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hamsterclaw · 30 days ago

Text

An 18+ crackfic ft kth x reader.

Dedicated to Kim Taehyung's massive military arms.

Warnings: Crack, unseriousness and seriousness, medical professionals AU, mentions of blood, surgery, death, organ donation, vaping, explicit sex, birth control and copious swearing. 8k words.

start

‘Uh, guys,’ says the new intern, peering around the makeshift barrier you’ve draped between you and the surgeons. ‘There’s a lot of blood.’

‘Pretty, isn’t he?’ says the anaesthetic nurse, almost cooing.

Min Yoongi, your anaesthetic attending, looks unimpressed. ‘Who said he could look around the barrier? Threw me off my game.’

He waves his Switch dismissively. ‘Go check it out, Dr L/N. Also, Mr Kim, mind your minion.’

‘For fuck’s sake,’ snaps Mr Kim, otherwise known as Professor Kim Seokjin, head of cardiothoracics at your hospital and editor of Cardiac Surgery, the main journal for cardiothoracics in the world. (Impact factor 10.3)

You scramble round to see and realise the intern’s not lying.

‘Probably a litre of blood loss, maybe two,’ you call over the barrier.

‘I’m on it,’ calls Jung Hoseok, the perfusionist. He doesn’t quite beam his trademark sunny smile, he’s too busy running blood into the bypass circuit, but his pleasant, polite tones are a nice change from Kim Seokjin’s frosty comments and Yoongi’s grunts of disinterest.

‘You checking out my ass?’ asks Kim Taehyung, cardiothoracics fellow, deep voice lowered, a smirk you sense rather than see behind his face mask.

‘Dunno, is your ass making the patient bleed like a stuck pig?’ you retort. ‘Also, Jimin’s ass is better.’

Kim Taehyung’s brows draw together and he throws you a look that tells you that you’ll pay for that later, and it sends a delicious thrill up your spine, because Taehyung’s been looking good lately.

He always had a face to make one look twice, and now that he’s been hitting the gym and running in the mornings, he’s got a golden tan and arms that strain even through his baggy scrubs tops.

‘We have VF,’ says Yoongi, cool as a cucumber, throwing you a look. ‘Just as well we’re on bypass, but did you idiots get air in the coronaries again?’

You realise that whilst you were fantasising about Kim Taehyung choking you with his big arms and then his dick, all the alarms in your monitoring have been activated.

‘I can’t help if I make everyone’s hearts flutter,’ says Professor Kim Seokjin, Assistant Dean of the top medical school in South Korea.

‘Ah, stop,’ titters Hoyeon, the scrub nurse who’s been working with him for the last ten years but manfully pretending like it’s the first time she’s heard the joke.

The intern’s still staring, mouth agape, and you realise he’s staring at you.

‘Having a stroke?’ you ask, glaring at him.

‘Sorry noona,’ he stutters.

Beside him, Taehyung snickers. ‘Noona?’

‘Jesus fuck,’ scowls Yoongi. ‘Charge up the damn paddles and get me the fuck out of here.’

Yoongi tugs off his mask in a clear violation of operating theatre policy. ‘I’m getting coffee. If the patient dies, it’s on you.’

He tosses you a capped syringe of fentanyl and then he’s out.

Professor Kim Seokjin eyes you over the draped barrier from the lofty heights of the step he insists on using even though he’s the tallest person in the room. ‘Don’t worry about Dr Jeon, it’s his first time at everything, apparently.’

‘Apparently,’ you echo, firing up the internal defib paddles that Taehyung’s already wielding.

There’s a thin alarm that stops as the shock is delivered, restarting the heart.

Your monitoring resumes regular, steady beeping, Jung Hoseok cheers, and Dr Jeon hits the floor, twitching.

‘Fuck,’ says Professor Kim Seokjin, clinical lead for the cardiac services directorate. ‘Was he clear?’

‘Apparently not,’ sighs Hoyeon. ‘You told him to hold the retractors, didn’t you?’

You wonder if, as the last remaining anaesthetist in operating theatre 1b, you should be checking on him.

You step back round the barrier and lean over his supine form.

Dr Jeon does have pretty eyes, you note, as he blinks.

‘You’ve been defibrillated, stay still,’ you explain, reaching to check the pulse in his throat.

‘Whatever you say, noona,’ he says, his voice clear and high.

Above you, you can hear Taehyung chuckling to himself.

Yoongi reaches down and plucks the fentanyl out of your hand.

‘The patient’s BP’s up, why the hell haven’t you given this yet,’ he complains.

You stare at him, including at the smear of powdered sugar on his cheek from the doughnut he scoffed that he hasn’t bothered to wipe off. ‘Sorry, boss.’

Yoongi rolls his eyes. ‘The intern is fine. One shock never hurt anyone.’

‘Don’t worry, noona,’ echoes Dr Jeon, a little dreamily still. ‘I’m fine.’

You get up. ‘I’m not your noona, Dr Jeon, we’ve just met,’ you say sternly. ‘Now get up.’

***

You take a furtive look around and when the coast is clear slap the side of the vending machine with the flat of your hand.

The bag of candy you paid for dangles tantalisingly from the shelf instead of falling into the metal collection bin for you to fish out.

‘Shit fuck damnit,’ you swear, preparing to slap again.

Your wrist is caught in mid-air, and a male voice says, smoothly, ‘Allow me.’

You watch, mildly awestruck, as Kim Taehyung grips both sides of the vending machine and shakes it, jostling your candy free.

Shit. When did he get so strong?

He retrieves the bag of candy but instead of holding it out to you, he pockets it instead.

‘Tell me more about how Park Jimin’s ass is better than mine,’ he says, looking down at you.

The arrogant, gorgeous asshole.

You shove your whole hand into his pocket before he can stop you and curl your fingers around the plastic package.

‘Let me have it,’ you warn.

He smirks. ‘Whatever you want, baby.’

He leans back against the vending machine, all hooded eyes and thick muscles, and your hand stills in his pocket.

‘Tell you what,’ he says, voice all smoke and sex, tendrils of seduction curling around your ears. ‘Let’s go to the on-call room and I’ll unwrap it for you too.’

***

It’s been a while since you and Taehyung last fucked, but there’s never been anything tentative about him, not when he has you in his sights.

He curls a hand around the back of your head, widens his stance so you can reach to kiss him better, and relearns the shape of your mouth so quickly it’s like there was never a gap.

You gasp as he backs you up against the door, lifts his hips up against yours like he means to fuck you into it.

‘Taehyung ah,’ you mumble.

‘Hmm?’ he murmurs, warm breath on your cheek near your ear, his dark wavy hair tickling your ear as he kisses down your neck.

‘I was checking out your ass,’ you confess, yelping a little as he nips where your neck curves into your shoulders.

‘I know, baby,’ he croons, approving and patronising in a way that would infuriate you if he weren’t so goddamned hot.

He tugs at the hem of your scrubs top, divesting you of it so smoothly you’re awed despite yourself.

‘So pretty,’ he tells you, eyes dark, voice dropped low.

‘S-s-s-sorry –’

Both of you jump at the unexpected voice.

A face pops up from the bed, and you scream and jump into Taehyung’s (big) arms.

You’ve never seen his entire face, but you definitely recognise those huge eyes.

Taehyung’s still got his arms around you. ‘Fucking hell, Jungkook. Get the fuck out. We’re not at the Vegas artificial heart conference now.’

‘What happened at the Vegas artificial heart conference?’ you mutter, pulling your scrubs top back on.

‘Don’t get dressed, baby, we can still?’ Taehyung lets his voice trail off suggestively.

‘Nope,’ you say, shaking your head. ‘Next time, defibrillate him harder.’

‘Don’t worry, I will,’ Taehyung promises, throwing Jungkook a dark look. ‘Dinner tonight?’

You sigh. ‘Don’t forget to bring my candy.’

***

You’re sitting behind him so you can’t see his face, but you suspect that Kim Namjoon, your colleague and fellow anaesthetist, is asleep.

There’s something about the slant of his shoulders that gives him away. That and the soft snores and myclonic jerks.

You kick his chair to wake him up before Yoongi notices.

‘Fuck,’ utters Namjoon as he jerks awake and knocks his coffee cup off the table.

You raise your eyebrow at the clear liquid now puddling on the floor.

Min Yoongi turns away from the screen where you’re dialled into a multidisciplinary meeting with a hospital in Busan and you both freeze guiltily.

‘It was kind of you to wake Dr Kim up but you do realise I could see both of you in the camera view,’ he points out. ‘In fact, that was my only entertainment whilst we were waiting for this idiot to get the point.’

‘We’re not on mute!’ you say, quickly, trying to salvage the situation.

‘Don’t worry,’ comes the dry voice of Dr Choi from the Busan team. ‘I know how Dr Min feels about me.’

‘Why don’t you do something about it then,’ mutters Yoongi. ‘Like die.’

‘How bout I fuck your minion?’ asks Dr Choi.

You and Namjoon look at each other uneasily.

‘Relax,’ snaps Yoongi. ‘He can’t fuck a damn thing with his pencil dick. Even if he could, you wouldn’t feel it anyway.’

‘Will you motherfuckers shut the fuck up and just accept this patient for surgery?’

‘Certainly,’ comes the smooth velvety tones of Professor Kim Seokjin, lead author of the 2019 seminal paper on kidney injury following cardiopulmonary bypass. (Cited 29 times)

The squares on the screen reshuffle, and you’re treated to a close-up of Professor Kim Seokjin’s very handsome face, backlit to perfection with two surgical lights from theatre 1b.

He looks straight into the camera with his trademark head tilted half smile. ‘Your place or ours?’

***

‘Your place or ours, like a fucking nightcap,’ complains Namjoon bitterly as he follows you onto the train to Busan.

You don’t know why he’s complaining, he’s not the one carrying Yoongi’s beloved Hario V60 Switch immersion dripper and mini mill. Yoongi had insisted that you bring his coffee paraphernalia to Busan in your backpack because - ‘the coffee at St Mary’s is shit’ and ‘I don’t trust him to carry it’.

You grimace as the him in question, Namjoon, throws himself haphazardly into a seat and there’s the audible snap of breaking plastic from his backpack.

‘Was that something important?’ you ask, out of obligation.

‘Just my work tablet,’ Namjoon says, shrugging. ‘I have two, anyway.’

‘Now you have one,’ you mutter, looking for a place to stow Yoongi’s stuff.

‘Let me,’ offers a husky voice you know well.

You turn your head to confirm that it’s Park Jimin’s hands lifting Yoongi’s stuff and placing it carefully in the overhead compartment.

‘Thanks, Jimin,’ you say.

Jimin smiles and waves you into your seat, then sits next to you.

‘Heard you were singing praises about my ass,’ he says, a flirtatious twinkle in his eye, a lilt to his voice that lends a soupcon of filth to his words.

‘She took it back,’ corrects Kim Taehyung as he slides into the seat next to Namjoon.

Jimin doesn’t even raise an eyebrow.

‘Want to go to the beach after the surgery?’ he asks you.

‘Dunno, did you bring swim trunks?’ you ask, feigning innocence.

He laughs, delighted. ‘Nope.’

‘Then yes.’

Taehyung says, ‘I’ll share my suncreen’ at the same time as Namjoon says, thoughtfully, ‘You can probably buy swimming trunks —’

Your phone rings. It’s Yoongi.

‘Where are you and Namjoon,’ he asks, forgoing a greeting entirely.

‘On the train. We’ll be there in two hours,’ you tell him.

‘Two hours? Are you walking from Seoul? Backwards?’ Yoongi asks, exasperated. ‘I’m already here and I need a coffee.’

‘You’re already there? How?’

‘Never mind. Are you with the cardiothoracics fellows? Kim Seokjin and I are waiting to start.’

‘They’re on the same train,’ you say.

‘Jesus fuck,’ Yoongi snaps. ‘What part of urgent surgery didn’t you guys get? Even the intern made it before you, and he doesn’t even know what operation we’re doing.’

‘We can get a taxi straight from the station,’ you offer tentatively.

‘You weren’t going to do that anyway?’

‘Just tell me what you want,’ you beg.

Yoongi sighs, his eyeroll so obvious you can hear it through the phone. ‘We’re in theatre 4. Come as soon as you arrive.’

‘Well fuck,’ you say, as he hangs up on you unceremoniously.

***

Taehyung nudges you.

‘Want me to carry you?’ he asks, sympathetically.

In your mad dash to the hospital once your train got into Busan earlier, you’d stacked it coming down the

station steps and twisted your ankle. Thankfully Yoongi’s coffee kit was intact, you’d have never heard the end of it otherwise.

You’d managed to make it just in time to recover the patient post-op and even to make Yoongi a coffee so he couldn’t be too mad at your and Namjoon’s tardiness.

Jimin and Taehyung had managed to smooth down the ruffled feathers of Professor Kim Seokjin, pioneer of the Toro sutureless repair technique used by cardiothoracic surgeons around the world. (First presented at the World Cardiothoracic Congress 2015 in Philadelphia)

The day hadn’t been a total wash, and now you’re heading to the beach for a beer before taking the train back home.

You look up at Taehyung to see him smiling at you affectionately.

‘I can walk,’ you tell him.

