CDC: Two indoor-only cats living in separate households in Michigan developed H5N1 bird flu in May 2024 and subsequently died. The owners were dairy farmworkers who declined testing but reported having symptoms consistent with H5N1 bird flu prior to the cats becoming ill. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...
A dark gray bird with an orange breast in a tangle of bare branches with a few dark blue fruits dangling
This robin must have been very hungry. It landed in this bush right above me and started grabbing berries even though I was walking right underneath. I'm used to them being more shy than that!
#birds ๐ฟ
My institution is unfortunately complying in advance.
Conversation with an anti-abortionist...
Them: Abortion is murder
Also them: I'm not anti-abortion though, because I believe abortion should not be illegal
Me: ... You... DO know what "murder" means... Right?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 13, 2025 CONTACT Gillian Branstetter, gbranstetter@aclu.org Tom Warnke, twarnke@lambdalegal.org BALTIMORE โ In a victory for transgender youth, their families, and their medical providers, a federal district court today issued a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of a Trump administration executive order attempting to shut down access nationwide to gender-affirming medical care for transgender people under 19. The decision by Judge Brendan Hurson was issued from the bench with a written order to come soon. The nationwide restraining order prohibits federal agencies from conditioning or withholding federal funding based on the fact that a healthcare entity or health professional provides gender-affirming medical care to a patient under nineteen. โGood and decent parents of transgender kids should never be in the frightening position of having their childโs prescribed, medically necessary care canceled at the whim and threat of a politician. But thatโs exactly what President Trumpโs executive order did to PFLAG families with trans youth and young adults nationwide,โ said Brian K. Bond (he/him), Chief Executive Officer of PFLAG National. โTodayโs decision rights a grievous wrong to our nation's families and children, and PFLAG families will be vigilant to ensure our transgender loved ones receive the healthcare they needโas this legal ruling demands.โ โForcing providers to withhold medically-necessary, evidence-based care not only threatens patient health and well-being, but also undermines the integrity of our healthcare system in its entirety,โ said Alex Sheldon (they/them), GLMA executive director. โToday's intervention by the court underscores the cruelty and recklessness that is embedded in this order and affirms our commitment to resist the administrationโs extremist agenda that targets trans and non-binary young people and privileges political ideology over medical expertise. We are hopeful thatโฆ
In the first week after the order was signed, some hospitals across the country โ in Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, Colorado, and Virginia at least โ abruptly halted medical care for transgender people under age 19, canceling appointments and turning away patients, including some who had been receiving this care for most of their life. This prompted protests of support for transgender youth and in opposition to the order nationwide. On Feb. 4, a lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal, the ACLU of Maryland, and law firms Jenner & Block and Hogan Lovells on behalf of transgender young adults and adolescents and their families whose health care has been disrupted by President Trumpโs order. Also joining the case as plaintiffs are PFLAG National, the nationโs largest organization supporting LGBTQ+ people and their families, with over 550,000 members and supporters and nearly 350 chapters across the country; and GLMA, the countryโs largest organization of LGBTQ and allied health professionals. "Across the country, this unlawful order from the president has sown fear among transgender youth and confusion among their providers,โ said Joshua Block, senior staff attorney for the ACLUโs LGBTQ & HIV Project. โBut todayโs decision should restore both their access to healthcare and protections under the Constitution. Providers whoโve suspended healthcare for their transgender patients should be left with no doubt that they can lift those suspensions and continue to provide healthcare and act in their best medical judgment without risking their funding or worse. โThe presidentโs orders sought to take away from transgender young people the very care that they, their families, and their medical providers all agree is best for them โ medical care that is evidence-based and well-established. But these decisions are for patients, their families, and their doctors to make, not for politicians or Washington bureaucrats,โ said Omar Gonzaleโฆ
Incredible news!
The Trump administration's under 19 trans care ban has been BLOCKED in federal court via a bench temporary restraining order.
The administration CANNOT withhold funds from hospitals providing trans youth care.
ACLU statement here:
If you want to understand the SB halftime show, read this.
Happy International Day of Women in Science. The National Science Foundationโs list of flagged words includes both โWomenโ and โFemale.โ
Random Fact:
Human skin canโt actually sense โwetnessโ
The sensation that people typically feel when contacting โwetโ things is the temperature difference of the liquid.
