was two-to-one liberals, or you might draw Roberts, Kavanaugh, and Barrett instead of Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch, which could make a huge difference. Either way, you wouldn't know which Justices you'd get.

Not only does that make a big difference in terms of the appearance of fairness, especially in this time when some Justices are openly corrupt, it also makes a big difference in terms of what kinds of cases and arguments people would bring to the Court. Without knowing which Justices they'd get, litigants and red state attorney generals would have to tailor their arguments to a more center mass, mainstream temperament, instead of merely shooting their shot and hoping their arch conservatives can bully a moderate or two to vote with them.

Now, you can do panels with nine or 13 Justices, but you pretty much have to do panels with 29 Justices. Overloading the Court with Justices would essentially force them to adopt the random assignment process used by every other Court.

That would be good.

Sure, litigants could always hope for en banc review, where the full partisan makeup of the Court could be brought to bear. BUT, getting a majority of 29 Justices to overrule a panel decision requires 15 votes. Consider that right now you only need four votes, a minority of the nine member Court, to get the full Court to hear a case.

I'm no mathlete, but I'm pretty sure that 15 is just a higher bar.

That brings me to my next big point about expanding the Court to 29: Moderation.

Most people say that they do not want the Court to be too extreme to either side. Generally, I think that argument is bollocks. I, in fact, do want the Court to be extreme in its defense of voting rights, women's rights, and human rights. But maybe I'm weird.

If you want the Supreme Court to be a more moderate institution, then you should want as many Justices on the Supreme Court as possible. Why? Because cobbling together a 15-14 majority on a 29 member Court will often yield a more moderate decision than a five-four majority on a nine member Court.

Not going to lie. The law is complicated, and judges are quirky. If you invited five judges off the street over for a barbecue, they wouldn't be able to agree on whether hot dogs and hamburgers count as sandwiches.

It's simply easier to get five people to do something extreme than it is to get 15 people to do something extreme.

Think about your own life.

If you wanted to hike up a damn mountain, that is an activity for you and a couple of your closest friends. You're not taking 15 people to climb a mountain. That's not even a hike. That's an expedition, and you're expecting one or two of them to be eaten by bears on the way to the top. But if you're organizing an outdoor activity for 15 people, you're going to go to the park, and your friends will be expected to bring their own beer.

Most likely, adding 20 Justices would moderate the conservative majority just by putting enough people and personalities in the mix that it would be harder for them to do their most destructive work.

Just think about how the five worst senators you know, or the five worst congresspeople you can think of, often don't get their way because they can't even convince other members of their party to go along with their nihilist conservative ride.

Note, I said Conservative majority.

The astute reader will notice that I have not said that I want to add 20 fire-breathing liberal comrades who will stick it to Das Kapital for the rest of their lives. No, I believe the benefits of this kind of court expansion are so great — panels and the moderation from having more justices trying to cobble together en banc majority opinions — that I'd be willing to split the new justices ten and ten with conservative choices.

A 16-13 conservative leaning court would just be better than a six-three conservative court, even if my guys are still in the minority. The only litmus test I'd have for this plan is that all 20 have to be objectively pro-Democratic, self-government. All 20 have to think the Supreme Court has too much power. You give me 20 people who think the court should not be rulers in robes, and I'll take my chances.

However, there's no objective reason for elected Democrats to be as nice and friendly as I am when adding 20 Justices. Off the top, seats should be split eleven to nine, because Mitch McConnell and the Republicans must be made to pay for their shenanigans with the Merrick Garland nomination under Barack Obama. Republicans stole a seat. Democrats should take it back, full stop. I will take no further questions about this.

From there, this is where Democrats could, I don't know, engage in political hardball instead of being SAPS like always.

You see, right now, Republicans are dead set against court expansion because they are winning with the Court as it is. I can make all of the pro-reform, good government arguments under the sun, and the Republicans will ignore them because, again, they're winning right now.

But if you put forward a bill to add 20 seats, the Republican incentives possibly change: obstruct, and the Democrats push through court expansion on their own, and add 20 Justices of their own choosing, and you end up with people like, well, like me on the court. Or Mitch McConnell could release Senators to vote for the plan, and Republicans can share in the bounty.

It puts a different kind of question to McConnell: Join, get nine conservative Justices and keep a 15-14 conservative majority on the court, or Obstruct, and create a 23 to six liberal majority on the court, and trust that Republicans will take over the House, Senate, and White House so they can add 20 of their own Justices in the future.

Note that McConnell will have to run that whole table while overcoming a super liberal Supreme Court that restores the Voting Rights Act and strikes down Republican gerrymanders. Good luck, Mitch.

My plan wins either way.

Either we get a 29 person court that is more moderate, we get a 29 person court that is uber liberal, or McConnell does run the table and we end up with a 49 person court or a 69 person court. And while Republicans are in control of that bloated body, everybody understands that the Court is just a political branch there to rubber-stamp the acts of the President who appointed them.

