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Code deploy happening shortly

Per the dw_news post regarding the MS/TN blocks, we are doing a small code push shortly in order to get the code live. As per usual, please let us know if you see anything wonky.

There is some code cleanup we've been doing that is going out with this push but I don't think there is any new/reworked functionality, so it should be pretty invisible if all goes well.

Mississippi site block, plus a small restriction on Tennessee new accounts

A reminder to everyone that starting tomorrow, we are being forced to block access to any IP address that geolocates to the state of Mississippi for legal reasons while we and Netchoice continue fighting the law in court. People whose IP addresses geolocate to Mississippi will only be able to access a page that explains the issue and lets them know that we'll be back to offer them service as soon as the legal risk to us is less existential.

The block page will include the apology but I'll repeat it here: we don't do geolocation ourselves, so we're limited to the geolocation ability of our network provider. Our anti-spam geolocation blocks have shown us that their geolocation database has a number of mistakes in it. If one of your friends who doesn't live in Mississippi gets the block message, there is nothing we can do on our end to adjust the block, because we don't control it. The only way to fix a mistaken block is to change your IP address to one that doesn't register as being in Mississippi, either by disconnecting your internet connection and reconnecting it (if you don't have a static IP address) or using a VPN.

In related news, the judge in our challenge to Tennessee's social media age verification, parental consent, and parental surveillance law (which we are also part of the fight against!) ruled last month that we had not met the threshold for a temporary injunction preventing the state from enforcing the law while the court case proceeds.

The Tennesee law is less onerous than the Mississippi law and the fines for violating it are slightly less ruinous (slightly), but it's still a risk to us. While the fight goes on, we've decided to prevent any new account signups from anyone under 18 in Tennessee to protect ourselves against risk. We do not need to block access from the whole state: this only applies to new account creation.

Because we don't do any geolocation on our users and our network provider's geolocation services only apply to blocking access to the site entirely, the way we're implementing this is a new mandatory question on the account creation form asking if you live in Tennessee. If you do, you'll be unable to register an account if you're under 18, not just the under 13 restriction mandated by COPPA. Like the restrictions on the state of Mississippi, we absolutely hate having to do this, we're sorry, and we hope we'll be able to undo it as soon as possible.

Finally, I'd like to thank every one of you who's commented with a message of support for this fight or who's bought paid time to help keep us running. The fact we're entirely user-supported and you all genuinely understand why this fight is so important for everyone is a huge part of why we can continue to do this work. I've also sent a lot of your comments to the lawyers who are fighting the actual battles in court, and they find your wholehearted support just as encouraging and motivating as I do. Thank you all once again for being the best users any social media site could ever hope for. You make me proud and even more determined to yell at state attorneys general on your behalf.

Mississippi legal challenge: beginning 1 September, we will need to geoblock Mississippi IPs

I'll start with the tl;dr summary to make sure everyone sees it and then explain further: As of September 1, we will temporarily be forced to block access to Dreamwidth from all IP addresses that geolocate to Mississippi for legal reasons. This block will need to continue until we either win the legal case entirely, or the district court issues another injunction preventing Mississippi from enforcing their social media age verification and parental consent law against us.

Mississippi residents, we are so, so sorry. We really don't want to do this, but the legal fight we and Netchoice have been fighting for you had a temporary setback last week. We genuinely and honestly believe that we're going to win it in the end, but the Fifth Circuit appellate court said that the district judge was wrong to issue the preliminary injunction back in June that would have maintained the status quo and prevented the state from enforcing the law requiring any social media website (which is very broadly defined, and which we definitely qualify as) to deanonymize and age-verify all users and obtain parental permission from the parent of anyone under 18 who wants to open an account.

Netchoice took that appellate ruling up to the Supreme Court, who declined to overrule the Fifth Circuit with no explanation -- except for Justice Kavanaugh agreeing that we are likely to win the fight in the end, but saying that it's no big deal to let the state enforce the law in the meantime.

Needless to say, it's a big deal to let the state enforce the law in the meantime. The Mississippi law is a breathtaking state overreach: it forces us to verify the identity and age of every person who accesses Dreamwidth from the state of Mississippi and determine who's under the age of 18 by collecting identity documents, to save that highly personal and sensitive information, and then to obtain a permission slip from those users' parents to allow them to finish creating an account. It also forces us to change our moderation policies and stop anyone under 18 from accessing a wide variety of legal and beneficial speech because the state of Mississippi doesn't like it -- which, given the way Dreamwidth works, would mean blocking people from talking about those things at all. (And if you think you know exactly what kind of content the state of Mississippi doesn't like, you're absolutely right.)

Needless to say, we don't want to do that, either. Even if we wanted to, though, we can't: the resources it would take for us to build the systems that would let us do it are well beyond our capacity. You can read the sworn declaration I provided to the court for some examples of how unworkable these requirements are in practice. (That isn't even everything! The lawyers gave me a page limit!)

Unfortunately, the penalties for failing to comply with the Mississippi law are incredibly steep: fines of $10,000 per user from Mississippi who we don't have identity documents verifying age for, per incident -- which means every time someone from Mississippi loaded Dreamwidth, we'd potentially owe Mississippi $10,000. Even a single $10,000 fine would be rough for us, but the per-user, per-incident nature of the actual fine structure is an existential threat. And because we're part of the organization suing Mississippi over it, and were explicitly named in the now-overturned preliminary injunction, we think the risk of the state deciding to engage in retaliatory prosecution while the full legal challenge continues to work its way through the courts is a lot higher than we're comfortable with. Mississippi has been itching to issue those fines for a while, and while normally we wouldn't worry much because we're a small and obscure site, the fact that we've been yelling at them in court about the law being unconstitutional means the chance of them lumping us in with the big social media giants and trying to fine us is just too high for us to want to risk it. (The excellent lawyers we've been working with are Netchoice's lawyers, not ours!)

All of this means we've made the extremely painful decision that our only possible option for the time being is to block Mississippi IP addresses from accessing Dreamwidth, until we win the case. (And I repeat: I am absolutely incredibly confident we'll win the case. And apparently Justice Kavanaugh agrees!) I repeat: I am so, so sorry. This is the last thing we wanted to do, and I've been fighting my ass off for the last three years to prevent it. But, as everyone who follows the legal system knows, the Fifth Circuit is gonna do what it's gonna do, whether or not what they want to do has any relationship to the actual law.

We don't collect geolocation information ourselves, and we have no idea which of our users are residents of Mississippi. (We also don't want to know that, unless you choose to tell us.) Because of that, and because access to highly accurate geolocation databases is extremely expensive, our only option is to use our network provider's geolocation-based blocking to prevent connections from IP addresses they identify as being from Mississippi from even reaching Dreamwidth in the first place. I have no idea how accurate their geolocation is, and it's possible that some people not in Mississippi might also be affected by this block. (The inaccuracy of geolocation is only, like, the 27th most important reason on the list of "why this law is practically impossible for any site to comply with, much less a tiny site like us".)

If your IP address is identified as coming from Mississippi, beginning on September 1, you'll see a shorter, simpler version of this message and be unable to proceed to the site itself. If you would otherwise be affected, but you have a VPN or proxy service that masks your IP address and changes where your connection appears to come from, you won't get the block message, and you can keep using Dreamwidth the way you usually would.

On a completely unrelated note while I have you all here, have I mentioned lately that I really like ProtonVPN's service, privacy practices, and pricing? They also have a free tier available that, although limited to one device, has no ads or data caps and doesn't log your activity, unlike most of the free VPN services out there. VPNs are an excellent privacy and security tool that every user of the internet should be familiar with! We aren't affiliated with Proton and we don't get any kickbacks if you sign up with them, but I'm a satisfied customer and I wanted to take this chance to let you know that.

