Category: Questions

Tired

Pardon me, but I am tired. I’ve been tired for years, and this just seems to get worse and worse as time goes by, and it has made me feel truly disheartened and dispirited about posting things I think on, and frankly of even thinking.

Truthfully, it makes it difficult to speak on serious issues, difficult to think on serious things, difficult to converse with neighbors and friends and family about the hopes and hurts of our day. I don’t know how to speak on seriousness with someone who has given up on respect and seriousness. I don’t know how to speak on reality with someone who doesn’t share a common reality! For instance…

Did you know that if you believe someone has the right to be gay, to be trans even, to be genuine!, to be able to read books about others who have struggled with similar things, that you are “a pedophile and want to maim children”? That’s what we are being told.

Did you know that if you believe in constitutional rights, individual rights, health care rights, and feeding children, you “hate America“? That’s what we are being told.

Did you know that if you think Israel has gone too far and has moved past defending its citizens and interests and is moving down a road of genocide, you “hate Jewish people and are a terrorist“? That too is what we are being told.

Did you know that if you believe that regulations are needed to ensure that people are safe, that industries don’t pollute our waterways and ground, that air pollution is toxic to the continuity of humanity, that you are “a burden on future generations and that you want America to fail“? Haven’t you heard this? I am told this all the time.

Did you know that finding a direct correlation between the prevalence of guns, the romanticization of of guns, and the unwillingness to be responsible for healthy training and use of guns to the number of children and other innocent people being victimized by guns means that you “want criminals to ruin our country“? Aren’t you watching the news? This is what we are supposed to believe.

And, I’m tired. I’m tired of trying to argue against utter nonsense and innuendo masqueraded as political wit and the solution to what ails the country is slinging batshit crazy names at someone who thinks there must be a better way. Is it too much to hope that we can get a government interested in tackling the problems and opportunities we face in America, interested in debating the pro’s and con’s and finding good solutions, or must we continue to be part of this Jr. High bullshit?

Hugs. Randy

Thank Ten Bears for this video, It is a must watch to see how republicans plan to keep anyone but tRump from being elected.

Twosday Ton of 2025 …

A Deep Dive Into Tim Walz’s History of Supporting LGBTQ+ Rights

https://www.them.us/story/tim-walz-kamala-harris-vp-running-mate-lgbtq-issues

The Minnesota governor is a longtime LGBTQ+ ally, dating back to his time as a GSA advisor and football coach.
 
BY NICO LANG
Image may contain Tim Walz People Person Electrical Device Microphone Adult Crowd Head Face and Happy
Star Tribune via Getty Images

In the days leading up to the announcement of Kamala Harris’ VP pick, progressives argued that the sitting veep needed to choose a running mate who would excite the Democrats’ more liberal voters, rather than chasing centrists. Others insisted that picking a vice presidential candidate is merely a game of electoral math, and that Harris should choose an inoffensive candidate who can also help the ticket win a key swing state — the same logic behind the selection of former Virginia governor Tim Kaine as Hillary Clinton’s potential VP in 2016.

On Tuesday, all sides got their wish granted.

By now, you are likely already aware that Harris has chosen Minnesota governor Tim Walz, who was once viewed as a longshot in the veepstakes behind buzzier picks like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. But many of those selections, while better known to the general public, would have brought with them specific liabilities.

Choosing Kelly, a former astronaut, would have permitted Republicans to call a special election to fill his Senate seat, thus imperiling the Democrats’ control of the Senate. While Shapiro could have helped Democrats secure Pennsylvania, his office has been rocked by several scandals in the past week, including the unearthing of an op-ed he penned in college in which he said Palestinians were “too battle-minded” for self-governance. As Attorney General in 2018, when his office was tasked with reviewing the controversial decision to rule the 2011 death of Philadelphia resident Ellen Greenberg a suicide rather than a homicide, Shapiro’s office declined to change the ruling. Beshear, hailing from a red state that Republicans won by 25 points in 2020, brings little electoral map benefit.

Walz, although previously unknown to most Americans, brings several advantages to the ticket. Polls have indicated throughout the year that Minnesota is a potential surprise swing state pickup for the GOP in November, despite having gone blue since 1972: Although President Joe Biden won the state by seven points in 2020, challenger Donald Trump had been within spitting distance in Minnesota polling throughout the year. An April survey showed Biden up just two points, and four in June, likely just outside the poll’s margin of error. While Biden is no longer the nominee, a major part of Harris’ task early in the race has been rebuilding her predecessor’s pallid polling, especially in the Midwest and the Sun Belt, which are considered key for victory in November.

 

But the selection of Walz is not merely a defensive move: He also brings with him a solid record on LGBTQ+ equality. Walz was one of the earliest governors to sign a bill making his state a sanctuary for gender-affirming care. Authored by state Rep. Leigh Finke (D), the legislation orders courts not to comply with out-of-state prosecutions against individuals who flee to Minnesota to access treatments like puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy, or surgery. Even before Finke’s bill passed the legislature, Walz issued an executive order in May 2023 to strengthen protections for trans health care in his state, saying in a statement that all Minnesotans should “grow up feeling safe, valued, protected, celebrated, and free to exist as their authentic versions of themselves.”

