I only got up about 2 hours ago; I was up late again, and stayed abed like a lazy person. I just read this in email, and it really hit the spot for me! Enjoy.
“Life is the first gift, love is the second, and understanding, the third.”
Marge Piercy
| December 3, 1833 Oberlin College was founded in Ohio. It was the first college to enroll men and women on equal terms, and to accept African-American men and women on equal terms with white students. |
| December 3, 1965 An all-white jury in Alabama convicted three Ku Klux Klansmen for the murder of white civil rights activist Viola Liuzzo.  Viola Liuzzo The mother of five from Detroit was shot and killed while driving a young black activist, Leroy Moton, back to the town of Selma following a protest march to the state capital in Montgomery. It was later learned that another Klansmen in the car, Gary Thomas Rowe, was an FBI informant.  Klansmen Collie Wilkins, Eugene Thomas and William Eaton at their trial About Viola Liuzzo Detroit Historical Society Learn more Zinn Educational A serious blogger considers a book about the FBI’s involvement |
| December 3, 1969 Files were destroyed at eight New York City draft boards in protest of the Vietnam War. |
| December 3, 1984 In the early morning hours, one of the worst industrial disasters in history began when American-owned Union Carbide’s pesticide plant located near the densely populated city of Bhopal in central India leaked a highly toxic cloud of methyl isocyanate into the air. Estimates of the fatalities vary widely, but of the approximately one million people living in Bhopal at the time, 2,000 were killed immediately, at least another 8,000 within a short time, and hundreds of thousands were injured, many still suffering today. The U.S. blocked extradition of Union Carbide officials facing criminal prosecution in India. Union Carbide has since been purchased by Dow Chemical which continues to refuse responsibility for the incident or its victims, and has yet to clean up the site. Contemporary news report on the incident bhopal.org |
| December 3, since 1992 The International Day of Disabled Persons was declared by the United Nations. “The annual observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons … aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities . . . .” 2020 Theme: Building Back Better: toward a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 World. more info |
December 3, 1997 An international treaty banning land mines was signed by 122 countries. It comprehensively prohibits the use, production, trade or stockpiling of antipersonnel mines. Buried landmines kill about 15,000 people every year worldwide. The dangerous and time-consuming process of removal would take centuries at the current rate of landmine clearance.The United States and approximately forty other countries have yet to sign the treaty, and fifteen countries continue to produce land mines. The Pentagon requested $1.3 billion for research on and production of two new landmine systems—Spider and Intelligent Munitions System—between fiscal years 2005 and 2011, but Congress has resisted funding the programs under pressure from nearly 500 U.S.-based organizations opposing the weapons. Comprehensive information from the International Campaign to Ban Landmines Recent U.S. policy on land mines: |
https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorydecember.htm#december3
and neither are allies!
Good morning! Time to go to work, if we don’t want to go back. First, it is time to call and write our Congress critters to let them know we want no human thrown under the bus in the Republican rush to pick on people they think are less than or “other.” Their majorities in our federal legislative houses are thin; razor thin; so if we will let those legislators know what we want, enough of them will see to at least stemming the damage. They have their ways; plus, the Dem minority numbers are big enough to toss rocks in the works, especially with a few Republicans. For more on this, please see this Substack that Janet passed to me:
https://juliaserano.substack.com/p/planned-action-for-lgbtq-and-allies
For the click-adverse, here’s the snippet from which I’m working here today:
I am but one person and cannot speak for our entire community. But here’s what I propose in the spirit of Queer Nation, who in the 1990s carried out myriad protests under the same banner but with no singular leader or directive.
I propose that on Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024 (the first day that both the House and Senate are back in session), all of us who are invested in this issue and have a platform (whether it be a blog, newsletter, column, podcast, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc.) publish a piece with the shared title: “LGBTQ+ People Are Not Going Back.” Yes, I know, it’s a cheesy title, but it holds Democrats accountable to their own talking points and makes it clear that backsliding on LGBTQ+ rights is nonnegotiable for us.