‘I didn’t build these muscles for nothing,’ he coaxes. ‘At least lean on my arm.’

You can’t help your smile as you slip your hand into the crook of his arm.

‘I’m tired,’ you tell him.

He tugs you closer gently. ‘I know, baby.’

You don’t think you’ve ever been out with him before like this. You’ve gone out in a group plenty of times, but you’ve never really touched him in public.

Which is not to say you haven’t touched every inch of his skin in private.

You are friends who fuck after all.

By the time you catch up with Jimin and Namjoon, they’ve cracked open the beer and made a space on the beach far enough back that the tide doesn’t reach.

‘Cheers,’ Jimin says, passing you a drink, barely reacting to the fact that Taehyung’s got his arm around you.

‘Cheers,’ you say. ‘Where’s —-‘

You stop dead mid sentence as the intern, Dr Jeon Jungkook, emerges from the water and approaches you, shirtless, and wet.

You blink, twice, then turn and bury your face in Taehyung’s chest.

‘Why is the intern so naked?’ you mumble.

You can feel the rumble of Taehyung’s laughter in his chest before you hear it.

‘Do you want me to ask him for you?’ he asks.

‘No. I don’t want to talk to him.’

He laughs again. ‘Shut up and drink, you’re going to make me jealous.’

Now you’re laughing. ‘I’ve never seen you jealous, Tae.’

It’s true.

In the two years that you’ve been fucking Taehyung on and off, you’ve never seen him be possessive about anything.

Now that you think of it, he’s the most self-assured person you know.

You’re still laughing to yourself as you turn back to the group, only to realise that the intern is sitting right next to you.

‘Am I embarrassing you, noona?’ he asks.

There’s more than a hint of cockiness in his tone.

The little shit knows his body is fucking hot.

You haven’t survived the last three years under the tutelage of Dr Min Yoongi for nothing.

‘I’m not embarrassed,’ you say, looking him dead in the eyes. ‘I guess since you’ve seen me without a shirt on it’s only fair that I get to see you shirtless too.’

Jimin’s eyebrows rise.

Namjoon rolls his eyes.

Jeon Jungkook blushes so hard his ears turn red.

Beside you, Taehyung snorts and cracks open another beer.

***

You’re trying to finish up your chart from the patient you just recovered but the recovery nurses are discussing hot theatre staff again.

‘Scary, but hot.’

You stifle a smile as Yoongi walks out of theatres and heads straight for you.

‘The bed on ICU is ready,’ he says, not bothering to give you any context.

‘Of course,’ you say, bowing.

He gives you a suspicious look. ‘We’ll start at 7 tomorrow.’

‘Yes, sir,’ you say, saluting.

‘I have more beans,’ he says, a final parting shot before he walks off.

You make a mental note to collect the fresh coffee beans from Yoongi’s locker at 6am tomorrow because a 7am start for him means a 6.30am start for you.

Beside you, the recovery nurses sigh collectively, and you know without looking up that it’s Professor Kim Seokjin, winner of the De Leval prize for outstanding contributions to cardiothoracic surgery on three separate occasions - 2017, 2018 and 2020.

‘Waaah I don’t have to worry now that I know my patients are in your hands,’ Professor Kim Seokjin says to the nurses, jovial and charming as always.

To you, he smiles and nods politely. ‘Wake and extubate my patient please, they can be discharged tomorrow.’

Now Yoongi’s words make sense.

‘Ah, I’ll try my best, but Dr Min wants the patient on ICU overnight,’ you say.

Professor Kim Seokjin may have a wing of the medical school named after him but it’s Min Yoongi who’ll have your head on a platter if you don’t follow his instructions.

You wince slightly as you catch sight of the patient’s vitals. Yeah. Yoongi called it. He’s not the most highly paid anaesthetist this side of the Hangang for nothing.

You’re prepping to transfer to the ICU when you hear Nurse Choi giggle.

‘He’s so handsome!’

Next to her, Nurse Kim says, in a voice that’s higher than usual, ‘He’s so nice, too. Ara said he was a total gentleman on their date.’

You look up, expecting to see Park Jimin or even the intern, but instead you see Kim Taehyung.

The punch you feel in your chest surprises you.

Why would you care if Kim Taehyung’s taking other women on dates?

It’s not like he’s dating you.

You’re concentrating so hard on trying not to be upset that you don’t notice that Taehyung’s standing beside you until he picks up an infusion pump.

‘Seems like a lot of adrenaline,’ he comments.

‘I think Professor Kim was, uh, optimistic about his heart function,’ you reply.

You take the pump from him and snap it onto the trolley pole. ‘We’re going up to the ICU.’

Before you can stop him, Taehyung’s taken up position at the head of the bed. ‘I’ll help you wheel him up.’

‘There are porters for that sort of thing,’ you protest.

He just looks at you patiently.

In the end you acquiesce and let him help. He waits by the nursing station whilst you hand over.

‘Dinner at the Kitchen?’ Taehyung suggests when you’re done.

‘Sure,’ you agree, falling into step beside him.

Then you remember. ‘But you can’t come over after, I’m on my period.’

‘Why can’t I come over when you’re on your period?’ asks Taehyung, swiping his ID to let you both into the changing rooms.

‘You can come over but no sex,’ you tell him, as the intern emerges from behind the scrubs dispenser.

He flushes immediately and drops his gaze.

‘Noona,’ he says, bowing in greeting.

‘You seem more shy with your clothes on, Jeon Jungkook,’ you observe.

‘Not always, noona,’ Jeon Jungkook murmurs. He flicks his eyes to yours briefly.

You laughs, surprised, and his whole face flushes prettily.

As soon as he leaves, Taehyung frowns.

‘I’d probably be worried if I thought there was a chance he wouldn’t pass out if you flirted back,’ he says casually.

‘I don’t date jailbait,’ you say. ‘What are you doing?’

Taehyung’s hoisted your backpack onto his shoulder.

He raises a brow, matter of fact. ‘You’re on your period, let me carry your stuff.’

‘Please, you’ll make me fall in love with you,’ you tease.

He laughs. ‘That’s the plan. Come on, I’m buying dinner.’

***

‘That dinner was worth a blow job,’ you announce, licking the last of the sauce on the wings off your fingers.

Taehyung pushes your water glass closer to you.

‘I didn’t buy you dinner so we could fuck,’ he says.

There’s an edge to his voice that makes you look at him carefully.

‘I’m sorry. I’m just — it’s just that, that’s what we do, isn’t it?’

Taehyung looks irritated. ‘It doesn’t have to be just fucking all the time does it?’

His tone is shorter than he’s ever been with you.

You sense you’re in dangerous waters here, but you have no idea what the right thing to do or say is.

‘You’re right,’ you end up saying, but it took you so long to say it that it comes out flat, like you don’t really mean it.

Taehyung gets up. ‘Anyway.’

He still sounds annoyed.

You follow him out of the Kitchen in silence.

‘I’ll walk you home, it’s late. Don’t worry, I won’t invite myself in.’

He sets off without really waiting for you to answer.

It’s a short walk to your apartment, not really long enough for you to gather your thoughts, but you know you can’t let him leave like this.

‘Tae?’ you ask, tentative, touching his arm.

It’s too dark to really see his face, but you can feel the tension in his muscles draining away under your fingers.

‘I’m sorry I snapped at you,’ he says.

‘It’s ok,’ you tell him. ‘I don’t think of you as just a fuck buddy, you know?’

‘I know we said no strings, at the beginning,’ he says. ‘But we’ve been doing this for so long —‘

He’s right.

It’s been nearly two years since you first slept together.

You’re thinking back to the first time and the rush you’d felt when he’d leaned over casually on a group night out and tucked a lock of hair behind your ear.

He still makes you feel that way, if you’re being honest.

You guess since you’ve never really dated that you’ve never seen anything that would take the shine off how you feel.

You’ve never seen him in holey sweatpants or with a shiny face or greasy hair or stuffing his face with yesterday’s takeout.

Well actually maybe you have seen that.

You’ve reached your door.

You figure it’s now or never.

‘Come in, if you want,’ you say.

He looks at you. ‘I don’t want to force anything because I was being an ass.’

‘Well, we’ve been fucking for two years,’ you remind him.

You smile. ‘You can be an ass. You don’t have to be on your best behaviour all the time.’

Taehyung’s smile makes your heart skip a beat.

You take your time unlocking your door, regaining your composure.

‘I’m taking a shower, there’s ice cream in the freezer,’ you tell Taehyung.

He’s hanging his coat up in your entryway. You don’t think you’ve ever told him how much his fastidiousness about his clothes tickles you.

By the time you’re out of the shower, he’s on your couch, feet up, a steaming cup of tea and a tub of ice cream on the coffee table.

‘Here,’ he says. ‘I made you tea.’

You smile at him gratefully.

‘How are you feeling?’ he asks.

‘I’m fine,’ you tell him. You slide onto the couch next to him. ‘Want to watch a movie?’

‘If I get to pick,’ he says.

‘Choose whatever you want.’

You sink back into the cushions as he picks the show, some feel good baseball movie. He grabs the blanket off the back of the couch and drapes it over the both of you, and when he slides his hand under the fleecy fabric to hold yours, you don’t pull away.

It feels good to hold him.

***

You’re checking your anaesthetic machine, drawing up drugs for your first case when the intern Jeon Jungkook bursts into your anaesthetic room like he’s just escaped the jaws of certain death.

‘Noona,’ he begs.

‘I’m not your —‘

You cut yourself off and sigh. ‘What do you want, Jeon Jungkook?’

‘I fucked up,’ he says, panicked.

‘Is that the medical term for it?’ you ask, cracking open a vial of antibiotics so he’ll get to the point.

‘I forgot to order the blood for the first patient.’

You roll your eyes. ‘So call blood bank, there’s time.’

‘I called them!’ he cries. ‘The patient has antibodies! They can’t have blood ready for another four hours!’

‘Oh shit,’ you say.

Professor Kim Seokjin, chair of the hospital patient safety committee (awarded the national Clinical Excellence Award in 2022), is notorious for sticking to protocol. You know that he would never start a case if there wasn’t blood available.

You know just as well as Jeon Jungkook does, that he’s doomed. A cancelled case would tarnish Professor Kim Seokjin’s sterling reputation.

The little shit with the hot body is fucked.

You both look up as the theatre doors open and Professor Kim Seokjin and Min Yoongi stroll in for the pre-op briefing.

Beside you, Jeon Jungkook whimpers.

‘Pull yourself together,’ you hiss.

Before he passes out with all his hyperventilating, you step forward.

‘Dr Jeon and I were just discussing the order of today’s cases,’ you say, smoothly. ‘We think the first patient should go last, at the end of the day. They live quite far away and we should discharge them tomorrow anyway.’

Professor Kim Seokjin smiles. ‘Always thinking about the patients,’ he says, approving.

Min Yoongi eyes you and Jungkook suspiciously then visibly decides he doesn’t give enough of a fuck to question it.

As soon as they’ve left you grab Jungkook by the neck of his scrubs top.

‘Go and beg blood bank to guarantee you the blood will be available by the end of the day,’ you say. ‘I don’t care if you have to sleep with someone, just take care of it. Also, use protection.’

Jungkook’s throat works visibly with emotion.

‘Noona, thank you for saving my ass,’ he says, bowing so low he nearly tips your drugs tray off the counter.

You sigh. ‘Just get it done, ok?’

‘I will,’ he promises.

***

The annual staff party takes place in December, you go every year when you’re not working.

It’s not what you would call a classy affair, but there’s an unlimited free bar and a buffet table.

You’re trying not to get pulled onto the dancefloor by the overexcited Jung Hoseok when you see him.

Tall, dressed in a crisp shirt that makes his skin tone pop, wavy hair styled half over his forehead, he looks so good your mouth goes dry.

He’s already looking at you.

You send him a pleading look as last summer’s dance anthem comes on and you finally acquiesce.

Hoseok’s a great dancer, you’ll give him that, with an energy that’s infectious. You’re starting to enjoy it when Taehyung slides in smoothly behind you.

His body presses against yours, you get the sense he’s leaning closer, then his voice sounds in your ear.

Intimate like a caress.

‘You look really pretty,’ he says.

You turn your head and he’s right there, lips curled in a smirk, head tilted to yours like it’s just the two of you.

You turn into his arms and his hand lands on the small of your back, an inch too low for polite company.

He dips his head low to whisper in your ear again, and you let him lead you off the dancefloor, into a darkened part of the room.

‘My place?’ he murmurs, eyes intent on yours, his tall frame leaning over you.

You curl a hand over his forearm, and he wraps a possessive arm around your waist to take you home.

***

Shit, Taehyung is hotter than you remember.

He’s splayed over his couch, tugging you down so you’re draped over his thick thighs, your skirt rucked up, his thick length throbbing against your core.

He lays a kiss right next to the corner of your mouth, teasing when you turn your head to try to kiss him.

He’s got a hand on your waist, another one curved over your breast, and he grunts when you rock your hips against his.

‘Fuck, when’s the last time we did this,’ he murmurs into your ear, voice thick, syllables running together in a honeyed drawl that makes you close your eyes.

‘Dunno, don’t make me wait,’ you complain, tugging at his shirt.

