Ramblings from Apalapachia...

For those people who need to hear it, there is nothing wrong with going back into the closet for your own safety. You aren't less queer because you can't be queer publicly. You aren't less trans because you have to act like you're not trans.

If you need to start going by your old pronouns or quietly go back into the closet to be safe - you are allowed to do that. Please do that if it means you're alive.

Your safety is important.

You are important.

And if you know someone who has to do this, don't push them. Don't out them. Follow their lead. People's safety is more important that grandstanding.

#Mood

Gilmore Girls (2000 - 2007) I 2.08

"Meanwhile in Tucson"

For those who don't know Spanish: "Chinga tu madre" is a common swear for "F*** your mother." They changed it to say MAGA instead of mother, obviously. The second line is "No more orange."

You motherfuckers yes I hate Kamala too but when she is announced to be the Democratic candidate we are all going to shoot fireworks and go to the goddamn polls

GRIPPING EVERYBODY’S SHOULDERS SO TIGHTLY RIGHT NOW. YOU WILL VOTE FOR HARRIS. YOU WILL RECOGNIZE THAT THERE IS NO MORAL WAY TO BE PRESIDENT OF THE US AND YOU WILL STILL VOTE TO STRATEGICALLY PROTECT YOURSELF AND OTHERS.

YOU ARE THE REALEST MOTHERFUCKER ON THIS SITE!!!

Something really amazing happened in France, and I think it'd help us in the US to learn about it. Forgive the long read, but I think this is genuinely great both because of what happened and how.

So as some of you might have seen, in a decision historians will debate for years (mostly to figure out just WTF he was thinking, even though he is alive right now and can be asked), the French president, Emmanuel Macron, currently in power and THREE YEARS before the scheduled election, seeing the far right rise in popularity decided to dissolve the assembly and hold snap elections.

577 seats were up for grabs. Remember that number. Since half of that is 288.5, 289 seats are needed for a majority.

The first round happened last week and boy, was it bad. The far right made HUGE gains. It won or was in first place in so many races. And Macron's party ended up third!

Overall, this is how things ended up after the first round:

The way the French system works is that if a candidate gets over 50% of the vote, they win outright, and some of the far right did manage that. But, many races went to a runoff.

Immediate projections after were that the far right bloc might win anywhere from 240 to 310 seats, a catastrophe.

A shameful swing to the far right leading to the first time they'll be in power since the 1940s? Yes, but maybe not??

This is where things get interesting.

Unusually, a lot of these runoffs are 3-way, instead of a simpler 2-way choice. And in pretty much every case, that helps the far right.

So on June 30th, the night of the first round, this is how things went down:

Immediately, the left parties put out the call: anywhere they were third, they withdrew and their voters would go over to whoever was running against the far right candidate. Their goal: form a "republican front" to block the far right. The far right cannot get 289 seats.

Macron's bloc was not so...motivated. Different people put out different instructions: in some places, if they were third, they should drop out, but only to help the center left, not far left, in other places, see how far you are, only then drop out, that kind of thing.

The conservative party simply said they won't drop out and won't give their voters instruction either way in races they're not involved in.

Late night developments:

More people in Macron's party are now beginning to realize the situation and starting to coalesce around whichever candidate can beat the far right one. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, from Macron's party, says clearly the priority is to block the far right. BUT, some Macron spokespeople on TV say they'll form a coalition only with the center left and conservatives, splitting the left bloc if needed. Some individual Macronists still saying they won't drop out, even if there's no hope of winning.

Lol.

So, now July 1st:

Only half so far. In one race, where the sister of Marine Le Pen (the far right leader and the face of their movement) was leading, the third place Macronist refused to bow out.

Excellent quote from another Macronist:

Perhaps realizing the same thing, that Macronist in the race against the Le Pen sister now drops out.

In some places, third place Macronists are dropping out DESPITE Macron bewilderingly telling them NOT to?

Halfway through the day:

Of the 311 3-way or 4-way runoffs, the number is down to 135 because of these candidates dropping out: 121 Left, 56 Macronists, 1 conservative.

