#Conservation Overture

[delicatelysublimeforester]

Wings of Wonder

Wings of Wonder: Celebrating World Migratory Bird Day 2024 As we navigate the critical juncture of climate change and biodiversity loss, the call to action resounds louder than ever. One essential step in this conservation journey is the creation of a biodiversity inventory, a collective effort to illuminate the richness of our urban wildlife and fortify measures for their…

[dystopicjumpsuit]

Watch and Learn, City Boy, Part 2: Autumn

A/N: This is a follow-up to Part 1, which I wrote last year. The muse struck on the autumnal equinox, and who am I to reject her overture? Yes, I switched tenses, and no, I’m not sorry. Enjoy! 

Pairing: Hound x Reader (Fem)

Rating: M (mature content intended for readers 18+; minors DNI) 

Wordcount: 2.8K

Warnings and tags: fluff; domesticity; language; little bit of SMUT; one (1) slap on the ass; tickling; pinning; allusions to bondage; Reader is a bit of a brat; Hound is a playful switch (I don’t make the rules); this isn't as kinky as it sounds; I made up pretty much everything about Alderaanian culture, holiday observances, and spirituality for this fic, so don’t take anything here as having a basis in canon.

Summary: Autumn has come to Alderaan, and you’re stuck on kriffin’ Coruscant. But Hound won’t let that stop you from celebrating.

Suggested Listening: 

This fic smells like: Hempz Apple Cinnamon Shortbread body lotion (autumn leaves; warm spices)

Part 1 | Masterlist | Sign up for my tag list

Grizzer launched herself off of your mattress with a ferocious snarl before you even heard the door chime. Hound startled awake with a muffled grunt, and you sat up, rubbing your eyes groggily and fumbling for your datapad to check the security holo.

“‘S goin’ on?” he mumbled.

“Groceries,” you rasped as you crawled out of bed and slipped into a robe. “I’ll take care of it. Go back to sleep.”

Grizzer was prancing triumphantly at the front door, and she greeted you with a loud, delighted snort to let you know that she had successfully repelled the invading force and secured the perimeter.

“Good girl,” you yawned. “So brave. Gonna tell Fox to give you a medal and a promotion.”

She plopped down resolutely in front of the door and refused to budge until you had administered what she deemed to be an appropriate number of scritches between the spines on her back. At length, she shuffled out of the way so you could open the door and dart out into the hallway just long enough to retrieve your grocery delivery, silently beseeching the Force not to let your well-meaning but nosy neighbors catch you in your bathrobe. Gods knew you and Hound already gave them plenty of fodder for gossip.

Once the groceries were safely inside, Grizzer had to complete an exhaustive sniff-spection of every single bag before she would allow you to put the food away, and then she gave you a meaningful look and lumbered over to the back door. You tapped the panel and shivered at the blast of cold air that rushed in as the door hissed open. 

Grizzer sauntered out to do her business on the comically tiny patch of fake grass you’d installed on your balcony once you realized she and Hound would be staying over as many nights as they could possibly sneak away from the barracks. By the time you’d finished stashing the perishables in the conservator, she was back inside and waiting for her breakfast.

You activated the cleaning droid to deal with her mess, dumped a scoop of massiff chow in her bowl, and finally returned to the bedroom. Hound’s eyes remained stubbornly closed, but he wordlessly pulled the blankets back as you climbed into bed and snuggled your ass into the nook of his body, extending his other arm for you to use as a pillow.

Stars, he’s so warm. This is the best part of my day.

You barely had time to settle in before Grizzer hopped up onto the bed, circled a few times, then flopped against you hard enough to knock the wind out of you.

“Ugh, careful with the spikes, Grizz. Don’t you have breakfast to eat?” you muttered.

Despite your grumbles, you couldn’t resist the pleading look she shot you, and you reached down to pat her lazily as she settled her chin onto your leg with a happy sigh. Kriffin’ massiff always wants to be the littlest spoon.  

You shifted, looking for a comfortable position while being smooshed between your two favorite beings, then tucked your feet closer to Hound, trying to get warm. He flinched as he felt your icy feet against his shins, but instead of pulling away, he rested his hand on your hip and drew you more firmly against his body, then slid up your torso to cup your breast. He nuzzled his face into your shoulder and pressed a kiss to your skin.

“Mornin’,” he rumbled. ”Happy equinox. I assume you've planned somethin’ festive for today?”

“Mm-hmm,” you mumbled, privately reflecting that he was using far too many words for this early on a Benduday morning. “‘S why I ordered groceries.”

He hummed his approval and began to kiss a path down your spine. “Does it involve tying me to a kitchen chair and licking a jar of honey off my skin?”

You laughed quietly and kissed the scar on his forearm that rested beneath your head. “Is that a specific fantasy you have, or are you just looking for an excuse to get me to tie you up and have my wicked way with you?”

“Two things can be true, angel.” He squeezed your breast gently, then trailed his fingertips down the centerline of your body, unerringly finding his way between your thighs. “Your feet are like kriffin’ icicles. You go on an expedition to Ilum for those groceries or somethin’?”

“Grizz was extra needy this morning,” you explained. “Mm, that feels nice. Don’t stop.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he murmured. His fingers slipped over your clit and into your pussy, and he shifted slightly to grind his cock against your ass. “Feel how hard you made me? Prancin’ around in that little thing you call a bathrobe. Probably gave the neighbors a coronary.”

“Nobody saw me,” you laughed, then gasped as he slid deeper. “At least I—fuck—I didn’t see anyone.”

“Grizz, off,” he ordered, to the massiff’s vocal disgust. Nevertheless, she complied, jumping off the bed with a huff of protest and wandering out of the bedroom in search of the breakfast she’d previously snubbed. “Guess we’ll find out if anyone saw you when they send a thank-you holocard. Damn, little one, you’re kriffin’ soaked. What were you dreamin’ about, dirty girl?”

It wasn’t a dream, it’s just you, you thought, but rather than inflate his already impressive ego, you wiggled your butt against his hips and replied in your most provocative tone. 

“Thorn.”

He laughed, then withdrew from between your thighs and gave you a firm little slap on the ass. You let out a shrill squeak and squirmed out of his arms just far enough to launch yourself off the mattress and tackle him, pinning him briefly and digging your fingers into his ribs to tickle him ruthlessly. 

Alas, your vengeance was short lived. After the briefest moment of being incapacitated by laughter, he managed to roll over on top of you, capturing your wrists and holding them against the pillow on either side of your head.

“Oh, you asked for it, darlin’,” he said with a wicked grin. 

The morning light caught in his eyes and illuminated them to honey gold. They danced with mischief, and you felt an odd flutter in your chest that you didn’t have enough time to examine before he pounced, and the only thing on your mind was holding on while your ARF trooper took you for the ride of your life.