(This is why itโs relatively common for people to not know they are bleeding as blood is the literal temperature of the body)
How's everyone's morning going?
Mine started with my father sending me a South Park clip where everyone but the Mormons end up in hell.
I'm sure he thought it was funny...
So. Yeah.
Super Bowl Coin Toss Fractures World Into Infinite Multiverses Where Eagles Win, Lose, Earth Explodes
Super Bowl Coin Toss Fractures World Into Infinite Multiverses Where Eagles Win, Lose, Earth Explodes theonion.com/super-bowl-c...
Sorry to all my current followers - my posting on here has been very sporadic. ๐ I DO intend to post more frequently and will be trying to make it more of a habit to share my thoughts and blurbs about my daily life, work, interests, research, etc.
Vote for Loki! Voting for the top 10 ends today, and Loki is currently in 9th place. He is a foster pup with Unchained Melodies Dog Rescue, so if he wins this they'll receive $10,000 to use to keep saving dogs from abuse and neglect.
americasfavpet.com/2025/loki-88c4
Three puppies are peeking over the edge of a bed. From right to left - a black puppy with a bit of white on the chin, a reddish-tan pup with a white stripe down the nose, and a tan-brown pup. The comforter on the bed is yellow with flower designs. In the background, a toy "gym" is visible and a raised dog bed with a mat.
Spent the morning taking care of puppies at #UnchainedMelodies
essay re-up of the day: Anti-Trans โGroomingโ and โSocial Contagionโ Claims Explained. it not only debunks these anti-trans claims, but shows how they're essentially the same charge, plus uncovers the unconscious thinking behind the TERF-to-fascist pipeline:
juliaserano.medium.com/anti-trans-g...
โClean energy is cheaper, more widely available, and more efficient. For advocates of clean energy transition, the power of economics will prevail.โ www.bloomberg.com/news/article... #ClimateCapitalism
St Dwynwen was one of a series of illustrations commissioned by Visit Wales for their Year of Legends in 2017. Hereโs another - Gelert of Beddgelert.
This is the most wonderful and somewhat disgusting thread ๐งช
You can listen to Zdenฤk Koubek speaking in Czech in this short period US video clip.
When the goal is to turn everyone with a uterus into sexual property - taking away our options to work, access to housing, access to abortions and birth control - my very existence as a single, self-employed trans man is resistance.
What if I KNOW this... But my brain REALLY wants the cheap dopamine? ๐ ๐
A beautiful black-billed magpie sits on a black metal 'shepherd's hook' holding a suet cage. It's a pretty big bird with a white belly, black hood, wings, and a black/iridescent tail. Another magpie can be seen in the bottom right corner and a snowy forest and a snow-covered shed are in the background.
I've had some very dapper visitors to the feeders lately. Anywhere from one to three black-billed magpies show up regularly now. They're pretty flighty, so I took this picture hiding behind my monitor and aiming out the window. ๐ฟ๐ชถ
Thank you! ๐ซ
EMBRYOS ARE WILD
Today's thread: dog whistles.
Dogs -- like many mammals -- can hear higher pitched sounds than humans can. Literal dog whistles are devices that produce a high frequency sound dogs but not humans can hear. These have often been used in training dogs.
AOC ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
Same. This is not where I look for fights โ or even for perfectly civil debates. I have other places to find all that! This place, for me, is primarily for learning about things I find interesting, sharing stuff I think is cool, and connecting with people in worthwhile ways.
Ever wish you could give someone your unfiltered opinion about ABA? seeking participants 18+ who:
behavior analysts
autistic adults (self-ID welcome)
& caregivers for individuals with autism.
share your perspectives / experiences w/ the survey that best fits w/ your exp. w/ ABA
#AutRes
Juneau, a long-haired black and tan German Shepherd, is pictured mid-run through a bank of snow, a red toy in his mouth and a long-line trailing behind him, trees in the background with the sun shining through the branches.
Love this shot of Juneau! A 9-month-old shepherd I've been working with. #thedevoteddog #dogtraining #dogs #pettraining #germanshepherds #dogsinsnow
one thing iโm stuck on is this idea that โmasculineโ energy means license to act like a chud in public, as opposed to more traditional notions of public masculinity, such as those that put a premium on the performance of integrity, honesty, honor and generosity.
With everything so seemingly terrible these days & no sign of anything remotely hopeful in the near future, I thought you might need this photo of a baby giraffe.
