[grlquartz]

hey y’all! wanna take a minute of your time to help fight for the USPS?

if you haven’t heard, tr*mp is refusing to help the postal service financially during this pandemic (and beyond) in an effort to starve it of funds/resources and kill it off so it can be privatized. also:

obviously this is not great, as tons of us rely on the USPS for all kinds of different reasons, and the privatization of this essential service would have a dramatic effect on the entire nation. namely: voting by mail would become nonexistent (❗️), and the cost of shipping mail and goods will change astronomically.

if this sounds terrible to you (and if you live in the us, then it should!), then text USPS to 50409 to sign the petition and instantly send a signed letter to your senators and representatives. it’s fast, easy, and it’s action that you can take right now.

the letter urges your senators to make the financial support of the USPS a priority, and outlines why the USPS is an essential service in our country that must be defended. here’s my letter:

don’t want to use the text service/send an electronic letter? mail a paper letter to your senator’s office.

you can also call your senators and house representatives at [phone] and urge them to support the USPS financially.

you can also buy a roll of stamps right now to help financially support the USPS on an individual level!

in conclusion: please take a minute to help support the USPS in any way you can. this is an important issue that affects all of us here in the US.

it would be AWESOME if you could reblog this & spread it, or if you’d rather not reblog this post, then i encourage you to make your own post on the social media of your choice and share with your friends.

thx!

[hashtagloveloses]

FYI: Petitions and form letters are often ignored by Congressional offices. Call your state’s US Senators and demand they work to pass S. 2965 the USPS Fairness Act, which passed the House and has been sitting in the Senate since FEBRUARY 2020.

S.2965 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): USPS Fairness Act

Summary of S.2965 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): USPS Fairness Act

The American Postal Workers Union has a good explainer on this, as well as Last Week Tonight. Even before Trump’s DRASTIC directive to screw over USPS, a 2006 law from the Bush administration and Republican-led Congress has basically slowly led to the US postal service’s decline, and this is a final nail in the coffin.

The TLDR is that that 2006 law required the USPS to pre-fund postal workers health care benefits for 75 years, which meant they had to have money for employees who weren’t even BORN yet.

Support the USPS Fairness Act

For over a decade, the United States Postal Service has been plagued with the onerous burden of prefunding its retiree health care benefits

Here is more on this issue:

Also, the issue with Trump’s latest target at the USPS isn’t just refusing coronavirus aid. His new appointee to lead it is now purposely handing down directives to restrict employee overtime and late delivery trips so that mail delays start to pile up. The guiding slogan was “every piece, every day.” Now it’s “get in, get out.” Just like Betsy Devos forcing schools to reopen, this will destroy trust in these systems, force reliance on private companies, which is exactly what Trump and the businesspeople he appoints want a) as capitalists and b) to surpress people further as they become more reliant on worse and more expensive services.

Mail delays likely as new postal boss pushes cost-cutting

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mail deliveries could be delayed by a day or more under cost-cutting efforts being imposed by the new postmaster general.

[pure]

as a general rule. if what we’re calling ‘cultural appropriation’ sounds like nazi ideology (i.e. ‘white people should only do white people things and black people should only do black people things’) with progressive language, we are performing a very very poor application of what ‘cultural appropriation’ means. this is troublingly popular in the blogosphere right now and i think we all need to be more critical of what it is we may be saying or implying, even unintentionally.

[pyrrhiccomedy]

There is nothing wrong with everyone enjoying each other’s cultures so long as those cultures have been shared. 

Eating Chinese food, watching Bollywood movies, going to see Cambodian dancers, or learning to speak Korean so you can watch every K drama in existence is totally fine. The invitation to participate in those things came from within those cultures. The Mexican family that owns the place where I get fajitas wants me to eat fajitas. Their whole business model kind of depends on it, actually. 

If you see something from another culture you think you might want to participate in, but you don’t know if that would be disrespectful or appropriative, you can just…ask. Like. A Jewish friend explained what a mezuzah was to me, recently. (It’s the little scroll-thing near their front doors that they touch when they come into their house. It basically means “this is a Jewish household.”)

