Tootfinder

"Trump used Juneteenth to denounce ‘nonworking holidays.’ Some political observers say it wasn’t a coincidence"
Man, these political observers are really sharp. Nothing, I mean *nothing*, gets past them. 🙄
#uspol #Juneteenth #sarcasm

Not good.
#USpol

Demokratischer US-Gouverneur Newsom: »Null Zweifel«, dass Trump keine freie Wahl mehr zulässt
Der Demokrat Gavin Newsom gilt in den USA als eine Art Oppositionsführer. Er sagt: Es sei »schockierend«, dass nicht mehr Leute gegen Trump aufstünden. »Das ist ein höllischer Moment für unser Land.« #Spiegel #USA

Demokratischer US-Gouverneur Newsom: »Null Zweifel«, dass Trump keine freie Wahl mehr zulässt
Der Demokrat Gavin Newsom gilt in den USA als eine Art Oppositionsführer. Er sagt: Es sei »schockierend«, dass nicht mehr Leute gegen Trump aufstünden. »Das ist ein höllischer Moment für unser Land.«

"Smoke From Wildfires Caused by Climate Change Will Fuel Many More Premature Deaths in the U.S., a New Study Warns"
#US #USA #America

Smoke From Wildfires Caused by Climate Change Will Fuel Many More Premature Deaths in the U.S., a New Study Warns - Inside Climate News
This would represent some of the country’s most costly consequences of a warming climate by mid-century, researchers say.

Vor der angeblichen Pleitespekulation wurde gemeldet, #Windrose Technology habe einen Großauftrag aus den #USA im Wert von 60 Millionen US-Dollar.
Mehrere hundert E-Lkw des Typs R700 sollen bis 2026 an die kalifornische Spedition

Windrose liefert Hunderte E-Lkw in die USA und startet in Südamerika - electrive.net
Der chinesische Hersteller Windrose Technology hat einen Auftrag über die Lieferung von Elektro-Lkw im Wert von 60 Millionen US-Dollar aus den USA erhalten.

Only to split it into smaller chunks, the reason: Pulling 8 #USB #cables one by one through one of those #LEGO

The Maga Fascist Trump administration is stuffed with criminals from top to bottom. And they are freeing the criminals from prosecution while attacking law abiding citizens and putting them in concentration camps.
#GiftArticle #USPolitics
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/us/politics/tom-homan-fbi-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.nk8.zrma.wrzBK7wHnHtJ&smid=url-share

Heute vor 60 Jahren: Am 24. Juli 1965 zündeten die #USA im Rahmen von Operation Whetstone die Atombombe "Trogon". Whetstone war eine Serie von #Kernwaffentests bei der 1964/65 insgesamt 46 Bomben größtenteils im Testgebiet in

US ethnic cleansing and what to do about it
Reposting link to source article instead of screenshot of tweet that had no alt text:
Data on arrests shows that ICE was heavily engaged in racial profiling in LA, because their arrest numbers fell by ~66% after that were ordered to stop making arrests based just in factors like skin color, with place, or language spoken.
#ICE #USPol

"Heat waves in US rivers increasing up to four times faster than air heat waves, analysis finds"
#US #USA #America #Heatwave

Heat waves in US rivers increasing up to four times faster than air heat waves, analysis finds
As the frequency and intensity of heat waves increase across the U.S., a similar but more striking phenomenon is occurring in American rivers.

#USA #US #Trump #PamBondi

Briefe belegen: #US-Regierung versprach #TikTok-Dienstleistern Straffreiheit
https://www.

The hypocrisy of the right is off the charts.
#uspol
(gift article)
https://www.nytimes.co…

Only in Trump's America: Trump's US Atty. nominee was rejected. So, DOJ made the same man a Special Atty to the US Atty. Because the US Atty position is vacant, that same rejected man is now the acting US Atty. 🤷🏼‍♂️
#uspol #shenanigans #NYT

Heute vor 60 Jahren: Am 23. Juli 1965 zündeten die #USA im Rahmen von Operation Whetstone die Atombombe "Links". Whetstone war eine Serie von #Kernwaffentests bei der 1964/65 insgesamt 46 Bomben größtenteils im Testgebiet in

