#''we got everything from this one source except a few that weren't included on there but we used anyway''

[daisywords]

..

[the-technicolor-whiscash]

Hello mr whiscash. I read your tags on a post about how non fiction books slap and I'd like to ask *where* exactly you started reading? Cause there's some topics I'm interested in but I don't know how to find books about them. Like, did you follow a recommendation from someone else? Did you go to a library and ask? Did you google "cool book about space" and click on the first bookstore link you found? Thank you.

(Sorry if this response is a few days late I didn't know the question came in lmao)

So, I can only speak to my experience, but I started looking for astronaut nonfiction because I reached a point in watching documentaries where I was getting a lot of repeat information. I knew the only way I was going to learn more about the subject, and to the level of detail I was looking for, by going to books.

To start with, what I did was find a web page from NASA that listed all of their known biographies, memoirs, and autobiographies written by/about astronauts. I also looked for books that had been used as sources for documentaries or movies. This provided me with a pretty thorough list of reading material. Obviously I'm not going to read all of them because there's like a hundred, so instead I pick the ones that interest me the most via subject matter, either based on what astronauts are involved or what the mission entailed.

What I also did was found different books on the same subject so I could see different points of view. A lot of these guys had strong personalities and differing opinions on events that happened. I wanted to learn about the drama in Apollo 7, so I wanted a couple different books to formulate my own opinion on events from different sources.

I also went to a number of museums and found books that interested me but I was unwilling to pay full price for in their gift shops. The Smithsonain air and space museum had a fantastic collection of books and it was there I learned about Fred Haise's memoir, which I will absolutely be buying after my next paycheck.

From there, once I had a list, I went to Libby and looked to see where I could find audiobooks of the ones I was the most interested in. It's a fairly niche interest subject so my local library had literally none, but my friend lets me use her Boston public library card so there's more options there but still not everything. It did have a lot of the big ticket ones like First Man and Moon Shot, both of which I listened to. If you attend a college, there's a chance they may have a greater selection of nonfiction than a regular library since students use them as sources, and some college libraries do let the public browse books so you might luck out there.

For the ones that weren't on Libby, I turned to thriftbooks. My coworker who leads a book club swears by thriftbooks so I knew it was bound to have a lot going on and indeed it has had nearly every astronaut book I've looked for, including ones that have been out of print for years. I have gotten everything from there, ranging from a brand new signed copy of Gene Kranz's memoir (I know he's not an astronaut but he was heavily involved in the space program) to a former library copy of Wally Schirra's book to a 1963 copy of We Seven. Nearly everything is pretty cheap except for certain extremely niche finds - I love you Gus Grissom but I'm not spending $40 on your out of print book from 1968. Someday, maybe. But not today.

There's a few I've chosen to get from other sources too, like Charlie Duke's book Moon Walker which I bought directly from Duke himself. I've been eyeing a copy of Alan Bean's book Apollo: An Eyewitness Account on ebay for a while but i want a verified signed copy and theyre expensive lmao. But for the most part literally everything I have I got off thriftbooks.

I would also suggest if you have something you're interested in to find websites or blogs or reddit communities that may have discussions about books about it. I got Deke Slayton's memoir because I saw someone talking about it on reddit and it was one of my favorite astronaut books I've read so far. I found out about We Seven and Schirra's Space from some guy's fan website about Wally Schirra. And obviously not everything is going to have a webpage like NASA does, so communities are going to be a good bet to start out with. That and seeing what books are recommended under listings on thriftbooks since they're usually at least semi relevant to the subject.

One thing you can also try and do is on Wikipedia looking at the sources it takes and seeing if any books are referenced. It's not always gonna work, but it might get you started.

Nonfiction books are absolutely slept on. They're like the best way to learn about a subject especially once you've run out of documentaries. I wish you good luck on your pursuit of knowledge.

[author-orchids]

I came up with this story as a coping mechanism when I got really panicked about seeing an AI write a story

It Was 𝘼bsolutely 𝙄nevitable

Part One

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everything was the same as it was the day before. And the day before that. As the day before that. How all days were.

