Hi All!

Your flat tire is more likely to happen during difficult conditions, when it’s harder to see the road and any hazards.  If you can, keep an old blanket or sleeping bag in your vehicle so you have something to kneel or sit on when you’re changing the tire.

Seriously, if you live in the US, make a plan NOW so that you are ready to vote.

Make sure you are registered to vote.  Many states are “cleaning up” voter rolls, so double-check.

Decide what you are willing to compromise on and what is a deal-breaker for you.  You probably won’t find someone who is a perfect fit, but you can definitely find candidates that are better or worse.

If you aren’t sure whether voting in person will be safe for you by November, find out what you need to do to vote by mail.  Check your state and local requirements for voting by mail or voting early (when it might be less crowded) if you can’t vote by mail.  You may need to request the ballot in advance or send in some form of identification.  Some areas require a witness’ signature on mail-in ballots, which can be hard if you’re are quarantined alone.  Some areas require mail-in ballots to be received or postmarked by a certain date; some have drop-off locations in addition to accepting ballots by mail.  Make a plan NOW so you are ready by November.

While you are voting for (or against) a presidential candidate, remember to look at the rest of your ballot!  Even if you aren’t voting for a presidential candidate, look at the rest of the ballot!  The president has a lot of power, but the senators and representatives can do a lot to support or block the president.  Your state, county, city, and other local governments can also have a big impact on your life.  Most of their decisions will have an immediate effect on you.  Plus, in many cases, this is where presidents and congress-critters get started.  If you don’t like the choices at the top level, start changing the people closer to you.

Every vote counts!  Yes, even at the presidential level.  However, the farther down the ballot you go, the more your vote is going to count.  This applies even more on local primaries and elections that don’t affect national positions.  The pool of voters is smaller in local elections, and many people who can vote won’t bother.  Take a little time to find out as much as you can about your local candidates, and vote for the ones who support most of your values.  

It’s easier to take time to check out candidates and issues if you are voting by mail.  However, even if you are voting on election day, you can frequently see what is on the ballot in advance, so you can do your research.  Make sure you understand those awkwardly worded (”Do you support removing the proposition that opposes...?”) questions and convoluted propositions, so that you’re voting for what you really want.

Plan ahead and vote!

Yo Biden just announced an infrastructure devolopment/clean energy/environmental justice plan and it's honesty pretty fucking amazing and much more ambitious than I ever would have expected from him, goddamn. He's trying to Eisenhower/New Deal our way out of the economic collapse.

Some notable points addressed by this plan:

Expanding American railway systems

Fixing the crumbling roads, bridges, dams, etc. that haven't been kept up

Capping abandoned oil wells

Undoing Trump's financial bailout policies for unclean energy companies

Reinvesting in American-made automotive companies

Getting America to 100% clean energy by 2035

Fixing air, water, and ground pollution issues that disproportionately affect poc

Getting justice for victims of environmental racism

Reinstating a bunch of environmental and medical jobs Trump had cut

Getting the US back on the Paris Agreement/Climate Accord

Exactly!!  Take it from someone who is Queer and Old -- rainbow capitalism is definitely an improvement.  Could corporations do better?  Yes!  Should we keep pushing them to do better?  Absolutely!

However, it’s important to remember that rainbow capitalism means the corporations want (and think they can get) more money from the LGBTQIA+ community than from homophobes.  That’s definitely a step in the right direction.

i’d rather have rainbow capitalism then living in constant fear of discovery. the woman in the pride flag disney t-shirt might be missing the nuance, but at least i know i can be myself. a street full of rainbow flags makes me more comfortable holding a mans hand. look. corporations aren’t your friend. they will sell to whoever will buy. but kids seeing gay everything every year is only ever a good thing, and a massive improvement in history

Yay for pride variety!

so I did pretty much this last year, but I really wanted to remake it so it was larger, better done and included the lesbian flag because I forgot it last year

anyone who starts discourse on this will be blocked.

If you’re in Wisconsin, go to https://myvote.wi.gov/ to find out if you’re registered, make sure you know where to vote, and see the ballot in advance so you can decide who/what you’re voting for before you go to the polls.  Go to https://www.bringitwisconsin.com/ for information about the required ID to vote. Whether you approve of the requirement or not, make sure you have what you need to vote!

You can also request an absentee ballot if you don’t know whether you will have time or spoons to vote on November 6.  “Under Wisconsin law, voters do not need a reason or excuse, such as being out of town on Election Day, to vote absentee.  Any voter who prefers to vote by absentee ballot may request one.” (https://elections.wi.gov/voters/absentee)  Even if Tuesdays are your day off and you want to spend them at home in your pajamas, you can get an absentee ballot and vote!

REPOST @TinySnekComics - you know what’s cool?  VOTING THIS NOVEMBER!!! if you retweet anything today, make it is!!  

This is great advice if you are able to travel to the ballot drop-off location or have someone you trust deliver it for you.

