#Happy election day America! Go vote! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

qqueenofhades · 2 months

Note

https://www.tumblr.com/qqueenofhades/743255237060689920/the-thing-that-confuses-me-about-the-dont-vote

The “don’t vote” left’s point is basically that, if Biden gets a second term, it’ll basically signal that “They’ll vote for us as long as we’re not Republicans, why don’t we do some REAL fucked up shit, if we can get away with it?” It takes the power out of the people’s hands and places it firmly in the party’s.

I can’t completely disagree with that, my caveat is that there’s no real alternative system or party in place, because top-down change is ineffective; a third party president has to contend with a two party congress.

Except no. This whole "Biden just wants to do as much fucked up shit as possible while not being a Republican, and if you give him a second term he'll do more fucked up shit deliberately to spite you" mindset is only possible as an interpretation if you a) deliberately and comprehensively ignore everything he has done to date, and b) you approach the situation with the maximum bad faith possible. Not to mention, the ultimate outcome of this Big Important Teaching Biden A Lesson is that Trump gets back into power and makes everything orders of magnitude worse, because he does in fact want to deliberately do evil shit to everyone and says so at every opportunity. There is not some magical happy alternative that springs into existence by not voting. If you choose this as a year to Teach Biden A Lesson, you are enabling Trump. Trump will be much, much worse. If you don't care about that, I still do not care what your Great Ideology is. You are not helping anyone and you are directly and irreversibly hurting everyone.

I made a post a few days ago wherein I mentioned that I want to assess Biden fairly, taking into account both strengths and weaknesses, but the rampant bad-faith, lying, misreading, misrepresentation, and open sabotage of him (especially by the online left; the GOP sometimes only wishes they were as good at turning Biden's voter pool against him) makes it really difficult to do that. My frustration with those people makes me just want to go "BIDEN IS GREAT THE END." I know he is a flawed old man (though by literally every account of a career spent in public service, he really does care about making the world a better place and any remotely good faith reading of his accomplishments thus far can see that). It is also very likely that he goes MORE left in a second term because he won't have to face the electorate again, he has always gone more left when pushed before, and he's not actually the scheming genocidal mastermind that leftist social media paints him as. Shocking, I know.

I know there are things in the world we don't like and don't want and want to stop, and therefore we blame our own president for not making it stop. But I have zero, no, none, absolutely none whatsoever sympathy for this pseudo-populist "WE NEED TO TEACH BIDEN A LESSON BY ELECTING TRUMP AGAIN, I AM VERY MORAL MUCH ACTIVIST" mindset. There's this funny thing about America wherein it is still (for now) a democracy. If Biden wins a second term, he can't run again. I would take literally anything these people said more seriously if they focused on developing their dream progressive successor for 2028 (and also figured out how to get that person elected and in a place to make real change) rather than cynically sabotaging Biden in the most consequential election year, again, of our lifetimes. If you don't like him now, find a way to make his successor a better option. Throwing a toddler tantrum and handing the country back to a senile, deranged, fascist, revenge-riddled, theocratic Trump HELPS. NOBODY. I still don't know how many times I'm going to have to say that, but yeah.

#anonymous #ask #politics for ts

4K notes · View notes

writebackatya · 5 months

Text

McDuck Family Members Most Likely to Start Sh*t at Thanksgiving Dinner

Ah Thanksgiving. The holiday celebrated on the 4th Thursday of November (in America that is), one with food, family, and celebrating what we’re thankful for! (Wanna feel bad? Learn about the holiday’s origins!)

And no family is quite as big as the found family from DuckTales; so arguments are bound to happen at a dinner table filled with so many zany characters with interesting pasts and quirks. Let’s honor those who would throw the first punch at a family dinner, shall we?

Bentina Beakley

I wanna cut Beakley some slack. She most likely had a long day before dinner even started what with all the preparations she did for dinner. Not just cooking for 20+ family members plus other side/recurring characters but also the cleaning and presentation

But let’s face it. This woman can be so condescending at times. And judgmental. You just know if someone is showing up to dinner wearing jeans and sweater she’d have something to say about it. And she strikes me as someone who would slam the dishes while cleaning them only for someone to say, “Hey Beakley do you need help with the dishes?” and then she’d be like “No. It’s fine. I got them”

But it’s not fine. Go help her with the dishes. She deserves a break

Dewey Duck

When I was first thinking about this list I originally thought “No way any of the triplets would start anything on Thanksgiving” Huey is a good boy and Louie would definitely take it easy on a day where you’re legally allowed to sit around, be lazy, and eat food. But then I remembered Dewey and how much of a diva he can be

We know Dewey is an entertainer and with everyone coming to dinner, he has a huge “captive” audience that he can perform for. Whether it be an original Thanksgiving song, a one man Dewey show about the first Thanksgiving, a sonnet about a bonnet, or a very special Thanksgiving episode of Dewey Dew-Night; that kid will want all the attention in him. And the very second the spotlight is taken off, oh boy…

Gladstone Gander

Look at this prick. Don’t you wanna slap his face!?!Anyway I love Gladstone Gander, but he’s the kind of family member that just would go on and on about himself and bring every conversation back to him again and how great his life is

That’s great Gladstone. Happy for you, the rest of us have to pay for our sushi but cool. Glad your good luck is really paying off, jerk

But honestly. It’s his tone. It’s the kind of tone that gives off that he knows he’s starting shit but won’t admit it

Goldie O’Gilt

I mean, it’s Goldie. What else can I say?

Gandra Dee

Oh man. There’s so many different ways controversy would start with this morally gray ex-FOWL agent and I’m here for it. Let’s face it, out of all the characters present, Gandra Dee would most likely be the one to bring up the holiday’s horrible origins. If anyone is making it their duty to make a rich white family uncomfortable on Thanksgiving, it’s Gandra Dee

She’d get political and even directly ask Scrooge who exactly he voted for in the past two Presidential elections (he claims to be progressive, but he’s still the richest duck in the world. Just how many tax cuts is this man getting to keep that status?)

Oh and what about the treatment of her overwork and underpaid boyfriend? Why is he still working in the bathroom?

Oddly enough, I can see her and Scrooge bonding over a mutual disdain for Gladstone Gander. What a prick

Kit Cloudkicker

It’s not that exactly what Kit does that’ll start a fight, but what he doesn’t do.

Kit is the kinda guy that was supposed to bring a dessert but totally forgot to pick something up from the bakery so instead he’s stopping at the gas station on the way to dinner to pick up some Twinkies

Kit is the kinda guy that would “take a walk” before dinner and not do anything to hide the scent and now all the kids are wondering how a skunk got inside

Gyro Gearloose

It’s Gyro. Something is bound to piss him off at some point

Doofus Drake

I am so tired of the fandom not including Doofus in this found family (Louie and him made up and are friends now and BOYD is his brother, sorry it’s canon) so he’s here on the list

But he’s still a new addition to this family. And a weirdo and a rich brat with a lot of issues that someone should seriously help him with. He’s gonna make everyone uncomfortable. Is it intentional? Or is he just being Doofus? Who knows

What I do know is this, don’t eat the dish he brought.

Della, Donald, and Scrooge!

The original three!

These three are responsible for splitting up the family in the first place so it’s no surprise that they’re number one on this list!!

Yes they’ve squashed their beef with one another and moved past the Spear of Selene, but they are still themselves

The ones most likely to start shit over the dumbest things

These three are going to be bickering over who should carve the turkey. And the argument will be so loud and hectic that no one will question why a bunch of birds are eating a turkey

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this list. It wasn’t meant to slander any characters, just did it for fun. Happy Thursday everyone.

#ducktales headcanons #ducktales 2017 #ducktales fandom #duckblr #bentina beakley #dewey duck #gladstone gander #goldie o'gilt #gandra dee #kit cloudkicker #gyro gearloose #doofus drake #della duck #donald duck #scrooge mcduck

141 notes · View notes

bisexualseraphim · 2 months

Text

I gotta say, I am seriously fucking concerned with the amount of people here who seem to wholeheartedly believe that the correct answer to the genocide against Palestine is ANOTHER genocide except the other way around. Please stand back for 2 minutes and seriously think about whether you think it’s ever a helpful or just cause to advocate for the deaths of millions of people, especially when plenty of said people are Jews whose families fled there after barely surviving the Holocaust because hardly anywhere else would treat them like human beings or accept them at all since the antisemitism that allowed the Holocaust to happen was not solely in Germany and didn’t magically disappear after the war ended.

Look. The situation is simple when you boil it down to this: Israel is bombing and starving Palestinians like fish in a barrel and doesn’t want to allow aid to Gaza, which consists of a population of over 50% children. Israel allowed the Nakba and displacement of Palestinians for decades and tries to hide it from public view. This is genocide. The Israeli government is at fault for this. Israel holds the power here because they have the power to bomb and starve millions of people and force them out of their homes, and Palestine certainly does not. It’s an utterly horrific, inhumane thing to do with no excuses for it and it needs to stop. This is the simple part that is glaringly obvious for everyone to see and it’s almost laughable for anyone to deny it.

