#Kroll Report

[insidecroydon]

Councillor complains over legal failings: 'It feels morally wrong'

CROYDON IN CRISIS: No one will face legal action for their part in the council’s financial collapse, despite Town Hall bosses spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on special reports and advice from high-powered barristers. Yet one of Mayor Perry’s most senior aides seems surprised at the predictable outcome Jason Cummings, the Conservative-run council’s most senior cabinet member, maintains…

[morbidology]

This creepy photograph shows serial killer, Joachim Kroll, reenacting one of his murders.

Joachim Georg Kroll was born on April 17, 1933, in Hindenburg (now Zabrze, Poland), during a time of significant upheaval in Europe. The youngest of eight children, Kroll grew up in a poor family, facing the hardships of post-World War II Germany. His father was a soldier in the German Army during the war and was captured by Soviet forces, never returning home. The loss of his father and the subsequent financial and emotional strain on the family deeply affected Kroll's development.

Kroll was reportedly a slow learner and struggled with school, dropping out early. He had a low IQ, estimated to be around 76, and was considered mentally deficient by those who knew him. Despite these challenges, Kroll eventually found work as a factory laborer, living a solitary and unremarkable life on the surface.

Kroll's reign of terror began in 1955 when he committed his first known murder. His victims were primarily young girls and women, although he occasionally targeted young boys. Kroll would lure his victims into secluded areas, where he would assault, murder, and in many cases, mutilate them. What made his crimes particularly gruesome was his practice of cannibalism; Kroll admitted to eating parts of his victims' flesh, which he claimed helped him save money on groceries.

Kroll's method of operation was chillingly methodical. He would often dismember his victims, keeping parts of their bodies for later consumption and disposing of the rest in rivers, forests, or other remote locations. His killings were not driven by a need for material gain or revenge but by a deeply rooted compulsion.

For years, Kroll evaded capture, in part due to his unassuming appearance and demeanor. He was described as quiet, polite, and somewhat simple-minded, which allowed him to fly under the radar of authorities and those around him. Moreover, the police were unable to connect the murders due to the wide geographical spread and varying victim profiles.

Kroll's killing spree finally came to an end on July 3, 1976, after the disappearance of a four-year-old girl named Marion Ketter. Her parents reported her missing, and a large-scale search was initiated. During the search, a neighbor of Kroll’s reported a disturbing incident: Kroll had mentioned that the waste pipe in his apartment was clogged with "guts."

When the police arrived at Kroll's apartment, they discovered a scene of unimaginable horror. The remains of Marion Ketter were found in his kitchen—parts of her body were cooking on the stove, while other parts were stored in the refrigerator. Kroll was immediately arrested, and during his interrogation, he calmly confessed to the murders of at least 14 people over the previous two decades. He provided chilling details of his crimes, showing no remorse for his actions.

Joachim Kroll's trial began in 1982, and the sheer brutality of his crimes shocked the public and the judiciary alike. He was charged with eight counts of murder, as the evidence for these cases was the most concrete, though he admitted to many more. Throughout the trial, Kroll's mental state was a significant point of discussion. He was diagnosed with a severe personality disorder, and his low intelligence was considered by the defense, who argued that he was mentally unfit to stand trial.

Despite these arguments, Kroll was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment on April 8, 1982. He spent the rest of his days in prison, where he reportedly lived quietly, maintaining the same unremarkable persona that had allowed him to elude capture for so long. Joachim Kroll died of a heart attack on July 1, 1991, while still incarcerated.

[tpwkwriter]

PLEASEE do one when H and y/n are at Harrys DWD premier and Chris pine is very flirty with y/n and looky with her and harry just gets protective and does all the things he can do to prove to him that y/n is his, pleaseee that would be so cute

you.

Didn’t he just look so dreamy this day? 😭thanks for the request bc I’m actually crying of how cute this concept acc is😫 enjoy!❤️

PLEASE NOTE: I am aware Chris pine would never hit on a taken woman this is for story purposes only!!!!🫶🏼

Warnings: jealousy, cussing, some flirty behaviour, angstyyyy, upset Harry 😭, fluffy ending!!!

— — — — —

It was a sunny day in Venice, the sky was a light blue, the sunshine was really doing its thing, it was a perfect day to be a plus one at Venice film festival.

When y/n heard about Harry’s upcoming physiological thriller ‘don’t worry darling’ she was ecstatic.

Every moment in his crazy career she was there for she hadn’t missed a a single thing.

“Y’not joining me for the carpet?” He asks realising her hand was no longer locked in his.

“This is your moment H, m’happy to watch” she smiled.

He glanced over to the carpet to which Chris pine, gemma chan and nick kroll were already occupying.

“I wouldn’t have done with film without you lovie, c’mon” he said pressing a kiss to her forehead and taking her hand once more.

“Fine” she sighed.

When Harry revealed them from the black curtain that shielded them from the world, the mixed audience of fans, film enthusiasts, paparazzi and journalists, erupted into cheers and heckles.

“Harry, Harry over here!”

“Harry we have questions for you!”

And to y/n’s surprise even some directed to her.

“Y/n you look beautiful”

“Y/n are you proud of this movie”

In a loving and protective manner Harry slid his arm around the girls waist and guided her next to Chris for photos to be taken.

As the main cast/crew member pictures had been taken, Gemma went off to have an interview? Nick found himself speaking to Harry which left y/n and Chris still next to each other.

“You Look good y/n” Chris says turning to the girl now having his full attention.

“Oh Chris, thank you! You don’t scrub up to bad either!” She playful gested

“Y/n, Chris come over we have some questions!!” a male reporter chanted.

Chris placed his palm on the lower of y/n’s back and walked towards the reporter.

Harry took a glance back at where he thought y/n was, a panic filled his mind when he couldn’t see her or Chris.

“Don’t panic mate she’s right there with Chris” nick noted making him turn the opposite direction.

“How did you-?” He asked.

“I know you too well, she’s all you think about” nick laughed.

Harry turned to his girl who spoke to the microphone the man was holding towards her.

Watching her do the most simple stuff made Harry realise how lucky he truly was.

The only thing he was sure of is the eyes of the one and only Chris pine staring her down.

Now, Harry wasn’t normally a jealous type but when a man like Chris appears, he can’t help but feel like he has no chance.

“Yeah, no y/n has been great! She delivered us all hot coffee and if we were lucky then donuts” Chris laughs thinking about the fond memories there shared through the filming.

Chrises hand slowly rubbed up and down her exposed arm as she spoke.

That did not go unnoticed by Harry.

“But filming was super fun to watch and seeing the movie made it all really worth it! I mean everyone involved did great”

“And it’s amazing seeing the actors behind the-“

Harry had snaked his muscular arms around her waist forcing Chris’s to remove his, and pressing a sweet kiss to her cheek.

“Oh hi Harry” she giggled

“Carry on Angel” he reassured.

“As I was saying yeah- um it was really interesting seeing behind the scenes”

Harry continued pressing mini kisses to her cheek and using his thumb to slowly trace her waist.

“The world is going to go crazy over this” the camera man laughed.