I think I need to clarify some shit for (white) liberals.
How many times have you wondered if someone you're talking to in an informant sent to entrap you? How many times have you or a friend of yours been hit by a car, intentionally? How many friends have been hit, or almost hit? Ever been stabbed? Know anyone who has? Has the FBI ever knocked on a friend's door? Have police ever kicked down your door? Have you ever been arrested? Pepper sprayed? Does the sound or smell or blast balls give you flashbacks? Do you ever wonder what all the CS exposure is doing to your body? How many times have you been shot or shot at? Do you wonder every day if this is the day they'll come to kill you? Would anyone in your social circle answer these questions differently?
When you vote, you risk nothing (big asterisk, but if I'm talking to you then it doesn't apply to you). What you get out of voting is exactly what you put into it. Direct action is the same.
If you aren't worried about someone murdering you, then you probably aren't actually threatening the system. That's the difference between voting, and doing something useful. If they had to murder all the liberals in order to keep going, fascism would end. If they're only murdering radicals and marginalized people, then you're just like all the "good Germans" who hated Hitler but did essentially nothing.
It's already that bad for some people. How much are you willing to risk? How many people are you willing to sacrifice for your comfort? These are the questions we're all thinking about every time you tell us to vote.
(I'm tagging this #USPol so it's easy for folks to filter out if they're already well acquaintaned with the horror. I'm not CW, because USPol is just expected to be triggering.)

"Step back and take it in: the US is entering full authoritarian mode"
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/29/us-authoritarian-donald-trump-national-guard

The harsh reality is that the Rule of Law is dead in the USA.
#usa

The Rule of Law Is Dead in the US
The rule of law presupposes that there are rules that provide a consistent, repeatable, and knowable set of outcomes. That’s no longer the case.

Everybody in a blue state needs to watch this
#USpol #BlueWall #trifecta

Anchor Light Publications (@anchorlightpublications)
This smart informed citizen dispenses more structure and planning in 4 minutes than the Democratic Party has since Trump was elected! Lead Gentlemen. Time is of the essence! Help us help you! @GavinNewsom @PeteButtigieg @JoshShapiroPA @DNC

Endlich eine sinnvolle Verwendung: US Air Force bestellt Cybertrucks zur Zieldarstellung #tesla #cybertruck #USAirForce

Raketentests: US Air Force bestellt Cybertrucks zur Zieldarstellung - Golem.de
Die US-Luftwaffe will zwei Tesla-Cybertrucks kaufen, um sie bei Raketentests in der Wüste zu zerstören.

"Smashing 6 Million Sea Urchins with Hammers Saved a California Kelp Paradise Thanks to Volunteer Divers"
#US #USA #America #California

Smashing 6 Million Sea Urchins with Hammers Saved a California Kelp Paradise Thanks to Volunteer Divers
Armed with hammers, they smash the zombie urchins one by one, leaving the larger, healthier urchins intact.

Too many incidents to be isolated at this point.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/mohammed-nizamuddin-india-techie-shot-dead-us-10258879/?ref=hometop_hp

More on CBP treatment of Canadians at the US border, this time with CBP’s own statistics, which are interesting: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/us-canada-device-searches-1.7619944?cmp=rss

Surge in U.S. customs searches of electronic devices raises concerns about harsh treatment of Canadians | CBC News
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reports a sharp rise in electronic device searches at crossings, raising concerns about privacy, discrimination and harsher scrutiny of Canadians. "There's a lot of fear going into the United States," a Toronto-based immigration lawyer says.

#Mexico sends another planeload of dangerous drug suspects northbound to #US authorities for #prosecution in a so-called "sovereign decision", while President Sheinbaum rids her country of

Heute vor 44 Jahren: Am 24. September 1981 testen die #USA die #Atombombe "Cernada". Die Operation #Guardian war eine Serie von 14 US-amerikanischen

Democracy in the US is going to the dogs right now, and yet there are still people who fly there for a vacation or a conference with a clear conscience. It's unbelievable.
#USA

📉 Fears that falling birth rates in the US could lead to population collapse are based on faulty assumptions
https://phys.org/news/2025-07-falling-birth-population-collapse-based.html

Fears that falling birth rates in the US could lead to population collapse are based on faulty assumptions
Pronatalism—the belief that low birth rates are a problem that must be reversed—is having a moment in the U.S.

