#delegalized abortion

[tomorrowusa]

Abortion is the major issue in Virginia's state legislative elections on Tuesday.

Republicans control the governor's office and the House of Delegates – the lower chamber of the Virginia legislature. Democrats hold a narrow majority in the Senate – the upper chamber.

Virginia is the only state in the South which observes full reproductive freedom. GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin (AKA: Glenn Trumpkin) is pushing a measure to restrict abortion. Trumpkin has national ambitions and wants to re-enforce his hardline credentials by pandering to the MAGA crowd.

If Democrats do not end up with control of at least one chamber of the legislature after Tuesday's election then Virginia will join the rest of the South as a place where Republican officials have a virtual regulator in every OBGYN office in the state.

Legislative elections can be decided by very narrow margins. And the tightest race for the Virginia Senate seems to be the 24th Senate District where incumbent Democrat Monty Mason is fighting a challenge by Republican J.D. Diggs. In a Washington Post article about the race in the 24th district, Karen Tumulty reports...

Across Virginia, abortion has become the overriding issue on the airwaves for the Democrats, highlighted in more than 40 percent of their ads. Republicans are talking about it in only 3 percent of theirs, according to the tracking firm AdImpact. But Mason noted: “People bring it up to me. I don’t have to lead with it in a lot of places.” That is because Virginia is the last Southern state where the procedure has remained widely available after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Abortion in Virginia is legal up to 26 weeks of gestation.

A vote in the Virginia legislative election is important anywhere in the state. But it's even more important in these swing districts.

^^^ those charts come from this excellent article at the UVA Center for Politics.

The Race for Virginia’s Legislature, Part Two

If you'd like to know which legislative districts you're in, in Virginia or ANY state, find out here.

Find Your Legislators Look your legislators up by address or use your current location.

There's statistical evidence that Virginia voters in the 18 to 29 group can swing an election.

In 2020, Democrat Joe Biden easily carried Virginia in the presidential election; voters 18 to 29 overall made up 14.6% of the Virginians who took part in that election. In 2021, Republican Glenn Youngkin/Trumpkin won the race for Virginia governor; 18 to 29 voters were just 9.1% of the Virginia voters in that election. (source)

VOTE! If you live outside Virginia but know people there, send them a quick message to remind them to vote.

There's no such thing as an unimportant election.

[aveline-shepard]

ALSO I need you all to know that my aunt heard me affectionately talking about someone and later when my cousin drove her home, was like "I didn't know she was gay!" And, like, kudos to my aunt who was 100% cool with that (though surprised) and did not make a big deal about it in the moment, but I later had to inform her that my bestie and I are unfortunately not a couple because she is tragically heterosexual. I mean, with that said though, she is right and I AM gay.

[yuriartillery]

I saw the DNC video too where they were screaming through a megaphone inches away from their ears. Some protestor did that to me when I was escorting people to abortion clinics. I'm fucking hard of hearing now. They are protecting their ears because people are deliberately trying to intimidate them by screaming into their ear. It hurts and it causes real damage. NOTHING THESE IRRESPONSIBLE SHITHEADS DO HELPS PEOPLE!!!!! I donate to anera and I protested for Gaza before people like you let nazis and irresponsible jackasses take over protests. They have called for a ceasefire multiple times. The DNC is not your enemy. These dipshit attacking delegates are!!!

the DNC is absolutely my enemy you fucking rube

[aquadraco20]

All the Kamala haters out there still arent grasping that Trump exists. "Kamala supported Israel!" Yeah? So does the entire Republican party, including Trump. Who do you think is going to be more open to changing that- the one who supports a ceasefire and a two state solution or the one who says Israel should "finish the job"?

"Kamala is a cop!" Ok? Have you actually seen what she did as a prosecutor? How she protected LGBTQ rights even when the law told her to do otherwise? Have you forgotten that Republicans are ready to legislate LGBTQ people out of their rights as soon as they have the power to, including Trump?

"I want to vote for a better candidate!" The delegates have already been assigned. It is not possible with our currect election system for any other candidate to win the election. If you wanted a better candidate, you either should have voted for them during the primaries, or they weren't popular enough to win regardless if you did vote for them during the primaries.

With so much at state and so little time left in the election cycle, we need to focus on surviving this election, stacking Congress with Democrats, and then we might actually have success protecting the right to abortion and the rights of LGBTQ people, and possibly even doing something positive for Palestine. That isn't going to happen with Trump, that isn't going to happen if you vote third party, and that isn't going to happen if you don't vote. We are guaranteed to get some new, hopefully better candidates next election cycle.

Not voting isn't a boycott. It just guarantees that your voice goes unheard and makes it more likely that your rights and the rights of vulnerable people will be taken away.

[humming-fly]

Good News for 4/20

My daily call reminder for everyone today includes some recent good news courtesy of this reddit post, which I've just copypasted wholesale for everyone over here to enjoy!

Resistance

crosswalks in Seattle were hacked to play AI audio of Jeff Bezos asking not to tax the rich, in reference to Washington’s regressive tax structure

crosswalks in Palo Alto were hacked to play AI audio of Elon talking about be being a friendless loser

A constituent at Marjorie Taylor Green’s town hall called her a “butch body bigot”

Constituents at Chuck Grassley’s town hall demanded they get Kilmar Abrego Garcia out of El Salvador (this was in IOWA, and was mostly older white people)

5 Calls posted that people are averaging 50 calls a minute to representatives via the app, specifically about Kilmar and CECOT

Posters went up around Philadelphia just before 4/15 about Elon and his companies not paying taxes

Protesters showed up outside a courthouse in Vermont in support of Rumeysa Ozturk during her detention hearing

People travelled from all over Missouri to speak out in opposition of a proposed abortion ban during a committee hearing

