We Resist: Day 753

One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures (plus the occasional non-Republican who obliges us to resist their nonsense, too, like we don't have enough to worry about) is keeping on top of the sheer number of horrors, indignities, and normalization of the aggressively abnormal that they unleash every single day.

So here is a daily thread for all of us to share all the things that are going on, thus crowdsourcing a daily compendium of the onslaught of conservative erosion of our rights and our very democracy.

Stay engaged. Stay vigilant. Resist.

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Earlier today by me: Primarily Speaking and So, This Mueller Investigation...

Here are some more things in the news today...

[Content Note: Climate change; animal harm] Damian Carrington at the Guardian: Plummeting Insect Numbers 'Threaten Collapse of Nature'.

The world's insects are hurtling down the path to extinction, threatening a "catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems," according to the first global scientific review.

More than 40% of insect species are declining and a third are endangered, the analysis found. The rate of extinction is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds, and reptiles. The total mass of insects is falling by a precipitous 2.5% a year, according to the best data available, suggesting they could vanish within a century.

The planet is at the start of a sixth mass extinction in its history, with huge losses already reported in larger animals that are easier to study. But insects are by far the most varied and abundant animals, outweighing humanity by 17 times. They are "essential" for the proper functioning of all ecosystems, the researchers say, as food for other creatures, pollinators, and recyclers of nutrients.

Insect population collapses have recently been reported in Germany and Puerto Rico, but the review strongly indicates the crisis is global. The researchers set out their conclusions in unusually forceful terms for a peer-reviewed scientific paper: "The [insect] trends confirm that the sixth major extinction event is profoundly impacting [on] life forms on our planet."

"Unless we change our ways of producing food, insects as a whole will go down the path of extinction in a few decades," they write. "The repercussions this will have for the planet's ecosystems are catastrophic to say the least."

This is so dire that it would even throw a wrench into the OligArk works. Nobody, I don't care how wealthy you are, is going to come of a mass extinction alive and thriving.

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Liz Stark at CNN: Trump to Sign Executive Order Launching Artificial Intelligence Initiative. "Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Monday launching the American Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiative, a senior administration official told reporters in a background call over the weekend. The initiative outlines 'bold, decisive actions to ensure that AI continues to be fueled by American ingenuity, reflects American values, and is applied for the benefit of the American people,' the official said."

I've noted many times that Trump doesn't GAF about automation stealing U.S. jobs, and this is how the administration is addressing that concern: "The official also sought to allay concerns that investments in new AI technology may displace American workers, noting that the administration is 'very cognizant of' the issue and has already developed programming like apprenticeships and career special education programs to address it."

Oh cool, that sounds great. Obviously we're all aware of how splendidly telling people to take out student loans to go back to school or working as unpaid interns and apprentices in a new career has worked out for the last decade. For fuck's sake.

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Ryan Pickrell at Business Insider: U.S. Navy Warships Just Challenged China with a South China Sea Sail-By Operation, and Beijing Is Furious. "Two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers — the USS Spruance and the USS Preble — conducted a freedom-of-navigation operation on Monday, sailing within 12 nautical miles of Chinese outposts in the contested Spratly Islands. The purpose was 'to challenge excessive maritime claims and preserve access to the waterways,' as well as to show that the U.S. 'will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows,' Cmdr. Clay Doss, a U.S. Navy 7th Fleet spokesman, told CNN. Beijing sharply criticized the operation. A spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry, Hua Chunying, accused the U.S. of entering Chinese waters without permission and engaging in provocations that threaten China's sovereignty, the South China Morning Post reported." Terrific.

According to a German outlet citing Western intelligence sources Russia has deployed cruise missiles to North Ossetia and the Moscow region. pic.twitter.com/DxyAgNS0II

— Olga Lautman (@olgaNYC1211) February 10, 2019

[CN: Video may autoplay at link] Catalin Cimpanu at ZDNet: Russia to Disconnect from the Internet as Part of a Planned Test. "Russian authorities and major internet providers are planning to disconnect the country from the internet as part of a planned experiment, Russian news agency RosBiznesKonsalting (RBK) reported last week. The reason for the experiment is to gather insight and provide feedback and modifications to a proposed law introduced in the Russian Parliament in December 2018. A first draft of the law mandated that Russian internet providers should ensure the independence of the Russian internet space (Runet) in the case of foreign aggression to disconnect the country from the rest of the internet." So, guess what Russia is planning everyone!

The FBI’s International war crimes unit is about to be dismantled by Trump. This 9 man unit has been highly effective in investigating and prosecuting war criminals.

The disbanding of this unit makes no sense... https://t.co/nG3GJTSkbS

— RynheartTheReluctant (@TheRynheart) February 11, 2019

[CN: Nativism; border militarization] Ted Hesson at Politico: The Border Patrol's Recruiting Crisis. "Border Patrol's struggles to recruit and keep agents present a seldom-discussed impediment to Trump's efforts to lock down the U.S.-Mexico border — one that the Trump White House is reluctant to acknowledge. ...Shortly after taking office, the president signed an executive order that called for the hiring of 5,000 agents. More recently, his administration pushed a proposal that calls for 2,750 more agents, law enforcement officers and staff. But Border Patrol can't hire enough people to fill jobs that were available before." Even after they lowered hiring standards. Yikes.

[CN: Nativism] Ari Honarvar at Rewire.News: As Government Continues 'Dumping' Migrants in Border Cities, Activists Organize. "The Trump administration has never hidden its animosity toward asylum seekers. Trump's zero-tolerance policy is a recent example of this, one that set off a ripple effect that continues today. ...[A]sylum-seeking families have been released onto the streets of U.S. border towns without food, instructions, or means to contact sponsors. Immigration authorities released 1,500 asylum seekers in El Paso in one week alone, according to USA Today. Immigration rights volunteers in other border towns such as San Diego have been experiencing a similar trend. Kate Clark, director of immigration services at Jewish Family Service of San Diego, a partner of the San Diego Rapid Response Network, told Rewire.News, 'Vulnerable [asylum-seeking migrant] families have no local support or resources, and no idea what to do next.'"

[CN: Nativism; border militarization] Jazmine Ulloa and Taryn Luna at the LA Times: Slamming Trump's 'Political Theater,' California Gov. Gavin Newsom Pulls National Guard from Border.

As a second partial government shutdown looms in Washington over border discussions, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday will order the removal of roughly 360 National Guard members from California's southern boundary with Mexico, repudiating [Donald] Trump's characterization of a recent influx of Central American refugees and migrants as a national security crisis.

The announcement comes just one day before the governor delivers his first State of the State address Tuesday, setting the stage for Newsom to counter Trump's State of the Union address from last week.

In released excerpts of his speech, Newsom says he is giving the National Guard a new mission so that troops would not take part in the White House's "political theater" and instead "refocus on the real threats facing our state." The governor said he would sign a general order to redeploy the troops to support wildfire prevention efforts and expand operations to counter drugs and cartels across California, with a group of forces trained in spotting narcotics to be stationed at the state's international points of entry.

"The Border 'emergency' is a manufactured crisis," Newsom is expected to say Tuesday, according to prepared remarks provided by the governor's office. "This is our answer to the White House: No more division, xenophobia, or nativism."

YES.

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[CN: Video may autoplay at link] Heather Long at the Washington Post: Millions of Americans Could Be Stunned as Their Tax Refunds Shrink. "Millions of Americans filling out their 2018 taxes will probably be surprised to learn that their refunds will be less than expected or that they owe money to the Internal Revenue Service after years of receiving refunds. People have already taken to social media, using the hashtag #GOPTaxScam, to vent their anger. Many blame [Donald] Trump and the Republicans for shrinking refunds. Some on Twitter even said they wouldn't vote for Trump again after seeing their refunds slashed." LOLsob when are conservatives going to learn that GOP tax bills are wealth redistribution upwards schemes that steal from the not-rich to give to the rich? WAKE THE FUCK UP.