Also, check the requirements on your absentee ballot carefully!  In Wisconsin, the envelope for an absentee ballot needs to be signed on the outside by both the voter and a witness.  I think it needs the witness’ address, too.  If that information is missing, the ballot is NOT counted.  Check the requirements as soon as possible after you get your ballot so you have time to make arrangements, if necessary.

OK So with the shit with the USPS going on:

1. Check your Voter registration to make sure everything is up to date.  If you can, request a Mail-In Ballot.  I live in CO, where all elections are Mail-In only now, so I get one anyway.

2. Fill out your ballot per the instructions on your Ballot.  Some Notes:

Read Instructions thoroughly, and fill out your Ballot in private.

Do NOT post pictures of your Ballot as this may invalidate it.  DO Post pictures of your “I Voted” sticker.

Make sure to vote for all the offices up for election- as important as the presidential election is, your mayor, governer, local school board and sherrif have a MUCH bigger impact on your immediate safety and quality of life.  Google your candidates, look up the Leauge of Women Voter’s Guides for a reliably Impartial rundown of your local candidates. 

Remember also that it is better to have someone in office that is only moderately incompotent, than it is to have someone that actively wants you dead.  It is the first step to having someone worthwhile next time.

If you wanted a third party option, your local elections are the best place to do this- my own city council has several Green Party members and it got me city-sponsored single-stream recycling! Its also moving the state legislature significantly farther left.

3. INSTEAD OF MAILING IT- LOOK UP WHERE YOUR BALLOT DROP-OFF LOCATIONS ARE. 

They’re boxes you drive or walk or bus or bike or whatever up to and drop your ballot in, and the elections officials will have it that evening. Pros of Ballot Drop-Off:

Can be turned in the same day you reccive your ballot, if you want to get this over with ASAP

Open 24/7, so you can drop it off whenever

Absolutely guaranteed to get your vote counted, regardless of what Donald does with the Post Office.

No waiting in line

No exposing yourself to the coronavirus

Most cities will have several ballot Drop-Off locations, at places like the grocery store, the county courthouse, city hall, at high schools etc.  Google your town or county name and “Ballot Drop Off Locations” and it’ll give you directions even.

Absolutely Save the USPS, but this is the BEST way to make sure your vote gets counted this

I think Danny Devito would be great as the voice of Spider-Ham though!

Husband and I have a fun game called “Against Type”  where we speculate on either Improbable Roles for an actor or Improbable Actors for a role.  The results frequently make for better movies than the original casting.  Some of the best combinations so far:

Betty White as James Bond (With Daniel Craig as her Bond Girl)

Danny Devito as Spiderman

Arnold Schwaznegger as Any Teletubbie

Julie Andrews as Batman

Gilbert Gottfried as The Phantom Of The Opera

Lucy Liu as freakin’ anybody.  Seriously, any role I’ve tried to imagine her in I can only imagine her fucking killing it.  Captain America. Mary Poppins. Hannibal Lecter. Doc Brown. Elizabeth Bennet. Darth Vader. She’d be awesome.

Samuel L. Jackson as Dolores Umbridge

Taika Watiti and Lin Manuel Miranda as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson (the musical)

Some notes from the game:

It’s harder to do this with actresses than actors because they tend to be more versatile.

Adding “The Musical” or “Directed by Mel Brooks” to any serious movies improves it by 500%

Christopher Walken is equally awesome/terrible at anything you put him in

Wow!  This has expanded considerably since I saw it last.

“A house I pass on the way to work has this sculpture in its yard. Its about 8 feet tall.”

(Source)

This is an excellent set of explanations of many of the dangers of making abortion illegal.  If you don’t believe that these things will happen, take a look at the laws currently on the books, being written and shoved through conservative legislatures, and being proposed now.

It’s lovely to say that “mainstream pro-lifers” don’t support certain things.  However, the fact is that the people who are writing and preparing to enforce the laws do.  Or at least, they support using the “pro-life” movement to build their power and tear down other people.

Another thing everyone needs to remember is that the medical term for a miscarriage is a spontaneous abortion, and they will try to criminalize that, too.

As many as half of all pregnancies end in spontaneous abortion. Oftentimes the pregnant person does not know they have been pregnant.

I have been pregnant 13 times that i know of, and have required a D&C for a couple of them so I didn’t go septic and die. (Celiac disease causes spontaneous abortion in many people, and we didn’t know i had it, only that I miscarried a lot). I have had one live birth. One. The other 12, they’d like to make crimes.

So. You know. Been thinking about that a lot today.

Please add your signature to support Sen. Duckworth and all women who should not have to choose between their families and their careers.

“She will also be the first senator that U.S. Senate rules will punish for giving birth. If she takes any maternity leave, she will be barred from voting or sponsoring any legislation. And even if she doesn’t take leave, she’ll likely be forced to miss voting times because her nursing infant will be barred from the Senate floor. Really.“