#Chief Pledge

[santaclaralocalnews]

California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond vowed on Nov. 15 to fight President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to abolish the U.S. Department of Education, which he said represented a “clear threat to what our students need to have a good education and a great life.” “We cannot be caught flatfooted,” Thurmond said during a news conference. Read complete news at svvoice.com.

[blusical]

anyways this is a harrison butker hate blog /hsrs

[erudianokabe]

Me: I'm going to write so much today. Also me: Stares at Reiner for 600 hours.

PRETTY FUCKING SURE THIS IS HOW REINER CLIMBED UP AS MY NUMBER ONE. HE LITERALLY JUST GOT HERE UNEXPECTEDLY, OUT OF THE BLUE. UNEXPECTED, LIKE A FREAKIN DARK HORSE.

[freebornabraye]

Chief Press Secretary To The Governor Of Bayelsa State, Mr Dan Alabrah Pledges Support For Ijaw Media Conference, Applauds IPF For Projecting Ijaw Nation In A Positive Light

By Freeborn Abraye The Ijaw Publishers’ Forum (IPF) recently met with the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr Dan Alabrah to strategize ahead of their upcoming conference. This crucial meeting is part of the IPF’s ongoing stakeholders’ engagement, aimed at ensuring the success of the December 11, conference at Banquet hall, Government House, Bayelsa State. The conference,…

[suuuupernovaaa]

tìloho

tìloho [English] n. surprise

Anonymous Request: “Hi! Love your stuff :) Can you do one where it’s everyone’s reaction after they find out that neteyam & y/n are bonded/a couple?” 

Adult Neteyam and Y/N, a little known member of the Metkayina clan, announce their bond - to almost everyone’s surprise. 

1,248 words

His mother was the only one who wasn’t surprised, because she was the only one who had been paying attention. Neteyam had not been focused lately. He had been returning empty handed from hunts, missing family meals, neglecting his siblings, and generally being more secretive than he typically was.

She knew exactly what it meant, but she hadn’t known who was the cause of it, until today. Neytiri had considered carefully whether she should be angry with Neteyam, when he finally revealed the truth to them... and decided against it. If her son could find happiness here, with the Metkayina, there was no reason for her to deprive him of that.

Neteyam arrived to his family’s pod, hand in hand with Y/N, both looking sheepish but unable to hide their smiles.

“Mom, Dad...” Neteyam said as they walked through the entrance.

“Y/N,” Neytiri said, stepping forward with arms open to the girl, who was shocked that Neytiri knew her name - but Neytiri was observant, and made it a point to remember everything and everyone. This girl was not the daughter of a chief, or a healer, but the daughter of a fisherman; in the ranking of the tribe, she was inconsequential - but Neytiri knew that everyone had value, importance, and a place at the table. Neytiri had seen her. one or twice, and remembered the way Neteyam smiled at her when they first met, and how the girl had blushed at his grin. “Welcome,” Neytiri said.

Jake looked up from where he sat, confusion plain as day on his face. 

“Thank you,” Y/N replied, her voice quiet, and she touched her fingers to her forehead, and then lowered them.

Neytiri returned the gesture, as her husband stood up to join his family. 

“Y/N, it was?” Jake said. He had never seen this girl in his life, and here she was, holding his eldest’s hand and earning a sign of respect from his wife - which was not an easy thing to do.

“Yes,” the girl replied.

She certainly was pretty, if not a little shy, but he couldn’t miss the look on his son’s face. His boy was beaming with pride, gripping this poor girl’s hand so tight that it had to hurt.

“We are mated. Before Ewya,” Neteyam said finally.

Jake whistled. He was a little surprised that Neteyam hadn’t told him before but then again, Neteyam was very private. He wouldn’t have made this decision lightly, and Jake couldn’t help but consider that the fact that he was no longer Olo'eyktan had taken some pressure off of his son when it came to finding a mate; it had allowed him to find someone he truly loved, and make that choice freely.

Neytiri embraced her son, and Jake followed suit. “Welcome to the family, kid,” Jake said to Y/N. “Good luck.”

--

Neteyam’s siblings were next.

“You... you what?” Lo’ak asked when Neteyam told them.

Neteyam tried not to roll his eyes, and Y/N squeezed his hand.

She was even more nervous than he was. For weeks, they had practically snuck around. Neteyam wanted to escape the prying eyes of his family, and Y/N was too nervous to meet them. Who was she, to suppose she could secure for herself the daughter of Taruk Makto? What made her special enough to think she could be deserving of his love?

But whether or not she deserved it, she had it - and she had it for the rest of their lives, as they had pledged themselves before Ewya just the night before.

“I - holy shit!” Lo’ak exclaimed, and Y/N winced. She wasn’t sure quite yet whether he was excited, or angry - not until he threw his arms around the both of them.

“I mean, I have enough sisters already, so I guess one more is fine,” Lo’ak said with a smile. “Welcome to the family!”

--

Kiri and Tuk were thrilled, and a little confused at why Neteyam had hidden Y/N from them for so long - they loved her instantly.

“Oh, you’re beautiful,” Tuk said with the innocence of a child, and Y/N bent down to her level.

“I have been begging your brother to let me meet you,” Y/N said with a soft smile. “He has been keeping me all to himself. Isn’t that selfish?”

