No Kings

#NoKings

Freedom

I value the freedom to make my own choices for my life, so I'm voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz because they will protect, restore, & expand my rights instead of stripping more away. 

Let's do all we can to get them elected!

https://kamalaharris.com/

 

Make sure you, your friends, and family are registered to vote and have a plan to vote early, by mail, or in person on November 5, 2024:

https://iwillvote.com/

A Theme for 2024

It's been several years since I chose a word or theme to guide me during the year, but over a week ago a word just came to me.

It was very early Christmas Eve technically, between 4 and 5 AM, still a whole day away from Santa making his run. Waking up after a few hours sleep is alas typical for me and often without cause. I'll get up a for a while, pee, do some low key stretches, and then try to go back to sleep.

In bed a second time, my mind wandered and settled on a word, a theme for 2024. I hadn't even been considering choosing one so I'm not sure what triggered it. Nonetheless I liked it and have already been keeping it in mind.

VARIETY.

Mainly I was thinking of changing up my workouts some if only in small ways for now. Add this, delete that. Do things a little differently.

We'll see where it takes me.

Do you have a theme or motto for 2024? If so, feel free to share it in the comments.

 

10 years ago on TTaT: Life of Art 2013: the year in review

Your Vote Matters

If your vote didn't matter, Republicans wouldn't spend so much time suppressing voter access and rigging the system in their favor.

Fight Back.

Vote for Democrats all the way down your ballot Tuesday Nov. 8 or Vote Early!

https://iwillvote.com/

 

Some things at stake in this midterm election:

Voting rights.  

Do you want free and fair elections? Vote for Democrats.

There are election-denying Republicans running for Secretary of State in several states in which that office controls how elections are run. (Clearly they believe in elections enough to want to run for office so they can control election outcomes.) 

Do you want free and fair elections? Vote for Democrats.

Social Security. 

Do you want to get the money *you* paid into Social Security back when you're older? Vote for Democrats.

Abortion access.

Do you believe women have the right the make decisions regarding their own bodies without interference from government? Do you believe rape victims and women with life threatening pregnancies deserve access to abortion health care? Vote for Democrats.

Birth control access.

If you don't approve of abortion, making birth control widely accessible should be a no-brainer. Also birth control is used to treat a variety of ailments for women and girls. If you believe birth control should be accessible without government or employer oversight, Vote for Democrats.

Marriage rights.

If you don't want to go back to banned interracial marriages and banned gay marriages, Vote for Democrats.

Privacy rights.

Republicans don't believe the right to privacy is included in The Constitution. That's how they overturned Roe v. Wade and have their sites set on birth control and marriage rights next. They will keep eroding our rights. To protect your right to privacy, Vote for Democrats.

 

Your Vote Matters and How You Vote Matters. This midterm election will greatly impact whether we have free and fair elections in 2024 and going forward.

Democracy is not bully people into changing results when you lose. Democracy is not throw out the votes of people who vote against you or disenfranchise them before they can even cast their ballots.

Democrats are pro-democracy. Republicans are pro-authoritarianism and pro-fascism.

Choose wisely: Vote for Democats.

https://iwillvote.com/ 

#VoteBlue #VoteBlueToProtectYourRights

Get Ready to Vote Blue

Make sure you:

1. Register to vote/check your registration.
2. Plan to vote by mail, vote early, or vote in person November 8.
3. Vote for Democrats all the way down your ballot.

 All our rights depend on it: voting, reproductive, marriage, social security, privacy…

 

 #VoteBlue!

https://iwillvote.com/

Recharge and Fight Back

Tonight's dance break: "Daft Punk" by Pentatonix.

Even though things are dire, when the GOP is outlawing our rights, find ways to recharge so you can fight back.

Because we must.

 

Register and vote for pro-choice Democrats who will end the filibuster.

 

Contact your senators, representative, and local officials and tell them you are pissed about the Supreme Court overruling Roe v. Wade, undermining gun control, and advancing an extremist right-wing agenda. Tell them to take action to protect your rights.

#VoteBlue #AbortionIsHealthcare

Remember in November and Take Action Now

When the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting happened nearly 10 years ago, I thought it would be the catalyst for gun reform. I was wrong. With hundreds of mass shootings in the US since including one at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas this week, it's clear there will be no change until politicians in the pockets of gun lobbyists are voted out of office. 

Remember in November and for every local election or primary before then and vote accordingly.