Home Alone 2 director wants to cut Trump’s cameo out of the movie

Attorneys in the solicitor general’s office of the DOJ are resigning

A group of current and former Big Law attorneys are organizing to fight back against the administration’s attacks on law firms

More associates have quit law firms that capitulated to Trump

Harvard refused to comply with Trump’s demands, despite losing billions in federal funding

Protesters marched to Fetterman’s Philadelphia office demanding he hold in person town halls

Universities are creating NATO-like alliances of “mutual defense compacts”, where they’d all support and defend each other if Trump attacks one

Farmers in Maine had a tractor “parade” to protest USDA cuts

Boise city hall is continuing to have their pride flag up despite a new Idaho state law banning pride flags on government property

Republicans breaking ranks

Mark Kelly said republicans will start to distance themselves from Trump and speak out against his policies, that they’re saying things in private they won’t say publicly

Lisa Murkowski heavily criticized Trump’s policies during a nonprofit leadership summit, also said there’s a “growing number of republicans” opposing Medicaid cuts

12 house republicans signed a letter to Mike Johnson saying they won’t vote for a final budget reconciliation bill that cuts Medicaid

17 republicans in the Montana state senate joined democrats to block an anti-trans bill that would have made it a felony for an adult to help trans kids under 16 access gender affirming medical care

The Libertarian Party of Travis County, TX passed a resolution calling for Trump to be impeached

Dems doing stuff

Chris Van Hollen went to El Salvador to put eyes on Kilmar Abrego Garcia and attempt to negotiate his release. After being denied access to CECOT or even a phone call on Wednesday, he was able to meet with Kilmar on Thursday

Robert Garcia and Maxwell Frost are trying to get a congressional delegation authorized to travel to El Salvador

Cory Booker, Maxine Dexter, Yassamin Ansari, and Mark Desaulnier have all said (separately) they plan to travel to El Salvador

Chuck Schumer is blocking Trump’s nominees for federal prosecutors in NY—this is different than when senators put holds on cabinet nominees and this would completely block the appointments instead of just slow them down

Becca Balint Led 67 House Colleagues in Demanding Answers from DHS and the State Department on Mohsen Mahdawi’s Arrest

Elizabeth Warren and Melanie Stansbury introduced a bill to create stronger ethics rules and crack down on conflicts of interest for special government employees

Sarah McBride forced the Trump admin to reverse course on slashing a manufacturing support program in Delaware

Sean Casten held a town hall in the deepest red district in Illinois

Democrats have identified 35 vulnerable republican house seats to target in the midterms

Texas state representative John Bucy introduced a bill to expand online voter registration

Kathy Hochul supported a law passed by NYC city council to shift payment of broker fees from renters to landlords, after the Real Estate Board of NY sued the city to block it

Tony Evers locked in an increase in public school funding in Wisconsin for 400 years, the state Supreme Court backed it up

Janet Mills refused to comply with Trump’s orders on banning transgender athletes, said “I’m happy to go to court”

Illinois house democrats advanced legislation to require public colleges and universities to provide reproductive health care services to students

Jared Polis signed the Protecting the Freedom to Marry Act, protecting every Coloradan’s right to marry who they love

Nevada democrats introduced legislation to help the state hire federal workers fired by Trump and Elon

Wes Moore signed legislation aimed at connecting laid-off federal health care workers with jobs

NC AG Jeff Jackson sued property management companies over using RealPage to set and inflate rents, the second largest one settled and agreed to stop using it

Legal stuff

A lawsuit was filed against the DoD on behalf of students at schools on military bases, stating that book removals and curriculum changes violate their first amendment rights

Gavin Newsom is suing Trump over tariffs

Newsom is planning to sue Trump over the dismantling of Americorp

Judge Boasberg finds “probable cause” to hold Trump admin in contempt over Alien Enemies Act deportations

Judge Xinis ordered two weeks of discovery in the Abrego Garcia case, including depositions of the four officials who signed affidavits, and doesn’t rule out holding them in contempt

An appeals court denied the Trump administration’s attempt to appeal the order from Judge Xinis to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia

A former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice had his law license suspended for 3 years for violating professional conduct rules during a probe of the 2020 presidential vote

A group of small businesses is suing Trump over the tariffs, arguing they’re illegal under the IEEPA

A judge blocked Trump’s EO targeting law firm Susman Godfrey

Appeals court blocked the ban on trans military service members

Supreme Court temporarily blocked deportations under the Alien Enemies Act

A court denied the administration’s attempt to appeal an order mandating officials’ depositions about Kilmar’s deportation

A judge blocked the administration from enacting a policy that bans the use of “X” gender markers on passports

Foreign students are suing DHS over their visas being terminated

A federal judge blocked the Department of Energy from cutting over $400M in research funds to universities

A judge blocked the EPA from withholding billions in funds from clean energy programs

An Idaho judge ruled to broaden medical exceptions to the state’s abortion bans

Misc

Trump’s approval rating among independents is -22, the lowest ever for this point in a presidency

Three pentagon officials have been suspended in a leak investigation

Spokane, WA city council is proposing an ordinance that would include Two-Spirit people in the city’s human rights code, double up on state shield protections and ensure city employees’ insurance covers gender-affirming and reproductive healthcare

David Hogg (DNC vice chair) is planning to spend $20M funding primary challengers against sitting House members in safe blue districts who aren’t fighting hard enough

Florida lawmakers unanimously approved making medical marijuana cards free for veterans

Run For Something reported that over 200,000 people have signed up with them to run for office since 2017, and they’re currently averaging 500 new signups a day

National Republican Senatorial Committee is warning republicans that democrats are out-fundraising them

Six men in Coeur d’Alene, ID have been charged after dragging Teresa Borrenpohl out of a town hall in February

