Dr. Flowers @AlliFlowers@talkedabout.social

Published in 2016, this brilliant comic by artist Joe Dator somehow feels even more timely in 2023. #art

Instead of working to lower costs for everyday Americans, extremist politicians are trying to make it easier for billionaires and big corporations to avoid paying the taxes they owe.

Exactly 83 years ago today the first Social Security checks went out.

Republicans are now threatening to collapse the entire economy unless they’re allowed to destroy Social Security.

INSANE: Ron #DeSantis wants #Florida residents to carry firearms without a permit. In Jan alone, there’s been 49 mass shootings and more than 3,400 gun deaths, including 138 dead children.

If Ron DeSantis gets what he wants, expect more dead Americans.

@RitchieTorres This has been the Republican plan in Florida for years. Then they expand it to the rest of the country.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-homicides-standyourground-idUSKCN1AU1QL

If one had to pick a team to back for the upcoming House Debt Limit Bowl, just think about it.

There's the Democrats, led by President Biden and Hakeem Jeffries; and then there's the other guys led by a small group of very angry men, the thinnest of majorities, a host of circus performers, and the weakest Speaker of the House to ever play the game.

My odds strongly favor the Democrats.⚡​

Unfortunately, the only potential Loser in this Ridiculous and Completely Unnecessary Fiasco is the American Public; who stand the most to lose from this Embarrassing Threat of Republican Bullying.

It's never been more clear who's playing for who. And it should be clear by now that the Republicans are not playing for You.⚡​

Tao Te Ching

Ch. 8

The supreme good is like water,
which nourishes all things without trying to.
It is content with the low places that people disdain.
Thus it is like the Tao.

In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don’t try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.

When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete,
everybody will respect you.

#TTC #TaoTeChing #Taoist #Dao #Tao #Chinese #Philosophy #Books

As you may have noticed, mastodon.social was broken for serveral hours, possibly a DDoS attack.

While this is an unusual situation, it might be a good idea to have a second account on another server for exactly this kind of situation, so that you aren't cut off from the network if one server is having problems.

The second account could be for different kind of content, for example.

(There is no mirroring feature in Mastodon.)

#Mastodon #Fediverse

At this point with the cost of eggs, this may not be a bad idea.

@tultican
Really scary stuff. We have a similar problem with "Patriotic Alternative" homeschooling in the #UK - not quite as openly #Nazi, although its leadership is definitely aligned. I looked at the Be Proud of YOUR People section, and it's vile. They bring #racist ideology into everything: poetry, engineering, even the countryside, with 2 out of 5 paras on the threat to "our native" red squirrel. And then there's the conclusion ... 🤬
patrioticalternative.org.uk
Alternative Curriculum

Dark Money And Education Parent Grass Roots Groups via @forbes - They are billionaire funded and fraudulently represent themselves as mom's fighting for the children. They have big money and right wing media access. https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2023/01/27/dark-money-and-education-parent-grass-roots-groups/ #Education #Politics

Want to help out with development of Toot!? I have been doing some large internal rewriting, and probably introduced some exciting new bugs in the process, so I thought it might be best to do a public beta for this version to shake them out a bit before release.

The link to join the beta is here: https://testflight.apple.com/join/x0MbQhMF

Only join if you are happy to deal with some bugs! Or, if you want a free trial of Toot! and don’t mind a potential bug or two.

JUST NOW: A mass shooting in Lakeland, #Florida has left 10 people injured.

Yet Ron #DeSantis wants people to freely carry firearms without a permit, which will cause even more guns to fall into the hands of even more mass shooters.

from Thursday
#GOPBetrayedAmerica
#Funny

Florida House dress code: No skirts more than an inch above the knee. Is this 2023?

https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/article271727237.html

#florida

Teachers Would Make $60K Minimum Under Bill in Congress Making Grants to States
The bill would authorize the federal government to create four-year grants for states to enact and enforce minimum school teacher salary requirements

By Adam Goldstein

https://www.the74million.org/article/teachers-would-get-60k-minimum-salary-under-bill-in-congress-making-grants-to-states/

#teaching #education #learning #schools #jobs #career

Donald Trump and his allies have been put on notice by a prosecutor, but the warning didn’t come from anyone at the Justice Department.

It was from a Georgia prosecutor who indicated she was likely to seek criminal charges soon in a two-year election subversion probe. 

https://apnews.com/article/trump-investigation-georgia-prosecutor-0c62d7884f0150c93f5e555333ae23d2