#NASCAR Awards

[xoxostephanie11]

[sabrina-sns]

[memoryhallows]

its unreal how much cunt one man can serve… he may be The cuntiest of them all actually. the slayer, even

[music-wrestling-nascar-fan]

Dale Jr at the 2009 CMA Awards!

@userblaney @jack-doohan @stxrrlit @vetteldixon

[coochiequeens]

I've taken many jabs at the ACLU for defending perverted freaks now here's the HRC following their lead.

By Reduxx Team February 16, 2024

A registered child sex offender was welcomed at the Human Rights Campaign’s North Carolina Dinner gala last week, just months after a controversy involving him being awarded a top LGBT advocacy prize. Chad Severance-Turner, a former youth minister, is currently the Chief Executive Officer at the Carolina LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce.

On February 10, the Human Rights Campaign in North Carolina held its annual dinner gala, with a number of top LGBT activists in attendance. Among the speakers at the Bank of America-sponsored “Without Exception” event was HRC Press Secretary Brandon Wolf and Democrat State Senator Lisa Grafstein.

But among those featured in attendance was Chad Severance-Turner, a registered child sex offender who has managed to rise to prominence as an LGBT advocate in North Carolina.

As previously reported by Reduxx, Turner was first accused by three boys of sexual abuse in 1998.

According to a GoUpstate report on the case from 2000, all of the victims who had come forward had met Turner through his position as the music director at the New Harvest Church of God in Gaffney, South Carolina. The cases were tried separately due to the nature of the charges, and Turner was ultimately only convicted on one offense. 

Of the incidents Turner was convicted on, a 14-year-old boy had testified that Turner had invited him to spend the night at his house in the nearby community of Bessemer City, North Carolina. The victim stated that during the visit, Turner had questioned him on how he’d feel about a man performing oral sex on him. 

Turner, wearing a silver vest, at the February 10 HRC Dinner.

“I thought he was joking,” the boy told the court. He explained that Turner frequently questioned him about sexual acts between men and women, which upset him because of the man’s position in the church. The victim continued that, following a revival meeting, he and Turner stayed overnight at the home of one of the other alleged victims. 

The teen says he awoke to find Turner fondling his genitals, but didn’t immediately report it due to shame.

The second minor, who said he was 15 when the incident occurred, stated he was invited to Turner’s home where the older man showed him a pornographic video of a man and a woman having sex. He then said that later that night, after he and Turner went to sleep in the same bed, he woke up to find Turner fondling him.

The third alleged victim, who was also 15 at the time, said Turner had made the same advances to him over a three-week period when he stayed in the boy’s home. The minor said Turner had fondled him several times. 

“He told me if I ever told the pastor, he’d make me look like a fool and a liar,” the boy said.

Turner’s registration with the North Carolina Sex Offender and Public Protection Agency.

During the trial, Turner’s defense attorney, Thomas Shealy, accused the boys of perpetrating a “witch hunt,” and asserted that it was suspicious that there was a few month delay between them being sexually abused and them going to their parents. 

Turner was ultimately convicted on the charges related to the first victim, and sentenced to 10 years in prison for committing lewd acts on a minor under the age of 16. He served 2 years behind bars before being released on parole and being ordered to the sex offender registry.

Since being released from prison, Turner has become an active and notable member of the Charlotte LGBTQ advocacy community. 

In 2012, Turner was elected the president of the LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce, immediately heading efforts to push for an expanded “nondiscrimination” ordinance which many complained would have prevented businesses from maintaining spaces such as washrooms as single-sex. 

He was named “Person of the Year” by LGBT news outlet QNotes in March of 2015, but would resign from his Chamber of Commerce post in 2016 after his history as a child sex offender came to light. He would once again join the LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce as its inaugural CEO in 2021, a position he has held since. Under his leadership, the Chamber has secured partnerships with prominent organizations like Fifth Third Bank, NASCAR, Duke Energy, Wells Fargo, Sonoco, and Novant Health. He was also recently appointed by Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles to serve on the city’s Business Advisory Committee.

