#good news in voting rights
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Today is a great day for democracy in Michigan! 🎉 Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a series of election bills into law expanding and protecting access to the ballot box.
These new laws:
🗳 Allow 16 year olds to pre-register to vote
🙌 Expand voter registration
❌ Criminalize poll worker intimidation
📅 Vote up to 9 days early
✅ Automatically register returning citizens (Making Michigan the first state to do so!)
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"For the first time in almost 60 years, a state has formally overturned a so-called “right to work” law, clearing the way for workers to organize new union locals, collectively bargain, and make their voices heard at election time.
This week, Michigan finalized the process of eliminating a decade-old “right to work” law, which began with the shift in control of the state legislature from anti-union Republicans to pro-union Democrats following the 2022 election. “This moment has been decades in the making,” declared Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber. “By standing up and taking their power back, at the ballot box and in the workplace, workers have made it clear Michigan is and always will be the beating heart of the modern American labor movement.”
[Note: The article doesn't actually explain it, so anyway, "right to work" laws are powerful and deceptively named pieces of anti-union legislation. What right to work laws do is ban "union shops," or companies where every worker that benefits from a union is required to pay dues to the union. Right-to-work laws really undermine the leverage and especially the funding of unions, by letting non-union members receive most of the benefits of a union without helping sustain them. Sources: x, x, x, x]
In addition to formally scrapping the anti-labor law on Tuesday [February 13, 2024], Michigan also restored prevailing-wage protections for construction workers, expanded collective bargaining rights for public school employees, and restored organizing rights for graduate student research assistants at the state’s public colleges and universities. But even amid all of these wins for labor, it was the overturning of the “right to work” law that caught the attention of unions nationwide...
Now, the tide has begun to turn—beginning in a state with a rich labor history. And that’s got the attention of union activists and working-class people nationwide...
At a time when the labor movement is showing renewed vigor—and notching a string of high-profile victories, including last year’s successful strike by the United Auto Workers union against the Big Three carmakers, the historic UPS contract victory by the Teamsters, the SAG-AFTRA strike win in a struggle over abuses of AI technology in particular and the future of work in general, and the explosion of grassroots union organizing at workplaces across the country—the overturning of Michigan’s “right to work” law and the implementation of a sweeping pro-union agenda provides tangible evidence of how much has changed in recent years for workers and their unions...
By the mid-2010s, 27 states had “right to work” laws on the books.
But then, as a new generation of workers embraced “Fight for 15” organizing to raise wages, and campaigns to sign up workers at Starbucks and Amazon began to take off, the corporate-sponsored crusade to enact “right to work” measures stalled. New Hampshire’s legislature blocked a proposed “right to work” law in 2017 (and again in 2021), despite the fact that the measure was promoted by Republican Governor Chris Sununu. And in 2018, Missouri voters rejected a “right to work” referendum by a 67-33 margin.
Preventing anti-union legislation from being enacted and implemented is one thing, however. Actually overturning an existing law is something else altogether.
But that’s what happened in Michigan after 2022 voting saw the reelection of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a labor ally, and—thanks to the overturning of gerrymandered legislative district maps that had favored the GOP—the election of Democratic majorities in the state House and state Senate. For the first time in four decades, the Democrats controlled all the major levers of power in Michigan, and they used them to implement a sweeping pro-labor agenda. That was a significant shift for Michigan, to be sure. But it was also an indication of what could be done in other states across the Great Lakes region, and nationwide.
“Michigan Democrats took full control of the state government for the first time in 40 years. They used that power to repeal the state’s ‘right to work’ law,” explained a delighted former US secretary of labor Robert Reich, who added, “This is why we have to show up for our state and local elections.”"
-via The Nation, February 16, 2024
#michigan#united states#us politics#labor#labor rights#labor unions#capitalism#unions#unionize#gretchen whitmer#democrats#voting matters#right to work#pro union#workers#workers rights#good news#hope
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Results from the ‘Who is the tallest MDZS Character poll! Thank you all for voting!