What you write or say or express in your op-ed or article or video or podcast etcetera is up to you. I encourage you to make it personal and feel free to tailor it to your audience. My only request (other than all of us using the same title) is that you implore people to contact their Congressperson and Senators (and perhaps even local politicians) and tell them that 1) you will not tolerate any backpedaling on LGBTQ+ rights whatsoever, and 2) if they fail to strongly stand up against these attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, then you will take your vote elsewhere next election. (snip-More)
https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm , and https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative are where we can write and call our Congress critters. WordPress keeps capitalizing and separating that wonderful compound word, not me, btw. Anyway, there is that. It can be a thing, and it should be, and we can make it a thing. More on that in the Substack linked and snipped above.
So, as to allies going back. For myself, if my friends are somehow rolled back, I will have to resist in different ways than I did in the past, except for the bothering of Congress critters, which continues apace. The past was fun and dangerous and sometimes more fun because it was dangerous but none of us got hurt or even threatened with arrest, unlike some places we read about in history and more recent times. I wrote a whole thing about those experiences, but it seemed to overshadow this, so some other time. Meanwhile, I’m going to schedule this, then copy it to my Substack, then letter blast some Congress critters, then Go To Bed. I’ve stayed up late most of the long weekend, but that doesn’t work well for me, so.
I encourage Scottie and Randy to post something with this title, and to make a call or send an email if they have time. I encourage any other blogger who reads this to please post something with this title, and also to bother your Congress critters about treating people the way they want to be treated, and opposing bills and resolutions that divide and “other” We the People. I hope we all have a great day, and get something done! And, thank you Janet, for passing this along!
from Adam Parkhomeno and Sam Youngman, so NSFW, of course. Following the snippet, a message from me for tomorrow, with thanks to Janet.
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Pardon us? by Adam Parkhomenko Read on Substack
It’s Monday. There are 700 days until the midterm elections. The FBI is about to get way scarier, a warning from a monster’s mommy and Dark Brandon goes Dark Daddy.
Be advised: This newsletter uses profanity. And it’s been saving that shit up for like a week.
Note: Sexy Patriots! Holy shit we sure missed your hot asses. How the hell are you?! How was your Thanksgiving? Does Uncle Trump Trash have third-degree burns on his crotch thanks to an “accidental” gravy boat spill? Oh that’s a shame. Well we sure are glad to be back with you, and we’re damn grateful to you for letting us take some time off to recharge. Lots of scary fucked up shit happened while we were away. But right now we need to talk about this…
Um… We don’t really know what to say here. There’s weird, there’s fuck-a-couch weird and then there’s whatever the hell that is. We kinda like that Jello Diddler (JD) Vance has gone missing, but when he pops up just to do shit like this it really freaks us the eff out. It’s like there’s a roomful of horrifying serial killers but the one you really gotta worry about is the guy who keeps disappearing. We like to think Trump traded him out for Elon Leon or he’s just off defiling a sofa, but we all know he’s probably up to something stupid and evil. Whatever it is, dude, it ain’t worth it if you’re posting shit like that on Thanksgiving. Yikes. Y’all have a blessed day.
Note two: We’d just like to take a second to congratulate all the dumbshit mainstream media reporters who bought Trump’s bullshit denials about Project 2025. More: AP News
Note three: Jamie Raskin is making a move to replace Nadler on the House Judiciary Committee. Nadler is a nice man, but this needs to happen. We need warriors in key places, and few people fight like Raskin does. More: Axios
Note four: Ex-convict Charles Kushner, who was pardoned by his son’s father-in-law, will be our next ambassador to France because the only thing Trump loves more than criminals is nepotism. More: AP News
Note five: We like y’all too much to show you the clip of RFK Jr. in the shower while Cheryl Hines sells her crap. So here’s the story without the video. You’re welcome.
Note six: We understand there are people who wish Biden hadn’t done what he did for Hunter (more in the news section), but watching Colorado Gov. Jared Polis try to cozy up to the right every chance he gets is really pissing us off. Go ahead and run for president, asshole. More: The Hill
Note seven: You’re not gonna believe this but pardoned criminal Dinesh D’Souza is totally full of shit. Ok so you will believe it. This weekend Dinesh apologized for the lies in his movie, 2,000 Mules, which was about voter fraud in the 2020 election. He should have kept lying. He might have gotten elected president. More: Independent
Note eight: Did y’all watch “A Man on the Inside” over the break? Isn’t it wonderful?
