#i cant BE independent and i dont necessarily want to be about half the time but then i feel self conscious and ashamed and uncomfortable bc

[audiovisualrecall]

Last night my mom was like okay tomorrow let's spend the day looking into the state health insurance stuff together and I was like okay great! I'll enroll in the work one and we will see if the state options are any good. I Can dream about doing The Artist Thing and not just continue to try to do the Normal (aka Neurotypical) Thing of a normal Job when my brain isn't good at that and it leads to embarrassing meltdowns and lots of stress for me.

And today.... she apparently asked dad to start working on it with me but I didn't come down for breakfast till 11 at which pt he started working on the easel he's actually decided to Make me for my birthday gift (crazy man! Looks at the ones in stores and looks at plans and decides he can do better and just goes and starts!), and he didn't mention anything to me before that, and she was at services this morning and then got some groceries and got home at like almost 1, had a snack? Lunch? And was like I'm gonna just sit down for a bit and then we can do that, but I started reading and just realized it's almost 2 so went to talk to her and she's napping. So. Idefk. I'm disappointed.

[blueskittlesart]

i am in a sad. how about some hc characteristics for link and zelda

this is so long because i have so many feelings and half of this is more analysis of their canon characters than headcanons but its IMPORTANT so i cant omit any of it but i dont want to make a super long post analyzing video game characters so it’s under the readmore hgfdfghj

SO link was always a very quiet kid even before the sword and everything. He wouldn’t speak unless spoken to and was shy enough that he had trouble socializing with the other kids in his village. However i dont think it really would have bothered him that much?? he found his own ways to have fun, climbing trees or shield surfing down the hills around hateno. Even as a kid, he was very independent and had a tendency to want to resolve problems on his own without going to anyone else for help, so he’d come home with two skinned knees insisting that he was fine and he didn’t need his mother’s help bandaging them up. (yes this drove his mother crazy, yes mipha also had to deal with this shit and that’s what made that cutscene between them so intimate, it was her telling him that he’s allowed to trust her enough to let her help and that she will always be there to heal him as many times as it takes. dont talk to me) Through his memories we see that zelda thinks, or thought, that he unquestioningly accepted his duty as the hylian champion and never had any struggles with his place in the world, but zelda tends to take things at face value and i find it hard to believe that link never had any regrets about his position. He was put into training as young as twelve years old, essentially taken away from his family and his life in order to serve a higher destiny. I think it probably lead to link placing all his value on how he can serve others. As far as he’s concerned, his only worth is contingent on his ability to protect and serve zelda and the other champions, which is why we see so much of him getting hurt or being reckless in order to protect others; he believes on some level that if he fails to be a good soldier he will not matter to anyone anymore. his only worth in his mind is based on how he can be “useful.” On a less depressing note tho i think hes very good with animals, espc horses! he finds them easier to interact with than people. dogs are the same, theres a reason it only takes like a minute of him standing in front of a dog for it to follow him wherever he goes. He also likes to cook and that’s not even a hc have you seen the little graphics for all the different food he can make? the PRESENTATION. he’s very deliberate in little things like that because it MATTERS to him that what he makes looks good! not for any particular reason, not to impress anyone but because he’s made it for himself and he wants to take pride in what he’s made. thanks for coming to my ted talk 

