Update from me (from anyone not in the chat over on the app, where I have been trying to check in and post new photos and updates):
I headed south this afternoon with some friends to Huntington beach. As you can see from the map I posted, south seemed best.
Fires have hit Runyon Canyon - covering about 10 acres last time I checked - which is too close for comfort to where my apartment is. This is hitting Hollywood now.
More updates to come, right now I am busy checking in with local friends directly - trying to share information and give advice.
Please be safe David. Just checked on the Herald website for fire news to see that things are getting worse. Thinking of you and your friends and their pets
I've looked at the coverage on CNN, a place I seldom go since a few months ago, and the whole scene in LA is just so apocalyptic as to seem unreal! Please take great care of yourself and your friends, David! Kia kaha!
I've been away from the internet since Tuesday morning and I just got back home; I agreed to drive my mother to the Susquahanna Valley in Pennsylvania where we visited family friends and went thrifting. I got kicked out of Flea Flickers the other day and our entire gang almost got kicked out of the hotel we stayed at. Beautiful area but people were surprisingly rude & mean-spirited. Got a sweet Christmas cat sweater for less than $2 at the cat rescue thrift shop in Frederick, MD on the way home.
ANYWAY.
Holy shit, David. I am catching up now and I honestly can't even comprehend what's going on in California. Is this another one of those unprecedented events...? As in, have the fires been this bad previously??? Wildfires are a very foreign concept to me, to be honest. I kind of didn't realize they could be that bad in such popular city areas. Is that normal or is this like the hurricane that hit the mountainous parts of North Carolina last year -- a totally weird thing...?
The weather is definitely getting worse as time goes on. My mother has told me she thinks that "they" control the weather. She is serious about this. I think her weird news channel has suggested it, which is likely where she got is from. When I probed her about "they", she said "the democrats". She told me that she really does think that someone has figured out how to control the weather. That made me think.......there likely are rich people or corporations interested in weaponizing the destruction of the environment. I'm sure there are already examples of it but I was thinking more like, if I pollute the atmosphere this exact amount at these exact coordinates, it will cause this massive "natural" weather phenomenon to destroy this exact location/these exact people but there is absolutely no way it can be directly linked to me. Like, maybe if you drill a hole in the ozone layer at the exact right spot that is the exact right size, it will take out my competition and allow me to make even more money...! When I think about it this way, it actually seems probable that someone is actually employing scientists to "control the weather". So, again, fuck.
I'm so sorry, dude. I hope you and your local friends are all able to stay safe & healthy. Keep us update when you can but take care of yourself first, please.
the planet and environment have always been volatile (though we are at fault for much of the negative aspects of this these days- climate change, insiting on living in dangerous places etc)
humans have always been arseholes and done terrible things to each other
whats changed hugely is our access to details about this in real time
and the strange sense that good people have that if you know about something then you have to DO something, which is often impossible
the best thing i believe we can do is find ways that we can share our feelings and experiences where it is safe- as feeling alone in despair is dangerous, give ourselves permission to look after ourselves and disconnect from "all of the things" regularly in ways that are enriching to us, and finding small ways to contribute, support and encourgage people and causes we are especially passionate about.
Everyones version of the above is different and needs to be, but having a sense of these things gives you a bit of an anti-doom toolkit.
these are some things that i have on rotation that help me:
webworm and the community (THANK YOU DAVID)
talking to friends and family and having "passion rants"
keeping a small account of funds available for when i feel most helpless- so at least i can donate 50 bucks to efforts in Gaza, Ukraine, towards wildfires, whatever it is that is feeling the most horrible
volunteering within my community- even weeding something or checking traplines might make a difference for a native bird or tree ( i totally acknowledge this is something not everyone has the luxury of time for!)
permission to be off phone and fully immerse in music, walking, drawing, or even sorting a draw of random crap. small things that you can get a bit lost in and allow your emotions to reset
none of this means i dont agree that EVERYTHING FUCKING SUCKS AND OH MY GOD THIS IS SOME MENTAL SHIT
but it does help me to not spiral into mental illness and continue to have a level of optimism i need
Since the time you took that screenshot of the map, the Eaton Fire has grown from 2K to 10K acres. Also wanted to add a point I've seen mentioned not nearly enough...a large portion of these firefighters are prisoners being forced to do this work for pennies. Slave labor is being used to save a place of obscene wealth.
