* I'm so sorry. I'm having to cut off early again. I'm having to move furniture by myself and a cat almost died this week. (He'll likely be okay in a couple weeks

---

* "Updates: Gaza humanitarian crisis ‘unchanged’, Israel keeps restricting aid:" https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/10/24/live-un-calls-on-israel-to-open-gazas-rafah-increase-aid-amid-ceasefire

* "Hunger crisis in Gaza is ‘catastrophic’ despite ceasefire, WHO chief says:" https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/23/hunger-crisis-in-gaza-is-catastrophic-despite-ceasefire-who-chief-says

* "Israeli settlers beat Palestinian farmers on video as attacks mount during West Bank olive harvest:" https://apnews.com/article/israel-settlers-west-bank-attack-annexation-1e9cbd6af6ea502fbfca5d9ffe949b0b

How to Help:
Revive Gaza's farmland: https://apnature.org/en/gaza
PCRF: https://www.pcrf.net/
HEAL Palestine: https://www.healpalestine.org/
The Sameer Project: https://linktr.ee/thesameerproject
Gaza Soup Kitchen: https://gazasoupkitchen.org/

******

* "US military strikes suspected drug vessel in the Pacific:" https://archive.ph/QkwA0

We are now using the US military to commit terrorism attacks on fishing boats in the Pacific for the pleasure of Dear Leader.

* "CIA activity against Venezuelan leaders revives specter of US interventionism in Latin America:" https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-10-20/cia-activity-against-venezuelan-leaders-revives-specter-of-us-interventionism-in-latin-america.html

******

* "Trump told Zelenskyy he’d try to end the war ‘on the current line’ in difficult White House meeting:" https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-volodymyr-zelenskyy-us-donald-trump-tense-white-house-meeting/

* "Trump doesn’t want ‘wasted meeting’ with Putin as he confirms talks on Ukraine war are off for now:" https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-putin-trump-1f22a02dda9adff079383370ee69f95c

* "Russia furious as Trump sanctions target the heart of Putin's war economy:" https://www.nbcnews.com/world/russia/russia-trump-sanctions-energy-giants-rosneft-lukoil-putin-war-ukraine-rcna239295

* "Ukraine’s Underground Generation:" https://archive.ph/iAbv6

******

* "How the Houthis rule in Yemen: prisons, a personality cult, and pilfered food aid:" https://archive.ph/uqyln

* "‘Gen Z’ protesters lead global wave of generational discontent:" https://apnews.com/article/gen-z-protests-madagascar-nepal-morocco-peru-e1859bc7e4203adbac829cf45f92138b?

* "Assad-era conspiracy to hide thousands of dead turned Syria’s remote desert into a mass grave :" https://archive.ph/0RtE4

---

* "Anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes have risen around the world since 2020: report:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/anti-lgbtq-hate-crimes-world

* "Doctors Without Borders permanently closes its emergency center in Haiti's capital:" https://www.npr.org/2025/10/16/g-s1-93672/doctors-without-borders-closes-haiti

---

* "Trump signs agreement with Australia on rare-earth minerals:" https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/trump-albanese-australia-critical-minerals-aukus-submarine-china-rcna238595

* "Trump has awkward exchange with Australian ambassador during bilateral meeting: ‘I don’t like you either’:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/20/trump-australian-ambassador-rudd-meeting-00615379

* "Saudi Arabia’s MBS to meet with Trump:" https://www.semafor.com/article/10/22/2025/saudi-arabias-mbs-to-meet-with-trump

Remember how Mohammed bin Salman had journalist Jamal Khashoggi brutally assassinated and Trump didn't care and there were zero consequences?

* "Trump calls Colombia’s Petro an ‘illegal drug leader’ and announces tariffs and an end to US aid:" https://apnews.com/article/trump-petro-colombia-drugs-us-aid-c3955b2ce351737119920741178e0567

* "Trump says a Canadian ad misstated Ronald Reagan’s views on tariffs. Here are the facts and context:" https://apnews.com/article/trump-canada-ad-tariff-reagan-trade-talks-f711559b0084b377d82d964893c67c78

* "Trump raises tariffs on Canadian goods over Reagan advert:" https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2ljgrm78zo

* "Trump suggests US will buy Argentine beef to bring down prices for American consumers:" https://apnews.com/article/beef-argentina-us-consumers-prices-f7fadbe1b3fef4646f9c3623f901209a

The only major US Agriculture Sector Trump hadn't devastated for fun was beef, but Trump rectifies that by an agreement to flood the US market with Argentine beef in exchange for Trump paying them to sell soy to China in order to kill our soy bean industry for good.

This is great for billionaire speculators, of course.

* "US ranchers oppose Trump’s plan to import more Argentine beef and experts doubt it will lower prices:" https://apnews.com/article/beef-prices-cattle-imports-trump-argentina-9f8e9efd6e74e958c586ea1e32797ba2

* "‘Put America first’: GOP senators fume at Trump’s idea to import Argentinian beef:" https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/10/21/congress/republican-senators-trump-argentina-beef-imports-00616712

* "Ultra-rich Scott Bessent, who owned a pink mansion, says he’s a ‘soybean farmer’ & the internet mocked him:" https://www.advocate.com/news/scott-bessent-soybean-farmer

* "Out Rep. Mark Pocan lambastes Trump's trade war, misguided priorities:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/mark-pocan-lambastes-trump

* "“We’re all feeling it”: Wisconsin Lawmaker SLAMS Trump over Argentine beef import, tariffs:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/-we-re-all-feeling-it-wisconsin-lawmaker-slams-trump-over-argentine-beef-import-tariffs-250661957842

* "ICE’s use of full-body restraints during deportations raises concerns over inhumane treatment:" https://apnews.com/article/immigration-deportations-trump-administration-civil-rights-84309f534c601befa6e9faeae78bcff5

* "Unfettered and Unaccountable: How Trump Is Building a Violent, Shadowy Federal Police Force:" https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-dhs-ice-secret-police-civil-rights-unaccountable

* "ICE Is Poaching Local Officers, Angering Some Police Chiefs and Sheriffs:" https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/10/18/florida-ice-job-police-hiring

* "Habba Told to Release More Video in Assault Case Against Congresswoman:" https://archive.ph/AYZC5

* "Mahmoud Khalil says government using immigration court to 'control' process and remove him:" https://abcnews.go.com/US/mahmoud-khalil-government-immigration-court-control-process-remove/story?id=126720894

* Here are some ways to help Immigrants and the anti-ICE Protesters:

Immigrant Defenders: https://give.immdef.org/give/545119/#!/donation/checkout
The Bail Project: https://bailproject.org/
National Bail Fund Network: https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/en/nbfn-directory
Amnesty International: protect asylum-seekers: https://donate.amnestyusa.org/page/113080/donate/1
The Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights: https://www.theyoungcenter.org/
CHIRLA: https://www.chirla.org/
AL Otro Lado: https://alotrolado.networkforgood.com/projects/63833-al-otro-lado-fund
Mid-South Immigration Advocates: https://miamemphis.org/
"Know Your Rights:" https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights

---

*** Slow Motion Civil War/Violent Illegal Occupation of Blue Cities News ***

* "Supreme Court gets first chance to weigh Trump’s bid to deploy National Guard:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/17/trump-national-guard-supreme-court-appeal-00614129

* "'Jarring, frightening attack': Chicago homeowner describes immigration raid at his home:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/-jarring-frightening-attack-chicago-homeowner-describes-immigration-raid-at-his-home-250638405897

Secret Police violently attacked with no knock and no warrant in violation of the Constitution to illegally beat up and detain people with green cards on private property.

* "Attorney detained by ICE describes his experience: 'Fueled by what I saw':" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/attorney-detained-by-ice-describes-his-experience-fueled-by-what-i-saw-250202181532

* "How plastic whistles are becoming an anti-ICE resistance tool in Chicago :" https://archive.ph/yX48n

* "Chicago Cyclists Are Buying Out Tamale Carts To Keep Vendors Home And Safe From ICE:" https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/17/chicago-cyclists-are-buying-out-tamale-carts-to-keep-vendors-home-and-safe-from-ice/

* "DC police detained man for protesting National Guard patrol with Darth Vader song, lawsuit says:" https://apnews.com/article/darth-vader-theme-song-national-guard-protest-2d9b35359504252004ddced67ccf9a86

* "Protests erupt in New York City after ICE raids Chinatown over ‘counterfeit goods’:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/21/new-york-city-chinatown-ice-raids-protests

* "'This is urban warfare': NY Congressman on Trump admin's New York City ICE raids:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/-this-is-urban-warfare-ny-congressman-on-trump-admin-s-new-york-city-ice-raids-250637381997

* I am proud of my former state. "Oregon general’s testimony that National Guard troops ‘will be protecting any protesters’ gains traction online:" https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/10/oregon-generals-testimony-that-national-guard-troops-will-be-protecting-any-protesters-gains-traction-online.html

* "Federal appeals court temporarily bars Portland troop deployment:" https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/24/portland-oregon-ice-building-donald-trump-national-guard-troops-protest/

* "Frogs vs. feds: Portland turns protest performance into a court argument:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/24/trump-paints-chaos-portland-stages-comedy-the-courts-get-to-decide-whos-right-00620058

* "Unicorn bride marries Kenny from South Park at Portland ICE protest:" https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/10/unicorn-bride-marries-kenny-from-south-park-at-portland-ice-protest.html

* "Is the Oregon National Guard already in Portland? No, but they could be soon:" https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/oregon-national-guard-portland-arrival-date-unknown-10212025/

* "Public immigration sweeps in LA are not new — similar tactics were used in the 1930s:" https://laist.com/news/la-history/public-immigration-sweeps-in-la-are-not-new-similar-tactics-were-used-in-the-1930s

* "Trump claims ‘unquestioned power’ to deploy troops to San Francisco under Insurrection Act:" https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/trump-national-guard-san-francisco-21108852.php

* "Trump was planning to send troops to San Francisco. Now he’s not. Here’s why:" https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/25/san-francisco-trump-troops

*** No Kings and Related ***

* "America Is ‘Worth Fighting For’ Say Protesters at ‘No Kings’ Rally:" https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/no-kings-protesters-against-trump-authoritarianism-dc-1235449984/

* "‘No Kings’ protests against Trump bring a street party vibe to cities nationwide:" https://apnews.com/article/no-kings-rallies-demonstrations-trump-4baa5de2fab057a0e6ab726f5d7747fd

* I can't begin to cover all the individual protests, but I will present a selection.

* "No More Trump!’: Protesters Denouncing the President Unite Across the Country:" https://archive.ph/4twRj

* "Thousands gather for No Kings protest in Raleigh to condemn Trump:" https://ncnewsline.com/2025/10/18/thousands-gather-for-no-kings-protest-in-raleigh-to-condemn-trump/

* "Across Tennessee, No Kings protesters push back on Trump administration policies:" https://tennesseelookout.com/2025/10/18/across-tennessee-no-kings-protesters-push-back-on-trump-administration-policies/

* "Hundreds gather in Little Rock for second No Kings rally, annual LGBTQ+ Pride festivities:" https://arkansasadvocate.com/2025/10/18/hundreds-gather-in-little-rock-for-second-no-kings-rally-annual-lgbtq-pride-festivities/

* "Tens of thousands gather for Austin 'No Kings 2' protest:" https://www.statesman.com/news/local/article/no-kings-austin-2025-october-21108711.php

* "Voices and views from the 'No Dictators' protest in Honolulu:" https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/local-news/2025-10-20/voices-and-images-from-the-no-dictators-protest-in-honolulu

* "A peaceful day of No Kings protests across Oregon ends with a show of force in Portland:" https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/19/a-peaceful-day-of-no-kings-protests-across-oregon-ends-with-a-show-of-force-in-portland/

* "Thousands take part in ‘No Kings' protest in Center City on Saturday:" https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/no-kings-protest-center-city/4287580/

* "Maddow: 'No Kings' protests send message to Trump from every state in the nation:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/maddow-no-kings-protests-send-message-to-trump-from-every-state-in-the-nation-250277445922

* "Republicans mostly silent as millions of Americans protest Trump on No Kings day:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/18/no-kings-protest-rally-republicans

* "Democrats rally at No Kings to protest Trump — but many say they're also unhappy with their own party:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/democrats-no-kings-protest-trump-unhappy-party-leadership-rcna238365

* "'No Kings Alliance' launches in wake of massive nationwide protests as movement's next step:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/-no-kings-alliance-launches-in-wake-of-massive-nationwide-protests-as-movement-s-next-step-250347589790

* "Sen. Bernie Sanders - Harnessing Energy From "No Kings" Rally to "Fight Oligarchy" | The Daily Show:"

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* "Pro-trans rival draws cheers after Rep. Seth Moulton booed at Boston No Kings rally:" https://www.advocate.com/transgender/seth-moulton-booed-no-kings-rally

* ...And Trump symbolically poops on America while dressed as a King.

