#but it’s also like 37 dollars so

[mo-mode]

Me, grocery shopping: You know what would be a great holiday gift?

My Mom, wondering where she went wrong: If you say the rainbow olive oil—

Me: ✨ The Rainbow Olive Oil ✨

[cappucosmico]

the most devastating shit on earth is that i had a friend in middle school who was like my ride or die. but her only "social media" was Google Fucking Plus. so naturally i have lost her in the wastelands of that shitstorm. but i cannot find her ever again bc she has like The most common name on god's green earth so one facebook search for people with her name in the bronx yields like a million fucking results. so imagine if she's not even in the bronx anymore. 10 million results

[gingerwerk]

Hello it is a very good day for annoying people (me)!!!! Not only did I find out that the gaslight anthem was touring and were coming to cbus but they are working on a new album!!!!! And they released a new single and it’s so good?!?!!!!! New music for the first time in nine years?? 😭😭😭😭 it really is the 2014 renaissance rn

[nomaishuttle]

ohhh the post discord call blues ...

[cleoselene]

from facebook of all places

posted by Jay Michaelson, and sourced by him as well:

Hello! I'm posting in response to the many sincerely anguished claims that not enough is being done to stop Trump. This is not reflected in the facts. - Represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group and State Democracy Defenders Fund, the Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) filed suit on Monday against the Treasury Department “for sharing confidential data with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), run by Elon Musk.” Go to Public Citizen's website to learn all about this lawsuit, which is very likely to prevail. - On USAID, appearing with other Democratic lawmakers outside USAID offices on Monday, Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) shouted, “Elon Musk, you didn't create USAID. The United States Congress did for the American people … like Elon Musk did not create USAID, he doesn't have the power to destroy it. And who's going to stop him? We are... This a constitutional crisis that we are in today.” Lawsuits have also been filed in this matter, and are also likely to prevail. - Hakeem Jeffries has announced lawsuits have been filed regarding the firings of inspectors general. - On Jan 21, Democracy Forward, was filed at 12:01 p.m. ET on Monday and accused Elon Musk's DOGE of being a "shadow operation led by unelected billionaires" that flouts federal transparency rules. That should win. - National Security Counselors filed a suit arguing that DOGE meets the requirements to be a federal advisory committee and is therefore legally required to have "fairly balanced" representation, keep regular minutes of meetings and allow public access to meetings. Clearly accurate. - Eighteen state attorneys general and a slew of immigrants' rights groups brought swift legal action against Trump after he signed his executive order seeking to ban birthright citizenship for some children born in the U.S., arguing that it violates the Fourteenth Amendment. Obviously, clearly unconstitutional. - "Schedule F" has been challenged in court by the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents employees in 37 agencies and departments. - Several immigrant rights groups in the United States, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s ban on asylum claims. - GLAD Law and the National Center For Lesbian Rights (NCLR) have sued to stop Trump's ban on trans people in the military. And there are many more - I'll link to a great list of them in the comments. Yes, there are Trump judges in the courts, and if Aileen Cannon types get these cases, Trump may prevail. But most judges are not like her. These actions are clearly illegal and/or unconstitutional, and they WILL be stopped. Just like the tariffs were not meant to prevail -- Trump won that round, "forcing" Canada and Mexico to take "action" on fentanyl -- these actions are not meant to prevail. They're meant to flood the zone with shit, confuse and immobilize us. They said they'd do "Shock and Awe" and that's what they've done. Nothing here should be surprising. Shock and Awe is up to YOU. I am not shocked, I am not in awe. Oh, and the "mainstream media" has reported on all of these. The info above has come from Newsweek, the NY Times, and other mainstream sources. Please stop attacking journalists when we are being threatened by the FBI. Who do you think you're helping by doing that? Stop it with the doomsaying and gloomsaying. Want to make a difference? Give thousands of dollars to Public Citizen, the ACLU, and similar groups. Show up at marches. Put your ass on the line and help protect people from ICE. If you're safe, do simple symbolic things (like changing your social media pictures) to support people who are not safe. Just like we should not obey in advance, we should not panic in advance either. This is not the end of democracy. That is just what the bad guys want you to think. Get over it and fight.

I don't know how many times I've heard "Dems do nothing!" when they are in fact doing a lot of things. You just don't hear about it because the mainstream news doesn't pay attention or you don't see out news beyond your social media feeds.

The other thing is, Dems don't break laws in their fights the way Republicans do. Your desire to turn every Dem POTUS into the Dick Cheney Version of the Executive but then screaming injustice! when the GOP does it -- you see the problem there?

[cnl0400]

The new dating feature... What to expect?

(Apart from disapointment, of course)

Disclaimer: I only bought this because I had a lot of Google Play points, so I could shave a looooooooooot of the total price, but my condolences to anyone who doesn't live in the US because it's a lot more expensive in another regions... Including mine, of course

Disclaimer 2: I'm not telling you what to do with your money, this Is my personal opinion. If you are planning in buying this, do whatever idc, but since a lot of people are having doubts, I felt that I might as well tell everyone what Is this about.

So yeah... Since they announced the new feature, I knew It either would cost real money, It just sounded too good to be true, but I didn't expect to cost $29.99? Almost $37 in my country currency, a total scam, really.

But to be fair to them, this Is a bundle that comes with 300 DP, and considering the price of 280 DP, it's almost like you get the ticket for "free", right?? At least that's how Solmare probably thought It would look like, but the reality Is that the common player will see this bundle and just think that this ticket cost 30 fucking dollars (just look at the comments of Twitter and the tag Right now). In my opinion, just separate the DP and the ticket, and have the bundle as an special offert If you want. Remember that selling stuff Is also about framing... Most players that were planning on buying this might not be planning on buying the DP (like myself, I don't buy DP unless it's on special offerts) so the only thing people like that will think Is that "why this ticket costs that much?"

But what you get in the actual event, you might ask? The trailer was vague as hell in my opinion, and that's an instant red flag in my radar, especially for that spicy art that came with it

For a ticket date you get:

A 1min call

A 10min storyline (not fully voiced, apart from certain lines in the las part of the storyline)

A Majolish background with the date art

The event starts with you calling you boy of preference (in this case, I choose Mammon) to invite him to a date, the call ends and you get a 10min storyline. The premise of the Mammon's date Is that MC has won tickets to Phantom Park, and then Mammon & MC get involved to a game of tag to win a price. Then couple shennigans happen, blah blah blah.

The Story Is... Not bad? I found It rather cute actually, it's romantic and at least they make It explicit that Mammon & MC aré actually dating, but again, this could very well have been in a Devilgram, it's not worth the 30 dollars Solmare expects you to pay tbh. Just tip your favorite fanfic author and call It a day

The last segment Is the one they show in the tráiler, with Mammon getting out of the shower

In this scene, some lines are voiced, and tbh, If the actual story was like this, It almost miiiight be worth It (not the full price, but at least something). But as now? Save your money people, I wouldn't really recommend It.

