A thread - We are so humbled & proud of the guests who shared a bit of their lives with the world on #Amplifiedvoices in Season 1.

As we gear up for Season 2, Catch up, comment, share & support! The more these voices are heard, the further change can go! #cjreform

was featured in the 1st full episode (3) She shared her thoughts on how her family was affected by both harm & the system, her search for answers, what they thought justice should look like, her spirituality, & journey to healing &

Episode 4 follows Iran Nazario, of @PeaceCenterofCT through his turbulent childhood, subsequent immersion in gang membership & entanglement in the cj system. His inspiring journey to repurpose himself as a proponent of peace & understanding makes an impact

Episode 5 highlights @ksburgess, a mother, wife & outspoken advocate from MI. She bravely shares her family’s story of harm, both within her family & as a result of the criminal legal process that denied them the healing that they earnestly sought.

Episode 6 features @DavidLeegarlock’s meaningful story of forgiveness, rehabilitation, spirituality & redemption. David talks of years of physical, mental, & sexual abuse prior to taking the life of his abuser, going to prison, reentry, advocacy & more.

The first reaction to the Mother and Baby Homes report from the Coalition of Survivors is: "Cop out“.
"What occurred was but an aspect of the newly established State which was profoundly anti women both in its laws and culture and out of which emerged the Mother and Baby Homes."

Here is an overview of the 3,000 word report. Thousands of children died, in some years at a rate of 40%, with no concern from state or society. It details graphic and sustained mental and physical abuse of children and pregnant women.

Resident F (14) was pregnant and taken to Castlepollard: "I was beaten by the nuns with a stick.
"You got beaten by sticks or by their hands, across your face, your head, arms, legs or torso." She said that nuns made her unblock toilets with her bare hands.

Resident (A) was raped by her boyfriend and became pregnant at 18, she told the commission she saw "about ten" deceased babies being sent for burial in what appeared to be shoeboxes.

I'm not going to keep pasting the testimony as it's upsetting for people who might choose not to read it for whatever reason. It's harrowing. I had to get up and walk away twice when reading it.

The argument against moving slightly slower on impeachment than it takes to send a tweet was something like, "It's the only way to get Republicans!"

Looks like that was ass-backwards, as anyone who understands basic psychology should have understood.

The notion that people change their minds immediately after an earth-shattering or traumatic situation that proves their priors wrong is not true. It often doesn't start to work until they've had some time to really sit with what happened to them. Which we're seeing here.

Indeed, if you interview anyone who works at a DV shelter, you'll find that one of the biggest advantages of getting a woman away from an abuser is so she can have a moment to herself to think and to realize she needs to leave him for good.

There were factors working against this tendency. For instance, widespread support for the coup from GOP voters may make some Republican politicians shaky. But on the psychological front, the notion that a trauma immediately changes opinions is more Hollywood logic than reality.

The larger point here is anyone who is absolutely certain they have the right answer, especially something like the exact timeline for impeachment, is talking out of their ass. The reality is this situation is chaotic, with lots of moving pieces. So really anything could happen.

Let’s talk about “the mark of the beast.”

Every time some new vaccine becomes necessary, there’s a small-but-loud group of evangelicals and otherwise who believe taking this vaccine could be “pledging your allegiance to the devil.” But does this have any grounds in The Bible?

The so-called “mark of the beast” appears in The Revelation, so first we’ve gotta dispel some myths about the book as a whole.

I’d argue that if there’s one book that has been twisted most heavily by the “evangelical fanfiction lore” of the 80s and 90s, it’s gotta be Revelation.

American Christianity in the 90s was wack. After years of politicians stoking fears of communism & new world order, conservatives snowballed their vision of what “the apocalypse” would look like, and reverse-engineered their fears back into Revelation with stuff like Left Behind.

The Left Behind books were pretty critical to the end-times fearmongering. Even Liberty University’s Jerry Falwell said at the time, "in terms of its impact on Christianity, Left Behind is probably greater than that of any other book in modern times, outside The Bible.”

Meanwhile, Theologian David Carlson said, “Left Behind promotes a skewed view of the Christian faith that welcomes war and disaster, while dismissing peace efforts in the Middle East and elsewhere—all in the name of Christ.”

