#he actively shares his work with Dan and sought him out to help him

[gothmoth21]

rewatching Bride of Reanimator and God I'll never get over the scene where Herbert is literally giving Dan a heart

yes it's Megs but you know damn well that was his way of giving Dan his own heart

I see so many people headcanon Herbert as super mean to Dan and unable to understand affection but he did shit like this and is constantly giving Dan physical affection

he's not nearly as cold as people make him out to be, especially to Dan

He is so fucking in love its crazy

[xoruffitup]

AITAF’s 11th Annual Broadway Show

It’s surreal that this was my second year attending and I’m sitting here typing up a second recap! It hardly feels like a whole year has passed since last November, as the time has been so full of Adam and SW-related joy. After last night’s show, Sarah (the same friend I adventured to TIFF with) and I reflected that following/loving Adam has brought us so many extraordinary experiences we would never have sought out otherwise. Attending military-oriented events and creating stronger ties with the veterans and service members in each of our lives, traveling to Toronto (and shortly to London!!) together, and cultivating the most unlikely and incredible friendships. It’s been an eye-opening, whirlwind year of new and wonderful experiences - chief among which was sitting in a theatre largely full of military personnel and having each of my preconceived stereotypes challenged.

The group I gathered with outside the American Airlines theatre was even bigger than last year. We had my friends Sarah and MP ( @reylonly​), my dad who usually abhors the “veteran” label and yet - to his own surprise - confessed to being deeply moved by last year’s show, a retired Army nurse and her husband, a cousin I hadn’t seen in ages who’s currently enlisted, and her two friends from the army. Our sizable group was first to queue up outside the theatre, with more than plenty to talk and catch up about while we waited.

(Fun/Amusing Fact: That enlisted cousin I hadn’t seen in ages? We reconnected ahead of this show when she messaged me on Facebook: “Hi! I heard from X family member that you like Adam Driver. I’ve attended AITAF performances before and I’ll be going to their NYC event, if you’d like to come as one of my guests?” Yes, that is my rep spreading through the family and you bet I’m proud. :’’))

We thought we had an idea what to expect from last year, but this year’s show surprised and took us off guard in almost every way.

After entering the theatre and passing right by Joanne (looking hella fierce in a fitted tweed suit), we headed up to the reception. Here came a surprise I was personally AMPED about!! While MP, Sarah, and I waited to go in the photo booth they had, we saw Scott Burns and Daniel Jones come into the reception area! I explained a bit in my TIFF recap post about how The Report (aside from being just a stellar film) really engaged me personally because not only do I have a human rights-related job, but the Executive Director of my non-profit is also renowned for being one of the first high-ranking whistleblowers against the CIA torture program when he previously worked in the Department of Defense. His name is Alberto Mora and after I heard Scott Burns namecheck him in several interviews, I talked to Alberto about his involvement in the film. From that conversation with Alberto came the idea to arrange a staff screening of the film, given its relevance to our nonprofit’s mission. In addition to seeing the film at TIFF, I also had the chance through work to attend the DC premiere of the film last week, attended by human rights advocates, House Representatives, and Senators (most depicted in the film - including Diane Feinstein herself!) who were all clearly riveted by the film and the discussion with Scott Burns and Dan Jones that followed. SO (sorry for this digression but I’M STILL SO EXCITED BY THIS) when I saw Dan Jones mingling, I practically started vibrating with everything I wanted to say to him.

After psyching myself up and angsting with MP for a minute (“But it’s gotta be the right time - I don’t want to interrupt him!”) I went over and introduced myself to Dan Jones, saying I’d been at the DC premiere of the film last week and how powerful the evening had been. Long story short - omg what a chill and approachable guy to talk to! I explained quickly that I work with Alberto and I’ve been looking into arranging a screening, to which Dan said he’d “absolutely love” to help with! He told me how to contact him and holy shiiiit now this definitely has to happen!!

So after that reception highlight, we ate a little more cheese and fancy crackers before heading downstairs to the theater and our seats. And there we needed to hold onto our hats and strain to remain chill, because like some Adam-related VIP guest list, we brushed shoulders with Noah Baumbach and Laura Dern as we entered the theater! WHATTT!! It certainly made my heart glad to see so many of these high-profile collaborators of Adam’s supporting him and taking an interest in his non-profit work. And just to see that they’re all friends even off set!

This year’s choice of play, A Raisin In The Sun, immediately set a much different tone than last year’s True West. While last year included a cast of only 4, with Adam and Michael Shannon lifting the majority of the performance as the brothers-at-odds Lee and Austin; this year included a cast of 9 almost exclusively African American actors, who would share the stage in a rotating balance. But before anything else... the show began with AITAF’s Director giving a rundown of their recent and upcoming programming, before she introduced Adam to speak. Annnnd out onto the stage he strode in a black suit and tie (pushing the boundaries of fashion for real) looking so striking and handsome my brain and heart jumped into an overdrive race with each other alsdfjslfjalsdfj :’)))) (Yes, the first moment when I see him in person still makes my heart fly up into my throat.) Most of the audience tried to leap to their feet to give him a standing ovation, before Adam quickly made some slightly panicked abortive hand gestures and everyone sat back down. We were seated so close to the stage that that proximity was really the best kind of intense <3333

First of all, I want to assure everyone that our bb does look like he’s gained some weight back. I think his face looked a bit more filled out than at TIFF (and boy did he fill out that suit just right). Adam recognized all of the active service people and veterans in the audience, thanked the actors and AITAF staff for making the evening possible, and gave his background speech on AITAF’s purpose, journey, and mission. He also spoke a bit about the play that was selected this year, quickly adding “I’ll let the play speak for itself rather than butchering it with my interpretation.” Everyone laughed and my heart was only barely beating under the adoration because at the same time I was getting such a good look at just how big he is, being so close... Not only the height, but the shoulders in the suit and the giant hands that fly around when he’s talking, then he stuffed his hands into his pockets for part of his speech and that just made him look taller and more attractive and alsdkfjalskdjf sir you should really take my health into consideration a little bit!!! ;___;

Fangirl feels meltdowns aside, there were a lot of other beautiful things happening on that stage. It was stirring to listen to Adam introduce the cast (and pronounce all of their names correctly, thank you) with all the deference this play deserves and a cast to do it full justice. In a setting where the audience was largely comprised of a military demographic that is often considered to embody more conservative values, it was poignant to see Adam using his platform in AITAF to push the narratives further and confront the audience directly - not with what separates people, but to draw out the humanity that makes us all so very alike. That is, after all, AITAF’s guiding mission. 

Skipping ahead for a quick moment - one of the actors in the talk-back after the performance brought up how difficult it had been to fund this play when it was first produced in 1959 because investors feared it was “too black” and wouldn’t resonate with audiences. Last night was the most blatant demonstration of how close-minded such fears were, as the almost three-hour long reading kept the audience entirely enthralled, caught up in the humor and the heartbreak and the enduring human spirit that keeps the Younger family’s pride and love for each other in tact; then followed by audience members standing up to share deeply personal and candid accounts of how they saw their own struggles with searching for identity and purpose between military-civilian spheres, and their own experiences of trauma reflected in these complex, lively characters. 

As much as I so enjoyed internally flipped my shit completely getting to hear Adam speak in person at the beginning, it made me more proud than ever to love him as I do when I watched him step back and pass the stage and spotlight to an insanely talented cast of color. AITAF is a force and space that aims for all voices to be heard, and Adam appeared only just enough to underscore and enable that last night.

I hope I’ve already made the point that the cast were simply phenomenal. This year’s performance felt completely different than last year’s in terms of the energy and mood. Last year, Adam and Michael Shannon filled two hours with simmering frustration and aggression that grows increasingly outrageous until it culminates in violence. Adam and Michael moved freely around the stage a lot. I’ll never forget Adam doing handstands, collapsing to his knees right at the front of the stage and his lush long hair falling everywhere (UGH <3), Adam yelling about toast and stealing TVs, barking like a coyote, and finally choking Michael in the final scene. This year, the 9-person-strong cast barely moved from behind their script stands, and yet the emotional impact they delivered was simply stunning. The immediacy of this reading-style performance is just incomparable. I do see a lot of theatre and really enjoy the medium, but watching actors like last night’s cast put on a performance that’s completely uninhibited - completely instinctive and raw - was simply unforgettable. It cuts straight to the emotional core and deepest layer of meaning within the material and the characters. There is nothing between the audience and the existence of these characters’ lives, and the actors lost themselves in the roles completely. It was simply breathtaking to watch, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to witness it. Falling in to the Adam bandwagon truly enriched my life in ways I could never have expected

While on the topic of things I couldn’t have expected: Chief among them would be (to be painfully honest) voluntarily attending an event geared for military audiences - and even less enjoying and feeling moved by every second of it. I should probably clarify that although my Dad is a National Guard vet, he rarely speaks about the experience because he was drafted straight out of high school. The memories aren’t easy for him when he knows how close he could have been to being sent to Vietnam; alongside (he admitted to me for the first time following last year’s AITAF show) some amount of guilt towards the friends who were sent and lost their lives. My Dad has never embraced the veteran identity - he felt neither a right nor an affinity to it - and a military settings isn’t one I ever pictured myself feeling comfortable in. And yet, a single AITAF performance was enough to achieve their goal in my heart of building bridges and highlighting commonalities between military and civilian spheres. The military identify is multifaceted, and attending last year’s performance was enough for my Dad to unlock some new acceptance or understanding of that aspect of his own identity. It seemed to let him think of that period in his life in ways beyond antipathy or guilt. It was at least enough for him to open up and speak more candidly to me about his experience than ever before. 

This year’s Q&A was moving, deeply personal, and at times painful. And yet there was truly no better showcase for how a shared experience of theatre can serve to knock down all barriers that might have existed between people when they entered that theatre only hours before.

Highlights:

A man who recently ended his service spoke about how much he connected to the character of Walter Lee in the play. Like Walter, he too feels restless and unfulfilled in his (civilian) job, always feeling like he should be striking out for something more meaningful, something bigger, and never feeling right in his current place. For the audience member, this resonated with his own struggle to find meaning in his civilian life as he navigates the transition of leaving the military. This moved the actor who played Walter Lee (Colman Domingo, who had been TERRIFIC - I mean full-on crying several times throughout the reading) to speak about the personal inspirations and experiences he brought to embodying the character for this setting. Namely, trying to support his veteran older brother’s struggle with drug addiction. As Colman spoke candidly about how the experience with his brother had seeped into his performance, at least two other cast members dabbed tears from their eyes.

The most emotionally difficult and yet moving moment shared throughout the whole theater. A man in the balcony asked for advice on finishing a play that he began writing as a means of trying to process and work through unresolved trauma he experienced in combat zones while deployed. He explained with something of a despairing tremble in his voice that he’s reached a point where he feels emotionally blocked - where confronting the memories of comrades dying in his arms simply freezes him and he can’t seem to move any further. The theater was silent as he had to pause speaking for a moment, audibly overcome for a moment in the effort of speaking and sharing this aloud. Since the speaker was up in the balcony too far back for me to see, I was watching the cast and AITAF team on stage. Being so close, I thought I saw something visibly pass over Adam’s face. Later that evening, the cousin I just reconnected with at this event was the one to bring it up unprompted when she asked, “Did you see his eyes when the man was talking about his struggle to write?” So yes, it’s confirmed, I wasn’t imagining that Adam visibly choked up for a moment listening to this audience member. After the commenter was able to finish speaking, a few cast members responded. Adam, after being silent for most of the Q&A, then held his hand out for a mic and spoke up, telling the audience member something like, “In a way, you’re already doing it. You’re already writing. You’re already processing. I don’t think anyone knows what they’re setting out to write or how it will take shape until they do. But you’re already doing the hardest part.” Then, in a touching moment of connection, another audience member spoke up about a veteran writing group he’s involved with whose members seek to do exactly the same thing. The safe space the questioner was so dearly seeking did, in fact, already exist, and the people were there in that theatre to help guide him towards it. 

I didn’t think anything could have equaled my experience at AITAF’s 10th Anniversary show last year - and yet, last night was every bit as powerful of a performance, followed by a Q&A discussion in which audience members bared revelatory vulnerabilities and saw their own struggles through the eyes of others. My group went to a late dinner afterwards, where we continued discussing the performance, the dialogues thereafter, AITAF’s work in general, and (my favorite) gendered attitudes and embedded patriarchal norms within military settings and how AITAF challenges these norms even while being forced to work within them. 

It was an evening of connections of all types - between people, experiences, and insights. I can’t laud AITAF enough for enabling such valuable and productive exchange, and I hope to experience much more of their work in the future.

(And if performed with a showcase or even a side of Adam, that would be even better! <3)

Thanks so much for reading! : ))

[majsmom]

Happy TDBM Secret Santa Day

I was tasked with writing for the @janetdonners.  I have enjoyed getting to know you through asks and your blog. You’re a really cool individual.  This my first time writing for someone else and I tried to keep you and your preferences in mind.

Prompt: charlie/danny, loser + sports person high school AU

So I ended up using the cricket game as a frame for the guy’s friendship challenge.  

I really hope you like it.

XOXO ~ Eb

                                                  The Moment

The heat of the summer sun beat down on Danny’s head as he stood on the mound waiting for the pitch.  He gripped the cricket bat even tighter as rivulets of sweat ran down his face and neck.   The last batsman in today’s high school tournament, his team’s dream of making it to the regional championship rested firmly on his shoulders.  The score was so close and Danny just needed to five runs to win.

His eyes shot out into the stands.  He could see his Auntie Jean sitting with Rose Anderson over to the left pride shining on both their faces.  Rose was sitting so close to the edge of the bleachers it looked like she was about to jump down and run across the field.  Auntie Jean, on the other hand, was still her body as tight as a guitar string.  She knew how much winning this game meant to him and she wanted it as badly as he did.

