#There are people who think Washington is 25. He's been in the military for over 15 years. BARE MINIMUM he would be 33.

[sharkface]

I love being a nerd with too much free time because when people start saying any main RVB character is under 35 I can pull out the painstakingly assembled color coded canon timeline. I only do it for this though. My hill

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

A disappointingly bland statement from the nation's two best known exposé journalists.

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

October 25, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Oct 26, 2024

A bombshell story last night from the Wall Street Journal reported that billionaire Elon Musk, one of the richest men in the world, who is backing the election of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump with a daily million-dollar sweepstakes giveaway and gifts of tens of millions to the campaign, has been in regular contact with Russian president Vladimir Putin since late 2022. Reporters Thomas Grove, Warren P. Strobel, Aruna Viswanatha, Gordon Lubold, and Sam Schechner said that the conversations “touch on personal topics, business and geopolitical tensions.” 

Musk’s SpaceX, which operates the Starlink satellite system, won a $1.8 billion contract with U.S. military and intelligence agencies in 2021. It is the major rocket launcher for NASA and the Pentagon, and Musk has a security clearance; he says it is a top-secret clearance.

Today, NASA administrator Bill Nelson called for an investigation into the story. “If the story is true that there have been multiple conversations between Elon Musk and the president of Russia,” Nelson told Burgess Everett of Semafor, “then I think that would be concerning, particularly for NASA, for the Department of Defense, for some of the intelligence agencies.”

Musk appears to be making a bid for control of the Republican Party for a number of possible reasons, including so he can continue to score federal contracts and because the high tariffs Trump has promised to place on Chinese imports would guarantee that Musk would have leverage in the electrical vehicle market. 

But Musk has competition for control of the party. Today, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who lead the establishment Republican faction and the MAGAs, respectively, and thus are usually at loggerheads, issued a joint statement condemning Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris for “labeling [Trump] as a ‘fascist.’” They suggest she is “inviting yet another would-be assassin to try robbing voters of their choice before Election Day.” 

Observers immediately pointed out that, in fact, it is Trump who has repeatedly called Harris a fascist—as well as a Marxist and a communist—and that those calling Trump a fascist are former members of his own administration like former White House chief of staff General John Kelly, or leaders like former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, whom Trump himself appointed to his position and who called Trump “the most dangerous person to this country.”

Harris’s contribution to this discussion was that when CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked Harris directly if she thinks Trump is a fascist at a town hall this week, she answered: “Yes, I do. And I also believe that the people who know him best on this subject should be trusted.” 

Aside from the gaslighting of attacking Harris for something that Trump is the one doing, the statement seemed a calculated attempt to demonstrate Republican solidarity. But it was glaringly obvious that McConnell and Johnson found that solidarity only in attacking Harris. Their statement contained no praise of Trump. 

The struggle over the Republican Party also seemed evident in yesterday’s decision by the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times, biotech tycoon Patrick Soon-Shiong, to kill that paper’s planned endorsement of Harris. Choosing not to make an endorsement in the race, Soon-Shiong said that he thought an endorsement would “add to the division” in the country. Elon Musk praised his decision.

Today the Washington Post also decided not to make an endorsement in the presidential race, despite the fact a piece endorsing Harris was already drafted. Publisher William Lewis said the paper was returning to its roots of not endorsing presidential candidates, although it has endorsed candidates for decades and did so in its early years as well. His statement seemed a weak cover for the evident wish of the Washington Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos, to avoid antagonizing Trump.

Bezos gives Musk a run for his money at being the richest man in the world. But while Musk wants high tariffs against China to protect his access to electric vehicle markets, Bezos’s fortune comes from Amazon, and high tariffs would shatter his business. When he was in office, Trump went out of his way to find ways to hurt Amazon to get back at Bezos for unfavorable coverage in the Post. 

Los Angeles Times editorial page editor Mariel Garza, along with journalists Robert Greene and Karin Klein, resigned from the paper after its decision not to endorse Harris, and nearly 2,000 readers canceled their subscriptions. The Washington Post, too, has seen about 2,000 subscribers bow out, and fourteen of the newspaper’s columnists called the decision not to condemn Trump’s threats to the “freedom of the press and the values of the Constitution” “a terrible mistake.” Cartoonist Ann Telnaes published a blacked-out square, playing on the Post’s motto that democracy dies in darkness.

Readers are speaking out against the Washington Post for demonstrating what scholar of authoritarianism Timothy Snyder calls “obeying in advance” the demands of an authoritarian leader (although Washington Post legal journalist Ruth Marcus, who signed the letter calling the decision a terrible mistake, pointed out that the Post itself was publishing the many letters of condemnation). “Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given,” Snyder’s “On Tyranny” reads. “In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.”

The aftermath of the Post’s decision demonstrated what scholars say will happen after such obeying. Rather than winning favors, such a demonstration of weakness invites further abuse, as anyone who has watched Trump in action ought to know by now. 

Trump’s people pounced, with advisor Stephen Miller posting: “You know the Kamala campaign is sinking when even the Washington Post refuses to endorse.”

Trump then promptly went a step further, claiming that Democrats had taken part in “rampant Cheating and Skullduggery…in the 2020 presidential election” and warning that in 2024, “WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again…. Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.”

Trump’s threats are designed to convince people he is a strongman who will inevitably win the 2024 presidential election. But to do that, he will have to go through the voters, who are demonstrating their enthusiasm for Democratic candidate Harris and her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz.

After the announcement by the Washington Post, others stepped up to endorse Harris. The largest Teamsters union in Texas endorsed Harris before her rally tonight in Houston. In a blistering editorial, the Philadelphia Inquirer endorsed Harris, saying: “America deserves much more than an aspiring autocrat who ignores the law, is running to stay out of prison, and doesn’t care about anyone but himself.” 

Tonight, Trump taped a podcast episode with Joe Rogan in Austin, Texas, hoping to reach Rogan’s large audience. He was still on the ground in Austin when he was supposed to be appearing at a rally in Traverse City, Michigan, and blamed the long taping for the fact he was three hours late to the rally. Tired of waiting, rally attendees streamed out. When he finally arrived, about 47,000 viewers watched the PBS live stream of the rally.

Harris was in Houston, where she took the fight for abortion rights to the heart of a state where an abortion ban has endangered women and driven up the infant mortality rate. People began standing in line before sunrise to get into the rally at the Houston Shell Energy Stadium and filled the 22,000-seat stadium to capacity. About 2.5 million people watched the PBS live stream. 

Harris shared the stage with actor Jessica Alba and music legends Beyoncé and Willie Nelson, who asked the crowd: “Are we ready to say Madam President?”

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[paisholotus]

𝓟𝓻𝓸𝓵𝓸𝓰𝓾𝓮

Narrative

"What's the Army doing here? What the hell is going on?" Derek asked, walking into the office.

"Guys, this is Dr. Linda Kimura, Chief of special pathogens, with the CDC." Hotch introduced them to the doctor.

"Hello." The group said.

"Hello. I'm sorry to meet under these circumstances." Dr. Linda said, sadly.

"What circumstances? We need to get started." Spencer said.

"Last night, 25 people checked into emergency rooms, in and around, Annapolis." The doctor informed them.

"They were all at the same. Park after 2 PM. yesterday. Within 10 hours, the first victim died. It's now just past 7 AM the next day. We have 12 dead." JJ told them.

"Lung failure and black lesions." Derek read from off the report.

"Anthrax?" Emily asked.

"Anthrax doesn't kill this fast." Spencer said.

"This strain does." Dr. Linda said.

"What are we doing about potential mass targets..." JJ asked.

"airports, malls, trains?" Derek pointed out.

"There's a media blackout. We're not telling the public?" Emily asked.

"We'd have a mass exodus." Hotch said.

"The psychology of group panic would cause more deaths than this last attack." Spencer pointed out.

"Yeah, and if it does get out, whoever did this might go underground or destroy their samples." Derek said.

"Or if they wanted attention and didn't get it, they might attack again." Hotch said.

"Doesn't the public have the right to know that?" Emily questioned.

"If there is another attack,there's no way we'll be able to keep it quiet. Our best chance of protecting the public is by building a profile as quickly as we can." Hotch said.

"What do we know about this strain?" Spencer asked.

"The spores are weaponized, reduced to a respiral ideal that attacks deep in the lungs...odorless and invisible. A sophisticated strain. Only a scientist would know how to do that." Dr. Linda said.

The group looked around worried of what to do as they calmly listened to the doctor.

"These lesions are doubling in size in a matter of hours. It's not the lesions I'm worried about. It's the lungs. We don't know how to combat the toxins once they're inside. And the reality is, we may lose them all. The remaining survivors have been moved to a special wing at Walter Reed Hospital. Our offices will become a small command center. We'll be working with military scientists from Fort Detrick." Dr. Linda told them.

"Attorney General Washington is coming here?" Rossi asked Hotch.

"Yes, they don't want this to become a public issue. The president has already been notified." He said, looking all the group.

"Determining what strain this is will help inform who's responsible." Dr. Linda said.

"My team is in charge of treating all victims. Reid, go with Dr. Kimura to the hospital. Interview the victims. Morgan and Prentiss, there's a HAZMAT team that will accompany you to the crime scene. There's Cipro. Everybody needs to take it before we go." Hotch told his group.

"We don't know if it's effective against this strain, but it's something." Dr. Linda told them.

"This is really happening?" Derek asked, but mainly to himself, looking down at the reports of people being hospitalized.

"We knew this could happen. We've done our homework. We've prepared for this.This is it." Hotch told them.

They raised the little cups up with the pills in them, and took them.

"May you live 100 years." Rossi said, taking his pills.

-Time Skip-

"Office phones and emails are being monitored." JJ said.

"Yeah, they're trying to protect the media blackout. Files?" Spencer asked.

"Uh, yeah, right here." JJ pointed to the end of the table.

"Thanks. I want to see what kind of medical treatment the victims received before I head to the hospital." Spencer said, reading over the files.

"Why do you think the suspect in 2001 stopped sending the letters?" JJ asked, Spencer, looking at the board with possible suspects.

"I have no idea, but if he hadn't, it would have been much worse. The worst part was not knowing when it was gonna be over. It was feeling safe opening mail again." He said, lowly.

"5 people died. Many more exposed and sickened, including a baby who was admitted to the hospital after lesions appeared." JJ said, sadly.

"Agent Jareau." One of the soldiers came into the room, standing by the door.

"Uh, call me when they get through security. Thanks." JJ said, handing up the phone.

"The General's here." He told them.

"Is there bad blood with her?" Spencer asked, the soldier.

"She was very critical of the way the '01 Amerithrax investigation was handled." He told, them.

"Because of what happened with Dr. Hatfill?" JJ asked.

"Among other things. And this is the list of victims you asked for." He said, handing JJ and Spencer the files.

"No high-profile jobs?" Spencer asked.

"No. Just ordinary people frolicking in the park." The soldier said.

"Any word from the CIA?" JJ asked him.

"They said there are a few overseas terrorist groups with funding and capability. They're working international. We've got domestic. Also the members of the BJS are going to accompany the General." He said.

Spencer and JJ stopped walking looking at him surprised. The soldier stopped and nodded his head for them to keep walking.

"Jesus..." JJ trailed off, looking back down at the papers.

"We need to look at anyone who could profit from this. People who have patents on anthrax vaccines." JJ said.

"Garcia." Spencer called, through the phone.

"Yes, sir" She answered.

"And add to your list anyone with access to weaponized spores...universities, scholars working in bioweapons research. Employees of labs who keep germ collections." He told her.

"Okay, call back in a few." She said, handing up.

"Right in here, Ma'am." The Soldiers said, leading Aleza through the door.

"Attorney General, Aleza Washington. This is Agent Hotchner, SSA David Rossi, Dr. Spencer Reid, and Agent Jennifer Jareau." The soldier said, introducing the group.

"Pleasure to meet you all. But I would like to get the formalities out the way, so someone can tell me what the hell is going on, before I have national panic on my hands." She said, folding her arms.

"My scientists are decoding the strain.The additives used to strengthen the bacterial capsules do not exist at our research labs." Dr. Linda said.

"Are there any other labs using these substances?" She asked, her.

"No." Dr. Linda said, lowly.

"I'd like a list of all the scientists in your anthrax program." She said, walking towards the doctor.

"I just said we don't use those additives." Dr. Linda said, raising her eyebrows.

Aleza gave her a hard glare, "ma'am, we can rule out your lab samples, but not your people." She said, harshly. "We're looking at someone who has the ability to manipulate and weaponize anthrax. Your scientists make that cut." She said, continuing to glare at the doctor, towering over her.