Note nine: Elon Leon Musk has like 50 kids of his own, but he spent Thanksgiving with Baron Trump. How fucking weird is that? More: CNN
Note 10: Politico and other kiss-asses just don’t understand why normal decent people are leaving Elon Leon’s nazi playground Twitter for Bluesky. (snip-MORE)
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OK. Now for the message from Ali. Can you tell I watched a lot of PBS this weekend, with the interruption of a perfectly good and funny bit of work to remind people that democracy and freedom are not free? I feel like I’m doing that.
The thing is better and more succinctly explained here, but very briefly, tomorrow the US legislature opens a session, and we want to meet them with the message that “LGBTQ+ People Are Not Going Back.” And neither are your allies-we aren’t going back, but we are going with you wherever you need us to, and many of us have free mom hugs to go along with that. After you wash your hands. Anyway, my bit, which I’m working on and is saved in drafts, will be to encourage all of us to write to our Congress critters, and any other Congress critters to whom we’re moved to write. I’m likely to do the Congress critters writing tonight, so they see it in the morning first thing. As the draft post here will be.
https://www.senate.gov/ https://www.house.gov/
We can fight like Jamie Raskin! (See above; Parkhomenko has that bit of great news up there. It could be a great idea to write to him, and encourage him to make the move.)
(As is said on my other favorite blog, Our Failed Political Press at work again. sigh The money graf here: A foreign national under federal fraud prosecution making a purchase that results in $18 million cash payment to the president-elect has all the makings of a major scandal. But it has been virtually ignored by several major media outlets.
But the entire piece makes it make better sense.)
by Judd Legum Read on Substack
Chinese Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun paid $6.2 million for a banana — sold by Sotheby’s as conceptual art — and then ate it last Friday.
The banana is not Sun’s most notable recent purchase.
On November 25, Sun purchased $30 million in crypto tokens from World Liberty Financial, a new crypto venture backed by President-elect Donald Trump. Sun said his company, TRON, was committed to “making America great again.”
World Liberty Financial planned to sell $300 million worth of crypto tokens, known as WLF, which would value the new company at $1.5 billion. But, before Sun’s $30 million purchase, it appeared to be a bust, with only $22 million in tokens sold. Sun now owns more than 55% of purchased tokens.
Sun’s decision to buy $30 million in WLF tokens has direct and immediate financial benefits for Trump. A filing by the company in October revealed that “$30 million of initial net protocol revenues” will be “held in a reserve… to cover operating expenses, indemnities, and obligations.” After the reserve is met, a company owned by Donald Trump, DT Marks DEFI LLC, will receive “75% of the net protocol revenues.”
So before Sun’s purchase, Trump was entitled to nothing because the reserve had not been met. But Sun’s purchase covered the entire reserve, so now Trump is entitled to 75% of the revenues from all other tokens purchased. As of December 1, there have been $24 million WLF tokens sold, netting Trump $18 million.
Sun is also joining World Liberty Financial as an advisor, making Sun and the incoming president business partners.
While Trump has the cash, Sun’s tokens are effectively worthless. To comply with U.S. securities law, WLF tokens are “non-transferable and locked indefinitely in a wallet or smart contract until such time, if ever, [WLF tokens] are unlocked through protocol governance procedures in a fashion that does not contravene applicable law.” The only thing that Sun can do with his tokens is participate in the “governance” of World Liberty Financial. Right now, the only thing World Liberty Financial does is sell tokens.
Any foreign national paying an incoming president $18 million weeks before entering the White House should raise red flags. Sun’s purchase is even more alarming because the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is currently prosecuting him for fraud.
On March 22, 2023, the SEC charged Sun and three companies he owns. The SEC accused Sun of marketing unregistered securities and “fraudulently manipulating the secondary market” for a crypto token “through extensive wash trading.” Wash trading involves “the simultaneous or near-simultaneous purchase and sale of a security to make it appear actively traded without an actual change in beneficial ownership.” In other words, according to the SEC, Sun made it seem like there was a lot of interest in crypto tokens he issued when much of the trading was fraudulent and manufactured by Sun.
