#chase mcbride

[keepingitneutral]

"High Desert" Residence, California,

Heather Day and Chase McBride House,

Ryan Leidner Architecture

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Stephen Robinson at Public Notice:

Nancy Mace made headlines in recent weeks with her ugly, transphobic attacks on Democratic Rep.-elect Sarah McBride. Her attention-seeking stunts, such as performatively tearing down transgender flags while on camera, represent new lows in what has been a years-long chase for that next sweet cable news hit.

Before McBride was even sworn into office, Mace introduced a resolution that would ban transgender women from women’s restrooms at the US Capitol. Mace openly admitted that McBride was the specific target of her resolution even though she never planned to use multi-stall bathrooms at the Capitol in the first place. Mace didn’t even bother addressing her concerns directly with McBride before exploiting her identity for her latest 15 minutes of fame. Mace’s bigoted actions and rhetoric have little to do with any actual ideology. Indeed, in the distant past of just last year, she described herself as “pro-transgender rights.” She stated in a 2023 interview, “If they wanna take on a different pronoun or a different gender identity or grow their hair out, or wear a dress or wear pants, or do those things as a minor — those are all things that I think most people would support. Be who you want to be, but don’t make permanent changes as a child. They may decide as an adult, ‘Hey, instead of being Johnny, I want to be Jill’ — that’s OK. But let them figure that out and make that decision when they can consent.”

This is a stark departure from Mace’s current position — she’s referred to trans people as “mentally ill” during her recent flood of bigoted posts on social media — but it’s not inexplicable. Mainstream Republicans have escalated their attacks against trans people over the past few years. During the 2024 GOP primary, for instance, Nikki Haley framed her opposition to trans equality as “the women’s rights issue of our time” and called Dylan Mulvaney “a guy, dressed up like a girl, making fun of women.” Trump, for his part, made crude transphobia a cornerstone of his 2024 campaign — a contrast with his first presidential run, when he actually said trans people should be able to use whatever bathroom they want. At a glance, it seems as if Mace simply hopped on a hateful bandwagon. But a closer examination of her congressional career reveals that she has no true political position beyond her own ambition.

“National Nancy”

In 2020, Mace defeated Democratic incumbent Joe Cunningham in South Carolina’s first district by less than 6,000 votes. (Republicans have since redrawn the district to make it solidly Republican, which involved removing thousands of Black voters.) For a moment, it looked as if Mace would serve as a centrist alternative to incoming far-right representatives like Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene, both of whom promoted Trump’s lies about the 2020 election.

Mace was not one of the 147 Republican House members who voted to reject Trump’s loss. In fact, she was the only Republican House member from South Carolina who voted to certify Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. She told NPR's Steve Inskeep on January 7 that “when you read the Constitution, Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 explicitly states, in black and white, that Congress's role here is merely to count the votes of the Electoral College.” “Everything that he’s worked for — his entire legacy — was wiped out yesterday,” she said at the time. She told Meet the Press that Trump put “all our lives at risk.” That was during the brief period when it seemed as though Republicans might finally break with Trump, and Mace swiftly positioned herself as the face of the brave new post-MAGA order. “I want to be a new voice for the Republican Party, and that’s one of the reasons I’ve spoken out so strongly against the president, against these QAnon conspiracy theorists that led us in a constitutional crisis,” she told Meet the Press. “It’s just wrong, and we’ve got to put a stop to it.”

[...]

Mace folds to Trumpism

Mace’s public feud with Greene eventually caused then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy to intervene, but it was the party’s true leader who threatened to end Mace’s career before it really got going. As Godfrey observed, Mace’s actual “position in the GOP ecosystem” was hard to nail down. She didn’t please the bigot wing of the party with her (at the time) tolerant positions on LGBTQ issues. She provoked her diehard MAGA peers while trying to remain on Trump’s good side. She didn’t vote to impeach him after the insurrection, nor did she support the January 6 Committee. But she did vote to hold former Trump adviser Stephen Bannon in contempt of Congress.

Although outspoken Trump foe Liz Cheney held a fundraising event for Mace in April 2021, Mace voted to remove her as GOP conference chair a few weeks later. “Any disagreements we have with each other within our Party should be discussed internally, and not dragged out into public for all to see,” she said in a statement. This explanation was transparently hypocritical — not just because of her later feuds with Boebert and Greene but because Trump himself doesn’t follow Ronald Reagan’s supposed 11th Commandment about never criticizing other Republicans. MAGA only obeys a single commandment — thou shalt have no other gods but Trump. Trump didn’t forget Mace’s public criticism of him after January 6. He endorsed her 2022 primary challenger, Katie Arrington. Trump outright trashed Mace, calling her “disloyal,” “crazy,” and a “terrible person who has no idea what she’s doing.” At a 2022 rally, he even encouraged the crowd to boo the very mention of her name. (Watch below.)

[...] In a January 2023 Semafor article headlined, “America's Next Top Moderate: Which House Republican wants the title?” Mace was listed as one of the "five members who’ve taken on the role of quasi-spokespeople for the Mod Squad” — a group billed as a contrast to the extremist Freedom Caucus, which had thrown the House into chaos over McCarthy’s protracted speakership bid. But by October, Mace had joined Matt Gaetz and other far-right Republicans in their successful bid to oust McCarthy. As Republicans scrambled to replace McCarthy, Mace showed up for a conference meeting wearing a white t-shirt with a red “A” on the front. She told CNN’s Anna Grayer, “I’m wearing the scarlet letter after the week that I just had, last week, being a woman up here and being demonized for my vote and for my voice.” Mace consistently plays the victim in this cynical way. During a memorably disastrous interview earlier this year on ABC, she absurdly accused George Stephanopoulos of “shaming” her as a rape victim because he dared ask how she could support Donald Trump, an adjudicated rapist. 

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is all about Nancy Mace, nothing more.

[my-mt-heart]

Putting the "ew" in EW

There are a lot of things wrong with the article, but let's start with the glaringly obvious...

Instead of letting Daryl's and Carol's connection speak for itself and letting fans get excited to see the connection as they've understood it for over a decade, Dalton Ross tries to project his own POV onto us, overemphasizing a platonic friendship as if it's the only right answer and ignoring the core of Caryl's fanbase, who are well within reason to want payoff to a romantic love story between Caryl that was earned time and time again in the flagship show. If his goal was to define the relationship for us once and for all, he completely fails. All he's really doing is exposing himself as yet another deeply insecure and toxic middle-aged white man who can't fathom a middle-aged woman with gray hair as a romantic partner for the middle-aged male protagonist. It's ignorant at best and at worst, it's aiding an effort to hurt Melissa's viewership (worth noting that Dalton Ross is one of Gimple's connections). But sadly, his spin is not even the worst problem...

This has to be one of the most ridiculous exchanges between a showrunner and a lead actor that I've ever read, but to cut to the chase, if the former is so disconnected from Daryl that he doesn't know the first thing about how this character forms attachments with others or why it takes him so long and what that says about his relationship with Carol, he shouldn't be the showrunner. That's been clear since S1 and in every interview he does, so at this point, AMC is shooting themselves in the foot the longer they keep him on or even just let him open his mouth.

In case I haven't made myself perfectly clear a million times, I am here for the Daryl I connected with when he became the most loyal and loving man to Carol and his family in the flagship show. I am here for The Book of Carol because I want to watch Carol rise above her trauma as she's risen above so many challenges in her life and I want to watch her finally claim a love she didn't think she was worthy of before, which is true love/romantic love/soulmate love with Daryl (look, I can overemphasize too). I want to watch Melissa McBride, who has also had to rise above so many challenges as a woman in the industry, give one powerful performance after another after another. I want her to get all the praise from fans and critics that she deserves and I want her to have more creative control since she's the one who really knows how to do Carol's story justice. Imagine if all we had to analyze was her own words...

I am so fucking tired of other EPs trying to turn the beautiful things she has to say and the beautiful things she brings to her show into a footnote because they always have to be so overt in their misogyny, ageism, arrogance, and stupidity first. I am fucking tired of feeling unwelcome to a show being marketed as #TWDCARYL when I am both a Carol and a Daryl fan who also ships them together. The perpetual mess doesn't speak to Melissa's value or to her fans' priorities. I will continue to direct my blame at the other EPs, and I need AMC to start doing the same. Stop giving David Zabel, Greg Nicotero, and Scott Gimple a platform. Stop giving into their need to promote themselves. Stop losing viewers over them. Let's get a showrunner who understands Carol's and Daryl's characters as well as their relationship, and here's a new idea, let's get journalists/reviewers who don't try to shove their own insecurities down our throats to cover the aspects of the show that we actually connect with. Believe it or not, those of us who are loudly complaining do want to be here.

