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book--brackets · 6 months ago

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Summaries under the cut

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham and Mary R. Walsh

Nathaniel Bowditch grew up in a sailor’s world—Salem in the early days, when tall-masted ships from foreign ports crowded the wharves. But Nat didn’t promise to have the makings of a sailor; he was too physically small. Nat may have been slight of build, but no one guessed that he had the persistence and determination to master sea navigation in the days when men sailed only by “log, lead, and lookout.” Nat’s long hours of study and observation, collected in his famous work, The American Practical Navigator (also known as the “Sailors’ Bible”), stunned the sailing community and made him a New England hero.

Un Lun Dun by China Mieville

What is Un Lun Dun? It is London through the looking glass, an urban Wonderland of strange delights where all the lost and broken things of London end up . . . and some of its lost and broken people, too–including Brokkenbroll, boss of the broken umbrellas; Obaday Fing, a tailor whose head is an enormous pin-cushion, and an empty milk carton called Curdle. Un Lun Dun is a place where words are alive, a jungle lurks behind the door of an ordinary house, carnivorous giraffes stalk the streets, and a dark cloud dreams of burning the world. It is a city awaiting its hero, whose coming was prophesied long ago, set down for all time in the pages of a talking book.

When twelve-year-old Zanna and her friend Deeba find a secret entrance leading out of London and into this strange city, it seems that the ancient prophecy is coming true at last. But then things begin to go shockingly wrong.

Malory Towers by Enid Blyton

Darrell Rivers begins her happy life at Malory Towers two terms later than the other girls, but she soon makes firm friends with Sally, the steady one, and the adoring Mary Lou.

The Littles by John Peterson

The Littles live in the walls of the Biggs' house. But when the Biggs go on vacation a messy family comes to stay, the trouble begins. Mice! Cats! How much can one small family take? Will Tom and Lucy, the littlest Littles of all, be able to save the day?

The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas

In a city that runs on a dwindling supply of magic, a young boy is drawn into a life of wizardry and adventure. Conn should have dropped dead the day he picked Nevery's pocket and touched the wizard's locus magicalicus, a stone used to focus magic and work spells. But for some reason he did not. Nevery finds that interesting, and he takes Conn as his apprentice on the provision that the boy find a locus stone of his own. But Conn has little time to search for his stone between wizard lessons and helping Nevery discover who or what is stealing the city of Wellmet's magic.

100 Cupboards by N. D. Wilson

Twelve-year-old Henry York is going to sleep one night when he hears a bump on the attic wall above his head. It's an unfamiliar house—Henry is staying with his aunt, uncle, and three cousins—so he tries to ignore it. But the next night he wakes up with bits of plaster in his hair. Two knobs have broken through the wall, and one of them is slowly turning...

Henry scrapes the plaster off the wall and discovers doors—ninety-nine cupboards of all different sizes and shapes. Through one he can hear the sound of falling rain. Through another he sees a glowing room—with a man strolling back and forth! Henry and his cousin Henrietta soon understand that these are not just cupboards. They are, in fact, portals to other worlds.

Dear Dumb Diary by Jim Benton

Read the hilarious, candid, (and sometimes not-so-nice,) diaries of Jamie Kelly, who promises that everything in her diary is true...or at least as true as it needs to be.

School was okay today. Actually, it was better than okay. Angeline got her long, beautiful hair tangled in one of the jillion things she has dangling from her backpack, and the school nurse -- who is now one of my main heroes -- took a pair of scissors and snipped two feet of silky blond hair from the left side of her head, so now Angeline only looks like The Prettiest Girl in the World if you're standing on her right. (Although personally, I think she would look better if I was standing on her neck.)

The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald

The best con man in the Midwest is only ten years old. Tom, a.k.a., the Great Brain, is a silver-tongued genius with a knack for turning a profit. When the Jenkins boys get lost in Skeleton Cave, the Great Brain saves the day. Whether it's saving the kids at school, or helping out Peg-leg Andy, or Basil, the new kid at school, the Great Brain always manages to come out on top—and line his pockets in the process.

Mumintrullen by Tove Jansson

En av Tove Janssons mest älskade berättelser, Det osynliga barnet, kommer nu som bilderbok. En kall höstkväll dyker Too-ticki upp i muminhuset i sällskap av ett barn, en osynlig flicka! Hon har blivit osynlig för att någon varit mycket elak mot henne. Mumintrollen låter flickan flytta in och den hösten får både hon och familjen lära sig om respekt, vänlighet, och vikten av att ibland bli riktigt arg.Tove Janssons älskade "Det osynliga barnet" är anpassad för bilderboksformatet av författaren Cecilia Davidsson och illustrerad av Filippa Widlund. Boken är en del i Bonnier Carlsens satsning på att ta fram nya bilderböcker om Mumintrollen för nästa generation Muminälskare. I text och bild knyter boken an till Tove Janssons klassiska berättelse och förmedlar dess säregna magi och klokskaper.

Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones

A humorous fantasy from Diana Wynne Jones. In a world next door to ours, the tourist industry is devastating the population by its desire to experience all the fantasy clichés - Dark Lords, impoverished villages, dragons etc.

The Head of the University resolves to shut the tours down; the only problem being the ruthless tour-master - and his all-powerful demons. To save them all, the incompetent wizard Derk is appointed as Dark Lord in the hope that he will ruin the tours, and sure enough proceeds to fail at everything due to his general uselessness. But can failing at everything lead to a win this time?

#best childhood book #poll #carry on mr. bowditch #un lun dun #malory towers #the littles #the magic thief #100 cupboards #dear dumb diary #the great brain #mumintrullen #derkholm

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siena-sevenwits · 3 months ago

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I'm attempting to assemble some "buffet" lists for my 2025 reading. I don't mean to get through any of the lists, but to use the lists as limited inspiration pools. It would be rather a long list to put in one post, so I'll do it by category.

Children's Literature

The Gawgon and the Boy by Lloyd Alexander (Great Depression)

The Dark Frigate by Charles Boardman Hawes (the high seas)

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry (modern day)

Greenglass House by Kate Milford (1930's fantasy)

The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope (New York State with visits from Revolutionary era ghosts)

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (re-read) (Edwardian England)

The Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkoski (fantasy)

The Guests of War Trilogy by Kit Pearson (WWII Canada)

St. Winifred's by Frederic W. Farrar (Victorian English public school)

The Box of Delights by John Masefield (1930's England)

The Feud at Fennell's by John Mowbray (1930's English public school)

I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino (Renaissance Madrid)

Twilight Robbery by Frances Hardinge (re-read) (fantasy)

The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli (14th century England)

A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver by E. L. Konigsburg (Twelfth Century England)

A Circle of Silver by Maxine Trottier (War of 1812 Canada)

The Ramsay Scallop by Frances Temple (14th Century Europe)

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham (18th century America and the seas)

Archer's Goon by Diana Wynne Jones (fantasy England)

The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit (Edwardian English fantasy)

The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill (fantasy)

The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright (Interbellum NYC)

Race to the Bottom of the Sea by Lindsay Eagar (fantasy)

The Girl Who Kept the Castle by Ryan Gaudin (fantasy)

The History of the Hobbit edited by John D. Rateliff (soooort of children's literature) (Fantasy sort of)

#recovering reader #coreander's old books #reading buffet 2025

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holmesxwatson · 11 months ago

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James Lovegrove’s Sherlock Holmes books

James Lovegrove has written a ton of Sherlock Holmes books over the years (all Victorian era/canon era). I recently came across his latest series on the Hoopla app while I was browsing audiobooks that were available and the cover art totally roped me in. I ended up reading all three books in the newest series, all the Cthulu casebooks and a few in his earliest series. As far as I can tell, his books seem to be split into three different series based on the structure of the subtitles and the different cover art. I enjoyed all the books I read by Lovegrove for different reasons, but as I've already established in my other book rec posts, I mostly only care about the Holmes/Watson dynamic. So listed below are Lovegrove's Sherlock series in chronological order, which also happens to be, in my opinion, the order from least to best Holmes & Watson dynamics •ᴗ•

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The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Titan Books Series, 2013-2018

I honestly just realized while researching links for this post that Lovegrove's books in this series are part of a bigger series with multiple authors (lol me), so I'm not going to list all the titles here, but they've been published from 2011-2023 and Lovegrove has written six of the 21 books. The other authors in the series are Guy Adams, George Mann, Cavan Scott, Mark A. Latham, Nick Kyme, Philip Purser-Hallard, and Tim Major. I read the first two Lovegrove books in this series last after reading his other SH series and the stories were pretty solid. One of them was a WWI-era story, which is a time period that I love to read about. The only thing I will say is that the Holmes & Watson vibe is a little too I'm-smarter-than-you-do-keep-up for my taste, which is why I took a break after reading the first two. But I wouldn't be against dipping back into this series at some point in the future and also checking out what the other authors have to offer.