Okay. You’ve successfully identified the main problem and the “bad guy,” if you want to put it in childish simplistic terms. So the question now is: what next? Say Israel agrees to an immediate ceasefire. What do you, impassioned activist on the internet, propose should be done to solve this situation after that? What should be done to free the Israeli hostages? Do you think the UK and the US, two of the most powerful countries in the world who actively help Israel commit its atrocities against Palestine, will ever do anything to help the Palestinians once Israel loses its power, even if better governments are eventually elected? How should the Palestinian land be claimed back? Where should all the Israeli citizens go? Should they all be forced out to Europe and America, even if that isn’t where they originate from, where the already-rife antisemitism has spiked even further since October 7th and Jews who live thousands of miles from Israel and have nothing to do with Israel’s actions face horrific hate crimes every day? Do Israeli children deserve that? Who’s going to pay for their travel and accommodation? Or, should they all be allowed to stay there and live side by side with the Palestinians? Do you think most Palestinians would be happy to remain neighbours with the citizens of the country that has oppressed them so fiercely for over 75 years, even if said citizens didn’t partake in it or in fact opposed it? What about the 20% of Israeli citizens who are Arab or Palestinian? Do you hold the same opinion of foreign settlers in Israel as you do its citizens whom have made a home there for many generations? How do you discern between settlers and “real” Israelis? Do you see any difference between them at all? Why? And what should be done about Hamas, the group that openly calls for the genocide of all Jews around the world and commits war crimes against Israeli citizens? How much of the history behind Israel’s occupation of Palestine are you aware of? Do you think the British government should be held accountable for splitting Palestine in the first place? How would you go about that? Would it be fair to punish the British people for their government’s actions when British citizens didn’t vote for it? How does that compare to your view of Israel and its citizens, and why?

I am absolutely NOT asking trick questions here or trying to “gotcha!” anyone. I am asking these questions precisely BECAUSE they are extremely difficult to answer, with several of them contradicting each other, and they are meant to get an emotional reaction out of you. I certainly don’t know what the “correct” answers to most of those questions are, and that’s exactly my point: there is no simple answer to a problem that has been going on for decades with such a wide, complex history. Historians and political experts who know all the facts and have studied this shit for years don’t know the answer and it’s honestly insulting to all the people suffering to log on every day and see so many people go “actually 😌 I, a random 20-30 something year old on the internet who isn’t even touched by what’s happening in Palestine, have figured it out before everyone else! Just delete an entire country and all its citizens off the map 😊 This is a moral thing to suggest! And if you disagree with me you’re promoting Zionism/terrorism 😘” There are no simple answers and if you think there is one — and especially if you think that answer is to kick citizens out of the country their family has lived in for generations — then you are both wilfully ignorant and evidently fuelled more by hatred than an actual desire for peace and an end to death and oppression and I don’t believe there is a crumb of sincerity in your activism.

Am I naive enough to think that fighting against oppression and occupation is always going to be peaceful? Obviously not. But you’ve got to think about where and when said violence is actually going to be beneficial, and where and when it’s violence purely for the sake of violence, which is NEVER justified. You can’t advocate for human rights and then turn around and say “oh, but not for you.” EVERYONE deserves food and water. EVERYONE deserves shelter. EVERYONE deserves to receive treatment for sickness or injury. NOBODY deserves cruel and unusual punishment or torture. And EVERYONE deserves to be alive. Those are essential human rights that should never, ever be denied wherever it is possible to give them, and disagreeing with that reflects extremely poorly on you and your principles. Think about what narrative you are pushing when you claim an entire people “deserves” bad things. The constant dehumanisation I see happening in online activism (and far too often in real life too) is actually terrifying and if you want to do some real good in the world, I need everyone reading this to examine their potential internal prejudices, even the ones you don’t think you have, and think about who exactly you’re helping when you express thoughts that perpetuate them, and who you may be harming in the process.

Anyway, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way…

Here are some useful resources if you want to make a difference and help people:

Standing Together (an Israeli movement advocating for ceasefire and peace between Israelis and Palestinians)

Zochrot (an Instagram page that seeks to educate the public about the Nakba)

Parents’ Circle (an organisation run by relatives of Israelis and Palestinians killed in the conflict who advocate for peace)

Operation Olive Branch (a Google Doc of Palestinian families seeking evacuation)

Mesarvot Network (an Instagram page run by young Israelis seeking to refuse the IDF draft and end military violence committed by both Hamas and the IDF)

Other Gaza aid organisations to donate to

#I’ve kept this in for too long I had to say something #I wonder if anyone will call me a Zionist for saying that Israelis are people who don’t deserve death #Despite the fact I’ve been spreading awareness for the Palestinians all this time #Tumblr activists when you don’t advocate for human suffering: 😡😡😡#Tumblr activists when you don’t treat a genocide like a sports game: 😡😡😡#Tumblr activists when you think death is bad: 😡😡😡#Tumblr activists when a Jewish person exists: 😡😡😡#I’m not Jewish but if I was I would likely be too scared to post this oop #Do you know how many Jewish mutuals I have who advocate for Palestine to be free #But they receive antisemitic abuse and get called Zionists for not wanting Israelis to die #I’ve been too scared to say all this for a while tbh #But if people have a problem with me saying ‘I want as little suffering to anyone to happen as possible’#Then are those really people I want around me?#Oh fuck British politicians for supporting genocide btw #free palestine #free gaza #gaza aid #palestine resources #israel palestine conflict #i/p #genocide #ethnic cleansing #human rights #antisemitism #islamophobia #holocaust #activism #fuck the tories #fuck labour #long post

25 notes · View notes

samueldays · 8 months

Text

Racial Gerrymandering

This New York Times Article (archive) can be practice in noticing the thing separately from the name. It doesn't use the word "gerrymandering", but that is what it's calling for.

Most other states would be ashamed of the tongue lashing issued against the government of Alabama on Tuesday by a trio of federal judges, all of whom were clearly furious that the state ignored their order to create a second majority-Black congressional district.

This is court-ordered racial gerrymandering, but I suppose the NYT doesn't want such negatively-loaded terms near their client race.

In doing so, Alabama illustrated how contempt for the law — not to mention for equal representation and basic fairness — is an animating value in whole swaths of America. There are days when it feels as if defiance is defining large parts of the country, as represented by so many politicians who feel comfortable only when they are resisting someone else’s agenda rather than coming up with their own.

The journalist cries out 'basic fairness' as he demands your state be gerrymandered. Journalism delenda est. When the NYT has the reputation of the Daily Mail, I will be happy.

The journo's take on 'equal representation' is race-first quotas, and as for 'law', the Voting Rights Act talks about the right to vote and participate in the political process with an end in mind of electing a representative; the court interpreted "opportunity [...] to elect representatives of their choice" very broadly to demand blacks as a racial collective must get two set-aside districts so they can racially win two elections to get representatives, plural, of their choice to be elected. This has a severe case of Proves Too Much regarding every other protected class minority. Reductio ad absurdum.

An aggravating context, then, is the fact that congressional districts are a finite and small number in a zero-sum game. To be specific, Alabama has seven. Demanding two of those for a specific minority is a hell of a lot.

Demanding any districts be racial set-asides at all is dubious gerrymandering, but from a glance at the census data, Alabama's population does not even divide neatly into racial sevenths to gerrymander with. The state is majority white, between one and two sevenths black, less than one seventh hispanic, less than one seventh 'other'. How do you feel about a court-mandated hispanic-majority district too? 🙄

The census brings me to another issue: the implicit requirements of surveillance state and segregation that are needed to get these black-majority districts.

To make it informationally possible to draw black-majority districts, one needs to know where the blacks live, in great detail, with recent updates. It is not obvious that the state tracking this is a good thing.

And to make it topologically possible to draw black-majority districts, one needs the blacks to clump very tightly together. The more black-majority districts one tries to draw, the more every other district in Alabama must be a whiteland. Again, zero-sum game. (Math below.)

Perhaps you want to argue that this is still worth it! But to argue for the racial gerrymandering you should face the costs and trade-offs. You should have the courage to say "I want segregation, so I can have black-majority districts", because a high degree of segregation is a prerequisite to black-majority districts. Can't draw black-majority districts through a thoroughly integrated population.

The NYT instead decides to go with guilt-by-association to George Wallace, pretending it's a continuous history from a man who wanted segregation to Alabama refusing segregated districts. Piss on journalists.

---

Electoral district math: at seven districts, each one gets 14-15% of the population. (The current districts are all in this range.) Alabama has a 26% black population. To be the majority in two districts, one has to assign at least 8 percentage points of blacks to each. That's 16% in those two, leaving 10% for the other five. Possibly even more lopsided if the black majority districts are to have more margin for error and discrete subdistricts.

Splitting the remaining 10% or less gives an average of two percentage points or less in the remaining five districts. In practice some will cluster unevenly around that average, because Alabama's black population is very unevenly distributed.

