Notices by Augie Ray (augieray@mastodon.social)

When Republicans in their 30s get caught supporting Hitler in a group chat, conservatives call them “kids.”

When underage girls get sexually abused by Trump's friends (and probably Trump), conservatives call them “young women.”

The language tells you everything you need to know about GOP morality and family values.

Don't call immigrants "illegal aliens."
Chicago mayor, Brandon Johnson, did a great job responding when asked about "illegal aliens" in his city:

“We don’t have illegal aliens. The legal term for my people were slaves. You want me to use that term, too? So, look, let’s just get the language right. We are talking about undocumented individuals that are human beings. The last thing I’m going to do is accept that type of racist, nasty language to describe human beings.”

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/brandon-illegal-alien-chicago-rcna240126

Do people not really realize what a bad idea a 50-year mortgage is?

At 5.98% interest on a $320,000 loan, the reduction in monthly payment is only $235 ($2,289.45 vs $2,054.77).

Meanwhile, over the lifetime of the loan, the additional interest payments are almost $320,000 greater ($369,201.62 vs $687,860.46)!

A 50-year mortgage is a way to ensure that fewer people build equity and pay a LOT more interest.

Tom Hanks was photographed wearing a mask on the NY subway this week. He was on the Late Show and was asked about it. He said he wasn't trying to go incognito. In fact, he's doing a play and cannot get sick, and he added, “I’ve had #COVID19 enough. I don’t want to do that again.”

At some point, before more of us have chronic impairments from repeated reinfections, I hope more of you will have had COVID enough and may wear a mask when you can, particularly during surges of infections.

Very brief update on #COVID19 in the U.S. Highlights:

- CDC data not available due to gov't shutdown
- Other data suggests we're at the lowest level of COVID in wastewater and the positive rate of testing in years.
- Risks should remain low until Thanksgiving, then rise 500% to 750% before January.

https://medium.com/@augieray_66704/u-s-covid-viral-activity-declines-to-lowest-level-in-over-three-years-update-for-october-31-2025-b30a5c5a08dc

MAGA chanted "Lock her up" for Hillary's imagined crimes, then elected a felon who pardons other felons.

MAGA screamed about a fake pizza restaurant pedophile ring while supporting GOP efforts to protect pedophiles in the Epstein files.

MAGA griped about inflation but is silent as Trump increases prices.

MAGA wanted to drain the swamp, but doesn't care when the Trump administration takes bribes and profits from their offices.

How much personal pain does MAGA want to endure to support Trump?

The President of the United States posted an AI video of himself dumping feces on Americans.

Christians are attacking the Pope for saying we should care for the poor and not blame them.

The GOP leader of the House has the House adjourned for 77 out of the last 89 days to avoid swearing in a Democrat and prevent a vote to release the Epstein files.

The federal government has lied to judges three dozen times this year to prevent justice.

(1/2)

The US military has committed war crimes by bombing boats in international waters and has been unable to provide evidence these boats were engaged in drug trafficking.

At least 21 rural hospitals had closed or stopped providing inpatient services by mid-to-late 2025, and a third of rural hospitals are at risk of closing.

Stop pretending we have some reasonable differences on policies and start treating what's happening as a battle of fundamental values.

(2/2)

A few of my favorite signs from today's #NoKings march in Milwaukee, WI. It was a huge, peaceful, and diverse turnout!

I'd give anything to hear you say it one more time
That the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes

Gorgeous song by Sleeping at Last. #bedtimemusic

https://youtu.be/yYdLGZN4-MM?si=jPvFdobFOL9qL7Wt

As of September 2025, the 400 richest Americans are worth a record $6.6 trillion, exceeding the wealth held by the bottom half of Americans.

If Republican voters could be objective, they'd realize the enemy isn't the poor, gay, or immigrant person next to them but the powerful people increasingly taking a larger share of wealth. And then maybe they'd stop voting for the party of tax cuts for the wealthy and benefit cuts for average Americans.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2025/09/09/the-2025-forbes-400-list-of-wealthiest-americans-facts-and-figures/

When your grandkids ask what you did when democracy and the rule of law was threatened, what will you say?

Will you say you used your voice in social media to inform, or that you didn't want to risk your relationships to do so?

Will you say you contacted your representatives to express yourself, or that you didn't think that mattered?

Will you say you marched for a righteous cause, or that you were too busy?

I plan to be at #NoKings rally on October 18. Will you?

https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/

Brought to you by the same people who screamed that Bill Gates was going to track you using nanobots in vaccines. 🙄

Accurate depiction of the situation.

GOP Bible:
“For I was hungry and you cut food aid, I was thirsty and you rescinded safe water regulation, I was a stranger and you deported me.”

Playing Monopoly is fun. Crushing your opponents by owning all the properties and controlling all the money feels good. But it's a game, and maybe we missed the point of it.

The game teaches us that everyone loses when one person controls too much wealth and power. Do we want an economy where no one but Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg gets to pass Go?

“I’m just waiting for a negative test, so I can leave my house and get on a plane and travel. I don’t want to put anybody at risk. I’m definitely disappointed — bummed out that I’m not able to be there with the team and get this ball rolling. As a leader, I don’t feel good about this, but at the end of the day, this is life.”

- Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo on missing the team's media day

https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/breaking-news/article/giannis-antetokounmpo-not-in-attendance-at-media-day-because-of-covid-but-addresses-talk-about-his-bucks-future-174154952.html

Watching Hegseth and Trump today, I'm struck by their superficial concept of masculinity. It's so obvious they are terrified of being perceived as weak, so they convey a cartoonish version of masculinity that emphasizes anger, violence, and intimidation. But in your life, the most masculine men you know are confident, courageous, and independent. Men who put others down and strut around like puffed-up peacocks only project their fear and frailty. They are the least masculine men on the planet.

Distract. Distract. Distract.

Every time someone tells me they haven't had #COVID19 and that they're genetically immune to it, I think of all the studies I've read about asymptomatic infections.

This study found "Despite only 118 (48.2%) of participants reporting a prior positive COVID-19 test, 210 (85.7%) tested positive for anti-nucleocapsid antibodies, underscoring a high rate of undiagnosed or asymptomatic infections."

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1667392/full