Again, we're so incredibly sorry to have to make this announcement, and I personally promise you that I will continue to fight this law, and all of the others like it that various states are passing, with every inch of the New Jersey-bred stubborn fightiness you've come to know and love over the last 16 years. The instant we think it's less legally risky for us to allow connections from Mississippi IP addresses, we'll undo the block and let you know.

8/16/25 - 8/22/25 The Downward Spiral Away from Democracy

* Sort's a bit rough. News keeps moving too fast.

* "Israel's Smotrich launches settlement plan to 'bury' idea of Palestinian state:" https://archive.ph/1E2uR

* "Trump: Netanyahu’s a war hero — and ‘I am too’:" https://www.politico.eu/article/trump-netanyahus-a-war-hero-and-i-am-too/

* "Israel's Largest Protest in Over a Year Was a Clear Warning to Netanyahu. Will It Matter?:" https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/haaretz-today/2025-08-17/ty-article/.highlight/israels-largest-protest-in-over-a-year-was-a-clear-warning-to-netanyahu-will-it-matter/00000198-b94d-d658-ad9c-fb5f3f460000

* "Hamas accepts an Arab ceasefire proposal on Gaza as Palestinian death toll passes 62,000:" https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-gaza-war-news-hostages-protest-08-18-2025-f875326f9845f09a3b01bf676254222f

* "BBC witnesses Israeli settlers' attack on Palestinian farm in West Bank:" https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cewy88jle0eo

* "Who were the Al Jazeera journalists killed by Israel in Gaza?:" https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6200wnez73o

* "Israeli unit tasked with smearing Gaza journalists as Hamas fighters – report :" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/15/israeli-military-unit-reportedly-tasked-with-linking-journalists-in-gaza-to-hamas

* "Western journalists are failing to stand up for their colleagues in Gaza:" https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/16/israel-gaza-war-journalists

* "Press org CEO on journalist killings in Gaza: "We can't say we didn't know.":" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/press-org-ceo-on-journalist-killings-in-gaza-we-can-t-say-we-didn-t-know-245153861703

******

* "Two 70+ year-old men with unmoored morals meet in Anchorage, Alaska for...nothing:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/trump-putin-meeting-a-joke

* "Trump told Zelenskiy after summit that Putin wants more of Ukraine, source says:" https://archive.ph/mQ5r4

* "Europe is sending heavy hitters to Washington alongside Ukraine’s president to bolster Kyiv:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/16/trump-putin-meeting-europe-fallout-00512724

* "“He didn’t do anything tough:” Fmr. ambassador to Russia on Trump’s FAILURE to make deal with Putin:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/-he-didn-t-do-anything-tough-fmr-ambassador-to-russia-on-trump-s-failure-to-make-deal-with-putin-245153861521

* "Why Steve Witkoff Is Trump’s Master of Disaster:" https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/08/19/steve-witkoff-trump-putin-russia-ukraine-war-diplomacy/

* "Government papers found in an Alaskan hotel reveal new details of Trump-Putin summit:" https://www.npr.org/2025/08/16/nx-s1-5504196/trump-putin-summit-documents-left-behind

* "Trump pressures Zelenskyy ahead of high-stakes meeting:" https://www.politico.eu/article/trump-puts-pressure-on-zelenskyy-ahead-of-high-stakes-meeting/

* "Ukraine brings reinforcements to Trump meeting, hoping to avoid another White House fiasco:" https://www.nbcnews.com/world/ukraine/trump-zelenskyy-talks-ukraine-european-leaders-putin-russia-peace-rcna225534

* "If it means saving Ukraine and not caving to Putin, European leaders think the answer is kissing Trump’s a**:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/opinion-trump-zelenskyy-putin-europe

* "Four key takeaways from Ukraine talks in Washington:" https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yp4jggrj2o

* "Trump gives his ‘assurance’ for no US boots on the ground in Ukraine:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/19/trump-boots-security-ukraine-00513967

* "‘I want to try and get to heaven’: Trump gets reflective on ‘Fox & Friends’:" https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/i-want-to-try-and-get-to-heaven-trump-gets-reflective-on-fox-friends/

* "Russian missile hits Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region:" https://archive.ph/wcWBc

* "Unraveling claims Russia created online 'marketplace' for kidnapped Ukrainian children:" https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/08/19/ukrainian-children-marketplace-children/

* "Trump says Xi told him China will not invade Taiwan while he is US president:" https://archive.ph/ClTSL

* "A journey to belong: migrants describe ten years in Europe:" https://archive.ph/pBWLv

* "India's immigration raids send ripples through slums and skyscrapers alike:" https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crevjxgqwnjo#2

* "As Dubai cracks down on crowded, illegal apartments, migrant workers have nowhere else to go:" https://apnews.com/article/uae-dubai-partitioned-apartments-crackdown-poverty-housing-097f7ce61c851a040e77da3817620473

* "Firefighters in Indonesia respond to range of calls for help, highlighting service gaps :" https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-02/firefighters-in-indonesia-respond-to-range-of-calls-for-help/105592574

* "Five Years After Black Lives Matter, Brussels’ Colonial Statues Remain:" https://archive.ph/UcZao

* "The Trump Administration Is Promoting Its Anti-Trans Agenda Globally at the United Nations:" https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-un-anti-trans-agenda

* "The Trump Administration has killed America’s lifeline to the world:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/usaid-trump

* "US to cap tariffs on European cars, medicines at 15 percent :" https://www.politico.eu/article/us-cap-tariffs-eu-pharma-car-semiconductor-15-percent/

So they are keeping the 15% tax levied on Americans by Trump, which is far higher than not arbitrarily taxing Americans 15% for buying things from Europe.

This is not the win Republicans are pretending it is.

* "Trump calls on Fed board member Cook to resign after fraud accusation:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/20/trump-fed-powell-pulte-cook-resignation-00515878

* "Cartels may be able to target witnesses after major court hack:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/08/federal-court-hack-cartels-00500391

* "Trump administration is reviewing all 55 million foreigners with US visas for any violations:" https://apnews.com/article/trump-visas-deportations-068ad6cd5724e7248577f17592327ca4

* "Citizenship reviews now ask immigrants to show "positive contributions" to U.S.:" https://www.axios.com/2025/08/19/trump-immigration-citizenship-good-moral-character

* "Trump Cuts Off Medical Visas from Gaza After Laura Loomer Meltdown:" https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-gaza-laura-loomer-medical-visas-hospital-1235410184/

* "'Monstrous': Trump caves to Laura Loomer, cuts off medical lifeline for Gazan kids:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/-monstrous-trump-caves-to-laura-loomer-cuts-off-medical-lifeline-for-gazan-kids-245456965625

* "Immigration arrests dip in July, and activists hope they're partly responsible:" https://www.npr.org/2025/08/16/nx-s1-5504144/immigration-arrests-dip-in-july-and-activists-hope-theyre-partly-responsible

* "ICE To Buy Eye-Scanning Tech That Could Identify Migrants in Seconds:" https://www.newsweek.com/ice-eye-scanning-tech-immigration-2110063

* "His Former Company Got Caught Employing Undocumented Workers. Now He’s Profiting Off an Immigrant Detention Camp.:" https://www.propublica.org/article/nathan-albers-fort-bliss-immigration?

They have basically hired a human trafficker to help build an internment camp.

* CW: Sexual Abuse. "‘Horrific’: report reveals abuse of pregnant women and children at US Ice facilities:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/06/physical-sexual-abuse-pregnant-women-children-immigration-centers?