Y/n blushed and placed her hands on top of Harry’s.

Once the interview was over Harry pulled the girl close to his chest.

“Y’do know the world can see us” she said giving into his touch nonetheless.

“Oh well, at least the world know y’mine” he emphasised.

“Hey guys” a familiar deep voice chimed.

“Hey man” Harry replied reluctantly letting go of his girl.

“You 2 joining us for some fine dining?” He said straightening his blazer and hair.

“You up for it baby?” Harry asked looking back to his girl

“Oh yeah of course” she smiled.

“Great well I guess I’ll see you then!” He said patting her arm and heading off into the posh car to be taken to the location.

“God he has a thing for you” Harry said annoyingly with a roll to his eyes.

“Harry” she laughed

“Chris pine has a thing for me?” She continued.

“Mmm not sure about that love” she giggled.

Y/n wrapped her arm around his waist.

“I love you” she mumbled into his side.

“Love you too”

— — — — —

The cast of ‘DWD’ sat around a table that was located in one of Venice’s fanciest restaurant and poshest experiences.

Y/n couldn’t deny Harry had looked devilishly handsome the whole day and despite being next to the idols like Chris and Nick she only had eyes for him and will only have eyes for him.

Y/n was sandwiches between Harry and Chris with jemma, Nick opposite with Florence and Sydney head of the table.

“I love the material of your dress y/n” Chris nonchalantly mumbled while running his fingers on the red satin dress.

“Yeah it’s nice right, don’t you look beautiful baby” Harry was quick to say pressing a kiss on her temple.

“Where is it from?” Chris asked.

“Oh this is-“ y/n started.

“This is Gucci isn’t it darling? My very own collection tailored and measured especially for her” Harry spoke.

“Yeah, yeah that he did” y/n bash fully laughed.

“Wow! That’s crazy, I’m invited actually to be one of Guccis models for next month’s catalog” Chris bragged maintaining eye contact with Harry.

“Maybe you two should do a fashion collab” y/n mentioned taking a sip of her wine.

“100%” Chris mumbled into his napkin that he delicately patted around his lips.

The rest of the night went down a blast the girls shared laughter and gossip as the evening went on, Harry and the rest of the boys managed to have a conversation and the dining experience itself was great.

Harry just couldn’t take his eyes off of what Chris was to do next.

While y/n was speaking to Gemma who was adjacent to her Harry noticed Chrises heart eyes.

“Oh it’s lovely, me and Harry went a few years back missed it ever since” she began

“Where’s this y/n?” Chris interrupted.

Harry noticed the sudden interruption due to him, he placed his palm on her knee and gave it a light squeeze in a way to show he’s sorry for the interruption.

“Oh just telling Gemma about almafi coast, me and H went a few years ago” she smiled turning back to hemme and continuing her story.

As y/n carried on her conversation, it was the little things that Harry noticed. The way Chris would look from her dress all the way to her eyes, the way he would bite his lip when he had his attention. It was driving him mad.

“And so i Definitely thin-“ y/n started

“Y/n, I have to say your looking beautiful tonight” Chris blurted.

“You interrupted her to say that?” Harry said placing his arm on the back of y/n’s chair and leaning forward to meet eyes with Chris.

“Harry-“ she warned.

“Is a compliment a bad thing?” He answered back.

The tone in the both the boys caused the table to turn to the three of them.

“When I’m right here yeah” Harry scoffed.

“Harry-baby-“

“All I’m doing is complimenting her, something I haven’t seen you do all night” he laughed, causing the rest of the table to watch in shock, those who knew Harry knew when it comes to his lovie there’s no messing.

“Chris” Nick gasped.

“M’not hearing this all night, I’ll be outside y/n” and with that Harry rose from his seat and made his way to the exit of the restaurant.

A cold chill blew over y/n’s spine, this escalated from 0-100 very quickly.

“All over a compliment?!” He laughed taking a swig of his whiskey.

“I should go see him-“ Nick offered.

“It’s fine” y/n sighed.

“I’ll go” she begins as she stands and grabs her bag and slings it over her shoulder.

“Thanks for tonight guys” she said trying to be as friendly as she could.

“I’m sure he’s fine he’s just a bit stresse-“

“You don’t Need to explain yourself to us y/n, go find your man and keep us updated” Sydney said with Jemma and Flo nodding in agreement.

Y/n pushed the cold glass door open with her palm and slowly walked around the place in search of her boyfriend.

“Hey you” she said gently to the familiar figure that stood just by an alleyway.

“Fuck, love I’m so fucking sorry” he started.

“Hey hey hey” she said voice softening.

With a glance she could note the glossy eyes, without another word she wrapped her arms around his blazer clad waist, brung him in tightly.

“How about we get to the hotel and you can tell me what’s going on hey?” She offered using her fingers to play with the curls at the back of his head.

“Mmhmm” he hummed.

— — — — —

The ride back to the hotel was silent but not at all uncomfortable or awkward y/n knew he was hurt by something and she was determined to find out before the night ended.

They checked back into there hotel rooms and much to Harry lamberts disgust there fancy clothes ended up remaining in the floor for the night.

Y/n changed into one of Harry’s hoodies and her joggers.

Y/n joined harry on the bed and immediately made her self comfy, and cuddled straight into him.

“What’s going on H” she lowly whispered.

“Feel like I don’t appreciate you enough” he started.

“Hmm?” She hummed confused

“All night he had something to say, ‘oh your dress’, ‘oh your makeup’ and I just, I don’t know, feel shitty” he said honestly.

“And every look he gave you, every compliment, every touch he gave you it just scares me” he said pushing his head into the nook of her shoulder.

“Scares you?” She asked.

“I can’t lose you y/n, and Chris being this admittedly handsome guy, and giving you so much more attention then I did, it’s understandable”

“Harry”

“Baby, never, ever worry about that, no Chris or any other person could ever take me away from you ever”

She traced the back of his neck with her gentle fingertips.

“Only have eyes for you my love, only for you, and I don’t need your affection to feel loved by you, knowing your next to me or even in my life makes me feel like the luckiest girl ever” she stated whole heartedly.

— — — — —

[weclassybouquetfun]

Netflix is so funny. The streamer goes radio silence on their projects for years ::cough:: THE OLD GUARD sequel ::cough::, then turn around and say, "By the way: this and that drops tomorrow."

Or tonight in the case of the new SING short. Did you know there was going to be a SING short? Neither did I. But today Netflix announced that tonight at midnight, the Halloween themed SING short will debut.

SING THRILLER.

What is is about? Well, just that. The gang decides to stage their version of Michael Jackson's music video "Thriiller"

Returning for the short is Matthew McConaughey as Buster Moon, Tori Kelly as Meena, Nick Kroll as Gunter, Scarlette Johannsson as Ash, Garth Jennings as Miss Crawly and Taron Egerton as Johnny.

To prove the global reach of "Thriller" Taika Watiti did a Haka inspired bent at the end of his film BOY.

Taron Egerton's not coming off of his IG hiatus for this, but perhaps he will in December when his Netflix thriller CARRY ON is finally released (on December 13th, to be exact.).

