meh

A local paper had some great photographs, all taken by Nicole Hester:

The day before, Rep. Justin Pearson tries to attend a Senate Committee meeting and is barred access by the Sergeant at Arms.

Lawmakers and protesters link arms as the descend the capitol steps.

Once inside the chamber, Democratic representatives continued to stand together with arms linked.

They continued standing together with arms linked as votes were cast.

Democratic representatives take a group photo protesting the redistricting.

Rep. Justin Jones burns a photo of the Confederate flag with the words, We will not go back.

And stomps the ashes.

KeShaun Pearson being escorted from the building by the Staties.

KeShaun Pearson (left) being taken into custody. Rep. Justin Pearson (right) showing his support of his brother.

Additional information: State lawmakers have been gunning for Pearson and Jones nearly their entire terms. Most notably, in 2023, the House expelled them for participating in a protest at the Capitol. Their districts had to have special elections to have them reinstated.

Pearson is one of the plaintiffs of a lawsuit seeking an injunction against the redistricting.

EDIT:

So some fanartist drew a “sexy” (read: booby) version of a (cartoon) character who is traditionally very non-sexualised. Fans of the character got mad about it because it’s kind of groundbreaking how that character is written and portrayed and this art totally ignores the entire point of the character. They demanded the art be deleted. In response to that other people said, well what the fanartist did may be distateful but they have every right to draw what they’re into. The two sides fight for days and each starts a harassment campaign and even report their “opponents’” accounts.

So far so typical. But things eventually come to a head and they decide that this will be settled by votes - not through a poll. Through donations to a children’s education charity via each side’s portal. Whoever can get the highest amount of donation wins.

it would be so awesome

A gay Canadian adult film star claims that he was detained for over eight hours by U.S. Customs before receiving a 10-year ban from the country. Milo Miles said he was traveling to Las Vegas from Toronto's Pearson Airport in January when a routine U.S. customs screening turned into a nightmare. "It was the worst and most painful day of my life," Miles told LGBTQ Nation. "I was subjected to derogatory comments, with an unsettling focus on my sexual orientation and my sex life." Miles said his phone and luggage were searched, and he was asked intrusive questions about his sexuality and line of work. “All of this happened on two hours of sleep. I was starving, dehydrated, and in a state of complete exhaustion. I was treated like a criminal despite having done nothing wrong. I felt coerced, manipulated, and powerless. I am devastated.” U.S. Customs has the right to deny entry to people they believe are sex workers, even if they’ve never been convicted, and will use coercive tactics to try and elicit a confession, according to Maggies, a Canadian sex worker justice organization. [...] According to Miles, who was planning on visiting his boyfriend in Florida after the award show, U.S. Customs accused him of "escorting with no evidence" and were fixated on the "gay clothes," fiber pills, and PrEP he had packed, despite finding nothing illegal in his possessions. Miles ended up missing his flight due to the lengthy interrogation. When he came back the next day to catch another flight, he was interrogated again, and this time they found evidence of his career in the porn industry. "This officer decided to be a lot more thorough with his search and interrogation," he said. "After about two hours of intense interrogation, he found evidence that I do porn on my personal phone. Then, over the next two hours found evidence of escorting on my other phone." Miles said that they never found any evidence of prostitution, but noticed text conversations he had with past escorting clients — who he mostly provides with a boyfriend experience — and current text messages where he was trying to make plans with a client in Las Vegas. "Escorting is an exchange of money for time spent with an individual," he clarified. "For example, most of my clients are looking for 'the boyfriend' experience. Or someone to go to dinner with. Prostitution is an exchange of money for sexual services. There was never any evidence of prostitution on my phone, only escorting." Getting banned from the U.S. isn’t just bad for his career — he shoots a significant portion of his adult film project in the country — but has also damaged his personal life. "I was planning on building a life in the United States with my [future] husband, with my partner, who's American," Miles said. When asked by LGBTQ Nation what advice he would give other queer travelers, he said, "Avoid the United States at all costs. It’s not worth it. It’s not worth it to put your life at risk."

Even if he were a prostitute, the government should have no right to do this to any sex worker.

If you are a socially anxious person, you have to socialize. Your panic/anxiety attacks will only get worse and trigger more frequently if you constantly avoid contact with The Public. Not saying that you need to be a social butterfly- but there is a genuine problem with not being able to order your own meal at a restaurant. And it cannot be solved by always having someone else do it for you.