* "News Outlets Won't Describe Trump's AI Video For What It Is: The President Pooping on America:" https://www.404media.co/trump-no-kings-ai-poop-jet-video/

* "Top Republicans Stand by President’s Poop Video:" https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/10/trump-poop-video-feces-post-mike-johnson-chip-roy-republicans-no-kings-protests/

* "22 times Donald Trump has dumped a number 2 on America:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/22-times-trump-craps-america

*** ***

* "Democratic US Senator Merkley gives marathon speech opposing Trump agenda:" https://archive.ph/N3PrR

That's not his house, it's ours. Minor alterations are allowed, but are meant to be run through a special board at the Park's Service.

I am pretty sure is I destroyed a third of any random historic building, I'd be arrested, and If I had demolished a third of the White House I'd be arrested for terrorism.

Trump has no more right to destroy the White House than I do and I think everyone involved should be arrested exactly the way I would be.

On top of that, there is the corruption issue.

Icing on Trump's Fuck America Cake? He is using the rubble for mounds on a golf course.

* "Trump smashed the U.S. Capitol and the White House, piercing the soul of the nation as Joe Biden predicted:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/trump-pierces-national-soul

* "In a sure sign of a looming dictatorship, Trump is making the White House into his forever home:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/trump-white-house-forever-home

* If they aren't doing something wrong, why prevent people taking pictures? "Treasury Tells Employees Not to Share Photos of White House Ballroom Construction:" https://archive.ph/Z04Kt

* The corruption Opportunities are vast. "I really gotta point something out here:" https://solarbird.dreamwidth.org/2050996.html

* "Donald Trump's East Wing demolition trashes First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's queer legacy:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/trump-trashes-eleanor-roosevelt-legacy

* "'An absolute gut punch': Psaki BLASTS Trump on White House demolition as public pushback strengthens:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/-an-absolute-gut-punch-psaki-blasts-trump-on-white-house-demolition-as-public-pushback-strengthens-250432581513

* "Fury grows over Trump’s White House demolition for $250 million ballroom:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/fury-grows-over-trump-s-white-house-demolition-for-250-million-ballroom-250339909661

* "Tourists balk at White House demo as Trump eyes ballroom tribute…to himself?:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/tourists-balk-at-white-house-demo-as-trump-eyes-ballroom-tribute-to-himself-250602565533

* "Psaki: Trump becomes a parody of himself as corruption and bad taste become hallmarks of his regime:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/trump-becomes-a-parody-of-himself-as-corruption-and-bad-taste-become-hallmarks-of-his-regime-250530373734

* Adding baskets to an tennis court with permission is not the same as flattening the East Wing without warning or permission. "‘Obama built stuff, too!’: MAGA cites basketball court to justify Trump White House demo:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/-obama-built-stuff-too-maga-cites-basketball-court-to-justify-trump-white-house-demo-250512453917

* "‘Destroying the people’s house’: Jeffries blasts Trump’s White House demolition:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/-destroying-the-people-s-house-jeffries-blasts-trump-s-white-house-demolition-250425413766

* Let Them Eat Cake! "While prices rise, jobs fade, and a shutdown hurts, Trump bills us $20+ billion for his lavish expenses:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/trump-bills-taxpayers-lavish-expenses

* "'Vengeance capitalism': MSNBC political analyst SLAMS Trump's domestic governing strategy:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/-vengeance-capitalism-msnbc-political-analyst-slams-trump-s-domestic-governing-strategy-250662981677

* "Melania Trump’s meme coin architects accused of pump-and-dump fraud in lawsuit:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/23/melania-trump-cryptocurrency-lawsuit

* "Trump Said to Demand Justice Dept. Pay Him $230 Million for Past Cases:" https://archive.ph/a3Isy

* "House Democrats investigate Trump's $230M demand to DOJ:" https://www.axios.com/2025/10/23/trump-230-million-doj-democrats-investigate

This is unconstitutional and stunningly corrupt and I've no idea how anyone could stop it.

* "Raskin breaks down Trump's corrupt scheme to pay himself $230 million taxpayer dollars:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/raskin-breaks-down-trump-s-corrupt-scheme-to-pay-himself-230-million-taxpayer-dollars-250433605512

* "NYT bombshell: Trump demands $230 million from his own DOJ for investigating him:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/nyt-bombshell-trump-demands-230-million-from-his-own-doj-for-investigating-him-250341957979

* "Trump Pardons Major Ally Who Helped Boost His Family’s Cryptocurrency:" https://newrepublic.com/post/202183/donald-trump-pardons-cryptocurrency-ally

* "Binance’s Token Surges After Founder Zhao Is Pardoned by Trump:" https://archive.ph/4li5W

* "Why did Donald Trump commute George Santos' prison sentence? The proof is in the party:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/why-trump-pardon-george-santos

* "Here's how George Santos found out his sentence was commuted by Trump:" https://www.advocate.com/news/george-santos-reaction-donald-trump-sentence-commuted

* "Can Trump Run For A Third Term? and Other Answers To Your Questions:"

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* "Trump officials to send election observers to California and New Jersey:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/24/trump-election-observers-california-new-jersey

* "White House Hires ‘Stop the Steal’ Lawyer to Investigate 2020 Election Claims:" https://archive.ph/L859k

Likely this is a voter intimidation trial run for 2026 and also set up for trying to overturn election results he doesn't like in both places.

* "Trump Administration To Monitor Key Elections in Democrat-Led States. Here’s What To Know:" https://time.com/7328448/trump-election-monitoring-doj-bondi-newsom/

* "Trump to test courage of American voters with apparent intimidation tactics at the polls:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/trump-to-test-courage-of-american-voters-with-apparent-intimidation-tactics-at-the-polls-250611269845

---

* "US hits $38 trillion in debt, after the fastest accumulation of $1 trillion outside of the pandemic:" https://apnews.com/article/trump-treasury-debt-ceiling-bessent-09575f13ca95c2f1beb38234b2cbe85b

Republicans did this in cold blood to give a handful of billionaires tax cuts so they would have a pretext for ripping the government and the social safety net to shreds.

*** Republican Shutdown of the Government ***

Republicans promised to negotiate when Schiff caved and voted for the Big Ugly Budget Bill. They lied of course, because their promises are always lies when they aren't threats to harm Americans. That was June and they are still refusing to start negotiations in late October.

Mike Johnson is so dedicated to preventing any negotiations and the swearing in of a duly elected congresswoman on the grounds that unlike most republicans she opposes CSA and the Republican cover up for powerful pedophiles that he has the House of Representatives on an unplanned vacation for over a month.

Normally, this wouldn't stop the swearing in and he swore in two republicans during a previous shut down right away, but he has decided that his ideological opposition to democracy and his ideological commitment to CSA is more important, so here we are.

Democrats are holding out to try to save healthcare for 15-20 million working Americans. Republicans are lying that that is not the case, see they always lie unless they are threatening to harm Americans.

Please contact your critters and tell them you want the Democratic version that preserves healthcare subsidies. If you are in New York, please call Adam Schiff and Hakeem Jefferies to ask them to hold firm on the government shutdown.

* "Senate rejects pay plan for some federal workers:" https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/10/23/congress/senate-rejects-pay-plan-for-some-federal-workers-00620433

* "'Total BS': Rep. Boyle dispels GOP myths around health care fight:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/-total-bs-rep-boyle-dispels-gop-myths-around-health-care-fight-250201157910

* "Booker: ‘I don’t trust the word of Republicans’ amid shutdown fight:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/booker-i-don-t-trust-the-word-of-republicans-amid-shutdown-fight-250426437858

* "US states warn food aid benefits will halt if federal shutdown drags on:" https://archive.ph/A1BWQ

* "Hakeem Jeffries says public pressure will force Congress to extend ACA subsidies:" https://www.npr.org/2025/10/21/nx-s1-5580550/hakeem-jeffries-on-the-government-shutdown-and-the-ongoing-stalemate-on-capitol-hill

* "Gov. Newsom to deploy National Guard to support food banks, fast-track food benefit funding amid government shutdown:" https://ktla.com/news/california/gov-newsom-to-deploy-national-guard-to-support-food-banks-fast-track-food-benefit-funding-amid-government-shutdown/

****

* Disastrous Science Denier Casey Means Surgeon General Vote is upcoming!

She's horrible. Here is my previous coverage: https://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/788437706580574208#note

* "Senate Plans Confirmation Hearing for Surgeon General Nominee:" https://archive.ph/Jkx21

* "The Trump administration has yet another Nazi text problem:" https://www.advocate.com/news/trump-administration-leaked-texts

* "Trump nominee says MLK Jr. holiday belongs in ‘hell’ and that he has ‘Nazi streak,’ according to texts:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/20/paul-ingrassia-racist-text-messages-nazi-00613608

* "Republicans set to reject Trump nominee Ingrassia after offensive texts:" https://www.semafor.com/article/10/20/2025/republicans-set-to-reject-trump-nominee-ingrassia

* "Trump nominee withdraws after offensive texts allegedly emerge:" https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2y94xe397o

* He's keeping his job at the Department of Homeland Security, of course.

* "Labor Inspector General Pick Faces Demand for Unbiased Probes:" https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/labor-inspector-general-pick-faces-demand-for-unbiased-probes

* "Senate Democrats grill inspector general nominees over their independence from Trump:" https://www.govexec.com/oversight/2025/10/senate-democrats-grill-inspector-general-nominees-over-their-independence-trump/409019/

* "Don’t STEAL Act:" https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5048?s=1&r=1

* "H.R.5106 - Restore Trust in Congress Act:" https://thisfinecrew.dreamwidth.org/315708.html

---

* Our job for the next year and a half is to survive, to build grassroots resistance, to do all in our power to slow the republican Christo-fascist agenda, and to prepare for 2026 in case there is still Democracy.

We are trying to build a good list of resistance resources.

Please add more below if you have them.

* "Take action with Indivisible:" https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/

* Trump 2.0 Indivisible Guide.  https://indivisible.org/resource/guide

* "Democracy 2025:" https://www.democracy2025.org/?utm_source=df-ad&utm_medium=&utm_campaign=21912407002&utm_content=721373734297&source=df-ad-gs&gad_source=1

* If you can't safely contact them in person, here are some other options for contacting your Congress Critters:

Five Calls to your critters: https://5calls.org/

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/

And another: https://faxzero.com/fax_senate.php

Snail Mail Campaigns: https://conuly.dreamwidth.org/3622760.html

"Congress. gov:" https://www.congress.gov/

White house (Possibly Dangerous): https://www.whitehouse.gov/

ACLU advice for writing to your Critters: https://www.aclu.org/writing-your-elected-representatives

This tracks legislation: https://www.govtrack.us/

"The Public Comment Process (+ how to write effective public comments):" https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/781844516804149248?source=share

Run for Something: https://runforsomething.net/

"Vote Smart:" https://justfacts.votesmart.org/

Useful organizing links and resources: https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/771859083592613888/hater-of-terfs-ive-already-reblogged-a-link-to?source=share

Protests: "50501 Events:" https://www.fiftyfifty.one/events

"ICE Raids Toolkit: Defend Against ICE Raids and Community Arrests:" https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/raids-toolkit/

Contains a raid tip hotline amoung other things. "Know Your Rights
LEARN HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY:" https://wearecasa.org/know-your-rights/

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* I got an interesting poll for the 2026 election. That isn't a typo. It's for a planned referendum. I haven't seen petition gathering on this one, I think that it is likely from the people trying to pass the referendum. I hope they fail.