#poorly drawn mdzs#mdzs#nie mingjue#lan wunian#lan xichen#lan wangij#poll#Thank you all for showing up with your whimsy! I saw so many funny tags and messages! What a blast it has been!!!#Nie Mingjue was the distractor answer - word of god *does* say he's the tallest but...he *was* dismembered and beheaded.#It's still a grey area though! This was all for fun after all B*)#Jin Ling uses his hair as a little lasso. Good for night hunting and asserting dominance!#Not the tallest due to his hair gel getting stuck on his hands and reducing the height of his throw during the judging.#And yes- Poorly Drawn Jin Ling is ~4cm tall. Grab you rulers out an visualize that <3 My Friday Treat for you all.#Real feminism is the fact that all the men who won did so by technically cheating and the woman (horse) did it the honest way.#Real feminism is being a horse. Everyone better start getting on that. New Year's resolution. Horse time.#My apologies to the Jin Zixuan likers (lowest votes): He's a bit of a fail wife but that's okay.#I like to imagine that It's the ghost of JYL committing voter fraud to give him pity votes.#(It is still voter fraud if a ghost votes right? Has anyone looked into the legality of ghost voting?)#Much to think about....Hey speaking of the ghosts of women: See you all tomorrow for the new poll!
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Nearly 30% of Gen Z adults identify as LGBTQ, national survey finds
I feel like this is very hopeful; towards the end of the article it says:
"Gen Z adults, along with millennials, were also more likely to identify as LGBTQ than Republican, the survey found."
And:
'“Whether it’s at the polls, in marches and rallies, or online, LGBTQ+ visibility matters and Gen Z is a force for change,” Kelley Robinson, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, said in a statement. “Thousands of LGBTQ+ young people turn 18 each day — and lawmakers should understand there will be repercussions in November for anti-LGBTQ+ political attacks.”'
Please vote! Our numbers are increasing, but that only makes a difference in elections if we queer people go and vote against the politicians who are against us. We gotta vote like our lives depend on it - because they do.
#current events#us politics#please vote#vote blue#vote against republicans#lgbtqia rights#more queer people are voting age every day#some good news#get out the vote#vote for trans rights#vote for lgbtqia rights#trans rights
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#u.s. politics#democracy#good news#good news 2023#voting rights#idk what else to tag this#elections matter#skypalacearchitect
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Anons ✨
#lou tisdale anon: unconventional way to get informed i guess but if it worked good for them#‘I’ve really appreciated all of the information you’ve been sharing on here’ anon#a bit offensive you come at me talking about coincidental choices and intentional decisions#using your building as a reference… Guys cmon. At this point you should know im not stupid lol anyway I deleted the tags because#since I noticed a few people have written the same thing as you#usually the background choice falls in an intentional decision but as you say it’s a wild guess#that’s why I only said ‘I hope it’s not intentional if it is yikes’#‘don’t have any doubts about harry’ anon: we’ll never know what they support#and for once I’m glad they won’t be speaking up like their usual because#I’m already disappointed of what side they would be on this#have you seen what his friends share? have you seen what his mom shares? they can be zionist on main without ripercussions#‘seriously wouldn’t know what to if he supported them’ I would unstan right away. god thing is they’ll never be talking about politics#(except Harry sporadically finding new way to have kore people register in the us to vote democrats#and eventually forget about what is happening in rest of the world. firstly like all celebrities do secondly like everyone does.)#you take care of your little garden first#my opinion my ideology and my political view don’t depend on them#if I don’t agree with what some artist/celebrity says#ill stop interacting with them#there’s tone of music and art being made by people#who care about the world and want to see people leaving in peace and with equal rights#it’s not hard to be human you know? at times if you’re afraid to show support to the oppressed#you’re helping the oppressors with oppression and segregation#moreover when the oppression is not about you in the slightest (general you not you anon)#it only means 1. you don’t care enough to advocate 2. you have found different solutions to help (lol)#3. you don’t want to take sides (inferno canto III for me)#4. you don’t want to let know what side you’re on (sigh)
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i can’t sleep because i’m thinking too much about politics. i need to go on a long fucking rant about politics. people need to be SCARED about this upcoming US presidential election and by people i mean everyone in the US as well as people in every country that’s involved in NATO.
