Dawn Xiana Moon

(Photo of a different video projection piece at @raksinferno.bsky.social by Genito Photography.)

Asian American fusion bellydancer dancing with video projections.

Up all night working on a video projection that captures my complicated feelings about religion & uncomplicated feelings about Chicago's occupation by federal forces, the evils of the current admin, & the evangelical fervor that brought Trump into power.

Set to "Changes Come" from Over the Rhine.

Screenshots from Twitter, Nov. 18, 2022. Zoë Schiffer Elon Musk is also asking for up 10 screenshots of the "most salient lines of code" from Twitter engineers. Again, no context as to what this is about. We know Twitter's engineering teams have been gutted by layoffs and resignations. What's next? Yesterday, Twitter told employees the offices were closed and badge access was suspended until Monday. Employees are extremely confused.

Happy 3-year anniversary of Musk showing the world how much he knows about software engineering.

Nice!

And we knew this. This wasn't speculation. We studied it, we had the talking points. We trained volunteers to explain this to people. It's not a surprise. Rich people don't flee places with good quality of life when we increase the quality of life. They might try to cheat us, but they don't leave.

"When the government says “paused,” what they mean is that the country has decided hunger is tolerable. That it can be postponed, managed, endured by someone else. That the people who live on so little should be experts at waiting."

The actual War on Christmas

Meme: Cute dog. "His name is the last thing you ate."

Gnocchi

Also Trump gutted the CDC, so our disease surveillance ability is terrible right now.

I keep thinking about whether it's time to get a measles booster that in theory I shouldn't need... 😬

fry from futurama is eating a bunch of money . Alt: Take My Money GIF from Futurama

WARRIOR GODDESS

Midwest Immigration Bond Fund

And if they're moved from Illinois, as many are, folks become incredibly difficult for their families and lawyers to track down.

Let's give some folks a fighting chance.

A cool thing is that when they show up in court and their bond is returned, it can get cycled to the next person who needs help.

A Midwest Bond Fund Is Helping Detained Chicago Immigrants Return To Their Families The Midwest Immigration Bond Fund launched in 2020 to provide bond assistance to people navigating the complex immigration legal system. That mission has become more difficult under the second Trump a...

But in order to actually be released, they have to put up a bond ranging from $1500-$50,000.

It's also difficult for folks in detention to access legal counsel. It's much, much easier to fight their cases in court when they're out.

Only 16 of over 600 detained by ICE in Chicago area have criminal histories, records show The Trump administration has released the names of more than 600 people detained by immigration agents, and whose arrests might have violated a court order, and only 16 of them have been identified by...

Background: Over 3000 people were detained by federal agents in the recent Chicago blitz.

Over 600 of them were recently ordered to be released by a judge. (For the record, only 16 of them had a criminal history.)

Midwest Immigration Bond Fund

Hey all. Let's do a concrete thing to help our Chicago neighbors.

TL;DR: I'm going to match donations to the Midwest Immigration Bond Fund - DM me or post your receipt below & I'll match up to $250.

Small gray pitbull.

This is the little weirdo. ❤️

She was very cute & very good at cuddling.

And also the most ornery dog I've ever met. (She also had a litany of health issues, including cancer, constant skin and ear infections, & osteoarthritis.)

She never recognized the name the rescue gave her, haha.

The real War on Christmas.

We dubbed the long-term foster dog (RIP) "J. Dogface Pupperton, First of that Name."

My boyfriend's take: Wow, it's like they've never met a woman.

💀🤣

Free advice for marketers: If you desperately want to brand a femme version of a product, I'd suggest leaning more badass & less coquettish.

* To be clear, Chicago is one of the places I actually feel safest. And I was fortunate that my partner (a big white dude) was there, and my friends comforted me after - all the good bystander things.

But nowhere is 100% safe. And I wish white would realize that's just lived reality.

The last time I was physically assaulted by someone telling racial slurs, it was in Chicago.

In my liberal, wealthy neighborhood that's relatively diverse & generally safe.

Racism isn't limited to southerners. I'm cautious in the South, but I'm also cautious in places with rich white people.

Cruelty and terrorizing the entire city, especially POC.

Only 16 of the 600+ people that they arrested & have been ordered by the court to release have any criminal record.

They've detained over 3,300 people in Chicago overall, & as of Friday they still hadn't released the full list of names.

One of the best things I've ever done for myself is sign up for regular massages. I'm a dancer, so my muscles are always angry with me. 😅

My massage therapist is a former Joffrey Ballet dancer, and he is amazing.

That's amazing 😂

Anger can be a powerful force for change.

... I've been running in large part on anger for years now, since Trump's first run.

Your last saved meme is your moral philosophy

It's this but also beyond it.

White supremacists believe POC are here to serve them.

And that we will, no matter what they do to us.

That's one motivation behind keeping POC economically disadvantaged too. Desperate people don't have choices & until a point, are less likely to fight back.

Honestly I'm never upset when someone acknowledges their privilege (whatever amount they have) and uses it for good.

It's pretending that it doesn't exist that makes me absolutely batty.

USA Today: Which party do Americans think won government shutdown negotiations? Republicans, new poll says

Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Honestly the fact that they resorted to non-stories like this and the auntie thing make me figure Mamdani is *more* trustworthy. They couldn't find anything actually problematic to pin on him.