Gaythia Weis @Gaythia@qoto.org

NEW: Over the last three years an interconnected network of PACs, largely funded by billionaires who support school privatization, has begun to transform the nature of local school board elections across Texas. I mapped it all out for @TexasObserver

https://www.texasobserver.org/school-board-pacs-consultants-right-wing/

@froomkin And I think this utter spew of dangerous vileness warrants more coverage than it got… “Trump spokesman Steven Cheung only added fuel to the fire when he told The Post that those who argue that Trump’s rhetoric echoes that of dictators will find ‘their entire existence will be crushed when President Trump returns to the White House.’”

Trump knows what he’s doing when he calls his enemies “vermin” in his speeches and online. He’s dehumanizing them. This has happened to my community twice in my lifetime: once during World War II, and again during the pandemic. It is so dangerous, and Trump knows it. He’s preparing his base to do things that you can’t do to other humans, only to subhumans. Be warned. Be vigilant.

Ohio Republicans are claiming a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights, which was approved by voters in Tuesday’s election, doesn’t actually do that — and they’re promising to take steps to prevent the legal protection of reproductive freedom in the state. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/ohio-republicans-stop-issue-1-abortion-rights-1234875333/

On Veterans Day, I want to share my gratitude with America’s veterans and their families. Thank you for your inspiring service, your humbling sacrifice, and your unwavering dedication to our country.

Let’s celebrate those who answered our nation’s call and redouble our efforts to repay their service. Not just today, but every day of the year.

@Acronymesis They do.

We now have state entities breathing down doctors' and patients’ necks when patients have an incomplete miscarriage. Before Dobbs, if you needed a medical procedure, most people had one. No one told you to go home until you were nearly dead from sepsis.

Republicans right now are trying to stop women from traveling out of state. Anti-abortion zealots are on a feeding frenzy and Republican are enabling it.

A small town mayor in Alabama killed himself after a conservative web site published pictures of him in women’s clothing and make-up. The closet is a hard place to be, and outing anyone can be very harmful. We need a society where it’s okay to be who you want to be so long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else. Is that so hard to imagine?

The GOP has introduced a bill to EXPEL Palestinians from the United States. I cannot read such things without remembering what happened to my own family after Pearl Harbor. After we and 120,000 other Japanese Americans were incarcerated in prison camps for years, without charge or trial, my own mother was very nearly expelled to Japan because of racial prejudice and hatred. Only the brave actions of a civil rights attorney saved her from being sent away. #NeverAgain

I want to send the state of Texas a bill for all the chlamydia, trich, and UTIs I write prescriptions to their residents for. So many people who come to #NewMexico and Colorado for #abortion care end up getting very basic health screenings while here their home handmaid’s tale-esque state is neglecting. Want to “save lives”? Decrease chlamydia in your state - it leads to increased rates of ectopic pregnancies.

National red flag law anyone?
If the Army determined he could not be trusted with a firearm, a judge should have been able to do the same.

Maine mass shooter's family reached out to sheriff 5 months before rampage, sheriff's office says
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/31/2202747/-Maine-mass-shooter-s-family-reached-out-to-sheriff-5-months-before-rampage-sheriff-s-office-says

@Waitnwallflower Happy Halloween!

EPA has tested Corsi-Rosenthal boxes for aerosolized virus removal and (as expected) they worked very well, built by adults or by 5th graders, run on high speed or low speed.
https://today.uconn.edu/2023/10/epa-testing-shows-the-power-of-d-i-y-air-filters-to-trap-viruses/

Remember, the teens who come to your door tonight are still trying to adjust to leaving childhood behind.

Be kind. They need the candy more than the darling little ones.

#Vote #VoteBlueToSaveDemocracy

“I really believe it’s down to one issue on the ballot. Not taxes, not even abortion, nothing. The one issue is: Do you believe in democracy, or do you believe in authoritarianism?”

— Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), on CNN, explaining why he’s voted for Democrats in the last two elections.

Republicans are lying when they say slashing IRS funds will lower the deficit. For each extra $1 the IRS spends auditing rich tax cheats, it can collect $12. Defunding the IRS will INCREASE the deficit.

They want to help their rich donors cheat, while the rest of us pay for it.

Doctors Without Borders spokeswoman tells Chris Hayes that the situation in #Gaza is
"One of the worst humanitarian catastrophes that we have ever seen." This from an organization that has worked in war zones and disaster areas worldwide for decades.

Republicans are not “delusional,” they haven’t temporarily “lost their mind.” Such pathologizing language obscures rather than illuminates the fact that Republicans are engaged in a deliberate, systematic, and highly successful project to entrench minority rule. 13/

This story ought to be getting a whole lot more attention than it is.

Minneapolis Police have been running something approaching a mafia-style protection racket targeting local businesses, especially minority-owned businesses.

https://minnesotareformer.com/2023/10/17/small-business-owners-they-are-pressured-to-hire-off-duty-mpd-cops-for-security/

1/2

Bottom trawling releases as much carbon as air travel, landmark study finds
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/17/trawling-for-fish-releases-as-much-carbon-as-air-travel-report-finds-climate-crisis
Dragging heavy nets across seabed disturbs marine sediments, world’s largest carbon sink, scientists report

Not new, but new to me

Harlan Crow and a few billionaires have provided Clarence Thomas with:

-38 destination vacations

-26 private jet flights

-6 helicopter flights

-Yacht voyages

And we're going to let Thomas rule on Moore v. US, which could permanently shield billionaires from a wealth tax?