Perhaps then, voters would start voting based on who they want to be in control of that court, instead of who they want to have a beer with.

The court is either fixed, or neutered.

It's a win-win.

I know 20 is a big number. I know we've all been institutionalized to believe that incremental change is the only change possible. And I know it sounds fanciful to ask for 20 when the starting offer from the establishment of the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and President Joe Biden, is zero.

But like a doctor with poor bedside manner, I'm less interested in people's feelings and more interested in fixing the problem.

If you give me two Justices or four Justices, I can reverse a number of conservative policies that they've shoved through a Supreme Court that has already been illegitimately packed with Republican appointees. If you give me a few Justices, I can reestablish a center-left, pro-democracy majority… at least until those new Justices die at the wrong time, under the wrong president.

But if you give me 20 Justices, I can fix the whole fucking thing.

—ELIE MYSTAL, In Contempt of Court

[peaceofthespirit]

I keep seeing tons of posts on tumblr making all kinds of claims about what will happen if one doesn't vote for biden. but I rarely see these points:

if you live in a red state, you should probably be voting third party or independent for president regardless (there are multiple more progressive options than biden). like if you know the democrats are gonna lose in your state, do not support them. let them know that you are an active voter who does not condone biden, genocide, or the shitty dnc in general.

if biden is all that stands between us and "losing our democracy," then we don't have a democracy. (and imo I don't think another four years of biden is going to fix anything enough to where we wouldn't be having this same conversation again, unfortunately). If you actually want useful talking points, talk about the strong national board of labor relations under biden, or the SAVE plan, or a few key LGBTQ+ protections that might go away. though even with biden, all these things could potentially go away if the supreme court says so. and would biden even really do anything to try and rectify that?

if you truly believe voting for biden is the best option, this does not mean that the people who don't want to vote for biden are complete idiots or think you have to vote for someone "morally pure" or have fallen to right-wing psyops. the big idea is that biden losing might be the only way to actually push the dnc to change. not saying that will for sure work, but that's the idea behind the strategy. also if you are angry at palestinian, arab, and/or muslim americans (or anyone else) who are refusing to vote for biden based on conscious, please go reflect on that for a while.

trump is obviously horrible, but the (white) christian nationalists who support him are scarier. they are not going to just magically go away. regardless of who wins the election, we have to organize from the bottom up to stop them. we cannot rely on voting to stop them, because clearly that hasn't worked so far. they have voter suppression measures and now even the highest court in their favor. not to mention huge monetary support and preachers and media figures across the country who spread their reactionary propaganda.

if trump wins, we cannot act like all hope is lost. maybe there is no hope for the "united states of america" the imperialist capitalist settler colonial state. but there is always hope for something better. there are marginalized people in red states that are already facing many of the things proposed in project 2025. and they are still going and surviving. not to say that it is easy or that living under such a government is never discouraging, but we just have to commit to uplifting and protecting each other no matter what.

[fairuzfan]

I'm not American, but am in a country often affected by US foreign policy decisions, so forgive my ignorance on the matter and be assured that I'm not trying to get a rise out of you or trying to be offensive, I just want to understand.

Why is Trump not worse? I mean, sure, genocide joe is...well, genocide joe, I'm not an idiot or a bloodthirsty zionist, so I'm not going to deny that, but isn't Trump even more pro-genocide?

Well trump is also a terrible man who wishes genocide on others or has participated in genocide, I fully, fully admit that and think that it would be irresponsible of anyone to say otherwise. but my point isn't so much that i think he's "worse" and moreso that biden is already BAD. How are we measuring the level of "badness" these overwhelmingly powerful people have to compare them to one another? You can say "well trump wouldn't let aid in" and well. No aid is being let in now. Which things are we willing to sacrifice for other things? Which people are we going to say "you know the way palestinians died was pretty terrible but these other people also might die in a different terrible way. so I'll make a decision of how I want them killed and by who! besides, no way a genocider will do the same thing twice." At what point are we saying "You know, we can't actually go on like this and we need to make a change"?

If you ask me and other (not all) Palestinians if we plan on voting for biden, we're not. I can personally tell you I know people won't vote for him. That does not mean we are voting for trump. We are just so thoroughly disillusioned by the system that has ALREADY enacted genocide on our people that we understand that there is nothing that will really benefit us no matter who we choose. The entire world completely turned their backs as they watched the slaughter of my people. What is worse than that?

Biden decided to be openly genocidal and fund massacres with our own tax dollars. Who cares what trump would have done when it's Biden doing all the terrible things right NOW. It always can be worse but I'm not voting for the man that literally went against the ENTIRE COUNTRY in calling for a ceasefire for nothing other than his twisted personal gain.