Turner has previously been awarded an honor by the Human Rights Campaign at their annual gala, though at the time, HRC officials refused to state whether they were aware of his child sex offender status prior to giving him the award.

Most recently, Turner was honored with the Harvey Milk Award by Charlotte Pride in a controversial move that was quickly reversed after Reduxx reported on his pedophile past.

[demonic-shadowlucifer]

the oscars, the grammys, emmy awards, golden globes, and other award shows are all stupid popularity contests. change my mind.

[toddbarrowcountry]

Rockin the stage at Troy’s Bar with Texas Live!!!🤠🎙🎸🎶

[caesium-55]

—seven days. [ iii ]

pairing: max verstappen x manager! reader.

summary: as the third time world champion, max verstappen's manager, you function on the belief that whatever max verstappen wanted, max verstappen shall get. but this time, after four years of working as his manager, you can't give him what he wants anymore and that was to stay.

author's note: hi hello welcome to part three. i flunked the quiz. lemme know what you think. NOT BETA READ. NOT EDITED. this chapter kinda sux. can't believe i went through a breakup just last week and i still cant write decent post-breakup scenes.

tags: @whatamidoingwithmylife-ramdom @eugene-emt-roe @bellezaycafe @barnestatic @theseerbetweenus @wcnorris @notyouraveragemochii @lpab hope i didn't forget anyone.

masterlist.

you: *sent a link*

him: ?

him: what's this

you: benefits of crying

you: read it it's enlightening

him: some people do not cry over a breakup you know and that is totally okay

you: why crying helps.

you: 1. tears release toxins, stress hormones to be specific. it is good to let all the bad energy out.

you: 2. it aids sleep. no need for further explanation.

you: 3. crying releases oxytocin and endorphins. i know you don't know what an oxytocin or an endorphin is but they're happy chemicals.

you: 4. crying helps you receive the support you need from the people around you. EMOTIONAL VULNERABILITY is okay, max. stop treating it like an STD.

him: it feels like an std

you: pussy

you: emotional vulnerability is a thing and it's normal so stop trying to be a big strong man when you're barely holding it together.

you: you may look fine now but i know you

him: please stop

you: no

you: 5. crying has a self soothing effect. very nice actually. it activates the rest and digest system.

him: what even is that

you: the parasympathetic nervous system

him: ??

you: this is why you shouldn't have dropped out of high school

you: education is important yknow

you: youre already lacking in three forms of intelligence, academic, emotional n social intelligence

him: fuck you im smart

you: fuck you 2 and yeah you're smart but only in geography

you: you probably can't do your taxes

him: im dutch so the company's account department do it for me by default

him: the american system is just weird

you: cant argue w/ u there

you: also, 6. crying helps restore emotional balance

you: see? you need that

you: yknow now that i think abt it you should consider seeking therapy

him: what makes you think i’m not in therapy right now

you: well have you considered getting MORE therapy?

You stand in front of the body mirror, holding the Red Bull polo shirt against your body to see how it looks on you for one last time. On your right sleeve, the word MANAGER is written in bold, white text. Because that was what you were. Just a manager.

In another universe this is not the shirt that you’d be wearing. The MANAGER would have been ENGINEER. In another another universe where your family has been well-off enough to continuously send you to karting school and you would have been the one driving the fucking car by now.

You know, if Max has even tried talking to Horner and suggested that you should be moved into the engineering team, then you wouldn't be stuck wearing this god-awful polo that burned your skin every time you wore it for work. Everybody reduced you as Max’s American manager and because you are American, most of them kind of just assumed that you're dumb, you know?

Does the world even know how smart you are? That you graduated top of your class, got the best thesis award, and that you had finished your masters just this year? Did they even know that a Japanese car company wanted you on their research team? That a NASCAR team wanted you on board as one of their engineers? Does Max even know?

Fuck no. He only knows that you're the best at ironing clothes and organizing his Google calendar and memorizing his entire coffee order by heart. He knew you're good at extinguishing kitchen fires and kicking ass in YSL Opyum heels. You doubt he knows that you can do Calculus in your sleep.