When the pair of you finally stumbled out of bed, you mentally scratched off a few of the activities you’d planned, since you were running two hours behind schedule—a sacrifice you were more than willing to make, all things considered. There was still plenty of time to visit the Alderaanian shrine of the ancestors in the Federal District and make it home in time to cook dinner—a meal that you’d been planning with meticulous care for weeks, going to great lengths to source Alderaanian ingredients that were often difficult to find in the Core Worlds.

“You sure they’ll let me in?” Hound asked as he surveyed the entrance to the temple with obvious doubt in his eyes.

“They will,” you replied firmly. “They don’t turn anyone away. If you ever find yourself in trouble and need a place to lie low, they’ll give you sanctuary.”

“Even though I did absolutely depraved things to you an hour ago?” he murmured in your ear, sending tingles of awareness down your neck.

“... Maybe don’t mention that part.”

“You know, this whole sanctuary thing sounds a little illegal,” he joked.

“Who are you, the police?”

He snorted, then allowed you to lead him inside. The temple was crowded, and not a single person recognized Hound as a clone trooper, or if they did, nobody mentioned it. Hound was fascinated by the vibrant—not to say chaotic—energy inside. 

“The only temple I’ve ever been inside is the Jedi temple,” he said. “This one is really different.”

“I imagine so,” you laughed. “I’ve never been inside the Jedi Temple, but I’ve heard it’s really tranquil. This is… not that.”

He grinned in acknowledgment. “Do you come here every equinox?”

You shook your head. “I’m not really that observant most of the time. When I’m at home, we just have a family celebration. But here on Coruscant, it’s kind of nice to come to a place where I can meet other Alderaanians. For me, it’s really more about staying in touch with my culture, but a lot of people are very devout.”

When the pair of you finally made your way through the temple and to the shrine, he followed you inside and observed respectfully but with keen interest as you lit a stick of incense and left a small offering for the shrine guardian spirit. You were in and out in under a minute, and as the pair of you rejoined the thronging crowd headed toward the exit, Hound leaned in to whisper in your ear.

“That was quick.”

“No point in monopolizing it,” you replied under your breath. “Bad form when the temple is this busy.”

The temple wasn’t the only thing that was busy. Traffic was fully gridlocked, and the trip home took ages. By the time you arrived, you were both ravenous, which was deeply unfortunate, given that you’d planned a fairly elaborate dinner. Still, you were determined to make it work and salvage what was left of the equinox. 

Grizzer was beside herself when you walked through the door. She barreled into Hound with a delighted squeal, and he knelt down for their ritual greeting. She sat patiently until he was within reach and then, with a gentleness that was wholly improbable for a creature of her size, she touched her snout against his nose.

“I’m here, too, Grizz,” you teased, and if a massiff were capable of rolling its eyes, she would have. Nevertheless, she eagerly snuggled up to you, demanding her tribute of affection.

“Do I have time to take her for a quick  run before dinner?” Hound asked.

“I think so. It’ll be a refreshing change to cook without my reptile sous chef.”

“Don’t listen to her, Grizz,” Hound said, covering the massiff’s ear holes. “She’d be lost in the kitchen without you.”

“Oh, definitely,” you agreed solemnly. “What ever shall I do without constant supervision and the in-house quality assurance expert?”

Hound gave you a quick kiss and headed out, and you set to work, swallowing down a faint feeling of disappointment that so many of your plans had fallen through. Dinner would make up for it, though. Dinner would be perfect.. Within minutes, the entire flat began to fill with delicious smells. Everything was proceeding swimmingly. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

“Gods damn it!”

Your frustrated curse was the first thing Hound heard when he opened the door. Grizzer charged inside and skidded to a halt, prancing around the kitchen.

“Not now, sweetie,” you said, your tone softening a bit as you saw the massiff.

“Somethin’ wrong?” Hound asked.

“That karking shopper droid brought me decorative mini pumpkins instead of edible ones,” you groaned. “And to make matters worse, the pumpkin stems mutilated my Force-damned tomato.”

“Damn, looks like it got squashed,” he murmured.

“That is a terrible pun, and this is no laughing matter!”

“You’re right,” he said apologetically. “It’s an obvious case of assault with a deadly veggie.”

“Still not funny. Look at this carnage!”

You held up the mangled tomato, and he inspected it closely before gravely replying. “That’s a pretty gore-dy victim. Better shield Grizzer’s innocent eyes before she’s permanently scarred.”

You snorted, obstinately refusing to laugh. “I knew I should have just gone to the market myself.”

“Why don’t we go now?” he asked, giving up on his quest to distract you with the worst puns in the Core Worlds. “We can pick up some pumpkins that are actually edible, maybe have a little tour of the market district, get some fresh air?”

You glanced at the clock and sighed. “If we do that, we’ll be eating at midnight. I’ll figure something out.”

Grizzer whined at the sharpness in your tone, then curled up in the corner of your living room so she could keep an eye on you, sensing your frustration. You glared at the offending gourds for a moment, and would have bet every last credit of his nonexistent salary that you were contemplating hurling them into the abyss of the Coruscant underworld. Seeing how much the kriff-up had upset you, Hound ventured into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around your waist from behind, resting his chin on your shoulder.

“What’s really bothering you, love?” he asked. “You’re always good at coming up with contingency plans. Is this really such a big problem that it’ll ruin your equinox?”

You sighed and leaned back against him, closing your eyes. “No. Not really. It’s just… My mom always makes this for the autumn equinox. I really wanted it to be perfect, you know?”

“You miss her.”

You nodded. “I do. I miss home, too. It’s weird to celebrate an Alderaanian equinox holiday on a planet that doesn’t even have seasons. And I really wanted this to be perfect so you could have the experience even though you weren’t able to get leave to travel back home with me, and we had to cancel almost all of our plans, and now dinner is ruined, too, and I’m just so fucking tired and hungry.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” He kissed the side of your head, then turned you around slowly so he could look into your eyes. His chest squeezed when he saw the beginnings of tears in your eyes, and he brushed his thumb across your cheek to wipe them away. “It is perfect, because I’m spendin’ it with you. No place I’d rather be in the galaxy.”

“Not even a musty old tent surrounded by wolf-cats?” you muttered rebelliously.

“As tempting as that sounds—and if I recall correctly, you were extremely tempting—no. But I’d eat rations and sleep in a musty old tent every night for the rest of my life if it meant I got to wake up next to you.” He didn’t say the words he desperately wanted to. It was too soon, and he didn’t want to scare you off. Instead, he pressed his lips to your forehead and wrapped his arms around your shoulders, holding you close. “Kriff the pumpkins. We’ll get takeout and go for a speeder bike ride in the entertainment district.”

