#26 February 2017

[brian-in-finance]

Vanity Fair Oscars Party • 2017 • Designer: Alberta Feretti

Vanity Fair Oscars Party • 2019 • Designer: Dundas Couture

Academy Awards • 2020 • Designer: Valentino

Vanity Fair Oscars Party • 2020 • Designer: Prabal Gurung

Academy Awards • 2022 • Designer: Louis Vitton

Vanity Fair Oscars Party • 2022 • Designer: Louis Vitton

Photo: Vanity Fair Slideshow • Other Photos: Getty Images

GIF

GIF

Remember… fashion you can buy, but style you possess. The key to style is learning who you are, which takes years. There's no how-to road map to style. It's about self expression and, above all, attitude. — Iris Apfel

Seem like only 319 days ago…

[reasonsforhope]

"A new study evaluated a low-cost yet effective way to combat bacterial resistance using curcumin–the natural yellow plant compound in turmeric.

In 2017, a tragic death in a Nevada hospital was linked to a new strain of bacteria that had developed a resistance to 26 different antibiotics. Called ‘superbugs’, such antibiotic-resistant bacteria (including MRSA) remains a pressing public health threat.

Now researchers at Texas A&M University have shown that curcumin, the compound that gives turmeric its characteristic bright yellow color, can be used to reduce this antibiotic resistance.

They showed that when curcumin is intentionally given to bacteria as food, and then activated by light, it can trigger deleterious reactions within these microbes, eventually killing them. They demonstrated that this process reduces the number of antibiotic-resistant strains and renders conventional antibiotics effective again.

The results of the study were published this week in the journal Scientific Reports.

“We need alternative ways to either kill the superbugs or find a novel way to modify natural processes within the bacteria so that antibiotics start to act again,” said Dr. Vanderlei Bagnato, professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and senior author on the study.

Photodynamic inactivation, a technique that has shown promise in combating bacterial resistance, uses light and light-sensitive molecules, called photosensitizers, to produce reactive oxygen species that can kill microorganisms by disrupting their metabolic processes.

In the new experiments, the team used curcumin, which is also a natural food for bacteria. They tested this technique on strains of Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that are resistant to amoxicillin, erythromycin, and gentamicin.

The researchers exposed the bacteria to many cycles of light exposure and then compared the minimum concentration of antibiotics needed to kill the bacteria after light exposure versus those that did not get light exposure.

“When we have a mixed population of bacteria where some are resistant, we can use photodynamic inactivation to narrow the bacterial distribution, leaving behind strains that are more or less similar in their response to antibiotics,” Bagnato told Texas A&M News.

“It’s much easier now to predict the precise antibiotic dose needed to remove the infection.”

MORE PROGRESS ON SUPERBUGS: • The Humble Potato Could Hold Key to Beating Hospital Superbugs and Crop Diseases • Compounds in Amber Could Help Fight Drug-Resistant Bacteria Superbugs, Say Scientists • When Antibiotics Failed, She Found a Natural Enemy of the Superbug to Save Husband’s Life

The team noted that photodynamic inactivation using curcumin has tremendous potential as an adjuvant or additional therapy with antibiotics for diseases, like pneumonia, caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

“Photodynamic inactivation offers a cost-effective treatment option, which is crucial for reducing medical expenses not only in developing countries but also in the United States,” said Dr. Vladislav Yakovlev, professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and author on the study..."

-via Good News Network, February 8, 2025

[michaelnordeman]

Bohemian Waxwing/sidensvans. Värmland, Sweden (February 26, 2017).

[ladyinsanity]

Preserving Your DHD Library

Dark Horse Digital is closing up shop and is ending support March 31st.

All purchases through DHD are on a "license the right to read" basis - we do not "own" the books. While they say we have until March 30 to download to our Bookshelf library, the ability to read on the website will only be available "at least through summer".

Well, that's awful.

If you want a way to preserve all your books, detailed instructions under the cut.

As a disclaimer, this may not be legal in all jurisdictions. Use your best judgment. Also, this method does not work for all titles, and has not been updated since 2017.

That said...

How to Download your DHD Library

Step 1: Install Tampermonkey extension via Chrome web store. (If other browser, check Step 1 here.)

Make sure to also enable "Developer mode" in extensions. On Brave you can access it through the Settings - Extensions - Manage Extensions. For Chrome, refer to this video to enable.

Step 2: Copy (CTRL+C) all the code from the Dark Horse Downloader script by oxguy3, under "Code" tab.

Step 3: Click the Tampermonkey extension in your browser and choose "Create a new script."

Delete the default code and Paste (CTRL+V) the script. Then, click File - Save.

Step 4: Log into Dark Horse Digital and go to your Bookshelf. Make sure "Stack by Series" is disabled. You should see something like this image - press "Download" for the title you want to keep.

Step 5: Download will start automatically. When it is done, it should pop up in your Downloads folder as a CBZ file.

CBZ files are basically an archive of all the images from the title. You can use an app like YACReader or CDisplayEx to view like a book.

If you want a more visual explanation, this video on how to bulk download Kindle titles has a similar method.

(And FYI, Amazon is also removing access to download Kindle titles after February 26. Isn't that a fun coincidence. /s)

Anywho, best of luck!

EDIT: I added a step in Step 1 to enable Developer Mode.

[spidermaninlove]

Are TZ Married?

I spot a yellow-diamond ring (at least five carats, maybe six), from Bulgari. “This is my splurge, my treat-myself,” she smiles. “I do get a little employee discount,” she laughs shyly. “It feels like it’s gonna be an heirloom, like one day I can give it to my grandchildren.”  -- Zendaya for British Vogue, October 2021 (Interview conducted on July 1, 2021).

According to a Bulgari representative, Z's yellow diamond ring is an "engagement ring."

Rewind to November 2017 when Z posted this to her Snapchat account:

Then she immediately followed up with this Snapchat post:

Z's fondness for yellow diamond engagement rings obviously predates 2021. So did she or didn't she buy the Bulgari yellow diamond engagement ring for herself? That is the question. After reading the following statement in her interview in the October 2021 issue of British Vogue, I have serious doubts.

In February 2021, when asked during an interview if Tom would settle down now, he said he would do. x Five months later, on July 2, 2021, Page Six confirmed Tom and Zendaya were a couple.

But Z preferred to keep her dating status private during her interview on July 1, 2021 with British Vogue -- the same day the paparazzi photographed them kissing:

...dating her IRL is, she insists, a tall order. The list of approvals is long – “my dad, my brothers, it’s a whole thing. Good luck to whoever wants to take that on,” she scoffs. Perhaps her Spider-Man co-star Tom Holland, who has long been rumoured to be her boyfriend, is up to the task? After all, the following day (July 2, 2021), photos appear of the pair kissing in a car after our lunch (on July 1, 2021)."

August 2021

TZ attended their friends' wedding in August 2021. While at the wedding reception, Z did not participate in the traditional bridal bouquet toss. She watched the toss from their nearby table and then shared a kiss with Tom after the bouquet was caught. x

On September 1, 2021, TZ finally acknowledged they are a couple via Tom's Instagram post.

In November 2021, Tom told GQ that he and Z will talk about their story and what it is when they're ready.

"This isn’t my story. It’s our story. And we’ll talk about what it is when we’re ready to talk about it together.”

