#but there's also michigan and illinois and minnesota

[dionysus-complex]

anyways I think I'm warming to the idea of the Midwest in general

[evolutiononthebrain]

Midwest states as cursed images (pt. 3)

TW: spiders in 7th image

This is a series!

Part 1

Part 2

[mickeeeemouse]

i am an otaku for the great lakes region

[batboyblog]

Things the Biden-Harris Administration Did This Week #32

August 30-September 6 2024.

President Biden announced $7.3 billion in clean energy investment for rural communities. This marks the largest investment in rural electrification since the New Deal. The money will go to 16 rural electric cooperatives across 23 states Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Together they will be able to generate 10 gigawatts of clean energy, enough to power 5 million households about 20% of America's rural population. This clean energy will reduce greenhouse emissions by 43.7 million tons a year, equivalent to removing more than 10 million cars off the road every year.

The Biden-Harris Administration announced a historic 10th offshore wind project. The latest project approved for the Atlantic coast of Maryland will generate 2,200 megawatts of clean, reliable renewable energy to power 770,000 homes. All together the 10 offshore wind projects approved by the Biden-Harris Administration will generation 15 gigawatts, enough to power 5.25 million homes. This is half way to the Administration's goal of 30 gigawatts of clean offshore wind power by 2030.

President Biden signed an Executive Order aimed at supporting and expanding unions. Called the "Good Jobs EO" the order will direct all federal agencies to take steps to recognize unions, to not interfere with the formation of unions and reach labor agreements on federally supported projects. It also directs agencies to prioritize equal pay and pay transparency, support projects that offer workers benefits like child care, health insurance, paid leave, and retirement benefits. It will also push workforce development and workplace safety.

The Department of Transportation announced $1 billion to make local roads safer. The money will go to 354 local communities across America to improve roadway safety and prevent deaths and serious injuries. This is part of the National Roadway Safety Strategy launched in 2022, since then traffic fatalities have decreased for 9 straight quarters. Since 2022 the program has supported projects in 1,400 communities effecting 75% of all Americans.

The Department of Energy announced $430 million to support America's aging hydropower. Hydropower currently accounts for nearly 27% of renewable electricity generation in the United States. However many of our dams were built during the New Deal for a national average of 79 years old. The money will go to 293 projects across 33 states. These updates will improve energy generation, workplace safety, and have a positive environmental impact on local fish and wildlife.

The EPA announced $300 million to help support tribal nations, and US territories cut climate pollution and boost green energy. The money will support projects by 33 tribes, and the Island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. EPA Administer Michael S. Regan announced the funds along side Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland in Arizona to highlight one of the projects. A project that will bring electricity for the first time to 900 homes on the Hopi Reservation.

The Biden-Harris Administration is investing $179 million in literacy. This investment in the Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grant is the largest in history. Studies have shown that the 3rd grade is a key moment in a students literacy development, the CLSD is designed to help support states research, develop, and implement evidence-based literacy interventions to help students achieve key literacy milestones.

The US government secured the release of 135 political prisoners from Nicaragua. Nicaragua's dictator President Daniel Ortega has jailed large numbers of citizens since protests against his rule broke out in 2018. In February 2023 the US secured the release of over 200 political prisoners. Human rights orgs have documented torture and sexual abuse in Ortega's prisons.

The Justice Department announced the disruption of a major effort by Russia to interfere with the 2024 US Elections. Russian propaganda network, RT, deployed $10 million to Tenet Media to help spread Russian propaganda and help sway the election in favor of Trump and the Republicans as well as disrupting American society. Tenet Media employs many well known conservative on-line personalities such as Benny Johnson, Tim Pool, Lauren Southern, Dave Rubin, Tayler Hansen and Matt Christiansen.

Vice-President Harris outlined her plan for Small Businesses at a campaign stop in New Hampshire. Harris wants to expand from $5,000 to $50,000 tax incentives for startup expenses. This would help start 25 million new small business over four years.

[titleknown]

So, while I've talked about this in other posts, I figured I may as well compile it in one post with this nifty propaganda poster (more on that later)

Long story short, they're bringing back KOSA/the Kids Online Safety Act in the US Senate, and they're going to mark it up next Thursday as of the time of this post (4/23/2023).

If you don’t know, long story short KOSA is a bill that’s ostensibly one of those “Protect the Children” bills, but what it’s actually going to do is more or less require you to scan your fucking face every time you want to go on a website; or give away similarly privacy-violating information like your drivers’ license or credit card info. 

Either that or force them to censor anything that could even remotely be considered not “kid friendly.” Not to mention fundies are openly saying they’re gonna use this to hurt trans kids. Which is, uh, real fucking bad. 

As per usual, I urge you to contact your congresscritters, and especially those on the Commerce Committee, who'll likely be the ones marking it up.

Those senators are:

Maria Cantwell, Washington, Chair

Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota

Brian Schatz, Hawaii

Ed Markey, Massachusetts

Gary Peters, Michigan

Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin

Tammy Duckworth, Illinois

Jon Tester, Montana

Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona

Jacky Rosen, Nevada

Ben Ray Luján, New Mexico

John Hickenlooper, Colorado

Raphael Warnock, Georgia

Peter Welch, Vermont

Ted Cruz, Texas, Ranking Member

John Thune, South Dakota

Roger Wicker, Mississippi

Deb Fischer, Nebraska

Jerry Moran, Kansas

Dan Sullivan, Alaska

Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee

Todd Young, Indiana

Ted Budd, North Carolina

Eric Schmitt, Missouri

J.D. Vance, Ohio

Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia

Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming

Again, it doesn't work unless you do it en-masse, so make sure to call ASAP and tell them to kill this bill, and if they actually want a bill to allow/get sites to protect kids, the Federal Fair Access To Banking Act would be far better.