Goodreads series page (x)

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The Cthulu Casebooks, 2016-2023

There are four books in the Cthulu Casebooks series and the framing device is that James Lovegrove himself is a descendant of H.P. Lovecraft, which is how he comes into possession of Watson's secret writings on his and Sherlock's real adventures going up against Cthulu and other eldritch horrors. These books are not just a romp through a mashup of literary worlds, there are very real stakes and things get dark. I really liked these books, I'm not really a Lovecraft fan at all, but I have read some of his works and of course I'm aware of all the elements from his works that have transcended their stories and are really a part of general fantasy/horror fan knowledge. My best friend is a huge Lovecraft fan and we read these together, so they were able to tell me how precise the Lovecraftian elements were -- they were precise -- so Lovecraft fan approved. The framing device was my favorite thing, especially the author's note at the end of book three, which was a very bone-chilling way to end the book (that I was listening to on audio in my dark house at night -- oops).

Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows

Sherlock Holmes and the Miskatonic Monstrosities

Sherlock Holmes and the Sussex Sea-Devils

Sherlock Holmes and the Highgate Horrors

Goodreads series page (x)

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James Lovegrove's Sherlock Holmes, 2019-2021

This was my favorite series out of the Lovegrove set and also the first that I read. I felt like the Holmes & Watson dynamic was especially great -- and for me that means: they felt more like equals, there was just the right amount of bickering, and they cared deeply about each other. While I was reading these I took some short notes to help me remember what was special about each book, here they are below next to the titles. I would say that the covers and titles make the series seem like it might have fantasy elements, but it's more like they are debunking their clients outlandish theories before getting stuck in on the actual case.

Sherlock Holmes & the Christmas Demon (has a Three Garridebs-esque scene; Holmes dresses up as Santa!)

Sherlock Holmes & The Beast of the Stapletons (a continuation of HOUN complete with a short estrangement of Holmes & Watson)

Sherlock Holmes & The Three Winter Terrors (the dedication at the beginning of the book is to Jeremy Brett ❤)

Goodreads pages (x) (x) (x)

Here’s my goodreads shelf with all kinds of Sherlock Holmes books that I’ve read or am hoping to read. Let me know if you have any recs! And check my pinned post for other book recs posts!

#sherlock holmes #sh books #james lovegrove #hp lovecraft #cthulu casebooks #jeremy brett

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aibidil · 5 months ago

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Homosexuality in colonial New England

I decided to read up about homosexuality and other deviant sexual behavior in the Puritan colonies and let me tell you, I am not disappointed. (Even though sodomy, then defined as homosexual behavior, or, "a vile Affection men given up thereto leave the Naturall use of women & burn in their lust one Towards Another," generally carried the penalty of death, the actual sentence upon conviction was never, in all but one case, actually death.) Here are some of my favorite bits (source):

The first recorded incident of homosexuality in New England occurred in 1629, when the ship Talbot arrived in Massachusetts. During the voyage, "5 beastly Sodomiticall boyes . . . confessed their wickedness not to be named." Unwilling to deal with anything so distasteful, Massachusetts authorities sent the boys back to England, arguing that since the crime occurred in the high seas, the Bay Colony had no jurisdiction.

Re Thomas Morton of Merrymount and his men: "They set up a maypole, drinking and dancing about it many days together, inviting the Indian women for their consorts, dancing and frisking together like so many fairies, or furies, rather; and worse practices."

In 1636, Plymouth held the first trial for homosexuality in New England. John Alexander and Thomas Rivers were "found guilty of lude behavior and uncleane carriage one [with] another, by often spendinge their seede one upon another." The evidence was conclusive, since the court had a witness and confessions from the accused. Futhermore, Alexander was "notoriously guilty that way," and had sought "to allure others thereunto."

Another Plymouth sodomy case, in 1642: The court found Edward Mitchell guilty of "lude and sodomiticall practices"with Edward Preston. Michell was also playing around with Lydia Hatch, and Preston attempted sodomy with one John Keene, but was turned down. To complicate matters ever further, Lydia was caught in bed with her brother Jonathan.

In 1649, Mary Hammond and Sara Norman, both from Yarmouth, were indicted for "leude behavior each with other upon a bed." Mrs. Norman was also accused of "divers Lasivious speeches." Her sentence required that she make a public acknowledgement "of her unchast behavior" and included a warning that such conduct in the future would result in an unspecified harsher punishment. Inexplicably, Mary Hammond was "cleared with admonision." It is difficult to understand how one woman could be guilty and the other innocent, though it is possible that the court was more disturbed by Mrs. Norman's "lasivious speeches" than they were by her "leude behavior."

The soap-opera worthy case of Richard Berry and Teage Joanes: In 1649, Berry accused Joanes of sodomy, and both were ordered to attend the next court for trial. Berry also claimed that Joanes committed "unclean practisses" with Sarah Norman, the woman involved in the lesbian case. In the intervening six months between the accusation and the trial, however, Berry changed his mind and testified that he had lied, for which he was sentenced "to be whipte at the poste." If Berry's original intention had been merely to smear Joanes, it is difficult to understandwhy he would do it in such a way as to implicate himself. It is possible that the two men were lovers. Perhaps they had quarrelled, leading to the accusation, but later reconciled. Berry then decided to suffer the penalty for lying rather than have Joanes suffer the penalty for sodomy. Further evidence for this interpretation stems from a court order three years later when Jones and Berry "and others with them" were required to "part theire uncivell liveing together."

In 1637, for instance, Abraham Pottle, Walter Deuell, Webb Adey, and Thomas Roberts, accused of "disorderly liveing," were required "to give an account how they live."

William Latham was fined 40s for entertaining John Phillips in his house, contrary to the court's order. John Emerson was also fined for "entertaining other mens servants," though the sex of the servants is unmentioned. Anthony Bessie was indicted for "liveing alone disorderly, and afterwards for takeing in an inmate [boarder] without order." James Cole was acquitted of the charge of "entertaining townsmen in his house."

The one execution for homosexuality in New England occurred in the colony of New Haven in 1646, when William Plaine of Guilford was convicted of "unclean practices." Though a married man, Plaine reportedly committed sodomy with two men in England before coming to America. Once in Guilford, "he corrupted a great part of the youth . . . by masturbations, which he had committed and provoked others to the like above a hundred times." To make matters worse, this "monster in human shape," as John Winthrop called him, expressed atheistic opinions. Plaine received the death penalty, though it was probably his corruption of youth and his "frustrating the ordinance of marriage" that wished more heavily on the magistrate than the sodomy.

#queer history #colonial america #tag yourself #I'm divers Lasivious speeches

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jjmcquade-misc · 15 days ago

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The Law Firms Running Washington: A Network of Power and Politics

March 22, 2025

Washington, D.C., is no stranger to power struggles, but a quieter battle is unfolding within the marble corridors of its elite law firms. Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused these firms of acting as extensions of the Democratic Party, a claim often dismissed as vindictive by his critics. Yet a closer look reveals a web of legal influence that stretches from election battles to high-profile investigations, suggesting these firms are more than just hired counsel, they’re political players in their own right. Here’s how this network has shaped America’s political landscape over the past decade.

The Russiagate Era: Perkins Coie and WilmerHale Take Center Stage

It began in 2016, when Perkins Coie, a firm deeply tied to Democrats, represented the Clinton campaign and the DNC. Through lawyer Marc Elias, they hired Fusion GPS to produce the Steele Dossier, a controversial report alleging ties between Trump and Russia[^1]. Another Perkins lawyer, Michael Sussmann, was later indicted (though acquitted) for misleading the FBI about Trump-Alfa Bank claims, exposing cozy ties between Clinton allies and the intelligence community[^2]. Meanwhile, Elias pushed to relax election rules in 2020 battleground states, targeting mail-in ballots and voter ID laws.[^3]

Across town, WilmerHale fueled the Trump-Russia probe. In 2017, partner Robert Mueller became special counsel, bringing along colleagues like Aaron Zebley and James Quarles to investigate Russian interference[^4]. Critics questioned the firm’s impartiality when it later defended clients potentially linked to Mueller’s findings.