Feeling a bit of outrage fatigue. I know UCP likes to make digs about ‘the angry left’ (ie everyone who doesn’t support them or believe their lies), and maybe they’re trying to bombard us with their screw-ups until we’re numb to it all, but it’s ALL justified. 1/11

While we’ve been watching Kenney immolate what’s left of his credibility as a ‘leader’ over this Keystone XL debacle, it’s easy to forget that it’s only 10 days since we found out about the veto AIMCo will have over ATRF’s direction on how to invest hijacked pension funds. 2/11

It’s only 3 weeks since Kenney first tried to absolve his MLAs of blame in their hypocritical Christmas vacations, and less than that since he kicked a minister out of cabinet and another MLA out of caucus. 9 of them travelled. 5/11

It was only last week that teachers and students went back into the classroom, and amid all the rest of this, it has barely made a ripple in the news that there are *hundreds* of new covid cases in schools, and *dozens* of those caught covid AT school. In 9 days back. 4/11

The media has also largely ignored that the government decided to wipe the school outbreak map clean for a ‘fresh start’ in January, and raise the reporting threshold for outbreaks. When Dr. Hinshaw says ‘outbreak’ now, it means 5+ cases in a school, but it used to mean 2+ 5/11

1/ Further thoughts on @DavidAFrench's important essay on #ChristianNationalism.

It's great to see a leading evangelical thinker publicly engaging the topic.

But....

2/ It would be even better if @DavidAFrench would engage with work on #ChristianNationalism by scholars and journalists like:

@ndrewwhitehead @socofthesacred @praxishabitus @sarahposner @kathsstewart @AntheaButler @Nicholef and yours truly @GorskiPhilip

Also...

3/ With the work of black theologians such as:

Willie Jennings, @JemarTisby @stewartdantec @esaumccaulley to name just a few.

If he did, then....

4/ He'd know that there are much better and more nuanced definitions of #ChristianNationalism than the one offered by @ThomasSKidd, who is a smart guy, but not a scholar of the subject.

Plus...

5/ He'd know that the phenomenon is, in fact, much more widespread than he implies, not just amongst white evangelicals but also amongst non-evangelical white Protestants and white Catholics....See "Taking America Back for God" for the receipts.

So, why do I keep saying "white"?

THREAD:  A few quick thoughts on #Navalny and why the Kremlin opted for such a harsh sentence. 1/10

Ever since news broke about the failed assassination attempt last August it’s been clear the security services have been operating according with very simple logic.  2/10

The overriding goal was to destroy Navalny and to demonstrate that no move aimed against the security services would remain unpunished.  3/10

Thus, there was no way for the authorities to accept that Navalny could return and operate freely against Putin and the security establishment in the new political conditions created by the fact of the assassination attempt. 4/10

The current ruling is only the first part of a saga.The Kremlin has plenty of other potential criminal charges it can bring against Navalny.The goal is to make Navalny—and others-realize that they face the prospect of spending the rest of their lives behind bars. 5/10

1/ I want to say something as an atty who worked in Pedowood until 2018. The very famous ones who were "suicided" were all guilty. I want you all to know that. They ALL signed the cabal's contract and took the deal. They knew EXACTLY what they were getting into. I'll tell you how

2/ it happens. You come here or are groomed for here or whatever. You seek fame and fortune for your art. Whatever you seek you will find. Except justice, truth and God. Not among the puppet masters. (keep reading I'm still going).

3/ Alot of young ones come here from all over the country hoping to be discovered. They go to parties, clubs, bars, whatever hopping to meet that one person who is goign to help them. Meanwhile, the Luciferian order/cabal/shitshow - whatever you want to call them, is looking for

4/ these young folks. Yes, they are young, but so was I. I never took their stupid deals. I never signed up. I have good judgment and morals. Let me continue (I was a writer hired for Paramount LONG ago and I said NO THANK YOU).

So there is a structure to this system, like any

5/ company or organization. And its called "The Family". Yes that is what they call it.

Paizoverse, I starting a series of posts re: our marketing and media priorities and resources. Seeking to be more transparent and to strategize alongside the community.

First of all it looks like we have at least 160 Pathfinder, Starfinder, and Paizo Organized play products to promote in 2021. So simply building awareness is our first priority for social media.

Second, we have 30-ish, and growing, licensed partner relationships to promote including their products, shows, and crowdfunding campaigns. Once again that’s about awareness.

