#house clearance cost

[tittyinfinity]

"You're so lucky that you can get paid to sit at home and do nothing" is something I hear from family members & people online.

Okay, let's say you're not disabled at all. No health issues. You've somehow tricked the system into believing you're disabled (not possible).

Would you still trade your job and salary to live off of $600-800 a month?

Would you give up your house, your car, your hobbies, the ability to buy gifts for yourself & others, and ALL of your savings, just for the "great benefit" of sitting in bed all day?

Do you really think it's that great?

Now, add health issues to all of that.

Not only are you stuck at home, but your body hurts every time you try to move, lights and sounds can send you into a meltdown, you can't even make it to the bathroom without nearly passing out the entire way there. You're always too fatigued, too dizzy, or in too much pain to do basic activities. You can't cook for yourself more than once or twice a month. Fast food is expensive. You can't keep your place clean or even get yourself to shower regularly. You can't afford your hobbies – even just buying a video game is 10% of your income for the entire month. You don't get to buy yourself (or your kid/s) nice things. After paying bills, you have almost nothing left for necessities and gas. Your car breaks down? It costs 50%-200% of your monthly paycheck. You want new clothes? You got the thrift shop, clearance section at walmart, or ordering cheap things from horrible places like Temu, Shein, or Wish. You want a place to live? You won't be able to afford to live alone until you get approved for housing assistance after waiting 5 or more years on a waiting list. And either way, bills are gonna be more than half of your monthly paycheck.

Does all of that sound like a privilege?

And do you REALLY believe anyone would try to fake a disability for that?

Get mad at the system that underpays you, not at disabled people who are paid well below a sub-minimum wage just to "sit around" and feel like shit all day

[canonkiller]

The Eberron maincamp has unfortunately prematurely ended, so (with DM clearance) I'm going to share the stuff I'd had as spoilers so it can be known, for funsies.

Here's some bonus links -

Delta, Bravo, Lima (character playlist)

Renegade (bgm playlist)

writing treat 1

writing treat 2

writing treat 3

early test for characterization

crew assessments + reasonings

house lyrandar medical record, classified

- and here's some of the information about Valka Rotaeir, captain and pilot of the airship Revelation, and two more images because the read more breaks if I try to move them.

Dossier of House Lyrandar:

NAME: Valka Rotaeir AGE: 71 yrs. (b. 927yk) HEIGHT: 7 ft. 3 in. WEIGHT: 244 lbs. SPECIES: Dragonborn (Green) TITLE(S): Cpt., Ms.

EMPLOYMENT RECORD: Civilian recruited by Cpt. Adelaide Mallory in 948yk. Served well as navigator and representative until the Treaty of Thronehold ended the war in 996yk. Returned to service in 997yk as navigator aboard the Revelation after its post-war refitting. Survived the unforeseen accident that occured during the Revelation's test flights over the Endworld Mountains along with four others who retired from active duty after the incident. Following a recovery period, she was promoted to Cpt. of the Revelation as Cpt. Mallory was rendered incapable of command during the incident, for exemplary action and demonstration of skill beyond her station and duty.

Rotaeir has shown distaste for the House and the war throughout her employment, but has not publicly denounced either and remains dedicated and hardworking. Her experience is vital to the House; losing her is not an option. Cede whatever is needed to maintain her connection to the House. If this fails, take necessary measures.

Valka was formerly the ship's navigator and diplomatic representative as a knowledge domain cleric. The Revelation was in active duty during the war, and Valka was a late addition to the crew, recruited by her then-future husband, Roshan. The two of them had a strong relationship despite the war, and while both wanted to retire, Roshan's dragonmark bound him to piloting duty and Valka refused to leave him.

During the late years of the war, they had a child together. Valka entrusted her egg to a caretaker in secret, fearing it would be damaged or killed if she kept it with her on the ship. The settlement it was in was later targeted; though the two of them searched for years (and Valka never truly stopped) they were never able to find the egg or its remains in the ruins.

After the war, with Roshan kept in duty by the House, a mechanical failure in the experimental drive of the Revelation led to a catastrophic crash that killed most of her crew. Valka survived at the cost of her husband's life; Roshan, her Rose, made the choice to sacrifice himself to save her, grafting his arm and eye - and his dragonmark - to save her life in the hopes that she would be able to help whoever was left until they were rescued.

Awarded prestige and merits for her survival, and resenting all of them for praising that she had survived what her family had not, Valka suffered - and continues to suffer - lingering pain and migraines from the crash. Her grafted arm is unresponsive and is kept immobile, and her grafted eye has light sensitivities that dragonborn nervous systems are not equipped to handle, granting her night vision but requiring a cover in ordinary light. The dragonmark haunts her more than anything else; as something meant to die with its bearer, what does it mean that it transferred to her? Was Roshan able to rest in peace, or does she drag his spirit with her?

The house took advantage of her fragile state after the crash and convinced her of Roshan's continued presence as being bound to the airship, a belief that she still holds, while publicly covering up the truth of the crash and Valka's inherited dragonmark. She was bound back into service by the mark, as it allows her to pilot the ship and its experimental, secretive systems. The Revelation is her family, her love, and her airship, and she will defend it with her life - to do anything else would be to abandon Roshan.

And, in Sharn, a now-grown dragonborn named Zykr looks strangely familiar... (Hi, Andy!)

With the House bearing down on her lack of respect for their authority, she has gone rogue; drawn under the influence of the Lord of Blades and allied with warforged forces, she only seeks a way out - to take the Revelation and leave this stupid, angry war behind, at any cost.

Depending on how things went, there was a chance she would end up at Wanderstrand - that's for a post later today, because I had to keep that one REALLY secret, but it's half of the 3rd writing treat link.

Trivia:

Valka's tarot card is the three of swords.

Her character playlist title is in international maritime signal flags: Keep clear of me; I am maneuvering with difficulty / I am taking in or discharging or carrying dangerous goods. / Stop immediately.

Rotaeir is a simple combination of the valkyrie names Róta (sleet and storm) and Eir (peace, clemency, help, mercy). Valka just sounded right.

Though not on her paperwork, she took a translated version of the Revelation's name (Saksatkara) as her own surname after the crash

Receiving the dragonmark replaced her existing clerical abilities; narratively, she lost faith in the gods and her own experience that granted her a knowledge domain, and instead only had faith in the destruction and grief that the storm domain had brought her.

Roshan's dragonmark spans her whole grafted arm; it glows faintly when oh board the ship, and brightness increases with how much energy she has focused into using it. At full effort, it is bright enough to glow through the brace / sling.

Mechanically, she can strike anyone who damages her with an immediate lightning strike.

While neither of her eyes retain their original color, she had golden eyes like Zykr. They also share a heart-shaped chest marking.

Valka's physical difference from Zykr was a worldbuilding adjustment; half dragonborn would have had more humanoid body shapes, while full dragonborn more closely resembled dragons. It never came up.

After being briefly dead, Zykr began having visions of being on a boat with a person he didn't recognize; he was seeing though Valka's eyes, unknowingly looking at his own father, Roshan. Surprise, Andy! There would have been more hints about it in Sharn if we'd gotten to explore some more.

Original reference document text:

Valka is an elderly dragonborn woman, weathered by the past years of war. She is snakelike in appearance, wiry and lithe at 7'3", with a longer neck, body, and limbs. She stands slouched, leaning heavily on a polearm that doubles as a makeshift cane; often heavily bundled against the cold, her right leg is braced under her clothes and her right arm and hand are entirely covered by a black brace buckled in faded brass, kept immobile against her chest by a sling. Her scales are mottled dark greens and yellows, graying around her eyes, muzzle, and knuckles, and she has many visible scars from old battles on all visible skin. The right side of her face is badly burned, and her eye on that side is entirely covered by a large patch. Her other eye is milky white; it's uncertain whether she can see our of her visible eye or if the patch isn't opaque.

Boot on braced leg has a special hook on the heel that she can clip to the harness strap on her thigh to keep is raised / out of the way if mobility is more important than stability. Safety harness extends down the upper part of her tail; anchors to this instead of her braced leg when necessary.