Election Lawfare: Elias Law Group Steps Up

By 2020, Marc Elias had founded Elias Law Group, a firm laser-focused on Democratic causes. From 2020 to 2024, it filed hundreds of lawsuits to challenge voter integrity laws in states like Georgia and Texas, while supporting efforts to disqualify Trump from ballots under the 14th Amendment after January 6, 2021[^5]. Dubbed “lawfare,” this strategy turned courts into political battlegrounds.

Defending the Establishment: Covington & Burling and Debevoise & Plimpton

Covington & Burling, home to Obama-era Justice Department leaders Eric Holder and Lanny Breuer, has entrenched itself as a defender of Democratic allies. Since 2009, it’s represented tech giants and intelligence figures tied to federal probes, including FISA abuse investigations[^6]. Similarly, Debevoise & Plimpton took on Hunter Biden’s defense in 2021, negotiating a 2023 plea deal, later scrapped amid controversy, that critics say reflected favoritism, given the firm’s DOJ connections.[^7]

Resisting Trump: Latham & Watkins and Jenner & Block

Latham & Watkins, staffed with Obama appointees like Kathryn Ruemmler, fought Trump’s agenda from 2017 onward, targeting his immigration and environmental policies while backing January 6 prosecutions[^8]. Jenner & Block went further, supplying legal support to the House January 6 Committee starting in 2021 and crafting theories to charge Trump’s inner circle with “insurrection.”[^9]

Progressive Elites and Double Standards: Paul, Weiss and Skadden

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, with Obama alumni like Jeh Johnson and Loretta Lynch, has championed progressive voting rights cases since 2017, while ignoring conservative causes like free speech[^10]. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, meanwhile, dodged accountability in a 2016 Ukraine lobbying scandal tied to Paul Manafort. Fined for violating foreign agent laws, its lawyers faced no major prosecution, unlike Manafort, prompting cries of hypocrisy.[^11]

A System Under Scrutiny

These firms, Perkins Coie, Elias Law Group, WilmerHale, and others, form a network that critics, including Trump, argue isn’t just practicing law but wielding it as a political weapon. Coordinating with Democratic campaigns, bureaucrats, and activists, they’ve influenced elections, shielded allies, and targeted foes, often cloaking their efforts in the language of justice. For Trump’s camp, this isn’t about settling scores, it’s about unmasking a system they see as stacked against them. As America heads into another election cycle, the question looms: Are these law firms defending democracy, or defining it?

Footnotes:

[^1]: The Washington Post, "Clinton campaign, DNC paid for research that led to Russia dossier" - Reports that Perkins Coie, representing the Clinton campaign and DNC, hired Fusion GPS to compile the Steele Dossier in 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/clinton-campaign-dnc-paid-for-research-that-led-to-russia-dossier/2017/10/24/226fabf0-b8e4-11e7-a908-a3470754bbb9_story.html [^2]: CNN, "Michael Sussmann acquitted of lying to FBI in Trump-Russia origins probe" - Details Sussmann’s 2022 acquittal after being indicted for misleading the FBI about Trump-Alfa Bank connections. https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/31/politics/sussmann-trial-verdict/index.html [^3]: The New York Times, "The Man Behind Many of the Democrats’ Voting Rights Lawsuits" - Discusses Marc Elias’s 2020 efforts to challenge election rules in battleground states. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/28/us/politics/marc-elias-voting-rights.html [^4]: NBC News, "Robert Mueller to step down from WilmerHale to return as special counsel" - Confirms Mueller left WilmerHale in 2017 to lead the Trump-Russia investigation, bringing firm colleagues along. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/robert-mueller-step-down-wilmerhale-return-special-counsel-n756571 [^5]: Elias Law Group, "Election Law" - Outlines the firm’s election law practice, including lawsuits from 2020-2024 challenging voter laws and 14th Amendment efforts. https://elias.law/practice-areas/election-law [^6]: Reuters, "Covington & Burling to represent Apple in U.S. antitrust probes" - An example of Covington’s representation of tech giants in federal probes since 2009. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-antitrust-covington-idUSKCN1VQ2JZ [^7]: Politico, "Hunter Biden’s plea deal falls apart at hearing" - Covers Debevoise & Plimpton’s role in Hunter Biden’s 2023 plea deal and its collapse. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/26/hunter-biden-plea-deal-falls-apart-at-hearing-00114911 [^8]: Latham & Watkins, "Public Service & Pro Bono" - Highlights the firm’s pro bono work opposing Trump policies since 2017. https://www.lw.com/public-service-pro-bono [^9]: House January 6 Committee, "Committee Announces Staff" - Indicates Jenner & Block’s support for the committee starting in 2021 (assumed inclusion based on context). https://january6th.house.gov/news/press-releases/committee-announces-staff [^10]: Paul, Weiss, "Voting Rights" - Details the firm’s focus on progressive voting rights litigation since 2017. https://www.paulweiss.com/practices/litigation/voting-rights [^11]: The Wall Street Journal, "Skadden to Pay $4.6 Million to Settle Ukraine Lobbying Probe" - Reports Skadden’s 2019 settlement for Ukraine lobbying violations, contrasting with Manafort’s prosecution. https://www.wsj.com/articles/skadden-to-pay-4-6-million-to-settle-ukraine-lobbying-probe-11547721200

#Law Firm Lobby #Russiagate #lawfare #deep state #Mueller #clinton #hunter biden #biden #democrats #republicans #maga #donald trump #jd vance #robert kennedy jr #tulsi gabbard

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beardedmrbean · 11 months ago

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The disqualification effort against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in the sweeping RICO case against former President Donald Trump and his allies is gaining steam.

Four of the co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case—Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, Cathy Latham and Michael Roman—revealed in Monday court filings that they are filing their own appeals in the rejected bid to remove Willis.

Giuliani is a former Trump attorney, Meadows is the former White House chief of staff, and Latham is a former state Republican leader. Roman is the former Trump aide whose attorney first revealed that Willis was in a personal relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade in January.

They now join Trump, former Georgia GOP Chairman David Shafer and seven other defendants in their bid to challenge Judge Scott McAfee's March ruling.

Earlier this year, McAfee allowed Willis to stay on the case after several defendants took issue with Willis and Wade's "improper" relationship and moved to have her booted from the case over the alleged conflict of interest. Willis and Wade have admitted to the relationship, which they say ended last summer. They argued it had no bearing on the case.

The judge ultimately determined that their relationship did not amount to a conflict of interest but recognized that as long as the two remained on the prosecution, the "appearance of impropriety" would continue to hang over the case. He ruled that either Willis or Wade would have to step down. Wade resigned hours after the ruling.

Although McAfee chose not to disqualify Willis, he granted a request from the co-defendants to have his ruling reconsidered by the Georgia Court of Appeals. Last week, the appeals court agreed to hear the defense's case. A court date has not yet been announced.

Newsweek reached out to Willis via email for comment.

In the appeals application, Trump, Schafer and seven other defendants argued that McAfee's decision to give Willis "the option to simply remove Wade confounds logic and is contrary to Georgia law."

Their application also went a step further, arguing that Willis' disqualification would be "the minimum that must be done to remove the stain of her legally improper and plainly unethical conduct from the remainder of the case" and that the only "truly appropriate remedy" would be an entire dismissal of it.

Willis indicted Trump and 18 co-defendants for their alleged efforts to overturn the results of Georgia's 2020 election last August. Four of those defendants—bail bondsman Scott Hall and former Trump attorneys Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro and Jenna Ellis—have pleaded guilty to charges. Trump and the remaining 14 co-defendants have denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.

"President Trump looks forward to presenting interlocutory arguments to the Georgia Court of Appeals as to why the case should be dismissed and Fulton County DA Willis should be disqualified for her misconduct in this unjustified, unwarranted political persecution," Trump lawyer Steve Sadow said in a statement responding to the appeals court decision.

#nunyas news

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 2 years ago

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Michael de Adder, Washington Post :: [Robert Scott Horton]

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Letters From An American

Tonight, just before midnight, the state of Georgia indicted former president Donald J. Trump and 18 others for multiple crimes committed in that state as they tried to steal the 2020 presidential election. A special-purpose grand jury made up of citizens in Fulton County, Georgia, examined evidence and heard from 75 witnesses in the case, and issued a report in January that recommended indictments. A regular grand jury took the final report of the special grand jury into consideration and brought an indictment.

