Lea Belton

I have earned my Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and am seeking employment that aims for lasing and effective impacts through law and culture that work toward minimizing (to the most realistic extent) the wealth gap between U.S. citizens, and to raise the level of living for them as well. Currently, I hold the lead volunteer position at the B-17 Alliance Museum in Milwaukie, OR, where our goal is to educate the public on the personal stories of WWII, (among other U.S. history) as those able to tell them are diminishing in population. These men and women are from the 'Great Generation,' but they too are mortal, and will not be able to share their experiences forever. I encourage all to come take a free tour of the Museum and library, open Friday-Sunday 10am - 2pm, located off of McLoughlin Blvd.

[liebeueberall-deactivated202007]

Today I put some of them all over the city. I thought its a good way to get attention on it.

[spacebeets]

[corradocoia]

 #REAL FUNNY OLD SPORT

And that’s how you cut to a wide shot.

[myrosecolouredgirl]

i hope the astrology meme never dies

keep telling me fake stuff about my imaginary personality as it relates to beyonce’s discography or nicki’s looks by year or whatever else

[soft-communism]

what's the difference...

old soviet joke

under capitalism — man exploits his fellow man.

but under communism — it’s just the opposite…

——————————————————————————————-

❤☮☭folloш foя мoяе soft сoммцпisм☭☮❤

[marxturbation-deactivated201905]

I had a dream last night where I was a transfer student in “Soviet Korea” or something, and I was the only kid who didn’t speak Korean and every Tuesday we went to some fort, and I think it was the only time we were allowed to eat

[meadownow]

http://m.reynolds.k12.or.us/district/frequently-asked-questions-after-rhs-shooting-61314

[azspot]

Imagine for a moment that normal telephone lines were afflicted with static, and that when your office called you, you had difficulty making out what the person on the other end was saying, and imagine that the telephone companies started offering a static-free service for a large sum that only the big telemarketers could afford, so that when Visa called you to offer you a new deal on your credit card, you could hear them clearly. That would be pretty awful, wouldn’t it? Under Federal Communications Commission law, a common carrier like the telephone company can’t do that. Yet that is exactly the kind of the thing that could start happening on the Internet over the next decade if the FCC adopts the standards that its chairman Thomas Wheeler is circulating among the agency’s commissioners.

FCC’s New Rules Show Obama Has Not Kept Net Neutrality Promise (via azspot)

[satanic-capitalist]

American Democracy Now an Oligarchy

By Joel S. Hirschhorn

History has been made.  But few Americans are aware of it or angry about it.  I say: Wake up Americans.  A war has been waged against US democracy, from the inside.  Time to pick a side and fight back.

If you are not totally brain dead, distracted by pain or pleasure, or consumed by narcissistic obsessions, face the ugly, painful truth.

Republicans with political power in Congress and the states and, even more appallingly, on the Supreme Court have succeeded in turning their beloved republic into a-money-buys-power oligarchy.  One person, one vote was the enemy and it is being defeated.  One dollar, one vote is the new Republican political value.  American democracy is more delusional than ever.  To think otherwise is even more delusional.

I present three arguments supporting the conclusion that there has been a conversion of US democracy into something worse than a plutocracy.  Political power is more dependent on money than ever before.

First, Republicans controlling the House of Representatives and many controlling state governments, together with their rich supporters, have steadily and successfully eroded voting and election laws.  Their goal has been simple: Fight the demographic advantages of Democrats that give them more voters by making it more difficult for those citizens to actually vote.  This has been documented in a New York Times top story and many other places. Republicans see the obvious.  Namely that their older,-largely rural, white male shrinking proportion of the population is insufficient to win many elections and, even more significant, that many of their policy positions will never prevail with many demographic groups.

As Damon Linker observed about this statistical reality, this is a “tacit acknowledgement by the Republican Party that it’s in dire demographic straits — and that one of the key pillars of its ideology over the last half-century is crumbling right before our eyes.”  Their solution, besides vicious gerrymandering of House districts, is to make it ever more difficult for groups likely to favor Democrats to vote in all elections.  This direct assault on electoral democracy depends considerably on money coming from the wealthiest people to finance the actions to change election laws.