Though not visible, the eye under the patch is unnervingly human-like (as it originally belonged to Roshan), and if her arm brace were removed, the arm underneath is also distinctly not her own; she is unable to move the replacement limb at all, and the dragonmark on it does not move to anywhere else on her body though she can utilize its power.

As a child, Valka was often drawn to the idea of traveling. She restrained her desire to leave for many years, bound by ties to her family and home, until a chance meeting with Roshan, an airship pilot, during the war. In an impulse, whirlwind romance, she joined him in his travels and quickly became an indespensible member of the crew and Roshan's partner. They were married during the war, but hesitated to start a family, fearing the kind of world they would be raising a child in while Roshan's mark kept him in duty. Over time, they found comfort in a future seemingly without children, though they pledged to do what they could to adopt or foster if the war ended with enough time for them to do so.

Valka was one of many overjoyed to see a time of peace, and hoped to start a proper life with her husband even with their age. Unfortunately, a series of malfunctions in their shared airship led to a crash that left both them and their crew grievously injured in a remote mountain range. Valka, having lost her right arm and with severe trauma to her entire right side, was barely conscious; she awoke hours later to her arm replaced and her injuries magically repaired, and to Roshan dead, having chosen to sacrifice himself to keep her alive. Most importantly to the House, his dragonmark was still present - a glowing brand on the arm grafted improperly to replace Valka's own.

Abruptly alone, dealing with the trauma of the crash and her own guilt in her survival being at Roshan's expense, she was taken to trial and found not guilty. Feeling cheated by this verdict and losing faith in both justice and the afterlife (after all, if a dragonmark was bound to a person's soul, what did it mean that she could now take power from it? Had she damned her lover to a kind of half-life, or worse, an eternal purgatory?) she threw herself into religion with a self-destructive determination, secretly hoping the gods would recognize her believed wrongdoing and judge her properly where mortal courts had failed.

When presented with an opportunity to sabotage the project that led to Roshan's death, she took it, taking control of the airship and going rogue with the intent to destroy it either by her own hand or by forcing any pursuers to take it down with her. At present, she is driving it as far from settlements as possible to achieve this goal with as little loss of life as possible, and does not know what she will do with herself when this act is complete.

For characterization purposes, her actions will be influenced by:

- Like The Back of Her Hand: even when the Revelation is being piloted by someone else, her long familiarity with it means she is incredibly difficult to catch off guard. In its current state, she would notice anything out of place on board; this will decrease as the ship is modified.

- Blindsided: her left eye, uncovered, is blind, while her right eye, covered by a patch, still functions. The patch dims light, but still allows her to see.

- Local Doctors Hate Her!: her right arm is entirely immobile on its own, but the brace can be locked into different positions (ex, she can lean on her elbow, but wouldn't be able to pick something up.). Her right leg is stiff, and she is able to strap it up so she's less likely to trip. She is used to moving around the Revelation on one or both legs, but prefers both on unfamiliar terrain.

- House, Not Home: Valka has little care for the interests of the dragonmarked Houses, and may be more likely to take actions that damage the resources or reputation of a House.

- A Ship That Loves You: Valka believes her husband's spirit is entwined with the ship's elemental, a belief that the House has intentionally used as leverage against her. If she cannot have the ship on her own terms, her alternative goal will be to destroy it and herself - but will put her life on the line to prevent others from damaging it.

- An Empty Nest: Valka has no contact with her extended family and has no reason to believe she has any living immediate relatives. She has formed few relationships since the Revelation's crash.

- The Soils of War: Valka does not want to fight, though she will if she must. Her anger is directed at herself, at the gods that failed her, and the Houses that force her into their service. She wants to escape it, to lick her wounds, and to rest; to discover what the world is becoming in a time of peace that she has not had the chance to know.

[simply-ivanka]

WHO CAN BLAME HIM ? After 2016!

TRUMP IS DOING THIS HIS WAY AND THAT IS THAT! TRUMP 2024!

Trump Campaign May Decline Feds' Transition Help

By Charlie McCarthy    |   Thursday, 29 August 2024 11:28 AM EDT

The Trump campaign reportedly is prepared to pass on receiving transition help from the federal General Services Administration (GSA) in anticipation of President Donald Trump winning the November election.

The GSA normally plays a role in the transition from one administration to the another. It provides office space, technology, and other back-end support that can be crucial to a presidential transition operation.

Trump, the Republican nominee, is opposing Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrat nominee, in the race for the White House.

Politico reported Thursday that with an Aug. 31 deadline looming, sources say the Trump team is poised to reject GSA assistance.

While transitions kick into high gear after Election Day, when a president-elect must begin selecting and vetting about 4,000 federal political appointees, success depends on the infrastructure built during the pre-election period, including identifying agency review teams, and beginning the background check process for national security staff.

GSA is required by law to make available federal office space, IT support, and other resources to transition teams, but only once it has entered into memoranda of understanding with representatives for each nominee, which Congress requires the agency to do "to the maximum extent practicable," by Sept. 1.

A GSA spokesperson confirmed that the agency had made its offer to the two candidates.

The Trump campaign, though, has concerns about working with

GSA.

First, accepting GSA help means adhering to $5,000-per-donor contribution limits in funding overall costs that can exceed $10 million. Trump allies would prefer fewer people cutting bigger checks.

Second, Politico reported that Trump's team does not trust the GSA after what it experienced in 2016, when there were leaks of potential administration hires and widespread dismay with the agency's decision to hand over transition records to special counsel Robert Mueller.

Some Trump allies blamed federal workers for the leaks.

"The GSA presidential transition support model has run its course and either campaign should have the option to operate their transitions independently in order to have the most flexibility for fundraising, information security, and operations," Ken Nahigian, executive director of Trump's 2016 transition, told Politico.

Trump campaign spokesman Brian Hughes told Politico that no final decision has been made regarding GSA this time around.

"With transition leadership in place, and many talented leaders to work with, President Trump will have what he needs to build a world-class and effective administration starting on day one," Hughes said.

Partnership for Public Service President Max Stier told Politico that GSA could help with quickly arranging security clearances and in preventing cyberattacks.

Stier added that a transition organization without GSA could be set up as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, meaning no public financial disclosures.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Year

1. Belgium approves four-day week and gives employees the right to ignore their bosses after work

Workers in Belgium will soon be able to choose a four-day week under a series of labour market reforms announced on Tuesday.

The reform package agreed by the country's multi-party coalition government will also give workers the right to turn off work devices and ignore work-related messages after hours without fear of reprisal.

"We have experienced two difficult years. With this agreement, we set a beacon for an economy that is more innovative, sustainable and digital. The aim is to be able to make people and businesses stronger," Belgian prime minister Alexander de Croo told a press conference announcing the reform package.

2. Spain makes it a crime for pro-lifers to harass people outside abortion clinics

Spain has criminalized the harassment or intimidation of women going for an abortion under new legislation approved on Wednesday by the Senate. The move, which involved changes to the penal code, means anti-abortion activists who try to convince women not to terminate their pregnancies could face up to a year behind bars.

3. House passes bill to federally decriminalize marijuana

The House has voted with a slim bipartisan majority to federally decriminalize marijuana. The vote was 220 to 204.

The bill, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, will prevent federal agencies from denying federal workers security clearances for cannabis use, and will allow the Veterans’ Administration to recommend medical marijuana to veterans living with posttraumatic stress disorder.

The bill also expunges the record of people convicted of non-violent cannabis offenses, which House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said, “can haunt people of color and impact the trajectory of their lives and career indefinitely.”

4. France makes birth control free for all women under 25

The scheme, which could benefit three million women, covers the pill, IUDs, contraceptive patches and other methods composed of steroid hormones.

Contraception for minors was already free in France. Several European countries, including Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway, make contraception free for teens.

5. The 1st fully hydrogen-powered passenger train service is now running in Germany. The only emissions are steam & condensed water.