Holly Yan and Sara Weisfeldt at CNN: Denver Teachers Are Now on Strike, But 92,000 Kids Still Have to Go to School. "Fifteen months of simmering frustration boiled over Monday as Denver teachers went on strike. ...The Denver Classroom Teachers Association and Denver Public Schools made a last-ditch effort to settle their differences over the weekend. But the talks went nowhere, meaning up to 92,000 students will go to school without their teachers indefinitely. 'We're hoping for a quick solution to this whole thing,' DCTA lead negotiator Rob Gould said Monday. 'We're hoping (school district officials) come to the table tomorrow ready to listen so we can get back to work. Because our teachers want to be in the classrooms with their kids.' The big sticking point involves teachers' base salaries."

Women leaders in diverse countries vastly outperform male counterparts, averaging of 5.4% GDP growth in the year following their assumption of power vs average GDP growth of just 1.1% for male leaders. How? By empowering traditionally marginalized people. https://t.co/ajCwnkFosL

— Soraya Chemaly (@schemaly) February 10, 2019

[CN: Homophobia] Savas Abadsidis at Towleroad: The Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act Strikes Back and It Could Be a Huge Legal Headache for Marriage Equality. "Three years ago, Tennessee introduced a bill that would 'defend natural marriage between one man and one woman,' with the goal of barring same-sex marriages. The bill failed in the Tennessee House of Representatives during its last session, but state Republicans reintroduced the Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act in a new effort to prevent government officials from recognizing same-sex marriages. ...'The far right's dream scenario is this would go back before the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court would accept it,' said Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project, an LGBTQ rights advocacy group that has previously opposed the bill, according to The Tennessean."

[CN: Racism; blackface imagery] G. B. Saunders at Colorlines: The Real Cost of Being the POC 'in the Room' Required to Shut Down Obviously Racist Products. "A common response to failed products like the Gucci blackface sweater is that there should have been a Black person 'in the room' to save the company from marketing racism. We need to talk what it takes to get into that room and the cost of staying there." This is a really good piece. Also, I hate that whole narrative for the additional reason that every person of every race should understand why the fuck blackface is a problem in the year of our lord Jesus Jones two thousand and nineteen. JFC.

What have you been reading that we need to resist today?

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Congratulations, Australia!

Video Description: Over images of people campaigning for equality, images of the Australian parliament voting and passing the bill, images of people celebrating, and images of couples getting hitched, accompanied by lovely, soaring music, the following text appears onscreen: "Australia's MPs have voted to legalise same-sex marriage. The same-sex marriage bill passed overwhelmingly in the House of Representatives a week after the Senate passed the bill. The vote comes three weeks after 61.6% of Australia's voters backed the legalisation of same-sex marriage in a $122m survey. The governor general is likely to ratify the law within days, meeting Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's promise to get it done by Christmas. Same-sex couples who have married abroad will have their marriages immediately recognised, and the first same-sex weddings under the new law will be held early next year."

Blub. 😭😍🏳️‍🌈

[Video via the Guardian.]

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"No longer may this liberty be denied."

It was two years ago today that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote those words as part of his ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationally in the United States.

In those two years, there are people who have tried to deny that liberty: Court clerks who claim religious objections to issuing marriage licenses, and Republican officials who propose legislation to repeal the right, and family members and "friends" and strangers who wield scorn and judgment and opprobrium as disincentives.

They have not succeeded.

[Image: Pixabay.]
In its latest polling, the Pew Research Center found: "By a margin of nearly two-to-one (62% to 32%), more Americans now say they favor [same-sex marriage rights] than say they are opposed."

That is good news, still not nearly as good as it could be.

We must remain vigilant: If the fight against Roe has taught us anything, it is the necessity of vigilance.

As if on cue: "The Supreme Court on Monday said it will consider next term whether a Denver baker unlawfully discriminated against a gay couple by refusing to sell them a wedding cake."

That case doesn't present a direct challenge to legal marriage, but it is the type of case that conservatives love because it keeps a social justice issue they want to reverse in the news and forces marginalized people to fight for equality in a way attached to the larger social justice issue, but with less public sympathy. Conservatives use cases like this to leverage sentiments like "why don't you just go somewhere else for your wedding cake?" to start eroding support for weddings altogether.

Vigilance is crucial.

On this anniversary, I recommit myself to the fight for same-sex marriage, by never letting down my guard and remaining prepared, always, to defend this right as it needs defense.

"Just as a couple vows to support each other, so does society pledge to support the couple, offering symbolic recognition and material benefits to protect and nourish the union."—Justice Anthony Kennedy, June 26, 2015.

And let us endeavor always to protect and nourish the right to forge that union.

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Dispatches From the Queer Resistance (No. 3)

[Content Note: Homophobia, transbigotry, torture, terrorism.]

It's Pride Month, y'all. Was it only 150 days ago when we had a President who officially recognized Pride Month, and could speak coherently about this and other issues? Feels like a decade ago!

1) This is a periodic reminder that exit polls showed that 77% of LGBT people voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

2) Five years ago during Pride Month, prominent opponent of marriage equality David Blankenhorn publicly changed his opinion on same-sex marriage. In his New York Times reversal, he acknowledged that his side had failed to win public opinion on the issue and that much of the opposition to marriage equality stemmed from anti-gay animus, a fact that marriage equality advocates had been observing for years. Meanwhile, same-sex marriage advocates, at both the individual and organizational level, continued to battle onward and resist this animus.

Three years later in 2015, also during Pride Month, the US Supreme Court issued a decision effectively legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide (PDF). Two years have passed since that decision and many social conservative believe they have lost the so-called culture war on same-sex marriage, a loss they widely seem to experience as widespread acknowledgement that opposing marriage equality is bigotry. Most heterosexual Americans likely also understand that same-sex marriage has little tangible impact on their lives. The world is not ending! (Well.... maybe it is, but for other reasons).

However, I note two potential synergies that could swing the pendulum back in their favor. One, some anti-LGBT groups remain convinced that if they can get the right Supreme Court composition, SCOTUS will overturn the marriage equality precedent. For instance, this June, the anti-LGBT National Organization for Marriage (NOM) will hold a "March for Marriage" (which I'm intentionally not linking to) and the organization has vowed to not rest until same-sex marriage is repealed.

Secondly, Team Trump/Pence have shown a willingness to appoint radical conservatives to SCOTUS, and I believe that's largely Pence's doing. The Republican-controlled legislature has shown that they will rubber-stamp these picks no matter how out touch they might be with the mainstream.

Meanwhile, 64% of those in the US believe same-sex marriage should be legal, the highest percentage since Gallup began this tracking in 1998. Donald Trump's popularity has been hovering at under 40% since his inauguration. These numbers are a reminder that a deeply-unpopular President who lost the popular vote is in a position to play a key role in overturning a precedent that most people in the US support. With Republicans willing to use the "nuclear option" to confirm Trump Supreme Court picks with only a simply majority vote, Democrats must take back the Senate in 2018 - because of this issue and so many more.

3) Speaking of NOM, earlier this year, the organization launched a tour of its so-called Free Speech Bus. This bus was decorated with anti-trans, gender-essentialist messaging which seems to have been inspired by Kindergarten Cop-approved boys-have-a-penis, girls-have-a-vagina logic.

The messaging was provocative and, accordingly, NOM tracked every real and perceived act of counter-protest, which they spun into their usual narrative of how LGBT advocates are the real bullies. For instance, during the course of its tour, the bus was allegedly vandalized. On Twitter, NOM then asked "prominent LGBT leaders" to "condemn" the vandalism.

I'm not prominent, but I tweeted why I passed on issuing a condemnation. (Spoiler alert: I believe NOM's messaging contributes to an overall climate of hostility, which leads to violence toward and murder of trans people).

4)  Multiple news outlets have reported that gay men are being detained, tortured, and killed in Chechnya. Via The New York Times:

"A spokesman for Chechnya's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, denied the report in a statement to Interfax on Saturday, calling the article 'absolute lies and disinformation."

'You cannot arrest or repress people who don't exist in the republic," the spokesman, Alvi Karimov, told the news agency.

'If such people existed in Chechnya, law enforcement would not have to worry about them, as their own relatives would have sent them to where they could never return,' Mr. Karimov said."

It's not exactly reassuring when a spokesman can't hide his eliminationist homobigotry during the course of denying that eliminationist homobigotry is occurring in his country.

