#brenna bird

[sordidamok]

The Handmaid's Tale showed that some women will support the patriarchy even when it means other women are raped and forced to carry rapist's babies to term.

Art imitates life.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa attorney general’s office said it is still working on an audit of its victim services that has held up emergency contraception funding for victims of sexual assault despite having a completed draft in hand.

Attorney General Brenna Bird, a Republican, paused the funding while awaiting the results of the audit to decide whether to continue those payments. Her office said the audit, which Bird announced when she took office 14 months ago, is in its “final stages” and a report would be released soon.

The policy under her Democratic predecessor, Tom Miller, had been to partially cover the cost of contraception for sexual assault victims. In rare cases, the cost of abortion for sexual assault victims was also covered, Miller’s victim assistance division director, Sandi Tibbetts Murphy, told the Des Moines Register last year.

[coochiequeens]

A male in office was going to let a child rapist free but a woman defeated him in last Novembers election and is now keeping him locked up. This is why every vote counts means more than just the presidential election.

By Genevieve Gluck January 31, 2024

A serial child rapist who had previously secured a release from prison after identifying as transgender has finally been deemed a “sexually violent predator” under Iowa state law. A judge has determined that Joseph Matthew Smith, who now uses the name Josie Maria Dunham or Josie Smith, should be confined in a secure facility indefinitely, quashing a previous ruling that claimed Smith was no longer a sexual risk due to being on feminizing hormones.

Newly-elected Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is behind the push to keep Smith in custody, having recently defeated the nation’s longest-tenured attorney general, Tom Miller, in a November election.

In 2020, Miller endorsed the move that saw Smith released from custody. Bird then condemned his judgement in the matter, running ads during her campaign slamming Miller as sympathetic to the sexual predator.

A petition filed in December in Buena Vista County District Court requested a civil trial in order to determine whether Smith should be re-classified as a sexually violent predator with a high chance of re-offending.

“[Smith]’s mental abnormality makes him more likely than not to engage in predatory acts constituting sexually violent offenses if not confined in a secure facility,” the petition reads. “[Smith] should be committed to the custody of the Department of Human Services to be held in a secure facility for control, care, and treatment until such time as his mental abnormality has so changed that he is safe to be at large in the community.”

In December 2015, Smith was convicted in Buena Vista County of lascivious acts with a child. At the time, Assistant Attorney General Andrew Schoonhoven determined that Smith suffers from “at least one mental abnormality, specifically the mental abnormality of pedophilic disorder,” which predisposes Smith to “commit sexually violent offenses to a degree constituting a menace to the health and safety of others.”

A pre-sentence psychological report was prepared by the State’s expert, Dr. Jeffrey Davis, a psychologist from the University of California.

Davis recommended that Smith be confined at the Cherokee Civil Commitment Unit for Sex Offenders (CCUSO) for an indefinite period based on what he determined to be a high likelihood of sexual re-offending. The report noted that Smith had told a state forensic psychologist he had molested as many as 15 children under the age of 13, the youngest being a 1-year-old baby. He added that he believed Smith was more likely to commit a sexual assault than 92% of male sex offenders.

There has not been even one recorded case of a female patient having been committed to the CCUSO in the unit’s 25-year history, reports the Cherokee Chronicle Times. But there have been at least three trans-identified males in the civil commitment unit. One of those patients, a man named Christian Schiebel who uses the feminine name Tina Keller, told the Storm Lake Times-Pilot he was advised by his attorney that a transgender identity would increase his chances of release.

Smith made international headlines in 2020 after being released from prison just 4 years into an indefinite prison sentence. He had been convicted of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old resident at Midwest Christian Services (MCS), a treatment facility for juveniles following another conviction for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old when he was a teenager.

Despite his record of sexual offending, on January 9, 2020, the Iowa Attorney General’s office filed a motion to dismiss a petition requesting that the serial pedophile be considered a sexually violent predator. The Iowa Attorney General office’s defended the decision by citing Smith’s reduced testosterone levels as a result of hormone treatments. Attorney general spokesman Lynn Hicks stated that “an offender’s hormone levels are an important part of substantiating an offender’s likelihood of recidivism.”

Officials claimed Smith was at a lower risk of re-offending due to an altered testosterone level, and that he “no longer had the sex drive of a man.”