He doesn’t answer, kissing you again with an eagerness that let you know he wants this as much as you do.

He tastes like the chocolate mint he was sucking all the way to his apartment and he licks into your mouth in a way that makes your crave the feel of his cock plunging into you.

‘Tae,’ you moan.

His hand runs down your spine, tugs the zipper of your dress down, making your dress fall in a pool at your hips. He gazes at your breasts in the bra you picked out because you know he likes white lingerie.

He chews on his lower lip as he traces a finger over the upper curve of your breasts, then he lowers his mouth to you.

He unclasps your bra, helps you pull it off.

The way he admires your half naked body makes you feel like you’re burning up from the inside.

He pulls your hips closer, grinds a little against you, showing you he’s still hard as a rock, but he’s always been a patient man.

He kisses the soft curves of your tits until you’re whining his name the way he likes. By the time he sucks a nipple into the wet warmth of his mouth you’re barely aware of anything but him.

He lays you down, gets on top of you, mouth still on your tits, hard cock jutting into the space between your legs, teasing.

You curl an arm around his neck, hanging on as he aligns the blunt head of his cock to your entrance and pushes in.

‘Fuck,’ you gasp. He fills you so well your eyes close with the pleasure of it.

He circles his hips on the next thrust, and you whine his name.

‘Gonna come on my cock?’ he asks, voice low, words coming out staccato as he keeps fucking you.

‘Yeah, fuck, don’t stop,’ you moan.

‘I won’t,’ he promises, curling a hand under your knee to keep you from scooting up the bed with every thrust.

Fuck, he’s strong.

He rolls his hips tight against yours, and you can feel your orgasm tingling through your toes, your pleasure centres lighting up each time he groans and moves deep inside you.

‘Tae,’ you pant.

‘Yeah,’ he grunts. ‘Hold on.’

He takes a moment to push your hair away from your face and give you a cocky smirk as though you couldn’t feel exactly how hard he is.

‘Gonna cum?’

‘Uh huh, don’t stop,’ you plead..

‘I won’t,’ he promises again. ‘Wanna feel you —‘

You cry his name as he grips your ass and you come.

‘Good girl,’ he praises, voice low, the tendons in his neck straining as he fucks you through it.

‘Shit, I can feel you,’ he groans. ‘Fu—-uck.’

He’s coming himself, you realise, his movements slowing, his grip tightening on your ass almost to the point of pain.

He dips his head for another kiss, open mouthed and sloppy, tongues mingling as the tension drains from his body and he collapses on the bed next to you.

‘Are you squished?’ he asks, slurred, trying to disentangle your thighs from his.

You shake your head.

‘Don’t go far —‘

He laughs, affectionate. ‘Forgot how clingy you get. Gimme a sec, just get this —-‘

He breaks off. ‘Shit.’

‘What?’ you ask, trying to see.

‘Condom split,’ he tells you.

‘Oh.’

You sit up, and there’s a tell-tale gush between your legs.

‘Yeah.’

You roll out of his bed, your legs like jelly still, and head for his bathroom.

A moment later he sticks his head round the door.

‘You ok?’

Your eyes meet.

‘Yeah.’

‘There’s a 24 hour pharmacy down the block,’ he says. He hesitates. ‘I haven’t slept with anyone since we last fucked.’

Despite the situation, you’re surprised. ‘Really?’

‘Have you?’

You use the bathroom and wash your hands.

‘No.’

‘Shit, are we monogamous?’ Taehyung asks, sounding so incredulous about it you snicker.

‘Shit, it’s like we’re a couple or something,’ you joke.

He hands you one of his sweatshirts to get dressed.

‘Guess so,’ he agrees. ‘Do you even want to go to the pharmacy? We can have a baby. I like babies.’

You smile at him fondly. ‘You’re good with babies,’ you say. ‘But we can’t have a baby now.’

‘Honestly?’ he says, pulling his own clothes on. ‘Even talking about it is making me horny.’

You laugh as he passes you your panties. ‘Come on, let’s go, I’m hungry.’

Taehyung helps you on with your coat.

‘Is my hair a mess?’ you ask.

‘Looks like you’ve been fucked,’ he advises. ‘Keep it that way so no one hits on you.’

‘You’re ridiculous,’ you scoff. ‘Who’s going to hit on me at the pharmacy?’

‘Who wouldn’t hit on you?’ he counters, sounding perfectly serious. ‘You’re hot.’

He locks his door and you head down to the main entrance of his building.

He slips his hand over yours so naturally you don’t realise what he’s doing until he’s holding your hand, and then you don’t want to let go.

***

It’s the week before Christmas and you’re in the staffroom having lunch with Namjoon as Hoyeon and Mina pass out the secret santa gifts.

‘Here’s yours,’ Hoyeon announces brightly, passing you a silver paper bag

You accept with a nod and thanks, pulling out the card.

‘Thank you for being you, love Santa,’ you read out loud.

Namjoon rolls his eyes. ‘Christmas is a soulless commercial holiday.’

‘Ok, atheist,’ you say, rolling your eyes back at him.

‘I’m agnostic,’ he mutters.

You unwrap your gift and stop, frowning, at the duck’s egg blue box.

‘Wasn’t there a cost limit?’

You lift the lid to reveal a pair of sparkly earrings.

‘That’s at least a carat each,’ Hoyeon observes.

‘This can’t be right,’ you say.

‘Do you like them, noona?’ asks the intern Jeon Jungkook, popping up from out of nowhere.

You and Namjoon stare at him open-mouthed.

‘Are you my secret santa?’ you ask.

He nods eagerly. ‘I was so happy to get you.’

‘There was a gift cost limit,’ you protest.

‘I don’t know how much they cost, I just put it on my black card,’ he admits.

You’re still staring at him.

‘Jesus fuck,’ observes Yoongi from somewhere behind you. ‘What in the name of blood diamonds—‘

‘They’re ethically sourced!’ says Jeon Jungkook, indignant.

‘No diamonds are ethically sourced,’ Yoongi says, pityingly. ‘Anyway there was a gift cost limit. She can’t accept.’

Jungkook pouts.

‘They’re beautiful, but Yoongi’s right, Jungkook,’ you say gently. ‘Besides, you can’t afford —‘

‘My family own the hospital,’ Jungkook tells you, earnestly. ‘And a few others too, and Sharpcor.’

Now Yoongi’s staring at him too. ‘Your family own the biggest pharmaceutical conglomerate in South Korea?’

Hoyeon whistles.

Namjoon splutters. ‘You left a pair of diamond earrings in a random gift pile in the staffroom?’

‘Not the point,’ you and Yoongi say in unison.

‘Who knew the intern was chaebol,’ remarks Hoyeon. She pats him reassuringly on the shoulder. ‘So handsome, too.’

Hoyeon smiles at you. ‘Almost as handsome as Kim Taehyung.’

Namjoon chokes on his lunch.

‘You and Taehyung?’ he asks, incredulous.

‘Where have you fucking been?’ Yoongi asks, scornful.

He turns to you. ‘This is why I don’t trust him to carry my coffee stuff.’

‘Anyway, I wanted to thank you for helping me out the other day,’ Jungkook says. ‘And if Taehyung ever treats you badly you should tell me.’

He narrows his eyes.

‘I’ll take care of him for you, noona,’ he vows.

‘Uh, thanks?’

‘Where’s my secret santa gift?’ Namjoon asks, looking through the pile.

‘Working with me is its own reward,’ comes the silken tones of Professor Kim Seokjin, awardee of the ‘Trainer of the Year’ award for five years running as voted for by SNU medical trainees.

Kim Seokjin smiles kindly at you. ‘Nice earrings.’

***

You’re sitting at the ICU hub validating your observations from the last case when a shadow falls over you. You look up automatically to see Kim Taehyung.

‘Hey,’ he says, that smirk on his face that you’ll never admit to him is fucking hot.

‘Hey,’ you say, casual.

He leans over the screen of your computer. ‘So I figured —‘

He’s cut off by Ara, one of the ICU nurses.

‘Thank you for my secret santa present,’ she says, smiling at him warmly.

‘How did you know it was him?’ you ask, signing the last of your prescriptions.

‘We talked about how much I love cats,’ she replies, looking up shyly.

Taehyung smiles. ‘It was me. I’m glad you liked your present.’

‘I wondered, if you’re not too busy later, if you wanted to go to the cat cafe we were talking about?’ Ara asks.

Taehyung glances at you. ‘Actually, Ara —‘

He pauses like he’s waiting for you to jump in.

You’re logged off, all done, but waiting to see where this goes.

‘I’m kind of seeing someone,’ he finishes.

You get up, and Taehyung follows you out of the ICU.

‘Why didn’t you say anything?’ he complains, as soon as you’re out of Ara’s earshot.

‘Like what?’ you ask.

‘Like how we fucked three times last night?’

You both fall silent as Nurse Choi passes by pretending not to have heard.

‘Why would that stop you from going to the cat cafe with Ara?’ you ask.

You’ve spoken thoughtlessly, and as soon as the words leave your lips you realise how collossally stupid they are.

Of course you care if Taehyung goes on a date with Ara.

It’s too late to take them back.

Taehyung stares at you, brows drawn together.

‘Unbelievable,’ he says.

You’re hurt, but you don’t know what to say to salvage the awful wrong turn this conversation’s taken.

For once, your quick mind fails you, and whilst you’re clicking through how to fix this, Taehyung’s turned away.

‘You know what, I don’t want to do this,’ he tells you.

He lifts his gaze to yours. ‘I thought we were finally getting somewhere, you know? What was the point of us these two years?’

He doesn’t wait for an answer, which is fine, because you can’t give one.

As he walks away you already know you’re making the biggest mistake you’ve made lately in letting him go.

***

Yoongi sighs, exaggerated.

‘Did you start your Christmas drinking early or what?’

‘Huh?’ you ask, blankly.

‘You’re one short step from getting thrown out of my anaesthetic room,’ Yoongi says, a sharpness to his tone he doesn’t normally use with you.

You struggle to focus on the monitoring in front of you.

‘Sorry, I haven’t been sleeping well,’ you apologise.

‘Next time you have a bad day, do us both a favour and call in sick,’ Yoongi says. ‘This patient is relying on us to keep him alive and under anaesthesia for his operation, and at this rate, you’re not going to achieve that.’

You take a step back at his harsh words.

‘I’m sorry, I’ll call in Namjoon,’ you say hurriedly.

‘Leave the —’

Yoongi breaks off as you pick up the glass bottle of acetaminophen. ‘I told you it was broken,’ he says.

You stare blindly at the cut on your hand from the glass shard of the broken bottle.

‘Fuck. I’m so sorry. I’ll get Namjoon,’ you say.

‘No. Sit the fuck down,’ Yoongi says sternly, tossing you a pack of swabs to mop up the bleeding. ‘Watch the monitoring until I get back, and if the patient’s tube falls out you’re damn well going to snap gloves on and reintubate him, cut hand or not.’

You daren’t disagree.

You tie a swab around your bleeding hand and force yourself back into the routine you’ve developed over the years you’ve been training with Yoongi.

Patient.

Monitoring.

Lines.

You run through all three checks in a loop until you hear the door to the anaesthetic room swing open behind you.

‘The patient’s stable,’ you call, not turning around.

‘I know they are,’ comes Yoongi’s voice. ‘Go get your hand stitched up.’

You turn and instead of Namjoon you see Taehyung.

You look at Yoongi, betrayed.

He’s staring back at you, face impassive.

‘Do you think I actually need help? I’ve been giving anaesthesia since before you could even draw a propofol molecule,’ he says, dryly. ‘Go get your hand stitched up.’

Taehyung’s looking at you, but he hasn’t moved from his spot near the door.

‘It might not need stitches,’ you protest.

‘Why don’t you let the surgeon decide,’ Yoongi suggests. ‘Get the fuck out of my anaesthetic room. I expect you back here next week at your usual level of competence.’

He turns his back on you so you have no choice but to follow Taehyung into the next room.

Taehyung runs the tap so you can hold your hand under the stream of water.

‘Just keep it under there,’ he says. ‘I’ll get some local and sutures ready.’

You watch the blood from your cut run into the sink and try to gather your composure as he gathers things behind you.

You haven’t spoken to Taehyung since your awful encounter a week ago. You’d called him, but he hadn’t answered, so you’d left it at that.

You’re wondering if you should turn around when he approaches you with a swab.

‘Here, hold your arm up,’ he says quietly.

You bend your elbow to keep your hand above your heart as you take a seat on the trolley.

Taehyung gestures for you to lower your hand onto the tray he’s set up.

He pulls up a stool across from you, and you look away.

‘There’s a shard of glass still in here,’ he tells you. ‘I’ll give you some local and take it out. You’ll probably need a couple stitches.’

‘Ok,’ you say.

You flinch at the sting of the needle, but he’s so gentle you don’t feel much more than that.

This close, the familiarity of his cologne and the warmth of his touch make you miss him so much it makes you want to cry.

You still can’t look at him.

He’s quiet as he works on your hand.

Finally, he says, ‘All done.’

You risk a look at your hand to see a line of beautiful neat stitches, just before he covers it with a dressing.

‘Thanks,’ you say. You look up to meet his gaze.