"Despite its minimal security, Pine Grove is a California Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facility. It’s where teenage boys and young men ages 17 to 24 are incarcerated, and, as soon as they turn 18, are formally trained to contain and prevent California’s ever-worsening wildfires."
Coincidentally when I read the sentence in the article that they pushed funding to the police instead of the firefighters that was open of my first thoughts: I bet they will just use prisoners. Wild to see that this is actually true.
I recently came across @hahnscratch on Threads who was formerly an incarcerated firefighter in California and has been speaking about the fact most prisoners volunteer as there are many benefits and they find it gives them a sense of purpose. As someone who works in offender rehabilitation it certainly sounds to me like there is some merit to the program - despite how horrific it sounds in principle.
It feels a bit like we're all just... Collectively dissociating. There's so many scary things all the time it becomes overwhelming to the point of almost numbness. I try to hold on to the quote from Mr Rogers (who never aired here, yet his advice still carried) - look for the helpers.
I hope you and yours are and stay safe, and same for all the worms. My cousin lives in LA, so we're hoping he's able to get in touch and let us know he's okay soon (he will be, as far as I know he doesn't live near the fires as he's quite close to the center of the city).
I fear things are only going to feel more surreal as the year goes on.
I think if COVID taught me anything, it's that any extreme circumstances can become 'normal' if you're exposed to them long enough. I'm kind of dreading all of this starting to feel 'normal'.
I hope your cousin stays safe. Downtown is pretty far from all the fires.
Just got word from him - he's fine but had no power yesterday and overnight. His girlfriend was evacuated and they think her house is gone, but she's safe and that's the main thing 💖
That looks terrifying. You probably know this but just in case, after cyclone Gabriel was so scary I brought a Powerbank, they need to be over 5000mAh to charge a phone and laptop at same time needs to be 10000mAh. Best buy ever as I never worry about flat batteries in an emergency anymore. Stay safe everyone and thoughts with you all. Oh and yes the start of this year is all shit, I'm looking down the barrel of an MS diagnosis and I have never been so scared and over it in my life (it would explain my symptoms) was scary to watch the doctor when she was doing neurological tests on me and there was no reflex in my left leg and it couldn't weight bear. Now the long weight for a neurologist appointment. 2025 is looking, I can't quite find the right words. But please stay safe, I can't imagine how frightening those fires must be.
Kia kaha Jazmine...I just hopped off the main topic to wish you a good outcome...and to say I have a couple of friends who are living long and happy lives with MS. The thing about this global crisis is that we simply have to take care of each other, and reaching out to a fellow kiwi to say hi and good luck is my gift to you today.
Jings, that's some bleak looking pictures and videos from LA, hope you stay safe as does everyone else!
I'm 100% with you on not knowing what to be concerned about as there is just so much. From the bullshit Treaty Principles Bill here in Aotearoa to Palestine, Ukraine, Musk, not to mention that Zuru bellend and all the other madness. I've deleted twitter, seriously considering just deleting all the social media apps (other than substack) from my phone so I need to actively login to use them, just to give my brain a rest from the oppressiveness of it all.
Now go do the Regulatory Standards Bill. It's more boring but worse, a second prong in the attack on Te Tiriti and will turn NZ into a Libertarian maximalist hellhole. Property rights trump everything, so the big polluters can pollute and the takers can take, and nobody else will have any right to object.
Or tried too on a system that was not ready for the demand. The whole submission timing had a whiff of trying to hide it away and it has backfired on them badly.
Yes, that did throw a spanner in the works. I have seen versions of this from multiple MPs, so if you didn't get yours in, or know of others that didn't https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CmPCFA2YX/
The system crashed multiple times when I was trying to do my submission, and it didn’t go through so I’m really pleased they extended it so I can do it tonight!
I'd really urge all the good people who've submitted on the TPB to all check out the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill. It's more boring sounding and harder to get your head around but it is quite scary in it's intent and potential impact. It's a neoliberal power grab - looking to embed liberation principles of individual and corporate property rights and profit making ahead of collective rights and societal wellbeing. Undermines te Tiriti and constraints future governments in making law for collective good. Very worrying!