Y/N was a naturally shy and cautious person by nature, but had such a deep love for children, that she had been eager to meet Tuk since the moment she’d met Neteyam.

Tuk giggled, and reached up to touch Y/N’s soft hair. She kept it unbraided, and it was usually a little wild. “Your hair is so pretty.”

In turn, Y/N reached for one of Tuk’s braids. “Maybe you can show me how to do these lovely braids sometime, yes?”

Tuk nodded, and with another smile, Y/N stood up.

“I knew something was going on,” Kiri said with a huff. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell any of us!”

“I am sorry, Kiri. I wanted... one thing, for myself. Just once,” Neteyam said, and Kiri’s eyes softened.

“Mom knew, though, didn’t she?”

Neteyam laughed. “Is there anything mom doesn’t miss?”

--

Later, the two sat on the beach, the water up to their waists, finally alone after telling their families.

“That went... much better than I thought,” Neteyam said.

Y/N smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder. “Your family loves you very deeply, and they can see that you’re happy. Though, why I make you happy, I still don’t know.”

Neteyam reached down, turning her face up to meet his. “No more of this talk, Y/N. You are mine now, and you must see yourself how I see you.”

Y/N winced. “And, how do you see me?”

Neteyam smiled, ready to unleash a monologue on his poor mate. “The moment I first saw you, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Never have I seen such delicate features, such full lips, wide eyes, and soft hair. I was stunned by you, I felt as if I could not breathe, and I knew I had to have you. I knew the moment I saw you, I would make you mine. When I finally worked up the courage to speak to you, your voice was as delicate and soft as your face.

“You were so nervous, and it almost made me... made me want to cry, how scared you were. It made me want to protect you, and I will protect you until I die, Y/N.

“You are the smartest woman I have ever met, and you are endlessly kind and thoughtful. You are so skilled in everything you try, it amazes me how fast you can learn anything you want to.

“I am in awe of you. Ewya has blessed me beyond measure, beyond what I deserve, to deliver me a mate such as you.”

Y/N was tearing up by the end, and even though she knew Neteyam loved her, she had never felt it so deeply before.

“I knew my family would have to accept you, because they could see plainly how deeply I love you. I’m just surprised at how quickly the acceptance happened, is all,” Neteyam said, and leaned over to kiss his mate on her soft temple.

“I love you, Neteyam,” she said, wrapping her arms around him.

He felt like the luckiest man on the planet - and he was.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

So, my hometown is about to blow up onto National news. Heads up.

The Mayor of Quesnel BC and his wife were handing out racist misinformation-filled books at last months town hall meeting. They were reservation atrocities denial pieces, how res schools were not. that. bad.

Yesterday was this month's town hall meeting addressing this. 500 people showed up in protest and the meeting's youtube recording already has 4k views. A lot of non-apologies were said by the two of them. Things got heated.

There are so many bands and reserves there. A significant portion of Quesnel's population are Indigenous. Reservation school survivors attended that town hall meeting. I can not even imagine the pain this has caused. All goodwill and trust with those communities are utterly lost.

If you look up the town hall meeting, beware that 1 hr and 15 min in some triggering stuff starts to go down.

Here is the local news article, just basic overview. Apparently the story is featuring in Vancouver now, the rest of the country is gonna hear about it soon. How utterly digusting

https://www.quesnelobserver.com/local-news/chiefs-call-for-quesnel-mayor-ron-paulls-resignation-7337134

[liberty1776]

The Pledge, by NC Wyeth, illustration of Willaim Wallace from, The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter. The Book that probably inspired the Movie Braveheart.

[quiche-draws]

"The Chief's Successor"

While we know Kotallo will go to the ends of the earth in service of his Commander, there comes a time when he must heed the call to leadership.

Twenty years pass. With NEMESIS defeated and the whole world saved, Kotallo returns to take up the mantle of Chief at Hekarro's encouragement. Joined at his side, his commander, Aloy, now his pledged, has made herself a near-permanent fixture in the Forbidden West, but is never one to live under someone else's thumb. They work together to inspire and maintain the peace throughout not just the Tenakth lands but all across the world.

---

Hello, here's my entry for @kotaloyelysiumevents's monthly prompt "All About Kotallo." Another challenging piece (hence why I haven't been drawing as often), but once again, I had plenty of fun imagining a future where Kotallo, reluctant or not, ends up becoming Chief many years later.

(I'll probably make this a print soon 👀)

Image without Aloy under the cut! (Please do not repost! Reblog only!)

[simply-ivanka]

Trump Gears Up for Change on Wokeness With Education Overhaul

The president-elect has laid out big changes for America’s classrooms, including expanding school choice—and shutting down the Department of Ed

By Matt Barnum and Douglas Belkin -- Wall Street Journal

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to remake education in the U.S., pledging to exert more control over funding and classroom lessons, to curb what he views as left-leaning tendencies at universities and even to dismantle the Department of Education.

If his White House delivers on those promises, more families could get money to send kids to private school. Schools would face pressure to limit accommodations for transgender students and to end some initiatives aimed at addressing racial disparities.

The goals are at once ambitious and controversial.

“There are a lot of very smart people who are very excited to get into positions where we can actually start making change happen,” said Tiffany Justice, a Trump ally and the co-founder of the conservative parents group Moms for Liberty.

Eliminating the Department of Education

Trump has promised to close the Education Department and has criticized U.S. school spending. 