“Oh, cool,” I said. “Can I touch it? Or is it only for Jewish people?”

“You can touch it or you can not touch it,” she said. “I don’t care.”

“Cool, I’m gonna touch it, then.”

“Cool.”

It’s not hard.

You want to twerk, twerk. I’ve never heard a black person say they didn’t think anybody else should be allowed to twerk. Just that they want us to acknowledge that they invented that shit, not Miley fucking Cyrus.

[queeranarchism]

It really boils down to three simple things:

Consent. Is the culture open to sharing this thing? (& don’t cheat by finding one person who consents while most of the culture disagrees.)

Context. If a culture is open to sharing a thing but it is a thing of great religious significance, take the time to learn what is a respectful way to treat the thing. Probably don’t use it as random decoration or sexualize it unless that’s what it’s for. 

Credit. Give credit and if possible, buy from the original creators so the money goes where the credit should be.

[weirdo-with-a-nametag]

This is really useful to me personally because I’ve definitely caught myself losing sight of what cultural appropriation actually is, and why it matters, so thank you, and everybody else pay attention too

[tshifty]

Israel launched 200 rockets against Gaza in under 10 minutes. 200 rockets. It is the middle of the night, and it is the night after Eid. Palestinian civilians do not have bomb shelters and sophisticated missile defense systems to protect themselves, they are left without protection as their world is blown up around them. Israel has also deployed ground forces into Gaza. We are watching genocide unfold. And I do not ever use that word lightly. This is genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

[anamericangirl]

Did you miss the part where Hamas had literally orchestrated a missile attack against Israel the night before?

[tshifty]

Did you miss the part where none of the missiles entered Israel because they have the most sophisticated missile defense system in the world? Or maybe you missed the part where Israel bombed the main road to Gaza’s hospital, or where Israel bombed the media news buildings hosting AP and Al Jazeera, or where Israel has targeted missiles towards civilian areas including a refugee camp and two schools, or where Amnesty International has called for Israel to be investigated by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, or where in the past week alone Israel has displaced over 38,000 Palestinian civilians, or...

I don’t want to hear fucking anything about “well Hamas tried to do this-” and?? Hamas is not every Palestinian civilian. Hamas also did not succeed in bombing Israel. And yet Israel responds with continuing and intensifying attacks against innocent Palestinian civilians - an estimated 1/3 of the deaths are children. Israeli civilians may be frightened but they are safe with their bomb shelters and Iron Dome. Palestinian civilians are being mass murdered and displaced as Israel bombs their entire world.

[person-personified]

Did you miss the part where israeli occupation forcefully 'evicted' Palestinians from there homes? Did you miss the part where they beat up protesters protesting against this 'eviction' which is actually just forced ethnic displacement sugarcoated by the media? Did you miss the part where none of the civilians bombed anyone because they're fucking civilians? Did you miss the part where israeli forces stormed the Al Aqsa Mosque, the second holiest place for Muslims during the holiest month on the holiest night? Did you miss that? Did you miss that the israeli settlers have blockaded Gaza so the people they bomb won't have access to food and medicine? Did you miss the fact that israeli occupation forces bombed their media building so the palestinians can only rely on social media to make their voices heard? Did you miss the fact that any pro palestinians posts are censored by social media algorithms? If you missed all that, maybe you should look harder at what's going on instead of parroting the flimsy manipulative headline you read.

[tiktoksthataregood-ish]

[carrionthird]

"Stop scrolling and please help me spread the word, because if I've landed on your page you're most likely either a black woman or someone who cares about black women and the simple phrase I'm about to share could help save a black woman's life.

Doctors are to black women what police officers are to black men. That may seem controversial but I believe it to be true and I speak from personal experience.

If you've seen this TikTok you know that a 2016 study showed that 50% of medical students and residents thought that black people couldn't feel pain the same as white people.

And we learned from this video that because of a 1999 study, to this day, there's a black correction factor for the creatinin levels in black people's kidneys, meaning we're less likely to recieve a kidney transplant if needed.