Check out Melanie Nelson's work on this and, if you're able to, make your opinion heard before submission close Monday 13th. ❤️🤍🖤
100%! I woke up the other day with the deadline for treaty submissions looming and realised there were several other things that needed submissions too. I ended up doing 5 submissions that morning. I wasn’t unaware these issues were happening, but the realisation of them all having potential dire consequences and all needing action right away brought on a very dark and doomy feeling. And it seems that outside of the people here on Webworm and a few others I follow on IG, no one else seems particularly concerned or motivated to do anything. I understand people are just trying to get through the day, but I wonder how long the house has to burn before people start acting like it’s on fire 🤷🏻♀️
I do know a lot of people online in groups I belong to who are all submitting on several bills! Busy beavers! Must get back to finishing mine on the Social Security Amendment bill now. Nearly finished, and tomorrow I'll start my RSB one.
Crazy that Kiwi's are now having to spend their holidays making submissions to contentious bills and legislation tweaks. Kia kaha to those making a stand. I fear our submissions won't be read though, but sure hope it feels good to have made a stand. Did for me.
I recommend KiltedKiwi- I deleted fbook and instagram apps abojt 4 years ago so need to log in via web browser. It’s clunky and a pain so as much as I’d like to say I never check them, it’s probably only once a day/every few days now rather than it just being a bored reflex. Good luck to you!
I feel ya David - I'm finding it hard to grasp reality and make sense of what the hell is going in. I'm in the process of writing my submission for the The Regulatory Standards Bill and intermittently shaking my head in concern for the future.
I'm thinking of you and others in LA, and all the other dangerous places in the world...
Well done Keji. The Regulatory Standards Bill needs to be actively fought. They are trying to sneak it in behind the expected and appropriate uproar over the Treaty Bill. The risk is that the Regulatory Standards Bill will pass in parliament and we lose our rights to corporate interests.
Same with the boot camp bill. Submissions close today I think. It’s all being pushed through while we’re being distracted by Seymour. I guess the plan has worked.
Yes so many submissions so little time to get them in - Treaty Principles Bill, Regulatory Standards Bill, Social Security amendment Bill (aka kick a beneficiary while they're down), Serious Youth Offending Bill (aka Boot Camps) & so many more if we can find them!
Half the time seemed to be over Public holidays/silly season so distractions AND timing are just another way for Slippery Seymore to get what he wants.
🙋 Dr Bex (Dr Bex on Social Issues in Aotearoa NZ drbex@substack.com) has also done a brilliant job on this CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT 2NITE - THURSDAY - doesn't need much if you have whanau experience to supplement info from other informed sources 👍 or just say you support what they have submitted, having read & agreed 💪
Can't remember when I did that one, but I did get one in. Yes, it's been a real flurry or crap, hasn't it? I am having a lot of trouble accepting what this gov't is trying to do to this country!
Same! Was coming up with some brilliant phrases for the RSB when up popped Dr Bex reminging me that the Oranga Tamariki Bill submissions close TONIGHT - THURS 😱😱😱 She has done such a brilliant job of explaining I plan to just drop in some whanau related context, and basically steal most of her work 🤔😁 The 🤬🤬🤬🤬 are trying to get stuff through without us noticing or having time to do it all, but they're building a cohort of "experts" who are learning to make submissions where we didn't use to, so... Unintended consequences or what ⁉️🤔😁😂🤣💪💪💪
Apparently you can just email a response without filling out the thousand page questionnaire inviting to you confirm again, a thousand times, why you inexplicably disagree with the premise that pure Libertarianism is obviously utopia.
But I didn't find that out till long after I had done the thousand page questionnaire.
Yet another bill undermining Treaty rights, taking it out of requirements for SOEs and government departments to uphold treaty Principles (amongst other things). It is every bit as incidious as the Treaty Principles Bill, and will be supported by the CoC. Emily Writes here on substack has a good rundown on what to submit to if you want to go some way to trying to stop this shit.
Agreed, but what Emily missed out was the Social Security Amendment bill, which brings in more sanctions, and controlling beneficiaries by giving them cards instead of funds for buying only essentials if they get sanctioned! That's my one for today, and it's going to be a straight rant! My other submissions are usually more "academically" written.
Closing date for that Vicki? I have only just caught up with that one myself. Honestly, the shit they are trying to slip through under cover of the summer break.
Thank you for checking in. Grateful to see you pop up in the inbox safe. Also, as per usual, your viewpoints continue to validate my brain and make it seem like we're just a little less alone. Also-also, excellent use of "riding the dicks." An underrated phrase. Please stay well.
I'm pretty far from the fire (Culver City) but I still found it hard to sleep last night. Intellectually, I know I'm relatively safe but the big plume of grey-orange smoke makes my lizard brain itch. Luckily my job told us all to work from home today, since our offices are in Burbank. I have all my windows closed right now and I'm running an air filter 24/7.