Second, the Supreme Court is now controlled by a Republican majority that has been successfully producing decisions to remove limits to money dumped into the political system by the richest Americans.  For example, recently theMcCutcheon decision  continued the Roberts Court program of gutting campaign-finance laws.  Hard to believe, but this decision came to the aid of just 1,219 people in the US—that’s four in every 1,000,000 of our population, who ran up against a contribution limit.  But this is consistent with the insanity that money is the same as free speech, which the Supreme Court has made the law of the land.

As Robert Reich correctly noted: “The court said such spending doesn’t corrupt democracy.  That’s utter baloney, as anyone who has the faintest familiarity with contemporary American politics well knows.”  Political money is used to greatly impact lawmaking and elections.  Political power obtained through political spending is, of course, essential for the richest Americans to maintain and perhaps intensify the economic inequality that now distinguishes American society.  It is how an oligarchy is obtained and sustained.

I hope that Brent Budowsky is correct.  Namely that “Roberts and his four conservative Republican brethren will ultimately be impeached by historians who will condemn, and future courts that will reverse, politically illegitimate and constitutionally deformed rulings that would turn America into a constitutional oligarchy.”  But change “would turn” into “have turned.”

Third, as still more proof of the profound historic change in the US, a recent study from Princeton University that analyzed considerable data concluded that the US has become an oligarchy.  Here is what this important study said: “In the United States, our findings indicate, the majority does not rule — at least not in the causal sense of actually determining policy outcomes. When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organized interests, they generally lose. Moreover, because of the strong status quo bias built into the U.S. political system, even when fairly large majorities of Americans favor policy change, they generally do not get it.”

Furthermore, “Americans do enjoy many features central to democratic governance, such as regular elections, freedom of speech and association, and a widespread (if still contested) franchise. But we believe that if policymaking is dominated by powerful business organizations and a small number of affluent Americans, then America’s claims to being a democratic society are seriously threatened.”  In other words, it is time for Americans to stop believing delusional truths and recognize that US democracy has become a myth, especially if there are ever to be serious actions by the majority to fix and restore democracy.

Americans, especially younger ones, need to understand the historical path from democracy to plutocracy to oligarchy.  Most Americans are suffering because of economic inequality and they need to understand that the economic system is under the control of the perverted political system.  Anyone who is not in the Upper Class or proverbial top one percent who votes for Republicans is living in some fantasy world.  Such voters have been brainwashed and manipulated by, for example, FOX News and blowhards like Limbaugh.

Republicans want even more power.  And if they get it, what would you expect from those working so hard to makeUS democracy a joke and replace millions of voters with one percent oligarchs?  What Republicans have been doing is nothing less than domestic political terrorism.  If Republicans and Tea Party loyalists were true patriots, they would rebel against the oligarchy created by Republicans.

Finally, make no mistake and think this condemnation of Republicans equates to advocacy for Democrats.  The ultimate solution if a better, more democratic US system is to be obtained is not to rely on putting Democrats in control who also have some billionaires on their side.  No, what is required is a number of constitutional amendments obtained through an Article V convention that are necessary to structurally reform the political system, especially getting rid of the power of political money.  In recent months there has been a historic increase in support from important people for constitutional amendments and greater public support is desperately needed to finally use the constitutional option given by the Founders to the nation.

This article was published at NationofChange at: http://www.nationofchange.org/american-democracy-now-oligarchy-1398434982. All rights are reserved.

[satanic-capitalist]

[satanic-capitalist]

Internet for the Wealthy on the Way Unless We Stop It

By Kevin Zeese

In what the New York Times describes as “a net neutrality turnaround” the Obama administration’s new FCC chairman is proposing rules that will create an Internet for the wealthy. The new plan to create a pay to play Internet came to light Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal.

To take action click here.

Under the plan wealthy corporations will be able to purchase faster service, while those that cannot do so will have slower service. Rather than an open Internet for all the US will be moving to a class-based Internet. Of course, this will mean that when Netflix and other corporations purchase faster Internet, the consumers who use their service will be paying more to watch movies and download information. As a result, more money will be funneled from working Americans to wealthy telecom giants.

We recently wrote that the United States has lost its democratic legitimacy and now was a plutocratic oligarchy. This is what plutocracy looks like – policies designed for the wealthy, so they can make more money from the rest of us.