You gasped. “Blasphemy! How dare you insinuate that I can’t salvage this disaster? Stand aside and watch the master at work.”

“That’s my girl,” he grinned. 

“Hmph,” you replied haughtily, unable to quite repress the smile at the corner of your lips.

You started toward the stove, but as you took your first step, Hound caught you by your apron ties and tugged you back into his arms for a devastating kiss. He was extremely thorough, and by the time he released you, you were dizzy and breathless, and he made damn sure you couldn’t remember that mini pumpkins even existed.

“That. Was. Incredible,” Hound said as he cleaned the last few morsels from his plate. 

“Not quite as aesthetically pleasing as Mom’s,” you hedged. 

“It was rustic,” he insisted. “Homestyle. Deconstructed.”

“You really need to stop watching cooking shows on the holonet.”

“How else will I learn all the terms to describe your food to make my brothers insane with jealousy? You think clone troopers have a reason to say ‘craveable’ on a daily basis?”

“Oh, yeah? You tell Thorn all about me?” you teased.

“Easy now, darlin’,” he replied with a lazy grin. “You’re gonna give me a complex.”

“Don’t worry, I could never leave Grizzer.”

He laughed. “Lucky thing for me.”

He leaned back in his chair and stretched, then stood up and began to clear away the dishes. You groped his ass shamelessly from your seat, then wrapped your arms around his waist and buried your face against his abdomen.

“Thanks for celebrating with me,” you murmured, your voice muffled by his shirt. “I know I kind of lost the plot there.”

He set down the plates and wrapped his arms around you. “Not the first time I’ve seen you hangry; won’t be the last.”

You laughed into his belly, then tugged his shirt up so you could kiss his warm, smooth skin. “You know, there’s one equinox tradition that we haven’t observed yet.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“It involves a kitchen chair, a pair of your binders, and a jar of honey.”

“Dank farrik, I’m in love with you.” The words slipped out, and by the time Hound realized what he’d said, it was too late to call them back.

You drew back and stared up at him with an expression of shock. “What?”

“Uh…”

Kriff.

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[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ryan W. Briggs, Max Marin, and Ellie Rushing at Philadelphia Inquirer:

BETHEL PARK, Pa. — In the sea of caps and gowns, Thomas Matthew Crooks hardly stood out. Few people clapped when his name was called. A YouTube video of his graduation two years ago from Bethel Park High School shows a slender and bespectacled student receiving his diploma with a soft smile. But the class of 2022 awoke Sunday to learn that the 20-year-old Allegheny County man was notorious, the shooter in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during a rally that left an ex-firefighter, Corey Comperatore, dead and two other attendees wounded. U.S. Secret Service counter-snipers killed Crooks moments after he opened fire on the Saturday night rally from a nearby rooftop. The FBI said Sunday they believed he acted alone. He had not been on the bureau’s radar.

Crooks’ actions shocked residents in his hometown, sparked countless conspiracy theories online, and prompted investigators to begin combing through every aspect of his life, looking for motive. The mystery has been fueled by a near-total absence of Crooks’ social media postings, political writings, or other digital fingerprints. Several former classmates appeared on national television Sunday, quickly casting Crooks as a stereotypical loner who was bullied heavily during his time at Bethel Park. One of them, Jason Kohler, told reporters Sunday that students tormented Crooks “almost every day” and that he often wore “hunting” outfits to class. “He was just an outcast,” Kohler said, “and you know how kids are nowadays.” Yet, two former students interviewed by The Inquirer disputed the characterization. They did not recall specific incidents of violence or other antagonism involving their now-infamous classmate in the community they described as generally tight-knit.

[...] The slight traces of public information Crooks left behind leave few clues about his political ideology. Federal campaign finance records show he made a $15 donation to progressive political action committee in 2021 after President Joe Biden’s election, but later registered as a Republican, according to Pennsylvania voter data. His father was a registered Libertarian, his mother a Democrat. Crooks’ body was found on the rooftop of an agricultural tool manufacturing plant a few hundred feet from the rally with an AR-style semiautomatic rifle — legally purchased by his father. The shooter was wearing a T-shirt promoting “The Demolition Ranch,” a YouTube channel for gun enthusiasts. If Crooks maintained any personal social media presence, it went largely undetected on Sunday. Discord, an instant messaging platform mainly used by video gamers, released a statement acknowledging Crooks held a “rarely utilized” account that contained no information relevant to the shooting.

Sigafoos did not recall Crooks making political overtures in class, but rather as someone interested in how government works, and “not trying to insert his own beliefs into it.” Another former classmate did not share this view. Max R. Smith recalled taking an American history course with Crooks as a sophomore. He did recall Crooks making political statements — but they shed no light on his actions Saturday. “He definitely was conservative,” he said. “It makes me wonder why he would carry out an assassination attempt on the conservative candidate.” Smith recalled a mock debate in which their history professor posed government policy questions and asked students to stand on one side of the classroom or the other to signal their support or opposition for a given proposal. “The majority of the class were on the liberal side, but Tom, no matter what, always stood his ground on the conservative side,” Smith said. “That’s still the picture I have of him. Just standing alone on one side while the rest of the class was on the other.”

The gunman who killed rallygoer Corey Comperatore and attempted the assassination of Donald Trump at Saturday night’s Butler, PA rally was not only a registered Republican but also a vehement conservative.

This should hopefully put an end to the right-wing’s nonsensical claim that a “violent leftist”/”Antifa” tried to kill Trump.

[merlinmerlot]

We finally finished the fifth elephant.

I wish I could say after my 2nd reading I enjoyed this book, but unfortunately it's marred by painful pacing and deeply frustrating overtures to any of the actually good scenes.

Read more for my full thoughts:

Fifth Elephant is a book that struggles with its identity in a way I haven't seen in previous watch books, and it's made all the more maddening by the fact that out of the twenty million things the book tries, there is some stuff of substance! But you can never quite get a handle on any of them because the book is so damn busy!

I struggle to pinpoint a main theme in this book. Is it about fascism, the consequences of long distance communication, or gender and race in conservative society? The book doesn't doesn't stay with any of these concepts for long enough, which results in a muddy plot.

Is it about the past, the future, history, belief, traditions, what it means for things to stay the same and yet change, and what that means for truth? But that feels like well traveled ground, especially with Men At Arms and Feet of Clay, and honestly, this book doesn't sell this well enough to me, because while it’s Telling me these things, it's not actually Saying anything with them.

While Pratchett makes a point to give Klatch space to breathe, and make it a country on its terms (though, admittedly, he falls into orientalist tropes), Uberwald is plagued by Western exceptionalist writing choices. Why does Pratchett connect ideas of the future to Ankh Morpork (a proto-capitalist state), and imply that Uberwald must be forcefully pulled along with it? Why are there multiple scenes about how much the people of Uberwald hate living there, that they want to go to ‘modern’ Ankh Morpork, without really scrutinizing Why that is? Why is the fact that Ankh Morpork has become Such a global economic power not explored in a critical way, at least not thoroughly? (Especially since I Know Pratchett is capable of it. He did it with Jingo.)