You can take it if the world puts you down for your appearance. But if the world puts you down because of your intellect? That's a different story. You'll take any insult to the face but not to your intelligence.

You have four days left in Monaco so you have begun packing already. You're right, everything did fit into three suitcases. Also, you haven't told Max yet. For some reason, you’re too anxious. Which is shocking to say the least because you never ever gets anxious when it came to Max Verstappen. You wouldn't have lasted this long working alongside Max if you were a pussy.

Max Max Max Super Max Max—

“[Name] here. Need anythin’, champ?”

Hearing a sob on the other end of the line immediately activates your fight or flight response. Your eyes widen and you toss the Red Bull shirt aside. Your legs leads you to the nearly empty shoe rack stationed beside the front door, grabbing the pair of shoes at the very top of the tiny shelf and throwing them on.

“I’m comin’ there. Hang on, Max. You wait for me, okay?”

He doesn't answer, just continuing to sob and the sound absolutely breaks your heart.

You run to his penthouse at a speed that will even put the RB19 to shame. Not even bothering to knock, you barge in and yell his name in the empty halls of his penthouse. You search in the kitchen. He's not there. The living room. Not there either. The room where his simulations are. Not there. You run to his bedroom upstairs.

The door is locked. Dammit. Panic overflooded your system.

“Max, sweetheart, you there?”

No answer, but you can hear a faint sound behind the door if you press your ear against the wood. Firefighter training covered how to open a fucking door when it was locked so this once again becomes a situation where you're grateful that you did that tiring and borderline suicidal volunteer work.

Max keeps a fire extinguisher inside his penthouse as per your advice. There is one stationed in almost every room inside his house. You knew there is one inside his room and another one just at the end of the hallway. You make a quick run for it and once you have the extinguisher in your hands, you run back to his door.

“Step away from the door!” you instructed while your mind mentally calculates your payment plan as you hit the door knob with so much force, the walls tremble at your strength. You're functioning on pure adrenaline. Your instincts only yell one thing and that is: go to Max. No one and nothing in this world will keep you from him. It isn't long until his bedroom door broke down. With one last final kick, it crumbles down from its hinges and you forcefully pry it open and sprint inside.

Max tucks himself in the tiny space in the corner of his huge bedroom, his knees shoved up to his chest. A 181-cm tall man trying to make himself as small as possible.

This is it. This is the bottled-up emotions he's been storing since Abu Dhabi. You cannot say you have not anticipated this. Max is bound to explode sooner or later.

Panic attacks have made a home in Max’s body since he was a child. That's what one gets when they’re parented by someone like Jos Verstappen. He killed Max’s soul and made the boy a machine and for what? To shape a child into a man, a racer that he wanted to be but failed to become at the cost of Max's mental health and childhood.

When Max looks up with that heartbreaking look on his face, you almost crumble. Almost, because you cannot crumble. Not when Max needs you.

Sometimes, you forget what it took for Max to become the champion that he is today. A childhood sacrificed for his dominance on the tracks. A whole lot of hatred from the people to become a WDC. And now, a love lost for his third consecutive championship.

“You came,” his voice cracks towards the end.

Your eyes soften, “You called, Max. Course I’ll come.”

You barely brace yourself for the impact that is Max’s body wrapping around yours in a tight hug. The man have literally launch himself from the floor to you at sixth gear speed. You stumble backwards slightly, holding his bed for support so the both of you won't fall down.

“Max—”

“No,” he whispers and his grip on your tightens as if he's afraid that you’ll slip away if he even tried to give your lungs space to breathe. “Don't speak. Stay.”

What Max wanted, what Max would get. So you shut your mouth, shuffle slightly so he'll be in a more comfortable position and allow him take whatever he wants from you. This will be the last chance he’ll ever do it anyway because in four days time, you’re flying to Texas.

You stay for what is probably hours in that position. Crumbled together on the floor, leaning against the side of Max’s king-sized bed. Your shirt is completely damp from his tears but you cannot even bring yourself to care about it.