Maybe by December 13th they will release a better poster.

Entertainment Weekly exclusive pictures from the upcoming film (and other KINGSMAN alums goings-on).

Since Edward Holcroft has provided Taron's fans with a few glimpses of Taron since his self-imposed social media hiatus,

I'll give Ed equal time.

Holcroft's Lithuanian limited series A WOLF'S PALATE (which, to date is Lithuania's most expensive sereis) is one of the five series selected to screen at TV Beats Forum's inaugural screening day on November 20th.  The six-parter, A WOLF's PALATE is described as a psychological drama with supernatural elements.

While I await Ed's return to the screen, I just have to be satisfied with his selfies.

Our other KINGSMAN alum, Colin Firth has been absent from screens for a moment, but he will soon be back with the Sky/Peacock five-part limted series, LOCKERBIE: A SEARCH FOR TRUTH.

LOCKERBIE: A SEARCH FOR TRUTH tells the real-life story of Dr. Jim Swire whose daughter was among the 259 people who lost their lives in the 1988 bombing of a PamAm flight over Lockerbie, Scotland (with an additional eleven who died on the ground due to the disintergrating plane). It will drop January 2nd in the UK and the US.

Like Mark Strong, Firth will set foot in the Sherlock Holmes universe. He has been cast in Guy Ritchie's upcoming YOUNG SHERLOCK series for Amazon Prime Video starring Heros Fiennes-Tiffins as the young detective, Fiennes-Tiffin's uncle Joseph Fiennes as his father Silas,

Natascha McElhone as his mother Cordelia, Max Irons as Mycroft Holmes, Tsine Tseng (3 BODY PROBLEM) as Princess Gulun Shou'an, Dónal Finn (WHEEL OF TIME) as Moriarty and Firth as  Sir Bucephalus Hodge (no further character details have been announced).

And while not confirmed, there was a report that Colin Firth will be joining his ARTHUR NEWMAN and MARY POPPINS RETURNS costar Emily Blunt in Steven Spielberg's next film that is slated for a 2026 release.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Molly Redden and Andy Kroll, ProPublica, and Nick Surgey at Documented:

A key ally to former President Donald Trump detailed plans to deploy the military in response to domestic unrest, defund the Environmental Protection Agency and put career civil servants “in trauma” in a series of previously unreported speeches that provide a sweeping vision for a second Trump term. In private speeches delivered in 2023 and 2024, Russell Vought, who served as Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget, described his work crafting legal justifications so that military leaders or government lawyers would not stop Trump’s executive actions. He said the plans are a response to a “Marxist takeover” of the country; likened the moment to 1776 and 1860, when the country was at war or on the brink of it; and said the timing of Trump’s candidacy was a “gift of God.”

ProPublica and Documented obtained videos of the two speeches Vought delivered during events for the Center for Renewing America, a pro-Trump think tank led by Vought. The think tank’s employees or fellows include Jeffrey Clark, the former senior Justice Department lawyer who aided Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election result; Ken Cuccinelli, a former acting deputy secretary in the Department of Homeland Security under Trump; and Mark Paoletta, a former senior budget official in the Trump administration. Other Trump allies such as former White House adviser Steve Bannon and U.S. Reps. Chip Roy and Scott Perry either spoke at the conferences or appeared on promotional materials for the events. Vought does not hide his agenda or shy away from using extreme rhetoric in public. But the apocalyptic tone and hard-line policy prescriptions in the two private speeches go further than his earlier pronouncements. As OMB director, Vought sought to use Trump’s 2020 “Schedule F” executive order to strip away job protections for nonpartisan government workers. But he has never spoken in such pointed terms about demoralizing federal workers to the point that they don’t want to do their jobs. He has spoken in broad terms about undercutting independent agencies but never spelled out sweeping plans to defund the EPA and other federal agencies.

Vought’s plans track closely with Trump’s campaign rhetoric about using the military against domestic protesters or what Trump has called the “enemy within.” Trump’s desire to use the military on U.S. soil recently prompted his longest-serving chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, to speak out, saying Trump “certainly prefers the dictator approach to government.” Other policies mentioned by Vought dovetail with Trump’s plans, such as embracing a wartime footing on the southern border and rolling back transgender rights. Agenda 47, the campaign’s policy blueprint, calls for revoking President Joe Biden’s order expanding gender-affirming care for transgender people; Vought uses even more extreme language, decrying the “transgender sewage that’s being pumped into our schools and institutions” and referring to gender-affirming care as “chemical castration.”

[...] As ProPublica and Documented reported, Project 2025 has launched a massive program to recruit, vet and train thousands of people to “be ready on day one” to serve in a future conservative administration. (Trump has repeatedly criticized Project 2025, and his top aides have said the effort has no connection to the official campaign despite the dozens of former Trump aides and advisers who contributed to Project 2025.) Vought is widely expected to take a high-level government role if Trump wins a second term. His name has even been mentioned as a potential White House chief of staff. The videos obtained by ProPublica and Documented offer an unfiltered look at Vought’s worldview, his plans for a Trump administration and his fusing of MAGA ideology and Christian nationalism.

[...]

A Shadow Government in Waiting

In his 2024 speech, Vought said he was spending the majority of his time helping lead Project 2025 and drafting an agenda for a future Trump presidency. “We have detailed agency plans,” he said. “We are writing the actual executive orders. We are writing the actual regulations now, and we are sorting out the legal authorities for all of what President Trump is running on.” Vought laid out how his think tank is crafting the legal rationale for invoking the Insurrection Act, a law that gives the president broad power to use the military for domestic law enforcement. The Washington Post previously reported the issue was at the top of the Center for Renewing America’s priorities. “We want to be able to shut down the riots and not have the legal community or the defense community come in and say, ‘That’s an inappropriate use of what you’re trying to do,’” he said. Vought held up the summer 2020 unrest following George Floyd’s murder as an example of when Trump ought to have had the ability to deploy the armed forces but was stymied. Vought’s preparations for a future Trump administration involve building a “shadow” Office of Legal Counsel, he told the gathered supporters in May 2023. That office, part of the Justice Department, advises the president on the scope of their powers. Vought made clear he wants the office to help Trump steamroll the kind of internal opposition he faced in his first term.

[...]

“We Want the Bureaucrats to Be Traumatically Affected”

Vought also revealed the extent of the Center for Renewing America’s role in whipping up right-wing panic ahead of the 2022 midterms over an increase in asylum-seekers crossing at the U.S.-Mexico border. In February 2022, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich released a legal opinion claiming the state was under “invasion” by violent cartels and could invoke war powers to deploy National Guard troops to its southern border. The legally dubious “invasion” theory became a potent Republican talking point. Vought said in the 2023 speech that he and Cuccinelli, the former top Homeland Security official for Trump, personally lobbied Brnovich on the effort. “We said, ‘Look, you can write your own opinion, but here’s a draft opinion of what this should look like,’” Vought said. The nonpartisan watchdog group American Oversight later obtained an email in which Vought pitched the “invasion” framework to Brnovich.