Frantically scanning the crowd again, he searched for the only other face that meant anything to him.  His heart sank for a minute at the thought that he might not have cared enough to come. Just before he turned to look at the pitcher, he spied him standing in the distance under a shady tree.  

“Hey, Danny!” Rose Anderson jumped off of her still moving pushie and ran top speed through the gate. “Hey, Dan,” screamed once more before skidding to a halt in the middle of the yard.  

She could see Danny elbow deep in a patch of weeds in the back of the yard.  Although Rose couldn’t understand why, Danny found working in the garden therapeutic.  Gardening had been his solace since the sudden death of his parents.  When not playing cricket or studying, he could be found turning the soil.  Rose turned and looked at the pile of weeds laid neatly beside Danny.  It all just seemed like work to her.

“Danny,” Rose called in a less than loud conversational tone.  “Guess what I just saw?”

Putting down his spade and dusting off his pants, Danny turned to look at Rose.

“This better not be more gossip,” he quipped sarcastically before walking over.

Rose sneered. “I don't gossip. I deal in facts. But since you want to crack on me, I guess I won't tell you what I saw.” She turned quickly to leave the yard.

“Hey! I was only joking. Come on back. I want to know.” Danny hid a smile as he watched Rose adjust her shirt and take on her “professional” persona. She was really only a 15 year old girl but she out on airs as if she were a bona fide journalist.

“Did you know a family of boys moved in the Conlin placed,” she queried with authority.

Danny laughed. “Just boys you say. No parents?”

“You love to interrupt don't you,” complained Rose. “Of course there were parents. A woman and a mean looking man. The one boy is our age and there are two younger brothers. The older boy was nice. His name is Charlie and he's from Melbourne.”

“Wow. You work fast. Do you know their birthdays too,” he said as he giggled. He couldn't resist the opportunity to pick at her a bit.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Keep at it and you won't get an introduction.” Danny twisted his face into mock seriousness. “So are you finished up here? Feel up for a ride.”

Danny could not deny his excitement. There weren’t that many boys his age in the neighborhood and the ones there were had been friends since diapers. Ballarat was a strange town full of cliques and rules. His love for gardening and baking - women's activities - sort of made him an oddity. Even his place on the winning high school cricket team couldn't overcome it.

“Give me a bit to clean up,” he said turning to the garden spigot.

They found Charlie standing next to the largest pile of wood they had ever seen. His skin glistened with sweat as he split the wood and flung it into the pile. He didn't hear Danny and Rose as they approached from the front yard.

“Aye-o Charles! I was hoping to find you here. I wanted to introduce you to my best mate, Danny.”

Rose smiled looking between them. The two boys could not be more different - a study in light and dark. Charlie was much taller than Danny and more strongly built.  Methods of punishment had made him extremely muscular and the dark hair falling over his eyes made him seem morose. In comparison, Danny was spare but his small frame hid a lithe body quick to movement and deceptively strong. His quick smile hid a pensive nature.

Danny stretched his hand out in greeting. “How are you mate?”

“Doing good. Just finishing up some chores, “ Charlie responded, giving his hand a firm shake.

Danny and Rose looked at the wood in disbelief. Apparently, chores must be different in Melbourne.

“You’ll be chopping wood until you're 80,” commented Rose incredulously. “We planned on showing you the sights of Ballarat but…” Her voice trailed off.

Danny could clearly see the disappointment in Charlie's face. Charlie's task seemed insurmountable for one person but it would definitely be quicker with three.

“I have an idea if you're open to it. How about Rose and I help you finish your chopping? Then, you'll at least have a little time to take the official Ballarat tour.”

Charlie looked around uneasy. Wood chopping was technically a punishment. Bernie, his mother’s boyfriend, was a strict disciplinarian. If Bernie found out he had help, the resulting punishment would be brutal.  Bernie wouldn't be home for hours though and his mother had taken the boys to town. A little help would get his chores done faster and it had been so long since he had any fun. But was it worth the risk?

Before he could overthink his decision, Charlie blurted out his agreement.

“It's a deal and I'll return the favor someday.”

The sound of laughter and splitting wood filled the air.

CRACK!

Danny watched the ball slice through the air into the outfield.  He could feel the eyes of the spectators bore into him as he broke into a run.  Before coming up to bat, he had calculated the number of runs needed to win.  Everything had been strategized before his foot hit the mound...the direction the ball needed to go...how far the ball needed to go into the outfield...the amount of strength required to get it there.  He only hoped that his machinations were enough.

Danny could feel the breeze whispering against his face, as he focused on the target not daring to look to the right or the left.  He felt the other runner whizzing by him matching him for speed.   This had to be enough.

“Charlie! Wait up,” Danny screamed as he propelled himself through the growing twilight. Charlie was meters ahead.  He squinted to make him out amongst the growing shadows.

“Please slow down.”  This trek through the woods had been Charlie’s idea.  Freed from chores, he had sought out Danny at his Auntie Jean’s house.  Charlie was enamoured with life in Ballarat.  In Melbourne, there were so many people and so little space.  The open fields and rambling woods of the countryside intrigued Charlie and he took every opportunity to explore.  

Packing a light lunch, the boys left about midday with the expectation of returning before dinner.  They had no true direction in mind.  The idea was to walk as far as possible and see as much as possible.  Crawling through the woods, they spent most of their time admiring the landscape and talking about their lives.

Experiences with death helped to shape the adolescence of both boys.  Charlie’s father was killed in the line of duty while working as a policeman in Melbourne.  Although Danny’s parents’ death was accidental, they found that they shared similar coping methods.  Both found comfort sharing their fears about life with a kindred spirit.

It was Charlie who first noticed the lateness of the day.

“Danny, what time is it,” he asked frantically.

“Oh, it’s only about 5,” replied Danny.

“We better head back.  My mother is expecting me for dinner.” Charlie hopped up and began walking quickly towards home.  Although Danny knew that they were running late, he didn’t feel Charlie’s urgency.  With at least a couple hours walk ahead of them, they would make it home before dark.

Danny noticed that Charlie grew increasingly agitated during the walk home.  He snapped when asked questions and his answers were short.  It was a marked difference from the easy conversation of earlier in the day.  With every minute, Charlie talked less and moved faster his tension increasing.

It wasn’t until the second hour that Charlie commented about the time it was taking to get to the road.

“Where are we,” he queried irritably.

“We probably are a little turned around, mate,” Danny replied, “We’ll make it to the road soon.”

“A little turned around?  We’ve been walking for hours and the sun is starting to go down.  Bloody hell!  We can’t be lost.  I need to get home.”  Danny noted the frantic tone in Charlie’s tone.  What was the big deal?  They were just a little lost.

“Ok.  Calm down.  Let’s just take a second to get our bearings.  We can’t be that far off.”

Danny turned in a circle examining the direction of the sun and the surrounding landscape.  He’d hoped that his words would have help calm Charlie.

In acquiescence, Charlie sat heavily on a fallen log.  “I really need to get home,” he said quietly.

“We’ll figure this out.  It will probably be another hour or so,” Danny said confidently. “What’s the rush anyway?  I know you promised you’d be home for dinner but how can your mom fault you for getting lost?”

Danny’s question was greeted with silence.  It didn’t take long to get on the right course and they kept a steady pace for the rest of the journey.  The silence between them was oppressive and Charlie’s agitation radiated from him like radio waves.  After about an hour, the sound of a passing car indicated that they were nearing town.  At the sound, Charlie broke into a run.  

Tree limbs grabbed at his clothes as he tried to keep pace with Charlie.  Although Danny’s muscles began to burn from the effort, he could not match the urgency in Charlie’s run.  Before long, Charlie was a shadow in the distance and, although Danny cried out for him to wait, he pressed forward.  When Danny finally made it to the road, he was nowhere in sight.

The screams from the crowd were like salve on Danny’s aching muscles.  He was doing it.  He was going to make this championship happen.  Just a few more runs he thought to himself.

Although he always excelled at the game, he never played cricket for his own enjoyment.  Being part of the team was something that his father valued.  His father, an avid player himself, was his very first coach.  In the evenings, he would take him outside and throw the ball around, coaching him on the best ways to bat and pitch.  At the time, Danny cared less about the game than spending time with his father, whose schedule was usually packed with work activities.  Cricket was a connection to him and winning this championship was the fulfillment of a prophecy.

Danny could distinguish his Auntie Jean’s voice clearly in the in the crowd of voices.  A burst of energy erupted from within.  He was almost there.

Although he had lost Charlie coming out of the woods, he was determined to speak to  him before the end of the night.  A woman’s scream pierced the night air causing a chill to run up Danny’s spine.  The sounds of a fight grew louder as Danny neared Charlie’s house.  

The house lights were ablaze as he entered the yard.  Charlie’s mother was yelling holding her smaller children back as she watched two men tussling on the ground.  Her dress was ripped and blood was dripping from her nose.  

In the middle of the yard, Charlie and his stepfather Bernie Thompson were grappling in the dirt.  The gossips in the town hinted at the fact that Bernie was a drunk who was tough on his family especially his wife.  Charlie rarely talked about Bernie and he never hinted at any of his issues.  As he watched punches and slaps being thrown, it was clear that the gossip was only the tip of the iceberg.

Charlie was holding his own but even drunk Bernie was the stronger of the two.

“Bernie, no!  Stop, please,” Charlie’s mother screamed as Bernie got the better of the boy.

“Oh, you’re a big man, hunh,” slurred Bernie and he grabbed Charlie lifting him off the ground by the collar.  “Well, take this beating like a man.” Pullling his fist back, he let  off a fierce punch that landed on Charlie’s jaw.  Stumbling backwards, Charlie landed firmly on the ground dazed.

“All of that mouth.  I’m tired of you interfering. She is my wife.” Bernie drew his foot back to deliver a well place kick.  

Before his foot could connect, a dark figure catapulted from the darkness. Danny grabbed Bernie by the arms pulling him to the ground. His breath reeked of beer and gin.  

The force of the fall had knocked the wind out of Bernie and he found it hard to recover.  He began to wretch in the yard, stumbling into the shadows to vomit up the night’s drink.

Sitting on the ground, Danny watched as Mrs.Thompson traced the bruises on Charlie’s face.  He could hear her whispered words of apology and whimpers of pain.  Charlie sat with his head bowed still stuck in a daze from Bernie’s punch.  He accepted all of his mother’s kisses but did not say a word.  Danny stood and walked over kneeling down beside him.  

It was Danny’s proximity that brought Charlie out of his stupor.

“What are you doing here,” he stammered. “Why are you here?”

“Calm down, mate.  I only came to talk.  Are you okay?”

A dark cloud passed over Charlie’s face.

“Are you happy?”

Pulling himself up from the ground, he lurched towards Danny.  

“Is this what you wanted to know? That Bernie abuses my mom?  That he beats that shit out of us! Are you disgusted?  Do you pity us?”

Charlie’s words slapped Danny in the face taking his breath away propelling him backwards.

“Why are you backing away?  Answer me! Do you pity us?,” Charlie screamed into the night.  He shook off his mother’s grasp and ran towards Danny.

“Go.  Gooooo!  You’re not wanted here!”

Fear launched through Danny.  He didn’t recognize the person advancing toward him with venom dripping from his words.  This person was terrifying.  

“Gooooooo,” Charlie bellowed as Danny turned and ran into the darkness.

The crowd rushed on the field lifting Danny in its swell. Riding on the shoulders of his teammates, he scanned the crowd. Rose and his Aunt Jean stood in the thick of everything jumping and screaming with  excitement. Strangers chanted his name as he round the crowd like a wave.

The sun was still bright and the air was still hot, but a calmness cooled his spirit. A lightness invaded his heart relaxing his limbs. Pride, relief and tears welled up in his chest as he thought of his accomplishment. A prayer of thanks was on his lips as he thought of his father closing his eyes in emotion.

When he opened them, he saw Charlie with a half smile turn from the tree and walk towards the crowd.  This was not the boy from earlier in the week face contorted in pain.  He could still see the greenish ghost of bruises on his face.  There would be time for explanations later.  For now, he just wanted to enjoy the moment.

[dominionra]

Building for Treatment and Care

Dan Dowiak – Pinnacle Treatment Centers Inc. 

Written by: David Harry, Produced by: Dan Horton, Published: January 22, 2020.

It’s a step that can be terrifying, yet can—once taken—lead one down a life-saving path.

Recovery from substance-use disorders and addiction requires that first fateful action—even if the road to sobriety and health is never the same for any two people travelling it. What remains constant for all of them, however, is the need for care, compassion, understanding and structure.

As Pinnacle Treatment Centers expands from New Jersey and Pennsylvania through the Midwest and beyond, Corporate Director of Real Estate Dan Dowiak is helping build roads to recovery with a simple objective in mind.

“There is an epidemic and we are a company that strives to provide recovery services for as many people who need it,” Dowiak says.

Ways to help

Headquartered in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, Pinnacle spans the continuum of care for treating substance use disorders and addiction with 55+ outpatient and eight residential care centers, all of which accept Medicaid.

All of its residential treatment centers have dedicated detox space and all provide stable housing and 24/7 care for people who have completed detox and need additional counseling and therapy before returning home.

Pinnacle’s community-based outpatient medication-assisted treatment centers dispense methadone, buprenorphines such as Suboxone, and Vivitrol to fight opioid addiction, while also providing individual and group counseling as well as care from doctors and nurses—including regular drug screenings.

Along with prevention and law enforcement collaboration, Pinnacle’s services are integral parts of the “three-legged stool” approach to fighting substance-use disorders and addiction.

