Geezer Wench

Pigeon Comic 44 - Under Pressure

Stay coo’, pigeon army.

This feels very … timely

If you are wondering how the typical Trumpist is reacting, here is it is, below. They don't understand markets. They don't own stocks or have 401k plans. To them, all of it just a mystery behind a curtain.

Today, the administration announced its recognition of “World Autism Awareness Day.” This is a step backwards from the previous administration’s recognition of World Autism Acceptance Day. But this change is far from the only way the Trump administration is turning the clock back when it comes to meeting the needs and protecting the rights of autistic people. From science to services and supports, the government is determined to drag us into a past marked by ignorance and institutionalization. Trump’s statement talks about “opportunities for all Americans to thrive and prosper,” but autistic people across the country will pay the price for the administration’s destructive policy decisions.

Today’s announcement claims that the Trump administration is “prioritizing gold standard research.” In fact, the only autism research the administration has platformed is redoing already thoroughly debunked research into autism and vaccines, for which it has hired a known quack. The administration has also notably made cuts to autism research programs that receive federal funding. This includes millions of dollars in cuts to research and programs aimed at improving the lives of already existing autistic people.

The statement also says that the administration is “increasing transparency” around its autism policies and research. This comes after the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has ended HHS’ policy of accepting public comments during the rulemaking process, and amid a communications freeze at HHS that has brought cooperation between the agency and stakeholders to a halt. The only information about any public engagement around the harmful “Make America Healthy Again” commission was an announcement from Children’s Health Defense, an organization that Kennedy founded, that the MAHA commission would be meeting with the public “on the road.” There has been no confirmation from HHS about whether this is true, and there has been no consultation or communication with autistic-led organizations about the harmful autism policies that Secretary Kennedy has put forward.

The announcement says that there has been “a staggering increase” in autism prevalence. But increased diagnosis is nothing to fear. There have been a number of improvements to our understanding of autism in different groups of people, and improvements to insurance access in America since the 1980s. This includes the passing of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion. More people are getting diagnosed because we are getting better at finding and understanding autism. This is why more Black, Asian and Pacific Islander and Hispanic 8 year olds are being diagnosed than their white peers, for the first time in US history — it’s a reflection of more people getting access to diagnosis.

Today’s announcement says that the administration will “empower [autistic people] to reach their full potential and realize their American Dream.” But autistic people cannot reach our full potential if our access and support needs are not met. The Trump administration threatens our ability to live full lives by making it harder to access Social Security. It is trying to take away lifesaving services by cutting Medicaid and its waiver programs to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. It threatens our inclusion in schools by trying to destroy the Department of Education. And it harms our inclusion in our communities by dismantling the Administration for Community Living.

While short, the statement notably only speaks to people who “[aid] Americans with ASD” and focuses only on children. It completely fails to even acknowledge the existence of autistic adults. This might be because we are aware of how much harm the administration is doing to our community. Or perhaps this statement is also a relic of a time when we were not invited to advocate for ourselves.

Too often, the administration clings to obsolete ideas about our community. Even when it claims to believe that "Americans with ASD have made, and will continue to make outstanding contributions for our country and the world,” it takes pains to define us first by our “challenges.” We see this focus reflected in the administration’s policies, such as when the president publicly blames people with developmental disabilities for a deadly plane crash and attacked Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) programs and when he called for a return to institutions and threatened programs that help us to live in our communities. 

The administration claims it is moving us towards a brighter future. This is a lie. It is attempting to drag us backwards to a time before people listened to self advocates, when autism research and advocacy centered around institutionalization and the fruitless search for a “cure.” These priorities were wrong before, and they’re still wrong now.

Autistic adults exist. We live and belong in our communities. The services and data we rely on to do that are under threat because of this administration’s policies. The administration may claim that it is working towards a better future for autistic people, but we cannot ignore its harmful actions. We know how to fight back against this awful rhetoric and these regressive policies, because they are the same policies self-advocates have been fighting for decades. ASAN will continue to resist the Trump administration’s dogged attempts to drag us into the past. 

I love the idea of Spock being super queer, highly expressive and very emotional from a Vulcan view point. Like...

What humans see:

What Vulcans see:

i love how this implies that gritty is how vulcans see jim

It is.

It's been said before but I'm saying it again: being mentally ill and very self aware of it is extremely annoying because it's like:

My Brain: You are worthless and everyone is making fun of you.

Me: Uhh, no? I just had an extremely minor, low stakes misunderstanding, and everyone was very cool about it. It's fine. No need to panic.

My Brain: [immediately dousing itself in cortisol] You don't get to decide that. Now I'm cancelling all of the dopamine and serotonin. You can just sit there and think about your unforgivable error.

Me: Wildly unnecessary, but ok I guess

The last thing my dream brain said to me before I woke up this morning was “Toblerone snake.”

So, uh… here you go.

Gimme the stat block OP.

Guardrails

Toni Morrison? Alice Walker? Zora Neale Hurston? Ralph Ellison? James Baldwin? Lorraine Hansbury? Maya Angelou? Octavia Butler? Langston Hughes? Bell Hooks? Many many many many others? Go fuck yourself you lazy, anti-intellectual asshole

here's a list by Book Riot of 100 classics by non-white authors

and one I love to pull on people:

Alexandre MOTHERFUCKIN Dumas.

Look at this magnificent bastard!

Three Musketeers! Count of Monte Cristo!

And I only found out a few years ago, and let me tell you, I will DIE MAD.

boycott tesla anyway you can.

Moving medieval manuscript art!