Notices by Kim Possible (kimlockhartga@beige.party)

Didn't expect to hear about "Woke sandwich fillings," but here we are.

We already know from his own team that when he was a Navy Seal, Pete Hegseth stabbed a sedated teenager to death. So, it doesn't take too much imagination to believe that he would drug and rape a sedated woman.

Abusers have patterns.

Trump’s Pick to Lead U.S. Military Has Tattoos Linked to White Supremacists and Nazis | Democracy Now!

https://www.democracynow.org/2024/11/14/headlines/trumps_pick_to_lead_us_military_has_tattoos_linked_to_white_supremacists_and_nazis

@bookstodon I will be so glad when the new bookcase arrives in December, because this one is getting out of control.

@sebastianmalloy @bookstodon aw, shucks

My cousin is terrified. She lives in the high desert of California.

She says: "Here in SoCal the winds are 40 gusting to 75, humidity is under 10, fires all around us, earthquakes, and a worthless piece of shit will be the next president. Apocalyptic!"

So many people know that they are about to be in significant danger with no federal help.

The stock market is up? Can someone explain this? Is it because corporations expect big tax breaks?

I better not hear anyone blaming Black or Brown people for this. White people did this.

@kaia it was in 2021, but this is still priceless.

I keep hearing about the formational influences of terrible fathers and grandfathers on their terrible progeny (Trump, Musk, Mel Gibson, et al.). Okay. Fine. It's not nothing. It explains a little of why they are the way they are. But, this feels too much like an excuse for bad behavior. I see this rationale applied almost exclusively to powerful, wealthy, privileged white men.

Both sets of my grandparents were full-on racist, judgemental, physically and emotionally abusive, unusually cruel people. My grandfather used to brag about how he killed a man and got away with it.

However, both my mother and I fought against those patterns, and had to establish for ourselves how we saw the world, our compassion and empathy for others, and what constitutes a healthy relationship (because the opposite was modeled for us). It was exceedingly difficult for my mom, but she made it easier for me by deciding to be the exact opposite of her parents. I was able to see the contrast quite vividly.

So, I never want to hear "Well, it's just his generation."

Even my dad was able to crawl out of that toxicity, though much later in life My mom was way ahead of her time, actively rejecting racism and sexism, and even defending trans kids in the 60s. I never saw anyone else that brave back then.

*steps off soapbox*

All your friends and acquaintances who hail from the U.S. of A. are bracing for potential political violence and/or upheaval, so we might seem a bit insane and particularly keyed up from here up to January 20th. Apologies in advance.

@RickiTarr it totally works! The highly progressive church I used to go to had a very practical approach to everything, especially helping the unhoused. We fixed up two private apartments in the church building, provided each living space with basic needs, and helped them gain employment and manage a budget. Each apartment housed a single mother and usually one child. The residents paid monthly rent.

Having an address and a safe place to stay are crucial components to success. The program for each resident lasted 13 months. At the end of the year, we helped them find housing of their own, and returned to them every dollar of the rent they paid. The success of the program was extraordinary.

I love that around here, you can talk earnestly about almost any passionate interest of yours, and find someone else who shares your interest and is also excited to talk about it. No one makes fun of you.

It's refreshing.

@bookstodon Of all the great Tom Gauld cartoons, and there are many (BAKING WITH KAFKA being my favorite collection) this one still cracks me up every time I see it!

I was looking at maternal mortality rates for the U.S. and of the top ten worst states, the first eight are all in the South, where abortion care is the most restricted. It's criminal.

By my count, devastating floods on FOUR continents in a single week.

https://thinc.blog/2024/09/16/storm-without-a-name-carolinas-1000-year-flood/

This is so cool! Through the nonprofit called David's Chair, my Aunt was able to use an all-terrain wheelchair for free, and to enjoy the Oregon coast with her family. https://davidschair.org/

Unpopular Opinion: #CollegeFootball

There are 12 games in a season.
There are 12 teams in SEC conf.
You should play all 12 teams.

There are justifications (local rivalries) for nonconference play, but it seems a shame to miss some power matchups in the regular season.

What say you?

Also, I'm watching the UAB vs. Arkansas game, and I think it would be good to whistle any play dead when a player's helmet comes off. I hope that kid will be okay, but after his helmet was knocked off, the play continued and he was tackled and landed on his head. He did raise his hand up from the stretcher to let everyone know that he might be okay.

PRODUCE HOUND gives this year's crop of late summer orange cherry tomatoes a vigorous FiVE out of FIVE Barks! I think they are Sungolds. They are firm, even when ripe, and bursting with flavor.