#Budget 2017 (November)
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foxes-that-run · 29 days ago
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What are your thoughts on haylor meeting up in late 2016? Do you think there was a slight chance of them getting back together, and do you think they would've made it if they did get back together? I know Taylor chose the safest option, but Harrry and her didn't even seem to talk things out, so why even meet in the first place? Didn't Taylor tell him she loves someone else, too? It's so confusing...
I think they did, there are enough crumbs to give it plausible and they both spent November and December in LA and London respectively. But this is in the same time the Joe stuff was starting so who knows.
This got long, sorry. The TLDNR is:
the canon is Taylor met Joe at the Met, dated Tom, broke up and in October 2016 went to Joe's premiere and started dating him. Although Joe was not in the same country as Taylor for most of that time. In May 2017 they went public and were seen 20 times before Reputation came out in November, it was super public.
An alternate timeline is that after Hendall and Hiddleswift both ended within a month and before Joe/Taylor and Harry/Tess Ward went public within a week the haylor sightings, being in the same city, songs, gifts, blind items, edited videos and friend comments were because they were secretly dating again.
because....
24 August - Hiddleswift over
22 September - Hendall break up again.
28 September - Taylor with Cara, Harry MIA, released Another Man covers/mixtape, Joe London.
October - Harry was in Jamaica recording HS1. Joe in London on 3rd. On 13th Joe and Taylor at Bowery enter separately. Joe is in NY for the Billy Lynn Long Halftime Walk promo tour so unlikely to have ample days ahead in NY given the films budget.
11 October - Taylor went to Joe's movie screening and the Rep book has a 19 November polaroid captioned "how would you feel about having a song written about you?"
3 November - Both are in LA for November with HS1 recorded.
25 November - Harry was seen in LA then disappeared for a week. Taylor posted a lot of photos of friendsgiving in RI. Joe not there. Taylor posted photos so would only show who was public.
28 November - is the first clue things may have been back on in a few months (apart from having both been in LA). Gemma (Harry's sister), Lou Teasdale (Harry's close friend & 1D stylist), Sam Campbell (Lou's sister and friend of Harry, married to one of Harry's friends too) go to Karaoke and post lyrics to WANGBT and Sam captions it "talk to my friends". 👀
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Haylor Secrets posts that they are together, which.. that account may be totally fake, or making it up, but had been right about stuff
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December - Both in London, IDWLF released, Taylor has a birthday party at her London House the Rep magazine photos are in, Harry MIA but in London. On 28 December there was an unconfirmed sighting of them together and Taylor gave Austin a record signed by friends of Harry's. He thanked them and the band commented that it was signed for 'a friends little brother' who turned out to be Taylor Swift.' Harry knew them for years and Sam Campbell commented 'LOL'
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31 December - in 2020 7 photos of Taylor & Joe getting ready in her London house leaked with this date given. Why only 7? The date of the New Years Eve jumping into an icy pool story Taylor Nation edited out. If the story was about Joe why would it be edited out?
3 January 2017 - Lover journal that Taylor has been with someone for 3 months, no one has found out and she is living in London. It had been 3.1 months since the Hendall break up and 2.5 months since Joe got to NY. .....
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7 January - Harry records Lately where he sings 'I don't believe what you're saying to me, "that I love him"'
13 January - Taylor records DWOHT and the IDWLF music video.
1 February - Harry's birthday, the rose ring appears. Taylor is in NY/Nashville, Harry NY/London and Joe in London.
April - Harry's Rolling Stone interview where he leaves the table when Taylor is brought up and says he wants to tip is hat to her about 1989, and give his whole cap to the muse of HS1, now over.
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7 May - Harry seen with Tess Ward, the first time he has been seen with anyone since having dinner with Kendall in September.
16 May - a week later The Sun reports Joe and Taylor dating 'for months'. First time Taylor seen with anyone romantically since August
Even longer versions are in the 2016 and 2017 timelines.
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foreverlogical · 6 months ago
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It was a time of fear and chaos four years ago.
The death count was mounting as COVID-19 spread. Financial markets were panicked. Oil prices briefly went negative. The Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark interest rates to combat the sudden recession. And the U.S. government went on a historic borrowing spree—adding trillions to the national debt—to keep families and businesses afloat.
But as Donald Trump recalled that moment at a recent rally, the former president exuded pride.
“We had the greatest economy in history,” the Republican told his Wisconsin audience. “The 30-year mortgage rate was at a record low, the lowest ever recorded ... 2.65%, that’s what your mortgage rates were.”
The question of who can best steer the U.S. economy could be a deciding factor in who wins November’s presidential election. While an April Gallup poll found that Americans were most likely to say that immigration is the country's top problem, the economy in general and inflation were also high on the list.
Trump may have an edge over President Joe Biden on key economic concerns, according to an April poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs. The survey found that Americans were more likely to say that as president, Trump helped the country with job creation and cost of living. Nearly six in 10 Americans said that Biden’s presidency hurt the country on the cost of living.
But the economic numbers expose a far more complicated reality during Trump's time in the White House. His tax cuts never delivered the promised growth. His budget deficits surged and then stayed relatively high under Biden. His tariffs and trade deals never brought back all of the lost factory jobs.
And there was the pandemic, an event that caused historic job losses for which Trump accepts no responsibility as well as low inflation—for which Trump takes full credit.
If anything, the economy during Trump's presidency never lived up to his own hype.
DECENT (NOT EXCEPTIONAL) GROWTH
Trump assured the public in 2017 that the U.S. economy with his tax cuts would grow at “3%,” but he added, “I think it could go to 4, 5, and maybe even 6%, ultimately.”
If the 2020 pandemic is excluded, growth after inflation averaged 2.67% under Trump, according to figures from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Include the pandemic-induced recession and that average drops to an anemic 1.45%.
By contrast, growth during the second term of then-President Barack Obama averaged 2.33%. So far under Biden, annual growth is averaging 3.4%.
MORE GOVERNMENT DEBT
Trump also assured the public that his tax cuts would pay for themselves because of stronger growth. The cuts were broad but disproportionately favored corporations and those with extreme wealth.
The tax cuts signed into law in 2017 never fulfilled Trump's promises on deficit reduction.
According to the Office of Management and Budget, the deficit worsened to $779 billion in 2018. The Congressional Budget Office had forecasted a deficit of $563 billion before the tax cuts, meaning the tax cuts increased borrowing by $216 billion that first year. In 2019, the deficit rose to $984 billion, nearly $300 billion more than what the CBO had forecast.
Then the pandemic happened and with a flurry of government aid, the resulting deficit topped $3.1 trillion. That borrowing enabled the government to make direct payments to individuals and small businesses as the economy was in lockdown, often increasing bank accounts and making many feel better off even though the economy was in a recession.
Deficits have also run high under Biden, as he signed into law a third round of pandemic aid and other initiatives to address climate change, build infrastructure and invest in U.S. manufacturing. His budget deficits: $2.8 trillion (2021), $1.38 trillion (2022), and $1.7 trillion (2023).
The CBO estimated in a report issued Wednesday that the extension of parts of Trump’s tax cuts set to expire after 2025 would add another $4.6 trillion to the national debt through the year 2034.
LOW INFLATION (BUT NOT ALWAYS FOR GOOD REASONS)
Inflation was much lower under Trump, never topping an annual rate of 2.4%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The annual rate reached as high as 8% in 2022 under Biden and is currently at 3.4%.
There were three big reasons why inflation was low during Trump's presidency: the legacy of the 2008 financial crisis, Federal Reserve actions, and the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump entered the White House with inflation already low, largely because of the slow recovery from the Great Recession, when financial markets collapsed and millions of people lost their homes to foreclosure.
The inflation rate barely averaged more than 1% during Obama's second term as the Fed struggled to push up growth. Still, the economy was expanding without overheating.
But in the first three years of Trump's presidency, inflation averaged 2.1%, roughly close to the Fed's target. Still, the Fed began to hike its own benchmark rate to keep inflation low at the central bank's own 2% target. Trump repeatedly criticized the Fed because he wanted to juice growth despite the risks of higher prices.
Then the pandemic hit.
Inflation sank and the Fed slashed rates to sustain the economy during lockdowns.
When Trump celebrates historically low mortgage rates, he's doing so because the economy was weakened by the pandemic. Similarly, gasoline prices fell below an average of $2 a gallon because no one was driving in April 2020 as the pandemic spread.
FEWER JOBS
The United States lost 2.7 million jobs during Trump's presidency, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If the pandemic months are excluded, he added 6.7 million jobs.
By contrast, 15.4 million jobs were added during Biden's presidency. That's 5.1 million more jobs than what the CBO forecasted he would add before his coronavirus relief and other policies became law—a sign of how much he boosted the labor market.
Both candidates have repeatedly promised to bring back factory jobs. Between 2017 and the middle of 2019, Trump added 461,000 manufacturing jobs. But the gains began to stall and then turned into layoffs during the pandemic, with the Republican posting a loss of 178,000 jobs.
So far, the U.S. economy has added 773,000 manufacturing jobs during Biden's presidency.
Campaign Action
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mediamixs · 2 months ago
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The Creep Tapes: meet the worst serial killer
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Shudder is set to expand the Creep franchise with the upcoming series The Creep Tapes, premiering on November 15, 2024. This new installment is created by Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice, who both reprise their roles as executive producers, co-writers, and in Duplass's case, as the lead character. The series will consist of six episodes, with the first two airing on the premiere date, followed by weekly releases on Fridays on both Shudder and AMC+.
Overview of The Creep Tapes
The Creep Tapes continues the narrative of a secluded serial killer who entices videographers into his world under the guise of a paid job to document his life. As the story unfolds, the killer's unsettling behavior becomes apparent, leading his victims to realize they may have made a grave mistake by accepting his offer. This format allows for deeper exploration of psychological horror, building on the foundation laid by the previous films, Creep (2014) and Creep 2 (2017).
Production Details
The series is produced by Duplass Brothers Productions in collaboration with Shudder. Patrick Brice, who directed the original films, will direct all six episodes of the series. The production team also includes Mel Eslyn, Jay Duplass, and Chris Donlon as executive producers, with Shuli Harel serving as co-executive producer .
Significance and Expectations
Mark Duplass expressed his excitement about continuing the Creep legacy in a series format, noting the unique and unsettling nature of the original films. The Creep franchise has garnered a dedicated fanbase, and there is anticipation that The Creep Tapes will delve even further into the twisted storylines and character dynamics that made the films popular .
Fans of the franchise can look forward to a blend of horror and psychological tension, with the potential for rich character development across the six episodes. The series aims to maintain the low-budget, high-impact style that characterized its predecessors, promising a chilling experience for viewers .
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mycolourfullworld · 1 year ago
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35 years ago today, July 15, 1988, Die Hard premiered. It is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, based on the 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp. It stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov, and Bonnie Bedelia, with Reginald VelJohnson, William Atherton, Paul Gleason, and Hart Bochner in supporting roles. Die Hard follows New York City police detective John McClane (Willis) who is caught up in a terrorist takeover of a Los Angeles skyscraper while visiting his estranged wife.
Stuart was hired by 20th Century Fox to adapt Thorp's novel in 1987. His draft was greenlit immediately by Fox, which was eager for a summer blockbuster the following year. The role of McClane was turned down by a host of the decade's most popular actors, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. Known mainly for work on television, Willis was paid $5 million for his involvement, placing him among Hollywood's highest-paid actors. The deal was seen as a poor investment by industry professionals and attracted significant controversy prior to its release. Filming took place between November 1987 and March 1988, on a $25 million–$35 million budget and almost entirely on location in and around Fox Plaza in Los Angeles.
Expectations for Die Hard were low; some marketing efforts omitted Willis's image, ostensibly because the marketing team determined that the setting was as important as McClane. Upon its release in July 1988, initial reviews were mixed: criticism focused on its violence, plot, and Willis's performance, while McTiernan's direction and Rickman's charismatic portrayal of the villain Hans Gruber were praised. Defying predictions, Die Hard grossed approximately $140 million, becoming the year's tenth-highest-grossing film and the highest-grossing action film. Receiving four Academy Award nominations, it elevated Willis to leading-man status and made Rickman a celebrity.