i don’t want to politicspost on here but oh my fucking god. i really REALLY REALLY hope people are aware of how dangerous politics are right now. keep your eyes WIDE open. everyone is being fed propaganda and it’s so so so so important that you stay aware.
be politically literate. if you have a phone/computer/library accessible to you, YOU CAN WATCH THE NEWS. you can read the news. you can listen to the news. please please please.
and vote. if you can, vote. tell people to vote. i can’t stress enough how important this is. we cannot let this happen again because this keeps getting more dangerous and i don’t think people are even aware of how dangerous it is. i’m not going to get into specifics right now because it’s late and i’m tired and i’m gonna start crying if i start thinking about it too hard, but this is so so important.
please stay informed.
xx
#thoughts#sorry i’m tired#politics are fucking insane#the harder i think about it the worse it gets#PLEASE VOTE!!!!!!#PLEASE DONT SPLIT THE VOTE EITHER (i’ll make a whole other post about splitting the vote)#AHHHHH#!!!#stay. informed.#watch the news#read the news#listen to the news#do not trust any news you find in social media#fake news is rampant right now#ALWAYS CHECK CREDIBILITY#GOOD NICHT!
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this shit sucks. tomorrow is a stay in bed and set up a writing blog day. mend my clothes day. move some boxes day.
#looks like racist grandpa is weaseling into parliament with right wing and Extra Right Wing#so all three of these parties is gonna be a clusterfuck of a govt because they fucking HATE each othet#nats have only got themselves to blame got not scrounging up enough votes to make a majority without the fucking gutter scum#to bolster their numbers#i dont want to even begin to think about how bad the housing market is about to become now foreign buyers are gonna be able#to come in and buy holiday homes again while most people cant even afford to buy their first house#and no cause evictions are gonna come back#our new pms hero is david cameron and he raised his family in fundementalist christian organization in the us#before coming back here. taking over our biggest airline#and proceeded to either 1. actively make the decision to underhandedly sell plane parts yo the saudis#2. was so incompetent he didnt notice that his company was underhandedly selling plane parts to the saudis#and national went ''yeah this guy who runs away mid-interview when he doesnt like the questions and who is a doormat in debates will do''#we have a wet fucking mop of a bigot for our pm now and we're stuck with him for the next 3 years and THATS THE GOOD PART COMPARED#TO EITHER ONE OF THE RACISTS WHO ARE GONNA BECOME DEPUTY OM#*PM#hhhhfUCK
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I don’t know if this is what you are looking for exactly, but I enjoy writing for Postcards to Voters because they focus on non-presidential races. I am currently writing postcards against an anti-choice constitutional amendment proposition in Ohio.
I wish more people would do things like that, instead of making posts that guilt trip people for not being excited enough about voting for the Blue sexual harasser instead of the Red one.
Thank you for your highly sensible response.
I guess there's a thing where "just because someone takes 15 seconds to shoot their mouth off online about something that's annoying them doesn't mean they have the time/energy to do anything actually constructive, even more so for the people who took .5 seconds to hit reblog now on someone else's shooting their mouth of post" but I think it would be strictly better for people to spend that .5 second exerting a smidgen of self control and going "either it's actual GOTV or it's not, and if it's not I'm going to not reblog it."
And as the election is over a year away...I don't think "vote blue no matter who" is actually a Get Out The Vote action at this point in time. It's annoying enough when people do it in person but at least then there's occasionally some chance of having a reasonable discussion about it, but on social media between people who don't really know each other? Ha snowball's chance in hell.