My sister lives just north of the Hurst fire, and she's cutting short a work trip to Las Vegas to drive home and make sure her cats are OK. There's no evacuation orders or warnings for her neighborhood yet, fortunately.
My 2025 resolution was to reduce stress in my life, and so far 2025 is not cooperating!
David this is bloody terrifying! I'm worried for you. I'm also worried for all the animals caught up in the fires, the cats who will have hidden and the pets people leave behind when fleeing. (obviously concerned about humans too)
You were one of the ones on my mind today. Thank you for the update and for so eloquently putting into words the weight of this world we are sharing today.
I have been guilty of pretty much dissociating the last couple months, but today it feels like all these horrible things are roaring back into painfully real focus. I'm so overwhelmed and so sad and so devastated for my home state. Stay safe everyone.
I am a Canadian living in Canada and it never crossed my mind that during my lifetime I would turn on the news and see a US President say that he wants to take over the country that I and 41 million other people live in.
People are just saying that it’s posturing and sabre rattling but everything feels so out of control and the power structure in the US seems so chaotic and unchecked that it feels like a very real threat.
We also have chaos going on within our own government right now and the Conservative Party here is essentially comprised of Trump fanboys at the moment so if they get into power, are they just going to hand him the keys?
Couple that with everything else you so eloquently expressed, and it just leads to a feeling of being so overwhelmed that you’re just numb.
You have my empathy. Even here in Aotearoa New Zealand Trumpian types and the Atlas Network are trying to take over our country. I, like you, worry about the state of the world, but at least I got out of the USA almost 53 years ago!
I’m WFH (because god forbid we get the day off) and waiting to see if I need to evacuate. I picked up over 100 roof shingles in the past 24hrs from our complex, and pulled an upside down drain pipe from our apartment wall so cars could get in and out of our parking. It’s been insane.
Here’s hoping we all make it out and see each other on the other side of this.
The being expected to work and operate as normal in a natural disaster where your surrounds are literally on fire is so crazy. I hope you are safe and don’t have to evacuate.
That seems eerie and scary. I'm glad you are OK, and I trust you'll know if it feels like it's time to get out of there.
As for the rest of the world, I'm trying hard not to disassociate, to at the very least, be a witness to wars across the globe and the collective insanity that is about to take charge in the US and how that may impact other parts of the world. (I'm in the UK and Elon can fuck off)
Like yourself, it is hard and hurtful. Sometimes it is too difficult to see more dead children or read whatever pot Dump and his cronies are trying to stir.
Update from me (from anyone not in the chat over on the app, where I have been trying to check in and post new photos and updates):
I headed south this afternoon with some friends to Huntington beach. As you can see from the map I posted, south seemed best.
Fires have hit Runyon Canyon - covering about 10 acres last time I checked - which is too close for comfort to where my apartment is. This is hitting Hollywood now.
More updates to come, right now I am busy checking in with local friends directly - trying to share information and give advice.
Worms: Please stay safe.
Please be safe David. Just checked on the Herald website for fire news to see that things are getting worse. Thinking of you and your friends and their pets
I've looked at the coverage on CNN, a place I seldom go since a few months ago, and the whole scene in LA is just so apocalyptic as to seem unreal! Please take great care of yourself and your friends, David! Kia kaha!
Hi, I’m new to a subscription, but not new to Webworm! I’m Zosia & just sending my love and support. Thanks for keeping us updated.
Fuck.
I've been away from the internet since Tuesday morning and I just got back home; I agreed to drive my mother to the Susquahanna Valley in Pennsylvania where we visited family friends and went thrifting. I got kicked out of Flea Flickers the other day and our entire gang almost got kicked out of the hotel we stayed at. Beautiful area but people were surprisingly rude & mean-spirited. Got a sweet Christmas cat sweater for less than $2 at the cat rescue thrift shop in Frederick, MD on the way home.
ANYWAY.
Holy shit, David. I am catching up now and I honestly can't even comprehend what's going on in California. Is this another one of those unprecedented events...? As in, have the fires been this bad previously??? Wildfires are a very foreign concept to me, to be honest. I kind of didn't realize they could be that bad in such popular city areas. Is that normal or is this like the hurricane that hit the mountainous parts of North Carolina last year -- a totally weird thing...?