So if you go to a doctor, feel you aren't getting proper treatment or they refuse the treatment you've requested, say to them the following:

I will need you to document on record that you are refusing the treatment (or medicine) I've requested, and the reason you are doing so."

[dovewithscales]

This works. I have used it in other situations. If medical staff have to document and take responsibility and be on the hook legally for doing shady shit they behave much differently.

If you weren’t already going to spread this advice because black women are at risk, then spread it because it’s applicable to everyone else as well, including you reading this.

But particularly women, and especially black women.

[ruinedchildhood]

[Retweet]

[tetasita]

[batsbaby]

Hey my name is Phoenix, I’m a chronically ill caregiver whose grandma recently passed. I had stepped away from my job during covid to make sure I didn’t get her sick while taking care of her but now that I’m trying to return to work I’ve recently gotten ill and will be needing gallbladder surgery.

Once it’s actually done as long as my EDS doesn’t cause any complications I should be back to trying to find work within 10 days but I’ve got my consultation Tuesday and then idk when the actual surgery will be (trying for asap obv). In the meantime I really need help with keeping up with utilities so nothing gets turned off while I’m trying to recover.

Trying to keep this short so if you have any questions feel free to message me! But literally anything helps whether it’s boosting or donating!

Paypal: [email protected]

Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/batsbaby

Buy batsbaby a Coffee. ko-fi.com/batsbaby

Become a supporter of batsbaby today! ❤️ Ko-fi lets you support the creators you love with no fees on donations.

Cash app (ignore my dead name please):

[batsbaby]

At the moment I’m literally at no progress and this is all I have in the bank with gas prices being $2.73 and me needing to put gas in to even make it to the next town over for my appointment/surgery. Please boost if you can!

[batsbaby]

I’m still in the same position as my last post and I hate adding on but I totally forgot about the fact that I needed to pay my phone plan with everything else on my mind lately until this popped up.

My phone plan is basically just a $25 unlimited plan card I usually add on every month and without phone service I can’t get in touch with any jobs I’ve applied to or my doctor, so if you can help I’d appreciate it

[batsbaby]

Update 3/3/21

Hey guys I’m still needing help with this and in a very tight spot. I talked with the surgeon today and as long as I improve while I’m on my antibiotics he doesn’t think a surgery is necessary immediately and I should be good, I’m still having some issues as of tonight though but I can’t really tell if it’s my PCOS making me feel sick or what since the time of the month, just gonna see how it goes.

Now that the month has started though I’m only a few days away from disconnects on some things and really need to get some kind of help if I can.

Adding a Venmo as well it’s @ batsbby !!

[bloodraven55]

aesthetic attraction is wild bc it’s like “yes i’m asexual but i’m also very gay and women are extremely hot”

[bloodraven55]

so basically to summarise

[wallstreetgirlfriend-deactivate]

disjointed thought but like. people are supposed to be born into a family, like a ready to go support system that existed before you were there and you're gonna add to. it's a generational knowledge source. when you're born into abuse you not only don't have that, you have to start from scratch. so of course it's going to seem like you're behind everyone else. you had to write the textbook on how to live before you read it, everyone else just pulls it off their family shelf

[acti-veg]

https://bookshop.org/

[caniscaballus]

They are making audio and digital books available now too!!

[deathdaydreamm]

The Minneapolis police are back to publicly being terrorists now that George Floyd’s death is out of the media cycle.

Directly from the article:

Bayle Adod Gelle was deep in sleep late Wednesday night at his home in Eden Prairie when he heard loud banging on the door.

The intensity of the sound at 2:15 a.m. left Bayle confused. He trudged down the stairs from his second-floor bedroom. As soon as he reached the living room, he found his wife there—surrounded by more than a dozen officers from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office. The officers allegedly pointed their guns at him and his wife, Bayle said, and then tied their hands tightly with a cord.

Awakened by the bangs and commotion, three children—ages 4, 7, and 9— joined their parents in the living room. Officers allegedly pointed guns at them, too, Bayle said.

“I felt very scared,” Bayle said in an interview with Sahan Journal at his home Thursday evening, some 14 hours after the police raid. “I thought they were going to kill us.”