Klingt ja hart nach Mafia: #Trump #USA

Richard #Grenell (#USA, former ambassador to Germany) is a conceited macho, not particularly intelligent, but obsessed with power. These fifth-rate types, who suddenly see their political opportunities, prove to be particularly perfidious.
Grenell should be declared persona non grata by the EU.
People l…

Elmar Theveßen: Früherer US-Botschafter fordert Visaentzug für ZDF-Journalist Theveßen
Richard Grenell, früherer US-Botschafter in Deutschland, verlangt, dass ZDF-Studioleiter Elmar Theveßen sein Visum für die USA verliert. Theveßen sei ein "Aufwiegler".

People keep trying to point to an event where the "right/left" political violence thing got out of hand. You cannot point to anywhere in US history where the right hasn't been murdering leftists. It has never happened.
They've been talking about civil war since they lost the last one, and most of US politics before that was just trying to prevent the first one.
There isn't a wave of right/left violence. Right wing violence has just gone unchecked for so long, and been so accepted, that now they're killing each other regularly. The Trump assassination attempts were all from the right. #CharlieKirk was killed by another fascist for not being fascist enough.
Fascists have so completely taken over that they see each other as legitimate targets because they've run out of "leftists" worth murdering. That's the story. That's what people can't wrap their heads around.
Everyone is worried about the right wing response, worries about right wing escalation, but they called for civil war over the cracker barrel logo. They're already maxing out their base. All the proud boys and other Nazis are already hired by ICE. They're also already going as hard as they can. They don't need any excuses. They have total control of everything. This bumbling mess is *the best they can do.* They call for civil war every few days.
We're not seeing a war between the left and the right. We're seeing a war between the right and the far right, where both side opportunistically punch left when they can and liberals help them justify their actions.
#USPol

"The president set a deadline for Russia, threatening trade consequences if no peace deal w Ukraine n 50 days."
So, 24 hrs == 50 days after the first 6 months?🤔
And, anyone offends him: Tariff NOW; but Russia gets mention of a slap on the wrist.
#uspol #Russia #Ukraine

#UsPol #SaveThePlanet
"US Environmental Protection Agency suspends 139 staffers over letter criticizing Trump policies"

US Environmental Protection Agency suspends 139 staffers over letter criticizing Trump policies
The letter, signed by more than 200 people, accused Administrator Lee Zeldin of pushing policies that endanger public health and the environment.

If I'd be a #conspiracy theorist, I'd conclude, that the #murder of #CharlieKirk was staged by the

"Trump admin orders dirty, expensive coal plant to stay open even longer"
#US #USA #America #FossilFuels …

Trump admin orders dirty, expensive coal plant to stay open even longer
Keeping J.H. Campbell open past its slated close is costing Midwest households big. Advocates fear that more such orders are on the way.

Unbelievable...."Man 'refused entry into US' as border control catch him with bald JD Vance meme"
https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/world-news/man-refused-entry-us-border-31925059

Man 'refused entry into US' as border control catch him with bald JD Vance meme
A 21-year-old tourist has described the horrendous treatment he allegedly received after being denied entry to the USA due to a meme depicting JD Vance as bald being found on his phone

Nice overview of the role of #Nurse Scientists employed in #US #hospitals...

The #US got #democracy wrong. It's not one vote per dollar, it's one vote per person.
http://talkwards.c…

129 Pressekonferenzen in den ersten 100 Tagen – Trump inszeniert Politik als Reality-TV-Show. Mit systematischer Wissenslöschung, eigener Propagandaplattform und "Flooding the zone with shit" durch seine absurden Statements greift er die Demokratie an. #Trump #USA

Great Television statt Demokratie: Wie Trump die US-Politik TV-isisiert
129 Pressekonferenzen in den ersten 100 Tagen – Trump inszeniert Politik als Reality-TV-Show. Mit systematischer Wissenslöschung, eigener Propagandaplattform und Zone-Flooding durch seine absurden …

"A society under “number go up” tends towards evil. The men and women behind an excessively high rate of return often make deeply sinful and immoral choices, little different than the Confederate plantation owners did in whipping slaves or lords in castles did when abusing serfs. That they do it with spreadsheets doesn’t make it better. (We even use old terminology: I know of several people in a large health insurance conglomerate who set policies to deny care whose nickname is “the three witches.”)
And that’s why Jeff Epstein’s story is so compelling, it expresses this evil in a way that we all understand. On Sunday, I wrote about the oddness of the story, how an elite sex trafficker convicted of procuring children as prostitutes was friends or associates with everyone from Trump to Bill Clinton to Larry Summers to Bill Gates. Epstein represents how elites live in one moral universe where evil bacchanalia is rampant, while the rest of us live in a different more normal one. Every society has elites, and there are always weird things that elites do. But America, and the West, have reached a point where there is increasingly deep resentment and cynicism about this divide."
#USPolitcs #EconomicInequality
https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-number-go-up-rule-why-america

Record-breaking heat wave scorches Southeast US #UnitedStates

Record-breaking heat wave scorches Southeast US
Residents in the Southeast U.S. are no strangers to heat in the summertime But this week's sweltering hot weather set at least one record and has forecasters urging residents to limit time outside on Tuesday if possible—and stay hydrated.

