We keep us safe

Disability self-advocate, PTA mom, fat and happy, Minnesotan(ish), collector of cats. | I cry a lot but I am so productive. It’s an art (TS). she/her

[We keep us safe @thequeengeek]

Please someone make sure my obituary begins with “so it goes.”

[FOX 9 @FOX9]

The Twin Cities "Taco Bell 50K" got underway Sunday morning in Bloomington. Runners are going more than 30 miles across the Twin Cities between Bloomington to Oakdale, with stops at seven Taco Bell locations.

FULL STORY: https://t.co/R0eFHarUKd

[We keep us safe @thequeengeek]

@medickimw I've never seen a group of people I was more sure did jack shit during the occupation.

[We keep us safe @thequeengeek]

@SusanBruiser @hellodonavon His eyes really are lovely.

[ilya bizanov @R0ZAN0VS]

“to the honorary canadian, connor storrie, i share this award with you” 😭😭😭😭

[We keep us safe @thequeengeek]

@NortonMpls @hellodonavon I’ll take control next year. I’m very persuasive.

[We keep us safe @thequeengeek]

@NortonMpls @hellodonavon This is what happens when you put the chaos goblins in charge of something.

[Malika 🧬 @malikules]

atheism leaving my body with every new Pope tweet

[𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗻 liked your reply @hellodonavon]

“Columbo Rising From The Underworld To Stalk The Wicked”

An incredible piece my wife @thequeengeek commissioned @Brandon_Bird to lovingly paint. Apparently the both of them know me better than me.

[We keep us safe @thequeengeek]

My 7yo walks up to me while I’m watching the Wild game and says “Is this boy hockey or girl hockey?” So I say “Boy hockey.” She shakes her head and says “Ew. I don’t watch boy hockey. Girl hockey is better."

I didn't even teach her that, she figured it out on her own. An icon.

[Sesame Street @sesamestreet]

The word of the day is HABIBI! Happy #ArabAmericanHeritageMonth from Ramy Youssef, Elmo, and all of your friends on Sesame Street!

[We keep us safe @thequeengeek]

@cjthegenx @AaronRegunberg Not tax shelter, shelter money from sanctions, foreign governments, etc. Many of these people are from other places where they need their money in something protected and not entirely liquid. Like American and Canadian real estate.

[We keep us safe @thequeengeek]

@stpguy33 @cturnbull1968 You do understand sarcasm, right?

[We keep us safe @thequeengeek]

@cjthegenx @AaronRegunberg Yes, the people who don't live there and buy up real estate to shelter their money will... move away?

[VANITY FAIR @VanityFair]

Connor Storrie arrives at the Tiffany & Co. Blue Book Gala in NYC

[We keep us safe @thequeengeek]

@Alan_bigsky @Acyn Where are you still getting silver dental fillings? My dentist hasn't offered those for over a decade and replaced all of mine years ago.

[Turnbull @cturnbull1968]

If he can tax the second homes of millionaires, that are worth $5M or more, that means it’s only a matter of time before he goes after the second homes of average, hard working, everyday Americans that are barely making it.

Diabolical.

[We keep us safe @thequeengeek]

The heroes that fought in that occupation and the heroes that supported them are not taught to our children. Are not stories we know or tell to each other. The only reason disabled people can be a part of society is because this group said enough and risked their lives.

[The Husky @Mr_Husky1]

The FBI cut the phone lines during the 1977 disability rights sit-in. Then they turned off the hot water.

They locked the doors from the outside. One hundred and fifty people were trapped on the fourth floor. Half of them used wheelchairs. The government assumed they would leave.

Kitty Cone was thirty-three. She had muscular dystrophy. Her muscles were failing, but her logistics were flawless. She knew how to organize people.

The federal government had promised to sign regulations protecting disabled Americans from discrimination. The policy was known as Section 504. They printed the promise on paper. Then they stalled. Without a signature, it was just typography.

The protesters entered the regional Health, Education, and Welfare building in San Francisco on a Tuesday morning. They took the elevators to the director's office. They brought sleeping bags and catheters. They informed the staff they were not leaving until the law was signed.

By sunset, the police surrounded the exits. Kitty sat near the windows. She organized the floor plan. She assigned committees for security and sanitation. She kept her medication in a small cooler.

According to federal memorandums released decades later, the strategy to end the occupation relied on medical attrition. The building was not equipped for long-term habitation. The FBI calculated that a population requiring ventilators, specialized diets, and daily medical aides would voluntarily evacuate if the environment became sufficiently hostile. They instituted a blockade.

The blockade went into effect immediately. No food deliveries allowed. No medical supplies permitted through the lobby. Guards stood at the main doors checking identification.

Kitty's muscles deteriorated faster under the physical strain. She couldn't walk. When the phone lines went dead, the fourth floor lost contact with the press. The government waited for the quiet.

Kitty dropped to the floor. She realized the barricades were designed for standing adults. The police had blocked the hallways at waist height. They hadn't blocked the linoleum.

The floors were covered in cigarette ash and spilled coffee. She dragged her body through it. She crawled under the barricades to reach the restricted elevator shafts and unguarded offices.

She carried notes in her pockets. She found a single working payphone the FBI missed. She called the local news desks. She called the mayor's office.

She crawled back. When her arms failed, someone pulled her by her ankles. The Black Panthers heard the news reports. They crossed the police lines with hot meals. The FBI could not stop them without a riot.

They shut off the elevators, so she crawled.

The occupation lasted twenty-five days. It remains the longest non-violent occupation of a federal building in American history. On April 28, the Secretary of HEW signed the regulations without a single alteration.

The protesters left the building the next morning. They went back to their apartments. The Rehabilitation Act regulations laid the groundwork for every accessibility law that followed. The HEW building still stands on United Nations Plaza. The elevators run on a schedule. The doors are heavy glass.

Kitty Cone: the woman who crawled under the barricades.

[Ashley Reese @offbeatorbit]

I can’t believe this.

[We keep us safe @thequeengeek]

Make all politicians Millennials.

[brynn🕳️ @brynnposting]

where are we going with this my brother

[Richard Carlbom @richardcarlbom]

Over 37,000 people showed up to DFL caucus night this year. About half of them for the first time. I’ve said it on the record and I’ll keep saying it: the Minnesota DFL is a big tent party and that’s our strength. We don’t win by shutting people out or drawing smaller circles.