#Elected Co-President

[mindibindi]

‘Frankly nobody should need a single policy from her. Given their options, all she should need to do as a sane, intelligent, compassionate and competent woman was put her hand up.’

“Vote for this politician. Pay no attention to her politics. Grovel at her feet. Expect no policy from her. Vote for her because she isn’t the other one. Do not inspect her policies. Vote for her without hesitation.”

Good to know Blue MAGA’s still in full swing, can’t wait to see none of you at the polls because you don’t practice what you preach.

What a brave ask, hiding behind anonymity. But yeah, I wrote it, meant it and stand by it. By which I mean, I stand by this:

‘Frankly nobody should need a single policy from her. Given their options, all she should need to do as a sane, intelligent, compassionate and competent woman was put her hand up.’

"Given their options" being the operative phrase. I did not write this:

“Vote for this politician. Pay no attention to her politics. Grovel at her feet. Expect no policy from her. Vote for her because she isn’t the other one. Do not inspect her policies. Vote for her without hesitation.”

Nice job taking my words and trying to twist them. Wonder where you learned that completely transparent and manipulative trick? Unfortunately, even that pathetic attempt to make an entirely reasonable position look fascistic...I don't disagree with. It is a national SHAME than your polls are as close as they are. So ABSO-FUCKIN-LUTELY. Every sane, reasonable, feeling person in America should VOTE BLUE

Now usually, beyond the odd rainbow meme, I don't do politics on my tumblr. But that doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about. (Please consider this before coming at me in the comments. Pithy replies aren't gonna cut it. Outraged whataboutism is only going to result in a swift but brutal slapdown. I know my shit and I'm probably much smarter than you. I'm a university tutor so I'm not gonna argue easily disprovable positions. I'm simply going to mark you down for poor critical thinking skills and tell you to resubmit once your work is up to standard. Willful stupidity will not be tolerated. You have been warned).

All that said, I'm not American so I'm posting this if only so that voters in the US see that final taunt about them not turning out. If there's one thing Republicans do better than Democrats, it's organise. They don't engage in in-fighting or noble self-sacrifice on election day. They band together in mutual rage and hatred and they storm the halls of power. Sometimes literally. So you gotta show up people. You gotta vote blue. You gotta let go of your exceptionalist moral purity just long enough to do the ONLY. SANE. THING.

NO EXCUSES. NO BUTS. NO ARGUMENT. Because here's the thing:

There IS no valid argument for voting for drumpbpfth.

There IS no valid argument for NOT voting.

We've heard the arguments in favour of a protest vote. (Yep, even for Palestine). We've heard e v e r y t h i n g the dumpsterfire has done and intends to do. And NO argument in favour of either option stacks up. You aren't gonna surprise me with a "but what about...?". NOPE. SHUT the FUCK UP. Sit down. Use your brain. Because here's ALL you need to know about the ONLY candidate actually deserving of the title of the President of the United States.

She served as Vice President under President Biden (who did an incredible job given what he inherited)

She's a former prosecutor and actual career politician (not a conman)

She's a woman of color (which means she has had to work approximately 527x harder than ANY white cis-het man to have reached the equivalent position)

That's it. That's all you need to know. Literally. That's what you knew when she put her hand up and just that SHOULD, if there is anything fair and logical about US politics, put Kamala Harris in the lead. That alone should by rights earn her the presidency. Because those things things tell you these:

She can represent your country with pride and professionalism and without embarrassing you daily on the world stage

She adheres to the values of the Democratic Party

She can work with other stakeholders, inc. internationally

She can form whole sentences and logical arguments

She's interested in social justice

She can function within structures of accountability

She has political experience

She is capable of drafting and negotiating policy

She's smart and hard-working

The reason you don't need policy from her is because you know from her resume that she is actually capable of coming up with policy. The reason you don't need to know whether she can be held accountable is that her whole career shows she can. More to the point, she's running against someone whose resume and history shows he isn't capable of either of these things. He has no policy. No concepts of a policy. He's incapable probably of even spelling the word. He is also entirely uninterested in structures of accountability. dump doesn't care about America or Americans. He cares ONLY about himself. Sure, if republicans had put forward a legitimate candidate for Kamala Harris to run against THEN you could talk about inspecting policies. Then you could have debate and critique and some kind of productive and meaningful back-and-forth negotiation. But 'Merica, sweetie, honey. There's nothing to discuss. There's no great and glorious tussle here. You have ONE solid candidate for president who WILL serve you well. And frankly, you are LUCKY to have her. You barely deserve another shot at this. Trump was never a serious politician or reasonable candidate for president. He may in fact be EXACTLY the president America wants and deserves. THAT is now up to you to prove or disprove.

But please stop pretending this is some kind of a race. Please stop holding Harris to standard you don't apply equally to her opposition. The bar for her is in heaven while the bar for him is in hell. He's sloshing cheap champagne at the bar and hawking bitcoin while you press HER ON POLICY????!! Come the fuck on. This is false balance taken to a truly iiiiinnnnsaaaannnne extreme. You might as well put a turd in a suit then place them side-by-side in a split screen. You don't need to know more. You don't need another debate. You don't need another interview. You don't need a woman who has WITHOUT A DOUBT had to prove herself every. single. step. of. the. goddamn. way. to prove herself for the 528th time. If you do, then you're just coming up with excuses to vote for hate. If that's your deal, then vote hate. But don't gaslight everyone else into thinking you're discerning when all you're actually discerning about is who you consider human.