I think the biggest crime this book does, though, is with its characterization of Vimes. I can't fathom the ‘why’, but for some reason Pratchett leans into the hyper-masculine noir traits of Vimes' character. They’ve always been there, but while the other books took a satirical spin to it, there's a certain romanticizing of it in this book. Vimes’ violent, ‘beastly’ nature is bad and Scary, but oh, isn't it Cool and Dark and Edgy too? Look how this strong, bloody man frightens the townsfolk, smokes a cigar while he shoots a man to save his poor wife. This is tolerable in bite sized portions, but in Fifth Elephant it's like sickening sweet. Why does Vimes kill a man in the streets, on purpose, (the first time he does that in the climax of these books!) and it's hardly addressed! (Yes, Wolfgang deserved it. But when So Much of Vimes' character is delegated to Not giving in to the Easy Choice, why is this decision not given the space it needs? Especially RIGHT after Jingo!)

There's just this strange sense of a focus on masculinity in this book that wasn't in any of the others. Like, why is it that in the Uberwald book, we spend more time with Carrot chasing Angua then with Angua herself? Why the hell is this not an Angua book? Why, in every scene where she has to confront her problems, whether that be her family or otherwise, must she be saved by a man? 

And all of this is a shame because there Are some scenes I really enjoy in this book! I love when we see Sybil and the wedding pictures, I love Vimes getting chased by werewolves. I find Inigo a really fun character, and I LOVE MARGOLOTTA. The parallels between the clacks towers and modern day communication, the little crumbs here and there of spy media tropes, the addiction metaphors, the werewolf family! But that's the kicker! We never spend enough time with Any idea! And none of it connects well enough together! Which is crazy, because Jingo and Feet of Clay were both such Cohesive stories. 

Regardless. I’m looking forward to The Truth because I really missed Ankh Morpork in this book. And Also Vetinari. (who, funnily enough, is hardly in this book. I guess he took up too much space in Jingo).

My final thoughts: Vimes should have had a daughter instead. 

[winslowleachthecomposer]

200-300 pages. 250 page cantata is 36 pages in 7 days but i only have 5 and i know i did NOT write that many yesterday and the day before i should have done the math okay justthe bare bones basic arias and overture that i am struggling with w.hat am i saying.okay maybe 200-300 is overestimating it maybe okay so if 1 page of sheet music with four instruments at 60bpm is about a minute of music which is silly but iineed an average some of the longest cantatas are an hour but mine is almost four which is stupid but i'm stubborn but i have to cut this down somehow okay so that's four pages times no wait four times hold on. 240 minutes . so that IS 200-300 pages GODDAMIT okay i can figure this out. half the runtime. what can i cut without sabotaging anything (i can't) (this is going to be awful). get rid of additional characters. no valentine. oh i hate that. faust needs to kill. i cant just focus on him and gretchen and mepg but thats all i can think about so maybe just flesh that out a little more the harmful relationship okay just focus on that come back to the rest latetr. no robin and rafe even though i hated how the doctor faustus movie cut them out too am i really going this route?. cut the witches.SHOULD I CUT OUT WALPURGISNACHT??!i cant noi can but i really don't want to but i might have to. no but if i do theres next to no interactionsbetween faut and mep until he comes tcollect his soul. if i keep marguerote"s motherbut cut valentine it might seem weird. i will figure that out later Cut a good chunk of the recitatives show don't tell. onlykeep the most critical ones like at the beginning with the poison and the contract and meph in hell and the baby and gretchen in jail and faust gtting pulled down to hellokay ust foscus on faust and gretchen and meph okay three act structure overture never thought special to me beauty and the beast old souls jail song/all my dreams are lost reprise and the hell of it as the finale those are the MOST important ones. but those shouldn't be the end all be all Get those done figure otu the rest after.that's three hours out the window so that's 60 pages realistcially more like double that. 120-180 asa conservative estimate because ofmore instruments so more notes and less page space and ive already done how many jave o done. 25 and a half across the board not yet completed a song yest except for one.ojh my god Swwan in 2 hours 20 mins. whydoileave enverthting to thie last minuteAUEAAUUAUUUAEGUERRRRGHjsutget thei mportatn songshDONE plot later pkay new plan SHUT UP AND WORK

[beardedmrbean]

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has been thrown into fresh disarray with the abrupt departure of his finance minister, Chrystia Freeland.

By the end of a frenetic Monday, a new finance minister was in place, but Trudeau was facing calls from members of his own Liberal Party to quit.

Without directly referring to the news, the prime minister told party donors at an event in Ottawa: "It's obviously been an eventful day. It has not been an easy day."

In her scathing resignation letter - published on the day she was due to deliver an economic statement - Freeland cited disagreements with her long-time ally on how to respond to the threat of tariffs from Donald Trump.

The US president-elect, who will return to the White House in January, has vowed to impose a levy of 25% on imported Canadian goods unless the shared border is made more secure.

Economists say the tariffs could have a devastating effect on Canada's economy.

In her letter, Freeland accused Trudeau of choosing "costly political gimmicks" over addressing the threat posed by Trump's "aggressive economic nationalism".

Trump himself later responded to Freeland, posting that her "behaviour was totally toxic, and not at all conducive to making deals which are good for the very unhappy citizens of Canada".

Freeland said her decision came after Trudeau told her last week that he no longer wanted her to be the government's top economic adviser.

Her departure blindsided the government, leaving the fate of the scheduled economic update in the air for hours and bringing Trudeau and his shaky minority Liberals to the brink.

In a further blow, the Liberals lost control of the Cloverdale-Langley City seat in British Columbia, after a by-election win for rival Conservatives. It was the Liberals' third by-election defeat of the year.

Freeland's sudden exit as finance minister earlier in the day "just makes Canada look quite confused and uncertain", Chris Sands, director of the Wilson Center's Canada Institute, told the BBC.

"Trudeau finds himself a little bit alone, not super close to any of his ministers, with the big, talented ones mostly now having left," he added.

Mr Sands said Trump's win in November's US presidential election has caused a split among US allies, including Canada.

"Do you respond to Trump by pushing back and standing firm, or do you respond by trying to find a way to avoid conflict?" he said.

Trudeau has made overtures to Trump, including flying to Mar-a-Lago, the president-elect's Florida estate, last month to dine with the president-elect.

But Freeland's perspective, said Mr Sands, was closer to that of Mexico - also facing a tariff threat - and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Mexico has positioned itself under the idea that "now is the time to say no, to push back, to take a fighting stance", he said.