The police search felt like it took forever—maybe two hours, he said. Bayle kept asking the officers who they were and why they’d come to his house. (In the end, the police appear to have found nothing, and took no evidence with them, Bayle said.)

They told him “shut up,” he recalled.

Bayle said the officers ransacked the house and never showed him a search warrant— until the end. That’s when they told him his son had been killed.

Bayle said that until that moment, he had no idea that nearly 8 hours earlier Minneapolis Police officers had fatally shot his 23-year-old son, Dolal Bayle Idd, in an altercation at a Holiday gas station in south Minneapolis. It was the first police killing in Minneapolis since Officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd about a dozen blocks away.

Here’s the full article

they had to move out of their house on new year’s eve to a nearby mosque.

please share, I haven’t seen anyone talking about this

[ladypharaoh14]

A black girl will be spending years in jail because she had a mental health crisis. PLEASE READ

Meet Saraya: she was experiencing a mental health crisis. Police came and tackled her. She is 15.

Saraya Rees is a 15 year old biracial girl from Coos County, Oregon. After being abruptly instructed to stop taking her antidepressants by a local pediatrician, Saraya went into psychosis. In her manic state, Saraya poured a small amount of gasoline on the floor. Her parents called Coos Health & Wellness in hope that that would send mental health advisors, Coos Health & Wellness sent the police. While still in psychosis, the officers arrested her, questioned her without her family or lawyers present, charged with attempted murder and assault, and sent her to juvenile prison for 11 years.

ELEVEN.YEARS.

This is not justice.

This is inhumane.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:

1. Call these people and demand that she be let go to the custody in her parents.

Please call Governor Kate Brown and Senator Jeff Merkely.⁠

⁠

📞Governor Kate Brown: [phone]⁠

📞Senator Jeff Merkley: [phone]⁠

2. Sign the petition! 

http://chng.it/dPR59dnMzq

Please DO NOT donate to CHANGE.ORG, instead donate to Saraya’s gofundme. 

3. Follow @justice4saraya on instagram. You can find info on where to send her encouragement cards and get updated on progress.

4. SEND CARDS TO THE FOLLOWING (please also note card sending rules)

OAK CREEK CORRECTIONAL FACIILITY 

C/O SARAYA REES

4400 LOCHNER ROAD SE 

ALBANY, OR 97332

EDIT: PLEASE CONSIDER THESE RULES WHEN SENDING HER CARDS! The family has asked for the following when sending cards: 

-No vulgar language or cursing (she’s a child, afterall) 

-No stickers

-No metal 

- Do not use return address stickers

-No Cash

Using these things could mean Saraya doesn’t get your card. If you want to donate to the family during this very hard time, please use the GOFUND ME.

 https://www.gofundme.com/f/justice4saraya

You can also send her gifts for when she gets out to a PO BOX: 

SARAYA’S PO BOX

PO BOX 211

MYRTLE POINT, OR 97458

MENTAL ILLNESS IS NOT A CRIME. LET’S FREE OUR GIRL SARAYA!!!

Saraya’s website: https://www.justice4saraya.com/

[missmentelle]

What to do if you are facing eviction

Eviction protections are expiring across the United States and Canada right now, and millions of people are suddenly finding themselves facing eviction with a pandemic still raging and the start of winter just around the corner. 

Not knowing where you’re going to live next month is an unbelievably scary position to be in, and there are a lot of people out there who are facing this for the first time in their lives. It’s okay to be scared. But it’s also important to start taking steps to deal with this as soon as you realize that might be at risk of eviction. 

As someone who has worked in homelessness and housing advocacy my whole career, here’s what I recommend you do:

Do not leave your home. Many landlords count on their tenants not knowing or understanding their rights, and take advantage of that to try to illegally evict them without following proper procedure. I have seen landlords attempt some flagrantly illegal things during my time working with vulnerable people. Many landlords have been ignoring and violating eviction moratoriums during this pandemic. Don’t fall for it. There is a legal process that has to be followed to evict you, even if your name isn’t on the lease - your landlord cannot simply slip a note under your door ordering you out by the end of the week, no matter what they tell you. Do not leave your home until a judge orders you to do so. You may have a better shot in court than you think you do, and seeing the court process to the very end buys you valuable time to figure out your next move. 