In June 2023, during an interview with BuzzFeed, Tom said, "I'm locked up, so I'm happy and in love..." x

In July 2023, during a podcast with Jay Shetty, Tom stated, "My relationship is the thing I keep most sacred. I don't talk about it. I try my best to keep it as private as possible. We both feel very strongly that that is the healthiest way for us to move on as a couple." x

September 2023

Miss Nicaragua allegedly shared during a live that she had met TZ in Oakland and that she hopes Zendaya's marriage goes well (post blogged on September 18, 2023). Note: TZ were in Oakland August 25-26, 2023.

Three days later, on September 21, 2023, Darnell went live on Instagram to adamantly deny Zendaya is engaged.

If she's not engaged, is she married? 🤫

October 2023

Law and Darnell were on the bridal floor in Vera Wang's store in Beverly Hills on October 13, 2023. I believe it's safe to assume Z was there as well.

February 2024

During a BBC Radio 2 interview, Z stated that British people are her family now.

April 2024

In a Vogue article dated April 9, 2024, Z described her perfect future which includes a protected life with her family.

Speaking of a protected family life, TZ recently adopted a dog named Daphne from Protection Dogs Worldwide.

And speaking of dogs, Z left her beloved Noon with Tom in London while she went to California. Tom even took Noon to work at the Duke of York's Theatre several times while Z was far from home (pun intended) for a couple weeks during the months of June and July 2024.

Note: Tom recently posted Noon, along with Daphne, on his Instagram account. x

October 2024

In October 2024, Tom launched his non-alcoholic beer, BERO. One of the three BERO brews, Noon Wheat, is named after "Tom and Zendaya's dog, Noon" and the "cofounder's (Tom) dog, Noon". So Noon is no longer just Z's dog. Noon is TZ's dog. Noon is Tom's dog, too. Noon is their dog.

Tom considers himself Noon's dad. Both Tom and BERO posted for Noon's birthday calling him "My birthday boy" and "Tom's furry child," respectively.

November 2024

Noon is called one of "the most loved members of the Holland family..." on The Brothers Trust Instagram post.

April 2024

An Atlanta paparazzi posted this to his Instagram account and then deleted it.

And then he posted and deleted this the following week:

February & April 2024

Dom Holland attended Z's London premieres for both Dune 2 (February) and Challengers (April). Is this considered father-in-law behavior?

May 2024

According to Ashley Perez, her notary instructor "insinuated" TZ may have gotten a confidential (non-public) marriage license.

Note: Ashley attends a college near the Bay Area.

California Confidential Marriage License Requirements:

The participating parties must be at least 18 years old to apply for a confidential marriage license. ✅

There are no CA state or US residency requirements.  ✅

The couple must state to the notary or county clerk office that they have been living together, as husband and wife or partners ✅ - not as roommates - at the time they apply for the marriage license, and must sign an affidavit on the license attesting to living together. There is no time requirement as to how long the couple has lived together.

You are not required to get married in the county where you purchase the confidential marriage license; however, you must be married in California.  You must file the license in the county where it was purchased.  

No witnesses are required to be at the ceremony, AND no witnesses sign on the marriage license.

The marriage license is a confidential record and is registered at the County Clerk’s Office in the county where it was purchased. A notary public with special authorization may issue, sign, and file a confidential marriage license.

Secret, Civil, Private, and Traditional Weddings

It's not uncommon to have a civil wedding ceremony and then have a traditional or destination wedding at a later date. Celebrities Joey King, JLo, and Elizabeth Olsen have done it. Anya Taylor-Joy originally eloped in New Orleans in 2022 and then had a wedding in Italy the following year. Millie Bobby Brown had a private family wedding in May of this year and is in the process of planning a second wedding for family and friends. Robert Pattinson and Suki Waterhouse recently had a secret wedding ceremony. Beyoncé, Kerry Washington, and Margot Robbie had secret weddings as well. Did TZ have a civil/secret/private wedding ceremony and are they planning a traditional/second wedding in the future? If so, it wouldn't be the first time they've kept their relationship status a secret.

Disclaimer: The opinions stated in this blog post are for entertainment purposes only.

[sofs16]

let you break my heart again — 4

previous | series link

♫ i miss you i’m sorry - gracie abrams

charles_leclerc

liked by landonorris, lorenzotl, pierregasly, and 21,833 others

charles_leclerc Really happy to be part of the Ferrari Drivers Academy and be development driver for Scuderia Ferrari :) For you, (your initial).

view all 25 comments

march 1, 2016

charles_leclerc

liked by arthur_leclerc, lorenzotl, and 12,392 others charles_leclerc 🏆🏆YESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!! GP3 CHAMPION !!!! A huge thanks to all ARTGP !!!!! WE DID IT !!! ❤️❤️ This one is for you Julio

view all 112 comments

november 26, 2016

yn.yln.16 has gone public!

yn.yln.16

liked by kylie_yln, and 4,839 others

yn.yln.16 holy moly so proud of you big sister 🥹

view all 103 comments

kylie_yln 🥹❤️

january 5, 2017

charles_leclerc

liked by 13,484 others

charles_leclerc Dreams come true 💫

view all 28 comments

january 15, 2017

yn.yln.16

liked by pascale_leclerc, and 7,292 others

yn.yln.16 REAL VOGUE GIRL!!!

view all 110 comments

kylie_yln best vogue intern 🤩

february 8, 2017

yn.yln.16

liked by bellahadid, lorenzotl, and 12,942 others

yn.yln.16 made a best friend at work ❤️‍🩹

p.s new article is up in my blog 🫧

view all 39 comments

bellahadid youre something special 🦋

user92 what do you write about? :)

⤷ yn.yln.16 sports and fashion 😚🤍

february 20, 2017

yn.yln.16

liked by 17,393 others

yn.yln.16 tonight’s football game article is up!!! view all 158 comments

march 4, 2017

charles_leclerc

liked by zhouguanyu24, and 18,295 others

charles_leclerc Prema today ! Working to get back on the top step as soon as possible 🙂🏆

view all 22 comments

april 26, 2017

yn.yln.16 posted a story!

caption: “me and the boys when we aren’t writing a 10 page essay ”

viewed by pascale_leclerc, bawsixteen, and 521,102 others

replies:

kylie_yln anyone cute? 😚

⤷ yn.yln.16 looollll no 😖

pascale_leclerc Stay safe, chérie ❤️

⤷ yn.yln.16 ouiii maman!!! see you soon:)

gigihadid

monaco gp

liked by charles_leclerc, and 8,368,560 others

gigihadid Go HAM lewishamilton!

view all 132,395 comments

Maman 💇‍♀️

Charles, before you find out from anyone else, I am having lunch with Yn today.

Charles🤦‍♂️

What? Where?

How long will she be there?