In response, some countries - Lithuania and France among them - are opening their doors to gay men from Chechnya. The US has not. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, has called on Chechen authorities to investigate the allegations, ostensibly the same authorities who believe gay men don't exist and/or should be killed.

In fact, it's reported that these abuses are done under the auspices of the Chechen leader, with PinkNews reporting that Kadyrov wants gay men eliminated by the start of Ramadan, which was May 26th. (Note: Some media reports that these atrocities are committed on "LGBT people" without clarifying whether queer women and trans people are also being targeted. However, if gay men are targeted, it's likely that other LGBT people are as well.)

Donald Trump himself has not addressed these reports. Possibly related: Chechnya's leader is a close ally to Vladimir Putin. Here I note that a President Hillary Clinton and her administration might have offered more assistance in this situation. In fact, she has issued a condemnation. (But her emails, the misogyny, "establishment," etc.)

5) The first anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting will be next Monday, June 12. This terror attack was the deadliest hate crime against LGBT people in the US, killing 49 people, and the deadliest since 9/11. My thoughts are with the victims, their friends, and their families. I stand in solidarity with them, and with anyone who remains outraged, scared, and wounded by this tragedy

6) Ehhhh:

.@POTUS @VP Why is this in the "last chance" bin? pic.twitter.com/Wd2zLxcQSb

— Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) May 30, 2017

7) Via the National Center for Transgender Equality, Trump has appointed anti-LGBT activist Roger Severino as Director of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), in the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Severino was previously at the Heritage Foundation, where he "authored a report opposing OCR's implementation of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, age, disability, and sex in federally funded health programs."

Just another example of a Trump appointment placed in a position to enforce an agency's work who seems to fundamentally disagree with that work.

8) This weekend, instead of a Pride Parade, a Resist March will be held in LA:

"We are calling on everyone to peacefully march with us on June 11th from Hollywood and Highland to West Hollywood. Instead of a Pride Parade meant to celebrate our past progress, we are going to march to ensure all our futures. Just as we did in 1970's first LGBTQ+ Pride, we are going to march in unity with those who believe that America's strength is its diversity. Not just LGBTQ+ people but all Americans and dreamers will be wrapped in the Rainbow Flag and our unique, diverse, intersectional voices will come together in one harmonized proclamation."

In conclusion, Donald Trump and Shadow President Mike Pence are scary fucking dudes. If you're attending or marching in a Pride Parade this year, we have a lot to protest and resist!

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In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

Yesterday, I tweeted: "Who is going to be the prominent office-holding Republican to have the courage and decency to repudiate Trump and endorse Clinton? Bueller...?" And we now have our answer, if you ignore the "prominent" part and pretend it doesn't matter that Rep. Richard Hanna is saying this as he walks out the door for his retirement: "I have long held the belief that the Republican Party is becoming increasingly less capable of nominating a person who is electable as president. The primary process is so geared toward the party's political base, which ignores the fact that we have largely alienated women, Hispanics, the LGBT community, young voters and many others in general. Thankfully gerrymandering does not protect candidates in a national election. If I compare the life stories of both candidates I find Trump deeply flawed in endless ways. ...For me, it is not enough to simply denounce his comments: He is unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country. ...While I disagree with her on many issues, I will vote for Mrs. Clinton. I will be hopeful and resolute in my belief that being a good American who loves his country is far more important than parties or winning and losing. I trust she can lead." Thank you, sir. May you be a model for the rest of your party.

On the same topic, the New York Times editors don't hold back, in an editorial titled "Mr. Trump and Spineless Republicans," which ends thus: "The truth is, it’s time for Mr. McCain and other Republican leaders to set an example for their party by withdrawing support for Mr. Trump." Yup.

[Content Note: Police shooting; guns; violence; death; child endangerment] I don't even have words: "Police Fatally Shoot Woman Holding 5-Year-Old Boy in Her Lap." And they shot the child, who survived. There are lots of people out in force defending this shooting, because the woman, Korryn Gaines, was, according to police, holding a shotgun. Baltimore County Police Chief James Johnson "said police tried to talk to Gaines for several hours before things turned deadly around 3 p.m. At that time, Gaines said she would kill the police if they didn't leave. One of the cops fired a single shot at Gaines, in response. When the woman fired back, officers gunned her down, striking the child in the leg as well." Police were trying to arrest Gaines for traffic violations. And they shot at her because she threatened them, instead of just retreating, regrouping, and figuring out another strategy. Even if this really went exactly the way police say it did, it was entirely wrong.

[CN: Police shooting; guns; death] Meanwhile, in Chicago: "Footage from police dashboard cameras and body cameras helped lead to the swift sidelining of three officers involved in the latest fatal shooting by Chicago police, but officials acknowledged Monday that the shooting itself was not captured on video. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the department is investigating why the body camera worn by the officer who fatally shot 18-year-old Paul O'Neal failed to show those critical moments." It's funny, ahem, how body cameras keep failing in critical moments of deadly shootings.

[CN: Voter disenfranchisement] Good: "A federal judge on Monday blocked North Dakota's voter identification law after a group of American Indians said it unfairly burdens them—the latest court ruling against voting laws that critics say disproportionately affect minorities. U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland issued a temporary restraining order... 'The public interest in protecting the most cherished right to vote for thousands of Native Americans who currently lack a qualifying ID and cannot obtain one, outweighs the purported interest and arguments of the State,' Hovland wrote. He added: 'There are a multitude of easy remedies that most states have adopted in some form to alleviate this burden.' ...In three separate rulings Friday, a federal appeals court blocked North Carolina's law requiring photo ID, a federal judge in Wisconsin ordered changes to make it easier for voters to get a valid ID, and a Kansas judge said the state must count thousands of votes from people who didn't provide proof of citizenship when they registered. Earlier in July, a federal appellate court ruled that Texas' voter ID law was discriminatory."

Of course: "Military mom booed at Mike Pence rally for asking about Donald Trump's remarks on Capt. Khan." And check out the audience in that video, demonstrating their principles. They boo the woman, then, when Pence tells them they shouldn't, they clap. They have zero principles except to follow the orders of an authoritarian leader.

"Trump blasts New York Times: 'They don't write good'." Sounds about right.

Vice-President Joe Biden married two White House staffers. "Proud to marry Brian and Joe at my house. Couldn't be happier, two longtime White House staffers, two great guys." ♥

They are remaking Splash. NO! "In this version, Channing Tatum will actually play the mermaid." OKAY!

And finally! "Dog Invents His Own Game at Public Fountain, and Draws a Big Crowd." Oh dogs, lol.

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Bigotry Under Guise of "Religious Freedom" Dealt a Blow by US District Court

[Content Note: Homophobia.]

The Supreme Court wasn't the only court to deliver some good news yesterday:

A federal judge has ruled that Mississippi clerks cannot cite their own religious beliefs to recuse themselves from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves' ruling on Monday blocks the state from enforcing part of a religious objections bill that was supposed to become law Friday.

Reeves is extending his previous order that overturned Mississippi's ban on same-sex marriage. He says circuit clerks are required to provide equal treatment for all couples, gay or straight.

BOOM. Thank you, Judge Reeves!

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I Didn't Know This, But I'm Not Surprised

[Content Note: Homophobia.]

Lieutenant Governor of California Gavin Newsom published this on his Facebook page today:

In 2004, after I ordered the city clerk to give same-sex couples marriage licenses, I quickly became a pariah in the Democratic Party. I was accused of endangering Sen. Kerry's campaign for president, my speech at the national convention was cancelled, and most hurtful, major democratic candidates and elected officials — some of whom were my friends — refused to be photographed with me or even be in the same room with me. I was being demonized by the left and the right. Only one major figure in the Dem party was willing to be photographed with me: Hillary Clinton. In 2004, we did an event together down at Delancey Street in San Francisco. I'll never forget that moment — that when I was being attacked for my position on same sex marriage and what we did in San Francisco, she was willing to stand with me in public when no one else was. ‪#‎ImWithHer‬

Blub.

Also a remarkable reminder of how far the Democratic Party has come in 12 years. I mean. A profound success, credit to the LGBTQIA community for relentless advocacy and always expecting more.

