#I am fully vaccinated for the record

[beta-adjacent]

Brewing my tea for longer than the allotted time so I can absorb more of the healthy shit: >:D

It tastes like ass: >:(

[six-spot]

United we stand, divided we fall…

I don’t care on which side of the political spectrum you identify. The threat to our democracy is a clear and present danger!

A 🧵 Buckle up it’s a long one.

This is not a fight about 2A, it’s not about abortion, it’s not about education, it’s not about sexual orientation, it’s not about taxes or immigration or about healthcare. This fight comes down to a religious minority, trying to push its narrow views upon our country.

The Heritage Foundation and its Project 2025 threatens to dismantle nearly 250 years of progress toward equality for all. And I for one am not going to stand for it.

We must unite against the GOP with Joe Biden as the nominee. He cannot be replaced on ballots without being challenged. “Protest” voting for other parties will sign the death certificate of our nation. The same thing happened in 2016.

A very brief history. Zoroastrianism was founded around 3500 years ago. “Zoroastrianism…held that a messiah would come at some future date…to redeem humanity in an event known as the Frashokereti which was the end of time and brought reunion with Ahura Mazda…

These concepts would influence the later religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.” https://www.worldhistory.org/religion/

This monotheistic view of religion has existed for less than half of recorded history and many religions still have pluralistic beliefs. #Christianity has done nothing but oppress people since its inception. And now a very narrow interpretation of it is being weaponized against us.

It’s a disease that spread throughout the world, literally killing millions of people as missionaries spread disease from one continent to another. It didn’t matter how many indigenous people died as long as they believed and converted.

Ancient rulers seized upon the opportunity to adopt the religion and thus take power and wealth* from the people. Sound familiar? Wars have been fought for control of territory around the world.

*This was the 2nd goal of missionaries.

And now a sect of ultra-conservative Christian Nationalists threatens to end our constitutional republic in favor of an authoritarian state.

They’re trying to divide us even further so they can win. We CANNOT let that happen. Moderate, Liberal, Progressive, Libertarian, Conservative, it doesn’t matter, we will all suffer equally if Project 2025 succeeds.

They have been chipping away at certain liberties for 8 years already. It’s clear that they only have self-serving goals to make the rich richer and to oppress citizens like in other authoritarian regimes.

It is truly terrifying to see dystopian novels coming to life before my very eyes. These conservatives fear change and clearly believe that liberalism is the root of all evil.

On the contrary, education leads to enlightenment and free thought, so “liberal” thinking is really just how they demonize those who are educated and have opposing opinions or beliefs.

One example from #Project2025 is that “conservative” republicans have been trying to strip funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting since its inception. @NPR & @PBS are run by CPB.

Why? Because they educate people & allows them to adopt beliefs that oppose theirs. They lament that no republican president has been able to do it. They argue that most viewers are liberals & that not enough conservative programming is offered so it should be shut down. Boo hoo😢

How about that educated viewers use their common sense and reasoning to conclude that stories from 2000+ years ago are not fully relevant to modern society? 👩🏼‍🎓👨🏽‍🎓

Science is not theological yet conservatives want to apply theology to everything. The world isn’t flat. Evolution & Climate change are real. Vaccines save lives. The USA was NOT founded as a Christian nation. If not for free thinkers, we’d probably still be living in the Iron Age.

Most people want to be part of a group & religion is the most common way to achieve that goal. We are conditioned from birth to believe what we’re taught and not question it. This is how racism & bigotry continue to thrive along with political ideology.

Morals are morals. They aren’t inherently conservative or liberal. You are either kind to others or not; you follow the rules or don’t; you tell the truth or you’re a narcissistic pathological liar. It’s that simple. That is all that’s required to define a good person.

The notion that sexuality has anything to do with morality is utterly absurd, but this is what conservatives argue. They LIE to justify taking rights from anyone they don’t like. They fear what they don’t understand.

They oppose abortion because it’s a numbers game to them. They think more babies = more followers. Well, we’re already seeing that no abortion = higher infant mortality. So that myth is busted.