In his first term, he proposed merging the education and labor departments, but Congress didn’t proceed. It isn’t clear whether lawmakers would go for the idea in a second term, nor how the department’s functions—such as protecting students’ civil rights, providing funding for students with disabilities and distributing student loans—would be handled if it were closed. 

Some Republicans have been reluctant to eliminate the department or cut federal funding that flows to schools in their constituencies. An Associated Press poll last year found that nearly two-thirds of Americans said the federal government spends too little on education.

“I don’t think you’ll see enormous cuts because that’s super unpopular,” said Michael Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a conservative education think tank.

Trump will have to fill the education secretary role for now. Cabinet positions often go to prominent politicians and political allies.

Presidents sometimes look to state education chiefs. High-profile leaders in Republican states include Oklahoma’s Ryan Walters, who has fought culture-war battles in schools; Louisiana’s Cade Brumley, who has supported private-school choice and tougher school disciplinary measures; and Florida’s Manny Diaz Jr., who has overseen many conservative policy changes.

In an interview, Walters said he is focused on implementing Trump’s agenda in Oklahoma. Through a spokesperson, Brumley said “my focus is on continuing the historic educational progress we are making in Louisiana.” Diaz, through a spokesperson, said if asked to serve, “Of course you listen.” Justice of Moms for Liberty said that she would be open to the position, though hasn’t spoken to the Trump team about it.

A Trump transition spokeswoman didn’t comment on specific candidates.

Waging war on ‘woke’

Trump has said he would use the power of the purse to limit left-wing ideology in schools and universities.

Although a president can’t immediately cut off money to any school, he could use various laws to pressure schools to address antisemitism on campus, disband programs that focus on nonwhite student groups or reduce accommodations for transgender students.

Trump has said that he believes that Title IX, which bars sex discrimination in education, should prevent transgender girls from playing on female sports teams. This would be a stark reversal from the Biden administration, which has interpreted Title IX to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity.

During the campaign, Trump attacked Kamala Harris for being too supportive of transgender rights, an issue that resonated with some voters.

Trump has also indicated that he would use civil-rights law to challenge critical race theory, a term used by conservatives to describe some efforts to teach about racism and racial disparities. This could include targeting university diversity, equity and inclusion offices, legal analysts have said.

“On issues that I worry about…this is at the top,” said Rachel Perera, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, a center-left think tank.

Another tool Trump has at his disposal is the accreditation system, which gives universities access to federal money. He has called it a “secret weapon.”

Colleges and universities need to meet standards set by independent accreditors to be eligible for federal funds.

Trump could weaken the influence of accreditors—which he considers too left-leaning—by reassigning some of their responsibilities to the Education Department, said Judith Eaton, past president of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Alternatively, the administration could replace current accreditors with ones more closely aligned with Trump’s vision, she added.

Members of Trump’s inner circle “regard the higher-ed cartel as fundamentally out of order,” said Frederick Hess, director of education policy studies at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute.

‘Universal school choice’

Trump wants “universal school choice for every American family,” according to his platform. That likely means providing a public subsidy for private-school tuition or other educational expenses outside the public school system.

Trump has indicated he would support the Educational Choice for Children Act, already proposed in Congress. The law would provide $10 billion in federal tax credits to go toward private-school tuition, home schooling or other educational costs.

Backers say the bill would provide money for up to two million children, and help parents direct and customize their children’s education. School-choice critics say that these programs drain resources from public schools.

Prior efforts by Republican presidents to subsidize private schools—including those supported by Ronald Reagan, and Trump in his first term—have failed to garner congressional support. And while many Republican-controlled state legislatures have adopted such programs in recent years, voters in Colorado, Kentucky and Nebraska rejected school-choice ballot measures on Nov. 5.

Some Republicans “are not fully on board yet,” said Jim Blew, who served as an education official during Trump’s first term. “I think they will be in the new administration.”

[bits-and-babs]

✧ 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐓𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 ✧

with one week until october, i've decided it's time i return to writing. i've planned out a release schedule for a kinktober celebration, and hope that i'll be able to complete it this year ! please enjoy, i can't wait to release work for you all again ! ღ

from the 1st - 31st i will be posting one smut fic a day with different prompts featuring different characters. all fics relating to this event will be tagged kinktober 2023. this masterlist will be continually updated as i go.

minors dni: please note all writing in this event is not suitable for minors. if i find minors interacting with my work, you will be blocked.

content tags: please be mindful of the content tags on my fics. each fic will have it's own separate cw section, detailing any sensitive or triggering content. i give ample warning, so if you don't like do not read. all fics will be written as f!reader.

tagging: i will be tagging my usual taglist for the characters I write each day. if you wish to be tagged on each day of kinktober, please sign up via the taglist below.

navigation blog rules taglist

𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐎𝐍𝐄 ─

OCTOBER 001.

camgirl | simon 'ghost' riley x camgirl!reader summary: a new client sends a request for a solo-cam performance. his lack of detail and scarce details leave you unprepared. cw: f!reader, sexwork, dirty talk, breast-play, m & f masturbation, use of sex toy, use of honorific 'sir' but no real power dynamic.

OCTOBER 002.

touch starved | din djarin x reader summary: the child has been getting in the way of you and mando spending time together. after weeks without your touch, he's finally reaching his limit. cw: f!reader, needy din, slightly ooc din to fit the theme, begging, oral (m receiving), cumming early, reference to f oral.

