Lis Smith Has a Radical Idea for Democrats: Be Normal | Vanity Fair: Smith implores her Democratic clients, before any interview, to “just be normal,” offering herself as the backroom translator between coastal elites and Middle America. “It’s radical that being reasonable is radical and being normal is abnormal.” No. No, no, no, no, no. Normal is Hillary Clinton. Normal is Joe Biden. Normal is “when they go low, we go high.

Some of my favorite photos from yesterday in Michael’s garden. He thinks I’m a really good photographer and should pick it up as a hobby. I do do pretty well with an iPhone I guess… 🌸 📷

Have a great week!

From Martha’s Vineyard to Kamala Harris’s Home, Republican Governors Escalate Anti-Immigrant Political Stunts | Vanity Fair: Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday said he sent two more buses of over 100 migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris’s home in Washington, D.C. Can’t someone drop a house on this guy? Take away his magic slippers. He’s had enough fun being evil with them. Find a Dorothy and give ‘em to her, STAT.

Opinion: DeSantis is taking a cruel page from history | CNN: It’s a populism of resentment and cruelty, an effort to please the voters who still cheer on former President Donald Trump and to win another round of plaudits in right-wing media. And like the reverse Freedom Rides of the early 1960s, it is just one part of a project of massive resistance to civil rights, the federal government and, ultimately, liberal democracy.

Martha’s Vineyard: Gov. Ron DeSantis claims credit for sending 2 planes carrying migrants to Massachusetts - CNNPolitics: The move follows in the footsteps of Republican Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Doug Ducey of Arizona, who began sending migrants to Washington, DC, earlier this year. Abbott has since expanded his effort to include New York City and Chicago. There truly is no bottom. Can you imagine seeking a better life and being rounded up like cattle then shipped off to somewhere unexpected to become someone else’s “burden”?

TIL: you’re not supposed to rinse with water after you brush. Just spit out as much as you can and then let the fluoride do its job for about the next 10 minutes.

We took a “Which Care Bear Are You” Buzzfeed quiz at work last week (don’t tell my boss). I forgot which bear I got, so when I was asked today I said Basic Bear. 🐻 He wears Axe body spray and Abercrombie. His Care Bear stare color is plaid. He drinks pumpkin spice lattes.

MAGA: Making Attorneys Get Attorneys Hahahahahaha!!! “A dark joke has begun circulating among lawyers following the many legal travails of former President Donald Trump: MAGA actually stands for ‘making attorneys get attorneys,’” the New York Times reports. Even Trump’s Lawyers Have Legal Exposure

YOU’D THINK THE RELIGIOUS WOULD OBJECT TO DISCRIMINATION. BUT NOPE. IT’S GAY SEX. ALWAYS GAY SEX.

PrEP: Obamacare can’t require coverage for certain HIV drugs, federal judge rules - CNNPolitics: Braidwood Management, a Texas-based company that employs 70 people, argued that the mandate facilitated behavior to which it has religious objections. I LOVE how preventing a still-deadly virus from spreading “facilitates behavior” that raises some “religious objections” from conservatives. You know what, conservatives? HIV can infect you, too. Part of me wishes it fucking would.

😂🤣☠️ (via @nickkaczmarek)

Hep! Hep! Do you know who Cab Calloway was? How old were you (approx) when you learned about him? Do you think “those darn kids” today know who he was? Why or why not? 🎶🎵 For years I’ve daydreamed about singing his version of Blues in the Night for an audience. 💙

HOW DO YOU SPELL “MISSISSIPPI?” CAPITAL-M-I-S-S-I…N-G M-O-N-E-Y

The nation’s poorest state used welfare money to pay Brett Favre for speeches he never made: $70 million in TANF welfare funds was doled out to a multimillionaire athlete, a professional wrestler, a horse farm and a volleyball complex. How do you spell “Mississippi?” Capital-M-I-S-S-I-N-G-M-O-N-E-Y This story, although least of all about pro sports, is also most of all about pro sports, and reminds me why I hate pro sports almost as much as I hate amateur sports, which is almost as much as I hate college sports.

omg omg omg Wednesday Addams | Official Teaser (YouTube.com) 🩸🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟😂🤣☠️

THE MOST ALARMING CASE ON THE SUPREME COURT’S DOCKET YOU HAVEN’T HEARD OF

The Most Alarming Case On The Supreme Court’s Docket You Haven’t Heard Of (via @Dave) This case could leave all of those who depend on federally funded, state-administered programs — think SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) or WIC, which helps low-income pregnant women and mothers with young children buy food — without any recourse, should states stop providing the benefits they’re required to give.

I DON'T READ THE COMMENTS (EXCEPT WHEN I DO)

Generally, I don’t read the comments. I usually have content blockers set to block them. But for some reason they didn’t block on this page, and I found myself reading the responses to this kind of ridiculous perfume review, and simply had to amplify this one: No, this society isn’t actually decaying, despite your best fearmongering efforts. You’re just doing what old people, and the fearmongers who think it profitable to encourage them, have always done: claiming things are somehow getting worse because time didn’t freeze everything the way it was at the particular time and place in which you, personally, grew up.

My “uncle” Tom passed away today. He was a renowned photojournalist and professor in Ohio, and a good person. In his later years he was really into creating and lecturing on digital abstract art. He gave me a beautiful piece of his work for my housewarming.

A Conservative Publisher Wants to Be the Answer to Liberal Children’s Books. There’s Just One Problem. - POLITICO: When a librarian in Williamsburg reviewed The Plot Against the King after its initial lending, Sandy Tower says, she decided it belonged in a different category altogether: adult political satire. I love this. 📚

This is a photo of my sweet husband in his antique booth. He takes great care and pride in maintaining it.

And don’t you forget it.

This Ohio Librarian Is Seeking to Defeat a Book Banner Where It Counts—at the Ballot Box: “My opponent is the primary sponsor of HB327,” Zappitello told PW. “If she is reelected in November, Ohio will be living a dystopian nightmare. HB327 not only targets schools, it would also prohibit Ohio public libraries from promoting or offering instruction or training on so-called ‘divisive concepts’ as defined by a handful of elected officials.

SIGN “☮︎” THE TIMES

NASA aims for Artemis launch attempt on Saturday after reviewing rocket engine problem Sister killed her baby ‘cause she couldn’t afford to feed it And we’re sending people to the moon In September my cousin tried reefer for the very first time Now he’s doing horse, it’s June -Prince, Sign o’ the Times (1987)

As Americans ditch Covid measures, pandemic worsens for the vulnerable | Coronavirus | The Guardian: In the last few months, Dr Jeannina Smith has seen organ transplant recipients who have been very careful throughout the pandemic venture out for one activity, contract Covid-19 and lose their transplant. I can’t stand how selfish our society is. And I include my own selfishness with that. It’s gross. Also, I’m still scared.

If the gay discos aren’t having special Beyoncé themed nights that culminate with the playing of RENAISSANCE from start to finish to preserve that album’s integrity, then they’re missing out on a really good opportunity. 🎶🐴💃🏽🕺🏽🪩🪩🪩

LastPass Security Incident We have determined that an unauthorized party gained access to portions of the LastPass development environment through a single compromised developer account and took portions of source code and some proprietary LastPass technical information. Ugh.