* "US military was deployed to LA protests despite low risk, general testifies:" https://archive.ph/YsQoZ

* "LA County judge denounces ICE arrest outside downtown courthouse:" https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/la-county-judge-denounces-ice-arrest-outside-downtown-courthouse/

* "Day laborer hit, killed fleeing Southern California immigration raid; protest follows:" https://ktla.com/news/local-news/immigration-raid-day-laborer-dies/

* "Andry Hernández Romero on surviving CECOT: 'They told us we would die there':" https://www.advocate.com/news/andry-hernandez-romero-exclusive-interview

* "Judge orders immediate release of gay Jamaican asylum seeker detained by ICE:" https://www.advocate.com/news/gay-asylum-seeker-released-ice

* "We won't 'stand down to this injustice': Former Trump voter fights back after ICE arrest:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/-we-will-not-stand-down-to-this-injustice-former-trump-voter-fights-back-after-ice-arrest-245173829686

* "An American toddler in foster care, a mom in ICE detention:" https://archive.ph/Is3K0

* "Masked ICE agents detain former Afghan interpreter who helped U.S. military:" https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/masked-ice-agents-detain-former-afghan-interpreter-helped-us-military-rcna220443

* "ICE Is Deporting Thousands With Minor Offenses — From Traffic Violations to Weed Possession:" https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/08/15/ice-georgia-traffic-stop-arrest-immigration

* "Meet the Native American tribe that beat the Trump administration in court -- for now:" https://abcnews.go.com/US/meet-native-american-tribe-beat-trump-administration-court/story?id=124390445

* "Dozens protest potential ICE detention facility near Walsenburg:" https://www.cpr.org/2025/08/15/walsenburg-possible-ice-detention-facility-protest/

* "ICE pepper sprays protesters and press at S.F. immigration court:" https://missionlocal.org/2025/08/ice-agents-pepper-spray-protesters-arrest-one-in-downtown-s-f/

* "Feds Make It a Crime to Give PPE to ICE Protesters:" https://theintercept.com/2025/07/23/feds-criminalize-protests-masked-ice/

* "At least 71 people faced criminal charges after LA protests over ICE raids:" https://lapublicpress.org/2025/08/ice-raids-la-arrests-charges/

* "Protesters rally at Los Angeles-area Home Depot locations against ongoing ICE raids:" https://abc7.com/post/protesters-rally-los-angeles-area-home-depot-locations-ongoing-ice-raids/17571581/

* "Opening of new migrant detention center in Texas met with protests:" https://abcnews.go.com/US/opening-new-migrant-detention-center-texas-met-protests/story?id=124760368

* "Wisconsin dairy workers strike to protest changes that could affect immigrants:" https://www.wpr.org/news/dairy-workers-immigrant-workers-strike-monroe-county-wisconsin

* "Pets end up in LA shelters after owners detained in immigration raids:" https://archive.ph/NH8Yv

* 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

*** Illegal MILITARY OCCUPATION OF D.C. ***

* "Trump’s Military Crackdowns Are Only Going to Get Worse:" https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-military-crackdown-get-worse-1235406382/

* "Bondi backs off initial order to take over D.C. police, issues new directive that keeps chief in place:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/dc-attorney-general-sues-trump-takeover-local-police-rcna225182

* "Trump backs off D.C. police takeover after court warning:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/trump-backs-off-d-c-police-takeover-after-court-warning-245112389935

* "West Virginia governor to deploy National Guard troops to US capital:" https://archive.ph/yOnyl

* "Some National Guard troops in Washington set to carry firearms:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/west-virginia-governor-deploys-national-guard-dc-trump-police-takeover-rcna225386

* "Teenagers in Washington, D.C., say the federal police takeover makes them feel unsafe:" https://www.npr.org/2025/08/16/nx-s1-5501528/federal-police-takeover-washington-dc-teenagers

* It's killing small businesses in Los Angeles too. "D.C. bar owners say Trump’s federal law enforcement crackdown is killing their business:" https://www.advocate.com/news/dc-business-struggle-trump-crackdown

* "Justice Department employee charged & fired after throwing Subway sandwich at federal law enforcement officer:" https://www.advocate.com/news/doj-employee-sandwich-assault

* "White House propaganda video shows SWAT team swarming D.C. home of DOJ employee charged for throwing sandwich:" https://www.advocate.com/news/white-house-crackdown-propaganda-video

* "Trump's Hostile Takeover of DC Backfires - The Hero We Need:"

( Embed: )

* "D.C. Residents Protest Trump's Federal Police Takeover Plan:" https://www.newsweek.com/dc-residents-protest-trumps-federal-police-takeover-plan-2114563

* "Why Trump forcing the homeless off the streets in D.C. won't help anything:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/why-trump-forcing-the-homeless-off-the-streets-in-d-c-won-t-help-anything-245153349899

* "‘Everything Alex Jones warned us about’: Rightwing podcaster blasts Trump DC takeover:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/-everything-alex-jones-warned-us-about-rightwing-podcaster-blasts-trump-dc-takeover-245543493977

* "Donald Trump announces he will personally patrol the ‘dangerous’ D.C. streets for ‘crime’ with the military:" https://www.advocate.com/news/trump-patrols-dc-streets

* "DC National Guard members actively training to carry pistols in capital mission:" https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/dc-national-guard-armed-m17-sig-sauer

* "Trump's D.C. 'crisis' enters 2nd week with more soldiers — and no exit strategy:" https://www.npr.org/2025/08/18/nx-s1-5505419/trump-washington-dc-crisis-national-guard

* "How Pretexts Work:" https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/how-pretexts-work

* "“Dog and pony show”: Baltimore Mayor Scott SLAMS Trump’s D.C. takeover as power grab.:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/-dog-and-pony-show-baltimore-mayor-scott-slams-trump-s-d-c-takeover-as-power-grab-245177413934

* "Trump’s Justice Department is investigating whether DC police officials falsified crime data:" https://apnews.com/article/trump-crime-data-rates-washington-police-7429711db32e2cd44c5b70504cacef40

* "Over 300 arrested during 10 days of federal law enforcement in DC:" https://krcrtv.com/news/nation-world/donald-trump-mpd-washington-dc-police-chief-pamela-smith-national-guard-why-is-trump-sending-troops-to-dc-protests-arress?photo=1

* "Federal officers detain, tackle moped driver amid Trump D.C. police crackdown:" https://archive.ph/hWxAD

* "Unidentified D.C. agents CAUGHT violently tackling food driver:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/unidentified-d-c-agents-caught-violently-tackling-food-driver-245173317827

* "Detentions of D.C. delivery drivers leave immigrant communities on edge:" https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dc-delivery-driver-detentions-spark-concern-fear-community-rcna225671

* "Fox News Star Pulled Over in Trump’s D.C. Crackdown:" https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-star-pulled-over-in-trumps-dc-crackdown/

* "One civilian injured in crash with D.C. National Guard military vehicle:" https://www.npr.org/2025/08/20/g-s1-83950/national-guard-dc-crash

* "Top White House officials turn to public appearances with troops as a tense Washington watches:" https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-washington-dc-police-a776f0764ef5528ec976604648f08c3f

* "How To Fight A Military Occupation:" https://www.bannedinyourstate.com/p/how-to-fight-a-military-occupation-d9e

* "Vance’s trip for burgers crashes into Trump’s DC takeover:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/20/jd-vance-protests-trump-washington-takeover-00516596

* "With more National Guard troops on the way to D.C., hundreds march in protest:" https://www.npr.org/2025/08/17/nx-s1-5504050/with-more-national-guard-troops-on-the-way-to-d-c-hundreds-march-in-protest