The only way I would recommend buying It it's If you're already planning on buying the 280 DP offert, or you have a lot of coupons/GPP so you don't pay full price lol, but If you like Lucifer (or Asmo) just do yourself a favor and buy the ASMR. At least, that's what I think

[libraford]

Hi, I just wanted to say congrats on the organ removal! You talking about your uterus health has also made me realize that some of the things I experience monthly are not really normal, so I'm also extremely grateful that you're so open about this. I'm almost 28 and I don't know if I ever would have realized it without you. Thank you, for your art, your photography especially, your openness, and your kindness.

<3

Yeah, part of the reason I've been talking so openly about it is that I'm pretty sure that the way people are so 'hush hush' about reproductive health was one of the contributing factors for why it took so goddamn long to actually get this checked.

Like... learning at 37 that PMS isn't supposed to be debilitating panic attacks and uncontrollable emotional outbursts paired with extreme abdominal pain.

Or that clots are supposed to be about the size of a dime, not a silver dollar.

That you're supposed to lose about 1/3cup menstrual fluid (which includes blood but also other discharges) and not go through an entire big box of the Size 5 8-hour overnight pads in three days.

And all of this, all of this... ALL of this is because there's a tumor inside my uterus that's eating all my estrogen.

Like... I kept going on thinking that these were normal things and I was just maladjusted and not handling it well.

OBVIOUSLY, I am still angry at the whole situation.

I am extremely thankful that Planned Parenthood was able to refer me to a doctor that was willing to work with me on all of this. Like I don't know where you are on your journey, but they were an incredible resource.

[y2kas13]

Hiii can i request coach!sevika x beginner reader?? Like in the gym

Spot Me?

၄၃ Coach!Sevika x beginner!reader

၄၃ Summary: You decided to stick true to your New Year's resolution and go to the gym, but you're struck with embarrassment every time you enter, not just because you're a complete novice at exercise but also because a particularly beautiful woman who obviously knows what she's doing is there.

၄၃ CW: suggestive but no actual smut since it wasn't requested, sevika is naturally flirty and casually dominant and that rings true in this, no set body type just that reader hasn't exercised in a while, reader gets out of breath but no descriptions of asthma or anything seriously medically wrong.

၄၃ A/N: OMG GUYS THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT ON MY LAST FIC!! I'm so glad you guys actually enjoyed it and yes I will make a part two that is more fleshed out just allow me some time to do so lol. I'm gonna try to get into the swing of writing again as I've wanted to for a while but was unmotivated but since you've expressed your interest I shall do my best lol. As always interaction is appreciated and feel free to request whatever for any character I write for (check my masterlist to see which characters those are as I have updated it and my request rules) ALR ENOUGH YAP ESSSGETIT

၄၃ Word Count: 1.3k

Like almost everyone on the planet on January 1st, I vowed to go to the gym. I've never been too concerned with my figure, I know that my size doesn't determine my worth or beauty but it does hurt my ego that the little 12-year-olds I babysit can carry more bags of groceries into the house than I can.

To prepare I bought a gym membership. I wanted to do pilates but the only classes were for rich stay-at-home moms with disposable incomes which I couldn't afford so I stuck to a cheap little gym membership. For Christmas, many of my friends and family bought me gym equipment and clothing to help jumpstart and keep me encouraged to go, as I don't want to feel as though I've wasted their money.

I procrastinated for a few days going under the guise of wanting to "avoid the rush on newcomers" when in reality I saw a couple of TikToks poking fun at the newcomers that come in January and don't know what they are doing then flake by February and it made me feel bad.

I want this to be serious I need to get stronger and improve physically.

I was on a downward spiral of insecurity about my skill or lack thereof when I saw an ad on Instagram advertising affordable trainers for newbie gym-goers.

Trying to cash in on the rush I see. I decided to click the link and check it out. If it's a scam, I'll just click out anyway.

I was greeted with a nicely arranged and professional-looking website. In the corner, I saw a badge that proudly announces 5 years of business. Must not be a scam after all I thought. I continue to look through the website partly due to boredom but also in part due to curiosity.

I click on a button that says "Personalize your workout and get a coach!" I fill it out completely and honestly because I could get help from someone who knows way more about exercise than I do. I'd rather cough up a few extra dollars every month and reach my goals rather than accidentally injure myself and never go back.

After a few moments of waiting for results it tells me I'm a complete novice, no duh, I thought. I should start with a completely basic workout to get me started but not overdo it. it gives me a couple of options for trainers who specialize in training newbies.

"Ew, they are all creepy-looking old guys." There was a fleck of disappointment in my tone. I kept looking though just to see if there wasn't anyone... geriatric looking. Then I see her.

A beautiful brown-skinned woman, at least 6 feet tall who is absolutely ripped. A calm, yet slightly authoritative look took over her face. After a moment of just staring at her pictures, I read her description.

Hi, I'm Sevika. I’m 37 and have been exercising since I was a teenager so I know a thing or two about properly exercising and targeting the right muscle groups. Message me if you're interested in having me train you. Short and sweet, huh? I thought to myself after reading her quite short bio. I didn't even give it much of a second thought as I clicked her to be my coach and sent a deposit to lock it in. Then, promptly passed out as it was well past 2 am and I still had to work tomorrow.

After leaving work I came home and got ready to go to the gym. I had been briefly texting Sevika to set up meeting times for the weeks to come. To my disappointment, all her messages were short and to the point. we agreed every two days a week to keep it simple enough but to too hardcore to burn myself out, or my wallet.

I checked my new fitness watch to see what time it was and saw that I was cutting it close to when I had to meet her. From her messages, she seems very no-nonsense and wouldn't appreciate it if I was late for our first meeting. Not that I want to waste any time getting to see her.

After a short car ride, I go inside, get my new membership card to sign in, and then walk into the gym part. I look around a little anxious. all these people and these frankly daunting-looking equipment make me second guess myself, everyone looks like they know what they're doing what if they're secretly judging me for being new? Right as I'm gonna say fuck it and take the L of losing out on some money I hear a voice from my right call out my name.

I whip my head around to see who could be calling me I see her in all her glory.

Those pictures did not do her justice.

She's even more breathtaking in person. Before I can go on and keep staring at her she makes her way over to me with a natural swagger in her walk. I can't stop staring at her muscles that poke through her tight gray shirt. As she comes closer someone stops to dap her up. "Big Mama is back huh? haven't seen you in a bit." Big Mama is right. "Took a break to give you losers a chance to catch up to me, obviously it didn't help much." They both have a slight chuckle, Sevika pats them on their back and walks past them with a promise to hit them up later.

She finally walks up to me and gives me a quick look up and down and smirks slightly. “So you're the newbie I'll be training for the next couple of weeks huh?” I give a flushed smile and nod a tad too fast, “Yup, that's me, I'm excited to get back into the gym!” She gives me a bigger smirk at this. “I'm excited to have you here.” she leaves a lingering look at my lips that quickly goes down to my hips and back up to my eyes. She leads me towards the middle of the gym.

We discussed my reasons for exercising, and she mapped out a plan of action for my exercises. She also promised to send me a meal plan to follow to further my exercise journey.

“Alright let's start with some basic arm exercises since you're focused on strength in your upper body.” She led me to a bench and instructed me to bend over it with one arm supporting and one arm lifting the dumbbell.

As I moved she watched softly correcting my form but her hands lingered perhaps just a bit to long. I kept up doing several different low-impact strength training all of which Sevika kept a close eye and even closer hand on me to correct my form. 