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In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: War; death] "A US air strike that destroyed a medical charity's clinic in northern Afghanistan, killing 42 people, was not a war crime, the Pentagon has said. Announcing disciplinary charges against 16 US service personnel, General Joseph Votel said the 'tragic strike' was due to human and technical errors. The gunship mistook the hospital at Kunduz—run by the group Medecins sans Frontieres [Doctors Without Borders]—for a building that had been seized by Taliban fighters. No one will face criminal charges. But as the error was 'unintentional,' it did not constitute a war crime, Gen Votel said. Instead, those punished were hit with measures such as suspension from command and letters of reprimand, which could have career-ending effects." Welp.

In news that you knew, but here is the proof: "What Happens When You Elect Women, According to Science." Spoiler Alert: It's better for women! And everyone!

[CN: Guns] "President Obama on Friday announced new efforts to speed up development of so-called smart guns, the latest step in his final-year push to reduce gun violence. Smart guns are weapons that use technological safety features designed to prevent accidental shootings, such as fingerprint activation that allows only designated users to fire the gun. The Obama administration is developing guidelines so that gun manufacturers understand how they can meet law enforcement agencies' needs for smart guns. The Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security are expected to complete the guidance in October, according to a new interagency report published Friday." Smart guns still doesn't help the problem of not-smart (or, more importantly, not-decent) people using them.

[CN: Misogynoir] Geneva Reed-Veal, Sandra Bland's mother, who has been campaigning with Hillary Clinton, spoke at a symposium held by the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls, "titled 'Barriers and Pathways to Success for Black Women and Girls,' which examined the current state of its constituents." Reed-Veal's speech was powerful, and you can watch video of it at Colorlines. Reed-Veal and all the other Mothers of the Movement are amazing. I recognize in their words that they're not superheroes; they need this movement and they need to part of it and leaders of it, in order to survive. Their fortitude has been obliged by sorrow, and I don't want to elide that with some dehumanizing commentary on their courage, when doing what one needs to survive isn't necessarily courageous as much as it just straight-up necessary. But they are amazing. And I deeply admire their tenacity and public vulnerability.

[CN: Disenfranchisement] Grumble: "The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected a bid to block a controversial Texas law that requires voters to show identification before voting, but left the door open to a renewed challenge before the November elections. The court denied a request filed by opponents of the law, including individual Texas voters, who say the law is not needed and disproportionately affects older and poorer voters, including minorities, who are less likely to have identification papers. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is due to rehear the case on May 24. The high court's order said if the lower court has not acted on the case by July 20, then the opponents could renew their application to block the law ahead of the elections."

[CN: Homophobia; transphobia] "Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam (R) has approved a law that allows counselors and therapists in the state to reject clients based on the professionals' 'sincerely held' principles, including their religious beliefs. Signed by Haslam on Wednesday, the legislation grants licensed counselors and therapists the permission to turn away clients whose 'goals, outcomes, or behaviors' conflict with the counselor's values. The legislation shields the practitioners from civil lawsuits and criminal prosecution. The GOP-backed measure requires counselors and therapists to coordinate a referral to another professional and does not apply in cases where clients seeking treatment are 'in imminent danger of harming themselves or others.' Counselors in Tennessee can already refer patients to other counselors 'if counselors lack the competence to be of professional assistance to clients.' The law's verbiage initially included the phrase 'sincerely held religious beliefs,' but Tennessee state senators ultimately approved a house amendment that changed the bill's language to 'sincerely held principles.'" Obviously, this could have far-reaching consequences: Though the LGBT community is likely to be most affected, feminist women and atheists and adherents to minority religions and people in mixed-race relationships, as but a few examples, could also be turned away.

"U.S. Senate hopeful Russ Feingold refused to say Thursday whether he voted for Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders in Wisconsin's Democratic presidential primary earlier this month, but he suggested that Sanders should start thinking about dropping out of the race. Feingold made the comments during a question-and-answer session with reporters following an appearance at a Madison club. He said talking about his vote would do no good since his goal is bring both candidates' supporters together. He also stressed that his ballot was secret. 'I'm not saying and I didn't even tell my wife,' Feingold said. 'I have a lot of admiration for both candidates. I see nothing positive about talking about my secret ballot.'" Seems perfectly reasonable. So what is the headline of this news item? "Feingold refuses to say if he voted for Clinton."

Yay! "Colombia's Constitutional Court has given final approval to same-sex marriage in the country and weddings could start very soon." Congratulations, Colombia!

Well, this is definitely my favorite headline of the day: "The biggest scientific instrument in the world was brought down by a tiny weasel." The Large Hadron Collider will be out of commission "for at least a week because a weasel chewed into a 66kV transformer near LHCb, causing an LHC-wide power cut."

[CN: Animal injury/death] And finally! "Rescue Hummingbird Won't Leave the Dog Who Saved Her Life: So strange, but amazing. I rescue this dog. He rescues the bird. The bird rescues all of us in a weird sense and it's just a miracle." ♥

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[Content Note: War; terrorism] "President Barack Obama announced on Monday the biggest expansion of U.S. ground troops in Syria since the civil war there began, saying he would dispatch 250 special forces soldiers to help local militia to build on successes against Islamic State. The new deployment increases U.S. forces in Syria six-fold to about 300. While the total U.S. ground force is still small by comparison to other American deployments, defense experts said it could help shift the momentum in Syria by giving more Syrian fighters on the ground access to U.S. close air support. Obama said the move followed victories that clawed back territory from Islamic State. 'Given the success, I've approved the deployment of up to 250 additional U.S. personnel in Syria, including special forces, to keep up this momentum,' Obama said in a speech in the German city of Hanover, the last stop on a foreign tour that has taken him to Saudi Arabia and Britain. 'They're not going to be leading the fight on the ground, but they will be essential in providing the training and assisting local forces as they continue to drive ISIL back,' he added, using an acronym for Islamic State, also known as ISIS or Daesh."

[CN: Police misconduct; misogynoir; drowning] "Police in Florida's Pinellas County faced tremendous criticism and allegations of racist inaction this week after releasing video that seemingly showed officers standing by as three Black teenage girls drowned after driving a car into a pond. ...According to the Miami Herald, the three girls allegedly stole a car from a Walmart parking lot the night of March 30. Deputies from the sheriff's office chased the girls, despite what the Herald described as 'county sheriff's rules [that] forbid deputies from chasing stolen vehicles.' Ashaunti Butler, 15, Dominique Battle, 16, and Laniya Miller, 15, accidentally drove into a 15-foot-deep pond and ultimately drowned. The sheriff's office released several hours of dashboard camera footage to news outlets on Monday (April 18). It immediately provoked criticism. ...Today (April 22), the sheriff's department released more dashcam footage that it says is proof of officers' rescue attempt. ...'We are posting this clip with the hope that the false narrative being spread about this incident stops,' reads their statement." *side-eye*

[CN: War on agency] In good news (for now): "The Florida Supreme Court suspended the state law that forces people to wait 24 hours before terminating a pregnancy until the court decides whether to hear a lawsuit claiming the measure is unconstitutional, reported the Associated Press. The court's 5-2 decision Friday was made two months after a state appeals court's ruling allowed the Republican-backed law to go into effect. ...The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida filed a lawsuit to overturn the law on behalf of a Gainesville clinic. The group claims the waiting period is causing unnecessary hardship for people seeking abortion care and that the Florida Constitution protects private medical decisions. Nancy Abudu, legal director of the ACLU of Florida, said in a statement that the organization is pleased that the court agreed that pregnant people should not be subjected to the law while there is an ongoing legal challenge. 'Forcing women seeking an abortion to make multiple visits that are medically unnecessary especially burdens poor and working women, and is potentially dangerous,' Abudu said."

I've got a couple of new pieces up today at BNR about stuff in the news today: 1. A new Harvard Institute of Politics poll has found that Hillary Clinton has a commanding lead (61%!) among millennial voters moving into the general election. 2. [CN: Misogyny] The Economist is the latest publication to write (and promote) a sexist piece of dreck about Clinton.

Good luck with that: "Senator Ted Cruz and Gov. John R. Kasich of Ohio have agreed to coordinate in future primary contests in a last-ditch effort to deny Donald J. Trump the Republican presidential nomination, with each candidate standing aside in certain states amid growing concerns that Mr. Trump cannot otherwise be stopped." I really don't GAF about this, because as much as I dislike Trump, I dislike those two just as much.