Die Hard has been critically re-evaluated and is now considered one of the greatest action films. It is considered to have revitalized the action genre, largely due to its depiction of McClane as a vulnerable and fallible protagonist, in contrast to the muscle-bound and invincible heroes of other films of the period. Retrospective commentators also identified and analyzed its thematic concerns, including vengeance, masculinity, gender roles, and American anxieties over foreign influences. The film produced a host of imitators; the term "Die Hard " became a shorthand for plots featuring overwhelming odds in a restricted environment, such as "Die Hard on a bus". It created a franchise comprising the sequels Die Hard 2 (1990), Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Live Free or Die Hard (2007), and A Good Day to Die Hard (2013), plus video games, comics, and other merchandise. Deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress, Die Hard was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2017. Due to its Christmas Eve setting, Die Hard is also often named one of the best Christmas films, although its status as a Christmas film is disputed.
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misfitwashere · 2 days ago
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November 21, 2024
HEATHER COX RICHARDSON
NOV 22
Today, former Florida representative Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration for the office of attorney general. He did so shortly after CNN told him that they were going to report that the House Ethics Committee had been told there were witnesses to yet another sexual encounter between Gaetz and a minor in 2017. There was already evidence that he had sent more than $10,000 to two women who later testified in sexual misconduct investigations. The notes explaining the payments said things like: “Love you,” “Being my friend,” “Being awesome,’ and “flight + extra 4 u.” 
Trump transition spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer told Will Steakin of ABC News that discussions of Gaetz’s payments “are meant to undermine the mandate from the people to reform the Justice Department.” 
Gaetz’s withdrawal turns attention to Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth. As host of the weekend edition of Fox & Friends, Hegseth has no relevant experience to run a crucial United States government department, let alone one that oversees close to 3 million personnel and a budget of more than $800 billion. 
According to Heath Druzin of the Idaho Capital Sun, Hegseth has close ties to an Idaho Christian nationalist church that wants to turn the United States into a theocracy. 
Jonathan Chait of The Atlantic did a deep dive into Hegseth’s recent books and concluded that Hegseth “considers himself to be at war with basically everybody to Trump’s left, and it is by no means clear that he means war metaphorically.” Hegseth’s books suggest he thinks that everything that does not support the MAGA worldview is “Marxist,” including voters choosing Democrats at the voting booth. He calls for the “categorical defeat of the Left” and says that without its “utter annihilation,” “America cannot, and will not, survive.” 
Like Gaetz, Hegseth is facing stories about sexual assault. Yesterday, officials in Monterey, California, released a police report detailing a 2017 sexual assault complaint against Hegseth. The report recounts chilling details of a drunk Hegseth blocking a California woman from leaving a hotel room and then sexually assaulting her. A nurse reported the alleged assault after the woman underwent a rape exam. Hegseth says the encounter was consensual, but he paid the woman a settlement in exchange for a nondisclosure agreement. He was never charged.
Trump’s pick for secretary of education, Linda McMahon, is also short on experience in the field of the department she has been tapped to oversee. She once incorrectly claimed to have a bachelor’s degree in education when she was trying to get a seat on the Connecticut Board of Education and is known primarily for her work building World Wrestling Entertainment. And she, too, has been entangled in a sex abuse scandal. In October, five men filed a lawsuit claiming that she and her husband, Vince McMahon, were aware that former ringside announcer Melvin Phillips was assaulting “ring boys” who were as young as 13.
A spokesperson for the Trump transition said of McMahon’s misrepresented credentials: “These types of politically motivated attacks are the new normal for nominees ready to enact President Trump’s mandate for common sense that an overwhelming majority of Americans supported two weeks ago.”
But Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence makes McMahon look like a prize. As military scholar Tom Nichols points out in The Atlantic, former representative TulsI Gabbard is “stunningly unqualified” to oversee all of America’s intelligence services, including the Central Intelligence Agency. Nichols notes that her constant parroting of Russian talking points and her cozying up to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad make her “a walking Christmas tree of warning lights” for our national security.  
Former Republican governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley suggested that Gabbard is “a Russian, Iranian, Syrian, Chinese sympathizer” who has no place at the head of American intelligence. A Russian state media presenter refers to Gabbard as “our girlfriend” and as a Russian agent.
And then there is Trump’s tapping of Robert Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has no training in medicine or public health and, in addition to being a prominent critic of the vaccines that have dramatically curtailed disease and death in the U.S., is an outspoken critic of the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health.
There are a number of ways to think about Trump’s appointments. The people he has picked  have so little experience in the fields their departments handle that Erin Burnett of CNN suggested that he is simply choosing them from “central casting”—a favorite phrase of his—to look as he imagines such officials should. Indeed, as Zachary B. Wolf of CNN pointed out, while President Joe Biden vowed to make his Cabinet look like America, Trump’s picks look “exactly like Fox News.” Trump has actually tapped a number of television hosts for different positions. 
That so many of his appointees have histories of sexual misconduct is also striking, and underlines both that they share his determination to dominate others and that they do not think rules and laws apply to them. 
But there is another pattern at work, as well. In a piece he published on November 15 in his “Thinking about…” newsletter, scholar of authoritarianism Timothy Snyder explained that destroying a country requires undermining five key zones: “health, law, administration, defense, and intelligence.” The nominations of Kennedy, Gaetz, Hegseth, and Gabbard, as well as the tapping of billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to run the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to destroy the administration of the government, are, according to Snyder, a “decapitation strike.” 
“Imagine that you are a foreign leader who wishes to destroy the United States,” Snyder writes. “How could you do so? The easiest way would be to get Americans to do the work themselves, to somehow induce Americans to undo their own health, law, administration, defense, and intelligence. From this perspective,” he explains, “Trump's proposed appointments—Kennedy, Jr.; Gaetz; Musk; Ramaswamy; Hegseth; Gabbard—are perfect instruments.  They combine narcissism, incompetence, corruption, sexual incontinence, personal vulnerability, dangerous convictions, and foreign influence as no group before them has done.”
But that destruction of the United States is so far still aspirational. The constant references to Trump’s supposed “mandate” are misleading. He did not win 50% of the vote, meaning that more voters chose someone other than Trump in the 2024 election than voted for him, and even many of his voters appear to have misunderstood his policies. 
According to Jonathan Karl of ABC News, Trump’s loyalists have tried to shore up support for his nominees in the Senate by threatening the Republican senators: "If you are on the wrong side of the vote, you’re buying yourself a primary. That is all. And there’s a guy named Elon Musk who is going to finance it.” 
That threat is a direct assault on the Constitution, which gives to the Senate the power to advise the president on senior appointments and requires their consent to a president’s choices, and one that also hands the U.S. government over to an international billionaire. Forcing a leader’s political party to get into line behind that leader is the first task of an authoritarian, who needs that unified support in order to attack political opponents. 
But, so far, the threat hasn’t worked: it could not save Gaetz in the face of public outcry. 
Almost as soon as Gaetz withdrew his name, Trump presented former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi as his replacement for the attorney general post. In March 2016, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) found that the Trump Foundation illegally donated $25,000 to support Bondi at a time when she was considering joining a lawsuit against Trump University. Her office ultimately decided not to join the lawsuit. 
Bondi defended Trump in his first impeachment trial, during which she was a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel. She supported Trump’s campaign to insist—falsely—that he won the 2020 presidential election. She is also a registered lobbyist for Qatar. 
Meanwhile, Republican perceptions of the economy have changed abruptly. As Philip Bump of the Washington Post notes, since Trump’s election, there’s been a 16-point drop in the percentage of Republicans who say they were doing worse a year ago than they are now. 
While that change is due to Trump’s election, in fact Biden’s policies continue to deliver. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters today that for the second year in a row, the average price of a Thanksgiving dinner has fallen. According to the American Farm Bureau, that price fell 5% this year, with the cost of turkey down 6%. Gasoline to travel for the holiday is also down to its lowest point in more than three years, by about 25 cents per gallon since this time last year, falling to below $3.00 a gallon in almost 30 states. 
Tonight, Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo suggested that Americans should keep scorecards of the country’s economic numbers, “charting where inflation, unemployment and GDP were at the end of Biden’s term and regularly updating it with Trump’s latest numbers.” He noted that “the country is now covered with embryonic factories, businesses, economic redevelopment projects and more courtesy of Joe Biden’s CHIPS act and the Inflation Reduction Act,” and predicted that Trump will claim credit for all Biden accomplished. 
Keeping track would help preserve those projects in the face of threatened Republican cuts and at the same time prevent Trump from being able to claim more credit for his administration than it has earned. 
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justinspoliticalcorner · 3 months ago
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Igor Bobic at HuffPost:
Donald Trump is vowing to enact policies if he is elected president in November that would benefit voters’ pocketbooks, while offering few details as to how he plans to pay for them — a series of campaign promises that fly in the face of longstanding Republican Party orthodoxy about fiscal prudence and small government. Last week, Trump announced that the government would pay for the costs of fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization, which can run to tens of thousands of dollars per cycle, if he becomes president again. He has also proposed eliminating taxes on workers’ tips and on Social Security benefits, which nonpartisan scorekeepers say would add hundreds of billions of dollars to the deficit. His campaign has not said how he intends to pay for these ideas.
Coupled with his plans to extend key parts of his 2017 tax cut bill and cut corporate taxes even more, Trump’s policy blueprint would add nearly $6 trillion to the deficit over 10 years, according to a Penn Wharton Budget Model analysis. Trump’s plans amount to handing out what now-Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who lost to former President Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential race, once decried as “gifts.” Trump’s rhetoric shows how he has transformed the party from one which at least touted fiscal responsibility — even if the national debt actually skyrocketed under the last two GOP administrations — to one in which the presidential nominee is free to do whatever it takes to win.
Trump making lofty campaign promises is nothing new. During his 2016 run, he pledged to build hundreds of miles of wall on the southern U.S. border if elected, and to make Mexico pay for it. Mexico did not pay; the U.S. government picked up the tab for the sections of border barrier he was able to build. Trump also promised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with a “much better” health care program. That also never came to pass.
What is noteworthy about Trump’s second run for the White House, however, is his focus on wooing two critical voting blocs for Democrats: women skeptical of his stance on abortion rights and Black and Latino working-class voters. Vice President Kamala Harris, for example, quickly endorsed eliminating taxes on tips last month shortly after Trump did so, an acknowledgement of the idea’s popularity with union workers in Nevada and in other states. “Trump doesn’t have firmly grounded roots in policy development, developed over many years working with conservative leaders,” GOP strategist Kevin Madden, who served as an adviser to Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, told HuffPost on Wednesday. “He’s transactional, approaching his audience the same way any real estate professional or salesman would.” “Both Harris and Trump are under enormous pressure to compete for the remaining sliver of swing voters,” he added. “Their strategies aren’t very different, in that they’re addressing the top issues like inflation, housing and health care by making big promises that poll really well, even though the costs and prospects for turning those promises into actual legislation may be out of reach.” Harris, meanwhile, has proposed more generous child and earned income tax credits to support families, and payments for Americans to make housing more affordable, insisting that the return on investment these policies would have for the economy would make them functionally pay for themselves. But since she supports rolling back some of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and raising the corporate tax rate, her agenda is estimated to cost substantially less than that of her GOP rival: about $1.7 trillion over 10 years. Whoever wins in November will have to deal with making their fuzzy election promises reality by working with Congress to craft legislation. Lawmakers must decide whether and how to extend Trump’s tax cuts, which are set to expire next year for individuals, as well as agree to raise the debt limit — two difficult tasks that will almost certainly require horse-trading on both sides of the aisle.
Donald Trump (and Kamala Harris) are promising to give voters “free stuff” that Mitt Romney criticized in his 2012 run.
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reasoningdaily · 8 months ago
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“We’re Going to Be Overwhelmed”: How Louisiana Just Ballooned Its Jail Population
Louisiana's governor championed a raft of new laws that double down on punishment, fueling a cycle of incarceration that sends more money into local sheriffs' coffers.
Piper French   |    March 8, 2024
In February, as the Louisiana legislature debated Senate Bill 3, which would move all 17 year olds charged with a crime out of the juvenile justice system and back into the adult system, Will Harrell, an advisor to New Orleans Sheriff Susan Hutson, went to update the department’s Prison Rape Elimination Act coordinator on the proposed changes. He watched as tears came to her eyes. Teenagers are uniquely vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse in adult jails, and federal law requires they be separated from the adult population, which often translates to solitary confinement conditions. “She knows what that means for these kids,” Harrell told Bolts. 
The bill quickly passed and was signed into law by Louisiana’s new governor Jeff Landry on Wednesday. Now, Harrell is scrambling to figure out how to absorb dozens of 17 year olds into the already-overburdened Orleans Parish Justice Center once SB 3 takes effect in April. “We’re already at capacity. We’re under a consent decree,” he said. “I talked to deputies who were there seven years ago when they had kids. And they were like, ‘oh, this is just going to be a mess.’” 
