#ira raskin

[drpcreates]

I wanted to post a reflection of the year today but between traveling and recovering from getting sick, I'm doing a repost instead. The dynamic between Ira and Ember is one I should draw more of because I enjoy it so much.

[rjzimmerman]

Memo to Joe: Fight a Climate Election. (Bill McKibben's Substack post)

It seems entirely possible that the upcoming presidential election will be decided mostly on feelings, or what we now call vibes. In a poll released this week, for instance, almost exactly half of voters said American unemployment was at a fifty-year high, which is odd since it’s actually near a fifty-year low.

Given data like that, I imagine it’s hard for Biden’s team to figure out how to make the case for a second term. So far they’ve focused on abortion rights and on protecting democracy, both of which are not just right but savvy: they focus on places where Trump has weaknesses that most people recognize. (Most people—somehow a fifth of voters blame Biden for the repeal of Roe). If it were up to me, I’d open a third of these fronts: climate change.

There’s three reasons for that. 

One, it’s popular. Something—some combination of fire, flood, and movement-building—has persuaded Americans that climate change is real, and that the government should take action to slow it down. Across surveysthe polling is clear. And voters perceive Democrats as much better on climate: indeed, some new polling indicates it may have played a crucial role in the last election. 

Two, it gets way more popular when you explain it. A new survey of young voters from Data for Progress showed that “approval for Biden’s handling of climate change and the environment improves by 17 percentage points among young voters after respondents hear more about his climate action. Approval of Biden’s handling of climate change and the environment reaches 69% among 18- to 34-year-old voters after respondents read a series of questions about his climate achievements.” Biden put enormous political capital into winning passage of the IRA; he might as well get political gain from all of that.

And three, people hate Trump’s positions on the issue. The highest profile climate action he to in term one was withdrawing America from the Paris accords, and less than a third of voters approved.  And this time around he’s doing everything he can to cement his reputation as the corrupt candidate of fossil fuel. Yesterday, amidst the ruins of the city’s greatest windstorm, he held a fundraising lunch with leading frackers in downtown Houston. As Emily Atkin reminds us in a typically piquant column, the hydrocarbon cartel is already supporting Trump over Biden by a 40-1 margin. He wants more, of course, which is why he held his billion-dollar extortion dinner in DC earlier this month. And what do you know—when they were told about his efforts to shake down fossil fuel executives, two-thirds of likely voters didn’t like it. The oil companies, as a new report from Oil Change International makes clear, continue to lie about climate change, and their efforts to “combat” it. At some visceral level, Americans know that (though it would be good to remind them with a DOJ investigation of those lies, as Jamie Raskin and Sheldon Whitehouse recommended yesterday.)

So I think it’s a strong triple threat to say: Trump will take away your rights. He will take away your democracy. And he will take away the planet you’ve known.

[philosophicalbutts]

Hey saw your post about climate anxiety and climate change and lwanted to send you a note. You are not alone in feeling hopeless or climate doom/anxiety. It’s something so many people struggle with and I struggle with on the daily. I’m not sure if you’re US based or not but I work in US policy on environmental issues and climate change in Washington DC and holy fuck is it bleak sometimes. (Also while I’m on anon, don’t usually advertise I’m in DC policy)

BUT there are good things happening! Biden’s administration has made incredible progress in climate during his tenure. No intention to endorse him or other actions across the administration but it is fact that the administration’s actions climate have been the most progressive of any other administration when it comes to climate and green energy. The administration also played a key role in getting the IRA negotiated and out the door - which moved enough money into green energy and climate initiatives that even a Trump presidency would never be able to claw it all back. (And apologies if you aren’t US based I am in US politics hell and know too much)

On top of that countries like Canada have enacted Carbon pricing (and many think the EU will follow - and eventually be a forcing mechanism for the US to implement forms of carbon pricing). Carbon pricing is a big deal bc it’s generally believed to be the most effective tool at quickly reducing emissions.

And litigation! There are SO many court cases in the US right now against Big Oil and they’ve started losing some of them and it has them scared. Exxon Mobil just lost a case today I believe related to activist shareholders that were using the stock market to try and force some of Exxons business practices away from destroy all life on the planet and the activists won the case. Another major movement across the US right now is holding Big Oil accountable the same way the US held Big Tobacco accountable - which would be a massive blow to Big Oil if they were held financially and legally responsible for their environmental and human health harms after withholding climate change data for years, launching numerous disinformation campaigns and continuing to manipulate the public and politicians to further a destructive business model.

