I saw yesterday that the Ever Given’s gonna try the Suez Canal again and if it gets stuck, holy crap you guys, that will be the highlight of my year. I also found this video, “I’m not gonna get the vaccine,” from Scott Seiss, which made me laugh for about an hour. He does a ton of videos in this style, mostly about customer service, and I love ’em all, but this one especially tickled me.
Anyway, the news:
🐊 CNN: DeSantis proposes a new civilian military force in Florida that he would control
Well this just seems like a wildly bad idea. Basically, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida wants his own standing army.
I don’t fault him for the idea – I also want my own standing army. I’d like my own standing navy and air force, too, except I get air sick and I’ve established a firm “No Boats” rule in this household as my boyfriend would want to use one if we had it and he has Viking ancestry. He might be prone to looting and pillaging, and I can’t have him sacking small towns along the coast of Oregon. I’m sure that’s illegal.
At any rate, apparently various Republican governors are miffed that they can’t just use their National Guards as personal armies, so DeSantis wants to start his own. Which, sure, why not. This is a Republican state that’s fiddled with elections before and has already criminalized protests, why shouldn’t they have their own army that’s not beholden to the duly elected federal government? I’m sure nothing bad would happen and it would never be misused at all.
🐝 BBC: Why insects are more sensitive than they seem
Apparently bugs may have feelings, a fact which I am 100% A-OK with, as that means when I kill a wasp there’s a chance they can feel terror and regret their life decisions, and that is exactly what I want them to do.
💊 Lifehacker: What to Know About Plan B’s Effectiveness If You’re Stocking Up Right Now
This might be a handy thing to know as it sure seems like the SCotUS is about to take reproductive rights away from people with uteruses. In that vein, here’s some handy websites to bookmark: AbortionFunds.org | PlanCPills.org | ShoutYourAbortion.com. Also, if you never want kids, now is probably a good time to go get yourself sterilized. r/childfree on Reddit maintains a list of doctors who will sterilize people with uteruses, even if you’re young.
🍊 Rolling Stone: Trump’s White House Passed Around a PowerPoint on How to End American Democracy
I’m gonna beat this drum until the skin breaks: The GOP is gearing up for a fascist dictatorship.
Yes, I know. That sounds insane. I’m obviously being a shrill, crazy liberal. Blah blah blah.
This. is. happening. The GOP is systematically eroding voting rights and elections integrity with the goal of being able to subvert any and every election result so that they can install Republicans in the government, including as president, at will. American democracy is. falling. Like, they aren’t even being sneaky about it. They’re doing it out loud, right in front of your face, secure in the knowledge that you’re not gonna believe it’s happening until it’s too late.
I dunno what else to tell you about that. This is a real thing that is really happening right now. Go find your nearest Democratic elected official and crawl up their ass and die until they do. something.
📽️ Nerdist: Venom: Let There Be Carnage Is an Absurdly Fun Film
And now for something completely different: We finally got to see the second Venom movie last night, and it was fun. If you like fun, you should watch it. It was weird and funny and both protagonists, Eddie Brock and Venom, are huge dork losers, and that is awesome.
For that matter, I really enjoyed the first movie, and I wasn’t expecting that. The trailers made it look like it was going to suck, and it did not. It was a hoot. So’s the second one, and I’m looking forward to the third, which has apparently been greenlit.
These movies are just big stupid fun and I’m completely here for that. Go watch ’em.
Notes & Thoughts 