OCTOBER 003.

phone sex | johnny mactavish x reader summary: on leave, johnny can't resist pestering you while you're at work. or perhaps he just can't resist you... cw: f!reader, sexting, dirty talk, voyeurism(?), begging, masturbation (m & f), orgasm denial, inferred voyeurism. this one made me blush.

OCTOBER 004.

aphrodisiac | grand admiral thrawn x reader summary: grand admiral thrawn has a unconventional way of convincing neighbouring planets to pledge allegiance to the empire. cw: aphrodisiacs/sex pollen vibes so dub-con, fingering, cum eating, political mind games.

OCTOBER 005.

clothes on | joel miller x reader summary: trapped inside a wardrobe whilst hiding from infected, joel ups the ante of survival. cw: f!reader, threat to life, mentions of gore, quiet or die kind of vibe, unprotected sex, p in v sex, cream pie, autassassinophilia – arousal in the fear of being killed.

OCTOBER 006.

nipple piercings | captain john price x reader summary: three months into your sas training course, chief directional instructor captain john price drills you on cold-water-shock survival. cw: f!reader, cold water shock, power imbalance (recruit x directing staff), secret relationship, breast/nipple stimulation, unprotected sex, p in v sex, cream pie.

OCTOBER 007.

incubus | maul x reader summary: a bizarre creature comes to visit your dreams, promising to satiate the desperate yearning of your body that it sensed across the plains of the force. cw: incubus! – somnophilia and dub-con by default, size kink, rough sex, p in v sex, unprotected sex, cream-pie, choking, breath play, use of pet name ‘dove’

𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐓𝐖𝐎 —

OCTOBER 008.

roleplay | könig x reader summary: as with all of your bedroom antics with könig, you plant the seed. but when he finally succumbs to your devious plan, you struggle to withstand the heat. cw: roleplay hostage situation, faux attack, faux disregard for partners comfort (konig cares a lot though, i promise) oral sex (m receiving), rough oral sex, face slapping, rough deep throating, swallowing.

OCTOBER 009.

witch!reader | din djarin x reader summary: cw:

OCTOBER 010.

cheating | captain john price x reader summary: cw:

OCTOBER 011.

breeding kink | grand admiral thrawn x reader summary: cw:

OCTOBER 012.

caught sex | joel miller x reader summary: cw:

OCTOBER 013.

morning sex | john mactavish x reader summary: cw:

OCTOBER 014.

hate sex | oberyn martel x reader summary: cw:

𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 —

tbc...

[surfingkaliyuga]

“The Pledge” N.C. Wyeth 1921 Illustration for The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter, edition published in New York by Charles Scribner's Sons.

[yourreddancer]

Heather Cox Richardson 11.15.24

One of President-elect Trump’s campaign pledges was to eliminate the Department of Education. He claimed that the department pushes “woke” ideology on America’s schoolchildren and that its employees “hate our children.” He promised to “return” education to the states. 

In fact, the Department of Education does not set curriculum; states and local governments do. The Department of Education collects statistics about schools to monitor student performance and promote practices based in evidence. It provides about 10% of funding for K–12 schools through federal grants of about $19.1 billion to high-poverty schools and of $15.5 billion to help cover the cost of educating students with disabilities.

It also oversees the $1.6 trillion federal student loan program, including setting the rules under which colleges and universities can participate. But what really upsets the radical right is that the Department of Education is in charge of prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race and sex in schools that get federal funding, a policy Congress set in 1975 with an act now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This was before Congress created the department.

The Department of Education became a stand-alone department in May 1980 under Democratic president Jimmy Carter, when Congress split the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare into two departments: the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education. 

A Republican-dominated Congress established the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1953 under Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower as part of a broad attempt to improve the nation’s schools and Americans’ well-being in the flourishing post–World War II economy. When the Soviet Union beat the United States into space by sending up the first  Sputnik satellite in 1957, lawmakers concerned that American children were falling behind put more money and effort into educating the country’s youth, especially in math and science. 

But support for federal oversight of education took a devastating hit after the Supreme Court, headed by Eisenhower appointee Chief Justice Earl Warren, declared racially segregated schools unconstitutional in the May 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision. 

Immediately, white southern lawmakers launched a campaign of what they called “massive resistance” to integration. Some Virginia counties closed their public schools. Other school districts took funds from integrated public schools and used a grant system to redistribute those funds to segregated private schools. Then, Supreme Court decisions in 1962 and 1963 that declared prayer in schools unconstitutional cemented the decision of white evangelicals to leave the public schools, convinced that public schools were leading their children to perdition.

In 1980, Republican Ronald Reagan ran on a promise to eliminate the new Department of Education.

After Reagan’s election, his secretary of education commissioned a study of the nation’s public schools, starting with the conviction that there was a “widespread public perception that something is seriously remiss in our educational system.” The resulting report, titled “A Nation at Risk,” announced that “the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people.”

Although a later study commissioned in 1990 by the Secretary of Energy found the data in the original report did not support the report’s conclusions, Reagan nonetheless used the report in his day to justify school privatization. He vowed after the report’s release that he would “continue to work in the months ahead for passage of tuition tax credits, vouchers, educational savings accounts, voluntary school prayer, and abolishing the Department of Education. Our agenda is to restore quality to education by increasing competition and by strengthening parental choice and local control.”