There’s also some great politicians in the US and state governors doing what they can (on top of the many many many volunteers, scientists, nonprofit employees, Congressional staffers, state government staffers and hell even lobbyists fighting tooth and nail to enact real long lasting change to fight climate change and climate change deniers)

If in the US highly recommend googling Congressman Raskin and Senator Whitehouse if you want to see congressmen that have led to the coining of the term “climate hawks”. They also have some very interesting (and validating) hearings confronting Big Oil about their systemic disinformation and propaganda campaigns. (Unfortunately you will have to listen to the sometimes very dumb and infuriating but always entertaining Republican talking points)

And for nonprofits doing great ground level work Citizens Climate Lobby is a great one to look into. I believe they are international. But they are a grassroots advocacy nonprofit that works to empower and train local community members on how they can take actions to support climate action and policies in their local governments, regional governments and national - and they have geographic regional chapters. I’ve worked with them in the past and they do fantastic work with getting community members and constituents involved and speaking to their politicians.

All that to say I just want you to know there are people that feel the same way as you, I know I do almost daily (doesn’t help part of my job is now staying very up to date on climate change and US politics). But I also promise that there are SO many people fighting for climate action - and even if you don’t have the ability to join in a specific effort for advocacy or community involvement there are people taking the same anger and feelings you have to politicians, to Big Oil, to industry and their communities and demanding change and action. I think the biggest fuck you you can have to Big Oil esp Darren Woods (CEO of Exxon Mobil and all around evil PoS) is having hope and not letting them win. Bc they absolutely are banking on people giving up on fighting for climate action and not having the most accurate up to date information on climate action (and it’s been working - since 2020 climate change has dropped in polling when it comes to voter issues).

So sorry for rambling I just am always battling my own climate doom bc I think it’s impossible to not have that sometimes! And idk it’s just a battle and sometimes I think a lot of the fight for climate action is invisible bc politics fucking suck and climate action has become so polarized but it’s there. It’s slow, and tedious but steady and slowly building. So don’t give into climate doom yet - grieve and despair but then get up, stay informed, learn what actions you can take and keep paying attention and don’t let politicians or Big Oil get away with turning blind eye to what they’ve done.

Anon whoever you are I want you to know you really, truly, helped me get up out of bed today and get my brain back in order. I woke up and the first thing I saw was your message. And if the biggest fuck you to Big Oil and the other fuckers is to keep going and keep fighting I'll do it out of spite if I have to. Don't be sorry for rambling it was exactly what I needed to read. I'm up in Canada so I'll see if there's something like the Citizens Climate Lobby up here. That and check who is for or against Carbon Pricing. Thank you so much for not only taking the time to send me this msg, but all the work you and your colleagues do, and all the mental and emotional energy it takes. Now I gotta keep going

[kp777]

By Bill McKibben, The Crucial Years

Common Dreams

May 24, 2024

It’s a strong triple threat to say: Trump will take away your rights. He will take away your democracy. And he will take away the planet you’ve known.

It seems entirely possible that the upcoming presidential election will be decided mostly on feelings, or what we now call vibes. In a poll released this week, for instance, almost exactly half of voters said American unemployment was at a 50-year high, which is odd since it’s actually near a 50-year low.

Given data like that, I imagine it’s hard for U.S. President Joe Biden’s team to figure out how to make the case for a second term. So far they’ve focused on abortion rights and on protecting democracy, both of which are not just right but savvy: They focus on places where former President Donald Trump has weaknesses that most people recognize. (Most people—somehow a fifth of voters blame Biden for the repeal of Roe). If it were up to me, I’d open a third of these fronts: climate change.

Memories of Dobbs and of January 6 may be slowly fading, but right now in America people are sweating.

There’s three reasons for that.

One, it’s popular. Something—some combination of fire, flood, and movement-building—has persuaded Americans that climate change is real, and that the government should take action to slow it down. Across surveys the polling is clear. And voters perceive Democrats as much better on climate: Indeed, some new polling indicates it may have played a crucial role in the last election.

Two, it gets way more popular when you explain it. A new survey of young voters from Data for Progress showed that “approval for Biden’s handling of climate change and the environment improves by 17 percentage points among young voters after respondents hear more about his climate action. Approval of Biden’s handling of climate change and the environment reaches 69% among 18- to 34-year-old voters after respondents read a series of questions about his climate achievements.” Biden put enormous political capital into winning passage of the IRA; he might as well get political gain from all of that.