I'm not saying you have to ADORE Harris. I'm not saying grovel at her feet but honestly, I do understand some of joy and relief that has poured forth since she's stepped up following Biden's selfless act of renunciation. That joy says something profound about the state of American politics. It isn't meaningless. If anything, that joy is indicative of an incredible sadness, a long-standing hopelessness. As for the critics who say that all she is is joy and memes and nothing else, I say this -- that is the level of political discourse you all, as a country, have created and accepted. That is a collective choice. The social media campaign for Harris is a brilliant strategic move and possibly the only thing that could at this point compete with dump's seemingly unstoppable narcissistic brand of bs. Dems have to play to win. Lives depend on it. And right now, Dems can't win with policy. And principle. And intelligence. And compassion. And experience. And progress. Because (some) Americans won't vote for it. But they WILL vote for memes. And THAT? That is on YOU.

You don't WANT policy. You want fucking coconuts. And you, Anon, don't WANT policy. You just want to say that she doesn't have any so you have an excuse to hate, attack, marginalise, deprive and kill. And above all, remain stupid. Right now, the ONLY path away from stupidity and hate is to VOTE BLUE. Yeah, you could have had two decent candidates and an actual race but you don't. This is the reality y'all made. And yes, the system is most definitely stacked against anyone who wants or tries to change it. So now you gotta defeat MAGA + The Electoral College + "voter fraud" impediments + potentially SCOTUS if you even have half a chance at regaining control of your country. Even then, nothing is assured. Expect HUGE backlash. (A woman president??? An Asian-African-wtf-even-IS-she in The White House?? And I thought the Obamas were bad!!!) You may have another insurrection on your hands. You may be headed for civil war. She's got a hell of a job ahead of her. She's going to be proving herself for years to come. But the difference between her and that joke of a republican candidate is that he isn't fit for the job. She is.

[livvyofthelake]

crush is still an annoying movie but my friend pilar is here. and she's gay.... so maybe it's not so bad. other than the fact i don't like the plot or characters. wow flop ass dyke movie fr we can't have anything

[mostlykind]

my sister is doing a hunger games movie marathon and I joined her for mockingjay part 1 and I was literally crying watching it cos most of it fully went over my head as a kid and now I’m older and I just see so much of our reality in it. it was never too far fetched

[whateversailsmyship]

☑️ Be Gay

✅️ Do Crime

Half way there.

Home Alone (1990) dir. Christopher Columbus Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) dir. Christopher Columbus

[cyarskj1899]

not a trend not a act don't ask Black folks for shit the next 4 years

[bourbontrend]

Discover the extraordinary journey of Kentucky Senator Bourbon and its new John Brown Bourbon Release! Celebrating Kentucky's rich history and crafted with unmatched expertise. Get ready to indulge in this highly anticipated, limited edition batch. Cheers to Kentucky's legacy!

[heritageposts]

Harris has been a staunch supporter of Israel for years. In 2017 she addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) annual conference and reminded attendees that the first resolution she co-sponsored as a senator was aimed at combating “anti-Israel bias” at the United Nations. “Let me be clear about what I believe. I stand with Israel because of our shared values, which are so fundamental to the founding of both our nations,” she told the crowd. In 2018 she gave an off-the-record speech to the organization, but eventually released her comments. In that speech she claimed that she raised money for the Jewish National Fund as a Girl Scout. “Having grown up in the Bay area, I fondly remember those Jewish National Fund boxes that we would use to collect donations to plant trees for Israel,” she told the audience. “Years later, when I visited Israel for the first time, I saw the fruits of that effort and the Israeli ingenuity that has truly made a desert bloom.”

For those unfamiliar with the Jewish National Fund (JNF), they're a Zionist organization that has been instrumental in the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

See Stop the JNF for more information on their history, the way they operate, and their decades-long campaign of greenwashing (i.e. destroying native plants, crops, and agriculture under the banner of 'making the desert bloom').

Continuing, the Mondoweiss article goes:

“The vast majority of people understand the importance of the State of Israel,” she added later. “Both in terms of its history and its present in terms of being a source of inspiration on so many issues, which I hope we will talk about, and also what it means in terms of the values of the United States and those values that are shared values with Israel, and the importance of fighting to make sure that we protect and respect a friend, one of the best friends we could possibly have.” While running for President in 2019, Harris was praised by the lobbying group Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) for running to the right of Obama on the Iran deal. On the campaign trail Harris told Kat Wellman, a voter affiliated with DMFI, that she would reenter the agreement but “strengthen it” by “extending the sunset provisions, including ballistic missile testing, and also increasing oversight.” “I was very impressed with her. I thought she gave an excellent speech, she gave a very detailed, responsive answer to my question,” Wellman told a local paper after the exchange. “I’m pro-Israel, so I was I was very concerned and all about making sure we limit nuclear missiles in any country that could possibly destroy us all. I thought her answer was very good.” Harris has condemned the BDS movement and claimed that is “based on the mistaken assumption that Israel is solely to blame for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” However, she voted against an anti-BDS bill in 2019 citing First Amendment concerns.

For the full article, which includes Kamala's response to Israel post Al-Aqsa Flood, see Mondoweiss (July 22, 2024)

[sunnynimhan]

From being the first elected Youth President to being an elected corporator for Pune Municipal Corporation, Sunny Nimhan has come a long way. Sunny has done BE Civil from Pune University and Ms. in Property and construction management from University of Melbourne Australlia.