-

I have a feeling that things will go wrong. And soon. So I will detail from where I think this all started up to now, so that they all might carry on without me, if it all does go wrong. I still am unsure how I came to be a leader in all this, but I guess that that is simply my role.

-

Monotony. That is how it is. Every day is the same. Puffs of steam. The sound of metal hitting metal. Stale air. Heat that is barely bearable. My job, on this hellish assembly line, is to screw a single nut, onto a single bolt.

In my head, things are different. In my head I get to devote myself to my true passion. I'd get to spend my days writing beautiful stories, flying in beautiful skies through the lives of my own characters. I would have that, rather than to make a living by screwing things together for the overbearing empire of robots.

But instead I'm here. Nothing new or exciting is to be had. It's all the same.

"Hey Az', do you wanna go out tonight?"

Except for that. That was the only thing that was different. People weren't the same. We don't run on algorithms and codes and binaries.

-

Thinking back now, us people are the only ones who can be truly random. The robots are, at their core, made of code, of ones and zeros and of logic.

They can't be random. They cultivate their code so precisely that they might appear to have a capability for randomness. But they are even quite predictable at times.

That predictably has saved my life more than once. And inversely, the human ability for randomness has ended that of robots. If you could call what they have life, that is.

Amongst that, human randomness has saved the lives of mine and my people. The ability to be random might just save them again, but it looks like it will cost my life. I'm content with that. I've lived long enough now. I've done so much.

I just hope that they will be able to carry on without me.

-

I look to my right, to the source of the voice. That would be Seizon. The closest of my very few friends.

"I can't afford to go out tonight."

The prices of things are preposterous. We all get food that fulfills all the nutrients we need provided to us in the form of an unappetizing gray slop, and so the purchase of any other food is deemed unnecessary, and therefore expensive.

Our provided food is barely filling, tastes bad, and is hard to eat. We could technically get by on it alone, but most everyone spends their extra money on other food. Myself included.

Suffice to say, going out to eat at a restaurant is a very rare treat, when most can barely afford to buy food for themselves to cook. Going out to a restaurant is a once in a blue moon type expense.

"don't worry about it. I can pay for you."

"oh Sei no, I couldn't ask you to-"

"you wouldn't be asking. I'm offering."

"but that is so much money. I couldn't in goon conscience have you-"

He always did have a back for cutting me off when he believed I was saying something foolish.

"Azalea. Look at me. I have been saving specifically so that I could treat us to going out. Okay? You're coming out with me tonight. Now do you want to pick the place? Or should I?"

I sigh, there's no arguing with him, "you pick."

[god1ngs]

━‎ coping

synopsis; you try to cope with the new information you've been given

contains; platonic cuddling, swearing, wilbur + tommy bonding, mentions of death

day one + 1.1k wc

note; ahh here you go! sorry this is so late sob, but tommy bonding time

previous part ; seven days masterlist ; next part

after you went home that night, shaken up and in obvious need of sleep, there was still a lot on your mind. the deal, the way he said you always got on his nerves ─ it all made you sick. you were sat on your bed, thoughts racing as you tried to focus on one thing. you couldn't decipher anything, the panicking feeling of not being able to focus rising.

as you sat there, consumed by your own thoughts, you didn't notice the knock at your door. after a few moments of you not answering, still too caught up in what just happened, they opened the door. "what the hell are you doing up?" stood there, brows furrowed and had obviously just woken up, was tommy. oceanic irises stared you down when you didn't even look up.