Is she with you now? Maman?

yln.updated

liked by yn.yln.16, and 7,292 others

yln.updated yn out having lunch with her childhood neighbors! via. chefsmonaco: “Met yn.yln.16 this afternoon! Kindest soul who had lunch at our restaurant!” view all 1,684 others

yn.yln.16 chefsmonaco Loved the food, will surely come back! 🤍🥹

may 28, 2017

kylie_yln just posted a story!

caption: “little sis & me work time 🤪 yn.yln.16”

viewed by charles_leclerc, and 32,910,842 others

yn.yln.16

liked by kylie_yln, bellahadid, bawsixteen and 1,017,605 others

yn.yln.16 so so thankful to have written my first vogue article about my beautiful sister !!!! kylie.yln 🥹🤍

view all 232,923 comments

user82 notice how her first article is ab her sister.. talentless nepo babbyyy lol

⤷ yn.yln.16 yeah but hey, atleast im writing in vogue and not crying abt it in someone’s post 🤷🏻‍♀️

⤷ user1 GAGGEDDDD LOLL I LOVE HER ALR

lorenzotl So proud of both of you! ⤷ yn.yln.16 ❤️

may 11, 2017

charles_leclerc

liked by kylie_yln, pierregasly, and 21,292 others

charles_leclerc POLEEE POSITIONNN 🏎️ 2 poles out of 2 Qualifyings. Thanks again prema_team for the great car. But tomorrow is the day that counts ! 👊🏻

view all 48 comments

kkkwupdates what is kylie doin in his likes 😭

⤷ user27 theyre friends

may 12, 2017

BBC NEWS • SHORT STORIES

MEET YN YLN May 29, 2017

Yn Yln has been making her mark in the industry.

From detailed writing on fashion pieces to analyzing the newest models of F1 cars, Yn Yln is racing through the internet.

Yln told the BBC it was her bursting of emotions that first got her to write.

Her love of fashion was what started her journey. She put up her first blog up in 2010 titled “Layering”. Yln showcased several ways to style for the winter which skyrocketed her blog.

She then wrote about the racing sport. Yln mentioned a friend of hers raced and that is where her writing started to flourish.

“He just got me really interested in the sport that I couldn’t go a week without writing whether Hamilton got a win or modifications had been made to the sport.”

The writer got her first issue in Vogue out this May 11th. The issue was about her sister, Kylie Yln, and her entrepreneurship.

But while she has achieved much beyond her years, Yln has much more ahead of her. She continues to help the writing industry advance and flourish.

MORE

F1 2018: Charles Leclerc confirmed at Sauber

Kylie Yln launches new collection

yn.yln.16

liked by bellahadid, lewishamilton, voguemagazine, kylie.yln, pascale_leclerc, lorenzotl, bawsixteen, and 3,594,192 others

yn.yln.16 you're looking at the new f1 correspondent and presenter 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 tears 😭😭😭😭😭 screaming

view all 310,282 comments

lewishamilton Welcome to the club!🖤

⤷ yn.yln.16 Thank you so much🥹🥹🏎️

kylie.yln Proudest of you

[liked by yn.yln.16]

lorenzotl ❤️❤️❤️

pascale_leclerc 😍❤️

user1 what will you do? ⤷ yn.yln.16 writer some articles and present with sky tv 🍓

november 28, 2017

charles_leclerc

liked by kylie_yln, and 1,812,292 others

charles_leclerc I remember watching Formula 1 being younger and dreaming of one day being part of it. I can't believe this day has arrived and that I will be racing with Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team for the 2018 Formula 1 World Championship. I am hugely thankful to all the people who have been involved in my path to Formula 1.

A special thought to my father that did absolutly everthing for me to get there and to Jules that also helped me massively, I wish you two were here to see that but l'm sure you will follow me from up there.

A special thank you to the Ferrari Drivers Academy/Scuderia Ferrari, my sponsors/partners, Nicolas Todt/All Road Management, my family, all the people close to me during all these years & obviously Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team for giving me this opportunity.

Also, a special thank you to (your initial). This is also for you and I’m proud of you.🤍

Still a long way to go to my second dream..! So back to work and see vou in Melbourne 🏎️

december 3, 2017

Charles Leclerc explains reasons behind #16 F1 number choice

december 13, 2017

Since he was young, Leclerc has been dreamt of his future in being an F1 driver, as well as his future number.

The 20 year old driver explains it has always been the number he was going to pick.

“There is too much emotional connection for me to not pick this number. I hold this number deep in my heart and the person who helped me achieve everything, is mainly the reason. I hope to do the number well and give it justice.”

He has yet to specify who he is talking about but fans would guess a close friend. READ MORE…

16spriv

liked by kyliexoxo, bells888 and 47 others

16spriv

view all 21 comments

bells888 the no caption is so real

⤷16spriv STOPPP ITS MY NUMBER. NOW I HAVE TO CHANGE MYUSERNAME. goodbye yn.yln.16.

kyliexoxo deeeep breaths sister

⤷ 16spriv 🧘‍♀️

yn.yln

liked by bellahadid, lorenzotl, and 4,217,282 others

yn.yln bffr. time to work

view all 1,282,955 comments

user2 why is she famous again?

⤷ yn.yln am i even famous

⤷user2 😂

⤷ user3 she’s a talented writer and her sister is $$$

ylnsbabe the 16 in her user is gone????

⤷ f1wags holymoly

february 13, 2018

MARCH 25, 2018

it was nerve shaking for both yn and charles to come into the paddock knowing the other would be there but they both walked in with confidence.

with charles in his rookie season, many interviewers were trying to get his input on it. he searched the faces for that one (y/h/c) but proceeded to answer questions while walking.

as he started to leave the group, he had the urge to turn around. and when he did, he was met with those (y/e/c) and nostalgia.

the interviewers started to disperse, getting in his line of vision for a moment before they were focues on her.

this was his second shot and he was not going to waste it.

TAGLIST @1655clean @uuzhanggggggg @cmleitora @annie115 @valntynebaby @mrosales16 @d3kstar @stopeatread @chimchimjiminie16 @viennakarma @peqch-pie @scaramou @daniellarogers

NOTE sorry it took so long to upload:( hope everyone has a good year!! this took me a while and a lot of things aren’t accurate, such as the job description, but its fictional!!

[digimonarchive]

Digimon in all animated media - Anime, Movies and OVA

1st pic = Digimon Adventure anime (Japan: March 7, 1999 - March 26, 2000; USA: August 14, 1999 - June 24, 2000)

2nd pic = Digimon Adenture 02 anime (Japan: April 2, 2000 - March 25, 2001; USA: August 19, 2000 - May 19, 2001)

3rd pic = Digimon Tamers anime (Japan: April 1, 2001 - March 31, 2002; USA: September 1, 2001 - June 8, 2002)

4th pic = Digimon Frontier anime (Japan: April 7, 2002 - March 30, 2003; USA: September 9, 2002 - July 14, 2003)

5th pic = Digimon Savers / Data Squad anime (Japan: April 2, 2006 – March 25, 2007; USA: October 1, 2007 - November 2, 2008)

6th pic = Digimon Xros Wars / Fusion anime (Japan: July 6, 2010 - March 25, 2012; USA: September 7, 2013 - August 16, 2015)

7th pic = Digimon Xros Wars: The Evil Death Generals and the Seven Kingdoms anime (a.k.a Digimon Xros Wars part 2) (Japan: April 3, 2011 - September 25, 2011; USA: March 8, 2015 - August 16, 2015) **

8th pic = Digimon Xros Wars: The Young Hunters Who Leapt Through Time anime (a.k.a Digimon Xros Wars Hunters or Digimon Xros Wars part 3) (Japan: October 2, 2011 - March 25, 2012) ***