Also, this poster is officially, for the sake of spreading it, under a CC0 license. Feel free to spread it, remix it, add links to the bottom, edit it to be about the other bad internet bills they're pushing, use it as a meme format, do what you will but for gods' sake get the word out!

Also, shoutout to @o-hybridity for coming up with the slogan for the poster, couldn't have done it without 'em!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Kamala Harris herself has now borrowed Walz’s lingo and is also calling her opponents “weird”, while Walz is all over our television screens, bolstering the vice-president’s candidacy and playing “attack dog” against the Trump/Vance Republican ticket. I’ll be honest: last month, I would have struggled to pick Walz out of a lineup. This month? I’m Walz-pilled. I have watched dozens of his interviews and clips. And I’m far from alone. He has an army of new fans across the liberal-left: from former Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign co-chair Nina Turner, to one-time Democratic congressman Beto O’Rourke, to gun-control activist David Hogg. “In less than 6 days, I went from not knowing who Tim Walz is,” joked writer Travis Helwig on X, “to deep down believing that if he doesn’t get the VP nod I will storm the capitol.” According to Bloomberg, the Harris campaign has narrowed down its “top tier” of potential running mates to three “white guy” candidates: Walz (hurrah!), plus the Arizona senator Mark Kelly and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro. Both Kelly and Shapiro have their strengths – and both represent must-win states for the Dems. Allow me, however, to make the clear case for Walz. First, there’s his personality. The 60-year-old governor would bring energy, humor and some much-needed bite to the Democratic presidential ticket. There’s a reason why his videos have been going viral in recent days. Tim Kaine he ain’t. Pick the charismatic and eloquent Walz and you have America’s Fun Uncle ready to go. Then, there’s his résumé. A popular midwest governor from a rural town. A 24-year veteran of the army national guard. A high school teacher who coached the football team to its first state championship. It’s almost too perfect! Finally, there’s his governing record. You will struggle to find a Democratic governor who has achieved more than Walz in the space of a single legislative session. Not Shapiro. Not JB Pritzker of Illinois. Not even Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. [...] Think about it. Democrats can have Tim Walz on the ticket, who called the anti-war, pro-Palestinian ‘uncommitted’ movement “civically engaged” and praised them for “asking for a change in course” and “for more pressure to be put on” the White House, or they can have Josh Shapiro, who called for a crackdown on anti-war, pro-Palestinian college protesters and even compared them to the KKK. They can have Walz on the ticket, who has reportedly “emerged among labor unions as a popular pick” after signing “into law a series of measures viewed as pro-worker” including banning non-compete agreements and expanding protections for Amazon warehouse workers, or they can have Mark Kelly, who opposed the pro-labor Pro Act in the Senate (but has since touted support for it). They can have Walz, who guaranteed students in Minnesota not just free breakfasts but free lunches, or Shapiro, who has courted controversy in Pennsylvania with his support for school vouchers. They can have Walz, who calls his Republican opponents “weird” and extreme, or Kelly, who calls his Republican opponents “good people” who are “working really hard”. This isn’t rocket science. Walz is the obvious choice. Not only is he the ideal “white guy” running mate for Harris, against both Trump and Vance, but he is already doing the job on television and online, lambasting Vance in particular over IVF treatment and insisting he mind his “own damn business”.

Zeteo News founder Mehdi Hasan for The Guardian on why picking Tim Walz as Kamala Harris's running mate is the best option (07.29.2024).

Zeteo News founder Mehdi Hasan wrote in The Guardian why Tim Walz should be Kamala Harris’s running mate. Hasan’s opinion piece is worth reading.

[arlathvhenan]

HAVE YOU REGISTERED TO VOTE YET???

Hey, you. Yeah, you. American of legal voting age. Wherever you are, if you plan on voting (and you really should) in this year's election remember to register to vote before the deadline. The deadlines vary by state, so here is a comprehensive list (including Puerto Rico) and a link to the registration site:

Alabama: Monday, October 21, 2024

Alaska: Sunday, October 6, 2024

Arizona: Monday, October 7, 2024

Arkansas: Monday, October 7, 2024

California: Monday, October 21, 2024

Colorado: Monday, October 28, 2024

Connecticut: Friday, October 18, 2024

Delaware: Saturday, October 12, 2024

Florida: Monday, October 7, 2024

Georgia: Monday, October 7, 2024

Hawaii: Monday, October 28, 2024 *technically this is only the registration by mail deadline; online and in-person deadline is Tuesday, November 5th*

Idaho: Friday, October 11, 2024

Illinois: Monday, October 21, 2024

Indiana: Monday, October 7, 2024

Iowa: Monday, October 21, 2024

Kansas: Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Kentucky: Monday, October 7, 2024

Louisiana: Monday, October 7, 2024 *this is the register by mail postmark date as well as the in-person registration date; you can register online until Tuesday, October 15th*

Maine: Tuesday, October 15, 2024 *this is the online registration deadline as well as the deadline for registration by mail to be received, meaning it must be mailed prior to this date*

Maryland: Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Massachusetts: Saturday, October 26, 2024 *please note that MA is one of the states where you cannot register in person on Election Day, it must be by or before the 26th*