[CN: Homophobia] Speaking of Trump being terrible: "Donald Trump Thinks Choosing Anti-LGBT Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin as Running Mate Is 'Great Advice'." Of course he does. "Yes, the Mary Fallin who blasted the Supreme Court's ruling allowing gay couples to marry in her state, and in 2013 denied spousal benefits for National Guardsmen and women, regardless of whether they are in same-sex or opposite-sex relationships, so as to avoid having to comply with Hagel's order to provide benefits to same-sex couples. In 2004 she voted to amend Oklahoma's constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage. Fallin also signed a bill into law saying 'no licensed, ordained, or authorized official of a religious organization can be required to solemnize or recognize a marriage that violates that official's conscience or religious belief.'"

[CN: Racism] Jim Webb continues to be the fucking worst: "One would think we could celebrate the recognition that Harriet Tubman will be given on future $20 bills without demeaning former president Andrew Jackson as a 'monster,' as a recent Huffington Post headline did. And summarizing his legendary tenure as being 'known primarily for a brutal genocidal campaign against native Americans,' as reported in The Post, offers an indication of how far political correctness has invaded our educational system and skewed our national consciousness. This dismissive characterization of one of our great presidents is not occurring in a vacuum. Any white person whose ancestral relations trace to the American South now risks being characterized as having roots based on bigotry and undeserved privilege." IS THIS GUY EVEN SERIOUS?!

This is so lovely and so moving: Harris Wofford, a former US senator from Pennsylvania, special assistant for civil rights to President John F. Kennedy, and adviser to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has penned a piece about finding love for the second time in his life. After being married for 48 years to his wife Clare, who died in 1996, he is now about to wed his partner of 15 years, Matthew. "We were both about to turn 70 when she died. I assumed that I was too old to seek or expect another romance. But five years later, standing on a beach in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., I sensed a creative hour and did not want to miss it. ...For a long time, I did not suspect that idea and fate might meet in my lifetime to produce same-sex marriage equality. ...At age 90, I am lucky to be in an era where the Supreme Court has strengthened what President Obama calls 'the dignity of marriage' by recognizing that matrimony is not based on anyone's sexual nature, choices or dreams. It is based on love. All this is on my mind as Matthew and I prepare for our marriage ceremony."

And finally! "Last Wednesday, a couple of local surfers on a beach in Costa Rica were about to catch waves when they saw an odd-looking lump in the water in the mouth of a small river nearby. Mauricio Camareno and his friends approached the object and saw that it was a stranded baby pilot whale crying for help. ...They stayed with her for more than 6 hours keeping her afloat so she could breathe, pouring water on the whale to protect her from heat. When she got her strength back, the men guided her into deeper waters and she swam off on her own, presumably to look for her lost family." ♥

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[Content Note: Racism; police misconduct] The U.S. Department of Justice and Ferguson, Missouri, officials have reached an agreement that is poised to overhaul the city's entire justice system. [January 27] marked the end of negotiations sparked by the Justice Department's 2015 investigation, which concluded that the city's policing methods violated the rights of its Black citizens on the streets and in the courtrooms, all in the interest of filling the city's coffers. St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the agreement, called a consent decree, will go through three rounds of public hearings before the city council votes on its adoption on February 9. If it rejects the agreement, the Justice Department will move forward with a suit against the city. Key points of the 131-page agreement include: Community policing and engagement, policies and training, eliminating bias, stop and search procedure, first Amendment activity, force, and municipal code reform."

[CN: War on agency] "Ohio's GOP-held state senate voted this week for the second time on a bill that would cut funding to Planned Parenthood. This time state senators were met with protesters offering testimonies, wearing patient smocks, and asking where the GOP lawmakers expected them to access health care." The protesters are so brave and amazing, but fuck if I'm not angry they are obliged to do this.

Potentially good news for marriage equality advocates in Australia: "Support for marriage equality in Australia's parliament has reached critical mass in both houses for the first time ever, according to the Sydney Morning Herald: 'According to the key lobby group leading the charge for a broadened definition of marriage in the Marriage Act, Australian Marriage Equality, there is now a slim majority of pro-change MPs in both the House of Representatives and in the Senate.'"

Taiwan has elected its first female president: "In a landslide victory, the leader of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen won the country's presidential election, becoming the first woman in Taiwan's history to hold the position. ...A scholar with advanced degrees in law from Cornell University and the London School of Economics, Tsai served previously as chairwoman of the Mainland Affairs Office, a government office that mediates interactions between Taiwan and Beijing. In 2004, Tsai joined the DPP, stepping in as the party's chairwoman just four years later. Despite a failed presidential bid in 2012, Tsai persevered, guiding her party to victories in regional elections. Tsai also emerged as a vocal advocate of women's and LGBT rights, advocating publicly for equal employment opportunities for women and marriage equality, respectively."

(If there are less flattering things to be said about Tsai or her platform, I'm not deliberately concealing them; I'm just not super familiar with Taiwanese politics.)

"The US economy grew at an annualised rate of 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared with the same quarter a year ago, official figures show. The rate of growth marks a sharp slowdown from the 2% growth recorded in the previous quarter. The US Commerce department said one reason for the slower growth was a slowdown in consumer spending." Here's an idea: Let's pay people livable wages and then see if they have more money to spend!

Okay! "Friday marks seven years since President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, the first bill he signed, aimed at helping women combat the gender wage gap by giving them more time to bring lawsuits. But in that time, the gender wage gap—which means that American women working full-time, year round make 79 percent of what men make, a gap that's much larger for women of color—has only narrowed by two cents, not a statistically significant change. So to mark the anniversary, Obama will announce executive action on Friday to institute a new requirement that companies with 100 or more employees report what workers are paid broken down by gender, race, and ethnicity to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)."

Octavia Butler's personal journal is everything. Wow.

"Octopuses are social animals that change colors to resolve disputes and even throw debris at each other, video footage of a group of the feisty sea creatures in Jervis Bay has shown." They are forever fascinating creatures.

[CN: Fat stigma; disordered eating] Oprah Winfrey, who recently bought a huge stake in Weight Watchers and has been doing the most dreadful commercials for them, said in an interview, "I actually was traveling the other day and opened a 5 oz. bag of crinkle cut, black pepper potato chips and I counted out 10 chips. And I ate the 10 and I savored every one. And I put the bag away. Of all the accomplishments that [I] made in the world, all the red carpets, and the awards and those things that I've done. The fact that I could close the bag and not take another chip—it's major for me." I understand that Winfrey is dealing with disordered eating, but her stated goal is explicitly thinness. And the fact that she regards not eating chips as one of her major accomplishments is just fucking depressing as hell.

And finally! Baby hummingbirds! Squeeeeee!

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Same-Sex Marriages Begin in Ireland

Ireland celebrates first gay marriages six months after landmark vote. Yay!!!

Ireland celebrated its first [same-sex] marriages on Tuesday, six months after [more than 62% of] voters overwhelmingly chose to legalize the practice in the traditionally conservative Catholic nation.

Dozens of couples nationwide converted their existing civil partnerships into full marriages in brief ceremonies in often less-than-romantic settings, such as antiseptic hospital offices where births and deaths also are recorded.

[Same-sex] marriage became officially legal Monday but the legislation required a minimum 24-hour notice to upgrade civil partnerships, while those seeking a legal union for the first time must wait a further three months to schedule their services.

Ireland's first couple to sign on the dotted line was lawyer Cormac Gollogly and bank official Richard Dowling, both 35.

..."It was great to get it done so early ... to be the first in Ireland," said Gollogly, who has been with Dowling for 12 years.

"There's something very surreal about it, because obviously we've done the civil partnership already," Dowling said. "But it really is so nice to have the full marriage, and I'm every bit as emotional."

Ireland is the 23rd country to legalize same-sex marriage, but the first nation to legalize it via popular vote. Woot!