Thank you for sending this in. I got a little heated, but please know it's not directed at you!

[lutzlig]

Tumblrwoman Election Wrap-Up

To celebrate the end of this election, I'm gonna answer the rest of your questions!

First off:

Thanks everyone for participating! This ended up way bigger than expected. It was pretty exciting, seeing everybody chime in and participate.

Shoutout ESPECIALLY to all the people making fanarts, memes, etc... you people are incredible!!! Most of it can be found under #twe23, be sure to check it out, everybody!

Here's some highlights you people have made:

this github live number tracker made by @twilight-sparkle-irl during the vriska/katya poll. A THRILLING read!

this hollow knight miku oc by @anonymous-utility!! shes so cute...

@seasoned-cabbage made a wiki sandbox for the polls... it's so satisfying to see the stats laid out like this : D

@unidentifiedfroggy wrote fanfiction that just perfectly encapsulates the whole experience : ' )

General Q&A

"Who did you want to win?"

I myself think Vriska deserved the title most! I think vriska is just as integral to tumblr as Cecil is, if not more.

As for the other 2 involved, they didn't really care who won!

How often did you hear "Why are you pitting 2 bad bitches against each other"?

Often! One of us was going to count, but he got so annoyed that he stopped. You people need to get a new sentence.

"Why are there minors in a tumblrsexywoman contest?"

It's not a tumblr sexywoman contest, it's a tumblrwoman election! Before we made the poll, we considered whether it's better to throw out the minors or remove the "sexy" angle. We decided on the latter, mostly because this kind of competition would feel incomplete without tumblrgirls like miku and vriska.

Will you be doing this again next year?

Hm, not sure. Probably not! At least, I wasn't planning on it. We did this on a whim, and this is (SUPPOSED TO BE) my art blog.

I might make a blog for it next year, if these are still relevant and the demand is high (which i highly doubt).

Why didn't you answer my question?

I got like 130 asks this week and most of them were cries of pain and outrage. I was also incredibly busy irl until a day ago. If I didn't answer your question, Sorry!

Concerns about Corruption

According to the tags on these, every single one of the polls was rigged in some way or another. Particularly grievous examples of this were Miku's loss (I suspect Vriskavoters doing foul play (I am vriskavoters. I voted Bayonetta to sabotage Miku. Then i spent the whole day listening to Miku voicebank comparisons.)), and Marcie's win (Somebody accused the Adventure time subreddit of having swamped the poll. The post in question had 19 upvotes. The poll on tumblr had 92,123 votes).

What's more, I've been offered bribes!! Several american dollars! The political landscape of tumblr sure is a scary place...

Manners

Some of you really don't know how to act. This goes out to a small (but very, very vocal) minority - don't be a dick! Just because it's the internet does not mean you can just insult random strangers! This is a poll about fictional women, this is NOT a place to call people the r-word or imply someone is stupid for liking a character.

Some people left pretty graphic, violent messages. Most of these were jokes, but still. Take caution with the words you choose. This should go without saying, but telling strangers to "eat glass" and the like is not acceptable behaviour.

In the end, this was a competition between fictional characters, so seeing people arguing in the replies and trying to gain some sort of moral high ground was a little bit saddening.

Most of you were nice though, luckily : )

Thanks

To everyone who left kind messages, to everyone engaging and having fun, the fan art, the posts, to everyone expressing their thanks to us - thank you!!!

In the end, this was a lot of fun, and it was nice to see the website come together like that!

What's next?

For the next few days, I'm going to be promoting my friends' projects as much as I can to scare all of you people off of my blog.

I got WAY too many followers from this and frankly, that is simply not acceptable. You all need to leave NOW, because I want to get back to posting art eventually and I would rather not be on everybody's timeline.

That's why I have decided to become a massive sell out and reblog my friends' stuff on main for a bit. Peace!

[mugiwara-lucy]

Now while we've done GREAT with Early and Mail In Voting; I'd like to talk to the men in my audience.

Every though we're all on the same page I need us all to understand something; especailly if you happen to be a MAGA MALE that follows me.

This picture basically sums up what I'm about to say:

IF Trump wins and we get Vance (Because based on what happened Monday, it's obvious he will NOT last four years), Vance will no DOUBT pass a Nationwide Abortion Ban and he's also talked about DEFUNDING PLANNED PARENTHOOD. Now assuming he does all that and what the picture says above.......I'm sure we all enjoy using Sex Toys, Condoms and having our own versions of Sex and the City. Should Trump/Vance win? Say goodbye to having Recreational Sex/Oral Sex/Using Contraceptives and Sex Toys and even WATCHING PORN.

