Lauralee Dukeshire (she/her) @LauraleeDukeshire@qoto.org

In fairness
it is rather difficult
to see new waves forming
when your head
is already underwater.

My father had to have a chunk of his ear removed, so we had a little photoshoot.

In a conversation on reddit today someone asked if other languages have phrases like "rightie tightie, leftie loosie" to remember which way to turn screws/lids/etc. And one person answers that in Spanish, the phrase is:

"La derecha oprime, la izquierda libera."

or:

"The right oppresses, the left liberates."

(Now I kind of want to put this on a t shirt)

I ride my bicycle
down streets without bike lanes
and I walk home alone
late at night
I go on hikes
without compass or map
and I have an impatient
tendency to jaywalk
I do not consider myself
to be particularly risk averse
though I will admit
I remain quite plague averse.

We all know someone
who just can’t handle spicy food
a friend a relative
whoever they are
dishes described as hot or medium
destroy them
even that which gets called
mild
is more than they can stand
which is worth keeping in mind
when you hear
a new plague variant called mild.

Looking good in polka dots! Hoshihananomia dumbrelli, the white spotted black pintail beetle. Yarra Ranges National Park, Australia.

#Coleoptera #Beetles #Mordellidae #Insects

Washington is set to become the 10th state to ban the sale of AR-15s and other guns it classifies as assault weapons.

The state House passed the assault weapons sales ban 56-42, sending it to Gov. Jay Inslee, who said he'll sign the bill into law. https://t.co/E18QrhcH9H

In fairness
“rapid unscheduled disassembly”
is a pretty good descriptor
of what the pandemic
has done to our society.

Joined Hamilton ACORN at their rally today with my colleague Alex Wilson to support tenants in their fight for a renoviction bylaw in #HamOnt. I’ll be pushing for that outcome at Council. The majority of taxpayers in Ward 2 are renters and they need the City to step up.

My colleague the headbanger
is not looking well
when I ask how he is feeling
he tells he went to a metal show
after which he just hasn’t felt
like his normal self
I ask if he took precautions
he replies that he wore earplugs
so I suppose he at least
protected himself from noise.

Noticing an uptick in new followers this afternoon. Welcome! Here’s your katydid.

#WelcomeToMastodon #Insects

$20 billion for O&G companies enjoying all-time record-breaking profits.

$158 million for Alberta healthcare with hospitals and staff in crisis.

Make it make sense, UCP voters.

#ableg #cdnpoli #yyc

I’m a trans doctor. What happened to me in front of the Arkansas senate was utterly mortifying

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trans-doctor-arkansas-senate-video-b2283620.html

#senate

Remember: Mega-corporations wouldn’t be deploying massive union-busting campaigns if they weren’t terrified of worker power.

The question shouldn't be "Why do Black folk see racism in everything?"

The question should be "Why do white folk not see any of this?"

The answer to the better question is of course, that there is an information delta between "what Black folk know about racism" and "what white folk know about racism."

Racist people don't want you to know any of this stuff. Because some people, on reading this stuff, say, "Sounds bad. We should maybe change things to be less bad?"

77.7% of Black students borrow.

50% default within 12 years.

No one cares.

https://www.brookings.edu/research/black-white-disparity-in-student-loan-debt-more-than-triples-after-graduation/

Much of the $1.6 trillion debt is held by Black students. Yes, I said trillion. With a "T." And yes, I said "debt held by Black kids," who are hired less and paid less.

The unspoken part of the US student loan forgiveness "debate," is racists thinking "I am fundamentally opposed to anything that would lower the suffering of Black people or prevent the siphoning of their wealth."

Q: Why are universities in Spain free and there is no student debt while in the USA there is more student debt than the GDP of Spain?

A: Surprisingly, also racism!

College in the US is too expensive, so loans.

Black kids are on average, lower income than white kids. Most college drop outs leave not due to poor grades, but for financial hardship. Poor kids very often don't graduate. 😢

Drop out without a degree, you still owe a huge debt.

Q: Why are homeless people so rare in Madrid and so common in San Francisco when here GDP per capita is half?

A: Racism.

Of the homeless folk in the USA, 45% have mental health challenges and 40% are Black, even though only 13% of the pop is Black. In SF, less than 5% of the population is Black, but 37% of the homeless population is Black.

In the 80s, when Reagan killed mental health facility funding and Black homelessness exploded, no one cared. 🤷🏿‍♂️

Not posted for agreement, if you share please leave my commentary intact, terms and conditions apply.

Like practically every other man, and every other human being regardless of gender, I'm strong in some ways, weak in others. Saying "strong men are ..." anything in particular is part of the problem: it carries with it the implication that men must be strong, in every way and all the time. Well, I feel good when I'm strong, but I'm trying really hard to learn not to beat myself up about weakness. That does nobody any good, not me and not the other people who want me in the world.

Same for other men: our ruthless enforcement of arbitrary rules of masculinity has a lot to do with why we have much higher rates of alcoholism and suicide. I went too far down that road once in my life. I'm not doing it again, and I'm not pushing anyone else down it either.

The older I get, the more I believe there's no real difference between "good man" and "good person who happens to be a man." Good *people* are protective and loving—when they need to be, and also capable of acknowledging when they themselves need protection and love. Good people also, of course, refrain from abuse and spite. When they feel themselves going in that direction, they try to understand what's driving their anger, and open up to the people who love them. The alternative is bottling it up until they lash out, at which point they're no longer good.

Mr. Aleczander's heart is in the right place, I'm sure. I don't criticize him or any man for struggling to reconcile ancient ideas of manhood with overall human decency. Let's all just try not to repeat the same mistakes.

While everyone is distracted with "aliens" a major environmental catastrophe is unfolding in #Ohio
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/11/health/ohio-train-derailment-white-noise/index.html
https://www.newsweek.com/fox-dies-owners-arms-after-ohio-train-crash-releases-toxic-gas-1780529

Some technical info about the event here, and testimonies about animals dropping dead.
https://cen.acs.org/safety/Safety-questions-remain-Ohio-train/101/i6

#vinychloride #environment #spill #disaster #chemicals #transportation