The rise of white evangelism and its marriage to Republican politics fed the right-wing conviction that public education no longer served “family values” and that parents had been cut out of their children’s education. Christians began to educate their children at home, believing that public schools were indoctrinating their children with secular values. 

When he took office in 2017, Trump rewarded those evangelicals who had supported his candidacy by putting right-wing evangelical activist Betsy DeVos in charge of the Education Department. She called for eliminating the department—until she used its funding power to try to keep schools open during the covid pandemic—and asked for massive cuts in education spending.

Rather than funding public schools, DeVos called instead for tax money to be spent on education vouchers, which distribute tax money to parents to spend for education as they see fit. This system starves the public schools and subsidizes wealthy families whose children are already in private schools. DeVos also rolled back civil rights protections for students of color and LGBTQ+ students but increased protections for students accused of sexual assault. 

In 2019, the 1619 Project, published by the New York Times Magazine on the 400th anniversary of the arrival of enslaved Africans at Jamestown in Virginia Colony, argued that the true history of the United States began in 1619, establishing the roots of the country in the enslavement of Black Americans. That, combined with the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, prompted Trump to commission the 1776 Project, which rooted the country in its original patriotic ideals and insisted that any moments in which it had fallen away from those ideals were quickly corrected. He also moved to ban diversity training in federal agencies. 

When Trump lost the 2020 election, his loyalists turned to undermining the public schools to destroy what they considered an illegitimate focus on race and gender that was corrupting children. In January 2021, Republican activists formed Moms for Liberty, which called itself a parental rights organization and began to demand the banning of LGBTQ+ books from school libraries. Right-wing activist Christopher Rufo engineered a national panic over the false idea that public school educators were teaching their students critical race theory, a theory taught as an elective in law school to explain why desegregation laws had not ended racial discrimination. 

After January 2021, 44 legislatures began to consider laws to ban the teaching of critical race theory or to limit how teachers could talk about racism and sexism, saying that existing curricula caused white children to feel guilty.

When the Biden administration expanded the protections enforced by the Department of Education to include LGBTQ+ students, Trump turned to focusing on the idea that transgender students were playing high-school sports despite the restrictions on that practice in the interest of “ensuring fairness in competition or preventing sports-related injury.” 

During the 2024 political campaign, Trump brought the longstanding theme of public schools as dangerous sites of indoctrination to a ridiculous conclusion, repeatedly insisting that public schools were performing gender-transition surgery on students. But that cartoonish exaggeration spoke to voters who had come to see the equal rights protected by the Department of Education as an assault on their own identity. That position leads directly to the idea of eliminating the Department of Education.

But that might not work out as right-wing Americans imagine. As Morning Joe economic analyst Steven Rattner notes, for all that Republicans embrace the attacks on public education, Republican-dominated states receive significantly more federal money for education than Democratic-dominated states do, although the Democratic states contribute significantly more tax dollars. 

There is a bigger game afoot, though, than the current attack on the Department of Education. As Thomas Jefferson recognized, education is fundamental to democracy, because only educated people can accurately evaluate the governmental policies that will truly benefit them.

In 1786, Jefferson wrote to a colleague about public education: “No other sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom, and happiness…. Preach, my dear Sir, a crusade against ignorance; establish and improve the law for educating the common people. Let our countrymen know that the people alone can protect us against [the evils of “kings, nobles and priests”], and that the tax which will be paid for this purpose is not more than the thousandth part of what will be paid to kings, priests and nobles who will rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance.”

[serpentface]

Couya and Faiza: Is there something you missed out on by joining the Odonii? Would you have *liked* to be doing anything otherwise?

Faiza:

Couya:

---

Neither of them are particularly bothered by what could have been.

Being an Odonii is an extremely privileged role, both in terms of social status and having personal freedoms inaccessible to other women. This suits Faiza very well, who is highly driven and ambitious, and fully agrees with cultural norms that most women are predisposed to frailty and live best within a father or husband's household but here's the thing: She's Different.

Couya kind of just thinks she was born for this. This is where she belongs. This is what she was meant for. Why would she want anything else? (Being initiated also took her out of her abusive and neglectful household so, that's a contributing factor)

---

*Odkotonnos is the 'province' of Godsmouth (the city-state and its tributaries). Each province has an appointed governor, who is the chief authority in its internal rulings but answers to the higher authority of the Usoma (and in theory is supposed to merely be his local proxy). Faiza was being positioned for an eventual marriage to the governor's son (but not yet officially pledged) when she was selected as an Odonii initiate.

[asexualannoyance]

“[...] Like other movements within political Islam, the movement [Hamas] reflected a complex local reaction to the harsh realities of occupation, and a response to the disorientated paths offered by secular and socialist Palestinian forces in the past. Those with a more engaged analysis of this situation were well prepared for the Hamas triumph in the 2006 elections, unlike the Israeli, American, and European governments. It is ironic that it was the pundits and orientalists, not to mention Israeli politicians and chiefs of intelligence, who were taken by surprise by the election results more than anyone else. What particularly dumbfounded the great experts on Islam in Israel was the democratic nature of the victory. In their collective reading, fanatical Muslims were meant to be neither democratic nor popular. These same experts displayed a similar misunderstanding of the past. Ever since the rise of political Islam in Iran and in the Arab world, the community of experts in Israel had behaved as if the impossible was unfolding in front of their eyes. [...]