The weather is definitely getting worse as time goes on. My mother has told me she thinks that "they" control the weather. She is serious about this. I think her weird news channel has suggested it, which is likely where she got is from. When I probed her about "they", she said "the democrats". She told me that she really does think that someone has figured out how to control the weather. That made me think.......there likely are rich people or corporations interested in weaponizing the destruction of the environment. I'm sure there are already examples of it but I was thinking more like, if I pollute the atmosphere this exact amount at these exact coordinates, it will cause this massive "natural" weather phenomenon to destroy this exact location/these exact people but there is absolutely no way it can be directly linked to me. Like, maybe if you drill a hole in the ozone layer at the exact right spot that is the exact right size, it will take out my competition and allow me to make even more money...! When I think about it this way, it actually seems probable that someone is actually employing scientists to "control the weather". So, again, fuck.
I'm so sorry, dude. I hope you and your local friends are all able to stay safe & healthy. Keep us update when you can but take care of yourself first, please.
the world has always been mental
the planet and environment have always been volatile (though we are at fault for much of the negative aspects of this these days- climate change, insiting on living in dangerous places etc)
humans have always been arseholes and done terrible things to each other
whats changed hugely is our access to details about this in real time
and the strange sense that good people have that if you know about something then you have to DO something, which is often impossible
the best thing i believe we can do is find ways that we can share our feelings and experiences where it is safe- as feeling alone in despair is dangerous, give ourselves permission to look after ourselves and disconnect from "all of the things" regularly in ways that are enriching to us, and finding small ways to contribute, support and encourgage people and causes we are especially passionate about.
Everyones version of the above is different and needs to be, but having a sense of these things gives you a bit of an anti-doom toolkit.
these are some things that i have on rotation that help me:
webworm and the community (THANK YOU DAVID)
talking to friends and family and having "passion rants"
keeping a small account of funds available for when i feel most helpless- so at least i can donate 50 bucks to efforts in Gaza, Ukraine, towards wildfires, whatever it is that is feeling the most horrible
volunteering within my community- even weeding something or checking traplines might make a difference for a native bird or tree ( i totally acknowledge this is something not everyone has the luxury of time for!)
permission to be off phone and fully immerse in music, walking, drawing, or even sorting a draw of random crap. small things that you can get a bit lost in and allow your emotions to reset
none of this means i dont agree that EVERYTHING FUCKING SUCKS AND OH MY GOD THIS IS SOME MENTAL SHIT
but it does help me to not spiral into mental illness and continue to have a level of optimism i need
thank you for talking about this
take care out there and kia kaha
Pinning this.
Thank you Beck! I needed this perspective right now
Since the time you took that screenshot of the map, the Eaton Fire has grown from 2K to 10K acres. Also wanted to add a point I've seen mentioned not nearly enough...a large portion of these firefighters are prisoners being forced to do this work for pennies. Slave labor is being used to save a place of obscene wealth.
I just learned about prisoners being brought in, how wildly horrific. America is a fever dream of cruelty.
America. Fuck.
Just learned that they start this "program" in juvenile detention.
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/wildfire-camp-incarcerated-teens
"Despite its minimal security, Pine Grove is a California Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facility. It’s where teenage boys and young men ages 17 to 24 are incarcerated, and, as soon as they turn 18, are formally trained to contain and prevent California’s ever-worsening wildfires."
Thanks for this.
I wonder if that formal training is a certificate or qualification that these kids can at least keep
Coincidentally when I read the sentence in the article that they pushed funding to the police instead of the firefighters that was open of my first thoughts: I bet they will just use prisoners. Wild to see that this is actually true.
I recently came across @hahnscratch on Threads who was formerly an incarcerated firefighter in California and has been speaking about the fact most prisoners volunteer as there are many benefits and they find it gives them a sense of purpose. As someone who works in offender rehabilitation it certainly sounds to me like there is some merit to the program - despite how horrific it sounds in principle.
https://www.threads.net/@5456236980/post/DEkYYlPv4H1
They get paid $5 a day, and the budget for food is $4 per person, allowing for a single tiny sandwich and a piece of fruit.
Which is a starvation wage and a starvation calorie allowance, it is slavery, literally, it is in the constitution.
Absolutely horrific, can you imagine what the papers would say if another country was doing that?
It feels wrong to “like” your comment, given the information in it; absolutely mind boggling that prisoners are being forced to be fire fighters.