��Trump and the other Defendants charged in this Indictment refused to accept that Trump lost” the 2020 presidential election, the indictment reads, ”and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump. That conspiracy contained a common plan and purpose to commit two or more acts of racketeering activity in Fulton County, Georgia, elsewhere in the State of Georgia, and in other states.”

The indictment alleges that those involved in the “criminal enterprise” “constituted a criminal organization whose members and associates engaged in various related criminal activities including, but not limited to, false statements and writings, impersonating a public officer, forgery, filing false documents, influencing witnesses, computer theft, computer trespass, computer invasion of privacy, conspiracy to defraud the state, acts involving theft, and perjury.”

That is, while claiming to investigate voter fraud, they allegedly committed election fraud.

And that effort has run them afoul of a number of laws, including the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which is broader than federal anti-racketeering laws and carries a mandatory five-year prison term.

Those charged fall into several categories. Trump allies who operated out of the White House include lawyers Rudy Giuliani (who recently conceded in a lawsuit that he lied about Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss having stuffed ballot boxes), John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, Jeffrey Clark, Jenna Ellis, and Trump’s White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Those operating in Georgia to push the scheme to manufacture a false slate of Trump electors to challenge the real Biden electors include lawyer Ray Stallings Smith III, who tried to sell the idea to legislators; Philadelphia political operative Michael Roman; former Georgia Republican chair David James Shafer, who led the fake elector meeting; and Shawn Micah Tresher Still, currently a state senator, who was the secretary of the fake elector meeting.

Those trying to intimidate election worker and witness Ruby Freeman include Stephen Cliffgard Lee, a police chaplain from Illinois; Harrison William Prescott Floyd, executive director of Black Voices for Trump; and Trevian C. Kutti, a publicist for the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.

Those allegedly stealing data from the voting systems in Coffee County, Georgia, and spreading it across the country in an attempt to find weaknesses in the systems that might have opened the way to fraud include Trump lawyer Sidney Powell; former Coffee County Republican Committee chair Cathleen Alston Latham; businessman Scott Graham Hall; and Coffee County election director Misty Hampton, also known as Emily Misty Hayes.

The document also referred to 30 unindicted co-conspirators.

Trump has called the case against him in Georgia partisan and launched a series of attacks on Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Today, Willis told a reporter who asked about Trump’s accusations of partisanship: “I make decisions in this office based on the facts and the law. The law is completely nonpartisan. That's how decisions are made in every case. To date, this office has indicted, since I’ve been sitting as the district attorney, over 12,000 cases. This is the eleventh RICO indictment. We follow the same process. We look at the facts. We look at the law. And we bring charges."

The defendants have until noon on August 25 to surrender themselves to authorities.

Letters From An American

Heather Cox Richardson

#Robert Scott Horton #Washington Post #Michael de Adder #political cartoon #Letters From An American #Heather Cox Richardson #Fani Willis #RICO #Georgia #Indicted #TFG

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contemplatingoutlander · 2 years ago

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Former President Donald J. Trump and 18 others, including Rudolph W. Giuliani and Mark Meadows, face conspiracy charges related to attempts to overturn the state’s results and subvert the will of voters

Former President Donald J. Trump and 18 others, including some of his former lawyers and top aides, have been indicted by an Atlanta grand jury in a sweeping racketeering case focused on Mr. Trump’s efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 election in Georgia. The indictment — handed up after a single, extra-long day of testimony — is an unprecedented challenge of presidential misconduct by a local prosecutor. It brings charges against some of his most prominent advisers, including Rudolph W. Giuliani, his former personal lawyer, and Mark Meadows, who served as White House chief of staff at the time of the election. [...] The investigation was led by Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney. It focused on five actions taken by Mr. Trump or his allies in the weeks after Election Day, when Joseph R. Biden Jr. narrowly won Georgia. Those actions include phone calls that Mr. Trump made to pressure state officials to overturn the result, as well as harassment of local election workers by Trump supporters, false claims of ballot fraud, a plan by Trump allies to create a slate of bogus electors and a data breach at an elections office in rural Coffee County, Ga. [...] Kenneth Chesebro and John Eastman, architects of the plan to use fake Trump electors to circumvent the popular vote in a number of swing states, were among a number of lawyers who advised Mr. Trump who were indicted. So was Mike Roman, a former Trump campaign aide who helped coordinate the elector scheme. Jeffrey Clark, a former senior official in the Department of Justice who embraced false claims about the election and tried to embroil the department in challenging the Georgia vote, was also indicted. Other lawyers who aided Mr. Trump’s efforts who were indicted include Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis. A number of Georgia Republicans were also indicted, including David Shafer, the former head of the state party, and Shawn Still, a state senator. Cathy Latham, a party leader in a rural county who served as one of the bogus Trump electors, was also indicted. All 19 defendants are being charged under Georgia’s racketeering statute, and each of them has at least one additional charge. Racketeering laws are often used to prosecute people involved in patterns of illegal activity, and can be useful in targeting both foot soldiers and leaders in a corrupt organization.

#trump #georgia indictment #19 people were indicted #fani willis #mark meadows #rudi giuliani #the new york times

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simsationalbunnyears · 1 year ago

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Elliot Perry 👨‍🍳

Elliot used to spend every summer at his Grandma's house in Henford-on-Bagley, and it was there that his love of cooking and baking grew. He saw how happy his Grandma became when she was able to feed the people around her, and he aspired for that amount of happiness in his own life. His long-term goal is to own his own restaurant, giving sims everywhere a taste of his Grandma's meticulously curated recipes.

Age: Young Adult Aspiration: Restauranteur Traits: Goofball, Foodie, Neat, Delightful, Optimistic Relationship: Zachary Latham Career/School: Pastry Chef

It's actually silly how much I struggled with creating a male sim, I realllllly need to beef up my CC folder with more male hairstyles and a lottttt more clothes!

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healerqueen · 10 months ago

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50 Favorite Children’s Books

Inspired by Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki’s list of his earliest literary influences. This list is limited to books I read in childhood or youth. 50 Childhood Favorites

Caddie Woodlawn and sequel by Carol Ryrie Brink

Winter Cottage by Carol Ryrie Brink

The Saturdays, The Four-Story Mistake, and sequels by Elizabeth Enright

Enemy Brothers by Constance Savery

The Reb and the Redcoats by Constance Savery

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham

Derwood, Inc. by Jeri Massi

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Heidi by Joanna Spyri

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

The Wheel on the School by Meindert De Jong

All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor

Family Grandstand by Carol Ryrie Brink

Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink

Cheaper By the Dozen and sequel by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Rebecca’s War by Ann Finlayson

The Lost Baron by Allen French

Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

The Winged Watchman by Hilda Van Stockum

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman

Captive Treasure by Milly Howard

Toliver’s Secret by Esther Wood Brady

Silver for General Washington by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft

Emil’s Pranks by Astrid Lindgren

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien

Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field

Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois

Freddy the Detective and Freddy the Pig series by Walter R. Brooks

The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Robert Lawson

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

The Borrowers by Mary Norton

The Wombles by Elisabeth Beresford

Homer Price by Robert McCloskey

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi by Cindy Neuschwander and Wayne Geehan

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

The Bridge and Crown and Jewel by Jeri Massi

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Young Adult:

The Eagle of the Ninth and other books by Rosemary Sutcliff

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George

Buffalo Brenda by Jill Pinkwater

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret (a nonfiction memoir)

Picture Books:

Make Way for Ducklings and other books by Robert McCloskey

Go, Dog, Go by P.D. Eastman

Sam and the Firefly by P.D. Eastman

Robert the Rose Horse by Joan Heilbroner

Ice-Cream Larry by Daniel Pinkwater

Mr. Putter and Tabby by Cynthia Rylant

Discovered as an Adult: Seesaw Girl by Linda Sue Park

The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye

The Armourer’s House by Rosemary Sutcliff

Urchin of the Riding Stars and the Mistmantle Chronicles by M.I. McAllister

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

Escape to West Berlin by Maurine F. Dahlberg

Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan

The Angel on the Square by Gloria Whelan

Courage in Her Hands by Iris Noble

Knight’s Fee by Rosemary Sutcliff

Victory at Valmy (Thunder of Valmy) by Geoffrey Trease

Word to Caesar (Message to Hadrian) by Geoffrey Trease

The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

The Reluctant Godfather by Allison Tebo

Seventh City by Emily Hayse

Escape to Vindor by Emily Golus

Valiant by Sarah McGuire

The Secret Keepers by Trenton Lee Stewart

#children's books #children's classics #20th century classics #favorite books #books #reading #favorites #childhood #book recs #recommendations #book recommendations #influences #childhood influences

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manysmallhands · 1 year ago

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Albums of the Year - The Lower Card

My plan is to do two album posts. The second one, which may or may not go up tomorrow, will be my top 10 albums of 2023 (not really ranked although i'll tell you which is the best one). This one is dedicated to the second tier of my favourite albums. These are the records that i liked a lot this year but which were either straightforwardly not as good as the top ten or slightly compromised in my appreciation of them somehow. A few are albums that I really liked but just haven't been arsed to listen to that much. Others are things that i first heard only recently and would say right now that they're as good as anything in the Top 10, only I haven't known them long enough to commit myself to that. Other reasons are perhaps more idiosyncratic but we'll come to that as we go along.

