Stonepounder
Stonepounder's JournalNYC pop-up installation with children in cages and heartbreaking audio is getting national attention
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/6/12/1864299/-NYC-pop-up-installation-with-children-in-cages-and-heartbreaking-audio-is-getting-national-attention?detail=emaildkreA guerrilla art installation began showing up all over New York City today. Small cages with sculpted children, under thin foil blankets, with audio of real children crying appeared in a variety of spots around NYC Wednesday morning. On the cages, the hashtag #NoKidsInCages. Organized by a Texas-based non profit legal service for immigrants, RAICES, the installations are making a big statement in one of America’s most powerful cities.
New York City’s WPIX11 reports that there are 24 installations in total, at heavily trafficked locations and tourist destination spots like Rockefeller Center, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Natural history museum, as well as in front of big media outlets like CNN, Fox News, Newsweek, Vice, and more.
See link for pics.
WHAT TRUMP IS DOING AT THE BORDER
IF YOU CARE ABOUT WHAT TRUMP IS DOING AT THE BORDER, you need to read and share this thread.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1139192167501484033.html?utm_source=ext
I have just gotten off the phone with a friend who is a legal volunteer in Border Patrol facilities.
Don't look away.
1/
My friend has done two tours now volunteering as a legal advocate inside CBP facilities.
She passed along information about what is happening there that indicates that the Trump Administration is violating every basic human right, and is moving toward military "solutions."
2/
So that folks understand the process: CBP has outposts on the border. Refugees seeking asylum travel hundreds of miles on foot, including with infants and small children, and turn themselves in at these outposts *on foot.*
Here's what happens next. Don't look away.
3/
CBP then transfers these human beings to a facility called "the Dog Pound." (Here, my friend started crying.)
The "Dog Pound" is comprised of cages, outside and on dirt, with no protection from the elements.
Don't look away.
4/
There are dozens of teen moms there.
There is no baby food.
While there, my friend saw a CBP agent take a baby from her teenage mother, strip the baby of its clothes, hand the baby back to the mother, and send them outside to the "Dog Pound" to sleep in the dirt.
5/
The "Dog Pound" has no running water, no covers, no tarp, no care, no safety from the elements. It is freezing at night, and deathly hot during the day.
Everyone is sick. My friend said she saw a baby on this trip that was so sick "I thought it would be dead by morning."
6/
Toddlers in the "Dog Pound" who had been eating solid food are given only infant formula. Moms are trying to start breast feeding again so their children don't starve.
These moms are dehydrated, sick, & have walked miles through desert with no water. CBP gives them nothing.
7/
It gets worse. Don't look away.
From the "Dog Pound," these human beings are moved to an area called "The Freezer."
The Freezer is kept at 55 degrees.
Some of the refugees who are moved there are still wet from their journey, and are put in The Freezer wet.
8/
CBP is keeping human beings in "The Freezer" for weeks at a time. WEEKS.
Including critically ill people, disabled people, sick children, teenage mothers with babies.
The floor of The Freezer is made of dirt or very rough concrete. There are no beds.
Keep reading.
9/
From "The Freezer," refugees are supposed to be moved to ICE facilities that are designed for residential care. They have beds, food, bathrooms.
However, (keep reading) THOSE FACILITIES ARE EMPTY.
ICE IS SHUTTING THEM DOWN.
Don't look away.
10/
What our government is doing instead is moving refugees to MILITARY INSTALLATIONS.
The announcement about Fort Sill, which was used as a Japanese internment camp, is only the start.
So why would our government be doing this?
11/
Here's why
These concentration camps (let's call them what they are) will be under the control of the Department of Homeland Security, but within the Department of Defense.
12/.
Unlike ICE facilities, which allow site inspectors inside, there will be no inspection of military-run camps.
The military will be able to deny access to anyone it chooses. No media. No oversight.
13/
Lawyers will not be allowed in. Human rights monitors will not be allowed in.
The camps will also be protected airspace, meaning that no drones can fly over them to take pictures of what's going on inside.
14/
The Trump administration will be able to conduct itself in whatever way it wants to without anyone knowing what's going on inside.
Think about what that means. Think about why they would want that.
