#Gathering USA

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Last year, after Disney had the temerity to issue a statement opposing one of his prized legislative initiatives, Ron DeSantis punished the company by removing its self-governing status. (DeSantis justified the maneuver as a removal of unjustified privileges, but he had not previously opposed Disney’s status and made little attempt to disguise its nakedly retaliatory nature).

On Monday, he took matters much further. DeSantis appointed a board to oversee Disney. The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District is stacked with DeSantis cronies, including Bridget Ziegler, a proponent of his education policies; Ron Peri, who heads the Christian ministry the Gathering USA; and Michael Sasso, president of the Federalist Society’s Orlando chapter.

While the board handles infrastructure and maintenance, DeSantis boasted that it could use its leverage to force Disney to stop “trying to inject woke ideology” on children.

“When you lose your way, you’ve got to have people that are going to tell you the truth,” DeSantis proclaimed. “So we hope they can get back on. But I think all of these board members very much would like to see the type of entertainment that all families can appreciate.”

It is worth pausing a moment to grasp the full breadth of what is going on here. First, DeSantis established the principle that he can and will use the power of the state to punish private firms that exercise their First Amendment right to criticize his positions. Now he is promising to continue exerting state power to pressure the firm to produce content that comports with his own ideological agenda.

Whether he is successful remains to be seen. But a few things ought to be clear. First, DeSantis’s treatment of Disney is not a one-off but a centerpiece of his legacy in Florida. He has repeatedly invoked the episode in his speeches, and his allies have held it up as evidence of his strength and dominance. The Murdoch media empire, which is functionally an arm of the DeSantis campaign, highlighted the Disney conquest in a New York Post front page and a Fox & Friends segment and DeSantis touted his move in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

Second, DeSantis’s authoritarian methods have met with vanishingly little resistance within his party. The only detectable Republican pushback has come from New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who warned, “Look, Ron’s a very good Governor. But I’m just trying to remind folks what we are at our core. And if we’re trying to beat the Democrats at being big-government authoritarians, remember what’s going to happen. Eventually, they’ll have power … and then they’ll start penalizing conservative businesses and conservative nonprofits and conservative ideas.” (Of course, this warning holds only if Republicans believe they will have to relinquish power. If DeSantis can truly follow the example of Viktor Orbán, losing power becomes only a theoretical risk.)

And third, DeSantis has been very explicit about his belief that he sees his methods in Florida as a blueprint for a national agenda. So there is every reason to believe that, if elected president, DeSantis would use government power to force both public and private institutions to toe his line. Speaking out against him, or even producing content he disapproves of, would become a financially risky proposition.

Part of what makes DeSantis so dangerous is that Donald Trump created a very defined idea of authoritarianism in the minds of his critics. His refusal to accept the 2020 presidential-election results was indeed a dangerous attack on democratic legitimacy — but this especially notorious episode has overshadowed his other efforts to abuse state power. Trump wielded federal regulations to punish the owners of the Washington Post and CNN for coverage he disapproved of and used diplomatic leverage to extort Ukraine into smearing his political rival. Republicans either supported or ignored these abuses of power.

To whatever extent they have principled objections to authoritarianism, those objections are limited almost entirely to fomenting a violent mob to overturn an election. And while inciting an insurrection is extremely dangerous, it hardly exhausts the scope of illiberal tools available to a sufficiently ruthless executive.

Damon Linker recently criticized liberals for unfairly calling DeSantis as bad as Trump. Linker’s prediction that a second Trump administration would be more dangerous than a first DeSantis administration might be correct. But it’s hard for me to understand how he can state this so confidently when he acknowledges DeSantis’s illiberal intentions and lack of democratic scruples. Comparing the relative evils of two authoritarian-minded leaders seems to be mainly an exercise in guesswork.

A year ago, I wrote a long profile of DeSantis, in which his deep-rooted distrust of liberal democracy was a major theme. Last fall, I attended the National Conservatism Conference, where the attendees laid out rather plainly their ambition to turn DeSantis into a model for a ruthless, illiberal party that would use the organs of the state to crush its enemies. Since those pieces appeared, DeSantis’s actions have made me more, not less, concerned.

Whether DeSantis would actually do more damage to American democracy in office than Trump could remains hard to say. Perhaps, perhaps not. But we should recognize that he is not putting himself forward as a critic of Trump’s authoritarianism. He is promising, on the contrary, to exceed it.

[nonamxix]

Outtake from Autumn de Wilde fashion story for Vogue USA, august 2020 issue, with Tanya Reynolds (x).