Get a lawyer. Many legal aid societies and law school legal clinics offer free legal assistance for people facing eviction. Having a lawyer can make an enormous difference - one study found that people without lawyers were evicted 65% of the time, compared to just 15% of people who had legal representation. Start calling and contacting legal aid services as soon as your landlord threatens or files eviction - these services often only do intake for new clients on certain days, so it’s a good idea to research these services ahead of time. 

Understand your rights. The protections you have under the law depend on where you live - it’s critical that you take the time to educate yourself about what those protections are. Your area will likely have a Residential Tenancies Act, a Tenant Act, or something along those lines. Look online for information specific to your area. There may also be special protections and procedures in place because of the pandemic. If you live in NYC, for instance, you have a right to free legal counsel if you are facing eviction. Find out what protections you have in your area.

Contact resources in your area. Again, depending on where you live, there are different resources available. There may be a tenant support agency that can connect you to free legal resources directly. You might be eligible for unemployment benefits or emergency income. Your state or city might also have emergency funding or eviction prevention programs in place. NYC, for instance, offers “one shot deal” emergency grants that cover rental arrears for people who are facing eviction due to unexpected crises. You should also look at emergency housing options, community food banks, or other resources that can help you survive this situation. In many cities you can call 211 or 311 to learn more or about resources, or you can go online. 

Attend your eviction hearing. Once you are given a date and time for your eviction hearing, it is critical that you attend. Even if you have not paid rent in several months and you think your case is hopeless, you absolutely must show up for this hearing. If you don’t attend, you will lose by default - if you attend, you may be successful in winning leniency, the opportunity to pay back rent with a payment plan and avoid eviction, or even just a few weeks’ extension on the eviction date so you have more time to come up with a plan. Attend your hearing. 

Have a back-up plan. Even with legal aid resources on your side, you have to prepare for the possibility that you might not be able to fight your eviction. Buy yourself as much time as you can, and use that time to start researching possible options. Is there a cheaper room for rent that you can afford with your unemployment benefits? Do you know anyone you can stay with? Are there any housing non-profits in your area that can help? Do you have any leads on employment in the future? Explore your options, and remember that it’s okay to ask for help right now - people in your life can’t help you unless you tell them that you’re struggling. 

Call your representatives. You are not the only person suffering as a result of expiring COVID protections - your elected officials need to know that letting these programs expire is having serious, dire consequences for real people that they represent. Call everyone. Call the office of your congressman, call your MP, call your state senator, your MLA, your local city counsellors. Tell your story, and make as much noise as you can. It doesn’t guarantee that anything will be done, of course, but it makes the problem harder for your elected officials to ignore.

Important Resources for Americans: LawHelp.org - website for learning more about local laws and finding free legal aid in your area  JustShelter - a database of community resources available to people facing eviction (might not include all emergency pandemic programs) Eviction Moratorium Database - a database showing where evictions have been legally paused or restricted because of the pandemic National Evictions Database - a database where you can look up what the legal eviction process is supposed to look like in your state  Tenant’s Union Resources - a website where you can find information for the tenant’s union or pro-tenant organizations in your area  Legal Services - a federal non-profit that helps connect low-income households to legal resources for fighting eviction 

Fannie Mae Renters Resource Finder - a database that will tell you if your rental unit is federally financed, and show you resources to fight eviction accordingly  Freddie Mac Renters Resource Finder - another website to show you if your rental property is federally backed and connect you to resources

Eviction Lab - a website that outlines information about pandemic eviction moratoriums and restrictions currently in place in your state The National Housing Law Project - a comprehensive database of resources for people facing eviction or foreclosure  Important Resources for Canadians: The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation - up-to-date information about eviction moratoriums in each province and territory  Affordable Housing Programs Across Canada - information on affordable housing programs in each province and territory Western Law Eviction Information - a website outlining the eviction process in Ontario and what you need to do to fight it Community Legal Education Ontario - a website that shows the proper procedure for eviction in detail and outlines steps that can be taken to fight it  Nova Scotia Legal Residential Tenancy Law Resources - detailed information about the eviction process in Nova Scotia and how to fight it Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta - resources and information for renters facing eviction in Alberta  BC Housing - information and resources for tenants facing difficulties in British Columbia  Saskatchewan Office of Residential Tenancies - information for tenants facing difficulties in Saskatchewan  Tribunal Administratif du Logement - resources and information for tenants living in Quebec. Available in both English and French. 

