Rose Rudd @roseannerudd@qoto.org

Clemens Kalischer's photographic subjects included ordinary people whose essential humanity he caught in some important moment. He often focused on touching events such as this couple from his series Displaced Persons circa 1948..
#photo #photography #history

NY Times: Hostage-Takers Not to Blame for Killing Hostage

The Platonic ideal of “both sides” reporting.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/05/debt-ceiling-congress-blame-republicans-democrats-default-new-york-times.html

Via Barb McQuade:

Michigan legislature passes and ⁦Gov Whitmer signs red flag gun law. This is what happens when bipartisan redistricting restores decision-making power to the people.⁩

#guns #GunViolence
https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2023/05/22/whitmer-signs-michigans-red-flag-legislation-into-law/70162489007/

In Phoenix, homeless seniors are "flooding" shelters that can't do much to help them.

But let's be sure to keep lowering taxes on the 0.1% who've captured so much of the nation's wealth.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/22/seniors-homeless-baby-boomers/

For those who might rely on #Russia state media for their news -- there was NO explosion this morning near the Pentagon.

Dennis Aftergut writes,

"Keep in mind, too, Trump’s glaring hypocrisy here: This is the self-described 'King of Debt' who spent like a drunken sailor during his four years in office, raising the national debt by $7.8 trillion.

He’s not in it to keep America safe from overspending. He’s in it for himself."

#Trump #default #DebtCeiling #Republicans #chaos
/1

https://www.thebulwark.com/why-trump-wants-u-s-to-default-on-debt/

Josie (6 years old), Bertha (6 years old) and Sophie (10 years old) worked regularly at the Maggioni Canning Company. Work began at 4 AM and the three would make from $9 to $15 a week. Sophie would do six pots of oyster a day and her mother who also worked with her said "She don't go to school. Works all the time."

Through such photos, Lewis Hine documented the harsh working conditions borne by thousands of children, who were sent to work soon after they could walk, and were paid based on how many buckets of oysters they shucked daily.

He covered around 50,000 miles a year, photographing children from Chicago to Florida working in coal mines and factories.

These photos helped to raise an outcry against child labor and made the American public become widely aware of the scope of the problem. This resulted in the establishment of organizations such as the National Child Labor Committee, in 1904, which led the fight against child labor.

Oh, FFS. "Biden’s casual public use of “hell” and “damn” — and the fact that many people these days think those words barely qualify as profanity — is a reflection of our lowered standards."
Send your smelling salts to the Post.
I swear, our profane society is a disgrace https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/15/swearing-presidents-society-language/

yet another student using CatGPT to do their schoolwork

Training a cat.

#Caturday

I gave a speech at Florida's New College Alternate Graduation. It's only 3 minutes long. I meant every word of it.

I remember when John Hodgman spoke at the 2009 White House Correspondents' Dinner talking about Obama being America's first nerd president after years and years of jock presidents. I crushed on the high school nerds so I found it heartening and encouraging.

But having watched too many aggrieved nerds amass wealth and power and realizing they're even worse than the jocks? I'm thinking maybe it's time to let the burnouts take over.

The right-wing 5th Circuit Appeals Court in New Orleans is about to outlaw mifepristone. Belgium-based medical non-profit Aid Access offers mifepristone prescriptions via telemedicine, and mails them in unmarked packages.

https://aidaccess.org/en/

The morning started off slow—didn’t get any birds for at least forty minutes. But when one finally emerged, it turned out to be a Black-chinned. First of the year. Not bad!

Good Day!
Springtime Byram by Daniel Garber 1933

Prickly pear buds opening up. If it was sunny all the buds would be open, and it would be nothing but yellow.

#Cacti
#DesertLife
#Alttext
#Mar

From a day ago, but still applies, although we already knew CNN was like this:

Jon Stewart:

I learned nothing from this town hall about #Trump and his most ardent supporters I haven't known since 2016. I learned a lot about #CNN.

Sending big love to anyone missing their mom today.

Spain is expected to pass a law that would give women three days of menstrual leave every month if needed.
In unrelated news, Republican leaders in Washington are writing a bill that says if a woman has her period in the workplace, she is guilty of witchcraft and should be captured in a burlap bag and cast into the sea.

Put that in your “silo,” Anderson. We are not children, and we don’t need to be scolded for failing to watch another hour of The Donald Trump Show. It’s on every day, everywhere, already.