In 2009, Avner Cohen, who served in the Gaza Strip around the time Hamas began to gain power in the late 1980s, and was responsible for religious affairs in the occupied territories, told the Wall Street Journal, “the Hamas, to my great regret, is Israel’s creation.” Cohen explains how Israel helped the charity al-Mujama al-Islamiya (the “Islamic Society”), founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 1979, to become a powerful political movement, out of which the Hamas movement emerged in 1987. Sheikh Yassin, a crippled, semi-blind Islamic cleric, founded Hamas and was its spiritual leader until his assassination in 2004. He was originally approached by Israel with an offer of help and the promise of a license to expand. The Israelis hoped that, through his charity and educational work, this charismatic leader would counterbalance the power of the secular Fatah in the Gaza Strip and beyond. [...]

In 1993, Hamas became the main opposition to the Oslo Accord. While there was still support for Oslo, it saw a drop in its popularity; however, as Israel began to renege on almost all the pledges it had made during the negotiations, support for Hamas once again received a boost. Particularly important was Israel’s settlement policy and its excessive use of force against the civilian population in the territories. [...]

It also captured the hearts and minds of many Muslims (who make up the majority in the occupied territories) due [to] the failure of secular modernity to find solutions to the daily hardships of life under occupation. [...]

The new Israeli methods of oppression introduced during the Second Intifada—particularly the building of the wall, the roadblocks, and the targeted assassinations—further diminished the support for the Palestinian Authority and increased the popularity and prestige of Hamas. It would be fair to conclude, then, that successive Israeli governments did all they could to leave the Palestinians with no option but to trust, and vote for, the one group prepared to resist an occupation described by the renowned American author Michael Chabon as “the most grievous injustice I have seen in my life.” [...]

The obvious failure of the Palestinian groups and individuals who had come to prominence on the promise of negotiations with Israel clearly made it seem as if there were very few alternatives. In this situation the apparent success of the Islamic militant groups in driving the Israelis out of the Gaza Strip offered some hope. However, there is more to it than this. Hamas is now deeply embedded in Palestinian society thanks to its genuine attempts to alleviate the suffering of ordinary people by providing schooling, medicine, and welfare. No less important, Hamas’s position on the 1948 refugees’ right of return, unlike the PA’s stance, was clear and unambiguous. Hamas openly endorsed this right, while the PA sent out ambiguous messages, including a speech by Abu Mazen in which he rescinded his own right to return to his hometown of Safad. [...]”

—Ten Myths About Israel by Ilan Pappé, Chapter 9: “The Gaza Mythologies”, the section titled “Hamas Is a Terrorist Organization”

[iloveboysinred]

No love lost [Firelord Zuko]

synopsis- Too soon after the war ended, you and Zuko became leaders of your respective nations. You struggle not to think about the political repercussions your secret romance could bring.

cw- zuko x gn watertribe chief! Reader, slight angst to comfort (nothing too heavy), forbidden romance, feelings are all over the place, not a lot of editing, fluff

2k words

Masterlist

Anxiety sent jitters up your spine, the chilly balcony under your fingertips providing little to no help in easing your nerves. Below you stood the entirety of the Northern Water tribe, looking up at you with scrutinizing eyes. It was now you felt the weight of what your new status as Chief would bring, especially the mounting pressure to live up to the legacy of your sister princess Yue, who had sacrificed herself to become the moonspirit after the sudden assault from the fire navy. The attack had almost left your home in ruins, and it prompted you to join team avatar in their efforts to take down firelord Ozai. Despite leaving for a good cause, your disappearance had left a bad taste in a lot of the water tribe elder’s mouths, especially when news of the then disgraced Prince–now Firelord Zuko, joining your group had traveled throughout the nations. Many had accused you of treason, protests erupting amongst the tribe as soon as your father announced your return and ascent to the throne. 

Now you stood before your people, wearing your traditional colors and furs, pledging your life to the tribe as its new leader. Your friends stood beside you, silently supporting you as you went through the ceremony, offering hushed words of encouragement and reassuring shoulder squeezes. You were glad they were here to support you, especially Zuko– who was visibly uncomfortable, his heavy red robes making him stand out like a sore thumb. It was impossible to miss him, the cold stares of the citizens following his every move. It made you feel queasy having him here, close enough to catch his eye but never close enough for him to speak to you. You had developed somewhat of a knack to know when Zuko had something on his mind, and the way his gaze kept following your movements whenever he could, was evidence enough for you to avoid him as much as possible.

When you first met Zuko, you were wary of him, understandably so. The memory of Fire navy soldiers invading your home fortress was still too fresh in your mind. Kitara had told you of how he had kidnapped Aang when he was still in the spirit world, attempting to sneak him into the clutches of his father and it had only made you resent him more. You ignored his attempts to prove himself, and rejected the idea of forging a friendship with him. All you could see when you looked at him were the atrocities committed by his homeland. 