[marcmarcmomarc]

RWBY (Behind the Voice Actors)

MAIN RWBY CAST

Ruby Rose: Lindsay Jones

Weiss Schnee: Kara Eberle and 1 other

Casey Lee Williams

Blake Belladonna: Arryn Zech

Yang Xiao Long: Barbara Dunkelman

Jaune Arc: Miles Luna

Nora Valkyrie: Samantha Ireland

Lie Ren: Monty Oum and 1 other

Neath Oum

RECURRING ROLES

Qrow Branwen: Vic Mignogna and 1 other

Ernesto Jason Liebrecht

Oscar Pine: Aaron Dismuke

Professor Ozpin: Shannon McCormick

Cinder Fall: Jessica Nigri

James Ironwood: Jason Rose

Emerald Sustrai: Katie Newville

Sun Wukong: Michael Jones

Pyrrha Nikos: Jen Brown

Penny Polendina: Taylor McNee

Mercury Black: J.J. Castillo and 1 other

Yuri Lowenthal

Winter Schnee: Elizabeth Maxwell

Salem: Jen Taylor

Neopolitan: No Voice Actor

Dr. Arthur Watts: Christopher Sabat

Tyrian Callows: Jessie James Grelle

Hazel Rainart: William Orendorff

Bartholomew Oobleck: Joel Heyman

Peter Port: Ryan Haywood and 1 other

Anthony Sardinha

Maria Calavera: Melissa Sternenberg

Adam Taurus: Garrett Hunter

Robyn Hill: Cristina Valenzuela

Roman Torchwick: Gray G. Haddock and 2 others

Billy Kametz

Christopher Wehkamp

Neptune Vasilias: Kerry Shawcross

Glynda Goodwitch: Kathleen Zuelch

Jacques Schnee: Jason Douglas

Raven Branwen: Anna Hullum

Clover Ebi: Christopher Wehkamp

Elm Ederne: Dawn M. Bennett

Marrow Amin: Marrow Amin

Harriet Bree: Anairis Quiñones

Vine Zeki: Todd Womack

Ghira Belladonna: Kent Williams

Whitley Schnee: Howard Wang

Ilia Amitola: Cherami Leigh

Kali Belladonna: Tara Platt

Taiyang Xiao Long: Burnie Burns

Vernal: Amber Lee Connors

Little: Luci Christian

Somewhat: Luci Christian

May Marigold: Kdin Jenzen

Joanna Greenleaf: Marissa Lenti

Fiona Thyme: Michele Everheart

Dr. Pietro Polendina: Dave Fennoy

Klein Sieben: J. Michael Tatum

Corsac Albain: Derek Mears

Fennec Albain: Mike McFarland

Leonardo Lionheart: Daman Mills

Curious Cat: Robbie Daymond

Coco Adel: Ashley Jenkins

Velvet Scarlatina: Caiti Ward

Yatsuhashi Daichi: Joe MacDonald

Cardin Winchester: Adam Ellis

Caroline Cordovin: Mela Lee

Jabberwalker: Richard Norman

Jinn: Colleen Clinkenbeard

Flynt Coal: Flynt Flossy

Neon Katt: Meg Turney

Saphron Cotta-Arc: Lindsay Sheppard

Terra Cotta-Arc: Jamie Smith

Blacksmith: Kimlinh Tran

Lil’ Miss Malachite: Luci Christian

Willow Schnee: Caitlin Glass

The Hound: Ernesto Jason Liebrecht

Hei “Junior” Xiong: Jack Pattillo

Miltia Malachite: Maggie Tominey

Melanie Malachite: Maggie Tominey

Zwei: Penny Layne Matthews

Ozma: Aaron Dismuke and 1 other

Shannon McCormick

God of Light: Chase McCaskill

God of Darkness: Bruce DuBose

Ambrosius: Valentine Stokes

Jinxy: Brendan Blaber

Red Prince: Michael Malconian

Herbalist: Christopher Guerrero

Creatures of Grimm: William Orendorff

MINOR ROLES

Announcer: Jeff Williams

AK-130 Android: Shane Newville

Shopkeep: Patrick Rodriguez

Goons: William Lopez and 1 other

Isaiah Torres

Cyril Ian: Patrick Rodriguez

Lisa Lavender: Jen Brown

Student: Kerry Shawcross

Russel Thrush: Shane Newville

Police Officers: Burnie Burns and 1 other

Joel Heyman

Sailors: Isaiah Torres and 1 other

Daniel Fabelo

White Fang Goon: Chris Martin

Penny’s Driver: Alan Abdine

Tukson: Adam Ellis

CCT AI: Megan Castro

Schnee Corp Operator: Emily McBride

Atlas Soldiers: Jon Risinger and 19 others

Patrick Rodriguez

Shane Newville

Kerry Shawcross

Josh Flanagan

Jeb-Aguilar Kendrick

J.D. Arredondo

Kirk Johnson

Alena Lecorchick

Tony Salvaggio

César Altagracia

Quentin Holtz

Nicholas Swift

Ed Whetstone

Cody Hawkins

Andrea Ratsos

Noël Wiggins

Dalton Allen

Nick Cramer

White Fang Lieutenant: Gray G. Haddock

“Deery”: Maggie Tominey

Student: Jacob Strickler

Perry: Kyle Taylor

White Fang Goons: Austin Hardwicke and 3 others

Miles Luna

Dustin Matthews

Josh Ornelas

Councilman: Gray G. Haddock

Reese Chloris: Erin Winn

Bolin Hori: Jon Risinger

Brawnz Ni: Blaine Gibson

Roy Stallion: No Voice Actor

Nolan Porfirio: Aaron Marquis

May Zedong: No Voice Actor

Bartender: Markus Horstmeyer

Nebula Violette: Kate Warner

Scarlet David: Gavin Free

Dew Gayl: Kim Newman

Sage Ayana: Josh Ornelas

Gwen Darcy: Mylissa Zelechowski

Octavia Ember: Claire Hogan

Video Game Announcer: Gray G. Haddock

Ciel Soleil: Yssa Badiola

Salesman: César Altagracia

Woman: Kate Warner

Man: Robert Reynolds

Large Man: Alex Leonard

Inn Keeper: Joe MacDonald

Crying Child Illusion: Maggie Tominey

Amber: Laura Bailey

Paramedic: Jon Risinger

Atlas Security Guard: Jonathan Floyd

Haven Tourist: Robert Reynolds

News Reporter: Tyler Coe

Broadcast Op: Cole Gallian

Warning Announcer: Kate Warner

Atlas Ship Captain: Travis Willingham

Blue Three: Andrea Caprotti

Mayor: Mike McFarland

Blacksmith: Christopher Guerrero

Dying Huntsman: Alejandro Saab

Captain: Bruce Carey

Reporter 01: Tyler Coe

Reporter 02: Amber Lee Connors

Reporter 03: Jason Douglas

Crew Member 1: Yunhao Zhang

First Mate: Derrek Ziegler

Crew Member 2: Chris Kokkinos

Oscar’s Aunt: Marissa Lenti

Higanbana Waitress: Kim Newman

Businessman: Scott Frerichs

Businesswoman: Amber Lee Connors

Henry Marigold: Alejandro Saab

Angry Businessman: Nick Landis

Waiter: Kyler Smith

Trophy Wife: Felecia Angelle

Husband: Chris Kokkinos

An Ren: Dawn M. Bennett

Lie Ren (young): Apphia Yu

Young Blacksmith: Connor Pickens

Tall Boy: Scott Frerichs

Short Boy: Marissa Lenti

Medium Boy: Amber Lee Connors

Li Ren: Kaiji Tang

Nora Valkyrie (young): Kristen McGuire

Mistral Pilot: Stan Lewis

Atlas Pilot: Richard Norman

Train Announcer: Alena Lecorchick

Mistral Pilot: Reina Scully

Menagerie Guard: Gio Coutinho

Bartender: Zane Rutledge

Shay D. Mann: Clifford Chapin

Sienna Khan: Monica Rial

Bandit One: Chris Kokkinos

Saber Rodentia: William Ball

Bandit Two: Billy B. Burson III

Worried Mother: Victoria Holden

Mata: Scott Frerichs

Yuma: Nick Landis

Ramen Shop Owner: Nick Landis

Small Girl: Emily Fajardo

Trifa: Emily Fajardo

Menagerie Guard 1: Stan Lewis

Menagerie Guard 2: Jenn K. Tidwell

Faunus 01: Willem W. Keetell

Faunus 02: Ariel LaCroix

Young Faunus Woman: Christine Stuckart

Older Faunus Man: Patrick Rodriguez

White Fang Members: Luis “Paco” Vazquez and 2 others

Willem W. Keetell

Jenn K. Tidwell

Mistral Police Captain: Jamie Smith

White Fang Guards: Christine Stuckart and 2 others

César Altagracia

Connor Pickens

Dee: Alex Mai

Dudley: Christopher Guerrero

Mistral Woman: Lauren Aptekar

Newscaster: Ethan Marler

Body Guard: Jenn K. Tidwell

Frightened Man: Richard Norman

Eldest Daughter: Jenn K. Tidwell

Youngest Daughter: Lauren Aptekar

Tock: Ruth Urquhart

Adrian Cotta-Arc: Lucella Wren Clary

Nubuck Guards: Kyle Phillips

Red Haired Woman: Jen Brown

Terminal Soldier: Connor Pickens

Argus Air Control: Danzer Koehler

Manta Two-Two: Noël Wiggins

Manta Three-Four: Dalton Allen

Manta Two-One: Melanie Stern

Manta Two-Four: Joe Clary

Atlas Air Traffic Female: Alena Lecorchick

Drunk Mann: Joel Mann

Drinking Buddy: Dustin Matthews

Forest: Eric Baudour

Pilots: Billy B. Burson III and 1 other

Todd Womack

Fria: Luci Christian

Newscaster: Scott Morgan

Mantle Citizen: Kirk Johnson

Mantle Patrol: Quentin Holtz

News Broadcaster: Kyle Taylor

AK-200 Driver: Ed Whetstone

Patrol: Connor Pickens

Waiters: Kirk Johnson and 1 other

Christine Stuckart

Female Dinner Guest: Lauren Aptekar

Councilman Sleet: Chad James

Councilwoman Camilla: Anairis Quiñones

Mantle Child: Brooke Olson

Citizens: Quentin Holtz and 5 others

Nikita Steele

Nicholas Swift

Jenn K. Tidwell

Alena Lecorchick

Ed Whetstone

Manta Team Delta: Richard Norman

Atlas Pilots: Ed Whetstone and 1 other

Alena Lecorchick

Atlas Commander: Zoe Terhune and 1 other

Kate Daigler

Atlas Technician: Alena Lecorchick

Reporter: Nick Schwartz

Mother: Jenn K. Tidwell

Disgruntled Grandmother: Christine Stuckart

Fiona’s Uncle: Gus Sorola

Crimson: César Altagracia

Mechanical Voice: Andrea Ratsos

Operator: Nick Schwartz

Madame: Linda Leonard

Step-Sisters: Amanda Lee

Rhodes: Christian Young

Commanders: Billy B. Burson III and 2 others

Kdin Jenzen

Zack Watkins

Child: Alexia Cruz

Father: Matthew Cruz

