*&!%show

Ha, ha, ha! Is it not obvious to not sh!% all over a shared toilet? Apparently some people need a reminder for proper use, care, and attention of shared resources and don't understand reciprocity or care for your fellow human....

Kate: In a bit of a detour from our travel blog, I feel I can't be totally silent here about what is happening in my home country. I won't pretend to have any brilliant socio-political insights into what is going on in the U.S. since the T*&!% (symbols because the name is synonymous with cursing right now) Administration took power. But it does apparently seem to be a total *&!%show, from what I can tell.

I've been reading and listening from abroad in horror and humiliation as the T*&!% team seems to have come into power like a wrecking ball, wreaking havoc and devastation across every sector of government (is there one that has remained unscathed?). And I've been deeply saddened by the cruelty of targeting our most vulnerable American communities: migrants and their families, transgender and genderqueer people and communities, and of course women. And this doesn't even include the ramifications of making public servants feel entirely unappreciated, if not directly threatened (or traumatized as is the explicit goal of our now head of US Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought) .

And many of those outside of direct employment by the government are feeling the effects. I've heard directly from my friends in public health who were left scrambling to recover vital resources used daily when critical publications from the CDC went offline for weeks (thank goodness for the Wayback Machine and the archivist work of the internet they do! But this critical source of archival information is also under threat, even pre-T*&!% Administration.) And whose patients are now coming in daily with unanswerable questions and concerns about their future access to life-saving health care, like reproductive and gender-affirming care. How have all the executive orders and the change to the new administration been impacting you?

From some of the links above, you will see I am getting my information and news from several outlets. Most of these have free options, but I choose to also support them with subscribing. Because truth in reporting and information is powerful, I wanted to share what sources I am turning to- maybe you already know of these or will also find them helpful? I would also love to hear where you are getting your trusted sources of information? This seems like one very small way to push back against this wave of unimaginable change- to read, listen, and digest quality information and support the people producing this content. What are you doing to stay safe and stay sane?

On the lighter side of *&!%show and toilet talk- I very much appreciated how both Madrid and Buenos Aires Airports demonstrated thought, care and kindness in creating very family friendly bathrooms, even with small toilets, like Mae says "just for me!". What a lovely and practical way to show support for your community and the families in it!

Madrid Airport:

Buenos Aires Airport:

A shortlist of my news information sources:

Substack:

Your Local Epidemiologist- Dr. Katelyn Jetelina- an epidemiologist and statistician who became well known during the pandemic for translating the rapidly evolving landscape of public health science into digestable information for the public. She continues to be a fabulous resource for ongoing health information.

Letters from an American- Prof Heather Cox Richardson- a historian at Boston College who provides a daily (!) recap of important political news in the critical context of American History. Her posts can be dense, and are very frequent, but also incredibly insightful and provide me with insights and learnings about American History and how, as she quotes "it doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes". If you prefer to listen, you can subscribe to her podcast reading the day's post instead.

News:

The Guardian- I'm choosing to read mostly from this non-US based news source that is independently owned by a Trust, and not beholden to shareholders or an individual proprietor. Interestingly (though perhaps not surprising) even though I have it set to "International Version" the top headlines since January 20th have continued to be about US policy, and the havoc it is wreaking not just locally, but abroad.

Listening to:

Amicus- From Slate, a podcast that takes a deep dive into the legal landscape of what is happening politically- "a show about the law and the Supreme Court Justices who interpret it". This Episode "Trump's American Takeover"- I found incredibly insightful this discussion with Prof Kim Lane Scheppele of Sociology at Princeton and an expert in modern authoritarianism, including lived experience during Viktor Orban's rise in political power in the 1990s. Her perspective was helpful (and deeply disturbing) context for our current moment. Many episodes bring in historical court cases and provide expert analysis and legal perspective to what is happening.

Today Explained- From Vox, this podcast provides quick explainers of top news headlines. Often aired on public radio stations, most stories are less than 30 minutes. The hosts are excellent and it helps keep me up to date.

ACLU- a podcast by the ACLU exploring critical current civil rights news. I really loved this recent interview with Attorney Chase Strangio an expert in LGBTQ and HIV rights, who also became first openly trans person to argue before the Supreme Court last December. They discuss the recent slew of executive orders that specifically target transgender people, attempting to deny their very existence, and their rights and why this matters for all Americans.