The Republicans want a Christian Theocracy where we all live a Conservative Ronald Reagan bullshit society where we all wait until Marriage to have Sex or risk having a baby since basically the restraints will be banned and IF that happens; you're gonna find VERY LITTLE if ANY women will want to have sex anymore. ESPECIALLY if there's NO WAY to prevent us from being pregnant if we don't want too. And I know Trump and Vance said they're gonna delegate the responsibility of women's health to RFK Jr but....NO. I'll talk about that tomorrow. But anyways.....

The ONLY solution to avoid this Gilead/Handsmaids Tale fuckery nightmare is to V-O-T-E BLUE DOWN THE FREAKING TICKET!!!! Here is the link below to register to vote along with the deadlines varying by state! Also, your own vote isn’t enough! Get as many people as you can to vote for Kamala be it your friends, cousins, parents, grandparents, old friends from high school and college, coworkers, boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives, stepchildren (if they’re 18 and over) and the list goes on and on but every vote counts! ALSO PLEASE check your registration DAILY because MAGA WILL purge your voter registration!!!

And early voting has started! And if you don’t wanna vote on November 5th, Early Voting is another option! Like I said get as many people as you know and try early voting that way you can avoid MAGA fuckery on November 5th! Down below is a list of dates by state:

And Mail in Ballots are ANOTHER option I highly recommend!! And like I said get as many people as you can to take advantage of this option! BUT if you decide to go with Mail In/Absentee Ballots; PLEASE mail your ballots at the ACTUAL USPS office!! That way MAGAts won't fuck with it.

And if you’re an American who lives overseas; PLEASE use the option of voting overseas since I know every country other than North Korea, Russia and China do NOT want to see Trump’s stinky ass back in the Oval Office! Here’s a link below:

So in short; the moral of this post?

Vote Blue down the ticket or your Girlfriend will be your hand and the bottle of lotion on your desk.

[thosemotivationalquotes]

Many states have important things up for vote this election! Make sure to research your states ballot measures, especially if you plan to vote in person. The measures are sometimes worded oddly, so it’s best to know how you are going to vote before going in.

This is a great resource to check for your state’s ballot measures:

Register to vote here - deadlines for many states are this week!

Voting resource list

(Also if you are from a specific state or there’s a specific measure you want more info on, message me or send me and ask! I’m happy to help!)

[itmeblog]

POLITICS INTO THE VOID TIME

In the event that you've not been pretty obsessed with how American politics have been going since Kamala became the Democratic nominee (there's been good and bad, that I'm aware of) the tone of the campaign has completely changed.

Because Kamala's team has decided that Trump isn't threatening, all powerful, and scary, (though the ads I've seen have sort of been using old language) they have decided that he's weird and he's a creep.

These were made 11 days apart:

As a kid who grew up being called weird (and occasionally a creep) this is hilarious. It's just playground bullying.

Dems really said, we tried being the bigger person, it wasn't working out.

And Trump's policies and desires are actually weird. A proposed porn ban is weird. Trying to put librarians in jail is weird, policing people's bodies is creep behavior.

As a former weird kid, the way to overcome this sort of bullying is not to assert that you aren't weird or god forbid shout "I'm cool" (the more you say it, the less true it is), it's to embrace that you're weird and accept that not everyone is going to like you, and that you'll probably never have a seat at the cool table.

But and I cannot express this enough Trump wants to be cool. His whole thing is, being edgy, and dangerous, and "being brave enough to say what people are afraid to say". And when you get someone who is "being brave enough to say what normal people are afraid to say" and shoot back with "they don't say that because it's fucking weird"... where does he go from there?

It's a depowering move. They are depowering Trump.

When you were a kid talking passionately about something that interested you and someone said "that's weird (derogatory)" it probably made you feel really small. That kid stole the power you were wielding in said conversation.

So the question is, can Trump proudly and convincingly assert "I'm weird. I’m a weirdo. I don't fit in. And I don't want to fit in. Have you ever seen me without this stupid hat on? That's weird." (GOD HIS CHATGPT AND PLAGIARIZED SPEECHES HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO THE FUNNIEST THING IN THE WORLD)

Is he ready to go full edgelord in the public eye?? I'm sure he'll still have followers, edgelords have a weird sort of power in this era of internet, but they are also indisputably cringe.

Like I'm not sure this will achieve anything other than being ridiculously entertaining (and thus catching the eye in headlines and reports). But,my family read one of the new releases and went oh right this whole thing is weird as fuck and it felt nice to get some kind of public acknowledgment that this is not normal.

So far the right has been struggling against couch fucking allegations, them saying that adults without kids should have less of a voice in voting (weird thing to say, but if you're polling badly with youngsters and need to maintain power~~), that Kamala is a crazy childless cat lady (Whoops accidentally alienated some of their base there, some people simply cannot have children, really shouldn't insinuate they are less than because of it. Not to mention that their own policies are making more everyday in mostly red states as complications with getting abortions for non-viable fetuses are leaving many people sterile. I'm not even going to go on with the fact that many people, like myself, simply don't want kids and that's reason enough. Also she does have step children), and the rumor that Trump wasn't really shot (as they finally removed the bandage to reveal... nothing, head wounds heal really fast but going from that giant plaster to nothing is doing a bit of a number in the rumor mill).