Ok now on to zelda. She has a lot more canon personality than link which like. she’s an npc and link is the player character so that’s to be expected BUT i still have a lot to say about her character. She’s headstrong and stubborn and emotional and it gets her into trouble. She has a tendency to take things at face value and she lets her emotions take over very quickly, which puts a strain on her relationships with others. Due to her status and the prophecy she was supposed to fulfill she was incredibly isolated as a child. she hardly ever interacted with anyone her own age, which is why she treats link the way she does at first; she doesn’t have any experience with anyone who isn’t required to be around her. She’s used to being condescended to while simultaneously being expected to be perfect in everything she does, and it’s made her... mean. she deliberately pushes people (read: link) away because she believes that no one really cares about her outside of her status and her supposed power, and what we see of her father’s actions only reinforce that perspective. she and link are very VERY similar in that regard, in that they place all their self-worth on their importance as hyrule’s prophecized saviors. the difference between them is that zelda fails, she is unable to be the perfect princess she is expected to be, and she has a support system in urbosa (and link, and as far as im concerned mipha too even tho they aren’t shown to be friends in canon) that allows her to recover from the trauma that forced her into that mindset. she learns to be more empathetic, she stops pushing people away and begins to consider how her actions affect others. she doesn’t necessarily lose the idea that she has to be useful completely, but she becomes aware of it and makes an effort to not take out her frustrations with herself on other people. Ok thats most of my Thoughts out of the way so onto the less depressing stuff, Zelda is INCREDIBLY smart. like child prodigy level intelligence. Her mind is very mathematically oriented, which is partially why she’s so drawn to sheikah tech. it’s something she understands very easily and can break down to its most bare functions in a matter of minutes. she was instrumental in getting literal ANCIENT TECH to work again and was respected by sheikah scholars. She is also very very curious, which helps her out in certain situations, but can be... problematic in others. she doesn’t know when to leave well enough alone. shes essentially always turned up to 11. She’s interested in animals, like link, but her interest is from a much more scientific standpoint than his. She has trouble with animals that require a more empathetic approach, like horses, because she prefers to think of animals and plants in terms of their benefit to her: a horse is transportation, a frog could be used in an elixir or a dish, etc etc. her curiosity and willingness to learn help her out a lot post-calamity when she finds herself traveling hyrule with link. though not very adept with weapons, at least at first, her quick thinking makes her a good strategist. she’s adept at finding weaknesses in enemies that may be less obvious to a common soldier (cough cough she literally highlights ganon’s weaknesses in the final battle of botw and i want them to keep that motif in botw2 because it makes so much sense for her nintendo PLEASE)

HELP THIS IS SO LONG AND IT CAN BARELY EVEN BE CONSIDERED HEADCANONS IM SO SORRY I JUST. HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABT BOTW LINK AND ZELDA DONT TALK TO ME

[sevensoulmates]

I want budfdie to become canon but I cant imagine how because I honestly cant see buck making the first move cause hes confident but I dont think he would risk ruining what him eddie and chris currently have and the same with eddie tbh

See now that’s where the show can get creative. Make it interesting. Don’t make it so straight forward as a simple confession and boom we done. The nitty gritty is where this romance shit sucks me in. 

We’ve seen that the show is not above quick fixes when it comes to romance. We’ve seen Bathena happen over the course of 1 episode. We saw Madney happen over the course of half of season 2. We saw Buck/Abby start and end over the course of 1 season. Depending on when the show decides to make them get together, it’ll definitely be the longest it took for them to set up a couple. 

If you really want me to talk about I personally would LIKE to see it all go down (and not necessarily 100% how I predict it will go down), you can read under the cut. 

If we’re talking wish-fulfillment, I would like there to be something that comes up that changes the buckley-diaz family dynamic (like a love interest? or a new baby?) Suddenly Buck’s attention is not completely on Eddie/Christopher. Or maybe Buck is forced to not spend as much time with them if Eddie is the one with a love interest. Whatever way, something happens and the dynamic they’ve come to build and love has to change. And not-a-one of them likes it. At all. It feels off. It feels fractured. It feels incomplete. It’s just not right but they can’t figure out why. 

Then I would like something to happen that makes Buck realize his feelings are romantic. Not sure what. Could be a near death experience, could be a buckley-diaz family moment, could be a love interest jealousy, etc. Something happens, Buck now realizes his feelings but keeps it quiet. Buck’s abandonment issues are likely to really shine due to this. Don’t tell Eddie your feelings, because rejection will literally mean losing the two most important people in his life. 

Then, I would like for the story to progress with Eddie learning to let Christopher be an independent person, and Eddie learning how to be the Eddie’s who entire identity isn’t Christopher’s Father. I would like him to seek Buck out more for one on one time that doesn’t involve Christopher. This could be clouded by things going on in the background like a love interest, or whatever dramatic things are happening with work (ie. like the lawsuit/street-fighting arcs this season). But Eddie starts to find himself needing and wanting Buck even more now that he’s trying to figure himself out outside of his role of Father. And then whether or not they have a love interest happening on the side, or any other dramatic things, I just want them to WANT to be in each other’s presence so much that they are fighting to carve time out together. 

And then I would like something to happen in one of two ways: 

1.) maybe something exceptionally funny happens, like a crazy stupid call, or something with Christopher, or maybe Buck and Eddie babysitting Baby Madney and something funny happens, etc, anyway they’re busting up laughing, just enjoying themselves so completely in each other’s presence, that they both naturally lean into a kiss. OR

2.) something big happens work related. another near-death experience. something triggering for one or both of them. or maybe failing to save someone and it hits them hard. And they just naturally seek out comfort from the other, and in that comfort, find themselves kissing.

