Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Rosey's Diary & Newsy Things: $14 County Dog Adoptions | Zoo Baby Watch | US Wall Broke Treaties | Gaslamp's Car-Free Promenade Ends | WTF Is TFG Even Doing? |

Lupe & Amahle Having Fun On A Rainy Day (2.12.25)

I almost feel like I have to stop newsy things because how can we even keep up?? But there are enough things that don't have to do with TFG that it's still my little chance to vent and share some things. I'll probably repost these a lot, but since the general media is completely complicit in the immoral, wrong, and straight up illegal activities of TFG and F-Elon, ESPECIALLY the New York Times and Washington Post, it is critical to hear legitimate reporting and valuable commentary. In particular, I read Rebecca Solnit, Letters from an American by Heather Cox Richardson, Popular.info by Judd Legum, Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance, and Steady by Dan Rather. Wired is also very much worth the subscription price right now. There are probably 50 other subscriptions I have and read regularly, but it is all so overwhelming all the time that it's important to give everything a minute...not respond to every stupid and ignorant proclamation or EO, every press statement from the State Department, or every Facebook reaction to whatever stupid headline wins the day. I'm trying to watch the courts, the lawsuits, the injunctions, the stays, the tiny little belief that somehow checks and balances will work out and this jackhole and the worse-than-the-Taliban team behind Project 2025 will be stopped. In the meantime, just trying to keep our heads above water, one foot in front of the other, and find joy in the days we have. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 


  • ZOO GOSS:
    • Shala, the female sloth bear, gave birth to cubs on December 5th. This week seems to be the first time at least one of those cubs has emerged from the cave. @ZooGirlSD got some cute pics, but now that the word is out, the photo paparazzi will no doubt be on the lookout. Similarly, Adori the koala had a joey female which has been emerged from her pouch and already seen riding on her back and her head! Another female has a joey, but it has yet to emerge the pouch. I maybe told you last time, but there's also a new female Maned Wolf. She had explored her habitat a couple weeks back, but since it has been marked "under renovations", so not sure what is going on there. There has actually been a lot of work being done around the zoo, mostly new railing and replacement things from what I can tell, but I did notice that the wall around the elephant pool has been extended to be higher, which is a bummer because it obstructs my favorite vantage point when the boys are on that side, but I'm guessing they're just getting too big and rough and needed some reinforcement. I went to the zoo in the rain today, and it was pretty incredible. Amahle and Lupe were playing for nearly an hour. You can watch some of it here. (Add your own soundtrack, I intentionally uploaded it with no sound).  
  • SEA WORLD GOSS:
    • This weekend is President's Weekend at SeaWorld, so Friday-Sunday they're open until 8pm, and until 7pm on Monday. They also added a free friend-for-free pass to passholders. But, to the dismay of many, there will be fireworks this weekend. Maybe it will rain enough that they'll cancel them. Or maybe the courts will throw down an injunction that they can't have fireworks until current lawsuits are resolved? Maybe I'm just making up words? There is pending litigation, right? Either way, I will probably be there with my little belugas as much as I can.   
  • POLITICS:
  • OTHER READING:
    • CalBike Files Amicus in Precedent-Setting Crash Case - CalBike (2.6.25)
      • "Fundamentally, lower court and appellate judges have categorized bike riders as “recreational” street users who venture onto public streets at their own risk. This position reduces bicycles to toys or exercise equipment and seriously endangers the safety of people riding bikes on California’s public roads, whether for exercise, transportation, or a mix of both."
  • COVID-19/AVIAN FLU/HEALTH/WELLNESS:
  • PROTESTS:
    • KNOW YOUR RIGHTS RESOURCES (Immigration)
    • Resources for California’s Immigrant Communities - Rob Bonta Attorney General 
    • WHAT TO DO AT AN ICE CHECKPOINT, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE WHITE and/or FEEL THE NEED TO JAM UP THE WORKS OF FASCISM.
      • Border Patrol can verify citizenship within 100 miles of a border or "external boundary." This includes coastlines, so Los Angeles, San Diego, Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, and all of NJ are within the 100-mile zone.
      • Border patrol can only ask brief questions about citizenship, and they cannot hold you for an extended time without cause.
      • You always have the right to remain silent. You do not need to answer their questions.
    • WITH THAT SAID, IF YOU ARE A BORN CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE WHITE, YOU NEED TO SPEAK THE FUCK UP.
      • The most important acts of resistance are the small ones. Make it difficult and uncomfortable for ICE agents to do their jobs. They are counting on citizens to turn a blind eye and allow them to deport undocumented citizens without challenge. Disabuse of that notion.
      • If you are on a train, bus, or anything else and ICE or CBP boards, you need to stand up and loudly let everyone know that they have the right to remain silent or only answer questions in the presence of an attorney, no matter their citizenship or immigration status. There have been numerous reports that confronting the agents in this way has caused them to leave without verifying citizenship. THIS CAN SAVE LIVES. 🙌
      • If you see anyone being held up by immigration, loudly ask if they are being detained and if they are free to go.
      • Immigration officers cannot detain anyone without reasonable suspicion, an agent must have specific facts about you that make it reasonable to believe you are committing or committed, a violation of immigration law or federal law. If an agent detains you, you can ask for their basis for reasonable suspicion, and they should tell you.
      • Always say no to a search and let everyone know that they can and should refuse consent to a search.
      • They cannot search or arrest anyone without facts about that make it probable that they are committing, or committed, a violation of immigration law or federal law.
      • Silence alone meets neither of these standards. Nor does race or ethnicity alone suffice for either probable cause or reasonable suspicion
      • white citizens, you have a level of privilege which protects us from retaliation from ICE for being "rude" and making a scene, which makes it our DUTY to speak up and make sure people without the same privilege know their rights. GET LOUD. YELL. YELL IN SPANISH IF YOU KNOW IT. LET PEOPLE KNOW THEY DON'T HAVE TO SAY SHIT. MAKE ICE UNCOMFORTABLE. THROW SAND IN THE GEARS OF WHITE SUPREMACY.
    • ⭐️ Bonus info ⭐️
      • It is perfectly legal to record immigration agents as long as you are not on government property or at a port of entry. If your train/bus gets boarded, pull your phone out and start videotaping immediately.
      • If you are detained or see someone getting detained, get the agent's name, number, and any other identifying information. Get it on video if possible.
      • Contact the ACLU or your local Immigrant/Migrant support orgs if you see someone's rights being violated.
Posted by Rosemary Bystrak at Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)