Brnovich wrote in an email to ProPublica that he recalled multiple discussions with Cuccinelli about border security. But he added that “the invasion opinion was the result of a formal request from a member of the Arizona legislature. And I can assure you it was drafted and written by hard working attorneys (including myself) in our office.” In the event Trump loses, Vought called for Republican leaders of states such as Florida and Texas to “create red-state sanctuaries” by “kicking out all the feds as much as they possibly can.”

[...] Vought referred to the people detained for alleged crimes committed on Jan. 6, 2021, as “political prisoners” and defended the lawyers Jeffrey Clark and John Eastman, who have both faced criminal charges for their role in Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Federal law enforcement agencies, he added, “are keeping political opponents in jail, and I think we need to be honest about that.” The left, Vought continued, has the ultimate goal of ending representative democracy altogether. “The stark reality in America is that we are in the late stages of a complete Marxist takeover of the country,” he said, “in which our adversaries already hold the weapons of the government apparatus, and they have aimed it at us. And they are going to continue to aim it until they no longer have to win elections.” When Democrats called Trump an “existential threat to democracy,” they were not merely calling for his defeat at the ballot box, he said, but were using “coded language the national security state uses overseas when they are overthrowing other governments” to discourage the military from putting down anti-Trump protests should he win. “They’re making Trump out to be a would-be dictator or an authoritarian,” he said. “So they’re actively working now to ensure, on a number of levels, that the military will perceive this as dictatorial and therefore not respond to any orders to quell any violence.”

ProPublica reports that Project 2025 co-author and MAGA apparatchik Russ Vought has plans to put civil servants “in trauma” as part of his fascistic agenda if it is implemented.

[jowi8597]

241114 Loewe Weibo update 🔥

LOEWE Magazine Issue 5 is now available.

A special report on the Spring/Summer 2025 Menswear Show is presented in this issue. The magazine comes with stickers of front-row guests, some of which are duplicated. You can collect and exchange them with people who have the same stickers to get the full lineup. The magazine also presents the behind-the-scenes shooting of the 2025 Early Spring Collection image blockbuster, taking you into a day in the life of photographer Juergen Teller. It's the holiday season, and the question of "how to choose a gift for someone who has everything" will also be answered in this issue.

Featured in this issue: Global Brand Ambassador Wang Yibo and Kevin Abstract, Vince Aletti, Pedro Almodóvar, Omar Apollo, Kit Connor, Jamie Dornan, Ayo Edebiri, Richard Gadd, Jeff Goldblum, Lee Jongsuk, Sue Kroll, Youngsoon Lee, Dan Levy, Archie Madekwe, Evan Peters, Baifern Pimchanok, Ambika Mod, Evan Ross Katz, Yu Seki, Drew Starkey, Phuwin Tangsakyuen, Tawan Vihokratana, Enzo Vogrincic, Sophie Wilde, Leo Woodall, Ben Whishaw, Rose Wylie.

This issue is available in limited quantities and is now in boutiques.

[wellthatwasaletdown]

He's going to be asked about 1D for the rest of his career. Those questions should be low-hanging fruit for him.......

Same anon here: yeah that's what I meant. I am agreeing with you. He should have been able to answer those or use his media training, and he fucked up royally. It was bad. He was terrible that day. I am offering this up as maybe the worst day of his career and a ton of Harries would agree. Me and my friends were watching bits and pieces and had to stop.

Re Nick Kroll and Asif Ali doing promo, they had specials out at the same time and were obviously using DWD as a hook-in. Nick Kroll is good friends with Olivia, as well. Mind you so is Chris Pine, and he gave it a full-body swerve except for that day at Venice (he definitely cancelled one sofa gig, idk about more). But he did not have any special out that he needed to promote. Not a single other person took on any promo and whatever that says about the situation is not good. I've no idea what went on that Harry didn't use the gaps in his schedule and believe me I would love to know but everyone seems to have excised it from their careers. What an absolute shitshow must have been going on bts for that to happen.

Was there really a huge LA premiere of MP? I remember something but nothing big. It doesn't matter, the takeaway is that he was bad and the film was bad and all of it was bad. His outfits were bad and his words were bad and most of his acting stunk. I hope he never makes another film, ever, and I don't think he will because the ego-destruction must have been intense.

I never said that you disagreed with me. I pointed out that Harry Edward Styles was dumb as a box of rocks because he couldn't answer questions about the band that he was part of. That's not the reporters' fault--like you tried to claim.

Also, stop trying to diminish MP. They were obviously planning an Oscar run for that "tiny film." The premieres in Toronto and L.A. both received extensive media coverage. And, despite his horrible performance, it still has a higher Rotten Tomatoes score than DWD.

[sataniccapitalist]

Ziklag Exposed: Secretive Christian Nationalist Network Tries to Purge Voters in Battleground States

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump made headlines this week after suggesting the 2024 election could be the last U.S. election if he wins in November. We look at a secret organization of wealthy Christians called Ziklag that is backing Trump's efforts by working to purge more than a million voters from the rolls in battleground states and mobilize Republican voters to back Trump. The news outlets ProPublica and Documented obtained thousands of Ziklag's internal files and found the group has divided its 2024 activities into three different operations: Steeplechase, which uses churches to get out the vote; Watchtower, which aims to rally voters around opposition to transgender rights; and Checkmate, which is focused on funding so-called election integrity groups, explains ProPublica investigative reporter Andy Kroll.

[standupcomedyhistorian]

Hi, everyone!

With the WGA strike still going strong, I came across this fascinating Hollywood Reporter article about one form of expression that is BOOMING for writers—

Stand-up comedy! 🙌

Since stand-up doesn’t fall under the guild’s restrictions, a number of tv show and late-night writers have returned to the stage to brush up on their joke-writing skills as well as more famous writers like Mulaney, Armisen, and Silverman doing sets to supplement their lost income.

Here are some choice quotes:

Regulars (and WGA members) like Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Brett Goldstein, Fred Armisen and Sarah Silverman have all been doing gigs during the strike, as well as stars who less frequently do live shows like Quinta Brunson, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel and Ted Lasso‘s Phil Dunster. Many late night TV writers also decided to pursue stand-up after their shows went dark starting May 2.

Adds Felipe Torres Medina, a writer on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert who is focusing on a one-man comedy show about immigration during the strike, “It’s a little bit of a way to do jokes, do comedy, perform and get out there and do what we love. If it’s supplemental income, that’s great, and if it is income [at all] that’s great. But I think it’s more of, at least for me, it’s a love-of-the-game situation rather than a career pivot.”

Adds Koff, “It’s good to be able to have a way to generate money and not have the studios get part of it, whether it’s like raking someone’s leaves or doing stand-up. It’s good to be able to do comedy and not have some CEO make money off of it.”

