#Bibi will outlive them all

[eolewyn1010]

"Incorrect Tatort quotes"

Moritz: If we lose, you're out of the will.

Bibi: I was in the will?

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Seth Mandel

Yet as exasperatingly counterproductive as Schumer’s remarks were, they could not hold a candle to the performance by Rep. Jerrold Nadler on Tuesday. Nadler was announcing that he would attend Bibi’s speech while also making clear he that he—as-a-Jew—despises the Israeli government that is currently embroiled in a multi-front war against enemies seeking to eliminate the Jewish people from the surface of the earth. Nadler collapsed under the pressure and tweeted what can only be described as a cry for help:

“Benjamin Netanyahu is the worst leader in Jewish history since the Maccabean king who invited the Romans into Jerusalem over 2100 years ago. The Prime Minister is putting the security of Israel, the lives of the hostages, the stability of the region, and longstanding Israeli democratic norms in perilous jeopardy, simply to maintain the stability of his far-right coalition and absolve him of his own legal troubles. Tomorrow’s address is the next step in a long line of manipulative bad-faith efforts by Republicans to further politicize the U.S.-Israel relationship for partisan gain and is a cynical stunt by Netanyahu aimed at aiding his own desperate political standing at home. There is no question in my mind it should not be happening.”

And yet, he said, “I have not given up on the dream of an Israel that can live in peace with its neighbors.” Therefore, he is attending the speech.

There are three things happening here, all of them deeply destructive. The first has nothing to do with the Jewish angle of this debacle. That is the diplomatic malpractice. America has a serious amount of power and lately an unserious way of wielding it.

Set aside the hysterical tone of Nadler’s post. Does anyone in Congress talk about any other ally this way? We have had a series of incompetent prime ministers in Britain over the past few years, one of whose term was outlived by a head of lettuce. We did not have members of Congress ranting about how Liz Truss was her country’s worst leader since Britain was Roman. That’s because they would look completely insane even publicly contemplating the question. If Nadler wants to retire to become a blogger at The Nation, he is more than welcome to. It’s a low bar, but more is expected of members of the United States Congress, especially those in senior positions.

Or we can turn to Canada, where the remedial-class prime minister likes to play dress-up more than think about politics, like some kind of ancient child-king. Is Schumer out on the floor ranting about how he loves Tim Hortons but the coffee will taste bitter to him until Justin Trudeau resigns to join the Ontario community theater?

[cevansbrat0007]

I'm obsessed with this series. I'm such a sucker for love that's given often and shown so freely. Andy and Reader are each other's world. I feel like they're the type of (one day) elderly couple who if one passes, the other is following right behind in a few days to months.

I can't wait to one day read a little drabble about them when they're old and retired, maybe having their kids and grandkids over for christmas and their kids' POV watching Andy and Reader sway and canoodle under a mistletoe.

At Last...

Summary: True love stories never end...

Warning: the following answer contains talk of death as well as celebrations of love and life. Read at your own risk. Takes place in my ongoing Growing Pains Series. __

Thank you. It makes me so happy that you've fallen in love with Growing Pains as well as Andy and Reader's love story. Those two are so incredibly and irrevocably devoted to one another - they really are each other's entire world.

If I'm being honest, I have thought about what the end of their time on this planet would look like. And Baby Girl always outlives Andy. Not just because she's a few years younger than him, but because there is just no other way.

He could never live without her. Not even for a month, or a couple of days. So, when the time comes and life finds him on his deathbed, they make a plan.

They're both such stubborn people, you know? So damned headstrong even up until the very end. Andrew Barber doesn't want to go.

Not yet.

But while his spirit remains young, his body is old. After all, fighting your way into your nineties is no easy feat. But he's also got four children right here in this realm to take care of, and an errant wife to look after who is just as much of a brat as she's always been.

And the doctors, well, they don't understand how he's made it so long. From everything indicated on his chart, he should've left this world days ago. But somehow Andrew Barber continues to defy the odds.

That stubborn ass ogre.

But he's also in pain. Even as he's fighting, refusing to give in. However, it's not sustainable. And Reader knows that her Big Man needs to rest. She spends every day by his bedside, rarely leaving for more than a few minutes at a time. It's been a few days since she's been able to catch a glimpse of his beautiful blue eyes, every once in a while, she's treated to a gentle squeeze of her hand.