Make sure you are registered to vote now. Call and/or email your senators and representative and tell them you want sensible gun control laws. 

Learn more: 16 Facts About Gun Violence And School Shootings 

Take action: Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund works to pass legislation that advances school safety and mental health and prevents gun violence.

 

17 years ago on TTaT: Geek? Well, maybe according to some...

Note to Self, vol. XXX

If you are going to help Dad move something heavy again:

a) Do it by yourself if you can, or

b) If you can't, go over where and how the item will be moved very clearly and very specifically before you lift anything.

Mom was getting a new chair delivered, so I offered to help Dad move her old one out of the way after lunch. Though it's not really big, it's a recliner that both rocks and swivels. The thing is a heavy beast and really unwieldy to move.

Dad finished lunch before me and disappeared. I finished a few minutes later, waited a bit, and decided to see if I could forge ahead without him.

I can test out whether I can lift/move something without injuring myself, but Mom was worried and went looking for Dad.

While she was gone, I discovered I could stand behind the chair and tip it back so it was resting on its circular base. Then it rolled sideways a short distance. It felt like a brilliant discovery.

Mind you, it's probably not good for the chair, but I knew she didn't plan to keep it. I was also a little concerned about all the concentrated weight rolling across the rug, but it looked okay, so I kept going.

I moved it across the room, about ten feet, by myself until I was nearing the edge of the rug. My angle was getting off for final placement and I realized it would be in the way when her chair got delivered.

Had I had a few more minutes to myself, I would've realized I could swivel the chair when it was resting normally on the ground to change direction when it was tipped back. However, Mom arrived with Dad in tow berating him for not helping me.

He didn't take it well and blew it off talking about what he'd wanted to do outside but ultimately looked at me and said, "I forgot."

The chair still needed to be moved a couple feet off the rug onto the hardwood floor. I didn't think my rolling method would be good on that surface.

Dad was just standing motionless in the middle of the room so I said, "Are you going to help or what?"

He walked over and got on the right side of the chair across from me. The only useful place to grip it was quite low, just a few inches from the ground. When we were both set, we lifted.

I lifted a couple inches thinking we'd shift it back from there while he stood up as if we were going to walk several feet. So I had to stand up while not braced for it. We moved it like a foot and put it down.

The chair still needed to go further back. He wanted to put it all the way next to the wall and went into in charge mode and stood behind the chair.

"That's not going to work," I said.

"Why not?" he said.

"Because you're standing behind it," Mom interjected.

I'm sure he thought he could, as he calls it, "jackass it around." I'd already given that a tentative try and the nature of the heavy round base prevents it.

He came back to the side opposite me.

"I don't want to stand up with it. I just want to lift it a couple inches and move it back," I clarified while gesturing.

We moved it without incident this time.

For all their concern I would injure myself moving it by myself, it was that first uneven lift with him that gave me a mild strain to my lower back.

It's not thrown out, but I can feel it and any wrong move, imperfect form lift or reach could trigger it. I'm trying to take it easy today, but I needed to do laundry and scrub my tub. Not ideal. I could've put it off, but having to change my routine would've irked me. I am delaying other things I would've done today.

So anyway, note to self: maybe next time don't offer to help and if they ask, tell them to ask the strong delivery guys to do it. At least they got a nice tip!

17 years ago on TTaT: Chocolate Glazed Donut

How to Recognize You Have Shingles (Anecdotal)

For me, it started with a muscle strain, vertically along the middle of my spine. Like I'd pulled a muscle.

I'd been doing some odd things recently, like carrying heavy grocery bags over a foot bridge that was so narrow I had to carry one bag in front and one behind. So I didn't think much of it.

The ER doctor said the dormant chickenpox virus hangs out along the middle of your spine. Go figure.

I rolled out my back with rubber balls, kept doing my usual workout and it seemed to improve.

Sleeping Wednesday night, I started to have muscle pain. It felt like it had moved to the right. (The ER doc said Shingles migrates out along the nerves.) When I rolled over, it felt like my skin was tearing.

I assumed I'd gotten a scratch on my back somehow. When I looked at it as best I could on Thursday it was red in a couple places. I put some antibiotic on it which seemed to help and figured it would heal up in a couple days.

That was the first Shingles appearing.

