Author | Lightnews

Reposted by RJ (he/him)

Matt マット @mplewis.com · 4h

📍 Valmont, CO
📅 Sun, May 5, 2024 @ 16:36
📷 FUJIFILM X-T4
🔎 XF27mmF2.8 R WR
☀️ 1/110s, 𝑓9.0, ISO 640
#photolog #fujifilm

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RJ (he/him) @rjcarmine.bsky.social · 1d

Few things in life are better than snuggling Bertie on the couch.

Bertie, a handsome American shorthair tabby cat, stretches out his paws and rests them on his human dad's laptop keyboard while he takes a nap. He is snuggling with his dad on the couch on a soft alpaca blanket.

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RJ (he/him) @rjcarmine.bsky.social · 2d

Fell asleep on the sofa snuggling Bertie

Bertie snuggling on the couch with RJ. Bertie looks at the camera while placing his paw on RJ's wrist. They are surrounded by cushions and blankets.

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LastFlyingFox (they/them) @lastflyingfox.bsky.social · 3d

I have this piece & others available as tees, prints, mugs & other items at lastflyingfox.threadless com. Purchases help pay our vet bills and feed rescue, stray & feral cats! 🦊🐱🐱🐱🐾

Three cats in various colors sit together in front of a grove of trees under a full moon. Text at the bottom reads "Witches Before Bitches," with trees used in place of the letter I.

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Katiesaurus @katiesaurusseven.bsky.social · 5d

With alt text

"An accountability center is involuntary, OK you're not coming in and out," Randy Shumway, chairman of the state Homeless Services Board, said in an interview. Utah will end a harmful "culture of permissiveness," he said, and guide homeless people "towards human thriving."

A conceptual rendering provided by the Utah Office of Homeless Services of a complex that state planners have said will treat addiction and mental illness and provide a humane alternative to the streets. Utah Office of Homeless Services (image shows a collection of buildings, not unlike a shopping mall, in the middle of nowhere.)

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 5d

FOOD BANK DIRECTOR: “For every meal a food bank provides, the SNAP program provides 9. There’s no way we can meet that gap. We were not built to do this.”

(@TNDemocrats are imploring @GovBillLee to fund SNAP with the billions in reserves as other states are, but he refuses)

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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 5d

“A revolutionary is primarily concerned with building. Of course that requires the destruction of what already exists, but if anyone is only talking about destroying, they are not revolutionary” - Kwamé Ture

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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 5d

"You don't choose the times you live in, but you do choose who you want to be, and you do choose how you want to think." –

Grace Lee Boggs

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Kat Howard @katwithsword.bsky.social · 6d

tfw you get fancy juice because you're under the weather, and your weird cat cries because you won't share it with her (???) and now you are also crying because you are under the weather and your cat is sad

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Jonathan Dresner @jondresner.bsky.social · 24d

There are no good-faith anti-trans arguments and no acceptable compromises on trans lives.

"fuck you, eat shit and go to hell you smarmy loser. You aren’t owed good boy points or queer accolades for doing your job and standing up for your marginalized constituents, which you don’t even do."

Assigned Media @assignedmedia.org · 24d

Gavin Newsom continues to be a disappointment to trans Californians. TWIBS brought to you by @alyssaur.bsky.social

TWIBS: Governor Newsom May Be a Threat to Trans Americans — Assigned

Gavin Newsom has spent a lot of time declaring himself the greatest hero of the queer community to ever live, but his words and actions rarely seem to align these days.

www.assignedmedia.org

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RJ (he/him) @rjcarmine.bsky.social · 6d

His name is Bertie, and he says thank mew! =^..^=

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RJ (he/him) @rjcarmine.bsky.social · 6d

The number of times a day I have to tell this face “it’s not good for cattes” still breaks my heart! Get well soon!!

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RJ (he/him) @rjcarmine.bsky.social · 8d

The Temptations-wanter has logged on

Bertie is a domestic shorthair cat with lynx point coloring and light blue eyes. He lounges on the carpet next to his treats station, looking expectantly at his human to provide Temptations treats, which he goes so apeshit for that he growls while he eats them.

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 9d

One of the many lessons to pull from this- a key part of being ready to act is having thought beforehand how you would act in that scenario. If you want to be ready to yell at ICE in your pajamas, be ready to do so by spending time mentally rehearsing it in advance.

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 9d

Per @chicagotribune.com, the pajama-pants-guy is a former county prosecutor.

And he had some things to say. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/25/c...

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 9d

Nine months ago I put most of my hope in major institutions continuing to hold fascism in check, but had little expectation that regular people with little to no power would step up and put themselves at risk.

I had it exactly backward.