The SEC also charged Sun with “orchestrating a scheme to pay celebrities to tout” his crypto tokens “without disclosing their compensation.” Federal law requires people who endorse securities to “disclose whether they received compensation for the promotion, and to specify the amount.” The celebrities involved included Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, and Soulja Boy.
Lohan paid $40,000, and Paul paid about $100,000 to settle the charges against them without admitting liability. Soulja Boy did not respond to the lawsuit, and a default judgment was issued against him.
Sun posted on X that he believes the SEC “complaint lacks merit” and complained that “the SEC’s regulatory framework for digital assets is still in its infancy and is in need of further development.”
The litigation against Sun is ongoing, with a federal judge considering a motion by Sun’s attorneys to dismiss the charges. The current SEC Chairman, Gary Gensler, who announced the charges against Sun, will step down when Trump takes office in January. A new SEC commissioner appointed by Trump could settle or dismiss the charges against Sun.
Through World Liberty Financial, Trump can reap massive personal profits from creating a more permissive regulatory environment for crypto ventures.
In addition to his 75% share of revenues over $30 million, Trump’s company was also awarded 22.5 billion WLF tokens. At the current sale price, these tokens are worth more than $300 million. That is more than 20 billion tokens being offered for sale publicly. (This makes the “governance” value of WLF tokens, which was already questionable, effectively worthless. No matter how many tokens you own, Trump will always be able to outvote other token holders.)
Right now, Trump’s tokens — like those purchased by Sun — are worthless because they cannot be transferred. But Trump could appoint a new SEC chairman who is friendly to the crypto industry and who would create new rules allowing the WLF tokens and similar crypto assets to be legally traded. If the price of the tokens increases when they hit the open market, which is a possibility for a crypto token backed by the President of the United States, the value of Trump’s tokens could be in the billions.
That appears to be exactly the path Trump is taking. WIRED reports that Trump is “asking the crypto industry to weigh in on potential picks.” Among the leading contenders is Paul Atkins, a former SEC Commissioner, who, since leaving the agency in 2008, has run a consulting firm that works with crypto companies. Atkins is also co-chair of the Token Alliance, an initiative of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the lobbying group for the crypto industry. He is also a member of the Chamber of Digital Commerce’s Board of Directors.
Another top contender, former SEC General Counsel Robert Stebbins, has said that the SEC should “pause most of its crypto lawsuits while clearing a path for the firms to do business without the overhang of litigation.” But Stebbins’ candidacy underscores the need for Sun to forge a favorable relationship with Trump. Stebbins acknowledged that, even if it takes a more permissive view toward the crypto industry, it may want to consider continuing to pursue litigation involving fraud.
A foreign national under federal fraud prosecution making a purchase that results in $18 million cash payment to the president-elect has all the makings of a major scandal. But it has been virtually ignored by several major media outlets.
The New York Times, for example, has published five articles about Sun’s purchase of the banana but none about Sun’s $30 million purchase of WLF tokens and his business partnership with Trump. The Washington Post has published three articles about the banana, but its coverage of Sun’s purchase of WLF tokens was limited to one short paragraph in a larger editorial about the crypto industry. (The paragraph does not explain how Trump personally profits from Sun’s token purchase.) The Wall Street Journal did publish a short piece about Sun’s token purchase on its “Live Update” blog, but the piece was not viewed as significant enough to be included in the print edition. The paper published two articles, plus a video, focused on the banana. One of the Wall Street Journal articles about the banana was published on the front page of the paper.