* "Photos, Videos Show 'Fight the Trump Takeover' Protests Across the Country:" https://www.newsweek.com/photos-videos-show-fight-trump-takeover-protests-across-country-2114596

* "D.C. resists Trump's takeover — in court and on the streets:" https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2025/08/17/trump-dc-takeover-protests-lawsuits

* "Top Dem slams Vance as Trump's 'loyal invertebrate supplicant':" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/top-dem-slams-vance-as-trump-s-loyal-invertebrate-supplicant-245175365526

*** ***

* "Trump again calls for release of ex-clerk guilty of Colorado election data breach:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/21/trump-colorado-election-clerk-prison

* "Jena Griswold fires back after Trump calls — again — for Tina Peters’ release and threatens ‘harsh measures’:" https://www.denverpost.com/2025/08/21/donald-trump-tina-peters-colorado-prison/

* "Trump says Putin agrees with him US should not have mail-in voting:" https://archive.ph/ALlpn

* "Trump vows to end use of mail-in ballots ahead of 2026 midterm election:" https://archive.ph/UaXav

Several states are mostly Mail In. Mine for example. There are a few polling places for people who need help, but we literally haven't had the infrastructure for all in person for decades.

Just in general people with Disabilities, elderly people, and people in rural areas in particular rely on mail in. Military members over seas and college students also rely on it. So do people living abroad.

I physically can't stand in line for hours like I used to.

There is nothing nefarious about mail in voting. This is about de-legitimizing election results and the entire idea of Democracy

Banning vote by mail is of course unconstitutional, but the majority on SCOTUS are partizan hacks entirely committed to Fascist Autocracy, so I don't have much faith in the Constitution protecting us.

* "Trump wants to stop states from voting by mail and using voting machines:" https://www.npr.org/2025/08/18/nx-s1-5506210/trump-mail-in-ballots-ban

* "Trump wants to stop people from voting by mail. Here's what it means for Washington:" https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/president-trump-wants-to-stop-people-from-voting-by-mail-washington-state/281-b9645b98-f21b-4d75-b0d6-665fde761804

* "Maddow: Three ways Trump is trying to rig the 2026 midterm elections:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/maddow-three-ways-trump-is-trying-to-rig-the-2026-midterm-elections-245249605685

* "Where’s JD Vance? VP takes eighth vacation in seven months :" https://thehill.com/opinion/lindseys-lens/5462066-jd-vance-vacation-days-criticism/

* "JD Vance can't escape the memes: 8 vacation in 7 months but protests haunt him:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/jd-vance-can-t-escape-the-memes-8-vacation-in-7-months-but-protests-haunt-him-245456453998

* "New York appeals court tosses Trump’s massive civil fraud judgment:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/21/new-york-civil-fraud-judgment-trump-ruling-00517727

* "Social Security Has Existed for 90 Years. It Now May Be More Threatened Than Ever:" https://news.wttw.com/2025/08/14/social-security-has-existed-90-years-it-now-may-be-more-threatened-ever

* "Gabbard slashing intelligence office workforce and cutting budget by over $700 million:" https://apnews.com/article/gabbard-intelligence-cuts-trump-e982e5364481d41a058e2bd78be4060f

* "Missouri attorney general set to share FBI’s No. 2 spot with Bongino:" https://www.semafor.com/article/08/18/2025/missouri-attorney-general-set-to-share-fbis-no-2-spot-with-bongino

* "Trump administration revokes security clearances of 37 current and former government officials:" https://apnews.com/article/trump-security-clearances-revoked-ad7f95a222ad9277452d2de995b70619

* "Air Force veteran stripped of retirement under Trump's transgender purge:" https://www.advocate.com/news/transgender-air-force-retirement-pulled

* "RFK Jr. Vowed to Find the Environmental Causes of Autism. Then He Shut Down Research Trying to Do Just That.:" https://www.propublica.org/article/rfk-jr-autism-environment-research-funding

* "Trump's war on harm reduction will cost LGBTQ+ lives:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/donald-trump-policies-harm-reduction

* "Messenger RNA could be the key to an HIV vaccine — but RFK Jr.'s cuts pose a threat:" https://www.advocate.com/health/mrna-hiv-vaccine-potential-rfk-jr

* "Trump quietly bans federal health insurance from covering gender-affirming care:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/federal-insurance-gender-affirming-care

* "Trump DOJ demands private medical information of transgender patients :" https://www.advocate.com/news/doj-subpoenas-doctor-notes

* "Trump administration denies federal funding to Virginia schools that treat trans students with dignity:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/trump-virginia-schools-transgender-dignity

* "Trump Administration Retracts Instructions on Helping English Learners:" https://archive.ph/EohzX

There isn't remotely enough funding and help for ELL students as it is. Getting rid of that harms not only the children's education and their families, but the communities in which the children live.

* "Eroding protections for public lands:" https://archive.ph/M5Y29

* "New Details Emerge on Fox Hosts’ Efforts to Bolster Trump in 2020:" https://archive.ph/GC1Le

* "All the President’s Tools:" https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-the-presidents-tools/id1583132133?i=1000718791222

* "Judge rules Alina Habba was unlawfully appointed as US Attorney in New Jersey:" https://archive.ph/Jn4KT

* "Judge plans Wednesday ruling on Alina Habba’s authority as New Jersey’s top prosecutor:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/15/alina-habba-nj-prosecutory-hearing-00512347

* "Crime is Legal In New Jersey (Because Alina Habba Is Terrible):"

( Embed: )

* "Judge issues injunction preventing FTC from investigating watchdog Media Matters:" https://archive.ph/QW1q5

* "More Than 14,000 Urge Harvard To Refuse Oversight and ‘Extortion’ From Trump:" https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/8/16/alumni-letter-trump-demands/

* "Jillian Michaels complains on CNN that Smithsonian teaches ‘just one race’ is responsible for U.S. slavery:" https://www.advocate.com/news/jillian-michaels-slavery-cnn

* "‘Capture the arts, capture culture’: Journalist compares Trump’s assault on history to Nazis:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/-capture-the-arts-capture-culture-journalist-compares-trump-s-assault-on-history-to-nazis-245154373778

* "Trump vows to target ‘woke’ museums with same playbook used on Columbia, Harvard:" https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/19/trump-smithsonian-museum-college-woke.html

* "Transgender park ranger who hung Trans Pride flag from El Capitan has been fired:" https://www.advocate.com/news/trans-park-ranger-flag-fired

**** Trump/Epstein/Maxwell, etc. CW: CSA ****

* "DOJ to start turning over Epstein files to Capitol Hill:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/18/doj-turning-over-epstein-files-capitol-hill-00513606

* "Judge denies Justice Department request to unseal Epstein grand jury transcripts:" https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-epstein-c148333f2618c92c0b9a87784c45a416

* "The Supreme Court Could Supercharge the GOP’s Redistricting Power Grab:" https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/rick-hasen-interview-trump-redistricting-power-grab-supreme-court.html

* "Justice Kavanaugh just revealed an unfortunate truth about the Supreme Court:" https://www.vox.com/scotus/458172/supreme-court-brett-kavanaugh-netchoice-fitch-donald-trump

* "Supreme Court lets Trump administration cut $783 million of research funding in anti-DEI push:" https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-nih-dei-320a6b3749bf56703b50739362d1238c

* "Gay Marriage Is On The Chopping Block:"

( Embed: )

* "Ohio requires buses for private school kids. Public school students have to find their own ride:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/11/ohio-private-charter-school-buses

* "Low-wage workers reeling over Trump’s looming Snap cuts as food prices rise:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/01/snap-food-stamps-trump-cuts?