(I haven't done Postcards to Voters the last couple years, but I did around 2019-2020 or so and they are fairly low barrier to entry as long as you have stamp money, super introvert friendly, you can be as creative or non-creative as you want to be, and as you can do it from your home on your own schedule pretty darn spoonie friendly as well. As well as covid-safe. And yes, there's a big focus on local/state campaigns, which warms my participatory democracy loving little heart.) (ughh sounds like an important campaign maybe I should pick this thing up again.)
#I did big posts arguing about this in 2000 but I felt crummy afterwards so I'd really rather not rehash all that#it's theoretically and pragmatically wrong on multiple levels#this is the internet you don't get unity#you get two splinter groups arguing the two most extreme ends of the position possible each side convinced that they are 100% right#someone who's a little bit in favor of voting blue no matter who will get downright dogmatic about it#someone who's a little bit against will end up surrounded by anarchists who think voting is a waste of time#which wouldn't be the worst outcome ever#except that as far as I can tell most of the most vocal anarchists on tumblr don't do shit except tear down democratic politicians#like ok glad you think you're right I don't want to have anything to do with you though#there's like 2-3 anarchist posters on here who actually talk about direct action and organizing and stuff -- about things people can do#I guess with the abundance of time freed up by not spending a couple hours doing research and half an hour filling out a ballot#or much much less time than that if they're voting just for the president#yup congrats you sure saved a lot of time there now you have more time to convince other people to not vote either AWESOME GOOD JOB (sarcas#on an unrelated note I really need to work on a following the local news habit#and finding some way to learn more about oakland's history since I live here now#and I know how annoying it can be when someone's trying to be active in local politics but is missing highly important context
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Good news in voting rights coming out of Montana! 🎉
Yesterday, the Montana Supreme Court struck down four major voter suppression laws passed in 2021, which:
🔹Eliminated same-day voter registration in most cases
🔹Made it more difficult to vote with a student ID
🔹Outlawed absentee ballots for new voters who would turn 18 by Election Day
🔹Banned paid ballot collection and reduced other forms of ballot return assistance
The Court’s decision is a MAJOR victory for Montana voters, specifically Native American voters, young voters, and voters with disabilities who would be disproportionately impacted by these laws.
#montana#court#voting rights#good news in voting rights#good news#montana supreme court#same day voter registration#student id#absentee ballots#election day#native american#gen z#voters
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LGBTQ+ organizations and allies are celebrating Michigan for becoming the first state in three years to pass comprehensive anti-discrimination protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. The legislation, which now heads to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) to be signed into law, finally passed after decades of court battles and hold-ups from Republican legislators.
The bill passed in a 64-45 vote in the Democrat-led House on Wednesday. It amends the state’s 1976 Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) to include LGBTQ+ people among its protected groups. The law forbids discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodation within businesses, government buildings, and educational facilities on the basis of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, marital status — and now, LGBTQ+ identity.
Democrats had tried introducing various LGBTQ+ non-discrimination measures over the last 40 years, according to the bill’s gay sponsor Sen. Jeremy Moss (D). However, the attempts were repeatedly voted down by Republican-led legislatures. Last January, Democrats took control of the full legislature for the first time in nearly 40 years, finally giving them the chance to pass the protections.
In July 2022, Michigan’s Supreme Court issued a landmark 5–2 ruling that ELCRA already forbade discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity as forms of discrimination based on sex and gender. This followed a 2020 Michigan Court of Claims ruling that said ELCRA didn’t ban anti-gay discrimination as well as a 2018 vote by Michigan’s Civil Rights Commission interpreting ELCRA as protecting LGBTQ+ people from religious-based discrimination...
When the House voted to pass the historic bill on Wednesday, a crowd in the House gallery broke into applause, Bridge Michigan reported. Republican House members had tried adding amendments that would’ve carved out exceptions for religious people to continue discriminating against LGBTQ+ people. None of these amendments passed into the final bill.
Gov. [Whitmer] has signaled that she will soon sign the bill into law. In a Wednesday tweet, she noted the observation of International Women’s Day and wrote, “I’m celebrating trans women who have continuously led the way, despite constant threats to their lives and liberty. I’m proud that we’re finally in a position to expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to protect LGBTQ+ Michiganders. Let’s get it done!”