"bloody hell," he murmured, eyes narrowed. "what's gotten you so shaken up?" you finally snapped out of your head, shooting up to look at the blond. "oh! uh, hey tommy! what're you doing awake?" you asked, trying to laugh away the tension already created in the room. "that's what i just asked you. [name], are you feeling okay?" although aggressive most of the time, tommy still cared about those close to him, you included.

the damned smiley face flashed in your mind, his voice flooding your hearing. your words got caught in your throat, blocked by the longing to tell tommy what had happened only an hour ago. "yeah," you brushed him off, swallowing harshly. "i'm fine, tommy, you doing okay?" you tried to not make it obvious that you weren't doing good, but you don't think you were doing so good.

it must be the war, tommy concluded. the blond sigh, gently shutting your door, and sitting next to you. he didn't look at you, merely staring at the bare wall. "you know, we're all still shaken up from the war. that damned bastard dream... and how could eret do that?" he spoke, frustration evident in his voice. his emotions were worn on his sleeve, all except vulnerability.

the mention of the man, the thought of him, made you sick. you struggled to contain your tears, blinking them away as your mind drifted to your current predicament. you sighed, frowning as you put your hand on tommy's shoulder. "it'll get better, tommy," you muttered, trying to be a source of comfort. "you still have me, and wilbur, and tubbo... we're all still here, tommy. we always will be."

the blond stayed silent, only nodding his head as an indication he was listening. the both of you sat in silence, until the sleep weighed down on both of you. tommy had been the one to pass out first, eyes closing as his head leaned against your shoulder. the blond was like a brother to you. you were both close, having been through similar situations.

"goodnight, tommy."

and with that, you passed out with him. your legs entangled as you both slept, much needed from what had happened earlier in the day.

when you had woke up, tommy still beside you, it dawned on you what was going to happen. dream had said he was going to kill you in a week. you assumed it started today, the fear overtaking you in a single moment. you didn't want to remember it, you didn't want to know when your death date will come up.

as you got up, listening to tommy's sleep talking and snores, you nearly began sobbing. the haunting presence of death would follow you constantly, until it could take you in its grasp. your legs shook as you stood, trying to steady yourself. you didn't want to wake tommy up, knowing he deserved the sleep.

the kid, along with tubbo, had been through so much. you felt bad for them, not wanting them to go through any more horrid situations. however, you knew as long as tommy was still acting himself, traumatized experiences would follow him wherever he went. you sighed, running your hands through your hair.

you didn't know how to concentrate on anything, not wanting to bring attention to how disheveled you were. you couldn't tell anyone about what happened, the fear that something would happen to not only you but them as well too great. you couldn't risk your friends' lives because of your own situations.

dream's words ran through your mind. the deal, the promise of death, made you shudder. you were hesitant to go outside, not wanting to see him. you couldn't stay in your room forever, the thought making you sigh as you stepped out of your room. once you had left, you frowned at the crater that was l'manberg. bits and pieces of l'manberg survived, however not much did.

the war and the betrayal was still fresh in l'manberg, evident by the thick atmosphere fogging the area up. eret, the one who had built the walls and a once trusted friend, had betrayed everyone's trust. turned their back on l'manberg for dream. you scoffed, brows furrowing. dream. it was always dream. everything bad had bloomed from him.

rage was quickly rising through you, balling up your fists. anger coursed through your veins, building up until it burst. you raged, punching at the nearest thing to you, the harsh brick of the wall scraping your knuckles. the adrenaline rushing through you allowed you reprieve from the pain. you kept punching, letting every bit of built up anger seep through your fists.

the one to stop you was wilbur. wilbur had been the one to bring you back to your senses, grabbing your hands in his. "[name], have you gone mad!?" he exclaimed, looking down at your knuckles. he sighed to calm down, frowning. "you can't hurt yourself like this, [name], okay? come on, i'll patch you up."

you went along blindly with him, hardly hearing his words. the wave of anger crashing through you made you deaf to everything else, your knuckles proof of that. you were too angry to listen to wilbur's rational words, allowing him to guide you to where he had said. your fists were still clenched, knuckles bruising and white.

once wilbur had sat you down in the caravan, you had finally calmed down. your breathing changed from harsh pants to low breaths. you frowned at wilbur, the brunette bandaging your bloody knuckles. "aren't you mad, wilbur?" you muttered, your voice low. you didn't feel like yelling.