Computer Terminal: Alanah Pearce

Atlas Officer: Billy B. Burson III

CCT Voice: Jackie Izawa

Civilian: Chris Demarais

Summer Rose: Morgan Lauré Garrett

The Bird: Richard Norman

Mouse: Brendan Blaber

Mouse Leader: Jamie Battle

Townsperson: Jamie Battle

Toy Soldiers: Nick Cramer and 4 others

Billy B. Burson III

Kdin Jenzen

Cody Hawkins

Michael Malconian

Toy Guard: Brendan Blaber

White Pawns: Brandan Blaber and 3 others

Billy B. Burson III

Jamie Battle

Michael Malconian

Hawker: César Altagracia

Teapot Lady: Kdin Jenzen

Blue Paper Pleaser: Connor Pickens

Yellow Paper Pleaser: Dalton Allen

Green Paper Pleaser: Dustin Matthews

Red Paper Pleaser: Paula Decanini

Purple Paper Pleaser: Yssa Badiola

Genial Gem: Paula Decanini

Alyx: Shara Kirby

Vacuan 1: Eddy Rivas

Vacuan 2: Melinda Bonifay

ADDITIONAL VOICES

Austin Hardwicke

Blaine Gibson

Daniel Fabelo

Dustin Matthews

Harley Dwortz

Jeff Yohn

Kris McMeans

Kristina Nguyen

Luis “Paco” Vazquez

Maggie Tominey

Megan Castro

Shane Newville

Sheena Duquette

Stefanie Hardy

[joshuasumter]

The Loud House/Scooby-Doo! Mysteries

SYNOPSIS: What happens when your favorite Loud family from The Loud House solve the mysteries from your favorite animated Scooby-Doo! movies?!

Introducing The Loud House/Scooby-Doo! Mysteries, the crossover recasting series that follows the mysteries from your favorite Scooby-Doo! movies, but with the Louds from Nickelodeon's The Loud House taking center stage instead of our favorite teen sleuths of Mystery Inc. and their faithful hound Scooby-Doo.

Everyone's favorite rowdy family from The Loud House take their hijinks around the mysteries of your favorite Scooby-Doo! movies as each certain members of the Loud family have their spotlight while dealing with the spooks and monsters of all shapes and sizes -- like Lucy Loud meeting the ghost of Sarah Ravencroft in Witch's Ghost, the rock-and-rolling Luna Loud going down under as she rocks out against the Yowie Yahoo and its legion of Australian vampires during the Vampire Rock Music Festival in Legend of the Vampire, the scientific Lisa Loud getting beamed inside the computer game with the Phantom Virus on her tail from level to level in Cyber Chase, and see how our one and only Lincoln Loud and his family handle zombies and werecats on Moonscar Island in Zombie Island...without his best friend Clyde McBride.

For now, check out the crossover recast of Scooby-Doo! on Zombie Island in Gettin' Loud on Zombie Island and many more that is yet to come!

Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998)

Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost (1999)

Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000)

Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001)

Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire (2003)

Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico (2003)

Scooby-Doo! and the Loch Ness Monster (2004)

Aloha, Scooby-Doo! (2005)

Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy! (2006)

Chill Out, Scooby-Doo! (2007)

Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword (2009)

Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo (2010)

Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare (2010)

Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur (2011)

Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire (2012)

Big Top Scooby-Doo! (2012)

Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon (2013)

Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery (2014)

Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness (2015)

Scooby-Doo! and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon (2016)

Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2018)

Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog (2021)

Scooby-Doo! Stage Fright (2013)

Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery (2015)

Scooby-Doo! and the Gourmet Ghost (2018)

Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo! (2020)

Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! (2022)

Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too! (2023)

[cyarsk5230]

1. Sonya Massey - "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus." 2. George Floyd - "I can't breathe." 3. Eric Garner - "I can't breathe." 4. Michael Brown - "I don't have a gun. Stop shooting." 5. Philando Castile - "I wasn't reaching for it." 6. Breonna Taylor - "Why did you shoot me?" 7. Freddie Gray - "I need a doctor." 8. Tamir Rice - "It's not real." 9. Oscar Grant - "You shot me! I got a four-year-old daughter!" 10. Laquan McDonald - No audible last words; shot while walking away. 11. Elijah McClain - "I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I'm just different. I'm just different, that's all. I'm so sorry. I have no gun. I don't do that stuff. I don't do any fighting. Why are you attacking me?" 12. Alton Sterling - "What did I do?" 13. Walter Scott - "I’m just going home." 14. Botham Jean - "Why did you shoot me?" 15. Stephon Clark - "Grandma, call the police." 16. Atatiana Jefferson - "I’m here." 17. Sandra Bland - "Why am I being apprehended?" 18. Tony McDade - "I'm not armed." 19. Daniel Prude - "Give me your gun, I need it." 20. John Crawford III - "It's not real." 21. Manuel Ellis - "I can't breathe, sir." 22. Amadou Diallo - "Mom, I'm going to college." 23. Aiyana Stanley-Jones - No audible last words; shot while sleeping. 24. Terrence Crutcher - "I'm not doing anything." 25. Sean Bell - No audible last words; shot multiple times. 26. Jonathan Ferrell - No audible last words; shot while seeking help after a car crash. 27. Ezell Ford - "It's me, it’s me." 28. John Crawford III - "It's not real." 29. Renisha McBride - No audible last words; shot while seeking help after a car accident. 30. Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. - "Why are you doing this to me?" 31. Tamir Rice - "It's not real." 32. Eric Harris - "I'm losing my breath." 33. Jamar Clark - "Please don’t let me die." 34. Rayshard Brooks - "I don't want to hurt you." 35. Alfred Olango - "Please don’t shoot." 36. Shantel Davis - "What did I do?" 37. Kendra James - "Please don’t kill me." 38. Akai Gurley - No audible last words; shot in a dark stairwell. 39. Miriam Carey - No audible last words; shot in her car. 40. Timothy Russell - No audible last words; shot during a car chase. 41. Malissa Williams - No audible last words; shot during a car chase. 42. Jordan Edwards - No audible last words; shot while leaving a party. 43. Yvette Smith - "I'm coming out." 44. Jordan Davis - No audible last words; shot at a gas station. 45. Victor White III - No audible last words; died in police custody. 46. Dontre Hamilton - No audible last words; shot in a park. 47. Eric Reason - No audible last words; shot during a dispute. 48. Emantic "EJ" Bradford Jr. - No audible last words; shot in a mall. 49. Oscar Grant - "You shot me! I got a four-year-old daughter!" 50. Clinton Allen - No audible last words; shot during an encounter. 51. Ronnell Foster - No audible last words; shot during a foot chase. 52. Tony Robinson - No audible last words; shot during an altercation. 53. Charly Keunang - No audible last words; shot during an altercation. 54. Samuel DuBose - "I didn’t even do nothing." 55. Quintonio LeGrier - "I’m sorry." 56. Bettie Jones - "I've been shot." 57. India Kager - No audible last words; shot in a car. 58. Keith Lamont Scott - "Don't shoot him. He has no weapon." 59. Jordan Baker - No audible last words; shot during a confrontation. 60. Christian Taylor - No audible last words; shot during a confrontation. 61. Michael Dean - No audible last words; shot during a traffic stop. 62. Rumain Brisbon - No audible last words; shot during an altercation. 63. Gregory Gunn - No audible last words; shot during an encounter. 64. Yuvette Henderson - No audible last words; shot during a confrontation. 65. David Joseph - No audible last words; shot during a confrontation. 66. Calvin Reid - No audible last words; died in police custody. 67. Antonio Zambrano-Montes - No audible last words; shot during an encounter. 68. Zachary Hammond - "Why did you shoot me?"