"Now, we all know what happened the last time your team looked into my people. Ma'am, our team officially ruled out Dr. Hatfill. I'm sorry if Justice didn't listen to us." The doctor said, not backing down.

"but the profile was accurate. It happened in your labs. Now the same thing is happening again in one of your labs, you're going to look me in the eyes and tell me that's a coincidence? I hope you don't think I got this job, by being stupid." Aleza said, squinting at the doctor.

"I'll get you your list. General." Hotch told her.

She nodded still glaring at the doctor then turned around and walked out.

-Time Skip-

"Team, This Sariya Washington, she is with the BJS. Hotch introduced them to her.

"Hi, nice to meet y'all. But I We've tracked Chad Brown. He's going to the train station." She said, showing directions on her laptop.

"Then that's where we're going. Thanks for your help." She nodded, walking back out the door.

"No gas masks. Repeat, no gas masks. Rush hour crowd sees anyone in a mask, here's gonna be a stampede. Morgan, I want you to stay above ground and help the crowds. I'm gonna go down by myself." Hotch told them.

"Not a chance, Hotch." Derek said, shaking his head.

"Morgan, we're a man down. If the area's infected, we can't risk losing both of us as well." Hotch, said frowning.

"We are a team. We're gonna go down as a team." Derek told him, determined.

"We need to clear the station." JJ said, putting on her vest.

"I've got it. OK, I need everybody to listen up. I am FBI. I need you to exit the train now." Hotch yelled.

"What's happening? Oh, my God." A woman yelled, panicked.

"Please, everyone, through this far door only." Emily said, ushering people through the door.

"Chad Brown, don't move!" Derek yelled.

"Don't come any closer!" He yelled, backing up.

"Chad, put the bag down." Emily said, trying to

get the man to do what they said.

"Far door. Let's go." Derek said, walking closer.

"I can kill everybody here!" Chad, screamed, clutching the bag.

"And I will kill you before you do." Hotch said, closing in.

"No! No! Weapons down." Aleza said, walking towards the situation.

"General, what are you doing?" Hotch asked, looking between the General and Chad.

"This is an order from the President. The US Army is taking this man into custody." She said, grabbing Chad.

"General, the Army has no authority here." Hotch said.

"Agent! YOU DO NOT TELL ME WHERE I HAVE AUTHORITY! THIS MAN IS COMING WITH ME He helped create this strain. He's the only one who can show us how it was made." She yelled, at Hotch.

"Ma'am, he is a danger to the country." Emily said, pleading.

"He is an asset to this country! And by Presidential order, I'm taking him in." Aleza said, turning around to look at Chad.

"Sir, please come with me." She asked, him.

"Where?" He asked, squinting his eye's.

"Fort Detrick, sir." Aleza said, with a smile.

"You want me to go to Fort Detrick?" Chad asked, uncertain.

Aleza nodded, "We need you, sir, please." Aleza pretended to plead the man.

"I helped create this. You have to name it after me!" He said, with hopeful eyes.

Aleza smiled, nodding. "Of course. Standard practice. Now, hand me the bag so we can go on our way." She said, slowly sticking out her hand. Chad looked at her hand, then back into her eyes and smiled, handing the bag to her.

"Are there any other samples present?" She asked, cautiously.

"No." He said, shaking his head.

"Move in." She said, to her soldiers. Then looked back at Chad with a glare.

"You should have understood this was never going to go your way." She said, as the soldiers roughly cuffed Chad and pulled him away.

"What are you doing?!" Chad yelled.

"General!"....

"General!....I can help recreate this for you!" He yelled, before getting put into the police car.

Aleza handed her bag to one of the soldiers, as they put it in a confinement box, and taking it to one of the cars.

"Well, you did good work, General." Said, Prentiss. Aleza gave her a small smile, "I know. You Agents did a good job, thank you for your hard work." She said, nodding at them and walking away.

-Time Skip-

"eating Jell-O?" Spencer asked, groggily.

"Hey, kid." Derek said, softly.

"Hey, Doc. Look who's back." Derek said, towards the doctor.

"Is there any more Jell-O?" Spencer asked, trying to sit up.

"Hey. Not so fast." Derek said, pushing Spencer back lightly.

"What happened?" Spencer asked, leaning back onto the bed.

"You're gonna be all right, kid. We caught him, and him and the Virus are getting locked up forever." Derek said, smiling at Spencer.

"Dr. Reid, you have visitors." The nurse said, opening the door for them to come in.

Aleza and Sariya came in holding flowers and and a present wrapped in wrapping paper. Spencer felt like his breath was caught in his throat, when he saw Aleza earlier today, a part of him was excited despite Aleza's Intimidating nature. Because he was wondering if Sariya was close by.

He hasn't seen Sariya since they were kids, he remembered the pain he felt when his best friend told him she was moving away for awhile, that awhile turned to years. He would check on her from time to time through social media, but gave up due to the fact, that he thought she had moved on from him. Sariya was his first everything. His best friend, his protector, his first love. And here she was standing in front of him.

"I, heard Spencer Reid was in the hospital, so we decided to stop by and check on him." Aleza said, holding the flowers.

"Oh, that was very nice of you, General." Penelope said, taking the flowers and placing them beside the bed.

Sariya walked towards the bed, standing beside Spencer, smiling down at him. Spencer felt his skin get hot, as he stared up at her, as if she hung up the stars.

"Hey, Moon, long time, no see." She said, sitting beside his bed.

Derek looked at Penelope, to Aleza, then back to Spencer.

"I'm happy you're okay, don't know what I'll do if something happened to you." She said, rubbing the side of his face.

Aleza cleared her throat and tapped her watch telling her they had to go. Sariya rolled her eyes and stood up.

"OK, I have to go. But I wanted to give you this." She said, handing him the wrapped present. "Take care of yourself, Moon. See you around." She said, kissing the top of his head.

They waved bye to everyone and walked out the room. Derek then looked at Spencer surprised and smiled, hitting Spencer on his shoulder.

"Kid, when were you going to tell us, you have a girlfriend?" Derek asked.

Spencer smiled and opened the present. His eye's watered and clutched the book to his chest smiling.

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Another CIA Director was George HW Bush. No wonder the RINOs are so frightened to have Trump back in the White House.

"While decent, freedom-loving folks are celebrating the liberation of political prisoner Julian Assange, who’s finally heading home to Australia, a slew of deep-state cronies have revealed their true, dark colors. They can’t hide their anger and contempt for the fact that one of history’s greatest truth-tellers is getting his life and family back."

The hits keep coming from the 2 Mike P's: Mike Pompeo & Mike Pence

1-Flashback to that time Mike Pompeo threatened to arrest Tucker Carlson if Tucker published that it was indeed America's own CIA that murdered POTUS JFK. No wonder Tucker Carlson is so paranoid about our government unaliving POTUS Trump:

2-Mike Pence, who literally attracts flies (Jordan Peterson's choice for America's Next Top POTUS), is having a mental breakdown because Julian Assange is FREE:

Mike Pence: "Julian Assange endangered the lives of our troops in a time of war and should have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The Biden administration’s plea deal with Assange is a miscarriage of justice and dishonors the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our Armed Forces and their families. There should be no plea deals to avoid prison for anyone that endangers the security of our military or the national security of the United States. Ever." — Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) June 25, 2024

While decent, freedom-loving folks are celebrating the liberation of political prisoner Julian Assange, who’s finally heading home to Australia, a slew of deep-state cronies have revealed their true, dark colors. They can’t hide their anger and contempt for the fact that one of history’s greatest truth-tellers is getting his life and family back. And leading the pack of fuming uniparty loyalists is none other than the traitor, Mike Pence, who is seething today. Unable to contain his fury, Pence vented on X with a post that’s just dripping with irony. Think about this: Mike rarely calls out his warmongering buddies who’ve endangered our troops with “weapons of mass destruction” lies and dragged us into endless pointless forever wars that have taken countless young American lives. If he’s truly serious about protecting our troops, Mike should be targeting his criticisms and concern at much bigger offenders instead of hurling his poison darts at Assange. But that’s classic deep state behavior—deliberately fanning the flames with propaganda and blatant lies. It’s the “look over here, not over there” mentality. Biden does the same thing. These guys are all operating from the same playbook.

It’s the classic “look over here, not over there” tactic. Biden and his crew are all reading from the same playbook.

When news of Assange’s release broke last night, we were right on top of the story:

Revolver: The nightmare is over for Julian Assange. Reports are hitting the wire that he struck a deal for his release, a development that’s being celebrated by freedom-loving people, his supporters, and especially his family. The momentum actually began about a month ago, when Assange won an appeal to contest his extradition to the United States.

NBC News: WASHINGTON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange plans to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge this week as part of a plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department that will allow him to go free after spending five years in a British prison, according to court documents.

Assange was charged by criminal information — which typically signifies a plea deal — with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information, the court documents say. A letter from Justice Department official Matthew McKenzie to U.S. District Judge Ramona Manglona of the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands said that Assange would appear in court at 9 a.m. local time on Wednesday (or, 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday) to plead guilty and said that DOJ expects Assange will return to Australia, his country of citizenship, after the proceedings.

U.S. charges against Assange stem from one of the largest publications of classified information in American history, which took place during the first term of Barack Obama’s presidency. Starting in late 2009, according to the government, Assange conspired with Chelsea Manning, a military intelligence analyst, to disclose tens of thousands of activity reports about the war in Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of reports about the war in Iraq, hundreds of thousands of State Department cables and assessment briefs of Guantanamo Bay detainees using his WikiLeaks website.

Court documents revealing Assange’s plea deal were filed Monday evening in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean. Assange was expected to make an appearance in that court and to be sentenced to 62 months, with credit for time served in British prison, meaning he would be free to return to Australia, where he was born.

Let’s hope that the American political prisoners and those who’ve suffered the “Assange treatment” under the Biden regime find justice too—hopefully without succumbing to these orchestrated “conspiracy” plea deals. In the meantime, we’re thrilled that Julian will finally be heading home to his family. We wish him all the best.

As soon as the plea deal was signed, sealed, and delivered, Julian made a mad dash for freedom—and why not? It’s tragic that he had to admit to any crime at all. Ideally, the US government would show some humility and humanity by acknowledging their mistakes, but that’s wishful thinking these days. They’re fixated on securing that “guilty plea” and are ready to strong-arm and wear you down until you cave. But don’t fault Julian; he deserves his freedom and his family. The blame lies squarely with our corrupt regime.

The regime and their uniparty cronies are hell-bent on silencing anyone who dares speak the truth about government actions, our elections, and other dubious shenanigans. Just think—if Mike Pence got his way, the non-violent J6 political prisoners, who simply waltzed through the Capitol with their jolly police escorts, might very well be facing the death penalty. But Pence isn’t the only deep state “Mike” had it in for Julian Assange. Mike Pompeo, another uniparty heavyweight, is probably reeling over the idea of letting a truth-teller who targeted corrupt governments and politicians walk free.

After all, for the longest time, rumors have swirled that Pompeo even tried to assassinate Assange. He was summoned by a Spanish court to explain the alleged US government plot to murder Julian Assange.

[misfitwashere]

October 25, 2024 

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

OCT 26READ IN AP

A bombshell story last night from the Wall Street Journal reported that billionaire Elon Musk, one of the richest men in the world, who is backing the election of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump with a daily million-dollar sweepstakes giveaway and gifts of tens of millions to the campaign, has been in regular contact with Russian president Vladimir Putin since late 2022. Reporters Thomas Grove, Warren P. Strobel, Aruna Viswanatha, Gordon Lubold, and Sam Schechner said that the conversations “touch on personal topics, business and geopolitical tensions.” 

Musk’s SpaceX, which operates the Starlink satellite system, won a $1.8 billion contract with U.S. military and intelligence agencies in 2021. It is the major rocket launcher for NASA and the Pentagon, and Musk has a security clearance; he says it is a top-secret clearance.

Today, NASA administrator Bill Nelson called for an investigation into the story. “If the story is true that there have been multiple conversations between Elon Musk and the president of Russia,” Nelson told Burgess Everett of Semafor, “then I think that would be concerning, particularly for NASA, for the Department of Defense, for some of the intelligence agencies.”

Musk appears to be making a bid for control of the Republican Party for a number of possible reasons, including so he can continue to score federal contracts and because the high tariffs Trump has promised to place on Chinese imports would guarantee that Musk would have leverage in the electrical vehicle market. 

But Musk has competition for control of the party. Today, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who lead the establishment Republican faction and the MAGAs, respectively, and thus are usually at loggerheads, issued a joint statement condemning Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris for “labeling [Trump] as a ‘fascist.’” They suggest she is “inviting yet another would-be assassin to try robbing voters of their choice before Election Day.” 