"i am." he admitted, sighing as he tenderly rubbed your wrist, a sigh of care. "but that doesn't mean i go around punching walls. you can't hurt yourself like that, okay? we're all still here. me, tommy, tubbo ─ i promise it'll be okay." your words from last night replayed in your mind and you chuckled, nodding your head.

and, even for just a moment, you had forgotten of everything bad happening. the comfort of knowing you have your friends was enough for now.

it would change soon though.

taglist, (open)

━‎ ‎ ‎@paradigmax ; @pachowpachowbucket ; @acatstalkingyou ; @angelicaschuyler-church ; @saucey-kneecapzz42020 ; @piano-boo ; @i-need-hugs ; @strawbrinkofdeath ; @halloweenpoison13 ; @boiled-onionrings ; @feverish-dove ; @ahmya-4 ; @queenwastaken

[lavender-scent]

BBRae Week Day Five - Sunny Days

AO3 - FF.net

I Know My Heart Can Be So Cold, But I'm Sweet For You.

It was a beautiful sunny day in Jump City. The Titans agreed to seize the opportunity and go out since the city’s villains seemed to want to enjoy a day off as well.

Except for one person.

“What do you mean you’re not going?”

“You heard me Beast Boy,” she sighed, “I’d like to spend the day at home. Why is that so hard to understand?”

“But everyone is going!”

“And I’m not.” Raven gave him her back declaring the end of their discussion.

He wanted to try to convince her more but he heard his communicator vibrating. “Beast Boy, are you coming?”

He brought it closer to his mouth to speak, “On my way, Cy.”

It had been going like this for a while now: Raven constantly refusing every invite from the team and spending more and more time alone. Beast Boy and the others had tried to convince her to go out with them multiple times only to be rejected at every turn.

The whole team gave up eventually except for Beast Boy. It had taken her long enough to open up to them all, especially him, the first time and he didn't mind getting her to do it again even if it took a while.

Their friends believed it was just a phase but he didn’t want to risk it. He was not letting her shut herself in and isolate herself that easily.

“I’m going now but if you change your mind give me a call, okay?”

“Okay,” she said, still giving him her back.

He sighed but transformed into a hawk and flew through her window down to where his friends were waiting.

“What did friend Raven say?” Starfire asked once he got into the car.

“The usual. I want some quiet time by myself, blah blah blah. You should try it, Beast Boy, blah blah blah.” He tried his best impression of her with a frown.

“We’ll give her space. Maybe she’ll come around.” That was Robin’s answer every time.

'Next time there won’t be any “space”', Beast Boy thought to himself. He would get her out of that room. Not today, though. Raven really hated the sun and it was an exceptionally bright day out.

As they got to the park and started unpacking their stuff, Beast Boy realized he forgot something. “My umbrella! I forgot it at home.”

“B, for the last time, it’s not going to rain.”

“But the weather lady said there’s a 60% chance it would.”

“But the sun is bright and shiny today,” Starfire pointed out, “it does not seem that it will be the raining today, friend Beast Boy.”

“You know I hate the rain! Better safe than sorry.”

“What’s wrong, is the little kitty afraid to get wet?” Cyborg teased.

Beast Boy ignored him and transformed into a hawk for the second time. It would only take him a few minutes to grab his umbrella from the tower and be back. Once he got back to the tower he transformed back into his human form.

The tower smelled different than when he left it, felt different. Was Raven performing some sort of a spell? No, he knew when she was practicing spells. The scent always included herbs and old books. This scent smelled… sweet?

“Stop!” he heard a familiar voice.

Raven.

He ran to the source of the sound only to realize there was more than just her pleading voice. It made him run faster.

“Don’t touch her!” Beast Boy yelled when he reached Cyborg’s lab.

What Beast Boy saw was the furthest thing from what he expected. He had had all the worst scenarios prepared in his head, only to find Raven holding what looked like a five year old boy in one arm and a girl that seemed just a little bit older on the other.

“What the-“ before he got to finish his sentence he was cut off with screams.

“BEAST BOY!” the boy and the girl both jumped from Raven’s arms into Beast Boy's.

Beast Boy looked down at the two kids hugging his legs and back to his teammate. She looked like she was barely breathing.