Sunny Nimhan also is the only cororator in India who has completed a stupendous task of cycling from Delhi to Pune. Spreading awareness regarding environmental issues and health was Sunny’s intention behind this wonderful feat of cycling 1540 kms. He was awarded Efficient Corprator by Maharashtra Rajya Patrkar Parishad Sangha in 2016 for his illustrious work.

Sunny Nimhan is a Managing Director of Sunny’s World, an internationally acclaimed fun destination for family, corporates and for weekend getaways, well equipped with world-class leisure, biggest adventure park and recreational facilities.

Multifaceted Sunny is Co-Owner of a well-known food chain Thikana. Thikana has there branches at Hinjewadi, FC Road and Baner in Pune.

He is also the Director of Gold’s Gym, Law College Rond.

[charyou-tree]

For anyone that wants to read it directly:

Some key points:

Jack Smith's team says that the superseding indictment was "presented to a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in this case," which separately charged Trump with the same crimes.

Rather than go through the evidentiary hearing in DC, Jack Smith goes back to a grand jury and gets a superseding indictment based on what it believes satisfies the Supreme Court immunity decision. This resets the case, requires a new arraignment, and Court process.

The news is an entirely new grand jury decided to re-indict Trump on the same election subversion counts without seeing the evidence that the Supreme Court barred from consideration—i.e. the DOJ corruption stuff and any other conspiring with federal officials.

Jack Smith added "private" to all of the co-conspirators, to highlight their clearly non-official roles — and got rid of Jeffrey Clark, the DOJ guy who was willing to be acting AG and pursue Trump's fake election fraud claims if Trump let him.

Judge Tanya Chutkan remains the judge on the case

Trump is so fucked in the election interference case that even though the supreme court threw him a bone and ruled that "official acts" are subject to presidential immunity, a completely new case with all such "official acts" removed from evidence was so strong that a second, completely separate, grad jury felt there was a compelling case to indict him.

The wheels of justice turn slowly, but he's running out of options.

The only way Trump doesn't spend the rest of his natural life in prison is by winning the election and installing himself as dictator, and he knows this. If we defeat him and his fascist goons this November we shouldn't be hearing from them again.

[wilwheaton]

Are you optimistic about this election?

Not only am I optimistic, I am fired up and excited as hell. I haven't felt the joy, the enthusiasm, or the optimism like this since 2008.

I almost -- almost, not quite because we're all still recovering from the Trump traumas -- want to believe that this feeling, shared by so many other people, represents a fever breaking in America, a rejection and repudiation of the people who did their best to lead us into a dystopian, fascist, nightmare.

We have a huge fight ahead of us. They aren't running a campaign as much as they are preparing for another coup, and we will have to turn out an incredible number of voters to account for all the places they have people in place to deny and contest when he loses.

Before the debate, I was concerned. After the debate, I was despondent.

But now, I am fired up and excited as hell. Kamala Harris is going to be an incredible president, and there's a good chance she pulls the House and Senate with her. If that happens, we get SCOTUS reform, Trump faces the music for his crimes without interference, (and maybe some of his co-conspirators go with him, Mark Meadows), and we push the demons Trump unleashed back into the darkness where they belong.

But it only happens when ALL OF US turn out to vote. It only happens when we get all of our friends and family to vote. It only happens when we volunteer, stay involved, and SHOW UP.

We can do this.

We have to do this.

We are not going back.

[friskyfreddie2024]

America: You Fucked Up

You could have chosen Hope. You chose Hate.

You could have chosen Empathy. You chose Enmity.

You could have chosen a New Beginning. You chose the Nazi.

We could have finally been rid of this cancer on American democracy. He could have been banished to obscurity, remembered only as the worst president in American history, and finally held responsible for his numerous crimes.

The ignorant, racist, misogynistic, white supremacist, pathologicial liar is now going back to the White House. He is a convicted felon, an admitted sexual predator, a total fraud, and a demented old man. He belongs in prison.

What did you do?

You ignored that the U.S. economy is the strongest in the world, that inflation is at its lowest level in four years, that unemployment is at its lowest level in three years. You believed the lies about how terrible the economy is. I knew better.

You forgot about his 30,000+ lies while he was in office. I remember.

You forgot about his complete mismanagement and ignorance over COVID, resulting in the deaths of over one million Americans. I remember.

You forgot about the saber rattling over military exercises in the pacific, when Kim Jong Un threatened us with nuclear missiles, causing us to fear whether we'd see another day. I remember.

You forgot about waking up every morning dreading to hear the latest abomination he tweeted. I remember.

You forgot about "very fine people on both sides." I remember.

You forgot about "only the best people" like Betsy DeVos, Rick Perry, Tom Price, Scott Pruitt, Steve Mnuchin, and many others who were given cabinet positions despite having zero qualifications for the job. I remember.

You forgot that 40 of his former cabinet members and dozens of former generals and officials refused to support him, saying he was "unfit to serve." I remember.

You forgot about January 6, "fight like hell". I remember.

You forgot that when he was told that his vice president was secured because the rioters wanted to kill him, he said, "So what?" I remember

You forgot about The Big Lie, "Release the Kraken" and 60+ failed attempts to overturn the election in the courts. I remember.

You forgot about "I just need you to find 11,780 votes." I remember.

You forgot about "They're eating the cats! They're eating the dogs!" I remember.

What now?

When a woman suffering an ectopic pregnancy dies because she doesn't have access to medical care, that's on you.

When they take away your neighbor, your co-worker, your friend, and deport them, that's on you.