 While the days progressed though, you had started to grow a little fond of him. As he acclimated to the group, Zuko had revealed more and more about himself, and it was the first time you had actually seen him as more than a spoiled prince. You began to see him for who he was; a broken child with a bleeding heart, wanting nothing but the love and acceptance of his father. Prince Zuko was a bashful, awkward teenager just like everyone else. Still, it was hard for you to push the apprehension you felt to the back of your mind at first, especially when you were still living in the reality that his forefathers had created.

Seeing the rest of the team embrace Zuko as a friend, it didn't take long for you to embrace him too— but it was different between the two of you then it was for everyone else. Zuko understood your turmoil, he knew what you felt when you explained how you had always been in your sister’s shadow, he held you close to his body when you wept to him about your mother, your tribe, and your upcoming role as chief. He was as warm as the sun, reassuring you that everything would be alright. That he was here. It was clear to everyone in the group that you and Zuko’s relationship had long transcended the bounds of friendship. They had noticed the way you inched closer together during supper time, your knees constantly brushing together as you sat. Even Sokka had pointed out the way his eyes softened with adoration whenever he spoke of you. There was always an air of comfort and warmth between the two of you that nobody could deny. He was your complete opposite, but his warmth drew you into him, and two days before confronting Firelord Ozai, you couldn’t resist the pull anymore. You gave in, allowing yourself to press your lips against his. You could feel his heart beat thrumming in tandem with yours, his lips pressing back into you so desperately it felt as though you were waiting your entire life time for this moment. It was a second of quiet. Nothing else mattered in that moment, the worries about war, the stress of returning home all faded away into obscurity. 

You allowed yourself to dream–to imagine for just that second, a life where you could be together. A different reality in where you could give your all to him, to embrace him without political repercussions and scrutiny. But just as quickly as it started, you pulled away. He looked at you then. His eyes swimming with admiration, a question burning him from the inside out that you couldn't bring yourself to answer. You’d turned away from him at that moment, returning to your camp without speaking another word to him. 

Zuko had always been persistent though, and shortly after Aang had claimed his victory against Ozai, he came to find you sitting alone in his quarters. He sat beside you, the bed dipping under his weight, but you said nothing. Silently staring down at your hands, you avoided his gaze. too afraid to lose against your better judgment if you faced him. “Can you…can you look at me?” he always spoke to you so softly, his raspy voice making your skin warm with goosebumps. You felt him falter after he noticed you still refused to look at him, his bandaged chest aching as he dropped his hands into his lap, staring hard into the red carpet beneath your feet. The silence between the two of you was suffocating, filled with unresolved feelings and questions. You fiddled with your fingers, thinking over the words you wanted to say, and how to get them out into the air. It was a lot easier to think when he wasn’t right next to you. When you didn’t have to fight the urge to pull him close. 

“Look..what happened that night, i-” he cut himself off when you stood up abruptly, your eyes downcast, still not bringing yourself to meet his eyes. “Don’t. Please, don’t.” you whispered, your arms hugging your chest as you tried to keep your emotions at bay. “y/n..please, i don’t want to just pretend like..like that kiss meant nothing! I have feelings for you, I don't know how else I can show you that I'm good now, I've changed! You can trust me, I'll turn everything my father did around, I promise!” You turned to him, tears burning behind your eyes, but you forced them back. You had to be strong, for yourself, for your nation, and for the peace you and your friends had worked so tirelessly for. “Is..is that what you think this is about?” you asked, your voice barely above a whisper. “I know you’re good, Zuko.. you– you’re amazing, and noble and kind” you felt the tears rise up along your waterline and you wiped them away, sniffling as you forced your shaking voice to continue. “Which is why this��” you motioned between the two of you “This..can’t happen. Your nation needs you, and my nation needs me.. everything is so fragile right now, we can’t risk another conflict between the nations, not over something so stupid.” you looked away from the flash of hurt that flitted through his eyes. Instead you looked down at your feet, steeling your resolve. “I’m sorry Zuko.. but I have to put my nation first. And you should too.” Zuko said nothing, watching you leave without looking back. 

That was the last time you’d truly spoken. Defeating Ozai was only the beginning of the end for this war, and after Zuko’s coronation as Firelord it became apparent just how large of a responsibility was on his shoulders. You’d only caught glimpses of him during his ceremony, and saw even less of him during your stay in his palace with his advisors roping him into long meetings with diplomats, his attention constantly stolen away by long documents he’d have to carefully read word by word. Your own responsibilities had stolen you away as well, leaving you no leisure time to join your friends in their bi-monthly escapades to the fire nation. 

Now after your ceremony had ended, you stood alone on your balcony, the moonlight washing you in a gentle glow. You gazed up into the sky, silently hoping your sister could see you now, bittersweet emotion gripping your heart. You didn’t have to look at him to know Zuko was silently standing next to you, the warmth radiating from him in contrast to the frigid air that surrounded you was more than enough to make you aware of his presence. You closed your eyes when his hands held on to the icey balcony. The two of you stood in tense silence, neither one of you courageous enough to say something. It was only when you turned to him that you willed yourself to speak. “Cold night, tonight huh?” you muttered, sheepishly kicking the snow around with the tip of your foot, trying to distract yourself from the fact that he was here. His hair had grown from the shabby mess he had when you first met. In the year you’d been apart, his soft features from adolescence were slowly hardening into one of an adult. You felt your heart pound when he said nothing, staring off into the distance as if he was distracted, his hair was down from its traditional top knot, his crown sat off a few inches next to him. Zuko still looked like the boy you had met what felt like years ago. But he was more regal now, and he carried himself with the exact poise and grace you’d expect from someone of his status. Still, when he spoke, his voice still carried the rasp it always had, and he still spoke to you in the same soft tone he reserved for you. 