Observers immediately pointed out that, in fact, it is Trump who has repeatedly called Harris a fascist—as well as a Marxist and a communist—and that those calling Trump a fascist are former members of his own administration like former White House chief of staff General John Kelly, or leaders like former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, whom Trump himself appointed to his position and who called Trump “the most dangerous person to this country.”

Harris’s contribution to this discussion was that when CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked Harris directly if she thinks Trump is a fascist at a town hall this week, she answered: “Yes, I do. And I also believe that the people who know him best on this subject should be trusted.” 

Aside from the gaslighting of attacking Harris for something that Trump is the one doing, the statement seemed a calculated attempt to demonstrate Republican solidarity. But it was glaringly obvious that McConnell and Johnson found that solidarity only in attacking Harris. Their statement contained no praise of Trump. 

The struggle over the Republican Party also seemed evident in yesterday’s decision by the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times, biotech tycoon Patrick Soon-Shiong, to kill that paper’s planned endorsement of Harris. Choosing not to make an endorsement in the race, Soon-Shiong said that he thought an endorsement would “add to the division” in the country. Elon Musk praised his decision.

Today the Washington Post also decided not to make an endorsement in the presidential race, despite the fact a piece endorsing Harris was already drafted. Publisher William Lewis said the paper was returning to its roots of not endorsing presidential candidates, although it has endorsed candidates for decades and did so in its early years as well. His statement seemed a weak cover for the evident wish of the Washington Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos, to avoid antagonizing Trump.

Bezos gives Musk a run for his money at being the richest man in the world. But while Musk wants high tariffs against China to protect his access to electric vehicle markets, Bezos’s fortune comes from Amazon, and high tariffs would shatter his business. When he was in office, Trump went out of his way to find ways to hurt Amazon to get back at Bezos for unfavorable coverage in the Post. 

Los Angeles Times editorial page editor Mariel Garza, along with journalists Robert Greene and Karin Klein, resigned from the paper after its decision not to endorse Harris, and nearly 2,000 readers canceled their subscriptions. The Washington Post, too, has seen about 2,000 subscribers bow out, and fourteen of the newspaper’s columnists called the decision not to condemn Trump’s threats to the “freedom of the press and the values of the Constitution” “a terrible mistake.” Cartoonist Ann Telnaes published a blacked-out square, playing on the Post’s motto that democracy dies in darkness.

Readers are speaking out against the Washington Post for demonstrating what scholar of authoritarianism Timothy Snyder calls “obeying in advance” the demands of an authoritarian leader (although Washington Post legal journalist Ruth Marcus, who signed the letter calling the decision a terrible mistake, pointed out that the Post itself was publishing the many letters of condemnation). “Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given,” Snyder’s “On Tyranny” reads. “In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.”

The aftermath of the Post’s decision demonstrated what scholars say will happen after such obeying. Rather than winning favors, such a demonstration of weakness invites further abuse, as anyone who has watched Trump in action ought to know by now. 

Trump’s people pounced, with advisor Stephen Miller posting: “You know the Kamala campaign is sinking when even the Washington Post refuses to endorse.”

Trump then promptly went a step further, claiming that Democrats had taken part in “rampant Cheating and Skullduggery…in the 2020 presidential election” and warning that in 2024, “WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again…. Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.”

Trump’s threats are designed to convince people he is a strongman who will inevitably win the 2024 presidential election. But to do that, he will have to go through the voters, who are demonstrating their enthusiasm for Democratic candidate Harris and her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz.

After the announcement by the Washington Post, others stepped up to endorse Harris. The largest Teamsters union in Texas endorsed Harris before her rally tonight in Houston. In a blistering editorial, the Philadelphia Inquirerendorsed Harris, saying: “America deserves much more than an aspiring autocrat who ignores the law, is running to stay out of prison, and doesn’t care about anyone but himself.” 

Tonight, Trump taped a podcast episode with Joe Rogan in Austin, Texas, hoping to reach Rogan’s large audience. He was still on the ground in Austin when he was supposed to be appearing at a rally in Traverse City, Michigan, and blamed the long taping for the fact he was three hours late to the rally. Tired of waiting, rally attendees streamed out. When he finally arrived, about 47,000 viewers watched the PBS live stream of the rally.

Harris was in Houston, where she took the fight for abortion rights to the heart of a state where an abortion ban has endangered women and driven up the infant mortality rate. People began standing in line before sunrise to get into the rally at the Houston Shell Energy Stadium and filled the 22,000-seat stadium to capacity. About 2.5 million people watched the PBS live stream. 

Harris shared the stage with actor Jessica Alba and music legends Beyoncé and Willie Nelson, who asked the crowd: “Are we ready to say Madam President?”

—

[xtruss]

“Utterly Dismayed”: Air Force Engineer Resigns As Dissent Against Gaza War Slowly Spreads Within Military

“I don’t want to be working on something that can turn around and be used to slaughter innocent people.”

— Prem Thakker | June 18, 2024 | The Intercept

New York, New York — February 27: A sign with words one of the last words said by U.S. Airman Aaron Bushnell is seen during a vigil at the US Army Recruiting Office in Times on February 27, 2024 in New York City. Bushnell died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC on Sunday. In a video that was posted to a social media account showing the act, he stated that would “No Longer be Complicit in Genocide," before pouring an unknown liquid over himself and igniting it while yelling “Free Palestine” repeatedly. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Sixteen Years Ago, Riley Livermore enlisted in the Air Force. His path to the military was shaped by his evangelical Christian upbringing and growing up amid the war on terror. His ensuing career as a flight test engineer took him to Israel, where he spent two years doing missile guidance research. And shortly after October 7, he decided he couldn’t continue anymore.

Livermore is “utterly dismayed” by how President Joe Biden and the Department of Defense “has been complicit in the genocide in Gaza,” he told The Intercept. So much so that he is in the final steps of separating from the Air Force, a monthslong process he initiated in late October. Once he officially exits the military, he said, he will never again work in what he describes as the military–industrial complex.

“I don’t want to be working on something that can turn around and be used to slaughter innocent people,” he said. “I think the dissonance just kind of continued to get louder and louder, it’s like ‘I can’t really do this anymore.’”

Livermore joins a burgeoning wave of dissent within the Biden administration and the military over U.S. support for Israel’s war on Gaza — including nine prominent resignations in recent months; 25-year-old Airman Aaron Bushnell’s self-immolation in February; and a new service member-led campaign to help soldiers speak out against elected officials’ support for Israel’s war.

The latter campaign comes in the wake of Jewish Maj. Harrison Mann’s public resignation from the U.S. Army, in protest of America’s “nearly unqualified support for the government of Israel, which has enabled and empowered the killing and starvation of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians.”

In the weeks since Mann’s resignation, The Intercept has heard from members of the armed forces who expressed emotions ranging from guilt and frustration to outrage and repudiation regarding the Biden administration’s unconditional support for Israel, which includes billions of dollars in military aid as well as political and diplomatic cover. The testimonies, while limited in scope, nevertheless signal dissent within American power structures bubbling beyond the public resignations and protests seen thus far. The Department of Defense declined to comment.

“Every single one of my friends in the military agree that this is a genocide,” one seven-year member of the Army wrote in a message. “We’re all outraged by the repeated war crimes and depravity of Israel, as well [as] America’s complicity/enabling.”

Riley Livermore joined the Air Force 16 years ago. At the onset of Israel’s war on Gaza, he decided to leave. Photo: Courtesy of Riley Livermore

An Airman’s Evolution

Livermore first commissioned with the Air Force in 2012, and after graduating with a master’s degree from the Air Force Institute of Technology two years later, he was selected to go to Israel for an engineering sciences exchange program.

During his two years there, Livermore researched missile guidance algorithms while learning Hebrew, immersing himself in the culture, and making friends. “Israel had kind of a special place in my heart,” he said. Ironically, Livermore’s open-armed experience in Israel is what helped lead him to his belief today that the U.S. government may be complicit in supporting an Israeli genocide against Palestinians.

The first seed was planted by a Palestinian friend in the Air Force who pulled him aside before he departed for Israel. The friend warned him of possibly being met with a lopsided story about Israel and Palestine, Livermore recalled. He said his friend introduced him to the Israel lobby — like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC — and its influence on U.S. politics. He also recalled his friend advising him simply to note where people “start the story” when they talk about the country’s history: Do they acknowledge historic Palestine, or is their starting point the Balfour Declaration or the creation of the state of Israel in 1948?

“I’m so grateful for that because it kind of helped me, maybe inoculate a little bit from what I see now is like heavily Zionist propaganda. And it always didn’t sit well with me, in general, just some of the Zionist talking points as far as, like, we’re a nation surrounded by enemies, but yet we’re the strongest around,” Livermore said. “There’s also this sense of being an American, being in the American military — it’s like America owes Israel something. There’s a lot of things, dynamics I didn’t super like.”

In language classes he took before his deployment and in interactions with people from around the world upon arriving, he added, his conversations with peers began to challenge his preexisting assumptions.

“‘We’re the good guys. They’re the bad guys. We’re protecting interests abroad. We’re the fighters for democracy.’ Like, it kind of put a lot of cracks in that,” Livermore said.

Riley Livermore spent two years in Israel as a member of the U.S. Air Force. Photo: Courtesy of Riley Livermore

Livermore’s experience in Israel also challenged his faith. He grew up evangelical Christian and was active in his church, where he met his wife. In Israel, he joined what’s called a messianic congregation: a self-proclaimed Jewish sect that embraces evangelical Christianity.

Having grown up as a Christian nationalist, he began to see self-avowedly moral and pro-life people setting those values aside for the sake of their political interests, which intersected with Israeli policy aims, pointing to widespread support for President Donald Trump’s moving of the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as an example. He saw his faith being used as a “cudgel for capitalism and power and oppressing people.” While maintaining a strong connection to a Jesus who preached love today, he added, he “doesn’t believe in white Jesus anymore,” the Jesus “wrapped in an American flag with an M4.”

Livermore slowly grew disenchanted with the military, especially as he reflected more on how the U.S. waged war in Iraq and Afghanistan. “I’ve had friends who died,” he said. “It’s like, what’s this all for?”

Then came October 7. His exposure to Israeli military brass during his training, as well as the rhetoric he heard from Israeli friends in October, primed him for how ugly things could get.

“I knew just how bad it was going to be and how there would be wholesale acceptance from the Israeli population,” Livermore said, offering “demolish Gaza, wipe it off the face of the earth” as an example of the types of comments he heard.

Before October 7, Livermore said, he would “have been a little bit more of an Israeli apologist, or like ‘it’s complicated,’ kind of take-a-both-sides-type approach.” Israel’s war on Gaza, however, was a “pry bar that kind of ripped it wide open.”

Livermore’s work in the Air Force has mainly focused on research and development, he said, though he’s worked with several contractors he reckons had a more direct link with operations in Gaza. He said that learning more about Israel’s use of targeting systems like Gospel and Lavender — artificial intelligence systems that have mechanized Israel’s war on Gaza, with little oversight — scared him. He credits his wife for helping him “cut through the bullshit” and not simply put his head down without engaging with the moral stakes.

It’s not an easy process to leave, Livermore noted. “The joke is the only harder thing than getting into the military is getting out of it.” He said it’s typically a multi-month ordeal, including congressionally mandated training and bureaucratic exit processing. There are also varied contingencies and approval processes based on how long members have served. In his case, the process he commenced last year will be finalized later this summer.

“Not only do I want to get out of active duty, but I want nothing to do with anything that’s directly like the military–industrial complex,” he said. “It’s not worth the money.”

Breaking Points

For Livermore, Mann’s resignation letter was extremely relatable. The Jewish Army major described the anticipation of waiting for things to improve or to end, only for them not to. It was a similar feeling that bolstered Livermore’s resolve to act on his preexisting inclinations to leave the Air Force.

Nemesis Hazim, who serves as a doctor in the U.S. Army, also found Mann’s decision a source of comfort as she’s grappled with her role in the military. “I wish I could just quit…… but at least this is validating and makes me feel like I’m not the only one feeling completely out of place,” Hazim wrote to The Intercept.

She said she enlisted to help pay for medical school and has rationalized her way through because of it. “But it gets harder and harder,” she said, adding that she’ll fulfill her time obligations in November 2025.

“I feel useless, ideally I would get out now and volunteer in Gaza, but I don’t have that option until they no longer own me.”

One 22-year member of the Air Force who comes from a lineage of service members described to The Intercept his evolution from committed foot soldier to today fearing that the U.S. is enabling genocide.

In the wake of Bushnell’s self-immolation, he appealed to higher-ups to lead conversations around mental health and Gaza. Those efforts didn’t go anywhere, but he himself broached the subject of Bushnell with his unit to indicate it was safe to talk about the war on Gaza. After Mann resigned, the Air Force member wrote a letter to a senior officer that invoked some of Mann’s own words and once again requested internal conversations to help people cope with the war.

