I don’t want them “defending trans rights” though.

I want them enforcing the protection of trans rights through legislative action and enforcement of those laws.

“Defending trans rights” is when Republicans go on the offensive about transgender issues so we have to go from being on the offensive on issues like affordability, healthcare and a strong working class to “defending” trans rights. Look at the pamphlets in Texas, they’re no longer talking about gas and grocery prices in Texas, it’s all about who sent the pamphlets.

Given the number of mailers sent out, this was millions of dollars in spending to send mailers to people many who don’t even have children.

This was absolutely a false flag executed by Republicans, I have no idea how you can think otherwise.

You've convinced me that that's not a valid line of argument, so I've dropped it.

Very obvious AI response.

Irrelevant to the fact that Taiwan is an independent country.

Taiwan is an independent country.

Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC) is a country in East Asia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan

Do you acknowledge that Taiwan is an independent country?

One of the founders, Brendan Eich, donated his money to take away the equal right for same-sex couples to marry in California (Prop 8). He never acknowledge that it was mistake, so I can only assume that he truly wants to see the marriages of same-sex couples erased, which is quite a hateful thing to desire.

Pay people during their commutes, they “clock in” as soon as they get into their cars and “clock out” only when they get home.

If any of the mods who went down fighting had verified money apps (venmo, paypal, etc), I'd love to buy them a drink by sending them some cash.

because you’re hiring the best-qualified employees rather than your cousin, brother, sister, or some guy who happens to look like you

That was the whole point of DEI. Data showed that diverse companies were more profitable. Addressing bias (like nepotism), especially unconscious bias (“I trust this guy more because he looks like me”) was a primary initiative in DEI. The other was to encourage people who don’t normally speak up (either because they never get hired or because the environment is less psychologically safe for people like them) to do so and challenge group think. It was never meant to be”lower the bar”, but it was meant to force critical thinking around what the bar is.

“I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of gay marriage” - Barack Obama, 2008

The same Barack Obama that helped achieve the following during his time as President of the United States:

Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act adding perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability to the existing hate crime law.

Lifted the ban on travel to the United States by those infected with HIV

Signed into law the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010

Under his presidency, the Pentagon ended the policy that barred transgender people from serving openly in the military.

I was certainly disappointed when I heard him say what he said, but I also could read between the lines. I was disappointed it took him so long to finally become a vocal advocate of marriage equality (thank you Joe Biden for opening your big mouth, I mean this sincerely), but I none-the-less voted for him and in the end I am so glad he was in that office instead of McCain or Romney.

Can we please not fall for the bait. Look at not only their actions but also the situation they are in. Yes, Bill Clinton signed DOMA into law, but it also passed with veto-proof majorities, making a vote against it only performative. Yes, Clinton instituted Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, but this was a time when homophobia was absolutely ingrained throughout the US. My own parents said some pretty horrible things about queer people, and now they are (mostly) accepting of the multiple queer people we have in our family.

If you’re going to be upset at anyone, be upset at your family, friends and neighbors not doing shit (even I could be doing more). Supporting trans rights arguably is less risk to us than someone vying for political office who could end up extending protections for trans people. It took a wave of challenging conversations within families as well as increased positive visibility in the media (and arguably the passing on of a generation) to get to a situation where politicians could openly support any kind of queer family without facing immense backlash.

“It should be obvious that Daniel's private donation to a political party is not part of Mullvad's values or mission, in the same way that someone's opinions on animal rights, taxes or public healthcare policy isn't.”

The part being unsaid here is “that Daniel's private donation to a political party is NOT INCOMPATIBLE WITH Mullvad's values or mission” (pardon the double negative)

That’s what I have issue with. They’re saying Daniel’s own personal purpose/mission (the donation being an expression of that) is compatible with their mission, or at minimum does not conflict.