Much of the Project 2025 platform directly attacks the Biden administration and seemingly relies on data that is short-sighted at best. I’m sure many of the arguments for or against the many chapter topics are false-flags to make it look balanced.

I hope someone is trying to fact-check the book, as many of the end notes are just commentary or references to current laws. Statistics are cherry picked to support their claims.

Even my 16-year-old understands the implications should departments like education and health & human services get shut down or changed from what they currently are. 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

If you made it all the way through, thanks for reading. Please share because our lives depend on it. We all need to #VoteBlue2024 to put an end to the GOP madness once and for all.

Fin.

[noneedforbloodpressure]

Small deviation from what I’ve been posting about recently because I’m fucking pissed and imo it’s important but

I have covid for the fifth fucking time.

This is not, for the record, because I’ve been irresponsible. I wear a kn95 everywhere, don’t go anywhere except for work, clean all of my groceries and am fully vaccinated. The problem is I’m immunocompromised, and even with all of that I rely on herd immunity and community support - which I haven’t had.

I’m one of the lucky ones. I’m still here - I’m alive, I can work (if barely). A lot of my disabled (chronically ill or otherwise) fellows did not survive the height of the pandemic. Of those who did, many who could work cannot. And it is 100% because able bodied people refused to treat this as seriously as it should have been. It is 100% because able bodied people did not see disabled lives as worth preserving.

The pandemic is NOT over, despite what anyone tells you. You should still be masking. You should be keeping up with your vaccines. You should still be hand-washing meticulously. You owe it to the disabled members of your community.

[eatpeesweetpea]

REVIEW: My 2nd case of COVID-19

TW: mild self destructive behavior, mentions of ED, the state of California

---

"[COVID-19] is the Vipassana retreat of viruses..."

---

Following north of two years after its debut, my immune system has encountered its sophomore case of COVID-19. Because I am up to date on my vaccines and boosters as of the time of writing, this is an impressive context for COVID-19's return.

It began as a slight and deceptive, "something's stuck in my throat" sort of feeling at the end of a five day road trip through the California. (Let this serve as foreshadowing to how I will review the state of California.) I had choked on a ramen noodle earlier in the day, so I thought nothing of it. The accompanying "off" body feeling that gradually intensified into the evening made the final leg of the drive somewhat uncomfortable. But overall, an underwhelming opener.

COVID-19 really picked up the following morning. Since my girlfriend is a furnace, she can attest that I sleep slight: one blanket, one pillow, soldier, grumpy. No cuddles. I woke up roughly two hours earlier than usual attempting to sell my music in order to exit the freeway on a motorcycle. In my delirium, I whined and snuggled up. I was shivering under two blankets in a sweater, and clammy. My yucky throat feeling had evolved into an icky dry cough that sometimes produced a satisfying wad of phlegm. I was too lazy to get up and get socks to thaw my icy toes.

Post 600 mg ibuprofen, I had reclaimed some vitality and managed to drag my sorry ass home. I dilly dallied unproductively around my room for most of the day, feeling somewhat paranoid about brain fog, long COVID, some weird swelling above my hips, etc. Come nighttime and my fever had crept back up to a surprising 102.9° F. I slumped at the dining room table and spooned hot chicken soup into my hanging mouth. There is something very fascinating and rewarding about these sorry, altered states of consciousness, and I pondered that for a few minutes before redosing. I went to bed shortly after and passed out.

I mostly slept through the night, only beginning to stir prematurely towards morning. I half-awoke very unpleasantly drenched in sweat and flipped the blankets around a couple times to evenly distribute the spoilage. Once I fully woke up, I recorded my temp at a cool 97.2° F. In fact, the rest of the day went swimmingly. I completed some chores, did some painting, and cooked for myself with minimal medication and nursing only a somewhat irritating cough. My throat was more itchy than sore. As for the body feel, I think I could have successfully ran a quarter-marathon given a sufficiently motivated bear or pack of wolves.