Basically they had Joe! THEY SPENT THE WHOLE RNC INSULTING HIM. THAT WAS THEIR WHOLE PLAN!! He was old, he was white. The inherit ableism/ageism of sleepy Joe and old Joe, and infirm Joe, were within "acceptable parameters". It was easy and safe to rib him.

They are struggling to find something on Kamala that doesn't come across as racist or sexist. Because they're polling poorly with Black Americans and they are down in the polls for women. Can't call her sleepy or lazy. Can't call her old (she's younger) can't call her stupid, can't call her infirm. Can't insinuate she's too emotional (have you met Trump??)

They probably could get her on a few policies but the 2025 project is looming large behind them.

I am foaming at the mouth trying to get to the next debate. But Trump is doing his best to weasel out of it. I am heartbroken! I miss the anytime, anywhere promise of yore.

[destroyproject2025]

This is now a anti-Project 2025 account exclusively (i will edit this post with more stuff later probably)

Project 2025 is Trump’s plan, written by the Heritage Foundation for him, that he will enact should he win the 2024 election in November. If you have heard the name floating around but don’t know what it is, you need to read this post right now, because America is in real danger of a democratic collapse

Project 2025 is a 900-page document (Read it here) that goes over all the plans to kickstart a fascist takeover (they already attempted it once on Jan 6) of America by force. It is not hyperbole, it is not a joke, it can become our reality. In fact. It’s already the reality for many red states such as Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, etc. These states have enacted anti-LGBTQIA+, anti-abortion, anti-freedom of religion policies already, which completely tracks with what P2025 wants to do. These states are being used as lab rats, P2025 is just the plan to take these draconian policies nationwide.

Some of P2025’s policies include:

*Centralizing power to the Executive Branch, whilst weakening the independence of federal agencies. This will give Trump, in conjunction with the completely un-constitutional presidential immunity granted to him by a corrupt Supreme Court, more power than any President has ever had. It would effectively make him the first American dictator.

*Criminalize trans existence, imprisoning librarians who have books that contain LGBTQIA+ content.

*Eliminate the Department of Education

*Remove anti-discrimination protection laws for racial minorities, LGBTQIA+ people, disabled people, women, etc.

*Pull us out of initiatives that takes action against climate change (bye-bye earth).

*Enact the “biggest mass deportation of immigrants in American history”, which Trump has said will be a “bloody story”. I’m sure this can only end well for anyone who isn’t white.

*Weaponize the department of Justice against dissent (such as protestors).

*Promote anti-abortion and pro-family (the cishet and married with children family model) values globally.

*Remove the teaching of Critical Race Theory (systematic racism) and Gender Studies from all public schools.

*Give major tax cuts to the rich while giving tax raises on the poor and middle class.

*Destroy the separation between church & state.

And many more horrifying and completely out of touch plans…

The end goal of all this is to transform America into a christian theocracy that prioritizes white christian nationalists over all other groups.

Read more about the long history behind the dangerous pro-authoritarian movement and far-right machinery that birthed P2025 here.

From education, to women’s rights, MAGA is coming for all of us. And if we don’t pay attention to what they are saying and doing, we will pay a heavy price. We need to be doing all we can in this pivotal moment in history, or else we will not only fail future generations, but also our predecessors who fought, bled, and died for their rights.

The best way to fight P2025 is to vote blue, in all races. This means not just voting for Harris-Walz, but also for the local, state, senate, house, and other races. Make no mistake, our work is far from over if we win this election, but preventing Trump from getting into power, and voting out as many corrupt maga republicans from office as possible is the best action to take right now.

Please do not end up regretting that you didn’t do more. Get involved: Door canvassing, phonebanking, textbanking, donating, and of course, register to vote if you haven’t. Deadlines for state voter registrations are coming up. It’s never too late to get involved, but the best time to do it is now.

Go to iwillvote.com, register to vote if you haven’t, make a plan (will you vote early, by mail, or in person on Nov. 5th?), and make sure to frequently check that you STAY registered. Maga is pulling all kinds of dirty tricks right now to try and steal your vote when you aren’t looking. Your vote matters, and that terrifies Maga.

When historians who specialize in fascist history are sounding the alarm about what might happen in the immediate future, I think it’s about time to take these dangerous extremists very seriously, and then do something about it.

Fascism is not inevitable. It is only so when you choose to give up.

With fear for our democracy, I dissent.