When a woman is forced to suffer the agony of carrying her rapist's baby to term, that's on you.

When a transgender kid harms themselves because they can't get the medical care they need, that's on you.

When your middle-class taxes GO UP, while billionaires get even more tax breaks, that's on you.

When schoolchildren are killed by an assault rifle in a mass shooting, that's on you.

When children grow up ignorant because you banned books and dictated how history is taught, that's on you.

When Grandma can no longer afford a comfortable life because the Social Security she paid into all her working life, and provided income on which she now depends, has been cut, that's on you.

When violence against Jews, Asians, Hispanics rises again, that's on you.

When prices on the goods you buy skyrocket due to tariffs, that's on you.

When Ukraine, deprived of our support, is overrun by Russia, that's on you.

When the U.S. is the laughing stock of the world (as we were 2016-2020), that's on you.

What should you have done?

You should have exercised critical thinking skills, recognized the thousands of lies you were being told, recalled that his administration had four years to live up to his promises and failed at all of them. You should have realized that he is a profoundly stupid individual who doesn't give a shit about you or your family or anything except himself.

You had the last nine years to see that, and you still fell for his bullshit.

[ahaura]

i saw someone point out the frequency with which liberals back social justice movements... how, for instance, when ferguson happened under obama it was not popular and there were many, many liberals who found the blm movement, in a sense, "in violation of [liberal] sensibilities" (when liberalism as a rule does not challenge the status quo, only maintains it and sees any call for revolution or real change as disruptive or 'bad for optics' and therefore not acceptable) but then when trump became president and he opposed blm a lot more liberals decided that the blm movement had merit because they viewed it from a team-sports perspective rather than a worldview based on morals and an understanding of the systems in place in the U.S. - that it was more comfortable for them to operate from a "trump bad" basis rather than "the american justice system and the police are inherently white supremacist, which are inherently, automatically, and always violent"

+ that, if trump was president while israel is carrying out its genocide, liberals would have NO problem denouncing israel and demanding for a ceasefire because they're comfortable operating from the 2-party system basis, NOT from a framework based on material conditions or factors or any acknowledgement or analysis of imperialism, colonialism, or capitalism. but because biden is a democrat, and democrats are supposed to be "the decent party" "the lesser evil" "more respectable" when, in functionality - in real practice, they don't want to disrupt the status quo. (internally, maintaining systems of white supremacy and capitalism; externally, furthering U.S. imperialism by maintaining hegemony and continuing the practice of exploitation and extraction of labor+capital+resources from the global south)

which is why we're here, a month into a genocide, and liberals are so cowardly and gutless that, in the face of our democrat president allowing and funding the genocide of palestinians in order for the U.S. to maintain its military base in the middle east, liberals IMMEDIATELY jump to "well, you HAVE to vote for him still, because trump will be worse!" and go "well im powerless there's nothing i can do", immediately folding like a wet paper bag in the face of the american empire rearing its ugly head in the most blatant, naked way in years, instead of thinking "this is unacceptable, i should pressure my elected officials and do everything i can - be it combating propaganda, contacting my congresspeople or senators, protesting, or engaging in direct action - to ensure this stops as quickly as possible".

there are liberals STILL IN MY NOTIFICATIONS who go "well you'll be electing a fascist if you vote for trump" not realizing that YOU CAN'T SIMPLY VOTE FASCISM AWAY. (which is not to say you should vote for republicans; that's not what i'm saying. none of us have said it.) we're pretty much already there. it's 2003 all over again, with the patriot act and all. the american war machine is pumping out racist, orientalist, pro-colonial, pro-genocide propaganda on behalf of the ethno-state america and its allies have backed since the so-called state's inception. people are being doxxed, fired, harassed, and attacked for visibly supporting palestine/opposing israel. islamophobic hate crimes are on the rise; a 6 year old boy was murdered not one month ago, an arab doctor in texas was stabbed to death. antisemitism is on the rise as well, thanks to the conflation of antisemitism with anti-zionism (which nazis have and will attempt to co-op in order to 'justify' + then act on their antisemitism, racism, and genocidal worldviews). our government is silencing people, brutalizing protestors, and arming and funding an ethno-state committing genocide - everything that would have been called fascist if it was under trump. but because it's a *democrat* liberals place "vote blue no matter who" and "optics" over the extremely basic moral stance that "genocide is wrong and people have the right to self-determination, autonomy, and life". arabs and muslims are already so dehumanized in the west that liberals (whether they consider themselves liberals or not) consider it an inconvenience to talk about the ongoing genocide that is happening with the blessing of OUR government. in this they expose their selfishness, the shallowness of their morals, their chauvinism, and their racism/orientalism/islamophobia/et cetera.

for example, if you see israeli troops waving a gay pride flag and the israeli state touting its support of gay people while said iof soldiers are murdering men, women, and children en masse every single day and you somehow????? think that because gay people are the ones doing the killing or a state claims to support gay people is doing the killing is ok then 1) you have fallen for pinkwashing propaganda and 2) that you find the murder of palestinians, or any people, permissible by a colonial force that uses causes liberals may genuinely care about in order to disguise, whitewash, or "lessen" the severity of the injustices it does unto usually black and brown people outside of the U.S., then you are just as bloodthirsty and depraved as anyone you would personally assign those descriptors of.

once again, it goes back to resorting to a team-sport understanding of the world rather than approaching it from a material one.