69. Anthony Hill - No audible last words; shot while naked and unarmed.

70. Saheed Vassell - No audible last words; shot while holding a metal pipe.

71. Willie McCoy - No audible last words; shot while sleeping in a car.

72. Robert White - No audible last words; shot during an altercation.

73. Micheal Lorenzo Dean - No audible last words; shot during a traffic stop.

74. Monique Tillman - "I didn’t do anything wrong."

75. Randy Evans - No audible last words; died in police custody.

76. Vernell Bing Jr. - No audible last words; shot during a car chase.

77. Cameron Massey - No audible last words; shot during an altercation.

78. DeAndre Ballard - No audible last words; shot during a confrontation.

79. Maurice Gordon - "Can you let me out?"

80. Rayshard Brooks - "I don’t want to hurt you."

81. Pierre Loury - No audible last words; shot during a foot chase.

82. Deborah Danner - "I’m not feeling well."

83. Jason Harrison - "I’m sick."

84. Corey Jones - "Hold on, wait!"

85. Keith Childress - "Don't shoot."

86. Justine Damond - No audible last words; shot after calling 911.

87. Amilcar Perez-Lopez - No audible last words; shot during an altercation.

88. Mario Woods - "I'm not going to shoot you."

89. William Chapman II - "Don’t shoot me."

90. Chad Robertson - No audible last words; shot while running away.

91. Charlie Willie Kunzelman - No audible last words; shot during a confrontation.

92. Terrence Sterling - No audible last words; shot during a traffic stop.

93. Sylville Smith - "Why are you harassing me?"

94. Bruce Kelley Jr. - No audible last words; shot during an altercation.

95. Korryn Gaines - No audible last words; shot during a standoff.

96. Maurice Granton Jr. - No audible last words; shot during a foot chase.

97. Paul O'Neal - No audible last words; shot during a car chase.

98. Antwon Rose II - "Why are they shooting?"

99. Patrick Harmon - "I’ll go with you."

100. Aaron Bailey - "Why did you shoot me?"

101. Miles Hall - "No! Don't do it!"

[kwebtv]

Secret Army - BBC One / BRT - September 7, 1977 - December 15, 1979

War Drama (43 Episodes)

Running Time: 60 minutes

Stars:

Bernard Hepton as Albert Foiret

Jan Francis as Lisa "Yvette" Colbert (series 1-2)

Christopher Neame as Flight Lt. John Curtis (series 1)

Angela Richards as Monique Duchamps

Clifford Rose as Ludwig Kessler

Michael Culver as Maj. Erwin Brandt (series 1-2)

Juliet Hammond-Hill as Natalie Chantrens

Valentine Dyall as Dr Pascal Keldermans

Ron Pember as Alain Muny

Eileen Page as Andrée Foiret (series 1)

Robin Langford as Cpl. Veit Rennert (series 1-2)

Timothy Morand as Jacques Bol (series 1)

James Bree as Gaston Colbert (series 1)

Maria Charles as Louise Colbert (series 1)

Gunnar Möller as Hans van Broecken

Marianne Stone as Lena van Broecken (series 1-2)

Henrietta Baynes as Yvonne (series 1-2)

Stephen Yardley as Max Brocard (series 2)

John D. Collins as Insp. Paul Delon (series 2-3)

Hazel McBride as Madeleine Duclos (series 2-3)

Nigel Williams as François (series 2)

Paul Shelley as Maj. Nick Bradley (series 2-3)

Neil Daglish as Wullner (series 2-3)

Trisha Clarke as Geneviève (series 2-3)

David Neilson as Jelinek (series 3)

Terrence Hardiman as Maj. Hans-Dietrich Reinhardt (series 3)

Michael Byrne (series 2) and Ralph Bates (series 3) as Paul Vercors

Stephan Chase as Capt. Stephen Durnford (series 3)

Hilary Minster as Hauptmann Müller (series 3)

[thoughtfulfangirling]

2024 Reads

Another human invented marker of time has passed moving us from one year to the next. It's a good reason to start over my lists right?! XD 2023's list can be found here! 2024 starts below!

You Made a Fool out of Death with Your Beauty - Awaeke Emezi

Pussypedia: A Comprehensive Guide^ - Zoe Mendelson & Maria Conejo

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek -Kim Michele Richardson

Meru - S.B. Divya

The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South^ by Radley Balko & Tucker Carrington

Watching the Tree: A Chinese Daughter Reflects on Happiness, Tradition, and Spiritual Wisdom^ - Adeline Yen Mah

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong

The Last Days of the Romanovs: Tragedy at Ekaterinburg^ - Helen Rappaport]

Pride and Prejudice* - Jane Austen

Fresh Girl - Jaida Placide

Butts: A Backstory^ - Heather Radke

The Girl Who Chased the Moon - Sarah Addison Allen

The Silent Patient - Alex Michaelides

The Blue Sword - Robin McKinley

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex^ - Nathaniel Philbrick

A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of Mexico^ - Amy S. Greenberg

This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible^ - Charles E. Cobb Jr.

This Is Your Mind on Plants^ - Michael Pollan

The Silent Patient*~ - Alex Michaelides

Finding Me^ - Viola Davis

Wuthering Heights# - Emily Bronte

Exit Strategy~ - Martha Wells

The Girls Who Went Away:^ The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades before Roe V. Wade - Ann Fessler

Bowling Alone:^ The Collapse and Revival of American Community - Robert D. Putnam

Fugitive Telemetry%~ - Martha Wells

The History of Wales^*% - History Nerds

The War on Everyone^% ~- Robert Evans

Searching for Black Confederates:^ The Civil War's Most Persistent Myth - Kevin M. Levin

The Great Influenza:* The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History [2004] by John M. Barry

Network Effect~ - Martha Wells

Zelda Popkin:^ The Life and Times of an American Jewish Woman Writer - Jeremy D Popkin

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Michael Chabon

Medical Apartheid:^ The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present - Harriet A Washington

The Assassination of Fred Hampton:^ How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther - Jeffrey Haas

The Death of Vivek Oji - Awaeke Emezi

Mutual Aid:^% Building Solidarity in This Crisis (And the Next) - Dean Spade

Passin' Through - Luis L'Amour

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store - James McBride

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

Histories of the Transgender Child^ - Jules Gill-Peterson

Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curiosu Man^ - Mark Kurlansky

When I Fell from the Sky:^ The True Story of One Woman's Miraculous Survival - Juliane Koepcke

Dear Senthuran:^ A Black Spirit Memoir - Akwaeke Emezi

Emma* by Jane Austen

Lud-in-the-Mist - Hope Mirrlees

Woman:^ The American History of an Idea - Lillian Faderman

System Collapse - Martha Wells

A Dark and Starless Forest - Sarah Hollawell

The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love^% - Bell Hooks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks^ - Rebecca Skloot

Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America^ -Rachel Hope Cleves

The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle^ - Lillian Faderman

The Woman in Me^ - Brittany Spears

Reclaiming Two-Spirits: Sexuality, Spiritual Renewal & Sovereignty in Native America^ - Gregory Smithers

Being Huemann: An Unrepentant Memoir of Disability Rights Activist^ - Judith Huemann

The Unthinkable: Who Survives When a Disaster Strikes and Why^ - Amanda Ripley

The Writing of the Gods: The Race to Decode the Rosetta Stone^ - Edward Dolnick

Utopia for Realists:^ How We Can Build the Ideal World - Rutger Bregman

The Echo Wife - Sarah Gailey

To Believe in Women:^ What Lesbians Have Done for America - Lillian Faderman

Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon

Tribe:^% On Homecoming and Belonging - Sebastian Junger

Freedom^% - Sebastian Junger

Our Wives Under the Sea - Julia Armfield

Nonviolence: 25 Lessons from the History of a Dangerous Idea% - Mark Kurlansky

Bridehead Revisited# - Evelyn Waugh

The Witch Elm - Tana Frencyh

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

HumanKind: A Hopeful History - Rutger Bregman^

Autumn at the Willow River Guesthouse - C.P Ward

From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World Find the Good Death^ - Caitlin Doughty

