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Current Music: Silence is golden.

Entry tags:

The phone battery saga - 2025 10 20

I have a iPhone 14 that's about 2 1/2 years old now, maybe a little less, and it's still under AppleCare, so when I got a battery warning, which of course happened when I was traveling, I got it to the Apple Store ASAP, which happened to be on the way home from DFW on Monday. Usually we go to the NorthPark or Knox/Henderson stores but this time the best appointment was available at the Galleria.

I made sure everything was backed up and did all the pre-diagnostics in the car. Then we went to the store and showed them the phone and sure enough, they needed to replace the battery for free. They said they could get it done by the time the stores closed at 8pm so we went off to have dinner in the food court.

We came back at 7:30 and it wasn't ready. We were told to ask again at 8.

When we asked at 8 we were told it had been put in as overnight. The manager was super apologetic and had us stay for an extra 30 minutes so they could put in a new battery on the spot. It was pretty clear one of the two "geniuses" involved in the transaction had made a mistake, which was OK, and we were understanding. I had been traveling for 12 hours so as long as I got my phone back I was set to be "whatever, dude" as long as I had my phone for jury duty in the morning.

The phone is now working though I clearly need to figure out what's eating so much power because it's not lasting as long as I'd like. I have a mag-safe battery and an external that plugs into it, so as long as I'm not away from power for days on end, I should be OK. I'm glad I don't have to replace the phone just yet because that's not in my budget.

Current Music: Silence is golden.

Entry tags:

jury duty

Jury duty - 2025 10 21

It sucks to come back from a trip and do jury duty the next morning. This was my second time at Frank Crowley (the first time was right after the building reopened after the COVID shutdown, when the defendant turned out to have COVID in his pod so we were released) and everything went pretty much the same: they got us all in there, swore us in, dealt with all the folks who went to the wrong court building and forgot their paperwork. And then we waited. I was sitting on the left side of the service room reading my book and they picked from the right, so I wasn't grabbed for the first panel.

Apparently they only needed one so I was out of there at 8:30. This time instead of trying to walk to the train station, I took a rideshare home.

Current Music: Silence is golden.

Entry tags:

We ate at: Kai in Phoenix (backdated)

Kai. It's an indigenous-centered tasting menu restaurant at a big Sheraton resort. The service was excellent, almost too much so, and the food was delightful. You get five courses with an amuse-bouche to start and truffles afterwards. They had no trouble accommodating my friend's gluten-free needs. The presentation was as good as the food.

For the two main courses I had bison and venison and both were top-notch.

Definitely want to take Spouse here.

Current Music: Silence is golden.

Entry tags:

Phoenix trip museums - The Musical Instrument Museum and the Heard (backdated)

The Musical Instrument Museum. A very large single-subject museum, which it has to be to cover the subject of "musical instruments". The permanent galleries are arranged by country, and I started running out of steam before I finished the American gallery. There was no special exhibit when we visited, alas, but if I lived there I'd be a member and also hit their concert series. They had an excellent shop and book store and I have a ton of photos to sort through.

The Heard Museum. Excellent museum of indigenous art and culture. Kind of what I would expect if the NMAI (pre-TFG) and the McNay in San Antonio had a very lorge baby. The exhibits were fascinating and I learned a lot, though with the time and energy we had I had to pass on the boarding school exhibit. The gift shop had amazing jewelry and rugs that were Out of My Price Range and a cafe with some very nice food. I have some photos but the multimedia work is not amenable to photography.

I want to go back and take Spouse to both of them.

Current Music: McStabby the Roomba

Entry tags:

Weekly media report - for the fortnight ending 2025 10 22

Books
Threads of Empire: A History of the World in Twelve Carpets, by Dorothy Armstrong. Popular history of the numbered object type centering on the central, southern, and western parts of Asia and their carpetmaking traditions. I expected all the colonialism around Britain and the US, but was surprised by some of the other stories.
A Peculiar Combination and The Key to Deceit, by Ashley Weaver. First two in a WWII mystery series featuring a young female safecracker gone straight and the officer and gentleman who put her on that path as they deal with Nazi spies and the Battle of Britain. Engaging so far, with two interesting mysteries, and the romantic triangle the author is setting up is sufficiently subtle that it's not ruining the rest of the story.
A Case of Mice and Murder, by Sally Smith. First in a mystery series set in the Inner Temple of London at the turn of the last century featuring a clearly autistic-coded attorney. This one involves the dual mystery of the murder of the Lord Chief Justice and a case centering on who wrote a popular children's book. I'm in for the next one.
Breakout Year, by KD Casey. Queer baseball romance featuring fake dating and two Jewish characters with a complicated history. Light and fluffy when it's not dealing with heavy issues.
Born in Flames: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City, by Bench Ansfield. Now I know why the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire. Centering on the historic burning of the Bronx in the 1970s and extending out from there, this is economic history about the insurance industry and the financialization of, well, everything. Definitely worth your time if current events and economic history are your thing.