According to the Times:

“The new rules, according to the people briefed on them, will allow a company like Comcast or Verizon to negotiate separately with each content company – like Netflix, Amazon, Disney or Google – and charge different companies different amounts for priority service.

"That, of course, could increase costs for content companies, which would then have an incentive to pass on those costs to consumers as part of their subscription prices."

In the future, if a new start-up – the future Twitter or Facebook – begins it will have a very hard time competing with those who are established Interne companies because the slower service of the start-ups will make them less consumer friendly. As a result we can expect less creativity on the Internet.  As Stacy Higginbotham wrote: “The plans took the hallmark of network neutrality — the notion that ISP shouldn’t discriminate between the traffic flowing over their networks — and turned it on its head.”

The proposal is being shared with other members of the Commission today. There will then be amendments suggested to garner majority support and the plan is to vote on the proposal on May 15,

Take action now. To Contact the Commissioners via E-mail

Chairman Tom Wheeler: [email protected] Commissioner Mignon Clyburn: [email protected] Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel: [email protected] Commissioner Ajit Pai: [email protected] Commissioner Michael O’Rielly: Mike.O’[email protected]

To call and contact commissioner’s offices, call 1-888-225-5322.

In addition, call your elected representatives.  Tell them if net neutrality is ended, you will hold them accountable by withholding your vote. Both parties hope to control the senate after the mid-term elections, so you have more power than usual to let them know they are losing your vote if they fail to take action to stop the FCC proposal. The number for Congress is 202-224-3121.

Finally sign this petition:

Dear Commissioners

I am writing to oppose rules that will allow for discrimination on the Internet - where the wealthy can purchase faster Internet service and everyone else continues to have slower service. 

We do not want telecom giants and wealthy Internet companies to determine the future of the Internet. We want new ideas to flourish on the Internet and not be blocked because they do not have sufficient funds to purchase fast service and compete.

We do not want the Internet turned into another vehicle that allows money to flow from working Americans to the wealthiest — where they purchase fast service then charge consumers more money for rapid Internet service. 

The proposal being considered would kill rather than protect Net Neutrality and allow rampant discrimination online. The Internet should be viewed as a public good and should be operated consistent with our rights to Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press. Turning the Internet into a pay to play scheme is unacceptable.

We demand an open Internet and real net neutrality.

Chairman Wheeler knows this proposal is going to be unpopular and in response to the Wall Street Journal and New York Times is denying there has been a “turnaround.” But, his statement is carefully worded and would allow exactly was has been reported.

How Did We Get To Class-Based Internet?

This move to end net neutrality should be placed at the door of President Obama and the US Senate. Obama appointed a former industry head to become chair of the FCC and the Senate unanimously confirmed him.

In April 2008 during his presidential campaign, Barack Obama took the side of the people saying: “The most important thing we can probably do is to preserve the diversity that’s emerging through the Internet…something called net neutrality. I will take a backseat to no one in my commitment to network neutrality.” While he campaigned as a populist he has governed as a plutocrat – on this issue and so many others.

When Tom Wheeler was nominated by President Obama to become the Chairman of the FCC many in the internet freedom community expressed deep concerns.  For decades Wheeler had represented the telecom industry in Washington, DC. From 1979 to 1984, Wheeler headed the National Cable Television Association, now named the National Cable and Telecommunications Association.  He then worked in the telecom industry for 8 years followed by taking over as head of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Assn. in 1992, leaving in 2005.  Wheeler went on to become a major Obama fundraiser and adviser.  In fact on his bio page at the FCC this is expressed as “He is the only person to be selected to both the Cable Television Hall of Fame and The Wireless Hall of Fame, a fact President Obama joked made him ‘The Bo Jackson of Telecom.’” Appointing Wheeler was akin to putting the industry in charge of the future of the Internet.  

Now Wheeler is set to propose what the industry has wanted, an end to net neutrality, that will allow them to charge us more for service and created financial barriers that will prevent new services from challenging their domination of the Internet.

If you want an open Internet, take action today. We can stop this – but we must act now.

Please contact the people above and forward this to everyone you know.

Kevin Zeese is an organizer with PopularResistance.org and co-director of ItsOurEconomy.US. His twitter is @KBZeese.

This article was published at NationofChange at: http://www.nationofchange.org/internet-wealthy-way-unless-we-stop-it-1398435310. All rights are reserved.