Fallujah, Iraq is ~15sq mi (~25sq km) & had ~4,000 fighters US military and allies faced in 2nd Battle of Fallujah, one of fiercest fought by US this century.
Caracas Venezuela is ~300sq mi (~433sq km) & Venezuela has ~4.5 million militia now activated.
potus & kegseth must be stopped.
#USpol

"Solar and batteries break records, stabilize Texas grid through scorching summer"
#US #USA #America #Texas

Solar and batteries had a record-setting, grid-stabilizing summer in Texas
Solar has set 17 power generation records in Texas so far this year, shoring up the grid alongside batteries as some gas plant developers step back.

Die #Energieinfrastruktur in den #USA droht zum Bremsklotz für das Wachstum der #KI-Industrie zu werden.
Während in

AI experts return from China stunned: The U.S. grid is so weak, the race may already be over
China is “set up to hit grand slams,” longtime Chinese energy expert David Fishman told Fortune. “The U.S., at best, can get on base.”

Active shooter at Dallas ICE facility. 3 shot, shooter dead of self-inflicted shot.
#ICE #ActiveShooter #Trump #uspol

Live updates: Three people shot at Dallas ICE facility; suspect is dead
Follow live updates: three people shot at Dallas ICE facility, suspect dead

Depending how you want to analyze it, an even split or a majority in this small poll believe the US send its military against Venezuela directly.
😔
#usa #venezuela #war
https://mstdn.chrisalemany.ca/@chris/115155459830582839

How the US democracy is designed to avoid representation
Right now in the US, a system which proclaims to give each citizen representation, my interests are not represented very well by most of my so-called representatives at any level of government. This is true for a majority of Americans across the political spectrum, and it happens by design. The "founding fathers" were explicit about wanting a system of government that would appear Democratic but which would keep power in the hands of rich white landowners, and they successfully designed exactly that. But how does disenfranchisement work in this system?
First, a two-party system locked in by first-post-the-post winner-takes-all elections immediately destroys representation for everyone who didn't vote for the winner, including those who didn't vote or weren't eligible to vote. Single-day non-holiday elections and prisoner disenfranchisement go a long way towards ensuring working-class people get no say, but much larger is the winner-takes all system. In fact, even people who vote for the winning candidate don't get effective representation if they're really just voting against the opponent as the greater of two evils. In a 51/49 election with 50% turnout, you've immediately ensured that ~75% of eligible voters don't get represented, and with lesser-of-two-evils voting, you create an even wider gap to wedge corporate interests into. Politicians need money to saturate their lesser-of-two-evils message far more than they need to convince any individual voter to support their policies. It's even okay if they get caught lying, cheating, or worse (cough Epstein cough) as long as the other side is also doing those things and you can freeze out new parties.
Second, by design the Senate ensures uneven representation, allowing control of the least-populous half of states to control or at least shut down the legislative process. A rough count suggests 284.6 million live in the 25 most-populous states, while only 54.8 million live in the rest. Currently, counting states with divided representation as two half-states with half as much population, 157.8 million people are represented by 53 Republican sensors, while 180.5 million people get only 45 seats of Democratic representation. This isn't an anti-Democrat bias, it's a bias towards less-populous states, whose residents get more than their share it political power.
I haven't even talked about gerrymandering yet, or family/faith-based "party loyalty," etc. Overall, the effect is that the number of people whose elected representatives meaningfully represent their interests on any given issue is vanishingly small (like, 10% of people tops), unless you happen to be rich enough to purchase lobbying power or direct access.
If we look at polls, we can see how lack of representation lets congress & the president enact many policies that go against what a majority of the population wants. Things like abortion restrictions, the current ICE raids, and Medicare cuts are deeply unpopular, but they benefit the political class and those who can buy access. These are possible because the system ensures at every step of the way that ordinary people do NOT get the one thing the system promises them: representation in the halls of power.
Okay, but is this a feature of all democracies, inherent in the nature of a majority-decides system? Not exactly...
1/2
#uspol #democracy

Heute vor 54 Jahren: Am 22. September 1971 zündeten die #USA im Rahmen der Operation Grommet simultan 4 Atombomben ("Frijoles-Deming/Espuela/Guaje/Petaca"). Insgesamt wurden 1971/72 39 Bomben größtenteils unterirdisch in #Nevada getestet.