Mike Lindell (MyPillow guy) cried to a judge that he was “in ruins” and had no money after refusing to pay sanctions to Smartmatic

Portland city council unanimously voted to grant an appeal to stop a Portland General Electric project that would cut down 397 trees in Forest Park to build power lines

Unions form pro bono legal network for federal workers targeted by Trump

Funding was extended for the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures database (cybersecurity)

Democrats are more trusted on the economy than republicans for the first time in years

The FDA granted fast track status to a bird flu vaccine

Dems won against Maga candidates in the Newark school board election

Labor union reps in Utah got twice the required number of signatures to get a referendum on the ballot to repeal a recent bill that ended collective bargaining

Washington state senate passed a bill that would require insurance companies to cover a 12-month supply of hormone replacement therapy at a time

Betty Martinez Franco became the first Latina elected to Irvine city council. She came to the US as an undocumented immigrant and has since become a citizen, gotten a masters degree, started a PR agency, and is now elected to city council

Elon’s L’s

Elon dropped DOGE’s savings goal from $2T to $150B—less than 10% of the original goal

Elon was outed as dm’ing women he’d never met and offering to impregnate them, shortly after that he announced he was deactivating twitter’s dm feature

Elon’s meeting at the Pentagon on China was stopped by Trump (“what the fuck is Elon doing there? Make sure he doesn’t go”)

[astrobiscuits]

Childress (30117) persona chart - what will your pregnancy be like?

Sun placement - the central theme of your pregnancy

🧸 Sun in 1st house/Aries Sun: Your main focus will be on you and yourself only. You might become more selfish during this time, believing you deserve "the best of the best". You might take up a high-impact sport (such as boxing, martial arts, American football, hockey) or a speed sport (sprinting, speed skating). If Sun is afflicted, you might prioritize yourself in the detriment of your baby's health (it could also point out to a possible abortion, but there needs to be more indicators in the chart for that)

🧸 Sun in 2nd house/Taurus Sun: Your main focus will be on your financial assets, material possession and self-worth during your pregnancy. Most of your time will be spent on buying stuff for the baby - bassinet, bottles, clothing, room decor etc. If Sun is well aspected, you might feel more desirable as a woman during your pregnancy, embracing your new body; likewise, if Sun is badly aspected, you might criticize yourself for gaining extra weight and feel less desirable

🧸 Sun in 3rd house/Gemini Sun: Your main focus will be on learning as much as you can about pregnancy & childbirth. You will desire to be informed about different types of childbirth, different symptoms during pregnancy, whether they're normal or not. If you have friends who are already parents, you might seek advice from them about childbearing and what it is like to raise a child. If Sun is badly aspected, you might have a harder time making decisions regarding your baby

🧸 Sun in 4th house/Cancer Sun: Your main focus will be on your growing family, especially your baby. If you have family traditions passed on through generations, you might repeat those traditions while pregnant. You might start a diary where you keep record of your baby kicks. You will be emotional during your pregnancy, but you'll be able to regulate your emotions. If Sun is afflicted, you might prioritize the baby over your own well-being

🧸 Sun in 5th house/Leo Sun: Your main focus will be on children in general. If you have family and/or friends with children, you might socialize with them more, watch how they interact with their parents and other children, and imagine what your own child will be like. You might use different apps to visualize what your baby will look like. You might also enjoy your life more and consider pregnancy to be one of the best period of your life (ofcours, if Sun is well aspected)

🧸 Sun in 6th house/Virgo Sun: Your main focus will be on your physical health and your daily responsabilities. You might pay more attention to your diet during your pregnancy. Developing a relationship with your doctor/midwife will become crucial for you during pregnancy. Delegating tasks to other people might prove to become more difficult, as you want to feel like your in control of everything that happens in your life. You might resort to light physical activity to manage stress

🧸 Sun in 7th house/Libra Sun: Your main focus will be on your relationship with your partner. You will make choices according to both your opinion and your partner's opinion. You might allocate more time to pampering yourself and doing feminine activities such as getting your nails done, doing your makeup, finding new clothes which are both fashionable and fit your new body, going for photoshoots in flower fields

🧸 Sun in 8th house/Scorpio Sun: Your main focus will be on the life-altering transformations you'll be facing as your pregnancy progresses. Your life will likely change A LOT after you find out you are pregnant. You might become more private with the people around you, feeling like you have to protect yourself from those who ask too many questions and/or potential stalkers. You will pay more attention to the sex life with your partner. If Sun is afflicted, you might develop a deep fear of having a miscarriage

🧸 Sun in 9th house/Sagittarius Sun: Your main focus will be on travelling and acquiring wisdom. You will likely become more optimistic and generous during the pregnancy. As the Sun rejoices in this house, you might start thinking about the meaning of life, with its different philosophies and religious beliefs. If there are other indicators in the Childress persona chart, this placement can indicate getting pregnant in college (same goes for Moon in 9th house)

🧸 Sun in 10th house/Capricorn Sun: Your main focus will be on your career, status and public recognition during your pregnancy. You might become more popular only for the fact that you're pregnant and glowing. The father of the baby will likely become more important to you during the pregnancy. If Sun is afflicted, you might focus more on your career to the detriment of your baby

🧸 Sun in 11th house/Aquarius Sun: Your main focus will be on your wishes and aspirations, your community and your friend group, but also on eccentric matters. You might develop an interest in the latest baby gadgets, which will make your life easier after pregnancy. If you're an introvert, you might feel more extroverted during pregnancy or vice versa. You will likely post more frequently on social media or start a new page/channel focused on the pregnancy