[qqueenofhades]

Hey! I just found your blog and followed yesterday. Came for the fact that you're the only other person in this webbed site actually say out loud that they liked Biden, stayed for the hope and determination and perspective. Anyway just wanted to introduce myself and I hope you're coping well!

Hello and welcome to you and the other sudden flood of followers that I got after yesterday's event. I'm glad to have you and hope you are all in on the project of Kicking Fascism In The Shriveled Testicles 2024, American Edition. It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it.

Biden was not my first choice (far from it) in the 2020 primary process, but when it became clear that he was going to win the nomination, I supported him early and often. Trust me, this was not a popular position, and it remains so, but so be it. By any reasonable metric, he is the most progressive president we have ever had, it is a crying shame that the media is so beholden to the Trump Teat of Drama that they gave him such a kid-gloved free pass and ratfucked Biden instead, and it makes me worry, a lot, for American democracy. I have always gotten a lot of "you support everything Biden has done so you're awful and going to hell!!!" messages, because this sure is a Webbed Site Where We Piss On the Poor, and like -- I don't. I had major disagreements with Biden, especially on foreign policy! But because I apparently did not performatively self-flagellate myself in every post about how awful he was but maybe I guess vote for him anyway, that got some people very mad! It's also true that there's literally nobody in the world anywhere, especially and including in Palestine, that would benefit from Trump becoming president again! Especially since Biden at the NATO summit recently and explicitly endorsed progress on the ceasefire framework he has been pushing for several months! So unfortunately, we live in a society where shitty choices are necessary, and that is part of being a grownup!

....anyway. Deep breaths. Rant for later. Glad you're here. I have been desperately trying to Not Politic for a bit, since doing so on social media in the year of our lord 2024 is a recipe for swift insanity, but the world keeps taking a large dump directly on those plans, and I guess someone's gotta do it. In more normal times (OH LORD WHEN), you can expect history (I am an academic by trade), random posts, various asks, and sometimes a great deal of fanfic for assorted blorbos, though the Horrors have done a number on that and I am also working on an original fantasy trilogy at the moment. (Still deciding whether I should bother trying to agent it or just publish it on Amazon/Lulu/etc.) I have turned off anon for the moment because otherwise my inbox would be a nightmare beyond comprehension, but I do generally enjoy talking about things and/or answering them as much as I can. I am old, queer, tired, fueled by coffee and spite, have been politically conscious since the first Bush Jr. term and have therefore seen all the Anti Voting nonsense before (quick thought: if it was going to deliver the perfect Leftist Messiah and/or stop a flawed candidate from becoming president, don't you think it would have done so by now?) So yes. Welcome again and I hope you will enjoy (if that is the right word for it) your stay.

[wuxiaphoenix]

On Writing: A Quick Jury Introduction

Okay, thought I’d turn an exhausting day into possibly useful info for you all.... The U.S. institution of trial by jury is likely more familiar to some of us than others. If you’re a writer coming from outside the States, though, what may not immediately be apparent is that far, far more Americans interact with the legal system than ever show up for a civil suit or are charged with a crime.

All those jurors have to come from somewhere.

So. There are multiple requirements to be a legit juror, but mostly it boils down to, you’re a U.S. citizen, you’re over 18, and you have all your civil rights (i.e. you’re not a felon yourself). You also, so far as I know, have to be a resident of the county where the trial is taking place. In practical terms this means once you get any kind of state-issued ID, even a learner’s permit - if you’re over 18, you’re in the list the computer draws from for the next jury pool.

(Yes, I once had to arrange transportation to a jury summons when I still wasn’t legally allowed to drive by myself. Fun. Not.)

About two to three weeks before you’re due to show up, you get the summons in the mail. At which point a certain amount of profanity may ensue, because you have to prepare to upend all your plans for at least an entire day. You can ask for a deferral, or even to be dropped from selection, if one of several hardship conditions apply. You’re the sole person doing 24/7 medical care for someone, for example, or you’re going to be in the hospital on that date with major surgery involved. “My workplace won’t let me take that day off,” is NOT one of those conditions. Let the court know that, and they will then duke it out with your workplace. No, seriously, that is what will happen. The jury summons is a civic duty. It is, effectively, being “drafted” for that day. Constitutionally. I would not want to be the employer who has to hear from the Clerk of Courts. It would not go well.

So, you prep, you clear your schedule, there’s usually a questionnaire to fill out (either on paper or, more recently, on a county website) so they have some background to make sure you’re who they meant to call... and then you wait. In my home county, you wait until the night before you’re due to come in, and call the automated line to see if they still need a jury pool the next day. It’s possible the lawyers will hash things out and call the trial off. No trial, no jury needed.

Assuming you’re not that lucky, then it’s get up very early in the morning so you can get to the courthouse on time. They try to put courthouses near the center of the county, but some counties are very big. And you come prepared, because you’re likely to be there from 8 AM to 5 PM or later.  