As time seemingly stretched on for ages, I finally completed my exercise routine for the day. As I gulped down my water rather quickly, her voice broke me from my exhausted daze.

“Well, judging by your dehydration and sweat on your brow, you definitely got in a good workout.” Her chuckle at the end of her statement brought over a rush of embarrassment, and I quickly tried to wipe any sweat off myself and calm down my rapid breath. So much for not trying to embarrass myself in front of her.

“Oh my god, I must look insane right now, just give me a moment to compose myself!” I say hurriedly trying to fix my hair and save face in front of her. She reaches out and grabs my hand, “No need to be embarrassed I think you look real good all sweaty in front of me.” Her grip on my arm and her words makes me look up at her and see the sultry look in her eyes. 

“How about I take you into the locker room and help you… freshen up.”

[chrolloluvr]

May I request Mammon angst HCs please? Like the reader is possibly breaking up with him or something? (i love your HCs for mammon<3)

Mammon Breaking Up Hcs

note: Thank you i'm so glad you like them pookie!! also yes i love this idea ❤️❤️

warnings: Cursing, creepy behavior, unbalanced power dynamic, killing. Not proofread!

Female!Reader, (no specific gender, so can be GenderNeutral!Reader)

It would be best to tell him over text, since he is guaranteed to throw a toddler like temper tantrum if you ever told him in person.

So you text him over text, what happens? He 100% thinks you're joking at first. He thinks you aren't being serious at all, and that wow babe, you might even be a bigger clown than I am.

But when he realized that you were being serious, he gets angry. How dare you? Why would you ever break up with him? He is the king of greed, he has trillions of dollars in the bank, so why don't you want to stay by his side? Did he do something? Did he hurt you? What happened? Baby, we can sort this out-

In a way, still doesn't think you are being serious, which is what he tries to tell himself. So he will let you leave, and will act like he doesn't need you.

Another author said this already, but he will 100% go through the stages of grief, (he will never go through acceptance, because in his mind, you will always come crawling back to him.)

He will be in denial for a very long time. Let's say you move out, and even start residing in another ring. He will send you texts. All. The. Time.

Your phone will mods likely have 103 Missed Calls, 986 Messages, and 37 Voicemails. He is crazy, and especially crazy for you. So when you don't respond to him, he does not understand why. He likes to think that you were just going on vacation for a while. He genuinely thinks you two are still together.

Anger- Once he sees that you have indeed moved on, and that he is no longer living in fantasy land, he gets extremely angry. His general mood spikes, he lashes out (wayyy more than he used to), and a-lot of his servants are scared to talk to him. Will absolutely keep bombarding you with texts every day. He will even get his servants to start texting you on his 100's of extra HellPhones.

Mamm 🕸️💚 11:34

Come hone ygu little cungt

Mamm 🕸️💚 11:35

ANSWERF ME.

Mamm 🕸️💚 11:35

Do ygu knoe how easily i can replaece yu

Mamm🕸️💚 11:36

Fine go shack uo with sorm dirty hoboes you little slut

Mamm 🕸️💚 11:36

I dont kneed u and youir mediocar holes

So yeah... thats just one example. He has so many spelling mistakes because he is typing so fast, and practically brekaing his phone from how angry he is.

But in reality he does need you. You are. the one thing that keeps him running. However he will never, over his dead body, ever admit that.

Bargaining- He will send things to your... new home... in gift baskets. Fizzarolli plushies, flowers, tickets to his live events, expensive jewelry, the list goes on. It gets to a point where (if you live in an apartment complex) People start stealing his gifts and start putting them up online to sell. (And they go for 10s of thousands of dollars.)

He send these to you so that you can hopefully come crawling back into his life, so that he can control you again.

At this point, you have most likely made it public about your distance between you and the sin. Your relationship was extremely public, and known by everybody.

He refuses to speak publicly, because he wants people to think he still controls you. And when i say your relationship was big, it was definitely the most talked about relationship in all of Hell. People will go nuts about you two breaking up. Another author said this as well, but people will go crazy with the comments.

"L Mammon fumbled so bad its actually wild."

"Bros got plenty other options 💀"

"Why tf would she/they break up w/ HIM???🤰"

"Now that hes single I call dibs 🙌"

You try your best to ignore the comments, but eventually you cant, its not just online, but in real life you feel cornered as well. You might even start to reconsider your departure with him. Which is exactly where he wants you.

Depression- He spirals into somewhat of an insecure man. He strives to be better. He ups his game for his big pageants, soon to be bigger, just to impress you.

He maaaay or may not have killed people in your favor. This is known, obviously, but his obsession along with his newfound insecurity has left him no choice but to show that if you dont want to come home, he will show you its safer than anywhere else.

Overall, if you do end up coming back to him, he is overjoyed with happiness, and will take extra precautions to ensure you wont ever walk out on him and his warm embrace again.

However if you end up never wanting anything to do with him, he will be devastated, but he will force himself to get over it. He is Mammon, he truly does not need you. In reality, you were somebody he felt an unexplainable feeling to protect. He absolutely can live without you, but for some reason, he feels like he cant. If somebody were to ever bring you up, he would lash out, and make his anger everybody's problem. He may get over you after a while, but he will never fully accept the fact that you left him.

[allurilove]

Any face claims for your OCs?

Hey anon!

I’ve stated before that I don’t really imagine anyone in particular for my yandere men, and I don’t describe them as much because you guys can actually just insert whatever man you want to imagine.

Alright, I updated this and added heights and such!

Yandere Ghost:

Age: 500-528

Height: Can manipulate his height! He can be 5’0”-9’0” tall.

Looks: For this character, I do have a description of what he looks like. Long white silky hair that comes all the way down to his ankles. He has pale skin, and you can see faint purple veins. Light pink lips and a bit of rouge on his cheeks. It’s canon that he’s a pretty individual, and he looks androgynous.

Yandere Prince:

Age: 24-26

Height: 6’5” or 195 cm.

Occupation: A bloodthirsty prince from a well off kingdom.

Looks: For this character, I do have a description of what he looks like. He’s tall and imposing with jet black hair. He has blue eyes, and is basically Prince Eric cause I was inspired by The Little Mermaid.

Yandere Neighbor:

Age: ??? Is an adult.

Height: 6’5” or 195 cm.

Occupation: A handyman!

Looks: awkward as hell.

Yandere Knight:

Age: 26-28

Height: 6'4-5” or 193 or 195 cm.

Occupation: A trusted knight that protects the princess.

Yandere Husband:

Age: 32-36

Height: 6'4" or 193 cm.

Occupation: An actuary that makes about 260k a year.

Looks: For this character, I do have a description of what he looks like. He’s a muscular man that doesn’t like to miss a day at the gym. He’s been trim all of his life, and has never had the dad-bod phase (been too busy running around and chasing Henry). I’ve stated before that his build is sort of like Miguel O’Hara, and he has those nice strong shoulders and biceps. He looks clean, proper, and professional. He also occasionally wears glasses.

Yandere Best-friend:

Age: young 20’s to late 20’s in the time jump.

Height: 6’3” or 190 cm.

Occupation: Graduated from University, and is now opening his own restaurant.