Meanwhile, the majority-black districts by necessity have fewer whites than average for the state, so the remaining districts must have more whites than average, in a state that was over two-thirds white to begin with. Moving people around between districts does not change their sum.

The cost of two majority-black districts is that the other five districts will be so white, the whites in one of those districts outnumber the blacks in all five of those districts put together. 5:1 is a lower bound, 10:1 is likely to happen due to nonlinear scaling.

Trivia: with arbitrarily complex boundaries, you could gerrymander Alabama to have a whole 3 majority-black districts with a slim eight-to-seven majority, at the cost of the other 4 districts getting white:black ratios exceeding thirty-to-one.

#all #journalism delenda est #racepol #rectification of names #gerrymandering #politics

24 notes · View notes

starlightshadowsworld · 9 months

Text

Reminder that the whole reason Pakistan is in the mess it is.

With Imran Khan being removed as prime minister.

And his subsequent imprisonment for 3 years after that.

And that whole mess.

... Is because of America.

Imran Khan was in support of a neutral policy in the Russia/Ukraine war.

The Russian invasion into Ukraine hadn't started and he expressed that "there was still hope for a peaceful solution to be reached."

And the US didn't like that.

In a secret diplomatic cable between the than Pakistani ambassador to America had with 2 state department officials from America.

One being Donald Lou who was not happy with Imran Khan.

'He said that "I think if the no- confidence vote against the prime minister succeeds, all will be forgiven in Washington because the Russia visit is being looked at as a decision by the Prime Minister. Otherwise, I think it will be tough going ahead."

So in other words, because Imran Khan had a different view point that he did, he was threathing Pakistan on the world's stage.

That if they didn't get rid of their leader, their leader who had been democratically elected by the Pakistani public.

Than they would suffer consequences.

... I'm sorry who the fuck put you in charge?!

And if you think oh it's just one guy.

"Don could not have conveyed such a thing without the express approval from the White House."

Aka the Biden Administration.

Which he expressed multiple times.

... I'm not suprised but my god does this piss me off.

Day after this, the no vote of confidence began in the Pakistani Parliament.

And Imran Khan was removed.

And imprisoned.

On some of the most flimsy ass charges I've ever heard.

However, shockingly... People who voted Imran Khan to be prime minister of Pakistan... Actually really liked the guy.

Imagine that.

And protests happened.

And the military, who was already corrupt got a power high from the situation and were arresting many of said supporters.

And Imran Khan might be free now but America has made sure that he can't run in the Pakistani elections.

No matter how popular and how much people want him in charge.

Don't get me wrong the military is definitely fucking shit up.

And their are others at fault.

Infact, Americas involvement was raised by Imran Khan in March 2022 (but this secret cable was only revealed today.)

He stated "a foreign power sent a message that he needs "to be removed" or Pakistan will face the consequences."

And incase you were wondering if it was America.

He the letter he received to be "a foreign conspiracy letter" and it's language was "threathing and arrogant."

But the damage was done.

And while no one else was helping this situation, it wouldn't have happened if not for the USA.

Because who the fuck gives you the right to threaten Pakistan because they wanted to stay neutral in a conflict that they weren't apart of.

Nor had even begun.

You destabilised their government, further corrupted the country and the military for your own gain with no remorse or regard for who it would affect.

You put the person who many feel is the one hope for Pakistan in jail and now he can't become leader.

If someone tried that with America, their government would lose their absolute shit.

We'd be called a dangerous foreign power.

But when you do it it's fine?

But your somehow allowed to dictate the way other countries are run? No offence but you can't run yourselves.

Nevermind Pakistan.

You have no right to do any of this.

You have shattered any peace in Pakistan.

Everyone who has died in the protests and riots is on your hands.

And because of that this news is probably being blocked in Pakistan.

Purposefully destabilise a south asian government and than fuck off like it never happened, who are you, the British?

And their denying it.

US State spokesperson Matthew Miller said "nothing in these purported comments show that the United States talking a position on who the leader of Pakistan should be."

Another spokesperson, Jalina Porter states "let me just say very bluntly, there is absolutely no truth to these allegations."

You fucking liars.

16 notes · View notes

yurimother · 2 years

Text

United Workers of Seven Seas Becomes First North American Manga Publisher to Unionize

Publisher chooses to recognize union on the day ballots were to be sent for election, citing "the well-being and safety of our employees"

On Friday, June 24th, the United Works of Seven Seas Twitter page announced that manga and light novel publisher Seven Seas Entertainment has agreed to voluntarily recognize the union and engage in collective bargaining. This announcement makes the United Works of Seven Seas (UW7S) the first unionized manga and light novel publisher in North America.

The announcement read:

UW7S is happy to announce that Seven Seas has agreed to voluntarily recognize us as the union based on a majority card check. This decision by Seven Seas eliminates the need for an NLRB-conducted election and will pave the way for a more expedited path to bargaining a first contract. At a time when many employers continue to fight the unionization of their employees, we appreciate that Seven Seas decided to respect the voices of the majority of staff and recognize us. We look forward to developing a mutually beneficial relationship and reaching a collective bargaining agreement in the near future.

On Saturday, Seven Seas posted the following statement to Twitter:

At the end of May, Seven Seas was notified that a union had filed an election petition to represent our employees. At the time, the company decided to proceed to an election governed by the National Relations Labor Board in order to allow such an important decision to get its full democratic process. the company is responsible for protecting the rights of all employees, and was uncomfortable waiving such a fundamental right to vote.

However, this has been a challenging time for staff at every level. Above all, the well-being and safety of our employees is of utmost importance to us. In order to protect everyone involved, and to work together in good faith for the sake of our staff, creators, partners and fans, Seven Seas has now decided to waive the right to an election in favor of voluntary recognition of the union.

We look forward to working together with the newly unionized UW7S and the rest of our global staff as we sail towards an even brighter future.

UW7S first publicly announced on May 23rd that the employees of Seven Seas had formed a union and were working alongside the Communications Workers of America. The announcement explained the need for the union citing that although Seven Seas has grown exponentially in recent years, going from 10 employees in 2018 to over 40 today, the workers were overworked, underpaid, and inadequately supported. At the time Seven Seas agreed to recognize the union, 28 of the 36 employees within the bargaining unit had publicly pledged support for the union.

The organization released a list of goals on its website including

Healthcare

Pension benefits

Paid time off

Increased wages and a transparent increase structure

Paid family leave

Reduced workloads and an end to “crunch” schedules

Protections for employees, including an end of at-will employment

The end of unnecessary “permalancing”

for freelancers (translators, letterers, designers, etc.)

An increase to pay for freelances, including revision and “kill” fees

Clearly defined job roles and responsibilities

A transparent wage ladder and organizational structure

New training methods and materials

The creation of a dedicated scheduling department to track progress

Expansion of administration to maintain their database

Paid training for all managers and supervisors

The end of anti-freelance exclusivity contracts for staff

End-of-year bonuses

Reimbursement for remote work equipment costs

Improved communication between departments, including quarterly updates

Increased staff for overburdened departments

The union also called for the creation of anti-harassment and discrimination policies and the establishment of a process for submitting complaints. In a statement, they noted, “Members of the Seven Seas union have not experienced any issues with harassment or discrimination to date. We strive to keep it that way.”

In light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on Friday which ended the constitutional right to an abortion, UW7S released a new demand “that Seven Seas set up a reproductive health travel fund accessible to all employees and US-based freelancers to states where reproductive healthcare remains available.”

The announcement that Seven Seas had voluntarily recognized the union came as a somewhat of a surprise, as the publisher had initially refused to do so, citing a wish to "respect the right of all eligible employees to vote on this issue," and hired a suspected union-busting law firm, Ogletree Deakins, who challenged the size of the bargaining unit under claimed that several members of the bargaining unit were supervisors under §152 of the National Labor Relations Act. The section states that a supervisor is anyone with authority or responsibilities to direct others and, under the same section, makes them ineligible to join the union. UW7S responded by announcing that four of the ten challenged staff members were determined to be ineligible but that the other six still maintained voting rights.

UW7S had planned to vote on a special election with the National Labor Relations Board, which would send out ballots on June 24, the day the union was voluntarily recognized, to be counted on August 1. The union was set to win the election, with 28 of the 36 individuals eligible publicly pledging support which formed a supermajority of nearly 78%. Seven Seas, which has been facing public backlash and pressure on social media including TikTok and Twitter, recognized the union based on a majority card check that showed a majority of workers wanted to authorize the union to represent them in collective bargaining.

Source: United Workers of Seven Seas Twitter, Website

#news #union #america #seven seas #makingwaves #ourflagmeansunion #isekaiispossible #unionization #NRLB #Seven Seas Entertainment #Manga #Anime

126 notes · View notes

onekisstotakewithme · 4 months

Text

2023 Fic Masterlist

Happy New Year! It was my first full year of writing "The West Wing" fanfic and I loved every minute of it. Aaron Sorkin's work has me by the throat... so behold: the fic round-up for the year.