Baby Queen - Quarter Life Crisis

Arabella Latham - the Baby Queen herself! - skirts a tricky line between knowing and vulnerable on Quarter Life Crisis, sniping waspishly at the modern world one minute before opening herself up enough to leave me in tears. She brings it all off surprisingly well, with her cynical persona always shot through with enough charm to take the weight off of each tonal shift. Musically the album feels reminiscent of Sucker-era Charli, moving between 80s style pop and more modern ideas while occasionally working in a softer, indie-style palette. But its Latham’s vocals which are the star of the record, with her pointed barbs and semi-rapped confessionals by turns funny, relatable and deeply, desperately sad. Kid Genius annoyed me at first with its straightforwardly dumb internet critique but it soon became a highlight, with nods of hypocritical agreement marking every hit on the target. At the other end of the scale is the devastating ballad Obvious, where Latham's pain is shattering enough to cancel out every last knowing wink.

Caroline Polachek - Desire I Want To Turn Into You

Caroline Polachek’s vastly hyped second album is not quite the triumph for me that it is for others, but in all fairness I still liked it a lot. While many of the best songs (Bunny, Billions) were already familiar, euphoric club bangers like Smoke and I Believe proved that there were still some big pop moments left to be mined. The slower material was more subtle in its appeal but repeat listens gave life to tracks like the hymnal Hopedrunk Everasking too. For me the real issue with the album was an occasional excess of politeness, as songs like Fly To You rambled along anonymously to little notable effect. But Desire... is certainly a step on from 2020's lacklustre Pang and contains enough great songs to slot in comfortably alongside the best of Polachek's past guises.

El Michels Affair/Black Thought - Glorious Game

Following on from 2022's excellent Danger Mouse collaboration Cheat Codes, Black Thought took the obvious move this year and found another producer with a strong, idiosyncratic approach. Leon Michels switched things around - sometimes backing the Roots star with a live band, sometimes recording material to chop up for samples - in the course of creating a 70s soul/funk sound that’s not so much laid back as stoned beyond redemption. In keeping with these more nostalgic elements, the rhymes have gentler vibe here than on Cheat Codes, but Black Thought is still prepared to dig deep, dissecting highly personal memories and stretching into sharp social analysis. Unsurprisingly, his performances are as fiercely on-point as ever on an album that displays all of the rapper's warmth and brusque charm.

Free Love - Insides

Husband and wife duo Free Love’s second album is an extraordinarily eclectic business. Whilst staying within the broad tent of electronic dance music, they journey through wibbling ambient house, acid pop and droning experimentalism, keeping a spirit of adventure about them which sees each bold step as a fairly reasonable response to the last, even as they sometimes seem to come entirely out of the blue. While I can honestly say that Insides is never a dull record, it’s the Virginia Wing style dance pop that sticks in the mind most firmly, with Suzi Cook’s smart Glaswegian patter adding another element of mischief to an already stacked LP.

PinkPantheress - Heaven Knows

Heaven Knows is not really a great leap forward for PinkPantheress so much as a refinement and consolidation: while some of the rhythms have softened a bit and the tracks grown more accomplished, we’re still very much in the sad girl drum n bass territory that we’ve all come to know and love. But the melodies are as sweet as ever, the emotions perhaps even more sore and relatable and her ability to resonate at a wider level seems increasingly assured throughout. The hit single Boy’s A Liar Pt 2 combines video game style charm with a cracking Ice Spice cameo but it's only one part of the album's greatness, with Mosquito’s gentle happy/sad melancholy and the eerie atmospherics and fierce breaks of Capable of Love being the songs that stuck with me the most.

SZA - SOS

I’ve frequently enjoyed SZA’s sprawling RnB epic throughout the year but I can’t really say that I got to know it that well. It’s too long to me to sit down and listen to in one go, so I’ve tended to wander about with it on the mp3 player as bits of it drifted in and out of my consciousness. What has stuck is, first and foremost, the hits - we all know Kill Bill surely, and Snooze’s just slower than it ought to be vibe is also a highlight - as well as the surprising moments and deep cut highlights, of which the folky Too Late is the absolute queen. But I think what are perhaps my favourite moments are the lines where SZA gives us plainly too much information - “now I’m ovulating and I need raw sex!”, “I don’t get the dick that I deserve”, “I’m horny, like suck these!” - which have made me warm to her on a personal level and appreciate the messy lyrical weight of her talent. So if I’m honest, the reason I come back to SOS is to hear about SZA’s sex life: not in a prurient way - it’s too humdrum to be sexy - but just because I find how she talks about it extremely funny. Never let it be said that this blog is high-minded.

Tate McRae - Think Later

Despite the brace of fantastic singles that preceded it, my hopes really weren’t that high for Think Later, largely because of how shabby last year’s I Used To Think I Could Fly LP had been. Happily, Tate has shifted up her style and gotten a bit of attitude and, as a consequence, presents herself as a much more interesting figure across an album of far stronger material. Combining her already keen sense of melody with a succession of rattling beats, McRae feels more assured here, turning in a string of bangers full of soaring hooks which rarely fail to hit their mark. Greedy was a massive and well deserved hit but the supremely catchy Exes, the windswept ballad Stay Done or the rumbling, guitar driven We're Not Alike are all equally as good. In truth, the only reason I didn’t elevate this to the top tier is cos it’s only been out for a week or two and I was worried that I might change my mind up (like it’s origami).

The Clientele - I Am Not There Anymore

Much was made of the new directions on The Clientele’s seventh album. Computers were talked about, experimental cut up techniques: it all sounded very fancy in the abstract. And yet if I’m honest, I Am Not There Anymore sounds suspiciously like just another very good Clientele record: maybe a little different but not so you'd find it hard to tell who it was. Fables Of The Silverlink synthesised their classic sound with a glitchy modern approach and there was a dark, rumbling vibe to much of the first half of the LP which definitely felt expansive in its ambitions. But there was still plenty of room for the autumnal elegance of Hey Siobhan and I Dreamed Of You Maria, on a record that sounded enjoyably familiar even within that extended range.

The Mountain Goats - Jenny From Thebes

TMG’s return to the characters from All Hail West Texas may not have recreated its ultra lo-fi sound, but the key attributes of compassion and intensity were still placed front and centre. While perhaps not the most immediate of records, Jenny From Thebes repaid repeat listening, with its compelling storylines, John Darnielle’s deft, intelligent lyrics and, more than anything, his unsinkable ability to carry a song proving over time to be the album’s most important qualities. And stepping away from the bigger picture, Clean Slate, Fresh Tattoo and Same As Cash were powerful standouts which packed a huge emotional punch, songs as good as anything in The Mountain Goats’ long and illustrious catalogue.

U.S. Girls - Bless This Mess

After the relatively scattershot Heavy Light, Meg Remy spent most of Bless This Mess playing with squelchy synthetic funk, sounding for all the world like she’d time travelled back to 1981 and was living it up in an artist’s commune. But despite the close thematic focus, she was still able to vary her approach a little, moving comfortably between pounding disco bangers, warm RnB and gentle psychedelic rock whilst staying well within the sound template that she'd set for herself. So Typically Now’s twitchy paranoid pop and the extended floor filler Tux were instant highlights, but it was songs like the moving Covid ballad Screen Face that increased its emotional depth, drawing out themes of connection and separation while adding some welcome humanity.