* "Why the ladder to success was never meant to hold our weight:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/dei-in-corporate-america

* "Nancy Mace goes after nonexistent ‘trans mice’ research with new bill:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/nancy-mace-transgender-mice-bill

* 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/

* "Texas House approves GOP congressional map after two-week delay from Democrats’ walkout:" https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/20/texas-house-vote-congressional-map-redistricting-democrats-trump/

* "California Gov. Newsom signs legislation calling special election on redrawn congressional map:" https://apnews.com/article/california-texas-redistricting-congressional-map-4c22e21d5d4022d33a257045693b6fd4

* "‘When they go low, we squabble up’: California punches back after Texas rigs maps:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/-when-they-go-low-we-squabble-up-california-punches-back-after-texas-rigs-maps-245538885780

* "Texas is gerrymandering the only LGBTQ+ member of Congress from the South out of her seat:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/texas-gerrymanding-lgbtq-julie-johnson

*** Things before the Forced Vote Below ***

* "The Texas Quorum Drama Isn’t New — Involving the FBI Is:" https://archive.ph/qE2IY

* "Thousands join US ‘Fight the Trump Takeover’ protests against Republican redistricting plans:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/16/fight-trump-takeover-protests-texas-redistricting

* "Thousands rally at Texas Capitol against Republican-backed congressional redistricting plan:" https://www.keranews.org/news/2025-08-16/texas-austin-redistricting-rally-protest-capitol-congressional-maps

* "Texas House Democrats join Chicago anti-Trump protest in Loop:" https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/08/16/redistricting-protest/

* "'Complicit with Donald Trump': Texas Congressman blasts GOP redistricting:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/-complicit-with-donald-trump-texas-congressman-blasts-gop-redistricting-245153861553

* "'We have sounded the alarm': TX Dem on their redistricting fight:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/-we-have-sounded-the-alarm-tx-dem-on-their-redistricting-fight-245154373724

* "California Troll: Newsom Provokes Trump While Urging Dems to fight FIRE WITH FIRE:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/california-troll-newsom-provokes-trump-while-urging-dems-to-fight-fire-with-fire-245175365840

* "Texas Democrats return to the state, ending two-week standoff over redistricting:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/texas-democrats-return-state-ending-two-week-standoff-redistricting-rcna225243

* "Democratic lawmaker defies GOP 'permission slip,' vows to remain in Texas House chamber:" https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/house-democrats-redistricting-20822719.php

* "Crockett slams Texas GOP over 'bootleg permission slips’ used to track Dems:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/crockett-slams-texas-gop-over-bootleg-permission-slips-used-to-track-dems-245319237923

**** ****

* "The Democratic Party Faces a Voter Registration Crisis:" https://archive.ph/GtrQo

* "Debating Reality with Mehdi Hasan:" https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/debating-reality-with-mehdi-hasan/id1583132133?i=1000719963493

* "Obama’s surprise call to Zohran Mamdani revealed by NYT:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/obama-s-surprise-call-to-zohran-mamdani-revealed-by-nyt-245028421505

* " Far-right groups have taken over school boards. Here's how to take them back :" https://www.advocate.com/politics/school-board-how-get-involved

* "Broad trans bathroom ban passes Texas Senate in special session:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/texas-transgender-bathroom

* "New Texas law will make it easier to suspend homeless students:" https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/texas-suspend-homeless-students/

* "Texas bill would allow lawsuits over shipping abortion pills:" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-bill-lawsuit-abortion-pills/

* "Massachusetts lesbian Gov. Maura Healey signs abortion and gender-affirming care shield law:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/massachusetts-trans-abortion-shield-law

* "Medford becomes first in Mass. to divest from fossil fuels, human rights violators:" https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/medford-becomes-first-in-mass-to-divest-from-fossil-fuels-human-rights-violators/ar-AA1K2G2k

* "Judge appoints receiver to sell off Alex Jones’s Infowars assets to help pay Sandy Hook families:" https://apnews.com/article/alex-jones-infowars-sandy-hook-shooting-e4373ce5c5ff0206f5665e95dcc869e3

* "Alex Jones loses again; Infowars closer to liquidation:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/alex-jones-loses-again-infowars-closer-to-liquidation-245043781560

Short version:

He lost both defamation lawsuits a while back and they were planning to liquidate and the Onion was going to buy Infowars with the Sandy Hook families' blessings.

The problem is the Lawsuits were in two different jurisdictions. The families that got the better settlement were trying to set it up so the ones in the weaker jurisdiction got a better deal at their own expanse. Alex Jones' lawyers were able to use that split to stop the sale to the Onion and fuck around to slow the liquidation, basically.

So they had to go back to court to untangle the situation with two states being involved and how to liquidate to the satisfaction of both state courts.

Now the bidding starts again to buy the assets. It'll take a while.

This would have been sorted something like a year ago if Alex Jones weren't an infected asshole of a man, but he wouldn't have spent all these years tormenting the families of dead children if he weren't an absolute waste of skin.

A Reader asked if the Onion will still get Infowars. The answer is we doin't know, but the Onion intends to try.

* "Newsmax pays $67 million to settle defamation case linked to 2020 election coverage:" https://www.npr.org/2025/08/18/nx-s1-5506062/newsmax-pays-67-million-to-settle-defamation-case-linked-to-2020-election-coverage

* "Laura Loomer, in wild court testimony, says Trump staff told her Lindsey Graham is gay:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/laura-loomer-lindsey-graham-doug-emhoff

* "Eric Adams Advisor Winnie Greco Handed a CITY Reporter Cash Stuffed in a Bag of Potato Chips:" https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/08/20/winnie-greco-eric-adams-aide-attempted-cash-katie-honan-reporter/

* "American Nazis: The Aryan Freedom Network is riding high in Trump era:" https://www.reuters.com/investigations/american-nazis-aryan-freedom-network-is-riding-high-trump-era-2025-08-08/?

* "'It was a bloodbath': 3 dead in mass shooting at Brooklyn hookah bar:" https://gothamist.com/news/3-dead-in-mass-shooting-at-brooklyn-hookah-bar-nypd

* "Brutal arrest of Black student in Florida shows benefits of recording police from new vantage point:" https://apnews.com/article/william-mcneil-police-beating-video-jacksonville-driver-4243a4a87a89ae2ef99259144067c2e5

* "Chaos on New York’s Streets, Brought to You by the NYPD:" https://theintercept.com/2025/08/16/nypd-car-red-light-laws/

* "California cops are breaking surveillance laws. Who’s going to stop them?:" https://sfstandard.com/2025/07/23/california-police-sharing-flock-license-plate-data/

* "Texas Lawmakers Push ‘Massive Secrecy Grab’ to Shield Police Files:" https://www.texasobserver.org/secrecy-g-file-police-records-texas-legislature/

* "A Trip Through Hell:" https://www.thenation.com/article/society/solitary-confinement-christopher-blackwell/

* "Meet the 21-year-old Rhodes Scholar fighting for the wrongfully incarcerated:" https://www.advocate.com/print-issue/thriving-under-30-jenna-smith

* "For these incarcerated students, online school has been a disaster:" https://apnews.com/article/school-juvenile-detention-online-feb1368304e42855017af229890bff4c?