“At some point — whatever the justification — we’re either advancing a policy that enables the mass killing and starvation of innocent people and children or we’re not,” he wrote. “We’re either advancing the destruction of schools, hospitals, and life-supporting infrastructure of 2+ million people or we’re not.”

In a message to The Intercept, he wrote that he condemns Hamas’s attacks on Israel as well as “any and all anti-semitism and Islamophobia.”

“At the same time,” he continued, “I also condemn what I feel is not a proportional response by Israel (as it related to international Law of Armed Conflict). I also feel like our country and leaders are enabling what seems to be genocide.”

“It was indeed preparing us to potentially do harm to others but also to desensitize us to that fact.”

It’s a remarkable turnaround for someone who enthusiastically enlisted in the wake of 9/11. “I remember feeling proud that I would be able to join the Armed Forces to help rid the world of terrorism.” He recalled the “hype” videos that were part of training in the academy. “We would see videos of jets flying at high speed, dropping bombs, tanks firing munitions, etc. while Bombs Over Baghdad by Outkast or Bodies (‘Let the Bodies Hit the Floor’) by Drowning Pool played.”

Reflecting on the academy atmosphere now, he said, “whether intentional or not … it was indeed preparing us to potentially do harm to others but also to desensitize us to that fact as well.”

His time as an intelligence analyst in Afghanistan, where he said he observed military abuses of ordinary Afghans, contributed to his eventual disillusionment with the U.S. military.

Still, he’s decided to remain enlisted in hopes of encouraging younger soldiers to view things more critically — even as America’s relentless support for Israel’s campaign against Gaza makes it increasingly difficult.

The seven-year member of the Army who expressed outrage at the war enlisted at the age of 21, they said, because they had just become homeless, had to drop out of college, and didn’t know where else to go. The military changed their life for the better, they said.

“I would do 20 years if our country didn’t use the armed forces to commit war crimes and violate international law at every step.”

But the war on Gaza has taken its toll. “I’ve been at the edge of my limits pretty much since the conflict started,” they said. And the recent U.S.-supported Israeli operation to rescue four Israeli hostages that killed at least 274 Palestinians and injured hundreds of others felt like a “breaking point … one that feels too little too late, but better late than never I guess.”

They are “experiencing tangible mental health consequences as a result of watching a genocide in real time while simultaneously wearing a uniform that represents it,” they said. Consequently, they plan to exit when their contract is up next year and also stay away from any Department of Defense-related work.

“I would do 20 years if our country didn’t use the armed forces to commit war crimes and violate international law at every step,” they wrote. “It feels like every conflict we participate in or facilitate is fucking sinister and evil.”

Capitol Police Captain Rani Brooks warns Brittany Ramos DeBarros and other U.S. military veterans occuping Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's (D-NY) office that they risk arrest if they do not stop blocking the door as they demand a ceasefire in Gaza. They refuse to leave until they speak to Gillibrand - known for her support of veterans - in person or by phone. Photo by Allison Bailey/NurPhoto via AP

Organized Resistance

Earlier this month, a coalition of veterans and anti-war organizations launched a campaign to help people in the military who are similarly struggling with U.S. support for Israel’s “continued war on the people of Palestine” to advocate against it.

The campaign — led by Veterans for Peace, the Center on Conscience and War, About Face: Veterans Against the War, and the Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild — provides people in active duty, the National Guard, and the reserves with guidance and legal advice on how to raise concerns about the war with elected officials.

The groups have prepared templates that service members can use to reach out to elected officials. “We are not mere pawns in a political game; we are human beings with the capacity for empathy, compassion, and moral discernment. It is time for us to reclaim our humanity and refuse to be complicit in the genocide of an entire people,” one template reads.

As of Monday, about 30 service members had engaged with the process, according to Mike Ferner, special projects manager at Veterans for Peace.

The “Appeal for Redress v2” effort is inspired by a campaign of the same name that took place in 2006 and 2007. That campaign, the groups say, led to nearly 3,000 armed service members sending protected communications to their congressional representatives calling for an end to the wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Former Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich helped deliver over 1,000 signatures to Congress on a statement that carried the calls.

Senior Airman Larry Hebert, who is seeking conscientious objector status, told The Intercept he views the new effort as baseline action that every service member should take part in. “This is your constitutional right and I advise everyone to exercise that right,” he said. “Whether you like to believe it or not, the Department of Defense supports the missions that kills innocent Palestinians. We cannot just ignore this fact.”

[blackpilledkremlintsarina5294]

30 signs you might be an empire simp:

1. You get triggered whenever anyone highlights the well-documented western provocations that paved the way to the war in Ukraine.

2. You think Putin invaded Ukraine solely because he is evil and hates freedom and the US is pouring weapons into the nation because it loves Ukrainians and wants to protect their freedom and democracy.

3. You’re more interested in Trump’s mugshot than the western-backed atrocities in Yemen or starvation sanctions in Syria.

4. You can listen to Tony Blinken talk without wanting to throw trash at his head.

5. You understand that the last time there was a credible foreign military threat near the US border the US responded so aggressively that it almost ended the world, yet you demand that Russia and China accept US military threats on their borders.

6. You think the US is filling Australia with war machinery because it loves Australians and wants to protect them from China.

7. You believe the world’s most destructive military force is encircling its #1 geopolitical rival with war machinery as a defensive measure.

8. You live in the most propagandized population on earth and make jokes about North Korean propaganda.

9. You live in the most propagandized population on earth and spend your time fretting about Russian propaganda.

10. You think the title of most murderous and tyrannical regime on earth belongs to any government besides Washington.

11. You live under the most murderous and tyrannical power structure on earth and yet spend your time shrieking about tyranny in Asian countries.

12. You want to see Vladimir Putin tried for war crimes before George W Bush.

13. You believe western interventionism has ever had anything to do with spreading freedom and democracy or protecting humanitarian interests.

14. You find protests in places like Iran, Venezuela or Cuba much more interesting than protests in places like France, Haiti or Chile.

15. You unironically call NATO a “defensive alliance”.

16. You rend your garments about China preparing to seize control of Taiwan by military force without ever acknowledging that the US empire is preparing to do the exact same thing.

17. You’ve ever believed for even one second that the US government gives a fuck about Muslims in China.

18. You oppose guns except when they’re being used to kill foreigners overseas.

19. You claim you oppose the misdeeds of all governments equally but find yourself spending most of your time yelling at people who criticize US foreign policy online.

20. You’ve ever accused anyone who criticizes US foreign policy of secretly working for Russia or China.

21. You’ve ever accused someone who criticizes Israel of being an anti-semite.

22. You think being anti-war means putting a Ukraine flag in your Twitter bio.

23. You think “the troops” have ever fought for your freedom at any time since you’ve been alive.

24. You think the invasion of Iraq had anything to do with liberating the Iraqi people.

25. You think the destruction of Libya had anything to do with protecting Libyans.

26. You think the west arming Al Qaeda in Syria had anything to do with advancing the interests of Syrians.

27. You think US escalations against Russia and China have anything to do with “national security”.

28. You think the Department of Defense has anything to do with defense.

29. You think it’s okay for the US to keep waging wars, destroying nations, starving civilian populations with economic sanctions, instigating proxy wars, arming neo-Nazis and violent jihadists, staging coups and persecuting journalists, because if it doesn’t do those things the world might be taken over by evil tyrants.

30. You were bothered by any item on this list.

[newstfionline]

Sunday, June 18, 2023

Heat wave has US South sweltering (AP) Communities from Houston to New Orleans opened cooling centers to bring relief as steamy hot temperatures settled across a broad swath of the U.S. South on Saturday, and beachgoers fled a waterspout that swept ashore on a Florida beach. Gov. Greg Abbott, meanwhile, visited Perryton in the Texas Panhandle, where officials said more than 1,000 customers were left without electricity after a tornado killed three people late Thursday. The Republican governor said he was shocked to see how much of the town had been destroyed and praised what he called “non-stop heroic efforts by healthcare providers” who he said treated 160 injured people at the local hospital that has just 25 beds. W. Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, warned that more severe weather was forecast for the area late Saturday, bringing rain, high winds and possibly more tornadoes. The National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings through Saturday night along the Gulf Coast from Brownsville, Texas, to Houston. It said heat indexes ranging from near 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 Celsius) in Houston to near 120 F (49 C) at Brownsville and Corpus Christi in Texas.

U.S. debt (NYT) The gross national debt exceeded $32 trillion for the first time yesterday, underscoring the country’s unsettling fiscal trajectory as Washington gears up for another fight over government spending. A Treasury Department report noted the milestone weeks after Congress agreed to suspend the nation’s statutory debt limit, ending a months-long standoff. The $32 trillion mark arrived nine years sooner than pre-pandemic forecasts had projected, reflecting the trillions of dollars of emergency spending to address Covid-19’s impact along with a run of sluggish economic growth. Republicans and Democrats have expressed concern about the nation’s debt, but neither party has shown an appetite to tackle its biggest drivers, such as spending on Social Security and Medicare.

Rising rents, diminishing aid (AP) After a lull during the pandemic, eviction filings by landlords have come roaring back, driven by rising rents and a long-running shortage of affordable housing. Most low-income tenants can no longer count on pandemic resources that had kept them housed, and many are finding it hard to recover because they haven’t found steady work or their wages haven’t kept pace with the rising cost of rent, food and other necessities. Homelessness, as a result, is rising. “Protections have ended, the federal moratorium is obviously over, and emergency rental assistance money has dried up in most places,” said Daniel Grubbs-Donovan, a research specialist at Princeton University’s Eviction Lab. “Across the country, low-income renters are in an even worse situation than before the pandemic due to things like massive increases in rent during the pandemic, inflation and other pandemic-era related financial difficulties.”

With massive weapons aid to Ukraine, can US rebuild its stocks? (CSM) The U.S. has sent more than $45 billion in military aid to Ukraine, significantly drawing down its own stockpiles of key munitions and weapons systems. Among the items provided: more than 10,000 Javelin missiles, tens of thousands of 122 mm rockets, and more than 1.5 million 155 mm artillery rounds. Replenishing that materiel won’t be easy. The U.S. defense industrial base has evolved into a system based on producing just enough materiel to fulfill regular Pentagon orders. Expanding capacity could require big boosts in machinery, labor, and other manufacturing inputs. “A lesson learned, I think, for our country from the Ukraine conflict is that our industrial base is not as robust as we need it to be,” said Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth. “It’s been a wake-up call.” Pentagon rhetoric on defense production seems to have taken on a new sense of urgency. Ukraine is a driving factor, but not the only one. The Department of Defense is also preparing against the possibility of a Chinese attack on Taiwan, which itself is sitting on a $19 billion backlog in orders for U.S. arms. One bottom line: Some of the assumptions that underlie defense industrial base planning need to change. U.S. defense planning had adjusted to the belief that war between major powers is unlikely, and that the duration of other conflicts might be short. Now the Pentagon is facing an unpredictable long-term commitment to Ukraine and even the possibility, however remote, of direct conflict with China.

King Charles III rides on horseback in first official birthday parade (CNN) King Charles III revived a royal tradition by riding on horseback in the first Trooping the Colour of his reign, which marks the British sovereign’s official birthday. The traditional military spectacle on Saturday is a parade like no other with all the pomp and pageantry expected of royal occasions, and draws massive crowds to central London. Charles’ actual birthday is in November and is typically celebrated privately. He joined 1,500 soldiers, 300 horses and hundreds of musicians as they filed the short distance from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade in St James’s Park for the ceremony watched by members of the royal family. It was a sight not seen for nearly 40 years. The last time a reigning monarch rode in the procession was Queen Elizabeth II in 1986.

UK's Heathrow Airport has busiest month since the pandemic (Reuters) Britain's Heathrow said 6.73 million passengers passed through the hub in May, making it the airport's busiest month since the pandemic as travel demand continues to bounce back. May passenger numbers at the airport are just below the 6.77 million passengers it carried in the same month in 2019, and are higher than last summer's July peak of 6.31 million passengers. Heathrow, the busiest airport in Britain and western Europe, has said it expects total passenger numbers for 2023 to reach 96% of 2019 levels.

The Beyoncé Effect: Sweden’s Inflation (WSJ) Call it Bey-flation. Sweden’s higher-than-expected inflation in May was due in part to Beyoncé launching her Renaissance World Tour in Stockholm, according to an economist at Danske Bank. Fans flocking to Sweden’s capital city sent hotel prices soaring. Calling it a “Beyoncé blip,” economist Michael Grahn estimates that Beyoncé’s tour contributed about 0.2 percentage point to inflation. Sweden’s government said overall inflation rose 9.7% in May.