Overall, I have mixed feelings on COVID-19. Within the context of its contemporaries, COVID-19 did no more harm than a moderate flu, and I much prefer its dry, manageable cough to the agony of strep throat. The body load and fatigue of COVID-19 was notably brutal on its first day, but backed off much more quickly than any other condition of its caliber. The true scale-tippers here are the social effects of COVID-19; this is the only sickness where you are expected to inform all of your previous company of the potential that you got them sick. Not fun. This is also the only common illness where you can't get away with re-entering society right about when you feel better. The strict code of courtesy around COVID-19 is good and ethical, but knocks it down a couple points by the standards of my review.

That's not to say there are only negatives. On the other side of the coin, I have appreciated the impetus to refocus on art and personal reflection. I've made my maiden voyage through more albums in the last two days than the last two months. I made my first Tumblr post. As someone who is typically noncommittal about disordered eating, I considered the mild reduction in appetite a plus. And further on the topic of self-destructive glee, anybody who claims they don't want to see just how high they can get their temperature before they get scared is full of shit. Number go up funny dopamine -- so I appreciated the astounding effort on fever here.

If you are looking for a new sickness to contract and have a light ten days ahead, keep COVID-19 on your radar. It is the Vipassana retreat of viruses: painful, isolating, meditative, and occasionally gross. Tolerable. Just don't feel tempted to share the love.

6/10

[strideofpride]

as another messy gossip girl fan, i’m excited to hear your most controversial milo arc takes 👀

Okay putting this all under a read more so my Milo arc loving mutuals can ignore me lol:

But to start: I don’t like it lol. Like idk I can and do enjoy fic about Dan raising Milo and I certainly enjoy the angsty aftermath of Dan losing Milo but I don’t actually wish he kept Milo. At all.

There’s a few reasons for that. 1) I would consider myself an adoption skeptic. I’m not against adoption the way I am surrogacy (I fully think surrogacy should be illegal) and I once used to think of adoption as being holistically good. But then when Roe v Wade fell, a lot of adoptees shared their adoption stories on Twitter and really opened my eyes to a lot of stuff I had no idea about. Most relevantly, that even in the absolute best case scenario, where a kid gets adopted by a truly loving, supportive family, there is still a TON of trauma that comes along with being separated from your biological family, even when it’s for the best. And the majority of these adoptees believe that in a perfect society (one without poverty and where abortion and birth control are free and easily available, etc.) adoption would be almost non-existent. (I had a whole essay written going into criticisms of the US private adoption system, but I deleted it as a lot of that is not at all relevant to Dan specifically, so I’m just gonna leave it at this and maybe share some links)

So yeah, knowing all that really made me realize the effect Georgina giving him up would have on Milo long term which kinda soured things for me. And then there’s the people who argue Milo should’ve been legally taken away from Georgina and given to Dan which…like okay I totally get why people think Georgina would be a bad mother. But I think allowing the state to decide who can and cannot be a parent is a very very dangerous, slippery slope. (That all being said - I also believe nobody is entitled to have a child either) (Also I still believe that parents shouldn’t be allowed to reject things like vaccines and I definitely think homeschooling & private schools should be illegal…my thoughts on this whole subject are all very nuanced and complicated and also not relevant to Dan)

2) I don’t like it for Dan’s arc. I don’t know, not to side with Rufus, but the idea of Dan becoming a 19-year-old father really, really bums me out. In a perfect society, teen pregnancy would and should be non-existent. 🤷🏻‍♀️ And yeah, Dan has a support system and a trust fund by then but…idk. It’s not the future I want for him. For anybody really.

(And for the record, I’m not saying that all adoption is bad. But it’s not the fairy tale happy ending it gets presented as. And I’m sure there are plenty of people who would say their teen pregnancy worked out. But that doesn’t mean it will ever be an easy life. Both parenthood and pregnancy are hard enough as it is - another reason nobody should be forced to do them against their will.)