Michigan: Monday, October 21, 2024

Minnesota: Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Mississippi: Monday, October 7, 2024 *unfortunately you cannot register to vote online in Mississippi, but the site link can tell you where/how to register*

Missouri: Wednesday, October 9, 2024 *this is one of the states where you cannot register in person on Election Day, it must be prior to the October 9th deadline*

Montana: Monday, October 7, 2024 *this state does not allow you to register online, but the site linked can tell you where to get an application form and how to register*

Nebraska: Friday, October 18, 2024 *you cannot register to vote in person on Election Day in this state; the in person registration deadline is Friday, October 25th*

Nevada: Tuesday, October 8, 2024 *this is the postmark deadline for registration by mail; the online registration deadline is Wednesday, October 23rd*

New Hampshire: Tuesday, November 5, 2024 *mail in registration must be received by this date; you cannot register to vote online in this state, but the link above can tell you more about how to register and where to find an application*

New Jersey: Tuesday, October 15, 2024 *this is the online and mail-in postmark deadline as well as the in person deadline; you cannot register in person on Election Day*

New Mexico: Tuesday, October 8, 2024

New York: Saturday, October 26, 2024 *mail-in registration must be received by this day; this is also the in person deadline, you cannot register in person on Election Day*

North Carolina: Friday, October 11, 2024

North Dakota: This state actually doesn't require you to register before hand, but it does require you to bering a valid ID when you do vote; here is more information on voting in ND from the official state gov site.

Ohio: Monday, October 7, 2024 *you cannot register to vote in person on Election Day in this state, it must be by the October 7th deadline*

Oklahoma: Friday, October 11, 2024 *you cannot register to vote in person on Election Day in this state, it must be by the October 11th deadline*

Oregon: Tuesday, October 15, 2024 *you cannot register to vote in person on Election Day in this state, it must be by the October 15th deadline*

Pennsylvania: Monday, October 21, 2024 *you cannot register to vote in person on Election Day in this state, it must be by the October 21st deadline*

Rhode Island: Sunday, October 6, 2024 *you cannot register to vote in person on Election Day in this state, it must be by the October 6th deadline*

South Carolina: Sunday, October 6, 2024 *this is the online registration deadline; mail-in registration must be postmarked by October 7th; in person registration deadline is October 4th*

South Dakota: Monday, October 21, 2024 *this is the in person and mail-in receive by deadline; you can't register online but the site linked above can tell you where to get a form and how to register*

Tennessee: Monday, October 7, 2024 *you cannot register to vote in person on Election Day in this state, it must be by the October 7th deadline*

Texas: Monday, October 7, 2024 *you cannot register to vote in person on Election Day in this state, it must be by the October 7th deadline*

Utah: Friday, October 25, 2024

Vermont: Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Virgina: Tuesday, October 15, 2024 *you cannot register to vote in person on Election Day in this state, it must be by the October 15th deadline*

Washington: Monday, October 28, 2024

West Virginia: Tuesday, October 15, 2024*you cannot register to vote in person on Election Day in this state, it must be by the October 15th deadline*

Wisconsin: Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Wyoming: Monday, October 21, 2024 *this is the receive by date for mail-in registration, unfortunately you cannot register for this state online but the link above can tell you how to register and where to find an application*

Puerto Rico: Friday, September 6, 2024

**Please note that in most US States you can also register in person on Election Day (November 5th) but I recommend doing so as early as possible**

[nevgovhater]

Since u all fw marching band wttt then here u go except I'm only doing the states cause gov would def be the director who has to deal with them

Also these headcanons r real I swear I'm right (by a trombonist)

all in alphabetical order btw

1. ALABAMA — probably would do bari-sax

2. ALASKA — percussion. thats it. just percussion. (Up for interpretation)

3. ARIZONA — flute or bass clarinet, one of those.

4. ARKANSAS — flute

5. CALIFORNIA — he would be a fucking clarinet, no exceptions. He just gives off clarinet vibes, or just woodwind in general

6. COLORADO — tenor drums

7. CONNECTICUT — piccolo or mellophone

8. DELAWARE — flute

9. FLORIDA — cymbals or piccolo, one of those at the very least.

10. GEORGIA — trumpet. 100% trumpet player

11. HAWAI'I — glockenspiel or marimba

12. IDAHO — trumpet

13. ILLINOIS — euphonium or bass drums

14. INDIANA — saxophone

15. IOWA — alto saxophone

16. KANSAS — trumpet

17. KENTUCKY — trumpet or saxophone

18. LOUISIANA — trombone. (Sorry to all those saxophone loui lovers.. but i feel like his instrument would be the trombone,, it's still a jazz instrument so ykyk)

19. MAINE — bass drums or euphonium

20. MARYLAND — clarinet

21. MASSACHUSETTS — oh he's a flute, that's for sure. 😭😭

22. MICHIGAN — tenor sax

23. MINNESOTA — mellophone

24. MISSISSIPPI — trumpet

25. MISSOURI — vibraphone

26. MONTANA — cornet

27. NEBRASKA — trumpet

28. NEVADA — I'm sorry but he'd probably do tenor sax

29. NEW HAMPSHIRE — piccolo

30. NEW JERSEY — snare drum

31. NEW MEXICO — cornet

32. NEW YORK — snare or tenor drums

33. NORTH CAROLINA — trumpet

34. NORTH DAKOTA — flute (sighs)

35. OHIO — trombone

36. OKLAHOMA — alto sax

37. OREGON — marimba

38. PENNSYLVANIA — glockenspiel

39. RHODE ISLAND — sousaphone/tuba. im fucking SERIOUS about this man he would love this

40. SOUTH CAROLINA — clarinet

41. SOUTH DAKOTA — saxophone

42. TENNESSEE — tenor sax

43. TEXAS — sousaphone/tuba

44. UTAH — flute or bass clarinet

45. VERMONT — flute. (dear god help me)

46. VIRGINIA — flute (guess what)

47. WASHINGTON — flute (im going insane please stop)

48. WEST VIRGINIA — cymbals or drumline

49. WISCONSIN — xylophone

50. WYOMING — euphonium

I'm literally right abt this i swear ⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️