Looks: Big. He takes the gym seriously. I also envision him being like Clark Kent from Smallville. Fluffy hair, wears baggy jeans and huge shirts. He doesn’t really care about fashion and what he looks like.

Yandere Manager:

Age: ???

Height: 6’3” or 190 cm.

Occupation: The manager for famous singer reader, and other artists. He makes a pretty decent amount of money, and he never discloses you how much though.

Looks: He wears dark navy sweaters, and a nice fancy watch on his wrist so he can tell you when to come back home.

Yandere Classmate:

Nationality/Ethnicity: Polish-American

Age: 18 in first fic, now 19-20's

Height: 6'2-3" or 187 or 190 cm.

Occupation: A high-school senior in the first fic, and now a graduated college student.

Looks: For this character, I do have a description of what he looks like. He’s a blond and blue eyed man. He is broad shouldered, well-built since he’s a swimmer, and it’s canon that he’s good-looking or shall I say… gorgeous?

Yandere Chaebol:

Ethnicity: Korean

Age: 37

Height: 6’1” or 185 cm.

Occupation: His family owns gas stations, huge malls, and a tech company that creates refrigerators and air conditioners. He’s also starting to dabble into the pharmaceutical industry. Easily makes millions upon millions of dollars.

Crybaby Yandere:

Age: 20-23

Height: 6’1” or 185 cm.

Yandere Professor:

Age: 30-33

Height: 6'0" or 182 cm.

Occupation: A psychology professor that makes 80-100k a year.

Looks: Pretty much lives in his business attire 24/7, but will opt for grey sweatpants when he’s alone at his house. Hes a stern, no-nonsense man.

Calm Yandere:

Age: 25

Height: 6'0" or 182 cm.

Occupation: A fairly new veterinarian that makes about 70-90k a year.

Looks: Has dark hair.

Yandere Survivor:

Age: 28

Height: 6’0” or 182 cm.

Occupation: He was a bartender, then sort of survived a zombie apocalypse, but then got turned.

Yandere Stalker:

Age: 24-26

Height: 5'11" or 180 cm.

Occupation: He works as a freelance artist.

Looks: Lol, someone asked about his hands so here’s all ur gonna get!

Yandere Prodigy:

Age: mid-late twenties

Height: 5’11” or 180 cm.

Occupation: Violin player.

Yandere Boyfriend:

Nationality/Ethnicity: Japanese-American

Age: 18 in first fic, now 19-20's

Height: 5'10-11" or 177 or 180 cm.

Occupation: He had or has a bajillion jobs. His resume is long, but now he’s working at a cafe near his house and is loving it.

Dumb Yandere:

Age: 22-24

Height: 5'8-9" or 172 or 175 cm. ?

Occupation: He is a stay-at-home husband.

[barksenji]

I posted this on reddit, but I've seen some gnarly posts about Venezuela here, so I'll post it here too.

"I'll try to answer all of them. I don't know if I can explain like you're 5 because I'm autistic af and English is not my first language, but I hope I can make myself understood.

I condemn practically everything about the government. In Venezuela, on average, only four out of 10 operating rooms in the country's main hospitals are operative, and the shortage of supplies in emergency rooms is around 37%, while in operating rooms it reaches 74%. As for my own experience, I have Classical Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, I had a shoulder subluxation and I still do, and I went to the Victorino Santaella hospital in my country, there's little personnel, to the point that in the area for traumatology you could see dry blood on the floor because there just wasn't enough people to clean it up. Not a little bit of blood, but a lot. If you want decent medical attention, you will have to pay a bunch of money.

I had a strangulated umbilical hernia, which again, is something that commonly happens with the EDS. My dad had to spend 4000$ dollars on the operation, which for us, is a unachievable amount of money. He had to sell his car, and beg his job for the rest of the money, because the car was old asf and only covered about 200$.

Many people say the government is progressive, it is not. In Venezuela the LGBTQ community has absolutely no rights, it's incredibly difficult for trans people to change their documents or access hormonal treatment. Abortion is not legal here, not even in rape cases, gay marriage isn't legal either, and domestic violence largely goes unpunished.

The minimum wage is around 3 dollars, my dad works in transit so he earns minimum wage, because I have so many medical emergencies he has to make illegal driving licenses in order for me to get treatment. It is incredibly hard for my mom to find a job.

If you want an overview of the whole political situation, this thread can explain it better than I can:

This also explains many of the faults with the government, really, there are too many, I can't count them all.

There’s also no freedom of speech in Venezuela due to Nicolas Maduro’s oppression. All the news channels that are available are on his side. CNNE was removed from Venezuela after doing a documentary on Maduro and also was DW. Our only way to inform ourselves are socials, and most venezuelans are speaking through there.

Maduro's government is not a socialist government anymore, it paints itself that way to outsiders, but it is not. Money that should be going to public institutions is not going to those institutions, hence why the hospitals are in such dire state and you have to pay for private clinics in order to get appropriate care. I don't know if you're familiar with the CLAP bags, The Local Supply and Production Committees (CLAP) is a distribution program of some basic imported foodstuffs promoted by the Venezuelan government since 2016 in which the communities themselves organized in committees supply and distribute priority foods through a modality of delivery of products, house by house at first, later distributed in a local of the community. The problem with these is that they're frequently infected with weevils, maggots, and even if they look "good" on the outside, they can be infected with bacteria and give you food poisoning. Worse is, some people are entirely reliant on these.

They're supposed to protect our indigenous people, but a Venezuelan indigenous leader who opposed the incursion of armed groups and illegal mining was shot twice while in a neighborhood in the capital of Amazonas state. Maduro is also the richest man in Venezuela.

In the protests that occurred in 2017, around 150 people died thanks to the armed forces and colectivos (paramilitaries on the side of the government), police came out with tanks (idk the name exactly in English) and ran over people who were peacefully protesting. Right now, I believe there has been 11 people confirmed injured, though there's probably more, since hospitals are asking for resources to treat the injured.

I think most of these payment methods are only available in Venezuela, but I saw a Paypal here and there, if you can help I'd thank you so much:

As for the self-sufficiency, I don't know. As I said, I'm 17 and heavily reliant on my parents. This country's also really not accessible for disabled people, I cannot go down stairs and have to walk with a cane, there's rarely a place where elevators are functioning properly: ironically, especially in hospitals. In the hospital Victorino Santaella, my dad has to carry me through a bunch of stairs, he has a bunch of hernias in his back so that's obviously no good for him. I'm also at heavy risk of fainting, so yeah.

Also: I don't know how the housing situation is in Venezuela statistic-wise, but for the young adults, is impossible to get a house. Houses can cost up to 100.000$ and more, the average job will pay enough for you to eat, buy toilet paper, basic needs and that's about it.

My friends, who were studying university, couldn't finish cause they had to get a job in a supermarket or bakery in order to be able to support their parent economically. It's horrible.

We also have no running water, when we do it's brown, our power goes off all the time and I have no health insurance"

Do I support María Corina? Or the opposition? I'm skeptical about them, they're still politicians, and Machado is a Zionist. I'm worried about idolizing these figures, deeply. But there's no alternative guys.