It feels a bit like we're all just... Collectively dissociating. There's so many scary things all the time it becomes overwhelming to the point of almost numbness. I try to hold on to the quote from Mr Rogers (who never aired here, yet his advice still carried) - look for the helpers.
I hope you and yours are and stay safe, and same for all the worms. My cousin lives in LA, so we're hoping he's able to get in touch and let us know he's okay soon (he will be, as far as I know he doesn't live near the fires as he's quite close to the center of the city).
I fear things are only going to feel more surreal as the year goes on.
I think if COVID taught me anything, it's that any extreme circumstances can become 'normal' if you're exposed to them long enough. I'm kind of dreading all of this starting to feel 'normal'.
I hope your cousin stays safe. Downtown is pretty far from all the fires.
Just got word from him - he's fine but had no power yesterday and overnight. His girlfriend was evacuated and they think her house is gone, but she's safe and that's the main thing 💖
That looks terrifying. You probably know this but just in case, after cyclone Gabriel was so scary I brought a Powerbank, they need to be over 5000mAh to charge a phone and laptop at same time needs to be 10000mAh. Best buy ever as I never worry about flat batteries in an emergency anymore. Stay safe everyone and thoughts with you all. Oh and yes the start of this year is all shit, I'm looking down the barrel of an MS diagnosis and I have never been so scared and over it in my life (it would explain my symptoms) was scary to watch the doctor when she was doing neurological tests on me and there was no reflex in my left leg and it couldn't weight bear. Now the long weight for a neurologist appointment. 2025 is looking, I can't quite find the right words. But please stay safe, I can't imagine how frightening those fires must be.
Kia kaha Jazmine...I just hopped off the main topic to wish you a good outcome...and to say I have a couple of friends who are living long and happy lives with MS. The thing about this global crisis is that we simply have to take care of each other, and reaching out to a fellow kiwi to say hi and good luck is my gift to you today.
Kia kaha 💪& what Carol said so eloquently 🫂 You have already proved you can handle really tough times so remember that eh? 👍
Jings, that's some bleak looking pictures and videos from LA, hope you stay safe as does everyone else!
I'm 100% with you on not knowing what to be concerned about as there is just so much. From the bullshit Treaty Principles Bill here in Aotearoa to Palestine, Ukraine, Musk, not to mention that Zuru bellend and all the other madness. I've deleted twitter, seriously considering just deleting all the social media apps (other than substack) from my phone so I need to actively login to use them, just to give my brain a rest from the oppressiveness of it all.
but how good all the people who have submitted on the Treaty Principles Bill?
Yes! And hearing things like this: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018970664/descendants-of-treaty-translators-speak-out-against-bill
gives me hope.
Yep, that was great to hear this morning!
So good 👍 👏
Now go do the Regulatory Standards Bill. It's more boring but worse, a second prong in the attack on Te Tiriti and will turn NZ into a Libertarian maximalist hellhole. Property rights trump everything, so the big polluters can pollute and the takers can take, and nobody else will have any right to object.
Or tried too on a system that was not ready for the demand. The whole submission timing had a whiff of trying to hide it away and it has backfired on them badly.
Good news. The deadline has been extended to 14th January.
I missed the last one, whjch I agree seemed designed to catch people off guard when in holiday mode.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/alert-top/538551/treaty-principles-bill-submissions-re-open-after-website-woes
Yes, that did throw a spanner in the works. I have seen versions of this from multiple MPs, so if you didn't get yours in, or know of others that didn't https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CmPCFA2YX/
The system crashed multiple times when I was trying to do my submission, and it didn’t go through so I’m really pleased they extended it so I can do it tonight!
I'm so glad that my daughter (who is overseas at present) and I got our submissions in on that one before Christmas! Still more to do now, tho.
Absolutely, it's distopian 😢
I'd really urge all the good people who've submitted on the TPB to all check out the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill. It's more boring sounding and harder to get your head around but it is quite scary in it's intent and potential impact. It's a neoliberal power grab - looking to embed liberation principles of individual and corporate property rights and profit making ahead of collective rights and societal wellbeing. Undermines te Tiriti and constraints future governments in making law for collective good. Very worrying!
Check out Melanie Nelson's work on this and, if you're able to, make your opinion heard before submission close Monday 13th. ❤️🤍🖤
Done!