My experience is that it’s very cold in courthouses. Don’t ask me why. After the first trip I started bringing multiple layers so I didn’t freeze myself into bronchitis. It... mostly works.

Summons in hand, you go in through the metal detector; anything else you bring in with you (coats, water, etc.) has to go in a tray and fit through an x-ray machine under the unblinking and likely already-tired eyes of a couple deputies. And you take a deep breath before plunging into what will be an introvert’s most horrible day, because you will be surrounded by strangers you cannot get away from.

You follow the various staff directing you to the first auditorium, where you hand in your summons, let the clerks know whether you’re employed and whether or not your employer is going to pay you for the day (often they don’t), then try to find a seat not so close to the speakers that your ears will get blasted when everyone else shows up and they show the instructional vids about voting being a civic duty, take it seriously, etc., etc.

(It is and I do, but I’ve seen the vids so many times by now....)

Aaand then you wait. And wait. Often two hours plus. While the attorneys up in the courtroom overhead are duking things out with each other, and with the judge, and reading all the questionnaires to try and figure out who they might want on their jury and what questions they want to ask.

A certain number of people may get let go at this point, depending on how many trials they’re picking for. The clerk of court quipped that they ought to consider lottery tickets....

Finally the attorneys hit the end of when the judge will allow them to keep delaying things, and all the pool gets led upstairs to the courtroom itself. Once everyone’s in, all rise for the judge, there’s another lecture on civic duty, fair and impartial, and so on.

(Everyone is already freezing, tired, and there’s no coffee. Seriously, there’s a spot for snack and drink machines when we have breaks, but not one drop of coffee. The court clerks also mourn this as an affront against humanity.)

The attorneys - prosecution and defense - get introduced, as well as the defendant. And then the questions start. One of the first being, does anyone in the pool know anyone 1) who’s going to be in court or 2) one of the other jurors? Even with random selection, it’s possible you get some people who know each other....

Other questions that may show up include but are not limited to: Can you be fair and impartial with X charges? (Given you have no idea what you’re a jury for until this point, from a traffic ticket to murder, this is important.) Do you think you can judge the credibility of a witness? Have you, a family member, or someone you know been involved with a similar crime? Do you know any of the witnesses?

Once they get past all of that and mark down a preliminary “who’s affected by what and why”, then the attorneys go back to the judge’s bench and start discussing who they’ll pick. Jurors don’t get to overhear this. If they have specific follow-up questions for a particular jury candidate, you get called up to the judge’s bench to answer them.

(My frank and honest answers seemed to unnerve both the prosecution and the defense. Heh.)

BTW, a jury may be less than the classic twelve. For many trials they just want six or seven, so they’ll pick out eight or nine (so they have a few alternates). They’re also likely to be selecting juries for several trials from the same pool. So once they make their first picks, those jurors are brought over to the jury box, sworn in, told not to talk with anyone about the case, and released until court is back in session. Everyone else has to sit and wait through the rest of the picks....

Yes, you do get a lunch break. Eventually. Depending on how far the judge thinks he can push people to get the attorneys done - that’ll vary, especially if you have older jurors or those with medical conditions who need to eat something with medicine or end up in trouble. Lunch may break for an hour, which isn’t as long as you’d think because there’s nowhere nearby to get solid food unless you hit the road. In lunch hour traffic. Fun.

(I bring lunch in a cooler. Have I mentioned I’ve done this a lot of times?)

And then it’s back to the next set of attorneys, and questions, and... it’s a long, cold, exhausting day surrounded by people. Though if you are selected, the trial is usually the next day or at most later that week, so with luck you’re only upended for a few more days.

Whether or not you get picked, you’re then out of the pool for a year. If they do call you back early, you can tell them that!

Jury duty. Necessary, somewhat interesting, very chilly. So it goes!

[borderlineomniverse]

If You Don't Know About Project 2025, You Need To.

For the uninformed, Project 2025 is a plan drafted by a conservative alt-right think tank that would turn America into an autocratic dystopia in the event that Trump wins the 2024 election. The plan would begin execution IMMEDIATELY upon Trump's innaguration, and includes actions such as the following:

Trump would recieve near-unlimited powers as president and would essentially become a fascist dictator.

Using this power, he would invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 to mobilize military forces and hunt down anyone he deems to be his enemies (the plan specifically states "deep state politicians", but who he regards as his enemies could expand to generally anyone who opposes him).

Project 2025 pretty much spells the end for LGBTQIA+ rights, with the removal of protections against discrimination and healthcare as the beginning of the plan, but would eventually include the criminalization of anyone who "appears" gender-nonconforming or doesn't fit a heterosexual stereotype. Transgender individuals would be forced to detransition, or at the very least, present themselves as their gender assigned at birth, and any non-heterosexual couples would have their marriages annulled (at the very best), or may even be imprisoned. There's so much more that would occur along the lines of destroying LGBTQIA+ rights, but these are some major points I wanted to highlight.

