Remember Mark Robinson, republican NC gubernatorial candidate? Yeah I think about him a lot, and the dissonance involved in demanding disarmament in the face of that rhetoric and the refusal to repudiate it.

Anyway, feels like as good a time as any to remind that these evil fucks don't care about kids, they just hate queer people and want to kill us. So. Act accordingly. Maybe check out your local Pink Pistols if you want to protect yourself, or if you're not queer but serious about your allyship.

People are on the sex offender registry for life for taking a piss in public because our society has largely done away with public restrooms, but gods forbid Larry Summers face real consequences for using his immense social power to manipulate, bully, and coerce women into sleeping with him.

If I had my way we'd apply the only known guaranteed cure for pedophilia to everyone associated with Jeff Epstein but somehow people think that suggestion is worse than the rampant pedophilia and sex-pestery. Somehow I'm the bad guy. Kinda makes me a little concerned about our priorities.

Maybe we've failed as a society if nobody in power is willing to publicly excoriate a sex pest who was best friends with one of history's most infamous and prolific pedophiles. Yes, I know that absent context it's not immediately clear who I mean. That's kinda the problem.

Oh, huh, yeah it could. Wild, that.

They've got all the time in the world to do a bill that generates mass confusion and the arrest of law abiding citizens, doubles up on felony charges for things that were already illegal, and drives gun owners away from mental health services, but can't be arsed to actually do anything good. #mapoli

The climate crisis is going to exacerbate violence as it destroys people's property and livelihoods, causes intense heatwaves and food shortages, and worsens our energy crisis. The MA legislature is actively facilitating the spread of violence in MA while promoting carceral solutions. #mapoli

There is a group of people who have so much money that they simply are not playing the same game as the rest of us. They operate by different rules. Unless we bring them back onto our playing field or lock them out of their side game we are never building our way out of the housing crisis.

Except for the ones who don't, like Zillow. It is a well documented phenomenon that some investors purchase and hold to drive up the values of the property they hold. There are a lot of vacant properties out there. I'm not saying "we've built enough", but "build more" by itself isn't the solution.

If you like what I had to say about this, stick around. I'm going to be doing more writing this year, and actually doing some of that planned #mapoli regulatory board meeting oversight. It's gonna be a wild ride.

Anyhow, read it, share it, get educated. Know your rights. Sue your landlords. Fight back.

Relevant statute link here: malegislature.gov/Laws/General...

Something I neglected to include in the article, I'm just realizing, is that a landlord retaliating against you for exercising your rights is illegal under ch. 186 s. 18. Attempting to evict you or increase your rent within 6 months after you take action is a penalty between 1 and 3 month's rent.

It is really critically important that tenants have a better understanding of what our rights are, when landlords are, at best, often flying by the seat of their pants. At worst, they're intentionally stealing from their tenants, people who don't realize that they can fight back.

It's a longer read, but if you've ever wondered what your rights are as a tenants with relation to your security deposit, or been afraid of the process to sue to get it back, this was my experience over the last several months. It's easier than you think, and not as scary as you fear.