#call-to-action

[artielu]

Ok, so. The Trump budget. It has already passed the House and now just needs 51 senators to pass it and send it to Trump for signature.

There are 53 Republican senators, 45 Democratic ones, and 2 Independents that vote with the Democrats. VP Vance is a tiebreaker vote.

So to block the bill, at least four Republican senators need to find their spines and the Democrats and Independents all need to keep their spines. This will not happen without direct action from voters.

They are only going to resist this bill if they hear from voters in their states. They do not care if some person from California calls them.

It's really fucking bad for everyone except the ultra-wealthy, surprise surprise.

I'm going to go through some of the features of this budget in reblogs, but trust and believe that it's horrible for the vast, vast majority of Americans, including you.

Highlights include:

Extends the Trump tax cuts passed in 2017. This continues $3.7 billion in tax cuts for the wealthy. If this budget does not pass, these tax cuts will expire and go back up without any action.

$150 billion in additional military spending

Work requirements for Medicaid. "childless adults without disabilities would be required to work 80 hours per month to qualify for benefits.". They expect millions of people to fail to meet work requirements and lose Medicaid.

Planned Parenthood and trans care. "Bans Medicaid from providing funding to Planned Parenthood as long as the organization continued to provide abortions, and would bar Medicaid from covering gender affirming health care to any beneficiaries. "

Reduces SNAP food stamp access that 40 million people use. "mandates work requirements for able-bodied SNAP enrollees who don't have dependents.".

Clean energy "dramatically scaling back many of the tax credits for clean energy."

Border walls and ICE. "$46.5 billion toward completing Trump's border wall. It also allots $5 billion for Customs and Border Protection facilities and more than $6 billion to hire and retain more agents and officers"

Student loans. "cut $330 billion from the student loan system by scrapping several existing repayment options, including the Biden-era SAVE program that based payments on income and household size.". Does anyone want to have student loan payments that you cannot afford?

Guts Obamacare. "Saves $100 billion, but will result in millions of Americans becoming uninsured if they fail to adhere to new paperwork requirements or can no longer afford insurance premiums."

Weakens federal courts that keep using orders that his actions are illegal and unconstitutional. It prohibits courts from enforcing contempt citations for violations of injunctions or temporary restraining orders unless the plaintiff pays a bond. Bonds can be EXTRAORDINARILY EXPENSIVE and are not currently required in these cases. The provision "would make most existing injunctions—in antitrust cases, police reform cases, school desegregation cases, and others—unenforceable," says the god of constitutional law, Dean Erwin Chemerinsky.

So, you folks in red states and you folks in wobbly blue states (PA, NC, etc), you need to call your senators and save us all.

Call every day. Call after hours so you can leave a voicemail and not talk to anyone.

For real y'all, millions of people are going to starve, go broke, and be without medical care if this bill passes. Which is a feature, not a bug, of the Trump administration.

And it will balloon the national debt to pay for these tax cuts for the wealthy.

[lakecountylibrary]

🔥 The beacons are lit; the library calls for aid

The Trump administration has issued an executive order aimed at dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services - the ONLY federal agency for America's libraries.

Using just 0.003% of the federal budget, the IMLS funds services at libraries across the country; services like Braille and talking books for the visually impaired, high-speed internet access, and early literacy programs.

Libraries are known for doing more with less, but even we can't work with nothing.

How You Can Help:

🔥 Call your congressperson!

Use the app of your choice or look 'em up here: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member

Pro tip: If your phone anxiety is high, call at night and leave a voicemail. You can even write yourself a script in advance and read it off. Heck, read them this post if you want to.

Phones a total no-go? The American Library Association has a form for you: https://oneclickpolitics.global.ssl.fastly.net/messages/edit?promo_id=23577

🔥Tell your friends!

Tell strangers, for that matter. People in line at the check out, your elderly neighbor, the mail carrier - no one is safe from your library advocacy. Libraries are for everyone and we need all the help we can get.

...Wait, why do we need this IMLS thing again?

The ALA says it best in their official statement and lists some ways libraries across the country use IMLS funding:

But if you want a really specific answer, here at LCPL we use IMLS funding to provide our amazing interlibrary loan service. If we can't purchase an item you request (out of print books, for example) this service lets us borrow it from another library and check it out to you.

IMLS also funds the statewide Indiana Digital Library and Evergreen Indiana, which gives patrons of smaller Indiana libraries access to collections just as large and varied as the big libraries' collections.

As usual, cutting this funding will hurt rural communities the most - but every library user will feel it one way or another. Let's let Congress know that's unacceptable.