"You're wrong about—" SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP GET OUT OF MY HEAD ⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️

[whencyclopedia]

Northwest Ordinance

The Northwest Ordinance was enacted by the Confederation Congress of the United States on 13 July 1787. It created the Northwest Territory – comprised of the modern-day states of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota – and laid out the procedure whereby new states could be admitted into the Union.

The Northwest Ordinance was enacted as a way to organize the settlement of lands west of the Appalachian Mountains and, ultimately, add new states to the Union. Previous land ordinances in 1784 and 1785 had gotten the original states to relinquish their claims to these western territories and had allowed Congress to sell off the land, but these ordinances had failed to mention how the territories were to be governed prior to achieving statehood. To solve this issue, Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance, which mandated that the Northwest Territory – and all other incorporated territories of the United States – would initially be administered by a federally appointed governor who was empowered to appoint civil servants and make legislation. Once the population of the territory reached 5,000, it would be able to create its own representative assembly and, upon reaching a population of 60,000, could apply for statehood. According to the Northwest Ordinance, all new states admitted to the Union would have the same rights and privileges as the original thirteen states.

The Northwest Ordinance had a profound effect on the development of early US history. Most significantly, the Ordinance prohibited the expansion of slavery into the Northwest Territory; this effectively led to the geographic divide between 'free states' and 'slave states', helping to lay the groundwork for the national debate over the expansion of slavery that would lead to the American Civil War (1861-1865). A more immediate consequence of the Ordinance was that it brought the US government into conflict with the Native American nations who also laid claim to the territory, resulting in the Northwest Indian War (1790-1795). Additionally, the fact that the Northwest Territory was administered by a federally-appointed governor helped to enhance the authority of the federal government at a time when this was one of the most contentious political issues. Finally, the method of admitting new states to the Union laid out in the Ordinance would become the standard protocol for the entry of future states.

Land Ordinance of 1784

At the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783, Great Britain ceded control of much of its lands west of the Appalachian Mountains to the United States, more than doubling the territory of the young republic. While this was a welcome surprise to many Americans, it also came with a set of problems – almost all this land remained undeveloped by Europeans and was home to around 100,000 Native Americans who were unlikely to welcome an influx of White settlers onto their lands. Furthermore, there was contention about who should govern this new western territory. Virginia had long laid claim to the lands along the Ohio River, citing its 1607 colonial charter, which proclaimed that Virginia's western border extended all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Other states – notably New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts – also had old, and often contradictory, claims on the western territories.

The ink on the Treaty of Paris of 1783 was barely dry, therefore, before the states began quarreling amongst themselves about who should control the lands in the West. Several smaller states, particularly Rhode Island and Maryland, strongly protested Virginia's claims – Virginia was already the most populous and most politically influential state, and the smaller states did not wish to see its power expand any further. New York and Massachusetts, whose charters had also granted them territorial rights 'from sea to sea' also battled over western lands that stretched to the Mississippi River. As the states squabbled over governance, the West was becoming lawless; land speculators and squatters who had flooded into the territory were coming into conflict with the Native Americans who lived there, while a lack of a defined legal process for settling these lands resulted in a myriad of feuds and legal battles that proved a headache for everyone involved. It was clear that a system for the governance and settlement of the western territories would have to be resolved, and quickly.

In 1784, Thomas Jefferson, then a congressional delegate from Virginia, offered a solution, proposing that every state should relinquish its western claims and that new states would instead be carved out from the territory. In return for giving up their claims on the West, Jefferson promised the states that the money gained from the sale of western lands would go toward the betterment of all the United States. The states begrudgingly agreed and, one by one, ceded most of their western claims to Congress (Virginia continued to lay claim to Kentucky until 1789). Jefferson immediately went to work drafting what would become the Land Ordinance of 1784. In Jefferson's plan, the western frontier would be divided into several self-governing districts, and the gate would be open to new settlers. Once any given district reached a population of 20,000, it could send a representative to Congress; once that same district reached a population equal to the least populous state, it could apply for statehood.

Portrait of Thomas Jefferson, 1791

Charles Willson Peale (Public Domain)

Jefferson envisaged ten new states arising from the territory, each with artificial, rectangular boundaries, and with names like 'Sylvania', 'Cherronesus', 'Illinoia', 'Metropotamia', and 'Washington'. Jefferson had also drawn up a list of guarantees that he wanted each district to agree to before it could govern itself. These included a guarantee to forever remain a part of the United States; to remain subject to Congress and help pay off Revolutionary War debts; to always maintain a republican government; and to ban slavery after the year 1800. Congress removed this last guarantee from the final draft and struck off Jefferson's plan for state boundaries but passed the rest of his Land Ordinance on 23 April 1784. For the first time, a rough plan for the admission of new states into the Union was in place.