Smith had been receiving hormones related to his self-declared gender identity while being held at Newton Correctional Facility, where, in January 2016, he began serving an indefinite sentence after being convicted of molesting a child. In October 2017, he first expressed a desire to “get started on transgender classification” and started using female pronouns.

Hicks also claimed that an expert had determined that Smith was not at a risk of re-offending due to his gender identity. An Iowa district court judge therefore granted the motion to dismiss “in the interests of justice.”

In January of 2020, Smith was released on parole; but by October of 2021, he had already violated the terms of his strict conditions by using an unauthorized electronic device and seeking out sex. Despite the violation, Smith was not remanded to custody, and was instead allowed to continue to live in the small city of Sloan, Iowa.

In January 2022, Christine Louis, administrative law judge for Iowa Correctional Services, sentenced Smith to two more years in prison, as he had again violated the terms of his parole. During an inspection in January, Smith’s parole officer discovered child pornography on his phone which depicted boys and girls aged between five and eight years old. Smith requested leniency, but was ultimately denied.

[rrat-king]

do i fucking love burrows end. yes. am i physically unable to finish this last episode cuz the amount of like. familial fear and conflict is making me nauseous. also yes. i want the bear back i will take the hollowed bear any day over familial trauma

[brenna]

the vibe for march 28th is purple flowers peaking out at last. i finally cleaned the used records i bought last weekend, and the platters one sounds amazing. rest assured that quinn immediately jumped on the table after i took this shot. smh. it's pretty grackles and sun moving on the walls. this is where i tell you that pierogies are best with burnt onions on them. it's just a fact.

[youthchronical]

Donald Trump withdraws Biden-era lawsuits against Iowa and Oklahoma over immigration laws - The Times of India

The Trump administration on Friday withdrew lawsuits filed by the Biden-era Department of Justice (DOJ) against Iowa and Oklahoma over their immigration laws. These laws made it a state crime for anyone to remain in the state if they were in the US illegally. Republican leaders in Iowa and Oklahoma argued that their states had to take action because the Biden administration had failed to control…

[kiramoore626]

Sixteen attorneys general tell YouTube to stop ‘targeting pro-life messages’

Sixteen attorneys general tell YouTube to stop ‘targeting pro-life messages’

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🖤🩶🤍💜 Happy Ace Week, Bookish Bats!

❓ What was the last book you read that featured asexual characters? If it's been a while, here are a few to consider adding to your TBR!

🖤 Aces Wild - Amanda Dewitt 🩶 Loveless - Alice Oseman 🤍 That Kind of Guy - Stephanie Archer 💜 We Awaken - Calista Lynne 🖤 The Kindred - Alechia Dow 🩶 Scavenge the Stars - Tara Sim 🤍 Fire Becomes Her - Rosiee Thor 💜 A Snake Falls to the Earth - Darcie Little Badger 🖤 Forward March - Skye Quinlan 🩶 The Romantic Agenda - Claire Kann 🤍 The Reckless Kind - Carly Heath 💜 Summer Bird Blue - Akemi Dawn Bowman

🖤 The Charm Offensive - Alison Cochrun 🩶 Meet Cute Diary - Emery Lee 🤍 Cupid Calling - Viano Oniomoh 💜 The Bruising of Qilwa - Naseem Jamnia 🖤 The Loudest Silence - Sydney Langford 🩶 Kiss Her Once for Me - Alison Cochrun 🤍 So Let Them Burn - Kamilah Cole 💜 Dear Wendy - Ann Zhao 🖤 Exes & Foes - Amanda Woody 🩶 The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray - Christine Calella 🤍 Firebreak - Nicole Kornher-Stace 💜 Never Been Kissed - Timothy Janovsky

🖤 Bury Your Gays - Chuck Tingle 🩶 Baker Thief - Claudie Arseneault 🤍 The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester - Maya MacGregor 💜 The Story of the Hundred Promises - Neil Cochrane 🖤 Adrift Starlight - Mindi Briar 🩶 Help Wanted - J. Emery 🤍 If You Still Recognize Me - Cynthia So 💜 Bad At Love - Gabriela Martins 🖤 The End Crowns All - Bea Fitzgerald 🩶 The Winter Knight - Jes Battis 🤍 The Meister of Decimen City - Brenna Raney 💜 It Sounds Like This - Anna Meriano