“Your shoes…” It's the first time Max has spoken since the start of his meltdown.

“Hm?” you turn your head and your nose nuzzles against his hair, making you scrunch it up a little. His hair is tickling your nostrils. If you lean a little forward, your lips will meet the skin of his temple.

“They’re mismatched.”

Brows furrowed, your eyes move to your feet and see that Max is right. Your shoes are indeed mismatched. On your left is one of your Adidas slides and the other is your slip-on Skechers. You ran from one building to another in mismatched shoes. Fucking embarassing.

“Ignore them.”

Silence.

“You good now?”

“No.”

“Okay,” you say. “If you want to talk, I’ll listen.”

You hear Max let out a shaky breath, “Just stay for a while. Don't leave me alone.”

“Okay.”

Eventually, you manage to talk Max out of the hug. You're beginning to feel claustrophobic but you do not want to say it out right so you try to negotiate instead. That's how you and Max found yourselves inside his kitchen again. You're trying to replicate your Abuela's cheesecake, which she was known for back in Austin, and Max is…well, he's Max and he’s trying to be helpful in any way he can. If it's some other day, you'd have shoved him out of the way because you prefer working alone in the kitchen. Having eyes on you gives you anxiety. But given today’s circumstances, you do not have the heart to make Max leave so you task him with doing the little stuff like mixing things and throwing shit to the trash can nearby. And he does so splendidly.

“Thank you, by the way.”

“For what, baby?” You internally wince at your own slip of the tongue. Damn that habit of yours of calling people with affectionate call signs. Thankfully, Max seems to have not noticed it.

“For coming here.”

You shrug.

“I only did what you did for me in 2021.”

Again, your breakup with Leo was bad bad. You spent a month crying for a love lost and Max was there for you. For the most part, at least. You want him to focus on winning and winning alone that you pushed him away a lot of times but you appreciated how he was more obedient to your commands, that he held his tongue so he wouldn't piss you off even though he was not liking your words, and that he was considerate of you.

“I hope you won't go into fights though,” you chuckle. “Like I did after my breakup.”

He smiles, shaking his head lightly and you know he's recalling the memory. 2021 is a hilarious year for you, the Red Bull manager. You went viral after getting into a cat fight with a girl and a whole fist fight with her boyfriend.

You and Leo called it quits a week before Monaco and even though it had been four races since then, your heart was still in a quite fragile state at that specific race weekend. One minor inconvenience was enough to ignite a wild blaze of fire within you and nobody could extinguish the flames.

After Silverstone FP1, you were leading Max to the cool down room to brief him with Horner’s relayed instructions and someone had thrown a glass bottle towards the both of you while walking. Originally, Max was the main target of the bottle but you happened to have moved towards the line of trajectory and the bottle landed on your temple, hard enough that you stumbled upon impact.

You barely heard Max’s shocked gasp and shout of panic over the sound of glass shattering on your foot because the only thing you could register was the terrifying feeling of a thick liquid trickling down the side of your face and you didn't even need to see it to know it was blood.

The only thing you saw was red and it was on fucking sight.

Fucking Hamilton fan. Fucking Hamilton. He’s in Max’s way. He’s in your way. He’s the wall that was dividing you from your dream position in the engineering team.

You shoved the iPad you were holding to Max’s hands and marched down to the woman wearing the Merc #44 merch, swiftly jumping over the barricade and grabbing her by the collar of her pristine white Versace top.

The events that followed were too fast. You grabbed her collar. She pulled your hair. You also pulled her hair. Someone pulled her away from you. You tried to grab her, clawing her bare arms with your manicured nails. She screamed. You screamed back. You pulled out some curse words in Spanish as well because cursing her in one language alone is not enough. Her boyfriend appeared. A quick punch to your cheek. You fell to the ground.

The world stood still. There was a sting on your palm because your skin got torn from the hard surface of the concrete ground. You let a bloodcurdling war cry and your Dad would definitely be disappointed at you for using the boxing techniques he taught you for self defense purposes only to fight a guy two times your size.

