Courtney Balestier

Here's an example of a liberal (Klein) accepting as true the lies told by maga (in this case, lies told about Kirk) in the misbegotten belief that doing will make him seem reasonable. It isn't reasonable. It's part of the insanity, as it makes lies real.

“Kirk & I were on different sides of most political arguments. We were on the same side of the continued possibility of American politics.”

So it’s personal? B/c if you were a Black woman or transgender, Kirk would not imagine you having any role in the future of American politics.

a pin featuring David Lynch sits on a crystal ashtray on a desk

Just realized my David Lynch button is sitting in a crystal ashtray, which feels about as good a way to say thank you as anything else.

David Lynch in sunglasses saying "i hope you all are having a lot of fun working on your favorite projects"

Honor his memory by doing something strange, unraveling a riddle within yourself, and working on your favorite projects.

“I don’t understand what produce in the Central Valley has to do with fires in LA” this is the subject of one of the most famous movies ever made, in which it is explained to Jack Nicholson at length by the director of The Maltese Falcon

Occasional reminder that there’s no, “it’s too late, its over” for anthropogenic climate change. Every molecule of CO2 that doesn’t go into the atmosphere makes a difference. Preventing 0.1 degree of warming makes a difference. Every bit of climate resilience we build together makes a difference.

FLAG:

The North Carolina Supreme Court has issued an order blocking state officials from certifying the Democratic candidate as the winner of the race for a seat on the Court.

All of the Republicans on the Court ruled against certification.

Over the past 4–5 years, Facebook has sunset tools (chiefly CrowdTangle) used by researchers and journalists, made data difficult and expensive to get, and iced out academics studying disinformation.

Now, it's shutting down the fact checking on its platform.

Also - please spend time deciding how you are going to engage with the content this administration and the complicit media are going to be putting out from here on out.

Our nervous systems are precious resources and keeping them in a hyper-reactive state is BAD-real bad. We need to be intentional.

BREAKING: The biggest strike against Amazon in U.S. history is happening right now.

The Teamsters are picketing facilities across the country.

The union has organized workers at 10 Amazon locations AND they're putting up picket lines at hundreds of other Amazon sites nationwide.

Lots of clarity today

Labor Movement Principles for a Worker-Centered DNC | AFL-CIO The following is a statement from Liz Shuler, President of the AFL-CIO:

"The election of a new slate of DNC officers is an opportunity to change the course of the Democratic Party and to center its purpose and messaging around the economic and social needs of working people. It’s time to stop doing business as usual."

aflcio.org/press/releas...

I remember Nikki Giovanni at the Appalachian Writers Workshop, the brilliant, dizzying arcs of her words. iirc, she rewrote poems onstage, as she recited them. She was profound, and hilarious. I don't even remember if I met her, or if I just feel like I did bc the place was so full with her. 💜

New York Times Breaking News push alert that reads: A former Marine who choked a homeless man on a New York City subway train last year was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide.

A New York Times Breaking News push alert that says: A man is being held for questioning in Pennsylvania in last week’s killing of a health insurance C.E.O., officials briefed on the case said.

The operative principle is not that political violence is not allowed. It is that it is allowed only by some actors, for some ends, and forbidden to others.

Wait as a West Virginian I actually don't know how to not be furious at Manchin, help.

Leak. It. Come on, democrats, some of you are outgoing. It’s not even illegal, I don’t think. Walk right up to one of the many reporters in the building. Say it into a mic during a session. Have any evidence of backbone, whatsoever.

Romania's top court annuls first round of presidential vote won by far-right candidate A top Romanian court has annulled the first round of the country’s presidential election, days after declassified intelligence alleged Russia ran a coordinated online campaign to promote the far-right...

Every other democracy on Earth is doing s better job facing down the existential threat posed by Russian election interference, disinformation, and the far right authoritarianism than the US. Why are we so uniquely bad at this? apnews.com/article/roma...

There’s no such thing as working productively with MAGA nihilists like Elon, Vivek and RFK, Jr. They want to bring down our Republic. Don’t normalize them by pointing out a few of their good ideas.

You can’t play nice with the leopards. Let them into your house and they will eat your face.

for context NYC offered a $10k reward for any critical information about the homocide which is about the cost of a single 15 minute ambulance ride after UnitedHealthcare denies coverage bc the EMTs responding to the call were out of network

states rights unless its parents rights unless the parents are wrong in which case its states rights unless the state is wrong in which case its federal rights unless the feds are democrats in which case its parents rights unless the parents are wrong in which case

The Electoral Problem for Democrats: It's the Neoliberalism, Stupid In the 2024 contest between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, voters rejected the status quo — as our polls and focus groups warned would happen.

"remaining silent about issues of race, gender, and origin that Republicans keep introducing does not make them go away. It guarantees that all voters hear is the hate peddling of the opposition."

Looking forward to following your POV here!

Not just civil rights, everything. I can’t think of a single front on which democrats are mounting any kind of fight. Climate change? Nah. Guns? Nah. Covid? Nah. Healthcare? Nah.

Morgantown WV camping ban to be decided by voters • West Virginia Watch Voters in Morgantown will decide the future of a law that would impose fines and jail time on homeless people sleeping on its streets and in public places.  Morgantown City Council on Wednesday voted…

Voters in Morgantown will decide the future of a law that would impose fines and jail time on homeless people sleeping on its streets and in public places, reports @lorikerseywv.bsky.social.

Whenever we make ourselves smaller for them, they just shrink our box again.

The hatred against trans people is a distraction from the allegations of rape which is a distraction from the investigation into sex trafficking which is a distraction from the plot to end democracy which is only happening because Trump is trying to stay out of jail.

Thank you! I love Libby too! This actually all started bc of a loan that I didn’t finish/now has a waitlist. So far I haven’t had success trying to convert the purchased EPUB to a PDF, but at this point I might just wait for my turn on Libby again. 😂