“In conjunction with other legislation pending during this special session, we anticipate a massive, unmanageable population explosion at OJC,” Hutson wrote in a statement.
Landry sailed into the governor’s office last November after a campaign filled with crime-and-punishment rhetoric. Despite the fact that Louisiana already has the nation’s highest rate of incarceration, he made one of his first acts as governor convening a special legislative session on crime. In an extraordinarily fast nine-day session which ended last Friday, Republican lawmakers passed all 37 bills under consideration, a grab bag of tough-on-crime proposals that included restricting post-conviction relief, increasing law enforcement immunity, and legalizing execution methods such as nitrogen gas and the electric chair. 
Sarah Omojola, the director of the Vera Institute of Justice’s New Orleans office, called it a “one hundred percent” rollback of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, the raft of bipartisan criminal legal reforms passed under former Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards in 2017. “In some instances, this isn’t just a rollback,” she added. “This is taking us back to the early 2000s, late ‘90s.”
Observers are just starting to take stock of what this flurry of new legislation will mean for crime deterrence, and for the state budget. But Omojola, Harrell, and others are already certain that several different measures will work together to significantly grow the state’s pretrial populations, as well as the number of people sentenced and serving time. Other bills effectively eliminate parole, vastly restrict “good time” credits, and mandate prison time for technical violations of parole and probation. 
“Of course it’s going to balloon the prison population. Every single time these kinds of laws go into play, the incarceration rate jumps,” said Lydia Pelot-Hobbs, a University of Kentucky geography professor whose 2023 book, Prison Capital: Mass Incarceration and Struggles for Abolition Democracy in Louisiana, examines incarceration in the state. “That’s just basic math.” 
And in Louisiana, that means, once again, a profound and reverberating impact on parish jails and sheriffs. Owing to a unique arrangement designed to address overcrowding and bad conditions at Angola prison back in the 1970s, Louisiana’s local lock-ups house more than half of its state prisoner population. 
Jails operate as sort of a carceral shadow system: deadlier than the state prison system, lacking many of its resources and offerings, and run by sheriffs, who are comparatively unaccountable to state officials. East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, a dangerous jail that has for 15 years running been presided over by the same notorious sheriff, for instance, does not allow in-person visits, even though some of the people held there have been incarcerated for years on end. If someone dies in custody in a Louisiana jail, officials have no responsibility to notify their loved ones.
The Louisiana Sheriff’s Association, which lobbies on behalf of the state’s 64 sheriffs, testified in favor of SB 3, despite Hutson’s opposition. “It’s not just a bill that we are supporting, this is a bill that is part of our plan,” spokesperson Mike Ranatza told the Senate Judiciary Committee. “This is what we asked the governor to entertain for us in the special crime session…this is what the overwhelming majority of our sheriffs have asked for.” 
The jail system runs on “per diem” payments that the state grants local law enforcement in exchange for jailing people who have been sentenced to state prison, payments which this year will total $177 million. More prisoners means more money for sheriffs across the state—and likely future efforts to expand jails, according to Pelot-Hobbs. 
“Louisiana law enforcement agencies are uniquely invested in incarceration” because of the per-diem system, Omojola told Bolts. “They financially benefit from people who are being held in their jails without providing any of those programs or resources.” 
The origins of today’s jail arrangement has its roots not in tough-on-crime policies, but in a lawsuit filed by four Black Angola prisoners challenging the conditions of their confinement. In 1975, in response to the lawsuit, a federal judge limited Angola’s population. Rather than build new prisons, it was cheaper and easier for the state to transfer some prisoners to local jails to serve the remainder of their sentences. At first, Pelot-Hobbs writes in Prison Capital, sheriffs protested. But after the per diem system was instituted, they began to consider their new prisoners a boon, even asking Angola to send them more people.
By the 1990s, Pelot-Hobbs argues, jails had gone from being a “temporary spatial fix” to “the long-term geographic solution for the Louisiana carceral state.” Sheriffs, now reliant on the per-diem money, organized for jail expansion to hold more state prisoners. Between 1999 and 2019, the state added some 14,000 jail beds. “Other parishes built out huge jails that they’ll never need for their local population,” said Harrell. “It’s like a hotel. You open up the hotel, DOC sends you some kid from New Orleans, they pay you for the hotel rooms. And that literally is why you have the jail.”
This system may financially benefit local sheriffs and the state department of corrections, but it comes at the expense of the people locked up in their jails. “There’s nothing on the inside,” said Amelia Herrera, an organizer with Voice of the Experienced’s Baton Rouge chapter who spent time in the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison in 2015 and has a loved one currently incarcerated there. Officials, she said, “will say the reason there’s no type of programs inside of this facility is because it’s a pre-trial facility…But when we have people in there for six and seven years?” 
“You can’t visit,” she added. “They make it almost impossible to keep a connection with the outside.”
As it stands, providing no programming or visits even for people locked up for years on end is legal. Louisiana’s regulations governing how people should be treated while incarcerated in its jails are notably minimal and vague. While the state has a set of “basic jail guidelines” that apply to facilities that house state prisoners, a 2023 report by the University of Texas at Austin’s Prison and Jail Innovation Lab found that they fell short compared to regional counterparts like Texas and Florida. The report determined that the state’s jails have little to no requirements regarding transparency around in-custody deaths, adequate heating and cooling systems, or in-person visiting rights, and that their regulations around discipline are the least comprehensive of anything they reviewed. It also noted that the family members of incarcerated Louisianans contend that the regulations that do exist are routinely flouted. 
The state legislature had commissioned the report, which concluded with a set of recommendations for jails to adopt guidelines prohibiting corporal punishment and the denial of basic needs like water or sleep. But when the lab’s director, Michele Deitch, and her team submitted their work last fall, the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association immediately sent a letter expressing appreciation for the work but signaling they would not follow the bulk of their recommendations, citing concerns over security plus limited capacity. 
The report was completed several months before Landry took office. Now the new raft of bills passed during the special crime session threatens to turbocharge Louisiana’s cycle of jail expansion, exacerbating the problems already on display in the report’s pages before the state does much to try to remedy them. 
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry speaking at CPAC conference in Texas in August 2022. (Lev Radin/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)
Omojola highlighted three bills proposed by Republican Senator Debbie Villio, HB 9, 10, and 11, which, taken together, “essentially work to make sentences much much longer—and therefore fill our prisons and our jails,” she said. HB 9 aims to abolish discretionary parole in most cases, HB 10 limits the accumulation of “good time” credits meaning that an individual would be required to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence without exception, and HB 11 increases the penalties for even technical violations of parole or probation. 
Harrell noted that HB 9 and 10 may have an indirect impact on the pretrial population as well, because they take away people’s incentive to accept a plea offer. With vastly reduced prospects of getting out on parole or getting a sentence reduced with “good time” credits, people may be less keen to accept a conviction and start getting their time over with, and more likely to wait out a trial date in jail. “When that’s taken away from them, they are like, ‘Well, then why should I leave? I’m just gonna stay here in jail and roll my dice and hopefully somebody on a jury will decide that I’m not guilty,’” he said. 
Villio, the bills’ sponsor and an ally of Landry’s, contends that these laws won’t increase prison populations as long as judges adjust their sentencing decisions accordingly. In a text message to Nola.com, she said, “It requires a mind-reset on sentencing that in the end should result in a wash. We, of course, will be monitoring that.” When Bolts asked how this sort of paradigm shift for judges would work in practice, Villio said, “I have the utmost confidence in our judiciary,” noting she believes that trainings have already been scheduled. 
The Crime and Justice Institute, a policy analysis group, has studied other states’ implementation of similar determinate sentencing laws; Leonard Engel, the group’s director of policy and campaigns, told Bolts their research shows that judges do not ultimately adjust their sentences anywhere enough to make up the difference in years served.
HB 11, the bill dealing with technical violations of probation and parole, is also alarming to reform advocates like Bruce Reilly of Voice of the Experienced. Under the terms of the bill, people on parole or probation who are merely re-arrested, not even convicted, could get sent to prison. “That’s really where the sheriff and jails are gonna get their bread and butter,” Reilly said.
The special session also passed a law requiring 20 year mandatory minimums for carjacking cases that involve bodily injury and established financing to establish a state trooper force for New Orleans. “That’s gonna rack up a whole bunch of new arrests,” Harell said of the state trooper force. “Where do you think those people are gonna be housed?”
Overcrowding is likely to lead to an expansion of the footprint of local jails in what Pelot-Hobbs predicted could be a repeat of the same patterns of the 1980s and 1990s. The Crime and Justice Institute estimates that the additional prison time people in a given year serve under HB 9 and 10, instead of getting out on “good time” credits or parole, will cost the state upwards of a billion dollars over time. And that’s before any budget increases sheriffs could ask for—and they are likely to ask, Pelot-Hobbs said. “We’re going to see sheriffs organizing and pushing to expand their jails for this moment,” she said. “We are going to see sheriffs mobilizing and organizing to get either property taxes or millages or sales taxes to get more jail space to incarcerate the state prisoners. I also think we’re likely going to see them lobbying the state legislature for higher per diem rates.” 
Advocates worry that the growth of local budgets and contracts, combined with Landry’s efforts to reduce accountability for law enforcement, will add to the state’s problems with cronyism. “It’s going to fuel the corruption, the closed circle of sheriffs and the folks who contract with them, who will know that there’s more money to be had if they can land the contracts for this jail expansion and for the increased services needed for a larger population,” says Julien Burns, the communications lead for Sheriffs for Trusting Communities. Along with Common Cause, the group has documented how sheriffs receive millions in campaign contributions from guard uniform makers, telecoms and bail bonds companies, and contractors that may hope to secure lucrative contracts with the department. 
In the waning days of the special crime session, a discussion finally arose about the collective impact of these bills on Louisiana’s jails, with even conservative lawmakers such as Villio, the sponsor of HB 9, 10, and 11, expressing an awareness of the need for greater programming and services in the jails. “Everybody’s on record, saying the right thing—like if we’re gonna do this, we can’t just warehouse [people]. We’re gonna have to address the issues,” said Harrell. The legislature now moves to its regular session, where some of these issues could be hammered out. 
Dramatically expanding jail programming, of course, would mean an even greater expansion of the carceral budget in Louisiana. Pelot-Hobbs said that she doubts that substantive programming will actually materialize in the jails. “I just think it’s a false promise,” she told Bolts. “And even if the promise came true, it’s still just acquiescing to the general kind of commitment to incarceration as the solution.” 
Still, in Harrell’s view, allocating such resources is crucial given the vastly restricted terrain for criminal legal transformation in the state as long as Landry is in office. “These tough on crime Republicans are running the show,” he said. “There’s no going back right now, at least for the next four years. And so to the extent people are concerned about the health and safety of people who are currently incarcerated, who will soon be incarcerated under these legislations, they need to understand that programming resources matter.”
Nola.com reported this week that the exact costs of the laws that have already passed in February are uncertain because lawmakers rushed them through, suspending usual rules that would have entailed more attention to the budget. 
The state’s decision to double down on incarceration, Pelot-Hobbs added, will affect public spending in other areas, too. “As money gets more and more directed towards these kinds of expenditure projects, less funds are going to be available for road construction, levy construction, schools,” she said. “The criminal legal system never operates in a silo.” 
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kwebtv · 1 year ago
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Marty Krofft (April 9, 1937 – November 25, 2023) Producer and writer who with his brother Sid Krofft produced numerous children's television and variety show programs in the U.S., particularly in the 1970s, including H.R. Pufnstuf, Land of the Lost, and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. Their fantasy programs often featured large-headed puppets, high-concept plots, and extensive use of low-budget special effects.
The Kroffts favoured quirky superhero stories, often with children portraying the heroes or part of a hero team. Particularly visionary and popular Krofft productions have included The Bugaloos (1970), Lidsville (1971), Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973–1975), Land of the Lost (1974–1976), The Lost Saucer (1975), Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (1976), and Wonderbug (1976–1978).
The Kroffts have occasionally departed from their formula while making new programs, such as on Pryor's Place (1984) and the political puppet satire show D.C. Follies (1987). They have attempted to update some of their classic series for a younger generation, including new versions of Land of the Lost, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, H.R. Pufnstuf and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. A new original series, Mutt & Stuff, aired on Nickelodeon from 2015 to 2017. (Wikipedia)
IMDb listing
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Marriage Story (2019, Noah Baumbach)
09/11/2023
Marriage Story is a 2019 film written and directed by Noah Baumbach, starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson.
