Holly Thayer

My placenta may be anterior, but its motives have been decidedly ulterior.

Pregnant Holly: I wonder if Hyper Energy has any low-caffeine drinks that are safe during pregnancy. Most foods/drinks sound awful, but that sounds perfect.

Headline Hours Later: Hyper Energy owner charged with threatening wife and firing gun near sleeping kids

Why can't anything be ok?

Rhetoric broadly claiming that social media is problematic or corrupt dismantles grassroots organizing. Social media platforms may have problematic elements and corrupt leaders. The landscape needs a complete overhaul. But if we destroy the concept of positive online connections, the people lose.

Lesser-known pregnancy symptom: Crying off and on all morning because it's such a relief to see @booker.senate.gov still speaking on the Senate floor. #corybooker

📢 Action Alert 📢 This bill could ban the Covid-19 vaccine & other gene-based vaccines in Iowa. Contact subcommittee members TODAY and tell them to vote NO on SF360:

Doug Campbell: doug.campbell@legis.iowa.gov
Dennis Guth: dennis.guth@legis.iowa.gov
Molly Donahue: molly.donahue@legis.iowa.gov

Des Moines Mutual Aid maintains a bail fund to keep protesters out of jail. We also organize legal representation and court support for those the state has attacked. Donate to support those that are bravely fighting fascism.
Donation link: linktr.ee/Dsm.mutual.a...

Anti-hunger advocates challenge bill that would limit food choices for Iowa SNAP recipients SNAP recipients can double their dollars through the state Double Up Food Bucks program to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

It wouldn't be an Iowa legislative session without a petty jab at vegetarians/vegans. This one comes packaged in an also-predictable attack on the poor. Now is a great time to start donating foods this bill would prohibit, including meat and dairy substitutes, to local food pantries. #vegetarian

Among the many ways #IVF has affected me: wild swings in my coffee order. Weeks of nitro cold brews and brewed coffees w/ cream followed by a tapering of lattes and small coffees...followed by two hopeful weeks of chai. Tomorrow might be my last day of IVF, and I have no idea if I'm ready.

I won't link Rep. Steve Holt's anti-trans column in the DMR, but note that the phrase beginning "They will not have the ability to file legal complaints against an employer..." is directly followed by "transgender Iowans will have the same rights and protections as everyone else". Um? #transrights

Trump expected to take control of USPS, fire postal board, officials say The move threatens to upend trillions of dollars in e-commerce business and the 250-year-old Postal Service.

If Trump succeeds in taking over USPS, absentee voting is in big trouble, right? The perception of mistrust alone would have a significant impact on mail-in voting for progressive and Dem voters. Which would, in turn, strengthen mail-in voting for Republicans who trust Trump. #USPS

Iowa House Republicans renew effort to strip transgender protections from Iowa civil rights law Just like all other Iowans, transgender residents of the state are protected under the Iowa Civil Rights Act, meaning they cannot be discriminated against

📢 Urgent Action Needed 📢 No one benefits when civil rights are stripped away. HSB 242 eliminates civil rights protections for transgender Iowans. Email Reps. Steven Holt (steven.holt@legis.iowa.gov) and Samantha Fett (samantha.fett@legis.iowa.gov) and tell them to put a stop to this bill.

📢 Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill 📢 Act NOW to oppose legislation that would punish parents for taking their children to drag shows and punish businesses for hosting drag shows where minors are present. This bill attacks parental rights and the LGBTQ+ community. Comment below and tell lawmakers to vote NO!

Ew

Lobbied at the Iowa State Capitol this morning and, as usual, had a small panic attack finding a winter outfit with the right dressy/comfort ratio. In my haste, I left a pair of clean black pants on my bed, fool that I am. They are no longer clean, and our cats clearly had a luxurious afternoon.

There's nothing quite like a cathartic drive, alone, belting "Quick! Someone call the girl police and - and file a report" with as much attitude as you can muster.

📢 More anti-trans legislation on the horizon in Iowa 📢 This bill would encourage bullying by allowing students and staff to deadname trans youth. Speak out now against HF80. Contact Iowa House subcommittee members Helena Hayes, Henry Stone, and Heather Matson. #transrights #iowalegislature

It sounds like Iowa lawmakers might once again pursue legislation that would strip away Civil Rights protections from transgender Iowans. One Iowa Action has heard that Gov. Kim Reynolds could introduce the bill. Speak out now using the contact info below! #transrights

Every time Nelnet requires a verification code, I can't help but think, "Oh no! What if someone hacks in and pays my student loan bill for me?! Good thing they're looking out!" I do understand it's more complex than that, but it's also nice to imagine a friendly hacker offsetting my interest.

I think ennui, in particular, works well in this context! There's a feeling of heavy momentum fittingly present in both contexts.

Kind of wondering why no one has made a holiday rom-com based on the song "Christmas Wrapping", by The Waitresses. I would shamelessly watch it. If this already exists, and I somehow missed it, let me know!

I need a word for a particular sort of bittersweet good mood. One that comes unexpectedly, early in the morning, and with an edge of dread. Because you just know the day's circumstances are bound to pummel it away. #languagenerds

If I got to choose the definition of "scrimmage", it would be: the sticky residue that builds up around the rim of a jar. For example, "I can't close the dang jam jar. There's too much scrimmage!"

Just saw that my husband misspelled "ottoman" as "automan" in a shared document, and I thought to myself, "time to share this with the world." Seemed like as good a time as any to create a Bluesky account.