[lesbianbettyboop]

yo being black and depressed is hard as fuck. being black with anxiety is hard as fuck. being black with a chronic illness or disability is hard a fuck. everybody expects you to be ‘strong’ at all times and no one sees black people as complex or nuanced enough to be capable of suffering. no one ever thinks we could possibly need help. and if you’re a black woman, the moment you stop thinking about others and try to tend to yourself you’re a selfish lazy ungrateful bitch.

support black people, esp women, who need help. don’t just call us strong or tell us we’ll get through it, help us. protect us. uplift us. allow us to be beings capable of suffering. give us the same space you’d give white women to express our pain and be there for us like you would for anyone else. 

[lesbianbettyboop]

don’t just like this, reblog it!

[gaycism]

anyone need serotonin?

[officerofmonkeyproblems]

I became very invested in the successful delivery of those carrots

[0v9]

beaver: *plap plap plap plap plap*

me: 🥺

[girl-sim-deactivated20230806-de]

So uh this is something to seriously be paying attention to if you aren’t already

[anarchopuppy]

In case anyone didn’t put it together: they asked if he was suicidal so they could murder him later and frame it as a suicide. This happens all the time

[freezingbeach]

https://www.vice.com/en/article/jgqm5x/us-military-location-data-xmode-locate-x 🙃

[sunfortune]

delete muslim pro

[hyggkwan]

If you're reading this, please I BEG YOU TO REBLOG! my country Honduras was completely destroyed by hurricane eta. The night of November 5 the Sula valley was severely flooded by the overflows of various rivers, there are approximately 4 cities completely underwater and numerous small villages i can't even count. Even the airport of my city San Pedro Sula is underwater. Aproximately 300,000 families lost everything they had, there are hundreds of people going missing, our social medias are flooded with posts of people desperately searching for their family members since communication has been lost due to the floods and lanslides on roads. And almost 200 people have been found dead including drowned kids. Our indigenous people have lost all of their crops they live of. They have nothing left and up to this day there's still people trapped in the roofs of their homes waiting to be rescued. The government has abandoned us ever since covid came into our country. And literally we have no one, it's only us helping each other with what we have. Hundreds of hondurans have shown their golden heart by providing shelter to those who have nowhere to go and lost everything, you have no idea how much i've cried seeing how with the little we have, we've tried to help the most. This is a third world contry, victims of a narco state and a corrupted government, we have gone through so much, fought for too long for the justice we have never gotten. So please, spread awareness, i beg you to do so.

My dear friend Natalia @zeldatrickers is fundraising, shes buying essentials to donate to shelters, if you can, please consider donating through PayPal. Also, here's a twt link with a thread of links to donate.

Go to paypal.me/maldona2 and type in the amount. Since it’s PayPal, it's easy and secure. Don’t have a PayPal account? No worries.

“I’ll be sharing gofundme links that help Hondurans to recover from #Eta’s destruction.”

[hyggkwan]

Thank you so much to everyone that has donated to my friend, shes been working hard to help as much as she can. We have been serving at shelters. These are some of the things she has bought and distributed, everything with receipts. The money you have given us is not for us, it is for the people that needs help. I understand if you can't trust a random paypal, you can still donate to the places you consider trustworthy, everthying is welcomed. Again, you all have blessed hundreds of lives and touched our hearts. May the universe reward you 1000 times more. 💘

[hyggkwan]

Thank you to everyone that keeps reblogging and helping us in diverse ways. We are currently under the threat of hurricane Iota, please keep us in your prayers. I am very scared of what is going to happen.