And three, people hate Trump’s positions on the issue. The highest profile climate action he took in term one was withdrawing America from the Paris accords, and less than a third of voters approved. And this time around he’s doing everything he can to cement his reputation as the corrupt candidate of fossil fuel. Yesterday, amid the ruins of the city’s greatest windstorm, he held a fundraising lunch with leading frackers in downtown Houston. As Emily Atkin reminds us in a typically piquant column, the hydrocarbon cartel is already supporting Trump over Biden by a 40-1 margin. He wants more, of course, which is why he held his billion-dollar extortion dinner in D.C. earlier this month. And what do you know—when they were told about his efforts to shake down fossil fuel executives, two-thirds of likely voters didn’t like it. The oil companies, as a new report from Oil Change International makes clear, continue to lie about climate change, and their efforts to “combat” it. At some visceral level, Americans know that (though it would be good to remind them with a DOJ investigation of those lies, as Rep. Jamie Raskin (R-Md.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) recommended yesterday.)

So I think it’s a strong triple threat to say: Trump will take away your rights. He will take away your democracy. And he will take away the planet you’ve known.

And I think it’s especially strong because the next few months seem likely to underline the threat with some of the hottest weather anyone has ever seen. Memories of Dobbs and of January 6 may be slowly fading, but right now in America people are sweating. The first big heat dome of the season has settled over the southland, with Key West and Miami setting almost unbelievable records for muggy weather—the heat index down there topped 115°F last week. (That political savant Ron DeSantis chose the occasion to outlaw talking about climate within the state’s government). A new study out today shows that heatwaves have tripled since the 1960s in this country, and that deaths from those hot spells are up 800%. Even more ominously, the water offshore in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico is preposterously hot, which is why forecasters are predicting a record hurricane season. (Bring back memories of Trump trying to divert storms with his Sharpie.)

So here’s what Biden can legitimately say:

He has done more than any other president—by far—to support the buildout of clean energy.

And he has, with his pause on liquefied natural gas (LNG) export permits in January, done more than any other president to cramp Big Oil’s style.

That second point is a low bar (presidents always prefer carrots over sticks)—but it’s a real one. In fact, as the Timesreported this week, it’s the thing that collapsed an “uneasy truce” between the fossil fuel industry and the White House.

To the industry, Mr. Biden’s pause on new gas export permits “was a wake-up call,” said Thomas J. Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, which supports the fossil fuel industry. “He could be potentially icing billions of dollars in long-term LNG contracts. That’s real. That’s tangible.”

If I were running the campaign, I’d have Biden out there in the heat, out there in the wreckage after the hurricanes, out there when it floods and burns. And my message would be relentless and simple: “To get out of this cycle of destruction, we need clean energy. I’ve supported it. My opponent has opposed it, and on laughable grounds—that windmills cause cancer, for instance. So let’s go forward, not backward.”

Voters want candidates in touch with reality, even if they don’t always have a firm grasp of reality themselves. But everyone can tell the temperature, and over the five months to the election it’s going to be hot.

[rjhamster]

The Evening Sun: If GOP Takes the House, Here’s Whom To Thank

The Evening Sun: If GOP Takes the House, Here’s Whom To Thank

November 14, 2022 If GOP Takes the House, Here’s Whom To Thank By Ira Stoll Read more » Trump and Justice Make Their Closing Pitches to Special Master as Decision on Documents Looms By A.R. Hoffman Read more » Turkey Tries To Finger Yanks, Kurds for Terror Bombing at Istanbul By Benny Avni Read more » TRENDING Pre-Midterm Fears of Election Denialism Overblown By Raina Raskin | Read more…

[lesbeet]

What books have you read so far this year??? Which ones will you read as the year continues? :)

ok so i’ve done a lot of rereading this year (and i reread most of the hp series twice already yikes but goodreads counts that now, so i am too), and i’ve read a lot of new stuff too :) i’ll pull this from my goodreads haha

* = a book i highly recommend 

> = a book i was rereading

the stepford wives by ira levin

miss peregrine’s home for peculiar children by ransom riggs

never let me go by kazuo ishiguro

monsters of men by patrick ness

harry potter #1 >

harry potter #2 >

harry potter #3 (x2) >

harry potter #4 (x2) >

harry potter #5 (x2) >

harry potter #6 (x2) >

harry potter #7 (x2)   [it’s a coping mechanism thing ok leave me be] >

the westing game by ellen raskin

the language of flowers by vanessa diffenbaugh*

hollow city (miss peregrine #2) by ransom riggs

library of souls (miss peregrine #3) by ransom riggs

the secret history by donna tartt >

ghost world by daniel clowes

the night circus by erin morgenstern* >

the circle by dave eggers

lexicon by max barry*

the fair fight by anna freeman

before i fall by lauren oliver

gone girl by gillian flynn >

the fixer by jennifer lynn barnes

the long game (the fixer #2) by jennifer lynn barnes

the wanderers by meg howrey

dark matter by blake crouch*

the other typist by suzanne rindell*

sula by toni morrison*

the prestige by christopher priest

american gods by neil gaiman

join by steven toutonghi

kill the next one by federico axat*

i’ll give you the sun by jandy nelson*

dreamland by sarah dessen >

as far as books i want to read, i def wanna read anansi boys, the “sequel” to american gods; i want to read gentlemen and players by joanne harris, the virgin suicides, version control by dexter palmer, the history of bees by maja lunde, and a bunch of others

anyway if you want my goodreads message me off anon and i’ll give it you :)