🖤 Fallen Thorns - Harvey Oliver Baxter 🩶 Don't Let the Forest In - C.G. Drews 🤍 Just Lizzie - Karen Wilfrid 💜 The Siren the Song and the Spy - Maggie Tokuda-Hall 🖤 Wren Martin Ruins It All - Amanda Dewitt 🩶 She Who Became the Sun - Shelley Parker-Chan 🤍 Poisoned Primrose - Dahlia Donovan 💜 How You Get the Girl - Anita Kelly 🖤 Lord of the Empty Isles by Jules Arbeaux 🩶 Moth to a Flame - Finn Longman 🤍 Little Thieves - Margaret Owen 💜 Someone You Can Build a Nest In - John Wiswell

[megalizardon4736]

Kalamainu'u Iona Makeover 🧜🏻‍♀️

Gallery: megalizardon94

Hair -

Janick Hair v2 & Pearls by daylifesims

Styx Hair by oydis

Simple Brows by lightdeficient

Eyes -

EYES N19 EYE DETAILS by poyopoyo

Siren Eyes by RemusSirion (TSR)

Eyelashes N06 by Natalis

Skin Details -

Bitter Blueberry Overlay by Yawnee

Enemy skin overlay by miiko

NOSE MASK N10 by sims3melancholic

LOWER EYELIDS N2 MM OVERLAY by sims3melancholic

misc. face details by okruee

Spring '24 Tattoo Set by SNOOTYSIMS

Makeup -

Nails Collection by Boschiana cc

Nails Female N19 Eumacia by Pralinesims

HIGHLIGHT COLLECTION MM by sims3melancholic

Ventation Eyeliner by RemusSirion

BLUSH N8 by poyopoyo

Lip N241 Rose Powder by Pralinesims

Eyeliner 06 by Kijiko

Mermaid Eyeshadow by RemusSirion (TSR)

Eyeshadow CC17 by GoppolsMe

EYELINER N6 by northern siberia winds

graphic lines 2 by sims3melancholic

Hypocotyl Lipstick by RemusSirion (TSR)

Clothes -

Altalune Earrings by Renorasims

Angela Dress by HuiEn

Emily Wedges by CandySims4

M Jewelry I by Rusty's

Black Heart (Earrings) by Wistful Castle

Fall 2014 Couture Collection Dress by Rusty's

Polka dot and bow slingback flats 01 by Jius-sims

Rush Top & Shorts by Serenity

Knitted Socks 07 by Jius-sims

Charlie Sneakers by Serenity

Pajama Shirt & Shorts N02 by Natalis (CF)

House slippers N02 by Natalis (CF)

First Love Earrings by Pralinesims

BG Pressed Flowers Necklace by Miss Ruby Bird

Babys From Sulani Dress by ice-creamforbreakfast

Sand Swimsuit by CandySims4

️Sun Earrings by aithsims4

Aphrodite Tunic by Renorasims

Denim Essentials Collection by Renorasims

Brenna Beanie by Renorasims

Daniele Outfit by CandySims4

Walking Shoes 01 by Jius-sims

Mermaid Tail G2 (Tail & Bra) by GoppolsMe

Halloween 2022 Claws V2 by Regina Raven

@yawneesims @officialsnootysims @sims3melancholic @okruee

@miikocc @remussirion @pralinesims @poyopoyosim @oydis

@northernsiberiawinds @kijiko-sims @goppolsme @lightdeficient

@daylifesims @serenity-cc @rustys-cc @regina-raven

@renorasims @jius-sims @huiernxoxo @ice-creamforbreakfast

@candysims4 @boschianacc @wistfulpoltergeist @missrubybird

@aithsims4

[lisenberry]

The sweat on your skin is better than regret on your heart

Part three! (One and Two) I know I promised smut, but I just got really deep into his tattoos. Part four will finish this up, I swear.

Tattoo Artist!Price x F!Reader

He led you towards the back of the shop, past the reception desk and the waiting area, and behind the black velvet privacy curtain.  You were surprised at how clean it was in his workspace.  Welcoming in its warmth.  You expected neon lights and goth décor.  Crystal skulls and gleaming stainless steel.

Instead, it was a palette of rich, earthy tones.  A supple looking camel-colored leather sofa, maps of the ocean and model ships of every shape and size.  A compass rose painted with elaborate detail on the ceiling.  A stained-glass light fixture at its center. 