African delegation travels to Russia to push Putin for peace talks (Washington Post) An African delegation led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is traveling to Russia, where they will try to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek peace with Ukraine. The peace mission—which also includes officials from Senegal, Egypt, Zambia, the Comoros, Egypt, Uganda and the Republic of Congo—met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday as the capital was hit by a Russian attack that combined ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones. The African leaders have expressed concerns about the lengthening war, due to the continent’s reliance on Ukraine and Russia for key food imports such as wheat.

Rescuers are braving snipers and racing time to ferry Ukrainians out of Russian-occupied flood zones (AP) At last, help came for Vitalii Shpalin. From a distance, he spotted the small Ukrainian rescue boat traversing floodwaters that had submerged the 60-year-old’s entire neighborhood after a catastrophic dam collapse in the country’s embattled south. He and others boarded with sighs of relief—interrupted suddenly by the crackle of bullets. Their vessel, taking civilians to safety in Kherson city across the river, had been shot by Russian soldiers positioned in a nearby house, according to Ukrianian officials and witnesses on the boat. “They (Russians) let the boats through, those coming to rescue people,” Shpalin said. “But when the boats were full of people, they started shooting.” Massive flooding from the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam on June 6 has devastated towns along the lower Dnieper River in the Kherson region, a front line in the war. Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of causing the breach. In the chaotic early days of flooding, Ukrainian rescue workers in private boats provided a lifeline to desperate civilians trapped in flooded areas of the Russian-occupied eastern bank—that is, if the rescue missions could brave the drones and Russian snipers.

Cyclone Biparjoy weakens as it churns toward Pakistan after killing 2 in India (AP) Cyclone Biparjoy knocked out power and threw shipping containers into the sea in western India on Friday before weakening as it headed toward Pakistan, officials said. More than 180,000 people took shelter in the two countries, but some of Pakistan’s evacuees prepared to return home as the storm weakened. Indian officials said electricity had been restored in some villages, while many others were still without power. The storm’s toll was felt especially where it made landfall in India. A man and his son died when they tried to save their livestock in Gujarat state. The storm had windspeeds of 85 kph (53 mph) and gusting up to 105 kph (65 mph) through the coastal regions of western Gujarat.

China’s grudging welcome to Blinken (Washington Post) Anticipation in Beijing about Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s imminent arrival has been, at best, lackluster. After months of diplomatic freeze following the discovery of a high-altitude Chinese balloon floating over the United States—which derailed Blinken’s original trip to Beijing in February—Chinese and U.S. officials face a yawning gap between the two sides’ interests and positions. One trip is unlikely to do much to change that. “In reality, the Chinese side doesn’t harbor hope that Blinken’s visit will result in any meaningful results. You could say China has no hope for this meeting,” said Wang Yong, director of the Center for International Political Economy at Peking University. Blinken, he said, “probably won’t be very welcome.” In a phone call with Blinken on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said it was “clear where the responsibility lies” when it comes to the challenges the U.S.-China relationship faces.

At least 40 killed in rebel attack on Ugandan school (The Week) At least 40 people, mostly students, were killed during an attack on a Ugandan school by rebel forces linked to ISIS, officials said Saturday. The attack marked one of the deadliest terrorist incidents in the country's history.  The incident began when about 20 rebel soldiers from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked the Lhubirira secondary school in Mpondwe, a town near the Uganda border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The ADF, described by the Congressional Research Service as an "Islamic State affiliate," began attacking teachers and students who were inside the school's dormitories, officials said. Ugandan military spokesman Felix Kulayigye told CNN there had been 62 people inside the school complex when the attack commenced. Another six people were also abducted and are currently being searched for, officials added. The attack marks the latest in the continuing conflict between the ADF and a joint Ugandan-Congolese operation to eliminate them.

What if the Most Powerful Way to Live Longer Is Just Exercise? (WSJ) Exercise is still the best defense against aging. Neither cold plunges nor off-label drugs nor supplements has a track record that can match exercise’s in terms of protecting against age-related diseases and helping people get more from their later years, a vast body of research shows.

[anniesocsandgeneralstore]

Headcanons for Rick Flag I Guess

A/N: These are very specific to my fanfic (If I Go) so if you don't agree with them or whatever that's your prerogative. This has just been my reference guide for my version of Rick and I thought I'd share it with y'all cause why the fuck not? So! Here we go!

Born August 4th, 1979 (this is solely based off the fact that Joel Kinnaman was born in 1979 and I feel weird making him younger than that.)

He was born into a family with a long military history. Grandfather fought in WW2. His father was already in the army and stationed at a base in Texas (hello slight southern drawl), but like any army kid he moved around the country depending on where his father was stationed.

In 1991 Rick’s father was shipped out to Iraq to fight in the Gulf War and he never came back. They couldn’t even find the body, all Rick and his mom received were his dog tags, his pocket knife, a flag, and a purple heart. Rick was only 12 at the time.

At this point Rick and his mom move to Washington DC to be closer to her family in a time of grieving and loss.

This whole experience solidifies for Rick that he is going to join the army and serve his country just like his dad did

In high school, Rick was a skinny kid who grew so fast his clothes didn’t fit him like 80% of the time. But he played varsity baseball and dated a girl for most of high school he thought he was gonna marry (that didn’t work out, clearly). He was popular but quiet, voted homecoming king even though he hated it (his friends voted for him because he told them that he hated it).

He joins up in 1997 at the age of 18 as a private in the 165th company

The 165th is one of the first companies to be shipped out to Afghanistan after 9/11, at this point he’s moved up in rank to be a sergeant

He does four tours in afghanistan and iraq, so about 2 years time, when he is selected to go through Green Beret training

After three years of training he comes out of it a captain and leading elite teams on missions around the world, he holds the record for highest kill count for a long time

In 2004 his mother was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer that very quickly took her life. There was nothing he could do and it tore him up inside. He was only 25.

So at this point it's 2006! So for another 8 years, this guy is leading an elite squad of special forces dudes and slowly crawling his way up the military ranks, eventually earning the rank of Colonel.

In 2014 he gets assigned to ARGUS (prolly due to some altercation he has on a mission where he basically takes down a superhuman and they’re like oh hello sir would you like to be in charge of a bunch of these but like terrible ones?)

And I’m going to say that Task Force X has a way more...organized way of becoming a thing. Like, they’re gearing up and reading through profiles and hiring people for MONTHS when suddenly Enchantress (not in a relationship with Rick, sorry, but it’s my universe now you can’t stop me) takes over Midway City and the government is like “oh this is a lovely way to test run this thing we think is doomed to fail”

But that’s the thing, it DOESN’T fail and Task Force X is given more and more dirty missions for the rest of time and ta da. We’ll say the “events” of that first movie happen in like late 2014 so Rick is about 35 at the time

[slutty-sweater-vest]

I want to talk about That Trailer as an actual American who is absolutely ENAMORED with BBC Ghosts and sort of got into this fandom because of Rose McIver (a long story, but those that have known me for a long time understand this), and has been voraciously consuming anything Six Idiots for the past two months since watching Ghosts. I’m not a fan of the trailer. I’m really not. It’s a little rough and over-exposition-y, and I think everyone is a little too OTT with their acting, but I’m willing to watch past the pilot and see if it gets over its growing pains. I follow Danielle on instagram and Tiktok, and she’s just great. I’ve been following Rose since 2015. Considering MOST of these people are not extremely well known, I’m hoping they’re going for a cast that’s compatible and can forge the sort of rapport The Six have.   I’ve seen a lot of weird comments like, “Why aren’t there cowboys/California Gold Rush? Why are there Vikings? Why isn’t the Julian guy a politician? Hey, is anyone thinking of Hamilton with that Hamilton-looking guy?”  1. The US is EXTREMELY. BIG. Cowboys and California are very, very far away from New York, which is where they’ve setting the house. New York and California are 3,000 miles away from each other. It takes multiple days to drive to California from the east coast, and that’s WITH the interstate system. You didn’t just bounce around between California or Oklahoma and New York like that. 2. Vikings came and discovered the US around 1000. They didn’t stay, but they did poke around a little bit. It’s very possible that a Viking dude could have died in New York. It’s a little far south for the Vikings, but it’s close enough to make it work for Plot Reasons. New York is a big state.  3. A finance-y, dot-com Wolf of Wall Street bro just makes a lot more sense in an American adaptation. I know Bill Clinton’s scandal was in the 90s, but American politicians were very, very good at hiding their vices back then. We’re just now discovering the things they did 25-30 years later. American tabloids weren’t nearly as mean or vicious as British tabloids at the time, either. 4. That “Hamilton” outfit is a copy of one of George Washington’s uniforms. A Revolutionary War militia man would probably NOT be wearing a uniform (It’s a Thing), but putting Isaac in a costume like this shows, “Oh, hey, he definitely fought in the Revolutionary War,” and fully identifies him as The Military Guy.  Also, the Bill of Rights is the reason why Isaac HAS to be from the Revolution. We literally have a law about soldiers occupying houses.  I’m assuming that since they’re putting Woodstone Estate in New York, it’s probably supposed to be somewhere in the mid-Hudson Valley, which makes it about an hour and a half by train to NYC. It makes a lot of sense to put the ghosts there. My parents raised me mainly on British sitcoms, so the vast majority of what makes me laugh is NOT American sitcom-y stuff. I’m going in with an open mind, and I may end up liking it! We shall SEE. 

[bubblingoverwithcharm-us]

9 ‘Starter Steps’ to Save America From Socialism

1. Face Reality

Millions of Americans are still in complete denial. Many think the military is secretly in control—that it’s only a matter of time until justice is done and President Donald Trump is restored. There’s a “secret plan”—just “have faith.” The truth is that Trump was outmaneuvered by an alliance of communists, globalists, and even traitors in his own party. The “deep state” is now almost fully in control.

Trump isn’t coming back into office any time before 2024—if we still have meaningful elections by then.

To make sure they can never be voted out of office, the Democrats plan to enfranchise 22 million illegal immigrants, abolish the Electoral College, gain at least four more far-left senators through Puerto Rico and D.C. statehood, and flood the country with tens of millions more refugees and illegal immigrants. They also plan to nationally introduce voting “reforms,” i.e., mass mail-in balloting, abolition of ID requirements, etc., that will guarantee eternal Democratic Party control.

If the Democrats can abolish the Senate filibuster and place at least four more leftist “justices” on the Supreme Court, there’ll be virtually no way to stop any of this if we rely on traditional political methods.

We’re undergoing a Marxist-Leninist revolution driven by China—right now, in real time.

The military can’t save us, nor can Trump. On the contrary, it’s up to patriots to protect Trump and the Armed Services from unrelenting Democrat/communist attacks.

When enough Americans face the unpleasant truth, then, and only then, can we talk about hope.

2. Stop All Violent Rhetoric

Violence will not save America. The harsh reality is that President Barack Obama had eight years to replace patriotic generals with left-leaning political appointees. He did a great job. If violence breaks out (God forbid), the military will stand with the government, not the insurgents.

Does anyone think Russia and China and Cuba and North Korea and Iran would stand idly by while their Democratic friends are being defeated by a patriotic uprising? They would undoubtedly use the opportunity to finish off their “main enemy” once and for all.

Beware of anyone inciting violence online, at a public gathering, or in a private meeting. Distance yourself fast. They will be at best hopelessly naive, at worst government provocateurs.

The left is praying for “right-wing” violence. It will give them an excuse for a massive crackdown on patriotic Americans. This country will be saved peacefully or not at all. If significant violence breaks out, it’s over.

Having said that, the Second Amendment must be preserved at all costs. An armed populace is at least some check on tyranny, even if useless in the face of biological warfare or nuclear attack. Americans should keep their guns and work every day to ensure they never have to use them against their own people.

3. Restore Election Integrity in All Red States

If voter trust isn’t restored within months, the Republican Party is doomed. Democrats will continue to vote. Large numbers of Republican voters will stay home. They won’t trust the elections and will refuse to participate. We’ve already seen this play out in the Georgia Senate elections.

Thirty states are currently led by Republican legislatures. Some are already holding inquiries into fixing deficient electoral procedures. Most will be whitewashes unless the public gets heavily involved. If the resulting recommendations don’t include the elimination of electronic voting machines and heavy penalties for organized voter fraud, it’s likely to be a window-dressing exercise. Be alert.

Patriots must work to restore voting integrity first in the red states, then the red counties of the blue states—then after 2022, the whole nation.

Get involved in this process. It’s a top priority.