[fuckyeahdialectics]

Genuine equality means not treating everyone the same, but attending equally to everyone’s different needs.

Eagleton, Terry, Why Marx Was Right (Yale University Press, 2011) p.5 (via fuckyeahdialectics)

And this is why I get pissed off when.. I talk about equality, and someone says “YOU WANT EVERYONE TO BE THE SAME”.  No, that’s not how it works, and I’m sick of explaining it.

(via latias)

[subtlecluster]

[subtlecluster]

«Last updated August 14, 2012 — this compilation was done by the rad folks at genderqueerid.com»

The following are link and book recommendations, all evaluated myself, as helpful resources that relate to genderqueer and non-binary concepts and identities. If there is a resource you would like to suggest, please use the GQID submit form (select Submit a Link from the drop-down or copy and paste a list into the default text box). See also Marilyn Roxie’s genderqueer tag on Delicious. If you are instead looking for the bibliography for the Genderqueer History and Identities project, click here.

     Links:

Genderqueer-friendly Tumblrs

Androgynites Unite, Ask a Non-Binary, Break the Binary, Closet Problems, Fat Genderqueers!, Freedom Centre: FC Yeah!, Fuck Yeah Androgyny!, Fuck Yeah Genderless, Fuck Yeah Gender Studies!, Fuck Yeah, Genderqueers!, fyeahtransfashion, Fuck Yeah, Transitioning GQs, the gender bender agenda, The Gender Book, Gender Edge, Genderforkr, GenderPanic, Gender Queeries, Genderqueer, The Genderqueer Activist, GenderQueer Confessions, Genderqueer Fashionista, Genderqueer Problems, GenderQueer Problems, Gendered Intelligence, GQ Moments, The Identity, Sexual, and Romantic Minorities Space!, KNOW Homo, LGBTQ Advice, LGBTQ Asks, LGBTQ Connections, Midwest Trans* & Queer Wellness Initiative, Neutrois,Nonbinary, Non-binary Artists, Nonbinary Autistics!, Non Binary Confessions, Non-binary Experiences, Non-Op, no gender rules, nullgrade, Practical Androgyny, Queer Dictionary, The Safe Space Network, Smashing the Binary, spectrumofgenders, STFU Binarists, T.R.A.N.S., Transcending Anatomy,Transgender Housing Network, transissues101, Trans*Opinions, transqueery, TransRadical, Trans* Teens, Trans*toons, Trans* Transgressions, Trans* Tumblr Directory, transbears, TransFess, TRANSPRIDE, Tucking and Other Skills, We Are Gender-Fluid!, ygender[queer]

GQ-friendly Livejournal Communities

Androgynes, Bigender, Birls, Gender Blur, gender_fluid, Genderqueer, Gender.queer_FTW, Girlfags and Guydykes, Transgender

Websites and FAQs

Androgyny Rarely Asked Questions, Chroanagram, Crossdreamers, Genderfork, Genderology, Genderpedia, Genderqueer in the UK, GenderQueer Revolution, Gender Sphere, The Midwest Trans & Queer Wellness Initiative, Nonbinary.org, Non-Op: Another Option, pipisafoat: FAQ on Genderqueers, Gender Expression, and Gender Variance, Practical Androgyny, Questioning Transphobia, T-Vox, We Happy Trans, World Professional Association for Transgender Health, YGender

Organizations and Events: Click here for a list

Forums and Groups

AVEN: Gender Discussion, Forum GenderQueer (Russian), GenderQueer Atheists Group on Facebook, Last.fm: Genderqueers Group, Laura’s Playground, Scarleteen: Gender Issues, Susan’s Place, #transchat, TransYada, TQ Nation, What is Gender?

Identity Sites

Androgyne Online, Bigender, Bi-Gender the Bisexual Partner, GirlFags, Neutrois.com/Neutrois Outpost, Neutrois Nonsense

Prounouns and Titles

Art of Transliness: Gender Neutral Relational Terms, Freelance Writing: The History of the Indefinite Singular Pronoun, Gender Neutral Pronoun Blog,Gender Queeries: Gender Neutral/Queer Titles, Genderqueer in the UK: Misc, or Mx: A Gender-neutral Title, MIT’s Ally Toolkit: Gender Neutral Pronoun Usage, Warren Wilson: Using Gender-Neutral Language in Academic Writing