He leans forward and kisses you on your forehead, so quickly you don’t have time to react.

‘Take the stitches out in a week,’ he says.

He hesitates. ‘I can take them out for you, but if it’s easier, any of the nurses can help you.’

‘Tae,’ you say.

He’s already getting up, tidying up the tray. ‘Just a sec.’

You wait for him after he’s left the room, but soon enough it’s clear that he’s not coming back.

***

‘You didn’t even dress this smartly when you interviewed for your fellowship,’ Yoongi observes from somewhere behind you.

You jump.

‘Jesus, don’t sneak up on me like that!’

Yoongi looks unperturbed, sucking on a vape that violates all of the hospital’s policies.

You remind him of that and he just snorts. ‘Technically we’re on university grounds.’

‘The real question is why you’re hanging around hiding behind a fern at the surgical appraisals,’ Yoongi remarks.

‘I’m not hiding,’ you say, sulky.

Yoongi mutters something that sounds like ‘fucking Kim Taehyung.’

You don’t bother asking him to repeat himself, because you’ve spotted him.

Before you can make yourself overthink it, you step out, right into Kim Taehyung’s path.

He steps back, startled, his hand automatically reaching to steady you.

‘Are you ok? Did I bump into you?’

‘No,’ you say, ‘I just wanted to say good luck for your appraisal.’

His smile is immediate. ‘You remembered. Thank you.’

You’re so busy drinking in how good he looks in a suit that it takes you a moment to realise he’s just asked you a question.

‘My hand?’

He holds out his hand, palm out, and you put your hand in his automatically.

He looks like he’s holding back a smile. ‘I think it was the other one,’ he says, so seriously you can’t be embarrassed.

He traces a gentle finger over your healing scar.

‘It looks like it’s healing nicely,’ he observes. His fingers curl around yours in a gentle squeeze, then he lets go.

‘Thanks for stitching me up,’ you say.

You both look up as his name is called.

‘Good luck,’ you say, quickly.

He looks like he wants to say something else, but in the end he just nods.

***

It’s 10am on Christmas day, and you’ve never been a grinch but your Christmas spirit is already running low.

So far you’ve extubated two patients on the ICU, one of whom promptly pulled out his art line, dousing you and Nurse Choi in AB positive, and the only fresh scrubs left in the dispenser were three times too large for you.

You sigh as you roll up your scrubs bottoms so they aren’t dragging on the floor as you head to theatres to answer your latest call.

You’re greeted by a rush of activity.

‘There’s an offer,’ announces Hoyeon as you enter the anaesthetic meeting room.

‘Heart or lungs?’ you ask.

‘It’s a heart, from Jeju-do.’

‘Where’s the recipient?’ you ask.

‘Arriving in an hour,’ says Yoongi, briskly. ‘Go have lunch, it’s going to be a late night.’

It’s 10 am, but you know that with the logistics of all the pre-heart transplant tests, harvesting the donor heart and prepping the recipient, you’ll be busy for hours.

You head to the staffroom to bolt your lunch only to find Taehyung already there.

He glances at your sandwich and pushes one of his bowls towards you. ‘I brought extra,’ he says.

‘Thanks,’ you say.

You eat in silence seated opposite each other.

Eventually he says, ‘Didn’t they have any scrubs in your size?’

‘I like the baggy look,’ you reply, deadpan.

You realise he’s lifting his own scrubs top off.

‘Here, let’s swap. It’s closer to your size.’

You stand and he steps between you and the staffroom door to shield you from the view of anyone walking in.

‘Don’t worry, I won’t look,’ he says. There’s a teasing note in his voice.

You pull your top off and pass it to him, then slip his top on.

It smells like him.

‘Did you look?’ you ask, looking up at him.

He reaches to help you pull your hair out from the back of the top.

‘Of course I did,’ he says, and he sounds so offended that you would even check that you can’t help giggling.

‘I miss you,’ you say, the words coming so naturally you don’t realise what you’ve said until his eyebrows lift slightly.

He doesn’t give you any time to worry. ‘I’ve missed you too,’ he tells you.

You exchange a smile, the first in a long time.

There’s exaggerated throat clearing from behind Taehyung.

‘There’s a patient waiting to get a new heart, but you guys take your time,’ says Yoongi, wielding his sarcasm like a whole other language. ‘It’s fine.’

***

You’re titrating pressors on the patient from Jeju-do as Park Jimin dissects down the major vessels and veins.

In the adjoining theatre, you can see Yoongi, Taehyung and Professor Kim Seokjin (Executive Chair of the National Blood and Transplant Committee 2021-2024) waiting with the recipient.

Jimin looks up at you.

‘About to explant,’ he says.

‘I’ve got you,’ you reply.

You watch, awed as always, as the donor heart is placed in a saline bath and rolled towards the adjoining theatre.

Namjoon, beside you, takes over the haemodynamics and Jimin goes back to operating. You know that between them they’ll treat the donor with the honour their choice deserves.

For now, you head towards the next theatre to help Yoongi.

Jung Hoseok’s running a spotless circuit, the recipient’s already on bypass, and the heart looks good to go.

As Taehyung and Professor Kim Seokjin (founder of the non-profit Healing Hearts that provides surgical expertise to low-income countries) remove the original heart and begin the long process of suturing the new graft in, there’s a quiet that’s uncharacteristic of operating theatre 1b.

You can’t help but admire how beautiful Taehyung looks when he’s like this, his face composed under his loupes, his hands moving with a grace and sureness that’s lovely to watch.

Yoongi and you swap each other out as the operation goes on, until just before midnight when the last of the graft sutures goes in.

There aren’t any barriers between you and the surgeons, not tonight at least.

‘I think we’re good,’ Kim Seokjin says, with a quiet simplicity you rarely ever hear from him.

‘Good,’ Yoongi says, absent his usual snark.

Taehyung releases the aortic cross clamp, and as you watch, the newly transplanted heart fills with blood.

Then, it starts to beat.

Your eyes meet Taehyung’s, and you can see his smile even under the mask, your brain filling in the parts of his face you know so well.

You’re smiling back.

You think everything’s going to be all right.

***

It’s a couple hours later, when you’ve dropped off the patient on the ICU, and are heading to the locker room, that you hear your name called.

It’s Taehyung, a line on his forehead from where he was wearing a scrubs hat all day, eyes a little bloodshot from fatigue, and still the most beautiful thing you’ve seen this Christmas.

He stops in front of you, there’s a moment of silence and then both of you speak at once.

You both stop, and you reach for his hand.

‘Do you want to grab some food?’ you ask.

‘Like a date?’ Taehyung asks, but he’s lit up like a Christmas tree so you think he already knows.

‘Yeah, like a date,’ you say.

The way he’s looking at you makes you wonder why the hell you waited so long.

‘There’s nothing I’d like more,’ he says.

He knits his fingers through yours, gently, and you walk down through the hospital together.

end.

Happy holidays! Take it easy. Love, Rei xx

#bts smut #bts fanfic #taehyung smut #taehyung x reader

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 9 days ago

Text

This image by Doug Mills NYT of today's new conference is really something.

(Amy Siskind)

* * * *

Special Counsel: "Trump would have been convicted."

January 14, 2025

Robert B. Hubbell

[Note: Due to the late release of the special counsel’s report, this newsletter is a bit disjointed. I wanted to publish on schedule despite the late-breaking news, so I ask your understanding for the seeming lack of organization.]

Last Saturday, I spoke to readers on a Substack livestream. My thesis was that the next week will be among the most challenging we will face as Americans who care about the rule of law.

We will witness a president-elect—who tried to overturn the Constitution in his prior term—swear that he will “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”—words that will metastasize into a lie the moment he utters them. He will desecrate the Bible on which he places his hand.

The oath will be administered by a Chief Justice who granted the president-elect immunity from criminal liability, freeing Trump to ignore, attack, and undermine the Constitution.

We will watch confirmation hearings in which woefully unqualified nominees are hypocritically defended by a Republican Party that pays lip service to patriotism, law and order, and morality—except when it comes to GOP nominees credibly accused of rape, sexual assault, addictions, national security concerns, and promises to use the DOJ to exact vengeance on the president’s political opponents.

Those anticipated events are enough to make a rational person take to their bed and pull the covers over their head for the next four years. But it gets worse. Trump and MAGA are threatening to hold the victims of the Los Angeles wildfires as hostages to their efforts to raise the national debt limit (necessary to extend the 2017 tax cuts to billionaires and corporations). See Daily Beast, Republicans Float Holding California Fire Aid Hostage for Key Trump Policy.

It simply doesn’t get any more despicable than that. Every Republican who suggests that aid for victims should be conditioned on tax breaks for billionaires deserves their own circle in Dante’s Inferno.

Today’s newsletter touches on a fair number of stories that can be viewed as “bad news.” Readers sometimes tell me that they stop reading such newsletters. I get it. But I don’t make up the news; I just comment on it.

The advice that I gave to readers on Saturday is that they should adopt two strategies to remain engaged during rough times:

First, don’t collapse the future into the present moment. The future comes at us one day at a time. We will have time to deal with potential crises as they unfold. We don’t have to “fix” everything today. To be sure, we should plan, prepare, and strategize. But not everything we are worried about will materialize. We may successfully stop or delay threats from materializing.

Second, maintain “emotional distance” from bad news. Recognize that you can’t control most of what Trump says or does. Given that fact, recognize that unchanneled anxiety and fear will not change the outcome. Focus on what you can do to change, impede, obstruct, or reverse policies we oppose. I am not saying “Don’t care” or “Hide your feelings.” Feeling anxious or fearful is understandable and natural. But recognize that we have a professional responsibility as citizens to remain informed so we can be effective advocates for the rule of law.

Okay, with that longer-than-usual throat clearing, let’s look at the stories that came at us with high velocity and frequency on Monday.

Judge Cannon continues to act in a lawless manner by obstructing release of portion of Jack Smith reports

Judge Aileen Cannon continues to issue orders regarding the reports of special counsel Jack Smith. As to the portion of the report relating to Trump's unlawful retention of national defense documents, Cannon has slowed the release of that document—including to Congress. Her order permitted the release of the portion of the report relating to Trump's election interference—a case over which she has no jurisdiction.

See MSNBC, Jack Smith's report on Trump election interference set for release after Cannon order

By the time you read this newsletter, it is highly likely that a portion of Jack Smith’s report will have been posted on the DOJ website. If so, I will address that report in Tuesday evening’s newsletter.

Judge Cannon’s unrestrained, lawless assertion of jurisdiction over matters plainly beyond her constitutional authority is a scandal for the federal judiciary. At one point in her order issued on January 13, Cannon says she doesn’t understand why the report regarding the national defense documents needs to be released to Congress. Cannon knows full well that one of Trump's nominees under consideration by the Senate (Kash Patel) is mentioned in the special counsel report.

Her order denying the report to Congress is nothing less than an effort to interfere with the Senate’s constitutional duty of “advice and consent.” See Emptywheel on Substack, Aileen Cannon Interfering with Chuck Grassley and Dick Durbin's Constitutional Duty.

Both the 11th Circuit and the US Supreme Court are to blame for Cannon’s lawless actions—actions that undermine the faith of the American people in the third branch of government. Removal of Cannon from the cases (if not the bench) is long overdue.

UPDATE: Jack Smith’s report is released; says Trump would have been convicted

Per the NYTimes, Jack Smith’s report on Trump's election interference was released on Tuesday morning. See New York Times, Special Counsel Report Says Trump Would Have Been Convicted in Election Case. (Accessible to all.)

Per the Times, the report concluded:

The department’s view that the Constitution prohibits the continued indictment and prosecution of a president is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the government’s proof or the merits of the prosecution, which the office stands fully behind.

Indeed, but for Mr. Trump’s election and imminent return to the presidency, the office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial.

Jack Smith’s reached the right conclusion��as is obvious to anyone who watched the January 6 insurrection and related coup unfold on live television.

Hearing on Hegseth nomination set for Tuesday

Despite his manifest unfitness, Pete Hegseth will sit for a confirmation hearing in the Senate on Tuesday. Hegseth lacks the experience and temperament to run a 2 million+ person organization. Hegseth has been accused of rape and sexual harassment. He has been accused of financial mismanagement. His chest is tattooed with symbols associated with Christian nationalists. He opposes women in combat positions in the military. He opposes diversity initiatives in the military.

Trump and his acolytes have turned support for Hegseth into a test of loyalty to Trump. See Intelligencer, Pete Hegseth Is a Test.

The FBI appears to have omitted important witnesses from Hegseth’s background check—including his former wives and the woman who told police in 2017 that Hegseth sexually assaulted her. See NBC News, Pete Hegseth's FBI background check doesn't include interviews with key women from his past.

Hegseth faces a long list of allegations of misconduct. See Mother Jones, A Running List of the Allegations Against Pete Hegseth – Mother Jones. We should expect Republicans to run interference for Hegseth while Democrats try to uncover the truth about Hegseth’s past.

[..]

Concluding Thoughts

January 20, 2025, is Martin Luther King Day. It is also Inauguration Day. I know that many readers will make plans to avoid watching the Inauguration. I know I will—because the Inauguration of Donald Trump will be a moment of national disgrace and desecration rather than an occasion for celebration of the peaceful transfer of power.