Works in Progress (WIPs)

An Idea, Whose Time has Come (3/20 chapters posted) - "Could always run for President." It’s been twenty years since CJ Cregg joined Jed Bartlet’s campaign, and with another election looming, Danny makes a suggestion: CJ should run for President. So she does. And on the campaign trail, along with a new staff, a hostile incumbent, and a familiar rival candidate, CJ also has to grapple with the legacy and impact of her twenty years in public service – good, bad, and ugly – while preparing for the most important election of her career. CJ/Danny, presidential campaign shenanigans. also side Josh/Donna, Will/Kate, lots of original characters. Some smut. 14k so far. (A present for my dear friend miabicicletta 💜)

CJ/Danny

None of Us are More Than Caretakers (12 chapters) - “The president’s dead.” Three weeks before Inauguration, things appear to be running smoothly. Transition is going (mostly) well, Kazakhstan is (mostly) stable, and CJ is (mostly) happy with how things are going with Danny. Everything is taken care of. And then former president Gerald Ford dies. Set between "The Last Hurrah" and "Institutional Memory". 66k.

Off the Record (22 chapters) - “And this… thing… would be…?” “Off the record.” (Or, one missing scene per episode). Season 1 missing scenes. 31k.

A Night to Watch - “So how does it feel, watching yourself become unemployed in real time?” Tag to Election Day Parts I & II. 6k.

Fallout - It’s only been a few hours, but already the dinner with Danny feels like it was an entire lifetime ago. Tag to "Duck and Cover." 3.1k.

our secret moments (in a crowded room) - Secret Dating. Tag to "Drought Conditions". Written for the twwpress Wheel of Destiny 500 word Drabble Challenge. 500 words.

The Fall - “What do you want, Danny?” “Saw you on C-SPAN this morning, Sundance. Wanted to see how you were handling the rise to power.” “You mean you wanted to see if the fall killed me.” Tag to "Liftoff." Butch & Sundance Part II. 2.6k

You're Gonna Die Bloody (and All You Can Do is Choose Where) - The hearings will turn over every rock in her life, every email, every phone call – and of course they’ll see Danny’s name – but she can’t drag him down any further. Tag to "The Ticket", "The Mommy Problem", "Mr. Frost"/"Here Today". Butch & Sundance Part III. 2.7k

Fight or Give - Glory days are over. Nothing left but the ending – nothing left but the fall. Tag to "Internal Displacement", "Requiem", "Institutional Memory". Butch & Sundance Part IV. 2k.

The Goal for Which We Long - And then she notices the note left in the middle of her desk. Not a note, really, but one of the dignitary bingo cards she’d passed out – the one she’d given Josh by the looks of it – with the middle row filled in. She wonders why Josh would leave it there, before noticing the handwriting along the top. Tag to "The Wedding". 5k.

Other/Gen

The Day on Which They Shall Give Their Votes - Election Day, 1998. As the votes come in, the staff of Bartlet for America waits with one question in mind: Who will be the next President? Pre-Canon. Gen. 3.3k.

When it Rains, it Pours - Or, what happens in the motel after they get out of the rain? Well, wet clothing mostly. Josh/Donna. Tag to "20 Hours in America" Parts I and II. Written for the "Woulda Coulda Shoulda: a Fest to Get Josh and Donna Together" challenge. 2.6k.

Two for the Road - “It was a tough race.” “They’re all tough races.” Or, doing the same thing multiple time and expecting different results (1992-2018). CJ & Toby friendship fic. Gen. 5.3k.

#the west wing #tww #cj x danny #josh x donna #cj cregg #danny concannon #and the whole cast and crew.#PLUS one more that i will be sharing tomorrow... written for an anonymous holiday exchange ;)

7 notes · View notes

dykesbites · 5 months

Text

every time i email my reps they send the same fucking response like "i am going to thank you for emailing me about the horrific attack on oct 7. because i dont want to acknowledge what you actually emailed me about, which is calling for a ceasefire, blocking arms to israel, and an end to occupation. im going to claim to value your input even though i intentionally misinterpret your input so i can avoid answering your questions.

hamas has made it clear that they wont cooperate and believe that [false info], [more false info], [more false info] which is why im happy to inform you i WONT call for a ceasefire, even though thats what you and an overwhelming majority of my constituents asked me to do.

i understand there are innocent civilians being hurt by this. im doing my part to help by voting for this bill that will give a little aid to the innocent people who my bosses keep bombing and im not going to stop them from doing that either. i strongly condemn antisemitism. and islamophobia too i guess.

im deeply saddened by the violence in america right now as a result of the violence happening in the middle east. im going to dedicate an entire paragraph to antisemitism and islamophobia happening in the US because im more okay with pretending to care about the handful of americans who were attacked than the scores of people being killed by my bosses in an arab country.

i appreciate that youre emailing me. vote for me next election! call my office at 202-FUCK-YOU. have a great day. sincerely john mcgenocide :)"

#kaya.txt #IM GONNA KILL MY REPRESENTATIVES

5 notes · View notes

wartakes · 9 months

Text

The Obligatory Election Essay (OLD ESSAY)

The following essay was originally posted on November 8th, 2020 (shortly after the 2020 Presidential Election was held). This one honestly didn't have much to do with any of my usual topics but was me being somewhat tipsy and waxing philosophic about politics. Not my best one. But here you go. (Full essay below the cut).

This is probably going to be shorter than most of the pieces I plan to write for here. I wasn’t actually going to have this be my second essay for the site. I hadn’t actually written anything for the 2020 election. I think that was partially because I had no idea how it was going to go, the thought of it stressed me out, and I also didn’t want to jinx anything or tempt hubris by making predictions. I’ve been focused on just surviving the election itself before doing anything else, stocking up on food and alcohol and waiting out the storm in my room the last few days.

Now it appears Joe Biden will in fact be the next President of the United States. There are still ways Trump and his supporters could try and rat-fuck this situation, so we’ll see if he goes out with a bang or a whimper in terms of his reaction to all this – and if the chuds and the fashies limp away for now or cause trouble. But currently, it appears that Biden has solidly won.

I won’t get into my personal feelings on Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and the Democratic Party as a whole in this piece. Needless to say, my feelings are a mixed bag and predominately negative. That being said, I still think beating Trump is a good thing and anyone who somehow thinks this is a loss for leftism and that a Biden Presidency is just as bad as a Trump one really needs to log off for a bit and take a breather and reassess things. Yes, we still have a lot of work to do. Yes, we need to keep organizing. Yes, it will be a hard and long process. But for now, I’ll take this victory – and it is in fact a victory. It shows that things are not destined to always get worse.

Sure, this election has its discouraging parts. Like the fact that, even though Biden still won by a healthy margin, over 70 million people – more than who voted for Barrack Obama in his landslide 2008 victory against John McCain – still voted for Trump despite everything he’s done in the last four years. Or the fact there are now QAnon believers who will be sitting in Congress.

But there were good things for the left as well. Out of the 29 candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America this election cycle, 21 won their races – including two sitting Members of Congress and two new candidates. A number of progressive ballot measures also passed, such as the $15 minimum wage in Florida. This all happened despite a Democratic party who consistently wishes to write off the left wing – and that looks like it won’t be changing any time soon. While there is good reason to be discouraged about certain outcomes, we also have a lot to be happy about, celebrate, and motivate us to further action going forward.

All that being said, this is supposed to be a blog about foreign policy and national security so now I should actually get to that part instead of still rambling about domestic politics.

As Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had said before the results of the election were finally called, no matter what the outcome was we were going to need to keep organizing and making our voices heard and power known – not just for future elections, but for other important causes and struggles. This is all very true, and to that I’m taking the chance to tack on my rallying cry of “please don’t forget to work on foreign policy and national security too!”

I wasn’t actually expecting to harp on this point again so soon after my initial essay setting the stage for this blog, so I apologize if this sounds repetitive. But, this is going to be a repetitive point anyway throughout all my writing here, and I felt I was squandering an opportunity if I didn’t make the most of these events while they were still fresh in people’s minds.

Leftists are already thinking about the future and what we’ll need to do to strengthen the movement and make this country and the world a better place. That inclusion of “the world” is not just a throwaway line. If this election made one thing obvious, it’s that the rest of the world was hanging on it even more than they usually do during a U.S. Presidential race. There was and still is real fear about what comes next here in America and how it may affect people where they live too. Both for good and for ill, we’ve seen how events in the United States can ripple around the world. For ill, in how an off the cuff Trump tweet or comment can cause crises, and for good when we saw how movements like Black Lives Matter spread across the globe.

As leftists continue to fight for real change for the better in this country, they need to learn more about the rest of the world and how our actions impact it. This will need to go beyond the ways those who do think about this conceptualize it – usually along the lines of solidarity with movements and activists in other countries. Leftists will also need to learn about and better understand diplomacy, statecraft, intelligence, and even war – all things that we will still need to deal with if we ever really hope to govern someday, as they’re not going away.