Continue reading...

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

August 20, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Aug 21, 2024

At Chicago’s United Center today, the delegates at the Democratic National Convention reaffirmed last week’s online nomination of Kamala Harris for president. The ceremonial roll-call vote featured all the usual good natured boasting from the delegates about their own state’s virtues, a process that reinforces the incredible diversity and history of both this land and its people. The managers reserved the final slots for Minnesota and California—the home states of Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and presidential candidate Kamala Harris, respectively—to put the ticket over the top. 

When the votes had been counted, Harris joined the crowd virtually from a rally she and Walz were holding at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Last month the Republicans held their own national convention in that venue, and for Harris to accept her nomination in the same place was an acknowledgement of how important Wisconsin will be in this election. But it also meant that Trump, who is obsessed with crowd sizes, would have to see not one but two packed sports arenas of supporters cheer wildly for her nomination. 

He also had to contend with former loyalists and supporters joining the Democratic convention. His former press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, told the Democratic convention tonight that when the cameras are off, “Trump mocks his supporters. He calls them basement dwellers.” Grisham endorsed Harris, saying: “I love my country more than my party. Kamala Harris tells the truth. She respects the American people and she has my vote.”

Trump spoke glumly to a small crowd today at the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office in Howell, Michigan. 

It was almost exactly twenty years ago, on July 27, 2004, that 43-year-old Illinois state senator Barack Obama, who was, at the time, running for a seat in the U.S. Senate, gave the keynote address to that year’s Democratic National Convention. It was the speech that began his rise to the presidency.

Like the Democrats who spoke last night, Obama talked in 2004 of his childhood and recalled how his parents had “faith in the possibilities of this nation.” And like Biden last night, Obama said that “in no other country on earth, is my story even possible.” The nation’s promise, he said, came from the human equality promised in the Declaration of Independence.

“That is the true genius of America,” Obama said, “a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small miracles.” He called for an America “where hard work is rewarded.” “[I]t's not enough for just some of us to prosper,” he said, “[f]or alongside our famous individualism, there's another ingredient in the American saga.”

He described that ingredient as “[a]belief that we are connected as one people. If there's a child on the south side of Chicago who can't read, that matters to me, even if it's not my child. If there's a senior citizen somewhere who can't pay for her prescription and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it's not my grandmother. If there's an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It's that fundamental belief—I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper—that makes this country work. It's what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family. ‘E pluribus unum.’ Out of many, one.”

Obama emphasized Americans’ shared values and pushed back against “those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes.” He reached back into history to prove that “the bedrock of this nation” is “the belief that there are better days ahead.” He called that belief “[t]he audacity of hope.”

Almost exactly twenty years after his 2004 speech, the same man, now a former president who served for eight years, spoke at tonight’s Democratic National Convention. But the past two decades have challenged his vision.

When voters put Obama into the White House in 2008, Republicans set out to make sure they couldn’t govern. Mitch McConnell (R–KY) became Senate minority leader in 2007 and, using the filibuster, stopped most Democratic measures by requiring 60 votes to move anything to a vote. 

In 2010 the Supreme Court handed down the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, declaring that corporations and other outside groups could spend as much money as they wanted on elections. Citizens United increased Republican seats in legislative bodies, and in the 2010 midterm elections, Republicans packed state legislatures with their own candidates in time to be in charge of redistricting their states after the 2010 census.  Republicans controlled the key states of Florida, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Ohio, and Michigan, as well as other, smaller states, and after the election, they used precise computer models to win previously Democratic House seats.

In the 2012 election, Democrats won the White House decisively, the Senate easily, and a majority of 1.4 million votes for House candidates. Yet Republicans came away with a thirty-three-seat majority in the House of Representatives. And then, with the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision, the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, making it harder to protect Democratic voters.

As the Republicans skewed the mechanics of government to favor themselves, their candidates no longer had to worry they would lose general elections but did have to worry about losing primaries to more extreme challengers. So they swung farther and farther to the right, demonizing the Democrats until finally those who remain Republicans have given up on democracy altogether. 

Tonight’s speech echoed that of 2004 by saying that America’s “central story” is that “we are all created equal,” and describing Harris and Walz as hardworking people who would use the government to create a fair system. He sounded more concerned today than in 2004 about political divisions, and reminded the crowd: “The vast majority of us do not want to live in a country that’s bitter and divided,” he said. “We want something better. We want to be better. And the joy and the excitement that we’re seeing around this campaign tells us we’re not alone,” he said. 

And then, in his praise for his grandmother, “a little old white lady born in a tiny town called Peru, Kansas,” and his mother-in-law, Marion Robinson, a Black woman from the South Side of Chicago, he brought a new emphasis on ordinary Americans, especially women, who work hard, sacrifice for their children, and value honesty, integrity, kindness, helping others, and hard work. 

They wanted their children to “do things and go places that they would’ve never imagined for themselves.” “Whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican or somewhere in between,” he said, “we have all had people like that in our lives:... good hardworking people who weren’t famous or powerful but who managed in countless ways to leave this country just a little bit better than they found it.” 

If President Obama emphasized tonight that the nation depends on the good will of ordinary people, it was his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, who spoke with the voice of those people and made it clear that only the American people can preserve democracy.  

In a truly extraordinary speech, perfectly delivered, Mrs. Obama described her mother as someone who lived out the idea of hope for a better future, working for children and the community. “She was glad to do the thankless, unglamorous work that for generations has strengthened the fabric of this nation,” Mrs. Obama said, “the belief that if you do unto others, if you love thy neighbor, if you work and scrape and sacrifice, it will pay off. If not for you, then maybe for your children or your grandchildren.”

