#no matter the party

[aroclan]

yeah, i think i'm gonna take on the agender label for real.

my understanding is "gender identity" is defined as "your internal sense of gender" and like, that is not an intelligible statement. i have spent a serious number of hours on this; it just isn't.

i could agree that there are two socially constructed gender roles that we assign to bodies based on our reading of the sex of those bodies. (and if we don't think we can read the sex of a body: anxiety happens, because it disrupts this deeply trained process.)

i could agree that i have learned to present well enough as my assigned sex to avoid being policed. this is where it gets all circular: i allow my body to have signs of its sex, and perform the gender role 'enough' to avoid causing anxiety, confusion, backlash. i (like to think i) have more creative things to do with my energy than invest more than necessary into this performance.

i could agree i am what i am, and that i don't conceptualize of my traits or interests in terms of gender. conversely, my gender does not inform the things i pursue. i do not feel validated by performing normalized behavior for my gender role; i do not feel diminished by performing nonconforming behavior. i don't feel a need to do anything to "feel like" my gender.

i don't even know what "feeling like" a gender is like? i tested out the other gender role, but it was the same thing with a lot of misogyny heaped on.

when i choose to display gender non-conforming behaviors, it's not because "knitting expresses my gender" but because i want to push on the externally imposed chains of gender roles, breaking them down bit by bit. people read my sex as male, but knitting, and maybe get inspired to push on their own cages a bit.

when i choose not to display these, it's not because i'm feeling different about gender liberation, it's because i'm feeling tired of all the policing that non-conformance invites.

after all of this, then, i don't know what an 'internal feeling of gender' is. i have not lost sight of gender's artificiality.

[creature-wizard]

Whatever happens, two things remain true: 1. Trump might be distancing himself from Project 2025, but his Agenda 47, which is on his website, is basically the same thing. 2. Third party voting is useless without ranked choice voting; it's mathematically impossible to elect a third party candidate. DO NOT SPLIT THE VOTE.

[reasonsforhope]

Literally begging anyone who can vote in US elections to vote, and to vote against Trump. Which means voting for Harris, not abstaining or voting third party.

My family actually did move here from an authoritarian country, where voting literally didn't matter, they literally did throw out your vote, and they literally did assassinate citizens who spoke out against them.

We would all very much like to keep living in a country where those things are not the case!

You know, the same things that Trump and his stooges have openly said they want to do. And two of the main propaganda lines for why people in the US shouldn't vote, which is a lie.

Voting matters. The parties are not the same.

And make sure to vote in down-ballot races!!!

And like. The fact that voting matters in the US is a very real reason for hope. It is something you should genuinely appreciate. We can make a difference.

And a lot of people risked their lives or even died to earn that right, and it's a right not everyone has.

[chaithetics]

THE TREATY PRINCIPLES BILL IS BEING PRESENTED TO THE HOUSE TOMORROW!!!!!!!

EDIT: Here's a link with more info on the Bill and it's contents and breaches!

This matters to EVERYONE in our country! If you're Māori this is about our LITERAL existence, if you're Pākehā, tauiwi, tangata Tiriti this concerns you because Tiriti is what gives you the privilege of existing on this whenua! The Waitangi Tribunal has already said this Bill will be the biggest Waitangi breach ever. YOU have a responsibility to do something.

ACT, our coalition government, and the Ministry of Justice have been intentionally keeping this bill under the wraps. Mad mihi to the MoJ analyst who leaked that draft though (I'm sure they got sacked if not massive repercussions).

What we know so far is that Te Pāti Māori, Green Party, and Labour WILL NOT be voting for this and that ACT, NZ First, and National WILL be voting for this tomorrow. NZ First and National have said that they WILL NOT support this Bill after its first reading so it will go to Select Committee and then die at first reading.

National and NZ First have said they'll only support this Bill to first reading (thankfully) but there is always the chance of closed door promises & favours and we still need to advocate for this disgusting bill to die.

I'll post more about submissions when they open for Select Committee but I'm happy to help answer questions or help with that and the process.

But the racist idiots to email and drill in that you DO NOT want this Bill are...