Oh, there was this, in case people had any doubts about how terrible the far right are:

And to show the selflessness of the left:

July 2:

The deadline to decide if they want to stay in a runoff is today.

A dozen new third place Macronists who said they'd stay in have now dropped out. One got a call from both the PM Attal AND Macron to drop out, signalling the dawning understanding of the importance of this moment.

Even some conservative party members are now backing the left candidate who faces the far right.

A Macronist who had 30.55% of the vote in the first round and came in third to the far right's 33.11% and left's 32.73% and who would have been tempted to stay has dropped out.

The deadline to stay in or not has now passed.

Look at these far right shenanigans!

Macron still being a freaking loser:

July 3rd:

In the end, of the 311 3- or 4-way run offs, only 91 left. Some polls come out that have the far right getting between 190 to 220 seats.

July 4th:

New polls say the balance of the voting itself isn't transferring between the left and center and predictions have risen for the far right, now predicted to get between 210 and 250 seats.

July 5th:

New polls again, left voters now predicted to do better transferring vote to the centrists, decreasing the far right projections again.

However, scandalous reporting emerges: while Attal was trying to fend off the far right, Macron was not only NOT taking the far right seriously, he was undermining efforts to defeat them. His team shrugged off the first round results and celebrated a BIRTHDAY as the results were still coming in?

July 6th:

A few runoffs happened yesterday, nothing much unexpected, some left and center wins.

July 7th:

The day of reckoning. At this point, the expectations are that the far right won't come close to that 289 number but could still easily have the most seats.

GUYS.

A LOT of cases where a leftist or centrist was 2nd in the first round and now won.

Amazing:

SO many lessons to take from this.

First, you have to vote! You have to. You can't do anything without voting. The freaking French, who'll protest for anything, are showing up to vote. If you're trying to achieve any kind of result and it's not going to happen by January 2025, you have to vote now.

But just as importantly, the left and center (and even conservative) parties made very key decisions. They were all lucky that Attal, who Macron chose, saw the big picture, bigger than indeed Macron could. A stupid selfish centrist leader could have still ruined everything if it were up to him.

TL;DR: After a disastrous first round in the national French elections where the far right was on the cusp of taking power, the left and center formed a strong coalition and through the power of voting and unity, overcame the far right AND their selfish centrist president to win.

i think the person writing these headlines deserves a raise

As of April, 59% of U.S. adults who are eligible to vote are Gen Xers, Millennials or “post-Millennials.” Yet if past midterm election turnout patterns hold true, these younger Americans are unlikely to cast the majority of votes this November.

Time to break the mold! This year, everyone votes!

The only (peaceful) way to keep Trump and the Republicans in check, is to vote.

Register to Vote and Confirm or Change Registration

If you’re not voting against these people then you’re voting for them. You can’t bitch about what Trump is doing to this country if you’re not even attempting to do something about it.

listen i say this every time i see a voting post, but if there’s a barrier that keeps you from physically voting (like, you go to college in a different place than your permanent address, you have work/school, you’re home with kids, you’re disabled, etc) YOU CAN GET A MAIL IN BALLOT. 

It’s called “absentee voting”, and over half of states don’t even require any sort of documentation for you to get one. You can literally just. Request one. And then you can vote by mail ahead of time, saving yourself So. Much. Stress.

[info on how to get an absentee ballot in each state] 

Oregon has mail in ballots for everyone, and we consistently have high voter turn out, which is why I spread this info, every chance I can. 

Note: Also, technically your employer has to give you a couple hours off on election day if you’re working more than a certain number of hours, but losing paid hours isn’t an option for a lot of people. So get on that absentee request!

I’m going to get political for half a second and say absentee voting is really easy!

If you’re a little lost on who to vote for: This app assesses your political views and shows your % matches.

+A list of everyone who voted against net neutrality (Avoid voting for, so the internet stays free) +Environmentally Supportive senators 

Those links look super helpful! I never know who to vote for. Gotta check that out later!