Baby Girl knows her husband better than any other person on the planet. She knows that in order to leave her behind, even for just a little bit, she has to give him a purpose. So she crawls into bed with him, bad hip and all, and tells him her plan.

It's just between them - this task that she gives him.

She tells him to go on ahead and get their home ready - their dream home. And start decorating it the way he knows she'll like. She even promises not to get mad if the color schemes aren't quite right, because she'll just fix it all when she gets there.

Simple as that.

And while he's taking care of the house, the next thing she wants him to do is find Jacob. Wherever he is. Because she expects him to be at the dinner table sharing a meal with them for her first night in their new home.

And in return for doing all of that, she'll handle everything else with BiBi, KitCat, RoRo, and A.J. and all of their precious grandbabies. She swears that she will make sure that every single little detail is taken care of, and when it's all done...

She'll come find him. And when she does, they'll share a dance in their kitchen to the tune of their favorite song - At Last by Etta James. Baby Girl goes on to assure him that it will be the first of many.

Some time later that night, her sweet Andy Bear takes her up on her offer. But not before opening his eyes one last time to see her sleeping in the chair at his bedside. Now that makes him crack a smile.

Because in the last dream he had he could've sworn he told her fine ass to get to bed. A real bed. Not a chair.

His sweet, beautiful girl never fucking listens.

Reader knows when he leaves. She later describes it to their children as feeling his lips brush her skin, right behind her ear. His favorite place to kiss her.

She and the kids keep the actual ceremony small, but then they throw a party - a celebration of Andy's life. And after that, Reader spends the next two years making sure everything is in order.

Just like she promised.

Andy comes to her in her dreams every now and again. And in those dreams he always looks like he did when they first met - her handsome man.

And when it's finally her time, Reader passes on surrounded by their babies. But she tells them not to worry, because their father has been sitting by her bedside for the last few days. She knows they can't see him...

But she swears he's right there. And he's brought along Jacob. She tells her sweet babies that she's finally ready to join the love of her life. They even share a little laugh when she tells them how their father keeps pestering her all because she owes him a dance.

And when she takes her last breath, the sweet sound of Etta James is playing softly in the background. Bianca and her siblings sit there quietly for a few minutes after her passing holding hands and reveling in the fact that they know their Mama went home.

She's finally back in the arms of the man that she loves. They have no doubt that their Mama and Daddy are finally sharing that dance. And wouldn't you know it...

Somewhere in the great beyond, they were right. Their Mama made it home at last. And she left the light on for them too. Just like she told them she would.

[queer-talmid]

I cannot wait to watch Netanyahu fall from power. I cannot wait to see his name dragged through to the mud, to watch him fall into obscurity, all of his handiwork undone. 50, 60 years from now my grandchildren will tell their friends that their grandma was once in a room with Bibi Netanyahu and their friends will gasp in horror

We will live to see Palestinians and Israelis live safely in the land that they love

מיר וועלן זיי איבערלעבן

We will outlive them 🍉

[qqueenofhades]

50 Awesome Women To Know: Part 7

 Halloween is a great time, because why not, to learn more about awesome women. Previous entries are here.

Alba Alonso de Quesada (1924 -- ): Honduran, lawyer and academic, long-term advocate of women, children, the working poor, and organized labor, campaigner against corruption, feminist and reformer, still fighting the global good fight at the age of 94.

Amina of Zazzau (? -- 1610): Nigerian, African warrior queen and conqueror, heroine of many legends and folk tales, who bested male rivals and collected tribute across several regions.

Ángela Acuña Braun (1888-1983): Costa Rican, another Central American woman and lawyer. Specialist in international human rights law, founder of many feminist and legal advocacy organizations, diplomat and ambassador.

Ashani Weeraratna (1971 -- ): Sri Lankan/South African, pioneering cancer researcher and director of the PhD cancer biology program at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

Barbara Sanguszko (1718-1791): Polish, prominent figure of the Polish Enlightenment, poet, society hostess, translator, sponsor of artists, politicians, and intellectuals, philanthropist and religious patron.

Bibi Khatoon Astarabadi (1858-1921): Iranian, one of the first women’s rights activists in the modern history of Iran; educator, author, mother of seven children who also went on to distinguished careers in the public sector.