“It’s beautiful in here,” you mused, as you spun around slowly in a mix of awe and anticipation.  If you were to get a tattoo, it would be the place. 

“If you give me a second, I can draw you up a few ideas.  The ones you showed me on your little phone are uninspired shit.”  He slipped another cig from his pack and tucked it behind his ear.  Always at the ready.

“I’m actually more worried about the placement.”  You bit your lip for courage.  You couldn’t believe you were doing this.  “Could you show me yours?  Maybe that’ll help me decide.”

You sat atop a padded seat that he could recline forward and backward, raise up and down to suit the best position.  It was comfortable and smooth against the back of your knees. 

“I think we can stop pretending why you’re still here.  You want me to help you forget your boyfriend, don’t you?  Work you up so hard—so good and proper—that you don’t remember his name.”

But even as he spoke, he obliged you.  Tugged his shirt off efficiently, pulling it up from behind his neck and shrugging it over the front of his shoulders, letting it come to rest between his wrists.  It briefly looked like handcuffs before he tossed it on the floor beside him.

His hair stuck up in roguish angles before he could smooth it down with a stiff swipe of his palm.   

“No, I want to remember.  Remember this feeling for the rest of my life.”  You couldn’t look away as he stood so close to you, so proudly as if for an inspection. 

At the swath of hair that curled around the thick muscles of his chest and trailed down to disappear beneath the waist of the pants that hung low where his hands rested on his hips.

“What feeling is that?”

“Empty?”  You reached a hand out tentatively to touch the skin along his side.  To move him closer for a better look.  “But free.”

He was inked in a scattering of places, like memories collected over time.  No rhyme or symmetry to their arrangement.  A snake coiled around his shoulder and sunk its teeth into his collarbone.  A black bird with a long neck and hooked beak sat vigilantly on one bicep while a simple, unadorned dagger with wings claimed the other.

Some more weathered than others, it was hard to tell which was the oldest. 

“What’s the bird for?”  you asked, nodding to his left arm.  Below it was written “You’ll never walk alone” in stylized script. 

“That’s a liver bird.  The symbol of the LFC.”  A football club?  You cracked a smile at the boyishness of it.  You wondered if that was his first one, as a lad staking his claim on his body.  And the world.

“And the snake?”  You took your time tracing his right shoulder with your fingertips. 

“I hate snakes.  Scare me to death.”  Brave then, to carry one around with him always, forever creeping up to bite him. 

“And the bees?  You scared of them, too?”  You noted the collection of realistically drawn bumble bees at his side, fresher and with bright yellow colors. 

“Those are for my nieces.  Beatrice, Brenna and Bailey.”  He pointed to each, with a glimmer of softness in his voice as he recalled their names.

As you slid your hands to his hips, you turned him around to view the larger canvas at his back.  Just as disjointed as his front, your gaze fell to a ghostly face. 

More skeleton than specter, it sat on his right shoulder.  It’s teeth were made of bullets, and it stared blankly back at you.  The pitch black in the depths of its eyes unnerving. 

Beside it was a bear, warlike in its posture.  Its face open and fearsome, ready to consume its foe.  A claymore style longsword, with a thistle design at its hilt held in its massive paws.

One last piece balanced out the trinity.  A Knight Templar, crouched in armor.  On one bent knee, in service to a force unseen. 

They felt significant, inked in a similar style and with a fluidity that bound them together. 

“They’re important to you?”

“To be at my back?  Yeah.  They’re the best.”

From there, your fingers moved lower, to a set of four lions sat on their flanks.  You recognized them from history.  They were the Landseed lions of Admiral Nelson’s monument in Trafalgar Square.  They’d once held names too, like his nieces. 

Peace. War. Vigilance. Determination.

But these had arrows in their backs.  You imagined that each one in the count held a significance.  Not a life taken.  Or a victory.  Not something so crass and boastful.  Instead, something lost.

Below each, he’d had a set of coral red poppies added.  Bright and vibrant and new.

“It’s lovely,” you felt a tear drift down your cheek.  You didn’t know why.  It happened sometimes when you were at a museum or a gallery.  Moved beyond words at something beyond yourself.  The unbridled expression of another.

The last was a lone set of crosshairs, in a style so different than the rest.  Thin and unsure, as if doodled in a dream.  Just below his neck.  Dead-center at the crest of his spine.