A Study in Drowning - Ava Reid

The Turn of the Screw - Henry James

Gideon the Ninth* - Tamsyn Muir

See What I Have Done - Sarah Schmidt

Plain Bad Heroines* - Emily M Danforth

Tell Me I'm Worthless - Alison Rumfitt

On Killing:^ The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society - Dave Grossman

Camp Damascus - Chuck Tingle

The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror - Daneil M. Lavery

The Night Gardener - Jonathan Auxier

The World of Lore: Wicked Mortals^ - Aaron Mahnke

The Willows% - Algernon Blackwood

Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones% - Alvin Schwartz

The Motion of Puppets - Keith Donohue

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow% - Washington Irving

Wisconsin's Ghosts^ - Sherry Strub

Trauma and Recovery^: The Aftermath of Violence—from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror - Judith Lewis Herman

An Enchangment of Ravens - Margaret Rogerson

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell* - Susanna Clark

Portrait of a Thief - Grace D. Li

The Five^: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper - Hallie Rubenhold

Countrymen: The Untold Story of How Denamrk's Jews Escaped the Nazis, of the Courage of their Fellow Danes^ - and the Extrondinary Role of the SS - Bo Lidegaard

The Road to Jonestown^: Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple - Jeff Guinn

The Scary Book of Christmas Lore^ - Tim Rayborn

On Tyranny^: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century - Timothy Snyder

The Old Magic of Christmas:^ Yuletide Traditions for the Darkest Days of the Year - Linda Raedisch

Harrow the Ninth~* - Tamsyn Muir

The Hogfather - Terry Pratchett

12 Days at Bleakly Manor - Michelle Greip

Christmas Truce: The Western Front December 1914^ - Malcolm Brown & Shirley Seaton

Midnight Never Come* - Marie Brennan

Behind the Scenes:^ Or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House - Elizabethy Keckley

Key: * = Reread ^ = Nonfiction ~ = Read with Empty % = Novella #= Doc book club

My goal for 2024 is for 40% of my reads to be nonfiction. I've had two years within the recent past where I managed 20% of my reads to be nonfiction, so I'm aiming to double that.

Okay, below the cut I'm putting the nonfiction books on my tbr, most of which I have the lovely people of Tumblr to thank for the recommendations!

1968: The Year that Rocked the World

The Age of Wood; Our Most Useful Material...

The Assassination of Fred Hampton

Behind the Scenes: Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the...

Being Human

The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shelf

Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man

Bowling Alone

Brave the Wild: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped...

Butts: A Backstory / Evermore Recommended

The Cadaver Kin and the Country Dentist / Automatuck9

Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America

Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse...

Dear Senthuran

DisneyWar

Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with...

Finding Me (Viola Davis)

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed...

The Food of a Younger Land

The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women...

The Glass Universe

The Great Hunger: The Story of the Famine...

The Great Influenza

Helping Her Get Free: A Guide for Families and Friends of an Abused Woman

The History of Ireland

The History of Scotland

The History of Wales

How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Indifferent Stars Above

In the Heart of the Sea / ecouterbien

In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death...

The Last Days of the Romanovs / Automatuck9

Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer

Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical...

Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During the Crisis...

A New World Begins

Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous...

This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get you Killed / Empty

Radium Girls

The Road to Jonestown

Paper: Paging through History

Pussypedia / Bookstagram Rec

Salt: A World History

Say Nothing

Sea Biscuit: An American legend

Searching for Black Confederates

This is Your Mind on Plants

Unmasking Autism

The Unthinkable: Who Survives when Disaster Strikes - And Why

Watching the Tree / found all by my little self

We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow we Will be Killed...

A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln and the.. / Rose

The Writing of the Gods: The Race to Decode the Rosetta...

[mariacallous]

Nancy Mace made headlines in recent weeks with her ugly, transphobic attacks on Democratic Rep.-elect Sarah McBride. Her attention-seeking stunts, such as performatively tearing down transgender flags while on camera, represent new lows in what has been a years-long chase for that next sweet cable news hit.

Before McBride was even sworn into office, Mace introduced a resolution that would ban transgender women from women’s restrooms at the US Capitol. Mace openly admitted that McBride was the specific target of her resolution even though she never planned to use multi-stall bathrooms at the Capitol in the first place. Mace didn’t even bother addressing her concerns directly with McBride before exploiting her identity for her latest 15 minutes of fame.

Mace’s bigoted actions and rhetoric have little to do with any actual ideology. Indeed, in the distant past of just last year, she described herself as “pro-transgender rights.” She stated in a 2023 interview, “If they wanna take on a different pronoun or a different gender identity or grow their hair out, or wear a dress or wear pants, or do those things as a minor — those are all things that I think most people would support. Be who you want to be, but don’t make permanent changes as a child. They may decide as an adult, ‘Hey, instead of being Johnny, I want to be Jill’ — that’s OK. But let them figure that out and make that decision when they can consent.”

This is a stark departure from Mace’s current position — she’s referred to trans people as “mentally ill” during her recent flood of bigoted posts on social media — but it’s not inexplicable. Mainstream Republicans have escalated their attacks against trans people over the past few years.

During the 2024 GOP primary, for instance, Nikki Haley framed her opposition to trans equality as “the women’s rights issue of our time” and called Dylan Mulvaney “a guy, dressed up like a girl, making fun of women.” Trump, for his part, made crude transphobia a cornerstone of his 2024 campaign — a contrast with his first presidential run, when he actually said trans people should be able to use whatever bathroom they want.

At a glance, it seems as if Mace simply hopped on a hateful bandwagon. But a closer examination of her congressional career reveals that she has no true political position beyond her own ambition.

“National Nancy”

In 2020, Mace defeated Democratic incumbent Joe Cunningham in South Carolina’s first district by less than 6,000 votes. (Republicans have since redrawn the district to make it solidly Republican, which involved removing thousands of Black voters.) For a moment, it looked as if Mace would serve as a centrist alternative to incoming far-right representatives like Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene, both of whom promoted Trump’s lies about the 2020 election.

Mace was not one of the 147 Republican House members who voted to reject Trump’s loss. In fact, she was the only Republican House member from South Carolina who voted to certify Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. She told NPR's Steve Inskeep on January 7 that “when you read the Constitution, Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 explicitly states, in black and white, that Congress's role here is merely to count the votes of the Electoral College.”

“Everything that he’s worked for — his entire legacy — was wiped out yesterday,” she said at the time. She told Meet the Press that Trump put “all our lives at risk.”

That was during the brief period when it seemed as though Republicans might finally break with Trump, and Mace swiftly positioned herself as the face of the brave new post-MAGA order.

“I want to be a new voice for the Republican Party, and that’s one of the reasons I’ve spoken out so strongly against the president, against these QAnon conspiracy theorists that led us in a constitutional crisis,” she told Meet the Press. “It’s just wrong, and we’ve got to put a stop to it.”

The Daily Beast obtained Mace’s 2021 strategy memo that presented her as “THE freshman thought leader on federal issues.” She was so obsessed with raising her profile that she even dubbed herself “NATIONAL NANCY.” She tasked her staff with “winning (Mace) as much exposure as possible.” This led one former senior aide to wonder, “Are we in a PR firm, or working for a member of Congress?”

Mace’s communications team was required to book her on a national TV outlet “between one and three times per day — a staggering nine times per week, at a minimum, according to former staffers who had seen past handbooks — and on local TV channels at least six times per week,” the Daily Beast reported.

She’d often tailor her positions and entire persona depending on where she was booked. In an especially egregious example from November 2021, Mace praised vaccines during a CNN interview but promoted “natural immunity” on Fox News, both on the same day. Even Fox News took notice of Mace’s pandering and grilled her about it during a subsequent interview. (Watch below.)

Mace sought out publicity in bizarre ways. Former staffers claim that during the January 6 Capitol attack, she pitched the idea that she’d confront the MAGA mob with the goal of getting punched in the face so her battered image could propel her to prominence. (Saner heads ultimately prevailed.)

Meanwhile, Mace learned the lesson that publicly beefing with prominent Dems is a good way to get attention and money. As Trump was reestablishing his dominance over the GOP in the the winter of 2021, Mace picked a fight with AOC, cynically accusing her of lying about her traumatic experiences on January 6.

Mace tweeted, “I’m two doors down from aoc and no insurrectionists stormed our hallway” — a claim AOC never actually made. AOC pushed back, but Mace pivoted to hitting up her email list for cash and portraying herself as a victim: “[AOC can] pressure me all she wants, but I've never backed down, and I won't start now."

A few months later, Mace claimed that her house on Daniel Island, an affluent Charleston suburb, was vandalized with antifa symbols and profanity. Before police even charged anyone, Mace had already starting blaming the “the radical left” in her fundraising appeals. (Mace has also shamelessly fundraised off her attacks on Rep. McBride.)