Everything was a bigger blur from there. But you did remember the sensation of Max’s strong arms around you, stopping you from lunging forward again. He was saying sweet words to your ear to calm you down but your brain failed to intercept them so you could hear the words, could hear his voice, but not understand any of it. You remember Christian Horner's disappointed face that haunted you even two years later. You remembered feeling so terrified as you sat outside Christian Horner’s office waiting for the final verdict while he and Max and a few of the Red Bull higher-ups argued about your future with the team. You remembered hearing Max’s loud snarl on the other side of the mahogany door: “Did you see her face?! There was blood everywhere! On her nose, on her mouth, on the fucking side of her head!” You remembered the girl taking the case to court. You remembered fearing that you’d be sent to jail. You remembered that she lost the case because it was ruled as self defense and your injuries were grave. You remembered discovering that it was Max who used all his power and got the best lawyer to fight your case. You remembered the atmosphere in the Red Bull garage shifting when you entered it a few weeks later and everyone stared the bandages and bruises. Everyone thought one thing: of course, it would also take a monster to manage a monster like Max Verstappen. You remembered Lewis Hamilton, seven-time world champion, apologizing personally for the fight caused by his own fan. He didn't need to but he was so sincere with it that you cried when he handed you the apology flowers. God, how could you even hate this man? Your anger towards him was misplaced.

You’d been living with the guilt ever since, that you were horrifyingly violent for a day, that you were capable of killing for a day. And it could happen again. One day. God, you hoped you wouldn't have to see that day. You knew all your coworkers have been careful with angering you ever since. They're terrified of you even. Max should be, too. But then again, why would he when he already saw the horrors done by his father’s hands ever since he was a child? He was used to it.

“I won't,” he says, smiling at you. “I wouldn't want to add anymore problems for you to clean up.”

But you will not be the one cleaning it up because you resigned. You didn’t tell that to him though. Not right now. He just had a meltdown over Kelly leaving him and the news of his manager leaving him too will destroy him.

The cheesecake is a little burnt when you take it out of the oven but it actually adds more flavor to it so yeah, that's a win.

“We should drink,” you suggest.

“It’s mid-afternoon.”

“We drank at mid-afternoon yesterday,” you give him a blank stare. “With Alex and Charles, remember?”

He doesn't say anything as you make your way to his fridge and pull out two bottles of beer. Max has champagne stored somewhere but you have enough of those expensive champagnes. You need beer. Beer is good. Beer is nice. You're a beer type of person and it is time Max becomes one, too.

“I’m no scientist,” you begin, biting off the beer’s bottle cap. “But according to chemistry, alcohol is solution.”

Well, technically, edible alcohol or ethanol is not a mixture. Rather, it's a pure substance that happens to be a liquid at room temperature and typical atmospheric pressure. Pure ethanol is not a solution. Hard spirits though? That's a solution.

Beer is not a hard spirit. It's more of a fermented drink. But Max doesn't know that, though, so you don't bother explaining the science behind it.

Somewhere down the road, the two of you move to his living room. You use the Youtube app in his TV to search karaoke video and have the bestest time of your lives. You're screaming along some Daddy Yankee and El Alfa songs and Max doesn't know how to speak Spanish so he’s just vibing to it.

At 5 PM, you pull out Max’s expensive vodka bottle. Now this is the real shit. The ten bottles of beer? Those are just pregame. Max is already drunk with just those because he’s a pussy but you’re no pussy, so the only right answer is vodka! Viva la vodka or whatever.

Your throat gets tired of singing and Max gets tired from dancing, too, so you both decide to just go entertain yourselves in other ways. First, you introduced Max to beer-pong. He loses, of course. He sucks at everything not racing. Then, the two of you move onto chess. Max gives up mid-game. He cannot understand the rules. Then, lastly, you move to the billiard table Max owned. He only used it when the other guys are over and you do not even know why he bought it when he sucked at playing billiards.

