Clowtheowl - Owl's Nest

Axes to Grind

Has no one ever told you

“One bad apple spoils the bunch”?

Yet why do you continue to offer me this bushel

after I have already been force-fed

the rotted core of just one?

Do not try to placate me

with platitudes;

this tree is sick

to its roots.

You cannot hope

to grow beautiful apples

when the roots of the tree

grow from the blood

of people who have committed

the crime of wearing my skin.

You may claim

that there is only one bad apple

that is being passed around

but this poisonous orchard

that towers over us

begs to differ.

We will tear down these trees

one by one

until this ichor-stained orchard

is in ashes.

Bit by bit,

we will create more

axes to grind

until we dig deep into

these festering roots

and tear them from the earth.

It will be long and arduous work…

but the hachet is still in my hand

and won’t be released

until a new seed is planted

and growth can truly begin.

This is both amazing and profoundly irritating - the exact writing equivalent of that thing artists do - you know, how they’ll mess up anything that’s on expensive paper and planned in every single detail but get them doodling during a boring lesson and suddenly they’re Michel-bloody-angelo.

“See, that’s the problem with you two. It’s always show off first, ask Tim later...”

alaska, utah, maine, iowa, south carolina: CALL YOUR SENATOR to prevent a 6-3 conservative SCOTUS majority. scripts below.

(posted 9/19) Hi y’all. I know most folks on this site are probably reeling from the loss of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. If we want to preserve rights for women that she fought for her whole life, we need to follow her lead and mobilize.

At this point, the only real hope for escaping a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, absent Biden winning in a landslide and packing the court, is if four Republican Senators stand up to Mitch McConnell’s double standards and maintain the precedent that the Republicans followed in 2016: not voting on a Presidential SCOTUS nominee in an election year.

Is McConnell’s “election year” rule a hundred percent fake? Yes. Do I hate that we have to play ball on this shitty, institution-shattering court that he’s set up? Yes. But McConnell & co. robbed Barack Obama of his SCOTUS appointment in 2016. There should be one more Dem judge seated than there is right now, and this is our only chance to keep the playing field even remotely equal.

If you live in one of the following states, please call these specific Senators right now and plead them to go against McConnell. I really can’t stress enough that this may be the only path to stop the Senate adding a THIRD Trump appointee in four years. I have included scripts and phone numbers to make this as quick and easy as possible. It will take you five minutes, less, and there are never as many callers as you think there are. Your voice could make an actual difference.

ALASKA: Lisa Murkowski, (202) 224-6665 Hello, my name is X, and I’m a constituent from Alaska, zip code XXXXX. I don’t need a response to this message. On September 18th, Senator Murkowski said she “would not support” filling a Supreme Court vacancy before the inauguration, because it would be a “double standard.” I was glad to hear Senator Murkowski standing up for what’s right and I encourage her to keep this position, staying consistent with the precedent set in 2016. Senator, please oppose filling the vacancy before the inauguration. Thank you.

UTAH: Mitt Romney, (202) 224-5251 Hello, my name is X, and I’m a constituent from Utah, zip code XXXXX. I don’t need a response to this message. I want to urge Senator Romney to oppose filling the Supreme Court vacancy with a Trump nominee, due to the precedent set by Mitch McConnell in 2016. Earlier this year, Senator Romney voted to convict President Trump during his impeachment trial, and that gives me confidence that he can resist party pressure and fight this double standard. Senator, please oppose filling the vacancy before the inauguration. Thank you.

MAINE: Susan Collins, (202) 224-2523 Hello, my name is X, and I’m a constituent from Maine, zip code XXXXX. I don’t need a response to this message. I want to urge Senator Collins to oppose filling the Supreme Court vacancy with a Trump nominee, due to the precedent set by Mitch McConnell in 2016. In an election year for Senator Collins, it’s important to me to see that she can stand up for what’s right despite party pressure. Senator, please oppose filling the vacancy before the inauguration. Thank you.

IOWA: Chuck Grassley, (202) 224-3744 Hello, my name is X, and I’m a constituent from Iowa, zip code XXXXX. I don’t need a response to this message. In August, Senator Grassley said that he “couldn’t move forward with” filling a Supreme Court vacancy before this year’s election if it were on the table, because it would backtrack on the standard he helped set in 2016. I want to urge Senator Grassley to stick to this position and oppose double standards. Senator, please oppose filling the vacancy before the inauguration. Thank you.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Lindsey Graham (I know, long shot), (202) 224-5972 Hello, my name is X, and I’m a constituent from South Carolina, zip code XXXXX. I don’t need a response to this message. Senator Graham has said, and this is a direct quote, “I want you to use my words against me. If there’s a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said let’s let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination.“ He repeated the idea again in 2018, saying, “If an opening comes in the last year of President Trump’s term, and the primary process has started, we’ll wait to the next election.” I urge Senator Graham to stand by his previous words and play by the rules the Republican Party has established for election-year nominations. Senator Graham, please oppose filling the Supreme Court vacancy before the inauguration. Thank you.

and if you don’t live in one of these states - please do reblog!!

FINALLY, A PRESSURE POINT TO FIGHT USPS SABOTAGE: LOTS of calls and emails to USPS Board of Governors. Ready, set, go. We know how to do this. Be concerned, firm, polite. Louis DeJoy, the Postmaster General and Trump appointee who is now dismantling the USPS on behalf of Trump, “serves at the pleasure of” and reports to the 6-member USPS Board of Governors. These six men have the power & duty to #StopDeJoy & prevent Election Day chaos. 5 of the 6 are Trump appointees, but retired Harvard lawyer (CCJ, @NastyOldWomyn) contributing this info on Twitter is clear that a relentless barrage of calls, emails, and other callings-out will absolutely get their attention. She says: · I’ve represented Boards as a lawyer, and I know “this kind of attention is not what they’ve signed up for. It’s disruptive to their day jobs, which is where they make their money.” · “None of the members wants to suffer reputational damage from overseeing the meltdown of USPS during a pandemic. They do NOT want to be in the spotlight, so SHINE IT BRIGHT!” · “Board members HATE being contacted, HATE having their phone mailboxes fill up with messages, HATE being inundated with emails and letters. And, oh, they would HATE being picketed at work, if someone decided to start a demonstration.” · In contacting these 6 Board members, “I plan to be polite but firm about my fury about the recent deterioration of USPS’s service, giving personal & family examples regarding medication & veterans services, & expressing my distrust of & dissatisfaction with the performance of PG DeJoy. In my experience, rudeness NEVER helps. Call & email each of the 6 USPS Board of Governors. Tell them who & what you are (a retiree? Veteran?), what you & family rely on the USPS for in this pandemic, how DeJoy’s changes are disrupting that & causing stress. Express worry about Vote-by-Mail. Their emails: directoraccessmailbox@cigna.com; lee.moak@moakgroup.com; roman@rmiv.com; ron.bloom@brookfield.com; barger.jim@gmail.com; mduncan@inezdepositbank.com.

Tagging @fericita-s @broadwaybaggins @mercurygray @tortoisesshells @britishdetectives @amarguerite @incognito-princess @sassy-doctor-foster @the-spaztic-fantastic to get some traction