December 2, 1914 Karl Liebnecht Karl Liebknecht was the only member of German Parliament to vote against war with France and Britain. He was arrested shortly thereafter and conscripted into the German Army. Refusing to fight, Liebknecht served on the Eastern Front burying the dead. More about Karl Liebnecht ———————————– December 2, 1942 Enrico Fermi, the Italian-born Nobel Prize-winning physicist, directed and controlled the first self-sustaining fission reaction in his laboratory beneath the bleachers of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago.The result of this experiment made the atomic bomb possible and ushered in the nuclear age. Upon successful completion of the experiment, a coded message was transmitted to President Roosevelt: “The Italian navigator has landed in the new world.”  More on Fermi and the bomb ——————————————- December 2, 1954 The U.S. Senate voted 65 to 22 to censure Senator Joseph R. McCarthy (R-Wisconsin) for “conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.”The condemnation, with all the Democrats and about half the Republicans voting against him, was related to McCarthy’s controversial, abusive and indiscriminate investigation of suspected communists in the U.S. government, military, and civilian society. The House of Representatives and many states continued their own investigations.  Senator Joseph P. McCarthy with chief counsel Roy Cohn (L) See a video clip of McCarthy reacting to the censure ——————————————– December 2, 1961  Fidel Castro Following a year of severely strained relations with the United States and his country, Cuban leader Fidel Castro openly declared that he was a Marxist-Leninist. ————————————- December 2, 1964 Thousands who were part of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement gathered on the steps of Sproul Hall, the administration building at that University of California campus, to protest four students being disciplined for distributing political literature; Joan Baez performed in support. The next day, police arrested 773 who began a sit-in at Sproul Hall. 10,000 more students then went on strike and shut down the school.  photo: © Ron EnfieldThe Free Speech Movement had begun in October, when three thousand students surrounded a police car for 36 hours. Inside the car was a civil rights worker, Jack Weinberg, who had been arrested for distributing political literature on the UC-Berkeley campus.  Jack Weinberg in police car. What was the Free Speech Movement? ———————————- December 2, 1977 A demonstration erupted outside a South African court after a magistrate ruled that security police were to be exonerated in the death of black consciousness leader Steve Biko, who died while in their custody. The demonstrators chanted, “They have killed Steve Biko. What have we done? Our sin is that we are black?”  Biko’s funeralHis funeral had been attended by more than 15,000 mourners, not including the thousands who were turned away by the police. He had been arrested for writing inflammatory pamphlets and “inciting unrest” among the black community.  Steve BikoThe news story ————————————- December 2, 1980 Maryknoll Sisters Ita Ford and Maura Clarke, Ursuline Sr. Dorothy Kazel, and lay missionary Jean Marie Donovan were raped, murdered, buried outside San Salvador, and unearthed shortly thereafter.   American Nuns Maura Clarke, Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel and Jean Marie Donovan- killed in El Salvador in 1980. U.S.-trained and -supported Salvadoran national guardsmen, widely known to act as death squads, were suspected.The Reagan administration, taking office seven weeks later, and relying in part on the Salvadoran military to rid Central America of communism, denied the National Guard’s involvement. General Alexander Haig, the president’s secretary of state, explained the churchwomen’s deaths to Congress as an accident caused by nervous soldiers who “misread the mere traveling down the road (of the nuns’ van) as an effort to run a roadblock.” The FBI and CIA later reported this as a total fabrication, and five national guardsmen were later convicted of murder. More about the Maryknoll Sisters |
https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorydecember.htm#december2
We deserve it. This evening’s national and world news is unbearable. I don’t mean the Trump crap; I mean the real-people-doing-real-people things like trying to live in tents in the Carolinas, people stuck on highways in 23 degree temps, or people trying to help other people survive in the Middle East and Ukraine, Sudan, etc.-that is unbearable. So, the fairies decorated today while I decorated. I sometimes see them flitting around (the white lights,) but they decorated their big trees! Enjoy some beauty because we are fortunate to be able to do so.