Five of the trains started running in August. Another nine will be added in the coming months to replace 15 diesel trains on the regional route. Alstom says the Coradia iLint has a range of 1,000 kilometers, meaning that it can run all day on the line using a single tank of hydrogen. A hydrogen filling station has been set up on the route between Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervörde and Buxtehude.

6. Princeton will cover all tuition costs for most families making under $100,000 a year, after getting rid of student loans

In September, the New Jersey Ivy League school announced it would be expanding its financial aid program to offer free tuition, including room and board, for most families whose annual income is under $100,000 a year. Previously, the same benefit was offered to families making under $65,000 a year. This new income limit will take effect for all undergraduates starting in the fall of 2023.

Princeton was also the first school in the US to eliminate student loans from its financial aid packages.

7. Humpback whales no longer listed as endangered after major recovery

Humpback whales will be removed from Australia's threatened-species list, after the government's independent scientific panel on threatened species deemed the mammals had made a major recovery. Humpback whales will no longer be considered an endangered or vulnerable species.

Climate change and fishing still pose threats to their long-term health.

Some other uplifting news from last year:

A Cancer Trial’s Unexpected Result: Remission in Every Patient

California 100 percent powered by renewables for first time

Israel formally bans LGBTQ conversion therapy

Tokyo Passes Law to Recognize Same-Sex Partnerships

First 100,000 KG Removed From the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

As we ring in the New Year let’s remember to focus on the good news. May this be a year of even more kindness and generosity. Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2023!

Thank you for following and supporting this g this newsletter

Buy me a coffee ❤️

[usafphantom2]

HOW MUCH DID SATELLITES COST

My Dad, Butch Sheffield, was with the SR 71 program from cradle ( Hired in 1964-Skunk Works winning Collier Award 1999) to grave and wrote down in his unpublish book some of his reasons why it was canceled prematurely.

During the Carter Administration, 1977-81, while Stansfield Turner was Director of the CIA, the two of them decided to rely upon National Technical Means (NTM) or Spy Satellites for intelligence. This included eliminating manned aircraft and spies on the ground. This has been proven to be one of the biggest intelligence mistakes ever. The reason for this strategy was it was risk-free for the political Administration. No airplanes or spies could be captured and displayed like Francis Powers and the U-2.

This made the politician feel comfortable.

NSA National Security Agency never liked the SR-71.

All the time I was Recce. Chief, they (the NSA) came to the Pentagon in groups to try to insult the SR 71 program in any way, they could. You would attend a meeting, and one or two people would attend from each service and DOD. NSA would show up with ten people. I would ask why. They would say that each one represents an area of NSA. It was a joke in the Pentagon.

I would only let one at a time in my area.

They would tell the White House in a flash-type message that an SR was almost intercepted by a Foxbat when the Foxbat was three hundred miles away from the SR. The cost of this, National Tactical Means (NTM) has never been made public; in fact, most people with security clearances inside the government don’t know the cost. I knew because I got a copy, one of twelve printed each year by the NRO, telling the real cost of the satellite, the launch cost, the communications cost, and the ground station cost.

The cost was enormous.

The NRO did not want to give me the book. I knew it existed and asked for it. Finally, they gave it to me after I pressured the Director when I worked for the U S Congress.

One might ask how did this affect the SR-71? The answer is that once this very large amount of money was being spent on satellites, they no longer wanted to fund the SR and then went from a National collection platform to a tactical intelligence asset. Now you know the true story.

Col Richard “ Butch” Sheffield

@Habubrats71 via X

[beguines]

The Indian state has already begun to evict indigenous communities from their homes. In late 2020, tribal communities received notice that labeled their homes as illegally occupying forest land. Their homes were demolished. This bears an eerie resemblance to Israel's targeting of Bedouin communities of Naqab, where Israel gave the lands of these communities to Jewish settlers and the military. The logic of Bedouin dispossession was premised on the fact that as nomads, they had no right to the land.

In Kashmir, these communities were living on lands that the Indian state wanted to use for the development of tourist infrastructure. Part of the plan is to transfer agricultural land to Indian state and private corporations. Kashmir has already lost 78,700 hectares of agricultural land to non-agricultural purposes between 2015–19. This decline in agricultural land—which a majority of Kashmiris still rely upon as the foundation of their economy—will disempower farmers, result in a loss of essential crops, make Kashmir less agriculturally self-sufficient, and create grounds for economic collapse in the near future. It is of course, only when Kashmiris are economically devastated that India's job in securing their land will be made even easier.

Alongside the destruction of agricultural land, the Indian government has also been charged with "ecocide" in Kashmir, which, "masked under the development rhetoric . . . destroys the environment without care, extracting resources and expanding illegal infrastructure as a way of contesting the indigenous peoples' right of belonging and using the territory for their own gain." During the lockdown in late 2019, the valley saw unprecedented forest clearances. In June 2020, the Jammu & Kashmir Forest Department became a government-owned corporation, allowing it to sell public forest land to private entities, including to Indian corporations. The rush to secure and extract Kashmir's resources has typically come at an immense cost to the region's vulnerable ecology, prompting local activists' fears that a lack of accountability will almost certainly exacerbate the climate crisis in South Asia. Just as Israel has secured control over Palestinian resources, India's stranglehold of Kashmir's natural resources and interference with the environment will ultimately make Kashmiris dependent on the Indian state for their livelihoods.

All of these shifts in land use reflect the "Srinagar Master Plan 2035," which "proposes creating formal and informal housing colonies through town planning schemes as well as in Special Investment Corridors," primarily for the use of Indian settlers and outside investors. Indeed, the Indian government has signed a series of MOU's with outside investors to alter the nature of the state by building multiplexes, educational institutions, film production centers, tourist infrastructure, Hindu religious sites, and medical industries. Kashmiri investors are no competition for massive Indian and external corporations and have a fundamental disadvantage in investing in land banks that the government has apportioned toward these purposes. Back to back lockdowns have resulted in massive economic losses for Kashmir's industries, including tourism, handicrafts, horticulture, IT, and e-commerce. Furthermore, "as with other colonial powers, Indian officials are participating in international investment summits parroting Kashmir as a 'Land of Opportunity', setting off a scramble for Kashmir's resources, which will cause further environmental destruction." India has always kept a close eye on Kashmir's water resources and its capabilities to generate electricity, while intentionally depriving Kashmir of the electricity it produces.

As more economic and employment opportunities are opened up to Indian domiciles, Kashmiris will also be deprived of what little job security they had. In sum, "neoliberal policies come together with settler colonial ambitions under continued reference to private players, industrialization and development, with the 'steady flow of wealth outwards.'"

Azad Essa, Hostile Homelands: The New Alliance Between India and Israel

[fivenightsatfreddysfanfiction]

She Remembers

It's Mike's birthday. Faith and Gregory meet.

--------------------------

.

It was something of a yearly tradition, bittersweet but warm. Faith and ‘Digo would pick up a simple cake at Dapper Goods bakery, meet with Jeremy at his workshop to pick him up and his photo of Mike, and then drive together to Circus Baby’s Pizza and Parties. Mike’s birthday was one of celebration and remembrance, a cozy event for family and colleagues, friends made by their shared opposition to the Aftons and Fazbear Entertainment.

Meera would have the pizzeria closed for the day, eating the cost of skipping a business day in favor of having a private setting for them all. When she first offered her restaurant as a place to host the birthday parties, it had been out of guilt for calling Mike out of retirement to help her foil Elizabeth Afton’s plan to use replicas of the animatronics to harvest Remnant for William Afton. She had explained that if she hadn’t done so, maybe it wouldn’t have caused Mike to realize how dangerously close he was to being like William, already possessing the power to surpass death but not yet losing his connection to his own humanity.

After all, it wasn’t long after they’d foiled the facility’s labyrinth that Mike gave up Six to normalize his lifespan, and then he passed away with Faith’s mom within the year. There had been the hope that perhaps he’d come back to them as a reincarnation, like Faith and ‘Digo and the other Reborn Children and the two senior Guards had done. But year after year passed and there was no sign of him. Faith had to content herself with the idea that her father had gotten his wish of moving on while Jeremy continued holding out hope that Mike would come back in some way.

