Notices by Mercedes Allen (mercedesallen@mastodon.social)

"A French court found Marine Le Pen guilty on Monday in an embezzlement case, with a sentence that barred her from public office for five years…

"… Prosecutors also sentenced her to two years of house detention with an electronic bracelet…"

Marine Le Pen found guilty of embezzlement, barred from running in 2027 France election | CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/france-le-pen-verdict-1.7497734?cmp=rss

"I want to be very clear: I am speaking about my discomfort to help you understand that these are not easy changes to make as a parent. But my discomfort at having to find new words is a grain of sand compared to what it was like for my son to have been pretending he was someone other than himself..."

The GOP is committing genocide against trans people. My sweet, caring son doesn't deserve this. - LGBTQ Nation
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/03/the-gop-is-committing-against-trans-people-my-sweet-caring-son-doesnt-deserve-this/

"SiegedSec disbanded in July of last year after a high-profile hack against the right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation…

"The group was also known for targeting NATO, companies in Israel, & religious organizations critical of transgender rights…"

Furry Hackers Fear Leader Raided by FBI
https://www.dailydot.com/debug/furry-hackers-fbi-raided/

"... they do not believe that the stories of... [overcoming] discrimination... are important. In fact, they want to erase all traces of that discrimination and adversity altogether and pretend it never happened. They want to pretend that the world is a meritocracy where white men just happen to be the best..."

Taking down Jackie Robinson reveals what the fight against DEI is all about | Salon.com
https://www.salon.com/2025/03/21/taking-down-jackie-robinson-reveals-what-the-fight-against-dei-is-all-about/

"ICE and DOGE are not engaged in hotheaded overreach. They are testing the limits to see how far they can go. If the abuses go unchecked, they will become normalized - and worse will follow..."

MY WARNING TO CANADIANS: DO NOT TRAVEL TO TRUMP LAND
https://charlieangus.substack.com/p/my-warning-to-canadians-do-not-travel

Dems so cute telling Americans to look toward 2028...

"Two of the agencies subject to this new system are the Federal Election Commission (FEC)... and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)..."

Independent Agencies Oversee Elections and Media. Trump’s Seizing Their Reins. | Truthout
https://truthout.org/articles/independent-agencies-oversee-elections-and-media-trumps-seizing-their-reins/

Protest still works.

"The signs didn’t last 24 hours. 'Biological' was blacked out with spray paint. Others were covered up with creative alternatives — a Monopoly-style poster that said 'BATHROOM - WHO CARES - JUST GO;' a rallying cry to 'bring back our bathrooms,' a utilitarian 'go piss girl' meme (the 'girl' is regarded as gender neutral)..."

University of Cincinnati Protests Lead to "Biological" Bathroom Signs Reversal
https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/university-of-cincinnati-protests

"The memo goes on to state that applicants 'misrepresenting their purpose of travel or sex' could be targeted for permanent ineligibility..."

Marco Rubio May Have Just Banned Trans Foreigners Seeking Visas From US Entry
https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/marco-rubio-may-have-just-banned

America, your time to protest is now.

In a few months, when Trump's people march in to arrest AOC, Bernie et al for supporting the "riots," Hakeem Jefferies, Schumer and other Dems will still be standing impotently by, telling you to vote in 2028.

Your time to protest is now.

In true disaster capitalist fashion, a hedge fund is building a monopoly on fire trucks, "doubling the sticker price... to more than a million dollars each... [& increasing] delivery time... from about a year to as a long as four years" (to ratchet up demand).

Fires are inevitable. Letting private equity speculators profit from fires is not. - Alternet.org
https://www.alternet.org/fire-profit/

"'Mr. Trump has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country and it is a real thing. In my conversations with him on…,' Trudeau said, before the microphone cut out..."

Trudeau tells business, labour leaders at economic summit Trump's 51st state threat 'is a real thing' | CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-trump-economy-summit-1.7452748

"[Orbán moved] so swiftly to remove all formal checks on his power that few... understood how much power he was accruing...

"... By the time he was up for reelection... the opposition barely had a chance. In hindsight, the first year may have been the entire ballgame..."

The Trump-Musk power grab has happened before — in Hungary | Vox
https://www.vox.com/politics/398068/trump-musk-power-grab-hungary-orban

@MissGayle @inthehands I don't mean engaging in discriminatory efforts against minority groups. That hurts the wrong people.

Get in their circles and make them want things that hurt each other. "Free speech" is one area of contradiction that we can make particularly fraught for them.

@MissGayle @inthehands Maybe that's a personal limit. Sending texts like that to people of colour might make your point, but it's also a microaggression on individuals who don't need it (and probably already get plenty). Even if they're staunch Trump voters, they'll find out soon enough.

I'd rather focus on diehard conservatives and interest groups

"Going high" has failed. Want to fight fascism?

(Pass it on.)

The MAGA cult is built upon a myriad of special interests that traditionally don't play well together.

Find the fault lines. Poke at them relentlessly.

Pass it on.

"Norms" and "resistance" failed. The road to defeating fascism begins with subterfuge. Play dirty. Be as cynical as the crisis you face.

If you give people something to believe in (which, to be clear, Dems didn't), they will abandon it the moment it becomes difficult or it doesn't look how they envisioned.

If you give people someone to hate, they will cling to hatred as though it gives their lives meaning.

Shouldn't universal health care be a *plus*?!?

Trump threatens that Kamala will provide it, and she *runs* from it...

"A Harris’ spokesperson told NBC News 'The VP will not push single payer as president...'"

#NotTheOnion

Trump warns that if Kamala Harris wins, "everybody gets health care" | Salon.com
https://www.salon.com/2024/08/16/warns-that-if-kamala-harris-wins-everybody-gets-health-care/

Yet another reminder that when they talk about "parents' rights," they mean the rights of *this kind of parent* to be horrible to trans kids (not just their own, for that matter) and make their lives a living hell.

Elon Musk claims his trans daughter is dead because she transitioned - LGBTQ Nation
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/07/elon-musk-claims-his-trans-daughter-is-dead-because-she-transitioned/