I’m SO thrilled that stand-up comedy is continuing to thrive while other forms of entertainment struggle. And I can’t wait to attend more shows this summer! ✌🏼

[insidecroydon]

Pressure mounts on Sutton finance chief over Fairfield fiasco

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The Kroll Report, which this week had its release delayed because of legal threats on behalf of a former council director, might be seen as a waste of another £310,000 of public money. But for former director Richard Simpson, it makes for a most uncomfortable read. EXCLUSIVE by DAVE BURTON and STEVEN DOWNES Wednesday’s long overdue release of the Kroll Report, the…

[quakerjoe]

Ziklag Exposed: Secretive Christian Nationalist Network Tries to Purge Voters in Battleground States

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump made headlines this week after suggesting the 2024 election could be the last U.S. election if he wins in November. We look at a secret organization of wealthy "Christians" called Ziklag that is backing Trump's efforts by working to purge more than a million voters from the rolls in battleground states and mobilize Republican voters to back Trump.

The news outlets ProPublica and Documented obtained thousands of Ziklag's internal files and found the group has divided its 2024 activities into three different operations: Steeplechase, which uses churches to get out the vote; Watchtower, which aims to rally voters around opposition to transgender rights; and Checkmate, which is focused on funding so-called election integrity groups, explains ProPublica investigative reporter Andy Kroll.

[ulkaralakbarova]

The story of Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple, whose challenge of their anti-miscegenation arrest for their marriage in Virginia led to a legal battle that would end at the US Supreme Court. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Richard Loving: Joel Edgerton Mildred Loving: Ruth Negga Grey Villet: Michael Shannon Sheriff Brooks: Marton Csokas Bernie Cohen: Nick Kroll Frank Beazley: Bill Camp Lola Loving: Sharon Blackwood Raymond Green: Alano Miller Garnet Jetter: Terri Abney Judge Bazile: David Jensen Phil Hirschkop: Jon Bass Theoliver Jeter: Christopher Mann Musiel Byrd-Jeter: Winter-Lee Holland Deputy: Michael Abbott Jr. Percy Fortune: Chris Greene Virgil: Will Dalton Chet Antieau: Matt Malloy Laura: Andrene Ward-Hammond Alex: D.L. Hopkins Hope Ryden: Jennifer Joyner Cousin Davis: Lance Lemon Cousin Gerald: Marquis Adonis Hazelwood Older Sydney: Brenan Young Older Donald: Dalyn Cleckley Older Peggy: Quinn McPherson Middle Sidney: Jevin Crochrell Middle Donald: Jordan Williams Jr. Middle Peggy: Georgia Crawford Toddler Sydney: Micah Claiborne Baby Sydney: Devin Cleckley Infant Sydney: Pryor Ferguson Clara – Cashier: Karen Vicks Reporter #1: Scott Wichmann Construction Worker: Benjamin Loeh Court Secretary: Bridget Gethins Store Pedestrian: Mark Huber Drag Race Spectator: James Matthew Poole Secretary: Coley Campany Secretary: Sheri Lahris Construction Worker: Jordan Dickey Telephone Man: Coby Batty Drag Race Spectator / Bar Patron: Chris Condetti Richard’s Racing Crew: Logan J. Woolfolk County Clerk: Robert Haulbrook Bricklayer: Keith Tyree Spectator: James Nevins Prisoner: W. Keith Scott Photojournalist: Tom Lancaster Street Walker: Lonnie M. Henderson Court Audience Member: Brian Thomas Wise Drag Race Spectator: Ken Holliday Antieau’s Secretary: Terry Menefee Gau Driver: Marc Anthony Lowe Racetrack Spectator: Jay SanGiovanni D.C Teen: Tyrell Ford Baby Boy #1: James Atticus Abebayehu Phil’s Dad: Jim D. Johnston …: Derick Newson Boarding House Boy: Miles Hopkins Construction Worker: Kenneth William Clarke Reporter: Robert Furner Secretary: Victoria Chavatel Jimison Field Hand / Drag Strip Attendee / Shot Gun Shack Attendee (uncredited): Darrick Claiborne Courtroom Spectator (uncredited): Raymond H. Johnson Drag Race Driver: Dean Mumford Pregnant Girl: Rebecca Turner Magistrate: Mike Shiflett County Jailer: Greg Cooper Supreme Court Reporter: A. Smith Harrison Press Conference Reporter: Keith Flippen Soundman: Jason Alan Cook Courtroom Spectator (uncredited): Lucas N. Hall Film Crew: Director: Jeff Nichols Editor: Julie Monroe Producer: Peter Saraf Executive Producer: Jack Turner Executive Producer: Jared Ian Goldman Executive Producer: Brian Kavanaugh-Jones Unit Production Manager: Sarah Green Art Direction: Jonathan Guggenheim Casting: Francine Maisler Production Design: Chad Keith Storyboard: Nancy Buirski Associate Producer: Oge Egbuono Producer: Colin Firth Producer: Marc Turtletaub Set Decoration: Adam Willis Producer: Ged Doherty Unit Production Manager: Will Greenfield Costume Design: Erin Benach Music Supervisor: Lauren Mikus Original Music Composer: David Wingo Still Photographer: Ben Rothstein Director of Photography: Adam Stone Script Supervisor: Jean-Paul Chreky Special Effects Coordinator: Gary Pilkinton Special Effects Technician: Trevor Smithson Property Master: A. Patrick Storey First Assistant Director: Cas Donovan Second Assistant Director: Tommy Martin Stunt Driver: Dean Mumford Key Makeup Artist: Katie Middleton Second Second Assistant Director: Ben LeDoux Construction Buyer: Roslyn Blankenship Assistant Property Master: Hannah Ross Dialogue Editor: Brandon Proctor Genetator Operator: Maxwel Fisher Post Production Supervisor: Susan E. Novick Boom Operator: Proctor Trivette Leadman: Stephen G. Shifflette Second Assistant “A” Camera: Stephen McBride Sound Effects Editor: David Grimaldi Foley Mixer: Judy Kirschner Makeup Department Head: Julia Lallas Hairstylist: Brian Morton Sound Effects Editor: Joel Dougherty ADR Mixer: Chris Navarro Sound Effects Editor: P.K. Hooker ...

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Up now in Michigan. We’re doing this is several battleground states.

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

June 24, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUN 25, 2024

Two years ago today, on June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the��Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that recognized a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy. The vote was 6–3. 

The three justices appointed by former president Trump joined Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Chief Justice John Roberts to strip a constitutional right from the American people, a right we had enjoyed for almost 50 years, a right that is considered a fundamental human right in most liberal democracies, and a right they had indicated they would protect because it was settled law. For the first time in our history, rather than conveying rights, the court explicitly took a constitutional right away from the American people. 

Andy Kroll, Andrea Bernstein, and Ilya Marritz of ProPublica reported that the night before the decision came down, 70 or so partygoers, including two dozen state and federal judges, met to drink champagne and eat fine food at the Maine home of the man who had hatched and then executed a plan to stack the courts with extremist judges: Leonard Leo. It was Leo who had helped pick or confirm all six of the justices who would, the next day, announce to the world they were overturning Roe. 

In the decision, written by Alito, the court said that the right to determine abortion rights must be returned “to the people’s elected representatives” at the state level. This construction of American law is central to the right-wing project of dismantling the federal government which, under the Fourteenth Amendment, is charged with protecting equal rights in the states. Centering the states, which determine who can vote within them, enables a minority to dominate the majority. In this case, a strong majority of Americans has always backed abortion rights while only about 10% of Americans wanted a complete ban on the procedure.