The guilt Meera felt soothed over time as she got to know Mike’s family and realized they didn’t hold anything against her. Mike was as stubborn as they got, once he made up his mind about something he held to it come hell or high water. He would’ve gotten the idea of what long life would do to him eventually but the risk would’ve been higher that he wouldn’t have caught on until after his Doll passed and he was left still enduring time. No one wanted to think about what that would have done to his mental state.

They arrived at the pizzeria and smiled in greeting at Meera as she waved and opened the door for them. “Everyone else is already inside, so decorations are up and good to go,” she told them, holding open the door so there was clearance for Faith’s cane to pass through, “Would you like me to get one of our wheelchairs for you? Lucian cleaned them this morning so they’re sanitized still.”

“That’d be lovely, thank you. You’d think being the spirit that helped Dad power through injuries would let me get over a silly knee surgery faster but noooo,” Faith trilled with a roll of her eyes while her wife snickered behind her hand.

“I told her to bring the one I bought her but she insisted she was fine,” Jeremy sighed, “Got that stubbornness from Dad.” He folded his jacket over his arm, shaking his shoulders to loosen them up. “So the gang’s all here?”

“Yeah, Alex and Sydney are in the back of house to help with making dinner,” Meera added and gave them a small, strained smile, “Alex still doesn’t want to intrude on the party so he said he’s fine with eating in the break room, and Sydney still doesn’t remember that Mr. Schmidt was the person his past self had targeted before his death but he doesn’t want to leave Alex alone so he’s also staying in the break room.”

Jeremy’s expression scrunched up like he’d bitten into a grapefruit while Faith just tutted at him, flapping her hand at his arm. “At least they’re giving us space,” he acknowledged.

“Also, just to warn you guys, Sydney asked if Vanessa and Gregory could help with preparations so they might be out and about to keep Gregory distracted,” Meera added as Circus Baby arrived with a wheelchair, holding it in place for Faith to ease herself into with a relieved sigh.

“Who’re they?” ‘Digo asked in mild interest, holding the cake in her arms and nodding at Jeremy’s offer to push the wheelchair in her place. The group headed into the pizzeria together, walking under colorful banners and the sound of Mike’s favorite playlist streaming songs through the dining room.

“Remember when a bunch of robbers broke into Freddy’s and hijacked the Fazband?” Faith asked casually and ‘Digo huffed, expression growing annoyed.

“Oh yeah. The lil punk that took control of Foxy from the Fourth Child and the big meathead that kept shooting at every damn thing?” she retorted and one of her eyes twitched, “Don’t tell me they reincarnated too! I thought they were trapped at Freddy’s while the rest of us got reborn!”

“Well, they’re my cousins, and they’re trying not to step on any toes so please no fighting in my pizzeria?” Meera told her with a nervous laugh, “And as for Vanessa and Gregory, they’re both Aftons but they have the name because they had their identities stolen and remade by the Afton Family. Their memories and Remnant were affected so Vincent’s been helping them recover what they can.”

“More families destroyed by that madman’s ambitions and that horrible company,” Faith muttered with a shake of her head, “Still, it’s Dad’s birthday so let’s focus on the party and memorium.”

The table for the party was nicely decorated, Mike’s picture set up at the head with flowers and tea candles placed around it. The cake was set nearby and everyone chatted in lively tones, catching up on each other’s lives over slices of pizza, salads, and lasagna. Not all of the Reborn Children could make it, travelling abroad in their work, but the ones that did shared stories of their past childhoods with Mike while Faith chimed in with stories of him growing up.

They danced and laughed to the more energetic songs in Mike’s playlist, sang Happy Birthday over the cake, then divvied it up for everyone to have a piece as the party began winding down. Circus Baby came out often over the course of the party, refilling drinks, deftly clearing away dirty dishes and replacing them with clean ones, and escorting a blonde woman and a small brown-haired boy to the game corner. As people began saying their goodbyes with hugs and small sniffles, dispersing to return to their own lives, Faith found her attention wandering over to the two strangers playing in the game corner. Circus Baby watched over them, leaning against a pillar in a deceptively casual pose, while the boy stood on a stepping stool to play one of the arcade games, the woman cheering him on.

Those two had to be the Aftons Meera spoke about. With how young they looked Faith wondered if Elizabeth Afton had targeted them for her plans when her attempt at harvesting Guard Remnant failed. She felt a bit bad at the thought; Mike’s success at keeping the Strength to Survive and Jeremy’s Warmth of Life out of Mrs. Afton’s clutches meant other innocent lives were ruined in their place. Maybe the younger Guards would finally be able to put an end to the cycle once they got back inside that dreadful Pizzaplex to find out how deep the rabbit hole went.

“I’m gonna visit the little pirate’s room before we head home,” ‘Digo sighed, stretching her arms over her head, “Jeremy’s already warming up the car for us, so I’ll be back in a flash. You good?”

“Sure, I’ll pack up Dad’s photo and the flowers. We can keep them fresh in the cooler at home and then place them on his and Mom’s gravestone tomorrow,” Faith replied with a smile, “I always come into these birthday parties thinking I’ll just be moping and sad, but they’ve been nice to just catch up with everyone and have a little fun celebrating Dad’s birthday.”

‘Digo hummed, a complicated expression on her face that leaned on the side of rueful as her eyes sought out the photo of the man at the head of the table. “Sometimes I wonder if I should’ve just sucked it up and said sorry to the old man when he helped bail us out of Fazbear’s Fright,” she finally said in a quiet voice, “But I’m not the one that bit him. I’m not Violet. I have her memories, but this life is mine. I was living it without those memories and I’m still living it after they got unburied. Just sucks we never got that sorted out.”

“Small regrets,” Faith mused with a nod, “I don’t think he’d hold it against you, you know? Dad was gruff and could be a jerk, but when it really came down to it, he couldn’t blame you guys for everything. Not once he learned why you guys were so angry and who killed us all.” She huffed then and waved her wife off, “Go pee so we can go; I just want to relax in bed and sleep after all this. Couldn’t even dance because of my damned knee!”

‘Digo smirked at her before pressing a kiss to her temple and then walking off to find the bathrooms. Faith watched her go, then turned her attention back to the Aftons.

The boy had won his game, folding his tickets into a neat stack with a smile while his mother clapped encouragingly. ‘Huh, didn’t think anyone else folded tickets like that,’ Faith mused with a nostalgic smile. Mike did that as a kid to make sure he could keep a tight grip on all his tickets without leaving any loose to get snatched by anyone looking to get some easy tickets. Most of the other kids didn’t really think like that, just gripped them and let them trail like ribbons.

What were their names again? Vanessa and Gregory; Faith watched them have a conversation and then Gregory was walking away to the prize corner while Vanessa pulled her phone out to type on it, probably messaging someone. As the boy approached the counter where the security puppet would pop up to do the prize exchange, Faith narrowed her eyes as a faint suspicion began rearing its head. If the best part about a pizzeria was trading the tickets for prizes, why did Gregory look so annoyed by it?

The puppet rose out of the prize box and leaned over the counter to look at Gregory while the boy glared up at it like he had some personal vendetta against it. Despite herself, Faith giggled a little behind one hand. It was like old times, with the Marionette being a nuisance to Mike and Mike snarking and cracking puns at it to irritate it back. Her smile shrank a little as she considered the scene before her.

Could it..? ..No, it was just a coincidence. Gregory was a victim of Elizabeth Afton and her experiments at the Pizzaplex so it’s no surprise that he wouldn’t like animatronics. Right? Faith scolded herself for thinking otherwise.

The puppet made no motion to collect the tickets Gregory held out, which made Faith tilt her head in confusion. Was it broken? Meera hadn’t made any mention of the puppet having technical issues. How was Gregory going to select his prize then?