9th pic = Digimon Adventure Tri OVA (Japan: November 21, 2015 - May 5, 2018; USA: September 15, 2016 - September 20, 2018)

10th pic = Digimon Universe Appli Monsters anime (a.k.a Appmon) (Japan: October 1, 2016 - September 30, 2017)

11th pic = Digimon Adventure: (a.k.a Digimon Adventure 2020 or Digimon Adventure reboot) (Japan: April 5, 2020 - September 26, 2021; USA: November 19, 2022 - April 13, 2023)

12th pic = Digimon Ghost Game (Japan: October 3, 2021 - March 26, 2023)

13th pic = Digimon Adventure (Movie) short film (Japan: March 6, 1999; USA: October 6, 2000 as the first segment part of Digimon The Movie)

14th pic = Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! movie (Japan: March 4, 2000; USA: October 6 2000 as the second segment part of Digimon The Movie)

15th pic = Digimon Adventure 02: Vol. 1: Digimon Hurricane Landing!/Vol. 2: Transcendent Evolution! The Golden Digimentals movie (a.k.a Digimon Adventure 02 Vol 1 and 2) (Japan: July 8, 2000; USA: October 6, 2000 as the third segment part of Digimon The Movie) ****

16th pic = Digimon Adventure 02: Diablomon Strikes Back / Digimon: Revenge of Diaboromon movie (Japan: March 3, 2001; USA: August 5, 2005)

17th pic = Digimon Tamers: The Adventurers' Battle / Digimon: Battle of Adventurers movie (Japan: July 14, 2001; USA: October 16, 2005)

18th pic = Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express / Digimon: Runaway Locomon movie (Japan: March 2, 2002; USA: October 2, 2005)

19th pic = Digimon Frontier: Revival of the Ancient Digimon!! / Digimon: Island of Lost Digimon movie (Japan: July 20, 2002; USA: October 23, 2005)

20th pic = Digital Monster X-evolution movie (Japan: January 3, 2005; USA: August 1, 2020)

21st pic = Digimon Savers The Movie: Ultimate Power! Activate Burst Mode!! movie (Japan: December 9, 2006)

22nd pic = Digimon Adventure 3D: Digimon Grandprix! short film OVA (Japan: July 20, 2000)

23rd pic = Digimon Savers 3D: The Digital World in Imminent Danger! short film OVA (Japan: July 8, 2006)

24th pic = Digimon Adventure 20th Anniversary Memorial Story Project OVA short films (Japan: November 22 2019 - December 25, 2020)

25th pic = Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna movie (Japan: February 21, 2020; USA: September 29, 2020)

26th pic = Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning movie (Japan: October 5, 2023; USA: November 8, 2023)

** This is the 2nd part of Digimon Xros Wars saga with Taiki, Kiriha and Nene on their adventure while Akari and Zenjirou are left out.

*** This is the 3rd part of Digimon Xros Wars saga with Tagiru, Yuu and Taiki as the protagonists. This 3rd part has the overly long title so we fans prefer to call it 'Digimon Xros Wars: Hunters' or 'Digimon Young Hunters'.

**** Yes, this movie has an overly long title. I had a hard time deciding whether to highlight it in bold or not.

Happy Digimon Day!

[astroboyart]

The Pluto anime made it's worldwide debut 1 year ago today! (October 26, 2023).

Based on the critically-acclaimed Pluto manga by Naoki Urasawa, the Pluto anime was first announced at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 2017. After a few dormant years which came with speculation as to whether it would release at all, the Pluto anime was announced to be real and released it's first trailer on February 14, 2023. It would finally release on October 26, 2023, with all 8 one-hour episodes debuting on the same day simultaneously on Netflix.

It was produced by Genco, Tezuka Productions, NetEase, and Studio M2, with executive production by Taro Maki and Masao Maruyama. Naoki Urasawa was also involved in the development of the anime.

[motogp-museum]

Top 5 Motogp ships on ao3 during the last decade

I filtered each year from Jan 1st to December 31st. No other fics are included in each year's rank, only the ones posted during that calendar year.

'New' means that they were either new to any year's top 10 on ao3, or new to this list. If I included the plus minus, that means it was not new to the top ten, it just hadn't made the top 5 yet.

2014

P1- Marc Marquez/ Dani Pedrosa

P2- Marc Marquez/ Valentino Rossi

P3- Alex Marquez/ Dani Pedrosa

P4- Jorge Lorenzo/ Original Female Character

P5- Dani Pedrosa/ Valentino Rossi

2015

P1- Marc Marquez/ Dani Pedrosa (=)

P2- Jorge Lorenzo/ Alex Marquez (New)

P3- Alex Marquez/ Original Female Character (New)

P4- Marc Marquez/ Valentino Rossi (-2)

P5- Dani Pedrosa/ Valentino Rossi (=)

2016

P1- Marc Marquez/ Dani Pedrosa (=)

P2- Daniil Kvyat/ Marc Marquez (New)

P3- Jorge Lorenzo/ Dani Pedrosa (+6)

P4- Jorge Lorenzo/ Marc Marquez (New +5)

P5- Jorge Lorenzo/ Valentino Rossi (New +3)

(Rosquez down 3 places to P7)

2017

P1- Marc Marquez/Dani Pedrosa (=)

P2- Luca Marini/Alex Marquez (New)

P3- Jorge Lorenzo/Dani Pedrosa (=)

P4- Jorge Lorenzo/Marc Marquez (=)

P5- Marc Marquez/Valentino Rossi (+2)

2018

P1- Marc Marquez/Valentino Rossi (+4)

P2- Marc Marquez/Dani Pedrosa (-1)

P3- Jorge Lorenzo/Dani Pedrosa (=)

P4- Luca Marini/Alex Marquez (-2)

P5- Jorge Lorenzo/Marc Marquez (-1)

2019

P1- Marc Marquez/Valentino Rossi (=)

P2- Jorge Lorenzo/Dani Pedrosa (+1)

P3- Luca Marini/Alex Marquez (+1)

P4- Jorge Lorenzo/Valentino Rossi (New +5)

P5- Marc Marquez/Dani Pedrosa (-3)

2020

P1- Fabio Quartararo/Maverick Viñales (New +6)

P2- Marc Marquez/Valentino Rossi (-1)

P3- Jorge Lorenzo/Dani Pedrosa (-1)

P4- Luca Marini/Alex Marquez (-1)

P5- Marc Marquez/Dani Pedrosa (=)

2021

P1- Marc Marquez/Valentino Rossi (+1)

P2- Fabio Quartararo/Maverick Viñales (-1)

P3- Marc Marquez/Dani Pedrosa (+2)

P4- Marc Marquez/Fabio Quartararo (New )

P5- Jorge Lorenzo/Dani Pedrosa (-2)

2022

P1- Marc Marquez/Fabio Quartararo (+3)

P2- Marc Marquez/Valentino Rossi (-1)

P3- Jorge Martin/Fabio Quartararo (New)

P4- Jorge Lorenzo/Dani Pedrosa (+1)

P5- Luca Marini/Alex Marquez (+1)

2023

P1- Marc Marquez/Valentino Rossi (+1)

P2- Marc Marquez/Fabio Quartararo (-1)

P3- Jorge Lorenzo/Dani Pedrosa (+1)

P4- Luca Marini/Alex Marquez (+1)

P5- Marco Bezzecchi/Celestino Vietti (New)

2024

P1- Marc Marquez/Valentino Rossi (=)

P2- Marco Bezzecchi/Celestino Vietti (+4)

P3- Francesco Bagnaia/Marc Marquez (New)

P4- Marco Bezzecchi/Marc Marquez (New)

P5- Jorge Lorenzo/Dani Pedrosa (-2)

Top 5 of all-time and their ao3 debut date

P1- Marc Marquez/Valentino Rossi (17 June 2014)

P2- Marc Marquez/Dani Pedrosa (26 December 2013)

P3- Jorge Lorenzo/Dani Pedrosa (21 July 2014)

P4- Luca Marini/Alex Marquez (15 February 2016)

P5- Fabio Quartararo/Maverick Viñales (13 November 2019)

Discussion:

Since there were so little motogp fics in the first few years, some of the ships in the top 5 were there because of a single writer. So it does not always reflect the fandom's opinions of the ships. For example, all of the Alex/Dani and Alex/Jorge fics were written by the same person (at the time. There are new ones).