[gatekeeper-watchman]

Where I live, is the worst place to live, management is horrible! Their housing contract needs to be reviewed in court by our government at the State and Federal levels. They have continual junk fees added on, and their contract is the worst I have seen in sixty years. I have two little dogs for which I paid a large nonrefundable pet deposit. I pay 35 Dollars for each dog monthly on a fixed income and a Junk Fee of $25 for each dog that I have to update their records but not mine. I am always up-to-date. They have asked me to open and pay by credit card on the app they use. I do not want any credit card or monetary transaction or third-party app on my PC or phone or their procedure. I don’t believe that any of us in this country are obligated. My small little dogs are house-trained, loving, gentle, fully vaccinated, and do not disturb anyone with noise from barking.  I comply with all State, County, and federal laws. I love and treat them as if they were my children. I am being harassed, bullied, taken advantage of, and continually talked down to. They're continually condescending, and I have been treated like a second-class citizen. Its micromanagement environment is a repulsive façade that insults the tenants' intelligence. It is a stressful environment and the manager is nothing more than a Nurse Ratchet. It was supposed to be independent living ,but that too was a façade. They stick their noses into things that are none of their business. They can't keep employees. I am told I am replaceable if I bark too loud! They threaten to evict and have become tantamount to emotional senior abuse in my opinion, and I may report. No ethics here! The manager does not manage and is not management material. Everyone lives in fear in one form or another. Real estate developers have become nothing but hogwash and must be better regulated, especially in the relationships with Housing and Urban Development. Do not live here and never allow a management company to charge you to do their job. Maybe they need to use DOS again <or> =, that's what programmers are for, it's elementary and not a tenant's responsibility. From: Steven P. Miller @ParkermillerQ,  gatekeeperwatchman.org Founder of Gatekeeper-Watchman International Groups, Wednesday, November 08, 2023, Jacksonville, Florida., USA.  X ... @ParkermillerQ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Sparkermiller.JAX.FL.USA, Instagram: steven_parker_miller_1956, #GWIG, #GWIN, #GWINGO, #Ephraim1, #IAM, #Sparkermiller, #Eldermiller1981

[crimechannels]

By • Olalekan Fagbade Killer didease Diphtheria on the rise: 11,000 suspected newcases recorded as Vaccination efforts is underway The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare says it is aware of the mounting concern regarding the recent Diphtheria outbreak across several states with over 11,000 suspected case. The ministry gave the assurance that urgent vaccination efforts were underway. The Executive Director of National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, gave the assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja. H said that since the confirmation of the re-emergence of diphtheria, the Federal Government had continued to respond to the outbreaks across different states. According to Shuaib, as at Sept. 24, there were 11,587 reported suspected cases, of which 7,202 were confirmed from 105 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 19 states and the Federal Capital Territoty. “Most of the cases (6,185) were recorded in Kano. Other states with cases are Yobe (640), Katsina (213), Borno (95), Kaduna (16), Jigawa (14), Bauchi (8), Lagos (8), FCT (5), Gombe (5), Osun (3), Sokoto (3), Niger (2), Cross River (1), Enugu (1), Imo (1), Nasarawa (1) and Zamfara (1). “The majority (5,299 (73.6%) of the confirmed cases occurred among children aged one year to 14 years with those aged five -14 bearing most of the brunt of the disease. “So far, a total of 453 deaths have occurred in confirmed cases, giving a case fatality rate (CFR) of 6.3 per cent,” he explained. He said that given the escalation of the outbreak and findings that 80 per cent of confirmed cases were unvaccinated, the Coordinating Minister of the FMOH&SW, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, set up a national emergency task team co-chaired by himself. “ I am chairing the task force alongside the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for higher level coordination of outbreak response efforts. “This includes ensuring optimal collaboration of all relevant health stakeholders in this fight. “Other prominent members of the task force include the director of public health in FMOH, representatives of the Federal Ministry of Information, World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, USCDC, USAID, GAVI, other non-governmental organisations and development partners,” Shuaib quoted the minister as saying. He said that Diphtheria was caused by a toxin produced by bacteria, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, and it was a vaccine-preventable disease covered by one of the vaccines provided routinely through the country’s childhood immunisation schedule. A historical gap in vaccination coverage is a driver of the outbreak given the most affected age group (five –14) and results of the nationwide diphtheria immunity survey that shows only 42 per cent of children under 15 years old are fully protected from diphtheria” He said. He said since the confirmation of the outbreak, the FMOH&SW through its agencies had been coordinating surveillance and response activities across the country. “These include response coordination, surveillance, laboratory investigation, vaccination, case management and risk communication activities,’’ he said. Shuaib said that the activities included establishment of Diphtheria Emergency Task Team responsible for the overall coordination of all activities encompassing government and development partners’ response activities at national and sub-national levels. He added that the activities included implementation of an Incident Management System (IMS) through the activation of a National Diphtheria Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at NCDC, tasked with orchestrating the coordinated efforts of multiple response pillars during the outbreak, as well as deployment of national rapid response teams to affected states. “Development of draft National Diphtheria Surveillance and Response guidelines. Sensitisation/training of clinical and surveillance officers on the presentation, prevention, and surveillance of diphtheria.