For gringos saying that we are supporting fascists, and whatnot. We have literally no other option. This didn't start with US sanctions, it just got WORSE with them. But these sanctions are a symptom, not the root of our problem.

Please, listen to venezuelan voices. If you're really a leftist, just a bit of research will be enough to convince you that this is NOT even a socialist government anymore.

[sgiandubh]

Labor of love

I was very interested to see what S told Mark Gillespie on the last episode of the latter's WhiskyCast podcast, @bat-cat-reader immediately shared with us.

It was a most instructive 35 minutes. I listened to all of it, because I wanted to also hear Gillespie's tasting notes forThe Sassenach. And I regret nothing: once you get past the traditional (and a bit obnoxious) 'why The Sassenach?' question, you're in for some interesting news.

You can listen to it here, by the way:

Before anything, who is Mark Gillespie?

One of the most respected professionals in the very small world of alcohol specialized podcasters, with a 37 years work experience in media and broadcasting, spanning household names such as CNN, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Gallup and MSNBC. But also, and this I found very interesting, given the current context, the owner of CaskMedia, a firm specialized not only in media production, but also marketing and PR.

The podcast was recorded at The Metropolitan Club's library, moments before the Keepers of the Quaich dinner, where S was a keynote speaker. So not 'just there for the Haggis Ceremony ' - a 'guest of honor' is never invited just for the show, people should have known better, eh?

S's 7 minutes interview starts at the 09:32 mark. Comments in brackets are mine.

Gillespie surely doesn't like to beat around the bush and after the customary niceties, asks a million-dollar question:

MG: 'I have to ask: did you have the troubles (problems?) in Germany straightened up?'

SH: ' Ha, ha, ha [not an organic giggle, but hey - gotta do what you gotta do, eh?]. Well, I am not entirely sure I should talk about it [speaks very quickly and through his teeth - visibly annoyed/nervous; not entirely sure I got it all correctly, so feel free to amend in comments], ah... ummm... not as yet... not as yet...ummm...we did fall into an issue with the name Sassenach, which was similar to a big brand in the US... ah!... in Germany, sorry... of a beer brand... I...I personally don't see the similarity [neither do I, S...neither do I], but I am sure once people taste our whisky, they'll know what it is, whatever the name is on it.'

Yes, this interview was probably rehearsed. Yes, Gillespie might have sent the questions to S/his people in advance for reviewing. No, he could not speak about a legally complicated situation before the final settlement with that Schoppingen beer brewer (penalties are probably still to be fixed and paid, but I will check that, so don't take my word for Gospel truth, yet). I will write separately about this whole thing, because I still think that was a very questionable decision of the EUIPO. Not because it royally pisses me off (so fucking unfair!), but because I really fail to see the proper legal reasoning and basis for it. His answer was perfect, under the circumstances. Absolutely perfect.

Anyways, FWIW, it would seem some sort of solution has already been found ('whatever the name is on it') and that most probably would be to rebrand it. And sell it on the German/EU market under a new name.

Lallybroch (https://trademarks.justia.com/981/67/lallybroch-98167525.html), perhaps? Time will tell, but that could explain this recent trademark application I didn't have time to properly look into, yet:

Further ahead (and fast forward through the cask version release, these things bore me to death), we land on another (as yet) unexploded ordnance:

MG: 'I have to mention your show MIK that you do with Graham McTavish, you visited a bunch of distilleries during that one... any visit in particular stands out?'

Now I am not very sure if that question was the best possible one, since that SAG-AFTRA strike is still an ongoing situation. And his answer was quite clever, changing the focus on their visit to Laphroaig's distillery on Islay and waxing lyrical about the casks, the peat, the landscape, etc. But other than a perfunctory and logical 'we', I heard absolutely nothing about McTavish, and it could have been so damn easy to further change the subject and mention his bourbon, with a few kind words. Therefore, I think things are pretty obviously not exactly on the sunny side, between the two. And I guess we all know why.

To end this long post on a cheerful note, I almost forgot to mention something very important. Answering a listener's question about Sassenach not being available in Rhode Island/part of New Jersey, S said something very interesting: 'obviously you can get it online, (...) we've just signed a deal with Southern Glazer's, so we're rolling it out. It is a limited batch, so you know, every year we do do a release and it is very limited, so it does tend to sell out pretty quick. But yes, it is available (...), but obviously you're not gonna see it in every bar, restaurant or retailer, because we just don't have enough of it. But online you can get it and great delivery service, it's very quick.'

I am taking two things home from this last answer: demand exceeds supply, which is both a blessing (solid yield, room for expansion) and a curse (lackadaisical market presence). On short to mid term, distribution will concentrate on the online market, with the help of Southern Glazer's superb infrastructure.

Remember the older guy he had lunch with in MIA, in May? You should, if you didn't focus on Mordor's inept babble about shirts, ballerinas and the like. That guy was instrumental into arranging the deal with Southern Glazer's. Just the biggest wine and spirits distributor on the US market, mind you.

Don't believe me? Check this out:

That company was founded in Florida. Its HQ is still in MIA. He didn't go there because he was looking for ballerinas at his birthday dinner. He went there because when these people are available to meet you, well: you leave everything aside and you damn GO.

Now who the hell is writing fanfiction, eh? You really should be ashamed, madam.

I rest my case.

[atsadi-shenanigans]

What Shall We Become 37 - Um???

So. That happened? UM??!?

On AO3.

Jesus fucking christ fucking lord holy fuck oh god oh god. You lost your whole mind.

You’d felt so small and weak. Had scrubbed at your skin with your nails in that ice-fuck stream until your nails started to hurt.

Then remembered the mushrooms growing outta Astarion’s arm and what if them spores just drift along in the air down here?

You got practice crying silently. All y’all farmstead kids learned it quick. You never grew outta it. Not camped out on Sasha’s couch, not in the group home she helped you find, not even when her organization helped you find a closet of a studio apartment with two garbage bags full of dollar store supplies they all pitched in to help you with. The walls in that place had been so thin, and drawing attention is always, always bad. Nothing chums the water better than audible crying.

But Astarion got fucking elf vampire ears. And he heard you anyway. Brought over a too-tight shirt that rolled up your belly to make a fucked up crop top straining at the seams. And then he gave you armor.

He’d been right there. Hadn’t made fun of you, or even acknowledged it (thank fuck). Just quietly helped you lace up (and you ain’t gonna think about how stupid you look in this, still bursting out along the edges).

On the inside, you was stripped down to nothing. Felt like somebody split you open and scooped out your insides with a rusty fucking spoon. And you remembered him leaning in, and he’s been after you for weeks and weeks and you just…you wanted to feel something that wasn’t small and pitiful.

It ain’t nothing like your first kiss. With him. All caught up in your own head back then, full of panic and shame and trying to analyze everything and figure out what you was supposed to be doing.

This…is nice. His skin is warmer than the cave air. Probably because his breath smells metallic. You don’t let yourself think too hard about that. He’s right there. Fills all your senses. Scent of blood, yeah, and that weird basement smell. But also that perfume or hair oil, and that bright, kinda spiciness you inhale deep into your lungs (maybe if you can suck down enough of that, the molecules can replace the sad, whimpering molecules you’re naturally made out of).