Friday the redness on my back was larger and slightly raised. Redness and bumps also appeared on my chest. I thought this was a stronger atopic dermatitis reaction. It's a condition where rashes can randomly appear. I hadn't had one as pronounced, but again I didn't think it was related to the muscle pain which kept increasing.

I was psyched out because it was Friday and figured the doctor's office wouldn't be able to get me in and also I was still thinking I would start improving. Just that Wednesday, I'd gotten a notice from the local health system about new protocols to help prevent the uptick in Delta variant virus cases.

I really didn't want to go to the ER.

Saturday the pain and redness increased. Here my high tolerance for pain worked against me. I thought about going to the ER but things sort of conspired against that choice and I felt a bit better with a heating pad on my back.

At 6:30 pm, my mom asked to see my back. I said no since I already knew I was definitely having a much stronger skin reaction to something. She suggested it might be Shingles, and I immediately felt she was right. It had never crossed my mind (so I didn't like hearing she'd thought of it before but hadn't mentioned it because she thought I wouldn't listen).

I really didn't want to go the ER on a Saturday night though. My dad would have to drive and night driving isn't great for him and I knew it would really wear him out to be at the ER for 6 hours (and me too). My parents have been a couple times in recent years at night on off-days. It took forever.

Saturday night I had so much pain I don't feel like I slept at all. I'd been taking Advil this whole time for pain but it wasn't doing much.

Sunday morning, I waited for my Dad to get up and then asked him to take me to the ER. The pain was so high it changed my voice, made it higher and harder to talk.

I checked in and described my symptoms. It wasn't long before I was taken back to the triage nurse. I described my symptoms and lifted my shirt to show her my rash. She asked me to stand up because it looked like Shingles and that's contagious. They took my blood pressure which was super high because, guess what?, pain. My pulse oximeter rating was good though.

They whisked me off to a room since I couldn't be in the waiting room. Took 2 hours which is good compared to my past ER experiences. Still, it was a long painful 2 hours because the doctor came, said I had Shingles and that they'd get me 1st doses of an antiviral and a pain reliever but I didn't get those until right when they were ready to kick me out.

Anyway, the moral of the story is you want to start treatment for Shingles as early as possible. I didn't know how it presented. So this anecdote is how it started for me: Muscle strain first that migrated to the right and became painful. Some redness showed up on my back along with the first strong pain. So Thursday would have been the day to seek treatment.

If you are 50 or older, get the Shingles vaccine unless you have a medical reason not to!

Learn more here:

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/shingles/public/shingrix/index.html

Shingles is no joke. Painful, grisly rash that blisters up. Trust me, you want to avoid this.

10 years ago on TTaT: 50% for "50 for 50"

Heavy Duty Dumpster Truck?

Turns out the official name for the heavy duty dumpster truck the construction crew started using last week to haul out rocks, boulders, & dirt is an articulated hauler. It's a beaut.

The articulated part is because the front can rotate independently from the back.

https://www.volvoce.com/united-states/en-us/products/articulated-haulers/a30g/

And yes, Volvo makes construction equipment. They also made the 2 large excavators they're using.

10 years ago on TTaT: As good as it gets!

Dismayed

Yesterday I went out for a walk and a lone power company guy was on the street. He was friendly and said hello so I asked him when the power lines were going to get strung on the temporary utility poles.

He said they'd be back today barring weather issues. Thunderstorms were forecast but completely missed us. We didn't even get any rain. The storms may well have hit elsewhere causing outages, but either way, the power company isn't here today.

He did say he knows they are holding up the road work so they're trying to get it done. They will likely be here on Saturday and Monday.

We're 2 months in and my sleep is wrecked, y'all. Insomnia plus loud early, often pre-7 AM work is a terrible combination.

The road crew guys were here to pick up their roller today, banging around early, and also made a gravel pathway to the container that is a TEMPORARY shed. What a fucking waste of time and contribution to noise I did not need. That took them an hour and a half to accomplish!

I heard that the neighbor across the street spoke with the head of the contractors working on the road and temp bridge. If it's who I think it is, this old guy just breezes in once or twice a week, looks around, takes a few photos and leaves. I never get the sense there is a foreman of any kind directing their work.

Anyway, apparently contractor boss thinks the project is going well and that they will be done in OCTOBER.

Mind you, they started this process a couple months early and the permissions from residents whose yards they have overtaken/destroyed parts of run out mid-September. So,  "going well"? Eff you, guy.

I've been watching them work and it's pretty clear there's no single person in charge or directing their efforts. There's a bunch of work they've repeated many times. Not a model of efficiency.

