Amy

Video US Forest Service, National Park Service employees fired by DOGE speak out Fired employees of the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service told ABC News that the decision to lay off thousands of employees will have catastrophic effects on firefighting efforts.

This affects rural areas and the Southwest a lot.
abcnews.go.com/US/video/us-...

hello cis friends
this is what people mean by trans genocide

if a type of person does not officially exist, then any harm against them cannot be measured or reported

this headline change isn't even being caused by an executive order

it's simply the NYT editors deciding we don't deserve to exist

Some of the companies I will no longer do business with: Amazon, Netflix, PayPal, and Washington Post. It’s time for a digital diet.

Photo: Grumpy cat on ugly Christmas sweater.

No kings for the 505 either.

This cannot be posted enough!

YouTube video by Griffin224 Cut your heart Out with a spoon

“But why a spoon, cousin?”
youtu.be/MhfuuKiTcYQ?...

Sounds like a great time to practice your creative name invention skills. Time to break things. Be Jorts.

One of the most powerful tools in a fascist's arsenal is everyone else's desire to play along with the existing system. They're the ones breaking all the rules, betting on the fact no one else will.

I wonder how many states will go bankrupt, if they shutter the Department of Education?

Folklore constantly shows me connections between cultures that I don't expect. And it reminds me that human history is messy and complex. Reading this story, I just realized that "Genízaro" comes from Turkish word "yeniçeri", whcich is Janissary in English.

americanindian.si.edu/developingst...

My thought exactly

Trump suggests his plan for Gaza Strip is to ‘clean out the whole thing’ | CNN Politics President Donald Trump indicated Saturday that he had spoken with the king of Jordan about potentially building housing and moving more than 1 million Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring countries, ...

What he’s proposing here is also called “ethnic cleansing”. If he thinks it should happen in Gaza, don’t doubt he’s for it here too.

www.cnn.com/2025/01/25/p...

It is time for everyone to go learn about “salami tactics”. It’s when you make everyone on the far end of the political spectrum “the enemy of the people “. You cut them out. Then, it becomes the next furthest group. Repeat until you’ve cut out everyone except you and your friends, in power.

I’m proud to be represented by a woman who speaks up for our Native neighbors.

This is NOT okay. Remember, the focus on immigrants is scapegoating to distract you.

I realize a lot of people would like to be screaming at people you disagree with right now. Maybe consider how you could be using that energy elsewhere, like organizing or getting yourself into community with others. We need that more than being stuck on an outrage mode.

YouTube video by Greater Good Science Center Philip Zimbardo: What Makes a Hero?

Also watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=grMH...

Also read: The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil
www.powells.com/book/lucifer...

The Psychology of Heroism Zimbardo explores whether everyday people can be trained to be saviors.

“The goal of heroism is to promote socially responsible behavior and actions that serve the greater good.”

It's time to think about how you can be a hero in all the small ways that matter, so you can be one when the big ones come along. stanfordmag.org/contents/the...

Ok, I'm learning more. Sounds like early 20th century high-art looking at folk practice and saying, "Cool, stuff made by unnamed people". We do know better now - they always have names. And communities. The difference is that folk art isn't copyrighted, owned, and controlled by a very few people.

Japan's Mingei art movement is having a revival as it turns 100 years old Japan's century-old Mingei, or folk art, movement celebrates the everyday work of anonymous artists. It stands in contrast to both fine arts and industrially mass-produced goods. And it's having a yet...

I didn't know much about the "mingei" movement in Japan, which translates as "ordinary people's crafts". That's pretty close to how I often describe "folklore".

Who's read The Unknown Craftsman? Worth a look?

www.npr.org/2025/01/23/n...

The Winter Solstice Begins a Season of Storytelling and Ceremony In the Northern Hemisphere, the December solstice is the year’s day of least sunlight, when the sun takes its lowest, shortest path across the sky. North of the Arctic Circle, it is the midpoint of th...

Less light can mean more stories.

www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/nation...

Soft medium, hard truths — National Endowment for the Arts recognizes a Navajo quilter A Navajo woman who has spent 50 years sewing has now been honored with an NEA award for her unique quilts. She is unafraid to criticize the mainstream culture that's marginalized Indigenous artists.

Check out the incredible work by Susan Hudson, Navajo/Diné artist and quilter from Sheep Springs, NM. (Zoom in on the image in this article and notice the quilted silhouettes behind the visible people.)

www.npr.org/2024/12/09/n...

Welcome to Absurdistán.

Let's not give up now, just because our leaders are fools. Connect to your community, find your people, and find ways to make kind determination your way forward.