Then you ain’t getting enough air. Everything goes haywire. Your lips seem to buzz and your whole face goes sensitive, almost ticklish.

When his fingertips brush your cheek, a bone-deep shudder runs from the top of your head all the way down to your pinkie toes. Takes a major detour along the way to slam between your legs.

Jesus fuck. No wonder people get stupid about this. It’s like…like…crack cocaine, is what it is. You want to grab him and haul him to you. Run your hands over his face and bury your fingers in his hair (jesus, it looks soft). Want to mash your face to his and breathe him all the way in and you ain’t even tongue kissing this time.

He came back. He ran a goddamn birdshark into that camp from god knows where and he saved your ass and gave you armor. Now he’s kissing you and you can’t fucking breathe.

Then he pulls you closer and your thoughts turn to mashed fucking potatoes. All of the shit, the hurt, the humiliation; all of it gets buried under the onslaught of dopamine and good god almighty, his lips is soft and you could try tongue. That would be fine, and then he does that and you’re actually throbbing in your nethers and does that make you easy, oh who the fuck cares—

He breaks off. You stand there, blinking stupidly at him.

“Sorry,” you say reflexively. For touching him? For breathing on him? For daring to insert your presence into his awareness? You don’t even know.

He only smiles, all soft, and his fingers brush your hair and your skin almost bursts into flames. “No sorry.”

He stays like that for a long moment, fingers of his other hand still knotted through the lacing of your armor. It’s long enough you lean back to get a better look at his face.

He releases you. Blinks. Looks to the lizard and says something ending with “Move this way, darling.”

Because them drow ain’t gonna let you off after stealing their stupid crystal coordinates and their reptilian pony. Astarion helps this thought by nudging your mind: the burst of green light that hit you. Hadn’t hurt, and you thought it was a magic misfire. But he saw the X shimmer above you. It’s a tracking spell.

He helps you climb back up. There’s a bit more room now that he ditched his man-sized capri-sun. You ain’t sure what to think of that, so you bury it for now. Y’all gotta go.

He seats himself right behind you, this time. You do your best to shove down the instinctive flinch (y’all just had your lips on each other and you can still fucking taste the man).

Then you take up the reins, give the lizard a heal nudge (they’re trained like horses, interesting) and off y’all go.

Two steps in, and Astarion’s hand taps the front of your armor.

May I, he wonders.

Oh. Right.

That’s like, protocol for riding double (without a man getting drained to death between you). People ride like that on motorcycles.

“Ye-aw,” you say. It comes out more accented than you intend.

Your face could still light a match, you reckon. Kinda glad he’s behind you, so he can’t see that. Then his arm snakes around your waist, just enough to secure himself, and your ears go hot.

Jesus fucking lord, you are so screwed.

***

You come to at the thin, warbling wail in the distance. Almost launch yourself right outta the saddle. But the arm around your waist tightens and holds you down. Astarion eases up the second you take a deep breath.

“Far, far over there,” he says, by way of drawing out the “over” part of the verb that makes up that phrase. Over the group chat (now a private chat, because you can feel the others in the distance but don’t want that kind of audience now) he adds that drow outpace a walking lizard when they run, but the lizard vastly outpaces drow when it runs. Y’all put some good distance between y’all at that initial retreat.

Then he moves, and you realize he had both arms around you, and you was full on slouched against him. Dozing mouth open, judging from how dry your tongue is.

Good lord.

Your bladder gives you a good out. He hops off and helps you slide down (the last time you rode a horse was as a kid, until the Pastor received word from the lord that it diminished the feminine delicacy girls were born to exemplify).

The insides of your thighs is sore. Gonna start chafing, especially in a fucking skirt. You’d like to waddle far enough away Astarion can’t hear you relieve yourself, but that horn still warbles in the distance, and that stupid man can hear a pulse at a hundred feet.

You make it quick. Don’t got no rags to wipe yourself down, and you’re gonna burn this fucking skirt the second you find some goddamn pants.

Then you have to walk back to Astarion, the both of you knowing all of that, and climb back up and pretend everything is peachy keen.

He still loops both arms around you. Keeps his grip loose enough even as you nudge the lizard into a bizarre, alligator shuffle.

Are…are you a couple now? You don’t know the protocol on this between humans from your own culture, let alone Middle fucking Narnia with vampire elves. Maybe his folk don’t got a concept of, like, going steady. Or maybe Astarion (and his dozens of lovers) just aren’t into all that.

What if this was a mistake? You read it all wrong. Wouldn’t be the first time (though usually you’re in the other seat). It was adrenaline and nerves and the come down from, like, trauma. That makes people do weird shit. Like kiss a man. Like kiss a murder hobo of a goblin man who knew you all of a week before he tried to have sex with you.

He’s just…what did he call it? Having fun. Can’t mean much to him.

Right?

You’d be an idiot to think a kiss meant anything. Children do that to each other, even on the farmstead.

Shit, you don’t even know what it could mean. What you’d want out of it. If you’d want out of it.

(He came back for you.)

Y’all depend on each other down here. It’s group survival.

(He said he would leave you, but he came back with a birdshark and got you out.)

Survival bonding. Hardwired instinct to form a group when scared. That’s what let humans survive all kinds of disasters.

(He singled out that drow who hurt you without you saying a damn thing. And he killed Charbroil all slow, too.)

That’s sociopath behavior. Cat behavior, actually, which is about the same thing (and you like cats). The man is interested in not dying again, and getting some tail—

“Darling,” he says. Holy god his voice is right in your ear.

You really hope he doesn’t notice the quiver that shoots down your spine. But he probably did, because 1. That is precisely your luck and 2. He’s right against your back.

How is he having that effect on you?

(You’ve been feeling it the whole time, huh.)

No, you have not. You would have noticed.

(Been building like water trickling out under a dam. A drip, drip, drip eroding soil, excavating a cavern, hollowing the earth.)

No. He’s funny and fucked up and interesting, but you meet plenty of people, especially recently, that meet that criteria.

(Weakening the ground until it finally gives and the whole thing collapses in on itself and swallows a house whole. That’s you, babygirl.)

“Fuck off,” you say.

And finally notice the bottle Astarion wiggles at you, next to your head. It’s almost the same color as a healing potion, but in a slightly larger container and with a deeper hue.

“Sorry, what?” you say.

“Drink this,” Astarion says.

Y’all should save it—

“Darling. Drink.” He ain’t gonna hear talk about saving just now. You’re still recovering, and you both need to get to safety.

The bones of your hands still ache. The beds of your nails tingle in a way that makes you think of tissue decay and nail beds blackening and falling off.

You sigh and slam it back. Let Astarion take the bottle from you (and shout when he tosses it over his shoulder). But you ain’t gonna turn around to get it. And it does soothe the tingling. Brings warmth back to the pads of your fingers.

So you sigh and settle in. Nudge the lizard into a run. This time, Astarion clings to you. Tucks his face against the back of your neck and his breath fans over you (goosebumps sweep up your arms and down your chest) and you try to tell yourself it’s just to make y’all more aerodynamic.

[ficsforgaza]

for 08 September to 14 September

Hi all—please check out this week’s Creator Spotlight! For anyone who doesn’t know what this is: every week we highlight one creator with WIPs to sponsor, one creator with open requests, and one fundraiser that is in desperate need of funding. If this is your first time seeing our blog, welcome! Please check out our pinned post for more information about what we are doing to help the people of Gaza!