In the late 1970s, presidential hopeful Ronald Reagan courted religious traditionalists who objected to women’s equality with the promise of ending abortion access. Indeed, in her first statement on abortion in January 1972, right-wing activist Phyllis Schlafly focused not on fetuses but on women who wanted equal rights. 

“The ‘women’s lib[eration]’ movement is not an honest effort to secure better jobs for women who want or need to work outside the home,” she said. It “is a total assault on the role of the American woman as wife and mother, and on the family as the basic unit of society. Women’s libbers are trying to make wives and mothers unhappy with their career, make them feel that they are ‘second-class citizens’ and ‘abject slaves.’ Women’s libbers are promoting free sex instead of the “slavery” of marriage. They are promoting Federal ‘day-care centers’ for babies instead of homes. They are promoting abortions instead of families.”

Business leaders who wanted to slash taxes and government regulations led the Reagan coalition, but winning elections always depended on the votes of racists and the religious traditionalists who opposed women’s rights. But since a majority of Americans has always supported the protection of access to abortion, Republican leaders generally promised to end abortion without intending actually to do it. 

But the extremist religious judges Leo helped Trump put in place had their own agenda. 

As soon as the court overturned Roe v. Wade, Republican-dominated states began restricting abortion access. Now, two years later, 14 states ban abortion entirely. Seven others have restrictions that would have been unconstitutional two years ago. 

The overturning of Roe v. Wade upended American politics. The majority of Americans alive today have always lived in a country with abortion access recognized as a constitutional right, and had not thought they could lose it. Exactly what that loss means became clear just days after the Dobbs decision, when news broke that a ten-year-old rape victim had been unable to obtain an abortion in Ohio and had to cross state lines to Indiana, where the state attorney general, Todd Rokita, publicly attacked the doctor who treated the girl. Similar stories, as well as those of women who desperately needed abortions to save their lives or fertility, have driven support for abortion higher than it was before Dobbs. 

As state laws prohibiting abortion took effect, voters worked to protect abortion rights. In seven states, including Republican-dominated Kansas, Kentucky, and Ohio, voters have protected abortion rights when they were on the ballot. Pollster Tom Bonier today called abortion rights “the most powerful single issue in politics.” 

Bonier recalled looking at the Kansas vote and finding such a surprising statistic he thought he had miscalculated. After Dobbs, almost 70% of the people in that state registering to vote were women. He said he has “never seen a registration surge among any specific group like this before, and [doesn't] expect to again.” He went on to find substantial gender gaps in registration in states where access to abortion was at risk, but not in states where it seemed secure. 

In 2022, Bonier said, “[i]n states and races where abortion rights were perceived as at stake, Democrats overperformed massively,” including in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Arizona, but in states like New York and California, where abortion rights are protected, “the election was as you would have expected in a ‘normal’ midterm.” Bonier added that abortion rights “is likely more salient now than it was in 2022.” 

As the votes indicate, Dobbs has created a huge problem for Republicans, especially as Trump continues to boast that he is responsible for overturning Roe, a boast that the Biden campaign is highlighting. Voters eager to protect abortion rights are moving away from the party toward a more moderate and popular position on abortion.

It has also created a problem for the party on the hard right. Having lost the abortion issue as a way to turn out voters, leaders are whipping up the party’s base with ever-increasing extremism. In the realm of reproductive rights, that extremism has led MAGA Republicans to call for national bans on abortion, contraception, and in vitro fertilization (IVF). More generally, it has increasingly made them call for violence against their opponents. On June 21, for example, Representative Chip Roy (R-TX) posted on social media: “I do want to ‘ethnic cleanse’ by deporting white progressive Democrats—with a special bonus for rich ones with an Ivy League degree. I really do not like ‘those people.’”

Those extremists appear to be threatening Trump from the right, possibly considering a move to back Trump’s conspiracy theorist former national security advisor Michael Flynn at the July Republican National Convention. Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post reported Saturday that there has been a revolt against Trump in the Arizona delegation to the Republican National Convention, some of whom apparently worry that Trump has been captured by the “deep state” and is not extreme enough for them.

The promise to return decision making to the states has always been an attempt to enable a minority to impose its will on the majority, but the Dobbs decision revealed that minority to be so extremist it appears to have engaged, and enraged, people who before it were not paying much attention to politics. In the Dobbs decision, Alito wrote: “Our decision returns the issue of abortion to [state] legislative bodies, and it allows women on both sides of the abortion issue to seek to affect the legislative process by influencing public opinion, lobbying legislators, voting, and running for office. Women are not without electoral or political power.”

Amen. 

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[mit]

Germicidal UV lights could be producing indoor air pollutants, study finds

While useful for killing pathogens including SARS-CoV-2, the lights may cause unwanted chemical reactions and should be used with ventilation, researchers say.

David Chandler | MIT News

Many efforts to reduce transmission of diseases like Covid-19 and the flu have focused on measures such as masking and isolation, but another useful approach is reducing the load of airborne pathogens through filtration or germicidal ultraviolet light. Conventional UV sources can be harmful to eyes and skin, but newer sources that emit at a different wavelength, 222 nanometers, are considered safe.

However, new research from MIT shows that these UV lights can produce potentially harmful compounds in indoor spaces. While the researchers emphasize that this doesn’t mean the new UV lights should be avoided entirely, they do say the research suggests it is important that the lights have the right strength for a given indoor situation, and that they are used along with appropriate ventilation.

The findings are reported in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, in a paper by recent MIT postdoc Victoria Barber, doctoral student Matthew Goss, Professor Jesse Kroll, and six others at MIT, Aerodyne Research, and Harvard University.

While Kroll and his team usually work on issues of outdoor air pollution, during the pandemic they became increasingly interested in indoor air quality. Usually, little photochemical reactivity happens indoors, unlike outdoors, where the air is constantly exposed to sunlight. But with the use of devices to clean indoor air using chemical methods or UV light, “all of a sudden some of this oxidation is brought indoors,” triggering a potential cascade of reactions, Kroll says.

Initially, the UV light interacts with oxygen in the air to form ozone, which is itself a health risk. “But also, once you make ozone, there’s a possibility for all these other oxidation reactions,” Kroll says. For example, the UV can interact with the ozone to produce compounds called OH radicals, which are also powerful oxidizers.

Barber, who is now an assistant professor at the University of California at Los Angeles, adds, “If you have volatile organic compounds in the environment, which you do basically in all indoor environments, then these oxidants react with them and you make these oxidized volatile organic compounds, which in some cases turn out to be more harmful to human health than their unoxidized precursors.” The process also leads to the formation of secondary organic aerosols, she says. “Again, this stuff is harmful to breathe, so having it in your indoor environment is not ideal.”

The formation of such compounds is particularly problematic in the indoors, Kroll says, because people spend so much of their time there, and low ventilation rates can mean these compounds could accumulate to relatively high levels.