[hedgehog-moss]

Update on the French protests: we've had a well-known expert in contemporary political history call the situation we're in "the worst democracy crisis France has known since [the end of the 4th Republic]" and meanwhile the government is trying its hardest to maintain a façade of normal functioning by a) hiding from protesters, b) hiding protesters from view, and c) banning saucepans and other means of drawing attention to the protests that are being swept under the rug.

I mean casserolades are an old tradition in this country but they wouldn't have been needed if Macron &co hadn't started almost systematically banning protests in entire districts of the towns they visit and setting up police roadblocks to prevent peaceful protesters from going anywhere near them. (Too bad because these are the kinds of images the media get (these 2 are from Le Monde) when protesters get to talk to Macron <3) :

Protesters corralled away where they can be easily ignored started banging pots and pans so the protest could at least be heard in the background of TV footage, and then pans started being confiscated.

French courts have repeatedly struck down the bans as illegal but police prefects keep churning new bans out every time Macron goes somewhere anyway, trying to publish them at the last minute so there's no time for a judicial review. (I saw a sign at a protest last week that went "Stop with all the bans we no longer have time to disobey all of them")

After boldly banning saucepans by calling them "portable sonorous devices" last week, today a police prefecture banned "festive gatherings of a musical nature" in a town Macron will be visiting tomorrow. They're (ab)using counter-terrorist legislation for all this, so these days we get to read unheard-of court rulings that go like "We are suspending this prefectural decree as we do not consider festive gatherings of a musical nature to pose a significant terrorist threat to the President."

If Macron had people showing up in support I don't think we would see so many pissy protest bans because then the media could show backers vs. opponents and things would look normal (and not like 70% of the country is very pissed off with Macron). But there's not much for them to show if they don't show the angry people banging pans and it clearly rankles Macron—we learnt yesterday that he sent a letter to 200,000 political supporters of his essentially ordering them to start making appearances all over the country, to show they are "proud of what you are and of what our country has become [since I got elected]." That seems a bit desperate.

For months Macron &co have been predicting that people would get tired of taking to the streets in large numbers, and now that people are going like—right, let's try a new strategy, small local protests greeting gov members everywhere they go!—we're hearing a clear "no not like that, that's not what we meant :l " reaction from the government.

They've also been trying the strategy of announcing stuff at the last minute, like on Monday the Minister of Education announced at noon that he would visit a higher learning institution in Lyon 2 hours later, and a hundred of protesters still showed up and tried to force their way into the building. They were held off by cops using tear gas and trying to block entrances (there's a pic that made me smile, showing cops trying to barricade university gates with garbage bins—how the tables have turned...!) and the Minister ended up not showing up and moving on to the next step of his schedule (protesters tried to follow him there but police vans were blocking the street.)

The first half of the video is at the uni in Lyon; the second half is in Paris later that day. When he returned to Paris the Minister was greeted by protesters with saucepans at the train station, it's like a national relay race of protesting at times. He had to go back through the train to leave via the other end of the platform under police escort so as not to meet any protesters (god forbid).

Macron commented that this was "uncivic" behaviour and I agree, civic behaviour on the part of gov members would be to at least face the people they choose to fuck over, instead of hiding behind cops and fleeing. Obviously Macron was condemning the 'uncivic' protesters though, and the Minister said he felt "physically threatened" by the "violence of [the protesters'] speech" which is a shit thing to say considering on the same day that he was mildly inconvenienced by having to take a different exit and felt physically endangered by words, yet another protester was mutilated after being shot at by police with a rubber bullet. Not a peep about this incident (or previous ones) from the government. The Minister of Education never even condemned that time high schoolers trying to protest got tear gassed and threatened with riot guns by cops in front of their school earlier this month.

But while people continue protesting despite the actual violence from cops, our ministers are looking pretty scared of citizens banging pots and pans. Here's a list of official visits that got cancelled "for safety reasons" (saucepan terrorism) in the past week:

1. Minister P. NDiaye cancelled a visit in Lyon 2. Minister F. Braun cancelled a visit to Evrard Hospital 3. Minister Delegate O. Klein cancelled a visit in Bobigny 4. Minister Delegate O. Grégoire cancelled a visit in La Baule 5. Minister S. Guerini cancelled a visit in Castelnau 6. Secretary of State B. Couillard cancelled a visit in Rochefort 7. Minister S. Retailleau cancelled a visit to the Paris Saclay University (electricity trade unionists cut the power in the building she was supposed to inaugurate, so) 8. Minister C. Grandjean cancelled a visit in Toulouse (this article says it was probably because the visit was quite near a big highway protest where protesters among other things were building a concrete wall on a national road)

In the same bullshitting vein as "portable sonorous devices", gov spokespeople have been insisting that visits aren't being cancelled, ministers are just "adjusting the course of their trips" which is funny to me. I guess we never beheaded any royalty we just adjusted the course of their necks. I also read a newspaper article that made me laugh, that went like "Minister cancels visit; trade unions disappointed" and I thought it was because the cancelled visit was a meeting with the unions which they wouldn't get to have, but the article said it was actually because they had a good protest planned and wouldn't get to hold it...