˗ˏˋ SPONSOR A WIP SPOTLIGHT ˎˊ˗

↳ @persicipen / Link to their WIPs

Manu writes for Honkai Star Rail and Genshin Impact. They have a long list of WIPs available to sponsor which you can check using the above link, including their kinktober WIPs! Here are two of their short stories available for sponsorship:

Feixiao x reader

feixiao’s favourite concubine visits her in a tent during the resting hour to bring a special scroll from lingsha

Zhongli x reader

dragon zhongli returns from the archon war and claims his gifts, including a young priestess sent to welcome him in the shrine

˗ˏˋ ACCEPTING REQUESTS SPOTLIGHT ˎˊ˗

↳ @bakubunny / Link to their Requests Page

Bunny is accepting requests for the following fandoms: My Hero Academia, Jujutsu Kaisen, Final Fantasy XIV, and Sk8 the Infinity. She also has some WIPs available to sponsor if you'd like. So please check out her ficsforgaza post linked above!

˗ˏˋ FUNDRAISER SPOTLIGHT ˎˊ˗

↳ Medical Aid for Palestinians

This week we will be featuring an organization called Medical Aid for Palestinians, which has been working to help Palestine for 37 years.

MAP's goal is to enable Palestinians to be able to access effective, sustainable, and locally-led healthcare, and to establish their rights to health and dignity. They provide access to essential health services, and respond rapidly with aid and assisstance to humanitarian emergencies in the region. You can read more about what they do here.

In Gaza, MAP has provided millions of dollars worth of medicines and medical care to Palestinians. They also have medical teams working on the ground in places that have been attacked by IDF forces. You can read more about what they have achieved so far in Gaza and the West Bank here.

Find ways to help MAP here.

[oftlunarialmoon]

Ciao lovelies! I have written before on the topic of Age Regression many times, from explaining what Age Regression is, to Age Regression Self-Care, to Age Regression Journaling. I never explicitly said before now, but I, myself, am an age regressor to cope with stress (and some other mental health reasons). The reason why I have officially decided to come forward and say so is because I feel that I want to keep writing posts on the topic of age regression, some with personal experience perhaps, so I want to be open with you all and let you know why I continue to write on this topic. I’ve also noticed some of this blog’s audience is made up of age regressors like myself, and I want to provide you all with some content from a safe, welcoming, and open-minded source. All that being said, today I’ve decided to write down 101 activity ideas for Age Regressors/ Things to Do When Bored, Age Regression edition. Please be sure to let me know in the comments (yes, you can even comment anonymously!) if you like these ideas, please be sure to tell me your favorite!

101 ACTIVITIES FOR AGE REGRESSORS

Outside Activities for Summer

1.       Play on a swing-set!

2.       Play hopscotch!

3.       Color with chalk!

4.       Build Fairy houses with materials you find outside!

5.       Take pictures of your toys in nature! This works especially well for dinosaur toys, animal toys, et, because they look like they’re meant to be in nature!

6.       Jump rope!

7.       Go swimming!

8.       Go fishing with a net and play catch and release!

9.       Go to a beach and find cool seashells!

10.   Read a book outside in the sun!

11.   Go for an ice cream!

Outside Activities for Fall

12.   Find leaves and flowers and press them into a journal. You can also do Leaf rubbings, where you put a piece of paper over a leaf and use a crayon to rub over it to get the imprint of the leaf on the paper!

13.   Carve a pumpkin!

14.   Go to a pumpkin patch and take lots of pics among the pumpkins! You can even pick out one to take home and make into a Jack-O-Lantern (like #12)!

15.   Collect cool leaves and make a leaf arrangement/wreath!

Outside Activities for Winter

16.   Build a snowman!

17.   Build a snow-fort!

18.   Have a snowball fight!

19.   Try to catch snowflakes on your tongue!

20.   Make snow angels!

21.   Play hide and seek in the snow!

Outside Activities for Spring

22.   Collect flowers and make bouquets!

23.   Make flower crowns!

24.   Play tag with some friends!

25.   Weave grass into cool shapes!

26.   Collect cool rocks/gemstones…You can even pretend to be a dragon who’s collecting rocks for their hoard!

Indoor Activities for Any Season

27.   Redecorate your room!

28.   Clean your room! (I know, bleh, but if you clean then you’ll have a clean slate for #27!)

29.   Change your phone’s wallpaper/lockscreen (check out our Instagram Highlight for some of ours!)

30.   Play with makeup!

31.   Try out new hairstyles!

32.   Play dress up!

33.   Play with some dolls!

34.   Play pretend! You could pretend to be a teacher for your dolls/toys, or even have your stuffies go on super cool adventures with you!

35.   Craft! You can make accessories, décor, toys, clothes, anything! Check out our DIY tag for lots of fun crafts!

36.   Read some kid books!

37.   Stim! I like crinkles when I’m small, and I also like slime and flappy hands!

38.   Play with squishies!

39.   Walk around a store and look at all the toys and kid stuff!

40.   Go on a Dollar Store shopping spree! You can get a lot of stuff at a dollar store for under like $20!

41.   Color in some cool pictures!

42.   Design a new OC (Original Character) 

43.   Draw some comics! They can be of yourself or of your OC’s!

44.   Cosplay your OC’s/any character you like!

45.   Do a photoshoot!

46.   Make a sensory bottle!

47.   Set up a dollhouse!

48.   Make beaded bracelets!

49.   Make yourself a snack!

50.   Or a meal!

51.   Bake some cookies (just be careful with the hot oven, okay?)

52.   Have a dance party with your stuffies!

53.   Make a playlist to regress to!

54.   Find new regression YouTubers!

55.   Play some video games! I love Slime Rancher , Animal Crossing, and more!

56.   Play with some phone apps! I love Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, Pastel Girl, and Pokémon Go!

57.   Try to mix your own perfume!

58.   Design a picture using glitter!

59.   Draw some fashion designs!

60.   Start an age regression journal! 

61.   Practice some age regression self-care!

62.   Make a self-care box!

63.   Make figures from modeling clay!

64.   Paint your nails!

65.   Give your stuffies/dolls a makeover!

66.   Find cute regression music! 

67.   Make posters for your room!

68.   Make gifts for your friends!

69.   Find a new penpal!

70.   Write letters to your pen-pal!

71.   Start a sticker scrapbook!

72.   Open some blind-bags!

73.   Watch some toy youtubers. Our YouTube Channel has some toy videos, my other favorites are Cookie Swirl C and My Froggy Stuff!