4. Close the Republican Primaries Immediately

This should be a no-brainer, but no one is talking about it. Only five U.S. states have truly closed Republican primaries. This means that in most states Democrats and independents (even communists) can vote in Republican primaries—and they do. All over the country, the GOP’s enemies vote in Republican primaries to pick the weakest, most wimpy candidate they can.

That’s why the Republican base is super patriotic but most of their elected representatives in most states vote like “progressive” Democrats.

Close the primaries, Republican patriots. It will transform your party.

5. Organize a Compact of Free States

MAGA folk need to build a “nation within a nation.” This doesn’t mean secession—Russia and China would be quick to exploit such division. What’s needed is a reaffirmation of 10th Amendment rights as already outlined in the U.S. Constitution. The already out-of-control federal government is about to go on a rampage against every form of independence left in the country. Every red state with the courage to do so must immediately begin working toward a formal compact to collectively oppose all forms of federal overreach.

Such a formal alliance should start with Florida and Texas, then grow by inviting Oklahoma, the Plains states, most of the Southern states, New Hampshire, the free Midwestern states, and the Republican-led Northern and Western states.

Such an alliance, stretching from the Florida Keys and the Gulf of Mexico all the way to the Great Lakes and the Canadian border and even Alaska, would bisect the entire country.

Adding the red counties of the blue states such as Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and California, would create a voting and economic bloc that Washington would find exceedingly difficult to challenge.

When the Biden administration recently suggested that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis close all restaurants in his state to slow the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, the governor politely refused—citing the ineffectiveness and horrendous economic consequences of mass lockdowns.

Biden then reportedly hinted at an unconstitutional ban on air and road travel to and from Florida. This threat might work against Florida alone. It wouldn’t work against Florida plus Texas and Oklahoma and 10 to 25 other states.

The United States is technically a federation of free and independent states. It’s time to fully realize that ideal.

Southern states will soon be reeling under a massive new wave of illegal immigration. The federal government will do nothing to prevent it. Texas, Florida, Arizona, and the free counties of New Mexico and California need to be preparing to defend their borders now. This isn’t an immigration issue that is the constitutional preserve of the federal government—this is a state public welfare issue.

Of course, the Biden-Harris administration plans to pack the Supreme Court with more left-wing justices to make virtually anything they want “constitutional.” But this shouldn’t even need to go to the courts. State governments already have the power under the 10th Amendment to nullify federal overreach; they simply have to band together to put Washington back into its constitutionally tiny box.

The Republic will be saved through the courageous application of the First Amendment (free speech) and the 10th Amendment (state sovereignty).

6. Republic Review

Every free state should immediately embark on the adoption of the “Republic Review” process. There’s a small but growing movement in some Western and Northern states to review their engagement with the federal government to eliminate or nullify all unconstitutional relationships.

Under the Constitution, the states are technically superior to the federal government. They’re sovereign under the “equal footing” doctrine and have the legal power to refuse to engage in unconstitutional programs.

For instance, most states only get about 10 percent of their education budget from the feds—but are almost completely subservient to Department of Education dictates. Why not forgo the measly 10 percent in exchange for a return to local control over all public education? America is losing its youths in public schools. Every patriotic parent knows that.

This would give parents more control over their children’s education and restore citizens’ control over their own government. Is this worth 10 percent of your state’s education budget?

If the free states are willing to stand against federal overreach, they must also be prepared to forgo unconstitutional federal money.

A thorough Republic Review audit would soon return power to the state legislatures—where it belongs.

7. Form a Multi-State ‘America First’ Popular Alliance

The left has “Our Revolution,” a nationwide alliance of 600 groups operating both inside and outside of the Democratic Party. Operated by Democratic Socialists of America and the Communist Party USA, Our Revolution works in the Democratic primaries to elect far-left candidates such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) into office. Our Revolution isn’t subject to Democratic Party discipline, but it does get to choose Democratic candidates.

We need an “America First” umbrella group to operate both outside and inside the Republican Party—even possibly within the Democratic Party in some areas.

This organization should be all about pushing the MAGA/America First agenda at every level of government, in every state of the union.

Such a movement could harness the energy of 70 million to 80 million Trump voters without being under Republican Party control.

America First could unite the Tea Party and MAGA movements, grassroots Republicans, patriotic Democrats, and independents to mobilize tens of millions of voters to transform the GOP into the truly populist, patriotic MAGA party it should always have been.

Take that, Mitch McConnell!

Trump is already vetting candidates to stand against Republican House members and senators who betrayed their own base after the 2020 election.

America Firsters should register Republicans by the millions to primary out dozens of Republican sell-outs in 2022. The America First/MAGA movement could “own” every level of the GOP by 2024. The GOP needs the MAGA movement way more than the MAGA movement needs the Republican brand.

Meanwhile, there are almost 70 far-left Democratic members of Congress in red states. Just restoring voter integrity alone could defeat several of them in 2022.

Running MAGA candidates backed by Trump in every one of those races could flip many more. It would be more than feasible to take back the House in 2022 to make Biden a “lame duck” president.

8. Boycott/Buycott Bigtime

Patriots should be abandoning Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc. for more honest platforms. They should also enthusiastically support efforts by DeSantis to heavily fine Big Tech operators who “cancel” patriots. If 25 or 30 free states did the same, Big Tech would soon be little tech.

Patriots need to organize nationwide boycotts of unpatriotic companies and buycotts for loyal American companies like My Pillow and Goya Foods.

Already, local groups are drawing up lists of “unfriendly” local companies and friendly alternatives so patriots can stop supporting their opponents and spend more with their fellow MAGA supporters.

It would also be smart to sequentially target vulnerable unpatriotic companies.

Imagine if 80 million MAGA patriots resolved to begin a nationwide boycott of one such company, starting now. The boycott would go on indefinitely until the target company was broke, or it apologized for “canceling” patriots. If applicable, every MAGA family could simultaneously commit to buying at least one of the canceled person’s products this year.

On April 1, another disloyal company could be targeted, then another on May 1, another on June 1, etc.

After two or three companies had collapsed or apologized, we would soon see large companies start to back away from the “Cancel Culture.”

Patriots have spending power in this country, people. We need to starve our enemies and feed our friends.

Again, patriots need to build a nation within a nation.

It should be also a given that every U.S. patriot boycotts all communist Chinese goods wherever possible. Check those labels! Buying Chinese communist products in 2021 is like buying Nazi products in 1939. It’s immoral and it’s suicidal.

The Chinese Communist Party just crippled the U.S. economy with the CCP virus. Then, pro-China communists instigated mass Black Lives Matter rioting. Then, the same people worked to influence the 2020 election.

It’s about time Americans stop funding their No. 1 enemy—the CCP.

9. Remove Malign Foreign Influence at State Level

DeSantis has announced legislation to massively curtail communist Chinese activity in Florida. The legislation also targets several other enemy states, including Russia, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela—all of which interfere in this country’s internal affairs.

In December 2020, Trump’s Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe revealed that the Chinese Communist Party was conducting a “massive influence campaign” focused on dozens of members of Congress and their aides, including through attempted blackmail and bribery.

Currently, thousands of foreign companies from hostile regimes are buying up land, food production facilities, technical companies, educational facilities, and infrastructure. Tens of thousands of foreign agents are co-opting unpatriotic businessmen, unethical politicians, and sympathetic journalists in the interests of China and other malevolent states.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, nothing will be done to stop these activities at a federal level—but much can still be done by the free states. If every free state cracked down on foreign bribery, corruption, espionage, and subversion, this country would be transformed.

If hundreds of corrupt academics, journalists, businessmen, and politicians (from both parties) were exposed and punished, this country would soon be well on the way to moral, economic, and political recovery.

What Do You Think?

These steps alone won’t save America—but I believe they would be a huge step in the right direction. I will be following up with further suggestions and plans. But for now, I’d love to see your comments, suggestions, and criticisms in the comments section.

Thank you for reading. From a grateful Kiwi, God bless America.

Thanks,

Mike Capeloto

623-826-7108

...

[wfdwqfw]

On what evidence would a man rely to prove

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[klbmsw]

My Biggest Issue with Trump..

My biggest issue with Trump is probably the fact that he has had no prior political experience, went bankrupt 6 times and has many failed businesses, paid off a porn star to keep quiet, has over 24 harassment allegations, has had 2 articles of impeachment drafted against him, illegally contacted Ukraine to help him win re-election, has the most hours of golfing over any president, has done nothing to help our dying climate,  botched the corona virus response because he called it a hoax by the democrats instead of acting quicker, has never had an approval rating of over 45 percent, the whole Central Park 5 incident, thinks climate change is a Chinese hoax, told POC to go back to where they came from, throws meltdowns on Twitter, constantly retweets himself agreeing with himself, has had tweets flagged for misinformation, signed an executive bill regarding Twitter after his feelings got hurt, has increased our debt, hasn’t pulled out of any wars, abandoned the Kurds, is really fat with a spray tan, has US pride at an all time low, has 10 cases of obstruction of justice per the Mueller report, used George Floyd as an excuse to brag about job numbers, wanted to use violence against peaceful protestors, has done nothing to solve the wealth gap or poverty rate, has increased our debt, is fat and has an ugly spray tan, said he would date his own daughter, talked about fake treatments during a corona press conference,  used to be an anti vaxxer, violated an official weather map with a fucking sharpie, all the shit in john Bolton’s book, said that cases would disappear if testing stopped, has a Vice President that can’t say “black lives matter” only “all lives matter”, falsely claimed there’s an AIDS vaccine, loves himself but has little empathy for others, is a complete asshole to reporters, made fun of someone disabled, the “grab by the pussy” thing, wanted to nuke a hurricane, thinks windmills cause cancer,  has told over 19,000 false claims, talked more about him on a ramp than George Floyd, wants burning the flag to be a crime, called the corona virus the kung flu, and has done nothing to help the average American.Also the fact that he’s a lying, unqualified, draft dodging, gold star family disrespecting, POW attacking, US General insulting, racist, sexist, vulgar, confirmed sexual assaulting, trillion dollars to the rich tax cutting, own daughter creeping, wife cheating with a porn star after birth of son and paying her off to influence a presidential election, $413 million dollar inheritance getting, teen pageant dressing room invading, baby and mother separating, breast feeding mother shaming, fat-shaming while being fat, 17 women accusing him of sexual assaulting, accusers are not attractive enough for him to assault implying, university student defrauding, bankrupt casino causing, kids cancer charity stealing, taped detailed accusation of rape of a minor having, wife-beating, popular vote losing, anti-vaxxing, Christianity-faking, publicist impersonating, tax dodging, friends’ wives pursuing, impeached, foreign aid bribing, 1/3 of the presidency golf playing, free press assaulting, Hannity coordinating, Cambridge Analytica using, Ivanka is a “piece of ass” approving, loan application asset inflating, historically low polling, college achievement faking, unqualified judge appointing, unqualified cabinet member appointing, foreign influence on our election welcoming, tax release avoiding, birther conspiracy spreading, Ukraine ambassador targeting, Russian money taking, Kurdish ally abandoning, soldier brain injury downplaying, full morning “executive time” taking, Epstein befriending, Putin bowing, Kim Jong Un praising, North Korean general saluting, US intelligence denying, tallest building in lower Manhattan after 9/11 boasting, congress obstructing, nuclear non-proliferation deal ending, Justice obstructing, unqualified daughter and son-in-law appointing, healthcare cut targeting, pedophile candidate supporting, trump tower Moscow denying, mail-bomber inspiring, 4 out of top 5 largest protests in US history causing, green energy stifling, clean water regulation destroying, healthy school lunch ending, climate change denying, congressional and judicial branch attacking, economy does better under democrats saying, Goldman Sachs appointing, food stamp removing, emissions standards lowering, press conference avoiding, emoluments clause breaking, longest govt shutdown record holding, Saudi Arabia nuclear tech selling, golf cheating, time magazine cover faking, El Paso mass shooter inspiring, paying legal bills for roughing up protestors promising, killed soldier “knew what he signed up for” saying, pardon abusing, scumbag.