Harmonisation of surveillance and laboratory data from across states and labs,” he said. He said that establishment and expansion of Diphtheria Laboratory Network to strengthen laboratory confirmation of diphtheria at national and sub-national levels, was part of the activities as well as building capacity of state-owned public health laboratories for diphtheria diagnosis. “ For the first time for any diphtheria outbreak, the FMOH&SW through NCDC and with WHO support, procured diphtheria antitoxin (DAT) and, more recently, intravenous erythromycin, and distributed them to the affected states. “With support from partners and in collaboration with the State Ministry of Health, Diphtheria Treatment Centres/Wards have been established in affected states,” he said. He said that intensification of routine diphtheria immunisation and reactive vaccination campaigns in 33 local government areas across five states – Bauchi, Katsina, Yobe, Kano and Kaduna – by the NPHCDA, was also part of the response activities. He advised that parents should ensure full vaccination that their children were fully vaccinated against diphtheria with the three doses of diphtheria antitoxin-containing pentavalent vaccine given as part of Nigeria’s childhood immunisation schedule. “Healthcare workers should maintain a high index of suspicion for diphtheria and practice standard infection prevention and control precautions, while handling all patients in their care. “All healthcare workers (doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists, support staff, etc.) with a high level of exposure to cases of diphtheria should be vaccinated against diphtheria. “Individuals with signs and symptoms suggestive of diphtheria should promptly present to a healthcare facility or designated diphtheria treatment centres. “Close contact with a confirmed case of diphtheria should be closely monitored and managed according to guidelines.’’ Shuaib said that the most effective protection against diphtheria was vaccination with the Pentavalent or TD vaccine. “The Federal Government of Nigeria provides free, safe and effective vaccines at all primary healthcare centres nationwide. “We invite the public to take advantage of the ongoing vaccination occurring in all states. “Parents are kindly advised to take their children aged zero– 14 years to the nearest government health facility to get vaccinated following the routine immunisation schedule and ongoing reactive vaccination campaign in the affected local government areas,” he said. He advised Nigerians to avoid rumour mongering and share only verified information. (NAN)

[lovefrommaxie]

Y'all, do we know yet what Taylor and Jack were working on when they were in the recording studio in New Orleans on December 13, 2022?

Because when I find out I'm going to be claiming that track(s) for myself. Whatever it was, it will have been recorded less than a mile from my house. I'm still (*jokingly*) mad at Taylor for having the audacity to hang out in the recording studio in my neighborhood and not DM me -- at least for neighborhood to-go restaurant recommendations.

Like, Blondie, I am a great secret keeper and I know the good food in my neighborhood -- please love me and at least trust me enough to let me give you a list of food recs when you're in my ZIP code. I can recommend the type of places where the main staff and customers are the variety of boomers who won't instantly recognize you. Or I'm willing to act as your personal DoorDash/UberEats person and pick up food for you in exchange for a hug (which is the same standing offer I have for all of my friends when they're in a pinch). I'm fully vaccinated AND I'm willing to mask up for said hug.

[ausetkmt]

Victim to a wave of gang violence that has Haiti gripped with terror. Hundreds of thousands have fled, and now remaining residents are taking matters into their own hands.

Two weeks ago, an angry mob beat and then burned alive more than a dozen suspected gang members. It's fear and frustration born of a long-running economic and humanitarian crisis that worsened in July 2021, when President Jovenel Moise was assassinated.

Interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry didn't keep his promise to hold elections, and Haitian politics have since then fallen apart. Now criminal gangs have flourished where official authorities no longer govern.