Libertarian! Not liberation duh
100%! I woke up the other day with the deadline for treaty submissions looming and realised there were several other things that needed submissions too. I ended up doing 5 submissions that morning. I wasn’t unaware these issues were happening, but the realisation of them all having potential dire consequences and all needing action right away brought on a very dark and doomy feeling. And it seems that outside of the people here on Webworm and a few others I follow on IG, no one else seems particularly concerned or motivated to do anything. I understand people are just trying to get through the day, but I wonder how long the house has to burn before people start acting like it’s on fire 🤷🏻♀️
I do know a lot of people online in groups I belong to who are all submitting on several bills! Busy beavers! Must get back to finishing mine on the Social Security Amendment bill now. Nearly finished, and tomorrow I'll start my RSB one.
Crazy that Kiwi's are now having to spend their holidays making submissions to contentious bills and legislation tweaks. Kia kaha to those making a stand. I fear our submissions won't be read though, but sure hope it feels good to have made a stand. Did for me.
I recommend KiltedKiwi- I deleted fbook and instagram apps abojt 4 years ago so need to log in via web browser. It’s clunky and a pain so as much as I’d like to say I never check them, it’s probably only once a day/every few days now rather than it just being a bored reflex. Good luck to you!
That photo of Griffith observatory, so white, contrasted with the orange clouds in the background is absolutely stunning (and terrifying)
I feel ya David - I'm finding it hard to grasp reality and make sense of what the hell is going in. I'm in the process of writing my submission for the The Regulatory Standards Bill and intermittently shaking my head in concern for the future.
I'm thinking of you and others in LA, and all the other dangerous places in the world...
Well done Keji. The Regulatory Standards Bill needs to be actively fought. They are trying to sneak it in behind the expected and appropriate uproar over the Treaty Bill. The risk is that the Regulatory Standards Bill will pass in parliament and we lose our rights to corporate interests.
Same with the boot camp bill. Submissions close today I think. It’s all being pushed through while we’re being distracted by Seymour. I guess the plan has worked.
I didn’t know about this. I’ll look into it. Thanks.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEkqVXKyJ7s/?igsh=bm9uOXhmamM5OGpq
AJ Hendry doing great advocacy on Instagram is a good place to start.
Yes so many submissions so little time to get them in - Treaty Principles Bill, Regulatory Standards Bill, Social Security amendment Bill (aka kick a beneficiary while they're down), Serious Youth Offending Bill (aka Boot Camps) & so many more if we can find them!
Half the time seemed to be over Public holidays/silly season so distractions AND timing are just another way for Slippery Seymore to get what he wants.
🙋 Dr Bex (Dr Bex on Social Issues in Aotearoa NZ drbex@substack.com) has also done a brilliant job on this CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT 2NITE - THURSDAY - doesn't need much if you have whanau experience to supplement info from other informed sources 👍 or just say you support what they have submitted, having read & agreed 💪
Can't remember when I did that one, but I did get one in. Yes, it's been a real flurry or crap, hasn't it? I am having a lot of trouble accepting what this gov't is trying to do to this country!
100%. The Treaty Principles Bill is the dead cat on the table while they sneak the real dangerous stuff in where we're not looking
Yep, and the Natz support the RSB bill, too! So what hope do we have??
Just finished my submission on the RSB this afternoon!
Same! Was coming up with some brilliant phrases for the RSB when up popped Dr Bex reminging me that the Oranga Tamariki Bill submissions close TONIGHT - THURS 😱😱😱 She has done such a brilliant job of explaining I plan to just drop in some whanau related context, and basically steal most of her work 🤔😁 The 🤬🤬🤬🤬 are trying to get stuff through without us noticing or having time to do it all, but they're building a cohort of "experts" who are learning to make submissions where we didn't use to, so... Unintended consequences or what ⁉️🤔😁😂🤣💪💪💪
👍 Dr Bex on Social Issues in Aotearoa NZ drbex@substack.com
Apparently you can just email a response without filling out the thousand page questionnaire inviting to you confirm again, a thousand times, why you inexplicably disagree with the premise that pure Libertarianism is obviously utopia.
But I didn't find that out till long after I had done the thousand page questionnaire.
What is this.???
Yet another bill undermining Treaty rights, taking it out of requirements for SOEs and government departments to uphold treaty Principles (amongst other things). It is every bit as incidious as the Treaty Principles Bill, and will be supported by the CoC. Emily Writes here on substack has a good rundown on what to submit to if you want to go some way to trying to stop this shit.