Having studied such processes in outdoor air for years, the team had the right equipment in hand to observe these pollution-forming processes indoors directly. They carried out a series of experiments, first exposing clean air to the UV lights inside a controlled container, then adding one organic compound at a time to see how they each affected the compounds that were produced. Although further research is needed to see how these findings apply to real indoor environments, the formation of secondary products was clear. 

The devices that make use of the new UV wavelengths, called KrCl excimer lamps, are still relatively rare and expensive. They’re used in some hospital, restaurant, or commercial settings rather than in homes. But while they have sometimes been touted as a substitute for ventilation, especially in hard-to-ventilate older buildings, the new study suggests that’s not appropriate. “Our big finding was that these lights are not a replacement for ventilation, but rather a complement to it,” says Kroll, who is a professor of civil and environmental engineering, and of chemical engineering.

Some have proposed that with these devices, “maybe if you could just deactivate the viruses and bacteria indoors, you wouldn’t need to worry about ventilation as much. What we showed is that, unfortunately, that’s not necessarily the case, because when you have less ventilation, you get a buildup of these secondary products,” Kroll says.

He suggests a different approach: “There may be a sweet spot in which you’re getting the health benefits of the light, the deactivation of pathogens, but not too many of the disbenefits of the pollutant formation because you’re ventilating that out.”

The results so far are from precisely controlled lab experiments, with air contained in a Teflon bag for testing, Barber points out. “What we’re seeing in our bag is not necessarily directly comparable to what you would see in a real indoor environment,” she says, “but it does give a pretty good picture of what the chemistry is that can happen under radiation from these devices.”

Goss adds that “this work allowed us to validate a simple model that we could plug in parameters to that are more relevant to actual indoor spaces.” In the paper, they use this information “to try to apply the measurements we’ve taken to estimate what would happen in an actual indoor space.” The next step in the research will be to attempt follow-up studies taking measurements in real-world indoor spaces, he says.

“We’ve shown that these are a potential concern,” Kroll says. “But in order to understand what the full real-world implications are, we need to take measurements in real indoor environments.”

“These 222-nanometer radiation devices are being deployed in bathrooms, classrooms, and conference rooms without a full accounting of the potential benefits and/or harm associate with their operation,” says Dustin Poppendieck, a research scientist at the National Institute for Standards and Technology, who was not associated with this study. “This work lays the foundation for a proper quantification of potential negative health impacts of these devices. It is important this process is completed prior to relying on the technology to help prevent the next pandemic.”

The work was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Harvard Global Institute, and an NIEHS Toxicology Training Grant.

[cybergeeksposts]

SIM Swap Saga: A Deep Dive into the Latest Cybersecurity Incident

On August 19, 2023, Kroll, a risk and financial advisory solutions provider, reported that an employee had fallen victim to a highly sophisticated SIM-swapping attack, targeting their T-Mobile account. T-Mobile transferred the employee's phone number to the attacker's phone without Kroll's knowledge or consent. This granted the threat actor access to files containing the personal information of bankruptcy claimants linked to BlockFi, FTX, and Genesis. SIM swapping, though often harmless, was exploited by the attacker to gain control of the victim's phone number, intercept SMS messages, and access MFA-related data for online accounts. Kroll secured the impacted accounts and informed those affected. No evidence of further breaches has been found, but investigations are ongoing.

The incident highlights the importance of safeguarding personal information and the vulnerabilities tied to relying solely on SMS-based multi-factor authentication (MFA). It underscores the need for individuals and organizations to adopt stronger authentication methods, raise awareness about social engineering threats, and prompt cellular carriers to enhance their customer identity verification processes to prevent such attacks. Kroll's prompt response, securing affected accounts, and initiating notifications demonstrate the significance of immediate action in mitigating potential data breaches.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Andy Kroll and Nick Surgey at ProPublica:

A network of ultrawealthy Christian donors is spending nearly $12 million to mobilize Republican-leaning voters and purge more than a million people from the rolls in key swing states, aiming to tilt the 2024 election in favor of former President Donald Trump. These previously unreported plans are the work of a group named Ziklag, a little-known charity whose donors have included some of the wealthiest conservative Christian families in the nation, including the billionaire Uihlein family, who made a fortune in office supplies, the Greens, who run Hobby Lobby, and the Wallers, who own the Jockey apparel corporation. Recipients of Ziklag’s largesse include Alliance Defending Freedom, which is the Christian legal group that led the overturning of Roe v. Wade, plus the national pro-Trump group Turning Point USA and a constellation of right-of-center advocacy groups.

[...]

Ziklag’s 2024 agenda reads like the work of a political organization. It plans to pour money into mobilizing voters in Arizona who are “sympathetic to Republicans” in order to secure “10,640 additional unique votes” — almost the exact margin of President Joe Biden’s win there in 2020. The group also intends to use controversial AI software to enable mass challenges to the eligibility of hundreds of thousands of voters in competitive states. In a recording of a 2023 internal strategy discussion, a Ziklag official stressed that the objective was the same in other swing states. “The goal is to win,” the official said. “If 75,000 people wins the White House, then how do we get 150,000 people so we make sure we win?”

According to the Ziklag files, the group has divided its 2024 activities into three different operations targeting voters in battleground states: Checkmate, focused on funding so-called election integrity groups; Steeplechase, concentrated on using churches and pastors to get out the vote; and Watchtower, aimed at galvanizing voters around the issues of “parental rights” and opposition to transgender rights and policies supporting health care for trans people. In a member briefing video, one of Ziklag’s spiritual advisers outlined a plan to “deliver swing states” by using an anti-transgender message to motivate conservative voters who are exhausted with Trump.

But Ziklag is not a political organization: It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity, the same legal designation as the United Way or Boys and Girls Club. Such organizations do not have to publicly disclose their funders, and donations are tax deductible. In exchange, they are “absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office,” according to the IRS. ProPublica and Documented presented the findings of their investigation to six nonpartisan lawyers and legal experts. All expressed concern that Ziklag was testing or violating the law. The reporting by ProPublica and Documented “casts serious doubt on this organization’s status as a 501(c)(3) organization,” said Roger Colinvaux, a professor at Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law.

[...]

“Dominion Over the Seven Mountains”

Ziklag has largely escaped scrutiny until now. The group describes itself as a “private, confidential, invitation-only community of high-net-worth Christian families.” According to internal documents, it boasts more than 125 members that include business executives, pastors, media leaders and other prominent conservative Christians. Potential new members, one document says, should have a “concern for culture” demonstrated by past donations to faith-based or political causes, as well as a net worth of $25 million or more. None of the donors responded to requests for comment.

Tax records show rapid growth in the group’s finances in recent years. Its annual revenue climbed from $1.3 million in 2018 to $6 million in 2019 and nearly $12 million in 2022, which is the latest filing available. The group’s spending is not on the scale of major conservative funders such as Miriam Adelson or Barre Seid, the electronics magnate who gave $1.6 billion to a group led by conservative legal activist Leonard Leo. But its funding and strategy represent one of the clearest links yet between the Christian right and the “election integrity” movement fueled by Trump’s baseless claims about voting fraud. Even several million dollars funding mass challenges to voters in swing counties can make an impact, legal and election experts say.