See, but state has a very regressive tax structure. Sales Tax is terrible, as the poorer you are, the larger the percentage of income you pay. We have high sales tax and no income tax which is a big fucking problem.

So the legislature is trying to tax yearly incomes of a million dollars or more, which is an excellent fucking idea.

So this is one of the ones where they test arguments for and against the proposed ballot measure. The arguments for taxing the rich are excellent because it is objectively the correct thing to do both economically and ethically.

The arguments for repealing the tax on the rich were… not good. Like one of the entire set was even partially valid. One of them was internally logically inconsistent to degree that ought to have been embarrassing for the person who wrote it, if anyone arguing for repealing a tax on incomes of a million or more a year can be accused of having a sense of shame.

One of them was literally laughable, as in I actually laughed at loud. Get this. They are claiming that taxing a yearly income of a million or more would crush family farms and small businesses. No really? Yes really. Somehow I do not this struggling family farms, especially in this economy are pulling in million dollar incomes for the family members running them, and if they were making that much profit, 10% less wouldn't matter. Same for the family that runs a little handmade chocolate store that sells the grandmothers art on the side. Same for the Millennial who took over his father's shoe repair shop or the family selling tea and candles.

I mean yes there are presumably lawyers in Seattle and high end consultancy firms and financial services type places that are technically small businesses because they only have a small number of people working there, but if the profit is that high, they aren't going out of business because of a 10% income tax. SSI withholding was something like 12.4 percent last time I checked. I've worked in states where withholding was above a quarter to a third of my paycheck between state and federal taxation.

I am having a really hard time feeling bad for tech billionaires who live here and don't want to give back to keep the quality of life decent for everyone. People earning a million plus each year can afford a 10% income tax way easier than I could afford 1/4-1/3 at minimum.

* "Pardoned Capitol rioter arrested for allegedly threatening to kill Hakeem Jeffries:" https://www.npr.org/2025/10/21/g-s1-94359/january-6-rioter-pardon-hakeem-jeffries-threat

* "Overnight standoff over Houston’s rainbow crosswalks ends with arrests:" https://www.advocate.com/news/houston-rainbow-crosswalk-arrests

* "An Alabama LGBTQ+ bar advertised a drag show. Then the city denied its liquor license:" https://www.advocate.com/news/alabama-lgbtq-drag-liquor-license

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* "This Week's AWS Crash Made Smart Beds Overheat, Get Stuck In Wrong Position:" https://www.pcmag.com/news/this-weeks-aws-crash-made-smart-beds-overheat-get-stuck-in-wrong-position

* "It's All Henry VIII!: A Beginner's Guide To The Dissolution of the Monasteries:"

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* "Nearly 100 years after her death, Oxford’s first female Indigenous scholar honoured :" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/02/makereti-papakura-100-years-oxford-university-first-female-indigenous-scholar-honoured

* "In 1970, 'America's Mom' June Lockhart bravely spoke out defending 'homosexuals' when others wouldn't:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/june-lockhart-lgbtq-ally

* "The curious, contentious history of pumpkin spice lattes:" https://snackstack.net/2025/10/21/the-curious-contentious-history-of-pumpkin-spice-lattes/

* "Giant, floating pumpkin races draw large crowds to annual event in Oregon:" https://apnews.com/article/giant-pumpkin-regatta-race-oregon-tualatin-e51831205b13592259fbd85bc4f29358

* I've been picking away at decorating and putting things away, best as I can manage.

To my list of getting old annoyances add, my feet have been sporadically bleeding for a few weeks. It's hard for me to deal with from a sensory and an arthritis perspective, but I've been doing my best. New Millennial did them up with the ointments far better than I can, and even taped gauze too the wounds, to give them more time to sink in before I rub them off. They feel better this morning, so fingers crossed.

Given COVID Quarantine for slightly over half my guests, by Birthday has been put off until the 29th.

* This year's exterior Halloween: https://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/tagged/Halloween

* This isn't a plea for help at this point, but it's at a point people ought to know in case it's bad.

I'm about to start getting ready to go. He's usually a nightmare to catch and crate. He would have been a week ago, but there's not much fight in him at the moment. Still he is tiny and bright so I need to eave lots of leeway in case he gets under something.

So Tavy's been a little off this last month, but he's getting older and it's Autumn Anxiety season for him and he has some life long health minor problems, that can dovetail with that.

I was becoming worried and considering trying to get him a vet appointment, but it didn't look urgent at that point and I was trying to also work out money for that, which a friend has provided at this point.

Problem is, he started getting noticeably worse about a week ago. He wasn't as eating much but was definitely still eating, was less energetic when awake sleeping a lot more, not playing much, and I only remember him picking three fights last week and only woke me 3-4 times scared I was dead, which is minuscule in retrospect for Anxiety season. Normal water intake and related output. He's lost weight very noticeably in about a week and a half.

I started to really worry going into the weekend, when the weight loss got really noticeable then and he wasn't improving but Monday night was scary. He can't keep food down.

Their vet is full for three weeks out at least as they are short handed. They suggested a different vet and they seem nice. I get ready to go shortly.

There's a wide range of things it can be. Mache got sick like this once and I thought she would die but the medicine worked and she lived another 4ish years heathy and happy for most of it (infection). Mache got sick like this a second time and it was cancer and she was gone in a month. (They looked pretty much the same symptom wise unless you looked in her mouth. It was one of those fast, aggressive inoperable ones, where by the time you see symptoms it's too late. It was likely too late wan the cat would have started feeling not quite right.) There are lots of options in between for what's wrong.

He's always been a frail little thing, and for all his energy and aggressiveness.

I will need to juggle, but we can definitely cover exam and blood work thanks to the kind donor. (We may need to talk them into a short delay if things don't finish transferring in time, always difficult with veterinarians. We can cover treatments at the lower end of grievousness. At the higher end, might as well wish for the moon. They are likely taking him over night if it's not something rapidly terminal for fluids, observation, etc..

I've been giving him cuddles off and on all night and pretty much most of the time he's awake just generally, Autumn anxiety Time is like that. There is absolutely know way to tell how this turns out until an expert looks him over.

Update 12:47PM:

The visit + plus preliminary meds an lab work took most of the vet fund. I have enough left for say anti-biotics, but not for say, second round testing or serious treatment.

The saline perked him up. We'll see how he does with anti gut inflammation and anti-nausea meds while we wait for lab work. They sent him home to wait.

He has already had a little love, though not sitting on an arm shelf wile draped over my shoulder, so forgiven, but not quite trusted..

He fought hard not to go in the crate, ill as he is. He cried the whole way there, but did not bite anyone to my surprise. He cried all the way to the car, but when we got on the road he quieted.

He's being so stoic about it in typical cat fashion, and so sweet.

Livia is not guarding him, and as I wrote this, he's having a little patrol.

We are going to have to try to pill him tonight, which means Squirrel as it is a two person job. It will be hard, but luckily not Livia hard.

Let us hope he eats.

I must lie down as I am meant to be up doing things in 3-4 hours and I am exhausted.

UPDATE 10/22/25 12:44AM

We did manage to pill him mid evening despite the usual fierce resistance, attempt to spit out or cheek the pill, etc.. Around mid-night he attempted a greenie, which stayed down. A bit later he stood in front of the kibbles sniffing them and crying, moving his mouth as if he wanted to eat, but gave up and cried some more.

My suspicion being he's scared of the food because it;'s made him sick every time he ate it since Sunday, I broke out an emergency back up kibble sample pack in a different flavour. There was more crying and sniffing, but he eventually did try a kibble and after much thought, another. He did eat a reasonable amount. (He's generally a grazer unless he's extremely hungry.) He didn't keep all of it, but as of this writing I have hopes he'll keep most, so I'm watching him to see one way or another.

It's really dangerous at this point if he can't keep it down.

UPDATE 1:07AM: He's developed an new symptom and is miserable, but at the same time, I have rising hopes of infection over cancer. Fingers Crossed.

UPDATE 1:29AM: No luck. He blerped it all back up.

* Okay, it's not cancer. (We were pretty sure it wasn't kidney disease in advance given his output, and blood tests ruled a bunch of other things out). Unfortunately it isn't a bacteria infection either.

We are looking at things like kitty IBS and there are worries of a partial obstruction or the like.

With the meds from yesterday, and putting out one of the emergency free sample packs I save from local indie pet store where special Livy Kibbles come from, he was eventually able to keep some food down. He literally had more while I was writing this. He is still peeing, but I am worried about low fluid intake last night and this morning. Let us hope he's just full of IV fluids still, so not thirsty. (He insists on drinking from a special people glass in the spot where I used to keep my water in the desk area. Livia will only drink from that in a real emergency and has her own watering station, which let's me track fluid intake separately).

He's in really rough shape. We are doing steroids starting later today to help stabilize for two weeks. The imaging for obstruction and other physical issues in the bowel is well out of price range. (500+ to 1000ish depending on if we went less skilled at the vet or higher quality veterinary imaging specialist). So right out for now. We'll see if he improves. If he does, we won't need it.

He'll need to go back in November to the vet for recheck, luckily at regular visit rates and not Urgent care rates. At that point we're likely putting him on a special prescription diet where he won't be allowed to share Livia food as it's possible that is a contributing factor. I'll have to see if there is an option where the ingredients are safe for her if she gets them, because last time we had to do this they were willing to do anything to steal each other's food, and even the month long trial period is going to be rough and it's possible this is for life for them.

I haven't been to the store yet to price a local bag, but online pricing suggests it'll be in the 25-30 range for a small bag of the stuff he's keeping down to cover for two weeks, as the steroids later today are going to mostly tap me out. Failing that, I'll dig around in the emergency free sample bag, as this food is one of the types I always grab if they have it or situations where I have to ration, such as supply chain shortage or that time the brand we were using discontinued Livia's food, so I'm willing to bet I can cover a couple of days to help him stabilize if I can stop Livia hogging it all.

Livia really, really likes it. (She just came out and Omnomed some with real delight, so safe for Livia is important). It won't mood stabilize her, but is otherwise an excellent choice for her from a renal/urinary and also bowel perspective. It is just much easier if I don't have to fend her off his kibbes, since then I can leave his food out when I'm not actively monitoring it as she can get most of her dose from the wet and kibbles when I am at my desk and can monitor and most is enough. Tavy is a Grazer, and likes to eat a little at a time.

Assuming there is no obstruction or underlying weirdness, he should survive. I was very scared he wouldn't.

I am taking donations for two week kibble supply ($25-30 range) and vet follow up (Just under $85). Anything extra would be offsetting stuff like if he needs more of his meds, follow up tests, or imaging. I don't have an amount for prescription food yet, so I can't even ballpark it. Her prescription food was a different type and pre-pandemic, and we're looking at six different options I don't have to look at yet so I can't price research.

* Thanks to a benefactor, we have enough to cover the Emperor's super simple, easy to digest Emergency Kibbles and will be able to cover his November appointment.

We have liquid steroids, though I'll need Squirrel to help administer them so he'll have to wait for his first dose until later. Paypal takes a few days, but it meant end of month insurance auto withdraw will be covered in time, so he now has the kibbles I know he can keep down.

By the time I left to get meds and kibble bag, they'd eaten most of the sample bowl and when he heard me come back in he stood in the feeding station next to the almost empty bowl and cried until I slit open the bag and filled the bowl up again.

He ate while I had my soup. We did lung time and he ate again after. (He's a grazer, but these were big meals comparatively.)

While I was gone (I also looped down to the library while I was out as I needed to do that today or tomorrow), he'd also had quite a bit of water.

He already looks much better.

I still need to monitor all his outputs, which will be harder as while they have preferences for which box they like to poop in, they will use all the boxes, which means trying to follow who went where and heck right after. Livia has a Ritual, which helps, but she doesn't do it if she's in stealth mode for Loud sounds or guests and he's silent.

If I can ascertain all is normal there, it reduces the likelihood of expensive scans. If I can't of things go wonky later... Let us hope all goes well, shall we?

I've had so very little sleep, but he is getting lots between food and cuddles.

Thank you.

