Here's a really cool find: Hypomyces cervinigenus, a parasitic fungus that attacks other fungi, sending its mycelium throughout the host, until all that's left is the shell or shadow of the host covered in a ghostly white veil made up of parasitic mycelium. This was also found in the Carmel Valley, California.

2 earthstar fungi growing in a grassy field. I believe they are actually false earthstars, but still pretty cool specimens.

Yellow jelly fungus growing in leaf litter. Carmel Valley, California.

In a rare bit of positive news, today we had a shelter-in-place for a coyote on campus and not an active shooter, or some other horror.

Yes, Walmart execs rake in huge profits by paying their employees a fraction of the value of their labor. So, little, in fact, that they must rely on govt assistance just to survive. Consequently, it is all of us, through our tax dollars, that subsidize and enrich this slimy welfare scammer. But the $6.2B in public assistance quoted in this meme was based on 2014, and the amount they collect today is most likely much higher. https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/04/15/report-walmart-workers-cost-taxpayers-6-2-billion-in-public-assistance/ Walmart is the single largest employer in the U.S. (1.6 million employees). The Walton family has a collective estimated net worth of $225 billion. They’re so rich they own two separate NFL teams: the Rams and the Broncos. However, 48% of the children living in Bentonville, Arkansas, where Walmart is headquartered, are living in poverty—higher than any other county in the state. And the city is ranked 15th out of 916 metro areas in terms of income inequality. A 2017 survey of >1,000 Walmart employees found that the company was probably violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. The New York Times said that the company “routinely refuses to accept doctors’ notes, penalizes workers who need to take care of a sick family member and otherwise punishes employees for lawful absences.” A 2013 report found that the U.S. taxpayers were paying $5,000/year per Walmart employee in govt. assistance. #workingclass #LaborHistory #walmart #billionaires #exploitation #classwar #profit #ableism #disability #poverty

And money for regime change, for kidnapping a world leader and for propaganda to convince us it's necessary, legal and legit.

Today in Labor History January 5, 1968: Reformist Alexander Dubček came to power in Czechoslovakia, marking the beginning of the "Prague Spring." During the Prague Spring, Dubček loosened restrictions on the media, speech and travel. He also created a dual federation within the country made up of the Czech Socialist Republic and Slovak Socialist Republic. However, this was insufficient to mollify activists, who became increasingly defiant of the government. They began to occupy workplaces and formed mutual aid networks. When the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact members invaded the country with tanks and 650,000 soldiers, activists fought them with rocks, Molotov cocktails and homemade weapons. The Soviet military predicted they would subdue the country in four days, but the resistance held out for eight months. When they finally quashed the uprising, the Soviets continued to control Czechoslovakia until 1989, when the Velvet Revolution finally ended the Communist regime. #workingclass #LaborHistory #prague #PragueSpring #communism #barricades #czech #socialism #soviet #ussr #russia #tanks #molotov #MutualAid

Today in Labor History January 5, 1970: Kenneth Yablonski, son of United Mine Workers reform candidate Joseph "Jock" Yablonski, discovered the bodies of his father, mother and sister. Assassins had murdered them on December 31, 1969, on orders from UMW President Tony Boyle. The authorities later arrested Boyle and convicted him for the murders. #workingclass #LaborHistory #umw #union #assassination

Today in Labor History January 5, 1919: Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg launched the Spartacist Uprising in Berlin. Part of the post-WWI Revolution occurring throughout Germany, the Spartacist uprising was essentially a power struggle between the Spartacists and other Council Communists (left-wing, anti-authoritarian communists) against the Social Democrats. 500,000 workers participated in the General Strike they called for January 7 to replace the moderate Social Democratic government with a communist one. Many of the workers obtained arms. They tried, but failed, to get the support of the Navy, which remained neutral in the conflict. However, the Social Democrats got the anti-Communist Freikorps paramilitary to fight for their side. The Freikorps had weapons and military equipment leftover from WWI and were able to quash the uprising within a week. The Freikorps was comprised of WWI vets, many of whom were suffering from PTSD. Many went on to became Nazis. Up to 200 people died in the fighting, including 17 Freikorps soldiers. The Social Democrats captured, beat and executed Liebknecht and Luxemburg. #workingclass #LaborHistory #spartacist #berlin #wwi #communism #nazis #RosaLuxemburg #generalstrike #ptsd #uprising #Revolution

Today in Labor History January 5, 1869: Isaac Meyers and Frederick Douglass organized the First U.S. National Colored Convention. At the convention, they created the Colored National Labor Union. At the time, white unions routinely refused to accept African American members or to show solidarity with black workers. Additionally, employers often hired black scabs during strikes by white unions, while the KKK often recruited within white unions, exacerbating mistrust. Over time, the union became more and more political (much like most modern unions), until it became a de facto branch of the Republican Party (which in those days was known as the party of abolition). #workingclass #LaborHistory #union #frederickdouglass #racism #kkk #Abolition #republican #solidarity #strike #scab