Describing the email:
“It doesn’t sound like normal government communications, official communications. It sounds like – you know – partisan.”
“It’s disturbing to see Trump hijack a public institution to push blatant misinformation.”
#Sad (a word I heard someone use at various times) - that they have so little honesty and integrity. I

#CNN: "FDA’s new AI tool is ‘hallucinating’ and citing nonexistent studies"
Wow. I did not see that coming. 🙄
#AI #LLM #FDA #usa #sarcasm

Heute vor 61 Jahren: Am 22. August 1964 zündeten die #USA im Rahmen von Operation Whetstone die Atombombe "Canvasback". Whetstone war eine Serie von #Kernwaffentests bei der 1964/65 insgesamt 46 Bomben größtenteils im Testgebiet in

Liberals: You have a choice. When Trump comes for you, you can buckle and comply or you can radicalize and fight harder. Decide now what you're going to do, because a lot of us will die if you decide to save yourself.
We will win in the end, with or without you. But, if you survive, you will always know which choice you made and you will have to live with it.
#USPol

What if Mexico paid to install a wall of windmills on their border with the U.S., would potus explode from the inner conflict?
Green energy really could move us toward a better future.
#USpol

"CDC erupts in chaos after ousted chief Susan Monarez refuses to resign"
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/27/cdc-director-susan-monarez-ousted
This is the way: resistance!

#Fascism is real, the #US is living in it!

"US to screen for ‘anti-Americanism’ in immigration applications"
Feels like "Americanism" here is a fig leaf for something.
#USA #uspol #Americanism #nationalism #figLeaf #excuses

Nearly half the US population face scorching heat wave #UnitedStates

Nearly half the US population face scorching heat wave
Tens of millions of Americans sweltered outside or sought air-conditioned refuge as an "extremely dangerous" heat wave blanketed the eastern United States on Tuesday with record high temperatures.

Land of the Free, home of the brave:
«In der Annahme, es könnten nordkoreanische Sicherheitskräfte sein, eröffneten die US-Elitesoldaten mit ihren schallgedämpften Spezialwaffen das Feuer und töteten mehrere Zivilisten.»
Das war 2019 unter #Trump!
Können wir bitte den #USA nicht mehr in den Ar…

Wie eine streng geheime Mission des SEAL Team 6 in Nordkorea missglückte
Die vom damaligen US-Präsidenten Donald Trump genehmigte Operation zielte gemäss den Enthüllungen der «New York Times» darauf ab, ein Gerät zu platzieren, um Kim Jong Un auszuspionieren.

As Trump's tariffs cut off the US from imports and as he deports the core of the US labor force, I think about the fact that tariffs and other import taxes were a major part of the lead up to the Revolutionary War. It's no coincidence that a bunch of the Founding Fathers were smugglers.
The logistics of the resistance and the logistics of the population were intertwined, meaning that it was not always possible to attack resistance logistics without alienating the population.
All this is worth keeping in mind right now.
#USPol

The US cutting the delivery of essential weapons to Ukraine confirms that the US is no longer a reliable NATO-ally, shortly after the NATO-summit where continuing support of Ukraine was agreed upon. The Baltics states are rightly worried, no way Trump will risk war for defending them.
#usa #nato

"Hundreds of scientists rebuke US push to overturn climate ruling"
#US #USA #America #Climate

Hundreds of scientists rebuke US push to overturn climate ruling
More than 1,000 US scientists and experts on Tuesday denounced the White House's efforts to overturn a key finding that underpins government authority to regulate greenhouse gases.

The US Virgin Islands have their own territorial court system, and any crimes committed there may be territorial crimes, not federal crimes.
The prosecution of such crimes would not need US DOJ nor White House permission to proceed.
Epstein Island is in the US Virgin Islands.
#USpol

"By 2051, emissions from coal mining on federal lands could drop by 86%"
#US #USA #America #Emissions

By 2051, emissions from coal mining on federal lands could drop by 86%
Federal lands—which make up about 640 million acres, or 28%, of U.S. soil—are used for many purposes, including conservation, recreation, and extraction of resources such as coal. Greenhouse gas emissions are released throughout the life cycle of coal use, including during its mining, transport, and combustion.