Dowiak’s role focuses on acquiring the real estate necessary for Pinnacle to extend its services—at a time when the need has never been greater.

“I am not a clinician or a counselor; what I try to do is provide our staff and our patients with a safe and comfortable place to work and heal with the opportunity to be integrated, valued members of their community,” he says.

No shortage of need

Most recently, Pinnacle expanded its residential care facility in Cambridge City, Indiana, doubling the number of beds to 62 while upgrading the kitchen facilities, adding communal space and improving work areas for on-duty staff.

The project is indicative of the need for more treatment facilities—as Dowiak points out, the original 32-bed center is only two years old.

“I see the daily census numbers for all our facilities and most are at full capacity,” he says, adding Pinnacle is one of the fastest-growing health care companies in the addiction treatment space.

The residential centers, all under the Recovery Works name, are not all new construction—facilities located in Merrillville, Indiana, and Columbus, Ohio, are repurposed buildings—but there is a common thread in where centers are sited: As many of Pinnacle’s referrals come from emergency rooms (where most overdose victims go), locations close to hospitals are particularly sought after.

Residential rooms are built for double occupancy and, along with large kitchens, Pinnacle offers exercise rooms and meeting spaces for both group and individual counseling.

“What we want is safe, comfortable and reassuring environments for the folks at our facilities,” Dowiak explains.

Discreet treatment

The medication-assisted treatment centers also need to be close to health care services, as well as accessible by public transportation. Dowiak says stand-alone buildings are preferable, but some centers are located in shopping centers or serve as co-tenants in medical office settings. The centers are accessible through separate doors and plainly adorned, usually carrying the name of the town they operate in, such as Hamilton Treatment Services in Hamilton, New Jersey. While most centers don’t contain the Pinnacle name per se, the Pinnacle brand and logo is incorporated into each.

For centers sharing space with other tenants, Pinnacle wants to be sure there is adequate parking for everyone, but people receiving medication-assisted care for opioid addictions generally arrive as early as 5 a.m. and as late as noon.

“Our patients work just like the rest of us,” Dowiak says. “Our job is to make it easier for them to fully commit to recovery. The clinics are open on Saturdays too.”

Moving in

Though he says he’s always ready to drive a nail or two when he arrives at a jobsite, Dowiak is typically not involved in managing new construction or repurposing once a site is selected.

Still, his willingness to pitch in—coupled with his deep understanding of construction—has impressed Capitol Construction Senior Project Manager Tim Dixon.

“Dan is a super guy to work with, and if we are presented with obstacles, he understands so we can all work with any issues we have,” Dixon says.

Capitol is playing a large role in Pinnacle’s expansion in Indiana and Kentucky and Dixon says there are actually few obstacles to overcome because planning is so thorough.

“We’re just on the execution side of the drawings they supply,” he says. “On occasion, we may have to tweak a couple of things in order to make it work.”

Finding a site

Dixon says they discourage Dowiak from swinging a hammer during construction, but he does take a very active role in the sometimes challenging process of site selection.

Dowiak works with brokers attuned to Pinnacle’s needs and local zoning and regulatory requirements. Once he’s given a list of potential properties, Dowiak drives the areas himself, taking note of how a site can be accessed and how it fits into its surroundings.

One company Pinnacle relies on to find new sites is Dominion Real Estate Advisers, whether for new construction or leasing existing buildings.

Dominion Vice President Michele Rosenblum says assisting Pinnacle is both challenging and very rewarding.

“Due diligence for Pinnacle’s transactions is considerably more complex than the average deal, however, working with them is my pleasure given the positive impact that Pinnacle has on the community,” Rosenblum says.

Dominion works through a database that narrows down likely sites that can serve the greatest number of patients. From there, Rosenblum says she looks at rental rates, available parking, square footage, layout, accessibility, and a reasonable landlord who appreciates Pinnacle’s use. Dowiak’s experience in real estate makes them a good team.

“I wish I had his energy and he certainly has the background,” she says. “He has worked with very large franchises, and his knowledge of real estate and enthusiasm makes my job easy.”

Getting approved

Once the evaluations are complete, Dowiak looks to supply Pinnacle’s operations team and regional managers with two or three potential sites. Dowiak says his recommendations may not pass muster in further review, but if there is an agreement on a potential site, he can begin approaching local government officials.

He will likely find those officials sympathetic and supportive, too.

“Addiction is everywhere and I rarely talk to someone who hasn’t been touched by it in some way, shape or form,” Dowiak says, “and the people I talk to are landlords, city officials, people who work in building or zoning departments.”

But sympathy or even empathy cannot circumvent zoning rules, and even in places where medical uses are allowed by law, residential addiction or medication-assisted treatment can still require conditional use approvals from local boards, made after public hearings. In these instances, Pinnacle engages a local attorney to help guide the process.

Joining in caring

Dowiak joined Pinnacle at an age where most are considering retirement, and did so at the behest of Joe Pritchard, the company’s CEO—and a friend of his for more than 25 years.

“I am healthy, I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I was retired,” he says.

A native of northern New Jersey who lived in Dallas for a decade and has extensive sales management experience with companies such as Ingersoll Rand, DHL and Plasma Air International, Dowiak says if not still working, his other option would be helping his sons coach their soccer teams—if they would let him.

He might get a kick out of doing it: He not only played and coached soccer, he attended every 1994 World Cup game played at Giants Stadium, while spending $1,200 for tickets—much to his wife’s chagrin.

He not only made his money back by selling the extra tickets he bought, he entered a new world of soccer fandom.

“The minute you got out of your car, it was like you stepped into another country,” he recalls. “The best game was between Morocco and Saudi Arabia. I sat with the Moroccan fans, and from an hour before the game until an hour after, the drums never stopped beating.”

For now, more fun and games will have to wait. Not only is Dowiak not done working, he’s finding his newest job to be one of the best experiences of his life.

“I am extremely impressed with everyone at Pinnacle and their level of knowledge, care and compassion,” he says. “I am blessed to be part of this organization.”

[progressiveparty]

Rejecting Hate, Racism and Bigotry, Demanding Action

Guidance on how to condemn white supremacy and advocate for diversity in the wake of white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, VA.

Shouting racist and anti-Semitic slurs, white supremacists brought hatred and violence to Charlottesville, VA, this weekend, culminating in the murder of Heather D. Heyer, an anti-racist activist. The hatred and attacks drew outrage, activism, and condemnation. But President Trump, incredibly, refused to name or condemn white supremacists, and blamed hatred, bigotry, and violence “on many sides”—a phrase he repeated twice. His statement two days later was vague, full of platitudes, and failed to call Ms. Heyer’s killing terrorism. Protests, condemnations, and mourning must continue. Alongside these actions, it is important to call for leadership and concrete lasting change that includes, but goes far beyond, addressing this recent and terrible resurgence of white supremacist violence. We can’t remain caught in this moment of anger and disbelief. We have to continue our work to tell the story about what “America” really means. Together with UnidosUS, The Opportunity Agenda completed public opinion and messaging research with this goal in mind: to tell a story of American diversity that reflects our values and our aspirations as a country stronger because of our myriad backgrounds, ethnicities, races, experiences – because of the parts of us that may make us different, but ultimately also make us stronger. This research provides guidance for those using their platforms to reject bigotry while demand action. This is going to be more dangerous than we could imagine. Progressives need your help to stop this threat to our nation before we see more hate. Right now, we must condemn white supremacist violence and commit to equal justice and inclusion, and stop Trump in launching hate campaigns: https://progressivepartyusa.com/reject-hate-politics/

Lead with Values Leading with shared values helps to persuade the disengaged and undecided while mobilizing the base of people who support equity, rights, and inclusion. Particularly important values here include Dignity, Respect for Human Rights, Equal Justice, and Diversity as one of our nation’s greatest Strengths. Link diversity to problem solving, strength, and healthy communities rather than economic competition. Talk about how we need to take advantage of our source of strength in diversity. Be aspirational, positive, and talk about embracing our differences. And explicitly talk about those differences—e.g., “no matter what race someone is, where they come from, their religion, or whom they love.” Consider these examples: “Our country’s strength stems from its diversity and the contributions made by men and women of different faiths, races, sexual orientations and political beliefs. America’s leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal.” — Kenneth C. Frazier, chairman and CEO, Merck “Mr. President - we must call evil by its name. These were white supremacists and this was domestic terrorism.” — U.S. Senator Corey Gardner (CO) “Our nation is defined by the march of progress. Our strength lies in our diversity. We must reject hate.” – U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (CA) This is going to be more dangerous than we could imagine. Progressives need your help to stop this threat to our nation before we see more hate.

Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash Right now, we must condemn white supremacist violence and commit to equal justice and inclusion, and stop Trump in launching hate campaigns: https://progressivepartyusa.com/reject-hate-politics/ Name White Supremacy, Bigotry, Hate, and Terrorism It’s important to accurately call out white supremacy and supremacists, racists and racism, Nazis and Nazism, bigotry, and hate where they exist.  Terms like “nationalism” and “alt-right” do not carry the power or accuracy of these more specific terms. Similarly, we should name “terrorism” wherever it occurs, and whoever the alleged perpetrators.  For example: “White supremacist violence is an unconscionable part of our nation’s history, but we cannot allow it to poison our future. Our nation’s leadership, on both sides of the aisle, must not only forcefully condemn it, but work actively and affirmatively to stop it.” —NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund “What happened in Charlottesville is an act of terrorism pure and simple. This is one all too familiar to our country’s history. We’re standing with the peaceful protesters in Charlottesville, with our 1 million members across the country and with everyone tonight heartbroken like us. Let’s work together to ensure that tomorrow we don’t continue to replicate the horrors of the past.” —Color of Change This is going to be more dangerous than we could imagine. Progressives need your help to stop this threat to our nation before we see more hate.

Photo by T. Chick McClure on Unsplash Right now, we must condemn white supremacist violence and commit to equal justice and inclusion, and stop Trump in launching hate campaigns: https://progressivepartyusa.com/reject-hate-politics/ Call out the history and spectrum of systemic racism in this administration and beyond While the events in Charlottesville were terrible and dramatic, bigotry, white supremacy and bias are imbedded in our political and other institutions in ways that must be called out and explicitly linked. They include: Documented white supremacists in positions of power in the Trump Administration, including White House advisors Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka; Kris Kobach, vice chair of Trump’s election commission, who has documented connections to hate groups and a history of anti-immigrant and voter suppression activism, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has spent his career undermining civil rights, and according to congressional testimony “used the n-word and joked about the Ku Klux Klan, saying he thought they were ‘okay, until he learned that they smoked marijuana.’” Donald Trump’s long and well-documented history of racism and bigotry, including denying that President Obama was born in the U.S.; contending that Judge Gonzalo Curiel could not rule on a case against him because of the Judge’s Mexican heritage; failing to disavow the support of Klansman David Duke; continually referring to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas”; disparaging Muslim Americans; labeling Mexican-Americans as “rapists” and other slurs. The Trump Administration’s unconstitutional “Muslim ban,” held by federal courts to be intentionally discriminatory based on religion. Action by the Trump Administration and Justice Department, led by Jeff Sessions, to abandon vigorous civil rights enforcement through consent decrees and other approaches; to challenge higher education diversity policies as discriminatory against whites; slashing civil rights enforcement by the Departments of Labor, Education, EPA, and other entities. The Trump Administration’s bogus “Election Integrity” Commission, led by Kris Kobach, rooted in a falsehood about non-existent voting problems, which has sought invasive voting information from the states and is clearly designed to infringe the voting rights of citizens of color. Attempts in many states to violate the voting rights of people of color, to exclude Muslims, and persecute immigrants, as well as the many hate crimes that have occurred around the country over the past year and have been ignored by this President and his administration. Consider these examples of effective messaging: “President Trump’s press conference and tweets today are not enough. He must take responsibility for his role in propagating white nationalist ideology and fueling their movement. We call on him to immediately denounce the white supremacy movement by name and remove those who condone white supremacy, like Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka, from the White House. Their mere presence, and their prime roles in fanning these flames of bigotry, is a silent endorsement of this violence. There is only one side of hate, vulgarity, and violence.” —Muslim Advocates “I’m sure white supremacists remain reassured that they have a friend in the White House. A president who spews vitriol and heaps scorn on his enemies virtually every day – and who has no trouble calling Mexicans killers and “rapists” – still can’t break off the unholy alliance with bigots that he’s been cultivating since he first claimed President Obama’s birth certificate was bogus.” — Richard Cohen, Southern Poverty Law Center This is going to be more dangerous than we could imagine. Progressives need your help to stop this threat to our nation before we see more hate.

Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash Right now, we must condemn white supremacist violence and commit to equal justice and inclusion, and stop Trump in launching hate campaigns: https://progressivepartyusa.com/reject-hate-politics/ Reject Attempts to Dodge or Divide Call out attempts to divide us, without repeating the other side’s message. An effective message from our research includes: Our country is changing, getting more and more diverse. It might make some people uncomfortable, but it is our reality, and a constant throughout our history. Politicians play on this fear, trying to divide us. They push unwise and divisive ideas like sending federal troops to police our cities, building a border wall, or singling out Muslim Americans because of their religion. If we take the bait on these, it makes our country weaker, not stronger. Our nation is stronger when every one of us can contribute and share ideas, and when everyone’s basic rights and dignity are respected. We need to embrace ideas that unify us as a diverse people and make our country stronger, and we need to speak out against discrimination and prejudice when we see it. Lift up Positive Solutions After condemning the problem, turn to positive solutions, including systemic change. This can include, for example, removing white supremacy and its proponents, root and branch, from the government; aggressive civil rights and anti-hate crimes enforcement; upholding voting rights and dismantling the discriminatory “election integrity commission”; abandoning wrongheaded attacks on university diversity policies; ending the “Muslim ban” and halting attacks on sanctuary cities. Beyond the administration, it’s crucial to demand that all policymakers and institutions reject and proactively eradicate supremacist, discriminatory, and exclusionary policies. It is unacceptable for any leader—governmental, business, faith, or otherwise—to remain silent in the fact of this crucial moment for the country. We must demand that leaders and institutions throughout our nation take a stand against white supremacy and bigotry, including inside their institutions. Building Values-based Messages We recommend structuring messages with a Values, Problem, Solution, Action formula. For example: Value Our country’s greatest strength is the diversity of our people and the principles of equal dignity and inclusion that unite us all. Problem The hatred and terrorism that we saw in Charlottesville are terrible reminders that white supremacy is a dangerous threat to our nation and our values. President Trump’s flawed and feeble response only reinforces the unacceptable pattern of bigotry in his rhetoric, among his advisors like Steve Bannon and Kris Kobach, and in policies like the “Muslim ban” and the undermining of voting rights. Solution The President must not only condemn white supremacy, bigotry, and violence, but also rid his administration of supremacists and their ideology, and commit to a policy agenda of equal justice and inclusion. Action Contact President Trump today to demand clear action for unity and inclusion in his administration and throughout our country.   This Piece Originally Appeared in The Opportunity Agenda Read the full article

[aion-rsa]

Black Adam’s 15 Most Brutal Kills

The DC universe is full of dark heroes and villains, but you’d be hard pressed to find those more brutal than Black Adam. It was announced quite a while ago that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was cast as Black Adam in the upcoming “Shazam” film and later on in his own spin-off film. He is one of DC’s lesser known properties so it’s understandable if you hadn’t heard of him up until this point. If you haven’t, you probably don’t know what to expect. That’s why we’re here.

RELATED: Web-Slayer: 16 Times Spider-Man Killed

Simply put, expect a lot of blood. Black Adam is the ruler (or “protector” as he puts it) of a fictional Middle East country called Kahndaq. With the powers of the Egyptian gods, he rules with an iron fist and does not tolerate crime or threats. It’s doubtful that the word mercy is even in his vocabulary. Just take a look at these brutal kills.

THE EGYPTIAN PHARAOH

We were first introduced to Black Adam in “The Marvel Family” #1 (written by Otto Binder with artwork by C.C Beck). Back then, however, he was a villain through and through, nowhere near as complex a character as he is today. He was corrupted by the power of the gods and took the throne simply by storming into the Pharaoh’s throne room and yelling, “Get off the throne Pharaoh, I want it!” You have to at least respect how he gets straight to the point.

Obviously, no Pharaoh would just give up their throne for anyone who storms into their palace. So, of course, Teth-Adam was greeted by guards, who he easily dispatched. Annoyed by the Pharaoh’s resistance, Adam grabbed him and straight broke his neck. For the 1940s, that was quite a brutal death to be shown in the pages of a comic book, and it would only escalate as the years went on.

AMAN

A few tweaks were made to his origin story in “Justice League Vol 2” #20 (written by Geoff Jones and illustrated by Gary Frank, Brad Anderson and Dezi Sienty). A captive Billy Batson sees Adam’s past, beginning with Aman and his uncle Adam having just escaped enslavement in ancient Egypt thanks to their gods-given powers. It becomes apparent, however, that he and his nephew don’t share the same values. As the boy utters the words, his uncle betrays him and takes the power for himself.

You don’t actually see the boy die, but the last panel shows Adam reaching over his oblivious nephew’s head, cloaked in the shadow. We’re left with the assumption that the poor boy went the same way as that Pharaoh in the original story. This defines Black Adam’s views. He’s willing to do anything for what he perceives to be the greater good. Rather than even attempt to change the current regime in Kahndaq, Adam sacrifices his nephew and frees the city himself, showing no mercy.

KOBRA

Life doesn’t mean all that much to Teth-Adam, but he cares for his friends and will exact vengeance for them. Kobra found that out the hard way when his plot to destroy several major cities resulted in the death of Atom Smasher’s mother in “JSA” #51 (written by Geoff Jones and David S. Goyer, with artwork by Leonard Kirk, Keith Champagne and John Kalisz). While Kobra did manage to escape the wrath of every other hero searching for him, he found himself at the mercy of Atom Smasher and Black Adam who, despite Kobra’s threats, punches straight through the villain’s chest, ripping his heart out.

He tends to do that a lot (as you’ll probably discover when you go through this list), though not always to people like Kobra, who most definitely deserved it. On this occasion, he did it for the right reasons: because his friend and brother-in-arms had been wounded by the loss of his mother. He ripped Kobra’s heart out because that’s what friends do. Right?

PSYCHO PIRATE

Working with Lex Luthor, the regally dressed Psycho-Pirate bravely pits himself against the DC Multiverse’s most powerful heroes in “Infinite Crisis” #6 (written by Geoff Jones with artwork by George Perez, Ivan Reis, Phil Jimenez, Joe Bennett, Andy Lanning, Jerry Ordway and many others). However, the one he should have feared most wasn’t one of them. Immediately after Nightwing and Superboy free Adam from his imprisonment by Alexander Luthor Jr, Black Adam comes across Psycho Man, who had manipulated Adam into using his powers. Before Psycho Pirate can finish speaking, however, Adam shoves his fingers through Psycho Pirate’s eyes and pushes his Medusa mask through his head.

This was a brutal, quick, bloody and most of all, completely unnecessary attack, though the ruthless Black Adam would most likely disagree. Again, it’s just another example of why it’s a terrible idea to cross Black Adam. He’s unforgiving at best, and worst of all, he seems to enjoy the violence, especially when it is righteous.

NOOSE

As we’ve already seen, Black Adam is a master of violent acts. Through them, he inspires in his foes a deep fear, a terror in the hearts of those who would stand against him. On rare occasions, his use of violence can also be seen as an act of compassion. In “52” #3 (written by Geoff Jones, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid, illustrated by Keith Griffin, Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose and Alex Sinclair) for example, Black Adam is approached by Intergang with quite an offer in exchange for safe passage through Kahndaq for their weapon shipments. Among their offerings is a young, blindfolded woman who a thug, Noose, treats harshly when she tries to escape.

Black Adam is opposed to slavery, having lived through it himself. Seeing how the Intergang thugs treated this woman and sought to use his nation, his decision to allow them to travel through his kingdom had been made early on. He reaches out and crushes Noose’s face without hesitation. The woman turns out to be Adrianna Tomaz, who you’ll read more about in just a bit.

TERRA-MAN

In that same issue, Black Adam commits another act of horrendous violence, this time in a display of power and intolerance for crime and criminal activity. In “52” #3, Adam gathers the press in front of the Kahndaq embassy and, flying above them all, reveals his dissatisfaction with the way heroes like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman have fought against crime. It’s not enough for him. To really make that point clear, he grabs a very confused Terra-Man in mid-air and rips the poor villain in half. His reasoning? People like him don’t deserve to live.

It may not have been eloquent, but it was definitely indicative of how committed he is to his extreme views. He doesn’t care that people are afraid, he wants them to be. What’s even more frightening is how coldly he does it. His face bears no change in the unfeeling expression as he tears Terra-Man in half, as though his body (nor his life) was worth nothing at all. We know that Terra-Man acts out of care for the environment and has tried to kill Superman out of fear for Earth, so despite his claims, he is definitely a villain. Still, we have to wonder, does the punishment really fit the crime?

SOBEK

It’s heartening to see that someone so corrupted by anger and pain can change for the better. This was true for Adam after meeting Adrianna Tomaz, the woman who would become his beloved Isis. Along with Adrianna’s brother, Osiris, Adam had a family who watched over Kahndaq. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t last. In “52” #44 (written by Geoff Jones, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid, illustrated by Eddy Barrows, Dan Green, Rodney Ramos and David Baron), after a period of odd turmoil for Kahndaq, Adam discovers he has been betrayed by Sobek, who had once posed as a simple friendly creature. How does he discover this? He sees Osiris’ half-devoured corpse with Sobek nearby, revealing himself to be Yurrd the Unknown, a horseman of the apocalypse. Immediately after, they start attacking and foolish Sobek is the first to die. Tears in his eyes well up and Adam splits his crocodile jaws apart.

It’s an intense fight, both physically and emotionally, so we can understand why he’d choose to deal with these creatures so brutally. He even says that they should be treated as monsters before he goes on to slaughter the Horsemen. Unfortunately, this also leads to Adrianna’s demise, which pushes Adam over the edge… as if he wasn’t already cascading down its side already.

THE ENTIRE NATION OF BIALYA

The issue that follows our previous entry, “52” #45 (written by Geoff Jones, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Wald, illustrated by Keith Giffen, Chris Batista, Jamal Igle, Rodney Ramos and Alex Sinclair) has Adam searching for the horseman, Death. It takes him to the nation of Bialya. Racked with grief and frustrated with his search, Adam unleashes his rage on the entire nation, blaming them for the deaths of his family. We’re left with one panel showing his power blazing hot white, but given that the previous panels showed him brutalizing civilians, we can guess how his rampage ended.

This occasion didn’t see justice served. For the most part, the people of Bialya obviously had nothing to do with the horsemen of the apocalypse, but Adam, ruled by his anger in that moment, didn’t care. Could you really blame him? This moment in the story arc is made all the more tragic when you remember that prior to this, Isis had been showing him the value of life and he had become a better man for it. That was all gone now in a tragic fall, indeed.

DEATH

He finally finds Death in the same issue, after the massacre at Bialya. Death, or Azraeuz, has evidently been strengthened by the deaths of every man, woman and child. Death quickly finds out that even then, his power can’t help him against Black Adam, who savagely beats and interrogates him. We last see Death bleeding from his skull as Black Adam presses his fingers into it, telling Death that he will spend the rest of the night slowly ending his life.

This is one of those moments when Black Adam really proves that he’s a force to be reckoned with. Taking on Death itself, as though it was nothing more than just another enemy, really shows us how immense the power of Shazam really is. Even when the death of an entire nation empowered the horseman of the apocalypse, Black Adam was able to overcome it. How much of that was god-power and how much was Adam’s pure strength of will was left unclear.

TERRA

So far, for the most part, we’ve shown you the villains he’s killed, but in the eyes of many, Black Adam is a villain himself. In the “World War III” story arc, following the destruction of Bialya, pretty much every super hero there was acted to stop Black Adam’s rampage across the world. That included Terra, a Teen Titan who stood in Adam’s way in “World War III” #3 (written by John Ostrander, illustrated by Tom Derenick, Norm Rapmund), threatening to bring the war Adam wanted to him. In the end, they were just words. Adam responded in kind but backed it up by punching a hole through Terra’s chest, ending her life in front of the other Titans.

It was completely unnecessary and driven by rage. Seeing as how Terra was more of a hero (with an admittedly shady past), she didn’t deserve to die, but that didn’t matter to Adam. He was still blinded by his loss and he needed to take out all his rage on the people around him, whether it was right or not.

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN

Why was Terra so fixated on taking down Black Adam? In the same issue, the Teen Titans attacked Adam and faced catastrophic defeat. While many survived, a few, like Young Frankenstein, who bravely took on Adam in defence of his friends, weren’t so lucky. Young Frankenstein grappled with Adam and as a result, lost both his arms, bleeding out. He lasted a while after, but in the end, he didn’t make it.

It’s a tragic blow to the Teen Titans and we know that Adam is only acting out of grief, so you might not be able to help but feel torn in this. Of course, the fact that Young Frankenstein was just trying to save his friends might earn Adam some hate. Not to worry though, despite the massive amounts of blood that spilled from his shoulders, Young Frankie shows up again, having literally pulled himself together after having his corpse blown up, as revealed in “Infinite Halloween Special.”

ADRIANNA TOMAZ

We know what you’re thinking: “But that’s his wife! Why would he do that?” What a fantastic question! He didn’t really have a choice. Following the events of the “World War III” story arc, Adam starts to lie low, essentially powerless and desperate to get his wife back. He travelled alone with the bones of his late wife until eventually, in “Black Adam: The Dark Age” #2 (written by Peter Tomasi, illustrated by Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy and Nathan Eyring), he’s able to use a Lazarus pit to restore her body, albeit temporarily.

After a tender reunion, they quickly discover that her form is decaying once more. To spare her from a slow and cruel death, Adam ends her life quickly. This death, though still bloody and brutal, was an act of mercy and one of the few times Black Adam can claim to kill out of love. It’s also one of the rare occasions when we actually want it to happen that way.

A YETI

Straight after he’s forced to kill his wife, he exits the caves in the Himalayas where he found the Lazarus pit and is set upon by a monstrous Yeti. Even though Adam was essentially rendered powerless by Zatanna and Captain Marvel, he proves himself to be a formidable foe for the Yeti. With one powerful swing of his knife, he guts the Yeti. It doesn’t end there, though. Being the resourceful mortal man he is, Adam grabs the Yeti’s intestines, which continue to stream out from the creature’s belly, and he uses it to rappel down the mountain. Eat your heart our, Bear Grylls.

It never really seems to matter that his powers have been locked away from him. Throughout “Black Adam: The Dark Age,” we see that his determination and strength of will seem to be more than enough to carry him through whatever the world can throw at him… before then leaving it bloodied and broken.

ASIM MUHANNAD

This was one of Black Adam’s first few noble kills, back when he was trying to free Kahndaq. He and the rest of the Justice Society venture through the current regime’s facilities, eradicating their military before making their way to the dictator himself, Asim Muhannad in “JSA” #56 (written by Geoff Johns with artwork by Don Kramer, Keith Champagne and John Kalisz). The dictator is dethroned after Black Adam tosses him under Atom Smasher, who angrily stomps on him like an insect.