🧸 Sun in 12th house/Pisces Sun: Your main focus will be on your spirituality, escapism methods and night life. You might have premonitory dreams about your baby, such as finding the gender of the baby, their feelings during the pregnancy or even their past life. You might also intuitively know your baby's real due date, regardless of the one mentioned by the doctor. If Sun is well aspected, you might quit addictions for good, not just during the pregnancy. Likewise, if Sun is afflicted, you might cope with potential problems during pregnancy by starting (or continuing) bad habits, which end up becoming addictions

Miscellaneous obs

🍼 Sun/Moon aspecting asteroid Child (4580) or Miminko (60000) indicates having a strong connection with your baby during pregnancy

🍼 Asteroid Juno (3) aspecting Ascendant indicates that the first child will be very similar to the spouse. If the aspect is positive (sextile, trine), the child will inherit the positive traits of the spouse. If the aspect is negative (opposition, square), the child will inherit the negative traits of the spouse. For conjunction, it will be both positives and negatives. This aspect can point out to the relationship between the child and the spouse too (positive aspect = great relationship; negative aspect = strained relationship)

🍼 Planets conjuncting one of the angles = a significant change is likely to occur in your life during pregnancy

planet conjuncting ASC - change regarding the self

planet conjuncting IC - change regarding what's familiar & home environment

planet conjuncting DSC - change in an one-on-one relationship

planet conjuncting MC - change in reputation & professional matters

[takami-takami]

The Uncommitted Movement and Uncommitted Delegates have been petitioning to have just one Palestinian-American speak at the DNC for months; among a sea of speakers, including a random border patrol agent, Trump voters, and the CEO of Uber.

They were told three words and no other explanation: "It's a no."

The delegates and Palestine protesters have been working tirelessly to get the DNC to rescind this decision on the last day of the convention and apply pressure. There is only one ethnic background that is not allowed to speak at the DNC, and that is Palestinians.

Georgia State Representative Ruwa Romman is at the top of the list of Palestinian democrats that were offered— of which the Uncommitted Movement and delegates generously offered the DNC to take their pick.

In case they don't let her speak, this is her speech.

"My name is Ruwa Romman, and I’m honored to be the first Palestinian elected to public office in the great state of Georgia and the first Palestinian to ever speak at the Democratic National Convention. My story begins in a small village near Jerusalem, called Suba, where my dad’s family is from. My mom’s roots trace back to Al Khalil, or Hebron. My parents, born in Jordan, brought us to Georgia when I was eight, where I now live with my wonderful husband and our sweet pets.

Growing up, my grandfather and I shared a special bond. He was my partner in mischief—whether it was sneaking me sweets from the bodega or slipping a $20 into my pocket with that familiar wink and smile. He was my rock, but he passed away a few years ago, never seeing Suba or any part of Palestine again. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss him.

This past year has been especially hard. As we’ve been moral witnesses to the massacres in Gaza, I’ve thought of him, wondering if this was the pain he knew too well. When we watched Palestinians displaced from one end of the Gaza Strip to the other I wanted to ask him how he found the strength to walk all those miles decades ago and leave everything behind. 

But in this pain, I’ve also witnessed something profound—a beautiful, multifaith, multiracial, and multigenerational coalition rising from despair within our Democratic Party. For 320 days, we’ve stood together, demanding to enforce our laws on friend and foe alike to reach a ceasefire, end the killing of Palestinians, free all the Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and to begin the difficult work of building a path to collective peace and safety. That’s why we are here—members of this Democratic Party committed to equal rights and dignity for all. What we do here echoes around the world.

They’ll say this is how it’s always been, that nothing can change. But remember Fannie Lou Hamer—shunned for her courage, yet she paved the way for an integrated Democratic Party. Her legacy lives on, and it’s her example we follow.

But we can’t do it alone. This historic moment is full of promise, but only if we stand together. Our party’s greatest strength has always been our ability to unite. Some see that as a weakness, but it’s time we flex that strength. 

Let’s commit to each other, to electing Vice President Harris and defeating Donald Trump who uses my identity as a Palestinian as a slur. Let’s fight for the policies long overdue—from restoring access to abortions to ensuring a living wage, to demanding an end to reckless war and a ceasefire in Gaza. To those who doubt us, to the cynics and the naysayers, I say, yes we can—yes we can be a Democratic Party that prioritizes funding our schools and hospitals, not for endless wars. That fights for an America that belongs to all of us—Black, brown, and white, Jews and Palestinians, all of us, like my grandfather taught me, together."

[qqueenofhades]

Also going to post this as a resource for queer brethren/sistren/enbythren who feel as if they, justifiably, do not want to spend the next four years in a red state looking over their shoulders all the time.

TCP is based in Denver, Colorado, and is currently mostly focused on helping trans folks get out of places like Texas and Florida, but they describe themselves as a "queer relocation nonprofit" and will work with queer and GNC people of any stripe who are stuck in unfriendly environments and would like to consider coming to CO. They have seen a huge increase in aid requests since the election for sadly understandable reasons and there is a waitlist, but even if they may not be able to help you directly at this very moment, they can possibly connect you with other resources/organizations/etc.

I was born in CO, so I am biased, but it does have:

A Democratic supermajority in the legislature and a Democratic governor/secretary of state/Attorney General;

A majority-Democratic House delegation (except for uh, Lauren Boebert) and two Democratic senators;

Robust protections for LGBTQ+ folks;

Abortion rights codified in the constitution (it serves as a sanctuary state for care in the Rocky Mountain West);

Great scenery and outdoor activities; four seasons; a refreshing lack of summertime humidity; beautiful mountains; winter and summer sports (hiking, skiiing, etc); 300 days of sunshine a year, even in winter;

Fun cities and cultural institutions/sports teams/museums/etc;

DIA (Denver International Airport) is one of the busiest in the nation and the world and you can very easily get most places;

Easy and universal mail-in voting and expansion of voting access;

It is admittedly expensive (especially along the Front Range) but considerably less so than say, New York, Boston, Seattle, DC, Los Angeles, or other big blue cities;

Legal weed (if you are into that Rocky Mountain High);

And so forth!