Unlike her husband, though, Mrs. Obama called out Trump and his allies, who are trying to destroy that worldview. “No one has a monopoly on what it means to be an American,” she said. “No one.” “[M]ost of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward,” she said. “We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. If we bankrupt a business…or choke in a crisis, we don't get a second, third, or fourth chance. If things don't go our way, we don't have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead…we don't get to change the rules so we always win. If we see a mountain in front of us, we don’t expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top. No, we put our heads down. We get to work. In America, we do something."

And then Mrs. Obama took up the mantle of her mother, warning that demonizing others and taking away their rights, “only makes us small.” It “demeans and cheapens our politics. It only serves to further discourage good, big-hearted people from wanting to get involved at all. America, our parents taught us better than that.” 

It is “up to us to be the solution that we seek.” she said. She urged people to “be the antidote to the darkness and division.” “[W]hether you’re Democrat, Republican, Independent, or none of the above,” she said, “this is our time to stand up for what we know. In our hearts is right. Not just for our basic freedoms, but for decency and humanity, for basic respect. Dignity and empathy. For the values at the very foundation of this democracy.”

“Don’t just sit around and complain. Do something.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[floridagirlboy]

go check out @nevgovhater's marching band headcanons. done with that? ok. good. time for orchestra headcanons.

gov is the conductor. i need not say anything else.

1. ALABAMA — second violin. just strikes me as the type. he doesn't like to sit in the front or back, he prefers middle of the section.

2. ALASKA — double bass. specifically 2nd chair. he has the skill to be principal bassist but he has zero interest in being a section leader.

3. ARIZONA — cello. not sure why. i think they started out as a violinist, decided it wasn't for them, and then switched over to cello. they sit in the second row. 3rd or 4th chair.

4. ARKANSAS — first violin. in the back. got put into this class on accident and just hasn't switched out. used to be a second violin but switched sections later on. his old sectionmates haven't forgiven him.

5. CALIFORNIA — started out playing the viola. could not get along with them (they play around too much for his taste). accidentally broke his shoulder rest and that was the crucible for him switching to cello. he's a cellist.

6. COLORADO — viola, middle of the section. half-asleep at most rehearsals. people outside of the viola section forget he's there. always has an unreasonable amount of pencils on his person, all his section borrows them. only time he is not stoned is at a concert.

7. CONNECTICUT — concertmaster/principal first violinist/first chair. the kind of guy who slowly turns and stares at you after a song during rehearsal if you fucked up a chord really bad. will get onto his sectionmates for not bringing their stuff and say something like "next time i'm just not letting you borrow it" but he always does. he's a provider to his section. he cares about them a lot. same with the rest of the orchestra. just wants everyone to do their best. also he has tiny erasers on him to chuck at florida when he won't pay attention.

8. DELAWARE — second violinist, second chair. not sure why. just is.

9. FLORIDA — ...principal violist. he is the bane of gov's existence. main guy who drove california out of the viola section by being too silly but keeps begging him to come back. he has referred to this incident as the "viola section divorce", much to california's irritation, but he's started playing into the joke as well. he's a really good player but cannot focus to save his life. takes the most incomprehensible sheet music notes you've ever seen. you can't read half the notes on his sheet music because he wrote over them in the process of marking it. really good teacher to his section outside of the joking around way too much.

10. GEORGIA — second viola, has been florida's stand partner throughout all of orchestra. one of three people who can decipher florida's music (the other two being florida and louisiana; louisiana isn't even in their section, but florida taught him viola for funsies). dozes off immediately after rehearsal ends, but not during it.

11. HAWAI'I — first violin, second chair. chats with delaware sometimes since they sit next to each other. the only person she trusts to borrow her tuner, rosin, or cloth is alaska (and, lately, rhode island).

12. IDAHO — second violin.

13. ILLINOIS — first violin. i think he plays cello at home though.

14. INDIANA — cello.

15. IOWA — ..cello. maybe.

16. KANSAS — second violin or cello.

17. KENTUCKY — second violin or viola.

18. LOUISIANA — viola, second chair. florida's stand partner. he holds onto everything except the sheet music (which is surprisingly the only thing florida does not lose). actually joined orchestra because florida kept pestering him to. he got really good really quick because he has prior music experience.

19. MAINE — back of the bass section.

20. MARYLAND — clarinet

21. MASSACHUSETTS — first violin.

22. MICHIGAN — second violin.

23. MINNESOTA — first violin.

24. MISSISSIPPI — viola or second violin.

25. MISSOURI — viola.

26. MONTANA — second violin.

27. NEBRASKA — cello.

28. NEVADA — cello or first violin.

29. NEW HAMPSHIRE — cello.

30. NEW JERSEY — second violin.

31. NEW MEXICO — viola.

32. NEW YORK — cellist. wishes he was a violinist or violist sometimes but you'd have to waterboard that information out of him because he makes fun of the upper strings all the time.

33. NORTH CAROLINA — second violin. used to be a viola but switched over because his brother kept pissing him off.

34. NORTH DAKOTA — first violin. also switched sections to escape his sibling (former second violinist).

35. OHIO — viola.

36. OKLAHOMA — viola.

37. OREGON — first violin.

38. PENNSYLVANIA — first violin.

39. RHODE ISLAND — principal bassist. first chair because alaska doesn't wanna be there. he is so much fucking smaller than his bass that it's outright comedic. he sits on the stool to play and his feet don't even come close to the ground. perfectly capable of carrying his bass strength-wise but the size of it makes it a bitch, so alaska helps him. sometimes hawai'i if alaska is busy.