Brita Tott (c. 1498): Danish/Swedish, had an almost ludicrously colorful career as a major landowner, spy, forger, counterfeiter, administrator, and suspected traitor, who escaped the charges against her and lived into retirement.

Cheryl Dunye (1966 -- ): Liberian-American, highly decorated filmmaker, activist, and college professor, who studies the African-American lesbian and queer experience through film, art, and other mediums.

Diane de Poitiers (1499-1566): French, mistress of King Henry II of France and de facto queen of France for much of his reign (in which she competed with fellow Badass Lady Catherine de Medici). Well-educated, beautiful, and widely influential.

Ekaterina Karavelova (1860-1947): Bulgarian, suffragist, educator, author, and diplomat, instrumental in the development of women’s access to university education in Bulgaria and Eastern Europe.

Elena Cornaro Piscopia (1646-1684): Italian, the first woman known in history to receive a PhD degree, which she did in 1678, in philosophy, from the University of Padua. She dazzled academics from all the distinguished Italian universities (Rome, Perugia, Bologna, and Naples) in a public hearing. 

Elizabeth Catlett (1915-2012): African-American, the grandchild of slaves, artist and sculptor who represented the twentieth-century black experience in her work and received many awards and recognitions.

Elizabeth Montagu (1718-1800): British, socialite and social reformer who donated large amounts of her fortune to the poor; founder of the Blue Stockings Society for educated women, and probably a lesbian, as she was reported to have had “no interest in men or marriage” and kept a female companion.

Fawziyya Abu Khalid (1955 -- ): Saudi Arabian, poet, social critic, feminist, one of the most prominent Saudi female poets and outspoken political advocate for the rights of women in the Kingdom.

Frances Kirwan (1959 -- ): British, mathematician, current Savilian Professor of Geometry at the University of Oxford (a position once held by Edmond Halley, among others) and first female holder of the title. Distinguished researcher and teacher of mathematics and fellow of several Oxbridge positions.

Freddie and Truus Oversteegen (1925-2018 and 1923-2016): Dutch, Resistance activists during WWII, who seduced Nazis by luring them out to remote locations for their compatriots (or the sisters themselves) to kill them. Their family hid Jews too, and both sisters lived long lives and died of old age.

Jocelyn Bell Burnell (1943 -- ): Northern Irish, astrophysicist who helped discover radio pulsars (described as “one of the most significant scientific achievements of the 20th century”). Was then excluded from the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics given to her colleagues in the discovery. Finally received a £2.3 million award for distinguished physics research in 2018, and gave ALL OF IT to help women, minorities, and refugees pursue careers in STEM.

Justina Szilágyi (c. 1455-c.1497): Hungarian, cousin of Matthias Corvinus (the Raven King) and second wife of the notorious Vlad the Impaler (yes, that Vlad). Outlived him and successfully pursued her claim to lands in Transylvania.

Katharine McCormick (1875-1967): American, philanthropist, suffragist, heiress, who went to MIT in the 19th century, and who funded the research necessary for the modern birth control pill. A pioneering advocate of reproductive freedom, who also donated a great deal of money to ensure women’s continued scholarship at MIT.

Khurshidbanu Natavan (1832-1897): Azerbaijani, poet and musical lyricist, social and cultural patron of the Karabakh region who funded civic improvement projects, founder and sponsor of literary societies.

Kittur Chennamma (1778-1829): Indian, Rani (ruler) of the state of Kittur, who led an armed rebellion against the British East India Company and who, while eventually defeated, has become a folk heroine and symbol of resistance against the Raj.

Lama Abu-Odeh (1962 --): Palestinian-American, lawyer, feminist, and professor who currently teaches at Georgetown University, scholar and advocate for Muslims in a post-9/11 world. 

Laura Bassi (1711-1778): Italian, physicist and academic; earned a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Bologna (1732) and subsequently became professor of physics there. First woman to hold a university chair in the sciences, instrumental in the study and spread of Newtonian physics.

Leona Vicario (1789-1842): Mexican, heroine of the Mexican War of Independence, feminist, one of the first female Mexican journalists, honored as “Distinguished and Beloved Mother of the Homeland.” 

María Abella de Ramírez (1863-1926): Uruguayan, another South American feminist and social reformer, advocate for sex workers’ rights and new divorce laws, founder of South American suffragist organizations, who fought the all-consuming power of the Catholic Church.