This brutal kill is a fantastic example of how charismatic a leader Black Adam can be. He was able to persuade Atom Smasher that the bloodshed was necessary and that they were really doing good in Kahndaq. This isn’t just a great display of Adam’s brutality, it’s a great example of how willing others are to shed blood for him in horrific ways. Asim’s crushed head can attest to that.

SIVANA’S ASSISTANT

In the “New 52” universe, Doctor Sivana is a scientist who becomes frustrated with science and instead, turns to magic. He seeks out Teth-Adam, following ancient legends until, with the aid of an excavation team, he finds his tomb in “Justice League” #11 (written by Geoff Jones with artwork by Gary Frank and Brad Anderson). It’s not what he expects, however. Instantly, a burst of magic blasts Sivana’s face and he finds himself in the grasp of the ancient Black Adam, who’s holding his assistant in the other hand. Upon finding out the assistant doesn’t speak his language, Adam scorches him with lightning and lets him fall to the ground.

He’s a cold ruler, impatient and uncaring for anyone he doesn’t deem necessary. Keep in mind, Adam didn’t know anything about the people who woke him up. He just wanted to find the wizard and he didn’t have the time for anyone who couldn’t help him do it. That’s a great re-introduction to the character and pretty much sums him up, despite all of his previous acts of heroism. The life of another doesn’t mean much to him. In fact, if it hinders his own sense of justice, he is quick to extinguish it.

 Which of Black Adam’s brutal kills are your favorite? Let us know in the comments!

DC’S “SHAZAM,” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Black Adam, is scheduled for release in 2019.

The post Black Adam’s 15 Most Brutal Kills appeared first on CBR.com.

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[zipgrowth]

Where in the World Is Planet3? An Educational Gaming CEO Seeks His Second Act

When Tim Kelly started Planet3 in 2013, he aimed for the stars. He envisioned a game-based educational platform used by teachers and students to learn about science and the environment.

He had the staff, as many as 35 employees with experience in game and curriculum development. He had the money, at least $13 million raised by July 2016. And he had interest from educators who wanted to try Planet3 in schools that included the Las Vegas area.

But at an all-hands meeting at the company’s Washington, D.C. headquarters in June 2017, Planet3 executives laid off the staff.

Some employees heard the news on a conference call. Others said they found out through email. Some employees hoped the company could turn around and stayed on without pay. “We had lost our way,” one former staff said. “It was pretty disheartening,” said another. The former employees asked not to be named out of concern for their careers.

In nearly two years since the layoffs, Kelly has not abandoned Planet3. He still has the platform, which he claims in an interview is complete. Now, he seeks distribution and strategic partners to help him get product into schools and homes, in the U.S. and internationally. He’s also in search of more capital for his product to realize its full potential.

“We want every student to be engaged as passionate stewards of Earth,” Kelly said. “We’re not giving up.”

Planet3’s Formative Years

Kelly founded Planet3 in 2013 to blend top-tier commercial game designers with instructional experts and create a digital platform to teach middle-school science. He based the content on the Next Generation Science Standards, a multi-state effort at K-12 science education content completed in 2013. Nineteen states and D.C. have adopted the standards while 21 states have standards based on the framework.

Planet3 found its biggest backer in Rob Roy, CEO of Las Vegas-area data center services company Switch, which invested $10 million in the company in 2015. Kelly met him through Planet3 co-founder Albert Yu-Min Lin when Lin received an award sponsored by Switch, Kelly told EdTech Digest at the time.

With vision and funds, Kelly assembled a star-studded cast of experts across the entertainment and education fields. Kelly himself had spent 30 years with the National Geographic Society. He became president in January 2011 and grew the science and education nonprofit beyond its print-based media roots and into TV and films.

His co-founders included Lin, a National Geographic explorer and research scientist at the University of California, San Diego, as well as Vijay Lakshman, publisher of more than 85 commercial games, among them popular titles that include “Crash Bandicoot,” “Spyro the Dragon” and “The Elder Scrolls: Arena.”

On the education side, the company enlisted Kelly McGrath, former head of K-12 science curriculum development at Pearson, who’d become Planet3’s chief operating officer. Esther Wojcicki, the esteemed journalism teacher at Palo Alto High School, joined in 2016 as the company’s chief learning officer.

A Promising Pilot in Nevada

That summer, Planet3 announced a pilot program with six school districts in Nevada, including Clark County School District, home to Las Vegas and the fifth largest school district in the U.S.

In the agreement with Clark County School District, nine middle schools agreed to the Planet3 pilot program from August 2016 to May 2017. Planet3 agreed to earth and life science curriculum with supplemental lesson plans and free 24-hour access to the platform for students, teachers and parents. The district agreed to provide infrastructure, feedback, and pay $15,000 for professional development for up to 40 teachers. If all went well, the district would consider a long-term relationship and delivering Planet3 products to all of the district’s middle and high schools.

In a December 2016 letter by Clark County Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky to Kelly about the pilot program, Skorkowsky noted that students enjoyed lessons about data literacy from the product’s visualizations and about science from real-world case studies. Students also liked the avatar-based 3-D games.

“I am very pleased to see that the Planet3 product has developed into a comprehensive and innovative curriculum,” Skorkowsky wrote. He concluded, “I look forward to observing the increasing excitement for science throughout the testing and research process and beyond.”

Signs looked good at this point. The company planned to incorporate the feedback to build a more complete product, slated to formally launch in all of the district’s middle and high schools in time for the fall 2017 school year.

Fundraisers Sidelined

There was just one problem—the company needed more money. At first, this didn’t seem like an issue. That year, the company received a $150,000 grant Small Business Innovation Research grant from the federal government to prototype its product in two classrooms. The same year, Switch gave Planet3 another $3 million in the form of a convertible note. Kelly had hoped the note would be part of a Series B round that totaled as much as $15 million.

“They wholeheartedly believed they were going to raise the money,” one former employee said. “There was never a doubt.”

But they were wrong. The rest of the funds never came, in part due to personal tragedies. In October 2016, Lin lost his right leg below the knee in an off-road vehicle accident. A few months later, Kelly sustained a brain aneurysm. Both Kelly and Lin had been public faces for the company and two primary fundraisers, now sidelined.

Lin has talked publicly about his accident, about how he stays positive and has adapted to his prosthetic. Kelly said he’s since made a full recovery.

The company’s primary backer also had a change of heart. In December 2016, Switch ended further financial support for Planet3, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. With Planet3’s operating losses and “the release of a beta product that did not generate the projected sales activity,” Switch calculated a total write-down of $7.7 million for its Planet3 investment.

Switch did not respond to requests for comment. In June 2017, Planet3 laid off its staff.

A Most Difficult Game

The struggles of Planet3 are not unique to the educational game industry. Plenty of promising efforts have sputtered. Among those who tried include Osman Rashid, the co-founder of Chegg and Kno, who launched Galxyz in 2014 to build a science video games for grades three to 12.

Magnates from the gaming industry have attempted as well. Atari founder Nolan Bushnell started BrainRush in 2012. Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins raised $9.3 million by February 2014 for a game to teach kids social-emotional learning. Both efforts have largely gone dark.

The difficulty involved to build educational video games stems first from development costs, which many aspiring developers tend to underestimate, according to Dan White, CEO of Filament Games, which has created more than 160 learning games in its 14-year history. From White’s experience, it can cost well over six figures to build an educational game with the design and polish of mainstream commercial titles.

A further challenge awaits those who try to sell into schools. White says developers often wrestle with building a product that’s fun and engaging or a product that’s more direct in addressing a district’s academic standards. The struggle for developers is the right balance.

“Are we building a comprehensive curriculum, or are we building games?” he said. “Those two things by their nature can be mutually exclusive.”

Lessons Learned

Former employees said the company lacked a shared vision on the product it wanted to make. At times, employees thought they were building a comprehensive experience with a single narrative and storyline. At others, they were building a platform with multiple mini-games. To some of the former employees, the ideas resembled digital textbook with different chapters.

Kelly acknowledged back-and-forth about what the platform should look like but said the goal stayed the same. “When you design a product that breaks new ground, that involves some passionate debate,” he said. “Everyone had the absolute best intentions, and we ended up with a product that was well received by students and teachers."

What the product looked like, whether it was finished and how many teachers and students piloted it depends on who you ask. Former employees say what they had built resembled piecemeal appetizers of a grander product: seven modules, each that covered a lesson for science topics like plants and volcanoes. Kelly frames it differently, saying that a beta version of the platform had been completed by spring 2017.

The employees no longer with Planet3 said they learned a lot from the experience—especially the importance of having a tested product before raising capital.

For now, Tim Kelly is the last man on Planet3. After letting go of its staff, he has sought out partnerships and investors for the company. As Planet3, he has done some work overseas, including an augmented reality exhibits in Singapore. The rolodex of education and gaming experts that were once executives now act more as advisers. When there is product development work, that is handled through contractors.

Some former employees believe Kelly keeps the company alive as a matter of pride or financial obligation. Others believe he’s still driven by that original vision. If you ask Kelly, he’ll tell you he still believes in Planet3’s potential. “This could change the way students engage with science,” he said. “That’s a pretty important thing.”

Where in the World Is Planet3? An Educational Gaming CEO Seeks His Second Act published first on https://medium.com/@GetNewDLBusiness

[bountyofbeads]

Coast Guard families told they can have garage sales to cope with government shutdown

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2019/01/09/coast-guard-families-told-they-can-have-garage-sales-cope-with-government-shutdown/

The heartlessness of this administration is disgusting and pathetic. The men and women who protect our country on all fronts are being reduced to babysitting, dog-walking and being a mystery shopper in order to build Trump's fucking border-wall.

Dedicated public servants are going to say fuck this shit, I'm out of this circus.

🤢🤮😡🤬🤢🤮😡🤬🤢🤮😡🤬🤢

Coast Guard families told they can have garage sales to cope with government shutdown

By Dan Lamothe

January 09 at 3:33 PM EST

Employees of the U.S. Coast Guard who are facing a long U.S. government shutdown just received a suggestion: To get by without pay, consider holding a garage sale, babysitting, dog-walking or serving as a “mystery shopper.”

The suggestions were part of a five-page tip sheet published by the Coast Guard Support Program, an employee-assistance arm of the service often known as CG SUPRT. It is designated to offer Coast Guard members help with mental-health issues or other concerns about their lives, including financial wellness.

“Bankruptcy is a last option,” the document said.

The Coast Guard receives funding from the Department of Homeland Security and is subjected to the shuttering of parts of the government along with DHS’s other agencies. That stands in contrast to other military services, which are part of the Defense Department and have funding.

The tip sheet, titled “Managing your finances during a furlough,” applies to the Coast Guard’s 8,500-person civilian workforce. About 6,400 of them are on indefinite furlough, while 2,100 are working without pay after being identified as essential workers, said Lt. Cmdr. Scott McBride, a service spokesman. They were last paid for the two-week period ended Dec. 22.

“While it may be uncomfortable to deal with the hard facts, it’s best to avoid the 'hide your head in the sand’ reaction,” the tip sheet said. “Stay in charge of the situation by getting a clear understanding of what’s happening.”

The Coast Guard removed the tip sheet from the support program’s website late Wednesday morning after The Washington Post inquired about it.

The suggestions do not “reflect the Coast Guard’s current efforts to support our workforce during this lapse in appropriations,” McBride said. “As such, this guidance has been removed.”

The situation shows the increasing strain that the service is under as the partial government shutdown continues. About 41,000 active-duty Coast Guardsmen are working without pay. Their next check is due Jan. 15.

Overall, about 420,000 government employees are working under the promise they will be paid retroactively, with nearly another 350,000 on furlough at home.

The Coast Guard’s status as an unfunded military service increasingly has become a political issue, as family members share their worries about a shutdown with no end in sight amid a political dispute about President Trump’s proposed border wall. Coast Guardsmen rely not only on paychecks, but also now-frozen government allowances for housing in expensive coastal cities where many are assigned.

Late last month, the Coast Guard announced it had found enough money to pay its service members one last time through the end of the year. The Trump administration took credit afterward, releasing a statement that said the president and some of his staff members had worked “round the clock” to address the issue.

The Coast Guard’s situation has stirred up old frustrations that the sea service’s contributions are not as appreciated in Washington as those of the rest of the military.

Among some military families, it also has undermined some good will that Trump established with the Coast Guard by praising their “brand,” spotlighting their efforts in hurricanes and promising funding for icebreaker ships to boost polar security. Funding for those ships is no longer a certainty this year, with the Senate version of an appropriations bill including $750 million to begin construction of a new ships and the House version including no money.

Coast Guard leaders have sought to provide as much information as possible to its people about the shutdown, and offer suggestions for where financial assistance might be possible. It also released a letter for families to provide to creditors while seeking temporary financial relief.

“This lapse in beyond in appropriations is beyond our members' control and is expected to be a temporary situation,” said the Dec. 27 letter, signed by Rear Adm. Matthew W. Shibley. “We appreciate your organization’s understanding and flexibility in working with Coast Guard members who request forbearance on their obligations until this situation is resolved.”

A bipartisan effort to get the Coast Guard paid through the shutdown was launched in Congress last week, but it isn’t clear if or how quickly lawmakers might vote on the proposed “Pay Our Coast Guard Act."

Coast Guard family members said Wednesday that there are no easy solutions as the political standoff continues, but that they are getting by.

Jacqueline Esparza, whose husband is in the Coast Guard and stationed in Seattle, said not all families affiliated with the service live in houses where having a garage sale is possible. Service members, who are still required to work, also are not easily able to find supplemental income, she said.