Gregory waited a moment before realizing the puppet wasn’t working and scowled in such a way that Faith’s heart twisted painfully. She remembered a glare like that during Mikey’s recovering some months after the Bite, when he couldn’t remember what he liked to do for his birthday and his emotions were a storm as he scowled at his cake, whatever excitement and joy he should have felt swallowed by a haze of pain and frustration and fear of something he couldn’t remember. She blinked rapidly to dismiss the memory and hold back tears, it had been too long since her Dad’s birthday last made her so emotional. Was she starting to see pieces of him in everything and everyone now?

Gregory huffed after a bit and dug into his pocket, bringing something out in his clenched hand, small and shiny. But before he did anything with it, he stiffened and Faith blinked again when his head swiveled over to have him stare at her directly with alarmed eyes. She offered a politely neutral smile to try and reassure him that she meant no harm, noting how quickly he shoved his hand back into his pocket as his gaze flicked up to over her head. Probably noticed the curl of her hair that arced over her head in her signature hook. Faith was always amused by the surprise she elicited from people over it.

He seemed uncertain, glancing over at his mother a few times before taking a few steps in her direction. Faith kept her expression friendly though she couldn’t help but be curious. He didn’t seem very bold, but maybe that was just because she was a stranger to him. He certainly seemed very boisterous when playing those games in the arcade.

“Hello there,” she greeted warmly once he was near, “You look like you took those games to the cleaners!” Gregory huffed a short laugh, mouth twitching into a quick smile before it fell back into that semi-confused scowl that Faith knew so well it was frightening.

“Yeah, I had a lot of practice with those games,” he replied and shrugged, “My name’s Gregory. Is it your birthday today?” His nose wrinkled as he asked that, a dubious tone in his voice.

“Well, Gregory, I’m Faith and today was my Dad’s birthday,” Faith told him, patting the framed photo gently. Gregory leaned over to look and blinked, his eyes going wide.

“Oh, that’s the guy on Mr. Fitzgerald’s desk! His dad, Mr. Schmidt.. he’s your dad too?” he exclaimed in surprise. Faith nodded.

“Jeremy’s my older brother. Dad kind of adopted him and it took a while for our parents to figure out how to make it official,” she replied with a fond sigh, sitting back in her chair as Gregory chewed on that with that same semi-confused scowl.

“But he looks younger than you,” he finally said, squinting at her sharp laugh. Brutally honest and confused by the reaction to it; he really was so much like Mikey had been... No, he couldn’t be him. Gregory had fallen victim to Elizabeth Afton and Mike had evaded them via raw strength. Surely if he reincarnated he wouldn’t have fallen for any trap, right?

“Jeremy’s got a knack for looking young,” she finally said and pointed at the cake, “Would you like a slice? There’s not much left.”

Gregory’s eyes went wide, an obvious want on his face that he then reluctantly tamped down, mouth thinning into a flat line. “I’d better not,” he replied, brows furrowing slightly, “Cake.. cake’s not good today.”

Faith stiffened slightly, a faint chill passing over her. “Oh?” she heard herself say distantly, “Why not today?”

Gregory drummed his fingertips against the tabletop, scowling in frustration at the cake offered to him. “Lines,” he finally replied, struggling to get his thoughts out and Faith could see a different boy standing there at the table, fighting to speak what was on his mind, struggling against memories lost and suppressed because of a bite and her own attempts to keep him alive. “I dunno, I just don’t wanna cross any lines,” Gregory sighed in aggravation, rolling his eyes as he pushed lightly against the table and used the momentum to put distance between himself and Faith, “Cake’s not good today. Sorry, ma’am.”

“No, it’s okay,” Faith murmured shakily, tears welling in her eyes as she looked at the boy with new hope and new anxiety, “I understand. I understand.” Gregory looked up at her sharply and she smiled tremulously; maybe he was in there, maybe she was just reaching, desperate to believe her father’s ghost was back, yet desperate to believe it wasn’t. Because if she was right, then Mike didn’t escape Freddy’s after all. If she was right, Afton hurt her old friend to the point of forgetting himself. “A line you weren’t supposed to cross, but you did and it didn’t go well, so now you know that today you shouldn’t cross lines, and should probably avoid cake.”

“Hey, no making fun, I have amnesia so go easy on me!” Gregory protested, folding his arms over his chest and sulking. Faith laughed again, wet chuckles as she carefully dabbed at her eyes with one of the paper napkins. “Ah, geeze, I’m sorry if I made ya cry, lady!” Gregory exclaimed, alarm on his face as he waved his hands in front of himself, “Can I make it up? Vanessa’s gonna ground me forever if she catches me making old ladies cry!” His eyes widened and his hand dove back into his pocket. “Ah, here! Look, this belonged to your dad, right?” Gregory asked as he pulled out the object he’d hidden from her earlier. His shoulders hiked up in a hunch, his hand slowly opening in that way a kid would when they really didn’t want to share. “You.. you can have it back.. if that’ll make you happy?”

Faith blinked, hand rising shakily to her mouth as she gazed down at Mike’s name tag. That silly cheap plate Byron had provided to him to wear that he had carried for years, until that fateful night it had been ripped off in the frenzy of trying to keep him alive after a second bite from Foxy. She thought it had been well and truly lost, or at least ruined by the passage of time. Yet aside from the pin being bent out of shape and then back into it, it looked as shiny as that final night.

“I cleaned it up some and tried to fix the pin, but it wasn’t too bad when I found it,” Gregory explained nervously, “Guess somebody put it back in his locker for safe keeping? The latch on it, ah, didn’t hold up against time, I guess.”

She just nodded slightly, reaching down to gently pass her fingertip over the name tag as she picked it up. There was a faintly cool feeling radiating from it, her soul shivering in recognition. A small amount of Mike’s Remnant -emotions of determination, frustration, irritation, and grief- was layered onto the metal, soaked from years of exposure. It flickered an outside connection, likely from Six pulling at any item Mike once possessed that now carried Remnant from him to use as a source of strength. He could have just found it. It didn’t have to mean anything. It didn’t prove anything. How would she be able to confirm something no one else had caught any inklings of?

Something that was core to her and her father as Faith and Mike, something so deeply ingrained in them that they’d recognize it on instinct, or close enough.

Faith began humming, a melody she heard so often on the night shift with Mike, when the power went out and time was cutting it close and Freddy stood at the doorway with his internal music box playing the seconds down, a gamble on every failure of whether Mike would escape or not. A melody that had been lost since then, replaced by other music boxes and sounds over the years in many iterations of the pizzeria.

“Hm hm hm-hm hm, hm hm-hm hm hmmmm,” she hummed out and watched as Gregory stiffened, eyes going wide and wild as they darted around in search of something, a faint panicked expression growing on his face. “Do you recognize it?” Faith murmured, settling in as her suspicions were confirmed just with that, a tiny and sad smile on her face.

“Wh-what was that?!” the boy hissed out, shaking himself off once he recognized there were no threats in this pizzeria.

“Afton stole your memories, didn’t she?” Faith asked quietly, “Stole them or destroyed them. They couldn’t fight you, couldn’t win against you, back then, so they came for you when you were like this. How cruel, but unsurprising.” She smiled again, rueful and nostalgic, “But you’ll find some way to win again. You always do. That’s the trick behind your curse.”

Gregory just wrinkled his nose, tilting his head as he looked up at her in confusion, “Huh?” She just laughed and took his hand, opening it to place the name tag back on his palm and then closing his fingers over it.

“Keep it. Belonged to you anyway,” Faith told him, “I think you’ll be needing it more than me.” She tapped her nose, then his, a mischievous smirk on her face. “Bit of advice. Don’t linger on the same camera too long, do a walk around before the time starts if you can manage it so you can have a baseline of rooms to compare with on cameras, sometimes holding still will save you when running doesn’t, and most importantly of all...”

“Gotta conserve power,” Gregory recited in the same breath as her wording. He blinked and Faith grinned.

“Yeah, you got this. I have faith in you,” she said with a giggle, “Beat the Afton Family again, okay? I hope you get your memories back, but if you don’t just know that me and Jeremy will be all right. We’ve had good lives. We’ve had happy times. Don’t worry about us.”