-via LGBTQ Nation, 3/9/23
Note: If it's not clear from the language, this is basically a done deal--the bill signing IS ABSOLUTELY GOING TO HAPPEN.
As scary as things are right now, there are so many of us fighting to protect ourselves, our communities, and the queer and trans people around us.
This comes only a day after Minnesota's governor signed a landmark executive order that guarantees the right to gender-affirming care and prevents the state from complying with any other states' attempts to interfere. via them.us, 3/9/23
There is hope, and there are so many people fighting for us.
#transgender#trans#trans rights#trans healthcare#top surgery#gender affirming care#trans rights are human rights#michigan#united states#us politics#gretchen whitmer#democrats#voting matters#lgbtq#lgbtq rights#transphobia cw#good news#hope
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I know I should just block (and not OPEN) tags and posts ab '24 but my brain is stupid and likes to be informed even if it makes me worse
#marquilla#im not even joking when i say this next election makes me wanna kms so bad. im fucking terrified and i feel like we already know what's#gonna happen. not bc people arent voting or organizing i mean bc of how far the right has gotten and how angry they are that a#dem won so theyre gonna show up in droves and it's like god i wish we could idk have some safegaurds in place??? like oh idk you#incite an insurrection you Can't run for president?? but also that wouldnt fully stop shit bc florida has its own neo nazi running and#theres more behind him in the wings. but like idk man i just get so fucking suicidal thinking ab the future#and my drs. are like well then dont look at the news??? 'i sure dont' mkay thats great (not) but um i CAN'T not watch bc i need to#be informed i need to know. and they're like well then stop worrying ab it til election day?? LIKE THAT HELPS#so i just dont bring it up. and i just spiral and have breakdowns in the shower and think ab making a will and shit yknow normal stuff#bc this is fine! just dont engage! stop worrying it's like a year away! it MIGHT get better! idk Join in your community then??#like yes yes thats a start but with what fucking energy when im bedbound most of the time im not working and that doesnt stop these fascist#s like me helping the community garden would be good for the community and probably my mental health in general BUT that doesnt deal with#the actual fear that makes me wanna Kermit#like it really fucking feels like all i can do is pray and hope god somehow intervenes (rapture anyone?) and that things do go well and#that the outright outspoken nzis don't win but like I really just wanna die man#i know the outcome more than likely will not directly affect my life bc im white. cis passing. and can go back in the closet regretfully#but like that doesnt reassure me any bc i have friends and loved ones and generally just give a shit ab other people and how this WILL#affect them directly and that terrifies me. it really feels like we cant ever have a moment to just exist yknow??#idk man i just wanna die bc im so scared haha how fun (: how normal (: this is fine. everything is fine.
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reading comprehension is dead and the unnuanced horrors are everlasting
#j.txt#good news is that person read the article finally#bad news is they appear to not have comprehended a single thing in good faith#or understood that it's written by indigenous people for indigenous people#that's why it's titled. an indigenous perspective#'the article seemed to imply native americans getting the right to vote is a bad thing' it didn't actually#i just don't think you read a single word in good faith because you set out disliking what you assumed the premise was (voting = bad)#and this is why leftist infighting will keep us here forever <3#which sucks because while i am vague-ing them on main they seem pretty cool?#cool to me is lots of textposts that r funny lol they r funnyyy. and have good taste in music idk#this sucks lol#i guess this isn't really a platform for exploring complex ideas in a genuine way with strangers. shocking i know#i wish it could be tho. will likely continue to post and share things as if it is tho#anyway... sorry guys i'm done posting about it fr#for now....
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You know, with how the city goes to a standstill everytime the rail network gets shut down (once last year bc of a lock out, today bc of a communication failure), you would think the state government would invest more in public infrastructure. And though I do support light rails and metros, maybe the funding would be better used for the pre existing train network first (and buses).