Agreed, but what Emily missed out was the Social Security Amendment bill, which brings in more sanctions, and controlling beneficiaries by giving them cards instead of funds for buying only essentials if they get sanctioned! That's my one for today, and it's going to be a straight rant! My other submissions are usually more "academically" written.
Closing date for that Vicki? I have only just caught up with that one myself. Honestly, the shit they are trying to slip through under cover of the summer break.
It closes tomorrow night, 10 January at 11:59 pm. Yes, I know exactly how you feel. I am starting to feel I should be paid as a Submission writer! It's ont tonight, as Steph said below. Here's the link: https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/make-a-submission/document/54SCSSC_SCF_09FDCD32-87EF-4C46-E703-08DD18052784/social-security-amendment-bill#:~:text=The%20closing%20date%20for%20submissions,making%20changes%20to%20welfare%20settings.
That’s the one that closes tonight. To lock people into poverty. And punish them for the crime of being poor.
Yeah, except it closes tomorrow night.
Thanks, I missed this one.
Thank you for checking in. Grateful to see you pop up in the inbox safe. Also, as per usual, your viewpoints continue to validate my brain and make it seem like we're just a little less alone. Also-also, excellent use of "riding the dicks." An underrated phrase. Please stay well.
I'm pretty far from the fire (Culver City) but I still found it hard to sleep last night. Intellectually, I know I'm relatively safe but the big plume of grey-orange smoke makes my lizard brain itch. Luckily my job told us all to work from home today, since our offices are in Burbank. I have all my windows closed right now and I'm running an air filter 24/7.
My sister lives just north of the Hurst fire, and she's cutting short a work trip to Las Vegas to drive home and make sure her cats are OK. There's no evacuation orders or warnings for her neighborhood yet, fortunately.
My 2025 resolution was to reduce stress in my life, and so far 2025 is not cooperating!
David this is bloody terrifying! I'm worried for you. I'm also worried for all the animals caught up in the fires, the cats who will have hidden and the pets people leave behind when fleeing. (obviously concerned about humans too)
I totally get you on this one!!
You were one of the ones on my mind today. Thank you for the update and for so eloquently putting into words the weight of this world we are sharing today.
I have been guilty of pretty much dissociating the last couple months, but today it feels like all these horrible things are roaring back into painfully real focus. I'm so overwhelmed and so sad and so devastated for my home state. Stay safe everyone.
I am a Canadian living in Canada and it never crossed my mind that during my lifetime I would turn on the news and see a US President say that he wants to take over the country that I and 41 million other people live in.
People are just saying that it’s posturing and sabre rattling but everything feels so out of control and the power structure in the US seems so chaotic and unchecked that it feels like a very real threat.
We also have chaos going on within our own government right now and the Conservative Party here is essentially comprised of Trump fanboys at the moment so if they get into power, are they just going to hand him the keys?
Couple that with everything else you so eloquently expressed, and it just leads to a feeling of being so overwhelmed that you’re just numb.
You have my empathy. Even here in Aotearoa New Zealand Trumpian types and the Atlas Network are trying to take over our country. I, like you, worry about the state of the world, but at least I got out of the USA almost 53 years ago!
The US will eventually right itself. Pestilence, plague and civil war will restore the balance and the rule of natural law.
Well let’s hope that happens before my nephew gets drafted.
Make no mistake.
Trump is leading the USA to anarchy.
Once that state of dissolution has been achieved, in will march the forces of fascism to restore law and order.
Then watch what happens. All long fought for freedoms will be abolished. It ain’t rocket science.
I’m WFH (because god forbid we get the day off) and waiting to see if I need to evacuate. I picked up over 100 roof shingles in the past 24hrs from our complex, and pulled an upside down drain pipe from our apartment wall so cars could get in and out of our parking. It’s been insane.
Here’s hoping we all make it out and see each other on the other side of this.
The being expected to work and operate as normal in a natural disaster where your surrounds are literally on fire is so crazy. I hope you are safe and don’t have to evacuate.
That seems eerie and scary. I'm glad you are OK, and I trust you'll know if it feels like it's time to get out of there.
As for the rest of the world, I'm trying hard not to disassociate, to at the very least, be a witness to wars across the globe and the collective insanity that is about to take charge in the US and how that may impact other parts of the world. (I'm in the UK and Elon can fuck off)
Like yourself, it is hard and hurtful. Sometimes it is too difficult to see more dead children or read whatever pot Dump and his cronies are trying to stir.
Happy New Year, I guess.