Watching protesters mess with the government in small ways on a daily basis has been good for morale—on Twitter the hashtags #IntervillesMacron and #IntervillesduZbeul popped up (zbeul = chaos, mess, and Intervilles was a TV game show that aired for over 50 years, where French cities competed against one another in goofy challenges). I only mentioned cancellations above, but fun things also happen on non-cancelled government visits, like a Minister having to leave a building via the emergency exit because of protesters blocking the building entrance (which some people argued is worth more points than a cancellation as it's more entertaining):

Various websites were created to keep track of all these smaller protests and to officialise the point system that ranks cities on their efforts to fuck with the government:

(the first symbol means a protest, the second means a casserolade, the last one means protesters managed to get inside a building where a visit was taking place)

(Translation: Ruckus (saucepans, heckling...) 1pt Protest: 1pt Creative action (chasing minister in the woods, etc): 2pts Measures of energy conservation (= power cuts by unions) 3pts Action that leads to a political figure fleeing: 4pts Cancellation of a visit: 5pts — then there's a weighting system where the score is multiplied by 3 if it's a Minister, by 5 if it's the Prime Minister, by 6 if it's Macron.) (I also saw an interesting debate on Twitter this week—since our leaders often embarrass themselves, how should the government's own goals fit into the point system?)

Right now the Hérault department is winning because on top of protests, power cuts and casserolades, protesters greeted Macron with a giant "MACRON FUCK OFF" sign hung from a cliff (!) and took over a highway display so it'd say "Welcome to [region] Butthole Ist"

These past few days I've been discovering unknown French cities (and Ministers) thanks to them showing up in the hashtag after a good protest. I discovered a mediaeval castle I'd never heard of when unions hung banners featuring our most famous revolutionary dates from the castle's battlements. (Two days later, another protest with eloquent banners in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris:)

People are very creative—last week we heard that protesters got prosecuted for giving Macron the finger and insulting him during one of his official visits (< we are a healthy democracy), so protesters in another region tried a more sarcastic approach, and greeted a deputy from Macron's party at a strawberry fair this week with clapping and confetti and "Thank you for making us work 2 more years, thank you for police repression, thank you!" The deputy beat a hasty retreat. Then said he would file a complaint against the harassment and intimidation he had been subjected to. (The tear gas and riot guns and arrests and protest bans are not intimidation of protesters on the other hand. Or the fact that another deputy from his party recently said on TV that they were "ready for war"... They're ready to wage war, but run and hide when people clang saucepans and throw confetti.)

Anyway. I'm enjoying the fact that they can't even attend a small strawberry fair without getting heckled right now. In one of my first posts about the political crisis in March I wrote something like "How will Macron and his gov have any legitimacy to speak about any issues after this?" and it cheers me up to see a lot of people across the country agree that they have no legitimacy to talk about anything, not even the strawberry harvest.

The next nationwide protest is of course for May 1st, but in the meantime it's been really fun following the smaller protest actions all over the place. Members of government & Macron's party keep making whiny statements along the lines of this is terrorist behaviour, we can't go anywhere, why are people not getting tired of fucking with us and the answer is, because it's really entertaining!

This was the last sentence of a recent Le Monde article about Macron's situation and it has such a sinister, end-of-reign tone:

"I'm moving forward," Macron concluded, on April 20th in the Herault department, while behind his back echoed the sound of saucepans.

[deliciousangelfestival]

The Imperfect Couple - 16

Character: politician!Bucky x ex-wife!reader

Summary: A separated couple must pretend to be happily married while the husband runs for Vice President, dealing with old issues and political pressures during his election campaign.

Warning: The couple's arguments could be triggering.

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Thank you to everyone who has read this chapter. Leave a comment and Reblog, please. I'd love to hear your thoughts. ❤️

It felt like your heart had just been stabbed, and then someone cruelly poured salt and vodka into the wound. The pain was so intense, your legs almost gave out beneath you, but you managed to lean your trembling body against the kitchen counter.

“How…” Hazel’s voice wavered, thin and fragile, “How do you know Ian?”

You tried to breathe, but each inhale burned your chest. “Hazel…” You fought to steady your voice. “Ian is my co-worker.” A flood of memories rushed through your mind—his cocky smile, the way he always knew how to make you laugh, and how he’d been there for you, your first real friend after your divorce from Bucky. Now, all of it was just that—a memory.

Hazel’s voice broke, still shaking. “They’re taking him to the hospital…” The line went dead.

The second you processed her words, your legs finally gave out. You dropped your phone, the dull thud echoing in the kitchen as the world blurred around you.

The sound was loud enough that Bucky came running from the room where Nate was resting. He found you on the floor, crumpled, tears pouring down your face, with your phone lying beside you like a silent witness to your devastation.

He knelt beside you, pulling you into his arms. “What happened?” His voice was soft but laced with urgency.

You clung to him, your hands fisting in his shirt as you sobbed uncontrollably. “Ian… he’s dead.” Your voice cracked, and you looked up into Bucky’s eyes, your own red and swollen. “And it’s all my fault.”

Bucky's hold tightened, trying to soothe you. “It’s not your fault.” His voice was calm, but his heart clenched seeing you like this.

But you couldn’t stop. The guilt, the grief—it all came crashing down, and your sobs turned hysterical. “If I hadn’t—if I had warned him better—” But the words became too broken to finish. The world tilted, and darkness edged into your vision. Before you knew it, everything went black.

Bucky felt your body go limp in his arms. “Y/N?” He called your name softly, panic rising as he touched your forehead. You were burning up with a fever. Without wasting another second, he gently lifted you into his arms and carried you to his bedroom.

As he laid you down on his bed, guilt gnawed at him. Seeing you like this—sick, stressed, and heartbroken—made him feel helpless. He should have protected you better. And as much as he hated himself for it, he couldn’t ignore the small, ugly pang of jealousy that struck him, seeing how deeply you grieved for Ian. Shaking his head, he forced the thought away. This wasn’t about him.