I truly don’t think the show will have them doing much verbal confessing to start out with. I think it will be something physical like a kiss, that will force them into needing to figure out what they are to each other. This might lead them to seek out a separate love interest (man or woman), or it might lead them to distancing themselves for a time. But because they’ve come to find that they need the other so badly in their lives, they can’t just avoid each other. Last time they were this separated Eddie fell into street-fighting. So, they decide to slowly see where things might be able to go with them. No telling anyone. No letting it effect work. No letting it effect Christopher. If one or both of them feel that it might not work out romantically, then they both mutually agree to going back to being best friends who are still always there for each other and always there for Chris. 

AND THEN, once they DO decide to tell people. I want to see some drama happen on the work related front. I do not want them to just slide back on into work easy peasy. I want there to be ramifications, perhaps consequences having to do with fraternization (I’m pretty sure I read this in a fic somewhere). I don’t want it to be as easy as “okay sign these papers we gucci now”. I want there to be an adjustment period where they are now forced to fight for their relationship on a professional front as well, not just a personal one. I want them to have to show that ‘hey we can be professional as work partners at work while still being romantic partners outside of work’. 

And this doesn’t have to all happen over the course of 1 season (like season 4). Could happen over the course of multiple. I’m pretty sure this formula has been done somewhere in some fics, idk man. I’m not a procedural show writer, but these are some general thoughts I have about them potentially getting together in a way that’s both in character and could actually be plausible. 

Along the way some other things I would like to see happening on the buckley-diaz family front:

a throw back to the grocery store scene involving an apology on eddie’s end and an actual discussion of buck’s feelings of abandonment as well as eddie’s.

pointed differences between buck being a father to chris vs. an uncle to madney baby

eddie actually learning of buck’s past

soft hugs, warm kisses

someone acknowledging buck, eddie and chris as their own family unit

chris and buck individual bonding moments

acknowledgement of buck being chris’s other father

chris having more moments of friendship with the other firefam kids specifically denny and harry. I want them to be bffs. 

[patriotsnet]

Who Should Republicans Vote For In The Democratic Primary

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/who-should-republicans-vote-for-in-the-democratic-primary/

Who Should Republicans Vote For In The Democratic Primary

The Republicans Planning To Vote In South Carolinas Democratic Primary

Republican Caller: Should I Vote in the Democratic Primary to Undermine Bernie?

Save Story

Save this story for later.

Save Story

Save this story for later.

Twelve years ago, Rush Limbaugh, who had not yet received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, urged the listeners of his enormously popular and very conservative talk-radio show to vote for Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries. In the patchwork process that is employed to nominate Presidential candidates, more than a dozen states have open primaries, which allow registered voters to participate in either contest. Limbaugh wanted Clintons close but seemingly losing fight with Barack Obama to go on for as long as possible, on the theory that a protracted battle would weaken the eventual nominee. He called the plan Operation Chaos. Limbaugh didnt think that Clinton was necessarily the weaker of the two candidatesin fact, he ultimately concluded that Obama was; by May, 2008, he was pushing his fans to vote for the senator from Illinois. Barack Obama has shown he cannot get the votes Democrats need to winblue-collar, working-class people, Limbaugh said. He can get effete snobs, he can get wealthy academics, he can get the young, and he can get the black vote, but Democrats do not win with that.

Invite Independents Into The Process

The Democratic Party ought to open the nominating process to voters registered as independents, allowing them to sign up as Democrats on primary day. Sixteen states have created open primaries through laws or referendums, according to the nonprofit group Open Primaries, although the parties have the authority to do so unilaterally. Yet Democrats have done so in only six states, the group notes.

James Zogby is president of the Arab American Institute and a member of the Democratic National Committees executive committee. Bernie Sanders appointed him to the partys primary reform commission.

Reaching out to such voters currently alienated by the two major parties would increase the chances that the Democratic nominee can win in November. At the same time, the party needs to work to strengthen its bonds with its existing members.

The sad but simple truth is that being a Democrat no longer means very much to many Americans. According to the most recent Gallup poll, only 27 percent of voters identify as Democrats, and 30 percent say they are Republicans. At the same time, 42 percent call themselves independents, including half of millennial voters . This share of American voters who dont identify with any party has held constant for well over a decade.