[escapenevolve]

The Landing Page Cheat Code: Turning Clicks into Conversions

🌟 Your ad clicks are only as good as your landing page! Learn how to craft and optimize landing pages that actually convert. From bold headlines to irresistible CTAs, this guide has all the tips you need to turn visitors into customers. 🚀 #DigitalMarket

You’ve crafted the perfect ad. People are clicking on it like it’s Black Friday, but then… nothing. Crickets. No sign-ups, no purchases, no calls. What happened? Chances are your landing page is about as exciting as unseasoned oatmeal. But fear not—today, we’re diving into the art of creating and optimizing landing pages that actually convert. What Is a Landing Page, Anyway? Think of a landing…

[lelopatienceklaas-blog]

Email Marketing Magic: How It Powers Your E-Commerce Strategy

Photo by Antoni Shkraba: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-a-person-shopping-online-6207736/ If you’ve ever opened your inbox and found a discount offer from your favorite store, you’ve experienced email marketing in action. It’s more than just messages; it’s a powerful tool that can transform your e-commerce business. Let’s break it down and see how this unsung hero contributes to digital…

[lavandamichelle]

5 Tips for Creating a Successful Email Marketing Campaign

Email marketing is an effective way to reach potential customers and promote your products or services. However, with so many emails flooding people’s inboxes, it can be challenging to stand out from the crowd. In this blog post, we will provide 5 tips for creating a successful email marketing campaign. Personalization Personalization is key when it comes to email marketing. By addressing the…

[bloggersmap]

The message conveyed by a call-to-action should be clear, concise, and easy to understand. Ambiguity can lead to confusion and hinder conversions. Use straightforward language that clearly communicates the value proposition and the desired action. Simplicity in messaging not only enhances user comprehension but also aligns with the fast-paced browsing habits of online audiences.

[hayden-christensen]

HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN AND ARIANA GREENBLATT Behind the scenes of 'Ahsoka - Part Five: Shadow Warrior' (2023) Path of the Apprentice featurette

[dsudis]

Help win cleaner indoor air!

The Airborne Act (H.R. 9000) creates incentives to clean up indoor air! It offers tax credits to commercial building owners for conducting indoor air quality assessments and making upgrades to ventilation and air filtration.

Indoor air quality upgrades can reduce substantially airborne diseases—protecting our health and decreasing health care expenses, lost wages and lost productivity.

[stil-lindigo]

Bisan is calling for another global strike!

I saw some posts just outlining Jan 21st, and wanted to clarify that Bisan has called for a full seven days of action.

What a global strike would look like is:

calling in sick to work

purchasing bare essentials ahead of the week so you can observe the general boycott of goods / buying as little as you genuinely can

putting in a concerted effort to elevate Palestinian voices and make it clear that this strike is in support of a permanent ceasefire!

For those who will have to purchase necessary goods during this time, please observe the brands that the BDS movement is asking us to boycott!

♢♢♢

Right now is also a good time to mention some better uses for your money during this week.

Available e-sims in Gaza are running low!!

Mirna El Helbawi and her team are working round the clock to continue to connect Palestinians as Israel does its best to cut them off from the rest of the world.

You can learn how to purchase and send e-sims here, and below you’ll find a list of what is currently needed (the areas in brackets indicate what region you should select to buy e-sims in).

--

CareforGaza is an organisation that does verifiably good work, distributing supplies directly to Palestinian families.

They have a Gofundme set up at the moment, but because of Gofundme’s poor track record regarding refusing to transfer funds to Palestinians, I’d recommend continuing to donate directly to their PayPal here.

Good luck to all of you. Don't turn away from Palestine!

[winchestress]

1.04 | 2.08

[akanemnon]

Clearing the weeds

FIRST - PREVIOUS - NEXT

MASTERPOST (for the full series / FAQ / reference sheets)

[rebeccathenaturalist]

So--long story short, a FedEx driver killed a rattlesnake that happened to be on someone's porch, not causing any immediate problems. This is an all too common practice here in the United States, where a significant portion of the population has the backwards idea that "the only good snake is a dead snake" and that the only way to deal with a venomous snake in the proximity of a house, or people in general, is to kill it. Never mind that snakes tend to move on if left alone, and that there are numerous entities that can be contacted to move the snake safely to another place if so desired, and that most bites occur when someone is harassing, handling, or trying to kill the snake.

Dr. Emily Taylor of California Polytechnic State University (@snakeymama on Twitter) has requested that people contact FedEx about their recent commercial glorifying the killing of the snake, which you can view here. I've included both her and my letters to the appropriate folks at FedEx. There are options for both email and snail mail correspondence, and the more people FedEx hears from about this appalling matter, the better.

