First time here? Join hundreds of seekers cutting through the noise. Sign up here.

Editor's note: January brings Earth closest to the sun—perihelion—yet winter deepens. Proximity doesn't guarantee warmth.

Taste the metallic bitterness coating the mouths of House members as our people block a Republicant (Yes, I said CANT) government funding bill—not over budget allocations or policy disputes, but demanding the release of Jeffrey Epstein's client list. The acrid flavor of political theater masking legislative paralysis while real people's healthcare access hangs by a thread.

The damage: Government shutdown looms. Federal healthcare programs face disruption. Millions dependent on Medicaid, Medicare, and Veterans Affairs services caught in crossfire between conspiracy-mongering and actual governance. Greene's grandstanding transforms sexual abuse survivors into political props while threatening concrete medical access for vulnerable populations.

Response: Democratic leadership calls the maneuver "unconscionable distraction." Healthcare advocates mobilize emergency contingency plans. Constitutional scholars note the dangerous precedent of weaponizing tragedy for legislative obstruction. Read the full bullshit

Smell the ozone burn of server farms consuming electricity at rates that would power small nations. That sharp, hot-metal scent of cooling systems working overtime while ChatGPT generates your dinner recipe and data centers gulp water like dying men in deserts—412 billion gallons annually just for Google and Microsoft's AI operations.

The science: Each AI query of “Where the fuck did my cat go?” produces roughly 4.32 grams of CO2—modest alone, catastrophic at scale. Training a single large language model emits 626,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, equivalent to five cars' lifetime emissions. Water consumption rivals agricultural irrigation. The mycelial networks we're mimicking with neural nets require millimeters of moisture; our silicon versions demand rivers.

Action: Tech workers organizing for transparency in energy sourcing. Researchers developing efficient architectures cutting computational needs by 90%. Indigenous data sovereignty movements demanding consultation before server farms disrupt watersheds. You can pressure companies for carbon accounting, choose lower-impact AI tools, support right-to-repair legislation extending device lifespans. Deep dive here

Feel the weight of hands that steadied each other through crisis—the particular warmth of palms meeting across a bar where being yourself didn't require translation. The Cheshire Motor Inn, Atlanta's legendary queer refuge on Cheshire Bridge Road, closes its doors after decades sheltering the community through plague years, legal battles, and the slow gentrification grinding joy into profit margins. I live in Atlanta, and I know the CMI’s reputation. And when they demolished the fucking building, they demolished queer history. Again.

Stakes: Another erasure in the queer geography that saved lives. The Cheshire wasn't just an Inn—it was the place you came out, found chosen family, learned your desire wasn't shameful. Its closure marks the seventh major LGBTQIA+ venue loss in Atlanta since 2020, as corporate developers transform working-class queer spaces into luxury condos nobody who needs sanctuary can afford.

Movement: Former patrons mobilizing to document oral histories before memory fades. Atlanta's queer community organizing mutual aid networks, pop-up gatherings, and pressure campaigns for zoning protections. The fight isn't preserving nostalgia—it's defending the infrastructure that keeps marginalized people alive. Full story

NYT labels trans activists "militant"—LGBTQIA+ journalists revolt: The crackle of keyboards as trans newsroom staff type resignation letters. The Paper of Record deploys loaded terminology typically reserved for armed insurgents to describe people advocating for healthcare access and civil rights. Internal uproar exposes editorial bias masquerading as objectivity. Read the pushback

Iran's protest movement enters fourth year—women lead the resistance: The rustle of headscarves torn off in defiance echoes through Tehran streets. Despite brutal crackdowns, Iranian women continue dismantling theocratic control one unveiled act at a time. International solidarity networks amplify their voices while Western media cycles elsewhere. Witness their courage

Earth hits perihelion—closest approach to the sun: The particular quality of January light, sharp and cold despite our star's proximity. On January 4th, Earth passed within 91.4 million miles of the sun—3 million miles closer than July's aphelion. Orbital mechanics remind us: closeness doesn't guarantee warmth. Elliptical truth for relationships, politics, hope. Celestial geometry explained

Kitchen wisdom for January poverty: Stretch those post-holiday budgets with refrigerator soup—that alchemical practice of transforming wilted vegetables, leftover proteins, and that random half-can of coconut milk into nourishment. Step 1: Sauté aromatics (onion, garlic, ginger) in whatever fat you've got. Step 2: Add chopped vegetables starting with hardest (carrots, potatoes). Step 3: Pour in stock, water, or that pickle juice you were gonna dump. Step 4: Simmer until everything softens into generosity. Step 5: Taste, season, feed yourself like you matter. Because you fucking do.

Sustainable living: Repair one thing instead of replacing it this month. That loose button, the wobbly chair leg, the phone screen you've been meaning to fix. Measurable impact: Extended product lifespan reduces manufacturing emissions by an average 87% per item. Plus you'll remember you're capable of making shit work.

January eating—root vegetable resilience: This is braised turnips with miso butter season. Those gnarly roots pulled from winter-hard earth, their bitter-sweet flesh softening under heat. Halve them, sear cut-side down until caramelized, add stock and butter mixed with white miso, cover and braise 20 minutes. The umami hits like comfort you didn't know you needed. Winter cooking inspo

Vox | Multiple Contributors. The particular dread of calendar-turning while authoritarianism consolidates, the sick-stomach feeling of watching systems buckle under intentional sabotage. Expert predictions on Trump's second term, Musk's government "efficiency" grift, Democratic strategy, AI regulation failures, and hurricane seasons intensifying as oceans warm. Brace yourself and read

Seasonal prediction: Trump will consume 20 aspirin daily (medical advice: don't), achieve sexy thin blood (actual risk: internal bleeding), and become dramatically anemic (symptoms: fatigue, weakness, ironic metaphor for leadership). We're calling it now.

Historical wisdom: New Year's resolutions trace back 4,000 years to Babylonians promising gods they'd return borrowed farm equipment. The tradition endures because humans are pattern-seeking creatures desperate to believe this time we'll transform. Ancient self-improvement

Visual feast: January's night sky offers the Quadrantids meteor shower (peak: early January), Mars at opposition (bright and close), and Venus dominating pre-dawn skies. Look up—the universe doesn't give a shit about earthly chaos and that's somehow comforting. Stargazing guide

Clickbait: Siblings dissolve into giggles discussing their baby brother's death—grief's absurd humor as survival mechanism. The odd intimacy of shared loss, the permission to laugh when crying's exhausted you, the truth that love persists through inappropriate timing. Beautiful, uncomfortable, real

Become a member: thistleandmoss.com/upgrade

Behind the Name: The Gathering connects you to the mycelial wisdom beneath surface noise—the ancestral knowledge that grounds us, the daily practices that keep us tethered to what fucking matters.