Gif of the Day

I need the blueprints for these stairs and I need like 15 corgis.

Gif of the Day

"God should fear girls with battle scars."

Flawless Feminist Victory

This is a thing of beauty:

This New Feminist Antifa Group Is Taking on the Far-Right

Mmmmmm yeah that's the stuff.

When a British far-right group announced its plans to march in London on Saturday, women on the left knew they had to push back. Enter: Feminist Anti-Fascism Assembly (FAF), a new feminist antifascist bloc made up of a coalition of feminist organizations, trade unions, migrant rights groups, and anti-racist organizers. 

On an unseasonably warm autumnal afternoon, FAF and other antifascist groups held back the Democratic Foorball Lads Alliance (DFLA) as they attempted to march through the streets of central London. The DFLA are a splinter group from the Football Lads Alliance, a British street movement of soccer fans.

It's just too bad that these badass feminists are in the U.K. and not in the U.S. Not yet, anyway.

Antifascist organizers kept up a relentless chant of “no pasaran” (“they shall not pass” in Spanish), their ranks powerfully headed up by an assembly of women and nonbinary supporters. The DFLA hurled racist slurs, beer cans, and chants of “God Save the Queen” and “Rule Britannia” in response. 

Finally, the antifascist bloc edged out the far right faction and continued its march along Waterloo Bridge. FAF organizers described the day as a success, but called on more people to join the movement of resistance against far-right ideology.

Liberal feminist? Nah.

Radical feminism? Nope.

Anti-fascist feminism?

Oh For the Love of Fuck

Trump administration 2017: "Family separation at the border works as a deterrent to dirty migrants coming here to escape certain death."

Trump administration later 2017: "Taking kids away from their parents at the border was the Democrat's idea but even if it wasn't we need to deter the dirty migrants, and also look how great these baby cages are."

Trump administration January 2018: "Taking kids away from their parents at the border is an awful, despicable act concocted by the evil Democrats and we're putting a stop to it right now."

Trump administration late 2018: "Family separation at the border works as a deterrent to dirty migrants coming here to escape certain death."

Trump administration weighs new family-separation effort at border

The White House is actively considering plans that could again separate parents and children at the U.S.-Mexico border, hoping to reverse soaring numbers of families attempting to cross illegally into the United States, according to several administration officials with direct knowledge of the effort.

Gif of the Day

Halloween is coming.

How Are Pro-Lifers Being Pro-Life Today?

So this is the kind of response that Republicans, including Republican politicians, have had to the confirmation of Brett Kavanagh as a Supreme Court Justice:

The whole thing about the coathangers is that it's a particularly brutal example of how women attempt to abort their pregnancies themselves using unsafe, potentially deadly methods. Because women and other people who can become pregnant will do what they need to do in order to maintain their bodily autonomy. Comments like the one from Councilman Eric Barber here prove that so-called "pro-life" people understand this.

They know that outlawing abortions won't stop abortions. The embryos and fetuses that they insist on calling "babies" don't actually matter to them, as you can see by how they are encouraging "liberals" to abort them anyway by using incredibly unsafe methods. What they really want is for poor people to die.

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, safe abortions will still be available in many states and outside the country, but only people with money will be able to access them. Meanwhile, us poorsies will have to resort to methods that have killed many, many pregnant people. And many of us will die. And Republicans are happy about this. Because they want us to either be utterly subservient or dead. That's all they've ever wanted.

The Supreme Court Just Took the Right to Vote From Native Americans

The Supreme Court has upheld a law passed by North Dakota that says only people with street addresses can vote. This is bullshit for many reasons, including taking the right to vote away from homeless people. This is a big step back toward the original intent of our founders, which was to only allow white male landowners to vote.

But there's another aspect to this decision that most of my fellow white people are probably unaware of. North Dakota has a large indigenous population and several reservations. The reservations in this country are very often (maybe completely) areas of abject poverty that lack paved roads, electricity, indoor plumbing, etc. The houses there often don't have U.S. addresses, and the USPS will only give them PO boxes.

That means that a huge portion of the Native American population of North Dakota just had their vote stolen from them.

Supreme Court Enables Mass Disenfranchisement of North Dakota’s Native Americans

The voter ID law was introduced just months after Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat, eked out a narrow upset victory in 2012, winning by less than 3,000 votes. Republican lawmakers responded by passing restrictive voter ID legislation that all but guaranteed that large numbers of Native Americans — who tend to vote Democratic — wouldn’t be able to participate in the political process. Specifically, the law requires voters to bring to the polls an ID that displays a “current residential street address” or other supplemental documentation that provides proof of such an address. 