If you have other plans, I encourage you to keep them. But if you do not currently have other plans during the Inauguration, join me on a livestream on Substack. While I don’t have the program planned (because of the fires in LA), I intend—among other things—to read portions of Letter From Birmingham Jail and other appropriate documents. I am open to suggestions.

I can’t promise a glossy, high-value production. I can promise we will be together in community on a difficult day for everyone who holds America dear. Details to follow.

Stay strong! Talk to you tomorrow!

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

#TFG #circus barker #Amy Siskind #press conference #Robert B. Hubbell #Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter #incoming

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aifsaath · 1 year ago

Note

I am continuously perplexed at how a show as objectively bad and problematic as hotd keeps inspiring outstanding fanfics like yours and @gwenllian-in-the-abbey’s. Truly it’s a mystery to me, especially considering that the books covering the dance are supposed to be quite mediocre as well from what I’ve perceived. Just so you know,with that trailer out now I’m gonna completely blend out the events of the show and consider our fathers clad in red canon

@gwenllian-in-the-abbey AAAAAAAAAAAAAA, I think George's gonna order a hit on us:D

I'm glad you like our slightly destructive approach to teh canon. I'm mostly fueled by spite and my dislike for George's and HBO's complete disregard for the historical context of the stuff they draw their inspiration from (you can't do the Matilda vs Stephen showdown and expect the same sense of injustice, when your main conflict is about Viserys' imbecilic approach to rules, Rhaenyra's weak-ass claim and papa/dragons being her go-to solution to all her problems, Daemon being a chaos gremlin, Corlys' malignant ambition and the Hightowers being the only ones who actually care about the rule of law.)

A lesbian romance doesn't automatically turn a story into a feminist manifesto, nor does a girlboss who's treated by the narrative as the second coming of Christ. Context matters and it's a mistake to view the Dance through the lens of modern ideals about egalitarianism.

GRRM's hubris when it comes to "Aragorn's tax policies" is just another thing that enrages me and Gwenllian, because the man completely misunderstands the medieval legal codes. Just because they were complex that doesn't mean they were fucking contradictory on their own; no one wanted civil wars breaking out each time a monarch died.

Problems happened when two countries with generational beefs worked on two different principles of succession, ie. England (male-preference primogeniture) vs France (male-only primogeniture), or if there was some dynastic fuckery that completely messed up the clear-cut succession lines with usurpations and cousin marriages (Yorks vs Lancasters).

Had Richard II (the son of the Black Prince) died peacefully without issue, the succession would have followed through the line of the Duke of Clarence, with Edmund the Earl of March eventually becoming the king (and he was Richard's heir, btw).

But that's not what happened. The son of John of Gaunt usurped the throne and it was then passed down through his line, because he was the crowned king. Now, you can argue whether or not he had any right to do the usurpation in the first place and whether or not he was the legitimate king and you bet people back then argued about that too. This ambiguity is how you create a proper narrative about actually conflicting claims. The only thing propping up Rhaenyra against her brother is the fact that Viserys is a moron.

How the fuck can I take F&B seriously and without the Dead Sea's worth of salt, when it pretty much blows Jaehaerys' posthumous dick about his wisdom when he "let" the council of 101 decide the succession (while politely ignoring the fact that Jaehaerys' own claim is legit only in the cases of either full salic or semi-salic succession, ie male-only), while never once it calls out Viserys out on his extremely dangerous decision. He gets to die venerated as the peaceful grandpa and all the blame for his incompetence is piled on Aegon II and Alicent.

Let's go through the possible succession systems, shall we?

If we follow male-preference primogeniture, the legitimate line of kings ends with Aerea because she was the eldest child of Aegon the Uncrowned, Maegor's eldest nephew. Only after she and her sister die without issue, Jaehaerys can become the king. Jaehaerys' canon ascension works only because Rhaena gave up her daughters' claims. The next in line would be Aemon and after him Rhaenys. But that's not what happened.

If we follow the salic law (male only), the legitimate line of the kings goes Aegon I -> Aenys I -> Aegon Uncrowned -> Jaehaerys I -> Viserys I -> Aegon II. This is probably what Jaehaerys wanted to ensure, since he challenged Maegor's kingship in the first place.

If a crowned king can choose his heir, then Jaehaerys was never a legitimate king and Aerea was the true queen, because Maegor, who had won his crown in the trial by combat, chose her as his heir.

What about the principle of seniority? Cognatic seniority where men and women have equal claims is out of the question since Aegon I was the crowned king, not Visenya. Male-only seniority would go Aegon I -> Aenys I -> Maegor I (uncontested!) -> Aegon Crowned This Time -> Viserys the Not Tortured to Death -> Jaehaerys I -> Aemon (only if his uncle Viserys has no issue) -> Baelon -> Vaegon -> Viserys I -> Daemon (EW).

Notice the distinct lack of Rhaenyra.

Team Black keeps mentioning the widow's law, but that's a bulk of nonsense. I suppose the misunderstanding originates from a (willful) misinterpretation of this passage. The book says:

Now, I highly doubt Jaehaerys intended for the law to mean that a daughter from the first marriage should come before the sons from the second. The wording is a bit unlucky, but I suppose the intention was to establish the legal position of the second wife and her children as united with the position of her step-children - she has the same duties towards them as if they were own, and the same goes the other way. Which would make sense. Because otherwise, no one would be desperate enough to marry a widower with daughters. Since we know that title and land ownerships have remained in the same families without changing hands once or twice since the implementation of the law, I really doubt the team black's literal interpretation of the passage was the one intended. Ffs, Viserys was pushed to marry again because he had only one daughter, meaning, this law wasn't viewed the way the Team Black wishes for. And I'm not even delving into the fact that this would be a female inheritance hack penned by Jaehaerys, if that was the case. Talk about ooc.

So, yeah, we're taking Gyldayne's interpretation of the past with so much salt our hearts are gonna fail.

#dance of the dragons #aegon ii targaryen #rhaenyra targaryen #viserys i targaryen #grrm critical #Aragorn's Tax Policy #Rhaenyra had no right to the throne and you know it #asks #our fathers clad in red

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claret-may · 3 days ago

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The White House's Anti-Trans Declaration

Before we get to the text...this declaration shouldn't affect state-wide protections, and only affects things in very specific ways on the Federal level. From the ACLU: "The executive orders 'do not and cannot change the law,' Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project, who last month became the first openly trans person to argue before the Supreme Court, wrote on Instagram. 'They will be glorified press releases designed to create confusion and chaos.'" https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/01/trump-declares-war-on-transgender-people/ <3 drink plenty of water and get tons of rest...first, ahem, cleanse your palette by imagining the cutest puppy ever, rolling over onto its back and asking for a belly rub. Okay you can read the press release now. It will be waiting for you after you're done.

...

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 7301 of title 5, United States Code, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1. Purpose. Across the country, ideologues who deny the biological reality of sex have increasingly used legal and other socially coercive means to permit men to self-identify as women and gain access to intimate single-sex spaces and activities designed for women, from women’s domestic abuse shelters to women’s workplace showers. This is wrong. Efforts to eradicate the biological reality of sex fundamentally attack women by depriving them of their dignity, safety, and well-being. The erasure of sex in language and policy has a corrosive impact not just on women but on the validity of the entire American system. Basing Federal policy on truth is critical to scientific inquiry, public safety, morale, and trust in government itself.

This unhealthy road is paved by an ongoing and purposeful attack against the ordinary and longstanding use and understanding of biological and scientific terms, replacing the immutable biological reality of sex with an internal, fluid, and subjective sense of self unmoored from biological facts. Invalidating the true and biological category of “woman” improperly transforms laws and policies designed to protect sex-based opportunities into laws and policies that undermine them, replacing longstanding, cherished legal rights and values with an identity-based, inchoate social concept.

Accordingly, my Administration will defend women’s rights and protect freedom of conscience by using clear and accurate language and policies that recognize women are biologically female, and men are biologically male.

Sec. 2. Policy and Definitions. It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality. Under my direction, the Executive Branch will enforce all sex-protective laws to promote this reality, and the following definitions shall govern all Executive interpretation of and application of Federal law and administration policy:

(a) “Sex” shall refer to an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female. “Sex” is not a synonym for and does not include the concept of “gender identity.”

(b) “Women” or “woman” and “girls” or “girl” shall mean adult and juvenile human females, respectively.

(d) “Female” means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell.

(e) “Male” means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the small reproductive cell.

(f) “Gender ideology” replaces the biological category of sex with an ever-shifting concept of self-assessed gender identity, permitting the false claim that males can identify as and thus become women and vice versa, and requiring all institutions of society to regard this false claim as true. Gender ideology includes the idea that there is a vast spectrum of genders that are disconnected from one’s sex. Gender ideology is internally inconsistent, in that it diminishes sex as an identifiable or useful category but nevertheless maintains that it is possible for a person to be born in the wrong sexed body.

(g) “Gender identity” reflects a fully internal and subjective sense of self, disconnected from biological reality and sex and existing on an infinite continuum, that does not provide a meaningful basis for identification and cannot be recognized as a replacement for sex.

Sec. 3. Recognizing Women Are Biologically Distinct From Men. (a) Within 30 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide to the U.S. Government, external partners, and the public clear guidance expanding on the sex-based definitions set forth in this order.

(b) Each agency and all Federal employees shall enforce laws governing sex-based rights, protections, opportunities, and accommodations to protect men and women as biologically distinct sexes. Each agency should therefore give the terms “sex”, “male”, “female”, “men”, “women”, “boys” and “girls” the meanings set forth in section 2 of this order when interpreting or applying statutes, regulations, or guidance and in all other official agency business, documents, and communications.

(c) When administering or enforcing sex-based distinctions, every agency and all Federal employees acting in an official capacity on behalf of their agency shall use the term “sex” and not “gender” in all applicable Federal policies and documents.

(d) The Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall implement changes to require that government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder’s sex, as defined under section 2 of this order; and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall ensure that applicable personnel records accurately report Federal employees’ sex, as defined by section 2 of this order.

(e) Agencies shall remove all statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications, or other internal and external messages that promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology, and shall cease issuing such statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications or other messages. Agency forms that require an individual’s sex shall list male or female, and shall not request gender identity. Agencies shall take all necessary steps, as permitted by law, to end the Federal funding of gender ideology.

(f) The prior Administration argued that the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), which addressed Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, requires gender identity-based access to single-sex spaces under, for example, Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act. This position is legally untenable and has harmed women. The Attorney General shall therefore immediately issue guidance to agencies to correct the misapplication of the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) to sex-based distinctions in agency activities. In addition, the Attorney General shall issue guidance and assist agencies in protecting sex-based distinctions, which are explicitly permitted under Constitutional and statutory precedent.

(g) Federal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology. Each agency shall assess grant conditions and grantee preferences and ensure grant funds do not promote gender ideology.

Sec. 4. Privacy in Intimate Spaces. (a) The Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure that males are not detained in women’s prisons or housed in women’s detention centers, including through amendment, as necessary, of Part 115.41 of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations and interpretation guidance regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act.

(b) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall prepare and submit for notice and comment rulemaking a policy to rescind the final rule entitled “Equal Access in Accordance with an Individual’s Gender Identity in Community Planning and Development Programs” of September 21, 2016, 81 FR 64763, and shall submit for public comment a policy protecting women seeking single-sex rape shelters.

(c) The Attorney General shall ensure that the Bureau of Prisons revises its policies concerning medical care to be consistent with this order, and shall ensure that no Federal funds are expended for any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex.

(d) Agencies shall effectuate this policy by taking appropriate action to ensure that intimate spaces designated for women, girls, or females (or for men, boys, or males) are designated by sex and not identity.

Sec. 5. Protecting Rights. The Attorney General shall issue guidance to ensure the freedom to express the binary nature of sex and the right to single-sex spaces in workplaces and federally funded entities covered by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In accordance with that guidance, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, the General Counsel and Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and each other agency head with enforcement responsibilities under the Civil Rights Act shall prioritize investigations and litigation to enforce the rights and freedoms identified.

Sec. 6. Bill Text. Within 30 days of the date of this order, the Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs shall present to the President proposed bill text to codify the definitions in this order.

Sec. 7. Agency Implementation and Reporting. (a) Within 120 days of the date of this order, each agency head shall submit an update on implementation of this order to the President, through the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. That update shall address:

(i) changes to agency documents, including regulations, guidance, forms, and communications, made to comply with this order; and

(ii) agency-imposed requirements on federally funded entities, including contractors, to achieve the policy of this order.

(b) The requirements of this order supersede conflicting provisions in any previous Executive Orders or Presidential Memoranda, including but not limited to Executive Orders 13988 of January 20, 2021, 14004 of January 25, 2021, 14020 and 14021 of March 8, 2021, and 14075 of June 15, 2022. These Executive Orders are hereby rescinded, and the White House Gender Policy Council established by Executive Order 14020 is dissolved.

(c) Each agency head shall promptly rescind all guidance documents inconsistent with the requirements of this order or the Attorney General’s guidance issued pursuant to this order, or rescind such parts of such documents that are inconsistent in such manner. Such documents include, but are not limited to:

(i) “The White House Toolkit on Transgender Equality”;

(ii) the Department of Education’s guidance documents including:

(A) “2024 Title IX Regulations: Pointers for Implementation” (July 2024);

(B) “U.S. Department of Education Toolkit: Creating Inclusive and Nondiscriminatory School Environments for LGBTQI+ Students”;

(D) “Departamento de Educación de EE.UU. Apoyar a los jóvenes y familias LGBTQI+ en la escuela” (June 21, 2023);

(E) “Supporting Intersex Students: A Resource for Students, Families, and Educators” (October 2021);

(F) “Supporting Transgender Youth in School” (June 2021);

(G) “Letter to Educators on Title IX’s 49th Anniversary” (June 23, 2021);

(H) “Confronting Anti-LGBTQI+ Harassment in Schools: A Resource for Students and Families” (June 2021);

(I) “Enforcement of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 With Respect to Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Light of Bostock v. Clayton County” (June 22, 2021);

(J) “Education in a Pandemic: The Disparate Impacts of COVID-19 on America’s Students” (June 9, 2021); and

(K) “Back-to-School Message for Transgender Students from the U.S. Depts of Justice, Education, and HHS” (Aug. 17, 2021);

(iii) the Attorney General’s Memorandum of March 26, 2021 entitled “Application of Bostock v. Clayton County to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972″; and

(iv) the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace” (April 29, 2024).

Sec. 8. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(d) If any provision of this order, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and the application of its provisions to any other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

January 20, 2025.

...

Ahem, as I promised. The puppy you imagined at the beginning is whimpering caringly, and puts its paw on your hand to get you to stop scrolling. Then it licks your arm and barks excitedly.

R.E.S.I.L.I.E.N.C.E.

#transgender #politics #trans rights #lgbtqia #lgbtq #donald trump #trump

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librarycards · 3 months ago

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Hi! just want to preemptively say sorry for dumping such a big personal question on you (and also for how rambly this is), its just that everyone i try to talk about this with in real life doesnt seem to have the perspective id find useful on this. and also sorry but if its not too much hassle could you answer this without publishing the ask?

Do you work for a university by any chance? Because I recently received a job offer for a job with a university. In the haze of desperation to leave my current/now old job i accepted & went through the majority of the onboarding process. but now that ive calmed down a little, im realising im really struggling with how to reconcile my politics & ideologies & especially my understanding of the importance of divesting personally as much as possible from systems of oppression with like. the act of working for a university (and in specific one of the old universities in the uk, which are all so deeply steeped in the structures of colonialism & which are actively in partnership with companies integral to the genocide in palestine, among other things).

the job itself is basically my dream job (helping run the undergrad teaching science labs). but i cant see a way to go through with taking the job without some kind of compromise on my part of politics/moral lines. if you do work in a university, how do you do it? how do you reconcile and balance the understanding of what these institutions are and how they function in the large scale vs the act of deliberately existing within them & even benefiting or enjoying it as it pertains to your personal life, as someone opposed to colonialism/imperialism/etc?

(oh i shouldve mentioned earlier but of course if you dont want to answer this feel free to ignore or delete it! i dont want you to feel pressured or anything. thank you !)

so, i definitely relate to a great deal of this, as i am teaching and finishing my phd at an R-1 institution in the u.s. - i.e., the most supposedly 'elite' genre of university with the highest research output, done, of course, directly on the backs both of exploited research subjects and overworked, underpaid precarious knowledge workers (myself included). it's strange to be in this position, with a job in one of the few places i feel like i can do material good, and yet also knowing that it is a site of immense material harm.

no choice you make is going to be morally pure, and i think perhaps the bigger hurdle is not the question of whether you should take the job or not (i think you should, personally) but how you'll keep yourself generatively uncomfortable throughout your time there. that is to say that we should not be chill with being faculty -- enforcers, even on a small scale, of university policy -- when university policy facilitates genocide. equally, we need to be clear-eyed about the fact that there are students at our universities who need intellectual support and guidance, and that our abstaining from providing it does not make things better. in fact, a mass-quitting of faculty like ourselves would simply usher in the employment of more militaristic, zionist, reactionary faculty, for whom university-sponsored genocide is values-aligned.

we can both acknowledge that we are in a trap and make use of the opportunities it affords us - bringing lectures to encampments, giving students accommodations regardless of diagnosis, introducing conceptual frameworks to marginalized students that were quite literally not imaginable beforehand.

so, tldr, i think that my (and your) job is to teach, and i think we should do our jobs. i think that a lot of the teaching you do will be outside the formal purview of the lab, and i think you should take every opportunity to get students aware and active about the role of the university/scientific institutions in genocide. get organized with faculty and staff in and beyond the lab, too! share resources to which others lack access! from a position of being what Moten & Harney call "in, but not of, the university," we can do a lot. i know i'm trying to be a helping hand to students of all stripes committed to a better world, and teaching is a huge part of that. best of luck.

#ask #anonymous #academia

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juliens-bakery · 9 months ago

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hi sorry this is so long ! this question may seem out of the blue, apologies, but why are so many boygenius fans on here, like, shameless liberals who won't tolerate any criticism of Biden? to be clear I'm not talking about your blog, I scanned it and it was so refreshing to see someone actually critical of the Dems and their instrumental role in the genocide. like, I see popular blogs in the fandom making aggressive posts that are basically “you HAVE to vote blue” and *yet, crucially*, they haven't reblogged anything actually critical of Biden? it seems the only time they talk about politics is to proselytise about how you HAVE to vote blue despite the *genocide*, and nothing negative about the actual policies, just scolding anyone to the left of them and saying hey biden's actually not that bad domestically !

i'm a POC boygenius fan from the global south and it's just something I've been observing keenly knowing that the external policies of that country will always hang over my head like a looming threat, whether blue or red is in power internally. and when young voters in that country do, for once, take cognizance of the devastation enacted on *our* countries by their govs, these liberals crawl out of the woodwork to scold them, then go back to posting about the latest julien-lucy sighting or whatever. it's surreal to see.

again, sorry for the unprompted rant, it's just been eating at me for so long and this blog just seems like one in the fandom that I can still trust. I just needed to get this off my chest. i fell in love with bg in 2020 I'll go back to streaming them now <3.

hi! thank you for this ask, it's been very thought-provoking for me, and i really do appreciate the trust. and no worries about the length, i'm about to one-up this shit.

it is a little hard for me to answer this question fairly. for one, the boygenius-sphere has changed a LOT since i started here (7 years! it's a long time!), and so a lot of my mutuals that i've had since are no longer here (shoutout @remembermydog though, we still here <3) and a bunch of new people have come through. so i'm really not as plugged in with the broader fandom space as i used to be, and i don't really follow a ton of new blogs these days, so i can't really say that i've seen everything that you've seen for myself.

that being said, even if i've had less ability to share your experiences, i do think what you're saying has a lot of truth to it. the obvious thought is that boygenius fans are disproportionately white, which naturally lends itself to that sort of optimism about the extant systems of power. fundamentally, i think, it is very difficult for a white person in that country to reconcile themselves with the idea that the extant systems of power were always bad to begin with and have never been fit for purpose, b/c they've always worked well enough for them. like, there's no innate moral value with being white or not, but it's not the most surprising correlation either. (and yes, i'm aware that boygenius fans are also disproportionately queer women, which counterbalances that optimism to a very real degree).

the frustrating thing is that there are so many people who refuse to even entertain the idea that some people have a moral line over which they will not cross. and i do think that there can be a moral obligation to do an unpleasant distasteful or "bad" thing in order to achieve better ends. but there's always balance between the depth of the wrong and the value of the ends. and everyone has to decide for themselves where that balance lies for them. if i was american, i don't think i would vote this year, for a bunch of reasons. i don't think i would begrudge anyone voting for biden, especially if they thought that trump would send even more bombs (although frankly i have no fucking idea what trump would do). i've voted for trudeau in years when i really didn't want to because of the voting patterns of my particular district. i am about to be an extension of the canadian legal system, which has inflicted incredible amounts of harm to indigenous people and many others.

voting for biden and not voting for biden are both moral compromises. the only question is: how much blood are you willing to get on your hands as you fight for a better world? everyone's line is different (and not everyone's line is acceptable). i think i'd be more comfortable with not voting, because i think joe biden is among the very guiltiest people for this genocide. so maybe i don't want to support and reinforce that guy! and fundamentally, a party that wins elections has much less incentive to change. and the thoughtless and condescending dismissal of these ideas that really infuriates me. so i am really sorry that your experiences of this space have been tainted in this way. there are lots of good and thoughtful people, and these years have been the most fulfilling period of my internet life. but it's a space full of people on the internet just like any other, and so i don't really think it's uniquely bad, but neither is it uniquely good. i've made a nice little space for myself, and i really hope you can find that too <3.

thanks for the ask. there were a lot of things i needed to get off my chest.

#nat.twenties #asks

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hypnoticcastiel · 3 months ago

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With not much time left to persuade ANY indep/undecided voter and both factions bombarding swing states with ads and events, i can only wonder as a european in what kind of fantasy lala-lands/bubbles the greatest democracy on earth has plunged itself into. On one side you have (and this is all puzzled together according to recent interviews on mainstream media like CNN) a way too strong focus on women issues/female rights with maybe too much celeb performances and too few Harris policy-plan infos. It's one thing to use the catastrophic RvW bs that Trump is responsible for in a targeted form to give women hope but how much does an extreme focus help when data shows/would later show that it also drew away male voters bc they couldn't connect with this 1-topic campaign. On the other you have a strong focus on the so called hyper-masculine (mostly white but recently also black) male voters, religious bigots of a specific kind of christian worldview and of course anti-liberalism nutjobs who think that the country is under the control of jewish space reptiles.

What a fierce combination. Oh how much the small Green party must hate all of this. How many moderates, middle-ground average Joe americans must hate all of this. But the soup is totally overcooked after 8 years, after the Rep party decided behind closed doors to go full force extremist language, extreme prejudice and extreme ways of scheming (including collusion with russian assets) to get Trump into power and keep him there. Bc that's better than losing to social progress and other factors in the world that can't be pushed aside with a classic conservative slogan.

I could write more but neither would it change the head-to-head race til Nov 5th, nor would it matter to BOTH factions. The Dems are in trouble bc they stopped or seem to have shifted focus away from the most average of american(s) and their daily struggles while absurdly trying to make life better for all?! And the Reps sold their little bit of empty brains to the fastfood-fascism in golden TRUMP letters. It was clear that they could win (except the popular vote.....) some races and maintain power in an increasingly divided nation. But they did not foresee or what's the word that the single most egoistic pseudo- politician in american history would throw all of them AND the country's fundamental principles under the bus as long as it gets him a profit, or a free pass from rotting in jail for that horrifying insurrection attempt.

My closing thoughts are about a random average Joe who is a black union car worker in some rustbelt region whatever, who openly admitted to CNN interview that his entire family asked him to not vote for Trump. His reaction should be a warning for all sane americans. He shrugged it off, he said he just wants to provide for his family and that Trump can't literally be as bad as it seems. The Dems can flood his inbox with 100 emails, but a person must have a a basic moral compass and basic intellectual capabilities. This man clearly never read a newspaper with a good investig. report about Trump. This man doesnt care much about the bodily autonomy of his daughter... and so on. Some things can't be changed within one political campaign. You can't win back some complete idiots (despite B. Obama giving a stark message to fellow american black men after recent allegations that sexism prevents them from voting for Harris). My point with this example is: The Dems can't waste time with niche-groups of complete idiots (whether male or female), but must focus every bit of campaign energy on halfway educated middle-class people in the suburbs.

*STOP TRUMP* = *STOP RUSSIA'S ATTEMPT TO DESTABILIZE THE U.S. WITH THEIR ORANGE PUPPET*

#politics #trump #harris #election 2024 #usa #anti-trump #anti trump #harris v trump #society #personal opinion

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centrally-unplanned · 1 year ago

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VOR on the other Progressive Presidents -- Teddy Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson?

Not a strong areas for me, so my low confidence quick appraisals: Teddy: Probably mid-low, C+? A lot of his progressive economic actions were either very much in the zeitgeist and similar actions would have been taken by others, who didn't have that much impact all said and done (like his monopoly 'breakups'). He is an ideas man though for sure, and I think on conservation in particular that wasn't something any old president would have done and has had as very long legacy, so he gets points for that. I also guess handing Wilson the presidency after splitting the vote in 1912 was not something anyone else could have done lol.

Taft: I think the consensus is right on him being low VOR. I want to credit what he was trying to do - seeing growing radicalism in Roosevelt, and growing corruption & reactionary politics in the right-wing of the Republican party, and chart a new course. He just failed at it in the end, and didn't do much that stands out to me as having lasting import or wasn't what many would have done in his shoes. Lets go with D.

Wilson: More confident on this one, quite high VOR. Foreign policy is always an area where US presidents have more VOR opportunities - they have more agency and are less constrained by domestic political factions. Wilson took that to the absolute hilt. Intervening in WWI is not that high VOR, to be clear - in the end the majority was for it after repeated German (foolish) violations of US policy around sea trade. But reshaping WWI into an ideological battle for nationalism and republicanism absolutely was his project and not at all the default state of things. And he did is very, very actively - you can assign a good amount of the credit/blame for the dissolution of Austria-Hungary on Wilson for the ways he pre-committed nationalist factions to independence or bust, for example. All his domestic policy is washed away by this imo. Though in the end still just an outside factor on all this, so I would go with B+.

#vore debates

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dailyanarchistposts · 5 months ago

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B.7.3 Why is the existence of classes denied?

It is clear, then, that classes do exist, and equally clear that individuals can rise and fall within the class structure — though, of course, it’s easier to become rich if you’re born in a rich family than a poor one. Thus James W. Loewen reports that “ninety-five percent of the executives and financiers in America around the turn of the century came from upper-class or upper-middle-class backgrounds. Fewer than 3 percent started as poor immigrants or farm children. Throughout the nineteenth century, just 2 percent of American industrialists came from working-class origins” [in “Lies My Teacher Told Me” citing William Miller, “American Historians and the Business Elite,” in Men in Business, pp. 326–28; cf. David Montgomery, Beyond Equality, pg. 15] And this was at the height of USA “free market” capitalism. According to a survey done by C. Wright Mills and reported in his book The Power Elite, about 65% of the highest-earning CEOs in American corporations come from wealthy families. Meritocracy, after all, does not imply a “classless” society, only that some mobility exists between classes. Yet we continually hear that class is an outmoded concept; that classes don’t exist any more, just atomised individuals who all enjoy “equal opportunity,” “equality before the law,” and so forth. So what’s going on?

The fact that the capitalist media are the biggest promoters of the “end-of-class” idea should make us wonder exactly why they do it. Whose interest is being served by denying the existence of classes? Clearly it is those who run the class system, who gain the most from it, who want everyone to think we are all “equal.” Those who control the major media don’t want the idea of class to spread because they themselves are members of the ruling class, with all the privileges that implies. Hence they use the media as propaganda organs to mould public opinion and distract the middle and working classes from the crucial issue, i.e., their own subordinate status. This is why the mainstream news sources give us nothing but superficial analyses, biased and selective reporting, outright lies, and an endless barrage of yellow journalism, titillation, and “entertainment,” rather than talking about the class nature of capitalist society (see section D.3 — “How does wealth influence the mass media?”)

The universities, think tanks, and private research foundations are also important propaganda tools of the ruling class. This is why it is virtually taboo in mainstream academic circles to suggest that anything like a ruling class even exists in the United States. Students are instead indoctrinated with the myth of a “pluralist” and “democratic” society — a Never-Never Land where all laws and public policies supposedly get determined only by the amount of “public support” they have — certainly not by any small faction wielding power in disproportion to its size.

To deny the existence of class is a powerful tool in the hands of the powerful. As Alexander Berkman points out, ”[o]ur social institutions are founded on certain ideas; so long as the latter are generally believed, the institutions built on them are safe. Government remains strong because people think political authority and legal compulsion necessary. Capitalism will continue as long as such an economic system is considered adequate and just. The weakening of the ideas which support the evil and oppressive present day conditions means the ultimate breakdown of government and capitalism.” [“Author’s Foreword,” What is Anarchism?, p. xii]

Unsurprisingly, to deny the existence of classes is an important means of bolstering capitalism, to undercut social criticism of inequality and oppression. It presents a picture of a system in which only individuals exist, ignoring the differences between one set of people (the ruling class) and the others (the working class) in terms of social position, power and interests. This obviously helps those in power maintain it by focusing analysis away from that power and its sources (wealth, hierarchy, etc.).

It also helps maintain the class system by undermining collective struggle. To admit class exists means to admit that working people share common interests due to their common position in the social hierarchy. And common interests can lead to common action to change that position. Isolated consumers, however, are in no position to act for themselves. One individual standing alone is easily defeated, whereas a union of individuals supporting each other is not. Throughout the history of capitalism there have been attempts by the ruling class — often successful — to destroy working class organisations. Why? Because in union there is power — power which can destroy the class system as well as the state and create a new world.

That’s why the very existence of class is denied by the elite. It’s part of their strategy for winning the battle of ideas and ensuring that people remain as atomised individuals. By “manufacturing consent” (to use Walter Lipman’s expression for the function of the media), force need not be used. By limiting the public’s sources of information to propaganda organs controlled by state and corporate elites, all debate can be confined within a narrow conceptual framework of capitalist terminology and assumptions, and anything premised on a different conceptual framework can be marginalised. Thus the average person is brought to accept current society as “fair” and “just,” or at least as “the best available,” because no alternatives are ever allowed to be discussed.

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malkaleh · 2 years ago

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You know what two things I'm really curious about your political power trio?

How they are each individually viewed by both the court nobles but also the wider population in London and the countryside, as well as how they are viewed together.

How politically active Anne is, especially in regards to not letting her gender stop her and also opening up pathways for women and her charity works that IRL are part of the reason she was killed. (Pretty sure her being made Marquess of Pembroke was the first time a woman had been lifted to that in their own right. Does that still happen in ur AU?)

These are some of my headcanons about this because it’s delightful - thank you so much for asking <3.

Individually it’s like:

Tom Cromwell: a lot of the court is kind of like Will Someone Please Arrest This Commoner For Being A Commoner, though it lessens because (a) it’s pretty clear he isn’t falling out of favour here (b) at a certain point he actually steps away from being Lord Chancellor (what they’d think about the fact that this is because he secretly married the King and Queen and is thus, being an advisor consort is probably not printable ;)). But, in this world the dissolution of the monasteries doesn’t happen so things are much much less controversial and Thomas in general, thus much less so. And there are people who genuinely admire how competent/loyal he is. The general population is, okay so one thing I know is that the people who live in the Dukedom of Essex (especially on the estate) actually love him because he’s a really good land owner etc. Some of it is indifference, some of it is ‘oh yeah, that guy, he’s cool’ (Londoners are divided between ‘upstart’ and ‘love him’).

The country it varies between UGH HIM and indifference.

Anne: BELOVED. One of the history things I thought about is that in this world Anne often gets kind of flattened in popular history to ‘devoted wife and mother who reconciled Henry with his first wife and eldest daughter’ which is true but leaves out her being politically active co-ruler of brilliance/patronage of intellectuals/scholars. But no, she’s beloved. Because in this world, she was able to do the above, she’s a symbol of stability, of pride etc who also does a lot of charity. Henry actually makes her Duchess of Pembroke in her own right in this universe (Elizabeth inherits her title). I think it’s also that people are far far less uneasy about her religion because of The Great Settlement which means genuine freedom of worship (initially just for Christians) and she’s not Held Responsible For Everything That Is Wrong. I think particularly loved by women.

And oh, oh. She funds girls schools! (I also got this from the fact that I read that both Hurrem and Mihrimah Sultan funded girls schools (they also funded universities/medical schools for women) and I was like ANNE WOULD :D. Almost certainly founded/was patron of a college in Cambridge or Oxford, very politically active - Henry has her attending privy council meetings, makes her regent (because of the above people embrace it/her), cultivates an intellectual/creative circle, including women. I’m almost certain she composes a body of music. Also very much involved in expanding the rights of women in law.

(There’s an early incredibly good law on child abuse/sexual assault that is actually largely Thomas Cromwell’s work but Anne absolutely works on expanding rights for women in law in general).

Henry: Genuinely, also beloved. He gets so much more of a chance do some really meaningful policy/reforms (some he actually proposed historically), he’s ensured stability. I think Henry is especially popular with everyone. Yes there’s whispers about his Promotion Of Commoners but it’s only whisperings and it’s definitely not blamed on him (though the rebellion that happened in his reign here was around Indignation About Cromwell’s Status in part but even there, I think it might actually have been a ‘get rid of Cromwell and we can talk’ in part). The Great Settlement is controversial but also because it means people can just like, Do The Church They Want it also isn’t if that makes sense?

Collectively like, they are considered very much ‘co-governors of the kingdom’ before anyone knows about them as marrieds. Tom Cromwell actually gets called ‘the third king/the commoner king’ (as an insult but Henry and Anne are like YES OBVIOUSLY :D) - it’s considered a great governing partnership.

#ot3: political power trio #tudors ot3 verse reference #still figuring some of this out but hopefully this makes sense!

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interruptingmooshroom · 4 months ago

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It’s 1 AM and I’m sick as fuck with the worst flu I could have gotten ever but Imma make a post I’ll prob delete later

This sort of stuff bothers me, and to be clear, VOTING SHOULD BE MANDATORY. Worse case, nothing happens. Best case, it matters enough to change life for the common people. So yes, vote, it’s cool and based and it’s accessible even if you can’t for some reason leave home.

That being said

Critics of Kamala Harris/the Democratic Party are not inherently saying that you shouldn’t vote for them. The reason people vote against them in polls within the party is to apply pressure to political figures so they figure out “Hey people really don’t like the whole genocide thing” and might listen to the people like they’re supposed to.

The Democratic Party has recognized for awhile they can get away with a lot of bullshit simply by being the lesser evil. When the Republican Party was, for example, talking about shutting down the border and dealing with “illegal aliens”, the Democratic Party has decided to copy this stance since it seemed popular to a certain voter base. This is a low risk situation because no matter what, they recognize they’ll get a majority of the vote out of being the lesser evil.

As a consequence, the Republican Party has since decided “Actually, let’s just do mass deportation” which if you don’t know, would be having people in concentration camps (not to be confused with death camps) and removing them from families and established lives. So yeah, much worse. A lot of this messaging also includes “legal aliens”, because they’re totally mad about immigrants and not racist at all.

This is a perfect example of the ratchet effect. People smarter than me have explained this better, go look at the wiki, but in summary it’s when the Democratic Party doesn’t go back from a farther right standing as the Republicans slowly become more and more insane. Since they don’t actually do anything 99% of the time and rely heavily on being a lesser evil, they naturally follow a political sphere that has suddenly nudged a bit more to the right. Ideally they could change this, and move us back to something normal and sane. They do not do this, because taking action is not how the democrats win votes for a lot of people. They win them by allowing the republicans to be insane, so their empty promises and still-harsh policies look appeasing.

Critics of the Democratic Party and Kamala Harris are completely expected and should be encouraged. Shutting down this conversation by saying it “Discourages voting” or “So what? I cant vote for the other guy” IS EXACTLY THE FUCKING POINT. You can vote for them while trying to actually hold them accountable and be louder about your complaints on shit like “Supporting Genocide and the apartheid state of Israel is wrong” or “Immigrants are people just like us and should be treated as such” or whatever the fuck.

You can still vote, while holding people accountable. You miss the point when you either

A) Decide “my vote doesn’t matter”, which is already incorrect for a number of reasons Im not diving into at 1am

B) Shut down critics of the Democratic Party because you think they’re discouraging people from voting.

When you see something dissing the democrats, don’t think it’s to make it seem like there is no hope. It’s to actually try and hold political figures accountable for what they do, something that Americans forgot was the main point of a representative.

Ramble over if you actually read all that here’s a cookie. 🍪

sorry for resorting to a meme about this but people are making me mad 👍

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yourreddancer · 14 days ago

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Today in Politics, Bulletin 43. 1/8/25

Today in Politics, Bulletin 43. 1/8/25 Ron Filipkowski Jan 9 … Merrick Garland announced that he will release Jack Smith’s complete report on the J6 case but will not release the report to the public on the classified documents case since there are still pending charges against Trump’s co-defendants. This appears to be how Garland has decided to deal with Judge Aileen Cannon’s illegal attempt to block all reports from being made public.

… So, Garland will release the report dealing with the most important work Jack Smith did with the greatest amount of evidence and testimony that has never been seen before by the public - the J6 case - and ignore Cannon order on that since she clearly has no jurisdiction over it and just continues to go rogue.

… The biggest thing I want to see is Mike Pence and Mark Meadows’s testimony. I’m going straight to that, because that is going to be the good stuff. I would bet money that Meadows has been dreading this day because he BURIED Trump in his proffer, which he doesn’t want anyone to know about. Nobody knows what he said, but I guarantee you that Mark Meadows was interested in saving Mark Meadows’s ass, not Trump’s.

… Garland is, however, taking steps to ensure that the classified documents case report and evidence isn’t disappeared by Trump’s incoming AG Pam Bondi. Politico reports that he is providing a full copy of the report of that investigation to the House and Senate Judiciary Committee’s Chairs and Ranking Members. That means that Dick Durbin and Jamie Raskin will have that full report before Trump takes office.

… That lowered my blood pressure a few points.

… DOJ also filed an appeal with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals today of Judge Cannon’s ridiculous order. Again.

… President Biden gave a lengthy interview to USA Today as he winds down the final days of his presidency and 50+ year career in politics. He said that he has been considering preemptive pardons for people that Trump and MAGA have targeted for baseless criminal prosecutions, such as Liz Cheney and Dr. Fauci.

… Biden said in his meeting with Trump in the Oval Office that he asked Trump not to go there on his Retribution & Revenge Tour: “I tried to make it clear that there was no need, and it was counterintuitive for his interests to go back and try and settle scores.” Biden was asked what Trump’s response to that was. It was silence: “He just basically listened.”

… My blood pressure went back up. I knew it wouldn’t last.

… Biden was asked if he thought he would have won if he stayed in the race: “It’s presumptuous to say this, but I think yes.” But when asked if he would have been able to serve out his full 4 year term he said: “I don’t know. I wasn’t looking to be president when I was 85-86 years old. So I did talk about passing the baton. But I don’t know. Who the hell knows?”

… Finally, Biden was asked how he hopes history will remember his presidency: “I hope that history says that I came in and I had a plan how to restore the economy and reestablish America’s leadership in the world. That was my hope. And I hope it records that I did it with honesty and integrity, that I said what was on my mind.”

… He was asked if his domestic policy agenda was too ambitious: “How in the hell in a changed world can America lead the world without having the finest infrastructure in the world, without having the best education system in the world, without the best health care system in the world? They’re just things I though were necessary.”

… But he said he was frustrated that his Admin didn’t get credit for infrastructure projects because it took too long for them to start: “Historians will talk about how great the impact was, but it didn’t have any immediate impact on people’s lives. I think we would’ve been a hell of a lot better off had we been able to go much harder at getting some of these projects in the ground quicker.”

… Rep. Hakeem Jeffries was asked by Punchbowl if he agreed with Biden that he probably would have beaten Trump if he stayed in: “We’re looking forward, not backward.”

… Sen. Tom Cotton: “Whether or not Biden pardons the disgraced Tony Fauci, we still need to get to the bottom of Fauci’s relationship with China.” I guess lowering egg prices isn’t front and center anymore.

… Politico’s Alex Isenstadt has a book coming out called, ‘Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power’. He conducted over 300 interviews for the book and acquired internal memos and recordings from the Trump campaign. He reveals that Trump got the questions in advance from Fox before his big Town Hall with Bret Baier, which is something Trump always accuses Democrats of, going all the way back to his debates with Hillary Clinton.

… From the book: “About 30 minutes before the town hall was due to start, a senior aide started getting text messages from a person on the inside at Fox. Holy shit! the team thought. They were images of all the questions Trump would be asked and the planned follow-ups, down to the exact wording. Jackpot! This was like a student getting a peek at the test before the exam started.” He says the Trump team then started giving him suggested answers for each of the questions they received.

… Fox responded to the report by saying it has “no evidence” that this happened but it “will investigate.” Right. And OJ looked for the real killer.

… That was a time when Trump was on the campaign trail ranting and raving that he was going to get “retribution and revenge” on his enemies - a message that was polling badly but he couldn’t help himself. And Baier was planning to bring that up and press him on it. And Trump probably would have given a very bad answer to that question if he didn’t know it was coming. But his team prepared a line for him to deliver: “My retribution will be my success, that is how I will get my revenge - by doing a good job for the American people.” An answer he NEVER would have given on his own.

… This is one of a million reasons why no Democratic candidate should ever agree to participate in any debate where Fox is the host. Fox is an arm of the Republican Party and their campaigns - not a news organization, and no Democrat should ever consider giving it any credibility as anything other than that.

(NOTE: FUX NOISE IS AN ARM OF RUSSIAN STATE TV!!!!)

… The book also revealed that Trump was dead set on picking Fox host Maria Baritromo as his running mate over JD Vance, but his inner circle talked him out of it. Trump reportedly wanted her because “she was great with the big-donor Wall Street types and she knew how to do TV.”

… Rudy Giuliani filed a motion with the court to appear virtually instead of in-person at the next hearing on the contempt of court motion on Friday, where he is likely to receive his punishment or sanctions. He complains that he can’t make it because his knee has a chronic and “severe knee condition” and is in a lot of pain.

… Oh, and “a lung condition that requires an inhaler.”

… Oh, and he “has had two heart stents.”

… Oh, and Iran is trying to assassinate him: “There have been a number of credible death threats against Mayor Giuliani. As one of the most outspoken critics of the current Iranian regime, a time of heightened terrorism concerns following the recent events in New Orleans and Las Vegas, and the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, it is reasonable to take extra precautions for Mayor Giuliani’s safety.”

… I couldn’t make this shit up on my best day.

… Republicans were all over Fox and Newsmax talking about Trump’s insane press conference yesterday by adding a few layers of lunacy to it. Tommy Tuberville: "We've gotta take the Panama Canal back. We've gotta do something because if we were to happen to go to war with China over Taiwan and they were to shut the Panama Canal down, we'd have to go 8-10,000 miles just to get things back to the war zone."

… Sen. Rick Scott was asked this on Fox: “Taking over Greenland and the Panama Canal isn't a realistic proposal, is it? It's just a negotiating tactic, isn't it? Scott: “Well, it would be pretty exciting.”

… I really want one of those aliens in a drone to take me to another planet.

… Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) told Fox he is introducing a bill to buy the Panama Canal: “I think this is a Teddy Roosevelt moment. And frankly, America used to run this canal, and it was very well run under American leadership.”

… House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was asked by Fox what he thought about Johnson’s proposed bill: “Dusty who?”

… A strung-out looking Candyman Ronny Jackson was on paid Russian asset Benny Johnson’s podcast to talk about it: “NATO, Europe, Denmark - they should all be applauding our efforts to be involved in Greenland, to take over Greenland.”

… Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) on Fox: If I'm a Greenland citizen, I would love to be under the banner of the greatest country in the world. It's also a very strategic for us, given the relations that we are dealing with with Russia and other European countries and our adversaries. And by the way, naming the Gulf of Mexico the ‘Gulf of America’ again, as an American, that's one hell of an idea.”

… Trump’s former NSA Keith Kellogg: “When you look at what the president’s doing, he’s really kind of thinking out of the box.”

(NOTE: MORE LIKE OUT OF HIS FUCKING MIND!!!)

… Fox host Ainsley Earhardt, who recently announced her engagement to Sean Hannity, had this to say this morning on Fox & Friends: “Greenland, strategically it makes sense because it’s the halfway point between our country and the UK. So it would make sense to have that for war purposes if we ever got to that point.”

… My head hurts.

… Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) on Fox: "Listen, I think that the people of Panama, I think that the people of Greenland, I think that the people of Canada for that matter should be honored that President Trump wants to bring these territories under the American fold. Trump is bringing us into a golden age of America. This is the new Manifest Destiny. Reacquiring the Panama Canal, acquiring Greenland, renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. This is the light of America expanding.”

… It hurts more.

… Don Jr reports everyone in Greenland came up to him (big strong men with tears in their eyes) during the couple of hours he flew in and had lunch there: “So many of these young kids coming up and telling us, ‘when we go to Denmark we’re treated like 2nd and 3rd class citizens.’ There seems to be quite a bit of racism in Denmark. From what I saw on the ground, everyone was really into this concept. They loved it. They loved America. They love MAGA. They love Trump.”

(NOTE: THEY BRIBED HOMELESS PEOPLE WITH A MEAL TO WEAR MAGA HATS!!!!)

… I just got made a very strong cocktail. There is no other way to get through this.

Onward!

… Sen. Majority Leader John Thune makes it obvious that this foolishness is the last thing he needs right now. To CNN: “I expect to hear more about it in the days ahead. Obviously, there are a number of issues that he’s raised that we’ll get a chance to consider.” That’s basically the new version of, “I didn’t see the tweet.”

But former Republican Senator Chuck Hagen wasn’t amused. He told WSJ: “We just haven’t seen anything like this, at least in my lifetime, from a president of the US. This is very, very autocratic, and that is why it is so concerning what Trump is saying and how he’s acting. When our strongest allies and partners lose confidence in us, no good is going to come from all of that. China and Russia are looking at all this, like, ‘Go ahead, Mr. Trump, keep talking.’”

… MAGA talk show host David Reilly, representing many right-wingers who don’t get what Trump is doing right now: “Nobody asked for Greenland. Nobody asked for Canada. Nobody asked for Panama. We asked for a wall. We asked to deport them all. We asked for America First. Hello? Bueller?”

… Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum went on TV to talk about how Mexico was now going to refer to the southwestern United States, which used to part of Mexico: “We are going to call it, ‘Americana Mexicana.’ It sounds pretty, no?”

… Ontario Premier Doug Ford was asked about Trump wanting to take over Canada: “You know something, to the president - I’ll make him a counter-offer. How about if we buy Alaska and Minnesota? I know he likes to make these comments, but I take this seriously. Under my watch, that will never, ever happen.”

… Rep. Eric Burleson (R-MO) talked to Fox about his bill co-sponsored by Lauren Boebert to abolish the ATF, which was created in 1886: “The Constitution makes it very clear that when it comes to the federal government, there shall be no laws restricting firearms.”

Federal prosecutors filed an objection to former Rep. George Santos’s attempt to delay his sentencing next month, where he is facing significant prison time. The excuse he is using is that the money he is making from his new podcast and Cameos will allow him to pay off all $600,000 in restitution if he just gets another 6 month delay. The truth is that he wants the delay to give him time to work on his contacts close to Trump for a pardon.

… Prosecutors say that Santos made $400,000 last year from Cameo, plus his $174,000 salary from Congress, plus $400,000 for the rights to his life story to a documentary company, and they want to know what happened to all that money while the victims have gotten nothing from him: “He fails to provide any accounting of his current financial condition and fails to offer any explanation of his dissipation of assets (including personal spending) in the months since his guilty plea.”

… That’s a fancy way of saying he spent it all on himself or has it stashed away somewhere.

… Late in the day, Santos filed his response: “The government’s motion reads more like a press release - replete with references to sensational media coverage and personal attacks, yet devoid of any sound or legal factual basis to reject a straightforward scheduling request. The government seeks to rush to sentencing. Its abrupt pivot is nothing short of disingenuous, politically motivated, and antithetical to actual justice.”

… I apologize. I’m willing to take the abuse. But Santos cracks me up. I still want him to go to prison next month, but he has me laughing all the way to his cell.

… Republicans are blaming Democrats for the devastating wildfires in CA. Unfortunately for LA Mayor Karen Bass, she was on a trip to Africa when this happened, which they using against her. Rick Caruso, who lost the mayor’s race to Bass in 2022, told local Fox 11: "This is like a 3rd World country. There’s no water in the Palisades. There’s no water coming out of the fire hydrants. This is an absolute mismanagement by the city. We’ve got a mayor that’s out of the country, and we’ve got a city that’s burning, and there’s no resources to put out fires."

… Trump, who revels in seizing upon every opportunity to score political points in the wake of a tragedy, blamed Gavin Newsom: “He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water, but didn’t care about the people of CA. Now the ultimate price is being paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is to blame for this. No water for fire hydrants, no firefighting planes. A true disaster!”

… Don Jr blamed it on the LA Fire Department having a gay Chief: “Can we rename DEI to DIE, since that’s what seems to happen to the people downstream of those who place woke virtue signaling far above competency!!!”

… Trump posted on Truth Social: “NO WATER IN THE FIRE HYDRANTS, NO MONEY IN FEMA. THIS IS WHAT JOE BIDEN IS LEAVING ME. THANKS JOE!”

… Elon Musk blamed it on Ukraine, citing the fact that we have provided firefighting equipment to them over the years: “What about California?”

… Movie/TV Critic Peg Aloi: “The reason there is ‘no water’ available in fire hydrants in LA is because the water lines have been broken or burned by the fire, so there is no water pressure, in addition to low water pressure due to 8 months of drought. Resist politicized accusations and conspiracy theories. Loss of power means that pumping stations don't have electricity which also is needed for water pressure. People blaming the Mayor (like racist ignoramus Elon Musk and the real estate mogul who lost the mayoral race) are just stupid, uncaring people with agendas.”

… Rep. Jasmine Crockett (R-TX): “I’m so heartbroken at the devastation that’s continuously inflicted upon our country and the world, and elected ‘leaders’ are ignorant, impotent, or just incompetent to doing the smart thing - which is to acknowledge that climate change is real and start to solve it. CA, stay safe. First responders, we thank you for your selflessness. I join the chorus of prayers for all, but as an elected, I want to actually work!”

… MAGA actor James Woods, whose house burned down: “This fire is not from ‘climate change,’ you ignorant assholes. It’s because liberal idiots elect liberal idiots like Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass. One doesn’t understand the first thing about fire management and the other can’t fill the water reservoirs.”

NOTE: WHAT A FUCKING MAGA MORON!!

… The Tampa Bay Times is reporting that Matt Gaetz is considering a run for governor of FL in 2026. Gaetz took a shot at Desantis in the story: “I have a compelling vision for the state. I understand how to fix the insurance problem, and it’s not to hand the keys to the state over to the insurance industry. If I run, I would be the most pro-consumer candidate on the Republican side.”

… Gaetz was asked whether he thought the House Ethics report would hurt him if he runs: “Those lies have been told about me for years. They’ve never affected my ability to win elections.”

… Gaetz’s district in NWFL is overwhelmingly Republican. Literally anyone with an R next to their name on the ballot would win it by 30 points. Plus, Gaetz’s daddy was a State Senator in the district for many years and Gaetz used his name and vast fortune to put his flunky nepo baby Matt in Congress. So this isn’t exactly a flex. But he acts like he is wildly popular outside his district in the rest of Florida when he is not.

… Gaetz said, “I will address this report on my show tonight.” And that is exactly what this is about. He isn’t running - this is all BS. He’s just desperate to get people to ...

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