 

With neighboring states like Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota all restricting trans youth health care, Minnesota’s refuge law has made the state a hub for trans health care. Dozens of individuals and families have reportedly moved to Minnesota permanently to escape anti-LGBTQ+ policies in their previous states, and that number will likely increase as more state-level restrictions are enacted. To date, 26 states limit doctors from providing some or all gender-affirming treatments to minors, most recently New Hampshire.

As governor, Walz also signed a law in 2023 banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ youth. And two years before enacting an official embargo on the discredited, harmful practice, which has been likened to “torture” by United Nations human rights experts, he signed an executive order restricting the provision of Medicaid funding for treatments intended to “cure” an LGBTQ+ person’s identity.

But Walz is actually a longtime ally to the LGBTQ+ community on several key issues, dating back to even before his tenure as governor. As a U.S. House representative, he joined a coalition of veterans in 2012 to speak out in opposition to a proposed constitutional amendment that would define marriage equality exclusively as a union of one man and one woman. “At this point it’s become very clear that limiting the rights of a subsect of the population, whether they are veterans or not, is simply unconstitutional,” he said at the time. “I think we can do better.” His years as a member of the armed forces also motivated his opposition to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the now-defunct policy barring gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members from being open about their identities. “Always the issue for me was if you met the standards and did your job, your personal business was your personal business,” he remarked after DADT’s 2013 repeal.

Let’s talk about another Arizona AG win and Trump….

Let’s talk about Trump and GOP criticism about the swap….

Zen Pencils

Another artist I “e-met” on Google+, way back. These are always thinkers, some are especially nice.

Zen Pencils by Gavin Aung Than for August 05, 2024

Zen Pencils Comic Strip for August 05, 2024

https://www.gocomics.com/zen-pencils/2024/08/05

I am struggling

Hi. I am torn up right now with memories.  I am not sure what to do.  I wrote one of them to Jill telling her some of my abuse because she has told me it is ok to do that.  Still it bothered me.  My mind won’t release.  I am having one of those times that the vortex of dark despair is hovering me right outside me.  I am trying to distract my self.  Damn it!  I am 61 now, my last rapes happened in my early 20s.  I am safe.  I am happy.  I have a wonderful husband who is even now making ravioli baked in the red sauce I made.  Yet the memories come over me in waves.  I want to forget, I want to not feel it like I did when it happened.  But … but … Oh hell, I am going to do comments to help my mind settle.  But today my emotions are raw and I have memories that hurt.  At what point in my life do they go away?  Really I am 61.  I am safe, it is water under the bridge.  Yet ….  OK hug.  Scottie

House kills child online safety bills that could’ve hurt LGBTQ+ kids & allies

Progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez opposed the bill.
By  
The man plays computer games at home. Young guy is bored during online learning. Neon light in the evening. Weekend at home at the screen.The boy lost, was tired and upset.

Photo: Shutterstock

Despite passing in the Senate earlier this week, the Kid’s Online Safety Act (KOSA) is reportedly dead in the U.S. House after progressives, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), worried that it would possible censor LGBTQ+ content. Some Republicans also opposed the bill, stating that it would violate free speech protections for social media platforms and their users.

KOSA would have mandated that social media companies take measures to prevent recommending any content that promotes mental health disorders (like eating disorders, drug use, self-harm, sexual abuse, and bullying) unless minors specifically search for such content. Opponents worried that Republican attorneys general who see LGBTQ+ identities as harmful forms of mental illness would use KOSA’s provisions to censor queer web content and prosecute platforms that provide access to it.

“KOSA was a poorly written bill that would have made kids less safe,” said one of the bill’s most vocal opponents, Evan Greer, director of Fight for the Future, a nonprofit that protects human rights in the digital age. “It’s good that this unconstitutional censorship bill is dead for now, but I am not breathing a sigh of relief.”

“KOSA was always too controversial to succeed, and divided our coalition,” Greer added. “If we want to take on Big Tech and win, we have to quickly regroup and make a plan for next Congress. We need strong privacy, antitrust, and algorithmic justice legislation that address the harms of Big Tech without endangering free expression and human rights.”

Many other groups opposed the bill, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, the LGBT Technology Partnership, as well as LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations in six states.

While KOSA passed in the Senate earlier this week in a 93-1 vote, three senators voted against the bills: Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Rand Paul (R-KY) — all three made statements explaining why.

Wyden specifically said he voted against the bills because he worried a future administration could use the legislation to “pressure companies to censor gay, trans, and reproductive health information,” The Hill reported.

Lee said, “This legislation empowers the [Federal Trade Commission (FTC)] to censor any content it deems to cause ‘harm,’ ‘anxiety,’ or ‘depression,’ in a way that could (and most likely would) be used to censor the expression of political, religious, and other viewpoints disfavored by the FTC.”

Paul wrote in a recent Louisville Courier Journal opinion article, “KOSA would impose an unprecedented duty of care on internet platforms to design their sites to mitigate and prevent harms…. This requirement will not only stifle free speech, but it will deprive Americans of the benefits of our technological advancements.”

KOSA was introduced by anti-LGBTQ+ Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who said that one of the bill’s top priorities is to protect children from “the transgender in this culture.” Blackburn’s office told LGBTQ Nation that her comment had been “taken out of context” and wasn’t related to KOSA. Nevertheless, the anti-LGBTQ+ conservative think tank Heritage Foundation has also said it wishes to use the law to “guard” kids against the “harms of… transgender content.”

Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel at the ACLU, said, “KOSA compounds nationwide attacks on young peoples’ right to learn and access information, on and offline. As state legislatures and school boards across the country impose book bans and classroom censorship laws, the last thing students and parents need is another act of government censorship deciding which educational resources are appropriate for their families.”

Israeli Soldier BOASTS Of War Crimes – They Couldn’t Be Prouder Of Genocide

Never stop being shocked by this.

How to strip metadata from your files

https://getsession.org/blog/how-to-strip-metadata-from-your-files

You are being sold with every email, every picture, every blog post, every Instagram post, every thing you put on X or Facebook, you are the cash cow these companies want to milk.  I have been taking steps for years to reduce how much these businesses can strip mine my stuff data about me.  Here is a program I like, and here is a free tutorial on how to remove a lot of the metadata out of your images and files.  I recently realized how much information about myself I include in messages, so I looked into this program by Sessions.   Hugs.  Scottie

January 07, 2022 / Alex Linton

Metadata is a big deal — especially for people who are trying to protect their online privacy. For any files on your computer, there is probably a bunch of metadata about the file — such as location data, when the file was created, when it was last changed, or even what device created the file. If you ever give that file to someone else (or upload it to the internet), the file’s metadata will be transferred as well — which means they can see all that info. 

There are plenty of reasons you might want to share a file without wanting to share the metadata as well — such as preserving your privacy or anonymity. To do that, you’ll want to strip the file’s metadata. Stripping metadata from files removes all that extra information and leaves you with just the information in the file itself. Some messengers—like Session—strip metadata from your image files when you attach them to a message. This is because they can contain sensitive EXIF data, which contains device and location information. Other file types—like MP3s—might have less sensitive metadata (such as a song name or artist) which won’t be stripped.

However, if you want to be sure, you can always manually strip the metadata from your files. Here’s how!

How to remove metadata from files using Windows

Scrubbing your files on Windows is relatively easy, you can do so directly in the File Explorer without relying on any third party software. 

  1. Locate the file you want to strip in Explorer

  2. Right click on the file and select Properties

  3. Select the Details tab to see the associated metadata

  4. Click Remove Properties and Personal Information 

  5. Select the metadata you want to remove

  6. Select to either Create a copy (if you want to preserve the original) or Remove properties from this file

  7. Click OK

Ta-da! Metadata removed, now you can safely share the file without extra personal information being attached. 

How to remove metadata from files using macOS

Unfortunately things aren’t as simple on macOS. There’s no catch-all option for all file types, and you can only remove specific kinds of data. For images, you can remove location data using macOS’s built-in Preview application. 

  1. Open the image in Preview

  2. Hit CMD + i to display the image’s metadata 

  3. Navigate to the Info tab (circle with an ‘i’ inside it)

  4. Click on GPS to see the location metadata

  5. Click Remove Location Info to remove the GPS information stored in the image

For anything more thorough than this (or any file type other than images) you’ll need to use third-party software, such as Acrobat Pro for PDFs. 

How to remove metadata from files using Linux

Thankfully, things are much easier on Linux! Note: Instructions may be different depending on your distro.

  1. If you’re using a Debian-based system (such as Ubuntu), you can install MAT (which comes pre-packaged) using this command: $ sudo apt-get install mat

  2. You can then launch the MAT GUI using this: $ mat-gui

  3. Add the file you want to strip to MAT by clicking the Add icon in the top navigation bar

  4. Once the file is added, click Check to scan for metadata

  5. If metadata is detected, MAT will mark the file as ‘Dirty’, you can double click the file to see what metadata has been detected

  6. Click Clean to strip the metadata from the file

Simple as that! 

Keep your files safe

Stripping metadata from your files before you share them is a good idea — especially if you’re going to upload them somewhere public on the internet. If you want to be certain that the files you send are completely metadata free (even to the people you send them to) — make sure to strip them first! To ensure your files stay private, it’s also important to consider how and where you store your files. Make sure you’re encrypting your hard drives, and be careful about what Cloud storage providers you use and what upload. 

These days, it’s a normal everyday thing to share files on messaging apps and social media — but it’s important to be mindful about what exactly you’re sharing. Once those files hit the internet — they could end up anywhere!