It also shows how a ship being popular for a short time can have lasting effects on the all-time rank. Maverick/Fabio being an example of this as they are still in the top 5 overall, despite only being in the top 5 of the yearly rank twice.

[reality-detective]

Your thoughts on this folks?

Americans have been watching a massive, controlled Military Operation who strategically and critically planned and successfully trapped the Washington Establishment… Made them all confess their crimes and play a role in this operation piece by piece… as Americans have had to visually see and witness a ‘Continuation of Government’ in the form of a “Presidential Administration” where these corrupt and evil people will, have, and will continue to destroy their system from within, spend all of their dirty money doing so, until it’s time for the Military to visually step in.

The timelines all add up and prove the Military Operation and Occupancy:

1.     Snake Poem read by candidate Donald Trump – January 2016

2.     2016 Presidential Election – November 2016

3.     President Elect Trump and Putin on Fox News = “ready for ‘reset’… I will work with Trump” – November 9, 2016

4.     Law of War Manual (Military Occupancy and Negotiations etc.) – December 2016

5.     Military Justice Act (Supreme Court clarifying Military Law is separate than Civil Law; heavy emphasis on Military Tribunal terms) – 2016

6.     Military stands behind CIC Trump (Military Intelligence and JAG head bands; Optics) at Inauguration – January 2017

7.     Saudi Arabia crowns Trump King – May 2017

8.     Declares Jerusalem Capitol of Israel – December 2017

9.     Executive Order 13818 – Declares National Emergency to deal with Human Rights Abuse – December 2017

10. CIC Trump walks in front of Queen – July 14, 2018

11. Putin hands CIC Trump soccer ball (“the ball is in your court”; did not participate in 2022 World Cup) – July 16, 2018

12. Executive Order 13848 – September 2018

13. CIC Trump makes history; walks into North Korea – June 2019  

14. National Quantum Initiative – Executive Order 13885 – August 2019

15. Space Force established as Military Branch – December 2019

16. Corona Sars Virus first mentioned to American Public as a Threat from China – February 2020

17. Two more National Emergencies Declared – March 13 and 27, 2020

18. Executive Order 13912 Federalizing 1,000,000 National Guard to Active-Duty Status – March 27, 2020

19. CIC Trump quote on attack worse than Pearl Harbor and 9/11 combined – May 2020

20. National Guard Troops place fence around Capitol Building (47 US Code 606) – January 2021

21. CIC Trump receives full grade Constitutional by Law and Military Grade Inauguration ceremony – January 20, 2021

22. “Joe Biden” breaks 20th Amendment amongst many other violations – January 20, 2021

23. Aircrafts constantly over and through 33 mile no fly zone radius D.C. – January 2021 to present day

24. “Biden” extends Executive Order 13848 (first time) – September 2021

25. Quantum.gov launched – September 2021

26. New York Times reports Military Tribunals coming mid-2023 – December 2021

27. Army and branches transfer all communications to Space Force under ONE command (Biden’s never mentioned the Space Force not once; zero News Articles with his name tied to Space Force) – August 2022

28. Major Optics and Comms in CIC Trump speech – November 15 2022

29. More News Articles establishing Space Force Command Centers with zero mention of Biden – December 2022

Those few timelines and timestamps do nothing but prove a Military Operation and Occupancy along with many more Laws, Codes, Orders, Statutes, Acts, Optics,

The National Guard has been out of their state militia status and operating as Active-Duty Status every day since they were Federalized in March 2020.

There’s MORE than enough documentation and ‘proof’ to show not only the National Guard, but also thousands of World Alliance Aircrafts in and out of the United States and National Guard bases.

There’s United States Coast Guards with United States Navy at their stations. USCG is Department of Homeland Security during Peacetime and transferred to the Department of the Navy during Wartime.

The Brunson vs. Adams case simply states the obvious… Congress violated the Constitution.

- Benjamin Fulford

I will add; everyone thinks they know what's going on but very few have done any research on Trump's executive orders. Everyone has discarded Q because they have seen dates come and go without seeing any results. Fact is they weren't dates but rather chapters and paragraphs from the law of war manual.

We're going by the Book. Why? Because it has to be done by the rule of law, if not, it's just more crimes being committed.

Sun Tzu - The Art of War... Know your enemy, löök weak when you're strong, infiltrate and use disinformation to confuse the enemy. 🤔

[pridequest64]

Klarion The Witch Boy Reading Order

This is, based of my research the complete reading list in release order for all Klarion Comics as of September 24th 2024. Release dates were used when available but compromises were made with cover date when necessary. If you see anything that is wrong or needs new additions feel free to let me know!

(Comic Vine was a massive help with this project)