What does “freedom of speech” have to do with expression of Mullvad employees? Mullvad isn’t a government. Free speech doesn’t mean freedom from consequences. If Daniel’s own personal mission/purpose is incompatible with Mullvad’s, severing their relationship with him would be appropriate and not a violation of his freedom of speech. Of course, this goes back to, it’s not incompatible.

The “tolerance” bit, Daniel’s own personal mission/purpose as expressed by his donation is inherently inhumanely intolerant. Again, Mullvad is indirectly stating that intolerance is not incompatible with their mission/purpose, which makes the “tolerance” bit a contradiction. They might as well have people working for them that believe you have zero right to privacy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBTQ_rights_by_country_or_territory#/media/File:World_laws_pertaining_to_homosexual_relationships_and_expression.svg

Yellow, Orange and red represent places where it is illegal to be gay with orange and red being places where being gay is punishable by death. In the holocaust, gay people were not just loathed by the Nazis, but also loathed by other groups who were also being persecuted and murdered. When other groups were freed from the concentration camps, gay people were often sent from the camps to prisons due to their “liberators” still considering them to be criminals.

Some of these are great. “Could you do” takes the burden off the other person to propose something initially, and suggests respect for their time. “I will need to leave for” begs forgiveness rather than asks permissions, and since you are communicating it, it gives others the opportunity to correct your decision. These are examples of saving everyone time while still communicating them. Being too nice can be a time waste, like saying hello and then waiting for a response before asking your question.

Some of these take away the autonomy of the other person though, and that’s shitty. “When can I expect an update?” is one of those. It would be better to express this in terms of what you need and why, like “I am reporting to X person at noon tomorrow on this, could you give me an update before then?”

Of course, whether you say “just checking in” or “when can I expect…”, if you have no good reason (micromanaging is not a good reason) for checking in then you’re just being an asshole.

It ignores the fact that the premise of the Iraq war was completely built on lies. There were no “Weapons of Mass Destruction” as Republicans claimed. A lot of people enlisted thinking they were protecting the US from a danger threatening the existence of the entire country, which ended up not being true.

"Elliott allegedly tried to wake Avalos by nudging him with the pushcart"

That's not asking someone to move, that's using force to try to get them to move. Although I agree public property means we should all be able to use it and no one should block it, I disagree that any individual is allowed to use force to enforce that law. Report such lawbreaking to the authorities, and then simply walk around them.

it would have been perfectly justifiable to respond to a flying shoe with an ass kicking or better yet pepper spraying

After Elliot assaulted Avalos with his cart, Avalos yelled at him. After Avalos yelled at him, Elliot pulled out his gun. After Elliot pulled out his gun, Avalos threw his shoe.

If someone pulled a gun on you after you yelled at them, would you be justified in kicking their ass or pepper spraying them?

Isn’t this an example of a “false flag”?

My family mostly boycotted Amazon after their pullback from diversity initiatives, amongst other things (anti-union behavior). We spend 80% less than we used to. The drop is probably even bigger than that because we had a kid just before we started boycotting and so our spending increased significantly. We will buy from Amazon if we have no other options, but 80% of the time there are plenty of other options and often they are cheaper.

Amazon has Toddleroo products, but you can also buy them direct from the manufacturer at northstatesind.com and with the WELCOME10 coupon code it’s actually cheaper than Amazon, and you can use it more than once.

We also switched to shopping a ton more from Costco. Some products automatically get free shipping, like diaper genie refills. Costco didn’t back down from diversity initiatives so I basically said Take My Money (we already were avid Costco Warehouse shoppers).

The biggest challenge is shipping costs. I either have to order enough to meet the manufacturer’s minimum to get free shipping, or eat the shipping cost. That being said, Prime is like $180 a year? Even if I pay for shipping I think I am still saving money.

Universities have been doing this for decades. https://www.npr.org/2013/12/29/257765543/a-campus-more-colorful-than-reality-beware-that-college-brochure

Do not open the door. Ask them to slip the warrant under the door. Review the warrant and independently confirm it is signed by a judge.