When Nicole is offered a role in the pilot episode of a new television series in Los Angeles, she decides to leave the theater company and temporarily go to live with her mother together with her son.
Charlie decides to stay in New York, as his show is about to be performed on Broadway.
Charlie wins a MacArthur Fellowship and uses the first money he receives to pay his lawyer, Jay. Nora highlights Charlie's infidelity and her emotional distance, while Jay magnifies Nicole's drinking habit, portraying it as alcoholism.
In November 2017 it was announced that Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Der, Merritt Wever and Azhy Robertson had joined the cast of a film written and directed by Noah Baumbach, produced by David Heyman's Heyday Films and co-financed by Netflix, which would also have handled its distribution. In March 2018, Kyle Bornheimer joined the cast, followed by Ray Liotta in June of that year and Julie Hagerty in November.
Filming of the film, which had a budget of approximately 18 million dollars, began on January 15, 2018 and ended in April, taking place in New York and Los Angeles.
The first trailer for the film was released online on August 20, 2019.
The film premiered on 29 August 2019 in competition at the 76th Venice International Film Festival.
The US premiere was held on October 4, 2019 at the New York Film Festival. The film had a limited distribution in US cinemas by Netflix starting from November 6 of the same year, being then released on its streaming platform starting from the following December 6. In Italy, the film was distributed theatrically by the Cineteca di Bologna starting from 18 November 2019, and was then released on Netflix at the same time as the of the world.
In January 2020, it was announced that the film would receive a DVD and Blu-ray release from The Criterion Collection.
The Italian dubbing of the film was carried out at Dubbing Brothers Int. Italia and edited by Stefanella Marrama.
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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 1 day ago
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David Rowe
* * * *
Trump's Project 2025 Nominees
November 23, 2024
Robert B. Hubbell
Nov 23, 2024
Trump released a flurry of nominations on Friday evening—apparently hoping that Americans would not notice that several of the nominees share a connection to Project 2025 and Fox “news” programs.
The most significant nomination is Russell T. Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OMB is part of the Executive Office of the President and is charged with (a) creating the budget and (b) oversight of federal agencies to ensure compliance with the president’s policies and spending authority. Although the job sounds like it is “in the weeds,” OMB is where the hard work of implementing the president’s policies takes place.
Russel T. Vought served as acting director of OMB for two years during the first Trump administration. That’s good and reassuring in the sense that one of the most important jobs in Washington will be filled with someone actually qualified to perform the job.
But Vought is also an “architect” of Project 2025. Per the NYTimes,
Mr. Vought was a leading figure in Project 2025, the effort by conservative organizations to build a governing blueprint for Mr. Trump should he take office once again. Mr. Trump tried to distance himself from the effort during his campaign, but he has put forward people with ties to the project for his administration since the election.
Mr. Vought’s role in Project 2025 was to oversee executive orders and other unilateral actions that Mr. Trump could take during his first six months in office, with the goal of tearing down and rebuilding executive branch institutions in a way that would enhance presidential power.
To the surprise of no one, Trump's claim during the election that he knew nothing about Project 2025 was a lie. There is almost no one better positioned to advocate for the goals of Project 2025 than Vought—both because of his key role in drafting the agenda and because of the powerful position he will assume at OMB.
Vought has been a vocal advocate for eliminating the “independence” of certain federal agencies—such as the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Reserve.
Removing the independence of those regulatory agencies would put the president in the position to reward friends and punish enemies through the power of federal agencies.
For example, the SEC has charged Elon Musk with violating securities laws in his takeover of Twitter. Under the current operating protocols for the SEC, the president would not interfere in decisions by the SEC to initiate prosecutions or enforcement actions. But if Trump is successful in eliminating the independence of the SEC, Trump could order the SEC commissioners to drop the case against Musk.
Other nominations that deserve scrutiny include:
Sebastian Gorka as the senior director for counterterrorism. Gorka was forced out of the White House during Trump's first administration because he frequently clashed with senior intelligence leaders who saw Gorka as an ideologue with little real-world experience.
Marty Makary, has been nominated to lead the FDA. Per The Hill, Makary is a Johns Hopkins’s oncology surgeon who espoused contrarian views about the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In early 2021, Makary published an op-ed in the WSJ asserting that “herd immunity” would end the pandemic by April 2021. In fact, cases of Covid in the US increased substantially after Makary’s op-ed, with nearly half of the total deaths occurring after his claim that “herd immunity” would end the pandemic.
Scott Bessent has been nominated as Secretary of Treasury. Bessent is a hedge fund manager and may have the experience to serve in the position. However, he is a deficit hawk who also wants to extend the costly Trump tax cuts from 2017. Per HuffPo,
Even as he pushes to lower the national debt by stopping spending, Bessent has backed extending provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which Trump signed into law in his first year in office. Estimates from different economic analyses of the costs of the various tax cuts range between nearly $6 trillion and $10 trillion over 10 years. Nearly all of the law’s provisions are set to expire at the end of 2025.
To put a finer point on Bessent’s nomination, extending tax cuts for the wealthy while reducing deficits likely means that deficit reduction will be borne by the middle class and working poor.
And to put an even finer point on the nominations—and to paraphrase Bill Clinton’s campaign motto— “It’s Project 2025, stupid!” We were right all along—and Trump was lying all along. Somehow that storyline is missing from the media on Friday . . . .
Trump voters suddenly feel better about the economy
Readers send me dozens of copies of articles each day that explain “why Democrats lost the 2024 election.” Most of the analyses are subterfuges for attacking either (a) the progressive wing of the party for being too liberal or (b) the centrist wing of the party for not being liberal enough.
I will say again that the last thing Democrats should be doing at this moment is assigning blame for the loss. One op-ed published in legacy media today effectively advocated abandoning support for unions and LGBTQ people. That is both wrong and a horrible idea. We can’t change who we are as a party to chase elusive Trump voters who are likely not being honest about their reasons for supporting Trump.
Most of the analysts who are scolding Democrats start with the patently false notion that Democrats have “abandoned the working class.” They then pile on with the corollary that Democrats lost because they failed to address concerns about the economy and inflation.
The commentators assume that exit polling accurately reflects why voters supported Trump. There is good reason to believe that Trump supporters are offering post-facto rationalizations to justify their support for Trump's divisive and hateful platform.
A new survey suggests that Trump supporters weren’t being honest about their reasons for supporting Trump. See MSN, Poll: Republicans reverse views on economy and election fraud after Trump’s win; much smaller shifts among Democrats
Per the article, a significant portion of Republicans suddenly changed their mind about how good they felt about the economy after Trump won. Per MSN,
The survey of 1,612 U.S. adults, which was conducted from Nov. 14 to Nov. 18, found that fewer than half of Republicans (48%) now say the economy is getting worse. But immediately before the Nov. 5 election, nearly three-quarters of Republicans (74%) said the economy was going downhill.
That’s a sudden 26-point shift.
A 26-point shift is significant. To state the obvious, the economy did not make sudden improvements in the ten days after the election. Rather, when complaining about the economy no longer justifies voting for Trump, more Republicans acknowledge that the economy is doing well.
So, it is a mistake to base “What went wrong?” analyses on the unquestioning acceptance of what voters are saying in exit polls. It is also a mistake to talk about “what went wrong” by ignoring the fact that Trump's campaign platform had three culture-war pillars: racism, sexism, and white supremacy.
Those policy pillars are manifesting themselves in Trump's nominees for senior positions in his administration. To publish an analysis of “why Democrats lost” while ignoring Trump's campaign themes is a recipe for delusion.
But I digress. We must use caution when publishing, reading, or sharing analyses about why Democrats lost. And no part of that analysis should be used to blame or banish any part of the Democratic coalition. We must stick together to increase our chances of victory in the short term.
Concluding Thoughts
I will hold a Substack Livestream on Saturday morning, November 23 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific / 11:00 a.m. Eastern. If you have the Substack app on your phone, you will receive a notice when I go live. You will not receive a link in advance. To download the Substack app, go to these links: Substack on the App Store and Substack - Apps on Google Play.
I was chatting with a reader about their feelings of exhaustion “in the face of four more years of Trump.” I understand those feelings but believe we should be thinking about resisting Trump in a series of discrete, shorter time periods. Thinking about our resistance in “phases” can help us be more strategic and relieve artificial pressure from our shoulders.
Between today and the Inauguration (January 20, 2025), Joe Biden is still president and can take steps to appoint judges and implement policies in a way that will delay or defeat efforts to undo Biden’s accomplishments.
After the Inauguration, Trump and his enablers will face the daunting task of embedding themselves in a massive federal government while they undertake their promised deportation of 10 million immigrants. That period will last eighteen months and will be a daily challenge. But then, the 2026 midterms will get underway. Trump's congressional supporters will be concerned about re-election—a concern that may cause them to re-think their loyalty to Trump. Our leverage and messaging opportunities will increase.
In the last two years of his presidency, Trump will be a lame duck.  The internal GOP struggle to replace Trump will be in full swing and Trump will be fighting with his party as much as he will be fighting with Democrats.
Here’s my point: While we cannot relent, the period of maximal effort will be the next twenty months (Dec and January, plus eighteen months before the 2026 midterms). What happens after that depends on whether Democrats retake the House in 2026.
So, rather than thinking about Trump's tenure as a four-year unbroken battle, break up the periods of resistance into smaller periods. Doing so is realistic, smart, and healthy. We are in this battle for the long term. We can’t burn ourselves out with outrage and freneticism. We have a job to do. Let’s do it in a measured but passionate way. That will increase our chances for success.
[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]
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unpluggedfinancial · 4 months ago
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How Bitcoin is Probably Gearing Up for a New ATH
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Bitcoin has consistently demonstrated its resilience and growth potential since its inception. As we observe its price movements and market dynamics, it becomes evident that Bitcoin might be gearing up for a new all-time high (ATH). Understanding the importance of ATHs in the context of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies can provide valuable insights into the potential future trajectory of this digital asset.
Historical Performance and Previous ATHs
Bitcoin's journey has been marked by several significant ATHs, each catalyzing a surge in investor interest and mainstream media attention. The 2017 bull run saw Bitcoin reach an ATH of $19,783 on December 17, 2017, driven by a combination of retail investor frenzy and increasing awareness. Similarly, the 2020-2021 bull run pushed Bitcoin to a new ATH of $68,789 on November 10, 2021, fueled by institutional investments and macroeconomic factors.
Current Market Indicators
Several indicators suggest that Bitcoin is poised for another ATH:
Institutional Investments: Companies like MicroStrategy have acquired approximately 230,000 BTC as of 2024, worth billions of dollars.
Adoption Rates: PayPal reported over $5 billion in crypto trading volume in Q1 2024.
Technological Advancements: The Taproot upgrade, activated in November 2021, has enhanced Bitcoin's privacy and smart contract capabilities.
Regulatory Developments: The SEC's approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 has provided a more stable environment for growth.
Factors Contributing to the Potential ATH
Increased Adoption and Mainstream Acceptance: Major banks like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs now offer Bitcoin-related services to their clients.
Technological Advancements: The Lightning Network's capacity has grown to over 5,000 BTC as of 2024, improving Bitcoin's scalability.
Macroeconomic Factors: With U.S. inflation rates hitting 7% in 2021, Bitcoin is increasingly seen as a hedge against economic instability.
Geopolitical Influences: Countries like El Salvador adopting Bitcoin as legal tender demonstrate its potential as a global, borderless currency.
The Importance of Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) into Bitcoin
Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) is a strategic investment approach where an individual invests a fixed amount of money into an asset at regular intervals, regardless of its price.
Benefits of DCA:
Mitigates market volatility
Reduces investment risk
Provides a disciplined approach to investing
Example of Successful DCA Strategy: An investor who consistently invested $100 weekly in Bitcoin from January 2019 to December 2023 would have seen a return on investment of over 300%, outperforming many who attempted to time the market.
Practical Advice for Implementing DCA:
Start with a fixed amount that fits your budget (e.g., $50-$500 per month)
Set a regular investment schedule (weekly or monthly)
Use reputable exchanges with automated purchasing options
Remain consistent regardless of market conditions
Expert Opinions and Predictions
Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest: Predicts Bitcoin could reach $1 million per coin by 2030.
Plan B, creator of the Stock-to-Flow model: Forecasts Bitcoin reaching $100,000 by 2025.
Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy: Believes Bitcoin will replace gold as a store of value, potentially pushing its price to $500,000.
Potential Risks and Challenges
While the prospects for a new ATH are promising, potential risks include:
Market volatility: Bitcoin's price can fluctuate by over 10% in a single day.