“What’s this one?” You grazed it gently with your fingers.  Not entirely sure you wanted the answer.

“That’s the one that finally gets me, love,” he growled as he twisted around and held your probing hand in his.  “You’ve looked your fill.  Now it’s my turn.”

[pupsmailbox]

STARTING WITH B

MASCULINE︰ bailey. baker. baldric. baldwin. balfour. banks. barclay. barnabas. barnaby. barney. barret. barrett. barrie. barry. bart. bartholomew. basil. baxter. bayley. baylor. bear. beau. beauden. beaumont. beck. beckett. beckham. bellamy. ben. benedict. benj. benjamin. benji. benjy. bennett. bennie. benny. benson. bentley. benton. bernard. bernie. berny. berry. bert. bertie. bertram. bertrand. bevan. bevis. biff. bill. billie. billy. bjorn. blaine. blair. blake. blaze. blye. blythe. bo. bob. bobbie. bobby. bodhi. bodie. boone. boston. bow. bowen. bowie. boyce. brad. braden. bradford. bradley. brady. braeden. braiden. braith. bram. branden. brandon. brandt. branson. brant. brantley. braxton. brayden. braydon. braylen. braylon. braylyn. brecker. brendan. brenden. brendon. brennan. brent. brenton. bret. brett. brian. briar. brice. bridger. briggs. brin. brion. brixton. brock. brodie. brody. bronson. brook. brooks. bruce. bruno. bryan. bryant. bryce. brycen. bryon. bryson. buck. bud. buddy. bugsy. burke. burt. burton. buster. buzz. byrne. byron. bysshe.

FEMININE︰ bailee. bailey. bambi. barbara. barbie. baylee. bayley. baylor. bea. beatrice. beatrix. beau. becca. becci. bee. belen. bella. bellamy. belle. berkeley. berkley. bernadette. berry. bertha. bess. beth. bethany. betsy. betty. bev. beverley. beverly. bexley. bianca. billie. birdie. blaine. blair. blaire. blaisha. blake. blakely. blessing. blondie. blossom. blue. blythe. bonita. bonnie. braelyn. braelynn. braya. braylee. braylynn. breana. bree. brenna. brennalyn. bria. briana. brianna. briar. bridget. bridgette. briella. briella.. brielle. brinley. bristol. britannia. britney. brittani. brittania. brittany. brittney. brook. brooke. brooklyn. brooklynn. bryana. bryanna. brylee. brynlee. brynleigh. brynn. bunny. burgundy.

NEUTRAL︰ bail. bailey. baker. bale. ballad. bandit. bang. bank. banks. banner. barker. barns. barracuda. barrel. basil. basket. bass. bassdrop. bassline. bat. battery. battle. bay. baylor. baylor.. beach. beacon. beamer. bear. beau. beaux. beck. bee. beg. behold. believe. bellamy. bender. bentlee. berkeley. berkley. beta. between. beverly. bexley. beyond. bid. birch. bird. bishop. bit. bite. black. blaine. blair. blaire. blaise. blake. blame. blayke. blaze. bless. blessing. blight. blip. bliss. blister. blue. bluff. blur. blurb. blythe. bobby. bolt. bone. bonkers. boston. botany. boulevard. bow. bowie. brack. braelyn. brain. bramble. bran. branch. brass. bravery. braylen. braylin. braylynn. breach. break. breakthrough. breck. brecken. breeze. brennan. brentley. brett. brexley. briar. brick. brig. bright. brighton. briley. brine. britton. brixton. bronco. bronx. brook. brooks. brown. brute. bryar. bryer. bryn. bubble. bubblegum. buck. bud. buddy. bull. bulldog. bullet. bumble. bun. bungee. bunny. burns. bury. bus. busy. butter. butterfly. button. buzz. bygone.

[elcor-thespian]

Working on playlists for each of my Rooks, but here are some highlights

Nephele Mercar: I do not make the rules, every single Lucanis shipper has Espresso and Birds of a Feather on their playlist. So let’s pick something a little deeper.

When it comes to internal conflict, a great song for her is Buzz by Maddie Medley. It really captures that sweet spot of a deeply traumatized person who is stuck between desperately wanting someone to touch her and never wanting to be touched again.

If you don’t mind, then I don’t mind, and I hope this was worth your time.

Please get too close to me. When I push away, let me push away, please.

