Ramona H

To understand how farming works you need to watch this video!

It was quite eye opening when I moved to ultra rural SD and discovered the thing about a lot of corporate farms really at large family farms.

On a backbone trail in Bryce Canyon

One day, when it’s safe, when there’s no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it’s too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.
-Omar El Akkad

Pics of the day

#photography

What a gorgeous boy! So sorry for your loss. They really do carve out a special place in our hearts!

Isn’t feeding the mash to livestock a sustainable use? I fail to see the upside here.

Christy Lynne Wood (@christylynnewood) “This essay is not a bash of conservatives or a celebration of liberals. It is a warning about false religion that pretends to be Christianity from someone who has already been there done that. It is ...

A very good explanation of two sides of Christian Nationalism.

substack.com/@christylynn...

And they do not vote as states already have procedures in place that verify citizenship when one registers to vote and require identification at the polling places.

Please, let’s have a little common sense and compassion. Is the system broken? Yes. Then let’s fix it.

Undocumented immigrants do not qualify for benefits (a few states do give Medicare coverage). They are not getting SNAP and cash assistance. They contribute much more in taxes than they receive.

“They are stealing our tax dollars” and “they are voting in our elections.” Um, just no. Undocumented workers pay taxes (unless they are working g under the table, and in that case, shame on the employers evading payroll taxes!) and do not get any of it back.

2.) these crimes are much more likely to be committed by a US Citizen, and typically committed by someone the same race as the victim.

“What about the victims of those who have been murdered, raped, robbed by people in this country illegally?” 1.) I agree, they should get justice. And we have a justice system in place for exactly that reason.

“They are taking our jobs!” Look again at Mr. Trump’s statement “good, longtime workers” filling jobs that are “almost impossible to replace.” Are you going to take the job picking tomatoes? Do your children to aspire to be housekeepers at the hotel in town? No? Whose jobs exactly are they taking?

Side bar:
While I have your attention:

There are an estimated 11 million people who are in this county illegally. I know “millions” sounds like a lot - until you step back and realize that this is 3.2 percent of the 340.1 million people living in the United States. This tiny percentage is a crisis?

This is paternalism at its finest: Mr. Trump thinks he knows what is best for you better than you do.

They ARE saying the quiet part out loud. Are we listening?

4b.) Isn’t it funny that Mr. Trump and his appointees can claim a mandate with 49.8% of the vote (32% of the total population since about 30% of the people didn’t even vote) yet considers Governor Newsome (who won by 59%) and Mayor Bass (54%) to not represent the will of the people who elected them.

It is a clear admission that the goal is to remove any official who does not agree with their agenda. Do we really want the federal government deciding who may serve as our governors and mayors?

4.) “socialists” Excuse me Ms. Noem, but the two individuals you call socialists are members of the Democratic Party and hold viewpoints that are nowhere near the definition of socialist. This statement should alarm every citizen in the USA.

3.) States Rights. A rallying cry of the Republicans until the state in question does something the Republicans don’t agree with. Which leads to the point #4

2.) Both are duly elected officials. The people of LA and California voted for them. If the people of LA and California are dissatisfied with these elected officials, there is a recall mechanism. The people of the state get to decide. No need to “liberate” - the people can handle it.

Let’s unpack:

1.) “burdensome leadership” they “have placed on this country” Ms. Noem is talking about a city mayor and a state governor, neither of which have any power or leadership outside their respective jurisdictions. This is a city and state matter, not a concern of the federal government.

The second statement:

“We are not going away. We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country and what they have tried to insert into the city.” Kristi Noem

The fact of the matter is our federal government is not deporting “the criminals.” They are indiscriminately rounding up people of color. Unless,of course, a business owner or farmer needs them for their labor.

Let me get this straight: it’s ok to grab people at their workplaces, at schools and churches, outside government building where they scheduled to attend hearings on their immigration status? To indiscriminately grab people because they “look” like they may have come here illegally?

Well, you say, technically they are criminals, they entered the country illegally (for more on this excise, see the sidebar at the end of this post).

What is this if it isn’t an admission that despite assurances that only “criminals” (you know - rapists and murders) and “gang members” are being rounded up and deported, in reality people who have no criminal record and who are productive members of our communities are being deported?

“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace.” Donald Trump

Are we not hearing what those leading our federal government are saying?

There were two statements yesterday that should make every US citizen take pause:

The first:

I sincerely hope
I have that courage!

Text with a background in the colors of the trans rights flag: First, they came for the trans people, and I spoke out immediately even though I'm straight and cis because I've read the rest of the fucking poem. Have A Gay Day