Regulatory risks: Potential government crackdowns or unfavorable legislation.
Technological issues: The need for ongoing development to address scalability and security concerns.
Conclusion
Bitcoin's potential for reaching a new ATH is supported by a combination of historical patterns, current market indicators, and strategic investment approaches like DCA. As we move forward, staying informed and considering long-term investment strategies will be crucial for navigating the cryptocurrency landscape.
Key Takeaways:
Bitcoin has a history of reaching new ATHs, with the current record at $68,789.
Institutional adoption, technological advancements, and macroeconomic factors support potential growth.
Dollar-Cost Averaging can be an effective strategy for investing in Bitcoin.
While expert predictions vary, many see significant upside potential for Bitcoin.
Be aware of risks and challenges, including market volatility and regulatory uncertainties.
As you consider your investment strategy, remember that the cryptocurrency market is highly volatile. Always conduct thorough research and consider consulting with a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
🌐 Blog: Unplugged Financial Blog Stay updated with insightful articles, detailed analyses, and practical advice on navigating the evolving financial landscape. Learn about the history of money, the flaws in our current financial systems, and how Bitcoin can offer a path to a more secure and independent financial future.
📺 YouTube Channel: Unplugged Financial Subscribe to our YouTube channel for engaging video content that breaks down complex financial topics into easy-to-understand segments. From in-depth discussions on monetary policies to the latest trends in cryptocurrency, our videos will equip you with the knowledge you need to make informed financial decisions.
👍 Like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content. Whether you're a seasoned investor, a curious newcomer, or someone concerned about the future of your financial health, our community is here to support you on your journey to financial independence.
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thecrazyone1990 · 1 year ago
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Five Nights at Freddy's Movie Review
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Background:
In 2014, Scott Braden Cawthon, a video game developer had created a point-and-click survival game called Five Nights at Freddy’s. The game was made after Scott had gone through depression back in 2013 after his family-friendly game Chipper & Sons had gotten hit with negativity, while also dealing with financial troubles. It got so bad that he even had suicidal ideation. Thankfully he not only managed to recover, but had his faith restored.
            Scott took inspiration from Chipper & Sons and used it to help him create Five Nights at Freddy’s. The game was submitted to Steam in the summer of 2014, which ended up becoming a big success. The game grew in popularity online by YouTubers who did Let’s Play videos. This had YouTubers like Markiplier, Jacksepticeye, and PewDiePie play the game, while making reactions to their gameplay.
            This caused the game to gain such popularity from fans, which led to sequels being made and led to the story expanding as the years progressed. While I only tried out the first game, I can see why so many people loved it and how popular it got. Even nearly ten years later, the film has gained such a following. One that I knew eventually would lead to a film being made.
            A film that would of course, like all other movies, hit a few problems along the way to being made. Because when it comes to making a movie based off something popular, you can bet there will be a lot of issue that will rear its ugly head.  
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Film Development:
Making a movie is not exactly easy and it is expected to run into trouble. This is not surprising since when it comes to trying to make a movie, especially one based on comics, anime, or video games there will always be trouble. Mostly because the studios didn’t want to follow through the source material, or wanted to do their own thing, or studio interference. In this case, the film was originally announced in April 2015 that it would be done under Warner Bros. Pictures.
            Before it was announced in March 2017 Blumhouse Productions, under Universal Pictures. With the aim to have the film released in November 2020, before it was announced the script was scrapped. While the film also had to deal with losing Gil Kenan, who was set to be the original director of the film, before he pulled out, and replaced with Chris Columbus. However, he later backed out and was replaced with Emma Tammi, who remained as the director for the film.
            The film was finally filmed February 1, 2023, under a working title called “Bad Cupcake” and finished filming on April 3. The film had a budget of between $20-25 million dollars, while making back in its opening weekend at $130 million dollars. And despite receiving multiple negative reviews from critics, most of the audience who went to see it praised the film. A sequel being announced after the film was released for the future.
            Despite its success in the box office and how it’s likely it’ll make more money as each weeks passes, are the critics right? Is this film flawed? Are the audience right that this film isn’t so bad? What are the positives and negatives of the film?
            And who’s in the right?
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Plot:
            The film’s plot follows a bit of game’s plot where we have Josh Hutcherson playing as Mike Schmidt, a down on his luck guy trying to support his younger sister after the death of their parents. Mike unfortunately is dealing with the guilt of losing his younger brother to a kidnapper, who was never found, and the brother assumed to be dead. Despite this, Mike ends up taking sleeping pills at night to try remembering any details about the kidnapping. Hoping it’ll help him find who took his brother and get some peace.
            Mike ends up losing his job after assaulting a man who he assumed was kidnapping a kid. He’s also dealing with his aunt, who is trying to do everything she can to take custody of Mike’s little sister. Not because she cares for her safety, but more to get money from the state. This causes Mike to accept a night job as a security guard at a former popular restaurant, Freddy’s Fazbear’s Pizza.
            The restaurant was shut down due to five missing children disappearing in the place and rumored to have been killed, but the bodies were never found.
            After Mike takes the job, strange activities begin to occur. He ends up getting visions of the missing children and seems to know who took Mike’s little brother. He eventually finds out the animatronics at the restaurant are not only alive, but the souls of the children are trapped within the suits. And its later discovered that the man who kidnapped his brother, was involved in the murder of the children then stuffing their bodies into the mechanical suits.
            Trapping their spirits within the suits, which come to life at night, and end up killing anyone who they come across.
            What I love about this plot is that its kept simple. Much like what they did with the Super Mario, Detective Pikachu, and Sonic films, they made the plots fun. They didn’t try doing anything too crazy and kept it simple while also fun for those who are fans of the series. It doesn’t rely heavily on easter eggs or is filled with jump scares.
            The film does get a little slow during the middle part of the film, while also being predictable when its plot twist is revealed. Despite this though, the plot doesn’t seem to lose its audience as time passes. While also avoiding straying from the lore of the game, which a lot of people end up recognizing when they watch it.
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Actors/Characters:
            As for the actors, Josh Hutcherson plays Mike Schmidt, the security guard from the game, but with his own background since in the original, there really isn’t an actual background for the game version.  I really liked Josh’s performance. You feel for him as someone who tries to do their best to raise his sister and deal with his own troubled past. Although, I don’t really see much chemistry between him and Piper Rubio, who plays the little sister, Abhy.
However, I did enjoy the chemistry between Josh and Elizabeth Lail who played Vanessa. Another character from the game, but different than the game version as well. She does a good job playing someone who knows more than she’s letting on, while doing her best to help Mike. Even be understanding and forming a bond with him.
Matthew Lillard does a good job with his role too, but you honestly know who he plays the moment he appears and the way he’s acting. So, when he appears later, you already saw it coming. Despite this though, he still did an amazing job with his role. And people seem happy with what he did.
            The only flaws with the actors I can think of is you don’t get invested with everyone else who are just there to be killed and be forgetful. So, we don’t get much character development with them. While not getting much development with Abby either or how she’s connected with the missing kids too. And some of the characters being a bit cliché.
Although, I did like the actor Michael P. Sullivan who plays the lawyer. When you see the film, you’ll know why.  Still, it didn’t feel like the actors were all half-assing with their performances. They did put as much work into this film as the people behind the scenes did in making it possible, we got the actual suits in the movie. Instead of it being all CGI like many feared the studio would go for.
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 Special effects/Practical effects:
            The film doesn’t rely on CGI or a lot of special effects, except for a few scenes. As for the animatronics, which were there thanks to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. They weren’t CGI, they were there for the actors to properly react to, and even touch. Something that I felt was a smart decision, especially how many people were happy to see them there.
            I love how they even give actual expressions and appear to give better character development than a CGI character we get in other movies.
            The way the film was shot and the references they threw in from the games. The film didn’t need to be shot in multiple locations. They simply had to have the film be shot in at least three to four locations, with the focus in the pizza restaurant. And I love the way they set the final act, which was a lot of fun.
            The only flaw I did find was the tone of the film. There are times they’re trying to go with it feeling like a horror movie, to trying to make it comedic, to then trying to be serious. It felt odd they did this, but it didn’t hurt the film too much. Although, I did wish it was a scary horror movie, but it doesn’t mean I hate what they went with.
            It does have some blood, but never went with gore, which honestly? I think they should have tried making this film Rated-R. I think it would have worked better if they did that. However, I can understand why the film kept it at PG-13. They knew kids love the games, its popular with them, and because of that they got to have the kids go out to see the film.
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Final Thoughts:  
            The film has its flaws, there’s no question about it and can understand why critics didn’t like it, but it doesn’t mean they’re right. The film to me is kept simple and was made to be a fun film for people to watch. It’s the same decision that was made for the Super Mario Bros. Movie. The film doesn’t rely on easter eggs though, while also avoiding straying from the lore.
            They made sure it was a film that the audience will love and it pays off. Its flaws, but it’s not bad. I would put this with the Detective Pikachu movie. It wasn’t perfect, but I still found some entertaining moments. With this movie, I felt the same thing.
It’s a good fun movie that I recommend checking out with friends or your teenage kids who have played the game. It’s the kind of film you can sit down and have a good time watching. I’m looking forward to the sequel and hopefully it’ll stick to the formula with the first movie. While curious to see if we’ll even see more familiar Freddy characters appear in the next film, even have Markiplier make an actual cameo.
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harrisonarchive · 2 years ago
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George Harrison at the opening of the Apple Boutique, London, on December 5, 1967; photo by Terry O’Neill/Getty Images.
The creation of Wonderwall Music, a series marking the 55th anniversary of the recording sessions - parts 1 & 2:
“I asked George at the opening of the Beatles’ boutique if he would like to do the music for Wonderwall. I told him that it was a silent film and his music would provide the emotion for the characters. Quincy Jones told me that it was the greatest soundtrack he had heard but the movie was too far out for some audiences. It did well in London though.” - Joe Massot (director, Wonderwall), British Beatles Fan Club, 2011
“I said, ‘I don’t know; I haven’t got a guess of how to write music for a movie.’ He said, ‘Aw, we’ve got no budget for the music anyway, so whatever you give me, I’ll have it!’ [...] It gave me a great opportunity. I was getting so into Indian music then that I decided to use the assignment partly as an excuse for a musical anthology to help spread it.” - George Harrison, Musician, November 1987
“I had a regular wind-up stopwatch and I watched the film to ‘spot-in’ the music with the watch. I wrote the timings down in my book, then I’d go to Abbey Road, make up a piece, record it and when we’d sync it up at Twickenham it always worked.” - George Harrison, Wonderwall Music 1992 liner notes (x)
Wonderwall Music sessions in England included the Remo Four...
“There was a bloke who went to school with Paul and I who ended up in the Remo Four, Colin Manley; he was one of those guys who could copy Chet Atkins when he’d be playing two tunes at the same time.” - George Harrison, Billboard, March 9, 1996
The Remo Four’s original song “In The First Place” was recorded during those sessions, and produced by George. Unearthed in 1998, you can hear the song as a bonus track on the 2014 remaster of Wonderwall Music:
“Harrison agreed to release the song [In The First Place] commercially and add it to the director’s new cut of the film. The ex-Beatle requests only to be credited as the song’s producer. Remo Four will be credited as the performer.” - CMJ New Music Report, June 7, 1999
“We recorded backing tracks to accompany certain points in the film. George had timed it all with a stopwatch: ‘We need one minute and 35 seconds with a country and western feel.’ Or, ‘We need a rock thing for exactly two minutes.’ Nothing was really written. We’d talk over ideas he wanted, play something, and he’d say, ‘That’s good, keep that. I like the piano there.’ It was very experimental. The idea was to set an atmosphere.” - Roy Dyke (drummer, Remo Four), The Guardian, March 23, 2017 (x)
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warningsine · 1 year ago
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Argentina is heading into the presidential runoff on November 19 with a rapidly declining economy. The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has remained stagnant for the past three months, while inflation has skyrocketed to over 142% since last year. A quarter of the population lives in poverty, and parents who each earn the minimum wage can’t cover basic household expenses for a family of four. The foreign exchange market is muddled by multiple dollar exchange rates, and the Central Bank’s reserves have been cut in half over the last four years. On top of all this, Argentina is burdened with a $44 billion debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Argentines are hopeful that their next president will bring an end to their struggles, but the two candidates have radically different approaches. One is an economist who promises to take a chainsaw to the public budget, and the other is the current Minister of Economy with a more cautious plan.
