Holly Hale Simpson

Just spoke to Erin Spivey, former Huntington Beach librarian and plaintiff in the ALCU library lawsuit against the city.

She estimated 75% of HBPL librarians have left since City Council began enacting policies restricting access to children's books, including director, manager, 3 dept. heads.

We’re seeing the beginnings of mass noncompliance Over a million federal workers refused to comply with Musk’s email ultimatum, offering a glimpse of what mass noncooperation can look like.

Over a million federal workers refused to comply with Musk’s email ultimatum last week, offering a glimpse of what mass noncooperation can look like.

The economic boycott caught fire. What's next? The economic blackout on Feb. 28 was an important first step. But future boycotts will require these ingredients to be effective.

The #economicblackout on Feb. 28 was an important first step. But to have a greater impact, future boycotts will require more organizing grounded in real strategy.

you’re fired. wait you’re rehired. email us a list of things you’ve done today wait forget it you’re fired again. come back your job was important. you’re fired. or hired. come in to the office. wait the office has no computers go home. we are the department of government efficiency.

None of us can be sure what will “work.” You try multiple things and find your way in. Read some histories of the Civil Rights Movement by those who participated. They were never “sure” of what would work. Some campaigns fizzled out. But persistence, creativity, determination, and focus were key.

Fun side note: Ammonites are featured in last year’s winning Eurovision song by Nemo. Whoa- oh- oh

youtu.be/kiGDvM14Kwg?...

I love this :)

tiny actions, in chaotic circumstances seed change in unpredictable ways. Try - I know it is hard - to let go of what the future will be, and act in the moment with the highest fidelity you can to world you want to see emerge on the other side of chaos.

Trump's anti-trans effort is an agenda cornerstone with echoes in history Extremism experts say a now-familiar playbook to scapegoat transgender people in the wake of high-profile tragedies is part of a political strategy to sow division and expand authoritarian control.

Extremism experts say a now-familiar playbook to scapegoat transgender people in the wake of high-profile tragedies is part of a political strategy to sow division and expand authoritarian control.

A man dressed in brown and khaki hugging an enormous chinkapin oak, Quercus muehlenbergii. Source: Katherine Shaw

I have a suggestion for you. In times of trouble and strife, there is therapeutic benefit in being among trees and in physical contact with them. So if you can, go hug a tree today, the bigger the better. This huge old chinkapin oak is known as The Great God Tree.

Looks like book banning isn’t book banning in the new order.

“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
—George Orwell

These Books For Children, Tweens, and Teens Just Won Some Serious Awards Read your way into the best of the best of children's literature from 2024, as selected by librarians nationwide.

Here are the winners and honors from this year's ALA Youth Media Awards, including the Printz, Caldecott, Newbery, Stonewall, Coretta Scott King, and more --> bookriot.com/youth-media-...

Just because the people who break things for profit have been ascending doesn't mean that there are no people who mend things or that mending is insignificant.

Be rebellious. But rest as needed.

Joy is a form of anarchy in an administration that spews hate and fear.

Do the good you want to see in the world.

And fight like hell to hold onto your compassion for those who deserve it.

You get to choose who to be kind to.

Take care of yourselves and each other. ❤️

✌️💚🐾
#dogsofbluesky

2025: Keep democracy alive. FrameLab New Year's resolutions Advice for defeating the authoritarian threat

Tips to keep democracy alive in 2025:

1. Be Brave. Avoid helpless/hopeless talk. Authoritarians want you to feel powerless because it makes their work easier. Courage, faith, and optimism are essential. Fascism feeds on cynicism and pessimism. Starve it.
www.theframelab.org/how-to-thriv...

I downloaded all my old pics from fb a few years ago. This week I posted my cell and Bluesky and Storygraph accounts and have been checking to make sure I have cell numbers/contact info. It’s a little unnerving to delete it all though.

Deleted Facebook today after deleting Threads and Instagram a few days ago.

It’s the rollback of content moderation for me — particularly that they carved out exceptions in their policy to allow hateful speech toward lgbtq people that is otherwise not allowed on the platform .

No thanks.

People's March

Here’s where you can find your local People’s March January 18.
#peoplesmarch #democracy
#humanrights

www.peoplesmarch.com

Text reads: “Books to explain the California Wildfires to kids & teens and help them process as we all come together in the toughest of times” Books include Wildfire by Breena Bard and I Survived the California Wildfires (2018) by Lauren Tarshis

Books include What To Bring by Lorna Schultz Nicholson, Dear Wild Child by Wallace J. Nichols, They Hold the Line by Dan Paley, Evacuation Order by Jane B. Mason, and Missing Mike by Shari Green

Book images of Speaking for Fire by James BlueWolf, Out of the Woods by Rebecca Bond, Simone by Viet Thanh Nguyen, Lies Like Wildfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez, and Nat Geo Kids’ Wildfires

Book images of Where’s My House? by Sierra National Forest, The Fox and the Forest Fire by Danny Popovici, Paradise on Fire by Jewell Parker Rhodes, and Wildfire! by Ashley Wolff

Merely a few books in an effort to assist in explaining the California Wildfires to kids & teens and help them process as we all come together in the toughest of times ❤️‍🩹📚✨

Now is a good time to get into preparedness, wherever you are. Being individually prepared is a good way to be in a better position to help others.

Your basic goal, to start, is to be ready for three days in your home without power or water and to be able to leave quickly if need be.

Bestest girl ❤️
#dogsofbluesky

Burrowing Owl that has been hanging out at Bolsa Chica wetlands

This lays out (and links to) the part of meta’s policy that defines some speech as violating policy UNLESS it is in reference to lgbtq people.

While we’re banning books…

Finland is teaching children in school how to recognize fake news and propaganda as part of critical thinking and civic responsibility. Some of this will seem very familiar.

Be. Like. Finland.

Happy #wintersolstice. I hope you get some time with #nature, the chance to pause and rest in the cozy darkness of winter, and much happiness celebrating the returning light 🌎☀️

Gisèle Pelicot rape trial: husband jailed for 20 years as all 51 men found guilty Dominique Pelicot drugged his wife and invited dozens of men to rape her in their French home over nine years

When I look back at the death-driven chaos of 2024, this woman’s is the face I want to see.

Merci Gisèle Pelicot.

#Courage

www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...

The Winter Solstice Is Here. How Dark Days Affect the Human Body The winter solstice is the culmination of a period every year when each cell in our body literally craves more light

www.scientificamerican.com/article/our-...