Mace has contempt for anyone she thinks hogs the spotlight she craves, including far-right Republicans like Greene and Boebert. During a late 2021 hit on CNN, Mace condemned Boebert’s Islamophobic remarks about Ilhan Omar. Greene fired back by tweeting that Mace “is the trash in the GOP Conference. Never attacked by Democrats or RINO’s (same thing) because she is not conservative, she’s pro-abort. Mace you can back up off of [Boebert] or just go hang with your real gal pals, the Jihad Squad. Your [sic] out of your league.”

In response, Mace — without a trace of irony — dismissed Greene as an attention-seeking phony, a “grifter of the first order.”

“If you say something that's crazy, you say something extreme, you're going to raise money,” she told reporters. “And that is the only reason that she does that … she does it to raise money. She takes advantage of vulnerable Americans and vulnerable conservatives and makes promises she cannot keep.” (Watch below.)

In December 2021, Elaine Godfrey at The Atlantic wrote a profile on Mace headlined, “The Republican Congresswoman Taking on Lauren Boebert.” The piece asked, “Why is a South Carolina Republican policing her party’s far-right flank?”

But Mace’s faux-moderate branding wouldn’t last long.

Mace folds to Trumpism

Mace’s public feud with Greene eventually caused then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy to intervene, but it was the party’s true leader who threatened to end Mace’s career before it really got going.

As Godfrey observed, Mace’s actual “position in the GOP ecosystem” was hard to nail down. She didn’t please the bigot wing of the party with her (at the time) tolerant positions on LGBTQ issues. She provoked her diehard MAGA peers while trying to remain on Trump’s good side. She didn’t vote to impeach him after the insurrection, nor did she support the January 6 Committee. But she did vote to hold former Trump adviser Stephen Bannon in contempt of Congress.

Although outspoken Trump foe Liz Cheney held a fundraising event for Mace in April 2021, Mace voted to remove her as GOP conference chair a few weeks later.

“Any disagreements we have with each other within our Party should be discussed internally, and not dragged out into public for all to see,” she said in a statement.

This explanation was transparently hypocritical — not just because of her later feuds with Boebert and Greene but because Trump himself doesn’t follow Ronald Reagan’s supposed 11th Commandment about never criticizing other Republicans. MAGA only obeys a single commandment — thou shalt have no other gods but Trump.

Trump didn’t forget Mace’s public criticism of him after January 6. He endorsed her 2022 primary challenger, Katie Arrington. Trump outright trashed Mace, calling her “disloyal,” “crazy,” and a “terrible person who has no idea what she’s doing.” At a 2022 rally, he even encouraged the crowd to boo the very mention of her name. (Watch below.)

Instead of standing up for herself, Mace immediately shifted into debasement mode. She recorded a humiliating video of herself standing outside Trump Tower, where she asserted her MAGA bonafides and kissed up to dear leader, saying “I believe in putting America first.”

Trump mocked her groveling performance, saying “it was untruthful just like everything else she does.”

But there was an upside — Trump targeting Mace helped her comms team meet their quotas. This included an extensive profile in Mace’s hometown newspaper, The State. When she managed to defeat Arrington, she received more fawning coverage in the press, and she boasted on CNN that she was "one of the only Republicans in the House who defeated the former president in a primary last year." Even the New York Times bought her act with a puffy profile written by Annie Karni, who apparently interviewed Mace over margaritas.

Emboldened by her victory, Mace further promoted her fabricated outsider image.

“I am a Republican, but I am a caucus of one,” Mace told Vanity Fair in a March 2023 profile headlined, “Welcome To Nancy Mace’s Island, Where She Gives ‘Zero F-cks.’”

“It’s been a very lonely start to the year. I represent a district of islands, but I literally feel up here on the Hill that I am living on an island alone. And it is very lonely,” Mace said, vowing to “rein in some of the craziness that is happening.”

In a January 2023 Semafor article headlined, “America's Next Top Moderate: Which House Republican wants the title?” Mace was listed as one of the "five members who’ve taken on the role of quasi-spokespeople for the Mod Squad” — a group billed as a contrast to the extremist Freedom Caucus, which had thrown the House into chaos over McCarthy’s protracted speakership bid. But by October, Mace had joined Matt Gaetz and other far-right Republicans in their successful bid to oust McCarthy.

As Republicans scrambled to replace McCarthy, Mace showed up for a conference meeting wearing a white t-shirt with a red “A” on the front. She told CNN’s Anna Grayer, “I’m wearing the scarlet letter after the week that I just had, last week, being a woman up here and being demonized for my vote and for my voice.”

Mace consistently plays the victim in this cynical way. During a memorably disastrous interview earlier this year on ABC, she absurdly accused George Stephanopoulos of “shaming” her as a rape victim because he dared ask how she could support Donald Trump, an adjudicated rapist. (Watch below.)

In recent weeks, as Mace has viciously attacked McBride, she’s turned reality upside down by proclaiming that she won’t be “bullied into submission” while sending out fundraising messages bragging that “the Trans Mob wants to k*ll me but I FOUGHT BACK and WON.”

Last June, after surviving a McCarthy-backed primary challenge, Mace declared, “I hope I drive Kevin McCarthy crazy.” She’s branded herself as an anti-establishment maverick, when she’s actually an egocentric chaos agent.

The Daily Show roasted Mace’s transphobia last month, but the show had previously fallen for her PR offensive when she was booked for an interview in October 2023. She’d billed herself as “not your typical Republican,” which is probably true but not in a positive way.

Three years after Mace was willing to take a punch to the face to brand herself as fully anti-Trump, she demonstrated the opportunistic disloyalty Trump correctly identified by going all in for his third presidential bid.

"I don’t see eye to eye perfectly with any candidate. And until now I’ve stayed out of it. But the time has come to unite behind our nominee," she said in a post on X. "To be honest, it’s been a complete shit show since he left the White House."

Mace actually believed she had a shot to become Trump’s running mate, but Trump had no reason to trust her. Even if he’s no longer attacking her at rallies, she’s proven that she prioritizes her personal brand more than loyalty to him or anything else.

AOC recently posted on Bluesky that when she privately confronted Mace about the lies she told about her and January 6, Mace responded glibly, “Whatever. You know it’s a game, just points on the board.” It’s a deeply cynical view of public service, and now that Mace has chosen to “score points” through shameful attacks on a vulnerable group, the only question that remains is how much lower she can go.

[ao3feed-narlie]

I am Changing

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/0r2lAoy by NicksVault Charlie has always been the overachiever, passionate about classics and driven by his goals—until he realizes, in his final year of university, that the life he's been working toward doesn't fulfill him. What starts as a casual hobby to fill his free time blossoms into something far greater when Charlie discovers his love for singing. While Nick thrives in his teaching internship and rugby career, Charlie grapples with the growing gap between them. Pursuing his dream means facing financial challenges, self-doubt, and the fear of disappointing everyone he loves—especially Nick, who remains oblivious to Charlie’s inner turmoil. As the pressure mounts, Charlie must decide: will he risk everything to chase his dream, or stay on the safe path and let his voice go unheard? Words: 1490, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Heartstopper (TV), Heartstopper (Webcomic) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: M/M Characters: Nicholas "Nick" Nelson, Charles "Charlie" Spring (Heartstopper), Tara Jones, Darcy Olsson, Elle Argent, Tao Xu (Heartstopper), Isaac Henderson (Heartstopper), Benjamin "Ben" Hope, Otis Smith | Omar, Sai Verma, Christian McBride (Heartstopper), Harry Greene, Sarah Nelson, David Nelson (Heartstopper), Stéphane Nelson, Oliver "Olly" Spring, Victoria "Tori" Spring, Jane Spring, Julio Spring, Original Characters, Imogen Heaney, Sahar Zahid Relationships: Nicholas "Nick" Nelson/Charles "Charlie" Spring, Tara Jones/Darcy Olsson, Elle Argent/Tao Xu Additional Tags: Musicals, Growing Up, Alternate Universe - College/University, Gay Charles "Charlie" Spring (Heartstopper), Bisexual Nicholas "Nick" Nelson, Confident Charles "Charlie" Spring (Heartstopper), Protective Nicholas "Nick" Nelson, Possessive Nicholas "Nick" Nelson, Bisexual Disaster Nicholas "Nick" Nelson, Singing, Acting, Charlie wants to shine, But is afraid of not achieving his dreams, Nick is oblivious, Aged-Up Character(s), Fluff and Smut, If you like La La Land you might like this, Superstar Charlie, Good Parent Sarah Nelson, Mental Health Issues read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/0r2lAoy

[oceanflowerbird]

Hi, I hope you're enjoying your little vacation :) you always seem to give great book recommendations and I was wondering if you know of any good 'romantic' type novels?