The Peronist coalition candidate, Sergio Massa, has been in charge of managing the economy for about a year, and many wonder what he will do differently as president. The Peronist coalition blames the deepening crisis on a historic drought that has led to $20 billion in losses. They also cite the impact of the pandemic and the IMF debt assumed by former president Mauricio Macri. Ultra-libertarian Javier Milei blames the crisis on a fiscal policy of excessive money creation and has proposed dollarizing the economy to tackle rampant inflation. He also wants to radically cut public spending. Economists all over the world have criticized Milei’s ideas as dangerous for Argentina.
Gross Domestic Product
The GDP of the second-largest South American economy declined by 4.9% in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year. Argentina’s economy has been stagnant for many years, and only saw growth in 2013, 2015 and 2017. In other years, the economy actually contracted. During President Alberto Fernández’s first year in office (which coincided with the start of the pandemic), GDP dropped by 9.9%. In 2021, GDP rebounded briefly and then began to sink again. According to an IMF report, the country’s $22,000 per capita GDP in 2022 is 9% lower than it was a decade ago.
Inflation
The monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) provides the country with information about inflation and the erosion of their purchasing power. In October, the inflation rate rose by 8.3% over September and reached a record 142.7%, the highest rate in 30 years. In South America, only Venezuela has a higher inflation rate than Argentina. In 2015, when Mauricio Macri became president, inflation stood at 25%. By the time he left office four years later, it had doubled to 54%. Today, the inflation rate has nearly tripled, and unofficial forecasts indicate it will spike to 185% by the end of the year.
Poverty
Four in 10 Argentines live in poverty, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC). Poverty increased during the Macri (2015-2019) and Fernández administrations. The latest poverty data for the second half of 2023 indicates that it’s the highest since early 2021, after a year of pandemic. The poverty rate is even worse among the country’s youth, with 56% of people under 15 living in poverty, and 9.3% of the population doesn’t earn enough to buy food. With a minimum wage of 146,000 pesos ($415 at current exchange rates) in November, twice that amount is insufficient to cover basic needs (food, transportation, clothing, etc.) for a household with two adults and two minors.
Unemployment
The unemployment rate has improved in Argentina, but the country has a precarious labor market with falling wages due to inflation. President Fernández took office with an 8.9% unemployment rate, which decreased to 6.2% in the second quarter of 2023 according to INDEC. Young people aged 14-29 were most affected, with unemployment rates of 13.4% for women and 12.3% for men. Unlike previous quarters, the recent drop in unemployment was due to fewer jobseekers and not an increase in the number of jobs, which remained flat.
Peso exchange rates
The parity between the Argentine peso and the U.S. dollar came to an end after the 2002 “corralito” banking crisis, when the government imposed limits on cash withdrawals to prevent a bank run. Prior to this, there was a legally fixed exchange rate. Today, there are multiple exchange rates in Argentina due to tightened exchange restrictions since 2011. Back then, the dollar was pegged to 4.3 pesos, while the unofficial “blue dollar” traded for 4.6 pesos on the street.
By the time Fernández took office in December 2019, the exchange rate was 62 pesos per dollar. It’s now 369 pesos per dollar, after being fixed at 365 for three months. The gap between the official and unofficial exchange rates is now greater than 160%, with a street value of 950 pesos for one blue dollar.
Central Bank reserves
The government has tried to prop up the peso by intervening in the foreign exchange market, which has depleted the Central Bank’s limited foreign reserves. Gross reserves have declined by 53% in the past year, down to $20.9 billion, according to the Central Bank. But other economists who have analyzed the country’s net reserves (the readily available foreign currency held by the Central Bank) tell a different story, although the Central Bank disputes their estimates. When Fernández took office, the Central Bank’s reserves were estimated at $12 billion. Four years later, these experts say the country has a $10 billion deficit in foreign reserves. Argentina has long suffered from a chronic foreign currency deficit, exacerbated in 2023 by a severe drought that severely affected the agricultural sector, which accounts for 70% of the country’s foreign currency inflows.
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cyarsk52-20 · 1 year ago
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The 50 most evil songs ever
These 50 tracks – featuring the likes of Rammstein, Slipknot, Mayhem, Slayer and AC/DC – are pretty damn nasty.
November 24, 2020Words:Paul Brannigan, James Hickie, Sam Law, Nick Ruskell, Dan Slessor, Paul Travers, Ian Winwood, Simon YoungOriginally published:In an April 2017 issue of Kerrang! magazine
From serial killers to Satan, we pulled out the ouija board and summoned the 50 most evil songs of all time. Spoiler alert: this gets incrediblygrim…
Mötley CrüeShout At The Devil
The title-track from Crüe’s breakthrough second album caused the kind of controversy that would define the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band. Penned by bassist Nikki Sixx, its lyrical preoccupation with the horned one, coupled with the LA bad boys’ burgeoning mainstream success, meant Christian groups were up in arms. Despite their protestations, the most evil thing about this song was the misguided re-reworking on 1997’s sinfully bad Generation Swine album.
WatainDevil’s Blood
Nothing less than an open hymn to the Devil himself and doing his dirtiest deeds, Devil’s Blood boils with the fanatical delight of those caught in religious fervour. The sheer force of nature of the music is staggering, but it is nothing next to Erik Danielsson’s rabid, demonic vocals as he revels in Luciferian power and living, ‘In the glorious light of the five point star.’ Truly diabolic.
PossessedThe Exorcist
When The Exorcist hit cinemas in the early ’70s, reports of audience members vomiting and losing consciousness circulated. So it’s only right that a song of the same name evokes teeth-chattering terror in those exposed to it. Written from the point of view of the possessed individual, and welded to breakneck thrashing, it was a formative track in the soon-to-be-born death metal genre. Unfortunately, things don’t end so well for the song’s protagonist.
Sonic Youth (featuring Lydia Lunch)Death Valley ’69
The 1980s were the age of the music video, a time of glossy movie-budget promo blockbusters from the likes of Michael Jackson and Prince. Not so for Sonic Youth. As a standalone song, Death Valley ’69 is intriguingly ambiguous, a thing of darkness in which the narrator may or may not have murdered his girlfriend. In the accompanying video clip, never to be played on primetime MTV, the song’s inherent violence is given full expression in a series of explicit images of lifeless bodies covered in gore. A thrillingly subversive dose of yuk.
GhostRitual
If the Devil were real would he be banging his horned head to the brutal death metal of Deicide or sipping a cocktail and twirling an exquisite mustachio to the altogether slicker sounds of Ghost? On first listen this is just one beautiful wash of melodies, but that only makes the lyrics underneath all the more disturbing. ‘This chapel of ritual smells of dead human sacrifices,’ croons Papa Emeritus. The stench of decay has never been sweeter.
The BeatlesHelter Skelter
In August 1969, homicidal cult-leader Charles Manson (you’ll hear that name plenty down this list…) told his followers, known as ‘The Family’, “Now is the time for Helter Skelter,” an assertion that heralded the most infamous mass murders – the Tate-LaBianca murders – in American history. He had become obsessed with The Beatles’ White Album, and with Helter Skelter in particular, the lyrics of which he misinterpreted in bonkers and ultimately homicidal ways.
Aphrodite’s ChildThe Four Horsemen
Greek proggers Aphrodite’s Child – featuring crooner Demis Roussos and Blade Runner soundtrack genius Vangelis – had big ideas for their 666 album: the apocalypse itself. This account of The Four Horsemen’s arrival is amazing, but it could have been improved if surrealist artist Salvador Dalí had gotten his way with the album’s release. He wanted to declare martial law in Barcelona, where swans stuffed with dynamite would be unleashed, before elephants and “Archbishops carrying umbrellas” bombarded the city’s cathedral from the air. Oddly, this didn’t come to pass.
Electric WizardWe Hate You
Electric Wizard’s Dopethrone album bears the striking slogan ‘Legalise drugs and murder’. The Dorset doom misanthropes may have been grouped with the groovy vibes of the stoner rock scene, but lines like ‘So I’ll take my father’s gun and I’ll walk down to the street / I’ll have my vengeance now with everyone I meet’ were a long way away from songs about shagging and cars. It’s a truly nasty sentiment, but as an indiscriminate spray of bile against everyone, this is untouchable.
The Devil’s BloodThe Anti-Kosmik Magick
(The Time Of No Time Evermore, 2009)
“They warned me Satan would be attractive,” quoth Ned Flanders upon being offered legal marijuana. Indeed, at first listen, Dutch diabolists The Devil’s Blood sound like the coolest ’70s-revival band you’ve ever heard. But, covered in blood, treating gigs as rituals and with heavy occult lyrics, The Anti-Kosmik Magick finds them tricking you into loving Lucifer without realising it. Seductive, rather than aggressive, this is temptation and sin presented in all its decadent glory.
AC/DCNight Prowler
On the evening of March 17, 1985, 25-year-old Texan drifter Richard Ramirez broke into the California homes of Tsai-Lian Yu and Dayle Okazaki and murdered both women. Dayle’s roommate Maria Hernandez was also shot in the face by Ramirez, but survived, and provided police with a pen portrait of a young man wearing an AC/DC baseball cap. It would be a further five months, however, before Ramirez, dubbed the ‘Night Stalker’, was apprehended, bringing to an end a 14-month reign of terror in the Golden State during which a total of 13 people were murdered and 11 more sexually assaulted in their own homes.
Ramirez’s childhood friend Ray Garcia subsequently told the authorities that the killer was obsessed by AC/DC, and specifically the creepy, chilling, voyeuristic closing track on the band’s 1979 Highway To Hell album, Night Prowler, leading to sensationalist media headlines such as “‘AC/DC Music Made Me Kill At 16’, Night Stalker Admits.” The Australian band were understandably horrified at the implication, with vocalist Brian Johnson (who joined the band after the song’s recording) telling VH1 television, “It sickens you to have anything to do with that kind of thing.” In the same Behind The Music special, AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young claimed that Night Prowler is actually about “things you used to do when you are a kid, like sneaking into a girlfriend’s bedroom when her parents were asleep”, but lyrics such as ‘No-one’s gonna warn you / And no-one’s gonna yell attack / And you don’t feel the steel / Till it’s hangin’ out your back’ rather undermined the idea that this was merely a paean to adolescent horniness.
In court, Ramirez played up to his monstrous image, greeting the courtroom with the words “Hail Satan” and telling the judge, “I am beyond good and evil. I will be avenged. Lucifer dwells in us all.” After a four-year trial, Ramirez received 19 death sentences for his crimes, a punishment he shrugged off with the words, “Big deal… I’ll see you in Disneyland.” AC/DC naturally distanced themselves completely from the serial killer, but shaking off the association with what is undoubtedly their darkest, nastiest song would prove impossible.
HellhammerTriumph Of Death
Hellhammer mainman Tom G. Warrior has described his childhood in nightmarish terms. Living in a rural Swiss village with an unfit mother who was frequently absent smuggling jewellery, he started playing music to get away from it all. But imagine if this near-10 minute dirge of funereal guitar was what you did to escape. Every negative human emotion is vomited up in Tom’s strangled vocals, and when a couple of years later Tom asked the lyrical question of ‘Are you morbid?’, his answer was already a horrifying ‘yes’.
DissectionNight’s Blood
When thinking of ‘evil’ the words ‘Satan’ and ‘murder’ come quickly to mind. Put those two together and you stumble into territory Dissection inhabited in the mid-’90s, with band leader Jon Nödtveidt and an accomplice jailed for murdering a man who had allegedly expressed an interest in Satanism. Night’s Blood was given its unholy birth two years prior to that incident, and it’s hard not to feel unsettled by the gleeful bloodlust haunting it.
BehemothChristians To The Lions
Having released seminal albums titled Satanica and The Satanist, you can be fairly sure that everything Behemoth do is pretty damn evil, and mainman Nergal’s abuse of the Bible has landed him in Polish courts on more than one occasion. That being the case, it’s unlikely that this ditty went down overly well with churchgoers. Backed up with the band’s inimitable blackened death savagery, Nergal makes it clear which side of the God/Satan divide he falls on, viciously celebrating the death of the former and rise of the latter.
DarkthroneIn The Shadow Of The Horns
A Blaze In The Northern Sky marked a dark watershed for the black metal genre. Eerily pre-emptive of the spree of church-burnings that would go on to hallmark the genre it might’ve been. But Darkthrone’s second LP was, in actuality, fixated on the primal evils of the past. Its howling second track would prove definitive. Seven minutes of defiant lo-fi production, frostbitten purpose and blunt-force simplicity, In The Shadow Of The Horns still sounds like “abyssic hate” incarnate.