* "Trans people in Georgia prisons are being forced to detransition. Now they're suing.:" https://www.advocate.com/news/georgia-suit-over-forced-detransition

* "New study finds confined neurodivergent youth of color are particularly vulnerable to physical assault by staff:" https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2025/08/19/youth-victimization/

* "Target's CEO to step down after store's sluggish performance — and amid pro-LGBTQ+ pushback:" https://www.advocate.com/business/target-ceo-steps-down

* "West Texas A&M University's drag show ban blocked by appeals court:" https://www.advocate.com/law/texas-university-drag-ban-blocked

* The Republican War on truth continues. "Florida schools ‘hijacked by the left’ turn to anti-climate cartoons:" https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/09/in-desantis-florida-schools-get-ok-for-climate-denial-videos-ee-00109466

* "Florida teacher fired for using student's nickname won't get her job back:" https://www.advocate.com/news/florida-teacher-fired-nickname

* "Florida judge strikes down state law used to ban books: 'None of these books are obscene':" https://www.advocate.com/law/florida-book-ban-struck-down

* "The most banned author in America refuses to be silenced:" https://www.advocate.com/print-issue/banned-book-black-queer-author

* CW: CSA. "Child molester caught by sending victim message:" https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1mzmy0plrjo

* "Federal appeals court endorses Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for minors:" https://www.advocate.com/news/arkansas-gender-affirming-care-ban

* "Women in states with abortion bans are the biggest users of abortion telemedicine:" https://idahocapitalsun.com/2025/08/16/women-in-states-with-abortion-bans-are-the-biggest-users-of-abortion-telemedicine/

* "Texas woman charged with murder for abortion accuses police of 'maliciously abusing their power':" https://www.advocate.com/news/texas-abortion-police-qualified-immunity

* "‘YOU DECLINE, DO NOT ANSWER!’: Woman goes to Urgent Care. Then they ask her a question she’s never been asked before:" https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/you-decline-do-not-answer-woman-goes-to-urgent-care-then-they-ask-her-a-question-she-s-never-been-asked-before/ar-AA1JTZJr

* "Botswana’s queer lifelines are vanishing:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/lgbtq-botswana

* "Men caught kissing in Indonesia sentenced to public caning:" https://www.advocate.com/news/indonesia-sentenced-public-caning

* "Which country is about to implement a nationwide transgender bathroom ban?:" https://www.advocate.com/world/united-kingdom-transgender-bathroom-ban

* "Spain’s first out trans senator declares ‘F*** Rowling’ as she uses women’s bathroom:" https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/07/22/carla-antonelli-defies-proposed-uk-bathroom-ban/

* "Here's how many trans adults and kids live in the U.S., according to a new report:" https://www.advocate.com/news/how-many-trans-people-us

* "A majority of LGBTQ+ singles want to get married, especially those who grew up with marriage equality:" https://www.advocate.com/news/lgbtq-singles-marriage-equality

* "The fight to eradicate dangerous ‘conversion therapy’ isn’t over, alarming new report warns:" https://www.advocate.com/news/conversion-therapy-persists-map

* "Austin police misgender trans woman killed in Target parking lot shooting:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/austin-police-misgender-trans-woman-killed-in-target-parking-lot-shooting

* "Florida man faces trial for allegedly shooting Grindr date over bill:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/florida-man-shoots-grindr-date

* CW: Sexual Harrasment. "Lesbian teen cornered by server in bathroom and forced to prove gender files charges:" https://www.advocate.com/news/minnesota-cisgender-girl-restaurant-bathroom

* "Someone keeps throwing dog poop at an LGBTQ+ youth center in Los Angeles. Police need info:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/lgbtq-youth-center-la-vandalized

* "Volleyball player sues California university that revoked her scholarship for being trans:" https://www.advocate.com/sports/transgender-volleyball-player-sues-california

* "Another Florida city will defy state direction to erase Pride-themed crosswalks:" https://www.advocate.com/news/delray-beach-florida-rainbow-crosswalk

* "Florida threatens to blast rainbow crosswalks away if city governments won't do it:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/florida-threatens-blast-rainbow-crosswalks

* "BREAKING: Outrage after Florida quietly paints over Orlando Pulse shooting memorial:" https://www.advocate.com/news/rainbow-crosswalk-pulse-florida

* "NYC's West Village was the birthplace of Pride. Now it's a battleground for survival.:" https://www.advocate.com/exclusives/gentrification-lgbtq-nyc-west-village

* "Queer as in Fuck You:" https://azejournal.com/article/2024/12/22/queer-as-in-fuck-you

* "How Elon Musk turned his pain into policy—and targeted the trans community:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/elon-musk-daughter-vivian

* "No link between aluminum in childhood vaccines and chronic illnesses, Danish study found:" https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/aluminum-chronic-illness-childhood-vaccines/

* "What do we know about the Covid-19 virus five years on?:" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/07/what-do-we-know-about-the-covid-19-virus-five-years-on

* "COVID levels rising in much of U.S., with highest in West, CDC says:" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-wastewater-levels-rising-highest-west-cdc/?intcid=CNR-01-0623

* "The Pandemic Appears to Have Accelerated Brain Aging, Even in People Who Never Got Covid:" https://www.wired.com/story/the-pandemic-accelerated-brain-aging-even-in-people-who-never-got-covid/

* "Respiratory viral infections awaken metastatic breast cancer cells in lungs:" https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09332-0

* "The Monster at the Dinner Table Doctors are seeing rising cases of ARFID, a childhood disorder that shuts off the basic human instinct to eat.:" https://archive.is/iEr2z#selection-1525.0-1525.31

* "What the marshmallow test got wrong about child psychology:" https://psyche.co/ideas/what-the-marshmallow-test-got-wrong-about-child-psychology

* "Why Hasn’t Medical Science Cured Chronic Headaches?:" https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/18/the-headache-tom-zeller-jr-book-review?

* "He worked with artificial limbs for decades. Then a lorry ripped off his right arm. What happened when the expert became the patient?:" https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/aug/02/artificial-limbs-expert-patient-prosthetics?

* "Homes Still Aren’t Designed for a Body Like Mine:" https://archive.ph/hsLoX

* "Finger Amputations Are Surprisingly Common, and Toes May Be the Best Replacements:" https://www.discovermagazine.com/toes-are-the-surprising-winner-when-it-comes-to-treating-finger-amputations-47902?

* "Wheelchair Users Are Finally Winning the Right to Repair:" https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/08/power-wheelchair-duopoly-right-repair-law/

* "How an Ultra-Rare Disease Accelerates Aging:" https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/08/18/how-an-ultra-rare-disease-accelerates-aging#

* "The World Court says climate change is an ‘existential threat.’ Here’s what to do about it.:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/climate-change-existential-threat

* "The New Wave of Climate Imagination:" https://alexsteffen.substack.com/p/the-new-wave-of-climate-imagination

* "Feel sticky this summer? That's because it's been record muggy East of the Rockies:" https://phys.org/news/2025-08-sticky-summer-muggy-east-rockies.html

* "Europe scorched by wildfires – pictures from space:" https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2025/aug/14/europe-scorched-by-wildfires-pictures-from-space

* "A Fish Falls From the Sky and Sparks a Brush Fire in British Columbia:" https://archive.ph/nuUEW

* "Why did Russian mega earthquake not cause more tsunami damage?:" https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0l6pj7kjg7o?