“Did…did you really mean what you said that day?” you felt your mouth dry, already knowing where this conversation was going to go. “Yes, Zuko.. I'm the chief of the northern water tribe, and you're the firelord. We have no time to be sneaking around like stupid teenagers–” “Do you really think what we had was stupid?” he looked at you now, his golden eyes catching the soft illumination from the moon. You didn’t know what to say, your words catching in your throat. dropping your shoulders, you returned to the balcony, staring up at the moon for comfort. 

“No, Zuko. It wasn’t. I have feelings for you, feelings I can't have. Don’t you understand? Our nations– the world is still recovering from war, a forbidden romance is the last thing we need. If it gets out that we’re sneaking around, then we could start another conflict between our nations and i…i can’t subject my people to that, not when we’ve been wanting peace for the last hundred years.” you gripped the balcony tight, your stomach knotted up with pent up emotion. Zuko stared at you, mulling over what he wanted to say next. You felt the silence settle once more between you, and you almost wanted to take your leave, but his words stopped you in your tracks.  “It doesn’t have to be that way. We can form a deeper alliance. The Northern watertribe would receive fire nation support and trade, and the fire nation would receive the Northern watertribe’s trade in supplies and support, we can.. we can be together and not have to worry about conflict.” he was pleading now, grasping your hand with his as he looked into your eyes imploringly. “But, the fire nation has no use for water tribe supplies..” you muttered, your hand limp in his grasp. He squeezed your palm in his, and you allowed yourself to feel the familiar warmth soak through your glove, feeling your resolve starting to chip away more and more the longer the contact sustained. 

“Then we’ll make a market for it, i’ll make it work, we just have to try.” he pleaded, pressing your hands to his chest. You stared at him, at a loss for words, feeling his warmth draw you in the same way it did months ago. “Please, y/n. I-i want you to be in my life. I don’t want to hide what I feel for you anymore.” his heart was beating fast and steady against your palm, anticipation clear on his face as he waited for your answer. “But, what if.what if it doesn’t work, Zuko? I can’t just risk everything like this–” “Then I'll give everything I have to fix it. Just trust me.” you closed your eyes, nodding at his words. “Okay. I trust you.” you felt your cheek pressed against the hard plain of his chest, his warmth enveloping you as he wrapped his arms around you tight. “Thank you..i promise i'll make it work– i’ll write a draft as soon as i return home, i’ll court you properly, i-” you interrupted him with a soft kiss over his heart. “Shhh..let’s worry about that when you get home, let me just enjoy you for a few moments.” you whispered, looking up at him through your lashes. The moon seemed much brighter now, you could see his entire face under the glow, his golden gaze pooling with affection as he met your gaze. He leaned down, ghosting his lips over yours as if asking for permission, he was holding his breath, shoulders tensed as if anticipating your rejection.  Without a second thought you pressed your lips to his, melting into him as you let your heart soar. You were no longer afraid to dream, because before you stood the man who would make all of them come true.  

[thematicparallel]

I have great respect for your husband, and I know what he wants me to say... that you have no choice but to use me and my men to hunt for you, that I am your only means of survival. But let's be honest. If that is all I can offer you, then my men and I are dead before the sun rises tomorrow, because you know there is always a choice to be made, and you don't trust me at all. So... let us assume that I can offer you something better. You have hidden in this place for a lifetime, hidden from the harsh realities that lie beyond this veil that you have constructed here, but the moment that that shot entered his belly, that veil began to unravel, and sooner or later, you are going to have to confront these realities, chief among them being that England takes whatever, whenever, however it wants. Lives. Loves. Labor. Spirits. Homes. It has taken them from me. I imagine that it has taken it from you. And when that veil drops altogether, they will come for more. You're suggesting that you could help us prevent England from taking these things? No, I am suggesting that we help each other start taking things back, and it starts with Nassau. You cannot stay here. This camp's secrecy is its virtue, but that secrecy is going. Nassau is defendable. Nassau can supply itself. Is that not exactly the sort of place that could replace this? A place that you could settle? Settle? Governor Woodes Rogers holds Nassau Town with a full company of British regulars. He holds the harbor with a small navy. He holds the men on the street with his pardons. Woodes Rogers has an inoperative fort, responsibility for an administrative nightmare that isn't going away just because he wants it to, and an island full of hunters that may be placated for now, but could be awoken. That I could awaken. How do you propose to do that? They pledged to follow me when they thought I was alive. They turned when they thought I was gone. So I will come back from the dead and lay claim to what I am owed. Let's say that by some miracle we could dislodge the British from Nassau. I could not possibly hope to defend it with my numbers. Your numbers? For every man in your camp, there are thousands somewhere in the West Indies living under the same yoke, chained in fields, pressed on ships, sold into indenture. When they see a sitting governor protected by his majesty's navy, deposed by an alliance of pirates and slaves, how many consider joining that fight? How many thousands of men will flock to Nassau, join your ranks, and help you defend it? What does a colonial power do when the men whose toil powers it lay down their shovels, take up swords, and say, "No more"? Bring down Nassau, maybe you bring it all down.