ScottinSoCal 🇺🇦 🕊 🏳‍🌈 @ScottSoCal@computerfairi.es

The world is so freaking complex and wonderful.

Seriously though, fedi was *built* by furries, trans and queer folk, disabled neurodivergent people.

This is *the reason* the culture here is what it is. Why CWs are a thing. Why image descriptions are a thing. Why privacy matters here. Why moderation tools not only exist, but are usable — and used.

If you had joined and asked yourself "wow, how come this place is so chill and kinda… nice?" — that's thanks to all the nice people from communities some people call "weird".

So #KeepFediWeird.

We're a few days into the current wave of #TwitterMigration, and we're all excited for all the #NewHere folks to have joined.

But please be mindful you are joining a social network that was not a barren, desolate desert before. It was a blooming, cozy garden.

It's not just about finding your old connections from , it's also about making new valuable connections with folks on here, who might have moved years ago, or who might have never had an account on hellbird.

#Biden Administration Announces Additional Security Assistance for Ukraine

"This includes the authorization of a Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) package valued at up to $200 million to provide #Ukraine with key capabilities, including: air defense interceptors; munitions for rocket systems and artillery; and anti-tank weapons."

Press release https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3852671/biden-administration-announces-additional-security-assistance-for-ukraine/

#Harris highlighted endorsements from mayors of border towns Mon as she looks to blunt the impact of GOP criticism of her handling of illegal border crossings.

"I trust her to meet the needs of border cities/towns w/o taking advantage of us for her own pol gain, like her opponent” Somerton Mayor Anaya. VP: tasked with overseeing diplomatic efforts to deal with issues spurring migration. The Biden admin wanted to develop a LT strategy that gets at the root causes-.
#USPol https://apnews.com/article/kamala-harris-border-endorsements-arizona-efee13f3415d42d952363ad364258af7

Friends, I have been given some contact information for members of the Harris for President digital and social communications teams and I have started reaching out to them about our #MastodonforHarris fundraiser, https://secure.actblue.com/donate/mastodon-for-harris. If you have been considering a contribution, today would be a great day to show a lot of activity!

My work nemesis announced he is leaving to another job next week on slack and I replied with a cheesy positive best of luck message to mess with his head.

Within the last 24 hours a telecom tower has been toppled in Finland, a fire has broken out at the BASF chemical plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany, a fire has occurred on the German rail line between Bremen and Hamburg, and fiber optics cables have been sabotaged in 6 locations in France.

Who do you think is responsible? Putin any name you think in the replies.

Tough, thick, resilient, flexible, durable... a good gay top has it all
#vintageAd #gay #innuendo

I hope in 2024 we can stop caring what right wing attention freaks say about things. Oh, some guy hated the olympic ceremonies? Who fucking cares? It was beautiful, surprising, and joyful.

I'm done opening news apps and seeing stories about "the backlash" to popular things when you dig down and find out it's one weird christian complaining on instagram. That's not a real backlash!

Stop caring what random jerks think. Stop broadcasting their bad faith readings of everything.

Gen X here…

I’ve voted Blue my whole life, & I’m voting for Kamala Harris in November.

I’m doing everything I can to help elect the first woman president in American history.

It should have been Hilary in 2016, but better late than never.

It’s about damn time!

⚠️🇷🇺Russia loses another 1,310 invaders in Ukraine over past day (Statistics) https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3889845-russian-army-loses-another-1310-soldiers-in-ukraine-over-past-day.html #Ukraine #Press #USA #US #UK #EU #NATO #News #UnitedStates #EuropeanUnion #UnitedKingdom #Russia #russiaUkraineWar #10yrInvasionofUkraine
#NoUSRepublicans2024
#Article7 #Article7HungaryNow

New, by me: A federal district court in New York ruled that U.S. border agents must obtain a warrant before searching the electronic devices of Americans and international travelers crossing the U.S. border.

The judge warned that had they ruled in the government's favor, this ruling could have be used to target political opponents, who "would only need to travel once through an international airport for the government to gain unfettered access" to their devices.

More: https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/29/us-border-agents-must-get-warrant-before-cell-phone-searches-federal-court-rules/

And here is my on my own site talking about that news:

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2024/07/29/about-that-new-deal/

THE 3 SCOTUS REFORMS ENDORSED BY PRESIDENT BIDEN:

1. No immunity for crimes a former President committed in office.
2. Term limits for SCOTUS Justices.
3. Binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court.

Quick show of hands. ✋🏼 Who here absolutely loves Biden’s way of thinking?

There's a certain kind of leftist for whom no advancement is good.

Not "no advancement is good enough." No advancement that isn't burning society down and starting over is "good" (and that wouldn't be good if it actually happened) or even _progress_.

Sometimes it comes from a place of cynicism, often some other form of hurt, and it drives me _up a wall_ when I see it.

We are the luckiest family on earth.

On Sunday, we get the keys to our new townhouse in #Canada, finally.

So we walk over there today for fun, & our neighbor Jerry, who must be over 70, is cutting down our overgrown bushes for us, because we told him we wanted to pull some of them to give Hammy more space. He wanted to get the ball rolling.

On his own. Because he's amazing.

& he's going to keep doing it until we actually move in.

We were floored.

#PortMoody, & Jerry, I love you.🥰 🇨🇦

I'm 55 years old. I didn't think I'd see one black POTUS in my lifetime and I am going to get TWO. Incremental change. It's difficult but black folks are long suffering. 🎶 We shall overcome someday. 🎶

#blackmastodon #uspol #uspolitics #Democrats #voteblue

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar comments on the horrifying shooting of Sonya Massey in her home in Springfield, Illinois, after she called the police thinking an intruder was on her property. Policeman Sean P. Grayson then shot Massey. Abdul-Jabbar writes,

"The question here isn’t how this could happen, but why it happens with such regularity—mostly to Black people. …

This is why Black people fear the police."

#police #murder #Black #shooting #SonyaMassey
/1

https://kareem.substack.com/p/the-horrifying-police-shooting-that

I was thrilled to join the OUT FOR HARRIS call with my LGBTQ+ family last night. We raised over $300,000 from over 20,000 participants and signed up 1,500 volunteers for the Harris Campaign. You can still join the movement! See replies for how.