[sscarletvenus]

Ilan Pappe is a preeminent author, historian and speaker who has written about the Nakba, the series of calculated horrors and atrocities on the basis of which the apartheid regime called israel was founded.

genocidal maniacs are persecuting anti-genocide intellectuals.

detaining and interrogating Jewish scholars is definitely not antisemitism...

madness!

[sleepdeprivationisthekey]

Random things I wish to see in chaos theory that have no effect on the plot:

Yaz road raging, we saw her reaction when Darius and Ben bumped into them in the gyro spheres I want that but on a road directed at somebody (bonus points if Kenji is in the passenger seat and he is terrified)

Darius being out-dinonerded once, from what I've gathered, Sammy runs a dino farm(?) let them encounter a dinosaur and before Darius even gets to it let Sammy go "oh I know that one"

This conversation:

Kenji: hey could you pull over I need to use the bathroom

Ben: Are you kidding we stopped for gas like half an hour ago

Kenji: Yeah I didn't need to go back than but I do now!

Ben: I'm not stopping just because you can't think ahead!

Sammy: Now I need the bathroom too

Ben: YOU DID GO LAST TIME*starts to pull over*

A limited model acknowledgement just like "geez I wish we didn't have to rush so much, we could have at least packed a change of clothes" like in season two with Brooklyn

Dino babies

Camp Cretaceous references in general

More dinosaur nicknames

[finexbright]

.

[1lifeinspired]

Patriotic Blue and White Tablescape – Alicia Wood Lifestyle

[fionnalovesanimeboys]

Narumiya and Miyuki being on the same team is like you are asking to get beat willingly

[brian-in-finance]

Photo: Three If By Space

First-ever Fan Event

11 January 2014 • Los Angeles California USA

Photos: Associated Press

Keeping up with this fab four:

Ron Moore vacated his Outlander showrunner role and continues to executive produce the Starz series. He executive produced the Amazon series Electric Dreams and executive produces For All Mankind on Apple TV.

Diana Gabaldon published Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone, her ninth novel in the Outlander series. She is working on the tenth and final novel, developing a prequel to Outlander/Cross Stitch, featuring Jamie’s parents, and is considering a novel about Master Raymond.

Caitríona Balfe starred in four films, including Academy Awards winners Le Mans ‘66 (Ford v Ferrari) and Belfast, and gave voice to characters in the Emmy-winning Netflix series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and two animated Christmas shorts. She also married Tony McGill, her longtime love, safely delivered their baby boy, marketed a Scottish gin, and hosted an online book club. She’ll reanimate Claire Fraser when Outlander returns with Season 7 sometime this summer.

Sam Heughan starred in six films, including The Spy Who Dumped Me and Bloodshot, produced and starred in the Starz series Men In Kilts, and starred in Episode 5 of the Channel 4 series Suspect. He also wrote three books, received three honorary doctorates, and marketed his own whisky and tequila. He did not attend any funerals in Co Monaghan. He’ll reanimate Jamie Fraser when Outlander returns with Season 7 sometime this summer.

Remember… it seems like only nine years ago…

[yourcoffeeguru]

MTG Magic The Gathering World Championship SEATTLE August 1997 Jakub Slemr Deck || SWtradepost - ebay

[rabbitcruiser]

World Music Day 

From Beethoven to Taylor Swift, there’s music for everyone. Revisit your old favorites or discover new artists from different cultures on World Music Day.

There’s nothing in the world like the sound of your favorite song coming on, it just gets right into your head and your body and makes you move. Or maybe it takes you on a journey to a faraway place and time, where you languish in a memory of times gone by and people who are no longer present. Some of our favorite songs can lift us up out of depression and worry, and make an otherwise horrible day suddenly seem like it’s not so bad. World Music Day celebrates music in all its forms and the impact it’s had on the world and the human spirit.

World Music Day is for everybody to enjoy

Have you ever put on your headphones, hit play on an upbeat tune and waltzed down the street as if you were in a movie? You’re not alone, everybody has done it (they’re just too afraid to admit it!). Music has the ability to lift your spirits even when you don’t feel like getting out of bed that day. Why shouldn’t there be an entire day to celebrate the wonders of music? World Music Day needs to be celebrated far and wide without a doubt! Next time you’re in a bit of a funk, crank up your favorite song (close your curtains) and dance like nobody’s watching. It’s a soul soothing activity that should always be your go to saviour!

World Music Day is free and full of fun!

The best thing about World Music Day is that it is completely free to celebrate. No matter what kind of music you love you can take part for free and you can get the whole family involved. It is the perfect opportunity to try playing a brand-new instrument or listen to a type of music that you wouldn’t normally have on your playlist.

Every type of musician, whether you are young, old, new or a seasoned professional can embrace world music day with friends, family and even strangers!