Now I know I don't have a background in construction work. But I did work in film for years doing physical labor, and in charge of crews, where urgency was prized. I prized efficiency because it made things faster and took less effort. Also days were 12 hours long minimum.

I'm just saying if they had a plan that wasn't seat-of-the-pants every day, they could get a lot more done in the 8 or less hours (including lunch) they are here.

I just want them to finish, sooner rather than 4 months later.

My ability to focus is shot from fatigue and noise 5 or 6 days a week which makes it very difficult to work from home.

As you may tell from this rant, I feel at my wit's end with months more to endure. sigh.

10 years ago on TTaT: Blood Rites

Dinner at the Lake

Today is the first day I've eaten dinner out in over a year.

And by dinner out, I mean we took a mini picnic made at home with us to the lake and ate it while we sat in the car, looking out over the view.

To be fair, this is always how we'd eat at the lake except we'd usually pick something up for dinner and on the way home debate whether or not to pick up dessert somewhere. Ben & Jerry's or a slice of cake from the fancy bakery section at the grocery store.

Today was just dinner and people watching. Two groups of people on either end of the bulwark midway in the distance, a couple of kayakers, two small boats, a fisherman with two poles.

Blue water rippling. Puffy clouds with some blue sky peering through. Late afternoon sun hitting the trees, houses, and low mountains beyond the far side of the lake.

I wore my old sunglasses, the one's without a prescription, and it was the right choice. They are tinted ever so slightly pink, not that you can tell when wearing them. They just make everything look more awesome. The sky and the water, more blue, colors more vibrant. I lifted the shades up to check. The lake view and mountains in the distance looked quite nice, but with my sunglasses on, it looked amazing.

15 years ago on TTaT: I smell bacon

Georgians! Vote for Warnock and Ossoff today!

Georgians: you have the power to break Mitch McConnell's GOP chokehold on the Senate and the opportunity to elect Senators who will work for you and Georgia when you vote for Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff today.

Help flip the Senate Blue.

Today, Tuesday, January 5, 2021 is your last chance to vote!

Find out where to vote at https://iwillvote.com.

If you are in line before polls close, stay in line. You have the right to vote.

Don't wait, vote for Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff now!

Have an absentee ballot? Do NOT mail it. Return it to a drop box now. You can find drop off locations at https://iwillvote.com.

Democrats Can Still Win Control Of The Senate! [Donate now to help make it happen]

Democrats can still win control of the Senate! 

Georgia has 2 runoff elections coming up on Tuesday, January 5, 2021.

Why does this matter? 

We can't let Republican Mitch McConnell keep calling the shots. We've seen what the current Republicans do when a Democrat is president: they obstruct everything out of spite. They won't even acknowledge that President-elect Biden won. They are hoping to steal another election with their stacked courts and lies about voter fraud. They are the frauds: they do not work for the American people. They work for themselves and their big money donors without any care for the 241,000 American lives lost due to Covid-19. 

For perspective, that's almost 20% of Covid-19 deaths worldwide. We are only 4.25% of the world's population, so that shows a colossal mishandling and lack of response by Trump and his administration. The GOP continues to stand by him.

We can't leave Republicans in charge of the Senate.

If you live in Georgia, request your mail in ballot now! 

Not registered? The voter registration deadline for the runoffs is December 7. If you are an eligible Georgian and you are not yet registered to vote, click here to register so you can vote in the runoff elections!

Check back at this link soon for more information on Early In-Person Voting.

What else can I do? How can I help if I don't live in Georgia?

Donate as much as you can to help elect Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff and help Democrats take back the Senate.

We Have to do Better for America: It's Up to Us

We have to do better for America.

It's up to us.

Show up and vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

It's not enough to just win back the presidency. Trump has not done all these things alone. Mitch McConnell has been obstructing legislation and judicial appointments whenever it doesn't suit his extreme right agenda (when it does suit him, he rushes it through). The rest of the GOP routinely follows the bullies' leads. We have to win control of the Senate and keep control of the House.

Republicans have shown themselves to be enablers of cruel, racist, misogynist policies that only benefit the super rich and themselves. They do not denounce Trump's praise and encouragement of racist violence. They also have to go.

Vote for Democrats all the way down your ballot.

It's up to us.

Your vote matters. 

 If it didn't, Republicans would not spend so much time making it harder for you to vote.