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[Content Note: Guns; shooting; death] Four people, including the shooter, are dead in Colorado Springs after a man walked out onto the street and started shooting. He killed one man and two women. This has barely made a blip in the national news. That's how inured we've become to these sorts of shootings. Three people killed by a shooter who was then killed by police, in the middle of the road, and it's just routine. Another day in the USA. My deepest condolences to the victims' families, friends, and colleagues, and to the Colorado Springs community.

[CN: Descriptions of violence and sexual assault; police brutality] Think of this story next time you hear some asshole insisting that survivors of sexual violence are obliged to report their assault to police: "In a yearlong investigation of sexual misconduct by U.S. law enforcement, The Associated Press uncovered about 1,000 officers who lost their badges in a six-year period for rape, sodomy, and other sexual assault; sex crimes that included possession of child pornography; or sexual misconduct such as propositioning citizens or having consensual but prohibited on-duty intercourse. ...[A] simple question—how many law enforcement officers are accused of sexual misconduct—has no definitive answer. The federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, which collects police data from around the country, doesn't track officer arrests, and states aren't required to collect or share that information. To measure the problem, the AP obtained records from 41 states on police decertification, an administrative process in which an officer's law enforcement license is revoked. ...The AP's findings, coupled with other research and interviews with experts, suggest that sexual misconduct is among the most prevalent type of complaint against law officers."

[CN: Guns; vigilantism] Welp: "A customer with a concealed carry license shot and killed an armed man [allegedly] attempting to rob a Chicago neighborhood store, police said Sunday. ...No one else was hurt during the incident. It wasn't immediately clear whether the customer, who has not been identified, will face charges. Guglielmi said preliminary details suggest the customer was not at fault, but that the case was under review by local prosecutors. ...Meanwhile, a relative of the dead man expressed doubt about the police account of what occurred, the Chicago Tribune reported. 'Something doesn't seem right,' said Igbinosa Oronsaye, whose mother was married to Gildersleeve. 'Reggie doesn't even own a gun. He couldn't own a gun if he wanted to.'"

[CN: Homophobia] Damn: "The Parliament of Northern Ireland on Monday passed, then vetoed, a resolution that would have legalized same-sex marriage. Northern Ireland remains the only part of the UK where same-sex marriage is not legal. Assembly members passed the marriage equality legislation by a slim majority only to have it vetoed because of a parliamentary procedure that is allowed under the region's coalition government. While the vote failed to enact lasting change for same-sex couples in the region, it did however show that political support had increased for marriage equality in Northern Ireland."

[CN: Misogynist terrorism] This woman is so brave: "Afghanistan hosted an international marathon this month—the first marathon ever to be held in the country. ...More than 60 amateur and professional runners participated, including people from the United States and Canada, as well as runners from Afghanistan. Although about a dozen local schoolgirls participated in the shorter 10 kilometer race, only one Afghan woman ran the entire marathon. Zainab, who is 25, spoke out about the her experience running in the marathon and the backlash she faced. "It is not easy for a woman to leave the house by herself, let alone running outside," Zainab said, admitting that she faced a lot of street harassment during the year she spent training for this event. ...'I have plans for the future—I have goals,' Zainab said. She spoke of her time visiting women in colleges in Afghanistan, 'The girls—all of them are really quiet, and they don't laugh. I invited them to laugh, to be happy.' Afghan women have participated in marathons in foreign countries before, but this was the first time an Afghan woman ran in a marathon within her own country."

Get ready to be excited! "Battered by weeks of negative headlines, Republican Jeb Bush launches a campaign reboot on Monday with a 'Jeb Can Fix It' tour and release of an e-book that reveals a more personal side to a 2016 candidate who has struggled on the public stage." Jeb Can Fix It? Woof.

In other Republican dude news: RIP Fred Thompson. My condolences to the people who cared for and admired him.

Yuck: "Dozens of Chipotle restaurants in Washington and Oregon are temporarily closing due to an outbreak of E. coli. Health officials have linked 19 cases in Washington and three in Oregon to Chipotles in those states. Eight people have been hospitalized: Seven from Washington, one from Oregon. According to the Washington State Department of Health, though the outbreak appears to be connected to food served at Chipotle, the specific source of contamination has yet to be determined and is still under investigation. The restaurants have closed voluntarily while awaiting updated information."

Wowwwwww these pictures of Saturn's Icy Moon Enceladus taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft! Amazing!

LOLOLOLOLOL: "President Obama Couldn't Handle This Kid's Adorable Pope Halloween Costume." Perfection.

And finally! Dog in a baby swing. Never not cute.

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Blah blah Paul Ryan fart: "Hard-line conservatives cleared a path Wednesday for Rep. Paul Ryan to become House speaker when some of his most disgruntled fellow Republicans signaled that they would support his bid for the top job. ...The group stopped short of an official endorsement, which would have required 80 percent support, but members said a 'supermajority' of the caucus would back a Ryan bid for speaker." Can't wait for this guy to start flexing his muscles in the speakership, amirite?!

First Nations news from the Canadian election: "Monday's election was historic for Canada's First Nations community, which saw 10 indigenous MPs elected. ...The election also saw a record-breaking 54 indigenous candidates run for office. ...[Grand Chief Sheila North Wilson, of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak] estimated that more than 11,000 new voters went to the polls in northern Manitoba on Monday. 'We have to say our people got engaged, got involved, and they were tired of what they were seeing in the last six years especially,' North Wilson said. At least five first nations reportedly needed extra ballots brought in to accommodate the numbers. 'In other southern communities, we are told there was, in fact, ballots that ran out,' said Wilson. ...While efforts were made to mobilize First Nations voters through a 'Rock the Vote' campaign, Manitoba's Grand Chiefs believe the huge response can be attributed solely to a desire to oust Stephen Harper from office. 'I believe that Mr. Harper, when he was prime minister, awoke a sleeping giant in our people, and that giant is awake,' said Wilson." YES.

[Content Note: Misogyny] Good grief, Jeb Bush: "When asked to name his favorite Marvel superhero at a campaign event in Las Vegas, Bush struggled for a minute, according to CNN, then tried to wiggle free using his powers of Republicanism. 'I like watching the movies. I wish I owned Marvel, as someone that believes in capitalism,' Bush said. ...Then Bush tried again, saying he saw a commercial for the new CBS show Supergirl while he was working out earlier in the day. Still DC, but give the man a point for naming a current TV show! Then get ready to take it away. 'She looked kinda ... she looked pretty hot,' Bush said." This fucking guy.

Sesame Street has introduced its first character with autism: "Fuzzy favorites Grover, Abby and Elmo are joined by their newest muppet pal, Julia, a character with autism, in Sesame Street Workshop's new nationwide initiative. Launched Wednesday morning, Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children aims to reduce 'the stigma of autism' with the introduction of the first muppet with autism. ...In the storybooks, Julia explains to her Sesame Street friends how she likes to play a little differently from them. ...Researches worked for three years developing the initiative and hope it will ultimately bring people together."

[CN: Misogyny] After Jennifer Lawrence penned an essay about pay inequality in the film industry, her co-star in several films Bradley Cooper vowed that he would "start sharing salary information with female costars before movies go into production to help them negotiate." But their American Hustle co-star Jeremy Renner isn't into it: "That's not my job. I don't know contracts and money and all that sort of stuff." Yeesh this guy.

The IRS has announced that they will "recognize same-sex marriages regardless of where they were performed and will interpret the terms 'husband' and 'wife' to apply to both same-sex and opposite sex couples." I'm assuming that's just until the forms are changed!

[CN: Misogynoir] This is a great piece by Candace Simpson on the limitations of politics to achieve social justice: "They might be humans who happen to have a job. Thinking of our leaders in this way is disruptive. It means we have to rethink the placement all of our political-involvement eggs in the formal political process basket. It's just not enough. What do we do when the people we rallied and voted for harm us? What do we do when our interests are not protected by those who share vulnerabilities? And what is left for us who have nothing but a basement storage bin of betrayal, 'BaRack the Vote' para, and reminders that we are forgotten by our own? We resist."