“You know what Kelly said the morning before the race?” Max suddenly says and you look up at him, brow raising slightly. He’s drunk; his skin is flushed and he is all giggly and smile-y as he sits on the billiard table’s side rail and using the billiard stick as some sort of support stand to keep him from falling. You hope he won't accidentally poke himself. You're no better, too. Ten beer bottles and a few glasses of vodka. But you’re not as drunk as Max, and you still have a straight vision and you can still sink the colored balls into the pockets of the billiard table.

“Hm?”

“That it was unfair for her.”

You raise a questioning brow, “Why?”

“I bought shoes and they don't fit her.”

You blink. He laughs at himself as if he has uttered the funniest joke in the world.

“Three years of relationship gone because of a single pair of shoes,” he continues. “She wanted those shoes, too.”

Kelly….what the fuck?

“But that's okay. She….She made me open my eyes, you know? She made me realize what I truly love.”

“Racing.” It's not even a question. It's the truth.

Max stares at you, long and hard, and you look away first because you fear that if you allow yourself to stare too long, you’ll drown in those beautiful blues. This is enough heartache for the day. No need to add more.

“Hey [Name],” he begins. “If I asked you to kiss me, would you do it?”

[roe-and-memory]

What do you think of the headcanon (I have no idea where I saw it first but it isn’t mine) that despise his arranging attitude in cars 1 Lightning is the only Piston cup racer who hasn’t done anything problematic enough to be cancelled (yet)

honestly, i think its impossible

first, cancellation isnt really a thing in nascar unless a driver did something like. a literal crime. but rather, every driver has haters, and every driver makes mistakes

race fans tend to find a lot of things problematic, they even like to add it onto their pile of reasons to hate a driver even if its the tiniest of things — so, in this case, lightning most definitely has some haters and “problematic behaviours”. even cal and bobby would have their moments

i’ll use an example from real life and say that being the most popular driver (which is probably extremely easy to achieve for lightning every awards season) definitely has gained him some people who’d like to see him crash head on into a wall (if you see the way every chase elliott hater treats him, you’ll understand what i mean)

but, also, lightning has anger issues. anger issues and racecars dont typically mix well, without a doubt lightning has acted on his angry impulses and retaliated against another driver for something irritating. this would gain him either a suspension or a penalty (most likely a suspension for a few races), and a brand new group of people who hate his guts. it’d be used as something problematic because safety, sportsmanship, and emotional maturity is something that a lot of race fans look for.

all of these things added up would probably make lightning a controversial — has a lot of fans, but a fair amount of haters who are quite passionate about it — driver for most.

his attitude in cars 1 before the tie breaker race probably made him have less fans, maybe a few stuck along for the ride just because they would be able brag about cheering for the 18 year old rookie who wouldve ended up being the youngest driver to ever win a piston cup, but for the most part some of those fans had to be grasping at straws to defend his honour and their own. however, at the tie breaker race (this is where sportsmanship and emotional maturity come in) his act with strip weathers would have gained him way more fans — a lot of them coming from strip to cheer for lightning after the king retires. also, having a historically famous piston cup driver as your crew chief most definitely gained him even more traction and affection.

maybe his next season his anger issues begin dying out with care, and those knee-jerk reactions stop becoming as common, but its just human nature to be angry with people you think are stupid, so hes not all innocent.

anyways, he still definitely doesnt have a clean driving slate. no driver does, to be fair, they’ll always be hated for something or other - but i feel lightning is still on the less hated and problematic side (along with both cal and bobby — those two are relatively tame compared to him, they may be even less hated than he is)

[xoxostephanie11]

[sabrina-sns]

Honored to perform at Nascar AR Awards tonight.