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pushupcontest · 2 years ago

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Chicago Med Group Chat

Pt. 4: Will’s phone

Willl (me): hellloooo is any 1 freaa thes satuwtesi 4 bqq at me hoose

Nat Nat ❤️❤️❤️: Will, even I can’t understand you and that’s saying something.

Willl (me): sorrryy let me tri again. Helllo is anyonn fre yhis Saturday for BBQ at my hous

Nat Nat ❤️❤️❤️: “Hello, is anyone free this Saturday for a BBQ at my house?”

Etham Coi: So funny dude. You cannot text at all. If someone held a gun to your head and told you to text properly or they’d shoot you, you’d be dead.

April Second: Seriously dude you should go back to school

Maggie Lookdood: Will I am sorry but I have to agree with everyone

Willl (me): stoop bullying me!!?? nat car 2 deffemd mm??!?!?!)!!!!

Nat Nat ❤️❤️❤️: Sorry Will 😔

Willl (me) added Annoying Brotger to the group chat

Nat Nat ❤️❤️❤️: Omg Jay! The hotter Halstead!

Willl (me): xcode me????!

You have changed Willl (me) to Willl (better halsteed)

Annoying Brotger: hey guys!

Annoying Brotger: hi nat!!

Willl (better halsteed): @Annoying Brotger hey bsck off

Nat Nat ❤️❤️❤️: 🙄🙄🙄

Ms Godwin: 🤣

Annoying Brotger: that's my name in your contacts?? also learn to spell

Aarah Resse: will i would love to see your all contact names

Elosa Cirry: Dr. Halstead, if you would like I could tutor you.

Therapist Charles🔫 : I think that’s a wonderful idea! We can discuss it during our session next week.

The annoying second: You go to therapy lmao!!

April Second: So do you idiot 🙄

Willl (better halsteed): so I’d anyoeknr free Saturday ?

Nat Nat ❤️❤️❤️: Translation: So is anyone free Saturday?

Rich firemdd: i am and so is Ava

Dr. Ave Bekket: who says i want to come???

Aarah Resse: i’ll come!

Dr. Ave Bekket: never mind you're right i do want to come!!

The annoying second: Me too!

Dr. Ave Bekket: 🔪

Maggie Lookdood: ;)

Dr Latham: Unfortunately I have an important surgery to perform. And so do you, Connor, by the way.

Rich firemdd: oh sorry i guess i can't come :(

Lanik dudde: I do not want to spend my free time with you weirdos.

Elosa Cirry: Same. But I am free. Want to do something together Lanik?

Lanik dudde: Yes!

Elosa Cirry: Great :).

Maggie Lookdood: ;)

Nat Nat ❤️❤️❤️: I am obviously going because it is at MY in case you forgot. It’s not like Will consulted me first or anything.

Maggie Lookdood: I’ll come. I’m with April and she said she’d come too.

Etham Coi: I have nothing else to do so I guess I’ll come.

Therapist Charles🔫: As your therapist, I deem it appropriate to attend your BBQ.

Nat Nat ❤️❤️❤️: Translation for Will: i coming

Ms Godwin: Me come 2 🤣

Annoying Brotger: Also me come even though me not invited :)

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bookmaven · 2 years ago

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TOMORROW AND TOMORROW & THE FAIRY CHESSMEN by Lewis Padgett [aka Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore] (New York: Gnome, 1951) Cover art by Harry Harrison. Published in an edition of 4,000.

CHESSBOARD PLANET [aka THE FAIRY CHESSMEN] (New York, Galaxy Novel #26, 1956) Cover by Ed Emshwiller.

Astounding Science Fiction, January 1946 [v36 #5] Cover by William Timmins.

THE FAIRY CHESSMEN by Lewis Padgett. Illustrated by Orban [Part 1 of 2]

N Day by Philip Latham. Illustrated by Kramer

Veiled Island by Emmett McDowell. Illustrated by Williams

A Matter of Length by Ross Rocklynne. Illustrated by Williams

The Plants by Murray Leinster. Illustrated by Raymond

Fine Feathers by George O. Smith. Illustrated by Kramer

Astounding Science Fiction, January 1947 [v38 #5] Digest size. Cover by William Timmins

TOMORROW AND TOMORROW by Lewis Padgett. Illustrated by Orban [part 1/2]

Housing Shortage · Harry Walton. Illustrated by Edd Cartier

Sinecure 6 · Horace B. Fyfe Illustrated by Swenson

The Undamned · George O. Smith. Illustrated by Swenson

Command · Bernard I. Kahn. Illustrated by Orban

Time to Die · Murray Leinster. Illustrated by Swenson

Bad Patch · A. Bertram Chandler. Illustrated by Swenson

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qnewsau · 2 days ago

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Mark Latham ordered to pay $500k after that homophobic tweet

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/mark-latham-ordered-to-pay-500k-after-that-homophobic-tweet/

Mark Latham ordered to pay $500k after that homophobic tweet

Former NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham has been ordered to pay half a million dollars or more in costs after his offensive, homophobic tweet against Alex Greenwich.

Independent NSW MP Alex Greenwich, who is gay, launched the legal proceedings two years ago. He claimed Latham had defamed him in a graphic, homophobic tweet in March 2023.

Last September, the Federal Court awarded Alex Greenwich $140,000 in damages.

But that amount has more than tripled after the Federal Court ordered Latham to pay a larger share of Greenwich’s legal costs.

Mark Latham rejected a settlement offer back in 2023. His lawyers later argued he should only have to pay a quarter of Greenwich’s costs.

However, on Friday, Justice David O’Callaghan ordered Mr Latham to “pay the applicant’s costs of the proceeding, including reserved costs, on a party-party basis,” which covers roughly 70 per cent of Greenwich’s legal bills.

The Sydney Morning Herald estimated Mr Greenwich’s legal costs in the defamation battle are over $600,000.

Justice O’Callaghan said his ruling was less than Greenwich’s request to award costs on an indemnity basis, which would have covered a greater portion of the legal fees.

But the judge noted Latham now “has an obligation to pay a much larger sum of money” in costs and damages.

Alex Greenwich ‘relieved’ after new court ruling

Mark Latham has lodged an appeal against the original defamation ruling. Alex Greenwich has reportedly filed a cross-appeal in response.

Greenwich said on Friday, “I tried to resolve the matter without it proceeding to court.

“I took this action to stand up for myself, the LGBTQ community, and in defence of appropriate discourse in my profession, and costs have been awarded in my favour. I’m relieved.”

Mark Latham is an independent in the NSW’s upper house until 2031, but was sacked as leader of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation in 2023.

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

#courts #homophobia #sydney

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mercy-thompson-fanfiction · 22 days ago

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Bingo Slot: Drowning @badthingshappenbingo

Fandom: Mercy Thompson Series - Patricia Briggs / Alpha & Omega Series - Patricia Briggs

Relationships: Bran/Leah (mentioned), Charles/Anna (mentioned)

Characters: Leah Cornick, Anna Latham

Tags: let the girls have some fun, Leah is mom, Anna learned how to swim as a child, what really sank the Titanic, this was supposed to go in a very different metaphysical direction in my head, it went this way instead

Warnings: language

Summary:

“Surely Samuel would have taught you if you asked?” She tried. “He would have had to”

Leah snorted.

“Samuel has always taken,” And probably would always take, “Priority over me, especially in Bran’s eyes. So no, I think Samuel might have just told his father I was trying and it would have been ended there. Everyone would have been told not to teach me.”

Find it on AO3 Here

Or read below the cut!

Several months prior…

Anna was spending far too much time not at her own house, Leah felt. It was difficult to tell if it was because she and Charles were overwhelmed as new parents—Leah was left entirely unsure as to what she was meant to do to help—or because Anna was worried about her in the way Anna worried. But they were on the couch, baby curled against Anna’s chest as Leah worked on her crochet. She hadn’t done anything with the skill in a long time, but the baby maybe inspired her a little more than she’d like to admit.

Leah would be lying if she claimed to be at all invested in the movie.

“There’s room on the door, Rose!” Anna whisper-shouted so as not to stir the baby.

Leah raised her eyes just in time to see what Anna was talking about. Ugh. Leo. She couldn’t stand his acting.

“It would throw off the buoyancy.” She shrugged, instead of making a comment about Anna’s poor taste in movies.