Many politicians remember the challenges they faced during Trump's first term in office, he added.

"He hasn't been inaugurated yet, but people are already reacting as though he was the president and taking serious measures."

Freeland, who also served as deputy prime minister, had been Ottawa's lead during the first Trump administration in the successful re-negotiation of the US-Canada-Mexico free trade pact.

It was "a really stressful and overwhelming process for Canada", Mr Sands said.

In addition to the members of the prime minister's own party who called on him to quit, Canada's three opposition party leaders said on Monday that Trudeau must go.

Pierre Poilievre, leader of the opposition Conservative Party of Canada, called for a federal election as soon as possible.

"Everything is spiralling out of control. We simply cannot go on like this," he said.

Canada's next federal election must be held in October, at the latest.

Laura Stephenson, chair of the political science department at Western University, told the BBC that it was not clear that a change in leadership would affect the current US-Canada dynamic.

"I have no confidence that Trump will react any differently to Poilievre than he does to Trudeau," she said.

After nine years in power, Trudeau has faced growing calls to resign over concerns he is a drag on his party's fortunes.

The Liberal leader's approval rate has plummeted from 63% when he was first elected to 28% in June of this year, according to one poll tracker.

Opinion polls also suggest the Liberals could face a devastating loss to the Conservatives if an election was held today.

Some Liberal members of parliament have been pressuring Trudeau for months to step down - eight MPs publicly expressed this sentiment on Monday, Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported.

In a meeting with his caucus following Freeland's resignation on Monday, Trudeau reportedly heard some of those calls for him to quit directly. Others also expressed their concerns and reservations about his leadership.

Trudeau addressed them by saying he is not immediately stepping down, but that he will reflect on the day's events, according to sources who spoke to Canadian media about the meeting.

Trudeau did not take questions on his way to the fundraiser in Ottawa, but he told the crowd he was "damn proud" of his government's accomplishments.

In brief remarks, he said working for Canadian values was "at the core of what makes us Liberals".

"That's why we show up here, even on the toughest days as a party."

Trudeau has defied previous calls to step aside and has said repeatedly that he plans to run in the next federal election.

Also on Monday, the leaders of Canada's provinces and territories met in Toronto to address Trump's tariff threat.

"It's chaos right now up in Ottawa", said Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

Ford said the premiers will "make sure that we tell the world there is stability here, there is certainty here in Canada".

[th3-0bjectivist]

Dear listener, this will be my final musical post of this year and you know I’m gonna end it on an eternal banger. Godspeed to ALL my followers on Tumblr, happy holidays! Let’s have a great, and positive 24'. Fret thee not, I will be back with more tuneskis next year. That said, I’ve been commenting on classical music for the end of 23'. If you’re just joining me on my page I alluded to Bach and Vivaldi in previous weeks… along with a generous peppering of pejorative comments when I was describing myself listening to modern radio. Modern radio was the REASON I started listening to classical music again this year. Why? Because radio BLOWS. Actually, the programming blows and modern music SUCKS. Classical music on the other hand, for all its technological limitations and despite its clear crow’s feet, is at least quality music. Timeless even! So, for Christmas this year, let’s focus on the excellence of execution for music in the 1800’s, Johannes Brahms. Inventor of great individual and collectivized musical works, and the final exhibition in my three-part 23' classical showpiece. At the end of 24', join me for the likes of Mozart and Beethoven, but for now, smash play and enjoy the uniquely holiday and dream-time piece above. Recognize it? Thought you might, dear listener. For those of you who stay and read my little commentaries on these musical posts I really appreciate it. When you read them, you’re spending time with me in a way. Thanks for your time!

For his time, the mid to late 1800’s in Europe, Johannes Brahms became the tip of the spear in Germanic symphonies and sonatas. Writing something like two hundred songs in his lifetime, he started off in his young teens as a naturally talented pianist and played in inns and brothels around the docks of Hamburg to help his family generate money. For such humble beginnings, he also began composing his own music and performing concerts with other notable musicians such as Eduard Reményi. Through further networking, Brahms became closely associated with other virtuosos and composers like Joseph Joachim and Robert Schumann. Schumann helped boost Brahms’ career when his compositions were featured in a media periodical called Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. Now, I’m not gonna lie, this guy is not my favoite composer and if I’m being 100% honest, I think his symphonies are a little boring. A lot of it is just too lite and plodding for my taste. Don’t get me wrong, the man was a God among normal humans, but when it comes to personal taste, I prefer orchestral symphonies by the likes of Bach and Vivaldi. However, where I think Brahms’ truly excelled was in his original solo piano works, as he was truly a master of vastly intricate mechanisms and capable of very technical applications with music. He invented harmonies with an almost entirely different kind of emotional resonance than other contemporary classical artists; often using instruments to create a warm and introspective noise rather than a lot of the LOUD AND GALIVANTING classical music that you can find a lot of in the 1700’s. In the 1800’s, the tail end of the Romantic period, concerts and festival overtures were the Taylor Swift venues of the time, and the music of Brahms sold BIG in an international way. He also held the Masters of Composition that came before him in high regard, attempting to cling hard and fast to the idea of ‘absolute music’ (the idea being that music should carry no specific or primary meaning) like composers before him. This conservative view of music put him at odds with composers like Wagner, who wrote program music (introducing literary ideas, a subjective drama, an actual scene, etc). Brahms never married but had a few flings. He was known as being prickly and reserved with adults, but kind-hearted and warm around children. He also died of liver carcinoma in Vienna in the late 1800’s after nearly three decades serving as a musical director, principal conductor, educator and perhaps one of the most influential European composers of all-time.

I should also be diligent and let you know that his most concentrated and vital works came along after he began visiting Vienna around the 1860’s. His mother passed in 1865, and he afterward created German Requiem, which is widely considered to be a mass for the living. His works such as Hungarian Dances, Violin Concerto, Wiegenlied (also known as Lullaby or the Cradle Song), and his Piano Quintet were all generated in his later years from 1860 to 1885 or so, gimme a break folks I’m not a historian. It’s all about subtle movements with Brahms, or just his harmonic movement in general. On Christmas this year, or every year, consider coming back to this post and clicking on the Best of Brahms. Spend time and mend with family folks! One more musical post and then I need a long break. Enjoy! Image source: https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/latest/best-looking-composers-musicians/johannes-brahms/

[gloriousmonsters]

this post is just killing me.

the flying leap from a tweet that's just 'the fanciest house in my neighborhood put notes in everyone's mailboxes asking them to be quiet from 2pm bc they were having a backyard wedding, and i'm in awe of my neighbor who proceeded to mow his lawn at exactly 2' to 'oh my god this is everything wrong with america. thinking HORRIFYING behavior like this is OK is why we had Trump!! don't you know that conservatives feel the same way about PRONOUNS as you do about the richest people in the neighborhood issuing a notice that everyone needs to shut up for their event?'