#fun times today#yay sydney#btw annoyed reddit and yt commentors#like my goodness#'buy your own personal car; it's more reliable'#the roads will be more congested#more people > more cars > more congestions > more roads > more people using cars > more congestion#this one idiot talking about a 'class action' against Sydney Trains on reddit#i do not think they know what a class actuon is#worst is the conspiracy theorists#like no it's not a cyber attack#sydney isn't that important#sometimes things fail#idk if it's the demographics who watch particular news channels on yt but no one talked about voting there#while on reddit it's all 'remember to vote for labour in the state election'#oh and also people equating this with the strikes and also replacing people with automation#like no... just no#the strikes are to help us#it wasn't the pay; it was safety conditions of the rail network#LOOK AT THAT; CLEARLY THEY WERE RIGHT; IT'S ONLY NOW THAT PEOPLE SEE THE SAFETY ISSUES WHEN IT AFFECTS THEM AND THEY'RE NOT EVEN ANGRY AT#THE RIGHT PEOPLE#c&h posts
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...
#ok. so the guy from school i visited emailed me today like: good news! we unanimously voted to extend u an offer here#so expect the formal offer in the next week. and im like uuuugh i wanna say yes so bad#bc in the us i would have more flexibility in the program than i would in the uk#and my options in the us r either to b a big fish in a small pond at this schoolor a little fish in a big pond at the other#bc this school is underfunded and a bit isolated out in the mountains but the staff r pretty great and big egos dont seem like a big issue#but if i go to the other school its like a big well funded school. the application was like 75 dollars. fuck u and really annoying#and i mean id have to live in new jersey. so in the city with city driving and prob a more high pressure school environment#and more of a chance of dealing with big egos. but like career wise im sure it would b good. assuming i don't mentally collapse#but i mean that doesnt seem as fun as spending 5 years out in the rocky mountains#like thry have fucking moose and bears! there were deer and turkeys in town!#and my dad just sent me a video of all the spring peepers singing back home and im like 😭 bc froggies and he was like i bet u could find#frogs out in [redacted city] and im like 😭 ur right. it just seems like the better choice for my poor overtaxed brain and the project is#so cool too. i want to get the cyano species as my computer background asap. and the guy is nice and apparently super supportive#and i could probably walk to hiking trails. god. i mean i have to say yes to that. i wanna say yes so bad. send me the formal offer bro#ill fucking take it before i even hear back from the other schools lol. ugh. i hate making choices#oof i am so excited to kno where im going and plan my departure. its gonna b such a pain moving tho i pray that my mum or dad can drive#with me bc otherwise the 20hr drive by myself might kill me. thats almost as bad as my initial move out here lol. the us is so big#ugh. again choices. is this the right choice? probably one of the biggest decisions of my life. the project feels so right. cyanobacteria#my algal group of choice. and hot springs. how tf do u say to no to that? i mean. id b doing that in new jersey too but with red algae#ugh. put me out of this misery lol. also as an aside. shout out to my fucking disaster brain for not being able to focus on a single thing#my boss in a meeting: so glad to have students and staff so excited to b working on this project!! me: lady i hate that im on this project#bc im just sitting in until they can get an actual student. i just do what im told but appreciate the enthusiasm lol#ay. im so tired. i wanna see the snow and mountains. and fix my head. and get outta the desert. and listen to frogs 🐸 😌#unrelated
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its voting season in my country and its not looking super good for me team
#a Lot of american right wing rhetoric has been making its way here and it is Increasingly likely that this will be a make or break election#it kind of always is but just. the position of being trans in the current climate. is scary#i know who im voting for bc there is only one party fighting for people like me#but theres. Multiple parties that are openly against us#the new conservatives party is uh. i thankfully don't believe they have any shot at getting in#however if they did. boy oh boy would this country be. unsafe for me#in Very Related news i am officially looking at changing the gender on my birth certificate asap#it like#Just became a thing that its Significantly Easier to do like the current government did good w that at least#I just. things r rough idk#i was gonna give this post a cw for politics but. lbr here no one cares when its not american politics
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