1. The Demon 7- March 1973

2. The Demon 14- November 1st 1973

3. The Demon 15- December 1st 1973

4. Wonder Woman 280- June 1981

5. Wonder Woman 281- March 5th 1981

6. Wonder Woman 282- August 1981

7. The Demon 3- September 1990

8. The Demon 4- October 1990

9. The Demon 5- November 1990

10. The Demon 7- Janurary 1991

11. The Demon 8- February 1991

12. The Demon 9- March 1991

13. Books Of Magic 4- March 1991

14. The Demon 10- April 1991

15. The Demon 11- May 1991

16. The Demon 12- June 1991

17. The Demon 13- July 1991

18. The Demon 14 August 1991

19. The Demon 15- September 1991

20. War of the Gods 1- September 1st 1991

21. The Demon 17- November 1991

22. Conjurors 1- April 1999

23. Conjurors 2- May 1999

24. Conjurors 3- June 1999

25. Sins of Youth: Batboy and Robin- April 2000

26. Sins of Youth Secret Files- May 2000

27. Sins of Youth: The Secret/ Deadboy- May 2000

28. Sins of Youth: Aquaboy/Lagoon Man- May 2000

29. Young Justice: Sins of Youth 1- May 2000

30. Young Justice: Sins of Youth 2- May 2000

31. Young Justice 22- August 1st 2000

32. Seven Soldiers: Klarion 1- June 1st 2005

33. Seven Soldiers Klarion 2 August 1st 2005

34. Seven Soldiers Klarion 3- October 1st 2005

35. Seven Soldiers Klarion 4- December 1st 2005

36. Infinite Crisis 6- April 5th 2006

37. Infinite Crisis 7- May 3rd 2006

38. Robin 157- February 1st 2007

39. Robin 158- March 1st 2007

40. Countdown 34- September 5th 2007

41. Countdown 33- September 12th 2007

42. Countdown 32- September 19th 2007

43. Countdown 31- September 26th 2007

44. Countdown 30- October 3rd 2007

45. Justice League Of America 46- June 30th 2010

46. Justice League of America 47- July 28th 2010

47. DCU Halloween Special 2010- October 20th 2010

48. Batgirl 18- February 9th 2011

49. Superman/Batman 82- March 23rd 2011

50. Superman/Batman 83- April 20th 2011

51. Superman/Batman 84- May 18th 2011

52. The All New Batman: The Brave and the Bold 12- October 12th 2011

53. Batman: Li’l Gotham -8- September 8th 2013

54. Justice League Beyond 2.0 11- January 11th 2014

55. Batman Beyond Universe 6- January 22 2014

56. Justice League Beyond 2.0 12- January 25th 2014

57. Batman Beyond Universe 7- February 19th 2014

58. Justice League Beyond 2.0 13- February 8th 2014

59. Batman Beyond Universe 8- March 19th 2014

60. The Multiversity: The Society of super heroes: The conquerors of the counter world- September 17th 2014

61. Teen Titans: Futures End- September 17th 2014

62. Klarion 1- October 8th 2014

63. Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Three 2- October 22nd 2014

64. The Multiversity: The Just- October 22nd 2014

65. Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Three 3- November 5th 2014

66. Klarion 2- November 12th 2014

67. Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Three 4- November 19th 2014

68. Klarion 3- December 10th 2014

69. Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Three 6- December 24th 2014

70. Klarion 3- Janurary 14th 2015

71. The Multiversity Guidebook- January 28th 2015

72. Injustice: Gods Among Us Year three 9- February 11th 2015

73. Klarion 5- February 11th 2015

74. Klarion 6- March 11th 2015

75. Teen Titsns Annual 1- April 1st 2015

76. Multiversity 2- April 29th 2015

77. Teen Titans 9- June 24th 2015

78. Teen Titans 10- July 22nd 2015

79. Teen Titans 11- August 26th 2015

80. Secret Six 7- October 21st 2015

81. Teen Titans 13- November 11th 2015

82. Secret Six 8- November 18th 2015

83. Secret Six 10- January 20th 2016

84. Gotham Academy 17- April 13th 2016

85. Scooby-Doo Team-Up 19- October 26th 2016

86. Justice League 33 November 15th 2017

87. Justice League Dark 1- July 25th 2018

88. Sideways 7- August 8th 2018

89. Justice League Dark 2- August 22nd 2018

90. Catwoman/Tweety and Sylvester- August 29th 2018

91. Sideways 8- September 12th 2018

92. Raven: Daughter of Darkness 8- September 26th 2018

93. Raven: Daughter of Darkness 9- October 24th 2018

94. Sideways Annual- November 7th 2018

95. Suicide Squad Black Files 1- November 7th 2018

96. Raven: Daughter of Darkness 10- November 28th 2018

97. Sideways 10- November 21st 2018

98. Suicide Squad Black Files 2- December 5th 2018

99. Raven: Daughter of Darkness 11- January 2nd 2019

100. Suicide Squad Black Files- January 9th 2019

101. Raven: Daughter of Darkness 12- January 30th 2019

102. Suicide Squad Black Files 4- February 6th 2019

103. Justice League Dark 8- February 13th 2019

104. Suicide Squad Black Files 5- March 6th 2019

105. Justice League Dark 9- March 13th 2019

106. Suicide Squad Black Files 6- April 3rd 2019

107. Justice League Dark 10- April 24th 2019

108. DC’s Year of the Villain Special- May 1st 2019

109. Justice League Dark 11- May 22nd 2019

110. Justice League 26- June 19th 2019

111. Justice League Dark 14- August 28th 2019

112. Justice League 30- August 28th 2019

113. Justice League Dark 15- September 25th 2019

114. Justice League Dark 16- October 23rd 2019

115. Justice League Dark 17- November 27th 2019

116. Harley Quinn’s Villian of the year- December 11th 2019

117. Flash Forward 4- December 18th 2019

118. Justice League Dark 18- January 1st 2020

119. Justice League Dark 19-January 29th 2020

120. Zatana and the House of Secrets- February 2020

121. Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen 3- February 26th 2020

122. Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen 4- March 18th 2020

123. DC The Doomed and The Damned- October 13th 2020

124. DC’sVery Merry Multiverse- December 8th 2020

125. Wonder Woman Black & Gold 6- November 23rd 2021

126. Justice League Incarnate 2- December 21st 2021

127. DC VS Vampires 8- August 02 2022

128. The Flash 786- September 20th 2022

129. Batman VS Robin 2- October 11th 2022

130. Catwoman: Lonely City 4- October 25th 2022

131. Batman VS Robin 3- December 20th 2022

132. Lazarus Planet: Alpha- January 10 2023

133. Lazarus Planet: Omega- February 21st 2023

134. Superboy The Man Of Tomorrow 4- July 11th 2023

135. Speed Force 5- March 12th 2024

136. Outsiders 5- March 12th 2024

[thelibraryghost]

A Young Person's Introduction to Late 19th-Century Western Fashion

hello fellow youths

General information Banner, Bernadette. "Exposing Victorian Influencers Who 'Facetuned' Their Photos. (Photo Manipulation was EVERYWHERE)." YouTube. July 17, 2021. English Heritage. "Fashion Through History: Episode 1 – Victorians." YouTube. February 9, 2023. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "100 Years of Fashion // The Fashionable Plus Size Silhouette from 1820-1910." YouTube. June 5, 2021. Victoria and Albert Museum. "100 Years of Fashionable Womenswear: 1830s – 1930s | V&A." YouTube. July 18, 2023. Zebrowska, Karolina. "Victorian Fashion Is Not What You Think It Is." YouTube. March 19, 2019.

Accessories Banner, Bernadette. ""Afro-Victorian": Bringing Historical Black Women's Dress into the 21st Century w Cheyney McKnight." YouTube. October 20, 2021. Cox, Abby. "A Fashion Historian Explains the History of the Handbag." YouTube. January 26, 2023. Rudolph, Nicole. "Dangerous Things in Victorian Pockets : Mens Pocket History." YouTube. March 2, 2024. Rudolph, Nicole. "The Controversial History of Color Season Analysis." YouTube. November 4, 2023. Zebrowska, Karolina. "Disgusting and Creepy Victorian Fashion Trends." YouTube. October 17, 2018.

Bustles and hoopskirts Donner, Morgan. "Weirdest Victorian Invention: The Bustle-Chair (and we made one)." YouTube. November 20, 2020. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "100 Years of Underwear // The Changing Plus Size Shape from Regency to Victorian to Edwardian." YouTube. May 1, 2021. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "All About Bustles! A Deep Dive into 1870s Fashions." YouTube. December 26, 2023. Rudolph, Nicole. "Why were Victorian Hips Controversial?" YouTube. September 12, 2021.

