I am not unaware of the negatives of Biden's presidency, and I am not trying to elide or forgive them. I'm reblogging posts about the Biden administration because I think it's really important that potential voters in the US realize that there is, in fact, a very big difference between the two parties, and voting for Biden is not just damage control--it actually does good. It's okay, you can actually feel a little excited about making meaningful progress, and not just hold your nose.

He's been very unflashy. He's not a great leader, he's not charismatic and he knows it, but he's an adroit politician and administrator, and he's been getting things done. Letting Trump win at this point would be tantamount to throwing the entire country on the bonfire. It's not a choice between bad and bad, it's a choice between meaningful, if imperfect, progress and fucking doom.

I keep doing it because I don't hear any buzz about the real progress that's happening, and that's frusterating.

I keep doing it because fear isn't actually all that effective to get people to do something. But I just want to be screaming "What the actual f*ck!" when folks act like the dude who sent unmarked vans to scoop up Black Lives Matter protesters and stans Andrew *Trail of Tears* Jackson is the equivalent of the dude lowering the price of prescriptions drugs and standing on the picket line with auto workers. Mainly by giving Biden somewhat more power than he actually has.

I keep doing it because I regularly volunteer with a marginalized group who are very aware of what's at stake.

Some things Biden and Congress have done:

I'm reblogging stuff about Biden when I can because I actually care about engaged democracy. And Biden is great at democracy, but really bad at engagement. (in many ways, he got elected exactly because of that, because The Other Guy is extremely engaging, but cares not a whit about either democracy or integrity). Biden cares about democracy, and he is engaged, even though lacking the ability to engage people. Which is so fucking frustrating, because now is a great time to make sure that every elected official understands that the American public actually wants democracy. Like, the GOP has become a death-cult. Giving the Democrats an actually significant win this year, while making it clear that election reform is something that should be considered top of the agenda? Ending the Electoral College and Gerrymandering, at the very least? Maybe adding some Ranked Choice Voting? Maybe restoring voting rights for felons? The GOP knows that they can't win elections without the current system in place, because they've rigged the system very very carefully. If enough Americans get out and empower the Democrats this year, the political map of this country could change forever. Because the Republicans can't win elections unless they cheat. They've said it themselves that significant voter reform would make them incapable of winning elections. The schism would finally sunder them. And probably that would in turn sunder the Democrats. And instead of the current state of affairs, where we have Violent White Nationalism vs Politics As Usual, we might actually arrive at a state of affairs where we are balancing between Radical Progress vs Politics As Usual, instead. If we get lucky enough, we might even get more than two options. That is to say, a moderate amount of voting reform would probably change the bipartisan system into a Centrist Career Politicians Party (the great reunion tour of the motherfucking Democratic Republicans) vs an Actually Progressive Politicians Party (who might finally even decide it's finally safe to gather under the Democratic Socialists flag 🍞🌹✊). And the tug-of-war would change into the speed with which we could implement progressive policies. Or, if there's actually engagement enough to call for real voter reform, for a new amendment to the Constitution (or perhaps a full rewriting of the Constitution, like most actually functional democracies do once or twice a century?)... the political scene could change in real ways. Like. I'm reblogging about Biden because he's showing that he wants to engage with the issues. If the voters make it clear that the top issue is election reform, and then follow through and empowers Biden's party to do something about it? The likelihood is that he would actually do it. (But this is only possible if, you know, the Democrats get all the majorities they need to push things through, which requires actual wide-spread ENGAGEMENT.

hey boss i can't come in today it's a sunny day and there's a lovely breeze coming in through my window, yeah it's rustling the branches of the tree outside that's finally bloomed so it's pretty serious

Translator? No. Trans now.

My new bread pans make the most... Symmetrical loaves & they scare me kinda

THE TAURUSES ARE BULLYING ME!!!!!

I’m terribly sorry and I’m sure I’m not the first to point it out but this is like the fifth time I’ve seen this on my dash and it’s driving me nuts bc the bread is clearly a 4x4, not a 2x4

One of the most dangerous things in the world is not being able to say no to people because you don't want to upset them or dissapoint them. This will completely ruin your life in every way possible, at work, in your private life, your sex life and your friendships. It's a way of removing your own consent in your own decisions and go against your wishes, it is always a crime against yourself. Let yourself have a say. Upsetting people is better than traumatizing yourself.

Also important for people to ALLOW people to say no. If you have a meltdown or become passive aggressive or pouty or whatever when someone tells you know, you're just training those people not to say no to you, which is usually how people end up with a fear of saying no in the first place. Don't do that to people.

credit

I'm sorry but I can't stop laughing at this.

(x)

I love how the tornado doesn't look malicious. She's just dancing along, doing her thing, and it's a pity you're so very ant-sized below.

tumblr will turn anything into a girl

of course, this is the turning into a girl website

I do believe the girl is turning already

science

u ever see someone with extremely fucked up views (or actions) and think wowww if a couple of things in my life went the tiniest bit differently that would have been me

I think most people would benefit from reflecting on how this might be true for them

Sometimes people bitch about media, both fiction and nonfiction, that they think "humanizes" bad people, especially bigots fascists Nazis et cetera. And I'm just like. Hey. Hey. The problem is. They ARE human. HUMANS did that. Your next door neighbor could do that. Your grandma could do that. You could do that.

"No I'm a good person" why? Because you've gotten lucky and not seen propaganda yet that perfectly hit your buttons? Because you had people to correct you when you fucked up? Idk man I don't think we're all so different from the bad people. We're all just people.

Reminding ourselves of our shared humanity with terrible people does NOT serve to justify their actions. It serves to remind us that the seeds of what happened to them could get into us as well, or might already have. It reminds us to be vigilant and interrogate the hatred inside us.

If you convince yourself that you're just an Inherently Good Person who would never believe hateful things well. Now any little hateful thing that makes its way inside you undetected is never going to be interrogated. It will be left to grow undisturbed.

If you remember that those things can get into anyone, you know to look out for them, and weed them out when they appear, and take the criticism when others point them out in you. So remember, that could have been you. If you forget, maybe it will be.

Glitradora in the Anne Hathaway twelfth night kiss meme pose for a kofi request!😳