Like sure, it's rude! It's really funny to characterize it as 'you think you're the MAIN CHARACTER', though (god, that criticism is... not only flawed to begin with, but is quickly being overused to the point of incoherence) considering that if anyone seems to think the world revolves around them, it's the people who expected the neighborhood at large to stop and shut up because they're having a backyard wedding (which requires absolute silence from the surrounding area, apparently).

This wasn't some plea for love and kindness and mutual understanding that was shut down by chest-thumping MURICA spirit--the tweet is a TWEET, short and lacking a lot of context by its nature, but the implications are glaringly obvious. Fanciest house on the block, by a mile. No names, they probably aren't friends with anyone in the neighborhood. They issued notes to everyone via mailbox--not talking to them. The notes weren't inviting them to the wedding or any overture of friendship, just 'please be quiet we're doing something important'. Do you think they cared about or checked whether anyone else had something important happening? You don't get love and peace and community and mutual understanding and respect by shushing when someone asks you to shush. In fact, the attitude of 'you have to be polite and not bother people--for the sake of Community and not being rude!!' is twisted just as much to use against marginalized people as belligerence over being asked to do anything at all.

but overall, maybe this isn't some great example of america/humanity's flaws with villainous behavior that must be decried and analyzed, maybe it's just someone's funny little bit of gossip about the richest people in their neighborhood being rude and someone being rude to them back. and maybe if you're comparing it to YOUR neighborhood where everyone is totally OK with people being noisy because they all respect each other and YOU personally would be quiet if one of your neighbors, who you already have an understanding with, asked you to be quiet for a wedding in the area.... realize at some point that the situation is not the same? and this has nothing, in fact, to do with 'how is anyone going to respect your pronouns/being queer if you don't respect and be kind to people in the first place??' which is an unhinged connection to make, period.

Respect and kindness are good. Being respectful and nice and a Good Community Member is not actually a tax you must pay to have a right to live your life. Don't have an outdoor wedding in the middle of a neighborhood if your life will be ruined by someone mowing their lawn. why did we even make this jump in the first place

[dertaglichedan]

Biden-Harris Admin’s Taxpayer-Funded Voter Project Replaces, Dwarfs Facebook CEO’s ‘Zuckerbucks’

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s admission he has paused his “Zuckerbucks” scheme ignores that the Biden-Harris administration has adopted and expanded the concept — potentially unlawfully — on a scale that renders Zuckerberg’s involvement unnecessary.

The billionaire repeated his 2022 pledge to discontinue the controversial program in a Monday letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) that appeared written to continue his efforts to placate conservatives — efforts that have included recent overtures to former President Donald Trump.

Yet, the program has been rendered moot after a 2021 Biden-Harris administration executive order requiring the head of every federal agency to develop programs to register voters and to increase voter participation — programs subject to White House approval.

Zuckerberg initially revealed he would pause his efforts “to support electoral infrastructure” after overwhelming public scrutiny concerning if his efforts heavily targeted potential Democrat voters.

That pledge came after the Biden-Harris White House’s executive order.

During the 2020 election cycle, Zuckerberg enlisted David Plouffe, who managed former President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and is now advising Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign, to advise him on his controversial initiative.

[stoportotouch]

acquired, through... certain means, the original LONDON cast recording of 1776, and. some observations:

overture had a bizarre reorchestration. don’t necessarily mind but it was a strange decision

accents. either bother or don’t but don’t half-ass it

franklin, dickinson, and rutledge are the best voices

martha WOULD have been up there too if she hadn’t been doing something... weird accent-wise

dickinson sounds very pleased that the cool, cool, conservative men are all MEN

HATED momma look sharp. actively insulting.

the 3/4 sections of molasses to rum were taken at... quite a clip. presumably the real reason rutledge stomps out immediately after it is that he had a bus to catch

interesting little musical quotation of rhapsody in blue in molasses to rum? don’t know what it was doing there but sure

rutledge uh. he was GOOD but more on that in a moment

is anybody there? was done with real like. walls-closing-in-around-me terror

thomson having to yell over the sound of posterity never makes much sense

[nodynasty4us]

From the August 21, 2023 article:

According to a report from Axios, big money donors are sitting on their wallets while the search for a Trump alternative proceeds with Governors Brian Kemp (GA) and Glenn Youngkin (VA) high on the list.

[scariusaquarius]

So I just found out Indiana is going to ban all abortion, as a women who lives in this state this scares me. So if a women gets raped she is forced to give birth, if a women is having complications that might kill her, she has to give birth!!! Like wtf???

This unfortunately isn't new. Ever since the overture of Roe vs Wade, many conservative states have taken to banning abortion to varying degrees. The only thing that you can do is to continue to protest, call senators and state representatives, continue to support Planned Parenthood, etc.

As someone who also lives in Indiana, I get the fear. Just be extremely careful until you can either get to a different state where it is legal or something is done about the overture.

Happy 4th of july, right

[usa-town-talks]

Mark Carney Enters Race to Succeed Justin Trudeau as Canadian Prime Minister

Former central banker Mark Carney has officially announced his candidacy for the leadership of Canada’s Liberal Party, positioning himself as a key contender to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Carney, a former Governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, made the announcement in Edmonton, the city where he grew up. In a statement on X, he declared, “I’m in,” emphasizing his commitment to Canada’s future.

“Canada is the best country in the world, but it can be even better,” Carney said. Criticizing the Trudeau administration, he added, “The system is not working as it should, and it’s not working as it could. The economy has been neglected for too long.”

Campaign Focus: Economic Revival and Leadership Experience Carney cited his extensive experience managing crises such as the 2008 global financial meltdown and Brexit as evidence of his ability to steer Canada through economic challenges. “I’m completely focused on getting our economy back on track,” he pledged.

The former banker highlighted his international credentials, including his tenure as the UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance. “I’ve stepped down from all my other roles—I'm fully committed to Canada,” he stated.

A Rivalry with Freeland? Carney’s entry into the race comes as Chrystia Freeland, Trudeau’s former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, is widely expected to announce her own bid for the leadership. Freeland’s resignation in December reportedly followed Trudeau’s overtures to Carney, reflecting a deepening divide within the Liberal Party.

Canadian media reports suggest Freeland may officially launch her campaign later this week, setting the stage for a potentially fierce contest between the two high-profile candidates.

Liberal Leadership Race Timeline The leadership race was triggered by Trudeau’s decision earlier this month to step down. The new leader will be chosen by March 9, leaving just weeks to prepare for the next session of Parliament, which resumes on March 24.

Trailing the Conservative Party by at least 20 points in recent polls, the Liberals face an uphill battle. Carney acknowledged the challenge but criticized Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, calling him a “lifelong politician” unsuited for the current economic and political climate.