Basically, you will be as safe as you can possibly be for the next four years in CO, so it's certainly worth checking out this site if you are a queer person in a red state and feel as if it may be time to make some exit plans. I will also answer questions so much as I can.

[tomorrowusa]

It has been a bad week for Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia. Youngkin (AKA: Glenn Trumpkin) has been trying to position himself as the savior of the Republican Party in order to gain national political traction.

Trumpkin's centerpiece of Republican salvation has been what I call Faux Roe. It's his proposal to restrict abortion to the first 15 weeks and offer almost no exceptions thereafter. His plan was to flip the Virginia Senate and enact Faux Roe into law. He had tried to portray the real Roe v. Wade and Democratic support for it as "extremist".

Not only did Trumpkin fail to flip the state Senate, but Republicans also lost control of the Virginia House of Delegates. Trumpkin will now have to face a legislature with BOTH chambers under Democratic control for the last two years of his term.

Democrats have secured full control of the Virginia state legislature, winning a majority in the house of delegates and depriving the Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, of the opportunity to enact a 15-week abortion ban. Democrats maintained their majority in the state senate and flipped control of the house of delegates, where Republicans previously held a narrow advantage. Democrats’ victories quashed Youngkin’s hopes of securing a Republican-controlled legislature that would be able to advance his policy agenda, casting doubt upon his prospects as a potential presidential candidate. “Governor Youngkin and Virginia Republicans did everything they could to take total control of state government, but the people of the Commonwealth rejected them,” Susan Swecker, chair of the Democratic party of Virginia, said in a statement. “Virginians won’t go backwards. Instead of extremism and culture wars, people voted for commonsense leadership and problem solvers.”

Virginia's off-off year elections take place in odd years prior to Congressional and presidential elections. They provide some insight as to the direction of the prevailing political winds.

As one of the only states holding off-year elections, the Virginia results could serve as a bellwether for the presidential race next year.

Things haven't been going well for radical anti-abortion, anti-democracy Republicans in general.

The Democratic victory in Virginia was good news for President Biden.

Why Democrats’ big Virginia win is also a victory for Biden

Joe Biden wasn’t on the ballot on Tuesday in Virginia. But Democrats’ big win will bring welcome news on the other side of the Potomac. Virginia’s off-year elections have long been seen as a bellwether of the broader political environment — and a partial referendum on the incumbent president. So Democrats sweeping control of the state legislature — which both parties believed was in play — will serve as a boost to Biden’s reelection campaign next year. [ ... ] Tuesday’s wins will likely validate Democrats’ plans to continue to run on abortion next year, a strategy that has given them a series of almost uninterrupted wins since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer. “In hundreds of races since Donald Trump’s conservative Supreme Court appointments overturned Roe v. Wade, we’ve seen Americans overwhelmingly side with President Biden and Democrats’ vision for this country,” Biden’s campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez said in a statement Tuesday night. “That same choice will be before voters again next November, and we are confident the American people will send President Biden and Vice President Harris back to the White House to keep working for them.” They also show that Youngkin doesn’t have the silver bullet for solving the GOP’s electoral problems with abortion, as his operation had hoped.

Republicans had been trying for 49 years to get Roe v. Wade overturned. When the GOP Supreme Court finally did the deed last year, it turned out to be a poison pill for Republicans running for office.

In Virginia, Democrats won 21 of 40 seats in the Senate and 51 of 100 seats in the House of Delegates.

When the official counting of late absentee ballots and provisional ballots is completed next week, Dems could end up gaining one additional seat in each chamber. 🎉

[copperbadge]

I was watching hockey earlier today and it got me wondering what sports are played in Askazer-Shivadlakia. Football & surfing’s been mentioned, what else is played in the country? Does it snow enough in the highlands for there to be any winter sports enthusiasts? What’s the state of women’s professional sports? Does the country compete in anything internationally? The Olympics are awful, but does the Ask send a delegation of athletes anyway?

It's not something I've thought a lot about outside of football, I admit, though thinking about the football program has clarified some aspects of it. Mainly I just am not entirely sure how a lot of sports...work, so I kind of stay hands-off.

Askazer-Shivadlakia has never been a super wealthy country. Jason was a bit of a traditionalist and Michaelis was concerned with modernizing but he wasn't an innovator per se, unless pushed; by the end of his reign the country was reaching a point where it had the kind of money to sustain a university or expand its public services fairly radically, but only just. Gregory is a big part of that because he trained as an economist, and while he's only been king for about two years, he's been working in the administration for much longer. He's been able to institute changes that have led to a comfortable surplus in the budget.

So for example, Michaelis wouldn't let the government fund a professional sports team of any kind because the money it would take was already being spent on the youth sports program. He felt that giving kids the chance to play sport was more important than sustaining a team, and said that their athletes were a gift they gave the world. And now that elite players are returning from playing abroad with money and the intention to spend it on supporting a team, his investment is actually, unexpectedly, paying off. Michaelis just wanted the kids of his country to learn self-discipline and good sportsmanship but in doing so he also ensured that if you leave the Ask to seek your fortune as an athlete, once you've got a fortune, you come back home to spend it. And Gregory's work means the government can help.

Football and F1 racing are the two big passion sports the Shivadh follow, though F1 is a fandom, not a pastime. There's decent surfing but that's more a tourist thing. Definitely there are regions that get cold enough for winter sports, but like surfing most of the ski/board sites are tourist-focused, places that ranch dairy cattle in the summer and then host tourists in the winter when the cows are in the warmer lowland pastures. Undoubtedly there are Shivadh snow sport enthusiasts and the country supports them if they compete internationally (both in terms of cheering them on and financially) but there's no program or deep tradition of it. If I ever actually write about those areas extensively that might change, though.