74.   Make your own YouTube Channel!

75.   Create a mystery to solve with your stuffies!

76.   Solve a Crossword Puzzle!

77.   Solve a Wordsearch!

78.   Finish a puzzle!

79.   Design your own puzzle!

80.   Make an escape room for your toys!

81.   Paint something!

82.   Watch cute anime like Himouto Umaru Chan!

83.   Watch cute shows on Netflix like Twelve Forever or Hilda!

84.   Watch fun shows on Hulu like Gravity Falls!

85.   Go to the library!

86.   Play chess or checkers!

87.   Watch a movie! I like Welcome to Monster High!

88.   Go see a movie in theatres!

89.   Make temporary tattoos using food coloring!

90.   Make your own T-shirt using a blank T-shirt and fabric paints!

91.   Take a little nap!

92.   Put on a play with or for your stuffies!

93.   Make clothes and accessories for your stuffies!

94.   Make clothes and accessories for your dolls!

95.   Make furniture for your dolls!

96.   Make your own blindbags for a friend!

97.   Upcycle your old clothes and jewelry by designing them into something new!

98.   Visit a thrift store!

99.   Go to a museum!

100. Go to the mall!

101.  Visit an Arcade!

WHEW! I hope that is enough ideas for you bored little ones out there. Have a great day!

[misfitwashere]

September 9, 2024 

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

SEP 10

Last night, Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign launched a new section of its website detailing her policy positions. Titling her plans “A New Way Forward,” Harris vows to build the American middle class through an “opportunity economy.” Her vision for the future, she says, “protects our fundamental freedoms, strengthens our democracy, and ensures every person has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead.” 

Harris’s economic plan builds on that of the Biden-Harris administration. This makes sense, since their focus on investing in the middle class has created the strongest economy in the world. Harris is emphasizing the need to bring down household costs of food, medicine, housing, healthcare, and childcare, all issues important to Americans.  

The website provides concrete economic actions she plans to take with a willing Congress. They include expanding the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit, investing in more housing, and supporting the PRO Act, which protects the rights of workers to unionize, while continuing the crackdown on business consolidation that kills competition and rolling back the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations.

The biggest economic shift from the current administration is pegging a new capital gains tax for those earning more than a million dollars a year at 28%, significantly lower than the 39.6% President Joe Biden proposed in his 2025 budget. The plans also call for the first-ever national ban on corporate price gouging on food and groceries (37 states already have such laws). 

Aside from strictly economic plans, the policy pages say Harris backs passing the bipartisan immigration bill that Republicans killed on Trump’s orders, protecting reproductive healthcare and restoring Roe v. Wade, and protecting the right to vote and ending partisan gerrymandering through the John Lewis Voting Rights and the Freedom to Vote Acts.

Republicans have charged that Harris has not offered specifics for her policies, but much of what is now clearly laid out is already in the public record. By the standards of American history, it is a strikingly moderate agenda that reflects the belief that the best way for the government to protect opportunity and nurture the economy is to make sure that the system is fair and that ordinary people have access to opportunity.

The “New Way Forward” in Harris’s plan seems to be less a new set of policies than a rejection of the politics of the past several decades. She and her running mate Minnesota governor Tim Walz appear to be attempting to reshape the political landscape to bring Americans of all parties together to stand against Trump’s MAGA Republicans. The campaign has actively reached out to Republicans, several of whom spoke at the Democratic National Convention. On Saturday, Harris said she was “honored” to have the endorsement of former representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) and former vice president Dick Cheney, both staunch Republicans. “People are exhausted about the division and the attempt to divide us as Americans,” she said. “We love our country and we have more in common than what separates us.” 

Trump’s website offers slogans rather than policies, so Harris’s website compares her policies to the comparable sections of Project 2025, the playbook for a second Trump term laid out by a number of right-wing institutions led by the Heritage Foundation. Trump and his campaign have tried to distance themselves from Project 2025, but at his rallies, he has offered the policies in it—like firing nonpartisan civil servants and replacing them with loyalists, and abolishing the Department of Education—as his top priorities. 

While Harris focused on policy, as critics have demanded, MAGA Republicans today spread slurs about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, claiming they are eating other people’s pets and local wildlife. Right-wing media figure Benny Johnson, who was one of the six commenters whose paychecks at now-disbanded Tenet Media were paid by Russia, was one of those pushing the false stories. So was X owner Elon Musk. 

The story was debunked almost immediately by the Springfield police, but Republican politicians ran with it. The X account for Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee ran it; so did Texas senator Ted Cruz, who shared an image with two kittens saying: “PLEASE VOTE FOR TRUMP SO IMMIGRANTS DON’T EAT US.” And the Republican vice presidential nominee, Ohio senator J.D. Vance, posted: “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn't be in this country.” (The Haitians in Springfield are in the U.S. legally.)

Perhaps most significantly, Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, who is challenging Democratic Ohio senator Sherrod Brown, pushed the story. That Senate seat is crucial to the Republican attempt to take control of the Senate, and Moreno has just launched a $25 million ad campaign against Brown, accusing him of giving undocumented immigrants taxpayer-funded benefits. Today’s disinformation was well timed for that ad campaign. 

The Justice Department today announced  charges against two leaders of the white supremacist Terrorgram Collective, an international terrorist group that operates on the platform Telegram. Dallas Humber of California and Matthew Allison of Idaho have been charged with “soliciting hate crimes, soliciting the murder of federal officials, and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.” They “solicited murders and hate crimes based on the race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, and gender identity of others,” U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert said. They had a hit list of federal, state, and local officials, as well as corporate leaders, and they encouraged attacks on government infrastructure, including energy facilities. Their plan was to create a race war. 

“Hate crimes fueled by bigotry and white supremacy, and amplified by the weaponization of digital messaging platforms, are on the rise and have no place in our society,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said.

Congress is back in session today and must fund the government before October 1 or face a government shutdown. Although Congress negotiated spending levels for 2024 and 2025 back in June 2023, the House has been unable to pass appropriations bills because MAGA extremists either refuse to accept those levels or insist on inserting culture war poison pills into the bills. 

Now, Trump has demanded that a continuing resolution to fund the government must include a measure requiring proof of citizenship to vote. Since it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in elections for president or members of Congress and there is no evidence it is anything but vanishingly rare, the measure actually seems designed to suppress voting. House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) went along and put the measure in the bill. He also designed for the measure to last until next March, making the budget so late a new president could write it, but also blowing through a January 1 deadline set in the June 2023 bill to require automatic cuts to spending.

House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) wrote to his colleagues: “House Democrats have made it clear that we will find bipartisan common ground on any issue with our Republican colleagues wherever possible, while pushing back against MAGA extremism.” Jeffries called the Republican bill “unserious and unacceptable.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told House and Senate leaders that the cuts required by law if Congress pushes the budget into March would drastically affect the military. “The repercussions of Congress failing to pass regular appropriations legislation for the first half of [fiscal] 2025 would be devastating to our readiness and ability to execute the National Defense Strategy,” Austin wrote.

Meanwhile, Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is back to his old trick of blocking a military promotion, this time of Lieutenant General Ronald Clark, one of Austin’s top aides. Tuberville says he placed the hold because he has concerns that Clark did not alert Biden when Austin had surgery. Biden has nominated Clark to become the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Pacific, a position currently held by General Charles A. Flynn, younger brother of Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, Trump’s first National Security Advisor who resigned after news broke that he had hidden conversations with Russian operatives. 

Today, ten retired senior military officials endorsed Harris, saying she “is the best—and only—presidential candidate in this race who is fit to serve as our commander-in-chief…. Frankly stated, Donald Trump is a danger to our national security and our democracy. His own former National Security Advisors, Defense Secretaries, and Chiefs of Staff have said so.”

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