National security and war subjects in particular leftists will need to need to become more knowledgeable on going forward. These have been realms that have typically been dominated by groups such as tankies, campists, and disarmament proponents – which I’ve already ranted about before so I’ll leave alone for now. I understand why many leftists either lack knowledge in this area, are uncomfortable with it, or both. But that has to change. When I spoke of the people around the world, worried about the outcome of the election, I wasn’t speaking just about those who were afraid of what might happen to them, but what may not happen. There are also marginalized groups fighting against oppression, or smaller states at risk from larger, aggressive, authoritarian neighbors. If we are going to be good leftists in a situation where we can actually govern, we will need to know how to wield all the levers of power and that will include war.

Likewise, leftists need to better understand the military and its service members. Like with war in general, I understand why many leftists often take a hostile attitude towards the military and its personnel, given some of the actions of the military in the past. But leftists need to understand how important it is to bring servicemen and women into the fold as they have done with other groups. We need to understand the challenges and struggles that military personnel face, like how they are recruited to begin with and how they are treated. We need to understand how valuable their perspectives and skills are, and how important engaging with them will be for reshaping and rebuilding both the country and the military to be better and more just in the future. Keep in mind, many more servicemen and women are sympathetic to the causes we fight for than you think. After all, Bernie Sanders beat every other candidate for President – including Donald Trump – in political donations from active duty troops during the primaries. The military is something we will still need if ever elect our theoretical President Leftist. We need to put in the work now to understand it and its service members and start to change it for the better.

Alright, its late on Saturday night, I’ve had a bit to drink, and I’m tired, so I’m gonna cut things off here. I promise the next one of these will be a more in-depth analysis of something different, but I just wanted to get these thoughts off my chest while everything was still fresh. Aside from posting this essay, I’m spending the rest of the weekend tuning out from politics and giving myself time and space to be happy. I highly suggest the rest of you do the same thing.

5 notes · View notes

phoebe-delia · 2 years

Text

Untitled Bodice Ripper WIP (Happy Birthday El!)

@getawayfox my darling El.

First, happy birthday my love. I hope it was as fantastic and lovely as you.

Second, I wanted to take the opportunity to apologize, once more, for having to drop Bodice Ripper. But at the same time, I'm SO glad to have plenty more time to do your prompt the justice it deserves.

And to that end—I have written some more! I really hope you enjoy this chunk. I don't know how long this'll be, or what exactly it will end up being, but I'm having a lot of fun writing it!

Without further ado: Pansmione political rivals (with some background Drarry for fun!) Enjoy.

It was the kind of night that nearly made Hermione miss Britain. She knew, when she’d left the UK, that it was the right decision. That she was needed more in the US. While on the Wizengamot, she’d worked to get house elves out of forced servitude and into the unionized labor of their choice. She’d rooted out several old, outdated laws and helped start real change for the Wizarding World’s most vulnerable populations. She’d been a mentor to young wixen, teaching them the ins and outs of the British Wizarding government and politics.

And she’d been ready to enjoy the fruits of her labor, to focus on passion projects now that she’d helped to get the wheels turning correctly.

That was until three people came stumbling through her Floo.

At first, she’d been nonplussed. In her panic, she’d started to shout questions at them—“What on earth? Who are you?” Her finger was inching toward the security call button on her desk when one of them stepped forward with wide eyes and a soft American accent. “Please, Ms. Granger. We need your help.”

The anxious anger had melted away, slowly, as they explained. It shifted into tightly-coiled, righteous anger at their stories, their passion. She felt pride swell in her chest along with it when they pulled out binders full of information that simultaneously piqued her curiosity, made her stomach drop at the parts that sounded eerily familiar, and churn with dread at those that didn’t.

It took three years—including hundreds of similar meetings, research, and even a few trips across the pond—for her to come to the conclusion that she was needed elsewhere.

She remembered the night she broke the news to Harry and Ron—tears in her eyes as she said she was moving. They’d nodded solemnly, and then Harry’d said—

“So, when are we leaving?”

She blinked. “What?”

“When are we leaving? I need at least two weeks—Robards won’t let me out sooner. Ron?”

Ron shrugged. “I’m sure Fred and George can manage the shop without me. I’ll leave whenever.”

Hermione sputtered. “What are you two talking about? You can’t move with me.”

“Why not?” Harry tilted his head. “You think we’re going to let you fix America all on your own?”

“Not a chance,” Ron said firmly. “We’re a team ‘Mione. We saved Britain together. What’s one more?”

So they’d moved, the three of them. They’d holed up in a tiny flat in Washington D.C., hung up maps and charts on the walls, had a TV on mute in the corner, and made plans.

That first year had been both the most exciting and intimidating she’d had since the war, and yet it was filled with a sense of hope she carried with her everywhere. The three of them took jobs at coffee shops (Ron) and fast food restaurants (Harry) and as a secretary in a law office (Hermione). They’d been 27 and felt like they were play-acting as adults. They worked during the day and stayed up late into the night pouring over statistics and legal code.

“There are some differences. Like, for both, you have to be at least 35. But in the Muggle world, you have to be a native citizen to be President, and for MACUSA you don’t.”

“I think a big problem is messaging and misinformation, but I think we can help change that. If we…”

“Look, look at this—50% of young people voted in the last election. That’s one of the highest in history but it’s also so low when you think about it.”

And then, one night:

“This is just—really? Are there really no worthy candidates? We’ve combed the countryside and all we’ve come up with are pure opportunists and people who outright laughed at us.” Hermione buried her head in her hands. Harry sat down next to her. “I know. And that’s why I think the best option is for—”

Hermione glared at him half-heartedly. “Harry—”

“You know it’s the right call!”

“I don’t know that!” She huffed. “I don’t know why you’re so insistent on this!”

“Because I’m tired of looking for what we already have! ‘Mione, you already have political and governmental leadership experience—”

“Yes—in Britain!

“I know you wanted to find a candidate here, but ‘Mione, I think it should be you.”

And, she supposed, that’s how she found herself sitting in a hotel conference room, rubbing the mascara from her eyes and sighing.

Harry was sitting next to her. He set aside his now empty container of lo mein before vanishing it with a lazy flick of his hand. Under the hum of conversation between the campaign staffers around them, Hermione clasped her hands on the table and leaned toward Harry. “What’s your plan for tonight?”

Harry leaned in to whisper, “I asked Parvati to prep some questions on healthcare for us to run through, but after—I think you, Ron and I need to talk strategy.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow. “Strategy?”

“For next week. To make sure you’re ready for anything she throws at you.”

“She? It's a large candidate field, Harry, you'll have to be more specific.”

He looked at her flatly. "You know who I'm talking about, Hermione."

Hermione clenched her jaw and glanced away. "I was rather hoping I was wrong."

Harry snorted. "That's a first."

Hermione's lip twitched, but she pressed the smile back down. "She's unimportant."

“Mione—we need to talk about her at some point. She got under your skin a lot, and—“

Hermione scowled. “Oh, like I couldn’t say the same about you and her campaign manager!”

Harry blushed. “I’m not running against him for president. Look—of course, you’ll crush the debate. I’m not worried about you losing your cool on stage or being flustered in public.”

“Then what?”

“I’m worried about what happens off the stage. I’m worried about her distracting you. I’m worried about her taking up too much space in your mind just because you’ve known her longer than the other candidates. And because of eighth year.” Harry sighed. “Pansy Parkinson is a lightweight—all flash and no substance. And if she were anyone else, you wouldn’t blink an eye. But she’s—“

“Yeah.” Hermione exhaled. “She’s…yeah.”

“Right. Anyway—we’ll talk. But for now, I think we should get started,” Harry leaned back in his chair and gave her a small smile.

She smiled in return, and cleared her throat—calling everyone’s attention.

“Alright,” Hermione said, glancing at the staff members sitting around the table. “It’s been a long day, and we’ve got an even longer week ahead of us before the first debate of the primary. Let’s start.”

#pansmione #hermione granger #pansy parkinson #pansmione fic #wip #wip snip #drarry #harry potter

19 notes · View notes

kp777 · 1 year

Text

By Scott Pelley

60 Minutes

Oct. 30, 2022

It's the vote that holds America together—belief that with a ballot voices are heard, disputes are addressed and there's always another chance. Countries without this belief tend to be in bondage or at war. Election Day is coming, but across America belief is under attack. Politicians who say the 2020 election was stolen are running for governor in 19 states; attorney general in 10; and in 12 states, election deniers are running for secretary of state, which would give them power over elections. After two years of investigations and audits no fraud or error has been found in any state that would change the 2020 outcome. But in 2022, spreading doubt has been key to an endorsement from Donald Trump. no state has been more deeply riven by this than Arizona where a split in the GOP has Republicans on opposite sides of a grand canyon.

