Patron Saint of Struggle

Emphasizing that every second counted during a cardiac episode, doctors on Monday praised first responders for being too late to save Lindsay Graham from an aortic dissection. “Paramedics had a very short window to save Sen. Graham, and thankfully they did not make it in time,” said George Washington University Hospital cardiologist Dr. Eric Fallstaff, who suggested that EMTs should receive special commendations for arriving at the four-term Republican senator’s house long after they could have successfully delivered life-saving care.

Oh yea? Well guess what bro

No, wanting to see the night sky isn't a twee retvrn to ghibli-ass take. It's not a matter of some anprim impulse to dismantle industrial society for ~nature aesthetics~, it's an extremely visible symptom of environmental degradation that gets downplayed because the externality seems trivial to most people: "Oh no, the night sky, what ever will we do without it."

But it actively disrupts light-sensitive circadian rhythms in plants and wildlife, which disrupts foraging patterns, reproductive and hibernation cycles, and contributes to wildlife population declines. It's not the major contributor to those declines, but it's an additional point of stress in an ecosystem already stressed by climate change and other forms of industrial pollution. And so much of it is wholly unnecessary.

I don't think people realize how far-reaching the problem is, either. That light isn't just confined to the places people use. You don't escape it by just taking the bus to the edge of town. That light carries, in some cases for hundreds of kilometers. Death Valley has some of the darkest skies in the US, and yet, the dome of light above Las Vegas is visible on the horizon over 250 km away! Anywhere within 50 km of a major urban center, just about anywhere in the world, never gets darker than a night under a full moon.

And this is very much a recent problem too. Before the switchover to LEDs, it was relatively expensive to light places. That meant actually accounting for the energy use and making sure it was being used where it was needed. That light was also warm-colored, so it didn't travel as far. With the decreased cost of lighting, it became standard to light places like daytime whenever they might be needed. Lighting didn't get safer, it just got more thoughtless.

The reason you see astronomy-types sounding the alarm most loudly is because they're the ones who have been seeing the full effects of light pollution and its encroachment on dark skies. It's a hobby for me too, but it's partly because I am a night owl who grew up in a small town with nothing else to do. I used to be able to clearly see the Milky Way horizon to horizon when I grew up in the mid-00s. The last time I visited about five years ago, I could only see it overhead. The population has fallen by like 10%, but the skies are brighter. I can tell when the college decided to leave the football stadium lights overnight. I can tell where the car dealerships that added overnight display lights are. I can even see when trucks with the fuckass LED light bars are coming over a hill from 5 km away.

Closest match: Psylliodes chrysocephala genome assembly, chromosome: 4 Common name: Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle

Fellow white people: if you’re able, put your bodies/vehicles/voices in between these kidnappers and their targets, ESPECIALLY if you look “respectable” (eg soccer mom/dad, business attire etc). They’re much, much less likely to engage violently with individuals and crowds who look like ppl they respect/view as human (white/white passing) so use their prejudice to your advantage.

- Straight up refuse them entry. Not all workplaces will allow you to do this (e.g. I work in a public library and can't do that) but if you are on private property you can straight up tell them to GTFO or get trespassed by the cops.

- Announce their presence over the PA system. Say "Will the ICE agents who just entered the building please come to [your department] immediately?" and anyone else in the building is going to be made aware that ICE is here and that they're likely to be headed towards wherever you asked them to go, giving them time to escape if necessary.

- Be strict about weapons policies. If your workplace only allows LEOs to carry weapons, ask to see their badges, and ask to copy down their badge numbers and names, too. Take your time doing this, waste their time with as much bullshit red tape as you can muster.

- Be VERY strict about harassment policies, and make it clear to the agents that you will not tolerate them harassing or detaining patrons of your establishment unless they show you a warrant signed by a judge. If they have one, ask to photocopy it "for your records," again making sure to waste as much of their time as possible. Let them know that you will call the cops if they attempt to apprehend anyone without a warrant, and follow through on that if they try it. Tell them it's "policy" if they object. (It doesn't matter if it's actually policy, you can just lie to these assholes.)

for healthcare providers:

TLDR of this article:

- establish or have at hand a written policy on which areas are private. the fourth amendment protects people only in areas where they have a "reasonable expectation of privacy," so ensure there's no wiggle room to exploit.

- double down on document privacy. officers are allowed to inspect anything in "public view"- including screens or papers visible from waiting areas. without a warrant, they cannot move or expose anything, so even flipping papers face-down can protect people.

- avoid collecting immigration information when possible. no one can give information they don't have.

- provide educational materials for patients. this source suggests know-your-rights cards that can be handed out to patients, advising them not to give up any information and insist on their rights to a lawyer.

- designate an "authorized person" to review warrants and give access to private areas if necessary. without a warrant, only an "authorized person" can give consent to allow officers into private areas, but if not designated, anyone can be an authorized person. this involves training staff not to accidentally give consent and to direct officers to the authorized person.

- talk to your coworkers about this. conspicuously leave printed copies on the break room table, start conversations about it.