Thirdly we have Pathfinder and Starfinder Compatible publishing partners who sell on Paizo dot com. We’ve updated our store landing page to make them easier to find and I’ve started a monthly blog.

I’d say fourthly there are charitable nonprofits I’d like to start shedding the light on. I think they are something we can all build community around.

1/@RANDCorporation just put out a report on drug prices amongst the G7, and the methodology is somewhat appalling. I'm kind of hoping @DrugChannels looks at it because it contains such glaring errors worthy of an Adam Fein Policy Roast.

2/In the introduction of the report (p.viii) they admit that they can't actually compare prices of drugs because US drugs include rebates and many of those aren't public info. So they start out the report by saying they're going to use incorrect numbers....

3/"Although prices net of rebates and other discounts paid by manufacturers after drugs are dispensed are particularly relevant in the United States, these prices are generally not available to researchers."

4/Honestly the report should have stopped right there. How do you honestly proceed after such a whopper of a flaw in your own methodology? What's worse is they buried the useful observation

5/"for unbranded generic drugs (with U.S.
prices at 84 percent of those in comparison countries). Unbranded generics represent 84 percent
of volume in the United States, compared with 35 percent of volume for the other OECD
countries in the study."

well, the new york deadline is sunday so i am finally applying for health insurance today. (i wouldn't be able to use the insurance until february 1st anyway, so i put it off.) i played through demon's souls FOUR TIMES in the past month and i still don't understand this system

the psychopaths in charge talk about how valuable "choice" is, though literally all of the plans offered to me have a three out of five star rating. except the "new" plans, which i guess will be three stars next year. also notice a column for an attribute which is ALWAYS "no" lol

this baroque, bizarre, unreadable-on-a-mobile-phone website logs me out automatically seemingly every three minutes, always without warning, usually while i'm entering data. click "next," get an error. it took me two months of such trials to get all my info plugged in for today.

i don't understand the differences between any of these plans. i have been on the phone regularly with my doctors these past couple months, trying desperately to find a plan they all agree on. i narrowed it down to four plans. three are $1200 per month. one is $957

i have a higher IQ than any sitting US senator. more importantly, i have beaten BERWICK SAGA for playstation 2 more than twice. i still don't exactly understand what a deductible is lmao

I have moved houses a couple of times in the past 8 years that I have been married but this is the first time I am doing a big move from one city to another with all my house stuff after the kids were born (thread)

Didn't think it'd be so hard coz we don't even have much stuff. we lived in a furnished house in the first 5 years and then kids happened and furniture was unnecessary coz if you have kids you know that they think furniture is for doing everything except sitting and relaxing

So we don't have beds (kids will fall down), no TV (kids will likely break it), no chest of drawers (had one, kids open and shut it so many times, it broke), no study table/work desk (lol, kitchen sink and dining table is only study table)

We also never bought any toys for the kids because again if you have kids, you know how useless toys are. The kids have played more with our furniture and our utensils than any of the expensive toys they were gifted with
(BUT ALWAYS HAVE 200 TYPES OF BALLS AND CARS)

Even clothes we don't have much because the kids outgrow stuff so fast, we keep donating clothes and husband works from home and has been wearing the same shorts and t-shirt since the day we got married and I have some 15-20 kurtas/leggings which I have been wearing for years

I used to talk more openly about my experience as a trans person, which is why I think so many people started following me. At some point last year, as I was about to hit 3 years of transition, I became deeply uncomfortable with trans community, discourse, & my lack of privacy.

My own gender dysphoria & internalized transphobia came raging back in ways that I didn’t expect it to. I’ve been struggling for the better part of a year. I rarely take selfies anymore. I closed my DMs, which I used to use to support others. I don’t talk about being trans much.

I spent most of 2020 becoming completely disillusioned by the effectiveness of hormones. Basically, I’ve built up a lot of resentment about finding myself on the wrong side of YMMV. I feel miles behind where I should be when comparing my experience to that of my peers.

In therapy, I’m back to working primarily on gender dysphoria, positive self-talk, & proactivity in transition. Like many people, my transition stalled completely in 2020. I accomplished nothing new, practically speaking. No documents signed, no dates set, no dreams coming true.

My therapist & I are working on learning to be happy if - hypothetically - transition were over right now. No more puberty, no surgeries, no changes. How do I go from feeling unsatisfied, jealous of others, & resentful to feeling happy, hopeful, & secure in my body & my identity?