Women's sport has equal support to men's generally, whatever level that might be -- Askazer-Shivadlakia has always been relatively progressive but when Michaelis was elected, Miranda made it her business to push legislation that explicitly protected things like equal funding for women's sport and education and access to birth control and abortion. (She's also the reason weed is legal and Gerald can get Adderall in Europe, where it's banned in a lot of places; there's something to be said for the scion of old conservative nobility who is simply ready to wreck shit.)

There is no golf. Michaelis detests it personally and there's no room for it anyway. If they ever build Askazarama Amusement Park, they might get a mini-golf course.

I don't really know how the Olympics and other international competitions work. If there are talented athletes who want to compete and seem capable of qualifying, there's state funding for them, but there's no formal program where like, the MPs sit down every two years and pick out the top athletes they want to send. Likely most people interested in elite sport competition have to leave the country to train, and represent other countries as a result -- like Paolo in the football novel, who left when he was a young teen to attend a junior academy in France and entered professional play from there.

Shivadh still feel ownership of them, mind you. For example, Felix (the love interest in the football novel) played on the Italian national team and kicked a winning goal in a World Cup for Italy, but Askazer-Shivadlakia consider that cup theirs. A Shivadh did it, ergo it is a Shivadh victory. If an athlete were to say, represent France in an Olympic decathlon and take the gold, they would consider that to be a gold medal for Askazer-Shivadlakia.

The country is very excited about finally having a football team of their own. Shivadh Royal Football Club could lose every game it ever plays and still nobody would let a word be said against them. Fons-Askaz on match day is just a sea of hideous orange Shivadh RFC jerseys that say NARAN JUICE on the front. (Their major sponsor is local juice box and sports drink maker Naran Juice Box Co.)

[fsfghgee]

Hi!

I saw a very funny post from a person who told what happened in their dream, in which Sektor and Bi-Han were a married couple and had a son 😅

This made me wonder what they would be like in a marriage and as parents. I think they would be strict with their son, since they both also had demanding parents.

What do you think?

Bi-Han's reaction when finding out about Sektor's pregnancy~

Sektor wasn't ready to have a baby. She didn't feel ready to be a mother. With the pregnancy test in hand, she rediscovered what it was like to have red, swollen eyes from crying so much. She hadn't shed tears in years...

Having recently married Bi-Han and still having the responsibilities of her retired armorer father on her shoulders, that pregnancy couldn't have come at a worse time.

She still wanted to make the most of all the time they spent together and make up for lost time. Help him in every way possible to evolve the clan, to make them rule.

How would she help him in everything carrying around another human being inside her? She wondered while drying her tears.

Bi-Han loved her. He had already proven that to her. But although he loved her, she couldn't remember him ever expressing a desire to have children. She wondered if he would hate her for being so careless as to get pregnant with him so early. They hadn't even been married for 5 months...

And although those had been the best 5 months of her life... — The extravagant wedding ceremony, the wedding night, moving to the palace and finally living under the same roof as Bi-Han, being able to see and feel him every day. It was like a dream come true. Bi-Han really was the love of her life. — She couldn't help but fear the worst.

With the worst thoughts in mind, she did the unthinkable.

Bi-Han had just returned with his brothers and some Lin Kuei warriors from Madam Bo's restaurant after a successful test, still angry that the farmerboy had managed to cut his arm — even though thanks to his cryomancer genes he healed faster than an average human and the deep wound was almost healed — when a servant hurriedly approached him, nervous and panting.

The servant, out of breath from running so much, spoke quickly and almost as if nothing else mattered. Upon hearing that Sektor had fallen ill, Bi-Han forgot about his brothers' taunts about Kung Lao having managed to cut him and left everyone behind as he made an ice slide. The longest and fastest ice slide of his life.

Arriving at his beloved's chambers, Bi-Han found Sektor sleeping. And hearing from one of the healers the most likely reason for her being in that state shocked him greatly.

He could hardly believe that he was going to be a father and that Sektor had tried to abort.

Stroking Sektor's silky black hair, he patiently waited for her to open her eyes and assure him that she was okay before questioning her.

Bi-Han did not expect to hear from Sektor that she feared him, that she feared his reaction to her unplanned pregnancy.

Although deep down Bi-Han was worried and nervous about Sektor's pregnancy, he assured her that the baby was welcome and that no one could be a more formidable mother than her. No other woman could be a better parent to his heir.

Sektor wished for a beautiful boy with Bi-Han's looks and innate powers.

Bi-Han did't care about the baby's gender. He did not wish for a specific gender, only that the baby be born healthy and strong. However, if a girl were born, he would want her to be named after his deceased mother.

Bi-Han had always placed great value on blood ties. He was proud of the women in his life. Just as Sektor was his queen, his daughter would be his princess. However, if a son were born, he would love and protect him just as he would a daughter. Male or female, he would spare no effort to make his heir a formidable warrior worthy of inheriting his position one day.

On the day of the birth, he delegated all his unavoidable commitments to Hydro. He stayed by Sektor's side the entire time. And Sektor was moved by him praising her for her performance and thanking her for giving him a beautiful and strong son. She had never felt so tired and vulnerable in her entire life, but having Bi-Han by her side gave her the strength to get through it all. She had never seen so much pride in his eyes.

As expected, the baby was born a cryomancer. Continuing his father's cryomancer bloodline, it didn't take long before he became a shadow of the Grandmaster to learn from him.