Port-au-Prince is a city held hostage by gangs. We were just talking to some people here on the street about the situation. And they were terrified to speak. They said: "If I speak today, I will be dead tomorrow."

But, for women, the weapon of retribution is often rape. The U.N. estimates almost one-third of women and girls in Haiti have been the victims of sexual abuse or violence; 20-year-old Sousphanie has been on her own since her mother died last August. Her only family is her son, 17 month-old Ainslie.

His father is a man she had been involved with since she was 12 years old. But she says she never knew he was in a gang. We have hidden her face for her own safety.

Sousphanie, Victim of Gang Violence (through translator): The owner of the house where I rented a room told me that he didn't like when those type of people come to his house. At that time, I didn't believe him 100 percent.

It's later when I went to sell downtown and I saw him with a bunch of guys with machine guns, that is when I finally totally believed it that he was in a gang. That night, I told him not to ever come back.

Marcia Biggs:

In the meantime, residents living in areas of intense fighting are all but abandoned. It's just too risky to go in and out, including for us.

But we were able to make the trip with Jose Ulysse, who manages a hospital in one of those neighborhoods.

So, we are on our way to the Fontaine Hospital, which is the last remaining, last standing hospital in Cite Soleil, one of the most violent areas in all of Port-au-Prince. We are here with a fully armored vehicle because we have to cross several front lines to get there.

We held our breath on this last part of the journey as, just down that road, lies what's called the Death Crossroads. But once we reached the hospital, an oasis of sorts from the fear. Mothers bring their babies for vaccinations and hospital staff does everything from teaching vocational skills to treating gunshot wounds.

Ulysse says he has been able to stay open because the majority of the staff are from the community and because they keep no records or alert police when they treat injuries of gang violence.

Marcia Biggs:

At our final stop in the hospital, we walked into a room full of little ones. Sick and malnourished when they arrived, most were abandoned when their parents were killed or could no longer care for them.

Now thriving, we asked how long they could stay. "They can stay forever," we are told. "They are home."

As we were about to leave, we noticed Rose-Bianca cradling her baby girl less than 24 hours old. She had been discharged and was negotiating for a ride home on a motorbike. Carefully, she and her sister climb on the back and ride off with her newborn baby into an unknown future.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I am Marcia Biggs in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

[atlanticcanada]

Comments on trans rights, COVID vaccines catching up with P.E.I. Tories in campaign

Controversial comments and social media activity from some P.E.I. Progressive Conservative candidates, including leader Dennis King, caught up with the Tories on the election trail this week, turning up the heat in what has been an otherwise quiet campaign.

King, who is vying for a second term as premier, issued an apology Monday for recent comments he made about the transgender community to a constituent while knocking on doors.

A 32-second recording of the conversation was released on social media late last week in which King was asked by an unidentified man about the "trans situation" in P.E.I., to which King replied, "You don't gotta drive everything down everybody's throat," echoing an earlier comment from the constituent.

King initially defended his comments, saying he did not believe he sounded sympathetic to the man's concerns, which he said were about a drag queen storytime event scheduled to take place in Georgetown, P.E.I., last month. The event was postponed after the venue and performer received online threats.

Later Monday, King issued an apology, saying he should have done more to be an ally to the transgender community when faced with negative comments.

"I should have more forcefully stood up for the transgender community and I apologize unreservedly to those who are rightly offended by my lack of action," King said.

"I had an opportunity in that moment to be a stronger ally for rights of transgender people and I fell short of the expectations of both myself and Islanders. I can and will do better."

King has also been fielding concerns about social media activities of one of his candidates, Donalda Docherty, who shared with her Twitter followers tweets written by high-profile anti-vaxxers promoting discredited conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and vaccines.

One such message was written by former Olympian Jamie Sale and compared those who resisted COVID-19 vaccines to the victims of the Holocaust. Another, written by former NHL star Theo Fleury, claimed the pandemic was a deliberate plan to depopulate the world and form one world government.

Docherty, a newcomer to politics, is running in the hotly contested New Haven-Rocky Point riding against Green Leader Peter Bevan-Baker and Liberal Leader Sharon Cameron. Bevan-Baker handily won the district in 2019 with over 53 per cent of the vote.