ACT MPs

1. David Seymour (Email: David.Seymour@parliament.govt.nz ) (the one bigoted brain cell behind this bill)

2. Brooke Van Velden (Brooke.Vanvelden@parliament.govt.nz)

3. Nicole McKee (Nicole.McKee@parliament.govt.z)

4. Todd Stephenson (Todd.Stephenson@parliament.govt.nz)

5. Andrew Hoggard (Andrew.Hoggard@parliament.govt.nz)

6. Karen Chhour (Karen.Chhour@parliament.govt.nz)

7. Mark Cameron (Mark.Cameron@parliament.govt.nz)

8. Simon Court (Simon.Court@parliament.govt.nz)

9. Parmjeet Parmat (Parmjeet.Parmat@parliament.govt.nz)

10. Laura Trask (Laura.Trask@parliament.govt.nz)

11. Cameron Luxton (Cameron.Luxton@parliament.govt.nz)

AND

- Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (Christopher.Luxon@parliament.govt.nz)

- Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters (Winston.Peters@parliament.govt.nz)

If you're able to participate with any part of the hīkoi please do and please be safe!!!!

Toitū te Tiriti! Ake ake ake!

[podcastwizard]

couple people coming over in three hours so the only logical course of action is to sit here and think about that and do nothing else

[irenespring]

Today I would like to shout out that one random Twitter person who made up that JD Vance bragged about fucking a couch.

Imagine making a random shitpost and less than two months later your joke is being used by a major party nominee for Vice President on live television at his introduction rally, earning him thunderous applause.

That poster must be having quite the experience.

[lotus-pear]

the dialogue choices in this game should be more diabolical

[mugiwara-lucy]

One of the main reasons why I’m voting for Kamala Harris is because sometime within the next couple of years there will be two open seats in the Supreme Court.

Let’s not forget one of the judges that Trump appointed in his first term OVERTURNED ROE V WADE. And the old fucker BRAGS about it:

If he gets back into office, I’m sure we can all anticipate AILEEN CANNON being one of those Supreme Court justices. And if you all don’t know who she is, she threw out the case where Trump STOLE CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS FROM THE WHITE HOUSE:

In a nutshell, if Trump gets into office, he will appoint two younger Supreme Court justices younger than Clarence Thomas, meaning the Supreme Court will be locked HARD RIGHT for AT LEAST 30 years.

By then, that means our potential children and grandchildren (if you even want to have kids) will have LESS RIGHTS THAN US.

Do you really want that?

That’s why I feel with Kamala Harris being President, we can BALANCE OUT the courts!

Please Vote Blue.

Thank You 🙏

[ruporas]

the blank ticket in your hand is just waiting to be filled in.

happy birthday vash! (ID in alt text)

[pawfulofwaffles]

To any blue voters in a red state/swing state afraid that their vote won't matter:

Back in summer, I spent a week at my grandpa's house, and he always has Fox News on. Every day, I had to listen to bigoted babies complain their asses off over every little thing they don't like and then call anyone that doesn't agree with them sensitive. They insisted that Trump was going to win, and made fun of Kamala any chance they could get. And honestly, I was starting to lose hope.

But once I got home it was like a breath of fresh air. Every other news channel agreed that Trump was crazy and needed to be kept out of office. The thing I've come to realize is, the Trump supporters in these red/swing states are going to suffocate you with the idea that Trump will win.

But in reality? This is no longer just "democrat vs republican", this is a case of good vs. evil. Trump is fucking insane, and luckily, a lot of republicans and past supporters are coming to realize what's actually at stake. I'm willing to bet you have more allies in your state than you feel.

You don't know yet how much of a difference your vote will make. This is one of the most important elections in history, and every vote matters, because any of them could end up tipping the scale in favor of blue.

[creature-wizard]

Reminder:

Yes, in a perfect world we could vote for and elect a third-party candidate with a stronger pro-Palestine position than Harris. But without federal ranked choice voting, getting a third party candidate elected president is essentially impossible. Also, getting rid of the electoral college is a must. The Republican Party, meanwhile, will never let these things happen if they have their way. So let's do our best to keep the Republicans out of office this election, and stick these things on our future to-do list so that down the road so we can elect a third-party candidate.

[reasonsforhope]

"California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed a first-of-its-kind state law Monday aimed at protecting LGBTQ+ students from having their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression revealed by schools without consent.