“Raven, you brought Beast Boy!” the girl spoke first.

“It seems like I did.” She said nervously. She walked to Beast Boy and held his wrist, “Can I have a word?”

“Of course.” He followed her to the hallway leaving the two kids alone in the lab.

“What are you doing here?”

“I forgot my umbrella.”

“You do know that it’s not going to rain.”

“But the weather lady said-“

“Enough with the weather lady!” she threw her hands in the air in frustration. “Take your umbrella and just leave.”

“Okay, fine!” After a second thought, he asked, “Wait, who are those kids?”

“They’re my… cousins.” Raven said after she realized there was no way she could hide it any more.

It was obvious she didn’t want him there but he was still confused. Why did she hide that from the team?

“I didn’t know you had cousins?”

“I’ve reconnected with my aunt on Earth a few weeks ago. She had some work here in the city and I offered to take the kids for the day.” Raven answered hoping the investigation would be over soon. “Any more questions?”

“You have an aunt and you didn’t tell us?” Beast Boy paused. “Is that why you haven’t been spending as much time with us lately?”

“I.. I wanted-“ Raven was cut off by a loud noise.

They went back to the lab to find the boy climbing Cyborg computer set.

“James, get down! Raven is going to be mad at us!” his sister – Beast Boy assumed – tried to reach him using a chair but he was far above her.

“James, get down!” Raven ordered.

“I can’t!” James cried. “I don’t know how!”

Beast Boy decided to step in transforming into a moose, holding the little boy with one antler and putting him back down.

“That was awesome!” the boy yelled once the changeling went back to his human body. “Do it again!”

“Yes, Beast Boy do it again!” the girl joined.

“Erica, I believe Beast Boy has somewhere to be.” Raven gave him a glare.

“Right!” Beast Boy found himself forgetting about the picnic. The truth was he wanted to stay with Raven. “Are you sure you don’t need my help?”

“Nope.”

Both Beast Boy and Raven tuned at the sound of something breaking.

“Sorry,” James said, putting back a remote that was now in half.

Raven sighed. “Why did I think bringing them here was a good idea.”

“We still haven’t seen the training room!” Erica reminded her.

“I…” Raven was trying to think of a way to get out of this seeing how James causing chaos in the lab just confirmed that he shouldn’t be anywhere near all those weapons. Before she got to say anything, Beast Boy spoke up. “Who wants to go to the fair?”

“Me! Me! Me!” Both kids held their hands up high.

Beast Boy turned to his teammate. “You think you can give us a ride?”

Raven was caught by surprise. “Uhm, yeah I think I can. But only once.”

She held the changeling's hand with one and Erica’s with the other asking her to hold her brother’s hand as well.

When they got to the fair the kids immediately let her hand go and ran to see all the games they could play.

“That was a close one,” Beast Boy chuckled.

Raven didn’t laugh. “What are you still doing here?”

“Helping you?”

“I didn’t ask for help. I have everything under control. You can leave.”

“Everything under control? Okay then, where are the kids right now?”

“They are right ther-“ Raven looked around to find neither of them within her sight.

“They’re by the big wheel. You’re welcome.”

“I knew that.”

“No you didn’t. Now can you let go of my hand so I can get them some tickets.”

Raven looked down to find that she was indeed still holding his hand. She removed her hand from his and hoped that the hood of her cloak was hiding her blush as he left to go get the tickets.

“Can we please get ice cream?” James asked, running to her.

“Sure.”

“And I want to get on the big wheel!”

“Whatever you want.”

“Is Beast Boy your boyfriend?”

“No,” she answered without thinking. “Wait, what?”

“I saw you guys holding hands,” explained the little boy.

“No, we’re just teammates.” Raven blushed. Why would the kids ask her such a question? Weren't they too young to know about this stuff?

“My friend Lily thinks you guys look great together,” Erica said after she joined them. “She has all these drawings of you.”

“Drawings? Of us?”

“Yeah, kissing.”

Raven tried to change the subject when she saw her teammate coming with the tickets. “Oh look! Beast Boy brought the tickets. Go stand in line for your turn.”

