Laura Dillon

Genie: ok what do you want for your birthday
Trump: a military parade, oh, and also millions of people on the street chanting my name
Genie: okie dokie

It's bigotry or bust for the Trump administration On National Girls and Women in Sports Day, the president banned transgender girls and women from school sports.

thrilled to have had the opportunity to write for @contrariannews.org and flex my writing muscle again.
on Tr#mp signing his latest anti-trans bill, and the insult of doing so on national girls and women in sports day - open.substack.com/pub/contrari...

5 Calls Spend 5 minutes. Make 5 calls. Make your voice heard.

Okay, I cannot recommend 5calls.org enough. Enter your address and it will find all your reps (federal and state). AND give you a list of issues to call about AND which reps to call about each of them AND a little script for each, in case it's helpful. They have an app, too.

My Amazon purchases have plummeted and I’m shopping a lot more at Costco these days.

Today we had the worst aviation disaster in the U.S. in 16 years because a military helicopter wandered into the flight path of a commercial plane.

Trump: This is clearly the fault of Pete Buttigieg and DEI!

Earlier this week Trump threatened the jobs of all of all US federal employees (which includes all of our air traffic controllers).

Trump’s new Secretary of Transportation is a white male former reality tv star.

Trump’s new head of the DOD is a white male former Fox News Host.

The FAA administrator resigned in December (forced out by Musk who was pissed about SpaceX being fined for safety concerns).

On January 21st Trump fired the head of the Transportation Security Administration and all members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee (who have not been replaced).

Hey friends! We're seeing a lot of terrible things. We're not able to cover all of them, but we felt this latest one is a really big deal and needs much more awareness. Our summary is this: It's an administrative coup. Trump has ordered tens of billions (maybe up to $3 trillion) of budget halted indefinitely in a blatantly illegal move. He's claiming power to halt and potentially redirect funding that's already been authorized by Congress — a classic authoritarian move. Here's what we know. And we're doing our best to catch up with this story, because it's moving fast. There's a memo from Matthew Vaeth, the acting head of the Office of Management and Budget. (That's the same government entity who set-up the DEI "snitch" line, that's now been spammed by tens of thousands of our fellow residents.) In typical Trump-style, the memo gets its facts wrong. It claims in FY2024 the US government spent $10 trillion (actually it was $6.8 trillion). It says money should be used for the administration's priorities — "The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve." (Again, it's very fact deficient.) The memo says a pause will begin at 5pm on January 28th where, "Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal." Anyone promised federal grants might have their money at risk, even states. This is Congressional directed spending and Trump is ordering people to not do it. This funding includes universities for education and research programs, nonprofits, local and tribal governments, disaster relief aid, e…

So what can we do? It's been a lot. And the shock approach of this administration is to overwhelm us with nonsense and a state of paralysis. We continue to believe the best thing is to stay grounded and keep yourself sane amidst insanity. At this juncture, three actions we suggest that make sense to us: 1) Urge media to cover this story properly This is not "possibly illegal" — it's "patently illegal." You can read notes on that here. It's not "temporary" — it's "indefinite." There's no timetable for ending it. It's not just a memo — it's an administrative coup. 2) Urge your Representatives to act like this is a big deal If you know us, this isn't a knee-jerk action we suggest. We think this is a strategic because it's Congress that's being violated — their power is being directly undermined. 3) Continue to support ACLU and Democracy Forward These groups have been preparing litigation for some time. Unless Trump revokes this, this will certainly make its way through the courts. Our read is even the biased courts will have trouble swallowing this — so it may end up being shut down. Keep breathing. “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again," Nelson Mandela. Warmly, - Choose Democracy

Hi that was a coup last night in case no one mentioned that to you. The executive branch seized the power of the purse the Constitution gave to Congress, which is a pretty authoritarian / illegal consolidation of powers move. Time to go yell at your reps, the media, etc.

Who knew finally watching Mitch get hoist with his own petard would be so unsatisfying.

Screenshot of a young person holding up a sign that says “BREAKING: ICE IN KENTUCKY” The algorithm-facing comment says, “Had to share these cute winter boots I just got!”

People on TikTok are reporting ICE raids happening in small cities in various states.

To get past algorithmic censorship, they’re writing down the information on paper and holding up and shuffling through the handwritten signs as they talk about pretend subjects like shopping, food, and animals.

Trump has deployed active military to help round up migrants and put them into detention camps.

The military forced us out of our homes at gunpoint in 1942 because we were considered possibly disloyal Americans. They sent us to internment camps for four years.

History is repeating. Pay attention.

Trump is deporting the guy who mows your lawn but releasing the guy who bashed a police officer’s head in back to your community.

IGNOREguration, amirite?

History is filled with curious customs around headgear. The top hat was once a symbol of rebellion, shocking society when first worn in the 1700s. One wearer was fined for "disturbing the peace." #WyrdWednesday

blog.britishnewspape...

Photo: Alexander Gardner

A screenshot of a Tumblr post from user thehmn. It depicts two carved ivory figurines of foxes dressed as monks. The caption reads, Foxes disguised as monks. On the left from Japan and on the right from Denmark.

Clearly, this was a global issue.

black and white illustration. “the Dinner in the Mould of the Iguanodon”. Drawn by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins in 1872. 21 people are sat in the mould, with Richard Owen at the (literal) head. Servants are..serving and milling around on a raised platform around the beast, and the whole set-up is within very large drapes, with a chandelier above. The scene has been exaggerated somewhat, as it seems that half of the guests were seated outside the mould, on an adjacent table

It’s the 170th anniversary of the day *after* the dinner in the Iguanodon

The guests drank “Sherry, Madeira, Port, Moselle, Claret”, and “after several appropriate toasts..returned to London by rail, evidently well pleased with the modern hospitality of the Iguanodon”

We hope they felt ok 😵‍💫

1/2

Without warning, I just crossed into the valley of the shadow of death: the New York Times crossword - 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝒀𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 - had a reference to young person slang I did not recognize.
That's it then, for me. I am officially decrepit. Falling into the grave. Doddering. A dotard. Fossilized.

I am so there for Victorian Wasting Disease Day. I will celebrate by being romantically pale and lolling in bed all day while my loved ones try to recruit my strength with champagne and tea and little sandwiches with the crusts cut off.

This cartoon feels downright optimistic given what they’re promising. 😞

Empty food tray with a label reading "Antipasta Pasta Salad, $7.99 /lb" next to trays with food at a self-service counter.

i'm no stephen hawking but i think what happens is that they cancel each other out

Is YOUR child texting about P.G. Wodehouse? Get to know the signs:

BRB = Bertie’s Rum Bother
LMAO = Lest Maiden Aunts Occur
JFC = Jeeves Favours Caution
BTW = Bold Tie Warnings
WTAF = Well Then, Augustus Fink-Nottle
STFU = Sir, That Fedora’s...Unfortunate