This is happening RIGHT NOW.
15/
ICE facilities with beds and food are EMPTY, because the Trump administration is moving refugees into military-run concentration camps where they can do ANYTHING THEY CHOOSE without oversight, media scrutiny or advocate access.
16/
This administration is already committing atrocities at CBP facilities.
Border Patrol agents at the facility where my friend was working refer to these human beings as "bodies." Not people. "Bodies."
They are denying medicine, toilets, beds, food, shelter and clothes.
17/
My friend said that "Flores is on very tenuous ground."
We're days away from being met with "we're not going to let you in, no matter what."
18/
What is coming is crimes against humanity.
America is already perpetrating mass human rights violations, and this administration is setting it up so they can do far worse, in secret, under military supervision.
19/
Military forces are already been shifted to CBP. My friend saw *coast guard agents* (read that again) working for CBP at this facility.
If we do nothing, there will be blood on our hands.
20/
If Pelosi does nothing, there will be blood on her hands and the hands of every Democrat who refuses to act to end this administration's reign.
Fascism is here.
21/
If this enrages you, devastates you, frightens you, share this thread.
Then call your member of Congress and read it to them.
Then call @SpeakerPelosi and ask her why she sits silently by as our government does this.
22/
We're on a fast train to hell.
There's only one way to stop it.
Trump must be removed from power immediately, by any legal means, using every weapon in our arsenal.
Our puppy Beau. (Pic added of both Beau and Bella.)
I posted about getting a new puppy we named Beau back in late April. We got him from a rescue organization and we were his 4th owner in just 9 months. He is a total character, but also an absolute sweetie. When he is not in the process of destroying everything in the house, he loves to cuddle. He spends more time in our bed at night than any of the other dogs. We think we finally have him housebroken. We are having to make some adjustments.
I spend a lot of time on my computer. It is a desktop that lives behind my recliner. The monitor, keyboard and mouse are on a lap desk. I put the lap desk on the floor when I have to get up. For reasons we have never determined, Beau loves to chew on my cordless mouse. I'm still trying to remember that, even if I'm only going to the kitchen to get a glass of water, I need to put the mouse in a drawer if Beau will grab it and start chewing on it.
Last night we were watching a documentary about two guys in South Carolina who were running a rescue operation out of their home. Every time a dog barked on TV Beau went nuts! At one point he had his front paws up on the TV stand barking at a dog on TV. He was absolutely certain that the dog on TV was in our living room trying to usurp Beau and chief dog (which, of course, he is not).
He is a bundle of energy. Thankfully, our Bella, who is about a year older than he is, is more than willing to wrestle, tussle, play tug-of-war, and generally help him burn off that puppy energy.
But for all his quirks we love him to bits.
(Beau is the Tri and Bella is the Ruby. Pic is a moment of repose.)
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/862298659885598331/visual-search/?x=14&y=10&w=451&h=338
Just want to give a shout-out to Hulu.
Background. Both the Mrs. and I are on Social Security which means we 'get paid' once a month. It also means that by a few days before 'payday' the old bank account is getting pretty low. We have to be careful, since there are a few bills that come due during the few days before payday. Hulu is one of them. We don't have any frills or premium services with Hulu, although we do pay an extra $5.00 to get rid of the ads.
So, our Hulu bill is around $12.00/month and comes in a dew days before payday. Imagine my shock when I checked my checking account and found that my Hulu bill was $123.00! Seems my account had been hacked and someone had added just about every premium service available as well as adding a Spanish translation of all the services. Yikes.
I immediately contacted Hulu. He took one look at my bill, agreed that it had been hacked, immediately cancelled my entire account, send me a change password email, set me back up with a 'new' account, had me add a 'new' password to it, and somehow connected the 'new' account to my 'old' profile. AND, here's the real kicker, had the $123.00 back in my checking account within 24 hours.
You can't ask for much better Customer Service than that! (Although I did have to pay the normal $12.00 bill for the month, LOL.)
Trump gives attorney general Barr sweeping power to declassify intelligence in Russia probe review
Source: ABC News
President Donald Trump has given Attorney General William Barr sweeping powers over the intelligence community in his review of their role in how the probe began into Russian interference in the 2016 election and surveillance on the Trump campaign.