“This is no time for politics as usual,” Carney said. “Canada needs bold leadership, and I’m ready to deliver.”

[taliabhattwrites]

The following is an excerpt from the concluding section of the essay.

"Last year, I chose to participate in a mediated conversation with a self-described ‘moderate’ GC, who claimed to be interested in the transfeminine perspective. ‘Moderate’, here, refers to the contingent of Gender-Conservatives who had somehow conned themselves into believing their virulent hatred of trans women was in fact a feminist crusade, and were growing increasingly alarmed at the overtures towards and alliances with right-wingers that movement leaders were making.

It was a short exchange. While she was kind enough to not use any slurs, the GC could not help but ask insistently, “How are you different from a gay man, though?”

Wasn’t what I experienced really homophobia, not misogyny?

Amused, I brought up my complete lack of attraction to men, and pointed out that I wasn’t seen as a man in public. I hadn’t been seen as such for some time, in fact. Regrettably, I could not deny biological reality for the sake of her feelings.

I never got a reply to that."

I'd say the whole thing is worth a read, if you have the time. Aside from the inanity of "radfem misandry" as a critical constituent of transmisogyny, one thing I hope to elaborate more on is that most people do not understand TERFs, GCs, or transmisogyny all that well, and are not good at spotting their rhetoric.

In fact, a lot of you actually echo TERF rhetoric fairly frequently. When you talk about how trans people change our genders, not our sex? That is quite literally the GC line on sex being immutable. When you casually bandy about absurd theories on how trans women don't face medical misogyny or don't truly understand the pains of womanhood due to being 'AMAB'? That's more TERFy than anything I have ever said about men benefiting from patriarchy.

The core issue is that this is a very illiterate, vibes-based website where the average user wants to come across as intelligent, well-informed, and progressive, but wants to achieve this through sheer vibes alone without doing any actual reading. You make associations between media and morality, between consumption patterns and virtue, between the most watered-down pop-understanding of academic discourses and objective truth.

"This is the good show, this is the good theory, and any critique or dissent is automatically Bad, instead of a normal part of how social spaces communicate and develop ideas. Any engagement with material outside the Approved Canon is Heresy and must be swiftly dealt with, regarded as immoral and reactionary and merits immediate Excommunication."

"Why do those trannies have such a problem with the common sense idea that they're male women who face misandry, anyway? They must be baeddels. They must hate men and therefore themselves. They must think transmascs are never oppressed and want to outlaw testosterone! Yes, that one account that talks about male oppression is completely correct about trans women being the real TERFs, and you know that's right because trans women are male-socialized and therefore misogynistic and patriarchal! Which is why they hate men so much!"

Anyway, I hope the sheer contempt I have for the way this website excuses its own bigotry is very, very evident.

Saying that "Transmisogyny is Misandry" is an act of epistemic violence. Stop it.

The following is a section of my essay The Question Has An Answer, entitled "The Measure of a Misandrist"

This is, ultimately, where most critiques of radical feminism go wrong, even when supposedly made with trans women’s vilification in mind. It is a too-popular idea that radical feminism was too harsh, too critical and too antagonistic towards men. After all—goes the reasoning—is not the fixation on trans women, the denial of our womanhood, and the maligning of us as ontologically predatory a consequence of their gender-absolutism? Is not resorting to ‘misandry’ in response to society’s misogyny also wrong?

Such arguments fail to be compelling for two reasons, the first of which should be obvious: transmisogyny is not misandry. The transmisogynist does not treat trans women the way she treats men, even if she refers to a trans woman as a man in the process of degendering her. Even if a transmisogynist bears an authentic antipathy for men, there is a crucial difference in how she regards trans women: namely, as an acceptable target of misogynistic degradation. Trans women’s bodies are dissected and scrutinized, our behavior pathologized and sexualized, and our own testimony discarded as unreliable, insubstantial, and immaterial. We are dehumanized, third-sexed, and branded permissible targets for ritualistic, collective, and sexualized punishment. A fate that even queer men tend to be spared.

Secondly and perhaps more importantly: the ‘misandry’ of the average transmisogynistic feminist is greatly overstated.

Trivially, we can note how the modern Gender-Conservative movement is full of men and the women who gleefully encourage their violence against trans people, a modern incarnation that bears the most threadbare of claims to any feminist tradition. They are, more than anything, a project concerned with the obfuscation of the term ‘feminist’, so that staunchly patriarchal ideologues can claim the label simply for promulgating transmisogynistic rhetoric. The face of modern transphobia is a far-flung cry from the academic lesbian feminists of yore, and is these days definitively male. Men abound at transphobic rallies, threaten to follow trans women into bathrooms to beat them, and call for the abolition of transition care in publications the world over.

Is such an answer evasive, though? Surely conservative men’s transmisogyny is a mainstream discursive force now, but was not the second wave chock-full of misandrist lesbian feminists aiming their ire at trans women? Can we not draw a line from their extremism to modern antifeminist backlash?

To get to the heart of that matter, we have to recall a little history.

April, 1973. The West Coast Lesbian Conference was, at that point, the largest gathering of lesbian feminists to date. Beth Elliot, a trans lesbian folk singer and feminist activist had been on the organizing committee for the event and was also scheduled to perform on opening night. Her fellow LA organizers had, in fact, insisted upon it.

When she took the stage at 9 p.m., she was accosted by two women, one of whom snatched the mic away to scream that Beth was a “transsexual” and a “rapist”, and demanded that she be ejected. In the ensuing chaos, a few organizers took the initiative to hold a vote (or, two, by some accounts), allowing the assembled audience to decide on Beth’s inclusion. The vote passed—by a slim majority, in some accounts, or by an overwhelming two-thirds majority, in some others—and so a visibly shaken Beth Elliot, with the support of her sisters, gave a short performance before promptly leaving.

Robin Morgan, who was scheduled to give a keynote speech on the theme of ‘unity’ the following day, spent the night editing her address. Rather than speaking for forty-five minutes, Morgan spent twice that time on a meandering screed “attacking everything in sight”, per Pat Buchanan—the conference organizers, women who work with men, and of course, transsexuals, blaming the continuing ills of patriarchy on a lack of feminist consciousness. Her caustic rhetoric shifted the entire tone and mood of the conference, forefronting the issue of biodestined womanhood. The Black Women’s Caucus, who had prepared a position paper on Black feminist organizing and the relevance of race to their struggle, are often omitted entirely from accounts of the conference, in large part due to Morgan’s troonmadness sucking up all the oxygen.