40. SOUTH CAROLINA — viola.

41. SOUTH DAKOTA — second violin.

42. TENNESSEE — first violin.

43. TEXAS — second violin. picked up the violin and he is not a fan but he's been with it so long he just doesn't know how to switch instruments. wishes he was a cellist. stares longingly at the cello section. he is allergic to shifting.

44. UTAH — first violin.

45. VERMONT — second violin.

46. VIRGINIA — first violin.

47. WASHINGTON — first violin.

48. WEST VIRGINIA — viola.

49. WISCONSIN — first violin.

50. WYOMING — bass.

[xechoecho88x]

some midwest headcanons that refuse to leave my mind

ohio has two degrees, one in astrophysics and the other in aerospace engineering (his love for planes and space coming together in one degree)

the only times you'll see minnesota and indiana angry is when hockey or basketball are involved, respectively. the rest of the time they are unanimously considered to be the nicest and most peaceful midwestern states

minnesota can and will hold grudges, but it's very rare that he's obvious about it

indiana sometimes works as a car mechanic, but he loves to buy old cars and restore them before selling them again

wisconsin has a harley and is extremely proud of it

every year, minnesota and wisconsin go hunting together on the first day of hunting season, there is no hope of contacting either of them that entire first week

illinois is a closet theatre kid. he doesn't want to admit it out of fear of being called chicago even more than he already does

illinois has a personal vendetta against The Bean. the only joy he gets from that thing is calling it "The Bean" to piss off the artist

michigan is the go to driver when it comes to midwest events. not only is he the best driver out of the group, but he also refuses to get in a car if ohio, wisconsin, or illinois is driving

kansas has a dog called Toto because he unironically loves the wizard of oz. his favorite musical is, of course, wicked

kansas has a little farm with chickens, goats, a vegetable garden, and a sunflower garden and tries to live off the land as much as possible

michigan and wisconsin love to make the states outside of the midwest try to pronounce their city names

ohio is attracted to fire like, well, a moth to a flame. the same goes for fire to ohio. even when he has nothing to do with it, things just happen to spontaneously combust around him

[lordshahh]

ARAB COUNTRIES IF THEY WERE US STATES:P!!!!!! in no particular order, based on vibes.

egypt - i think its DEFINITELY new york, like the entire state + city. its just the center of attention and where everyone wants to be, and it exerts so much influence all over the arab world but is full of insane lifestyle contrasts. also the ppl are really just the new yorkers of the middle east!!

lebanon - florida X_X cuz crazy shit is always happening. party capital of the mideast blahblahblah but also the seat of the most insane politics devisable, and is always the locus of some calamity

syria - massachusetts CUZ this is where all the smart people live, where the funny accents are, and it just plays second fiddle really imo to egypt in terms of greater arab influence

jordan - pennsylvania. idk why.

palestine - i wanted to make a puerto rico joke bcuz its under an occupation but that would suck. imo in an alternate world palestine would be the new jersey of the middle east bcuz it really lives right outside of egypt's glitz and is full of really weird rich people. ppl who have met like. normal diaspora palestinians know what i mean.

iraq - iraq gives illinois bcuz it has a major river (two ackshully) running through it, has a lot in it, WAS ALSO THE BIRTHPLACE OF CIVILIZATION so theres a lot to see too!!, AND is the more tasteful counterpart to egypt's newyork-ness. also has its own fun whitesox vs cubs divide in the form of sunni vs shia

saudi arabia + uae + kuwait + bahrain + qatar - literally the texas of the middle east in everything. oil money, religiosity glimmering in every word (khaliji's are known for using dropping a lot of religious phrases in the middle of talking), MASSIVE gun culture and a love for their unique clans. ALSO lots of desert + really big. EVERYONE WEARS THE SAME HAT ALL THE TIME TOO!!

yemen - mississippi (self-explanatory)

oman - alabama (self-explanatory)

sudan - minnesota bcuz its a really big box and the accent is funny :P

LIBYA!! - i feel like libya is the michigan of the mena becuz it used to be really prestigious and prosperous but fell off really brutally

TUNISIA - tunisia is arizona i think its remarkable for its natural beauty...... idk im strugling with tunisia sob emoji

ALGERIA!!!!!!!!! - i think algeria is the nevada of the arab world bcuz it is huge, kind of plays second fiddle to california (morocco) a bit, has tons of natural beauty, has a cowboy culture, and is really unexpectedly deeply religious. also bcuz we have our own crazy cities!! (oran and algiers LOL)

MOROCCO!!!!!! - morocco IS california. people from here just give californian and ofc it being at the extreme west facing an ocean gives it that california vibe. theres also all the beautiful cities (and rlly beautiful weed :PPPP) and the sound of music there gives g funk idk why

MAURITANIA - mauritania is just utah. it is so incredibly religious, and also mostly desert, and is also a big box. soooo YA. :D

[linestorm]

pro tip for my american followers thinking about the fuckery next year will bring, i offer u one strategic move in your repertoire, that u may not know about:

some states have open presidential primaries. that means you can vote in the republican primary even if you're registered as a democrat. when you show up to your polling place, they will simply ask you which ballot u want:

Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin

~*~you are totally allowed to vote for a republican that is not trump in the republican primary just to get him off the ballot~*~ -- **even if you wouldn't be caught dead voting for that same person in the general election**.

you can only vote in one primary, so if the democratic primary heats up and you want to vote in that one, then by all means go ahead, you can literally change your mind as you wait in line to vote if you want. but if not, STILL SHOW UP TO VOTE AND TAKE THE REPUBLICAN BALLOT (if you're in an open state)

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SIT AROUND AND WATCH THE REPUBLICANS PUT TRUMP ON THE GENERAL BALLOT AGAIN! VOTE HIS ASS OFF THE ISLAND

**this doesn't mean you endorse a republican candidate in any way. it just means you recognize that trump poses a unique threat. **

ALSO some states have open presidential primaries for unaffiliated voters. meaning if you're registered unaffiliated you can vote in either primary (but if you're registered with a party u can only vote in that party's primary):

Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Wyoming

OPEN-PRIMARIES | HOME (openprimaries.org)

[robertreich]

The Republican Party’s Worst Nightmare

Republicans have been trying to crush unions for decades, but American workers are fighting back with a vengeance.

Many GOP leaders wink and nod while talking about “making America great again,” as if the country was more prosperous when they were in charge.

Rubbish.

Yes, there was a time when the American economy worked better for workers than it does now, but not because Republicans played any part in making it that way. And certainly not because of the bigotry, misogyny, and racism they’ve been peddling to pit workers against each other to distract them from how much wealth is being siphoned off to the top.

In fact, Republicans have been waging a relentless war against what had been one of the biggest drivers of prosperity for the working class — labor unions.

Now, it’s important to note that this prosperity wasn’t shared equally with women or people of color, but a big reason much of the workforce was better off decades ago than today is because of the power of labor unions to organize and fight for the rights and dignity of workers.

Republicans have fought labor unions tooth and nail. They’ve enacted deceptively named "right-to-work" laws, which are all about weakening unions rather than giving workers more rights. And they've voted against bills allowing workers to form unions with simple up or down majorities at the workplace.  

This is the great irony of the MAGA movement. And it would be funny if it weren’t so tragic. If Republicans really cared about American greatness, they would support unions — one of the major tools at our disposal to actually combat inequality and lift up the working class.

Fortunately — despite Republican efforts — labor unions are on the rise once more. And so are pro-labor Democratic politicians.

These Democrats won big in the 2022 midterms — especially in the rust belt. They captured the governorships of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, and also Michigan — where they flipped both chambers of the state legislature. The last time Democrats had full control of Michigan’s state government was in the 1980s.

And look at the impressive victory of John Fetterman — the new U.S. senator from Pennsylvania. He defeated a wealthy Republican snake oil salesman and flipped a senate seat, while running on an unabashedly pro-worker platform aiming to increase the federal minimum wage, end corporate price gouging, and make it easier for workers to organize unions at their workplaces.

It wasn’t just pro-worker politicians who won big during the midterms, but worker friendly ballot measures as well — almost universally opposed by Republicans.

Illinois voted to enshrine collective bargaining rights into its constitution, effectively banning right to work laws from ever being passed in the state.

Washington D.C. voted overwhelmingly to eliminate the subminimum wage for tipped workers.

Voters in Nebraska and Nevada chose to increase their state minimum wage.

Forced prison labor was outlawed in Vermont, Alabama, Tennessee, and Oregon.

Republicans, along with their rich and powerful patrons, have always feared that working people would recognize their collective power, both through unions and at the ballot box. So the wealthy are doing everything they can to hold working people down.

But the midterm elections and the resurgent worker power movement should give us hope that a more just and equitable United States will be built with union labor.

It’s not just about making America great — it’s about making America better. Not just a bigger economy but a fairer economy. Not just more wealth for the wealthy, but better and more secure lives for all.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Chris Geidner at Law Dork:

Less than a week before the Biden administration’s new sex discrimination rule is set to go into effect on August 1, the far-right group Moms for Liberty told a federal judge in Kansas that his order blocking enforcement of the rule should apply to more than 2,000 schools across the nation — including in several states where no litigation is pending. The rule, enforcing Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, has largely faced opposition due to its provision of transgender protections under the extensive rule. The Justice Department currently has two requests before the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to enforce most of the rule while litigation proceeds. (More on that below.) A July 2 preliminary injunction from U.S. District Judge John Broomes, a Trump appointee in Kansas, has been covered extensively at Law Dork but, due to the vague nature of his injunction, the full scope of its coverage wasn’t clear until Friday evening. Although it blocked enforcement in four states that sued, it also covered — nationwide — the members of two groups that sued and the children of the members of Moms for Liberty.

Lawyers for Moms for Liberty, after some back and forth, finally submitted the list of what they claim are “the K-12 schools attended by the children of its members” on Friday evening. The list includes schools in 46 states. What’s more, 22 of the states with schools listed are not even challenging the rule. They are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin. The list of schools includes more than 100 schools in California, Michigan, and Pennsylvania; more than 200 schools in North Carolina; and more than 300 schools in Wisconsin. Schools from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina are listed as well. Those states are plaintiffs in a challenge to the rule, but U.S. District Judge Annemarie Axon, a Trump appointee, is yet to rule on injunctive relief requests.

Right-wing “parental rights” extremist group Moms For Liberty seeks to block LGBTQ+ rights protections in the revised Title IX from taking effect in over 2,000+ schools in Kansas v. Department of Education.