Kris Gates

Republicans understand that the best way to kill social programs is to paint their beneficiaries as Black, as support for these programs declines — even amongst white people who need them — when they think large numbers of Black people will benefit.

news.stanford.edu/stories/2018...

He is indeed regal. Unless there are loud noises and then he cowers unhappily under the blankets. Let that be our secret.

I didn't realize Alexa did that! We don't have a very "wired" home but our home security hub makes announcements and for some reason when power resumes our electronic doorbell always goes off. It was the battery backup that really woke us! At first I thought it was the fancy litterbox!

The cutest fluffy white and black cats perched atop a pile of cushions on an enclosed catio.

Happy #Caturday!
We couldn’t love him more. Our Frisby on the catio.
Nobody had a restful night here. In the storm, a neighborhood transformer blew around 1am and our battery backups started beeping incessantly. Then more noise as appliances woke up when power restored at 3am.
Yawn!!🥱

Autumn forest trail.

#BlueskyArtShow #Autumn #Photography #MobilePhotography

the US where wetlands have been filled in for development, AMBI populations have declined. Although these shy birds reside in my part of Oregon year round & breed & nest here, I've never seen any young. In fact, I can count on one hand my sightings of the AMBI in over a decade of serious #birding.

bill straight up at the sky. Although they appear fairly hefty, AMBI weigh less than 2 pounds. They inhabit both fresh & brackish marshes & wetlands, creeping through the reeds after frogs, fish, salamanders, crayfish, water beetles, dragonflies, lampreys, eels, snakes, & small rodents.🦉 In areas of

begun, the wetland habitat is a lush green, making the AMBI’s brown plumage less effective camouflage. We peered at this #bird from behind a screen of twigs & branches, quietly observing to avoid alarming it. When spooked, an AMBI often contracts its long neck into its body, freezes, & points its

#Bird of the Day: American Bittern (AMBI)
It’s a good day of birding when you see a bittern, as these solitary members of the heron family are extremely secretive & more active during nighttime. In this case, another birder spotted it first & kindly pointed it out. Now that our autumn rains have

Wowza!

I would be honored! Sugar, chocolate and alcohol, what could go wrong?!

Oh, my teeth hurt just thinking about that!

Those inflatable costumes are so fun but they must be hard to walk around in!

😂
I guess I needn’t have limited it to 2, anyhow!

A styrofoam cooler with a hand drawn jack o’lantern on it. It sits on a porch steps with autumn leaves.

The styrofoam cooler is filled with York peppermint patties.

I don’t think I got a single trick-or-treater last night. I set this up on the porch before leaving for my parents’ festivities. When I got home at 830, it seemed just as full. No kids later on, either. A dark & stormy night.
Good thing I bought candy I like!

I was a "Middle-aged Flapper" in a sparkly, fringed cape, black silk evening gloves, and feathered headband. Just to humor my mom and she was pleased; I didn't participate in the contest. A lot of staff members dress up too and it's fun to see the variety.

I think you might be seeing the "Sheep" that went along with Little Bo Peep! She had great ears in her fluffy white wig.

Crossing guard en masse, group costume with safety vests, lights, and flags.

Fortune teller

Alien/green flash.

The butterfly catcher has almost caught the butterfly while a witch looks on.

This oddly touching. Mom was a butterfly, Dad with a net the butterfly hunter. She loves being the center of attention, and their couple’s costume was among the winner. Here are some of the others.

Mom and Dad in butterfly and net-wielding butterfly hunter.

Little Bo Peep and sheep.

A pair of tomatoes

Thing 1 and Thing 2

At my mom’s request, I joined them for Halloween festivities: dinner and costume contest. It seems a bit disorganized (compared to last year) but still fun. When there was a long wait for the judges to confer, a resident led the group in singing This Land is Your Land and God Bless America. I found

A woman with zombie-like makeup, lab coat, and sign: Healthcare for Everyone!

46 at the weekly corner protest, including some regulars in costume. Had a guy in a Trump hat try to tell us how we lived in a Republic, not a democracy. Why do they think this is such a burn? I told him no matter what you call it, the Constitution isn’t optional & Trump is violating it. He left.

15 million Americans are going to lose their health care.

People who thought that drive me insane.

We will ensure everyone we disagree with is charged with criminal activity.

I renovated the Lincoln Bathroom in the White House. It was renovated in the 1940s in an art deco green tile style, which was totally inappropriate for the Lincoln Era. I did it in black and white polished Statuary marble. This was very appropriate for the time of Abraham Lincoln and, in fact, could be the marble that was originally there!

sure, you might not be able to eat or go to the doctor, but check out how nice Trump's new marble shitter is

If I'm tracking, this Senate resolution (SJR88) covers ALL Trump's tariffs issued under his "fake emergency" powers. The Brazil tariff was an earlier resolution (SJR81); there was a separate Canada one as well. Still, the House won't vote on any of them; even if they did pass them, Trump could veto.

I love the last paragraph. Very understated.

Is he talking about Dmitri Mendeleev, the genius behind the period table of elements? Who died in 1907?

The media is about to blitz us with stories about how awful Maduro is and I want you to remember that even if they're all true, they are being issued solely for the purpose of manufacturing consent for invading Venezuela and killing innocent people.

8 Things to Watch for the 2026 ACA Open Enrollment Period 1. Enhanced premium tax credits are set to expire. 2. Marketplace enrollees could have to repay more at tax time. 3. Program changes might result in more Marketplace enrollees selecting higher deductible plans. 4. Premium tax credit eligibility will be eliminated for certain lawfully present immigrants. 5. Consumers with lower incomes can no longer sign up year-round. 6. Loss of federal Navigator funding could make it harder for some consumers to find help during open enrollment. 7. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients will be unable to sign up for Marketplace coverage. 8. Several planned regulatory changes to ACA Marketplace coverage have been temporarily blocked by a federal court.

ACA Open Enrollment is Nov. 1. Higher premiums and out-of-pocket payments could await many Marketplace enrollees.

More on these and other issues to watch in the 2026 Open Enrollment period: https://on.kff.org/432BLHT

Many, many animal species have behaviors and traits that don't fall into neat male/female binary boxes. The more we know about nature, the more we know how false those boxes really are. Biology is more than binary, and no executive order can change that reality.