| December 1, 1891 The International Peace Bureau was launched in Rome, Italy, “. . . to coordinate the activities of the various peace societies and promote the concept of peaceful settlement of international disputes.” The organization won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1910 for its work, and is headquartered in Bern, Switzerland.  |
| December 1, 1948 Following a brief but bloody civil war in 1948, Costa Rican President Jose Figueres helped draft a constitution that abolished the military and guaranteed free election with universal suffrage (all adult citizens can vote).  Money not spent on a military allowed the country to adequately fund health care and education, yielding one of the highest literacy rates on the continent, ninety-six percent. This is judged to be a factor in the nation’s never having fallen prey to corruption, dictatorships, or the bloodshed that has marred the history of much of the region. Costa Rica stands apart |
| December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks, a black seamstress active in the local NAACP, was arrested by police in Montgomery, Alabama, after refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. Mrs. Parks faced a fine for breaking the segregation laws which said blacks had to vacate their seats if there were white passengers left standing. The same bus driver had thrown her off his bus twelve years prior for refusing to enter through the rear door.  Rosa Parks Mrs. Parks had not been the first to defy the Jim Crow (the system of legalized or de jure segregation) law but her arrest sparked the year-long Montgomery Bus Boycott, organized by a young Baptist minister named Martin Luther King, Jr. The Montgomery bus company couldn’t survive without the revenue from its black passengers who, for the next year, created car pools and other means to avoid using the city busses.  The bus restored in Henry Ford Museum The boycott was successful and Mrs. Parks became known as the “mother of the civil rights movement.“ The story of the bus Rosa Parks biography Arrest record of Rosa Parks |
| December 1, 1959 Representatives of 12 countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union, signed a treaty in Washington setting aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, free from military activity. President Eisenhower said the treaty and its guarantees “constitute a significant advance toward the goal of a peaceful world with justice.” |
December 1, 1966 Comedian Dick Gregory was convicted in Olympia, Washington for his participation in a Nisqually Native American fishing rights protest.  Interview with Dick Gregory |
| December 1, 1969 A lottery was held to determine which young men would be drafted into the armed services for the ongoing Vietnam War. A large glass container held 366 blue plastic balls each marked with a birth date. The drawing determined the order of induction for draft-eligible men between 18 and 26 years old, and was broadcast live nationally. The first draft lottery was held in 1942.  Rep. Alexander Pirnie, R-NY, draws the first capsule in the draft lottery held on December 1, 1969. The capsule contained the date, September 14. |
| December 1, 1997 A silent march of women in Khartoum, Sudan, protesting conscription, was met by a police attack and the arrest of 37 women. |
https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorydecember.htm#december1
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Perfume Genius, Yaeji, Teddy Geiger, and more on the power of the compilation album.
Queer artists have always subverted musical boundaries, shaping the sound of culture itself. That truth is the guiding ethos behind TRANSA, an astounding new compilation from the nonprofit production company Red Hot that puts a spotlight on trans, nonbinary, and queer artists, celebrating the unique gifts they have brought to the world. Artist, model, and trans activist Massima Bell, who produced this compilation alongside senior Red Hot producer Dust Reid, puts it best. “I see in the quality of music trans people make this ability to create a portal out of their music and take you to a different place in a way that is really powerful,” Bell tells me.
TRANSA provides precisely that kind of transporting experience. Featuring 46 collaborative tracks with over 100 contributing artists, the compilation was inspired by Bell and Reid’s love of the music of Beverly Glenn-Copeland and the natural world. The passing of trans musical visionary SOPHIE in 2021 prompted the pair to focus on a project which they now describe as a “spiritual journey in eight chapters.” Individual chapters with titles like “Womb Of The Soul,” “Awakening,” and “Reinvention” serve as a blueprint for a winding musical narrative with multiple missions, one of which is to be a living document of contemporary music by trans and nonbinary artists. “We often don’t get to understand our history and the long legacy of trans people,” Bell says, “both in music, but throughout time and human culture.”
-Yana-Yatsuk.jpg)
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These queer creators make the kinds of artful, colorful, and unique gifts you won’t find at big stores.
Queer artists and makers work hard all year long, but due to the seasonality of product sales, many only make the majority of their income during the final three months of the year. So this holiday season, instead of buying from mega-retailers who love to slap rainbows on their merchandise for Pride month, you can put your dollar to better use by shopping small and buying direct from LGBTQ+ sellers.
Plus, with your house being such an important space for relaxation and recharging, what could make a better gift for queer loved ones in your life than handmade home decor? It’s a win-win: Your friends and family will get quality things to beautify their abodes, and you’ll help pay a queer person’s bills.
If you want to help your friends and loved ones jazz up their space, here are some incredible options for handmade home decor made by queer artists. (Buy something for yourself, too. We won’t judge.)