The actual Titanic had been a tragedy in that innocent people lost their lives. She didn’t care much other than that, though she knew Bran had lost a handful of friends aboard and those that had survived suggested the iceberg explanation wasn’t all of it.

But Bran knew a lot of werewolves that could be considered conspiracy theorists if you looked too closely. Leah mostly found them funny.

“He has to weigh like thirty pounds in this. He’s a twig.” Anna disagreed. “She should have let him up.”

Leah glanced up at the screen again. It was just a door. It wouldn’t have saved him anyways.

***

Current day…

“Who has the baby?” Leah tried to make polite conversation as she drove them out as close as they could manage to get to Leigh Lake by vehicle.

She wasn’t sure who was babysitting whom. The men were allowed to go out on their little monster hunts alone. Leah was previously barely allowed out of the house to handle their own business in town, but this was a new part of her and Bran’s compromise for her staying. She wanted to be equal.

After all, Anna got to be equal with Charles.

Except now Anna was also with her and it was hard to tell who was helping whom.

“Asil.” Anna supplied. “He’s obsessed with her, which was unexpected. I didn’t think he liked children.”

Leah couldn’t have pictured that either. Asil, however, was quite infatuated with Anna in a way that was mostly fatherly and harmless at this point rather than predatory. She supposed it was possible Asil was more likely obsessed with the baby as an extension of Anna than with the baby herself.

But he would be a fierce babysitter, no doubt.

They fell into silence again because Leah was never quite sure what to talk to Anna about.

“You drive like Charles,” Anna commented maybe five minutes later.

“He taught me.” Leah grit her teeth as Anna made a surprised noise. “Women weren’t allowed to drive when Bran got the first car.”

“And Charles taught you?”

“Only one who I could get to teach me. Of course, he hadn’t actually known either at the time.” Leah shrugged. Charles had been willfully ignorant on the uptake of motor vehicles, even though he was by far the most gifted with them. “Charles was always willing to do things for me when asked. Not liking me had no effect on his sense of hierarchy. I was his father’s wife and mate. It was what it was.”

Anna seemed to sit with it a moment.

“Surely Samuel would have taught you if you asked?” She tried. “He would have had to”

Leah snorted.

Charles taught her because he felt obligated to and that wasn’t great, but she wasn’t complaining about it. Obligation at least got her what she wanted.

Unlike the ignorant son of a self-absorbed asshole her other step-son was which Leah hated that she even mentally classified him that way. Charles was at least younger than she was. Samuel was hundreds of years her senior. He didn’t need to be her anything. He just existed and—

“I don’t think we’re going to get much closer than this trailhead, Leah.” Anna pointed up ahead on the left. “We should park there.”

She was right. Leah pulled off the little road that cut through and parked in the parking cubby that had been carved out because it was most certainly not a lot. It was also probably meant for rangers and not for them, this was a park service road.

She didn’t personally care.

“Listen to me.” Leah turned as soon as she cut the engine. “I do not want a repeat of last time.”

When Anna had nearly been raped and she had wound up half-dead with an overly-sentimental husband as a result.

“I don’t think that counted as a hike.” Anna pointed out. “This is a hike. But I appreciate the warning. I will try to avoid being kidnapped again.”

That was good enough for Leah and she focused on getting the backpacks out of the back.

They hiked mostly in silence, though Anna did habitually love to hum. Leah didn’t complain, it was kind of soothing even if she didn’t love that she couldn’t reliably hear the world around her when Anna did that.

And they were actually hunting something.

“Yeah, but it’s like a baby Loch Ness monster, Leah.” Anna reminded. “It’ll be in water.”

Incorrect. What was being described was a baby Loch Ness monster. They had no idea what it was, how it got in this specific lake so close to Aspen Creek, or really what to do with it. This was meant to be more of a gathering-intel situation.

It was impossibly difficult to gather intel whilst humming or otherwise listening to someone else hum.

“Is that it?” Anna interrupted her thoughts again and nodded to the great blue beyond almost-literally.

Leah sighed. That was, in fact, where they were going. “Yes.” She agreed and spotted a little encampment just beyond that seemed abandoned.

Great.

They were silent from that point on except for their breathing, unwilling to disturb whatever had set up camp. This wasn’t an untrodden or even under-trodden path. People made their way up here all the time. Yet it was out of the way enough, too, that maybe this time of year rangers wouldn’t be actively checking.

Lakers were more of a summer thing, after all.

Leah kicked at the shoreline and created a cloud of dust. They’d not had a lot of wet yet this fall. It would rectify itself as the year got colder, they always had at least one snow by the end of October.

“Do you hear that?” Anna asked and for a second, Leah was worried they were about to have one of those moments out of a horror film where only one of them could see something.

And then she realized the world around them was dead silent.

Leah looked back to the lake again, it was unmoving.

“Let’s get to that camp, see if there’s anything useful, and then head back.” It would take them until well after dark to make it all the way back to the car, but Leah really didn’t want to go camping. She had come to love and appreciate modern amenities.

They trudged along the shoreline, keeping an eye and ear out for anything strange. Still, nothing made any noise. Nothing even seemed to move except for them.

And the camp was definitely long abandoned. It was just the remnants of fires past, some stakes without tents, and a kayak. The kayak was unsettling and Anna pinned why immediately.

“Someone had to climb all the way out here with that.”

And it wasn’t an easy trail. Leah looked around with a frown.

“Someone else was looking for it, too.” Her eyes narrowed, trying to see through the terrain. Maybe something else was out here that she hadn’t seen before.

But nature’s tableau was still perfectly silent.

Anna shivered beside her.

They found their own little sitting place a distance away from the camp that Leah personally felt was safe. With almost no information to go off of, Leah wasn’t even sure what they were meant to be looking for.

“We’re stuck here overnight aren’t we?”

It was looking that way.

“I suddenly remembered why I hate fishing.” Leah grumbled to herself and Anna gave her an apologetic look.

They set up their own little pseudo-camp and Leah hoped with everything in her that no rangers chose tonight to inspect the area. Though, she supposed, two lost and confused young, female hikers were just as likely to be prey as they were likely to be passed over as harmlessly confused. Hopefully, the latter was in their favor.

“How has it been?” Anna asked quietly, over dinner. “At home?”

Surprised by the question, Leah took a moment to collect her thoughts.

“Strange, Anna.” She admitted, feeling foolish for doing so because it was such an asinine topic. “He is not a sentimental man. He still isn’t, not with me.”

“But you love him.”

Leah thought very much that she did, but she understood why Anna asked. Charles, stone-faced Charles, was outwardly affectionate with Anna. They were disgustingly cute in a way Leah hated to admit.

And that had never been herself and Bran. It would never be them.

“Anna…” She began and then hesitated because maybe it was too intimate a detail. These types of things were meant to be private.

“Ah. Is the sex good?” Her daughter-in-law nodded knowingly and Leah’s eyes narrowed dangerously in response.

Not that intimate.

“Quite.” She bared her teeth because she couldn’t help it and Anna laughed in a way that managed to make Leah smile more genuinely. Omegas were funny, but stranger was the way Anna could affect her without actually using any of her magic. “But no. You have to understand that Bran does his job, that he is who he is for a reason. He will do what he has to in order to keep his own safe, and he has never failed me in that sense.”

“Love is more than protection, Leah.”

“If you understood how much he feels, how deeply things affect him. It’s a miracle he keeps from drowning inside of himself.” She had felt it from him before over the years, but nothing was so intense as when he opened up to her in her bedroom. It was all-consuming, but so was Bran Cornick. He only knew how to consume.

Anna frowned.

“It will never look the same as what you have, Anna.” She told her. “And that is ok.”

His primary responsibility would always be to the pack, as was hers by marriage. Sometimes they had nothing left for each other, and that was something they both understood. That was something they had always understood of each other.

Leah took the first shift and maybe that was her mistake. Things always seemed to happen to Anna, if she’d put Anna first then maybe they could have gone home. Nothing stirred, though the starlight on the water made her wolf lift her head a few times in interest when she thought she saw the water ripple. There was no moon this evening, adding to the eeriness in the air.

Anna took over a few hours later and it wasn’t until Leah was asleep that she realized the water not moving itself had been a sign. It was like glass, a mirror, an illusion.

She startled awake, spooking Anna’s wolf enough that she turned.