AOC wrote on BlueSky, a good summary of the Trump budget bill adopted in Congress.
"I don’t think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing."
#usa

"San Francisco’s Trash Company Marks 35 Years of Stunning Art Made of Recycled Garbage With Free Gallery Opening"
#US #USA #America

San Francisco’s Trash Company Marks 35 Years of Stunning Art Made From Recycled Garbage By Local Artists at Free Gallery Opening
San Francisco’s dump is where Recology Artists-in-Residence scavenge through ‘trash’ to make artwork for traveling exhibit to mark 35 years.

Heute vor 56 Jahren: Am 20. September 1969 testen die #USA simultan die Atombomben "Kyack-1" u. "Kyack-2". Operation Mandrel war eine Serie von 53 US-amerikanischen #Kernwaffentests, die 1969/70 hauptsächlich auf der Nevada Test Site in Nevada unterirdisch durchgeführt wurde.…

Is that spray-tanned, wannabe dictator still sucking up oxygen? Damn it! Guess the world’s not that lucky yet.
#Fascism #USA #US

"UK and US line up string of deals to build modular nuclear reactors in Britain"
#UK #UnitedKingdom #US #USA…

The amount of self-harm in the US is amazing., geopolitical opponents are grabbing some extra popcorn. 🍿
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/11/state-department-layoffs-00449590

"PFAS ‘forever’ chemicals found in 98% of US waters tested"
#US #USA #America #PFAS

PFAS ‘forever’ chemicals found in 98% of US waters tested
A recent study from the U.S.-based environmental nonprofit Waterkeeper Alliance has found “forever chemicals” contamination in 98% of the waterways it tested in the United States. The findings come at a time when representatives from the world are gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, for the United Nations plastics treaty negotiations to hammer out a plan to […]

Epstein shit and adjacent, Rural America, Poverty, Abuse
Everyone who's not a pedophile thinks pedophiles are bad, but there's this special obsessed hatred you'll find among poor rural Americans. The whole QAnon/Epstein obsession may not really make sense to folks raised in cities. Like, why do these people think *so much* about pedophiles? Why do they think that everyone in power is a pedophile? Why would the Pizzagate thing make sense to anyone? What is this unhinged shit? A lot of folks (who aren't anarchists) might be inclined to ask "why can't these people just let the cops take care of it?"
I was watching Legal Eagle's run down on the Trump Epstein thing earlier today and I woke up thinking about something I don't know if I've ever talked about. Now that I'm not in the US, I'm not at any risk of talking about it. I don't know how much I would have been before, but that's not something I'm gonna dig into right now. So let me tell you a story that might explain a few things.
I'm like 16, maybe 17. I have my license, so this girl I was dating/not dating/just friends with/whatever would regularly convince me to drive her and her friends around. I think she's like 15 at the time. Her friends are younger than her.
She tells me that there's a party we can go to where they have beer. She was told to invite her friends, so I can come too. We're going to pick her friends up (we regularly fill the VW Golf well beyond the legal limit and drive places) and head to the party.
So I take these girls, at least is 13 years old, down to this party. I'm already a bit sketched out bringing a 13 year old to a party. We drive out for a while. It's in the country. We drive down a long dark road. Three are some barrel fires and a shack. This is all a bit strange, but not too abnormal for this area. We're a little ways outside of a place called Mill City (in Oregon).
We park and walk towards the shack. This dude who looks like a rat comes up and offers us beer. He laughs and talks to the girl who invited me, "What's he doing here? You're supposed to bring your girl friends." She's like, "He's our ride." I don't remember if he offered me a beer or not.
We go over to this shed and everyone starts smoking, except me because I didn't smoke until I turned 18. The other girls start talking about the rat face dude, who's wandered over by the fire with some other guys. They're mainly teasing one of the 13 year old girls about having sex with him a bunch of times. They say he's like, 32 or something. The other girls joke about him only having sex with 13 year olds because he's too ugly to have sex with anyone closer to his own age.
Somewhere along the line it comes out that he's a cop. I never forgot that, it's absolutely seared in to my memory. I can picture his face perfectly still, decades later, and them talking about how he's a deputy, he was in his 30's, and he was having sex with a 13 year old girl. I was the only boy there, but there were a few older men. This was a chunk of the good ol' boys club of the town. I think there were a couple of cops besides the one deputy, and a judge or the mayor or some kind of big local VIP.
I kept trying to get my friend to leave, but she wanted to stay. Turns out under age drinking with cops seems like a great deal if you're a kid because you know you won't get busted. I left alone, creeped the fuck out.
I was told later that I wasn't invited and that I couldn't talk about it, I've always been good at compartmentalization, so I never did.
Decades later it occurred to me what was actually happening. I'm pretty sure that cop was giving meth he'd seized as evidence to these kids. This wasn't some one-off thing. It was regular. Who knows how many decades it went on after I left, or how many decades it had been going on before I found out. I knew this type of thing had happened at least a few times before because that's how that 13 year old girl and that 32 year old cop had hooked up in the first place.
Hearing about Epstein's MO, targeting these teenage girls from fucked up backgrounds, it's right there for me. I wouldn't be surprised if they were involved in sex trafficking of minors or some shit like that... but who would you call if you found out? Half the sheriff's department was there and the other half would cover for them.
You live in the city and shit like that doesn't happen, or at least you don't think it happens. But rural poor folks have this intuition about power and abuse. It's right there and you know it.
Trump is such a familiar character for me, because he's exactly that small town mayor or sheriff. He'll will talk about being tough on crime and hunting down pedophiles, while hanging out at a party that exists so people can fuck 8th graders.
The problem with the whole thing is that rural folks will never break the cognitive dissonance between "kill the peods" and "back the blue." They'll never go kill those cops. No, the pedos must be somewhere else. It must be the elites. It must be outsiders. It can't be the cops and good ol' boys everyone respects. It can't be the mayor who rigs the election to win every time. It can't be the "good upstanding" sheriff. Nah, it's the Clintons.
To be fair, it's probably also the Clitnons, a bunch of other politicians, billionaires, etc. Epstein was exactly who everyone thought he was, and he didn't get away with it for so long without a whole lot of really powerful help.
There are still powerful people who got away with involvement with #Epstein. #Trump is one of them, but I don't really believe that he's the only one.
#USPol #ACAB