Dear UKRNIJN,

HERE ARE LAST MINUTE TIPS I'VE COMPILED SPECIALLY FOR YOU BEFORE WRITING THAT IELTS ON SATURDAY.

For the listening:
•Ensure your headset is well connected and audible enough before the starting time.

•Concentration is key, try all means not to lose focus.

•One lifesaver is reading the questions ahead of the audio.

•Write all your answers in the question sheet, you've got an additional 10minutes to transfer them into the answer sheet.

•Write them in capital letters, e get why.

READING:
This is the toughest aspect for me but I trashed it.

•Use the formula 15:25:20
I will explain how it works

•Always start with passage 1, it is the simplest,spend ATMOST 15minutes to answer it.

Go to passage 3,spend 25minutes here cos It is the simplest/complex.

•You can now go to passage 2 and spend the remaining 20Mins.

•In my next tweet, I'll be teaching you a strategy that I later used to trash the reading aspect.

WRITING
It was the simplest for me. I had as high as 7.5.

•Start with task 1, it's the easiest and has the lowest mark.

•The most important aspect is your 1st (Introduction) and 2nd paragraphs (Overview)

Really just so proud of all the people at @ucdavis and at @HealthyDavis and #DavisCA involved in this. And happy to play a supporting role.

A California College Tries to Shield an Entire City From Coronavirus

Incredibly thankful to my lab manager and friend @davidacoil for his amazing efforts on this project, helping set up the testing, working with @HealthyDavis, managing procurement of supplies (which he loves), and just working his tail off on this. #HealthyDavis

Also incredibly impressed with the @genomecenter and @michelmorelab and others for getting the high throughout testing up and running and working very well #HealthDavis

Many thought this could not be done on this scale, in this way. But Richard Michelmore and others at @genomecenter (and with support of many @ucdavis from top to bottom) they figured it out. #HealthyDavis

The @ucdavis campus leadership found the money to get things up and running and linking to the local community via @HealthyDavis has also been critical

@Maxwell4Fresno Hi Tyler, I support free bus rides in @CityofFresno . I'm a former college-educated paralegal who was priced out of my native SF Bay Area. I moved to Fresno 3 yrs ago for cheaper cost of living, and a Social Work degree @Fresno_State . -Michaela /1

2/ @Maxwell4Fresno My plans were derailed by illness, hospital, and long application for benefits & housing. I'm too young for 62 yr old affordable apts (58) and too healthy for transitional programs (no drugs or alcohol). I sleep in my car in 2+ yr wait list. N Fresno.-Michaela

3/ @Maxwell4Fresno In my long healing period, I spent thru my savings and became homeless. I used a variety of Fresno's homeless services for women. They were dangerous, unethical, untrained, exhausting, and abusive. I wouldn't recommend them to any woman. Traumatic.-Michaela

4/ @Maxwell4Fresno I had very little money and I had to pay car ins, preserve gas. It takes YEARS in most cases for our homeless, most of whom have a major illness, to be approved for Social Security disability. -Michaela

5/ @Maxwell4Fresno I was required to meet with a @FresnoCountyCA case worker every two weeks about my housing application. I asked for a bus pass or gas voucher, as I couldn't afford to get to these appts. -Michaela

TEN (10) countries you can MOVE to - for Jobs, Academics & Move your Family.

ALL YOU NEED-

A thread :

CANADA 🇨🇦

HOLLAND 🇳🇱

AUSTRALIA 🇦🇺

NORWAY 🇳🇴

If someone’s an asshole to you, it’s your right to decide not to work w/them. Right?

If someone’s an asshole to your friend/mom/kid/neighbor, etc., it’s still your right to decide not to work w/ them. Right?

So...

If someone’s an asshole to people you don’t know personally, but you disapprove of the assholery... it’s still your right to decide not to work w/them.

It’s not a blacklist if people choose not to work with you b/c your views make them or others feel unsafe.

At a certain point, conservatives are going to have to recognize that “views” are not academic when they have real-world effects and consequences for other people.

Like, “X got fired for being conservative!” implies those conservative views exist in a vacuum and are purely thought experiments, whereas in actuality those views are likely affecting other people quite fundamentally.

If you insist that people who cut ties w/ bigots are doing it just because of pressure from “cancel culture,” you’re basically saying they can’t tell the difference between which values matter to them and which don’t. That’s pretty patronizing.