He moved quickly, grabbing a cooling fever patch and placing it on your forehead. He sat beside you, watching your flushed face as you slept fitfully, determined to stay by your side until you were better.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

The next morning, you woke up feeling like your head was floating. It took a moment for you to realize where you were—Bucky’s bedroom. Slowly, you turned your head, and there he was, sleeping beside you, still holding a body thermometer in his hand. His face looked tired, but peaceful, as if he’d been watching over you all night.

Your heart swelled with gratitude. He had taken care of you when you needed it most.

Feeling your movement, Bucky stirred. His eyes fluttered open, and when he saw you awake, he immediately sat up. “How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice rough with sleep as he reached out to check your temperature.

You gave him a small smile, touched by his concern. “I’m alright,” you said, though your voice was still shaky. “Thank you, Bucky.” You tried to get up, but dizziness hit you hard, and you swayed.

Bucky was quick, his hands steadying you before you could fall. “Slowly,” he said, his tone gentle but firm.

“I need to check on Nate,” you insisted, worry clouding your thoughts.

“I already did,” Bucky reassured you. “His fever’s gone down. He’s doing much better.”

Hearing that brought you a sense of relief, but it also made you realize how exhausted Bucky must be. He hadn’t rested enough, not with everything going on.

Still leaning against him, you looked up into his eyes, your heart heavy with a new determination. “Bucky.”

“Yes?” he answered softly.

“I won’t let Ian die for nothing.” Your voice was filled with a steely resolve. The memory of Ian’s twin brother’s death—how justice had never been served—flashed through your mind. You wouldn’t let Ian’s life end the same way. Not without consequences. Not without fighting for the truth.

Bucky looked at you, admiring the fire in your eyes despite the grief and exhaustion. His heart clenched, seeing the strength that was returning to you. He leaned forward and gently kissed your forehead. “Leave it to me,” he promised, his voice a quiet vow, as if he’d carry your burden for you.

For a moment, you felt a flicker of hope, but the weight of everything still pressed heavily on your chest. You closed your eyes, knowing that nothing would ever be the same again.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Steve sat in his study, the soft light of the lamp casting a golden glow over the mahogany desk. He skimmed through the documents in front of him, his mind elsewhere, waiting for a call he knew would come. When his phone vibrated, a brief flash of tension crossed his face. He picked it up immediately, his heart pounding in anticipation.

"Hi," he greeted, his voice calm, almost casual.

Hazel’s voice crackled through the speaker, sharp and accusing. “Is it you? Was it you, Steve?” The accusation in her tone sliced through the air, but Steve didn’t answer right away. His silence was all she needed.

"Why did you kill him?" she spat, fury lacing every word. "And I just found out what the twins did to Nate. Despicable. I will never let them near our son again!"

“It was necessary,” Steve replied, his voice low and steady. He didn’t offer any more explanation, but those few words were enough to cement the cold reality of his actions. His fingers tapped rhythmically on the polished mahogany desk, his gaze drifting toward the framed photo of the twins standing with General Carter. His jaw clenched at the sight of it. He hated that photo, the facade of family unity it represented.

"And the twins… I’m sorry. They won’t get near Nate again," he added, his voice softening, though the bitterness lingered beneath the surface.

Hazel’s breathing was shaky, but before she could respond further, Steve said, with a mix of gentleness and authority, "Come home. I’ll feel safer with you here, and I know Nate misses his mother."

A long, painful silence stretched between them. Finally, Hazel’s voice broke through, faint but resigned. “Alright.” Then the line went dead.

Steve leaned back in his chair, exhaling deeply, a small wave of relief washing over him. She had listened. But just as he allowed himself a brief moment of calm, the door to his study creaked open. Peggy stood there, her eyes blazing.

“Why the surprised look?” she sneered, stepping further into the room. “Did I catch you off guard? Or were you just finishing up with your young girlfriend?”

Steve didn’t flinch. Her words, sharp as they were, rolled off him like water on stone, which only seemed to enrage her further.

“Not even going to deny it, are you?” Peggy’s voice rose in pitch, the hurt and anger clear. “So you’re not ashamed of cheating? What will the world say when they find out? The great Steve Rogers, a cheater!”

He pushed away from the desk, leaning back against it as he crossed his arms over his chest. His gaze was steady, almost too calm. “Yes,” he said, his voice a chilling monotone. “If you want to call it cheating, sure. By the law, I’m still married to you. But feelings?” He paused, the weight of his words sinking in like a blade. “I’ve never had any for you from the start.”

The words hit Peggy like a physical blow. She stumbled back, her breath catching in her throat. Her laugh was bitter, hollow. “Ha!” The sound echoed off the walls of the study. His calm, matter-of-fact delivery hurt more than any shouting match ever could. He knew this would destroy her, and yet he said it without so much as a flicker of emotion.

She thought back to the days when he was just an innocent soldier, visiting her father’s house, his manners and politeness charming her. But that image was long gone, shattered by years of resentment and lies.

“I regret every second I’ve spent with you,” Peggy hissed, her voice dripping with venom.

Their relationship hadn’t always been this cold. Steve had been old-fashioned, much like her father. He wasn’t a man of many words or affection, but there had been respect between them once. That all changed when her father, General Carter, pressured Steve to quit the military and pursue a political career as governor. Steve had resisted—he loved the military, loved his job and the people he worked with. He had been willing to die for his country.