“Ooo-kay?” Gregory replied in a questioning tone and gave her a crooked smile out of nervousness that she immediately clocked as Mike’s grin, the kind he put on when cornered by a situation he couldn’t curse and punch his way out of easily.

“I think your mother’s looking for you. Why don’t you go on and find her?” Faith told him, giving him an out that he eagerly took with a quick expression of relief. She waved as he ran off for the arcade again, straight for the young woman watching them cautiously.

While those two talked, probably to discuss Gregory’s conversation with her, ‘Digo reappeared at Faith’s side to collect the flowers and place them in her lap with Mike’s photo. They left the table together to head to the entrance and get to the car.

“So.. what was that all about?” ‘Digo asked in mild interest, “Anything interesting the Afton kid had to say?”

“Nah, just passing on some advice I learned from Mike about the night shift,” Faith replied, sitting back in the chair with a content sigh, “Thought the kid could use it someday.”

“I suppose since it kept the old fart alive against a bunch of pissed off ghost kids it’s gotta be good for something,” ‘Digo snarked, grinning at Faith erupting into laughter as Jeremy hurried over to open the doors for them at the entrance and then at the car. “Think it’ll do for a kid without a ghost of his own? Those Aftons are messing with Remnant and souls. How’s one punk supposed to deal with that?”

“I don’t think we’ve seen his full potential yet. He’s just a kid still, ‘Digo, give him time to grow into himself,” Faith said and sighed in contentment.

Her father and old friend was there, his memories lost by what Afton had done, but still surviving somehow, still holding on through Gregory. If he surrounds himself with enough of the Remnant Mike left behind on his possessions, and Six realizes his identity too, maybe a miracle could happen? It was a nice idea.

“Good luck, Gregory,” she murmured, “Give ‘em hell for us.”

[alittlewarmer]

𓍯𓂃 sealed with joy and tenderness 𓏧♡

🗓️ november 7, 2024

── .✦ today, i am grateful for...

ᯓᡣ𐭩 my baby niece who was brought to our house early and looked adorable in her purple tutu dress! too bad i was busy today and wasn't able to play with her all day.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 the michael kors abbey backpack my mother gave me when i was 17 as a high-school-graduation-slash-college-freshie gift. i hadn't used the bag much because a tote bag was my go-to bag in college since i tended to bring a lot of stuff to school! yesterday, i saw the bag in my room and decided to bring it to my driving lesson today. my mom was happy to see the bag again and said that she thought i wouldn't use it again, which would have been a waste since she saved so much to buy that bag. while writing this, i checked the price of the bag (the receipts and tags were kept in one of the inside pockets) and learned that it costs more than 20k pesos! i wanted to cry of gratitude because, for context, my mom is a stay-at-home mom who depends on the allowance my father provides every month. i can't imagine how long she saved to buy me this bag. now, with this knowledge, i will take care of and treasure this bag more. oh, that things moms do for their children.🥹 i love my mom so much.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 my dad who is thoughtful enough to buy me a laptop table that i can use when im working in bed. this will help lessen my severe backache!

ᯓᡣ𐭩 the jeepney driver who brought me and his other passengers safely to our destinations. today was my first session for the practical driving course (PDC), and my driving school is around 1.5-hr jeepney ride away from home. luckily, the weather wasn't too hot. i also saw an old high school schoolmate, otep, but i think he didn't recognize me because weren't really close. i just know him by face. still, it feels good to see a familiar face after a long time.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 the safe pdc session, though i had a very bad experience with my instructor, which i will share in another post. i am just relieved that i was able to get out safe and sound. i am also extremely grateful to the driving school owner who assisted me in addressing my concerns about my instructor.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 the unplanned max's dinner at vista mall with my mom, brother, and baby niece. they drove to the town where my driving school is because they wanted to bring my baby niece to my dermatologist. she has been experiencing skin rashes for a while now, but they only appeared in few spots. however, today, my mom was shocked and concerned to see that her rashes had already spread across her chest and back. she had already been seen by another dermatologist and was prescribed an ointment, but it seemed like it wasn't working, so my mother suggested bringing her to my dermatologist, who was also my brother's dermatologist when he was young and struggling with skin asthma. unfortunately, my dermatologist won't be available until monday.

before going home, we stopped by at vista mall for dinner, but i didn't join them because i had already eaten before they picked me up. instead, i walked around h&m. there's a pink blouse and cute bell-bottom jeans that i really wanted to get but didn't have the budget for, so now, i am having a hard time finding them. i found the jeans in the clearance sale rack, but there was nothing in my size.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 the rare opportunity to talk (through messenger chat) to my high school circle. my high school bff shared her love and pregnancy journey. however, there was something in her story that i don't approve of, which i will also share in another post!

── .✦ today, i showed kindness to myself by...

ᯓᡣ𐭩 waking up and preparing early for my driving lessons. i took a bath, did my skincare routine, applied oil to my lashes and nails, and fixed my hair. it feels good to dress up and go out!

ᯓᡣ𐭩 reviewing important driving notes to prepare for my pdc.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 staying calm and believing in myself during my pdc! confidence, willingness to learn, and trust really help a student who is learning to drive! today is my first time ever driving. thinking about it, i hadn't even been in the driver's seat before! i am extremely happy and proud of myself for driving for 2 hours!

ᯓᡣ𐭩 gathering up my courage to ask for help from the driving school owner regarding my issues with my instructor. as a non-confrontational person, the decision to call took a whole lot mental. i am proud of myself for voicing out things that made me uncomfortable.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 treating myself to pesto pasta after the stressful pdc shenanigans! the pasta tasted good and was reasonably priced. it was my first time eating at that resto, and i'll definitely go back explore their menu!

ᯓᡣ𐭩 sleeping early to replenish my drained energy bank.

this day was a tough one, but i am proud of myself for conquering it bravely and strongly °˖➴,

cerise ˗ˏˋ 🍒 ˎˊ˗

[maleficentmrsofallevil]

Slow, but appreciative, clap

Maybe I'm just having a Chris Evans "I understood that reference" moment, but I appreciate MGA's commitment to the bit for this doll:

I know she's the MGA Entertainment Rainbow High Shadow High Series 2 doll, and a darn near exact copy of the series one doll (which I also own). I don't know what her name is, and I don't care, but I'm guessing she's the "techie" character, since she has a laptop, tablet, and a smartphone. I'd make some kind of joke about overkill if, uh, people who live in glass houses wanted to throw stones...

So we've got a bustier modeled after a motherboard, some 3.5 mm A/V jack cords as a belt, and CD-ROMs in clear sleeves on the front of the skirt. I respect this.

On the side of her shoes, you can see the tiniest little swoop that I'm guessing is supposed to be like the "Intel Inside" logo. I'm guessing, cuz 1) I can't really see it, and 2) maybe it's supposed to be Pentium? That's pretty old, tho. Like, she's not wearing actual floppy disks.

She comes with the standard stand and comb we've come to expect. The only thing I'm sad about is that prior series dolls had a case to go with their cellphone that had a little thumb holder, and this doll doesn't have that case. Maybe she's one of those cellphone purists who doesn't do cases cuz she needs the thinnest possible phone. Or maybe it got cut cuz cost cutting. Meh. I can't be bothered to figure it out. I saw the leaked photos for the new series, and slime is back. This line is officially dead to me now.

Oh - I figured out the way to use the thumb holder is to center her long-ass nails in the hole and push gently upwards until the tablet stays in place. The phone is just balancing on her hand.

Of course, I bought her on clearance. MGA pushes these doll lines out too frequently and too fast, forcing retailers to clearance out prior lines while current lines languish in stores, which is why I refuse to pay full price.

[mariacallous]

In her dissent to the City of Grants Pass v. Johnson Supreme Court ruling late last month, Justice Sonia Sotomayor called out the reality that many local governments have already “made criminalization a frontline response to homelessness” and warned that the Court’s decision to further enable criminalization will lead to “a destabilizing cascade of harm.” The recent Grants Pass decision—which enables localities to arrest, ticket, and fine people for sleeping on public property, even if there is no housing or shelter available to them—runs the risk of further intertwining municipal homelessness policy with punitive enforcement, a move that could make both homelessness and crime worse nationwide.