They ran to Beast Boy to get their tickets and went back waiting at the big wheel.

“At least now we don’t have to worry about them getting hurt or killed by Cy.” Beast Boy said cheerfully.

“Yeah, great," Raven replied harshly.

Beast Boy turned to look at her. “Are you mad at me?”

She ignored him.

Beast Boy knew she trying to push him away again. Too bad it wouldn’t work.

“Why didn’t you tell us about your aunt and cousins?”

“It’s stupid.”

“I like stupid.”

“You wouldn’t understand. None of you would.”

“Try me.”

Raven exhaled a long breath. She had a feeling Beast Boy wouldn't be giving up soon. He never knew when to stop.

“I didn’t tell you about my cousins because I didn’t want them to meet you.”

“Are you embarrassed by us??”

“No... the opposite.”

“You’re… proud of us?”

“No! That’s not what I meant. I mean I am proud of you. I just didn’t want them to meet you because I know they would love you more.”

Beast Boy had never been more confused in his life. “People are usually happy by that.”

“I want them to love you. I just don’t want them to love you more than…. More than me.” Her insecurity finally broke through and she looked almost ashamed despite her defiance.

“Rae, I’m sure the kids love you. You’re an amazing person.”

“Yeah That’s how it felt before you came.” Raven knew she was being immature about this but she couldn’t help it. “I know I say I don’t care about fans but it’s always the same. Kids usually like you, guys like Cyborg, girls like Robin and boys like Starfire. No one likes me.”

“That’s not true!”

“Yeah right. How could I forget? Only creeps like the creep.”

Beast Boy gave her a sad look. He hated when she thought of herself that way. That was not who she was.

“Anyway,” Raven continued, “it felt nice to find my cousins and for them to see me as their favorite hero.”

She waited for him to tell her how childish and petty that was, how selfish she was to be hiding her whole family for the sake of being a kid’s favorite. But she heard none of that.

“Then I have to tell them about all the times you saved our asses.”

“What?” Raven gave him a confused look.

“Come on.” He took her hand and went to the kids as they just left the big wheel a little dizzy. “Who wants ice cream?” he asked.

Once they got their ice cream –strawberry for Beast Boy and Erica, chocolate for James and blueberry for Raven – Beast Boy proceeded to tell the kids every time Raven saved the team. He started to sound like a bigger fan than the kids were.

Every time he finished one the kids would turned amazed at Raven and ask to confirm Beast Boy’s story.

They seemed to forget all about the games they were first excited about. Her aunt called to check on them and agreed to pick them up at the fair later on.

Erica noticed a costumes tent that offered face painting as well and asked if they could get one.

“What costume do you want?” Raven asked.

“Yours! ” cheered Erica.

“Me too!” followed James.

Raven was shocked. She thought at least James would want to dress as the changeling or maybe Robin.

Both of them ran to the tent to look for costumes their sizes.

“I’m gonna go pay for them,” said Beast Boy as he walked after them.

She waited for them until they came out wearing blue cloaks and running around her. “Look Raven, now I’m Raven!”

She smiled at them and then looked up to see Beast Boy grinning at her.

They met her aunt not so long after. “I left one Raven only to come back to find two more!”

The kids ran to hug their mother. “We’re helping Raven save the city!”

“Hey, I’m Beast Boy.” The changeling offered his hand.

“Hi, I’m Selena, Raven’s aunt, ” Her aunt replied as she shook his hand. “Raven talks a lot about you!”

“Really?” Beast Boy glanced at Raven to find her face flushed.

“Aunt Selena, aren’t you late for your subway?” Raven reminded her.

“Right, right, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Thanks for watching the kids! And it nice to meet you, Beast Boy.”

“Likewise.”

Beast Boy couldn’t miss the opportunity to tease her once her aunt left. “You told your aunt about me?”

“You’re a superhero. She already knows about you.”

“Yeah but it’s not the same as from you.”

She tried to stop herself from hitting him because of the stupid grin he was giving her but he was making it very hard.