Nasreen Aldwir was very much inspired by the elven instrument you can have in your room. She processes a lot through writing music, so her playlist is very important.

You could tell me she wrote and performed Crane Your Neck by Lady Lamb after meeting Emmrich and I would believe you. So much of this song is exactly her. Down to the feral screaming. Lots of bone and nature imagery as well which is *chefs kiss*.

I used to have a pretty nice spine but I neglected to give it a name, so each time I tried to straighten it I couldn’t get its attention.

It’s a goddamn joke how we can hurt even in the sun.

Cuz if you’re dreaming about dying you’re not really living darling. You’ve gotta be starving, you gotta be starving for it.

Alexei Laidir: we need a whole separate playlist for the relationship between Alexei and Nasreen, but as far as just songs about him, we’re going with De Selby (part 2) by Hozier.

I wanna run against the world that's turning, I'd move so past that I'd outpace the sun.

Brenna Thorne: I’m trying to hard to not pick songs by the same artist, or to pick songs that are just about their love interest. But I can not deny how important Unknown/Nth by Hozier is to her, or how important Davrin and his death are to her story. But we are going to go deeper than that and find something that is JUST about her.

I feel like there's probably a better option, but I'm going to go with Belly Side Up by Bent Knee.

Show me what you're made of, don't turn your belly side up, put up your dukes, don't let nothing get through

My beautiful disaster lesbian Elspeth de Riva. Messy by Lola Young.

Cause I'm too messy, then I'm too fucking clean. You told me get a job then you ask where the hell I've been.

Paloma: Venom by Little Simz Paloma doesn't talk much but imagine a Qunari just staring you down while this plays in her head.

If you coming come at me directly, don't need no one to defend me. Soul's in a place even I can't get to, don't fuck with the deadly.

Konstantin Ingellvar: Open Heart by Adrian Chalifour. My sweet soft boy.

Baby you're an open heart. You just can't love unless you're falling hard, and you won't quit until it falls apart, and leaves you bleeding, no time for healing.

[independent-fics]

Inde watches “The Rollin’ on the River Job”

Leverage Redemption 1x03

“Hardison had to have a lot of practice before Eliot agreed to open those van doors” yes please missing 12 years lore (or original run lore) either way I love

I kinda love how Sophie just keeps referring to Harry as our Mr Wilson it’s cute. She really working to make him feel included

Oof growing pains with Sophie coming back and Parker being the mastermind

Really love Hardison’s algorithm. Love how he’s still helping them find clients

Ahhhh callbacks to learning it’s not always about the money with clients

“I lost count of my marriages, but I only had one husband” my heart

15 MANUALS WHERE

Sophie being happy to be back on a stage

”I’m Parker” yes you are

“We have to rob the vault” “YES” Parker my beloved she deserves all the vents and vaults 

Brennas “trash bags from couch, couch” the implications there

Telling Sophie to walk off after her “let’s go steal” get her back in the groove hahaha

a con with a flow chart Hardison making those for her and helping her ahhh I love them

“Are you using a flow chart for all your interactions” SO WHAT IF SHE IS and where can I get one

The Mark being upset about not being verified on Twitter goodness, they really thought these guys through 

Goodness, Eliot transitioning into OK I was a cop why is he so dramatic 😭this man closeted theater kid I swear the slight accent and tone change? Man suddenly sounded like he’s been through 40 years on the beat like what

I don’t like the cgi clay birds (idk why it bothers me like it would be cool if they learned ig )

I am not getting enough Parker and Eliot brainstorming moments together

Sophie that pink suit is stunning

Breanna already out and aboutttt

Gahgh nvm already benched

Gah the parallels of the newer team members growing like the originals

Parker’s you don’t like my dress? 🥺(also love that this is kinda mirroring the original run episode 3 bridesmaid dress? In a way)

Eliot bonding over cooking with the other security guard ahhh my heart

Ahhh more leverage friends??? I want all the lore

“It’s a very distinctive- hold on” the writers just couldn’t forget that love it

Ice cave, gorilla enclosure, catered a wedding I love these mentions

“Food sensory experience” Eliot you nerd

Harry’s little thumbs up to Breanna I love this duo

Nooo not Eliot’s new friend

Why they always go for typical Russian names we got Ivan Dimitri then the bodyguard is Jake??