It's 2024, almost 2025. We have tons of information on rattlesnake behavior and best practices in coexisting with them (to include training your dogs in snake avoidance). We know plenty about the importance they have in local ecosystems, and the devastation that has been done through people slaughtering them, sometimes in the thousands (I wrote about the ongoing problem of rattlesnake roundups and their inherent cruelty here.) There are multiple rattlesnake species that are endangered or otherwise threatened with extinction.

The vast majority of encounters with venomous snakes are benign, and the vast majority of bites come from someone (person, dog, etc.) confronting the snake that was just trying to defend itself. We've spent a lot of time in this country defaulting to killing anything that inconveniences us, but there are better ways to live safely in proximity to wildlife that don't involve violence. It just takes a little more effort and awareness, and most importantly a significant attitude change that no longer vilifies native wildlife simply trying to live their lives.

As Dr. Taylor mentioned, if you want to contact FedEx, here are your options:

"You can help by reposting this or by emailing to express your concern about the commercial: mediarelations@fedex.com and to the CEO at FWSmith@fedex.com. Or send letters to: Fred Smith, CEO Brie Carere, Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer Ryan Kelly, Vice President of Marketing FedEx Corporation 942 South Shady Grove Road Memphis, TN 38120 USA"

[lelopatienceklaas-blog]

The Ultimate Guide to Personalized Email for Every E-Commerce Marketer (Make It Fun and Profitable)

Photo by Marcial Comeron: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-person-holding-an-atm-card-while-typing-on-her-laptop-11952303/ If you’re in the e-commerce game, you know the struggle of standing out in your customers’ inbox. We’ve all been there—scrolling through countless emails that feel like they were blasted to everyone, no matter what. But here’s the secret: personalized emails are like a secret…

[morganbritton132]

Hopper is never having a good day when he has to deal with children but he’s having an even worse day when the kids in question are Eddie ‘Come Back With a Warrant’ Munson and Steve ‘I’ll Answer Your Questions When My Lawyer is Present’ Harrington.

They are eight and seven years old in the backseat of his truck after Hopper caught them separately doing shit they’re not supposed to do. His plan was to drive around a bit, scare them, and then send them on their way but neither are taking it seriously.

Steve, at least, is sticking to his words and hasn’t spoken since he requested a lawyer. Eddie, on the other hand, hasn’t shut up.

Hopper said he was talking them to jail and Eddie’s response was to point out that they weren’t committing crimes. They were committing miss-de-meters and second, “The police station’s that way. You’re drivin’ to Uncle Wayne’s.”

Hopper feels like a glorified taxi driver at this point. He makes one last attempt to instill a little fear of god into these future felons by saying, “You’re going to get grounded by your parents and you’ll deserve it.”

There’s a beat of silence before Steve pipes up, “What’s grounded?”

“It’s when your parents bury you in the backyard,” Eddie supplies helpfully.

“Oh…” Steve says and then loudly announces, “Mr. Hopper, I can’t be grounded. We have a pool.”

“That’s okay,” Eddie cuts in before Hopper can steer this conversation in the right direction.

He clasps a hand on Steve’s shoulder in the rearview and tells him, “They’ll drown you instead.”

[sea-beam]

using action replay✨

[libraford]

I've been thinking about the proposed gender transition regulations (ohio) because it paints a strange painting about what it's like to be a young queer American.

At the same time that they're trying to increase the restrictions of HRT and surgery to 21, they are trying to lower the working age and increase their hours past 30, deny them lunch breaks. Moms for Liberty (now calling themselves Awake Americans) are trying to remove queer content from schools, claiming that it's pornographic. They're practically adults when you're using them in the workforce, but children when they want to learn and children when they want to be happy.

You can enlist in the military at 18. You can get a tattoo at 18. You can get your nipples pierced at 18. You can work an exploitative job at 18. You can buy pornography at 18. Vote at 18. Gamble at 18. Get married at 18. Get cosmetic surgery at 18 (unless you're trans.) You can drink and smoke legally at 21 without 6 months of therapy and the approval of a board certified psychologist, endocrinologist, and one of three medical ethicists in the state.

But you can't transition. Because the state thinks that you're too young and don't know yourself well enough to make that decision, but it will let you die in a war.

The comment period for this rule change ends January 19th at 5pm. Send an email to mh-sot-rules@mha.ohio.gov with the title "Comments in Gender Transition Care Rules" and tell them how the new rules would impact your life or the lives of those around you.