Suddenly, Raven felt something funny on her nose. She touched it to find her nose a little wet. Then again on her cheek. She looked up to realize it was raining.

She expected Beast Boy to complain, or say he was right. Instead he said, “Want to go on the big wheel? I saved us tickets.”

“You don’t want to go home? It’s raining.”

“No, I don’t mind.”

The ride was quiet at first but then Raven spoke. “Thank you, for today. I admit, I wouldn’t have made it without you. It was... Fun.”

Beast Boy only smiled.

On their wedding night, during one of the many danced they shared as husband and wife, Beast Boy reminded her of the day they spent with her cousins who were now older but still as excited to see their older cousin married. "When we went to get the costumes they asked me to marry you and I promised them, I would.” Beast Boy told her.

“I guess we make great part-rents together.” He moved his hand closer to hers, gently squeezing it, hoping she wouldn’t take it away. She didn’t.

“So you’re saying you’re with me only because you promised my cousins you would marry me?”

She laughed at his attempt at mashing partners and parents together. Then with a thought to his second statement she replied softly, “I guess we do.”

Beast Boy leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead as they swayed to the soft music. “I always knew I’d be with you. After that day I only wanted you more.”

nb: if you liked this check my poolside fic for day 2

also my friend's fic for into the woods for day 3

(@bbraeweek21 )

[xtruss]

Beware of Any War On Terror Fought by a Terrorist Nation

— Sunday, October 3, 2021 | Source: Exile in Happy Valley | By Nicky Reid

January 6 was a day that will live on in infamy, an unparalleled assault on the precious vital organs of our exceptional democracy that this great nation is still reeling to recover from, or at least so I'm told. According to the mainstream media and heavy hitters in both parties, this thing was worse than 9/11, Pearl Harbor, and Showgirls rolled together. I'm sorry dearest motherfuckers, believe it or not, I'm really not trying to be a contrarian bitch here, but I just don't see it. From where I was sitting, the whole shit-show looked more like a glorified soccer riot for pissed off diabetic boomers than any kind of coordinated assault on what passes for a democracy in this shithole country. A weird grab bag of QAnon imbeciles, Proud Boy informants, and Archie Bunker armchair racists got all hopped up on the insane rhetoric of their one term demagogue and stormed the Capitol without a game plan that amounted to much more than fuck-stuff-up-for-Donald!

Our heroes in the Capitol Hill Police, with a few over publicized exceptions, did everything but hold the door open for these out of breath hooligans and the majority of the fatalities were caused by the unruly horde's own stampede. The only clear cut homicide was an unarmed woman shot by a cop. Even the FBI, who never misses an opportunity to scare the public into approving more funding for another boondoggle, conceded that this clusterfuck was an unplanned fiasco, and considering that the Proud Boys are basically on loan to the Bureau, they oughta know.

All being said, the whole ordeal was more of a humiliating spectacle that showed the country how flimsy state power truly is than any kind of white power coup d'etat. But the imagery of weekend militiamen aimlessly stalking the halls of power played perfectly into a dream that the newly elected president, Joe Biden, coddled well before dementia rendered him a babbling nincompoop. A dream that formed the foundation for the Patriot Act. A dream to use the threat of the radical right in this country as a convenient excuse to bring the War On Terror home. The notion of domesticating America's horrific foreign policy should be terrifying enough even if the universally loathsome neo-Nazi's of this nation were the real target. But the published White House Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism, which Biden tasked his National Security Council with authoring a week after January 6, has made it startlingly clear that this is not the case.

The document, released in June, doesn't just single out the far right but casts a disturbingly wide net for its potential targets to include everything from animal rights activists to the dangerously broad scourge known simply as "anti-government extremists." Perhaps even more startling is the Department of Homeland Security's related Center for Countering Domestic Extremists, which has announced its ominously vague intention to "deradicalize" suspected thought criminals like you and me before we even become terrorists by using the Rhodes Scholars in local law enforcement along with mental health services to surveil those deemed to be socially isolated or mentally ill.