Cosmetics Birchwood, Vasi. "1800s Makeup Is Not What You Think." YouTube. July 21, 2023. English Heritage. "Queen Victoria Makeup Tutorial | History Inspired | Feat. Amber Butchart and Rebecca Butterworth." YouTube. May 20, 2019. Zebrowska, Karolina. "I Used Only Victorian Cosmetics For a Week." YouTube. July 26, 2023.

Fabrics Rudolph, Nicole. "Did Silk Spontaneously Combust in the Victorian Era?" YouTube. August 8, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "The History of Elastic." YouTube. July 4, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "The Truth About Arsenic in the Victorian Era." YouTube. January 24, 2021.

Gowns Bullat, Samantha. "Dress Historian Analyzes Victorian Mourning Clothing of the Mid-19th Century." YouTube. March 14, 2021. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "All About 1860's Fashion // What did Civil War-era fashion look like?" YouTube. November 12, 2022. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "How did fashion evolve from 1850-1859? // 1850's Fashion Deep Dive." YouTube. October 1, 2022. Rudolph, Nicole. "Victorian Fast Fashion? The Truth about the History of Disposable Clothing." YouTube. February 6, 2022. SnappyDragon. "Were the Pre-Raphaelites painting accurate medieval dress . . . or Victorian fairtytalecore?" YouTube. April 26, 2024. Zebrowska, Karolina. "19th Century Fashion - How To Tell Different Decades Apart?" YouTube. November 17, 2017.

Hair care and styling Banner, Bernadette. "Following a Victorian Home Made Hair Care Routine (1889)." YouTube. September 11, 2021. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "Getting Dressed in an 1888 Daisy Costume // Easy Bustle-Era Hair Tutorial." YouTube. November 13, 2020. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "Getting Dressed in the 1870s & 1874 Hairstyle Tutorial." YouTube. February 23, 2020. Rudolph, Nicole. "Why did Victorian Women Cut their Hair Short?" YouTube. December 18, 2022. Laundry and housekeeping English Heritage. "A Tour of the Laundry - The Victorian Way." YouTube. September 6, 2019. English Heritage. "How to Wash Up - The Victorian Way." YouTube. March 18, 2021. English Heritage. "Laying the Table at Christmas – The Victorian Way." YouTube. December 14, 2022. Walkley, Christina, and Vanda Foster. Crinolines and Crimping Irons: Victorian Clothes: How They Were Cleaned and Cared for. Peter Owen Limited: London, 1978.

Outerwear and working wear Birchwood, Vasi. "What Irish Working Women Wore in the Late 19th Century | I Made the Clothing of My Irish Ancestors." YouTube. June 23, 2023. English Heritage. "The Real Mrs Crocombe | Part Four: A Victorian Cook's Outfit." YouTube. July 5, 2018. Stowell, Lauren. "It's Hot: Let's Look At Some Bathing Suits." American Duchess. August 18, 2023. Rudolph, Nicole. "The History of Jeans, T-shirts, and Hoodies: Time Travel 101." YouTube. March 20, 2022. Zebrowska, Karolina. "The 1851 Women's Pants That Made The Victorians Go Crazy." YouTube. March 2, 2020.

Shoes Rudolph, Nicole. "100 years of Antique Boots." YouTube. February 10, 2024. Rudolph, Nicole. "How to Make Regency & Victorian Shoes: Beginner Shoemaking." YouTube. June 27, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "The Myth of Tiny Feet "Back Then"." YouTube. September 26, 2021.

Undergarments Banner, Bernadette. "I Wore a (Medical) Corset for 5 Years. How do Victorian Corsets Compare?" YouTube. November 7, 2020. Banner, Bernadette. "Making Some Frilly Victorian Underwear || 1890s Combinations." YouTube. February 9, 2019. Birchwood, Vasi. "What Victorians Wore to Bed." YouTube. May 5, 2023. Cox, Abby. "I made weird Victorian underwear (it's a knit onesie) & a pretty 1890s corset || historical sewing." YouTube. March 21, 2021. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "How 8 Different Historical Corsets Affect the Same Plus Size Body." YouTube. December 12, 2020. Rudolph, Nicole. "100 Years of Corset History: How 8 Corsets affect the same body." YouTube. November 29, 2020. Zebrowska, Karolina. "How Did Victorian Ladies Stay Warm in Winter? || THE EXPERIMENT." YouTube. January 22, 2021. Zebrowska, Karolina. "How Did Victorian Women Deal With Their Periods?" YouTube. October 17, 2019.

[michaelnordeman]

Bohemian waxwing/sidensvans. Värmland, Sweden (February 26, 2017).

[jinxedshapeshifter]

Ace Attorney Birthday Ranges: Part 1

So I've done the math and research to figure out some Ace Attorney character birthday ranges, since they don't have specific birthdays and the Ace Attorney wiki has this to say about it despite it really not being all that complicated to figure out birthday ranges. It's just good old fashioned deduction.

To figure these out, I factored in two things: what dates are included in the time characters don't show up (for example, the only time we don't have a case happen in the main series is November), and/or what the court record says in a specific case, as it's implied that the court record rounds age up depending on when a character's birthday is (for example, Ema says she turns "16 this year" in Rise from the Ashes, making her 15, but the court record labels her age as 16). These calculations also function on the assumption that birthdays aren't talked about much in the Ace Attorney universe.

Here's how I calculated Ema and Klavier's (because I think I'm going to wait until I've played Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice to figure out everyone else's birthday ranges):

Ema Skye: February 23 - March 12. As mentioned above, Ema says she turns "16 this year" in Rise From the Ashes, making her 15. When she first appears in Investigations on March 13, 2019, two years later in the Ace Attorney timeline, she's 18. This makes the only possibility for her birthday to be sometime between when she said she was turning 16 on February 22 and March 13.

Klavier Gavin: October 27 - April 18. Klavier has a pretty wide range, simply because he doesn't show up a lot outside Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. He's 24 for the duration of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (or at least from Turnabout Corner to Turnabout Succession), and 25 in Turnabout Academy. He first meets Apollo on June 15, and Turnabout Succession ends on October 9. The 2017 section of Turnabout Succession happens on April 19, 2019 and Klavier is 17 there. Turnabout Academy happens from October 24 to October 26, 2027.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Mike Luckovich

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

February 25, 2025

Heather Cox Richardson

Feb 26, 2025

On Friday, February 21, former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg posted: “A defining policy battle is about to come to a head in this country. The Republican budget will force everyone—especially Congress and the White House—to make plain whether they are prepared to harm the rest of us in order to fund tax cuts for the wealthiest.”

Buttigieg was referring to the struggle at the heart of much of the political conflict going on right now: How should the U.S. raise money, and how should it spend money?

Generally, Democrats believe that the government should raise money by levying taxes according to people’s ability to pay them, and that the government should use the money raised to provide services to make sure that everyone has a minimum standard of living, the protection of the laws, and equal access to resources like education and healthcare. They think the government has a role to play in regulating business; making sure the elderly, disabled, poor, and children have food, shelter and education; maintaining roads and airports; and making sure the law treats everyone equally.

Generally, Republicans think individuals should be able to manage their money to make the best use of markets, thus creating economic growth more efficiently than the government can, and that the ensuing economic growth will help everyone to prosper. They tend to think the government should not regulate business and should impose few if any taxes, both of which hamper a person’s ability to run their enterprises as they wish. They tend to think churches or private philanthropy should provide a basic social safety net and that infrastructure projects are best left up to private companies. Civil rights protections, they think, are largely unnecessary.