Thanks, I definitely am! These are some of the best romances I’ve read this year (including historical and fantasy). Bit of a trigger warning for lots of spice and kink and controversy: Overall spice:

Credence - Penelope Douglas (already read her new book too and I was not impressed)

The Wild One - Daisy Jane 

All My Love - Daisy Jane 

Give Me More - Sara Cate

Overall plot:

Out on a Limb - Hannah Bonam-Young 

The Seven Year Slip - Ashley Poston

When A Scot Ties The Knot - Tessa Dare

Worthy mentions:

His Darkest Desire - Tiffany Roberts 

Tied - Carian Cole

Black Wings and Stolen Things - Kayleigh King

Lights Out - Navessa Allen

Sustained - Emma Chase

In A Jam - Kate Canterbary

Ignite - Melanie Harlow

Bride - Ali Hazelwood

Series I read and LOVED:

The Ravenels - Lisa Kleypas

The Hathaways - Lisa Kleypas

Mackenzies & McBrides - Jennifer Ashley

Deep Waters - Emma Hamm 

Fire & Desire - Chloe Chastaine

Castles Ever After - Tessa Dare

Second Sons - Emily Rath

Frozen Fate - Pam Godwin (the last book came out this past Monday!) 

Of Flesh & Bone - Harper L. Woods

The Alliance - S.J. Tilly

Authors I read multiple books of:

Daisy Jane

S.J. Tilly

Emma Hamm

Kate Canterbary

Tiffany Roberts

Sara Cate

Laurelin Paige

Elsie Silver

Melanie Harlow

C.M. Nascosta

Ashley Poston

Kathryn Moon

Lisa Kleypas

Lillian Lark

Lilith Vincent 

Katee Robert

Emily Rath

Kate Stewart

Sorcha Black

Tessa Dare

Jennifer Ashley

Kerrigan Byrne

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Alix Breeden at Daily Kos:

ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio, the first openly transgender lawyer to argue before the Supreme Court, took to Instagram Tuesday to praise President Joe Biden’s choice to withdraw a proposal protecting transgender athletes. “I think this is a very important and good move to withdraw this proposed regulation,” Strangio said in the video. Biden’s proposal would have prohibited schools from enacting bans on transgender student-athletes trying to participate on the teams that align with their gender identity while allowing schools to enforce some restrictions on competitive sports.  But Strangio believes trying to push the proposal through ahead of felon-elect Donald Trump’s second term would open the door for more harm to the transgender community.  “The regulation would have been immediately withdrawn when the Trump administration came in. Even worse, they could have left the notice of proposed rule-making in place, which would have given the Trump administration easy access to, in essence, gut protections for trans people in schools through that proposed regulation just sitting there,” he said. 

[...] The Supreme Court has yet to render a ruling, but Tennessee isn’t an outlier on this topic, as 26 states have passed laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors.  Support for limiting minors from accessing things like puberty blockers or gender reassignment surgery is seemingly growing not just in the U.S., but internationally as well.  Those in favor of these types of bans argue that there have been a number of children expressing regret later on in life, resulting in lawsuits and traumatic “detransitioning.”

[...] Anti-trans legislation was a major campaign tool for Donald Trump and other right-leaning politicians, with millions spent on anti-trans ads and hundreds of anti-trans bills popping up across the country every year since 2020. On Capitol Hill, GOP Rep. Nancy Mace and House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed through an anti-trans bathroom ban in November effectively targeting the single transgender member of Congress, Rep.-elect Sarah McBride.  Johnson also managed to muscle through an anti-trans provision in the latest defense spending bill, banning transgender minors in military families from using military health insurance TRICARE for any gender-affirming care. Biden signed the defense bill into law Monday, but not before expressing his dismay and saying the anti-trans provision “interferes with parents’ roles to determine the best care for their children.”

President Biden's decision to withdraw a proposal to protect trans athletes playing in sports competitions matching their gender identity was a smart one, per ACLU's Chase Strangio, because it prevents Trump from making it easy to harm trans athletes.

[my-mt-heart]

What's confusing to me after watching the leaks (aside from just having no English subtitles for the French scenes, which was desperately confusing, please watch this when it airs - but it was 6 Carol episodes for my birthday so I watched it anyway) is that Zabel said no Caryl, and this season really felt like Caryl build-up.

I've been a "Carol and Daryl are best friends and soulmates first, and if they go romantic, good, if they don't, fine" stancer since Season 2. So going in, knowing about that interview, I watched for Carol first, expecting nothing further from her and Daryl than what we've had. "Do It For Her" style.

On that note, I was quite satisfied. A good six Carol plot episodes back to back would have been a rare treat in the main series.

Some things she did that made me sigh: lying to Ash, though it appeared impulsive and she almost seemed to try to talk him out of helping her after.

Some things she did that me proud: actually really trying with the ecologist woman who spared her, shouting after those two soldiers chasing civilians so she could gun them down and prevent the civilians they were chasing from getting hurt, showing compassion for Isabelle and stopping her search for her best friend to help her, stopping outside the window when that old lady was getting threatened and going in guns blazing to try to help her even though it would have been safer for her to stealthily exit with Daryl, snorting derisively at gunpoint when Genet tells her she could never understand her loss, telling Ash the truth, staying behind to cover him and avoid separating from Daryl.

Then there was the final scene with her holding the knife to a vision of herself. We know what happened to her in the comics. We know how hard it is for her to keep living after what she's been through. She held the knife to her own throat...and didn't. "Sophia" visited her, and Carol tremulously asks if she can go with her, and Sophia leaves, turns back, but Carol doesn't follow. Twice in as many minutes, Carol chooses to live.

I've heard Melissa McBride had a great deal of say in Carol's arc this season, and I think it shows. That's why I suggest: do it for her. I don't want her copping the blame for the various cringe moments in this season that didn't involve her.

That being said, and what confuses me after that interview, there really does feel like there was a lot of Caryl buildup. She was clearly pained when she was informed, multiple times, that Isabelle and Daryl were a (15 seconds of cringe) thing. Daryl asked her if she had the "hots for" Ash in an apparently-dismissive-but-actually-kind-of-miffed tone. This does not strike me as bestie behavior.

In what fairness I can mete out to Daryl (sigh), he very seriously, very pointedly told Carol he loved her last time they saw each other, and she immediately turned it into a "omg bestie I love you too!!" energy thing because she isn't ready to confront those feelings for him. She says this season while they're at the plane: "If I lose you I couldn't go on" (or something to that effect) and I think she views expressing her feelings to him as a serious risk and potential outlet for losing him.

Anyway, Daryl may have taken that energy switch after he told her he loved her as a very gentle rejection. This is just to try to understand the headspace they're both in.

The brave old lady tells Carol to her face that Daryl loves her (under the impression she's Isabelle, but Carol has quite the face journey) and that true love is rare. The old man remarks they bicker like a married couple. It was at this point I actually became confused, because didn't they say this wasn't going to happen? And I, troubled, thought, "If they're going to do this they need to lay the groundwork now and do it in Season 3," instead of rushing it like Daryl and Isabelle, because if Daryl and Carol are going to go canon, I don't want it to be a long look and 15 seconds smooching.

Carol asks Daryl at one point (regarding losing a child) "What, are you afraid of ending up like me?" in a biting tone (anticipating Daryl's rejection of her, as she often does...and never gets) and he says, very calmly, "No, I'm not afraid of that." He is afraid of losing a child, but not of ending up like her, because he respects and admires her a great deal.

Daryl hears Carol talk about how difficult things are at the Commonwealth without him, and says, "Things will be different. We'll be together this time." Carol chooses to stay behind with him at the plane.

As they go into the tunnel, a man chooses to stay behind with the woman he's in love with instead of separating like they had planned. At the risk of sounding deranged, their gloved and intertwined hands do actually resemble Carol and Daryl's, and it seemed like an intentional parallel.

After Carol chooses to live (twice) and makes her way back to Daryl, he has a hallucination of Isabelle telling him to "bet on hope", before vanishing into a cloud of fireflies a la lover giving lovee the blessing to continue in life without her. He, too, chooses to live, and he had Carol reunite. They put on the only two gas masks in the cavern and say, "Let's go home." As they do, a song lyric that has played in the episode before goes over the scene: "Sometime you don't always get what you want", but this time it continues: "...but what you need."

All told, I don't know where they're taking this next. This frankly does not feel like platonic build up, and I went in knowing of the interview and fully expecting strictly platonic interactions. I am at this point almost willing to believe the statement that Caryl wasn't happening was a very ill-advised troll attempt. Melissa McBride, at least, clearly has her hands in Carol's plotline, and her above anyone else I trust with Carol. That's why, at this point in time, I am cautiously optimistic about season 3, and cautiously appreciative of the focus on Carol and Daryl's relationship this season.

My suggestion would be to, again, do it for her, and watch the series as it airs.

I have a different impression of what happened in S11's "I love you" and how it impacted Caryl's relationship in the spinoff, but that's beside the point. The point is, I agree that there are hints of something romantic between Caryl. My issue is this though. Fans of Carol and Daryl expect a show marketed as a Carol and Daryl show to explore their relationship, so why is that exploration reduced to subtext and parallels while other relationships that we aren't invested in are getting explicit beats? Why are their conversations being interrupted and their chemistry forcibly toned down? Why does Caryl's relationship feel like it's on the periphery and not at the center? You said you're willing to believe that Zabel was trolling, that he may actually be building up to something, but to me, it's very clearly a case of creative differences. At least someone wants Caryl while others don't and we know which way Zabel leans because he explicitly told us so. I think what we see in TBOC is an aggressive attempt to hide what somebody else wants and/or what is mandated. It's almost like watching a procedural drama where things are teased, but the characters and the relationship remain stagnant, always reset to where they started by the end. It's shitty because for over a decade, Carol and Daryl have been anything but stagnant.