On the topic of diversity rights, the document has evidence that Trump could begin deporting non-white individuals (mostly Latinx people, but anyone is fair game) and as a whole, rights for any non-white individuals would go by the wayside.

Furthermore, women's rights would also be abolished, with discrimination against women in the workplace returning and reproductive rights being thrown out. Abortion would become criminalized under this new policy, and women would lose automony over their bodies and decisions.

Most of the current administrative branch would be demolished, with current departments like the Department of Education, Department of Justice, and FBI being shut down, and others having their power either significantly limited or replaced with Trump's own conservative infiltrators.

Speaking of which, while this project doesn't technically go into effect until Trump's potential election, the steps are already being made. Alt-right individuals and supporters can sign up on Project 2025's Website to officially join certain jobs and become apart of the project's officially sanctioned militia that could execute Trump's bidding.

If all of this seems very scary, it should be. If Trump gets elected, we would see the end of American democracy and freedom, and the country would transform into a fascist dystopia. If you think this only affects Americans, think again! Other alt-right parties in other countries can and will take example from Trump's power and push for the abolishment of freedom in other countries as well.

So. What can you do?

I hope this doesn't need to be said, but if it does, then VOTE. If you were planning to not vote, then by taking that inaction you are effectively making an action that could spell the destruction of our nation. If you are voting age, you MUST cast your vote against Trump to ensure that Project 2025 will not go into effect.

You can also spread the word to friends, whether that be in person or online. Reblog this post, or make your own posts. Make sure that this information is circulated in your online circles and encourage others to share more information wherever you can. Talk about it on all of your social media profiles and get all of your mutuals talking about it as well. Unfortunately, there's a huge subset of the internet that just isn't aware about Project 2025, but if we get the word out and encourage as many people as we can to take action against this manifesto, then we may be able to save our nation. Again, even if you're not American, this policy could impact you in the future, and you can share information for your own online audience and inform your American followers about the issue. It's very important that we get as many people talking about this as possible.

I hope this post motivates you to take action and begin sharing information about Project 2025, and if you would like more resources I've linked articles and resources for you below.

Analysis from PBS Newshour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsoGfOesEEA

For those of you hesitant to vote for Biden: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRwpYeNx/

[matan4il]

hey, are you Israeli/do you speak Hebrew? what is Israeli media saying about how Netanyahu has handled relations with the US? or at least his decision to cancel the DC trip after the UN vote?

Hi Nonnie!

I am, and I do. But I'm not sure how well I can reply to you. You know that joke about how, if you ask 2 Jews about something, you'll get at least 3 opinions? Yeah, so imagine the range of opinions, many of them contradicting each other, in a state full of Jews. Add to that the opinions of non-Jewish Israelis, which also have a variety of view points. Now imagine the opinions expressed by those who end up working in the media, meaning the most opinionated and outspoken ones. IDK that I can condense it all into one coherent reply.

But basically, any opinion you can imagine, someone expressed it. I will say that most did seem more upset with the US, for allowing what's seen as an anti-Israeli resolution to pass at the UN unvetoed, because the harm from that is real, massive, and could affect us for years, maybe even in ways we can't yet foresee. So keeping in mind that the UN resolution is harmful to Israel, and that the US was absolutely making a political point by allowing it to pass, most understand Netanyahu's reaction in that context.

That said, even with that context in mind, there were a lot of different opinions and reactions on whether it was the right move.

Personally, I do not like Netanyahu and have never voted for him. I used to dislike him because I thought he was anti-peace. It took me time, but I realize that actually, the biggest issue with him is that more than anything else, he wants to stay in power. He doesn't actually have (IMO) an ideological spine. At the same time, I won't demonize him, either. I very much hold him to be the person responsible for a lot of terrible things that have happened to Israel, to a great degree because he chooses to believe that if something didn't go wrong so far despite him not doing anything about it, then it will continue that way and he can go on ignoring it, but I don't believe that he would actually willingly sacrifice masses of Israeli civilians just for his own sake. In other words, I do think he is guilty of neglecting many things until they get to the point where people pay with their lives (while convincing himself it won't get to that), but I don't think he's an unfeeling monster who will intentionally get people killed.

So... let's put it this way. I was not surprised he canceled the trip, and I was not surprised that he re-instated it about a week later.

The trip had to happen, because a total break in communications is against Israel's interests, and becuase Israeli and American officials sitting together in person to talk about the Rafah operation is the best way to figure out an action plan that fits both. It was therefore in Netanyahu's interest for the trip to happen, but also in his interest to take some stand, and show the White House that their UN move is very upsetting to Israelis, enough for even him not to ignore.

I hope this kind of helps! xoxox

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)