In an extraordinary move, the president issued a memo Thursday night giving Barr broad authority to declassify information related to the investigation and directed the intelligence community to fully cooperate with Barr's review so that "all Americans learn the truth," according to a statement from White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.
"The Attorney General has also been delegated full and complete authority to declassify information pertaining to this investigation, in accordance with the long-established standards for handling classified information," according to the statement.
"Today’s action will help ensure that all Americans learn the truth about the events that occurred, and the actions that were taken, during the last Presidential election and will restore confidence in our public institutions," she said.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-directs-intelligence-community-cooperate-attorney-general-investigation/story?id=63244302
Well, that's the end of the 5-eyes intelligence community. It's now the 4-eyes and we're not one of them. We are now one of the countries the 4-eyes are watching.
I've just got to brag on my grand-daughter.
My granddaughter is finishing up her Sophomore year in High School. She's a fantastic young lady. Her HS had a program where 8th graders could come and work out with the HS marching band. She not only came out, she was in the marching band when she started 9th grade. At the end of 9th grade they invented a new award just for her because of her hard work in band and her willingness to help any other band member that needed it.
This year, early in the season she dislocated her kneecap and ended up having surgery on both knees. As soon as she was able to go back to school she went to every band practice so she could keep up with the music and she will be marching next year.
Oh, and did I mention that she is in several AP classes and is on the Honor Roll? So, we were chatting today and she was talking about her AP English class and how hard it was. For their final project they have to do a debate. Each student had to pick a topic, write a paper on their view and then debate someone in the class who had taken a different position on the topic.
She picked the topic of abortion and is defending the right of women to make their own choices over their own bodies! Bearing in mind that she has grown up in KY, she makes me so proud I'm about to burst!
I'm really depressed this afternoon.
We went to vote today in the KY primary. (For some reason KY does its state office primaries in the off year). In the past we have voted in a meeting room of our City Hall. For reasons unknown to us, our polling place was moved a few blocks away to a High School Gym along with several other precincts. No biggie.
We got there sometime after 3:00. We walked into the gym where the poll workers appeared to greatly outnumber the voters. After we voted, I got to chatting with one of the poll workers. Our precinct has 11,000 registered voters. By the time we voted we were #52 and #53 to have voted. The polls close at 6:00.
Seems like Democracy is dead.
On edit,
Update: Looks like every candidate we voted for won! So maybe #52 and #53 helped after all!
Righteous Rant found on Facebook over the anti-Abortion nonsense going on.
Shoshana Edwards ( feel free to share)
May 15 at 5:58 PM
You have no idea how furious I am today. How steaming, blazing furious I am. I am 76 years old. That means I was 19 when birth control became available. 19. Prior to that incredibly liberating discovery being made available, women lived in fear of pregnancy. Their lives were circumscribed by the fear of pregnancy. Not every pregnancy is planned for or wanted. And women were not supposed to enjoy sex. Those who did were harlots. Married couples almost never admitted to both enjoying sex. So the pill was liberation. Because men balked at the loss of 10% of their pleasure caused by condoms; because condoms sometimes broke; because rape happened, a lot, and still does. And abortion was illegal and dangerous.
And then because women like myself put our freedom and our lives on the line, advocating for legalized and safe abortion, because we stood our ground while getting drenched in blood, spit on, beaten, kicked, and raped -- finally Roe v Wade hit the Supreme Court and we won. But we only won the battle; the war raged on.
And today, today, we can look at Alabama, and Georgia, and Texas where for gawd's sake they want to make a woman carry a dead fetus to term!, and realize that the war is turning against us. Turning because the Republican Party is flexing its muscles like never before. Because men, mostly White men, who want to control women and women's bodies, who want their playthings when they want them, who learned this at their fathers' knees and in church where a distorted and evil version of Xtianity was handed out every Sunday. Because these men, and the women who are cowed by them, have retained power.
