Biden extends student loan freeze to May 1 | TheHill

President Biden on Wednesday extended the pandemic moratorium on federal student loan payments and interest accrual through May 1 amid surging cases of COVID-19.

Source: Biden extends student loan freeze to May 1 | TheHill

McDonald’s Japan only sells fries in small sizes due to supply crunch

McDonald’s Co. (Japan) will only offer french fries in small sizes as potato imports from North America have been delayed due to flooding near a Vancouver port and a worldwide logistics disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The sale of medium- and large-size fries will be stopped from Friday to Dec. 30 as the potato supply falls, McDonald’s said in a statement on Tuesday. The hamburger chain continues to sell small-size offerings as it tries to make sure customers can enjoy the popular item despite the shortage.

Source: McDonald’s Japan only sells fries in small sizes due to supply crunch

Defund Coastal GasLink

LANDBACK Friends

Today (12/22/2021) we will be gathering in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en peoples at 4:00 PM. at the Chase Bank, 3621 Merle Hay Rd, Des Moines, IA 50310.

Chase is one of the major institutions funding fossil fuel projects, including the Coastal GasLink pipeline being built on Wet’suwet’en lands. Pressuring financial institutions to divest funds from fossil fuel projects has been a tactic for many years. Gatherings like this can encourage the bank to divest from fossil fuel projects. They can also provide a public way for individuals to divest their funds from these banks.

Banks and private equity companies are pouring billions on a massive fracked gas pipeline to cross Wet’suwet’en territory: Coastal GasLink.

Indigenous Hereditary chiefs and supporters have responsibilities to defend the sacred, pristine headwaters of the Wedzin Kwa, in Wet’suwet’en law. They hold uninterrupted title to the land, in colonial law. For peacefully acting in accordance with…

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Andes Creme De Menthe Chocolate Cookies — In Dianes Kitchen

These cookies are not just delicious, but they leave your mouth minty and refreshed. I can’t think of a better reason to eat cookies, can you? In a large bowl add the brown sugar, shortening, water and vanilla extract. Stir until combined and creamy. Add the eggs and stir until combined thoroughly. In a small […]

Andes Creme De Menthe Chocolate Cookies — In Dianes Kitchen

UC requires COVID boosters, weighs online start amid Omicron – Los Angeles Times

UCLA and six other University of California undergraduate campuses announced Tuesday that classes will begin remotely at the start of the new term, as colleges throughout the nation wrestle with plans for a safe return after winter break amid an increasingly serious surge of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Additionally, all eligible students and staff in the 10-campus UC system will be required to provide proof that they have received a COVID-19 booster shot, officials announced.

Source: UC requires COVID boosters, weighs online start amid Omicron – Los Angeles Times

San Jose wants to require COVID-19 booster shots – Los Angeles Times

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo announced the proposal Tuesday. If approved by the City Council, it would require all San Jose city employees to receive booster shots as a condition of employment and anyone who enters city-owned facilities to do the same. Source: San Jose wants to require COVID-19 booster shots – Los Angeles Times

Good People Doing Good Things — Holiday Spirit

Filosofa's Word

If it’s Wednesday … wait … hold on … IT’S WEDNESDAY ALREADY???  No, it can’t be … only … 1 … 2 … 3 more days ‘til Christmas???  Where has the week gone?  Where has December gone?  For that matter, where has the YEAR gone???  😱

Now, as I was saying … if it’s Wednesday, it must be time to set aside the angst, the characters that bring about mounds of snark and rants and turn instead to some good people.  Turns out, I found a couple without even looking and I think they will help us all to remember what the spirit of the season really is.


Turquoise LeJeune Parker is a library teacher at Lakewood Elementary School in Durham, North Carolina.  Ms. Parker ends every class by telling each of her students she loves them, and it isn’t just words … she shows them in so many…

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Working Wednesdays, Umbrella Project Do Better, From Rough Draft to 3rd Draft

Context, Thought, and Learning: ShiraDest Offers Project Do Better

     (credit and thanks to The Atlantic for image, I make nothing from it.)

        This post is the start of the rough draft of  Chapter 7, section III, part A, for my non-fiction WiP, Do Better, fka Baby Floors (fka Baby Acres, or Acre Baby…).    This section will complete the early years of mapping out a path to get there for Phase I, with our Public Domain Social Infrastructure.    It’s here for comparison, because I can’t bear the pain of letting the original version of this idea go without at least a whimper. 

    Comment on Part I: Dreaming, in Draft 3 changes Do Better into a much more community project oriented book, as I prepare to pass on the torch.    To comment on chapter 7, in Part II: Engineering, look here

Putting a floor on poverty so that each and every baby born…

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