Articles: Click here for a list

Fun, Videos, Podcasts, & Performance

Agender Earthworm, Facts About Queers (Humor), Fuck Yeah Non-Binary Seahorse, Genderqueer Chat, Gendercast: Our Transmasculine Genderqueery,Gender Queeries,Kreative Korporation: Yay genderform! (a comprehensive and fun-to-play-with list of gender, sex, orientation, and more identities),Midwest Genderqueer, regender: A Different Kind of Translator, Trans Parrotfish

Education

Gender Diversity Project, Gender Spectrum: Resources, Queer Teaching Tips, Safe Schools Coalition, TRANScending Identities: A Bibliography of Resources on Transgender and Intersex Topics, Transgender Student Rights, Trans What?: A Guide Towards Allyship

Sex Ed: Click here for a list

The Trevor Project: “The leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services” to LGBT youth: 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386) Also available for matters of less pressing urgency, Dear Trevor is an “online, non-time sensitive Question & Answer resource for young people with questions surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity.” A directory of previous questions in the category of Transgender/Genderqueer is also available.

Social Media

Click here for a list of social media with options apart from male and female, as well as scripts to alter options on websites that don’t provide these options by default

Fashion and Transitional Gear: Click here for a list

Banner: This Journal is Gay/Lesbian, Bisexual, Pansexual, Transgender, Intersex, Genderqueer, Asexual Positive banner (with flags; without flags). Designed by nethdugan.

     Books: 

Note: Use Worldcat.org, the world’s largest global library catalog, to see if the book you’re seeking is available at a library near you!

Gender Now Coloring Book - Maya Christina Gonzales

Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us - Kate Bornstein

Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation - Kate Bornstein

Hello, Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws - Kate Bornstein

My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely - Kate Bornstein

Books and essays by Ivan Coyote

Grrl Alex: A Personal Journey to a Transgender Identity - Alex Drummond

GenderQueer: Voices From Beyond the Sexual Binary - Joan Nestle, Riki Wilchins, Clare Howell

Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity - Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore

PoMoSexuals: Challenging Assumptions About Gender and Sexuality - Carol Queen and Lawrence Schimel

Queer Theory, Gender Theory - Riki Anne Wilchins

Read My Lips: Sexual Subversion and the End of Gender - Riki Anne Wilchins

Trans Bodies, Trans Selves (in-progress) - Laura Erickson-Schroth

whatever.odt (free!) - JD O’Meara

Feeling Wrong in Your Own Body: Understanding What It Means to Be Transgender - Jamie A. Seba

That’s Revolting!: Queer Strategies for Resisting Assimilation - Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore

Transgender Voices: Beyond Women and Men - Lori B. Girshick and Jamison Green

Transition and Beyond: Observations on Gender Identity - Reid Vanderburgh

(Looking for a list of books concerning gender, sex, and orientation that aren’t genderqueer specific instead? Click here)

Book lists compiled by others:

Bibliography of Books Concerning Androgynes and Androgyny

Booklist for Trans Youth on Goodreads

Genderqueer Chicago on Goodreads

[fantasia]

[leabelton]

A series of ads, developed as a creative idea for UN Women by Memac Ogilvy & Mather Dubai, uses genuine Google searches to reveal the widespread prevalence of sexism and discrimination against women. Based on searches dated 9 March, 2013 the ads expose negative sentiments ranging from stereotyping as well as outright denial of women’s rights.

[thinksquad-deactivated20190405]

"Revenge porn" banned in California

[ladyantelopes]

California Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed a bill outlawing so-called revenge porn and levying possible jail time for people who post naked photos of their exes after bitter breakups. Senate Bill 255, which takes effect immediately, makes it a misdemeanor to post identifiable nude pictures of someone else online without permission with the intent to cause emotional distress or humiliation. The penalty is up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

heck yea

[bunnymagia]

So as this is likely the first government shutdown in the memory of most if not all of the people posting here on tumblr (I was 8 in 1995), it might be helpful to refresh our memories on what exactly is going to happen when the federal government doesn’t have a budget.

800,000 federal...

[kayyybandz-blog]

Young men need to be socialized in such a way that rape is as unthinkable to them as cannibalism.

Mary Pipher, Clinical Psychologist and Author, Reviving Ophelia (via sunshine-machine)