Voter suppression, by the way, is cheating. Cheating the system to rig it in their favor is something Republicans excel at. Enough. Vote them out.

This is our country. I do not want my country's reputation to be family separations of immigrants seeking asylum, kids in cages, police attacks on peaceful protesters, police brutality against Black and Brown people, hundreds of thousands dead from Covid-19 because the President thought increasing testing would increase positive cases which would make him look bad, where Trump plays down how serious the virus is, making fun of people wearing masks for months, continuing to hold rallies without social distancing, where Trump abuses his office to coerce a foreign country to investigate his opponent, where the President always lays the blame on someone else for his actions or inactions.

Tomorrow Tuesday, November 3, 2020 is Election Day. If you didn't vote early, this is your last chance to vote!

Always remember polls do not decide elections, VOTERS do. 

So, use your power to create the change we need: show up, wear a mask, and vote in person on Election Day.

Vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris 

Vote Blue all the way down your ballot!

And by "Vote Blue" I mean vote for Democrats.

If you voted by mail, make sure to track your ballot if you can to make sure it arrived and was accepted. In some states (I'm not sure if all), if your ballot hasn't arrived, you may vote in person on Election Day. (Your mail-in ballot will be set aside and not counted if you vote in person.)

If you haven't returned your mail-in ballot yet, drop it off yourself ASAP! Chances are it won't arrive in time if you mail it. Or vote in person on Election Day instead.

Need to find out where to vote or where to return your ballot? This site is easy to navigate: https://iwillvote.com/

Voting in person? Know your voting rights (e.g. your right to stay in line if polls close, what to do if machines are down, your right to a provisional ballot, etc.).

Vote like your rights depend on it because they do.

VOTE BLUE NOW!

Tuesday is Election Day: Your Last Chance to VOTE BLUE

This Tuesday, November 3, 2020 is Election Day. If you didn't vote early, this is your last chance to vote!

Always remember polls do not decide elections, VOTERS do. 

So, use your power to create the change we need: show up, wear a mask, and vote in person on Election Day.

Vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris 

Vote Blue all the way down your ballot!

And by "Vote Blue" I mean vote for Democrats.

If you voted by mail, make sure to track your ballot if you can to make sure it arrived and was accepted. In some states (I'm not sure if all), if your ballot hasn't arrived, you may vote in person on Election Day. (Your mail-in ballot will be set aside and not counted if you vote in person.)

If you haven't returned your mail-in ballot yet, drop it off yourself ASAP! Chances are it won't arrive in time if you mail it. Or vote in person on Election Day instead.

Need to find out where to vote or where to return your ballot? This site is easy to navigate: https://iwillvote.com/

Voting in person? Know your voting rights (e.g. your right to stay in line if polls close, what to do if machines are down, your right to a provisional ballot, etc.).

Vote like your rights depend on it because they do.

VOTE BLUE NOW!

Moondrop Grapes

Moondrop grapes look like they grew next to a nuclear power plant (twice as long as normal grapes, sort of an eggplant shape), but I don't even care because they are sweet, seedless, and tasty! 

If I develop superpowers, that's just a bonus! :)

_________________________________________________________________________________

Vote Now!

Always remember polls do not decide elections, VOTERS do. 

So, 

1. Go vote! Early in person if you can. 

Or drop off your mail in ballot yourself ASAP. (It may not get there in time if you mail it.)

2. Vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and Vote Blue (for democrats) all the way down your ballot!

Need to find out where to vote or where to return your ballot? This site is easy to navigate: https://iwillvote.com/

If you're voting by mail, fill it out and drop it off yourself as soon as possible. Follow every instruction to make sure your vote will count.

If you decide to vote in person, vote early if you can. Know your voting rights (e.g. your right to stay in line if polls close, what to do if machines are down, your right to a provisional ballot, etc.).

Vote like your rights depend on it because they do.

VOTE NOW!

Vote Early and Vote Blue

To be perfectly clear, when I write #VoteBlue, Vote Blue top to bottom, and #VoteBlueDownBallot, I mean:

Vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Vote for the Democrat running to be Senator in the Senate.

Vote for the Democrat running to be Representative in the House of Representatives.

Vote for the Democrats running for state offices (e.g. governor, attorney general, state senator, state representative...).

Vote for the Democrats running for local offices (e.g. district attorney, mayor, selectmen...).

