Go to an old cemetery. See all the baby graves from before the 1950s & 60s? After that, hardly any. That's when people started vaccinating their children against deadly childhood diseases. If you're unsure what to do to protect your kids, the answer is literally written in stone

Do you fly in airplanes? Drive on highways? File taxes? Have kids or elderly parents? Go to the doctor? Prefer not to be poisoned by toxic chemicals? Then you rely on the government services that Musk is hobbling. It is tragic that many Americans won’t realize this until those services are killed.

“It is not possible to step away from humanity to assert humanity. We always must step towards it.” @adriennemareebrown.bsky.social From Octavia’s Parables podcast, which has provided me with calmness and clarity in the past couple months, for which I am increasingly and immeasurably grateful.

I know that "throughout the universe" is often used in legal contracts/docs but it gives me such joy to see it deployed here

Because not only are you critical of collective action… you are not participating in any responsive action

The way that pessimism is used as a preventive to every collective action is unhealthy

Yes. People who don’t want to do anything, constantly critiquing the actions of folks who are doing something. Sit in silence, then. Stop annoying us. We’re busy.

How Elon Musk Executed His Takeover of the Federal Bureaucracy. Great reporting by the Times here of an effort that began in Sept 2023. “Wouldn’t it be great, Mr. Musk offered, if he could have access to the computers of the federal government?” [kottke.org]

If you have been exposed to #measles you can get post-exposure vaccination. Ideally within 72 hours of the exposure. This can help reduce the severity of illness and could even prevent you from developing symptoms at all. Given exposures in gyms and at airports consider this a free tip.

More good reporting from Wired on white nationalist Stephen Miller’s role the ongoing coup. “Miller is carrying out the daily work of governance while Trump serves as head of state, focusing on the fun parts of being president.” [wired.com]

Politics are always a grief issue.

Such an important point. Movements for justice begin in steps and proceed through stumbles and successes. The key is to keep trying, in community for the cause.

“People will die, but we will never know, because even the programs to count the dead are cut.” www.nytimes.com/2025/02/27/h...

Here are The Top 10 Dogs of the week! youtu.be/3Ni0YXHD6m0?...

I'm convinced this is a genuine problem. The reality of Trump is so cartoonishly, comically awful that an absolutely neutral description sounds like a hit piece, even to me. So if you're at all predisposed to think of press as biased, factual reporting looks like some relentless vendetta.

How a pediatrician persuades vaccine-hesitant parents. “She has found *tremendous* success by just letting the families know she will have to document the higher risk of specific, and often fatal illness, in the chart of their child.” [kottke.org]

The fact that the USA has banned visas for trans people but welcomed rapist Andrew Tate shows how all this "defending women" stuff is total bullshit

🧵 PIH condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the Trump Administration's mass termination of United States Government grants and contracts supporting essential health care delivery and humanitarian assistance around the world. Here’s what you need to know—and how you can take action 👇

This whole country wants bad things for others more than they want good things for themselves.

I see people deactivating various social media accounts, which I understand & respect, but I’m done letting Bad Tech Bros™️ chase me out of my community spaces. Maybe there are no more “good places.” Maybe there are only good people doing their best to navigate—& use for good—problematic spaces.

I’m gonna give it a couple more weeks because I’m still in risk-assessment mode but I absolutely cannot do the “firehose of Trump news” again. Part of it is him, but part of it is my own lack of discipline regarding news consumption. Just opening this app lately makes my blood pressure go up.

Somebody yelled at me for posting about Ganymede instead of /the state of things/ last night. I know we’re (almost) all on the same page here, but a Bluesky without cute cats, science facts, and dumb jokes would be bad for everyone.

It’s been less than a week & I’m already exhausted by all the “how dare you not know about THIS terrible thing yet!!” & the vague shout shaming “YOU voted for this!” I bet the ppl following you did not, in fact, vote for this. Those that did - aren’t listening. Don’t rage laterally - rage UP. Tysm

Yeah, it’s absolutely part of Trump’s strategy to wear us down via a shock and awe deployment of executive orders, news chaos, etc etc. But,if I’m being real, I think a lot of folks on the left — myself included — feed the chaos by panicking constantly, shoving the news in each other’s faces.

It didn’t have to be like this.

#CriticalVoices: "Mutual aid is not just a disaster response, it’s a way of caring for one another, building stronger communities, and preparing for whatever life may throw at us next. It’s a labor of love—and a way of life." via @kimkelly.bsky.social anarchistagency.com/kim-kelly-we...

A state senator in Mississippi has filed a bill entitled the “Contraception Begins at Erection Act.” As written by Sen. Bradford Blackmon, the bill would make it “unlawful for a person to discharge genetic material without the intent to fertilize an embryo.” www.wlbt.com/2025/01/22/m...

Hijacking this a bit to post a take but it's been my belief that some component of the radicalization pipeline actually does tie directly into things like "help your mom wash dishes", or more specifically, that radicalization finds purchase more easily w/ folks who are missing connections like that

How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days. “In one of the most astonishing political transformations in the history of democracy, Hitler set about destroying a constitutional republic through constitutional means.” [theatlantic.com]

You do NOT have to speak to ICE without a JUDICIAL warrant. If they attempt to enter your home or your workplace, ask for a warrant. Sometimes they will try to use other, non qualifying paperwork. They need a warrant. (2/3)

White men: have fun wondering if you got hired for a job because you were the best option or because Trump threatened to prosecute anyone who hires people who are not white men.

Ah, this explains a bunch of weirdo randos in my mentions today! I blocked and reported, but makes me feel less despair about humanity to know they might not be people. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Yes! Staffers really do tally phone calls from constituents! If you need an assistant on what to say to make your call effective, we have phone numbers, explainers, and simple call scripts on the @5calls.org app & website 😎👍🏽📞

It's good for our collective sanity when we remember who to be mad at. Sometimes when we're all riled up as a group we take it out on each other, instead of directing anger at the actual villains in our story. Part of taking care of ourselves is reserving the anger for the actual enemy.

Good morning. You are still here. Do something kind for someone you love today--and if you can, for someone else in your community, even if they're a stranger. We're in this together. ❤️

Take back your attention.

we are the adaptation no oppressor can imagine … we are building our stamina we dream of the real world we carry god, and see god, in each of our faces your holiness is not too heavy, not for me adriennemareebrown.net/2025/01/20/i...

Fuck. This is so fucking stupid.

I’m going to continue to love those around me, do good at every opportunity, support those who need it most, and find happiness wherever I can.

DOL resources available below!

Children are learning to speak Mandarin because apparently the USA can’t hear them in English.

This should be required reading in this new era.

"OptumRx, the group’s pharmacy benefit manager, along with its two main peers, Express Scripts and CVS Caremark Rx, have pocketed an extra $7.3 billion over cost thanks to price gouging, according to the findings of a report by the Federal Trade Commission." Lina Khan really is That Girl.

LA FIRE VICTIMS—Cremated remains recovery assistance. If you or anyone you know had to evacuate & leave behind the cremated remains/ashes of someone—this team of volunteer archaeologists can help! Please help spread the word. Info & intake form to request help here: altahf.org

My partner mentioned "monotasking" the other day while I was thinking about the term "poly-crisis" as I had seen it somewhere on the internet to describe our current situation. Now, my new mantra to stay grounded is "monotasking in a poly-crisis".

The year is 2035. I meet President AOC in the Oval Office. "You've done well," she says. "By telling men to dress gay, you've lowered the population rate by 90%, thereby reducing carbon emissions." She slides me a manilla envelope. I can now afford a home in a walkable neighborhood