[shefanispeculator]

Shefani from August 2021 - March 2024

1. Bought another plane (3 since 2016) and sold another plane (2 since 2016)

2. Updated Lodge again by adding/painting cabinets, a window in kitchen and a bar.

3. GB received a Hollywood Star of Fame

5. G launches GXVE Makeup

6. B releases 2 Seasons of Barmagedon with Carson. G appeared on both seasons.

7. GB do one more Season of the Voice together. Blake does last season of Voice, G does one season without B

7. B Fall Tour (21) and Winter/Spring 23 and 24

8. G Julie Andrews Tribute, Matrix Award, Hollywood Bowl

9. GB do numerous SB Events 22, 23,24

10. B opens Ole Red LV, total now 6

11. B at Numerous events, i.e. Scott H HOF

12. Family vacations Bahamas, Montana, and family outings so Nascar, Baseball and Football

13. GB at Opry

14. G does last LV residency leg

15 GB Release music and another duet Purple Irises.

16: GB add a greenhouse in OK

[music-wrestling-nascar-fan]

I know Shaboozey has a song about Jeff Gordon but I think he should've worn a Jeff Gordon jacket for his first ever CMA Awards performance of his hit song "Tipsy" but that's just my opinion.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

[Mike Luckovich]

* * * *

"An idea unlike any other."

May 28, 2024

ROBERT B. HUBBELL

On Memorial Day, President Biden hosted a breakfast for military leaders, veterans, and Gold Star family members. The event was closed to the press, so there are no photos or media reports of his remarks. Rather than turn a White House reception honoring fallen soldiers into a public event or campaign opportunity, the President met privately to express gratitude to soldiers and their families.

Later in the day, the President participated in the Wreath-Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery and then delivered the Memorial Day Address the Memorial Amphitheater.

In his remarks, President Biden said,

America is the only country in the world founded on an idea — an idea that all people are created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout their lives. We’ve never fully lived up to that, but we’ve never, ever, ever walked away from it. Every generation, our fallen heroes have brought us closer.

President Biden also issued a statement commemorating Memorial Day, writing (in part):

Since America's founding, our service members have laid down their lives for an idea unlike any other: the idea of the United States. Today, as generations of heroes lie in eternal peace, we live by the light of liberty they kept burning. May God bless them, always.

Joe Biden’s presence in the Oval Office elevates us as a nation. We are fortunate to have him as our president during this challenging time in our nation’s history.

Defendant Donald Trump issued his own statement commemorating Memorial Day. Trump posted a statement that began as follows:

Happy Memorial Day to All, including the Human Scum that is working so hard to destroy our Once Great Country, & to the Radical Left, Trump Hating Federal Judge in New York that presided over, get this, TWO separate trials, that awarded a woman, who I never met before (a quick handshake at a celebrity event, 25 years ago, doesn’t count!), 91 MILLION DOLLARS for “DEFAMATION” . . . .

What is notable about Trump's Memorial Day greeting is that it does not mention veterans—living or dead—but is instead devoted entirely to himself. In contrast, President Biden’s message mentions only those veterans who gave their lives for “the idea of America” and does not mention himself.

The same contrast is seen in President Biden’s private meeting with Gold Star families. Trump took a group photo with Gold Star family members at the Coca-Cola 600 while wearing a “MAGA” hat and giving a “thumbs up.” Photo Trump at NASCAR Event.

Trump also used Memorial Day Weekend to announce the creation of “Veterans and Military Families for Trump,” an announcement that included the following statement:

Unlike the weak Joe Biden, President Trump has consistently proven he cares deeply about the unbelievable sacrifices made by our nation’s Veterans and their wonderful families.

In short, Trump's relationship with veterans and Gold Star families is transactional, like everything else in his life: Fallen soldiers and veterans are props for his campaign. They matter only because they are part of a campaign organization supporting Trump.

The saddest part of that transaction is that the veterans’ sacrifices and their families’ grief are being exploited by a man who has called fallen veterans “suckers and losers.”

Rarely has our nation faced such a stark choice. On this Memorial Day, that choice is viewed through the lens of the sacrifice of more than a million Americans who died defending the “idea of America.” As President Biden said in his remarks today, we have “never fully lived up to the promise” of that idea. We cannot allow our past failures and present challenges to discourage us.