“Doing odd jobs and selling items we don’t need anymore is a temporary fix,” she said. “It’s not going to help us pay the rent.”

Natalie Daniels, whose husband is stationed in San Diego, said her family’s situation isn’t “dire just yet,” but missing the coming paycheck would definitely “start the clock” on that. Their family includes four children.

“I am not afraid of this shutdown,” she said. “I am afraid of the current political discourse that may discourage future generations from wanting to serve their country on the basis of being used as political pawns."

Daniels said both political parties are “playing a game of political chicken with Americans,” and it needs to stop.

"Frankly, I am exhausted, stressed, and emotionally drained by our current political climate, but if you were to ask my husband what I’ve said to him when he’s called every night, he would tell you I’ve said, ‘We are fine,’” she said. “That’s how a military spouse supports her husband, and that is how a military spouse supports their country.”

[tendance-news]

An executive at a leading Russian social media company made several overtures to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016 — including days before the November election — urging the candidate to create a page on the website to appeal to Russian Americans and Russians.

The executive at Vkontakte, or VK, Russia’s equivalent to Facebook, emailed Donald Trump Jr. and social media director Dan Scavino in January and again in November of last year, offering to help promote Trump’s campaign to its nearly 100 million users, according to people familiar with the messages.

“It will be the top news in Russia,” Konstantin Sidorkov, who serves as VK’s director of partnership marketing, wrote on Nov. 5, 2016.

While Scavino expressed interest in learning more at one point, it is unclear whether the campaign pursued the idea. An attorney for Trump Jr. said his client forwarded a pitch about the concept to Scavino early in the year and could not recall any further discussion about it.

Scavino, now the White House social media director, did not respond to requests for comment. A White House spokeswoman declined to comment.

The emails, which were read to The Washington Post and confirmed by people with knowledge of their contents, show a new point of direct contact between an influential Russian and advisers to Trump during the 2016 race. Investigators for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and several congressional committees are scrutinizing those contacts as part of their examinations into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 campaign.

 3:37

What we know about Russia's cyber tactics

Here's what we know about the Kremlin's playbook for creating division in the U.S.(Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

During the time that VK was contacting the Trump operation, Russia was engaged in an influence campaign through social media to bolster Trump, U.S. intelligence officials have said.

In an email, Sidorkov said his job at the company in 2016 was to encourage celebrities to use the social media platform, an effort that sometimes took “some promotion and explanation,” given that many Western celebrities were unfamiliar with the company.

He said it was “pretty absurd” to believe that a VK page, if opened, could have influenced the U.S. election, given that the site is not very popular in the United States. He said he had received no response to his notes from Trump aides.

“I was sending tens of similar email daily to lots of people everywhere,” he wrote.

[At least nine people in Trump’s orbit had contact with Russians during campaign and transition]

The site, whose name translates as “in contact,” is Russia’s most popular social network and owned by publicly traded Russian Internet giant Mail.Ru Group.

Jonathan Albright, research director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University, described VK as a “hugely popular social media platform and an excellent tool to connect with Russian expats and Russian-speaking audiences.”

While mainly used by Russian-speaking users, the site has also become known in Europe — and increasingly in the United States — as a platform embraced by white-nationalist groups, according to groups that track their activity. Far-right politicians in Germany and other countries have VK profiles, Albright said. The website also directed substantial amounts of traffic toBreitbart News and Infowars, a popular conservative conspiracy site, during the 2016 campaign, he said.

The overture with VK was brokered by Rob Goldstone, a British music promoter who asked Trump Jr. last year to meet with a Russian lawyer who he said had compromising information about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

In early 2016, Goldstone sent an email to Trump Jr. to discuss the idea of setting up a page for Trump on VK, according to people familiar with his message. Robert Gage, an attorney for Goldstone, declined to comment.

Alan S. Futerfas, an attorney for Trump Jr., confirmed that his client had received the email from Goldstone. Futerfas said that was the last discussion about VK that Trump Jr. could recall.

“Goldstone wrote to Donald Trump Jr. early in the year, and he forwarded the information to Dan Scavino,” he said. “He did nothing more with the information and had no recollection of or involvement in any further discussion about the matter.”

At the time, Scavino responded to the idea enthusiastically.

“Please feel free to send me whatever you have,” Scavino wrote to Goldstone on Jan. 19. “Thank you so much for looking out for Mr. Trump and his presidential campaign.”

A few days later, Sidorkov emailed Scavino, Trump Jr. and Donald Trump’s longtime assistant Rhona Graff.

“Nice to meet you and your team,” Sidorkov wrote, attaching information about VK and its social media reach.

Sidorkov joined VK as a partner relations manager in July 2014, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He had apparently crossed paths with Trump at least once before, at the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. Sidorkov posted photographs from the ­after-party on his VK page, including one in which Trump posed with a thumbs up next to Olivia Culpo, the previous year’s winner, and musician Nick Jonas.

Sidorkov said he was 18 and working for a radio station during the event and had not met Trump personally but rather taken pictures while standing in a crowd.

Sidorkov — a young, jet-setting tech executive who documents his frequent travels on Instagram and other sites — posted a photograph this July posing next to Vladi­mir Putin. The Russian president had just participated in a Q-and-A session with schoolchildren and VK users.

In June 2016, Goldstone again contacted Trump Jr., urging him to meet with Russian lawyer ­Natalia Veselnitskaya, who he said would share information that was part of a Russian government effort to help Trump’s campaign. Goldstone represented a Russian pop star, Emin Agalarov, whose father, Aras, is a Russian developer who helped bring Trump’s Miss Universe pageant to Moscow in 2013.

Trump Jr. invited his brother-in-law Jared Kushner and campaign chairman Paul Manafort to attend the meeting. He later said Veselnitskaya provided no information about Clinton at the brief meeting, which he considered a waste of time.

“There wasn’t really follow-up because there was nothing there to follow up,” Trump Jr. told Fox News’s Sean Hannity in July.

Asked whether he had any further contact with Goldstone, Trump Jr. responded: “Casual. ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ Emin’s going to be in town performing, something like that.”

The newly disclosed emails show that Goldstone was in contact with the campaign about two weeks after visiting Trump Tower.

“I’m following up on an email [from] a while back of something I had mentioned to Don and Paul Manafort during a meeting recently,” Goldstone wrote to Scavino on June 29. Goldstone wrote that his client, Emin Agalarov, and a “contact” at VK wanted to create a “Vote Trump 2016” promotion.

“At the time, Paul had said he would welcome it, and so I had the VK folks mock up a basic sample page, which I am resending for your approval now,” Goldstone wrote. “It would merely require Mr. Trump to drop in a short message to Russian-American voters or a generic message, depending on your choice, and the page can be up and running very quickly.”

He indicated that he was copying Sidorkov, “a good friend,” on his note, “as he would oversee the promotion of the page.” Excerpts of the email were first reported by CNN.

Ike Kaveladze, a U.S.-based representative for the Agalarovs, attended the Trump Tower meeting but said the VK page idea was not discussed, according to his attorney Scott Balber.

“It absolutely did not come up,” he said. Balber, who also represents the Agalarovs, added that he had no reason to believe his clients “knew anything about this.”

The VK proposal was not mentioned in notes taken by Manafort during the meeting, which have been turned over to Congress, according to a person who has seen them. Jason Maloni, a spokesman for Manafort, declined to comment.

[frontstreet1]

Report: Trump-tied Lobbyists Cash In On Their Connections

FILE - In this Oct. 27, 2016, file photo, supporters of then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump hold signs during a campaign rally in Springfield, Ohio. Despite President Donald Trump’s campaign to “drain the swamp” of lobbyists and special interests, Washington’s influence industry is alive and well _ and growing. Former members of the Trump transition team, presidential campaign, administration and friends have set up shop as lobbyists and cashed in on connections, according to a new analysis by Public Citizen, a public interest group, and reviewed by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, file)

WASHINGTON — The day after the presidential election, the Washington lobbying firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck touted its Republican team’s “significant relationships ... with those who will steer the incoming Trump administration.” It highlighted Marc Lampkin, managing partner of its Washington office and a Trump fundraiser.

Such efforts are among the ways lobbyists advertise their connections and ability to influence. One posted a pre-inauguration photo with the president on his firm’s website; another maintained a former campaign title on Facebook; others made sure to stress the backgrounds of their connected staff members online or in press releases.

Despite Donald Trump’s campaign vow to “drain the swamp” of lobbyists and special interests, Washington’s influence industry is alive and well — and growing. Former members of the Trump transition team, presidential campaign and administration, as well as friends have set up shop as lobbyists and cashed in on connections, according to a new report compiled by Public Citizen, a public interest group, and reviewed by The Associated Press.

Records through Aug. 31 showed at least 44 registered federal lobbyists with ties to Trump or Vice President Mike Pence. These firms have collectively billed nearly $41.8 million to clients — seven of the 10 most lucrative being foreign interests, according to the analysis of federal lobbying disclosure filings.

Clients have included the owner of a private equity group that received government approval to take over the major for-profit college chain University of Phoenix, and the directors of Wells Fargo, which has faced increased government scrutiny after its workers created bogus accounts for unwitting clients.

Others include the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the governments of Afghanistan, Kenya, Iraq, Guatemala and Malaysia, and Moise Katumbi, the opposition leader in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“The message is pretty clear, this is who you need to look out to if you want to influence the Trump administration,” said Public Citizen’s Alan Zibel, a former AP journalist who co-authored the report.

In his first interview as president-elect on “60 Minutes,” Trump agreed that lobbyists “owned politicians” because they give them money and said he had done so as a businessman.

“Everybody that works for government, they then leave government and they become a lobbyist, essentially. I mean, the whole place is one big lobbyist,” Trump said. “I’m saying that they know the system right now, but we’re going to phase that out. You have to phase it out.”

Trump issued an executive order on ethics roughly a week into his term that built on President Barack Obama’s 2009 order. Trump’s order banned executive appointees from lobbying their agencies for five years after leaving office, though not lobbying government as a whole. He also banned appointees from ever working as lobbyists for a foreign government. There was no similar ethics pledge under President George W. Bush.

White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters called the new restrictions “historically strong.” She added: “The White House does not control the actions of private citizens who have never had an official role in the administration.”

Guidelines for transition team workers to avoid lobbying activities related to their transition work for six months were ignored or ineffectual, according to Public Citizen, which counted 17 individuals who worked for the Trump transition — an effort taxpayers helped fund — yet engaged in lobbying during the first six months. They collectively billed $19.3 million through August.

“They’re making influence and giving access to their friends,” said Richard Painter, chief ethics lawyer for Bush’s administration. “It’s pay to play,” he said, adding that dues for members at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, were also recently doubled.

The 44 lobbyists with ties to Trump or Pence tabulated by Public Citizen count only those who registered and submitted the required federal disclosures; the total doesn’t include individuals like ex-Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who co-founded a lobbying firm after not receiving a role in the new administration.

Brian Ballard, who worked on Trump’s inaugural committee and was a Florida-based lobbyist for the Trump Organization, opened a Washington office less than two weeks after the inauguration, bringing on board Dan McFaul, who worked for Trump’s transition team, and Susie Wiles, who was Florida’s senior strategist for the Trump campaign.

Ballard said the firm had looked at opening a Washington office for more than a decade and only came because existing clients asked him to consider it.

The firm’s Trump-connected registered lobbyists have billed nearly $5.2 million as of Aug. 31 to foreign and domestic clients, according to lobbying disclosures tallied by Public Citizen. During Trump’s first full month as president, Ballard Partners was hired by 14 federal lobbying clients including Amazon.com, American Airlines, for-profit prison company The GEO Group, Inc. and U.S. Sugar Corp., records show.

Ballard Partners reported receiving $250,000 from The GEO Group based in Boca Raton, Florida, according to a disclosure report. One month after Trump’s inauguration, Attorney General Jeff Sessions ended the Obama-era prohibition on allowing for-profit prisons to house federal inmates. In May, the Justice Department awarded The GEO Group two 10-year contracts valued at $664 million. And in April, the group won a $110-million federal contract to build the first new immigrant detention center under the Trump administration.

“What we all want to believe is that the government makes decisions based on the best information it can get, not just based on a select group of people who can get access,” said Lawrence Noble, senior director and general counsel for the Campaign Legal Center.

The center filed suit against the Justice Department in June for records on the return to using private prisons for federal inmates to determine whether The GEO Group’s connections played a role.

Ballard said he doesn’t comment on individual clients. The Justice Department said the change in policy restores the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ flexibility to manage the inmate population.

Robert Stryk, a winemaker and former Republican aide who unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Yountville, California, termed himself the Trump campaign’s unofficial West Coast hand and tried to shop Lewandowski’s book around, according to a former campaign staffer who insisted on anonymity.

Stryk founded Sonoran Policy Group, which had no reported lobbying from 2013 to 2016 but has billed more than $5.7 million to clients since the start of 2017. The majority of that money, $5.4 million, was from a contract signed with the Saudi Ministry of the Interior in May and paid up front.

The contract to “provide U.S. Congressional and Executive Branch brand engagement,” according to the consulting agreement, was reportedly discontinued because of political infighting in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The group’s many Trump ties have included Trump-affiliated lobbyist Stuart Jolly, who has since left; the campaign’s national field director Robin Townley; a former deputy to ex-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and the Trump campaign’s chief of staff in Michigan.

Stryk did not respond to requests for comment by phone, text or email over more than a week.