But the Republicans are facing a crisis in their approach to the American economy. The tax cuts that were supposed to create extraordinarily high economic growth, which would in turn produce tax revenue equal to higher taxes on lower economic growth, never materialized. Since the 1990s, when the government ran surpluses under Democratic president Bill Clinton, tax cuts under Republican presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump, along with unfunded wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have produced massive budget deficits that, in turn, have added trillions to the national debt.

Now the party is torn between those members whose top priority is more tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations, and those who want more tax cuts but also recognize that further cuts to popular programs will hurt their chances of reelection.

That struggle is playing out very publicly right now in the Republicans’ attempt to pass a budget resolution, which is not a law but sets the party’s spending priorities, sometimes for as much as a decade, and is the first step toward passing a budget reconciliation bill which can pass the Senate without threat of a filibuster.

Under the control of Republicans, the House of Representatives was unable to pass the appropriations bills necessary to fund the government in fiscal year 2025. The government has stayed open because of “continuing resolutions,” measures that extend previous funding forward into the future to buy more time to negotiate appropriations. The most recent of those expires on March 14, putting pressure on the Republicans who now control both the House and the Senate to come up with a new funding package. But first, both chambers have to pass a budget resolution.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s top priority is extending his 2017 tax cuts for the next ten years, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates would add $4.6 trillion to the deficit. If he actually enacted the other tax cuts he promised on the campaign trail—including on tips, overtime, and Social Security payments—that deficit jumps closer to $11 trillion. During the campaign, he insisted that the tariffs he promised to levy would make foreign countries make up the money lost by the tax cuts. In addition to being wildly wishful thinking, Trump’s claim ignores the fact that tariffs are actually paid by U.S. consumers.

So Trump and the Republicans have a math problem. It was always incorrect to say it was the Democrats who were irresponsibly running up the debt, but it was a powerful myth, and Republicans have relied on it for at least 25 years. Now, though, there is a mechanical issue that belies that rhetoric: the debt ceiling, which requires Congress to raise the ceiling on the amount the Treasury can borrow.

On January 21, 2025, the U.S. Treasury had to begin using extraordinary measures to pay the debt obligations Congress has authorized. In order for Trump and the Republicans to get their tax cuts, that debt ceiling will have to be raised. But a number of MAGA Republicans are already furious at the growing debt and the budget deficits that feed it, and they say they will not raise that ceiling unless there are extreme cuts to the federal budget. Other Republicans realize that the cuts they are demanding will be enormously unpopular, not least because for all their rhetoric, it is actually Republican-dominated districts that receive the bulk of federal monies.

This is the mess that sits behind unelected billionaire Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) that is claiming to slash federal spending, although its claims have been so thoroughly debunked that early this morning it quietly deleted all five of the five-biggest ticket items it had touted on its “wall of receipts.”

As Democrats keep pointing out, Republicans have control of the government and could make any cuts they wanted through the normal course of legislation, but they are not doing so because they know those programs are popular. Instead, they are turning the project over to Musk.

They are making it a point to look the other way when people, including judges, ask under what authorization Musk and his team are operating. Today, once again, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt refused to say who was in charge of DOGE, a day after Matt Bai reported in the Washington Post that two of Musk’s DOGE employees, Luke Farritor and Gavin Kliger, used their access to payment systems to override explicit orders from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and shut off funding to the United States Agency for International Development. Bai reports that Farritor is 23-year-old dropout from the University of Nebraska who interned at SpaceX; Kliger, 25, spreads conspiracy theories about the “deep state,” attended Berkeley, and is now installed at the Treasury Department.

This afternoon the White House said that Amy Gleason, a former official at the U.S. Digital Service, the agency that Trump’s executive order may have turned into the Department of Government Efficiency, is serving as the acting administrator of DOGE. Reporters reached her by phone in Mexico.

In an interview with NPR, the U.S. ambassador to Hungary under President Joe Biden, David Pressman, explained that Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán turned Hungary’s democracy into “a system that's designed to enrich a clique of elites to take public assets and put them in private pockets while talking about standing up for conservative values” in what became “a massive transfer of public assets to an oligarch class.” Trump and MAGAs see Orbán as a model, and it is notable that today the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the agency that manages civilian aviation and that Trump and DOGE gutted, announced it has agreed to use Musk’s Starlink internet system for its information technology networks.

But even if Musk is only providing the illusion of savings, Congress still has to figure out the budget. On Friday, the Senate voted 52–48 to advance a budget resolution that called for $175 billion in new funding for border security and immigration enforcement and told committees, including the committee that oversees Medicaid, to find at least $4 billion in spending cuts. All Democrats and Independents, along with Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted not to advance that resolution.

Today the House was supposed to vote on its own budget resolution, and it is here that the stark contrast Buttigieg identified shows most strongly. The House resolution calls for cutting $4.5 trillion in taxes, primarily for the wealthy and corporations, while also adding $100 billion for immigration and border security, $90 billion for Homeland Security, and $100 billion in military spending. It enables those cuts and spending, at least in the short term, by raising the debt ceiling by $4 trillion.

The plan offsets those tax cuts with a goal of $2 trillion in spending cuts, including $880 billion over the next decade in cuts to the part of the budget that covers Medicare and Medicaid, and $230 billion in cuts to the part of the budget that covers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps. House speaker Mike Johnson claimed that all the cuts would come from the same place Musk claims, without evidence, to be cutting: “fraud, waste, and abuse.”

As Buttigieg noted, this budget cuts benefits for the poorest Americans in order to give tax cuts to the wealthiest, but the proposed cuts are not enough to get all MAGAs, many of whom want far more draconian cuts, on board. Johnson needed either to corral them or to get Democratic votes.

For their part, the Democrats rejected the proposal, concerned about the concentration of wealth in the U.S.: on Sunday, economist Robert Reich noted that “[t]he top 0.1% of Americans control $22 trillion in wealth,” while “[t]he bottom 50% control $3.8 trillion in wealth.”

Shauneen Miranda of the New Jersey Monitor reported the statement of Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) today that 24% of Americans get their healthcare from Medicaid, while the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services say that two thirds of nursing home patients receive Medicaid. Cuts would devastate American families. “For what, because Elon Musk needs another billion dollars?” Murphy asked. “The scope of this greed is something that we have never, ever seen before in this country, and we should not accept it as normal in the United States of America.”

At a press conference, House Democrats called out what Representative Greg Casar (D-TX) called “this billionaire budget resolution.” “I know that I and my colleagues here today are ready to go to the mat and fight all the way until we stop this budget and finally demand that, instead of a tax break for greedy billionaires, that we actually tax those greedy billionaires and expand the programs that working people deserve,” Casar said.

It took pressure from Trump to get the House resolution across the line this evening. It ultimately passed by a vote of 217 to 215, with only one Republican, Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY), voting with all the Democrats against it. Earlier this year, Republicans killed a bipartisan push to enable representatives to vote remotely while on maternity leave, so Representative Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) flew across the country with her one-month-old son to “vote NO on this disastrous budget proposal.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[davidhudson]

Fats Domino, February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017.

1955 photo by Loomis Dean.