Movies & TV
The Hobby: Tales from the Tabletop. Watched this short documentary about boardgames on a plane flight. It's all about the subculture around them, which I'm personally not involved in but a lot of my friends are, so I was prepared to like the character types involved. I'm not sure how it would hold up in terms of background material if you didn't already know a little bit about board games.

Wednesday's Comic

Oh. OH NO.

Current Mood: curious
Current Location: Central Florida
Current Music: Fans whirring

Entry tags:

aliens,
space

Are we alone, or do we just lack the tech to see?

So I was just thinking. We haven't found any definitive proof that there's any other life in the universe.

We're also limited by the speed of light. We can only see out into space via the electromagnetic spectrum. And every wave in that is also limited to the speed of light. Meaning from Infrared, to X ray, None of the light we can see via that means has traveled to us any faster than the speed of light.

This means that the vast majority of the stars we're seeing, and listening to with radio telescopes, we're seeing and hearing as they were millions or even billions of years ago.

We also know that radio waves (and lightwaves, but an extent) dissipate with distance. For example, the TV and Radio waves that have been transmitted from earth since say the 1930's or so have been traveling away form earth all this time, and are now our earliest transmissions are about 100 light years away. But, at that range, they're so diffuse that they'd be very difficult to pick up. Like if you had an old TV with a set of rabbit ears, you would still see mostly static. Meaning that even if transmissions from other worlds were out there in the Radio spectrum, the signal would probably be so weak we might not be able to pick it up.

So I'm thinking that any other species out there that has developed as far as we are, but hasn't developed FTL space travel is probably never going to hear from any other species unless they just happen to develop very close together, because light and radio communications are just not powerful enough to be used over any interstellar distance. Even just talking to Voyager 1 takes 24 hours for us and it's barely outside our solar system.

Further, any species advanced enough to have FTL travel is going to have to have developed communications that work at FTL speeds. And we're just now barely starting to fathom the most nascent concepts of what might possibly make that work. Like using quantum entanglement to send data, which we have done, but only just and in a very, VERY limited way.

Point here being that right now we probably don't even have anything like the technology to listen for interstellar communications between other species. So even if there are species all over the galaxy chatting back and forth, I'm thinking we just don't have anything like the tech needed to listen.

It's entirely possible we're the equivalent of someone trying to use a cup on a string to listen to someone else's cellphone conversation. No matter how hard we try, we just don't have the tech to hear.

Monday’s comic: oops!

Any second now.

Current Mood: photographical
Current Location: 'ere

Strasbourg. St Thomas's church

Another Protestant church

The church preserves it's old organ console which was played by both the young Mozart (R) and Albert Schweitzer.

( More pics )

(no subject)

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

10/17/25 - 10/20/25

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

* "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:"

( Embed: )

* 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:"

( Embed: )

* "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:"

( Embed: )

* "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

* 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: )

AWS outage

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.

Entry tags:

identity: ace

Story of The Split

Story of The Split is a zine about ace community history and a breakdown in community memory that has kept many people in the dark about the origin of the term “split attraction model.”

This zine is available in three formats: 1) a PDF for reading digitally, 2) a PDF intended for printing and folding, and 3) a webpage for reading online.

10/13/25 - 10/17/25 I Would Love 2 Million plus Protesters for my Birthday

* 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

* 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: )

Current Mood: photographical
Current Location: 'ereabouts

Another church

The church of St Pierre le jeune (St Peter the younger) which is now a protestant church although much older than that faith.

An image of the nations (ironically, all the catholic ones)

( See more! )

Friday's comic

https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20251017

Ah, the Wile E. Coyote maneuver!

Current Mood: drained
Current Location: Central Florida
Current Music: Rammsteiin, 'Zieig dich"

To suffer in silence

Sorry I've been pretty quiet lately, but I've been going through some shit. I don't usually bring up my health issues, mental or physical but I've had to deal with them both over the last few weeks.
I typically look to October as one of my favorite months. I"m usually pretty into Halloween and love the vibes of it. (And I have to admit, I love scaring people.) But the last few years October has been pretty traumatic for me. And unfortunately, this year wasn't an exception. I'm doing better now though, so hopefully I can be around more.

That said, I am now trying to do more to get back into the Halloween vibe. Hopefully I can salvage the rest of the season.

If you've read this far, I hope you're having a great day, and a great Halloween season if you're into it.

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