The SAFETY Act prohibits schools from enforcing policies that forcibly out a student and shields teachers and other school staff from retaliation if they refuse to obey such policies. 

The new law makes California the first state to ban outing policies, according to the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus.

Chris Ward, a San Diego Democrat who first introduced the bill in the California Legislature, said in a statement Monday that the SAFETY Act combats a rise in politically motivated attacks on queer and transgender students nationwide. 

"While some school districts have adopted policies to forcibly out students, the SAFETY Act ensures that discussions about gender identity remain a private matter within the family,” Ward said. “As a parent, I urge all parents to talk to their children, listen to them, and love them unconditionally for who they are."

The law’s enactment came nearly a year after Tony Thurmond, the state superintendent of public instruction, said he was forcibly removed from a local school board meeting where he was opposing a district's proposed outing policy, which was eventually blocked in court. 

“Our teachers can now focus on teaching the critical academic skills that our students need to succeed, not on policing the gender identities of children,” Thurmond said in a statement Monday."

-via USA Today, July 16, 2024

[theangryfeministwriter]

"kamala is a cop"

but you don’t understand! When she was a prosecutor, she pissed off California police unions when she didn’t push for the death penalty for a man convicted of killing a police officer. She chose to push non violent, first-time offenders into education programs instead of prison because she wanted “to create a system to decrease the likelihood that the revolving door will continue”. As Attorney General, she prosecuted for profit colleges, and banks following the 2008 crisis. In the face of Black Lives Matter, her office launched implicit bias training and she was proud of her work in reforming the criminal justice system of California. As senator, she shined when she questioned Brett Kavanaugh in his senate hearing. When you say “she was a cop” you simplify her impressive record as a prosecutor, attorney general, and senator into just “cop”. While there is valid criticism to her record as Attorney General in her response to Black Lives Matter, as well as her stance on Palestine, there is more nuance to Election 2024 than just “kamala is a cop” and “another time picking the lesser of two evils.” Kamala Harris is the obvious choice for 2024.

[lividbrunette]

I am so sick and tired of seeing all these “I know biden is bad, I know biden has done some bad things but vote for biden because trump will destroy our democracy” posts bc a) clearly our democracy is a sham and b) STOP DEFENDING BIDEN, STOP DOWNPLAYING WHAT HE HAS DONE! you do not need to, nor should you, defend biden to any degree. you can say that we cannot let trump win without that other bullshit. biden is pure evil, he is scum. and part of what makes him so horrendous and disturbing is the charade he puts on like he’s the good guy and trump is the evil, the bad to his good. quite literally the only thing that he has going for him is that his opponent is somehow even worse than him. that his opponent has no pretense of even trying to act like he doesn’t want to fully be a dictator. stop fucking defending biden. stop fucking downplaying all the horrendous, despicable, evil things he has done and is continuing to do. he is fully funding and supporting and enabling a genocide. it helps no one.

and if/when biden loses, he only has himself to blame.

ideally we would all rally behind a third party candidate and the electoral college wouldn’t exist. ideally these wouldn’t be our “choices”. idfk what to do because trump cannot win but how can any of us in good conscience vote for biden’s evil, fascistic, decrepit ass ??

what makes biden so different from or better than trump? nothing!!

- he is unconditionally supporting netanyahu and his genocide of Palestinians

- democrats have done nothing to protect nor help us as roe v. wade was overturned, we still have student loan debt, the cost of living is unaffordable and the minimum wage remains unchanged, biden has increased police presence and funding for police (more so than in 2020, despite the eruption of BLM protests and the murder of George Floyd and his promise to George Floyd’s family that he wouldn’t let his murder become just another number, another hashtag), and so. much. more.

- biden is building off of trump’s policies - specifically and most recently, biden has just announced an executive order to deny asylum requests. the increase in police funding and the further militarization of police was also built off of trump’s policies

the u.s. is an evil sham of a country.

as ethel cain said …

[lasttarrasque]

Black Panthers hold up high Chairman Mao Zedong's Little Red Book! May 1969.

Don't let liberals appropriate the black panthers, long live the Black Panther Party, long live New African liberation! long live Marxism-Leninism-Maoism!