Zelensky: US-Russia summit was ‘successful’ for Putin.
Truer words were never spoken? 🤔
#Russia #Ukraine #Zelensky #Putin #USA

"UK-US nuclear deal: what does it mean and will it really lead to a 'golden age'"
#UK #UnitedKingdom #US #USA

Heute vor 51 Jahren: Am 18 Juli 1974 testen die #USA simultan die Atombomben "Crestlake-Briar" u. "Crestlake-Tansan". Die Operation Bedrock war eine Serie von 27 US-amerikanischen #Kernwaffentests, die 1974/75 auf der Nevada Test Site in Nevada unterirdisch durchgeführt wurde…

I am thinking about the discussion Trump will have with Qatar, "yes, sorry but you needed to be bombed and ofcourse we really want to keep the large US military base in your country..." 😂 , if Qatar just lets this go they will lose all credibility.
#qatar #usa

So #Trump shut down trade with the rest of the world, then deported or otherwise forced out almost all of the people who harvest things grown in the US, and I'm just wondering if anyone else is trying to figure out where the food is going to come from.
#USPol

"The Energy Sector Has Spent Hundreds of Millions of Dollars on Lobbying This Year. Watchdogs Say That’s Only Half The Story"
#US #USA #America

The Energy Sector Has Spent Hundreds of Millions of Dollars on Lobbying This Year. Watchdogs Say That’s Only Half The Story - Inside Climate News
Critics say the Trump administration’s willingness to greenlight any of the fossil fuel industry’s requests allows it to spend less on lobbying.

"Hollywood’s Environmental Tools Make Filmmaking Green and Affordable"
#US #USA #America #Hollywood

Hollywood's Environmental Tools Make Filmmaking Green and Affordable | Happy Eco News
Hollywood's environmental tools are revolutionizing film production through digital platforms that replace wasteful traditional methods. Cloud-based editing, digital script management, and integrated collaboration software reduce carbon emissions while cutting costs. These innovations make filmmaking more accessible globally while demonstrating how technology can improve both creative processes and environmental sustainability.