This may seem like an innocuous requirement, but in practice, it’s likely to disenfranchise thousands of Native Americans, many of whom live on reservations in rural areas and don’t have street addresses. Since the U.S. Postal Service doesn’t provide residential mail delivery in remote areas, many members of North Dakota’s Native American tribes list their mailing addresses, like P.O. boxes, on their IDs. And some also don’t have supplemental documentation, like a utility bill or bank statement, because of homelessness or poverty. Now, because the Supreme Court refused to block the law, people who show up at their polling station with a P.O. box on their ID will be turned away.

Native Americans were the last marginalized group to gain the right to vote in the U.S. Now they're the first to lose it in our evolving fascist state.

Gif of the Day

Why is fuckin' Spongebob Squarepants sometimes the most relatable shit. I don't even watch it but this gif resonates with me through space and time.

Guest Post: Please Register and Vote in November!

Kate Harveston is a political writer from Pennsylvania. Her favorite topics are feminist-focused, but she writes on a wide variety of social and cultural issues. If you enjoy her work, you can follow her on Twitter or visit her blog, Only Slightly Biased.

---

Just a few short days ago, female survivors of sexual assault watched in horror as a suspected sexual predator was appointed to the highest court in the land. As one such survivor explained, "My emotions vacillate between intense rage to abject despair. But this entire horror show has done one thing: it's convinced me that voting in November is a must."

This year's midterms are critical in determining the direction of our nation. Those of us on the left have watched in horror for the past two years as the Trump administration strips away rights from women, members of the LGBTQ community and some of our most vulnerable groups — the children, elderly and the disabled.

What's up for Grabs?

Many people who vote in presidential elections fail to vote in the midterms. But no one should make this mistake. The midterms very much determine the course our nation will take.

While the president does have power, it is the members of Congress who draft and pass new legislation. And in 2018, electing a Democratic majority to both the House and Senate would not only deliver a valuable message to President Trump, but it would also provide a check on his power.

All 435 seats of the U.S. House of Representatives are at stake in the midterms, and 35 U.S. Senate seats are up for grabs on November 6, 2018. If either the House or Senate flips, it will turn into a boon for Democrats. However, should they fail, and should Republicans remain in power, the Trump agenda will continue unchecked with ramifications continuing for decades.

What's at Stake?

In two words — a lot, including the future of the Democratic party.

If the Democrats successfully seize control of either the House or the Senate, they can work vigorously to oppose the Republican's legislative agenda. At the very least, they can act as a check against Republicans further pressing forward with tax cuts for the wealthiest of Americans and the complete abolishment of the Affordable Care Act.

While that alone would put health care coverage out of reach for millions of Americans, Republicans additionally are seeking cuts to social welfare programs. They have even proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare at a time when millions of seniors are already barely getting by.

Collusion and Sexual Assault

If Democrats gain control of the House, they could call for further probes, not only into Trump's alleged collusion with Russia to impact the outcome of the 2016 election but into allegations of sexual assault allegedly committed by the president. In the wake of Kavanaugh's confirmation, this would draw a collective sigh of relief from victims everywhere who very much feel as if those in elected office simply do not care about the seriousness of sexual assault.

If Democrats manage to flip the Senate, they can put a serious check on Trump's judicial nomination process. This would hold true not only for future Supreme Court appointments Trump may make but also other federal judges. In addition, should Democrats sweep either or both the House or Senate, Democrats would then also chair all the various committees, such as the Senate Judiciary Committee.

What We've Got to Lose in Healthcare

Should Democrats fail to take control of either House or Senate, seniors and those with disabilities are almost certain to face cuts to their Social Security benefits. Millions are predicted to lose access to health coverage or have it priced out of their reach if Democrats lose control.

This includes members of the gig economy who work on an independent contractor basis. This will also include many workers at small businesses whose employers, once freed of the employer mandate, may choose to no longer offer health benefits.

If Trump doesn't fire Jeff Sessions first, medical marijuana patients may once again become open to prosecution simply for using their medication to control their conditions. And a Republican-led Congress is unlikely to enact legislation allowing medical marijuana use to continue.

The Environment, LGBTQ Rights and Gun Violence

Should Democrats fail to take control of either House or Senate, the impact to the environment may become irreversible. By pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement, Trump made it clear that he intends to do nothing about climate change. This counters a UN study that stated an increase of temperature of just one degree might turn into enough to kill hundreds of millions of people.

Women and LGBTQ individuals may lose many of their hard-fought civil liberties if the Democrats lose. The current Supreme Court is almost certain to uphold new abortion restrictions that would effectively destroy a woman's right to choose. States could potentially again bring new cases before the court challenging the legitimacy of gay marriage.