Steve had begged General Carter to let him stay, but the old man wouldn’t relent. And when Steve had turned to Peggy for help, she hadn’t fought hard enough. She knew it was futile to argue with her father.

“He’s had a free ride,” General Carter had said of Steve, dismissing his passion for the military. “He doesn’t even spend his own money. What’s he got to complain about?”

A few days later, Steve’s resignation was approved—not by his own hand, but by General Carter’s. Peggy still remembered the day Steve took off his military badge for the last time. His face had been unreadable, but she knew it was killing him. He wasn’t just leaving a job—he was giving up his identity, and not because he wanted to.

That was the moment Steve had realized he was nothing more than a pawn. His opinion hadn’t mattered. And ever since then, he had blamed General Carter—and Peggy, for standing by, watching it all happen.

“Steve…” Peggy’s voice cracked as she clenched her fists. “You’ve become the man you hated the most.”

Steve stepped closer, his presence looming over her. He stopped just beside her, looking down with a mix of detachment and something that almost resembled pity. “No matter what’s happened between us, Peggy, you’ve been the best partner I’ve ever had.” His tone was emotionless, final. Then he walked past her, leaving her standing in the middle of the room, stunned.

When the door closed behind him, Peggy felt like she was sinking into a bottomless pit. She had given so much of herself, had tried to live up to the image of being his wife, and yet, here she was—betrayed and alone. No one understood the depth of her loneliness, the hollow ache that came from knowing she never had his love. She had only ever had his body, never his heart.

"Urggh." She clenched her chest. What hurts her the most is that Steve became the type of husband she had always longed for—but to another woman. Not her, the official spouse he had vowed to be with until death do them part.

She felt the change in him—he became more patient, started giving gifts—but it was all because of another woman. A younger, more beautiful woman. The only one who truly won Steve’s heart.

Outside the door, Steve continued walking, ignoring the faint sound of her muffled sobs from the other side. His face remained stone-cold as his assistant approached him.

“Sir, you need to see the news,” the assistant said, holding out a remote.

Steve turned on the television, his eyes narrowing as the headline blared across the screen: Breaking News: Edgar and Brock's Corruption Scandals Exposed. The dirty secrets of his competitors were now laid bare for the world to see, their reputations on the verge of being ruined forever. Their supporters and voters would never trust them again.

His assistant handed him a tablet. “Sir, here’s the latest poll data.”

Steve glanced at it, and a grin slowly spread across his face. His shoulders relaxed as a chuckle escaped his lips, building into a full, throaty laugh.

He dialed Bucky’s number, still chuckling. When Bucky picked up, Steve’s voice was smooth, satisfied. “You did an incredible job. Good work.”

🌸🌸🌸🌸

Back at Bucky’s apartment

"I couldn’t have done it without you," Bucky replied, his voice smooth but carrying the weight of their shared secrets.

You glanced at Bucky, watching him as he spoke to Steve on the phone, his tone calm yet calculated. Nate sat quietly on your lap, happily munching on his breakfast as you fed him, both of you finally feeling a sense of normalcy after everything. The air felt lighter, but you knew it wouldn’t last.

Bucky ended the call, slipping the phone into his pocket before joining you at the table. He sat down, his eyes briefly scanning Nate before settling on you, the unspoken tension between the three of you lingering like a shadow.

"You know what you just did, right?" you said quietly, keeping your voice low. "You’ve made him untouchable."

Bucky leaned back in his chair, his lips curling into a faint smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. His demeanor was calm, almost too calm, like a storm gathering just beneath the surface. He raised a finger to his lips, signaling for silence. “That’s the point,” he said, his voice low and deliberate, eyes glinting with something dark, something you couldn’t quite place. “But don’t get too comfortable.”

His smile widened, just enough to unsettle you. "I may act like I’m not watching, like I’m playing the fool, but don’t mistake that for blindness. I see everything, and I hear everything."

He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a near whisper, the intensity in his gaze making your heart skip. "Just wait. When the time’s right… we’ll make our move. And when we do, they won’t see it coming."

There was a brief silence, the weight of his words hanging in the air, pressing against your chest. Nate, blissfully unaware, giggled and reached for another bite of food, while you exchanged a tense glance with Bucky. His words were cool, but you knew the danger that lay beneath them.

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[reasonsforhope]

Note: They're saying "alleged" because that's what journalists are supposed to do until there's a conviction. ABC isn't trying to cast doubt, they're trying to follow professional standards and also not get sued for libel.

"Former President Donald Trump, bent on staying in power, undertook a sweeping "criminal scheme" to overturn the results of the 2020 election, including repeatedly pushing lies about the results despite knowing that they were correct, and doubling down on those falsehoods as the Jan. 6 riot raged, a sweeping federal indictment alleges.

This is the third indictment faced by the former president, who -- as the Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race -- continues to insist that the vote was rigged.

Prosecutors say the alleged scheme, which they say involved six unnamed co-conspirators, included enlisting a slate of so-called "fake electors" targeting several states; using the Justice Department to conduct "sham election crime investigations"; enlisting the vice president to "alter the election results"; and doubling down on false claims as the Jan. 6 riot ensued -- all in an effort to subvert democracy and stay in power.

The six alleged co-conspirators include several attorneys and a Justice Department official.

The sweeping indictment, based on the investigation by special counsel Jack Smith, charges Trump with four felony counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights...

In the history of the country, no president or former president had ever been indicted prior to Trump's first indictment in April."

-via ABC News, August 1, 2023

WE FUCKING DID IT