Since leaving the US, things have gotten a lot better for me but it's still hard existing under capitalism. Just being a human is hard enough, but parenting is an order or magnitude harder.
Even here, with all the complexity of being an immigrant, it's somehow still less emotionally challenging than being in the US.
I wrote up a reflection on some of my feelings before leaving tangled up with some of the challenges I still have. I hope this helps some folks feel less alone, or makes it easier for other folks to understand why some parents are having a hard time.
CW: just.... Lots... Death, gun violence, trauma, etc
#USPol

I have no sympathy whatsoever for the Hamas people killed in Qatar. However it illustrates Trump doesn't really care about negotiations with Hamas or Qatar as the country where they take place. Also he confirms international law is meaningless for him.This will further hurt the US position in world politics.
#usa

Heute vor 56 Jahren: Am 16. September 1969 testen die #USA die Atombombe "Jorum". Operation Mandrel war eine Serie von 53 US-amerikanischen #Kernwaffentests, die 1969/70 hauptsächlich auf der Nevada Test Site in Nevada unterirdisch durchgeführt wurde.

"Jump in US greenhouse gas pollution pushed global emissions higher – report"
#US #USA #America #FossilFuels

Heute vor 60 Jahren: Am 16. Juli 1965 zündeten die #USA im Rahmen von Operation Whetstone die Atombombe "Bye". Whetstone war eine Serie von #Kernwaffentests bei der 1964/65 insgesamt 46 Bomben größtenteils im Testgebiet in

"Trump Says America’s Oil Industry Is Cleaner Than Other Countries’. New Data Shows Massive Emissions From Texas Wells"
#US #USA #America

Texas Says It’s Strict on Oil Field Emissions. New Data Shows It’s Not.
The oil industry touts Texas as a success story in controlling climate-warming methane emissions. The state’s regulator, however, grants nearly every request to burn or vent gas into the atmosphere.

Heute vor 56 Jahren: Am 16. Juli 1969 testen die #USA die Atombombe "Ildrim". Operation Mandrel war eine Serie von 53 US-amerikanischen #Kernwaffentests, die 1969 und 1970 hauptsächlich auf der Nevada Test Site in Nevada unterirdisch durchgeführt wurde.

"Global EV sales surge in spite of US tariffs and subsidy withdrawals"
#US #USA #America #EV

"Texas study reveals heat waves can cause more polluted air"
#US #USA #America #Heatwave

Texas study reveals heat waves can cause more polluted air
Heat waves are becoming more common, severe and long-lasting. These prolonged periods of hot weather are especially dangerous in already hot places like Texas. In 2023, more than 300 people in Texas died from heat, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, the most since the state began tracking such deaths in 1989. Researchers found it may not only be temperatures that make heat waves unsafe but also the heat-related increase in airborne pollutants.

"Trump’s push to keep coal plants running could cost consumers billions"
#US #USA #America #FossilFuels

Trump’s push to keep coal plants running could cost consumers billions
The DOE’s emergency stay-open orders for aging fossil-fuel plants are forcing unexpected costs onto utility customers. Additional orders would deepen the…

"Trump unveils $70bn AI and energy plan at summit with oil and tech bigwigs"
#US #USA #America #Climate

"California's home batteries are replacing gas plants and saving hundreds of millions"
#US #USA #America #California

California’s home batteries are replacing gas plants and saving hundreds of millions
Brattle Group analyzed a gigawatt-hour virtual power plant test that may be the world’s largest as part of its review of California’s distributed peak-shaving program.

"Washington State Protects the Old-Growth Forests of Tomorrow, Creates 77,000 Acres of ‘Legacy Forests’"
#US #USA #America #Washington

Washington to Protect the Old-Growth Forests of Tomorrow, Creates 77,000 Acres of 'Legacy Forests'
The legacy forest announcement raises an interesting question for forest management and conservation to consider around the world over.

"How cutting US air pollution could save 6,000 lives a year by 2030"
#US #USA #America #AirPollution

"Fossil-fuel firms receive US subsidies worth $31bn each year, study finds"
#US #USA #America #FossilFuels

"Weedkiller ingredient widely used in US can damage organs and gut bacteria, research shows"
#US #USA #America #Health

"U.S. Spending Bill to Grant $40 Billion in Fossil Fuel Subsidies"
#US #USA #America #FossilFuels

U.S. Spending Bill to Grant $40 Billion in Fossil Fuel Subsidies

"Factcheck: Trump’s climate report includes more than 100 false or misleading claims"
#US #USA #America #Climate

Factcheck: Trump’s climate report includes more than 100 false or misleading claims