On one side of the Arizona chasm stands Rusty Bowers, a life-long Republican and artist who became Arizona's speaker of the House. Bowers told us he was disappointed when Joe Biden won so when President Trump and Rudy Giuliani called, after the election, he was listening.

Rusty Bowers: First Rudy started. He said, "Well, there's been a lot of fraud all across the country and in Arizona," and then he listed off large numbers in categories that would be illegal. Dead people, stolen ballots.

Bowers says Giuliani wanted him to hold a vote to revoke Biden's electors.

Rusty Bowers: And I said, "But Rudy, I want the proof. You're gonna give me the proof?" And he said, "Yes."

So, Giuliani and co-counsel Jenna Ellis flew out to meet Bowers.

Scott Pelley: You left the meeting with Rudy Giuliani thinking what?

Rusty Bowers: That I wasn't happy. I said, "Okay. Timeout. Mr. Giuliani, you said you were going to bring me some proof. Names, et cetera of all of these people. Did you bring me the proof?" And he looked at Jenna Ellis and he said, "Do we have the proof? "And she said, "Yes, we do." "Well, do you have it with you?" "No. No. I--" "Where is it?" "Well, it might be back at the hotel room." And I said, "I asked you for the proof. You said you'd bring it. You're not bringing it. You're asking me to break my oath and make up something to pull electors and replace electors, which has never been done in the history of the United States. And I'm gonna try that on my state?"

Read more and watch the 60 minutes video.

#60 minutes #scott finchem #arizona #2022 elections #republicans lie #election fraud

2 notes · View notes

paul-doyle · 3 days

Text

‘What America is’: Sports world reacts to Capitol attack, historic week

Paul Doyle

CT Insider

Jan. 9, 2021

For many of the women in the WNBA, it was a dizzying 48 hours.

On Tuesday, Democrat Raphael Warnock defeated incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler in Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoff. Players visibly and vocally supported Warnock over the conservative Loeffler, co-owner of the Atlanta Dream.

But the sense of accomplishment was tempered the next day, when a mob of Donald Trump loyalists stormed the U.S. Capitol building. At least one brandished a confederate flag.

“One breath, you want to celebrate … But then you can’t,” said Connecticut Sun veteran DeWanna Bonner. “What happened in Washington DC and all the killings (of Black Americans) ... My head is kind of all over the place.”

Bonner, a Black woman from Alabama, saw race at the center of the Capitol events. She’s not alone.

The visuals of a mostly white crowd overwhelming police to storm the legislative building contrasted with images of Black Lives Matter protesters greeted with armed forced. Activists have noted a double standard in how the groups were treated by security.

The reaction from the sports world?

“We live in two Americas,” LeBron James said.

Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers said, “Could you imagine today, if those were all Black people storming the Capitol, and what would have happened?”

The sentiments are echoed throughout Connecticut, too — from high school coaches to college athletes to the professional basketball players at Mohegan Sun.

WNBA LEADING TO CHANGE

The WNBA has long been at the front of social causes, but the league’s players raised their activism to another level while competing in the Bradenton, Fla. bubble last summer. Players spoke out after the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, standing firmly behind the Black Lives Matter movement.

Loeffler, Atlanta’s co-owner since 2011, is a strong Trump supporter. In July, she expressed concern with the league’s support of BLM in a letter to league commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

The response from the players? They began wearing “Vote Warnock” shirts at games and raised money for his campaign. Players across the league donned the shirts and Warnock’s poll numbers steadily climbed.

Warnock wound up prevailing in a runoff, which helped tip the power in the Senate as Democrat Jon Ossoff defeated incumbent Republican David Perdue in Georgia’s other runoff.

“It was such a happy moment for him and for our league, as well,” Bonner said. “We did a great job of speaking out when we heard about what was going on in the race. We knew immediately who we wanted to support. Everybody wore those shirts on game days — there were some big games that week and we wanted to make sure that people saw us.

“We stand by what we believe in and it showed the powerful impact that we can make.”

Players celebrated the victory on social media. UConn’s Renee Montgomery, who played with Atlanta but opted out of the 2020 season as she focused on social justice reform, tweeted: “In 2019, I didn’t know what to call @ReverendWarnock because he was a Dr and a Pastor. Now I gotta add Senator to the list. Congrats to Dr Pastor Senator Warnock!”

James tweeted, “Think I’m gone put together an ownership group for the The Dream. Whose in?” and Montgomery responded, “I’m ready when you are.”

And it’s worth noting that James’ tweet received a long list of responses, including an emphatic “In” from former tennis great and Fairfield product James Blake. Meanwhile, Montgomery told TMZ she’s serious about an ownership bid — although there is no indication Loeffler is selling.

The WNBA is being cited for its impact on the election, but the support for Warnock — and rejection of Loeffler — is just another example of the league’s players using their platform. Independent of the Georgia race, players were leading the sports world in speaking out about racial injustice last year.

“Just more recognition for the work that they’re doing,” said Connecticut Sun vice president Amber Cox, who has worked in the league for 13 years. “If you think back to the Pride platform and the support of the LGBTQ community, the WNBA was really the first to do that. It’s been happening. But the result of being in a bubble situation where you had all the players together, allowed them to come together and it was obviously just a defining moment in our history … all things kind of culminated.

“These women are so courageous and smart and, obviously, strategic the way they go about things. It’s been wonderful to see them get the recognition for all the work that they have been doing.”

New Haven native Bria Holmes said the season was dedicated to making voices heard.

“And clearly they were heard,” she said. “Just voicing our opinion on things that haven’t been going well, I think it opened people’s eyes to a lot of things. … Women are a huge part of the world. With our voices, we can do a lot. It’s not just the men. We can continue to do great things.”

Said Bonner, “People are listening. Women’s basketball has an opportunity to be at the forefront of sports. … Last summer, we spoke up and spoke out about our true feelings. We’re outspoken. We don’t hold our tongues for anything. People are learning more about us as women, about our culture, and what we believe in, and that we’re more than just basketball players.”

Yet Bonner, an 11-year veteran, said she was shook by what she witnessed Wednesday. The joy of Warnock’s victory quickly evaporated.

“It’s a scary time,” she said. “It’s kind of like, let me make sure my family is home and safe because you never know what can happen right now. It’s just such a sad time for us, especially for Blacks in this world right now.”

Holmes said she was at a loss for words to describe how she felt Wednesday. But she does believe the “outcome would’ve been totally different” had a majority of the protesters been Black.

‘PUSHING FOR UNITY’

UConn freshman Paige Bueckers figures to have a future in the WNBA, yet she has already used her voice — she marched in her home state of Minnesota after Floyd’s death.

Asked Friday about the WNBA and the state of the country, Bueckers said she is impressed that the league and the players use their platform to spread their message.

“Everything that they do, they’re trying to make this world a better and more equal place,” Bueckers said. “That’s what we need right now — equality and justice, equal treatment for everybody regarding race. It’s just sad to see the inequalities in the world.

“If we just treated each other how we wanted to be treated, it would be a much better place. It’s just sad to see the stuff that’s going on in the world, the hate and the division that we have. The WNBA is just pushing for unity and togetherness. I just think that’s really big and what the world needs right now.”

Buecker is white, but her younger brother Drew is Black and she spoke over the summer about their conversations pertaining to his race.

“I’m scared for him,” she said over the summer. “I’m scared for myself because that’s my little brother. He’s my best friend, really. I’m really close to him. Having that fear, that one wrong judgment and his life could be on the line, it’s super scary and it’s something I want to help change.”

UConn junior Christyn Williams, another player with WNBA aspirations, expressed her support for Black Lives Matter on her social media accounts last summer.

“I’m definitely excited to be a part of the WNBA one day because they represent something bigger than themselves,” she said. “We’re people too. They show that as an example every time something happens or just in general. I think they’re doing a great job with that.”

CONNECTICUT REACTION

The events at the Capitol were jarring for athletes and coaches across the state.

Wilbur Cross basketball coach Kevin Walton conducts a weekly Zoom call with his players, his opportunity to check on his team while the season remains paused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Wednesday night, Walton asked his players about the events that unfolded at the Capitol.

“One of the players said one of the differences (from the Black Lives Matter protests) was they were treated differently because they were white, but he was reluctant to say it at first,” Walton said. “I told him you can always say what you feel. We want the kids to formulate their own opinions.”

Walton, a community activist who participated in protests after the killing of Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May, said he was “appalled” by the way Capitol police and law enforcement reacted to the mob that stormed the legislative building.

“It sends a message that they didn’t take these white nationalists and terrorists to be as scary or as threatening as the Black Lives Matter protests,” Walton said.

Hillhouse football coach Reggie Lytle, who stayed up until 4 a.m. Thursday watching news coverage of the events, retired in 2013 as a lieutenant after a 25-year career in the state Department of Corrections.

Like Walton, he was stunned by the lack of security at the Capitol. Lytle contrasted what took place Wednesday with his own experience at the Million Man March on the National Mall in 1995. He estimates there were thousands of law enforcement at the march, “and you turn on the TV (Wednesday) and see only 500 Capitol Police?”