Cradle Of FilthDeath Magick For Adepts
Always ones for adding theatrics to their music, here Dani Filth paints a picture of a Sodom and Gomorrah scenario with no small amount of skill. But how to really bring out the hellish chaos erupting all around? You get one of Hell’s stewards to lend their terrifying voice to the track. That is to say, Hellraiser actor Doug Bradley, whose performance makes you worried to look out your window, lest you see Hell emptying itself onto the lawn.
Guns N’ RosesLook At Your Game, Girl
(The Spaghetti Incident?, 1993)
There aren’t many songs that have been released in order to help pay for the legal defence costs of its author who is facing a multiple murder rap. Originally written in 1967 and released on the album Lie: The Love And Terror Cult, Look At Your Game, Girl is the work of Charles Manson. Twenty-three years after its original 1970 release, the always provocative Guns N’ Roses placed the song as a hidden track on their covers album The Spaghetti Incident?. “People are trying to paint me like I worship Charles Manson,” said Axl Rose in 1994, “but it’s exactly the opposite of that.”
AkercockeOf Menstrual Blood And Semen
‘Blast For Satan’ ran the slogan on Akercocke’s shirts. It was a statement that summed up the intensity of both their music and their allegiance to Him downstairs. With their Savile Row suits and mysterious manner, they gave the air of men who actually dabbled in the black arts, something reinforced by their instruction to ‘drink of the chalice of ecstasy’ here. This furious concoction is as intense as metal gets, while also revelling in the decadence of the band’s beliefs.
BathoryCall From The Grave
Across their first trilogy of albums, Sweden’s Bathory redefined just how evil metal could sound. Crudely welding the darkness of Black Sabbath to the roar of Motörhead, the sound mainman Quorthon came up with could freeze blood, and nowhere more so than on Call From The Grave. With all the atmosphere of a freshly-dug burial site at midnight, the diabolic, two-chord riff and Quorthon’s demented vocals make this a haunting paean to all things evil and hellish.
DeicideOnce Upon The Cross
As you would expect from a man who once branded an inverted cross into his forehead, Deicide’s Glen Benton has no problem with blasphemy. Here, he mocks Jesus Christ’s struggle as he dies on the cross, which tied in really well with album Once Upon The Cross’ original artwork, which features Jesus with his insides on the outside. Oddly, this was considered too salty for the public.
Jimmy PageLucifer Rising
So obsessed was Jimmy Page with occultist and ‘Wickedest Man In The World’ Aleister Crowley that he bought the Scottish residence, Boleskine House, where the magician had attempted (and failed) to perform a six-month long magic ritual. The Zeppelin guitarist was therefore the perfect choice to soundtrack Lucifer Rising, a Crowley-inspired film by occult director Kenneth Anger. When after years, Jimmy’s contribution was still incomplete, he was acrimoniously removed from the project. Regardless, this bizarre music remains the most unsettling the man has ever created.
Big BlackJordan, Minnesota
Tiny Midwestern town Jordan, Minnesota entered the national consciousness in the U.S. in the mid-’80s when a number of school children claimed to have been ritually abused and to have witnessed multiple murders perpetrated by more than 20 townsfolk. The hysterical media coverage prompted Big Black’s Steve Albini to write this disturbing, pitch-black indictment of small-town corruption and perversion, complete with heavy breathing and lyrics such as, ‘This is Jordan, we do what we like.’ Ultimately, the accusations were dismissed as pure fabrication, but the song remains a horrifying and sickening dissection of humanity’s darkest impulses.
Robert JohnsonCross Road Blues
Legend has it that Cross Road Blues is about a highway intersection in the city of Rosedale, where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for his musical talent. While this classic song’s lyrics make no mention of this shady Faustian pact, the song – most likely about making the choice between good and evil – fuelled the myth of the Delta blues legend, who made references to the Devil during many of his songs. Plot twist: Robert died under mysterious circumstances aged just 27 years old.
Alkaline TrioThis Could Be Love
While many other popular punk bands of the time were singing songs about farting and penises, the always cut-above Alkaline Trio cast their gaze on darker matters. This Could Be Love is a tale of murder, the twist in which lies in the fact that it is told from the victim’s point of view. It’s grizzly stuff, too, with soiled beds, scenes of torture, delirious joy at acts of violence and the arresting image of a crazed lover washing blood from her hands in the waters of Lake Michigan. As audio-nasties go, this is a superior offering.
CarcassCadaveric Incubator Of Endoparasites
Dying sucks, but Carcass have done a bang-up job of making you hope to be vaporised at your moment of death by luridly detailing the process of decomposition. It’s hard to compute just how unsettling the Liverpudlian’s lyrics were, and it’s safe to presume that someone with delicate sensibilities raised on a diet of Madonna could well be revisited by the contents of their stomach after exposure to this belch of aural horror.
Nine Inch NailsPiggy
Despite appearing on The Downward Spiral, an album chronicling the destruction of man, Piggy isn’t necessarily evil in and of itself. It’s the context in which the song was created that makes it truly unsettling.
In 1992, Trent Reznor scrapped his original plan to record the follow-up to Nine Inch Nails’ debut Pretty Hate Machine in New Orleans, decamping instead to 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles’ Benedict Canyon. It was here in 1969 that actress Sharon Tate (the pregnant wife of director Roman Polanski) and four others were brutally murdered by the Charles Manson ‘family’. Although Trent suggests he only discovered the address’ grisly history after he’d decided to record there – claiming it was chosen for the suitability of the space – he subsequently read up on the incident, suggesting ‘The Tate House’ “didn’t feel terrifying as much as sad.” Despite the sense of melancholy, Trent would use it to record 1992’s Broken EP, The Downward Spiral and Marilyn Manson’s debut album, Portrait Of An American Family, which Trent produced.
The song’s title has been the subject of speculation. Former live guitarist Richard Patrick, who would later form the band Filter, has suggested he was once given the nickname ‘Piggy’, while The Beatles’ song Piggies was said to have had considerable influence on Charles Manson. Despite Trent redubbing the address ‘Le Pig’, a reference to the word that was written in blood on the front door by the murderers – and The Downward Spiral also featuring a song called March Of The Pigs – Trent denies either was directly related to what had taken place at the site of their makeshift studio.
In a sobering postscript, Trent ended up meeting Sharon Tate’s sister. She asked him about whether he thought he was exploiting her sister’s death – an encounter Trent admits caused him to breakdown, having suddenly seen things from her perspective.
Cannibal CorpseFrantic Disembowelment
No-one pens gleeful murder and mayhem anti-anthems like Cannibal Corpse, and those taking the time to read the lyric sheet often wish they hadn’t eaten beforehand. Famously stirring up controversy with both their lyrics and artwork in the late-’80s and early-’90s, CC have never once modulated their approach to making horrifying music, and Frantic Disembowelment has to stand as the pinnacle of their nastiness. What’s it about? The title makes it pretty clear, and nowhere will you find a more graphic description of innards becoming ‘outtards’.
Jane’s AddictionTed, Just Admit It
The track opens with a quote from American serial killer Ted Bundy (a man who kept severed heads as trophies), recorded shortly before his 1989 execution and wrapped up in off-kilter jazzy beats. “There’s gonna be people turning up in canyons, there are gonna be people being shot in Salt Lake City. Because the police there aren’t willing to accept, what I think they know. And they know I didn’t do these things,” he claims. The rest of it is hardly easy listening with frontman Perry Farrellintoning ‘Sex is violent’ over and over again like a man possessed.
SlipknotIowa
How do you end one of the most bleak albums in history? By recording a 15-minute doom jam that hints at necrophilia. Corey Taylor – who describes the Iowa album as the “darkest fucking period” of his life – explores the mind of a man who finds himself alone with a corpse: ‘You are mine / You will always be mine / I can tear you apart / I can recombine you.’ And to really get into that fucked-up mindset, he sang naked and cut himself with broken glass. The screams you hear on the song are quite real.
BlasphemyRitual
There are many rumours about Canada’s Blasphemy, none greater than the ones concerning their activities in Alberta’s Ross Bay cemetery. A place with a long history of satanic goings on, legend has it that the band carried out satanic rituals, desecrations and headstone theft on the site (supposedly the stone was returned after guitarist Black Priest Of The 7 Satanic Blood Rituals suffered demonic attacks). It would certainly explain Ritual’s suffocating darkness.
AbruptumObscuritatem Advoco Amplecetere Me Part 1
Euronymous from Mayhem once described Sweden’s Abruptum as “the audial essence of pure black evil”. As 20-ish minutes of raw, evil noise rather than a song, Obscuritatem… is certainly dark. Especially considering that the screaming sounds you hear are apparently band members IT and Evil violently torturing one another. True or not, this is diabolic stuff.
Alice CooperI Love The Dead
In his time, Alice Cooper caused outrage with the theatrics of his live show and songs like this tender track about stiffs. ‘I love the dead before they rise / No farewells, no goodbyes / I never even knew your now-rotting face,’ he crooned, prompting calls for a UK tour to be banned. MP Leo Abse accused the singer of “peddling the culture of the concentration camp”, adding, “Pop is one thing, anthems of necrophilia are quite another.”
Mercyful FateMelissa
The character of Melissa was a witch who was burned at the stake. She appeared a number of times throughout Mercyful Fate’s career, but here, on the metallers’ debut, it was to inspire her lover to seek out satanic revenge. The initial inspiration for the song came from a skull that frontman King Diamond (more on him soon) ‘acquired’ from a medical school. It had suffered a brutal injury, and the name Melissa came to the singer as he stared at it. Melissa also formed part of the stage set until she was stolen at a gig.
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Morbid AngelBleed For The Devil
If that title doesn’t tell you what side death metal legends Morbid Angel’s bread was buttered, how about the photo in the Altars Of Madness album sleeve of guitar wizard Trey Azagthoth shredding while bleeding profusely, looking as though he’s playing for the Great Horned One himself. Or you could just listen to the demented musical maze with lyrics literally attempting to summon Lucifer, and realise that whatever Morbid Angel were doing in the studio, they did not learn it at Sunday school.
Ozzy OsbourneMr Crowley
When Ozzy Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath in 1979, many wondered whether he’d be able to muster the same dark magic again. Just a year later, people got their answer in the form of debut solo album Blizzard Of Ozz. Mr Crowley, its second single, refers to legendary occultist Aleister Crowley, who founded the religion of Thelema and considered himself a prophet. Dramatic stuff; so it’s a good thing it’s got a grandiose organ intro – and guitarist Randy Rhoads on monumental form.
MisfitsMommy, Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight?
We’d love to hear Freud’s take on Glenn Danzig’s colourful relationship with his mother. Before the diminutive behemoth’s maternally-titled solo smash he penned this ditty for the Misfits about a student driven to homicidal mania by his playground tormentors. But only if ‘Mommy’ says he’s allowed, obviously. Captured raw, the serrated tape-deck live recording only adds to the unhinged bloodlust. And packed like a meat locker with lurid promises to ‘rip the veins from human necks’ we can’t see how Glenn’s old lady could’ve possibly refused…
CovenSatanic Mass
Released in 1969, the same year U.S. occultist Anton LaVey published The Satanic Bible, Coven’s Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls album was the perfect soundtrack to the hippie movement taking a step down the left-hand path. Following nine tracks of Satan-themed psych, it closes with this, an actual satanic mass, conducted by the band. Even if you think it’s hokum, it’s hard to get to the end without feeling weird.
VenomBlack Metal
These days somewhat overlooked, more than any other band Newcastle upon Tyne’s Venom were the chief progenitors of metal’s most bloodthirsty subgenre, thrash metal. Couplets such as ‘Freaking so wild / Nobody’s mild’ may suggest the aid of a rhyming dictionary, but either way Black Metal would prove to be wildly influential on a range of young American musicians with a taste for the extreme. The track has been covered by no fewer than 11 different bands, and is loved by musicians as disparate as Dave Grohl and Kerry King.
Judas PriestBetter By You, Better Than Me
Can a cover of a bouncy ’60s pop song really be evil? According to a couple of grieving parents and their lawyers it can, and in 1990 Rob Halford and the boys were hauled into court over it. With hidden, subliminal messages allegedly buried in the song, which supposedly inspired two fans to shoot themselves, the trial itself was quickly sensationalised by the media. Though the charges were ultimately dismissed, the judge insisted there were such messages on there, though not necessarily powerful enough to incite suicidal actions. Stealth evil, maybe?
