In search of life's continuous belonging

On Tuesday, Crook County in Oregon became the 13th county to approve a proposal to secede from the state and join neighboring Idaho by 53.5 percent of the vote against 46.5 percent, as part of what supporters are calling the "Greater Idaho" project.

Backers of the plan argue the more conservative areas of eastern and central Oregon are currently dominated by liberal-leaning cities such as Portland and Salem and argue their interests would be better represented in traditionally Republican Idaho.

Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements

As artificial intelligence casts a shadow over career prospects, it is becoming an unwelcome subject at this season’s college commencements. At several campuses, graduates have interrupted speakers with stadium-wide boos when the topic turned to AI.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt faced repeated jeers over the weekend during his keynote address to about 10,000 University of Arizona graduates on the rise of AI.

“It will touch every profession, every classroom, every hospital, every laboratory, every person and every relationship you have,” Schmidt said, as booing began to build in the audience.

The reason according to the college is that they want to sell the building to fix the school's budget; they also claim the wood tech college has a severe budget deficit, but they've failed to follow through on any promises to try to fix that (including hiring a permanent dean, so the school has someone to advocate for them... which they haven't had in at least a decade).

The reason according to some students & staff is that Seattle College's VP has a grudge against the lead carpentry instructor & has been trying to get her program shut down for years to get rid of her.

Students are trying to make some noise about it, in hopes that the college backs down and they can work towards the long-term fixes Seattle College keeps failing to follow through on.

If you can sign this little petition & share this around, it'd help the school out a ton!

It shows the school they're going to get pushback, which has changed their mind about this in the past.

It would be really cool if we could help get this to 1k!

There are less than 200 students at the wood tech college, so makes a really big impact when anyone else signs and shows that people outside of just students really care about this.

Trans people need to learn solidarity yesterday, we need to be ready to organise together and set aside anything that we need to in order to get our shit sorted out. We need to prioritise the needs of people who are most at risk: trans women, trans people of colour, trans sex workers, homeless trans people, trans migrants, trans prisoners. Trans people need to organise!

edit: kind of ironic i didn't think about it considering i'm transmasc myself but free the nipple applies to nonwomen with boobs too

**please note these resources can also be used for the primary elections and special elections!

I know the midterm election is not until November 3, 2026, however I want everyone to be prepared and not say that they "didn't know" or "couldn't figure it out". This is a guide for everything you need to know about voting in the U.S. in the next major election - the 2026 midterm. I will be updating as needed - you may need to go to this actual post since I am adding things constantly and once it is reblogged by someone it doesn’t update automatically in the reblogs when I add something. If you have a question about voting, registration, or anything else please send me an ask or message. State specific deadlines and info listed under the cut! Even if you have a super unique situation, I will absolutely research it for you!

Every seat in the House of Representatives is up for election!

What district am I in?

Who is my current rep?

What is the house of reps?

Critical House races

Governor races

Is my state having a governor election?

Senate races

Is there a senate race for my state?

What is the senate?

Who are my current senators?

Critical Senate races

General voting info

REGISTER TO VOTE

Already registered? Double check your registration has been accepted and validated

What are the deadlines for registering to vote for my state?

State specific rules for registering to vote

I need to change something on my registration

Who is eligible to vote? - anyone who is a U.S. citizen and over the age of 18

I have been convicted of a felony, can I vote?

I am a student who attends school a different state than where I am registered to vote -> resource linked here

How do I vote if I am in the military?

How can I vote (by mail, in person, etc)?

How does voting by mail work?

Can I register to vote online, or do I have to register in person?

How does voting in person work?

Where is my polling place?

Does my state offer early voting?

Does my state offer same day voter registration?

Do I need an ID to vote?

How do I vote if I am unhoused?

Will my ballot be invalidated if I take a photo of it, or post a photo of my ballot on social media?

I've mailed in my ballot, how can I check that it's been received?

What are the deadlines for mailing my ballot?

Can I vote if I am living overseas/in another country?

Does my work have to give me time off to allow me to vote?

I have a disability, what accessibility resources are there?

I need to report an issue or abuse regarding my ballot or voting experience

When are the results of the election announced?

Resources for non English speakers

I am homebound, and need assistance with mailing or filling out my ballot

Does it matter what party I put on my voter registration?

I am going through, or have gone through, DV/stalking/harassment, and I am worried about my address showing up on public voter registries

How do I register if I am currently under the age of 18, but will be of age by Election Day, and the registration deadline has passed?

Miscellaneous

School board elections

What is Ranked Choice Voting?

Volunteer opportunities related to the election

What is a provisional ballot?

What is a primary election?

What is the difference between an open primary and a closed primary?

NCSL - tons of voting resources and election news

State Specifics

Vaccines (yay!)

Pasteurization

Implementing and enforcing food quality and sanitation standards. Did you know White Castle was called as such because their gimmic was that they continually cleaned and bleached their stores inside and out to prevent food poisoning.

The invention of antibiotics! The first sulfa drugs dropped in the 1930s-40s

Widespread access and distribution of enriched food products! Enriched flour did a lot to prevent malnutrition, and it’s how Wonderbread got its name!

We got a hell of a lot better with medical care for sick and premature infants. The first incubators for premature babies were actually used as something of a sideshow attraction at Coney Island! It was the only way the doctor who invented them could get funding to keep them running because no one thought it would work. It showed a lot of people that really premature babies could survive with the right treatment and eventually was adopted by hospitals.

The green revolution in agriculture that prevented around a billion people from starving to death

In 2023, an Oregon Program began where the government gave $1,000 every month to 120 homeless youth with no strings attached with how they spend the money.

Made entirely of openly bisexual/queer men

Made entirely of men who are vocal about being raised by single mothers on welfare

One of their members was adopted and raised by a Black woman and has said he "understands how his mother could hate 'the white man' and love him with her whole soul."

Were the first band to say, "No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist/MAGA U.S.A." on live television without ANY warning.

Literally released a song last year called, "The American Dream Is Killing Me"

Only hires ALL FEMALE bands to open for them to address inequality in the music industry

OPENLY tells trump supporters they are not welcome at their concerts.

Anyway, Enjoy Feb. 8th Magats! You're gonna hate it. :)

To add:

Brandi Carlile is married to a woman, and is very open about her identity.

Charlie Puth is an ally.

Bad Bunny is an ally- it is obvious in his halftime show.