[90secondnewbery]

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

1979 Newbery Medal Winner

Adapted by Ira Bagga of Harrington Elementary (2019)

From Lexington, MA

Judges' Remarks: This was a fun, skillfully simplified sprint through the plot of an admittedly very complicated book! Through clear and expressive voiceover, beautifully-realized color drawings (especially of the various characters!), and occasional live-action black-and-white cameos, the movie manages to lay out the premise of the complex mystery and intrigue the viewer. I particularly liked the over-the-top acting in the live-action shots, and the interplay between the three different forms of storytelling here. Smart, stylish, and concise!

[rolandfontana]

House Democrats to Probe Trump’s Execution Plans

House Democrats will investigate the Trump administration’s decision to resume federal executions and to use a single drug with a history of problems to carry them out, reports Courthouse News Service. Until 2009, lethal injection was predominantly administered in the U.S. in the form of a cocktail containing three drugs: the sedative sodium thinopental, a paralytic agent called pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride, a drug that stops the heart and causes death. Drug shortages have led states like Texas and Georgia to opt for a single-drug injection using pentobarbital, a drug that slows brain activity and collapses the nervous system.

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld states’ rights to use pentobarbital, though its use in some executions has resulted in prisoners experiencing pain, describing the sensation of “burning” through their body in the moments before death. The Justice Department’s decision last month to resume federal executions and switch to a pentobarbital-only method led Democrats on the House Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties to announce their investigation Wednesday. Questions swirl around the efficacy of the single-drug injection, said subcommittee Chairman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and and member Ayanna Pressley (D-MA). “We are extremely concerned about the types of facilities from which the Bureau [of Prisons] will obtain its pentobarbital, whether the Bureau will be able to guarantee that its intended method of execution is as painless as possible and whether the Bureau will be subject to rigorous protocols to prevent the problems that occurred at the state level,” they said. The last federal execution took place in 2003. Federal executions expected under the revised order may start this December. The men set to be executed include convicted murderers Daniel Lewis Lee, Alfred Bourgeois, Dustin Lee Honken, Wesley Ira Purkey and Lezmond Mitchell.

House Democrats to Probe Trump’s Execution Plans syndicated from https://immigrationattorneyto.wordpress.com/

[drpcreates]

I almost didn't think I'd finish this in time for my weekly post but here is the May birthday group! For this month I thought I'd have the group gaming on a rainy day. I'm really proud how this one turned out because I wanted to try new poses and I like how they ended up.

[drpcreates]

This is a silly idea I've had in my head for awhile, the Senon Protection Squad. These 4 are the only ones trusted to be around Senon alone. From left to right we have Ira "The Tank", Takeru the "Mother Hen", Senon, Castalia the "Big Sis", and Harun "The Mentor."

I also have a bonus image! Ember is an honorary member because Ira trusts her but she's also a literal fire imp so Takeru isn't 100 percent sure. Ember thinks its funny and is honored by her button.

[drpcreates]

I wanted to share a drawing I did earlier this week compared to a colored sketch I did back in 2017 with my OCs Ira and Ember. Ember looks young but she's like a mother to Ira. She's looked after him ever since she found him wandering around with no memory.  

I reworked Ember's design earlier this week because she's an imp so I want her to be short but I also want people to look at her and know she is an adult.

[drpcreates]

I can never seem to do Ira's bday post on time. I was very excited to do his because Ira doesn't remember his childhood. Since he likes doing puzzles I wanted to put a puzzle piece behind him since his childhood is a "missing piece" of his memory.

One day Ira just woke up on a volcano, with only his name and a set of horns now a part of his head. He doesn't know how long or how he was the way he was. All I can say is that he definitely was 100% human growing up.

[drpcreates]

Today's catch up birthday is Ira Raskin's, who I have yet to do on time. Ira's memory was the first time he transformed into a bull, needless to say it was quite a shock and unforgettable moment.

[drpcreates]

I’m working on a redoing an old animation so I made a new puppet. 

[drpcreates]

A couple months ago I took a handful of my OCs and decided to do a cartoonish design for them. I decided to color them a couple days ago and here they are. I love some of them more than others but overall I enjoyed how they turned out. 

[drpcreates]

Sketching out a design of one of my OCs for one of my next projects. I’m going to upload the first two projects later. Here’s this sketch for now.