While some of the facts surrounding this incident are disputed, we know that Morgan’s invective was circulated amongst lesbian feminists, drawing attention to the topic of transsexual inclusion. Her charges that Beth Elliot was an “infiltrator” and “rapist” accrued sufficient cachet to get Beth blacklisted from feminist publications and music scenes. Despite a measure of personal support, Beth withdrew from the public eye, and Morgan’s bilious language found itself echoed in 1979’s Transsexual Empire, this time levied at Sandy Stone.

In some sense, Robin Morgan, Sister Raymond, and their ilk set the discursive tone on translesbophobia. While 1960’s Psycho attests that the idea of the deceptive, cross-dressing predator already held some sway in the cultural psychosexual imaginary, Morgan and Raymond—clumsily and soporifically—elevated that hateful trope to the status of “feminist concern”. They provided a framework and legitimacy to complement the sexologists’ pathologization of the “homosexual transsexual”, transmuting the cultural idea of the tranny from a pitiable, somewhat tragic figure, to a rapacious and monstrous one. Although coercion through deceptive seduction had always been core to the mythology of transsexuality, Morgan and Raymond enabled eradicationist sentiment towards trans women as a whole to be imbued with a certain feminist authority, recasting it as almost righteous.

We were, in the truest sense of the term, constructed, remade as biotechnological horrors seeking to traverse, fresh and bloody, from the scalpel to the women’s bathroom.

Given the centrality of that hastily-rewritten keynote speech to modern transmisogynistic propaganda, Morgan’s awareness of its discursive relevance is fascinating to witness. As Finn Enke notes in Collective Memory and the Transfeminist 1970s, when Morgan published her own account in 1977, her comments from the 1973 speech condemning the organizers for “inviting” Beth Elliot are omitted entirely. Morgan deliberately edited the speech to extend her critique of transsexuals and Beth Elliot specifically, dubbing them “gatecrashers” who sought to undermine and destroy the feminist movement from within. She consciously chose to erase Beth’s involvement in organizing the event, in addition to eliding that the majority of second-wave lesbian feminists present chose to defend and protect her.

Perhaps the most telling omission in subsequent accounts of this speech is an interesting detail about Morgan herself. Once she was done berating “women who work with men”, Morgan launched an impassioned defense of her husband. Before she derided Beth Elliot as a “male gatecrasher” with no place in lesbian feminism, Morgan advocated for her male husband’s place in lesbian feminism, on the grounds that he was a “feminist”, a “feminine man”, and—I still cannot help but marvel at this term whenever I encounter it—an “effeminist faggot”.

Seriously.

It is impossible to overstate just how utterly pathetic this pantomime of radicalism is. Morgan sublimated her own sexual and gendered anxieties into unrestrained transmisogyny, as many people often do, seeking to secure her own place as a lesbian by defining her legitimacy against the seeming illegitimacy of an “outsider”. Her arguments for doing so hinged on staining transsexual womanhood with the original sin of reproducing manhood, even as she pleaded the case that her husband, through his proximity to the feminine, had successfully absolved his own! Morgan’s audacity and insecurity drips off the page, revealing her charade to be nothing more than a performative, incoherent, inconsistent, bigoted farce.

Additionally, this revelation demonstrates how even here, in the holy of holies, at the epicenter of lesbian-feminist transmisogyny, misandry could hardly be claimed as a motivation. Beth Elliot was condemned for her transsexuality. Her putative ‘manhood’ was invoked only to degender and dehumanize her, while the avowed transmisogynist slurring her asked for the inclusion of men in the same breath!

Nor should we discount those who stood by Beth Elliot and Sandy Stone, even if their efforts were ignored, silenced, and erased. Enke’s paper meditates on a photograph of Beth on stage, framed to depict her alone, isolated, besieged. The woman holding Beth’s hand is left just out of the picture.

Meanwhile, for all their condemnation of trans lesbians’ “male energy”, the transmisogynists who so revile trans women’s “manhood” had no compunctions when it came to allying with the “male institutions” that have surveilled us, vilified us, marginalized us, and tried to erase our very stories, our connections, our sisterhood from history. Even the scraps that remain cannot escape reframing, rewriting, revisionism that insists: you were always unwanted, and stood apart.

Except when we weren’t, and didn’t.

[davidpwilson2564]

Bloglet (7-9)

Friday, June 7, 2024

A short video of Alex Jones faux-weeping about the liquidatiion of his misinformation empire. Boo hoo hooing.

Odd how Marco (Trump called him Little Marco) has now begun praising His Orangeness. It can only mean he wants to win the Veepstakes. His hope, we guess, is to become President.

Saturday, June 8, 2024

After going out in the afternoon I break with tradition and watch a movie. It's available on Prime Video. (My son showed me how to navigate this site.) "American Fiction." A Black writer's struggles. Succeeds after penning trash.

Beautiful weather.

Sunday, June 9, 2024

Head out to Brooklyn by train. An odd feeling when, sittting in the front car, I am, for a while alone. Feel quite vulnerable. At the Museum, a runthrough, a break, and then the concert. It goes okay. Nice piece. (R V Williams Third Symphony, subtitled "Pastorale.") Nice melodies and conductor quite good. An all-British program. An overture I'd never heard of, by Sir Arthur Sullivan. Really quite good. Well crafted.

The trip back into the city goes without incident. Nice to be home. Later, on whim, I find Trump's angry Las Vegas speech. Actually it's in Henderson, which I think of as a conservative enclave. I remember seeing a huge sign there advertising an appearance by Ann Coulter. These people are angry. Trump is there man. During the (rambling) speech I doze off. it's the same old thing. He's peddling the same snake oil.

He needs some new material.

to be continued

[alohaastro]

Moon transiting Pisces, Thursday, May 30th, stimulates imagination and inspired ideas, but also invites distraction, procrastination, and unrealistic yearning, as the moon approaching Saturn in Pisces forms a square aspect with Jupiter, Venus, and the sun in Gemini. Your perception of time, time management, or the timing of your presentation or overture, may be off, so it might be best to release any attachment to outcomes while the planets are playing a puckish game with affection and attainment. Yes, it is possible to achieve a lofty goal, or win the heart of another, while a Minor Grand Trine consisting of the Gemini planets conjunct Mercury and Uranus in Taurus, Pluto retrograde in Aquarius, and Neptune in Pisces, is turbo charging the manifesting power of your thoughts and desires, but will you still want that relationship, or job - or whatever - once you have it, or are you being influenced now by what you see others have, or what society is telling you that you should have? Shiny object syndrome and fear of missing out are amplified now. Mars, Chiron, and the North Node in Aries squaring Pluto in Aquarius, underlines the importance of considering the future consequences of any action you take or direction you choose now, because you may have to live with it for a long time, or it could demand a great deal of energy output. Even if you wish to help or please others under this Pisces moon, you could resent them or regret your involvement later. Conserve your energy and direct your attention toward what feels true or empowering to you.