Simply put, Vote for the Democrat(s) wherever possible on your ballot.

If you're saying, "But, Claire, isn't deciding who to vote for more nuanced than that?"

For now (and likely many years to come), no. 

Republicans accept (and some promote) racism, police brutality, abuse of immigrants, family separation, violence against women, and misogyny. They use their power to deny health care, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, and make it harder for people who disagree with them to vote. 

They misuse their power: they refused to hold hearings on Merrick Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court saying it was too close to the 2016 election (it was 11 months before) but are now rushing through the process to get their extreme right-wing nominee Amy Coney Barrett appointed to the Supreme Court before the election when people are already voting. She will vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, limit voting rights, and most importantly, will vote in favor of Trump if election result disputes make it to the Supreme Court.

Republicans have shown they are bullies and hypocrites. If you say, "Not all Republicans...," well, most of the time they fall in with the party line so they won't be targeted themselves which amounts to complicity.

For me, civil rights (excluding our egregious gun violence problem stemming in part from the 2nd amendment) and human rights are non-negotiable. Until the GOP thinks likewise, Republicans are off the menu.

So:

Vote for Democrats!

1. Register to vote or double-check your voter registration. 

Some state's deadlines have already passed and others are coming up fast, so do this now!

2. Plan how you will vote in person. Early in person is better. Or request your mail in ballot now (time is running out for the mail option).

3. Vote Blue!

Always remember polls do not decide elections, VOTERS do. 

Need to register to vote, check your registration, request a mail in ballot, find out where to vote? This site is easy to navigate: https://iwillvote.com/

Vote in person and vote early if you can. Know your voting rights (e.g. your right to stay in line if polls close, what to do if machines are down, your right to a provisional ballot, etc.).

If you're voting by mail, fill it out and send it back immediately (better yet, drop it off yourself). Follow every instruction to make sure your vote will count.

Vote like your rights depend on it because they do.

VOTE BLUE NOW!

Your Vote Matters

If voting didn't matter, Republicans would not spend so much time making it harder for you to vote.

Ways they suppress voting turnout:

Voter ID laws (often too expensive for poor people to get)

Closing polling places where Black and Brown people live. All those long lines you see of people waiting to vote? That's voter suppression. Not everyone can spend 8 hours in line and no one should have to.

Removing drop boxes for ballots. This is really bad considering it's the safest way for most people to deliver their ballot during a pandemic.

Sending less voting machines &/or broken machines to places with voters they don't want

Disenfranchising voters who have served time and rigging the justice system so more Black and Brown people are imprisoned (so they won't be able to vote).

Floridians actually voted to pass a law to return the right to vote to many returning citizens in 2018 but then politicians passed a measure that all their fines and fees must be paid before they can vote. That's a poll tax and it's illegal. Learn more, donate, or get help with registering & fines at https://floridarrc.com

There's more I'm not thinking of right now, but you get the idea.

Voter Suppression in Unpatriotic!

So make sure you vote them out. Vote for Democrats to replace as many Republicans as possible. Vote like your rights depend on it because they do.

Register to Vote and Make a Plan to Vote!

If you're in the United States and you're not registered to vote yet, do it now.

If you're registered to vote, have you double-checked that you still are or updated it if you've moved? Now is the time.

Once you're registered, request your mail in ballot. Commit to filling it out and sending it back (or dropping it off yourself) as soon as you get it. Follow every instruction to make sure your vote will count.

If you decide to vote in person, vote early if you can. Find your polling place. Plan how and when you will go. Check your state's policies so you'll know if you need to bring an ID and know your voting rights (e.g. your right to stay in line if polls close, what to do if machines are down, your right to a provisional ballot, etc.).

Do it now and Vote Blue from top to bottom, friends. Your vote matters and it's crucial we all vote in this upcoming election to oust Trump and as many of the GOP as possible.

Need to register to vote, check your registration, update it, learn about age requirements? More info here:

https://www.usa.gov/voter-registration

Fill Out The Census and Be Counted!

If you live in the United States and don't fill out the Census, you literally don't count to the government. You're depriving your community of federal funds for important programs and political representation.

(I live in a county that used to have its own Representative but when population numbers fell according to the Census, our state lost a Representative in Congress, the districts were redrawn, and we were thrown in with larger neighboring counties.)

Everyone who lives in the US and its five territories is required by law to respond. There is NO citizenship question.

Fill it out NOW!
https://2020census.gov/