Sources:• ⁠lying, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/12/16/president-trump-has-made-false-or-misleading-claims-over-days/• ⁠unqualified, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/11/13587532/donald-trump-no-experience• ⁠draft dodging, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/12/27/trump-vietnam-war-bone-spur-diagnosis/2420475002/• ⁠gold star family disrespecting, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/31/us/politics/donald-trump-khizr-khan-wife-ghazala.html• ⁠POW attacking, https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/07/18/424169549/trump-lashes-out-at-mccain-i-like-people-who-werent-captured• ⁠US General insulting, https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/01/17/trump-blasted-top-military-generals-as-a-bunch-of-dopes-and-babies-according-to-new-book/• ⁠racist, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/06/trump-racism-comments/588067/• ⁠sexist, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50563106• ⁠vulgar, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/08/us/donald-trump-tape-transcript.html• ⁠confirmed sexual assaulting, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/08/us/donald-trump-tape-transcript.html• ⁠trillion dollars to the rich tax cutting, https://budget.house.gov/publications/publication/gop-tax-law-showers-benefits-wealthy-and-large-corporations-while• ⁠own daughter creeping, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-elections/donald-trump-ivanka-trump-creepiest-most-unsettling-comments-a-roundup-a7353876.html• ⁠wife cheating with a pornstar after birth of son and paying her off to influence a presidential election, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43334326• ⁠$413 million dollar inheritance getting, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/10/04/the-new-york-times-revealed-how-fred-trump-funneled-413-million-to-his-son-donald-will-that-change-american-opinion/• ⁠teen pageant dressing room invading, https://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/article/2016/oct/18/allegations-about-donald-trump-and-miss-teen-usa-c/• ⁠baby and mother separating, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/the-weekly/trump-immigration-border-separation-family.html• ⁠breast feeding mother shaming, https://www.parents.com/baby/all-about-babies/fighting-words-donald-trump-called-a-breastfeeding-mom-disgusting/• ⁠fat-shaming while being fat, http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/08/trump-fat-shames-own-supporter-frank-dawson-new-hampshire-rally.html• ⁠17 women accusing him of sexual assaulting, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/list-trumps-accusers-allegations-sexual-misconduct/story?id=51956410• ⁠accusers are not attractive enough for him to assault implying, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/10/donald-trump-insults-accusers-ugly• ⁠university student defrauding, https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-finalizes-25-million-settlement-victims-donald-trumps/story?id=54347237• ⁠bankrupt casino causing, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2016/live-updates/general-election/real-time-fact-checking-and-analysis-of-the-first-presidential-debate/fact-check-has-trump-declared-bankruptcy-four-or-six-times/• ⁠kids cancer charity stealing, https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2019/12/23/best-stories-of-the-decade-how-donald-trump-shifted-kids-cancer-charity-money-into-his-business/• ⁠taped detailed accusation of rape of a minor having, https://www.snopes.com/news/2016/06/23/donald-trump-rape-lawsuit/• ⁠wife-beating, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/24/documenting-trumps-abuse-of-women• ⁠popular vote losing, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-elections/donald-trump-lost-popular-vote-hillary-clinton-us-election-president-history-a7470116.html• ⁠anti-vaxxing, https://mobile.twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/449525268529815552?lang=en• ⁠Christianity-faking, https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article216494035.html• ⁠publicist impersonating, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/05/13/donald-trump-people-magazine-washington/84333614/• ⁠tax dodging, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/2/17929774/donald-trump-tax-evasion-fred-trump-new-york-times• ⁠friends’ wives pursuing, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-sex-friends-wives-are-book-claims-true-michael-wolff-fire-fury-white-house-bannon-a8142011.html• ⁠impeached, https://time.com/5552679/impeached-presidents/• ⁠foreign aid bribing, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49800181• ⁠1/3 of the presidency golf playing, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/12/30/nearly-third-days-hes-been-president-trumps-visited-trump-branded-property/• ⁠free press assaulting, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/29/18037894/donald-trump-twitter-media-enemy-pittsburgh• ⁠Hannity coordinating, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emmaloop/sean-hannity-trump-allies-mueller-memos-fox-news• ⁠Cambridge Analytica using, https://www.wired.com/story/what-did-cambridge-analytica-really-do-for-trumps-campaign/• ⁠Ivanka is a “piece of ass” approving, https://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/trump-ivanka-piece-of-ass-howard-stern-229376• ⁠loan application asset inflating, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/27/business/donald-trump-buffalo-bills-deutsche-bank.html• ⁠historically low polling, https://theweek.com/speedreads/890683/trumps-approval-rating-pace-lowest-ever-among-independents-gallup-poll-shows• ⁠college achievement faking, https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherrim/2019/02/28/heres-why-donald-trump-doesnt-want-anyone-to-know-his-grades-or-sat-scores/• ⁠unqualified judge appointing, https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/confirmation-expected-for-another-unqualified-trump-judge-pick• ⁠unqualified cabinet member appointing, https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-eli-broad-opposes-devos-20170201-story.html

Chris Russo  

[angelishere407]

My biggest issue with Trump is probably the fact that he has had no prior political experience, went bankrupt 6 times and has many failed businesses, paid off a porn star to keep quiet, has over 24 harassment allegations, has had 2 articles of impeachment drafted against him, illegally contacted Ukraine to help him win re-election, has the most hours of golfing over any president, has done nothing to help our dying climate, botched the coronavirus response because he called it a hoax by the democrats instead of acting quicker, has never had an approval rating of over 45 percent, the whole Central Park 5 incident, thinks climate change is a Chinese hoax, told POC to go back to where they came from, throws meltdowns on Twitter, constantly retweets himself agreeing with himself, has had tweets flagged for misinformation, signed an executive bill regarding Twitter after his feelings got hurt, has increased our debt, hasn’t pulled out of any wars, adbandoned the Kurds, is really fat with a spray tan, has US pride at an all time low, has 10 cases of obstruction of justice per the mueller report, used George Floyd as an excuse to brag about job numbers, wanted to use violence against peaceful protestors, has done nothing to solve the wealth gap or poverty rate, has increased our debt, is fat and has an ugly spray tan, said he would date his own daughter, talked about fake treatments during a corona press conference, used to be an anti vaxxer, violated an official weather map with a fucking sharpie, all the shit in john Bolton’s book, said that cases would disappear if testing stopped, has a Vice President that can’t say “black lives matter” only “all lives matter”, falsely claimed there’s an AIDS vaccine, loves himself but has little empathy for others, is a complete asshole to reporters, made fun of someone disabled, the “grab by the pussy” thing, wanted to nuke a hurricane, thinks windmills cause cancer, has told over 19,000 false claims, talked more about him on a ramp than George Floyd, wants burning the flag to be a crime, called the coronavirus the kung flu, and has done nothing to help the average American.

Also the fact that he’s a lying, unqualified, draft dodging, gold star family disrespecting, POW attacking, US General insulting, racist, sexist, vulgar, confirmed sexual assaulting, trillion dollars to the rich tax cutting, own daughter creeping, wife cheating with a pornstar after birth of son and paying her off to influence a presidential election, $413 million dollar inheritance getting, teen pageant dressing room invading, baby and mother separating, breast feeding mother shaming, fat-shaming while being fat, 17 women accusing him of sexual assaulting, accusers are not attractive enough for him to assault implying, university student defrauding, bankrupt casino causing, kids cancer charity stealing, taped detailed accusation of rape of a minor having, wife-beating, popular vote losing, anti-vaxxing, Christianity-faking, publicist impersonating, tax dodging, friends’ wives pursuing, impeached, foreign aid bribing, 1/3 of the presidency golf playing, free press assaulting, Hannity coordinating, Cambridge Analytica using, Ivanka is a “piece of ass” approving, loan application asset inflating, historically low polling, college achievement faking, unqualified judge appointing, unqualified cabinet member appointing, foreign influence on our election welcoming, tax release avoiding, birther conspiracy spreading, Ukraine ambassador targeting, Russian money taking, Kurdish ally abandoning, soldier brain injury downplaying, full morning “executive time” taking, Epstein befriending, Putin bowing, Kim Jong Un praising, North Korean general saluting, US intelligence denying, tallest building in lower Manhattan after 9/11 boasting, congress obstructing, nuclear non-proliferation deal ending, Justice obstructing, unqualified daughter and son-in-law appointing, healthcare cut targeting, pedophile candidate supporting, trump tower Moscow denying, mail-bomber inspiring, 4 out of top 5 largest protests in US history causing, green energy stifling, clean water regulation destroying, healthy school lunch ending, climate change denying, congressional and judicial branch attacking, economy does better under democrats saying, Goldman Sachs appointing, food stamp removing, emissions standards lowering, press conference avoiding, emoluments clause breaking, longest govt shutdown record holding, Saudi Arabia nuclear tech selling, golf cheating, time magazine cover faking, El Paso mass shooter inspiring, paying legal bills for roughing up protestors promising, killed soldier “knew what he signed up for” saying, pardon abusing, scumbag.

Sources:

• ⁠lying, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/12/16/president-trump-has-made-false-or-misleading-claims-over-days/

• ⁠unqualified, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/11/13587532/donald-trump-no-experience

• ⁠draft dodging, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/12/27/trump-vietnam-war-bone-spur-diagnosis/2420475002/

• ⁠gold star family disrespecting, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/31/us/politics/donald-trump-khizr-khan-wife-ghazala.html

• ⁠POW attacking, https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/07/18/424169549/trump-lashes-out-at-mccain-i-like-people-who-werent-captured

• ⁠US General insulting, https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/01/17/trump-blasted-top-military-generals-as-a-bunch-of-dopes-and-babies-according-to-new-book/

• ⁠racist, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/06/trump-racism-comments/588067/

• ⁠sexist, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50563106

• ⁠vulgar, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/08/us/donald-trump-tape-transcript.html

• ⁠confirmed sexual assaulting, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/08/us/donald-trump-tape-transcript.html

• ⁠trillion dollars to the rich tax cutting, https://budget.house.gov/publications/publication/gop-tax-law-showers-benefits-wealthy-and-large-corporations-while

• ⁠own daughter creeping, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-elections/donald-trump-ivanka-trump-creepiest-most-unsettling-comments-a-roundup-a7353876.html

• ⁠wife cheating with a pornstar after birth of son and paying her off to influence a presidential election, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43334326

• ⁠$413 million dollar inheritance getting, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/10/04/the-new-york-times-revealed-how-fred-trump-funneled-413-million-to-his-son-donald-will-that-change-american-opinion/

• ⁠teen pageant dressing room invading, https://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/article/2016/oct/18/allegations-about-donald-trump-and-miss-teen-usa-c/

• ⁠baby and mother separating, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/the-weekly/trump-immigration-border-separation-family.html

• ⁠breast feeding mother shaming, https://www.parents.com/baby/all-about-babies/fighting-words-donald-trump-called-a-breastfeeding-mom-disgusting/

• ⁠fat-shaming while being fat, http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/08/trump-fat-shames-own-supporter-frank-dawson-new-hampshire-rally.html

• ⁠17 women accusing him of sexual assaulting, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/list-trumps-accusers-allegations-sexual-misconduct/story?id=51956410

• ⁠accusers are not attractive enough for him to assault implying, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/10/donald-trump-insults-accusers-ugly

• ⁠university student defrauding, https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-finalizes-25-million-settlement-victims-donald-trumps/story?id=54347237

• ⁠bankrupt casino causing, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2016/live-updates/general-election/real-time-fact-checking-and-analysis-of-the-first-presidential-debate/fact-check-has-trump-declared-bankruptcy-four-or-six-times/

• ⁠kids cancer charity stealing, https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2019/12/23/best-stories-of-the-decade-how-donald-trump-shifted-kids-cancer-charity-money-into-his-business/

• ⁠taped detailed accusation of rape of a minor having, https://www.snopes.com/news/2016/06/23/donald-trump-rape-lawsuit/

• ⁠wife-beating, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/24/documenting-trumps-abuse-of-women

• ⁠popular vote losing, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-elections/donald-trump-lost-popular-vote-hillary-clinton-us-election-president-history-a7470116.html

• ⁠anti-vaxxing, https://mobile.twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/449525268529815552?lang=en

• ⁠Christianity-faking, https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article216494035.html

• ⁠publicist impersonating, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/05/13/donald-trump-people-magazine-washington/84333614/

• ⁠tax dodging, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/2/17929774/donald-trump-tax-evasion-fred-trump-new-york-times

• ⁠friends’ wives pursuing, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-sex-friends-wives-are-book-claims-true-michael-wolff-fire-fury-white-house-bannon-a8142011.html

• ⁠impeached, https://time.com/5552679/impeached-presidents/

• ⁠foreign aid bribing, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49800181

• ⁠1/3 of the presidency golf playing, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/12/30/nearly-third-days-hes-been-president-trumps-visited-trump-branded-property/

• ⁠free press assaulting, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/29/18037894/donald-trump-twitter-media-enemy-pittsburgh

• ⁠Hannity coordinating, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emmaloop/sean-hannity-trump-allies-mueller-memos-fox-news

• ⁠Cambridge Analytica using, https://www.wired.com/story/what-did-cambridge-analytica-really-do-for-trumps-campaign/

• ⁠Ivanka is a “piece of ass” approving, https://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/trump-ivanka-piece-of-ass-howard-stern-229376

• ⁠loan application asset inflating, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/27/business/donald-trump-buffalo-bills-deutsche-bank.html

• ⁠historically low polling, https://theweek.com/speedreads/890683/trumps-approval-rating-pace-lowest-ever-among-independents-gallup-poll-shows

• ⁠college achievement faking, https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherrim/2019/02/28/heres-why-donald-trump-doesnt-want-anyone-to-know-his-grades-or-sat-scores/

• ⁠unqualified judge appointing, https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/confirmation-expected-for-another-unqualified-trump-judge-pick

• ⁠unqualified cabinet member appointing, https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-eli-broad-opposes-devos-20170201-story.html

FACTS IN YO FACE!!