The thing about adopting plants is that it’s too easy to go from having a few here and there to an apartment full of aloe, monstera, and pothos. If you know someone whose home is overrun with greenery, you can never go wrong with the gift of a new container, so get the plant parent in your life a bright, 3D-printed flower pot to really make those leaves look good.
Made by the completely queer-owned design shop Object Lover, these pots are constructed from recyclable, biodegradable corn-based plastic, so your eco-conscious friends can feel good knowing their plants are helping the planet.
Nothing is more synonymous with the holidays than a good candle, especially as the days get shorter and darker during winter. But there’s no one-size-fits-all candle, so here are two very different options:
Queer Candle Co. is your go-to if you’re buying for someone whose style is a little more subtle. The glass jar and black-and-white label are both fairly nondescript, but the scents spill the tea. You’ll find blends like their astrological bundles for Fire Signs, Water Signs, and Air Signs as well as decadent scents like dark plum — all of which are tastefully designed by a queer-owned company who wanted to “promote visibility and amplify the voices of members of our community.” The company contributes 10% of their profits to the Sylvia Rivera Law Project.
If you’re looking for another candle company with product names that elicit some queer rebellion and cheekiness, look no further than Violet&Jade. With scents like Leather Daddy, Campfires & Carabiners, and Drag Brunch, these candles will make a great addition to any queer person’s mantle or side table.
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A Cry from an Indian Wife Emily Pauline Johnson
Please click through to read more about this poet, and her poem (especially in light of some terms she used in her work. It is fine history.)
My Forest Brave, my Red-skin love, farewell;
We may not meet to-morrow; who can tell
What mighty ills befall our little band,
Or what you’ll suffer from the white man’s hand?
Here is your knife! I thought ’twas sheathed for aye.
No roaming bison calls for it to-day;
No hide of prairie cattle will it maim;
The plains are bare, it seeks a nobler game:
’Twill drink the life-blood of a soldier host.
Go; rise and strike, no matter what the cost.
Yet stay. Revolt not at the Union Jack,
Nor raise Thy hand against this stripling pack
Of white-faced warriors, marching West to quell
Our fallen tribe that rises to rebel.
They all are young and beautiful and good;
Curse to the war that drinks their harmless blood.
Curse to the fate that brought them from the East
To be our chiefs—to make our nation least
That breathes the air of this vast continent.
Still their new rule and council is well meant.
They but forget we Indians owned the land
From ocean unto ocean; that they stand
Upon a soil that centuries agone
Was our sole kingdom and our right alone.
They never think how they would feel to-day,
If some great nation came from far away,
Wresting their country from their hapless braves,
Giving what they gave us—but wars and graves.
Then go and strike for liberty and life,
And bring back honour to your Indian wife.
Your wife? Ah, what of that, who cares for me?
Who pities my poor love and agony?
What white-robed priest prays for your safety here,
As prayer is said for every volunteer
That swells the ranks that Canada sends out?
Who prays for vict’ry for the Indian scout?
Who prays for our poor nation lying low?
None—therefore take your tomahawk and go.
My heart may break and burn into its core,
But I am strong to bid you go to war.
Yet stay, my heart is not the only one
That grieves the loss of husband and of son;
Think of the mothers o’er the inland seas;
Think of the pale-faced maiden on her knees;
One pleads her God to guard some sweet-faced child
That marches on toward the North-West wild.
The other prays to shield her love form harm,
To strengthen his young, proud uplifted arm.
Ah, how her white face quivers thus to think,
Your tomahawk his life’s best blood will drink.
She never thinks of my wild aching breast,
Nor prays for your dark face and eagle crest
Endangered by a thousand rifle balls,
My heart the target if my warrior falls.
O! coward self I hesitate no more;
Go forth, and win the glories of the war.
Go forth, nor bend to greed of white men’s hands,
By right, by birth we Indians own these lands,
Though starved, crushed, plundered, lies our nation low . . .
Perhaps the white man’s God has willed it so.
Copyright © 2024 by Emily Pauline Johnson. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on November 30, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.
Scottie's Playtime 