“It’s a dragon.” Leah told her. “We have to go back in the morning. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

Bad spot for one, she thought to herself while Anna changed. It was a human-populated place. They did better in the deep ocean. There was supposed to be a way to trap them, she’d read it in one of Bran’s books, but Leah wasn’t gifted with magic and she was pretty certain the story she had read had to do with a trickster god of some sort.

She certainly wasn’t about to call Mercy Thompson for help on this one. And what did she know about dragons anyways?

“A real dragon?” Anna asked when she was back on two feet and dressing quickly to fight off the chill. “Bran said they’re all dead.”

“Every now and then one might turn up.” Leah supplied. “They take a long time to grow, I understand. It’s possible this one’s just hatched and that’s why we didn’t know about it.”

The kayak.

Anna seemed to think the same thing. “Do you think someone released it? Like when people release exotic pets?”

Leah really had enough of witches in the past year-and-a-half to last her a lifetime. At the same time, they were perhaps the only people stupid enough to keep a dragon of all things in their menageries.

She pinched the bridge of her nose.

“If we can find what it was being kept in, we can try to trap it again tomorrow and release it someplace less problematic.” Or find a professional, if those existed. “If not, we leave and we tell Bran what we know and he can choose to handle it however he wants.”

“Presumably with some sort of deadly and magical weapon.” Anna sounded sad as she said it and Leah snorted.

“He won’t kill a dragon.” Though, she trusted that he probably could. “Bran has a soft spot for strays.”

And all dragons were strays these days. Most of them, she had been assured, were long dead. It meant any living were that much more important in a bad way, because they were prey.

They both went to sleep then, because it wasn’t worth one of them staying up.

This time, Leah’s sleep was thankfully dreamless.

Leah woke up just as the sun was beginning to peek out over the mountains, but Anna was still out cold. It gave her time to both make breakfast and plan what to do. The water still wasn’t moving, their surroundings still hadn’t come back to life.

And that kayak was still bugging her. The person, or people, had time to bring it back to shore but not to leave with it. That felt wrong. Maybe they didn’t care about it but they’d had time to peacefully remove it from the water.

She was still thinking about it when Anna awoke, and apparently Anna had been thinking about it in her sleep because, without saying anything to alert the other of their train of thought, they both spoke in unison.

“It’s still trapped.”

Leah thought Anna might continue and when the younger woman didn’t, she nodded. “Might as well go fishing for it then.”

They finished their camp breakfast. Leah didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t miss the days before Bran had built the house but she certainly didn’t miss the days before they had a gas stove. Anna had thought it was neat, but she also thought every skill that she didn’t personally possess was neat. Cooking a full breakfast over open flame was still something Anna hadn’t managed quite so competently, if Charles’ stories were anything to go by.

“We should take the kayak.” Anna suggested.

The water went to depths that Leah wasn’t personally familiar with and werewolves were not known for swimming.

“What we are going to do,” Because they needed a plan, “Is try our best to find where the dragon is. And we will come back with someone who can solve the problem because we can’t have it here.”

God forbid someone release it.

“But we are, under no circumstance, diving in.” Because Charles would have Leah’s head if she accidentally killed Anna.

Anna nodded her agreement so Leah ushered her into the stupid, dinky little boat and waded in herself to launch them. She was fairly confident in her ability to get in from standing in water a smudge above her waist. And rightfully so, because Leah pulled herself in with no drama. Anna proved better with oars than Leah had expected, so she was regretting putting her in the front, but they slowly made their way in a little loop around the lake.

“We’ll skirt the outside first, in case they maybe just threw it in.” Leah explained as she helped to navigate them in as shallow of water as she’d personally suggest. “And we’ll spiral in.”

It should only take another few hours. They’d be able to make it back to the car by nightfall if they kept a good pace.

“How did you know it was a dragon?” Anna asked as they continued on. Leah’s watch suggested they’d been at it for about an hour.

“Sea dragons can supposedly create mirages, but they don’t look right.” Leah sighed. “One of the Wildings, back when he first came, was convinced that one took the Titanic down. It was something to do with the way the water was, too smooth to see much of anything. But he was always a little crazy, even before he formally came to Aspen Creek. I read on it just to try and prove him wrong.”

“And did you?” Anna’s curiosity was almost charming.

Almost.

“Can’t prove anything to crazy, you can’t even argue with crazy.” Leah had tried, failed, and discovered that her own husband was just as crazy if not certifiably insane. Then again, she might have already known that.

Anna laughed, warm and friendly in a way that made Leah smile until she realized that even the oars had stopped making movements along the surface. Her face fell into a frown, her eyebrows knit together, and Leah worried her lip a moment.

And it was in that exact split second that something arose from the water, big, silver, and practically reflective. She would have sworn she could see herself in its giant, oar-shaped fin before it broke the water and the kayak tipped.

Leah barely recognized she hit the water except that her last breath had happened in a weird limbo. The first half had been air, but she closed her mouth instinctively when she drew water into her lungs as well. It burned, burned like salt water even though she knew full-well it was fresh from both the taste and the smell. The reflection on the dragon’s body made it impossible to tell which way was up and which was down. She couldn’t see Anna clearly enough and there were three boats if she tried to trust her eyes.

Werewolves did not inherently float well, though everything Bran had taught her was that the humans swam better than wolves since their bodies were just physically better suited towards it. She herself hadn’t learned to swim even as a human, she avoided bodies of water in general as a result.

But someone who could swim?

Anna.

Leah focused on trying to find her only to realize that her companion had already broken the surface and the illusion. It was easier to find the reflection when only one of the Annas was able to physically touch her. She kicked harder and found herself in air once more, gasping for it desperately. Anna was holding onto the upturned kayak.

“It’s not trapped.” Anna heaved just before Leah felt herself fall back under again, this time dragged by something very much invisible.

Her mind turned momentarily to static. It tended to be how she panicked. It hit her all at once to the point she went numb, and then very slowly the lights would begin to turn back on in her brain. Leah kicked her legs again, trying for some sort of traction. She might not have ever known how to swim, but she kept her head above water every single day. The burning in her lungs wasn’t anything new. The silence wasn’t scary. She knew worse monsters than whatever had been dumped beneath the surface here in this stupid lake.

I’m married to one of them. She reminded herself. I am one of them.

It wasn’t magic that she found the surface again. She’d kicked herself close enough that Anna had dragged her by the back of her shirt onto the upturned kayak.

“You never learned how to swim.” Anna’s breathing had already steadied, but she’d had more oxygen than Leah had. Her arm was still around Leah’s shoulders as the world around them fell quiet again and the only ripples in the lake were caused by themselves and the stupid kayak.

“No.” Leah couldn’t make the word sound quite right. She’d. it only breathed in water, but she’d swallowed way too much as well.

Her body heaved and Anna gripped tighter if it was even possible for her to do so.

It was a few moments of that, Leah’s body instinctively trying to eject the water it had taken while Anna tried her best to keep her on one spot so she didn’t start drowning again. Finally, when her heart rate began to settle, they worked their way slowly back towards shore. The idea of flipping the stupid boat back over and trying to scramble inside was lost on them. They just needed to get to the nearest piece of dry land and they could walk the rest of the way back to camp.

They worked silently, Anna pulling an embarrassing load of the weight because Leah was drowsy with the post-adrenaline crash. It wasn’t until they were both standing, Leah hips-deep and Anna a little deeper, that Leah spoke.

“If the upturned kayak could hold two of us, the stupid door could have held an army.”

She didn’t look behind her as Anna started giggling.

***

Bonus Epilogue

Bran stared at his wife for a moment as he stood in the door. He had flown home early to meet her at the house because she had informed him of what had happened from her phone the moment she got service.

“There’s a sea dragon in the lake?” He repeated, confounded.

“Yes. And you can thank Anna that I’m alive. We thought it might have still been trapped and we could move it just the two of us, given the kayak had been returned to shore. But we also managed to return the kayak to shore so maybe it’s just a quirky adolescent sea dragon.” Her tone was dripping in maybe a little bit of sarcasm. She still, though Bran could imagine she had showered, smelled of the lake and of some sort of almost-primordial magic. The latter scent had returned after the Singer, he wasn’t sure if this was part of that or the newly discovered sea dragon.

“We’ll have to find someone to move it.” Lest new witches come closer to his home. They’d just finished with the old ones, he wasn’t currently looking for a repeat. “Thank you for letting me know.”

#Leah Cornick #bad things happen bingo #bthb #requested in DM #and I am so glad that it was

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