Celtic FrostProcreation (Of The Wicked)
Easily one of the most evil bands of their time – and essential to the evolution of extreme metal – Celtic Frost could conjure images of the Devil with a single chord. However, never did they sound more monstrous than on this brutish tune. Lurching along on a hulking riff and with twisted lyrics that scare Christians and excite all those who reject religion (‘If God raised the abyss, you’d procreate your own / Abolism of death is abolism of life’), this is music gloriously devoid of anything that could be considered ‘good’. Sepultura’s take on the track also stands amongst the best metal covers ever.
Killing JokeExorcism
This is a piece of ritualistic industrial-metal primal force that was recorded in the Great Pyramid Of Giza after Killing Joke allegedly bribed the Egyptian Minister For Antiquities for access. “Our engineer fell asleep in the King’s Chamber,” frontman Jaz Coleman told Kerrang! of the sessions. “He suddenly had some vision, sprang up, banged his head and ran out screaming. After this he said he’d never go back in again. He said there were thousands of alien eyes staring at him, and after that he had a stroke. It affected him, the place…”
King DiamondThe Family Ghost
King Diamond is no stranger to strangeness.
“I’ve had a ton of supernatural experiences. I feel like I brought something back with me from the operation [a triple heart bypass in which he nearly died] but I was having supernatural experiences long before that,” he says.
Many of these real-life experiences have been channelled into his music, both with Mercyful Fate and his self-named outfit. The Family Ghost might just be the only song to have incorporated an element of the supernatural into its very recording, however.
The song is a crucial part of King Diamond’s classic horror concept album, Abigail. The story for the album, which involves murder, possession and dark family secrets, came to King in a dream on a suitably stormy night.
“I woke up during a thunderstorm in my haunted apartment in Copenhagen and I had this story in my head. It was also influenced by my own family history. My mom told me how she was left on someone’s doorstep and she later found out she was the child of a professor’s son. He got my grandmother pregnant and she was sent away to have this child. That was all sort of wound into this story,” the singer explains.
On The Family Ghost, protagonist Jonathan La’Fey is warned by the ghost of his ancestor that his wife is carrying the vengeful spirit of the stillborn Abigail and that he must kill her in order to stop the rebirth.
Even spookier than the story is an unexpected and unexplained addition to the recording that may or may not have originated from somewhere beyond the grave.
“There’s a vocal part on The Family Ghost that I never recorded,” explains King. “It’s a part that goes, (adopts bestial growl) ‘Ohhhh damn,’ and we couldn’t find it on any of the tracks anywhere. I have no clue what it was, but it’s certainly not the only weird or even seemingly impossible thing to happen to us.”
Sunn O)))Báthory Erzsébet
What could be more evil than a song jointly inspired by black metal progenitors Bathory and the 16th century serial killer Elizabeth Báthory – who reputedly bathed in the blood of virgins – from whom they took their name? Perhaps one that also consisted of 16 minutes of tortuous drone and bleak lyrics like, ‘Decompose forever, aware and unholy, encased in marble and honey from the swarm.’ Oh, and legend has it the band locked claustrophobic guest vocalist Malefic from occult metal act Xasthur in a casket to make his performance more anguished.
DanzigMother
‘Mother…’ Don’t warble it, we dare you. Glenn Danzig’s post-Misfits mega-hit has gained such ubiquity, it’s easy to overlook its evil underpinnings. Peel away a million hoarse-throated rock club sing-alongs, however, and it’s still devilishly apparent. A tongue-in-cheek cautionary tale targeted squarely at Tipper Gore, the (parental advisory committee) PMRC and 1988’s other moral crusaders, its promise of a scene ‘not about to see your light’ pierced the mainstream like a sacrificial dagger. Chuck in the MTV-banned music video (animal sacrifice and inverted-crosses smeared bloodily onto nubile torsos = bad press, apparently) and we’ve got probably the most subversive song of its era.
SlayerAngel Of Death
Given that their entire oeuvre revolves around war, murder and general unspeakable wickedness, finding evil Slayer songs is hardly difficult: in fact, it’d be significantly more of a challenge to identify songs by the LA thrash metal pioneers that aren’t rooted in despicable, debased acts of inhumanity. That said, while the likes of Dead Skin Mask (based on the exploits of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein), Jihad (‘Fuck your God!’) and Necrophiliac (erm…) are gruesome and terrifying in equal measure, it’s the notorious opening track of the masterfully malevolent Reign In Blood album which will forever remain the Californian band’s most noxious and black-hearted artistic statement.
Perhaps the most chilling aspect of Jeff Hanneman’s lyrics detailing Nazi physician Josef Mengele’s abhorrent experiments on patients at the Auschwitz concentration camp (‘Burning flesh drips away / Test of heat burns your skin / Your mind starts to boil / Frigid cold, cracks your limbs / How long can you last in this frozen water burial?’) is the fact that they’re so clinical, unemotional and detached, leading to accusations that the band were glorifying the horrors. The controversy actually led to Columbia Records, the distributors for producer Rick Rubin’s Def Jam label, to insist that the track be removed from the album, a demand which both the band and their label boss flatly refused. Ultimately, the label washed their hands of the release, leading Rick to take it to Geffen Records instead.
Jeff always denied accusations that the song exhibited Nazi sympathies, calling it “a history lesson”. “There’s nothing I put in the lyrics that says necessarily he was a bad man, because to me – well, isn’t that obvious?” he stated, not unreasonably. His guitar partner Kerry King was even more brusque, saying, “Read the lyrics and tell me what’s offensive about it?” The band’s lack of repentance is understandable, but it’d be a dead soul indeed who can listen without flinching at the visceral horror.
Diamond HeadAm I Evil?
‘My mother was a witch,’ barked Diamond Head frontman Sean Harris in 1980, lighting a fire under the fledgeling NWOBHM genre, ‘She was burned alive!’ Fusing the occult themes of Black Sabbath to the ragged energy of early punk, the Midlands metallers laid a proto-thrash template that’d be picked up by Metallica (who famously covered the song as a B-side for Creeping Death), Megadeth and Slayer. For all those bands’ stadium-packing pedigree, though, there’s still something untouchably (im)pure about the original. ‘Am I evil?’ came Sean’s immortal question. ‘Yes I am!’
Iron MaidenThe Number Of The Beast
It seems strange to recall, but in the U.S. in the 1980s heavy metal often found itself under assault from religious groups convinced that the genre served as a Trojan Horse for the enslavement of the nation’s youth in the name of Satan. Few songs fostered this misbelief as resoundingly as The Number Of The Beast. Iron Maiden helped fan the flames of the song’s reputation by reporting various strange goings-on in the recording studio, while protests and album burnings greeted them when they headed Stateside for a 1982 tour.
RammsteinWeiner Blut
Rammstein have always courted controversy, and 2009 album Liebe Ist Für Alle Da proved to be no exception. It was initially added to Germany’s Federal Department For Media Harmful To Young Persons index, partly for the sadomasochistic song Ich Tu Dir Weh. The real darkness, however, can be found in Wiener Blut. The song is a first-person retelling of the evil perpetrated by Josef Fritzl, who imprisoned and abused his daughter in the basement of their home for 24 years. That’s all you need to know.
Black SabbathBlack Sabbath
Bassist Geezer Butler once painted his home black and hung inverted crosses and pictures of the Devil on the walls and claims that he saw a “black shape” by his bed after reading a book about witchcraft. The incident inspired one of metal’s most potently evil songs, which opens with a thunderstorm and ominous church bell and is propelled by that tritone riff – a collection of notes named diabolus in musica – which guitarist Tony Iommi describes as “really evil and very doomy”. Indeed, this six-minute song birthed an entire genre. Thanks, mysterious intruder.
MayhemFreezing Moon
By the time Freezing Moon was released on the De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas album, Mayhem’s legacy was already the darkest of any group in history. Two people were dead, one by his own hand, while a third person was serving a 21-year jail sentence for the murder of the other. Late Mayhem guitarist Øystein ‘Euronymous’ Aarseth had often spoken about the need for greater extremity and more evil in black metal. At great expense, he got it.
Two versions of Freezing Moon exist. The first remained unreleased for years, and was one of only two recordings of vocalist Dead (Per Yngve Ohlin), a young Swede who had moved to Norway to join Mayhem. A depressive boy who often spoke of a near-death experience as a child, he would talk about suicide in disarmingly casual tones. For early gigs, he would bury his stage clothes underground and smell dead birds in plastic bags. His lyrics for Freezing Moon were unsurprisingly morbid – ‘Everything here is so cold / Everything here is so dark… I remember it was here I died’ – while his vocal performance was unhinged and chilling.
He would never see it released, however. On April 8, 1991, aged just 22, Dead took his own life in the house he shared with the rest of the band. Euronymous, discovering the body, took photos and collected skull fragments to send to friends as necklaces, before calling the police.
Work continued on what would be Mayhem’s debut full-length, with Burzum’s Varg Vikernes enlisted to play bass, and a Hungarian singer, Attila Csihar, drafted in to replace Dead. Following the recording in early ’93, Attila returned to Hungary. What he would next hear from Norway was unthinkable: in the early hours of August 10, 1993, Varg stabbed Euronymous to death in his apartment. He was arrested and sentenced to 21 years.
The song itself, with its chilling, minor-chord intro where icy notes hang like corpses in the gallows, its scything main riff and demonic atmosphere, already showcased perfectly black metal’s musical abyss. But with so much genuine darkness behind it – killer and victim playing together, despite Euronymous’ parents’ request that Varg’s parts be wiped – it now stands as a chilling document of perhaps the most horrifying time in the history of music.
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justinspoliticalcorner · 3 months ago
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Paul V. Fontelo at Roll Call:
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., a New Jersey Democrat first elected to the House in 1996, died on Wednesday, his office announced on X. He was 87 and would have been the oldest member of the House if reelected in November.  “Bill fought to his last breath to return to the job he cherished and the people he loved,” the post said. “Bill lived his entire life in Paterson and had an unwavering love for the city he grew up in and served. He is now at peace after a life time devoted to our great nation America.” A veteran of New Jersey’s brand of politics who dominated his home Passaic County, Pascrell was known for his pugnacious demeanor in promoting tax enforcement and ensuring “tax fairness” for all income levels. To achieve that, “everybody’s got to pull on the rope the same,” he said.
An Army veteran and one-time semi-professional baseball player, Pascrell was a teenager when his uncle took him to his first ward meeting in the city of Paterson, then a factory town with a thriving textile business. The rough-and-tumble political arena left an impression on Pascrell. “There’s a lot of fist fights … I’m gonna like this,” he recalled in an interview. “I did. I stayed with it since I was 16 years old.” While he saw far fewer physical melees between parties in Congress, Pascrell said he stuck by the lessons he learned from his first exposure to politics. “See it through or else don’t start it,” he said. And when you are in a fight, “never yield.” In the 118th Congress, Pascrell was the top Democrat on the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, having previously spent more than two years as the panel’s chairman. He and fellow Ways and Means Democrats scored several victories in the final months of the previous Congress, including enacting a major tax and social spending budget reconciliation law and, after years of legal battles, acquiring six years of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns in the lame duck session after the 2022.
Pascrell waged a long campaign to tax “carried interest,” a form of compensation for investment fund managers that is not taxed like ordinary income, a situation he called a loophole that allows rich individuals to avoid fair taxation. He repeatedly introduced legislation to change inheritance rules as well. His bill on the so-called stepped-up basis would have changed existing tax law so that when someone dies and passes on property, the inheritor would pay capital gains taxes based on the fair market rate of the inherited assets, with a few exceptions. Pascrell’s position on the Ways and Means Committee also gave him a platform to fight to restore deductions for state and local tax payments, which Republicans capped in their 2017 tax law. The cap on the SALT deduction hit people in the top income brackets hardest, but in states with high local property and income taxes such as New Jersey, it was also felt by less wealthy families. As a result, Pascrell framed his tax proposals as benefiting the middle class.
Representing a manufacturing-heavy district, he was a close ally of labor unions and focused on ensuring that countries trading with the U.S. complied with international labor standards.  One recurring bipartisan cause for Pascrell was research on and treatment of brain injuries. Inspired by the plight of a constituent, he co-founded the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force in 2001. The issue took on added importance after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks because of a spike in veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with wounds from improvised explosive devices.  Pascrell was born in Paterson, N.J., where his Italian immigrant grandparents settled. His father worked for the railroad. The first member of his family to go to high school, Pascrell was an all-state third baseman, played semi-professional baseball for a team in Clifton and tried out for the Philadelphia Phillies after finishing his schooling in the early 1960s. 
New Jersey Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) died today at the age of 87.
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