* "In an Age of Climate Change, How Do We Cope with Floods?:" https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/07/28/in-an-age-of-climate-change-how-do-we-cope-with-floods

* "Twenty Years After the Storm:" https://archive.ph/mE3yG#selection-656.0-656.1

* "Hungry goat herds help fight fires in Spain's Catalonia:" https://archive.ph/DHrxj

* "See how aerosols loft through Earth’s sky:" https://www.sciencenews.org/article/aerosols-earth-sky-visualization

* "I Never Understood Our Data-Saturated Life Until a Hurricane Shut It Down:" https://archive.ph/FYcVO

* "A shocking record: Lightning bolt stretched 515 miles, crossed three states:" https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/shocking-record-lightning-bolt-stretched-515-miles-crossed-three-state-rcna221993

* "Yellowstone aspen showing signs of recovery following 1995 reintroduction of wolves to park:" https://news.oregonstate.edu/news/yellowstone-aspen-showing-signs-recovery-following-1995-reintroduction-wolves-park

* "Weird Things You Learn About Food When You Garden:" https://www.lastwordonnothing.com/2025/08/11/weird-things-you-learn-about-food-when-you-garden/

* " Helsinki just went a full year without a single traffic death :" https://www.politico.eu/article/helsinki-no-traffic-death-roads-eu-accident-finland-driving-transport/

* "For millions in US mobile home parks, clean and safe tap water isn’t a given:" https://apnews.com/article/mobile-homes-water-drinking-safety-health-12adbeeb1d880644b0fc85957b083fcd

* "Engineer Fixes and Installs Free Pay Phones in Parts of Rural Vermont Without Cell Service:" https://mymodernmet.com/randtel-free-payphones-vermont/?

* "A jury orders Tesla to pay more than $240 million in Autopilot crash:" https://www.npr.org/2025/08/02/nx-s1-5490930/tesla-autopilot-crash-jury-240-million-florida

* "The End of Tesla?:"

( Embed: )

* "Can modern LLMs actually count the number of b's in "blueberry"?:" https://minimaxir.com/2025/08/llm-blueberry/?

* "The AI powered Library Search That Refused to Search:" https://aarontay.substack.com/p/the-ai-powered-library-search-that

* " Meta’s flirty AI chatbot invited a retiree to New York. :" https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/meta-ai-chatbot-death/

* "After using ChatGPT, man swaps his salt for sodium bromide—and suffers psychosis:" https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/08/after-using-chatgpt-man-swaps-his-salt-for-sodium-bromide-and-suffers-psychosis/

* "Australian lawyer sorry for AI errors in murder case, including fake quotes and made up cases:" https://www.nbcnews.com/world/australia/australian-lawyer-sorry-ai-errors-murder-case-fake-quotes-made-cases-rcna225220

* "More than 130,000 Claude, Grok, ChatGPT, and Other LLM Chats Readable on Archive.org:" https://www.404media.co/more-than-130-000-claude-grok-chatgpt-and-other-llm-chats-readable-on-archive-org/

* "Your Face Tomorrow:" https://harpers.org/archive/2025/08/your-face-tomorrow-michael-clune-ai-facial-recognition/

* "Would you like an IDOR with that? Leaking 64 million McDonald’s job applications:" https://ian.sh/mcdonalds

* "Poor Passwords Tattle on AI Hiring Bot Maker Paradox.ai:" https://krebsonsecurity.com/2025/07/poor-passwords-tattle-on-ai-hiring-bot-maker-paradox-ai/

* "How we found TeaOnHer spilling users’ driver’s licenses in less than 10 minutes:" https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/13/how-we-found-teaonher-spilling-users-drivers-licenses-in-less-than-10-minutes/

* "Brits can get around Discord's age verification thanks to Death Stranding's photo mode, bypassing the measure introduced with the UK's Online Safety Act. We tried it and it works—thanks, Kojima:" https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/brits-can-get-around-discords-age-verification-thanks-to-death-strandings-photo-mode-bypassing-the-measure-introduced-with-the-uks-online-safety-act-we-tried-it-and-it-works-thanks-kojima/

* "Wikipedia loses Online Safety Act legal challenge:" https://www.thenational.scot/news/25380290.wikipedia-loses-online-safety-act-legal-challenge/

* "Meta appoints anti-DEI and anti-LGBTQ+ conspiracy theorist Robby Starbuck as AI bias advisor:" https://www.advocate.com/news/meta-robby-starbuck-ai-bias

* I beg you to quit Facebook. "Zuckerberg and Starbuck teaming up is great news for the future of bigoted, straight white men:" https://www.advocate.com/mark-zuckerberg-and-robby-starbuck-teaming-up-is-great-news-for-the-future-of-bigoted-white-straight-men

* "Substack’s Algorithm Accidentally Reveals What We Already Knew: It’s The Nazi Bar Now:" https://www.techdirt.com/2025/08/04/substacks-algorithm-accidentally-reveals-what-we-already-knew-its-the-nazi-bar-now/

* "Valve pushes back after Mastercard denies quashing adult content on game platforms:" https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/valve-pushes-back-after-mastercard-denies-quashing-adult-content-on-game-platforms

* "NSFW content row continues as Valve confirms PayPal no longer supports Steam purchases in some regions:" https://www.gamesindustry.biz/nsfw-content-row-continues-as-valve-confirms-paypal-no-longer-supports-steam-purchases-in-some-regions

* "SFW lesbian games wrongly axed in online stores' overeaching 'adult content' purge:" https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/itch-io-lesbian-games

* "Bluesky silenced trans voices over J.K. Rowling, here’s why:" https://www.advocate.com/transgender/bluesky-jk-rowling-2673905189

* "Forget copyright strikes, a retro gaming YouTuber faces possible jail time for reviewing gaming handhelds:" https://www.androidauthority.com/once-were-nerd-youtuber-copyright-lawsuit-3577995/

* "In search of riches, hackers plant 4G-enabled Raspberry Pi in bank network:" https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/07/in-search-of-riches-hackers-plant-4g-enabled-raspberry-pi-in-bank-network/

* "Clear skies on Mars as NASA rover captures one of the sharpest panoramas of the Red Planet ever taken:" https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/nasa-perseverance-rover-falbreen

* "Watch out for 'hordes' of tarantulas coming soon to these states:" https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/07/28/tarantula-mating-season-is-coming-brace-for-hordes-of-them/85276029007/

* "Cockatoos that feel the beat perform 30 distinct dance moves, study shows:" https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-07/cockatoos-have-unique-dance-moves-csu-study-finds/105600994?

* "‘Killed it on the spot’: Toddler bites cobra to death after it coiled around his hands:" https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/infant-bites-death-cobra-coiled-110505046.html

* "Tomatoes randomly mated with another plant 9 million years ago. The result? Potatoes.:" https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/evolution/tomatoes-randomly-mated-with-another-plant-9-million-years-ago-the-result-potatoes

* "How the cavefish lost its eyes — again and again:" https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/living-world/2025/how-the-cavefish-lost-its-eyes?

* "This bizarre ancient worm had spiky teeth and a retractable throat:" https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/grand-canyon-500-million-year-old-penis-worm-fossil?rid=9B8A108C20E98ED9C1E55C1A2BD40635

* "The Sea Slug Defying Biological Orthodoxy:"

* "Actor Terence Stamp, star of Superman films, dies aged 87:" https://archive.ph/wG70M

* "Terence Stamp’s iconic role in Priscilla was a beacon of hope for LGBTQ+ visibility in 1994:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/terence-stamps-priscilla-icon

* "James Dobson, the homophobic leader of Focus on the Family, dead at 89:" https://www.advocate.com/news/james-dobson-focus-family-dead

* A thing I wrote elsewhere in response to a prompt about what is the best time for one's birthday, etc.:

My birthday is in mid-October, and I believe that is perfect.

Every birthday of my childhood was a Halloween Party with costumes and Halloween based cake and themes. It was close enough to the holiday that it made sense to everyone, but far enough I wasn't competing. I could have both neighborhood friends and school friends. I was fine with celebrating on a Saturday, whatever day the birthday was, and who doesn't like Halloween cupcakes for school birthdays?

As an adult, we still do Halloween cake at the dinner party. We have secret pumpkins instead of a pile of gifts for me, which is fun for everyone.