Lytle also said he felt “real sick” upon learning that a Capitol police officer was killed in the incident. He experienced riots during his time in the corrections department.

“To lose an officer to a beat down makes me feel I didn’t do my job,” he said. “It angers me even more to learn the President of the United States provoked this action. This invokes hate and invokes retaliation. I am old enough to know to fall to my knees and pray. This is what (Colin) Kapernick was doing.”

Lytle said he encountered racism as a member of Hillhouse’s 1985 state championship team and he sees his players faced with the same now. “Not much has changed,” he said.

His view of what happened at the Capitol?

“I’m not surprised at all,” Lytle said. “Especially since they announced they were going to do it. We have a saying: There it goes again. When we say that, in our community, we all know what that means. It’s white privilege. There’s no other way to look at it. White privilege.

“…My kids know. They could simply stand on the corner waiting for their girlfriend, and then the cops roll up and they get grilled. Meanwhile, you have people going to the Capitol and nobody’s stopping them.”

Walton, too, was not surprised.

“When President-elect (Joe) Biden comes on and says, ‘This isn’t America’ … this is exactly what America is,” Walton said. “Storming the Capitol building, acting in a violent manner, that is exactly who we are. … What bothered me the most is the people acting out were every-day people. There weren’t any billionaires out there (Wednesday). Those were people waiting for their stimulus checks, people who need Obamacare.”

This discussions between players and coaches unfolded at all levels last week.

At Quinnipiac, men’s basketball coach Baker Dunleavy said his team talked about the insurrection on Thursday.

“I think in general young people are very socially aware,” Dunleavy said. “They’re educated. They pay attention. They read. They’ve got social media at their fingertips. The players shared some of their individual thoughts and opinions.

“When we look at that day in our history, we’ll look back on a very dark day, an unfortunate and really embarrassing day in our country. We talked a little bit that there are some people out there who are similar to those we saw on camera and feel the way they feel. For a lot of people, it’s convenient for them to pretend that doesn’t exist. We have less ability to look the other way, that that sentiment isn’t something that existed just back in the 1960s.”

0 notes

dankusner · 17 days

Text

Trump: Rules on abortion should be issue for states

youtube

Former president, GOP candidate declines to endorse national ban

NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump said Monday he believes abortion limits should be left to the states, outlining his position in a video in which he declined to endorse a national ban after months of mixed messages and speculation.

“Many people have asked me what my position is on abortion and abortion rights,” Trump said in the video posted on his Truth Social site.

“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both. And whatever they decide must be the law of the land — in this case, the law of the state.”

Trump, in the video, did not say when in pregnancy he believes abortion should be banned — declining to endorse a national cutoff that would have been used as a cudgel by Democrats ahead of the November election.

But his endorsement of the patchwork approach leaves him open to being attached to the strictest proposed state legislation, which

President Joe Biden and his reelection campaign have already been working to do.

Anti-abortion activists expressed keen disappointment that Trump didn’t go further.

In the video, he again took credit for the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to end Roe v. Wade, saying that he was “proudly the person responsible for the ending” of the constitutional right to an abortion and thanking the conservative justices who overturned it by name.

While Trump again articulated his support for three exceptions — in cases of rape, incest and when the life of the mother is at risk — he went on to describe the current legal landscape, in which different states have different restrictions following the court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling on June 24, 2022, which upended the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

“Many states will be different. Many will have a different number of weeks or some will have more conservative than others, and that’s what they will be,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s all about will of the people.”

Trump had long argued that the Supreme Court’s decision gave those who oppose abortion rights “tremendous power to negotiate,” leverage he said he wanted to use to strike a deal that he hoped would “make both sides happy” and bring the country together — even though the issue is one of the most contentious in American politics, with some opponents viewing abortion as murder and proponents seeing it as a fundamental women’s right.

The announcement drew immediate condemnation from SBA Pro-Life America, one of the country’s most prominent groups opposed to abortion rights.

“We are deeply disappointed in President Trump’s position,” said the group’s president, Marjorie Dannenfelser, in a statement. “Unborn children and their mothers deserve national protections and national advocacy from the brutality of the abortion industry. The Dobbs decision clearly allows both states and Congress to act.”

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of Trump’s congressional backers and supporter of a 15-week national ban, said he “respectfully” disagreed with Trump over abortion being an issue for the states.

Mike Pence — a staunch abortion opponent who served as Trump’s vice president, challenged him for this year’s GOP nomination and has said he won’t endorse him — on X called the stance “a slap in the face to the millions of pro-life Americans” who have previously backed Trump.

Trump took to Truth Social later Monday to lash out at his critics, saying both Dannenfelser and Graham were “of absolutely no help as the Democrats staged rallies and won Elections they should never have won” after Dobbs.”

Biden’s campaign was quick to seize on the moment, with spokesperson Ammar Moussa posting on X that Trump was “endorsing every single abortion ban in the states, including abortion bans with no exceptions … and he’s bragging about his role in creating this hellscape.”

In a statement, Biden said Trump has played a part in being “responsible for creating the cruelty and the chaos that has enveloped America since the Dobbs decision,” a situation he said is reflected in women “being turned away from emergency rooms, forced to go to court to seek permission for the medical attention they need, and left to travel hundreds of miles for health care.”

In a statement, Jenny Lawson, executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes, expressed confidence that the voters who “clearly rejected anti-abortion politics” in other post-Dobbs elections will “do the same with Donald Trump and his cronies in 2024.”

#Youtube

0 notes

newstfionline · 1 month

Text

Friday, March 22, 2024

America’s happiness score drops amid a youth ‘midlife crisis’ (Washington Post) The United States is no longer among the world’s 20 happiest countries, according to a new report—with young people hit particularly hard and reporting lower levels of well-being than any other age group. The United States fell from 15th in 2023 to 23rd in this year’s World Happiness Report, which was released Wednesday to mark the United Nations’ International Day of Happiness. The country’s results varied dramatically among different age groups, however, with young people under age 30 ranking 62nd out of 143 countries for happiness, while U.S. adults age 60 and above ranked 10th. This is the first time the United States has slipped out of the top 20 since the report was first launched in 2012. But a similar downward trend in youth well-being is also seen in Canada, which ranked 15th overall but 58th among young people this year. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, director of the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Center and an editor of the report, said that the report’s findings show “that in North America, and the U.S. in particular, youth now start lower than the adults in terms of well-being. And that’s very disconcerting, because essentially it means that they’re at the level of their midlife crisis today and obviously begs the question of what’s next for them?”

In Vermont, ‘Town Meeting’ is democracy embodied (AP) Julie wants more donations to the food pantry. Kipp is busy knitting a sweater. Shorty is ready to ask: Why is so much being spent on a truck? The coffee, fresh-baked bread and donuts have been laid out. Eighty-seven voters have squeezed into the Elmore Town Hall. Town Meeting is about to begin. Across the United States, people are disgusted with politics. Many feel powerless and alienated from their representatives at every level—and especially from those in Washington. The tone long ago became nasty, and many feel forced to pick a side and view those on the other side as adversaries. But in pockets of New England, democracy is done a bit differently. People can still participate directly and in person. One day each year, townsfolk gather to hash out local issues. They talk, listen, debate, vote. And in places like Elmore, once it’s all over, they sit down together for a potluck lunch.

The challenge of aid delivery in Haiti (BBC) Haiti counts an estimated 360,000 people who have had to flee their homes because of gang violence. Aid is sorely needed. Helicopter flights carrying supplies from the Dominican Republic have begun to arrive. But with the airport in Port-au-Prince and the port both still closed, far more is needed. Juggling her baby godson on her knee, 20-year-old Sarah gives the appearance of a much older woman. "I go to school with no food, spend the day hungry and then go to bed still with nothing in my stomach," she explains. Many in the camp are suffering from illnesses. Drugs and medicines are often prohibitively expensive given their food budget rarely stretches to the basics. On the days they can't raise funds, they're dependent on scarce donations and aid.

As election nears, Venezuelan government keeps arresting opponents (AP) As Venezuela’s government would have it, President Nicolás Maduro and members of his inner circle have been the target of several conspiracies since last year that could have left them injured or worse. Few details have been released about the alleged plots. But the government has cited them in the arrests of more than 30 people since January including a prominent human rights attorney and staffers of the leading opposition presidential candidate. Local and international nongovernment groups, the United Nations and foreign governments have described the crackdown as a pretext to stifle political opposition ahead of the July 28 president election in which Maduro, in power since 2013, will seek a new six-year term.

Russia fires 31 missiles at Kyiv in the first attack in 44 days, and 13 people are hurt (AP) Russia fired 31 ballistic and cruise missiles at Kyiv before dawn Thursday in the first attack on the Ukrainian capital in 44 days, officials said. Air defenses shot down all the incoming missiles, though 13 people including a child were injured by falling wreckage, they said. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched two ballistic missiles and 29 cruise missiles against the capital.