Melissa Gira Grant @melissagiragrant.com · 9d

signs like these are up all over Chicago cafes and storefronts (here, cafes in Brighton Park and Back of the Yards) warning ICE not to enter without a judicial warrant

Glass storefront door in Brighton Park, with sign in English and Spanish, reading: ATTENTION ICE/CBP
AGENTS
STOP
YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED ENTRANCE INTO THIS BUSINESS WITHOUT A VALID JUDICIAL WARRANT
ATENCION AGENTES DE
ICE/CBP
STOP
NO SE LE PERMITE LA ENTRADA A ESTE NEGOCIO SIN UNA ORDEN
JUDICIAL VALIDA

Glass storefront door with sign reading:

PRIVATE PROPERTY
NO ICE

YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO ENTER NON-PUBLIC AREAS OF THIS SPACE
WITHOUT A VALID JUDICIAL WARRANT SIGNED BY A FEDERAL JUDGE

and a second sign:
PLEASE USE DOOR
ON 47TH ST.
BACK OF THE YARDS

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RJ (he/him) @rjcarmine.bsky.social · 8d

I only got a handful of photos at the Rusty Scupper in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The finest meal I have ever had. We both got stuffed shrimp, which were 5 incredibly large shrimp topped with mini crab cakes and served with a decadent beurre sauce.

Table at Baltimore's Rusty Scupper restaurant. A glass of sangria, a bread basket, and a plate of stuffed shrimp served with haricots verts and sauces.

Nighttime view across Baltimore's Inner Harbor from our table at the Rusty Scupper. Beautiful lights reflected in the water.

Evening view of the interior of the Rusty Scupper restaurant. Wood paneled ceiling with heavy timber beams and columns, twinkling mood lighting, and the bar is visible in the background.

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RJ (he/him) @rjcarmine.bsky.social · 8d

One of the amazing crab cakes I had in Baltimore. This was at Phillips in the Inner Harbor.

Table of two dishes at Phillip's Seafood. One plate contains an enormous crab cake in a hot cast iron pan accompanied by roasted asparagus and sauce. The other plate contains the Crab Imperial dish in a small cast iron ramekin, served with asparagus and mashed potatoes.

RJ (he/him) @rjcarmine.bsky.social · 8d

Bertie doing a perfect catte loaf, hiding all dem peets

Bertie, a handsome silver lynx point domestic shorthair cat, lightly dozes in the "loaf" position on the carpet, where all four of his paws are tucked underneath his fluff.

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Qasim Rashid, Esq. @qasimrashid.com · 8d

Billionaire Tim Mellon sent $130M of his $14.1B to fund US military salaries during the Govt shutdown

1. This covers 1/3 of military payroll for 1 day

2. DOD has a $1T budget. $130M is .013% of that

3. Mellon can casually part with $130M—he can be taxed at a 91% marginal tax like during 1940-1980

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Art by Emily K @museum.of.emilyk.art · 9d

"Tzefardea Tzedek" (Frog of Righteousness)

As soon as the Portland Frog became a meme, Jewish social media blew up with jokes about the 2nd Passover plague - tzefarde'a (frogs) - and the Rabbinical commentary around it. I knew I had to make a calligraphy piece encompassing all of it. (more in alt.)

Hebrew calligraphy in dark green stretches in lines across the image. Negative space makes room for a simple representation of an inflatable frog costume with a blue bandana. That shape consists of the English translation of the Hebrew, in a lighter green, and in much smaller text.
--
Famously, the Egyptian tyrant causes Egypt to be overrun with frogs because he refuses to free the Hebrew people, but there are additional details that make this a fun one to ponder. For one, the Hebrew says "the frog came up" - ONE frog - even though the rest of the time it says "frogs." So there are a few explanations rabbis have come up with to explain this. One is that a single frog multiplied to create swarms. A more creative explanation is that there was a singular giant frog who traveled and brought destruction. Jewish social media was sharing videos of the Portland Frog protester with the caption, "One Big Frog! One Big Frog!" Of course the frog protesters did multiply, and many were seen in crowds all over the world on "No Kings" Day. This calligraphic work takes the verses addressing the frog plague and combines them to form a simple rendering of the Portland Frog protester. The frog figure itself is made up of the English translations of the Hebrew around it. At the bottom left my signature is in the shape of a lily pad.

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Dr. SkySkull @drskyskull.bsky.social · 9d

A lot of folks may think that just yelling at ICE agents is ineffective, but consider the cumulative psychological toll of being yelled at EVERY DAY when trying to do shit. Even the biggest asshole in the world who doesn't give a shit about other people will feel the pressure.

armando l sanchez @mandophotos.bsky.social · 9d