In a statement to The Canadian Press, Docherty said the posts she shared are "not consistent" with her views, adding that it is "well known on social media that retweets and shares do not equal endorsements."

"As an employee of the public schools branch who drives a bus to ensure kids get to and from school safely, I know the effect that the pandemic has had on families and children and how we all had to work together to get through it," Docherty said in her statement.

"I am fully vaccinated myself and appreciate the work done by government to ensure vaccines and testing were accessible to all Islanders."

King stressed he does not endorse the views or claims in the posts Docherty shared. After speaking with the candidate, he said he believes they are also not views she shares fundamentally, and he has made no move to remove her as a candidate.

"I think anyone who's running for us needs to understand what my beliefs are and what the fundamental beliefs of Islanders are, and that's what I expect her to hold herself to," King told reporters Monday.

On Tuesday, King spent time helping Docherty campaign door-to-door in her district ahead of the April 3 vote.

Both the Greens and Liberals have jumped on these campaign controversies, accusing the PCs of having one set of views in private while denouncing those same views when challenged on them in public.

"Islanders deserve to know which Dennis they may be voting for -- the 'official Dennis' or the 'off-the-record Dennis,' whose comments are very concerning," Cameron said of King's transgender remarks. The same concerns exist regarding his support of Docherty's social media activity, she added.

Bevan-Baker also denounced King's comments about the transgender community and said it is "incredibly disappointing" he is endorsing a candidate who used her social media to share "opinions that diminish the Holocaust by equating it to providing a vaccine for COVID."

"Leaders have a responsibility to call out hate and harmful speech, even when they find it personally hard or uncomfortable to do so," Bevan-Baker said.

Pride P.E.I. responded Monday by suspending the entry of all provincial political parties in the annual summer Pride parade until more tangible commitments are made and enacted on LGBTQ issues.

Meanwhile, the Liberals have faced their own campaign hiccups in recent weeks.

The party was forced to drop one of its candidates shortly after her nomination in late February after questions about her Indigenous heritage were raised. That candidate, Jessica Simmonds, is now running as an Independent in the same Charlottetown riding.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 22, 2023.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/xdjSVfs

[healthchoicerhodeisland]

Most important Day of 2023

March 9th 2023 4:30pm RI statehouse, in house lounge

3 bills to protect against discrimination. 

H5884, H5565 These two prevent your vaccine choice from being discriminated against (one for just covid vaccine, one for all vaccines)

H5916 prevents the covid vaccine from being mandated at all

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DAY TO SHOW UP AT THE STATEHOUSE FOR 2023. GRAB YOU FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND ANYONE YOU CAN, BRING YOUR KIDS. LEAVE WORK EARLY. THIS DAY IS THE MAJOR DAY TO TAKE A STAND.

..............

RI CALL-TO ACTION

3 Bills will be heard in the Judiciary committee TODAY MARCH 9th at 4:30pm

SUPPORT for these bills is Extremely important. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ACTION DAY OF 2023

SHOW UP IN PERSON. Show Bodies. Even if not giving verbal testimony. Show up. Gather your friends, family etc. If there was ever a time to leave work early. IT IS TODAY.

The bills being heard today will prevent discrimination and protect your medical choices specifically regarding vaccination.

THIS IS HUGE. This makes it so that jobs, schools, and anything else, can NOT take action against you for vaccine choices. Two bills are specific to only the Covid vaccine, 1 bill H5884 will protect discrimination with any vaccine choice. 

 1) EMAIL WRITTEN TESTIMONY. This is very important as it becomes part of the record on file, and can be referred to and read later. Not all members of the committee may be in attendance for verbal testimony.

• Email TO:  HouseJudiciary@rilegislature.gov  BCC: admin@healthchoiceri.com

• *Written Testimony must be submitted prior to 1:30 PM on Thurs March, in order for it to be provided to the members of the committee at the hearing and to be included in the meeting records. It is still good to email if you miss the deadline as the vote will not happen today, but they need to see how much SUPPORT for this prior to meeting.