Former Trump staffer, Barry Bennett, founded Avenue Strategies with ex-campaign manager Lewandowski. Though Lewandowski parted ways with the firm, saying his name was being used to promote connections to Trump, multiple Trump ties remain. Avenue Strategies has employed as many as five and now has three Trump-tied registered lobbyists who have billed more than $1 million to clients, including Citgo Petroleum, a U.S. affiliate of Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA, which was also one of the biggest corporate donors to Trump’s swearing-in ceremony.

Avenue Strategies has been helping Citgo fight possible sanctions against Venezuelan oil pushed by lawmakers critical of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Trump issued an executive order in August tightening sanctions on financial transactions with Venezuela but still allowing oil transactions.

“I clearly understand the optics,” Bennett said. “But the truth is, Citgo is an American company with 6,000 employees in America, and they produce a pretty significant share of our nation’s gasoline.”

Bennett, who noted that he’s been in Washington for 30 years, said he’s long been preaching that this town needs to be cleaned up.

“So I am first to criticize a lot of what happens here ... but helping employers deal with the government seems in my eyes to be a perfectly reasonable thing to do,” he said.

Because the Trump campaign was small by modern standards and a lot of its staffers weren’t part of the Republican establishment, Bennett said many created their own lobbying firms instead of joining traditional ones. There also are fewer individuals with highly sought after insider knowledge, and this makes them potentially more valuable.

Numerous politicians have campaigned on promises to clean up Washington. While there isn’t comparable data for the Obama or George W. Bush administrations, both had their fair share of officials who became lobbyists, though typically later on in their terms.

“What’s unusual here is that Trump has already created an entire cadre of lobbyists who skipped the revolving door and are exploiting the relationship now,” said Norman Eisen, who served as the chief ethics lawyer for Obama. “If it’s already a tidal wave now, can you imagine what it’s going to be like when people start coming out of the Trump Administration?”

By TAMI ABDOLLAH - Oct 5 2:38 PM EDT

___

Follow Tami Abdollah at https://twitter.com/latams.

[healthspiritbody]

Music Teacher Plays Saxophone While In Brain Surgery

Dan Fabbio was a 25-year-old student working on his master’s degree in music education when suddenly, something changed. He became unable to hear music in stereo.

A short time later he was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor located in a part of the brain known to be active when people listen to and make music.

Fearful that he’d no longer be able to pursue his passions in music, Faccio sought out Dr. Web Pilcher, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center, who along with his colleague, cognitive neuroscientist, Brad Mahon, had developed a brain mapping program.

Since 2011, they’ve used the program to treat all kinds of patients with brain tumors: mathematicians, lawyers, a bus driver, a furniture maker. Fabbio was their first musician.

The premise behind the program is to learn as much as possible about the patient’s life and the patient’s brain before surgery to minimize damage to it during the procedure.

“Removing a tumor from the brain can have significant consequences depending upon its location,” Pilcher says. “Both the tumor itself and the operation to remove it can damage tissue and disrupt communication between different parts of the brain.”

Prior to Fabbio’s surgery, the team spent six months studying the functional and structural organization of his brain, Mahon tells All Things Considered host Robert Siegel.

“We have a lot of experience mapping language in the left hemisphere,” Mahon says. “This was the first time we sought to map music … in the right hemisphere.”

Working with Elizabeth Marvin, a professor of music theory at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, Mahon came up with a series of music tests for Fabbio.

They asked him to listen to piano melodies and hum them back while he underwent functional MRI scans. In between melodies, he listened to and repeated spoken sentences. The scans allowed the researchers to pinpoint the areas of Fabbio’s brain that are crucial for music and language processing. From those scans, they produced a three-dimensional map of Fabbio’s brain.

The map became a guide for Pilcher and his team during the surgery in July 2016. Fabbio was not only awake, but he once again performed the music and language tests, this time with his brain exposed. Marvin, who was in the operating room, scored those tests in real-time, helping the surgeons identify which areas to avoid.

Once the tumor was removed, Fabbio was given his saxophone and asked to perform a song he’d prepared for the moment. Out of concern that the deep breaths required for long notes could cause his brain to protrude from his skull, Fabbio and Marvin had chosen a Korean folk song and modified it so he could use shorter shallower breaths.

“He played it flawlessly, and when he finished, the entire operating room erupted in applause,” says Marvin. “It made you want to cry.”

Fabbio’s case is described in detail in a study published Thursday in the journal Current Biology.

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  Music Teacher Plays Saxophone While In Brain Surgery was originally published on Health Spirit Body

[caveartfair]

The Greatest Bromances in Art History

Although the concept of the “bromance” only entered modern parlance relatively recently—the most famous example of which is the loving relationship between former President Barack Obama and his sidekick, former Vice President Joe Biden—the phenomenon of intimate male friendships is hardly new.

Among artists—as with men of all persuasions, perhaps—these friendships sometimes come with an added dimension of collaboration or mentorship, while admiration and rivalry straddle two sides of the same, thin aisle. What follows are nine pairs of artists, across three centuries, who’ve shown us what true bro-love looks like, pushed each other professionally, and proven that being an artist need not be a lonesome pursuit.

Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat

Warhol and Basquiat Sitting, 1987, 1987. Tseng Kwong Chi Eric Firestone Gallery

Basquiat grew up idolizing Warhol, who was over 30 years his senior. Brought together by art dealer Bruno Bischofberger, the artists became friends and, in the 1980s, collaborated on paintings such as Untitled (1984–85). The piece features Basquiat’s cartoonish depiction of a vibrant-red human stomach alongside Warhol’s skull and crossbones, which recalls his silkscreen-and-paint “Skulls” series, begun in 1976.

Warhol and Basquiat’s relationship has been described as a symbiotic one: Basquiat relied on Warhol to both bolster his name and help him navigate his newfound celebrity; Warhol, in turn, capitalized on Basquiat’s youthful energy to revitalize his image as an art-world rebel.

Salvador Dalí and Man Ray

Portrait of Salvador Dalí and Man Ray in Paris, by Carl Van Vechten, via Wikimedia Commons.

In a 1934 picture by photographer Carl Van Vechten, Dalí and Ray stare boldly out at the viewer with wide eyes. The image is playful yet tinged with a little of the strangeness that the two artists sought to capture in their works. Ray, an American, emigrated from New York City to Paris in 1921 and became part of the city’s vibrant Dada and Surrealism scenes. Five years later, Dalí visited the French capital for the first time. He officially joined the Surrealists in 1929.

The pair collaborated on artworks, such as the sculpture Portrait of Joella (1933–34). Ray also photographed Dalí and his work. Salvador Dalí’s Mannequin (1938), for instance, depicts a mannequin that Dalí fashioned, rendering his odd creation even odder through Ray’s framing and eerie shadow play.

Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon, Three Studies of Lucian Freud, 1969. Photo by Alan, via Flickr.

In 2013, Bacon’s triptych portrait Three Studies of Lucian Freud (1969) sold at Christie’s for $142.4 million, fetching the highest price ever for a work sold at auction at the time—and emphasizing the bond between the two artists.

Professional rivals as well as friends, Bacon and Freud made their names by insisting upon representational painting when abstraction ruled the art world, with Bacon’s meaty, distorted figures a counterpoint to Freud’s detailed, intimate portraits (a few of which, in turn, depict Bacon). Despite a 13-year age gap, the artists saw each other almost every day for some 25 years. Sadly, their friendship declined due to a distaste for each other’s later work.

Chris Ofili and Peter Doig

Fisherman, 2014. Peter Doig Forum Auctions

Untitled (Afromuse), 1995-2005. Chris Ofili New Museum

British painters Ofili and Doig met in art school and became fast friends. In 2000, Ofili traveled to Trinidad to participate in a painting workshop; he convinced the program to host Doig, too. Over the next several years, both artists returned to the island numerous times and eventually relocated permanently. Ofili and Doig each experienced the artistic rejuvenation that came from a complete change of scenery—as well as keen awareness of their outsider status on the Caribbean island.

Maintaining their close friendship over the years, Doig has grappled with how to avoid exoticizing images of the local population, while Ofili has had to navigate his works’ reception in a culture that attaches deeper meanings to images both local and foreign. While the artists share artistic preoccupations, they insist that their practices are not influenced by each other.

Marcel Duchamp and Francis Picabia

Marcel Duchamp, Francis Picabia and Beatrice Wood, 1917, USA, New York, London, National Gallery. Photo by Photo12/UIG, via Getty Images.

In 1911, a 25-year-old Duchamp met Picabia in Paris. They soon became close with one another, as well as with the poet and art critic Guillaume Apollinaire. The three shared experiences ranging from a night at the theater that was influential for Duchamp’s art-making, to a long car trip to retrieve Picabia’s wife from the eastern Jura Mountains. They also exchanged artistic ideas, through mock, witty derision of each other that anticipated the clever wordplay of Dada. When Duchamp and Picabia both moved to New York later that decade, they became pioneers of the avant-garde (and friends with Man Ray), advancing the anti-art aims of Dada.

Isamu Noguchi and R. Buckminster Fuller

Isamu Noguchi and Buckminster Fuller at Noguchi’s California Scenario, Costa Mesa, CA,  c.1982. ©The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York / Artists Rights  Society [ARS].

Noguchi and Fuller met in New York’s Greenwich Village in 1929, and maintained a close friendship that lasted over half a century. Noguchi admired Fuller so much that he revamped his own studio to mirror Fuller’s design of a popular tavern, and even made a portrait bust of him, created over the course of seven sittings with the architect.

While Noguchi adopted Fuller’s architectural principles for use in his own sculptural work, the two also collaborated on projects including the Dymaxion Car (1932), which sprang from the desire to create a flying automobile, and a never-realized theater for choreographer Martha Graham.

Vincent van Gogh and Émile Bernard

Photo of Émile Bernard and Vincent van Gogh on the banks of the Seine in Asnières, 1886. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Though van Gogh and Bernard were 15 years apart in age, they became friends after meeting in a Paris art class. The Dutchman was a mentor to the younger French artist and writer. In the late 1880s, when van Gogh relocated to the southern countryside to escape Paris’s competitive art world, the two corresponded through letters. In them, van Gogh critiques Bernard’s painting and poetry, and divulges plans for his own future works. Despite artistic disagreements that ended their correspondence, Bernard became a fierce advocate for van Gogh after his death, resulting in the publication of van Gogh’s letters.

Robert Rauschenberg and Jean Tinguely

Jean Tinguely, Homage to New York, 1960. Photo via Flickr.

Estate, 1963. Robert Rauschenberg Robert Rauschenberg Foundation

A giant, self-destructing artwork entitled Homage to New York (1960) was the catalyst for Rauschenberg and Tinguely’s friendship. It was when Swiss artist Tinguely came to New York in 1960 to construct the kinetic sculpture for MoMA that he and Rauschenberg—who created a money-ejecting toaster as part of the piece—first met.

Rauschenberg, who had started making his painted assemblages or “combines” in the mid 1950s, was enamored with Tinguely’s use of technology to create artworks that remained in flux, and soon introduced elements like sound-activated lights into his practice. In the early 1960s, the two artists collaborated on multimedia performances in cities ranging from Los Angeles to Stockholm.

Dash Snow and Dan Colen

Snow was a practicing graffiti artist in 1990s New York who later made informal pieces ranging from autobiographical Polaroids to collages incorporating his own semen. Colen creates objects and paintings out of found images, chewing gum, trash, and caked-on paint intended to resemble bird excrement. Part of a countercultural downtown art scene that also included Ryan McGinley, Snow and Colen had an intimate friendship that was marked by the same liberated irreverence that characterizes each of their artistic practices.

Their raucous substance abuse fused seamlessly into a kind of chaotic artistic collaboration: While drunk and high, they trashed numerous hotel rooms, creating “hamster nests” by shredding phone books and rollicking—sometimes naked—in the debris. After Snow died of an overdose in 2009, Colen quickly got sober. He created an exhibition dedicated to his friend in 2014.

—Rachel Lebowitz

from Artsy News

[deniseyallen]

Portman Shares Stories from Ohio, Urges Action on the STOP Act to Help Combat the Opioid Epidemic

Bipartisan STOP Act Will Help Stop the Influx of Deadly Synthetic Drugs Like Fentanyl

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rob Portman continues to tour the state meeting with those in recovery and those on the front lines working to turn the tide of the heroin and prescription drug epidemic. Today on the Senate floor, he shared stories from his recent visits and urged his colleagues to act on the bipartisan Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention (STOP), legislation he introduced earlier this year. At Racing for Recovery in Holland, during a roundtable in Fremont, in a workshop in Columbus, and just this weekend at Clean Acre Farms in Wilmington, Portman saw firsthand why this legislation is needed. Portman also discussed how his bipartisan Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), legislation that is now being implemented, is helping tackle this epidemic.

A transcript of the speech can be found below and the video can be found here.

“Madam president, this is the 32nd time I have come to the floor in the last year to talk about an issue that, unfortunately, is getting worse, not better, and that is the epidemic of opioids. That would be heroin, prescription drugs and now more recently synthetic heroin, also known as fentanyl, or U-4, or carfentanil. Every single day we are now losing 144 Americans to drug overdoses. Think about that. Every single day, 144 people. By the way, that means that during the time that it takes to give these remarks, which will be about 12 minutes, on average we’re losing another American to this opioid epidemic. 

“It’s an issue that is now so serious that it has overtaken car accidents or even homicides from gun violence as the number one cause of death in our country. It’s easy to get discouraged because we see the statistics, we hear about the deaths and the difficulty for people to get out of this grip of this addiction. The relapse rate is high. It’s an issue that is affecting every single community in this chamber. And, by the way, it’s affecting our inner cities; it’s affecting our suburbs; it’s affecting our rural areas and every group of Americans out there. No one is immune from this and it knows no ZIP code. 

