You Must Write, And Read, As If Your Life Depended On It.

Sesame Street Is Moving to HBO, and the Symbolism Is Crushing

“In short, Sesame Street was founded to help low-income kids keep up with their more affluent peers. That is literally why it exists. It succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations. And now it is becoming the property of a premium cable network, so that a program launched to help poor kids keep up with rich kids is now being paywalled so that rich kids can watch it before poor kids can.

“That in itself is not a tragedy or an injustice. Tragedy is the devastating funding cuts that Head Start has suffered in recent years, affecting tens of thousands of young children. Injustice is the nationwide lack of subsidized high-quality child care and universal pre-K. In this context, relocating Sesame Street to the gated community of HBO—even if that community’s gates swing wide at nine-month intervals—is only to be expected. There could be no more cruelly perfect metaphor for the ultra-efficient sorting processes of socioeconomic privilege.”

Feminists don’t wanna live in a world without men, we want to live in a world without patriarchy and violent, toxic hyper-masculinity

I was driving past a business here in the Houston Heights, when I glimpsed this painted on the side of the building. I recognized that iconic WWII poster before I realized it was not just any woman, but 14 year old Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who was attacked for wanting an education. The words next to her are her quote, ( “I don’t mind if I have to sit on the floor at school.) All I want is education. And I’m afraid of no one.”

National Aviation Day!

Today, August 19, is National Aviation Day! You might wonder why we’re celebrating National Aviation Day, let us tell you…

First, did you know that EVERY U.S. commercial aircraft and every U.S. air traffic control tower has NASA-developed technology on board? It’s true! Here at NASA, we’re invested in aeronautic research. Today’s air transportation system is an integral part of the U.S. and global economies. 

It’s the primary mechanism for connecting countries across the world through moving people, as well as goods and services. You feel the impacts of aviation and the air transportation system everyday. Just about every product produced and purchased today has been touched by aviation in some way. Aircraft transport 17.7 billion tons of freight every year. While you may not have flown today, something you needed did.

Our aviation experts are dedicated to improving the design of airplanes so they’re more Earth friendly – less fuel use, lower pollution, less noise around airports. We also work with the Federal Aviation Administration to provide new tools to air traffic controllers for improving efficiency and reducing delays.

So, celebrate National Aviation Day with us! Spread Your Wings, take a photo, post it today and tag #SpreadYourWings and/or #NationalAviationDay. We may even pick your photo to highlight on our NASA web page!

Kerry Washington gives a perfect three part course on how to handle yourself when you are called out for making an offensive statement:

1) Don’t push back 2) Apologize sincerely and quickly 3) Learn from the feedback

It’s that simple people.

The possibilities are these: [Sandra] Bland died from an untreated head injury after State Trooper Brian Encinia bashed her head against the pavement and police staged her suicide; Bland died from an epileptic seizure (recall that Encinia’s response to Bland telling him she had epilepsy was “Good”) and police staged her suicide; Bland was killed or died in some other way in police custody and her sucide was staged; or Bland indeed took her own life, after she informed police of previous suicide attempts and they utterly failed to prevent another while she was in their care. There is no version of events where police are not culpable for Sandra Bland’s death. And all because Officer Encinia was angry that Sandra Bland knew her rights and was exercising them. No matter how she died, she is dead because that man became enraged that a black woman wouldn’t unquestioningly submit to him.

http://www.shakesville.com/2015/07/sandra-bland-case-updates.html

Melissa McEwan sums up how the police are responsible for Sandra Bland’s death no matter how she died. They need to be held accountable.

(via xxunmasked)

And if she WAS suicidal or at risk of self harm, she should have been placed under supervision or in a cell that didn’t have anything she could use to hurt herself. The police are responsible no matter what.

(via misandry-mermaid)

stop. whitewashing. history.  stop man, male, masculine washing too. 

if that’s isn’t a thing it is now 

Meet the Women of Stonewall

Since the trailer of the atrocious Stonewall movie was released, people are rightfully upset that it white-washes and erases the trans women and lesbian who started the Stonewall Riots. Posts are going around reminding us of these women, but usually only mentioned one or two, which I find a little a-historical. We should know who all these women are as they each played a significant role in what happened in June of 1969.

Stormé DeLarverie (December 24, 1920 – May 24, 2014)

Stormé was a biracial butch lesbian, drag king and considered the “Rosa Parks of the Gay Community”. When the police raided the Stonewall Inn, she was one of the women arrested and clubbed on the head by the police. She is credited with yelling  “Why don’t you guys do something?” which sparked the bystanders into action. (x) In her own words:

”[The officer] then yelled, ‘I said, move along, faggot.’ I think he thought I was a boy. When I refused, he raised his nightstick and clubbed me in the face.” It was then that the crowd surged and started attacking the police with whatever they could find, she said.

I asked my last question hesitantly. “Have you heard of the Stonewall Lesbian? The woman who was clubbed outside the bar but was never identified?” DeLarverie nodded, rubbing her chin in the place where she received 14 stitches after the beating. “Yes,” she said quietly. “They were talking about me.”

And then, almost as an afterthought, I asked, “Why did you never come forward to take credit for what you did?”

She thought for a couple of seconds before she answered, “Because it was never anybody’s business.” Stormé DeLarverie(source)

Marsha P. Johnson (June 27, 1944 – July 6, 1992)

Marsha “Pay it No Mind” Johnson was a black trans woman, drag queen and LGBT activist. She, along with Sylvia Rivera, co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) and is credited as being the first to fight back at Stonewall Inn. (x) Happy Birthday, Marsha! is a film project in the works to honor life, please consider donating. 

“This was started by the street queens of that era, which I was part of, Marsha P. Johnson, and many others that are not here" Sylvia Rivera (Source)

Sylvia Rae Rivera (July 2, 1951 – February 19, 2002)

Sylvia was a Latina trans woman, drag queen and LGBT activist. As mentioned above she co-founded STAR with Marsha P Johnson, as well as a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance. She is also credited with being one of the first women to throw a bottle at the police. 

“You’ve been treating us like shit all these years? Uh-uh. Now it’s our turn!… It was one of the greatest moments in my life. “ Sylvia Rivera (Source)

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy (October 1940)

Also known as Miss Major, is a black trans woman and community leader for transgender rights with a focus on women of color. Miss Major was a leader in the riots who was struck by police and arrested. While in custody an officer broke her jaw. (x) A documentary called Major! is in the works to portray Miss Major’s role in the transgender activist community. (x) (I hope people watch this instead of Stonewall). 

Many more people were involved in the riots, but one thing is clear, it was not started by cis white men, it was by these 4 women of color. Don’t let men take away our history. 

unpaid internships are oppressive and should be illegal i’m not being cute or funny they are 100% designed to reward people with greater access to resources and i’m fundamentally opposed to hiring for unpaid labor every internship should be required to provide at least a nominal stipend

space and trees... yes please

Cosmos Tree: Fraser Bay, Lake Huron, ON [OC] [3456x2304]

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IT IS TRULY TERRIFYING what we are and are not teaching children about sex

Watch: John Oliver’s sex ed video needs to be shown in every American school