Indeed, prior to Grants Pass, cities nationwide, from New York to Tallahassee, Fla., to Albuquerque, NM were increasingly relying on police, the enforcement of quality-of-life offenses, and the clearance of tent encampments to manage homelessness. States too have increasingly embraced punitive approaches, with more than a dozen states introducing or passing laws that ban sleeping outside. Kentucky’s public safety legislation went even further by not only making public camping illegal statewide, but also prohibiting the use of state funds to provide permanent housing without preconditions (essentially blocking the implementation of the evidence-based “housing first” model) and allowing property owners to use force—even deadly force—against homeless individuals who don’t leave their property.

While Grants Pass is likely to inspire more of these punitive policies at the state and local levels, the decision itself doesn’t have to be destiny. There are numerous evidence-based and cost-effective approaches that address both homelessness and crime in the public realm, if there is the political will to see them through. This research brief provides an overview of these evidence-based approaches, explores the critical intersection between housing and public safety, and offers short-, medium-, and long-term recommendations for state and local governments to ensure a safe and humane public realm in the changing legal and political environments that cities and regions now find themselves in.

[eggl-rd]

Who is the guy who is on fire with the gas mask can you explain him to me but in like, the worst way possible?

thats my good friend plinko. tehyre 4 dogs in a trenchcoat and their favorite food is plain white bread or plain white bread with salt and pepper if they want something spicy. if you dont keep them hydrated theyll start to crystalize. theyve canonically committed at minimum 35 war crimes and they love to play my little pony. theyve a weevil. they collect ketchup packets. they dont kill people for the money they do it becuase they love it. htey cost 4 dollars at your local grocery store but theyre on clearance so you can get them for 2. theyre made out of model magic. they are rapidly approaching tge white house as we speak

[toiletpotato]

Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility in America

Please consider watching this documentary, especially if you want to learn about how systemic racism works within the system of transportation, as well as its mental and physical effects on Black people in particular. You will learn something new.

You can watch the entire thing, for free, at the link above. It's about two hours long. There are English captions, though near the end the timing is a bit off.

In the second half of the documentary, they show footage of police brutality against Black Americans. The footage is interspersed between interviews and other segments, often without warning. It is distressing and that is the point.

Below are some quotes from the documentary I've collected, if you do not have the time to watch it right now:

Allyson Hobbs, historian at Stanford University: (1:13:48 – 1:14:26) “There’s a very complicated history around the interstate. The interstate for Black travelers creates a very positive benefit in that the interstate makes travel safer in many ways because instead of traveling on country roads and back roads where there was quite a bit of fear and quite a bit of uncertainty about what could happen, traveling on interstates felt more safe and more secure.”

Eric Avila, author of The Folklore of the Freeway: (1:14:31 – 1:14:59) “The interstate highway program was kind of built with this myth of consensus. That it’s what everybody wanted. It’s by popular demand. But for people of color, and for African Americans in particular, they were kind of left out of that consensus because their neighborhoods were the sacrificial lands in which to build this highway.”

Elie: (1:16:20 – 1:16:45): “The thing that people usually say is ‘these were dying communities and we needed the overpasses, we needed the highways to move people out of these ghetto environments.’ Well in fact, these were communities that were vibrant. That people were living in. That the United States government destroyed through a combination of active funding of detrimental projects, and a kind of benign neglect.”

Avila (1:17:23 – 1:18:12): “Highway construction impacted Black communities or other non-white communities, because that’s where property values were the lowest. There is a certain kind of cost effective strategy in building highways through neighborhoods with lower property values. It costs the state less. However, historically, lower property values have been tied to race and African Americans in particular. In many ways all of these federal policies and programs were interconnected. The Federal Housing Administration’s policies, urban renewal, slum clearance, highway construction, all of these processes worked in tandem with each other to create an even more racially stratified geography.”

Leah Chase, chef: (1:18:14 – 1:18:38): “And they did that so fast, I’m telling you: because Black people were not involved in anything in those days. People would do things, we didn’t even know what was going on. We were not involved. In those days we were not allowed into the process so they just came through there with that thing, took away houses; took away good businesses, good people.”

Alvin Hall, author: (1:19:38 – 1:19:52): “You see it again and again in almost every major city in America, and it was really a huge economic setback for many African American businesses because they became isolated.”

Hobbs: (1:19:54 – 1:20:15): “If you retrace it and if you go to some of these areas that were once bustling Black business districts, now often they are abandoned buildings, sometimes they are abandoned, sort of, empty fields.”

Tamara Banks, journalist: (1:20:54 – 1:21:24): “When you erase a history, you erase an identity. You erase what’s important to people and how they connect with their community and how they connect with humanity as a whole. When you lose that culture and that space, now there’s a chink in the chain of your family legacy and you start to wonder, does my legacy matter? Does my life matter?”

Craig Steven Wilder, historian at MIT: (1:25:32 – 1:26:18) “The Montgomery Bus Boycott is actually a story of transportation in many ways. It’s the bus boycott, but it’s also how it was that African American women managed to establish and to reuse a network of connections to deploy their resources to sustain this boycott over months and months and months. And it meant, in fact, accessing cars. It meant finding new ways to move people around town, new ways to actually get people to their jobs. And so Montogomery is in many ways actually a wonderful way of thinking about how Black people deployed the automobile to challenge Jim Crow.”

Sorin: (1:19:15 – 1:19:33): “When road planners put through highways, they often take the path of least resistance, and that’s one of the reasons that Black communities have been so vulnerable, because they have the least amount of power to stop it.”

Sorin: (1:33:11 – 1:33:22): “I think the automobile is the way that many people encounter the police, and I think that’s where we start to get the term ‘Driving While Black.’”

James Baldwin, author: (1:35:07 – 1:35:24): “A cop is a cop. And yeah, he may be a very nice man, but I haven’t got the time to figure that out. All I know is that he has a uniform and a gun, and I have to relate to him in that way. That’s the only way to relate to him, at all, ‘cause one of us is gonna, one of us may have to die.”

Hobbs (1:36:42 – 1:37:10): “There are still so many dangers of being on the road, and I think we’re in a time right now where African Americans are feeling a similar kind of fear as their grandparents felt in the 1930s and 40s.”

[btwnskyandsea]

Hey! I As of this post I only have EIGHT of these cuties left in my shop--please take Claude home! I need his remaining huggable clones to move out of my house! 😂😂😂

At this point I'm selling him at cost, no profit. Please adopt him, he needs MANY hugs and a hot mug of Almyran pine needle tea to get through the cold Fódlan winter!!

[beardedmrbean]

Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign has come under fire from at least one prominent Muslim American group after a local man on Monday was escorted from a venue hosting the Democratic presidential nominee's town hall-style event in Royal Oak, Michigan.

The tension follows Harris' recent reach-out efforts to the Great Lakes State's Muslim population, a key voting bloc as she seeks to make inroads in the battleground state. Muslim Americans in Michigan typically vote for Democratic presidential candidates; however, recent polling indicates potential breaks in that trend amid the group's ongoing concerns over the Biden administration's handling of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Ahmed Ghanim, an activist who once ran for the U.S. House in Michigan's 11th Congressional District, told Newsweek via phone interview on Tuesday that he filled out all of the proper paperwork to attend the event at the Royal Oak Music Theater. He stood in line, went through security clearance and was seated.

"A few minutes after I was seated, a lady asked me to follow her to the door. When I got to the door, she closed the door," Ghanim said. He alleged that two Secret Service officers said the campaign wanted him removed and that he was threatened with arrest if he did not leave.

But Ghanim told The Detroit News that he questioned one of them about why he was being ousted from the theater, with the officer answering, "It's not us. It's the venue," the outlet reported.

In a statement to the News, the Harris campaign's Michigan senior adviser, Chris Wyant, said the vice president's team "regrets this action and its impact on Dr. Ghanim and the community, and he is welcome at future events."