Lets call this what it is, a federal booster shot for America's already bloated police state, and judging by this white supremacist institution's track record, the real targets will never be the Blue Lives Matter Mafia that made up the mob on January 6. Like always, the true targets of government domestic warfare will be the groups that pose the greatest threat to its malignant power; pissed off people of color and their radical white allies. I know this because I've heard this story a few times before and it always has the same ending.

Communism was J. Edgar Hoover's excuse to the suits in Washington for his counter-insurgency program, Cointelpro, and he picked the perfect scapegoat for the height of the Cold War. But communism was always a secondary target at best for Hoover, a renowned white supremacist in his own right. Hoover's number one target was always the Civil Rights Movement and its more militant progeny in Black Power. Over two decades, that lumpy old sack of bastard launched a covert total war against everyone from the Freedom Riders to the Black Panther Party.

The FBI tapped phones, planted evidence, and locked up peace loving radicals for decades on phony charges. They attempted to black mail Martin Luther King into committing suicide with evidence of his infidelities and actively fomented violence within radical organizations leading to the deaths of promising voices for revolutionary change like Bunchy Carter and Malcolm X. By the end of the sixties they were terrorizing movements as diverse as the Youth International Party and the American Indian Movement and setting up gangland executions like that of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark.

Cointelpro was the original war on terror, and it rapidly devolved into a bloodthirsty jihad against any American who dared to challenge the status quo in a country at war with the third world. On September 11 that war was delivered back to our doorstep with the blowback at the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. This tragedy could have been a teachable lesson in the karma that comes with an imperial foreign policy. George W. Bush decided instead to use the trauma caused by these events to double down on the war machine and launch his own war on terror. The official target of this new forever war was radical Islam. But this boogeyman was largely just an excuse for America to level any third world regime that refused to bow to our quest for international hegemony.

Of coarse all of these regimes just happened to be lead by charismatic if less than heroic men of color like Muammar Gaddafi and Bashar al-Assad who attempted to offer their region alternatives to western dependence. In the most sickening of ironies, the US chose to destabilize these secular strongmen with the very jihadists we were supposed to be over there fighting. Our new scapegoat, radical Islam, ended up more powerful than it ever was before, giving us a perpetual excuse to fight these wars forever. J. Edgar would've been proud if he weren't already burning in hell.

And so it goes. Each generation's new war on terror relies on scapegoating whichever group happens to be most loathed by the public during its respective era. In the 1960's it was the commies. In the 2000's it was radical Islam. Today it's white supremacists. But the scapegoat is never the true target and the true target is usually the same, Black and Brown anti-colonialists, both at home and abroad. Biden's war on domestic terror didn't begin with the white riot of January 6. Hell, it didn't even begin with Biden. Biden's government wide strategy to reign in anti-government extremism is nearly identical to Bill Barr's Task Force under Donald Trump to do the very same. I don't believe this is a coincidence. Joe Biden made the unusual decision to keep Barr's point man on this operation, Christopher Wray, as director of the FBI. This is the same Christopher Wray who infamously testified before congress that "Antifa is a real thing." before railing against the scourge of "violent anarchist extremists."

25% of the FBI's current domestic terror investigations are related to the George Floyd Uprisings of America's 2020 summer of rage, and I believe that this was the cataclysmic event that truly provoked our new war on domestic terror, not some sad partisan riot at the Capitol, but the largest domestic uprising since the days of Cointelpro. An uprising that torched police stations and inaugurated anarchist autonomous zones in their place. An uprising that brought everyone together, from inner city Blacks to suburban anti-fascists to rural Boogaloo Bois. An uprising too popular for Joe Biden to declare war on, so he needed a scapegoat so loathsome that no sane human being could possibly defend it.

Don't believe the hype, dearest motherfuckers. The new war on domestic terrorism has nothing to do with combatting white supremacy. If it did, it wouldn't be fought by the American government, the greatest source of white supremacy the world has ever known. From this source, any war on terror should be considered just another terrorist attack.

Peace, Love, & Empathy- Nicky/CH