 2) Verbal Testimony. You will sign in on a sheet at the door of the house lounge.

This is NOT the time to debate vaccines or the covid vaccine and its safety or lack there of. These bills are about protecting the right to CHOICE and not being discriminated against. Having the vaccination debate will appear to make these bills just against vaccination. Which they are not. One will fully prevent ever mandating the covid vaccine, the other 2 are to not be discriminated against for your choices.

Please be sure your testimony speaks to how discrimination is not acceptable for any form of life, and it is important that this choice in our lives is not discriminated against anymore than our religious belief system, or our sexuality.

•  Usually 2 minutes. You can make reference to, but do not read what you wrote in your e-mail. This is the time to speak directly and from the heart.

CLICK HERE to read the bills themselves

Example:

Dear House Judiciary

I am writing to SUPPORT bills H5565 and H5884

The citizens of RI deserve to have our private choices protected and not be discriminated against. There have been so many families that have trouble with jobs and college, and even what doctors they can see. Simply because they have opted out of 1 or more vaccines for their family. Religious rights has always been protected. Yet when we have a strongly held belief system and opt out of vaccines for our belief system, the choice not to vaccinate is till discriminated against in many ways. Which is discriminating against our religious rights at the same time. However, by context we are unable to file complaints for discrimination against our belief system. These two Bills are EXTREMELY important and I STRONGLY urge you to pass them onto the floor of the house. We need to protect our citizens and what choices and beliefs they have and do for their families. Too many have had unfair actions taken against them for not having a vaccine or more then one vaccine. 

(any personal note you want to add insert here)

I urge you to vote to PASS bill H5884 

Sincerely

xxxxxxx

Dear House Judiciary

I am writing to SUPPORT bill H5916

The covid vaccine should never be mandated under any circumstances. This technology is still in experimental stages. The definition of “vaccine” was even changed in medical reference writing to include this vaccine technology. Since it does not create the same type of reaction from T cells and what vaccines have been known to. This is something very new to our world. The disease itself shows very low to almost none of serious implications for anyone under the age of 21. Still low but not as low to most healthy adults. The at risk adults will still have the choice to recieve a medical procedure such as a vaccine if they want to, however no one should be mandated to get it. Families should be able to evaluate their own risk of disease vs risk of vaccine and determine what is best for them. Please PASS this bill, prevent any mandate of this vaccine or variation of this vaccine.

I ask you to support and pass bill H5916

Sincerely

xxxxxxx

Follow HCRI here on Tumblr and our channel with chat discussion on Telegram

[be-a-snake-stab-your-brother]

So I'm at a bar right now (side note, I'm actually out at a bar in real life with real people, wow!) and some people a few places down from me are having a loud and protracted conversation about how amazing Loki and Tom Hiddleston are and I am sitting here cackling silently to myself, typing this post on Tumblr.

The hype is real, people.

[raceweek]

Hi, sorry I'm not 100% educated on this sort of stuff but how is not allowing vaccine exceptions ableist?

hi, it’s fine i get it-

people with certain illnesses aren’t able to get the covid vaccine just like with all other forms of vaccine. i for example have horrific reactions to certain vaccines just bc of my body makeup - as an example i got my meningitis booster as a teenager and had a serious autoimmune induced brain swelling - some people for lots of different reasons cannot receive a covid vaccine.

the whole point of an exemption process isn’t to have a loophole to exploit (cheers novak you prick) its for those genuine cases where people can’t be vaccinated . so the idea that those people couldn’t go to work (like what is being talked about for f1 personnel) is textbook discrimination and ableism

[supercantaloupe]

good chance i’ll be in an operetta next month :) so so excited

[fivesecondmemory]

Peak first world problem;

You've flown somewhere to see a relative on their literal death bed and have spent the day holding their hand as they lose the ability to do anything

And at the end of the emotionally draining day all you want is to doordash some gd food but the only thing open in the middle of nowhere is McDonald's or taco bell

So of course they leave out half of it and get the rest of it completely wrong

COOL

[sudoscience]

If it's safe to do so, I think for Halloween next year I'm not going to wear a costume and just say I'm anti-mask. Scary, right? Or would that be too soon?