The question of whether a million Americans died in vain is for us to answer. They kept their oath; we must finish the story of their sacrifice. In 2024, we must honor America’s fallen veterans by ensuring that their sacrifice was not in vain by defending the democracy for which they gave their lives.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[artisticlegshake]

THE DANCE AWARDS ORLANDO RESULTS 2024

HIGH SCORE BY PERFORMANCE DIVISION (MINI)

BALLET:

1st Tarantella - STARS

2nd Esmeralda - VLAD’S

3rd Another Polka - YOUNG 

4th H. Potter - CDC

5th Visions - CCJ

CONTEMPORARY:

1st I Am Here - IMPACT

2nd Stuck In Pause - VLAD’S

3rd Without You - STARS

4th Amen - RHYTHM

4th Turn To Stone - SPOTLITE

5th Le Moulin - G-FORCE

LYRICAL:

1st Beautiful - STARS

2nd Smile - MATHER

2nd Time Goes Slow - CLUB DANCE

3rd If Rain Must Fall - VLAD’S

4th Never Dreamed You’d Leave In Summer - SOUTH TULSA

5th All That We’ve Lost - WESTCHESTER

JAZZ:

1st Luck Be A Lady - VLAD’S

1st Pump Up The Jam - SPOTLITE

2nd Hey U - MATHER

3rd Schoolin Life - MATHER

4th Word Up - SPOTLITE

5th Hey Pachuco - CDC

5th Love Potion - G-FORCE

5th On Broadway - ART & SOUL

TAP:

1st Freedom - ART & SOUL

1st It Ain’t Funky - ART & SOUL

2nd Lucky Day - THE SOUTHERN STRUTT

2nd Puttin’ On The Ritz - CDC

3rd Best Day Of My Life - THE SOUTHERN STRUTT

4th Get Up Off Of That Thing - CDC

4th Reet Petite - ART & SOUL

5th Barbapapa’s Groove - DANCE SPECTRUM

5th Tequila! - UPPER

MUSICAL THEATRE:

1st All That Jazz - IMPACT 

2nd A Bushel And A Peck - VLAD’S

3rd Hot Note - THE SOUTHERN STRUTT

4th Revolting Children - CCJ

4th Rise Of The Pink Ladies - THE SOUTHERN STRUTT

5th Loathing - WEST FLORIDA

HIP-HOP:

1st Queen B - VLAD’S

2nd Brava! - IMPACT

3rd Hoops - THE SOUTHERN STRUTT

3rd Multiplayer - CCJ

3rd Nascar - STUDIO 61

4th Fire - ART & SOUL

5th Shake The Floor - STARS

BALLROOM:

1st Get On The Floor - THE SOUTHERN STRUTT

2nd Gangman Style - STARS

ACRO:

1st Could It Be - VLAD’S

2nd Bowl Of Cherries - ART & SOUL

2nd Heaven - ART & SOUL

3rd Faith - DANCE SPECTRUM

SPECIALTY:

1st Rama - IMPACT

2nd Through The Rain - STARS

3rd Dream Of You - VLAD’S

4th What A Feeling - VLAD’S

5th Black Car - SPOTLITE

[whipplefilter]

Atlanta [2] 2024

I do my weekly meal prep during NASCAR races, and this week Kyle Larson only lasted a long as the STARCHES. 5 car, how could you forsake me when only the pastas were done? The rice was still cooking! I hadn't even chopped any vegetables yet! NEITHER ROUND OF VEGETABLES. The tofu wasn't even out of the fridge yet! 😭😭😭

I'd read an interview from some of the media stuff where Larson described the first half of his season as "really good" and for the second half immediately listed all the tracks where he DNF'd, describing it as "typical Kyle Larson." MY GUY MUST WE THOUGH. But I'm glad he was unharmed and in high spirits, all things considered, which I think was a combination of not having had much time to invest in the race and being confident that the DNF was not the result of a conscious decision he made that was wrong, which is what usually results in a Very Sad interview. The playoff points cushion surely helps, too, aha, though I wouldn't say the prospect of Watkins Glen or Bristol *inspire me.*

Denny wins the award for "I guess... that was a race strategy?" which is usually Brad's trophy to defend, and overall HMS actually did a good job of using the buddy system and sticking together this race, which is definitely not their strong suit. So there's that!

As far as the race win goes: