In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

This is big news: "President Barack Obama will remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, the White House announced Tuesday, a key step in his bid to normalize relations between the two countries. ...Cuba will officially be removed from the terror list 45 days after the president's message was sent to Congress. Lawmakers could vote to block the move during that window, though Obama would be all-but-certain to veto such a measure."

(Because there are already stories about whether President Barack Obama is doing enough to help Hillary Clinton, or whoever the eventual presidential nominee is, I want to point out—and I will continue to point this out, whenever I see it—that this is not only the decent thing to do, but also a crucial assist to the next Democratic nominee, who will certainly benefit from voters who are pleased by this decision.)

Speaking of Hillary Clinton: At an appearance in Iowa, Clinton said "she's anxious to hear from Americans about what's important for them and what policies they see working in their own communities, but also that she decided to start with a baseline of 'four big fights' she wants to wage: To 'build the economy of tomorrow not yesterday'; to 'strengthen families and communities'; to 'fix our dysfunctional political system and get unaccountable money out of it once and for all—even if that means a constitutional amendment'; and to protect the country 'from the threats that we see and the ones that are on the horizon.'"

And speaking of listening to people about what's important to them, this piece by Imani Gandy on the absolute necessity that Clinton listen to Black women is amazing: "Women of color, and Black women in particular (because we have the strongest turnout among women of color), could hand Clinton the White House on a silver platter. But not if she doesn't work for it. And that means addressing issues that uniquely face us. How does Hillary Clinton plan to work to restore voting rights? To end the scourge of police brutality against Black people? To reduce the wage gap between white women on the one hand, and Black and Latina women on the other? To overcome barriers that women of color face in health-care access? To reform draconian immigration policies that rip families apart? To ensure that women have the right to safe abortion care irrespective of their ability to pay for it? If she were to focus specifically on our issues, she could further increase our participation at the polls and inspire us to vote in greater numbers—not just in the upcoming presidential election, but in midterm elections and statewide elections too, thus solidifying Democratic victories at the state and federal level." Seriously, read the whole thing; it's terrific.

In gross news: "Gravestone of Hillary Clinton's Father Toppled in Possible Act of Vandalism." Fucking hell.

[Content Note: Homophobia; Christian Supremacy] My garbage governor, y'all: "Gov. Mike Pence said Tuesday that the controversy over the state's 'religious freedom' law has passed. 'I think the difficult time that Indiana just passed through two weeks ago is behind us,' Pence told reporters. His comments came just one day after his administration hired a global public relations company to help repair the state's damaged reputation. The state plans to pay the firm, Porter Novelli, at least $2 million." Again: This is a state in which 1 out of every 6 people relies on food assistance to survive. And they're spending $2 million on PR to convince people that bigotry ain't bigotry. Terrific.

And on the whole "Indiana voters need to get their shit together" meme: Yesterday, the Indiana House voted to pass SB1 to remove Glenda Ritz, 55-41. So, again: This is what happens when we do vote in Democrats.

This is a supercool math/logic problem. It's so tricky and so fun! Were you able to solve it?

Boooooooo: "After surveying tens of thousands of galaxies surrounding our own Milky Way galaxy, the scientists turned up no sign of advanced alien civilizations." Well, if we did, we'd probably just blow them up anyway. Sadface.

LOL FOREVER: "Gwyneth Paltrow's food stamp challenge is the most Gwyneth Paltrow thing ever." It really is.

And finally! "Incredible Nurse Cat from Poland Looks After Other Animals at Animal Shelter." ♥