CREDIT GOES TO CHRIS RUSSO. This is his post, his words...and I love it!!

[demivampirew]

Don’t judge a book by its cover chapter 3.

A Cap. Syverson story.

Triggers: talking about panic attacks; cursing words (I think those are all the triggers for this chapter- mostly is a very friendly chapter).

Synopsis: Rebeca is an Argentinian girl who a few months ago moved to the USA (Washington D.C) to study in university thanks to a scholarship that she was granted. She’s lonely. People don’t treat her well. Some could be understood but most of them just hate her for being a foreigner. She meets Syverson because he’s a man from the South and she has not had a good experience with people from there, but she may find out at the end that she shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Tag:  lunedelorient 

Syverson helped Rebeca get into his car and then he boarded the vehicle and turned it on. Before leaving, he called 911 to inform them about the two men. Then he proceeded to go. This time he drove at a normal pace; she was also with him on the car so he didn't want to risk making a mistake and endanger her. Also, he expected that the slow ride would give her a chance to calm down. He looked at her every few minutes to see if she was better, but she was stiff and barely breathing. Her eyes were focused on the road, but her mind was elsewhere. - Rebeca, we are home. - Syverson said breaking her trance and brought her in back to reality. She looked at him, then look outside and she set her eyes on him once again. - This is not my place.- she replied. - No, this is my house.- he indicated- There's no way I'm leaving you alone tonight. You're still having panic attacks. C'mon. Let's get you inside. They got inside the house and he made her sit on the comfortable couch. He disappeared into another room and soon enough came back with a blanket. He sat in front of her, in the tea table. He grabbed her hands and cupped them with his hands. He couldn't take his eyes off her. He could still feel her fear. He caressed her hair and called her name, trying to get her attention. Still nothing. He tried "Becky" a few times and then he finally heard her speak again "Beca", she said, "Call me Beca, no Becky. I don't like Becky". "Ok, Beca" he agreed with a smile, glad to hear her speak again. Once again, she broke into tears. Sy sat next to her and pulled her closer, letting her cry on his chest while he stroked her hair. After some time, there were no more tears left to cry and she fell asleep. The morning came and Rebeca woke up. She was lying on the couch in a fetal position, cover by a warm blanket and, as she sat slowly, she saw Sy sitting on a smaller couch close tho the one she was on. He was asleep. It took her a moment to wake up a remember where she was and what happened the night before. She felt sorry for him. Once again she had to bother him to saved her because she seemed to have a magnet for trouble. Counting the time that he stopped the car because she was crossing the street with a red light to prevent hitting her, this was the third time that he saved her. She didn't have to much time to think. After seeing the time, she realized that only had two hours until she had her first tutoring class of the day. She would have loved to call and cancel, but the family paid well and she needed that money. There was no way she would bother Sy again to take her to her place, so she wrote a note letting him know the reason why she left and to thank him for saving her and then grabbed her bag and slowly walked out of the house. Thankfully, thanks to the map, she found her way home and it wasn't that far from his house, just about 25 blocks away. Hours later, as she was walking to another one of her tutoring student's house, she received a call from Sy. - Hi! - she greeted him as she answered the phone. - Beca! Are you ok? Why didn't you wake me up to take you? - he asked worriedly - I'm fine. I didn't want to bother you again. By the way, thank you so much for saving last night. - You have nothing to thank me for and you'll never bother me. Never doubt about calling me for help. - again, Rebeca noticed by the tone of his voice that it was an order. - Ok. I have to end the call Sy. Thanks, again.- she said reaching the doorstep of her student's home. - Alright. I'll check on you later. Bye. -Bye.

As he promised, Syverson texted her twice a day to see how she was. He would call before she began her shift at the grocery store and by the time she was home. Two weeks later, she was leaving the college building, when she saw Sy waiting outside, standing with his back against his car searching for her among the crow of people leaving. As soon as he saw her, he grinned. She smiled back at him and went directly to him. Rebeca wasn't exactly a shy girl, but now, for some reason, she acted that way. - Hi - she said. - Hi - he replied. - I just was close by and wanted to check on you to see how are you doing. Not to call you a liar, but I believe that you could tell me you're fine when you're not just for me not to worry. So, I wanted to see it with my own eyes.- he explained and she laughed - I'm alright. It's not a lie. It's the truth. I'm trying to keep my mind busy so I won't think in anything that worries me, other than exams. -Hi Beca! - scream a girl as she walked towards her and Sy. The girl had curly black hair, brown eyes and was taller than both of them. She had a beautiful chocolate colour skin. She always wore beautiful clothing that made Rebeca envy her a little bit. - Hi Danielle! - Beca said. - Thanks again for helping me today. That math problem was driving me insane. - You're welcome. Maybe you could help me back and save some notes from tomorrow's 9 am class. - You're telling me that you're actually going to miss a class. You? - Danielle asked surprised - Unfortunately, yes. My boss asked me if I could go tomorrow morning because both she and her husband had important things to do. So, I've got to work. - Rebeca explained - Oh, too bad. Well, don't worry, I'll take as many notes as I can for you. -she assured - Thanks a million! - No worries. - the girl said and then looked at Sy who was following the conversation amused. - Hi, I'm Danielle - she introduced herself to him. - Oh, sorry, I'm the worst. Sy, this is Danielle; Danielle, this is Sy. - Rebeca said introducing them. - A pleasure - Sy greeted the young lady as he shook her hand. - The pleasure is all mine. I'm happy to get a chance to meet Beca's boyfriend. - she said smirking. Rebeca wanted to run off; she was unbelievable embarrassed. "Shit" she tough. She was blushing so much her cheeks burn. Sy remained silent. He just smiled at Danielle and looked at Rebeca to see if she knew what she was talking about. - Ok, I'll leave you two lovers alone. Thanks again and don't worry about tomorrow, I got you covered. - she said, winking at Beca and then left. - So, I'm your boyfriend, hu? - Syverson asked amused as soon as he made sure no one will hear them. - I'm sorry. Let me explain.- she apologized- As expected, everyone found out about the incident with Trevor. He couldn't stand the humiliation of people thinking a nobody beat the crap outta him, so he made sure everybody knew you were a military captain; that'd made him lest pathetic on his own eyes. And he also said that you were my boyfriend and you were jealous and that's why you attacked him and that all I said about him trying to hurt me was a lie. At first, I was pissed, but honestly, after hearing that the people who bother me now leave me alone, so I'm relieved. That's why I corrected anyone when they say you're my boyfriend. - That's ok. You did the right thing. - he assured her. - Do you have to go to work? - Sy asked her. - Yes. My shift starts in 40 minutes, so I should go if I don't want to be late. - she replied checking the time on her phone. - C'mon, get on the car. I'll drive you there.- He said as he walked over to the driver's side. - Oh, no. I cannot bother you again. Don't worry, I'm fine walking. - Get in the car, lady. Is an order.- he commanded her using his Captain tone and she obeyed. - So, who's the girl that you were talking to? Is she a friend of yours? - Sy questioned curiously. - More a cool classmate than a friend really.- she explained- She's one the few people that's always been nice to me, but we never hang out outside class. She's like me, a busy girl and a bookworm. - She seemed really nice. Maybe someday when you're on vacation you could hang out with her.- he suggested - Yeah. - she replied and wait a moment before speaking again - I wanted to ask her out on a date because I found out she's also bisexual, but she was dating somebody. I had a little crush on her, I must admit. - Rebeca confessed, smirking. - Do you still like her? - he asked - I find her attractive, yes. But I don't have a crush on her anymore. Once we got closer, I realized that I'd like much more as a friend, if we ever have the chance. - And how about boys or another girl? Do you like anyone? - There's someone on my mind constantly, but there's nothing going on.- she answered, blushing. - Is a classmate? - Nope. I know him from another place. He's older than me and I'm sure he doesn't want anything to do with me. - Well, you'll never know until you tell him.- he told her, offering a smile. A few minutes later, they arrived at the store and when Rebeca was about to get out of the car, Sy asked her if she wanted to go out to dinner after her shift at the store ended. She accepted and wave him as she entered the store.

[phroyd]

http://phroyd.tumblr.comLooks like Trump has gotten Homeland Security to become the New Secret Police in Oregon, against the Governor’s, and Portland’s Mayor’s wishes. - Phroyd.

Activists in Portland, Oregon, are expressing severe alarm about recent incidents involving federal law enforcement officers using unmarked cars to detain peaceful protesters.

Federal officers deployed teargas and fired less-lethal rounds into a crowd of protesters on Thursday, hours after the the head of the Department of Homeland Security visited the city and called the demonstrators “violent anarchists”.

Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that federal law enforcement officers had been “using unmarked vehicles to drive around downtown Portland and detain protesters” since at least 14 July.

“Personal accounts and multiple videos posted online show the officers driving up to people, detaining individuals with no explanation of why they are being arrested, and driving off,” it added.

Anti-racism protests have taken place for nearly two months in Portland, since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on 25 May.

During a visit to Portland earlier on Thursday, Chad Wolf, the acting homeland security secretary, said state and city authorities were to blame for not putting an end to the protests, angering local officials.

Wolf characterized the protests in a tweet, claiming: “The city of Portland has been under siege for 47 days straight by a violent mob while local political leaders refuse to restore order to protect their city. @DHSgov stands ready to assist to bring this violent activity to an end.”

In captions of pictures posted on Twitter, Wolf praised police dressed in military-style fatigues, and toured property that appeared undamaged apart from graffiti, such as “BLM” and “If not us, who? If not now, when?”

Chad defended the actions of federal law enforcement officers in Portland, saying, “These valiant men and women have defended our institutions of justice against violent anarchists for 48 straight days. We will prevail.”

Portland’s mayor, Ted Wheeler, and other local officials have said they did not ask for help from federal law enforcement and have asked them to leave.

A few hundred people had gathered near the federal courthouse on Thursday night, news outlets reported. Police told protesters to leave after announcing they heard some chanting about burning down the building, according to the Oregonian.

A short time later, federal officers fired rounds and deployed teargas to break up the crowd. Some protesters remained in the area early on Friday and were detained, but it was unclear whether any arrests were made, the newspaper reported.

Ken Cuccinelli, the homeland security acting deputy secretary, said on Friday morning on Fox & Friends that the federal government had a responsibility to protect buildings such as the courthouse.

“What we’ve seen around the country is where responsible policing is advanced, violence recedes,” Cuccinelli said. “And Portland hasn’t gotten that memo. Nor have a lot of other cities. And the president is determined to do what we can, within our jurisdiction, to help restore peace to these beleaguered cities.”

However, OPB noted that interviews with protesters showed that “officers are also detaining people on Portland streets who aren’t near federal property, nor is it clear that all of the people being arrested have engaged in criminal activity. [Two demonstrators] said they think they were targeted by federal officers for simply wearing black clothing in the area of the demonstration.”

The news organisation also reported that federal officers “left one demonstrator hospitalized with skull fractures after shooting him in the face with so-called ‘less lethal’ munitions July 11”.

Portland activists have warned the strategy may indicate how the Trump administration plans to crack down on other cities that have seen protests in recent weeks.

“I think Portland is a test case,” Zakir Khan, a spokesman for the Oregon chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told the Washington Post. “They want to see what they can get away with before launching into other parts of the country.”

Trump said on Wednesday that he would soon issue an announcement about steps the federal government will take to rein in “out of control” cities.

The president said he would make an announcement next week “with the attorney general, the FBI and others concerning our cities, because the leftwing group of people that are running our cities are not doing the job that they’re supposed to be doing, and it’s not a very tough job to do if they knew what they were doing”.

Trump specifically cited recent protests against racism and police brutality in Portland, Seattle and Minneapolis, before pivoting to discuss the recent gun violence in Chicago.

“We have other cities that are out of control, they’re like war zones,” Trump said. “And if the city isn’t going to straighten it out, if local politicians or in this case, let’s say this for political reasons, they’re all Democrats. They’re liberal, leftwing Democrats. And it’s almost like they think this is going to be this way forever.”

A reporter asked if Trump intended to follow through on his Monday comment that the government would enforce change in the cities “even if we have to go in and take over”. The president deflected that question.

Phroyd