Parker making Eliot smell the money haha I love them

Breanna coming in with the ideal gas law you smartical partical

Awww Eliot helping Dennis still and having game night (and the 7 shirt!!!)

THAT WAS MY CAKE PARKER (I love them so much)

Always trust the person inside the van (ugh Hardison I love your notes)

Ugh yeah Breanna me too about the world and the timeline of my life. I would love to kick it in the junk too.

With the pearl yes Parker!!! My beloved world famous thief

[kali-tmblr]

"The 18 AGs, all Republicans, urged a federal court to uphold Donald Trump’s assault against birthright citizenship on the grounds that their states are injured by immigrant mothers and their babies."

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

GOP Convention:: Mike Luckovich

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

July 16, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUL 17, 2024

The Republican National Convention is a moment to reintroduce Trump and MAGA Republicans to voters who have not seen them up close since at least 2021. So far, the convention has proved that the Republican Party is now the MAGA Party. It has not been a smooth unveiling. 

Yesterday, just after House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced that delegates were formally nominating Trump as the Republican Party’s presidential candidate, the teleprompter failed. Unable to continue without it, Johnson quickly left the stage. This was awkward, since two weeks ago, Johnson said on the Fox News Channel of President Joe Biden: “Unless the president is reading off the teleprompter, I don’t think he’s capable of making these big decisions and that is something that should alarm all of us….” 

The teleprompter having been fixed, Johnson returned forty-five minutes later to introduce Iowa’s attorney general, Brenna Bird, who in turn began the process of nominating Ohio senator J. D. Vance for vice president. The last time a Republican vice presidential nominee has been named so late was 1988, and while announcing at the convention has the benefit of generating enthusiasm for the novel story, it has the downside of bringing an avalanche of opposition. Vance brought the latter.

He is very young—just 39—and has held an elected office for just 18 months, making him notably inexperienced for someone in contention for the vice presidential slot, especially behind a 78-year-old presidential nominee. In the past, he was a never-Trumper, saying that Trump “might be America’s Hitler,” “might be a cynical a**hole,” and is “cultural heroin,” “noxious,” and “reprehensible,” but he came around to embrace the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen and to say that if he had been vice president on January 6, 2021, he would have done what former vice president Mike Pence would not: he would have refused to count the certified electoral ballots for President Joe Biden. 

Former Wyoming representative Liz Cheney, who was drummed out of the party for standing against Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, wrote: “JD Vance has pledged he would do what Mike Pence wouldn’t—overturn an election and illegally seize power. He says the president can ignore the rulings of our courts. He would capitulate to Russia and sacrifice the freedom of our allies in Ukraine. The Trump GOP is no longer the party of Lincoln, Reagan or the Constitution.”

Both ends of the Republican spectrum have also expressed concerns about Vance. The far right has been vocal today about their disdain for Vance’s wife, who is the American-born daughter of Indian immigrants. “Do we really expect that the guy who has an Indian wife and named their kid Vivek is going to support white identity?” Nick Fuentes asked. 

On the other side of the Republican spectrum, those who opposed Trump because of his extremism, especially on abortion, are unlikely to have their fears relieved by Vance, who has advocated no-exceptions abortion bans, that people stay in violent marriages, and said: “We are effectively run in this country…by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made. And so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too.”

But for all the talk of unifying the country since last weekend’s shooting, Trump did not pick Vance to bring Republicans together. His selection of Vance reinforces that the MAGAs have taken over the Republican Party with an ideology that rejects democracy in favor of Christian nationalism. Vance has repeatedly elevated Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán’s destruction of democracy in favor of a strong leader imposing Christian family structures, ending abortion rights, enforcing anti-LGBTQ+ policies and encouraging attacks on immigrants, and seizing universities. Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts, who is also aligned with Orbán and was key to the production of Project 2025, which echoes Orbán’s co-called “illiberal democracy,” cheered Vance’s selection. 

On Monday the convention approved a platform, the document that outlines the party’s position for the administration they hope to put into power. The evolution of Republican platforms since 2016 shows the evolution of the Republican Party. The 2016 platform fell pretty much within the norms of the genre, celebrating the nation and attacking the opposition before calling first for tax cuts—standard fare for Republicans since 1980—open markets, and deregulation of business and finance, as well as a smaller government. It called as well for an end to gay marriage, protection of gun ownership, and opposition to abortion. 