* Tavy's meds are twice a day with food, which is complicated to arrange as it's a two person job. I tricked him into morning meds by myself, but it's difficult and he's unlikely to fall for itr again. We are lucky we went with the liquid version as there is no universe in which I could pill him myself. He's a master at hiding pills in his mouth and spitting them out. He's mostly napping in his special heated desk bed, as one would expect, rising only for food, drink and a cuddle, but hionestly who can blame him. As of Thursday morning his fluid uptake is normal for him. (I think he drinks more because he dislikes wet food). He's a grazer, so he does a lot of smaller frequent meals. He's not gourging, but he's understandably taking in the high end of what he can generally manage in both portion and frequency, trying to build himself back up.

When he's awake he's alert and acting and moving like himself only less agressive and no extra energy for play or mischief. He's tired and who can blame him, but it's not the same kind of lethergy that was alarming me.

I am also exhausted and had to lie down for 13ish hours. On the upside, my feet seem to have stopped bleeding since New Millenial helped with them last week, and while the purple trree is not decorated, it has lights. I'm going to try digging out a fuse to see if I can revive a dead string, but it looks a little more cheerful in here even if we don't manage ornaments.

I keep thinking about the vet techs searching the room and failing to find him. I pointed to the corner where I'd seen him slink behind the shelving racks, and said, "He's there." And they gave me this sceptical look and I realized they had been looking for a normal adult sized cat. I'm like, "He's adult, but the size of an older adolescent." So they looked and he was exactly where I pointed. They made a fuss over how tiny and cute. Tavy may be a full grown Terror, but he will always be a Tiny Terror.

* I made a monster/Horror Movie head to head poll. New items dropping every night until Month's end: https://www.tumblr.com/gwydpolls/tagged/Horror%20Movies

* The Electricians are coming to sort ot the fire and electricals next week, hopefully. This is going to drequire me to move furniture over the weekend. I am very much hoping I won't have to move the bookshelves or the fish, and there is reason to think I won't. Mostly. I really don't want to have to move the desk with the four shelf bookshelf on it, but we may have to. We'll wait until Tuesday to see if he can work around it. There is also a chance I may need to move my bedroom book shelves again. *face palm* Squirrel's rioom is the first area they are working in, m y bedroom is the last.

I will have to move my desk, the desk on my bedroom side of my work area. (My makeshift office is a U of desks with my chair in the middle in our living room). Look, it is useful to have extra shelving and a place to put my meds for sorting and paperwork, etc. that I don't have to get up to access). And the filing stack full of heavy paperwork and tools. The desk with two shelves and the filing cabinets will be nightmares to shift. I don't physically know how we can move the cabinets without emptying them. I'm going to see if I can come up with some clever alternative.

The sofa will be annoyying but not that hard. same with the living room table and chairs.

We are going back to "Debris Maze" again, with bonus fun for it being Halloween week when I really need to access things like the livingroom and patio, but I'll sleep safer knowing the fucked up wiring won't burn us in our sleep. I'll sleep better when I can trust the whole fire alarm system.

Tavy had enough energy for vigourous rubbing of faces and to sit in the front room to groom. By about 4:30PM, he took advantage of me trying to figure out WTF with the electricity to desk things like my lamp and laptops to try to take out Aidan Laptop. He killed a previous lap top dead once and killing laptops is one of his long term projects, like removing all the patio insolation and demolishing the sofa and any brooms he can find. The Emperor is an agent of chaos. Aidan laptop survived. So will Tavy.

* Whatever night it was I was futzing about with lighting again, I found the missing fish tank filter piece, so Friday, after I ate, did lungs, and put forage boxes away, I went to sort that out. Just in case I tried the medium filter and it is randomly working again. I was afraid to move it, so I'm going to pot the large filter away properly. Which left the issue of the small filter for the 20 gallon. Which was now missing two pieces instead of just one after it's washing. Sigh. Luckily it turned out someone, probably the emperor had knocked them off the table. It was harder to get going, but it was running last I checked. I don't trust it, so I plan to check periodically the next day or so. It doesn't solve the air pump problem, but at least they can get aeration from the filters.

Tavy still hates his meds, but he likes the cuddles that come with, an eternal cat conundrum. I did manage to dose him my self this morning but it was harder. Squirrel helped me with the evening dose, which is ten times easier. A fundamental problem is meds are meant to be 12 hours apart and their shifts are 12 hours long, plus commute time both ways. There is no time we can administer meds that will work with the work schedule.

When I went to log on, I couldn't connect to the internet. Sigh. I spent an hour trying to trouble shoot, then took it to the other side of town in hopes they would think I bought it there so I could get them to fix what I suspected was yet another failure of drivers to update, which it turned out to be, but they had one guy on duty and the town was full of fucked up laptops requiring long fixes while I stood there hips and feet aching while my feet swelled up. The two people behind me were in luck as the driver fix is a few minutes to set up and then he could let the drivers upload while he helped the others. I was able at least to sit and read while I waited at that point. With my trouble shooting and traffic and the endless waiting this ate my whole afternoon. Sigh.

I have once again done prep this week but between Tavy nearly dying and all the rest of the uphill both ways exhausting nature of everything, I don't think I've posted any link. face palm

And tomorrow I need to do things like clear the living room table, prep the desk, etc. for the great moving of the furniture to the right. I've thought of two ways I might try to set things up, so I can avoid fucking with the Pillar o' filing cabinets, but I'll need to measure things to work out if either is viable. It is essential that we can reach the patio door from our rooms and I need the desk and the sofa in positions I can live with from a functional perspective for most of a week. And I need electricity to things like computers, lamp, and Tavy's cat bed.

I am loathe to do it, as is it will also disrupt Tavy's Desk mesting location, and he needs that in a stable location while he recovers. They will also be losing the Best Hides in the apartment.

* I achieved very little tonight toward prep for moving the living room furniture to the right because everything was basically uphill both ways. I had to pull a lot of fish storage boxes out and rearrange things to put away the big filter so no one can rearrange it it separate pieces to somewhere I will never find it. Things kept falling behind the boxes, making it all harder. I did do a big tank water change, and both filters were still working at that point. I still really need to find a missing piece, because it makes take change so much harder to not have the extender, but fuck knows where people hid it. Its not in the fish storage boxes or where the big filter has been disassembled and jammed. Maybe the table I didn't manage to clear. IDK. (I did the 20 last night.)

Then I spent a stupid amount of time searching for my elemer's glue which was not in the drawer where I keep it. Or the shelf where I keep the epoxy and super glue. Or any other of the living room/office drawers. Or the tool chest. Or the shelf where craft things like fancy coloured pencils, pens, paints go. Or the box where small things that get stranded in the living room go. Or the box with things like ribbon for wrapping things go. Clearly someone reorganized it to somewhere so unintuitive it's gone for years or possibly forever like my hand drill. I do not understand why putting it back in the drawer were I've been keeping Elmer's glue since the turn of the century where I can find it wasn't an option, but here we are.

And now I must waste time and money buying more glue for no reason so I can fix a collage ornament before the pieces go missing in the massive furniture migration. Sigh.

We had to pill Tavy again tonight. I lost one dose when I cut the pill, so there is only one left. Let's hope it's enough. He is being weirdly acquiescent with the liquid steroids. Like, he's barely fighting them when the two of us do it together, unlike the pills or when I'm forced to do it alone. My theory is, he has always liked it when I hold him on the arm shelf and we both pet him together and we always do that after we medicate him, whereas me holding and petting him happens dozens of times every day so is less special. Squirrel's theory is that on some level he suspects the medicine is helping him. Who knows.

In other news, his bowels are working though the results are a bit worrying. Still, better than something potentially deadly requiring surgery we could never afford. I'll keep monitoring and hope things normalize. He's still not right in all these small, fairly subtle ways, though he has enough energy know to do things like object to me sleeping or going to the bathroom and to be somewhat destructive,

* I was yet again exhausted Sunday and cats kept wanting loves if I even thought about getting up. Still, furniture must be moved no matter how much it hurts or how tired I am or how much I emphatically do not want to.

I did a little more prep first, because Everything is About to Be Extra hard, like taking care of plants, fish tanks and the most popular litter box (and the least popular litterbox.) I moved a bunch of small things out of the way, and then the living room table. Which inevitable involved things falling, including a heavy thing on my foot. Because of course. Then I swept and moved some of the things I moved earlier, because otherwise there is no way to reach the patio door. (Right now it is an inconvenient zig zag, but one can still pass). I swept again.

I then carried a bag of stuff to jam into my bedroom closet, something I meant to do Saturday, but forgot, which meant a Looooong love for Livia, because the rule is, if I go in there for any reason Livia gets a pet. Then I got her dinner.

It was after she'd eaten that she wandered out to discover The Furniture Had Moved.

Sure the chairs move around a bit. The table moves a couple of inches temporarily now and then in various directions. The sofa gets pulled out some for cover change and a sweep behind. Boxes arrive and boxes go back. Once, when she was little, they pulled out a broken and bulky heating unit in the corner and we moved the fish tanks there. Goth tchotchke happens in Autumn and then things go back to my room for storage, but fundamentally, for longer than either of these cats have been alive desks, bookshelves, sofa, and table have been in pretty much the same place with small temporary variations. The table being on the wrong side of the room is a big change from her perspective, and fucks up her system of emergency hides.

She needed to go back to her room for a long pet and a nap after investigating the Horror. She does not yet know I am planning to fuck up the entire living room, including both Secure Hides. She is going to Hate it. I do not blame her.

The next logical step is to move the sofa, but I can't because Tavy is asleep in his heated bed and half of it rests on the left hand desk, half on the corner of the sofa. Tavy's well enough that every time Squirrel's door was shut Saturday night he stood outside crying and scratching until I opened it, but he still basically lives in the heated bed when he's not eating, complaining, lying on top of me and/or getting cuddles. Instead of coming to stare at me up close, he lounges about in it to watch me do stuff, like moving living furniture, which he did.

Moving the sofa means unplugging his bed and relocating it until I'm done moving furniture. This cat literally almost died this week and he's off his feed again, likely because the steroids make him queasy. So I've been waiting for hours for the little guy to get up so I can move the sofa. I can't move the desks until I move the sofa because that complete cuts off access between halves of the common area and between us and the patio door. Once I commit to sofa I am trapped until the desks are sorted.

As of 8:21 AM he was still camped in his bed.

* A friend in need: https://www.gofundme.com/f/small-business-creating-artistic-solutions?attribution_id=sl%3Ac83a07d3-8543-4aa5-9a29-f7ca8620c897&lang=en_US&ts=1755130502

* I'm not behind all the jokes in this, but most of it is sound. ""No Kings" Protests Defy GOP Expectations & Jon Gives Trump a Royal Inspection | The Daily Show:"

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* "Is Zohran Mamdani a Communist? According to Communists, No | The Daily Show:"

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* "Not all creepy stories are made up. These 14 have some truth:" https://www.snopes.com/collections/halloween-stories-collection/

* "Is Harry Potter ableist?:"

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* "The Halloween trick mischief-making city kids at the turn of the century played on hapless adults:" https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2025/10/20/the-halloween-trick-mischief-making-city-kids-at-the-turn-of-the-century-played-on-hapless-adults/

* "Are Werewolves and Witches Really Terrorizing Rural Wisconsin?:"

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* "A 90s History of Halloween:"

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* "Shop TV: Pillow - SNL:"

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* "Appliance Store - SNL:"

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* "Social Experiment - SNL:"

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*****
* Full list of Resistance and charity links has been migrated to my profile as it was getting out of hand.

The help links are at the bottom under the cut.

* Want to help Nathan Sage against Joni Ernst? https://www.sageforsenate.com/

* Want to help Dr. Annie Andrews beat Lindsey Graham?" https://secure.actblue.com/donate/loc_annie_fr_txt_q22025?refcode=LOC_RTL_FR_2025.05.29_Lindsey-Bad-Job_B1_C1_Pros_N_Peony_RG-T1&amount=5

* Want to help Mike Pruitt in Virginia? https://secure.actblue.com/donate/mike-pruitt-1?refcode=directory

* Want to help Roy Cooper in North Carolina against Michael Whatley? https://secure.actblue.com/donate/roy_cooper_email?refcode=directory

* Want to help James Osyf in Virginia Beach? https://secure.actblue.com/donate/james-osyf-1?refcode=directory

* Want to help Omar Fateh in Minneapolis? https://secure.actblue.com/donate/campaign-fund-of-omar-fateh-1?refcode=directory
( More Links Underneath: )

Good morning, afternoon, and evening!

We're doing some database and other light server maintenance this weekend (upgrading the version of MySQL we use in particular, but also probably doing some CDN work.)

I expect all of this to be pretty invisible except for some small "couple of minute" blips as we switch between machines, but there's a chance you will notice something untoward. I'll keep an eye on comments as per usual.

Ta for now!

* I'm making a start on the backlog despite everything.

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* "After hostages and prisoners are freed, complex issues remain for Israel-Hamas ceasefire:" https://apnews.com/article/gaza-israel-hamas-hostages-ceasefire-10-13-2025-9e4921406e846189c90144609c1a9530

* "Trump's Gaza deal may be 'historic,' but falls short of delivering 'dawn of a new Middle East':" https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/gaza-trump-peace-deal-analysis-9.6940737

* "Cigars and Champagne? Pfft! Trump’s call to pardon Netanyahu stuns Israel:" https://www.politico.eu/article/more-than-cigars-and-champagne-donald-trump-benjamin-netanyahu-israel/

* "Israel, Hamas trade blame over truce violations amid delay in return of dead hostages:" https://archive.ph/ZhCXn

* "Hamas carries out wave of Gaza killings, citing crime and security concerns:" https://archive.ph/YZXuH

* "Israeli military launches attacks on Gaza, ceasefire under strain:" https://archive.ph/i6mZl

* "Only 1.5% of Gaza cropland left for starving Palestinians due to Israel’s war, UN says:" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/06/israel-gaza-war-palestinian-cropland-starvation

How to Help:
Revive Gaza's farmland: https://apnature.org/en/gaza
PCRF: https://www.pcrf.net/
HEAL Palestine: https://www.healpalestine.org/
The Sameer Project: https://linktr.ee/thesameerproject
Gaza Soup Kitchen: https://gazasoupkitchen.org/

******

* "Trump says six were killed in US strike on another boat allegedly carrying drugs near Venezuela:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/14/trump-six-killed-us-strike-boat-venezuela

* "Exclusive: U.S. Navy warship holding survivors from strike on Caribbean vessel, sources say:" https://archive.ph/96Ogz

* "US will send survivors of strike on suspected drug vessel back to Ecuador and Colombia, Trump says:" https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-military-strikes-drugs-caribbean-ecuador-colombia-c1d4c025e1dfe21cc7ee67d7aa4e05bd

Trump claims that these boats are from Venezuela, but the survivors of the unprovoked attack are from Ecuador and Columbia. Drug trafficking is not a capital offense. There is no proof the murdered people were anything but fisherman. The US is repatriating the survivors instead of trying them or even interrogating them as they would if the victims of the attack were suspected of any crimes, them which suggests we are doing this horrific thing to people at random for the pleasure of Dear Leader. Also we have zero right to be using the US Military to do terrorism in International Waters even if they had been doing something wrong.

* Trinidad and Tobago is also not Venezuela. "Family of Trinidadian man believed killed in US strike demands proof of drug trafficking:" https://archive.ph/2u1l2

* "Trump says he authorised CIA in Venezuela as Maduro says 'no to regime change':" https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0ex1jq9pdvo

* "Members of Congress growing concerned over lack of information from administration about Venezuela strikes, sources say:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/members-congress-growing-concerned-lack-information-administration-ven-rcna236921

* "Commander of US Southern Command Set to Step Down, Pentagon Says:" https://archive.ph/fH7JQ

This man is fucking over his career and retirement pay, which strongly suggests he objects to what he's been ordered to do, but he hasn't said anything.

******

* "Melania Trump says she and Vladimir Putin have ‘open channel of communication’ on war-displaced children:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/10/melania-trump-putin-war-displaced-children-00602353

******

* "Madagascar’s president is ousted in a military coup after weeks of youth-led protests:" https://apnews.com/article/madagascar-protests-rajoelina-ab1e1eb1aca45fe7e80e81314ebdb0c6

* "How a Gen Z Revolution Spiraled Out of Control:" https://archive.ph/2AXFw

* "How the Houthis rule in Yemen: prisons, a personality cult, and pilfered food aid:" https://archive.ph/uqyln

* CW: Human Remains. "Months after fall of Assad, families of Syria's missing still seeking justice:" https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj07p5zm229o

---

* "‘This Is a Struggle Between Good and Bad’: After Venezuela quashed dissent, opposition leader María Corina Machado went underground. In a rare interview from hiding, she shares why she’s not giving up.:" https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a66047848/maria-corina-machado-venezuela-opposition-democracy-interview-2025/

* "Japan parliament votes on new PM next Tuesday - how might it go?:" https://archive.ph/35RTD

* "Political crisis in France eases for now as prime minister survives no-confidence vote:" https://apnews.com/article/france-politics-what-to-know-macron-crisis-81189541062db3000ebc6ef772d38c75

* "Basic income support scheme for artists to be made permanent and opened to new entrants in budget:" https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2025/10/06/budget-2026-states-basic-income-scheme-for-artists-made-permanent/

---

* Technically, this stuff happened as part of Israel-Hamas ceasfire negotiations, but Really it's about Trump's extreme corruption, so I'm butting it in with other US Centric foreign policy..

* "Trump Arrives in Egypt for Gaza Peace Summit With World Leaders:" https://archive.ph/H6SkO

* "Rambling Trump accidentally reopens questions about an election payoff:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-accidentally-reopens-questions-about-an-election-payoff-249820741952

* "Trump Invents Tale of World Leader Snubbing Hillary Clinton:" https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-invents-tale-of-world-leader-snubbing-hillary-clinton/

* "Indonesia’s president heard on hot mic asking Trump if he can meet son Eric:" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/14/indonesia-president-prabowo-subianto-hot-mic-asking-meet-eric-trump-egypt-gaza-peace-summit

* "Trump Is Letting Qatar Build a Military Facility in the U.S., and MAGA Is Not Happy:" https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-qatar-military-facility-us-maga-1235445791/

* "Saudis greenlight 'Trump Plaza' project while awaiting approval of massive media deal with Jared:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/saudis-greenlight-trump-plaza-project-while-awaiting-approval-of-massive-media-deal-with-jared-248711749732

* "Trump faces backlash from allies for abandoning 'America First':" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/trump-faces-backlash-from-allies-for-abandoning-america-first-250171461940

* "Anatomy of Two Giant Deals: The U.A.E. Got Chips. The Trump Team Got Crypto Riches.:" https://archive.ph/J8Cxz

* "Cerebras aims to deploy AI infrastructure for massive Stargate UAE data centre hub:" https://archive.ph/c6Ddk

* "Trump to Fete Billionaires Schwarzman, Hamm at White House Party:" https://archive.ph/AHa5r

* "How the Trump companies made $1bn from crypto:" https://archive.ph/LB29r

* "Jen Psaki blows the lid off Jared Kushner's multi-billion dollar 'donated time':" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/jen-psaki-blows-the-lid-off-jared-kushner-s-multi-billion-dollar-donated-time-248897605784

* "Saudis greenlight 'Trump Plaza' project while awaiting approval of massive media deal with Jared:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/saudis-greenlight-trump-plaza-project-while-awaiting-approval-of-massive-media-deal-with-jared-248711749732

* "Trump’s 100% tariff threat sparks defiance from Beijing:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/12/china-defiance-trump-100-tariff-00605499

* "Libraries Can’t Get Their Loaned Books Back Because of Trump’s Tariffs:" https://www.404media.co/libraries-cant-get-their-loaned-books-back-because-of-trumps-tariffs/

* "U.S. consumers bearing more than half the cost of tariffs so far, Goldman Sachs says:" https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/us-consumers-bearing-half-cost-tariffs-far-goldman-sachs-says-rcna237283

* We Are Fucked. "Without data centers, GDP growth was 0.1% in the first half of 2025, Harvard economist says:" https://fortune.com/2025/10/07/data-centers-gdp-growth-zero-first-half-2025-jason-furman-harvard-economist/

* "Powell Signals Another Cut as Weak Hiring Pressures Unemployment:" https://archive.ph/JExbW#selection-1226.0-1226.1

* "US Chamber of Commerce sues Trump administration over $100,000 H-1B visa fee:" https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/17/us-chamber-of-commerce-lawsuit-h1b-visa-fee/

* "Border Patrol Won’t Say Why It Used a Michael Jackson Song With Antisemitic Lyrics :" https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/10/michael-jackson-border-patrol/

* "Fired feds, Trump lovers and veterans: Meet the people applying for ICE jobs:" https://www.npr.org/2025/09/26/nx-s1-5534437/dhs-ice-job-fair

They have been running really alarmingly fascist recruitment commercials aimed at the famously racist and violent Seattle PD promising them they won't have to have any legal constraint to their violence if they join up.

* "We Found That More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.:" https://www.propublica.org/article/immigration-dhs-american-citizens-arrested-detained-against-will

If one person no longer has due process, no one has due process.

* "US revokes visas for 6 foreigners over Charlie Kirk-related speech:" https://apnews.com/article/trump-charlie-kirk-visas-revoked-455f43467c0c50e84d3857c1e9c81458

* Here are some ways to help Immigrants and the anti-ICE Protesters:

Immigrant Defenders: https://give.immdef.org/give/545119/#!/donation/checkout
The Bail Project: https://bailproject.org/
National Bail Fund Network: https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/en/nbfn-directory
Amnesty International: protect asylum-seekers: https://donate.amnestyusa.org/page/113080/donate/1
The Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights: https://www.theyoungcenter.org/
CHIRLA: https://www.chirla.org/
AL Otro Lado: https://alotrolado.networkforgood.com/projects/63833-al-otro-lado-fund
Mid-South Immigration Advocates: https://miamemphis.org/
"Know Your Rights:" https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights

---

*** Slow Motion Civil War/Violent Illegal Occupation of Blue Cities News ***

* I'm loving the spread of Portland Tactics to other occupied cites and other areas protesting. I fucking love the PNW, and I love how the culture in this region is contributing to the resistance at large.

* "Republicans mostly silent as millions of Americans protest Trump on No Kings day:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/18/no-kings-protest-rally-republicans

* "Republicans Should Be Afraid—Just Look at Who Joined No Kings Protests:" https://newrepublic.com/article/201970/republicans-afraid-who-joined-no-kings-protests

* "‘No Kings’ protests against Trump bring a street party vibe to cities nationwide:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/19/no-kings-protests-against-trump-bring-a-street-party-vibe-to-cities-nationwide-00614875

* "No Kings protests held across U.S., overseas to demonstrate against Trump administration:" https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/no-kings-protest-photos-cities-demonstrations-rcna238041

* "'A love fest': George Conway recaps attending 'No Kings' protest in D.C.:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/-a-love-fest-george-conway-recaps-no-kings-protests-250171461651

* "Massive ‘No Kings’ rally in D.C. features LGBTQ+ rights advocates: 'This is my country too' :" https://www.advocate.com/news/no-kings-hrc-transgender

* "Thousands rally at Bellingham No Kings protest against Trump administration:" https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/politics-government/article312528599.html

* I am including some pertinent things from Friday as well:

* "Maddow: Older Americans bring energy, experience to anti-Trump activism:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/maddow-older-americans-bring-energy-experience-to-anti-trump-activism-250147397535

* "Doors slam on weak Trump as pushback hardens at every level:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/doors-slam-on-weak-trump-as-pushback-hardens-at-every-level-250144837803

* "Humor Can Topple Dictators:"

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* Below this point Occupation and Protest things pre-No Kings

* "The Militarization of American Cities Under Trump with Mary McCord:" https://open.spotify.com/episode/671PBaewvmEVbKd6q7XiAQ

* "Illegal Troops Deployed to Blue States:"

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* "ICE bought vehicles equipped with fake cell towers to spy on phones:" https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/07/ice-bought-vehicles-equipped-with-fake-cell-towers-to-spy-on-phones/

* "Trump officials discussed sending elite Army division to Portland, text messages show:" https://www.startribune.com/trump-officials-discussed-sending-elite-army-division-to-portland-text-messages-show/601485729

* "L.A. County declares state of emergency to fight back against ICE immigration raids:" https://archive.ph/ZtoIM

* "Federal judge extends restraining order blocking National Guard deployments in Portland by another 2 weeks:" https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/protests/judge-karin-immergut-temporary-restraining-order-blocking-national-guard-deployment-portland/283-26034920-a776-45dc-ad62-5eda050a9a0c

* "Federal agents barrel into band at Portland ICE protest, arrest clarinetist, accuse her of assault:" https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2025/10/federal-agents-barrel-into-band-at-portland-ice-protest-arrest-clarinetist-accuse-her-of-assault.html

* "Federal officers delayed, threatened to ‘shoot and arrest’ ambulance crew at Portland ICE facility, report says:" https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2025/10/federal-officers-delayed-threatened-to-shoot-and-arrest-ambulance-crew-at-portland-ice-facility-report-says.html

* "‘Political opposition is not rebellion’: Appeals court rejects Trump’s rationale for Chicago troop deployment:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/16/trump-national-guard-chicago-ruling-00612918

* "Trump Asks Supreme Court to Greenlight Chicago Military Takeover :" https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/trump-supreme-court-chicago-military-national-guard-deployment/

* "Judge orders immigration agents in Chicago to use body cams:" https://www.theverge.com/news/801112/judge-orders-chicago-ice-agents-use-body-cams

* "Pritzker looks to hold law-breaking ICE agents to account:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/pritzker-looks-to-hold-law-breaking-ice-agents-to-account-250068037848

* "Religious leaders are denied request to deliver Communion to detainees at Broadview facility:" https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2025/10/11/broadview-detention-immigration-enforcement-ice-religious-leaders-communion-fence-protests

* "Priests, nuns, faith leaders protest ICE actions outside Chicago field office:" https://www.aol.com/priests-nuns-faith-leaders-protest-192137632.html

* "Chicago alderperson describes ‘sanctioned violence’ after ICE detained her for simply asking questions:" https://www.advocate.com/news/jessie-fuentes-responds-ice-handcuffing

* "Broadview mayor shrinks protest zones at ICE facility:" https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2025/10/13/broadview-mayor-shrinks-protest-zones-at-ice-facility

* "ICE facility fence in Broadview has been removed, in compliance with federal judge's order:" https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2025/10/14/ice-facility-fence-in-broadview-removed

* "Federal agents fire tear gas during standoff with crowd after detaining man in Chicago:" https://archive.ph/Dvw6I

* "Chicago Public Schools creates command center to monitor ICE activity:" https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2025/10/08/cps-ice-immigrant-student-families

* "‘Angels’ step in after federal agents use tear gas near Chicago school :" https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/feds-tear-gas-chicago-school/

* "Neighbor shielded 7-year-old during South Shore federal raid: ‘I didn’t want them to take her’:" https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2025/10/10/neighbor-shielded-7-year-old-during-south-shore-federal-raid-i-didnt-want-them-to-take-her

*** Some Items are older from here on down ***

* "US unveils draft design for $1 Trump coin to mark 250th independence celebrations:" https://archive.ph/0m9Xb#selection-1052.0-1052.1

Coins are only meant to have dead people on the under US Law and Custom for obvious reasons.

* Let them eat cake! "Construction on Trump’s Ballroom Continues Amid Government Shutdown:" https://www.thedailybeast.com/construction-on-trumps-ballroom-continues-amid-government-shutdown/

* "Trump Just Promoted One of the Nation’s Cruelest Conspiracy Theories:" https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/09/med-beds-trump-fake-video-ai-cancer.html

* "Newsom Trolls Trump Over Bizarre Magic Bed Conspiracy:" https://www.thedailybeast.com/newsom-trolls-trump-over-bizarre-magic-bed-conspiracy/

* "Donald Trump Says White House UFC Fight Will Take Place On His 80th Birthday:" https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-white-house-ufc-fight_n_68e3bfcee4b0bfa6f4948b8a

* "Trump honors Charlie Kirk with Presidential Medal of Freedom on what would be his 32nd birthday:" https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-presidential-medal-of-freedom-f895a361c5c1d2663cacd64082bb5ed7

I miss when we didn't give our highest civilian honors to Neo-NAZIs, but here we are.

* "Donald Trump commutes fraudster George Santos's prison sentence:" https://www.advocate.com/news/trump-commutes-george-santos-sentence

* "I do think there was a point to Bondi’s performance:" https://solarbird.dreamwidth.org/2050072.html

* "‘The no’s are piling up’: MAGA overreach rejected by airports, colleges, jurors:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/-the-no-s-are-piling-up-maga-overreach-rejected-by-airports-colleges-jurors-250059845512

* "The President's Goons Are Glitching:"

( Embed: )

* "Trump orders crackdown on ‘domestic terrorists’ in escalation of a campaign against political rivals:" https://www.opb.org/article/2025/09/25/trump-orders-crackdown-domestic-terrorists/

It looks like they are defining ordinary opposition political organizing as "Domestic Terrorism."

* "Trump Plots to Use IRS to Go After His Enemies—and All Liberal Groups:" https://newrepublic.com/post/201853/trump-irs-enemies-liberal-groups

* "GOP lawmakers largely duck on report of IRS political meddling:" https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/10/16/congress/gop-lawmakers-dont-like-what-they-hear-about-politics-at-the-irs-00611888

* "Michigan judge tosses out case against Trump fake electors:" https://archive.ph/G7Bvn

* "FBI analyzed phone records of senators as part of Trump Jan. 6 probe, lawmakers say:" https://apnews.com/article/fbi-january-6-senate-grassley-26dcd37c3b9e84c0173e63799baf3fa4

* "Republicans feign outrage over fake scandal to rewrite Jan. 6 history:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/republicans-feign-outrage-over-fake-scandal-to-rewrite-jan-6-history-249440325637

* "YouTube to pay $24.5 million to settle lawsuit over Trump’s account suspension after Jan. 6 attack:" https://apnews.com/article/trump-youtube-google-settlement-january-6-01275f67afed84402fcff0118ce698a5

* "Groups press for release of special counsel Jack Smith’s report on Trump’s classified documents case:" https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-cannon-report-jack-smith-ef8aafa723d50dccaada25bee48d59e4

* "Bondi tells Schiff he should ‘apologize’ for impeaching Trump :" https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/10/07/congress/bondi-goes-after-schiff-00596375

* Want to bet the real purpose is Election rigging? "Trump’s DOJ seeks voting equipment in Missouri ahead of 2026 election:" https://archive.ph/NVgLK

* "US government faces brain drain as 154,000 federal workers exit this week:" https://archive.ph/ZcQPX

* "The Story of DOGE, as Told by Federal Workers:" https://www.wired.com/story/oral-history-doge-federal-workers/

* "Trump administration moves to defund inspector general watchdog group:" https://archive.ph/8HXH2

The goal of this is to make rampant corruption easier as there is no other reason to do it.

* "Judge won't reinstate 8 government watchdogs fired by Trump:" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-government-watchdogs-inspector-generals-fired-by-trump/

* "Trump and Hegseth Recount Familiar Partisan Complaints to Top Military Leaders:" https://archive.ph/3MHG3

* "Pete Hegseth is a waste of time, and Trump is a disgraceful “Sleepy Don” at meeting for military leaders:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/hegseth-trump-military-meeting

* "Hegseth slams 'fat generals,' Trump touts cities as troop ‘training grounds’:" https://archive.ph/xZ9XS

* "Pete Hegseth mandates that all military service members watch his fratty Virginia speech to generals:" https://www.advocate.com/news/hegseth-speech-military-wide-mandate

* "Petey Hegseth wants men and warriors while the military is being run by boys with skateboards and apps:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/pete-hegseth-childish-antics

* "Trump, Hegseth put on embarrassing show before a distinguished military audience:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/trump-hegseth-put-on-embarrassing-show-before-a-distinguished-military-audience-248800325877

* "Hegseth Axes Navy Chief of Staff in Latest Pentagon Shakeup:" https://www.thedailybeast.com/pete-hegseth-axes-navy-chief-of-staff-in-latest-pentagon-shakeup/

* "Pentagon plans widespread random polygraphs, NDAs to stanch leaks:" https://archive.ph/CSppj

Polygraphs are notoriously unreliable and Hegseth keeps leaking himself via Signal Chat. Just Saying.

* "Locking Down the Pentagon Press Is Dangerous:" https://www.thebulwark.com/p/locking-down-the-pentagon-press-is-dangerous

* I am legitimately impressed by the pushback here, the nearly united front. "New York Times, AP, Newsmax among news outlets who say they won’t sign new Pentagon rules:" https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-press-access-defense-department-rules-95878bce05096912887701eaa6d019c6

* "'What's he afraid of?': Veteran Pentagon reporters rip Pete Hegseth's media restrictions:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/-what-s-he-afraid-of-veteran-pentagon-reporters-rip-pete-hegseth-s-media-restrictions-250175557833

* "Tom Homan and the Case of the Missing Fifty Thousand:" https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/tom-homan-and-the-case-of-the-missing-fifty-thousand

* "Border Czar Definitely Did Not Take a $50,000 Bribe:"

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* "Trump ally Michael Flynn submits ‘extreme’ legal brief brimming with bigotry in trans military case :" https://www.advocate.com/news/talbott-amicus-brief-michael-flynn

* "Veterans Affairs doctors banned from writing gender-affirming surgery referrals to private providers for trans vets:" https://www.advocate.com/news/va-doctor-transgender-surgical-referrals

* "Trump Insider Claims Top Coast Guard Brass Snubbed to Keep ICE Barbie in Rent-Free Home:" https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-insider-claims-top-coast-guard-brass-snubbed-to-keep-ice-barbie-kristi-noem-in-rent-free-home/

* "Kristi Noem is running a digital marketing agency touting her beauty and idiocy while ignoring U.S. security:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/kristi-noem-absurd-airport-videos

* "Feds quietly scrub transgender people from national security reports on threats to LGBTQ+ community:" https://www.advocate.com/news/feds-scrub-threat-reports-transgender

* "Kash Patel pulls the plug on ADL’s FBI training on extremism:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/01/kash-patel-pulls-the-plug-on-adls-fbi-training-on-extremism-00591105

* "FBI fires agents pictured kneeling during racial justice protest in 2020:" https://archive.ph/Hq8ZD

* "Angry Democratic lawmakers slam ‘despicable’ Kash Patel for firing FBI agent over LGBTQ+ Pride flag:" https://www.advocate.com/news/kash-patel-pride-flag-firing

* "Mass firings hit CDC:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/11/mass-firing-hit-cdc-00604389

* "RFK Jr. lays off over 1,000 doctors and scientists amid shutdown:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/rfk-jr-lays-off-over-1-000-doctors-and-scientists-amid-shutdown-249713733798

* "RFK Jr fires top NIH scientist weeks after she files whistleblower complaint:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/03/rfk-jr-jeanne-marrazzo-nih-fired

* "Doctor: Trump administration's CDC staff cuts are 'playing with fire':" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/doctor-trump-administration-s-cdc-staff-cuts-are-playing-with-fire-249742405670

* "CDC endorses RFK Jr. vaccine panel recommendations:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/06/cdc-endorses-vaccine-panel-changes-to-covid-mmrv-shot-recommendations-00594763

* "RFK Jr. suggests circumcision is linked to autism. Here's what experts say.:" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-circumcision-linked-autism-experts/

* "RFK Jr. said children circumcised early had 'double' rate of autism linked to Tylenol use:" https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/rfk-jr-circumcised-children/

* " Pennsylvania families fight Trump Justice Department subpoenas for their trans kids’ private medical records:" https://www.advocate.com/news/pennsylvania-families-fight-doj-subpoena

---

*** Republican Shutdown of the Government ***

Some items may be from just before the shutdown, but still discuss issues and/or call out Republican disinformation.

Short version: Republicans want to kill American citizens and driving countless others into medical bankruptcy by stealing the health care of 15-20 million people because raising insurance premiums 50-115% depending on the carrier is good for insurance companies and donor class profits.

Democrats are trying to stop that.

Republicans lied when they passed their Big Bad Budget Bill that they would negotiate for this round, but have categorically refused on the grounds that they have undivided government (President and Both Houses of Congress). They need a handful of Democratic votes to rubber stamp the horrors they are inflicting on ordinary people for the benefit of the rich.

Their only defense for their planned mass murder is the lie that undocumented people would somehow benefit even though that is already barred by law.

It is illegal to fire government workers during a shutdown or steal their back pay. Democrats are not doing that. Republicans are breaking the law because that's how much they hate the people we all rely on for safety etc..

Now is a great time to tell your critters whether you think Americans deserve healthcare and that your critters should vote for the Democratic proposal rather than the republican. If you live in New York please tell Schumer and Jeffries you support the shutdown.

* "States reveal shocking health care cost spikes under Republican plan: report:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/states-reveal-shocking-health-care-cost-spikes-under-republican-plan-report-250144837879

* "Russell Vought Is Boring (And Evil):"

( Embed: )

* "Can Republicans Just Refuse To Seat Elected Democrats?:"

( Embed: )

Mike Johnson also called a five week recess to prevent negotiations on the shutdown and as a pretext not to swear in Adelita Grijalva as part of his enthusiastic cover up of CSA, he's also trying to use his refusal to do his job as leverage to force Democrats to give up saving the heath care access of 15-20 million Us Citizens.

---

* Our job for the next year and a half is to survive, to build grassroots resistance, to do all in our power to slow the republican Christo-fascist agenda, and to prepare for 2026 in case there is still Democracy.

We are trying to build a good list of resistance resources.

Please add more below if you have them.

* "Take action with Indivisible:" https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/

* Trump 2.0 Indivisible Guide.  https://indivisible.org/resource/guide

* "Democracy 2025:" https://www.democracy2025.org/?utm_source=df-ad&utm_medium=&utm_campaign=21912407002&utm_content=721373734297&source=df-ad-gs&gad_source=1

* "Resisting Fascism in 2025 and Beyond:" https://www.prideandpagesbookclub.com/resisting-fascism-in-2025-and-beyond

* If you can't safely contact them in person, here are some other options for contacting your Congress Critters:

Five Calls to your critters: https://5calls.org/

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/

And another: https://faxzero.com/fax_senate.php

Snail Mail Campaigns: https://conuly.dreamwidth.org/3622760.html

"Congress. gov:" https://www.congress.gov/

White house (Possibly Dangerous): https://www.whitehouse.gov/

ACLU advice for writing to your Critters: https://www.aclu.org/writing-your-elected-representatives

This tracks legislation: https://www.govtrack.us/

"The Public Comment Process (+ how to write effective public comments):" https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/781844516804149248?source=share

Run for Something: https://runforsomething.net/

"Vote Smart:" https://justfacts.votesmart.org/

Useful organizing links and resources: https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/771859083592613888/hater-of-terfs-ive-already-reblogged-a-link-to?source=share

Protests: "50501 Events:" https://www.fiftyfifty.one/events

How to render emergency aid in a riot: https://riotmedicine.net/static/downloads/riot-medicine_a5.pdf

"How to Safely and Ethically Film Police Misconduct:" https://www.teenvogue.com/story/how-to-film-police-safely

"ICE Raids Toolkit: Defend Against ICE Raids and Community Arrests:" https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/raids-toolkit/

Contains a raid tip hotline amoung other things. "Know Your Rights
LEARN HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY:" https://wearecasa.org/know-your-rights/

---

* "The False Evolution of Execution Methods:"

( Embed: )

* "Police arrest 14 in West Hollywood raid, deny ICE involvement:" https://www.advocate.com/news/west-hollywood-raid-ice

---

---

* "Nearly 100 years after her death, Oxford’s first female Indigenous scholar honoured :" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/02/makereti-papakura-100-years-oxford-university-first-female-indigenous-scholar-honoured

* "How We Beat The Fascists Last Time: The London History Show:"

( Embed: )

* "Thieves steal priceless jewels from Paris' Louvre in brazen daylight heist:" https://archive.ph/cWoqb

* After finishing the Aggregate Friday, I needed to lie down for 16 hours or so. I rose feeling like I'd been beaten with sticks. I still dragged myself out to by a slice of cake and pick up my free birthday chai. My birthday was cancelled due to at least half the guests having covid and it took three tries to make a meal as so many things went wrong.

All I managed to achieve was replace the lights in my glowing ghost which burnt out during the emergency. The half assed front display honestly looks okay. It's only about a third of what I'd normally do and I literally just threw the blue flashers up there, but they spread nicely on the top shelf and out amounst the spearmint, so that's okay. Really I should take the ladder out there and hang that one ghost properly, but I can't trust myself on a ladder as I keep falling. The bruising is either alarming or impressive, depending.

Side note: one of the pumpkins out there is from last year. I was thinking of shellacking it, but just before the season started I spotted a tiny patch of mold on the back. Still just over a year for a pumpkin out on a shelf experiencing all weathers is pretty impressive and a personal record for me. I am pretty sure I bought it late September or early October.

* A friend in need: https://www.gofundme.com/f/small-business-creating-artistic-solutions?attribution_id=sl%3Ac83a07d3-8543-4aa5-9a29-f7ca8620c897&lang=en_US&ts=1755130502

* Squirrel Needs Help with Bills!

They've been running behind since last autumn because they got scammed, plus all the stuff with the Housing issues, plus the strike this Autumn. Now they had to quarantine for most of a week because of a dangerous exposure at work. They are fine, but it means they have a small paycheck right when all the things are due, including insurance and car payment to get to work, the Internet bill, etc..

If you'd like to help them out and help keep us both online:
paypal.me/Squirrelmh

* "A Doozy Of A Week | No Nobel Prize | Trump’s War On America | Water Safety Authorities Fired:"

( Embed: )

* "Watching Trump Eat McDonald's | Racist Young Republicans | Why Mike Johnson Won't Seat Rep. Grijalva:"

( Embed: )

* "I Love You, Boss! | Trump’s Cinderella Ballroom | Why Are Republicans So Obsessed With Nazis?:"

( Embed: )

* "A Brief History of Sex & Horror:"

( Embed: )

* "The Real Chicago “Chaos” Video:"

( Embed: )

*****
* Full list of Resistance and charity links has been migrated to my profile as it was getting out of hand.

The help links are at the bottom under the cut.

* Call RFK Jr. to complain about him not funding vaccines ph# 202-690-7000

* CW: Suicide "These hotlines are still available for LGBTQ+ youth after Trump kills 988 services:" https://www.advocate.com/news/lgbtq-youth-hotlines-still-available

* Want to help Nathan Sage against Joni Ernst? https://www.sageforsenate.com/

* Want to help Dr. Annie Andrews beat Lindsey Graham?" https://secure.actblue.com/donate/loc_annie_fr_txt_q22025?refcode=LOC_RTL_FR_2025.05.29_Lindsey-Bad-Job_B1_C1_Pros_N_Peony_RG-T1&amount=5

* Want to help Mike Pruitt in Virginia? https://secure.actblue.com/donate/mike-pruitt-1?refcode=directory

* Want to help Roy Cooper in North Carolina against Michael Whatley? https://secure.actblue.com/donate/roy_cooper_email?refcode=directory

* Want to help James Osyf in Virginia Beach? https://secure.actblue.com/donate/james-osyf-1?refcode=directory

* Want to help Omar Fateh in Minneapolis? https://secure.actblue.com/donate/campaign-fund-of-omar-fateh-1?refcode=directory
( More Links Underneath: )

DW is seeing some issues due to today's Amazon outage. For right now it looks like the site is loading, but it may be slow. Some of our processes like notifications and journal search don't appear to be running and can't be started due to rate limiting or capacity issues. DW could go down later if Amazon isn't able to improve things soon, but our services should return to normal when Amazon has cleared up the outage.

Edit: all services are running as of 16:12 CDT, but there is definitely still a backlog of notifications to get through.

Edit 2: and at 18:20 CDT everything's been running normally for about the last hour.

* Firefox update wiped out all the urgent news links. I know I've lost things. I also lost about two days of work and have driven myself to exhaustion trying to fix things.

* I need to sleep desperately, but I wanted the No Kings stuff to go out in time. I will try to do a brief with Israel and other urgent stuff.

---

* "U.S. buys Argentine pesos, finalizes $20 billion currency swap:" https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/us-buys-argentine-pesos-finalizes-20-billion-currency-swap-rcna236781

* "Trump says US will not 'waste our time' helping Argentina if Milei loses:" https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7n82gd7pvo

* "Trump’s Bailout Can’t Mask the Cracks in the Argentina “Miracle”:" https://newrepublic.com/article/200805/trump-milei-bailout-argentina-economy

* "Trump turns his back on U.S. taxpayers while cashing in on presidential power:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/trump-turns-his-back-on-u-s-taxpayers-while-cashing-in-on-presidential-power-249910341735

* "Walz challenges Trump: Find a farmer who thinks this is okay:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/walz-challenges-trump-find-a-farmer-who-thinks-this-is-okay-249903685845

---

* "No Kings: What to know about the October protests against Trump:" https://www.advocate.com/news/no-kings-october

* "Historic turnout expected for nationwide 'No Kings' protests against Trump overreach :" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/historic-turnout-expected-for-nationwide-no-kings-protests-against-trump-overreach-249824837632

* "Before No Kings rally, ex-Pentagon official warns Trump's anti-trans agenda threatens democracy:" https://www.advocate.com/transgender/pentagon-official-no-kings-warning

* "What is a 'No Kings' protest? More than 30 scheduled in Tennessee against President Trump:" https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2025/10/13/no-kings-protests-in-tennessee-october/86672257007/

* "Organizers expect ‘No Kings’ protests in Chicago to be fueled by rising anger toward Donald Trump:" https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/17/no-kings-protests-chicago-ice/

* "‘The no’s are piling up’: MAGA overreach rejected by airports, colleges, jurors:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/-the-no-s-are-piling-up-maga-overreach-rejected-by-airports-colleges-jurors-250059845512

* "The Trump administration is positioning the upcoming No Kings protests as an excuse for crushing dissent :" https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/trump-administration-positioning-upcoming-no-kings-protests-excuse-crushing-dissent

* "Trump Cabinet Secretary Thinks Peaceful Protesters Are Terrorists:" https://newrepublic.com/post/201718/trump-cabinet-secretary-thinks-peaceful-protesters-terrorists

* "The person leading an actual ‘Hate America' rally every day is you, Mike Johnson:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/mike-johnson-leads-hate-rally

* "'Peaceful movement': No Kings organizer swats down GOP fearmongering ahead of major anti-Trump protest:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/-peaceful-movement-no-kings-organizer-swats-down-gop-fearmongering-ahead-of-major-anti-trump-protest-249742405651

---

*** Republican Shutdown of the Government ***

Some items may be from just before the shutdown, but still discuss issues and/or call out Republican disinformation.

Short version: Republicans want to kill American citizens and driving countless others into medical bankruptcy by stealing the health care of 15-20 million people because raising insurance premiums 50-115% depending on the carrier is good for insurance companies and donor class profits.

Democrats are trying to stop that.

Republicans lied when they passed their Big Bad Budget Bill that they would negotiate for this round, but have categorically refused on the grounds that they have undivided government (President and Both Houses of Congress). They need a handful of Democratic votes to rubber stamp the horrors they are inflicting on ordinary people for the benefit of the rich.

Their only defense for their planned mass murder is the lie that undocumented people would somehow benefit even though that is already barred by law.

It is illegal to fire government workers during a shutdown or steal their back pay. Democrats are not doing that. Republicans are breaking the law because that's how much they hate the people we all rely on for safety etc..

Now is a great time to tell your critters whether you think Americans deserve healthcare and that your critters should vote for the Democratic proposal rather than the republican. If you live in New York please tell Schumer and Jeffries you support the shutdown.

* "Senate rejects funding patch for 10th time amid shutdown stalemate :" https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/10/16/congress/senate-rejects-funding-patch-for-10th-time-amid-shutdown-stalemate-00611277

* "Elizabeth Warren Says Soon Americans May Have To Choose Between Paying For Health Care Or Electricity, Calls Coming Crisis 'Dire':" https://www.benzinga.com/news/politics/25/10/48169015/elizabeth-warren-says-soon-americans-may-have-to-choose-between-paying-for-health-care-or-electricity-calls-coming-crisis-dire?comments_open=true

* "Democrats float a new shutdown demand: Reversing Trump's mass firings:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/15/democrats-float-rif-reversals-as-shutdown-demand-00610498

* "Judge blocks Trump admin from laying off federal workers during government shutdown:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/15/trump-administration-layoffs-order-00609833

* "White House to ax more ‘egregious’ programs Friday:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/14/white-house-to-ax-more-egregious-programs-friday-00608022

* "Welp, Trump has "paused" Medicare paying doctors UPDATED! **REPORTEDLY REVERSED except telehealth**:" https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/10/15/2348804/-Welp-Trump-has-paused-Medicare-paying-doctors

* "Embattled federal workers not fooled by Trump's shutdown excuse:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/embattled-federal-workers-not-fooled-by-trump-s-shutdown-excuse-249992261915

* "Don't know or don't care? Trump comprehension of shutdown damage difficult to discern:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/don-t-know-or-don-t-care-trump-comprehension-of-shutdown-damage-difficult-to-discern-249909317515

* "Psaki: Trump may be too clueless to understand consequences of his shutdown:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/psaki-trump-may-be-too-clueless-to-understand-consequences-of-his-shutdown-249077317970

* "The Shutdown’s Consequences for the BLS Are Dire:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/mike-johnson-is-scrambling-for-excuses-as-grijalva-waits-and-shutdown-drags-on-249989189661

---

* Our job for the next year and a half is to survive, to build grassroots resistance, to do all in our power to slow the republican Christo-fascist agenda, and to prepare for 2026 in case there is still Democracy.

We are trying to build a good list of resistance resources.

Please add more below if you have them.

* "Take action with Indivisible:" https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/

* Trump 2.0 Indivisible Guide.  https://indivisible.org/resource/guide

* "Democracy 2025:" https://www.democracy2025.org/?utm_source=df-ad&utm_medium=&utm_campaign=21912407002&utm_content=721373734297&source=df-ad-gs&gad_source=1

* "Resisting Fascism in 2025 and Beyond:" https://www.prideandpagesbookclub.com/resisting-fascism-in-2025-and-beyond

* If you can't safely contact them in person, here are some other options for contacting your Congress Critters:

Five Calls to your critters: https://5calls.org/

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/

And another: https://faxzero.com/fax_senate.php

Snail Mail Campaigns: https://conuly.dreamwidth.org/3622760.html

"Congress. gov:" https://www.congress.gov/

White house (Possibly Dangerous): https://www.whitehouse.gov/

ACLU advice for writing to your Critters: https://www.aclu.org/writing-your-elected-representatives

This tracks legislation: https://www.govtrack.us/

"The Public Comment Process (+ how to write effective public comments):" https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/781844516804149248?source=share

Run for Something: https://runforsomething.net/

"Vote Smart:" https://justfacts.votesmart.org/

Useful organizing links and resources: https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/771859083592613888/hater-of-terfs-ive-already-reblogged-a-link-to?source=share

Protests: "50501 Events:" https://www.fiftyfifty.one/events

How to render emergency aid in a riot: https://riotmedicine.net/static/downloads/riot-medicine_a5.pdf

"How to Safely and Ethically Film Police Misconduct:" https://www.teenvogue.com/story/how-to-film-police-safely

"ICE Raids Toolkit: Defend Against ICE Raids and Community Arrests:" https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/raids-toolkit/

Contains a raid tip hotline amoung other things. "Know Your Rights
LEARN HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY:" https://wearecasa.org/know-your-rights/

---

* As I've mentioned recently, voting has started in many states. If your state has any form of early voting, please do check. It is far better to vote early as it gives you longer to rectify things if the Republicans have illegally disenfranchised you in one of their voter suppression purges.

I know off year elections aren't as exciting, but I beg of you vote anyway. State, county, and local elections have a massive effect on what rights you have, the quality of your schools and tap water, how violent your police are, whether you have basic human and citizen rights.

There are a bunch of particularly crucial elections and ballot measures up this time in so many places. (I wish all of you luck, if this is you). Seriously, vote, get your friends and family to vote. This may be the last free and fair election in so many places and how you vote might change that.

In my county, there's a ton of things needing voting on to do with County charter revisions. (Most, but not all I like.) There's also the usual local school and infrastructure levies (Vote yes! Always vote yes for school and infrastructure levies. You want working schools, water, sewage, etc.!), some smaller stuff, and the usual batch of county and local races. All the candidates up are perfectly reasonable, except this one anti-vaxxer.

An anti-vaxxer in office is exactly like sewage in your drinking water in that they both can make a lot of people sick and kill some of them, mostly children, people with disabilities, and the elderly.

This is why you really need to vote in these local election. Just as an anti-vaxxer can poison your community, a Neo-NAZI on the school board or city council can poison your schools and library and maybe kill a bunch of the unhoused in your community, a bad sheriff or judge can kill or incarcerate a whole lot of people who don't belong there.

My city has robust mental health, drug diversion, and community help for people in distress in part because or police were such shits at the turn of the century that people en masse decided fuck that and started voting for local candidates that wanted those things. We don't have any judges or sheriffs up in this election, but they generally compete now to see who can be more left on these issues. We have a city council candidate right now running on his record of making one of those cool task forces they send instead of police to get people help in a crisis.

People running for city council this race are in part competing on who can get more affordable housing faster, a thing my city and state have been working on together for years.

You get politics like this when the progressives vote in every election and every primary and every special election and go to town halls and contact city council about making things better instead of leaving everything to be decided by the most regressive right wing voters who really will come out for every election and primary and special election.

When the left sits on its hands or plays purity politics we lose. We need to start winning or we are all cooked.

* "Texas police arrest suspect in 2021 murder of transgender woman Kier Solomon:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/kier-solomon-murder-suspect-arrested

* "5 suspects charged in Boston for attack on gay couple with baseball bat:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/gay-couple-assault-boston-charges

---

* "Who are the Tennessee plant explosion victims? 16 people presumed dead in factory explosion:" https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/are-tennessee-plant-explosion-victims-16-people-presumed-dead-factory-rcna237523

---

* "Could the macrophage-derived protein AIM save cats from kidney disease?:" https://healthist.net/en/medicine/2309/

* "Cat Kidney Disease Cure Nears Reality: Dr. Toru Miyazaki’s AIM Therapy Targets 2027:" https://greycoatresearch.com/blogs/news/cat-kidney-disease-cure-nears-reality-dr-toru-miyazaki-s-aim-therapy-targets-2027

* Truly one of the greats. She used her long life to do some much good in the world. She shall be so very much missed. "Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, activist since Stonewall, has died:" https://www.advocate.com/news/miss-major-griffin-gracy-obituary

* I do not care what Woody Allen has to say short of a confession.

Yes, that includes obituaries. Yes I understand why they asked him and are publishing his thoughts.

I believe the Farrows. I have always believed the Farrows.

* Monday's Fish maintenance attempt went horribly wrong. I think the pump for the aeration is dead or dying. Trying to trouble shoot led to water everywhere. I had to unplug and untangle Everything. Got the just washed filter reassembled and going gang busters. Unplugged to move it from easy to fiddle with test position to correct position. Plugged back in. Nothing. Tried every slot in two different power strips with lights attached so I knew they were working. At this point I was in a puddle and my mouth was full of dirty fish water taste from an accident when I was testing tubing and I had to move a bunch of furniture and everything kept falling. Unplugged bubbler motor and filter and gave the fuck up. Cleaned up. Moved everything back.

Fuck! So I guess that's two more expensive things this month. Frustratingly I searched yesterday for spare fish filter bits in the fish storage boxes, and they are flat out missing. There is one more place I can think of to look where someone else might have reasonably put them while cleaning. It involves moving furniture and crawling around on the floor. I know I have an entire extra disassembled filter. Last time I bought two so I could have filtration when the old one was being cleaned. Gone or hidden as cleverly as my hand drill.

* I feel like if your "Activism" looks exactly like what Neo-NAZIs do and say, you are Fash.

You are not remotely as left as you think you are, if this is you.

* It's been an exhausting few days. I brought in the basil, I think Sunday. I spent a stupid amount of time trying to find and assemble the spare fish filter… Monday? Tuesday? I spotted the big part jammed behind a bookcase for reasons known only to the cleaner who put it there. Just getting it out required removing everything from the shelf in front of it and still took half an hour during extraction with me having to stop and grab things as they fell off other shelves from the shaking. That much standing was stunningly painful. Then started the search for other parts that also involved emptying lower shelves.

I found several things I'd given up looking for years ago that had been jammed behind the shelf or reorganized to wildly unintuitive locations. I found two of the four other parts of the big filter. Only one of the still missing parts is essential to running it. These parts are not cross compatible with the other two filters. I will try to find time to take everything off the other two shelves then put them back, but Wednesday was Not the Day.

Tuesday I also had a particularly grueling at home physio as some of the things for my hips involve standing and I've "graduated to more challenging shoulder exercises." Plus I cleaned half the cat boxes. Plus all the other stuff I must do to survive. I also untangled all the bedroom lighting, which the HoA Contractors took down and jammed on top of a box because I forgot to do it in the rush at the beginning of the siege. Plus the social stuff I usually do Mondays and Tuesdays.

I then needed to lie down for 17-18 hours. <.< >.>

Wednesday I got the bedroom lights up and hung a couple living room window ghosts and got Geoff Peterson Jr. and his chair set up along with a bunch of outdoor lighting. I need Geoff up first, because I like to make his skeleton glow a bit, so some light thread into his skull and rib cage. I stopped for a rest every time I got the shakes, so it took ages.

I suspect this is going to be the second bare minimum year in a row as the friends who usually help decorate are in COVID quarantine.

* I had managed to catch up on a bunch of things missed because of my doing almost nothing Tuesday night. I was ready to settle in for 203 hours of news posting before bed, when I thought, I'll reboot quick, as that's data heavy.

Big mistake. Firefox updated and forgot all my links, because spending 8-10 hours trying to fix that is exactly what I needed with everything else going on.

* A friend in need: https://www.gofundme.com/f/small-business-creating-artistic-solutions?attribution_id=sl%3Ac83a07d3-8543-4aa5-9a29-f7ca8620c897&lang=en_US&ts=1755130502

* Squirrel Needs Help with Bills!

They've been running behind since last autumn because they got scammed, plus all the stuff with the Housing issues, plus the strike this Autumn. Now they had to quarantine for most of a week because of a dangerous exposure at work. They are fine, but it means they have a small paycheck right when all the things are due, including insurance and car payment to get to work, the Internet bill, etc..

If you'd like to help them out and help keep us both online:
paypal.me/Squirrelmh

* Props to whoever backed Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves in Waiting for Godot on Broadway.

That is really clever of Keanu and Alex to think of to do together. I wish I could see it.

* "Super Sunday Sweets:" https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/super-sunday-sweets-2025

*****
* Full list of Resistance and charity links has been migrated to my profile as it was getting out of hand.

The help links are at the bottom under the cut.

* Call RFK Jr. to complain about him not funding vaccines ph# 202-690-7000

* CW: Suicide "These hotlines are still available for LGBTQ+ youth after Trump kills 988 services:" https://www.advocate.com/news/lgbtq-youth-hotlines-still-available

* Want to help Nathan Sage against Joni Ernst? https://www.sageforsenate.com/

* Want to help Dr. Annie Andrews beat Lindsey Graham?" https://secure.actblue.com/donate/loc_annie_fr_txt_q22025?refcode=LOC_RTL_FR_2025.05.29_Lindsey-Bad-Job_B1_C1_Pros_N_Peony_RG-T1&amount=5

* Want to help Mike Pruitt in Virginia? https://secure.actblue.com/donate/mike-pruitt-1?refcode=directory

* Want to help Roy Cooper in North Carolina against Michael Whatley? https://secure.actblue.com/donate/roy_cooper_email?refcode=directory

* Want to help James Osyf in Virginia Beach? https://secure.actblue.com/donate/james-osyf-1?refcode=directory

* Want to help Omar Fateh in Minneapolis? https://secure.actblue.com/donate/campaign-fund-of-omar-fateh-1?refcode=directory
( More Links Underneath: )