The Kids Online Safety Act Passed The U.s. Senate.

the kids online safety act passed the u.s. senate.

long story short (for anyone who hadn't heard of this before) the kids online safety act, aka kosa, is a bill that will censor online content and resources for lgbtq+ matters, reproductive healthcare, activism (INCLUDING PALESTINE AND LIKELY OTHER CRISES GOING ON LIKE IN CONGO OR SUDAN), mental health, etc. everywhere--its effects likely won't be contained to just america.

today, july 30th, 2024, the senate passed it 91-3. it has officially moved to the house of representatives.

is this a pretty massive setback? yes. do you have every right to be scared, sad, angry, or whatever else about this happening? absolutely. but should you give up hope completely? NO!

even though kosa passed the senate, the house is on break/august recess at the moment. we have around an entire month to get emails, calls, and faxes in to house reps, maybe more depending on when they decide to vote on it.

should it pass the house and get signed into law, we still have a whole 18 months before it actually goes into effect. this is plenty of time for digital rights orgs (e.g. fight for the future, the electronic frontier foundation) and other groups that oppose it to file a lawsuit against it. even if, worst-case scenario, it flies through the house immediately after the recess ends, we can still fight this up to march 2026.

so, yes, remember what's at stake here, but also remember that it's not over yet. we lost a battle, not the war.

below are some resources to learn more about kosa and how to contact your reps (first link) + a page that lets you directly contact progressive house reps, sign an open letter opposing the bill, and view others' testimonies against it (second link):

Google Docs

Resources For KOSA

Call Script on Page 2! Resources For Learning about KOSA 2023: KOSA bill itself: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/1

FIGHT. FIGHT. FIGHT.

I forgot I also made this

Remade how I draw him a lil!

in case you haven't thought about switching to firefox yet, here's an extension that will...

Notify you if a website you're on has employees that are on strike

Bypass paywalls for major news outlets like the New York Times

Change the browser theme based on the time of day

Directly install third party non-extension scripts

Save individual browser sessions to be reopened at any time

Use the TV format of YouTube in-browser

Make all chrome extensions compatible with Firefox

Turn YouTube dislikes back on

Fix Twitter and make it way less fucked up

Automatically remove trackers from URLs

And many more!

Feel free to add any other firefox extensions you think are slept on.

My advice to everyone who sees a fat ass stink beetle is pick it up. I picked up three over the course of a few hours on my trip and then held them between their abdomen and thorax and they all didn’t care that much. They also didn’t do their namesake. The first one just kind of stood there, the second one actually pushed itself out of my grasp, and the third one tried walking on the air away from me. I’d generally say that, the bigger the bug the lesser fucks it will give. Think robber fly or giant millipede. If I get stinked in the near future that’s on me also probably don’t listen to this advice I just don’t see fat ass beetles often.

paypal.com

A Father Appeal For His Children's Peace

Help Hamdi Hejazi reach their goal by donating or sharing with your friends.

We are reaching out to you with heavy hearts and unwavering hope. Our recent GoFundMe campaign, which aimed to gather crucial funds for children like Hussam and Lama, was unexpectedly shut down after we reached our goal. Despite our efforts, GoFundMe has not provided any reason for this abrupt action, nor have they responded to our inquiries. The funds we had so eagerly awaited to transform the dreams of these children into reality were never transferred. But we are not giving up. We are determined to raise the necessary amount once again, this time through PayPal. Your generous support can reignite the hope and dreams of Hussam, Lama, and many others. Together, we can ensure that their dreams do not fade away. @el-shab-hussein