In 2020 the Republican Party did not write a platform, simply saying “[t]hat the Republican Party has and will continue to enthusiastically support the President's America-first agenda.”

In 2024 the Republican Party platform reiterates the points of a Trump rally. Its capitalization is erratic, as his is, and it is full of sweeping and often incorrect statements. Rather than celebrating the country, it warns that “we are a Nation in SERIOUS DECLINE. Our future, our identity, and our very way of life are under threat like never before.” It promises that, under Trump, “We will be a Nation based on Truth, Justice, and Common Sense.”

The only real sign of the old party is the platform’s promise to make the Trump tax cuts, which have already added $2.5 trillion to the national debt, permanent. Otherwise, the platform is a MAGA document. It portrays a world that reflects Trump’s dystopian vision rather than reality, then promises to fix that dystopia either with vague promises or with culture war victories. In odd passages, it promises to do what Biden has already done: conquer inflation, bring supply chains home, revive manufacturing, and save the auto industry. 

The speakers at the convention have largely been MAGA extremists, and the picture they painted of the United States echoed Trump’s. They portrayed a country in decline from the heady days of the Trump presidency, but their image was not based in reality. Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin, for example, claimed that “Women, Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans all saw record low employment under Donald J. Trump,” when in fact those record lows have come under Biden. Former CEO of Yammer, South African David Sacks, echoed Russian talking points when he blamed Biden for provoking Russia to invade Ukraine. Tennessee senator Marsha Blackburn attacked “racist DEI requirements.”

CNN fact checker Daniel Dale has been kept busy correcting the Republicans’ repeated lie that there is a violent crime wave in the U.S. under Biden; the opposite is true. Both violent crimes and property crimes have plummeted since the Trump administration. Republicans are also saying that Democrats “have eroded the American energy dominance that President Trump delivered.” In reality, while Biden is trying to shift the U.S. to renewables, Dale noted that “the U.S. under Biden is producing more crude oil than any country ever has… the U.S. is setting fossil fuel world records under this administration. The U.S. produced a global record 12.9 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2023, easily beating the Trump-era high of 12.3 million barrels.”  

Today’s speakers included Nikki Haley, a last-minute addition to the program after the events of the weekend in an apparent attempt to create a sense of unity. She made a good pitch but didn’t convince everyone: there were scattered boos at her appearance. Her speech was the high-water mark of the unity effort tonight; the rest of the speakers hammered the idea that the country is divided in two and that Trump’s opponents are persecuting him. They singled out the media as a key enemy.  

The bitter rift between establishment and MAGA Republicans has been evident in other ways, as well. Attendees booed Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) when he pledged Kentucky’s votes to Trump, from whom he has kept his distance. MAGA congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) interrupted CNN journalist Kaitlan Collins when she was interviewing former House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to taunt McCarthy by pointing out that he had not been asked to speak, adding that if he had been, “You would get booed off the stage.” Gaetz was behind the move to throw McCarthy out of his office, and he resigned from Congress shortly thereafter. McCarthy reacted by noting that there is an ethics complaint against Gaetz for sleeping with a minor.   

Trump has appeared at the convention with a large bandage on the ear he says was pierced by a bullet on Saturday. Journalists have begun to note that there has been no medical report of Trump’s injuries, an odd omission after the intense recent scrutiny of President Biden’s health. 

Trump seemed oddly subdued on Monday and appeared to fall asleep during the proceedings. His wife Melania has not yet appeared at the convention. 

Today, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s son Bobby Kennedy III posted a video of a call Trump made to his father in which Trump appeared to try to win Kennedy’s support first by appearing to support Kennedy’s opposition to vaccines and then by suggesting that he could get Kennedy a job. “I would love you to do something,” Trump said. “And I think it’ll be so good for you and so big for you. And we’re going to win.” He also noted that Biden had called him after the shooting, saying “it was very nice, actually,” and that the cause of the injury he sustained on Saturday felt like “the world’s largest mosquito.” 

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[brenna]

the vibe for may 11th is putt-putt and drinks with the family. I rolled my ankle, but it seems ok. that's the price you pay. listened to a lot of vinyl today; this was just one.

[hibiscushollow]

Guys this is the first and last thing I’ll ever post!!

@breannasfluff wing boys au bird types cause I’ve been obsessed with all Brenna’s content and recently discovered a knack for bird drawing ^^