[CN: Disablist language] Whoa: "A new, [impressively] massive picture of the Milky Way—46 billion pixels across—marks the largest astronomical image of all time, researchers say. ...The amazing view of the Milky Way was built out of 268 individual views of the galaxy that includes the sun and the Earth, captured night after night over the course of five years with telescopes in Chile's Atacama Desert. Astronomers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum used the data to examine stars whose brightness changes over time—and the image portrays more than 50,000 new objects with variable brightness that have never been recorded before. The researchers made the zoom-able, searchable image available their website, so galactic explorers can scroll across the Milky Way and examine its famous and lesser-known features with more detail than ever before."

OMG! "NASA discovers real-life 'death star' ripping apart and vaporizing tiny faraway planet: A white dwarf star in the Constellation Virgo turns out to be a 'death star' worthy of Star Wars. Astronomers announced Wednesday that they have discovered a rocky object coming apart in a death spiral around this distant star. They used NASA's Kepler spacecraft to make the discovery, then followed up with ground observations."

Congratulations to Charlotte Riley and her husband Tom Hardy on the birth of their new baby! As much as I would swoon eleventy million times over pictures of Tom Hardy and a baby, I will happily settle for pictures of Tom Hardy and dogs, because celebrity babies deserve their privacy!

And finally! BABY TAPIR!!! Squeeeeeeeeee!

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[Content Note: Guns; death] I just read these two stories back-to-back: "Suspected gunman at Philly college in custody" and "11-year-old 'bully' murdered 8-year-old neighbor with a shotgun after dispute over puppy: police." For fuck's sake. Is there any point at which the right not to be murdered by a shitlord with a gun and a grievance trumps the right to bear arms?

[CN: Disablism; regionalism] The rest of the world thinks USians are ignorant lunatics for not changing our gun laws and instead allowing these mass shootings to happen at a rate unseen elsewhere. Which, you know, isn't really helping. Especially the shit about how the fault lies with "middle America." (Doesn't it always?) The US is certainly not a monolith when it comes to how we feel about guns, and it would be better if people outside the country allied themselves with those of us who are trying to put pressure on legislators to enact gun reform. It would be helpful if you identified yourselves as supporters of gun reformers, rather than suggesting the entire country is full of gun-crazed bumpkins.

Here are some ways that you can help South Carolinians affected by devastating floods. (I wouldn't recommended all of them, so please always do your own vetting re: charitable giving.) Please feel welcome and encouraged to leave suggestions for other ways to help in comments.

[CN: Image of insects] This is how fire ants are surviving the flooding, which is a pretty interesting nature story in the middle of a terrible disaster, but also kind of a moving metaphor for how humans survive such disasters. At least to me.

[CN: War; bombing; death] Amy Davidson has "Five Questions About the Bombing of a Hospital in Kunduz." Meanwhile, Spencer Ackerman notes that "the US account of the Saturday morning airstrike [has shifted] for the fourth time in as many days." One constant is that is was just a big mistake: "Campbell instead said the hospital was 'mistakenly struck' by US forces." That is woefully insufficient.

[CN: Homophobia; racism] I don't even know: "Alabama judges are using a Jim Crow-era law to avoid issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. That law, passed in 1961, makes the issuance of marriage licenses optional rather than mandatory." What I do know is that Imani Gandy is a champion for wading through this stuff.

[CN: Racism] In case you weren't aware, Donald Trump not only says heinous racist things about immigrants and refugees, but also says heinous racist things about Native Americans.

[CN: Privacy violations] Welp: "The personal data of Europeans held in America by online tech corporations is not safe from US government snooping, the European court of justice has ruled, in a landmark verdict that hits Facebook, Google, Amazon and many others. The Luxembourg-based court declared the EU-US 'safe harbour' rules regulating firms' retention of Europeans' data in the US to be invalid, throwing a spoke into trade relations that will also impact on current negotiations on a far-reaching transatlantic trade pact between Washington and Brussels. The ECJ, whose findings are binding on all EU member states, ruled on Tuesday that: 'The United States … scheme enables interference, by United States public authorities, with the fundamental rights of persons…'"

Are you a huge fan of McDonald's breakfast? Then you will probably be excited to hear that McDonald's [moving gif at link] is now serving breakfast all day. Or maybe not! If part of the reason you liked it was its pre-10:30am exclusivity!

Mad Max director says there will be at least two more installments. Yay! But will they be as good as the first one? I bet not! But I hope I'm wrong! Will one of them be a Furiosa film? I wish! And I say that as a human being who is physically incapable of wanting to see more Tom Hardy than I already do! But MORE FURIOSA PLZ!

And finally! A chihuahua mama who was mourning her stillborn pup adopts (with the help of her guardians and a pet rescue) some newborn kittens without a mama. Blub. ♥

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[Content Note: Refugee crisis] Croatia says it will not accept any more refugees: "After suddenly landing in the path of the biggest migration in Europe for decades, Croatia said on Friday it could no longer offer them refuge and would wave them onwards, challenging the EU to find a policy to receive them. The [refugees], mostly from poor or war-torn countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, have streamed into Croatia since Wednesday, after Hungary blocked what had been the main route with a metal fence and riot police at its border with Serbia. 'We cannot register and accommodate these people any longer,' Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic told a news conference in the capital Zagreb. 'They will get food, water, and medical help, and then they can move on. The European Union must know that Croatia will not become a migrant 'hotspot'. We have hearts, but we also have heads.'" Fuck.

[CN: Anti-immigrant rhetoric; racism] This is amazing: "An Open Letter to Presidential Candidates from 100 Immigrant Women: The rhetoric and solutions we have heard are not grounded in reality. The reality is, many of you count on immigrants every day. We know, because we clean your homes and take care of your children and aging parents. We drive you to work, cook and serve your food. We teach your children language, art and dance. We design your apps and build your homes. In this country, we are interdependent. The 11 million undocumented people living and working in this country are integral to this economy and our social fabric." YES.

[CN: Sexual violence] What say you, Bill Cosby? "Bill Cosby faces renewed public focus on allegations he drugged and sexually attacked large numbers of women over a prolonged period after the cable TV channel A&E broadcast on Thursday night the stories of 13 of his avowed victims on Cosby: The Women Speak. ...The 13 women related stories that ranged in date from the late 1960s through to the late 1980s. Several women raised similar allegations that they had been promised help by Cosby in their fledgling acting careers, had been encouraged to visit him in Las Vegas or Los Angeles, and had then been drugged and sexually attacked." And he continues to maintain that they are all liars. Okay.

In good news: "Same-sex couples will be able to marry in Ireland by year's end after the Supreme Court turned away an appeal of a challenge to the country's historic referendum victory back in May." Yay!

[CN: Sexual harassment; misogyny] In more good news—or, at least, a good outcome to a terrible situation: "New York utility company Con Edison will be forced to pay $3.8 million to more than 300 of its women workers who were subjected to sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination. Con Edison, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the New York attorney general's office reached the joint settlement this week, ending a government investigation that began in 2007. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said: 'This agreement sends a clear message to employers across New York State: All women, including those working in male-dominated work-places, are entitled to equal justice under law.'"

[CN: Carcerality] I haven't read the details yet, and I wish it were more comprehensive prison abolition, but this sounds like a solid start, at least: "Sen. Bernie Sanders said he hopes to end the 'private, for-profit prison racket' with the introduction Thursday of bills to ban private prisons, reinstate the federal parole system, and eliminate quotas for the number of immigrants held in detention. The Vermont independent, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, introduced the 'Justice is not for Sale Act' with Democratic Reps. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, Keith Ellison of Minnesota, and Bobby Rush of Illinois. It would bar the federal government from contracting with private incarceration companies starting two years after passage."

[CN: Misogyny] Jesus fucking Jones, everything about this, starting with the picture at the top of the article, is the woooooorst: "What Is Hillary's Greatest Accomplishment? Carly Fiorina dared Democrats to name it. 20 top Dems accepted the challenge."

Tom Hardy explains why he was contemptuous of a question about his sexuality, and it was pretty much exactly what I said about its being an unwinnable game "that puts people in the position of being accused of lying, denying, distancing, or upholding their own privilege." Says Hardy, after referring to his having been coy about his sexuality (and also misrepresented) in previous interviews, he goes on: "I'm quite sensitive and I feel like I've let people down for something that I actually didn't ask for, for something that's important to a lot of people. Should I come out of the closet when I'm not in one? I ought to maybe come out of the closet, even though that's a lie, to do the right thing. Or, if I say no, then I'm homophobic? Bless him, he's young. But at the same time, it left me feeling like I have to do something about that. And it's like why? Whose business is it anyway and isn't that the point?" I love him the end.