“Yet, today I want to talk a little about some of the reasons for hope and some of the models of success out there because this Congress, to its credit, in the last year has actually gotten much more serious about this issue. We passed two pieces of legislation to help, particularly to provide better prevention and education to keep people from getting into the funnel of addiction, and, second, to help in terms of providing the resources, the treatment, the recovery -- the longer-term recovery, in particular, for the first time, Congress has stepped up on that. We also need to do a better job to ensure that our law enforcement has what they need and our other first responders have what they need to be able to save lives and to be able to reverse the effects of overdoses through this miracle drug called Naloxone, or Narcan. That’s part of this legislation, too, that has now been not just passed but is beginning to get implemented. 

“Fortunately, in my own state of Ohio, although we have one of the worst addiction problems in the country, we also have a lot of compassionate people who have stepped forward and are taking advantage of these resources, including from Washington now, but also from state, local governments and so many nonprofits out there. They are taking advantage of that to provide better treatment, better recovery, and better prevention. As a result, they are saving lives. On Saturday I visited a group called Clean Acres in Wilmington, Ohio. It’s a farm. It provides recovery housing for men. These are men who are struggling with addiction. They work on the farm. They provide each other support and it’s been very successful for a lot of them. 

“I met a guy named Dan who told me how Clean Acres is helping to get his life back. He was a heroin addict. He shot up every morning until one day he was actually at work and he passed out. He was digging a ditch and he passed out. He was rushed to the hospital. The doctors discovered he had a very serious infection related to his intravenous drug use that required life-saving surgery right then. The doctors told him he might not wake up. He did wake up after the surgery. There before him were his three kids. He hadn’t seen them in five years. In so many cases you see this. Dan said that the drugs became everything -- not his family, not his relationship with friends, not his work, but drugs became everything.  But these three kids had come to his bedside, what they thought might have been his deathbed, he said. He saw these three kids, he hadn’t seen them in five years, he said that even after having experienced this near-death operation and having his three kids there, the first thought that came to his mind was ’where can I another hit?’ Where can I get another hit? But then in the situation he was in, he prayed, and he said his prayer was ‘Lord, help me get out of here.’ Help me get out of here—meaning help me get out of this situation. And he made a decision. He was going to try treatment again. He had tried treatment before, and so many recovering addicts and addicts I talk to around my state have been in and out of treatment programs. Detox and treatment that hasn’t worked. But he decided this time that he was not just going to get into treatment, he was going to try something different which was not to go back to his old neighborhood, not to go back to his old friends but instead to try longer-term recovery and that’s how he ended up at Clean Acres. This is this farm where he and the other men live together; they work, but they support each other to try to keep their life on track after their treatment is over. 

“It doesn’t provide the treatment, but it does provide them with the meetings they need to be able to have that support around them in order to keep clean. As one of the men told me at Clean Acres, ‘it’s hard to go through treatment. It’s much harder to stay clean after treatment.’ So he’s healing himself. He’s working at the farm. He plans to go into construction. He’s got big plans now. And that’s the hope. That’s the opportunity for people to get their life back on track that I see every day when I talk to people in my home state of Ohio. 

“Last week, I was also at Racing for Recovery outside Toledo, Ohio. I met with Todd Crandell, the founder of that group. Todd has been in recovery for about 20 years. He is now giving back in a huge way. I met with parents who had lost children to addiction. They come to Todd’s organization, Racing for Recovery, and, again, they find support there and they find other parents to help work through this. I met law enforcement there who are working with this recovery facility to try to ensure that the people who they are locking up aren’t going to get right back into the revolving door again, back in-and-out of prison, back to committing crimes. The number one cause of crime in the state of Ohio is this addiction. People who, again, put the drug first ahead of everything including their own sense, their own conscience, their own sense of what is moral and right and instead they are committing burglaries and fraud and shoplifting, anything they can do to get the funds they need to continue their addiction. 

“I met Jessica at Racing for Recovery. She’s been clean for nine months. Before she sought help, she overdosed for three days in a row. She says her life was saved by the police, specifically, a program by the Lucas County Police Department called the Drug Abuse Response Team, DART. I’m really impressed with DART and what they are doing. And it’s now being copied in other communities around Ohio and the country. DART was very pro-active. It got her engaged in treatment and recovery. She is now in sober housing. Todd, Jessica and others there told me this: they said ‘look, you have got to have this longer term recovery, because that’s what works.’

“A couple of weeks ago during the state work period, I held a roundtable discussion in Fremont, Ohio, where I met Matt Bell, who is the founder of something called Team Recovery. Matt is an amazing guy. He is a very charismatic, young guy. For him, the gateway drug was marijuana and alcohol in high school. He ended up overdosing on heroin three times. He was convicted of 13 felonies. He went to detox 28 times. Now he is clean and preventing new addictions from taking place by working nonstop to help raise awareness of the dangers of drug use. He goes around to schools and he doesn’t just talk to kids who are juniors and seniors. He talks to middle schoolers because he knows that he’s got to go younger and younger to get kids to think about their own futures, the fact that this is one use sometimes, something that can ruin their lives. And thank God for Todd. Thank God for Matt, because guys like that are out there every day giving back, and they are saving lives. 

“So all these compassionate people I’ve met at Clean Acres, Racing for Recovery, Lucas County DART team, Team Recovery, they’re doing the hard work, they’re in the trenches, trying to actually turn the tide on this growing addiction problem we have. Again, I want to tell them help is on the way. Last year, congress did pass the 21st Century CURES Act and authorized funding for the states. Actually, $500 million this year and $500 million next year to fight this epidemic. 

“Another step we took, which is what I think is probably the biggest step we have taken in a couple of decades in this place, in this area, is to pass what’s called the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. That’s CARA. And for those of you who know about CARA, you know that it’s a new approach on treatment and recovery and prevention. If you don’t know about it, look it up, check it out. Be sure that the groups in your town, wherever you live, know about the fact that they can apply now for grant money to be able to help on these recovery services that I talked about, many of which do not have the funding to be able to be successful, but also on treatment and rehab and be sure that people know about the fact that if you have a fire department in your community that’s strapped for cash and can’t afford the Narcan or the Narcan treatment, there is an opportunity to apply for grants there too to be able to save lives from overdoses. Narcan is not the answer; the answer is to get people into treatment, but it is saving lives and therefore necessary today. So let people know that’s around, that’s available now. 

“Sadly, the situation is not getting better, even with these new efforts that are finally being implemented by the new administration. They started at the end of the Obama administration a couple of programs, now we have a couple more programs coming online. Within the next few months, we expect the rest of the programs to be fully implemented. They are absolutely necessary, but they are pushing up against something new. Which is, I hate to say, even more dangerous than heroin, and that’s this synthetic heroin that’s coming into our communities. 

“It’s like a poison coming into our communities by the U.S. mail system, if you can believe it. The experts tell us, experts say that most of this fentanyl, as it’s called, or carfentanil is being made in laboratories overseas, mostly in China. And it’s then coming through the mail system. Why? Because the traffickers don’t want to use other private carriers, UPS or FedEx or others because they require that there be advanced digital information on where the package is from, what’s in it, where it’s going. Guess what? We don’t require that in the mail system. So the bad guys choose to send it through the mail system instead. Well, that certainly is something the federal government ought to address. So we’ve introduced legislation. It’s called the STOP Act. It’s very simple. It says that if you want to send something to the United States of America, it’s got to say where it’s from, what place in China, what’s in it, in the package, where is it going. And of course it’s only going to go to the place where they say it’s going. That gives our law enforcement a new tool that they are desperate to have because they’re not going to be able to look at a million packages, but they can look at hundreds. And this helps them to be able to ferret out those packages that look most suspicious.

“By the way, this new stuff, this fentanyl, this carfentanil, it’s incredibly powerful and incredibly dangerous. It’s believed to be 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin. Think about that. I was in Dayton, Ohio, week before last and meeting with the law enforcement task force there, they told me the sad story about a little girl—14 years old—who was told by her friends you ought to snort this stuff, it’s called heroin. She did. It was fentanyl. She dropped dead. Overdosed and died immediately because it’s so powerful. Even a few flakes of it, they say, can kill you. 

“According to the Cleveland Medical Examiner in Cleveland, Ohio, just last month in February, which of course is the shortest month of the year was also the deadliest month in northeast Ohio for fentanyl and heroin. In other words, what they’re seeing is not just more overdoses but more deaths because of this fentanyl being mixed in with heroin and sometimes fentanyl in its pure form. In just 28 days in February, 60 Clevelanders died from overdoses from these drugs. This is one city in America. 60 people died in one month. There are another seven cases that are still undergoing tests, but they are suspected to be the result of heroin and fentanyl overdoses. 

“What’s driving the growth of this epidemic is the increasing use of fentanyl. Drug traffickers are lacing other drugs with it. I was told by the DART Task Force in Toledo that they’re actually sprinkling fentanyl in marijuana now, and people are showing up in the emergency room and overdosing on marijuana because it’s sprinkled with fentanyl. It’s more addictive, so the traffickers like it. It’s more deadly, so we need to fight back. The Drug Enforcement Administration says it takes two milligrams of fentanyl to kill you. By the way, that’s about the same as a pinch of salt. Many heroin users don’t realize that the heroin they buy on the street may contain these new, incredibly powerful synthetic drugs, so part of the message has to be what one father told me, which is, you are playing Russian roulette every time you use these drugs, because you don’t know what’s in it. And if there is fentanyl in it, there’s a good chance that you will not just overdose, but you will end up one of these statistics we talked about earlier. 

“In Lorain, Ohio, last Monday, a 29-year-old man drove off the road and nearly hit a tree. When police arrived, they found him unconscious from an overdose with a baby in the back seat. A baby in the back seat. It took several doses of this naloxone to reverse the effects of the overdose. Ordinarily it would take one dose, but with fentanyl-laced heroin, it takes more. When police went to his home, a child answered the door and said, ‘mommy is sleeping and we can’t wake her up.’ Again, this is the guy who had overdosed in the car. They take the kid home. Another kid says mommy won’t wake up. They find out the mother is also unconscious from a heroin overdose that she had in front of her four children. According to the police, the couple thought they were using heroin, but tests confirmed it was laced with fentanyl. 

“So, again, this is an opportunity for us in the United States Congress to pass legislation that will help to be able to stop some of this poison from coming into our communities, and, at a minimum, raise the price, because some of this fentanyl, I’m told, is less expensive than even the things that are less powerful, like heroin. 

“Fentanyl took the life of Erin Jarvis of Troy, Ohio. Erin was the prom queen. Erin was very popular. She was active in student government. She was captain of her soccer team. She got good grades. She got into Ohio University, a great school. She had multiple knee injuries from playing soccer that required surgery. She was prescribed Percocet. She became addicted. At Ohio University, a friend introduced her to a drug that was stronger, cheaper and easier to get. Of course that was heroin. This story I’ve heard so many times. The overprescribing, sometimes because of an accident and an injury, somebody becoming addicted and then turning to heroin because it’s cheaper and easier to get. Erin began disappearing for days at a time, stealing from her family. Her mom Kelly started missing jewelry, credit cards, computers, even a TV set. When her sister got her wisdom teeth out, Erin stole her Percocet. By the way, she never should have been given Percocet for that wisdom tooth, in my view. Erin finally got help. She went to rehab. She decided she wanted to become a nurse and help others struggling with addiction. After receiving treatment, she moved back in with her mom, but she relapsed and she died. She died at the age of 24 with this promising life ahead of her. Her last words to her mom were I love you. The next day, Kelly watched her daughter get taken out of their home in a body bag. Tests showed that Erin died of an overdose of heroin laced with fentanyl. According to the coroner, she hadn’t even used a full injection. There was a lot left in the needle. He said, ‘I suspect that what was in that syringe was not what she thought it was.’ Exactly. 

“Families who have loved ones struggling with addiction are worried about the poison now pouring into our streets, and you can see why. As deadly as heroin is, this stuff is even worse. Again, to keep this poison off of our streets, Senator Klobuchar, Senator Rubio, Senator Hassan and I have introduced bipartisan legislation, the Synthetic Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act or STOP Act which would require the postal service to require this simple information. It would give our law enforcement the ability to target these packages of fentanyl. Based on expert testimony we’ve had at hearings before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, it would make it easier for them to detect those packages. It’s what law enforcement is asking for. We should provide it to them. 

“There is a bill in the House that’s identical to ours introduced by Congressman Pat Tiberi and Congressman Rich Neal of Ohio and Massachusetts. This is not the silver bullet, as I said. It’s not the solution. No one has that silver bullet. But it would take away a key tool of drug traffickers and restrict the supply of these drugs, raising the prices, making it harder to get. That would save lives. And with the threat of this synthetic heroin, this poison coming into our communities every day, we need to act and act now. 

“So, Madam President, I would urge my colleagues, one, let their constituents know about the help that’s on the way. Tell them about what’s going on with the CURES Act and the CARA legislation. Put it on your web site so they know that they can get help with regard to treatment and recovery that was not previously out there. Our law enforcement and first responders and firefighters can get the help they need to be able to get the training and have the funds for narcan to save lives. And we could do much better in terms of prevention and education. Some of this grant money is directed toward letting people know this connection between prescription drugs and heroin and between fentanyl and heroin. And finally to my colleagues, please join us in pushing back against these new poisons coming into our communities by cosponsoring the STOP Act, by requiring that this information, this basic information be provided. And with more cosponsors, I think our leadership will be much more likely to take that to the floor, and if it gets to the floor, it will pass, because people know that in their communities all over this country, this epidemic must be stopped. Thank you, Madam President.”

###

from Rob Portman http://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=B230D7B3-AC93-4E2D-BD9E-233A62F7B571