Ziklag was the brainchild of a Silicon Valley entrepreneur named Ken Eldred. It emerged from a previous organization founded by Eldred called United In Purpose, which aimed to get more Christians active in the civic arena, according to Bill Dallas, the group’s former director. United In Purpose generated attention in June 2016 when it organized a major meeting between then-candidate Trump and hundreds of evangelical leaders.

After Trump was elected in 2016, Eldred had an idea, according to Dallas. “He says, ‘I want all the wealthy Christian people to come together,’” Dallas recalled in an interview. Eldred told Dallas that he wanted to create a donor network like the one created by Charles and David Koch but for Christians. He proposed naming it David’s Mighty Men, Dallas said. Female members balked. Dallas found the passage in Chronicles that references David’s soldiers and read that they met in the city of Ziklag, and so they chose the name Ziklag.

The group’s stature grew after Trump took office. Vice President Mike Pence appeared at a Ziklag event, as did former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Sen. Ted Cruz, then-Rep. Mark Meadows and other members of Congress. In its private newsletter, Ziklag claims that a coalition of groups it assembled played “a hugely significant role in the selection, hearings and confirmation process” of Amy Coney Barrett for a Supreme Court seat in late 2020.

Confidential donor networks regularly invest hundreds of millions of dollars into political and charitable groups, from the liberal Democracy Alliance to the Koch-affiliated Stand Together organization on the right. But unlike Ziklag, neither of those organizations is legally set up as a true charity. Ziklag appears to be the first coordinated effort to get wealthy donors to fund an overtly Christian nationalist agenda, according to historians, legal experts and other people familiar with the group. “It shows that this idea isn’t being dismissed as fringe in the way that it might have been in the past,” said Mary Ziegler, a legal historian and University of California, Davis law professor. The Christian nationalism movement has a variety of aims and tenets, according to the Public Religion Research Institute: that the U.S. government “should declare America a Christian nation”; that American laws “should be based on Christian values”; that the U.S. will cease to exist as a nation if it “moves away from our Christian foundations”; that being Christian is essential to being American; and that God has “called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society.”

One theology promoted by Christian nationalist leaders is the Seven Mountain Mandate. Each mountain represents a major industry or a sphere of public life: arts and media, business, church, education, family, government, and science and technology. Ziklag’s goal, the documents say, is to “take dominion over the Seven Mountains,” funding Christian projects or installing devout Christians in leadership positions to reshape each mountain in a godly way. To address their concerns about education, Ziklag’s leaders and allies have focused on the public-school system. In a 2021 Ziklag meeting, Ziklag’s education mountain chair, Peter Bohlinger, said that Ziklag’s goal “is to take down the education system as we know it today.” The producers of the film “Sound of Freedom,” featuring Jim Caviezel as an anti-sex-trafficking activist, screened an early cut of the film at a Ziklag conference and asked for funds, according to Dallas.

[...] A driving force behind Ziklag’s efforts is Lance Wallnau, a prominent Christian evangelist and influencer based in Texas who is described by Ziklag as a “Seven Mountains visionary & advisor.” The fiery preacher is one of the most influential figures on the Christian right, experts say, a bridge between Christian nationalism and Trump. He was one of the earliest evangelical leaders to endorse Trump in 2015 and later published a book titled “God’s Chaos Candidate: Donald J. Trump and the American Unraveling.” More than 1 million people follow him on Facebook. He doesn’t try to hide his views: “Yes, I am a Christian nationalist,” he said during one of his livestreams in 2021. (Wallnau did not respond to requests for comment.)

[...]

“Operation Checkmate”

In the fall of 2023, Wallnau sat in a gray armchair in his TV studio. A large TV screen behind him flashed a single word: “ZIKLAG.” “You almost hate to put it out this clearly,” he said as he detailed Ziklag’s electoral strategy, “because if somebody else gets ahold of this, they’ll freak out.” He was joined on set by Hiss, who had just become the group’s new day-to-day leader. The two men were there to record a special message to Ziklag members that laid out the group’s ambitious plans for the upcoming election year. The forces arrayed against Christians were many, according to the confidential video. They were locked in a “spiritual battle,” Hiss said, against Democrats who were a “radical left Marxist force.” Biden, Wallnau said, was a senile old man and “an empty suit with an agenda that’s written and managed by somebody else.”

[...] A prominent conservative getting money from Ziklag is Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer and Trump ally who joined the January 2021 phone call when then-President Trump asked Georgia’s secretary of state to “find” enough votes to flip Georgia in Trump’s favor. Mitchell now leads a network of “election integrity” coalitions in swing states that have spent the last three years advocating for changes to voting rules and how elections are run. According to one internal newsletter, Ziklag was an early funder of Mitchell’s post-2020 “election integrity” activism, which voting-rights experts have criticized for stoking unfounded fears about voter fraud and seeking to unfairly remove people from voting rolls. In 2022, Ziklag donated $600,000 to the Conservative Partnership Institute, which in turn funds Mitchell’s election-integrity work. Internal Ziklag documents show that it provided funding to enable Mitchell to set up election integrity infrastructure in Florida, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

[...] For Operation Watchtower, Wallnau explained in a members-only video that transgender policy was a “wedge issue” that could be decisive in turning out voters tired of hearing about Trump. The left had won the battle over the “homosexual issue,” Wallnau said. “But on transgenderism, there’s a problem and they know it.” He continued: “They’re gonna wanna talk about Trump, Trump, Trump. … Meanwhile, if we talk about ‘It’s not about Trump. It’s about parents and their children, and the state is a threat,’” that could be the “target on the forehead of Goliath.” The Ziklag files describe tactics the group plans to use around parental rights — policies that make it easier for parents to control what’s taught in public schools — to turn out conservative voters. In a fundraising video, the group says it plans to underwrite a “messaging and data lab” focused on parental rights that will supply “winning messaging to all our partner groups to create unified focus among all on the right.” The goal, the video says, is to make parental rights “the difference-maker in the 2024 election.”

According to Wallnau, Ziklag also plans to fund ballot initiatives in seven key states — Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Montana, Nevada and Ohio — that take aim at the transgender community by seeking to ban “genital mutilation.” The seven states targeted are either presidential battlegrounds or have competitive U.S. Senate races. None of the initiatives is on a state ballot yet. “People that are lethargic about the election or, worse yet, they’re gonna be all Trump-traumatized with the news cycle — this issue will get people to come out and vote,” Wallnau said. “That ballot initiative can deliver swing states.” The last prong of Ziklag’s 2024 strategy is Operation Steeplechase, which urges conservative pastors to mobilize their congregants to vote in this year’s election. This project will work in coordination with several prominent conservative groups that support former president Trump’s reelection, such as Turning Point USA’s faith-based group, the Faith and Freedom Coalition run by conservative operative Ralph Reed and the America First Policy Institute, one of several groups closely allied with Trump.

ProPublica takes a look at a secretive Christian Nationalist organization called Ziklag, a network of ultrawealthy Christian donors seeking to mobilize Republican-leaning voters to turn out for the general election with three different operations: Checkmate, Steeplechase, and Watchtower.

Read the full story at ProPublica.