If Republicans maintain control of both House and Senate, young people can rest assured that their elected officials will continue to do nothing but offer meaningless thoughts and prayers when they or their classmates are gunned down in school. In fact, gun violence may increase with Republicans' absurd idea to bring more guns into the classroom by arming teachers.

Exercise Your Right

With so much at stake, it simply isn't okay to sit on the couch or throw one's hands up in despair. We've got a shot remaining to change things and take back our democracy. Register to vote today! On November 6, get out there and exercise your right to vote. While it may seem like a stretch to say it will be the last time that you can exercise that right, there may never come a time when it would count more.

Recommended Reading

[TRIGGER WARNING: CHILD PRISON CAMPS, CHILD ABUSE]

I know the Kavanagh thing was a whole bucket of hell. And we all need to recover. Unfortunately, there's no time, because there are 5,000 other horrible things going on.

The one I'd really like to return focus to is the child migrant detention issue. Children are still being separated from their families at the border, and thousands of children are still being detained, including in those tent prison camps we heard about months ago. Thousands of children are currently in prison camps, separated from their parents, enduring god knows what. And it's horrifying beyond belief.

Case in point, this story about a 5-year-old who is now scarred for life.

The Five-Year-Old Who Was Detained at the Border and Persuaded to Sign Away Her Rights

She was taken from her family because she crossed the border with her grandmother rather than a parent. While in custody, some unknown border agent had the 5-YEAR-OLD CHILD "sign" a document waiving her right to a hearing that could have gotten her returned to her family sooner. The absurdity of having tiny little children represent themselves in court and sign legal documents has continued this entire time. They never even reunited all of the children with their families that they were ordered to.

You can't just forget about an issue after getting a minor win. This administration does not give a shit about rules, court orders, or basic human decency. We know that. I know it's impossible to keep on their asses about everything because there is way too much, but please, let's not let this country once again be one that allows racist internment camps to happen. I cannot stand the idea that we have prison camps for kids, and I really hope you feel the same. I hate that this atrocity is happening in my lifetime. We made them change something with national outrage. We have to keep it up.

Gif of the Day

This is a funny prank but also if anyone did this to me when my makeup was done I'd be pissed.

Prison Alternatives: Restorative Justice

As you may or may not know, I'm a prison abolitionist. We tried to reform the prison system, but over time it has reverted back to a place to store "undesirables" in horrific conditions that just barely keep them alive without any semblance of rehabilitation, plus also slavery. Prisons began as just another way to enslave black people. There's no reforming something born out of such evil.

People tend to hear "prison abolition" and freak out because they think it means immediately throwing open all the prison doors and releasing all the boogeymen into their neighborhoods. This is a result of propaganda. It's also completely inaccurate. The prison abolition movement is about working toward prison alternatives and building toward a society that no longer needs prisons.

It can be difficult to envision alternatives due to the fact that we've all grown up in a society that takes it for granted that prisons have to exist. As though prisons are as inevitable as death or natural as air. They're not. Case in point, people are already coming up with alternatives.

A different path for confronting sexual assault

This article is amazing because it speaks to a personal conflict I have between wanting to abolish prisons and wanting to punish sexual predators. I absolutely understand the anger and the desire to get revenge and to hurt back. But objectively, we all know that what's better for everyone in the long run is restorative justice.

Restorative justice brings those who have harmed, their victims, and affected families and communities into processes that repair the harm and rebuild relationships. This can take several forms, such as peacemaking circles and conferencing models. Restorative justice can help resolve nearly any kind of wrongdoing or conflict, including serious harms such as robbery, burglary, assault — even sexual and intimate partner violence, and even murder. 

The process invites truth-telling on all sides by replacing punitive approaches to wrongdoing in favor of collective healing and solutions. Rather than asking, “What law was broken, who broke it, and how should they be punished?” restorative justice asks, “Who was harmed? What do they need? Whose obligation is it to meet those needs?” At its best, restorative justice produces consensus-based plans through face-to-face dialogue that meets the needs of everyone impacted, beginning with the crime survivor.

Read the entire article, because it's all amazing. This kind of thing could go such a long way in ending rape culture and toxic masculinity. It's so much better than a justice system in which two sides compete like it's a fucking sport. Where defense lawyers are encouraged to obscure the truth in order to "win." This is why lawyers got the reputation of being sleazy. It's not actually their fault, this is just how our current justice system works. But it doesn't need to be that way. The current system isn't ideal just because it exists like that right now.

We can have something so much better. You just have to let yourself imagine it.