the Mittineague Blog

Mittineague Wildflowers

• There are no plants in blossom on December 10th.
  The earliest date currently listed is Mar 15, and the latest date is Nov 11

WordPress

• People of WordPress: Jill Binder December 6, 2019
  You’ve probably heard that WordPress is open-source software, and may know that it’s created and run by volunteers. WordPress enthusiasts share many examples of how WordPress changed people’s lives for the better. This monthly series shares some of those lesser-known, amazing stories. Meet Jill Binder Jill Binder never meant to become an activist. She insists […]
• The Month in WordPress: November 2019 December 2, 2019
  November has been a big month in the WordPress community. New releases, big events, and a push for more contributors have characterized the work being done across the project — read on to find out more! The release of WordPress 5.3 “Kirk” WordPress 5.3 was released on November 12, and is available for download or […]
• WordPress 5.2.4 Update November 18, 2019
  Late-breaking news on the 5.2.4 short-cycle security release that landed October 14. When we released the news post, I inadvertently missed giving props to Simon Scannell of RIPS Technologies for finding and disclosing an issue where path traversal can lead to remote code execution. Simon has done a great deal of work on the WordPress […]

HCFAMA

Code Pink

• Jes is building a Bridge of Hearts
  Dear CodePink Friends,Please check out my website: bridgeofhearts.orgIf you're on Facebook, I'd love to be your friend!I'll be using Facebook to set up house parties for a tour of the U.S. this summer,and I'll be showing a personal documentary on Iran, featuring footage from my last two trips.If you're interested in hosting a house party, […]
• Questionnaire for Tea Party
  Dear Tea Party members, In an effort to better understand the sentiments of your group and see where we, in the peace movement, might find common ground, we would appreciate it if you would answer a few questions. Thank you for your time.o The Cold War has been over for 20 years, yet we maintain […]
• There Are No Goodbyes
  I just wanted to briefly abuse my posting privileges here and say goodbye to the Pink House. I will never forget that great space full of joy, love, action, energy and creativity. A big thanks and hug to Des for being my surrogate mama when I was in DC, and to everybody I met who […]

ACLU

• In 2019, We Fought Across the Country to Dismantle Mass Incarceration. We Won on Multiple Fronts.
  This year, despite deep political divisions, one area of growing consensus from stakeholders on both sides of the aisle was the need to reform our country’s criminal legal system.  Implementation of the First Step Act coincided with Democratic presidential candidates making criminal legal reform a cornerstone of their policy platforms — so much so that 14 of […]
• Three Ways the “Fairness for All Act” Doesn’t Protect LGBTQ People from Discrimination
  On Friday, Congressman Chris Stewart (R-Utah) and several of his Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives introduced the so-called “Fairness for All Act.” The bill is being described by its supporters as a compromise that protects both LGBTQ people and religious liberty. In reality, the bill facilitates the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to give […]
• Immigrants have been Denied Due Process for Years. In New England, that’s about to Change.
  One of the bedrock principles of our judicial system is that the government can’t just lock people up without showing why it’s necessary. For noncitizens caught up in Trump’s deportation machine, though, that principle doesn’t always apply. But now because of our litigation in New England that’s about to change. Gilberto Pereira Brito was detained […]

Taxpayers for Common Sense

• Action AlertTell the Forest Service to Stop More Road Subsidies in Alaska’s Tongass National ForestComment now on the draft proposal to allow more road building and money-losing timber sales in our nation’s largest forest
  A new proposal by the Forest Service would permit costly taxpayer-subsidized roads in the most sensitive and hard to access places in the Tongass National Forest. America’s largest national forest, the Tongass stretches across 16.7 million acres in Southeastern Alaska, covering an area roughly the size of West Virginia. In mid-October, the agency released a […]
• Press ReleaseBudget watchdog group calls failure to extend Black Lung excise tax another subsidy to coal companies.
  Washington, D.C. - Taxpayers for Common Sense released a report today blasting Congress for failing to extend the coal excise tax earmarked for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund used to pay health benefits to coal miners dying of pneumoconiosis, also known as black lung disease. “By failing to extend the excise tax, Congress is […]
• ReportBlack Lung Disability Trust Fund: Expired Coal Tax Shifts Liabilities to TaxpayersA lapse in the coal excise tax means taxpayers will be left footing the bill for miners' health benefits instead of coal companies
  Download the full report. On January 1, 2019, Congress allowed the coal excise tax, used to pay health benefits to miners afflicted with black lung disease, to decrease by more than 50 percent. By failing to extend the higher excise tax, Congress is shifting billions of dollars in liabilities from coal companies to taxpayers. This […]