Blowing Up Russian ‘Gas Stations’ With Drones (Bloomberg) Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion has entered a new phase, pitting homegrown drone technology against a 2,000 kilometer (1,200 mile) swathe of largely Soviet-era oil facilities. At least nine major refineries have been successfully attacked this year, currently taking offline 11% of the country’s total capacity by some estimates. “Russia is a gas station with an army, and we intend on destroying that gas station,” Francisco Serra-Martins, co-founder and chief executive officer of drone manufacturer Terminal Autonomy, said in an interview. “We are going to focus on where it hits the hardest, and that’s financial resources.”

China on Track to Be Ready for Taiwan Invasion by 2027, US Says (Bloomberg) China is building its military and nuclear arsenal on a scale not seen by any country since World War II and all signs suggest it’s sticking to ambitions to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027, a top US admiral told Congress Wednesday. Beijing’s official defense budget has increased by 16% over recent years to more than $223 billion, said Admiral John Aquilino, leader of the Indo-Pacific Command. The Chinese military has also been rehearsing other types of military action against Taiwan including maritime and air blockades, he said. “All indications point to the PLA meeting President Xi Jinping’s directive to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027,” Aquilino warned.

Vietnam: President Vo Van Thuong resigns after a year in office (BBC) Vietnam's president Vo Van Thuong has resigned after only one year in office following a corruption scandal. As his predecessor also quit over corruption, his departure cast a shadow over the ruling Communist Party. While an ongoing anti-corruption campaign is popular with the general public, it has now cost the jobs of two presidents, two deputy prime ministers, thousands of other officials, and seen a former health minister jailed for 18 years.

North Korea’s Missile Threats (Foreign Policy) Pyongyang successfully tested an engine for its intermediate-range hypersonic missile at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in northwest North Korea on Tuesday, state media reported Wednesday. The weapon reportedly used a solid-fuel engine, which lasts longer than liquid-propelled missiles and makes launches more difficult to detect, among other benefits. Defense experts believe that the missile was designed to hit faraway U.S. targets, including military bases in the U.S. territory of Guam; areas of Alaska; and U.S. military installations in Okinawa, Japan. The “military strategic value of this weapon system is appreciated as important as” the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can target the mainland United States, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said. Solid-fuel hypersonic missiles “can potentially neutralize the South Korea-U.S. missile defense system,” Yang Moo-jin, the president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told Agence France-Presse.

Congress Seeks to Bar Funding for U.N. Agency for Palestinians (NYT) The United States would cut off funding for the main U.N. agency that provides aid to Palestinians in Gaza under a spending agreement on track to soon become law, according to two people familiar with the plan. The ban, part of a massive spending bill negotiated by lawmakers and the White House that is expected to clear Congress by this weekend, would create a shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars for the agency, known as UNRWA. That could have disastrous consequences for Gazans, who are facing an acute hunger crisis and displacement in crowded shelters and tent encampments. The move would also put Washington at odds with its Western allies over how to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza amid accusations that Hamas fighters have infiltrated the agency. Though before the war UNRWA employees filled a broad array of civil functions in the territory, operating schools and providing health services, they have since become the main resource on the ground for delivering aid to the territory’s besieged residents.

Israel’s military is using Palestinians as human shields in Gaza (Daraj/Lebanon) Omar Ashour, a 34-year-old Palestinian, describes what Israel’s military did to him after his arrest in northern Gaza: It is just one example that Daraj has found of how the IDF is using detainees as human shields in its months-long war against Hamas. “The Israeli military detained me, and took me to a place where soldiers were gathering. They put a camera on my head, tied explosives to my body, and asked me to enter one of the apartments and quickly return to the place they had gathered.” Ashour was forced to respond to all the demands of Israeli soldiers out of fear for his life. Ashour is one of dozens of detainees used by Israel's military as human shields during its ongoing war on Gaza. Soldiers put civilian Palestinians in front of military targets, endangering their lives, according to multiple accounts from recently-released detainees. International law and the 1949 Geneva Conventions prohibit the use of civilians as human shields. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the Rome Statute also considered the use of human shields a war crime. In Israel, the B'Tselem rights group said that the Israeli army has over the years, as part of its official policy, used Palestinians as human shields and ordered them to carry out military actions that risked their lives.

Taps have run dry across South Africa’s largest city (AP) For two weeks, Tsholofelo Moloi has been among thousands of South Africans lining up for water as the country’s largest city, Johannesburg, confronts an unprecedented collapse of its water system affecting millions of people. Residents rich and poor have never seen a shortage of this severity. While hot weather has shrunk reservoirs, crumbling infrastructure after decades of neglect is also largely to blame. The public’s frustration is a danger sign for the ruling African National Congress, whose comfortable hold on power since the end of apartheid in the 1990s faces its most serious challenge in an election this year. A country already famous for its hourslong electricity shortages is now adopting a term called “watershedding”—the practice of going without water, from the term loadshedding, or the practice of going without power.

Musk’s Neuralink hosts livestream showing quadriplegic playing online chess (Al Jazeera) Elon Musk’s brain-chip start-up, Neuralink, has livestreamed a patient appearing to play online chess using only his mind. In a video posted on the X social media platform on Wednesday, Neuralink introduced Noland Arbaugh, 29, as the first human patient to be implanted with its brain-computer interface technology. Arbaugh, who described becoming paralysed from the shoulders down in a diving accident, said that using Neuralink had become “intuitive” after practising imagining moving the cursor on the screen. “Basically, it was like using ‘the Force’ on the cursor, and I could get it to move wherever I wanted. Just stare somewhere on the screen and it would move where I wanted it to, which was such a wild experience the first time it happened,” Arbaugh said, referring to the superpowers possessed by the Jedi in the Star Wars films.

#headlines #news

0 notes

realhankmccoy · 2 months

Text

Q: So why does everything think Trump's getting re-elected, including you Hnak and your mom and stepdad?

A: because Americans are selfish lazy take the easy way out don't know how anything works hate weakness and want the easiest path to Magic Money Man makes us Pretty Sparkle Country Like Back When I Had Energy to Play Football or Be A Cheerleader

i think it's something like that i dunno not really putting any thought into this right now i got some more workout stuff i want to do

Q: So i mean your Stepdad sys Trump is Hitler why would they vote for Hitler is your stepdad crazy

A: They would vote for Hitler they're that weak look at it this way

they're incredibly weak and lazy some idiot on some Pepsi tv show displays all the values that weaklings, spoiled lazy and entitled (but projecting all of that onto blacks) in this country relate to -- Bugs Bunnyism, Immaturity, Fear of Weakness, Bone Spurs Idiot Talking Like He's Power Man (the american idiot is disconnected from reality and will leap off their tail to swallow a red pill for the opportunity to swallow one)

and you know they don't feel like HItler when they vote do they no they feel like they're even doing a good thing for their country like Babydad said 'Trump's not that bad' and why isn't 'Trump so bad' in the idiot mind? because they fundamentally hate queers and minorities and they fundamentally think we crossed some imaginary line in which queeres now run the world and the CEO is a striaght widdle white man crying cuz it's very hard to see it and the whole civilisation is gonna collapse any second now because of buttsex basically

like rome collapsed due to buttsex it's very scary

these people never cracked a history book... they couldn't even tell you the capitol of Michigan most likely and if they could they have zero interest in going there or learning anything about it they just think they're a genius cuz they can parrot 'Lansing'

oh so i mean they feel like they're getting things done when Babybro votes for trump it feels like he's a strong big man when Trump wins my dad isn't worried and Babybro is happy and spoiled Wonderbread in the office comes in the next day and says they're 'so happpy' it feels kinda cool like excitement like here's somebody who's gonna finally start kicking ass and taking names and numbers which in their head is 'the remedy' is the great thing america needs the cure this is oh yes Doctor Trump he's a very good Doctor he's gonna kick the assess of all these complacent blacks and queers and women who took it too far with their grievances it's exactly what the Cunt Tree needs he's gonna put that money back in the straight white man's pockets where it belongs take it from these no good lazy blacks lazy gays lazy women who offer nothing just nothing all civilisation cames from the white man the rest are just takers need to be paid less need to shut up about their grievances less Native Americans got it so good on their reservations Give it all to Columbuses' decendents Every mascot should be an Injun So every Bugs Bunny can go HEEEHAHWW HAHAWW HAHWWWW HAWWW I WIN THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN HOW IT WUZ UNDER ThE BIDEN

really just -- these sacks of wondebread are so stupid that this is how they see it

literal brain damage isn't even this is stupid

they're actually dumber than literal fuckin' brain damage

and they're too stupid and dishonest with themselves to see the lazy and entitled one is and always has been themselves and the tribe they stick up for, coddle, sympathise with

i got way less sympathy for the plantation master not even Marianne Williamson can quite get me to lean into love for the plantation masters

and that's America. ain't that america. HOME OF THE FREEEEEE YEAH YEEEAH

youtube

#john mellencamp #trump #america #usa

0 notes