It is in part because women of color, as well as men, have been systematically denied the right to vote via every trick in the book. And it is in very large part because a whole huge bunch of people decided not to vote: they decided not to vote locally, not to vote statewide, not to vote nationally. And so we have men of privilege in power, and all of mine and my sisters' sacrifices -- the beatings, the dousing in pig blood, the rapes, the jail time -- all seem for nought.
So yeah, I'm furious today.
Starting today (5/17) I will be posting daily suggestions of how to fight these people effectively. Please check those out and feel free to share also.
Second edit of the day: While I have no problem with someone calling someone's ideas fucking stupid, I will not tolerate calling that person fucking stupid. We need to change hearts and minds, not humiliate and belittle people.
Found on Facebook. Abortion. How to help.
This was posted with 'permission to share far and wide'. Note the Twitter hashtags:
Hey ladies who are feeling trapped in an impossible situation in Texas/Alabama/ Missouri/Ohio/Georgia/whatever new state has decided you shouldn't have autonomy over your own body,
if you need to visit your Auntie/Cousin/Sister/BFF, you just DM me.
No judgement.
No questions.
I'll be here, pick you up from the airport/train/bus, hold your hand, help with "reservations", take you where you need to go, give you a peaceful place to escape.
We'll take some selfies at the monuments, go to the zoo, chill out by a campfire, check some cool art. You know, for your social media for those new state border checks just to prove you're all good.
And you will be all good.
Let's face it. It's been too long since we've seen each other. 😉
#GeorgiaGOPcansuckit
#TexasandOhiocansuckittoo
#AlabamaBlows
#FamilyTrip
#undergroundrailroad2019
Feel free to share far and wide.
Note: If you can do this, please add a way to contact. I would if I could, but my health won't allow it.
A daughter's gift to her mother saves two lives
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-daughters-gift-to-her-mother-saves-two-lives/2019/05/11/59dead7c-7277-11e9-9eb4-0828f5389013_story.html?wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1A daughter’s gift to her mother saves two lives
Just 42 years old, Erosalyn Deveza was drifting toward death. Her kidneys were barely functioning. She was constantly exhausted. She had vertigo and vomited frequently. She was tethered to a home dialysis machine for eight hours each night as she slept.
A kidney transplant was the only thing that could save her, but it was unlikely to happen in time. There is a severe shortage of kidneys from deceased donors in the United States. No one on Deveza’s side of the family could provide an organ through a living donation, doctors said, because all were at risk for the same kidney disease. It was too dangerous to leave any of them with a single kidney. Other family and friends were not a match.
This is a story of a daughter’s answer to her mother’s illness, an idea so obvious yet so inventive that it had never happened before, and hasn’t since.
It took four women, two computer scientists, teams of doctors and support staff, luck and uncommon selflessness to pull it off. Though it occurred nearly two years ago, few knew about the case until it was published in a medical journal last month.
This is a long article and all I can post is the opening. If you have a subscription to WaPo, you of course can read the whole article. If you are an Amazon Prime subscriber you can also get to WaPo via Amazon. (Also check your local library and see if they have a subscription.)
I'll try and summarize the story. The daughter was doing everything she could to help her mother and, at the same time, trying to find a way to get her mother a kidney transplant. One of the new techniques is 'chained transplants' where Patient A needs a transplant, unfortunately even though there are several family members willing to donate to A, none of them are compatible. Patient B is in the same boat. Needs a transplant, willing donors, none compatible. But, a couple of the willing donors for B are actually compatible with A, and some of the willing donors for A are compatible with B. So an agreement is struck and an A donor gives a kidney or a lobe of the liver to B and a B donor gives their transplant to A.
This actually goes on. I think the longest 'chain' was something like 113 'chained transplants'.
OK, back to the story. Daughter is scouring the internet and stumbles over a researcher who is doing work in the field. Daughter gets in touch with researcher and says 'Hey, what if I give a lobe of my liver to someone who needs it and they have a doner who is willing to give a kidney to my mother? Why does it have to be liver for liver or kidney for kidney?' The researcher is stunned at the simplicity of the concept that no one has ever thought of before.
After some more research, checking with the Medical Ethics panel and the like, the idea gets approved, mama gets her new kidney and daughter donates a lobe of her liver and two lives are saved.
Talk about thinking outside the box.
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