Last year more than one thousand cities all over the world celebrated World Music Day, so why don’t you take this opportunity to do it to? Anybody can make music; it doesn’t matter how good you are. If you are the type of person who sings in the shower, why not use this opportunity to showcase your talents? Even the most tone deaf people can take this day to sing their hearts out and celebrate the beauty and power of music!

World Music Day originally launched several decades ago in France. In 1982 the Ministry of Culture in France developed a clever idea to celebrate the wonders of music. They wanted free, live music to be available to everybody no matter what their heritage or background. Usually you have to pay for tickets to music festivals, but not with World Music Day!

The many benefits of listening to music

Music is not only a fantastic creative outlet, but it can also have many health benefits. When you listen to a particular song it can bring back a happy memory or make you feel energized. Studies suggest that listening to music can have a number of positive effects on your health and mental wellbeing. As well as enhancing your performance of exercise, it can also provide a huge amount of comfort. Exercise has also been proven to reduce anxiety and listening to relaxing music can also decrease stress levels. So if you are looking for a mood boosting activity, why not celebrate World Music Day and let all of your troubles rush away from your mind instantly?

History of World Music Day

Music has existed for as long as mankind has found its voice, and quite possibly before. Every culture of the world has its own form of music, as distinct and unique to its area as language and cuisine. In the western world, we are familiar only with scales, known as the diatonic scale which should be familiar to anyone who took music classes or choir in school. But this is not the only or even the first scale that music can use.

There’s the chromatic scale, which has 12 notes instead of the 7, and the octatonic scale, which has 8 notes, but these are just the beginning. In every part of the world, there are different scales and musical formats used, and these create a form of music that has its own signature. Then when you add in the cultural themes, the variety of instruments, and the forms of voice singing that can go along with it, music is a truly endless adventure. World Music Day celebrates this adventure and those that dare to take it.

How to celebrate World Music Day

The best way to celebrate World Music Day is to spend the day listening to all your old favorites, and if you’re truly feeling adventurous start exploring YouTube for music from different cultures. You can explore Finnish and Hungarian, Italian and Mongolian, and then start digging into folk music. With sources like these, it’s easier than ever to explore the panorama of musical experiences the world has to offer, and you can do it all from the comfort of your own home. Of course, you could always pick up an instrument and start adding your own voice to the choir!

Source

[anarchistbitch]

1 lakh.... to take the test for cpa.... i hope this land swallows me

[oorevitcejda]

a law my great grandfather fought for (for my people to take rice, fish and hunt on OUR LAND*, without getting prosecuted by the colonized system of the white mans law) just passed

🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳💞

[werewolfmack]

The craziest thing a client ever said to me has been newly surpassed. the hot tea this woman spilled was (summarized) "the earthquake in turkey was not natural. It was manmade and set off in turkey on purpose, to punish them. Because erdogan was talking about leaving nato and had to be put in his place. And the USA government did it."

🫥🫥🫥 get me out of here... 🫥🫥🫥

[themagical1sa]

“This is all just propaganda.”

Yeah, because we are not immune to propaganda.

Unfortunately, we have to sit and think about what kind of subliminal messages we will be receiving exactly because of the propaganda.

[tenth-sentence]

Until recent centuries, these areas were still occupied by hunter-gatherers – Native Americans in the first three cases and Aboriginal Australians or Native Siberians in the last two.

"Guns, Germs and Steel: A Short History of Everybody for the Last 13,000 Years" - Jared Diamond

[orfeolookback]

If you're not from Argentina, please read this carefully

I have no words to describe the pain I feel. after 40 years of democracy, my country elected a party whose only goal is to be a colony once again, to sell the country to Elon Musk, to the USA and the UK, to have our sovereignty impugned and erased.

I remember the video of USAmerican congressists calling Argentina an "important asset for the United States". I remember when we told all of you to be vigilant because this was gonna turn into a genocide.

Tomorrow, the Mega DNU (Decree of Necessity and Urgency) is going to overrule most of our constitutional rights, and yesterday the Omnibus Law was presented to congress, including measures that make it illegal to gather in public without permission (state of siege), and make it so that protest is a crime. We will have to pay for the bullets that kill us, and cops will have absolute legal immunity to hunt us.

Word for word, a dictatorship. Fascism.

We've already gone through this many times, but I want to see worldwide protests about this. I want the UN to intervene. I want the world to make noise.

What worries me is this is not an isolated case. With many genocides going on worldwide, if the world fails Argentina, this will be the blueprint for all of the world.

Make no mistake, what happens here will happen everywhere there's natural resources and sovereignty. If not through overt genocide, through an extremely libertarian far right that wins elections by manipulating people, funded by Elon Musk. A second Operation Cóndor.