Although everyone in the clan saw the boy as just as attractive and strong as his father had once been, there were undeniable features of his mother in him, more specifically his mother's pale skin, her delicate, upturned nose, her slightly fuller lips… He was absurdly attractive and not only the clan members recognized this.

He had his father's strength and talent, his mother's intelligence and wits, the good looks and ruthlessness of both. Often he didn't even need to fight to get what he wanted, as he had even his enemies sighing for him.

The heir's flirtatious and manipulative behavior, although effective, disappointed Bi-Han.

Bi-Han had never been a man who avoided conflicts or tried to do things the easy way. Watching his son take this path frustrated him greatly.

Suddenly, the little boy who mimicked him in everything, who was almost his shadow and his greatest pride, became a manipulative, arrogant and sardonic teenager.

Although he had had a routine as demanding as his parents' to make him a worthy warrior and he had become a very skilled one. At no time during the boy's growth did Sektor or Bi-Han deny him anything. He had everything he wanted.

Bi-Han regretted not having punished him more and reinforced his discipline like his father had done with him.

The few quarrels that happened between Bi-Han and Sektor always started with the future of the heir under discussion. There was no other disagreement between them. And even though their son had been the subject of disagreements in their marriage several times, they loved each other way too much to stay away from each other for long. The connection they had was too deep. And over time, Bi-Han learned that he needed to give in and accept that not everything would always be under his control. Especially when it came to his own son's personality.

....

[onyxedskies]

“you’re going to bed, even if i have to carry you there myself.”

Xanlow would be so so so silly...

coming right up! (i hope this is good sleepy xander is kinda difficult)

pairing: xander/laslow

word count: 472

"You're going to bed, even if I have to carry you there myself."

Xander looked up at the words. His vision was slightly blurry, he realized; he blinked a few times and willed his lover to come into focus.

Eventually, he did. Laslow stood there, with his hands on his hips and one eyebrow raised, clearly waiting for a response. Xander spared a glance down at the paperwork he'd been doing, but he knew a losing battle when he saw one.

"...Fine," Xander said. He heard Laslow make an aborted sound, as though he had been fully prepared for an argument. "Let me wrap this paper up–"

"Nope," Laslow said. Instantaneously, he had a hand on Xander's arm and another reaching for his leg; Xander always forgot how damned fast Laslow could be. "We are going–" he grunted in effort as he ducked and angled himself so Xander's stomach and chest were against Laslow's shoulders– "to bed. Now."

Xander, admittedly, didn't have the energy to fight. "I see that," he said, a hint of amusement mixing with his exhaustion.

"Good." Laslow took a breath before lifting both himself and Xander, and Xander couldn't help but laugh. He knew Laslow was strong, of course–after seeing him fight, it was impossible not to know his strength–but it still often caught him off guard given just how lithe Laslow was beneath his puffy Nohrian clothes.

"I can walk, love," Xander said.

"I don't trust you not to sit back down," Laslow said. "I swear, we will work on that workaholism one day."

"The problem is that it all has to–"

"I know quite well what the problem is, and it's that you cannot delegate, but that is not a conversation to be had at one bell in the morning," Laslow said. There was an edge of finality in his voice that told Xander not to fight; despite the urge, he listened to that edge.

"Apologies for keeping you up so late," Xander murmured. "You know you don't have to wait up for me."

"I will wait for you every night if it means I make sure you get to sleep at a semi-reasonable hour," Laslow said. "The only thing worse than a lazy king is a sleep-deprived one who makes silly mistakes due to his cognitive deficit in the face of denial of bodily functions."

Laslow was using large words, now, and though the definitions of them floated in the back of his mind, he contented himself just listening to Laslow's voice.

It was not a far walk to their chambers, luckily enough for them both. Laslow dumped him on their bed, lacking the grace he had found to pick him up, before crawling beneath the covers and laying his head on the pillow.

"Sleep," he demanded, and, well, who was Xander to say no?

[userwonu]

i guess it’s a little late for this but i have to say it anyway. not voting was never an option.

yes, the biden admin were a bunch of genocidal fucking maniacs, and kamala harris was a part of that administration.

but you are fooling yourself if you believe trump would be a "friend" to gaza or its citizens. his past policies and actions proudly tell us the story of why he’s a terrible fit if your concern is actually support for palestinian rights or humanitarian aid.

1. pro-israel bias: trump’s track record in the middle east is all about heavily favoring israel. he recognized jerusalem as israel’s capital, moved the u.s. embassy there, and stopped u.s. support for palestinian authorities when they opposed this move. he didn’t stop at leaders; he had no issue making life difficult for ordinary palestinians, as his administration also slashed aid to critical areas like healthcare and education. source

2. proposed “deal of the century”: the trump admin’s idea of a “peace” plan was, well, not actually a peace plan at all if you were palestinian. it offered palestinians limited autonomy and what could only be referred to as bribes, while allowing israel to colonize more of the west bank. this plan was entirely about satisfying israeli interests while refusing to address palestinian rights and autonomy. essentially, his idea was for palestinians settle for limited sovereignty in a state under israeli control… in exchange for money. source

3. cutting humanitarian aid to gaza: under trump, there were major cuts in humanitarian aid that massively affected life in gaza. basic needs like medical supplies, food, and education took a major hit. gaza’s already vulnerable communities saw conditions worsen because of these cuts, which came quickly after the opposition of palestinian authorities regarding his delegating jerusalem as the israeli capital. source

4. racist and anti-arab remarks: we all know trump has a long history of racist, anti-arab statements that add to why he’s probably not the person you think he will be for arab or palestinian causes. he has proposed enacting a muslim ban on multiple occasions, and actually attempted to put an executive order in place banning people from muslim majority countries from entering the question at one point. source

i could go on and on, but all in all, trump's past policies and proudly anti arab rhetoric lean overwhelmingly toward the fact that he has and would continue to support israel and blatantly disregard palestinian rights. he is not likely to change his approach.

