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SpryOldLorax

@spryoldlorax.bsky.social

11K followers 2K following 17K posts

I speak for me: a Liberal, a Democrat, & a Sane person who believes in facts, reality, science, healthcare, & civil rights. I fight for a sustainable future. 🏳️‍🌈⚖️🍂 Pronouns: he/him Ecosystems: Windows/Android Languages: English/C#/SQL Liberal AF

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SpryOldLorax @spryoldlorax.bsky.social · Nov 7

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

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SpryOldLorax @spryoldlorax.bsky.social · 1h

Yeah, I was going to add "And Jered Leto isn't exactly a box-office draw... in fact, he's actually quite the opposite for a lot of people."

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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 4h

Turns out protest alone was never what changed things, it was protest *plus media coverage of protests*, which prompted officials to respond to protests, which increased public awareness of protests, etc.

If the protest happens & corporate media simply ignores it ... it's inert.

ineptitudinous.bsky.social @ineptitudinous.bsky.social · 5h

Six out of eight of the largest mass-movement protests in US history have happened since 2017. You wouldn't know this from most media reporting, and you sure af wouldn't know this from the way either major party has reacted.

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SpryOldLorax @spryoldlorax.bsky.social · 16d

Some amazing gay history. Listen up kids.

I'm watching that documentary "Before Stonewall" about gay history
pre-1969, and uncovered something which I think is interesting.

The documentary includes a brief clip of a 1954 televised newscast
about the rise of homosexuality. The host of the program interviewed
psychologists, a police officer, and one "known homosexual". The
"known homosexual" is 22 years old. He identifies himself as Curtis
White, which is a pseudonym; his name is actually Dale Olson.
So I tracked down the newscast. According to what I can find, Dale
Olson may have been the first gay man to appear openly on television
and defend his sexual orientation. He explains that there's nothing
wrong with him mentally and he's never been arrested. When asked
whether he'd take a cure if it existed, he says no. When asked whether
his family knows he's gay, he says that they didn't up until tonight, but
he guesses they're going to find out, and he'll probably be fired from
his job as well. So of course the host is like ... why are you doing this
interview then? and Dale Olson, cool as cucumber pie, says "I think
that this way I can be a little useful to someone besides myself."

1954. 22 years old. Balls of pure titanium.

Despite the pseudonym, Dale's boss did indeed recognize him from
the TV program, and he was promptly fired the next day. He wrote into
ONE magazine six months later to reassure readers that he had gotten
a new job at a higher salary.
Curious about what became of him, I looked into his life a little further.
It turns out that he ultimately became a very successful publicity
agent. He promoted the Rocky movies and Superman. Not only that,
but get this: Dale represented Rock Hudson, and he was the person
who convinced him to disclose that he had AIDS! He wrote the
statement Rock read. And as we know, Rock Hudson's disclosure had
a very significant effect on the national conversation about AIDS in the
U.S.

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SpryOldLorax @spryoldlorax.bsky.social · Nov 10

Ten years ago, Hozier released a song w/ a compelling, disturbing video called "Take me to Church".

Most people didn't realize this was a song against the rabid anti-LGBT fascism & violence in Russia.

And now, Americans have voted to make this reality here.
Please watch:

Hozier - Take Me To Church

YouTube video by HozierVEVO

www.youtube.com

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SpryOldLorax @spryoldlorax.bsky.social · 25d

This song, "Take Me To Church" was released 12 years ago today, and it's more relevant than ever...

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SpryOldLorax @spryoldlorax.bsky.social · 9d

Representational diversity is important not just for minority kids to see themselves represented, but for the majority kids to understand that they're not the only ones that can be the center of an interesting story.

We need diverse representation not
only so every kid can see themselves
as the hero of the story, but so that
every kid can understand that
*other* kinds of kids are *also* the
heroes of the story.

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Sailor Michael @sailormichael.bsky.social · 1h

Damn near everything Trump is doing is unconstitutional and we will pay dearly for it.

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OuterBoroPrincess @outerbororoyal.bsky.social · 6h

There are a million easy ways to break things. Building something sustainable is hard.

Remember that when you compare GOP “successes,” to what Democrats have done.

Lena Sun @lenasun.bsky.social · 8h

NEW: @CDCgov hit hard by massive firings that several staff describe to me as a “bloodbath.”
Among those RIFd:
—leadership of the center for immunization and respiratory diseases;
—leadership of global health center
—leadership of the measles outbreak response; 1/4

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Aisha K. Staggers @akstaggers.bsky.social · 6h

Why America will NEVER have Universal Basic Income 👇🏾

Several US presidents proposed this after the 13th amendment was ratified and said ALL AMERICANS, including "the Blacks" get it, the public, voters, AMERICAN CITIZENS (some of your grandmas) said, "Nah, we don’t want it."

Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 8h

Most medical care treats the social determinants of health. It treats poverty and chronic stress and high inequality instead of preventing it. Since when is treatment a better approach than prevention? And teachers can only do so much to overcome those same obstacles. UBI is the foundation for these

Universal Basic Income as the Social Vaccine of the 21st Century

Can the savings of basic income exceed the costs? > “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” — Benjamin Franklin [https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/247269-an-ounce-of-prevention-is-worth-...

www.scottsantens.com

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Ashton Pittman @ashtonpittman.bsky.social · 21h

ICE left David, a 17-year-old boy, stranded on the side of Interstate 20 after pulling over his immigrant father, Hector, in Mississippi.

David began running in the scorching sun after the car and watched as it disappeared from sight—soon headed to a Louisiana ICE prison.

Here's their story.

ICE Stranded a 17-Year-Old on I-20 After Arresting His Father. The Mississippi Dad Now Faces Deportation.

A 17-year-old watched as ICE arrested his immigrant father, Hector, on I-20 in June. The family faces mounting legal fees and the risk of deportation.

www.mississippifreepress.org

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SpryOldLorax @spryoldlorax.bsky.social · 6h

Not stupid, I had no idea either. But they give you a selection of companies to call to do it. You choose. They come out and do it. Took less than an hour from start to finish. It was kind of expensive... at the time, about $1200. But it's SO convenient.

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Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 6h

They are building a Propaganda State.

They are cooking the books on job creation.

Now they are rigging death numbers so no one knows how many people die because of their attacks on vaccines and science.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 19h

BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:

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karin829.bsky.social @karin829.bsky.social · 22h

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Not Your Negress @notyournegro.blacksky.app · 12h

Protesting once per quarter is like throwing a pebble at a bus.

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Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 1d

I have no idea what's in the Epstein files but holy shit does Mike Johnson not want us to find out.

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SpryOldLorax @spryoldlorax.bsky.social · 6h

My friend absolutely loves their Subaru.

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Meredith (she/her) 💛🪷 @meredith-zzle.bsky.social · 6h

I feel like people should be talking more about the treasury layoffs.

SpryOldLorax @spryoldlorax.bsky.social · 6h

I have a Honda Clarity plug-in electric hybrid (sadly discontinued). I absolutely love it. It's the perfect car for me. I spend maybe $75 on gas A YEAR. I had a level 2 charger installed in my garage, and it gives me a full charge for less than two bucks, which gives me > 40 miles all electric.

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SpryOldLorax @spryoldlorax.bsky.social · 6h

Courage is being yourself every day in a world that tells you to be someone else. Happy "National Coming Out" day... to everyone, whether you're in the closet, fully out, or anywhere in between. #NationalComingOutDay

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Julie McGalliard @mcjulie.bsky.social · 16h

This is a very general problem with all the Trump admin "let's bring back the 19th century!" plans: you can't do it. The 19th century in 2025 just looks like your country falling apart.

Sam Halpert @samhalpert.bsky.social · Apr 2

It’s worse than that. 19th c. medicine in the 21st c. won’t produce 19th c. outcomes. Not when airplanes mix ppl globally on a daily basis, when pop. density has risen to dizzying heights, when human communities have encroached on animal habitats to unprecedented levels…

It’ll be so much worse.

Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · Apr 1

Just trying to get my head around the absolute gutting of cdc and nih today. A bleak day for the US and …. well staying alive longer than people did in the 19th century.

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Princess Vimentin PhD | Cancer Biologist @princess-vimentin.bsky.social · 8h

From NBC News:
153 measles infected kids are in quarantine in South Carolina.

118 kids in Minneapolis.

If this continues, We will likely lose our official measles elimination status.

This is the outcome of antivax rhetoric.

🧪 www.statnews.com/2025/06/24/u...

A grim milestone: U.S. is on the cusp of losing its official measles elimination status

We have had the ability to prevent nearly all cases of measles for more than 60 years. Yet the number of cases keeps growing.

www.statnews.com

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 7h

Imagine that

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Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 6h

Usually presidents don't have much of a direct impact on the economy. But in 2025, the downturn is ALL Trump. It's his tariffs, his shutdown, his ICE raids, his health care cuts.