[CN: Video may autoplay at link] And finally! Tillie the Setter stayed with her doggie friend Phoebe the Basset Hound for a week after Phoebe got trapped in a concrete cistern. Every day, Tillie would leave for a short time to look for help. And finally: "On Sept. 14, [the animal rescue organization Vashon Island Pet Protectors] received a call saying that while they were out on their property, a 'reddish' dog had come up to them a few times, before promptly heading back into a ravine. Based on the tip, volunteers made their way into the ravine, said Amy Carey with VIPP. After a bit of searching, the volunteers heard a small one-woof response when they called out to Tillie. A few minutes later they found her lying beside the old cistern with her head resting on the concrete wall. 'They knew that meant Phoebe was inside the cistern. Every breath was held and every doggie prayer offered that the peek over the rim would somehow find her safe,' Carey said. Both dogs were cold and hungry but are doing well." Blub.

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In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Homophobia] Kentucky county clerk and aggressive bigot Kim Davis is still all over the news. Now she's saying she "will not block the process but her name will not appear on the paperwork." I have nothing new to say about her that I haven't said already: She is a bigot hiding behind religion, and if she doesn't want to do her job, then she can fucking quit. Asshole.

In other news: Alice "Nonie" Dubes and Vivian Boyack, married last year after 72 years together, are celebrating their first wedding anniversary. Aww.

[CN: Refugee crisis] Fuck: "EU governments are expected to back radical new plans for the internment of 'irregular migrants,' the creation of large new refugee camps in Italy and Greece and longer-term aims for the funding and building of refugee camps outside the EU to try to stop people coming to Europe. A crunch meeting of EU interior ministers in Brussels, called to grapple with Europe's largest refugee crisis since the second world war, was also expected to water down demands from the European commission, strongly supported by Germany, for the obligatory sharing of refugees across at least 22 countries. ...A four-page draft statement, prepared on Monday morning by EU ambassadors before the ministers met...said 'reception facilities will be organised so as to temporarily accommodate people' in Greece and Italy while they are identified, registered, and finger-printed. Their asylum claims are to be processed quickly and those who fail are to be deported promptly."

[CN: Rape culture; victim-blaming; hostility to sex workers] Mary Mitchell has written a column for the Chicago Sun-Times in which she argues that a case in which a sex worker was raped at gunpoint by a man who hired her is "making a mockery of rape victims" because "it's actually more like theft of services" and "minimizes the act of rape." It's a comprehensively reprehensible argument, and as a survivor of rape, I have to say that I categorically do not feel as though acknowledging that sex workers can be and are raped minimizes rape nor mocks victims, but I sure as hell do feel that Mitchell's column does both.

[CN: Misogyny] Here's just a real headline in the world: "In church address, Hillary Clinton pledges to be nicer to the media." Jesus Jones. Meanwhile, the media pledges to keep being utterly unfair and totally misogynistic toward Hillary Clinton.

[CN: Privilege] Today is the day that Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks at Liberty University, about which I wrote last month, noting: "Sanders doesn't have to weigh the cost of speaking at a university that is explicitly anti-feminist, or explicitly anti-gay, or has a Civil War 'mourning room' that contains among its decorations a cross made from the hair of dead Confederate soldiers. (No, I'm not joking.) He doesn't have to worry about sacrificing his dignity and checking his humanity at the door the way his fellow candidate Hillary Clinton would, or our current sitting president Barack Obama would." And he continues to elide social justice issues in favor of his "unifying" approach via class inequality: "Sanders says the 'massive injustice' of income and wealth inequality should unite people across the political spectrum. He's making that point to thousands of evangelical college students who usually support Republicans. The Democratic presidential candidate is speaking Monday at Liberty University." Sigh.

[CN: Sexuality policing; video may autoplay at link] Tom Hardy doesn't have any interest in participating in discussions of sexuality that are really unwinnable games that put people in the position of being accused of lying, denying, distancing, or upholding their own privilege. So his answer is "Are you asking about my sexuality? Why? Thank you."

In other critical Tom Hardy news: "Tom Hardy Regrets Nothing About His Sexy MySpace Profile Photos." NOR SHOULD HE!

And finally! "Couple Has 5 Cats and 2 Dogs That All Love to Sleep in Bed So They Made an 11-Foot Mega Bed." Obviously.

Open Wide...

Shut Up!

In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: War on agency] Fucking hell: "The U.S. House is likely to vote shortly after the August recess on a bill that would at least temporarily defund Planned Parenthood... It's not clear which proposal will be voted on, exactly when the vote will come, or whether the bill would be attached to other legislation. GOP aides told The Hill that leaders are still weighing their options, but a likely candidate is Rep. Diane Black's (R-TN) bill to halt federal funding to Planned Parenthood for one year while congressional investigations into the organization proceed. ...Some Republicans want to threaten a government shutdown by blocking any spending bills that contain funding for Planned Parenthood, but GOP leadership seems eager to avoid the chaos and controversy the move would provoke." I don't even know what to say anymore.

[CN: Homophobia; video autoplays at first link] Despite the US Supreme Court rejecting an appeal from Rowan County, Kentucky, clerk Kim Davis, who refuses to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Davis continues to refuse to comply with federal law, citing her "religious objections." Fire. This. Person.

[CN: Transphobia; carcerality; sexual assault] At last: "Ashley Diamond, the transgender inmate who sued the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) after being denied a safe environment and medically necessary gender dysphoria treatment, was released today after more than three years in prison, where she was housed with male inmates and sexually assaulted eight times. Diamond, 37, was released from Augusta State Medical Prison just five days after the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed additional documents supporting her motion for preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed in February. The papers, which include sworn statements from multiple transgender inmates, demonstrate that the GDC continues to systematically deny appropriate care to transgender inmates, despite having earlier announced a policy change. 'I'm overjoyed to be with my family again and out of harm's way,' Diamond said. 'Although the systematic abuse and assaults I faced for more than three years have left me emotionally and physically scarred, I'll continue to fight for justice and to shine a light on the gross mistreatment of transgender inmates in Georgia and nationwide.'" Sob.

[CN: Racism; xenophobia] How are we even supposed to deal with this? "A majority of Republican voters, 54 percent, think that President Obama is a Muslim, according to a new survey from the left-leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP). Asked whether they thought Obama is a Christian or Muslim or if they were unsure, 32 percent said they were unsure. Fourteen percent said he was a Christian."

[CN: Rape culture; Christian Supremacy] Of course: Michael Seewald, the father-in-law of Josh Duggar's sister, Jessa, has written a piece of fetid bullshit about how Duggar isn't a real Christian (ahem) because of the Ashley Madison cheating stuff. This would hardly be worth mentioning except: "[I]n an earlier post [Seewald] defended the Duggars after Josh's molestation of his sisters was brought to light."

[CN: Rape culture] Drink up, assholes: "Joe Paterno Beer Flying Off Shelves: Pennsylvanians can't get enough of Duquesne Brewing Company's Paterno Legacy Series beer. The brew, which honors late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, hit shelves last week, and the brewery is already preparing for a second run."

I love Serena Williams with ten thousand hearts: "I embrace me, and I love how I look. I love that I'm a full woman and I am strong, and I'm powerful, and I'm beautiful at the same time, and there's nothing wrong like that. It's so important to look at the positives, if I get caught up looking at the negatives it can really bring you down… I don't have time to be brought down, I've got too many things to do. I have Grand Slams to win, I have people to inspire, and that's what I'm here for."

[CN: Racism; disablist language] WHUT: "James Bond author says Idris Elba is 'too street' to play the suave spy." It doesn't take a superspy to decode that communication. Fuck.

[CN: Moving GIF at link] This BBC host is SO EXCITED about seeing a blue whale! And I don't blame him one bit!

[CN: Moving GIFs at link] And finally! "Two Guys Went Fishing But Ended Up Catching Abandoned Kittens." Oh. Mah. Gawd. THE CUTEST!

Open Wide...

Shut Up!