let’s talk about what the decision not vote and to allow trump to win by default really means for marginalized communities. yes, there’s justified anger with the current administration’s actions regarding gaza. but again, trump, with his track record and policy history, isn’t the better choice for president. here’s why.

abortion rights: in his first term, trump appointed three conservative supreme court justices, which have direct correlation to the overturning of roe v. wade, which put abortion rights back in the hands of states. for millions of women, afab people, and people in need of reproductive care, this has put up huge barriers to essential health services. in some cases, traveling out of state for an abortion is the only option and yet, is often criminalized. source

lgbtq+ protections: trump’s policies put lgbtq+ rights at serious risk. he previously pushed for policies that limited protections for transgender people, from military service bans to “religious freedom” laws that made discrimination legal. some extreme and conservative justices are even willing to revisit obergefell v. hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage. i would strongly encourage familiarizing yourself with project 2025. source 1 // source 2 // source 3

environmental impact: trump’s environmental policy focused on industry over climate. he withdrew the u.s. from the paris agreement— and would do it again! he changed emissions standards and environmental rules, and has repeatedly brushed climate change off as a mere hoax. source 1 // source 2

there is undoubtedly blood on kamala harris’ hands. but do not fool yourself into thinking that donald trump will lift a finger to help gaza when he doesn’t even cate about the rights of minority americans. if either party will make an effort to change things in gaza, it’s harris, even if the effort is fucking half assed.

not voting is a privilege and it’s one we don’t really have if we’re thinking about the communities directly impacted by these policies. this election isn’t about being fucking happy. you can pick the lesser of the two evils and be unhappy with it. you can be pissed that we have to settle for an awful, genocidal person, but this isn’t the time to make your point because all it’s doing is harming people, and there is clearly a less evil side. this is about preventing harm, safeguarding rights, and ensuring vulnerable groups aren’t left defenseless against harmful policies.

[polyacrylamidepensieve]

If you don’t vote for Biden, Trump will probably win. If Trump wins, we have someone as President who has said he will make it so that shoplifters “can just expect to be shot” when leaving the store. Trump bad is on a whole nother level. As someone who has lived in China before… yes. We do currently have free speech here in comparison.

He has plans in place to fire all of the people in government who check your food for safety and your cars for emissions, and replace them with people loyal to him.

If everyone who could stand up to him is replaced by a Trump loyalist, and if everyone who stands up to him is fired or locked up or indicted somehow on bogus charges, we’ll lose the ability to democratically oust him when his term is over.

Lots of things happened under him before that we never thought could actually happen.

As an asian american, I am going to be substantially less safe in a Trump presidency where white supremacists only get wrist slapped and then pardoned for violence like Jan 6th.

I’m scared. I’m angry as fuck at Biden for a lot of reasons. But I’m so so so scared of even the possibility of Trump winning.

It can get so much worse than the Muslim ban. He doesn’t care about the environment. He doesn’t care about humankind or human rights. He isn’t kind, and he isn’t afraid to use deadly violence to get what he wants. He wants to ban abortion nationwide. He wants to delegalize trans rights in the military.

[qqueenofhades]

I think the veepstakes are going to continue for another week or so, both to increase the profile of her potential running mates and see how they do with the public, time to vet, and give everyone a little more incentive to be extra enthusiastic about campaigning for her, but ALSO because there's a nonzero chance Trump may drop Vance and they'll need to pivot their strategy, though I think most choices will be sound either way(I like Walz and Beshear the best). What do you think are the odds of Trump dropping Vance versus doubling down because he doesn't want to look weak or indecisive?

She is going to have to pick pretty quickly, because the Ohio GOP attempted some fuckery by putting their ballot deadline before the DNC (and refusing to grant an extension as they always did for Republicans, so you know). I expect she will pick by the middle of next week at the latest, because the virtual nomination has to be made by, iirc, August 6th in order to outwit the attempted Republican ratfuckery. The DNC is then August 19-22, where the whole thing will be made official and everyone will pledge/endorse/etc. That leaves a pretty compressed timeline to road-test Veep picks, see how they work with Harris, how they play with the public, etc. But they've been on top of it so far, so there's that. I saw someone suggest that she let it go on as long as possible in order to have 6-10 white guys hyping her up on TV every day -- which is valid, yes, but she will have to pick soon. There are really no bad options, though I too have ones that I would like in particular. I am really warming to Walz, as I think he has a great communication style and would shore her up in the white Midwest. Though I did get a fundraising email from Mark Kelly on behalf of Kamala Harris yesterday, and lbr if you can pick an astronaut, pick an astronaut.

As for Trump dropping Vance, he's in considerably more of a pickle (everyone together now: AHAHAAHHAH! HAHAHAH! HAAHHAHAHAHAHA!) because the RNC has already happened, Vance is legally and bindingly the VP nominee, and if they change it now, there are a ton of legal and procedural steps that take time and make the GOP look incredibly weak. They will also piss off the Project 2025 people (who were all over the Vance pick because obviously, Vance loves it and they are horrible) -- which, if they were at all sensible, they might do. But they're fascists and that's actually what they want to do, so they won't. Biden was able to step aside and put Harris in so easily because he was not actually the Democratic nominee yet -- he was just the presumptive nominee, delegates are technically free to vote for whoever they want and the nominee is not official until after this convention process has happened, and he wasn't locked in. But if the GOP tries to drop Vance now, it's going to be a lot of legal hassle, they'll look incredibly foolish, and they'll piss off the core fascists they have been rallying every step of the way. Too bad, so sad. No good choice, huh? Seems karmically fitting that they can't abort Vance. Oh no. They must carry his ass to term.