Newsweek also reached out to the Harris campaign for a response on Tuesday night.

Ghanim is upset by the ousting from the theater. "I feel there is not much respect or appreciation for the Muslim community," he said. "No one from the campaign even called me and so it is lack of respect and I feel like I was singled out and I feel I was profiled."

The Council on American–Islamic Relations Action, a nonprofit group focused on Muslim American civic engagement, shared similar sentiments.

"As Donald Trump ramps up his outreach to the Muslim and Arab communities, the Harris campaign removes, under threat of arrest, a Muslim community leader who merely responded to an invitation," Basim Elkarra, executive director of CAIR Action, said in a written statement. "This disturbing action on the part of the Harris campaign sends a dangerous message of exclusion to the Muslim community."

As a battleground state with a high percentage of Muslim voters, the Harris and Trump campaigns have redoubled efforts with the bloc. Many registered Muslim voters in Michigan live in the Detroit metropolitan area.

"Given how tight things will be, a handful of votes could matter. In Michigan, there are over 200,000 registered Muslim voters. They, in 2020, voted for Biden by about 70 percent, and so a significant drop there could cost the Democrats the election," Wa'el Alzayat, CEO of Engage, previously told Newsweek.

With two weeks until Election Day, both parties are working overtime to shore up pivotal groups, as even slight movement could shift the electoral tides in swing states.

CAIR said it feels it is important for the Harris campaign to make direct amends. "It's coming at an interesting time when Trump is reaching out to Muslim leaders and meeting with them directly," Elkarra said in a phone interview with Newsweek. "This could possibly help increase support for Trump."

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The real scandal is overclassification

The fact that every president and VP has a garage or filing cabinet or shoebox full of classified documents isn't (merely) evidence of political impunity - it's also the latest absurd turn in the long-running true scandal: the American epidemic of overclassification and excessive secrecy.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/30/i-come-to-a-land-downunder/#but-id-have-to-kill-you

Thousands of American bureaucrats have unilaterally classified tens of millions of unremarkable documents without any legitimate basis for shielding them from public view. Meanwhile, millions of people have "Top Secret clearance" and can view these documents, making a mockery of their supposed secrecy.

Writing for The American Prospect, David Dayen crystallizes the incentives, problems and corruption that we should be paying to, and laments that instead, we're scoring cheap political points about the recklessness of presidents and ex-presidents, heavily salted with paranoid fantasies about the Danger to National Security (TM) posed by letting these docs escape the airless chambers of official secrecy:

https://prospect.org/politics/2023-01-30-president-classified-document-scandal/

Overclassification is a well-documented (ahem) problem, used by bureaucrats to cover up corruption, crimes and incompetence, as well as out of the lazy reflex to declare everything to be secret. This is abetted by members of the vast "Intelligence Community" who have rotated into the private sector and have a lucrative side-hustle as TV talking heads who spin spy-thriller fantasies about the risks of these paper broken arrows.

Dayen points to Senator Moynihan's 1997 report on "Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy," and its conclusion that if you declare everything secret, then nothing ends up being truly secret. It's a brilliant, readable, devastating critique of official secrecy. Nothing has been done about its recommendations:

https://sgp.fas.org/library/moynihan/

In 2016, the House Oversight Committee concluded that 90% of classified documents should not be classified, the same figure that the DoD came up with in its own report, 60 years earlier:

https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/examining-costs-overclassification-transparency-security/

Meanwhile, the Information Security Oversight Office - which oversees classification - keeps ringing alarm bells about overclassification, with 50m+ documents being classified in a typical year. Rather than listen to the ISOO, Congress has cut its staff in half over the past decade. 620 ISOO employees oversee the three million Americans empowered to classify documents:

https://fas.org/irp/congress/2016_hr/overclass.pdf

In 2010, the Washington Post's Dana Priest and William Arkin took stock of the post-9/11 explosion in state secrets in their "Top Secret America" report: "No one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/top-secret-america/2010/07/19/hidden-world-growing-beyond-control-2/

Attempts to liberate classified docs using FOIA requests fail repeatedly, with US agencies returning heavily redacted documents, even blacking out a report on the plans of the "Group of the Martyr Ebenezer Scrooge [to hijack the Christmas Eve flight of] Prime Minister and Chief Courier S. Claus."

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/magazine/the-strange-politics-of-classified-information.html

As Dayen says, the talking point from ex-spooks on TV that "overclassification is no excuse for bad document handling," is the equivalent of the old saw that "mass shootings are not the time to talk about gun control." And yet, the press keeps buying it.

Take the Politico op-ed by an ex-FBI spook, who turned the fact that "a foreign leader might like turnip-flavored ice cream into a classifiable scenario," proving that there is no overclassification excuse too absurd to get an airing:

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/01/26/the-wrong-question-about-the-classified-documents-scandal-00079540

[Image ID: A photograph of the Military Records Center in Alexandria, Virginia. Displayed are some captured German records waiting to be boxed.]

[thailandlawyerss]

Thailand Long-Term Resident Visa

Thailand's Long-Term Resident Visa offers a gateway to a relaxed and fulfilling lifestyle in the Land of Smiles. This visa provides individuals with the opportunity to reside in Thailand for an extended period, enjoying the country's vibrant culture, stunning landscapes, and affordable cost of living.

Eligibility Criteria and Application Process

To qualify for the Long-Term Resident Visa, applicants must meet specific criteria, including:

Age: Be at least 50 years old.

Financial Stability: Demonstrate a monthly income of at least 50,000 Thai Baht or its equivalent.

Health Insurance: Have health insurance coverage that includes hospitalization and outpatient treatment.

No Criminal Record: Have no criminal convictions.

The application process involves submitting various documents, such as:

Passport and visa application forms

Proof of income

Health insurance certificate

Police clearance certificate

Recent passport-sized photographs

Once submitted, the application is reviewed by the Thai immigration authorities. The processing time may vary, but generally, it takes a few weeks to receive a decision.

Benefits of the Long-Term Resident Visa

The Long-Term Resident Visa offers several advantages to its holders, including:

Multiple-Entry: Enables multiple entries into Thailand within a year.

Extended Stay: Allows for a stay of up to one year per visit.

Dependents: Permits the inclusion of dependents, such as spouse and unmarried children under 20 years old.

Work Permit Exemption: Exempts visa holders from the requirement to obtain a work permit for certain activities, such as consulting or freelance work.

Tax Benefits: Offers potential tax advantages for individuals who meet specific criteria and are considered non-resident taxpayers.

High-Quality Healthcare: Provides access to Thailand's world-class healthcare facilities and services.

Vibrant Lifestyle: Offers a unique cultural experience and a high quality of life in a tropical paradise.

Living in Thailand on a Long-Term Resident Visa

Thailand offers a diverse range of living options to suit various preferences and budgets. From bustling cities like Bangkok to serene coastal towns like Phuket, there is something for everyone.

The cost of living in Thailand is generally lower than many Western countries, making it an affordable destination for retirees and digital nomads. Housing options include condominiums, villas, and rental properties.

The Thai culture is known for its warmth, hospitality, and respect for tradition. Expats can immerse themselves in the local way of life by learning the Thai language, exploring traditional markets, and participating in cultural events.

Considerations for Obtaining a Long-Term Resident Visa

While the Long-Term Resident Visa offers many benefits, it is essential to consider the following factors before applying:

Financial Requirements: Ensure that you meet the minimum income requirements and can maintain a comfortable lifestyle in Thailand.

Healthcare Coverage: Verify that your health insurance meets the necessary criteria and provides adequate coverage for your needs.

Tax Implications: Understand the potential tax implications of residing in Thailand as a non-resident taxpayer.

Lifestyle Preferences: Consider whether Thailand's culture and way of life align with your personal preferences and expectations.

The Long-Term Resident Visa presents an excellent opportunity for individuals seeking a fulfilling and enjoyable lifestyle in a tropical paradise. By carefully considering the eligibility criteria, benefits, and potential challenges, you can make an informed decision about whether this visa is the right choice for you.