I can definitely see where Melissa's influence begins and it's the most exciting element of the show imo because she clearly understands her character's trajectory and how to let her grow, but I can see where her influence ends too. Like everything else, Sophia's arc didn't go anywhere (side note: I hate that they tried to recast Sophia and she looked nothing like the og). Her need for Daryl wasn't reciprocated and her sense of "home" deflated like an old balloon when she had to find out he was preoccupied with his new family. As I said before, I felt like she was carrying more pain with her by the end than she was before she left and the way it was handled felt deeply misogynistic, like she was being punished. It gave me flashbacks to S11 when she was sidelined (literally sent back to the kitchen) and Daryl was being a jerk to her without any clear indication as to why.

I respect your opinion and I will second your advice for anyone who chooses to watch to do so for Melissa because she really is phenomenal all the way through. At the same time, the show and its marketing have raised enough red flags for me to feel uncomfortable encouraging anyone to give AMC their money when they've been mislead to think they were getting a Caryl show (Idk who the fuck the show is targeting, but it certainly isn't Carylers) and then a month out, are basically told by the showrunner to fuck off. Even if you aren't expecting Caryl and just want a strong Carol arc, that's not what this show is either. She gets the sidekick treatment as soon as her arc intersects with Daryl's, her name isn't allowed in the title, and Melissa doesn't get equal billing like the other female leads in the franchise. Ultimately, watching or not watching is a double-edged sword and I think everybody just has to decide for themselves what's best for them. What I think is more important is that regardless of your choice, just make sure AMC knows why you made it. Speak up where they can hear you.

[thatseventiesbitch]

🎶 My Eric & Donna Playlist 🎶

1. Just the Way You Are - Billy Joel

2. Remember When - Alan Jackson

3. Teenage Daughters - Martina McBride

4. Past Lives - Kesha

5. Shut Up And Dance - WALK THE MOON

6. The Bones - Maren Morris

7. Perfect - Ed Sheeran

8. Still The One - Orleans

9. Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol

10. Mary’s Song - Taylor Swift

11. Stuck Like Glue - Sugarland

12. Home - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

[machihunnicutt]

HELLO!

I said I'd do this, so I'm following through. I have no more baby it's you for you this week, but I thought I'd talk a little about some of my sources/inspiration/post fic thoughts in case anyone was curious (and also because I'm knee deep in the post fic blues 🫠). All of that is under the cut:

Firstly, here are the two playlists I've made for the series:

for both sides now

and for baby it's you

I'm very drawn to songs/lyrics (if it was not already clear from these fic titles), but for baby it's you in particular I spent a lot of time listening to both big dramatic breakup songs AND yearning/reunion/wedding songs. Here are some of my favorite/most relevant lyrics:

“Down on My Knees” - Bread (very BJ, to me)

“Darling Be Home Soon” - The Lovin’ Spoonful (extremely beejhawk, to me)

Secondly, I love movies lol...

From chapter 1:

[BJ] had a daughter about to start college, a mostly renovated house in Maine that was starting to feel like his, a comfortable position at a city hospital, and a fiancé who loved him. (Hawk liked the word fiancé. He always drew it out when he said it, brandishing his ring finger like he was Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl and had some big rock on his hand instead of a simple gold band).

This performance is very Hawkeye to me. (The drama, the lounging, the jokes...finally got a guy to marry me!) Idk what else tell you besides I adore this movie.

Obligatory Judy Garland section...

From chapter 2:

“Yes. Coincidentally I’m also all nose and all eyes and all heart and all brain,” Hawkeye said. He drew his blanket tighter around himself and put his hands nearer to the stove.  “Are you going to lead me down the yellow brick road, darling?” Trapper said, smiling wide. Hawkeye shrugged. “If I could find it I would,” he said. 

And more Wizard of Oz in chapter 7:

“You know that scene in The Wizard of Oz where the scarecrow’s been tied up on a post for so long that the second he’s cut loose and tries to walk he falls over?” Hawkeye said.  “Uh huh,” Trapper said.  “The OR is my corn field, so to speak,” Hawkeye said. 

Transformative journey/quest to a city of bright lights & colors??? Where you discover home & belonging in the people around you??? Featuring beejhawk signature color red???

And one more (more Judy, different movie) from chapter 7:

“You mean St. Louis,” BJ said.  He’d seen it on a double date in college, just after New Year’s. He’d gotten a little teary eyed during the song at the end, and when Judy Garland’s sister, devastated by the prospect of moving, sobs, and wrecks all the snowmen in the yard. Judy chases her down to console her. We could be happy anywhere, as long as we’re together. That’s what she says. That’s the part that made him feel like crying. Leo teased him about it.

This is the scene he's talking about.

The other movie in chapter 7:

“I mean Las Vegas. Meet Me in Las Vegas. You took me to see it. I remember because we left Erin with Susan Meyers’ girl, Olivia? And she spilled soda all over my nice table cloth,” Peg said. “Oh,” BJ said, distracted. He sipped his drink. It was beer. He was taking it slow. He wasn’t going to do something stupid like get drunk and make a scene. They weren’t near the bar, but he couldn’t help but scan the crowds anyway, looking and listening for Hawk. “It’s about a rancher and a ballerina. The rancher is a gambler, but he doesn’t have any luck until he meets her. Every time they hold hands, he wins big,” Peg said.

This one is on YouTube! And there's lots of handholding!

Thirdly, books:

From chapter 9:

Hawkeye had friends everywhere, and a couple were up to date on the gay bar scene in Las Vegas. One of his old med school pals worked in a hospital out here and said that if they couldn’t make it to the big three Vegas gay spots, they’d better at least go to Le Café. 

I am not much of a researcher, but I did refer to Out of the Neon Closet: Queer Community in the Silver State by Dennis McBride & the accompanying photo book LGBTQ Las Vegas for information about Vegas' gay bar scene. Here's more info about/photos of Le Café.

AND:

Erin, Benny, & Fern's summer escapades (and Benny's character in particular) were inspired in part by A Separate Peace (which I believe I've referenced in fic before?? Someday I'll stop, but today's not that day). Here are some Benny & Erin related lines:

From chapter 3:

The mother blinked at Benny. He was striking, Erin reasoned, when you first got a look at him: shock of red hair, perpetually windswept, splatter of freckles over his face and up his arms, emerald green eyes, thick, expressive eyebrows, lopsided nose, deep, rolling, voice that didn’t have any note of falsity. Benny was a senior counselor, which meant he was older, and in charge of the junior counselors. He was 20. All of the female junior counselors had crushes on him, according to Fern, who was surprised when Erin admitted that she thought Benny was plenty nice and smart, but he didn’t make her heart pound. The male junior counselors resented him, and the envious masses spread rumors.  One such rumor was that Benny was a homosexual.

And from A Separate Peace:

From chapter 6:

She thought, floating on her back, that maybe this was one of those formative experiences everyone was always telling her about. Her teeth chattered, and Benny was laughing loudly from the shore, despite the fact that he’d been telling her that it was imperative that they keep quiet. Erin wondered if Hawkeye had ever had a summer like this, or Dad, or Mom, or Margaret: a summer where it felt like everyone was against you, and you couldn’t be bothered to care. 

And from A Separate Peace, again:

I think about this passage constantly 😀‼️

COOL! That's all I wanted to say. Thanks for reading. Peace, love, MASH, etc. <3

[red-and-black-forever]

Valentine By Martine McBride and Valentine by 5 Seconds Of Summer will be two songs I am going to use for my Valentines Day Videos.

Video 1- Valentine by Martina McBride

1. Icarly- Carly and Freddie

2. Victorious- Tori and Beck

3. ZOEY 101- Zoey and Chase

4. Zoey 101-Quinn and Logan

5. Spencer and Teddy- Good Luck Charlie

6. Austin and Ally

Video 2- Valentine by 5 Seconds of Summer

1. Liv and Major- izombie

2. Mike and Max- the following

3. Wynonna and Doc- Wynonna Earp

4. Anne and Phillip- The Greastest Showman

5. Piper and Leo- Charmed

6. Phoebe and Coop- Charmed

Video 3- Power Ranger Valentine by Martina McBride

1. Tommy and Kat

2. Adam and Tanya

3. Andros and Ashley

4. Astronema/ Karone and Zhane

5. Leo and Kendrix

6. Tyler and Shelby

Video 4- Power Ranger Valentine by 5 Seconds of Summer

1. Jayden and Mia

2. Mike and Emily

3. Dillon and Summer

4. Ziggy and Dr. K

5. Sky and Z

6. Javi and Amelia