I love October so much. I love crisp cool weather and turning leaves. I love all the lights and decorations. How wonderful to have my birthday in my favorite month of the year. It always feels like the whole month is basically my birthday.

* We are not where I'd like us to be ahead of the arrival of city contractors, but I think we've achieved all we can, honestly.

Poor New Millennial exhausted themselves working on the storage area behind my desk Sunday night. I achieved bare minimum every where else. There are things I'm worried about like the bathroom shelving, and did we clear enough from certain areas and is Squirrel's bathroom clean enough. They ran through so many mops, that I sacrificed mine (My mop, I can change the heads. They are also washable, but I do not want a head Squirrel has be subjecting to industrial cleaners. I think I have spare heads, I just need to dig them out.)

There are things I will need to do for Floor Guy and Electrician. There is still so much work to do for my room, even though it is reasonably comfy. I have a ton of stuff to do to get what passes for a living room orderly again.

The last load of laundry for who knows how long is running s I write this at not quite half past Midnight. I will try to conserve Tavy pads, but I am worried. Two days is hard; three is pushing it. Everything I could put in is in. I tricked Livia into letting me change the thin blerp pad on her window spot, as she'd shed on it extensively. I am stripped to my boxers.

I am desperate for a bath, but not with dishes and laundry using all the water. I will try to squeeze it in before morning though.

One of the advantages of me having cleared so many boxes is a lot of the good cat toys are now available to the Beasts. It's been an exciting couple of days as they rediscover favorites. We've been having Feather Time at least twice a day in my room.

I think I mentioned about a month ago that after a life time of zero interest in treats, Tavy's taken a sudden interest. He as a share most nights now.

He grew up on kibbles in a closed feral colony and one of my long term health worried for him is his not really liking wet food. My theory as to why he drinks more water than any cats I've ever lived with is that he's making up for his mostly dry food diet. Wet food is good for things like cat prostates. I tried depriving him of kibbles until he ate wet, but he would literally rather starve and he's so skinny anyway, so i gave up on the grounds it's cruel.

I long ago stopped giving him a share as it would just go to waste. He will occasionally nibble at Livia's leftovers, which is fine. She eats a third to a half a can a night which is enough for her health on top of the special high end kibbles she has to have. (All her food needs to be correct for health reasons, though the vet says she can have regular treats as long as the ingredients are safe for her). Her food is medicine for her, and it's generally healthy, so they eat the same things.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw him chowing down HARD on her leftovers. a couple nights later, I saw him doing it again. Like we aren't talking a small bite or two at most. He's been doing it most nights, hoovering up all the scraps she generally doesn't bother with around the edges, occasionally doing little raids usually after her second pass at her dinner.

Livia's never experienced food competition. She eats about half her portion when it first gets put out, then comes back for a second pass an hour or two later. Over the course of the rest of the evening, she takes little snacks. I think this and her fondness for cat grass is why she has such good digestion. Once she stopped growing, she started taking her time with food, letting it settle before going in for more.

I've been monitoring it. If it seems like she's not getting enough, I'll put more out, but right now, I'm just happy he's eating more wet food.

UPDATE: I kept doing bits of work between rests all night. I was just getting into the bath when I remembered I needed to unload the dishwasher before they come because they may be taking that today too. I still have more things to find temporary homes for as of 6AM. Sigh.

* Monday I learned the very unpleasant way that I'm not tolerating a new med very well. I was about 5 days in so that tracked. Sigh. Annoyingly, new meds were clearly working.

The nice City Contractors came and took my clothes washer away, hopefully for repair. I need to clean it's empty space. The new dishwasher looks like cylons made it and is alarmingly complex as to settings. They did a bunch of smaller things, including stuff in Squirrel's bathroom, but I haven't a full list as about halfway through I needed urgently to lie down in the dark.

They come back Tuesday after lunch.

* I am clearly recovering from the meds situation, though still getting after effects.

I went to bed early Monday night, which meant Livia had me all night, when she knows there will be no Contractors. She finally got to stretch out on her human for loves in her bed. She got three before dawn. When I was too queasy to sleep in the early morning, we had another long love and a much shorter one, 8ish. I think she just climbed on to see if she could, really. Then she was off to her day locations in case contractors.

I needed to pick up the books I forgot to pause and street park the car for the duration, so I left 10:30AMish. I went for perishables first as the library doesn't open 'til 11AM. Made it back around 11:15. I figured even odds the Contractors might cancel until they had an answer on the clothewasher, but I wanted to be home before noon just in case. I was too late for close my side of the street parking, but scored the best spot directly across the street right behind the no parking markings so I won't have to try to maneuver the beast out between other cars on a busy street.

They don't close the parking lot 'til next Monday, but with the normal street parkers, plus three extra buildings worth of cars, I wanted to get out there days early and while people were at work. A friend has promised to take me for peishables in their car Wednesday a week, so I won't be a week and a half in lock down.

I warned the Electrician's receptionist about parking. They are likely going to have to juggle to squeeze me in between bigger jobs as they wanted to start Monday. Floor Guy wants to come Tuesday, but I didn't know so haven't broken it to him yet.

General contractor guys decided to wait until the clothes washer is fixed to come back. It is a fairly easy fix, but needs a replacement part. Let us hope it's sorted by Friday, given the givens, as if it's not I'll have to manage a second week without washing Tavy's pads. I'm changing them as little as I can stand, but it's already starting to stink and Tavy is determinded. Contractor and City Guy are going to try to get some sort of filtration thingie approved as he thinks it's a sediment issue that caused the part to break. I premptively approved on my end in hopes of fast sign off by City Guy's boss. If it improvres quality and saves the washer future damage, I'm all for and there's hopes it's in budget if the replacement part isn't expensive.

I suspect they've a half a day's work left. The two small things left will be about 15 mins top, as one of them they are doing the assembly at their home base and one I know takes about 10 mins for skilled labour with power tools. The really annoying bit will be fixing the ventilation for squirrel's bathroom which the builder never bothered to connect to outside, which has created over the aprox. quarter century the building has been here a serious mold problem. I've no clue how long it will take, but I really am betting the four today are half a day. Floor guy likely won't take that long for his bit. I don't know if the smoke detectors are general contractor or election. I should probably ask next I talk to a contractor.

It's the electrician that will be a whole drama, and is the most essential. Outlets are burning out and I am worried about fire. It's the scary low bit not up to code wiring that led the city to do this renovation. It's the wiring that's haunted me the 2-3 years since we found out how bad it was, especially with the half ass detector and suppression system.

Likely I will know more tomorrow about the timeline.

It is really good to be back in my bed and the cat stress levels are slowly dropping, but I really just want things to be back where they go instead of endless boxes and misplaced items.

September. Things should be right by september's end.

* Thursday Evening: My second load of laundry is washing and the apartment smells so much better. I am using cold water again! I don’t see any signs of leaking.

I have a kitchen silverware drawer again and it is exciting. I still need to shuffle some things around in the bathroom, but things are more normal.

They poked around in the hall closet again, I assume to take filter system related measurements. That’s where they are putting it, you see. It needs to be next to the water heater to intercept incoming water lines.

I am still achey, but last night’s headache has fled which really, really helps.

* 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

* "Sunday Sweets: Grandma's Kitchen Counter:" https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/sunday-sweets-grandmas-kitchen-counter-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

* "United States Disappeared Tracker:" https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/danielleharlow/viz/UnitedStatesDisappearedTracker/Map

* "Introducing Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network:" https://aflcio.org/2025/4/16/introducing-rise-federal-workers-legal-defense-network

* 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 Immigtrant 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/

* 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: )