The Democratic Party needs to give voters, including independents, a reason to become engaged in party-building. Since we need the votes of independents in the fall, shouldnt we give them a voice in the spring?

What Is A Party Primary Election

The Democratic and Republican Parties are required to use primary elections to choose their candidates for the general election. Although it is up to the parties to decide who may vote in their primaries, generally only registered voters affiliated with the Democratic or Republican Parties may vote in that partys primary election.

Read Also: Democrats Have Tried To Impeach Every President Since Eisenhower

Reform Options Are Plentiful

Most of todays political reformers put their money on proposals to tinker with voting protocols , or to increase participation , or to improve fairness . Of those proposals, the most relevant to the problems we identify is probably ranked choice voting. In principle, it provides deeper information about voter preferences and may select candidates who are more satisfactory to a majority of voters, because it allows voters to register their second- and third-choice preferences. If no candidate receives a majority of votes on the first ballot, the last-place candidate is dropped. Her voters get to register their second choice on the subsequent ballot. The process is repeated until a majority winner emerges. How ranked-choice voting would ultimately play out is hard to foresee. It might encourage coalition-building and help prevent the anointment of factional candidates. On the other hand, it makes voting more complex and cognitively demanding, and it might attract insurgent bids, no-hope candidates, and splinter parties seeking influence by running for second or third place.

Most process reforms are more likely to succeed as complements to professional input than as substitutes for it.

How might they do so? Consider some possibilitiesnot necessarily as conclusive answers, but as examples.42

Donald Trump Calls On Republicans To Vote For The Weakest Candidate In New Hampshire Democratic Primary To Sabotage It As He Claims Nancy Pelosi Was ‘mumbling’ And ‘distracting’ Him During His State Of The Union Speech

Donald Trump descended on Manchester, New Hampshire Monday night with his A-team as the Democrats prepare for the primary election there the next day;

He espoused the idea that Republicans could vote in the Democratic primary in the state for the candidate they feel is the weakest to sabotage;the results

‘My only problem is I’m trying to figure out who is their weakest candidate. I think they’re all weak,’ he said;

The president dug into Pelosi at the raucous rally accusing her of ‘angrily’ mumbling and distracting him during his State of the Union address last week where she ripped up his speech

The president was joined by Vice President Mike Pence, his son Don Jr., Ivanka and Jared Kushner;

Trump said he was holding the New Hampshire rally on the eve of the primary because he wants to rattle the Democrats campaigning there and said he wanted to ‘shake up the Dems a little bit’;

At the same time, Democratic primary candidate scattered across the state for campaign events of their own;

The president has mocked the fiasco in Iowa, where results were delayed for almost a week;

He also held rally in Des Moines, Iowa right before the first-in-the-nation caucuses;

Recommended Reading: How Many Democrats And Republicans In The Senate

Should Teachers Vote Democrat Or Republican

Educators tend to lean liberal, but why is that the case? Is there any reason that teachers should vote Democrat over Republican to protect their professional interests? And what about the ethical obligation that teachers have as the guides of society towards a more progressive and brighter future?

Should teachers vote democrat or republican? Regardless of your personal politics, its in the best interest of all teachers in America to vote Democrat. The primary reason for this fact is a simple oneDemocrats favour funding education, while Republicans do not. Republicans are also very hostile towards teachers unions, which protect teachers from being exploited in the workplace.;;

Even if you support some of the Republican platforms as a teacher, youre pretty much voting against your paycheck and workplace resources if you vote Republican candidates into office.

Read on to find out more about why teachers should objectively vote Democrat.;;

Teachers Have An Obligation To Vote Democrat

Personal political convictions aside, any teacher who chooses to vote for Republicans based on their civil or economic platform is objectively voting against their own best interests.

For increased public education funding and more progressive social welfare programs that directly aid teaching staff, the Democratic Party is pretty much the only reasonable option.

Recommended Reading: Will Any Republicans Vote To Remove Trump

How Parties Can Enact 17

17-year-old primary and caucus voting does not require state legislative action.;Many states adopting this policy have done so by state law, but others have by changing state party rules.;

State parties have broad authority over their nominating contests.

They may request to allow 17-year-old primary voting by asserting their First Amendment freedom of association rights.

Primary voting rights for 17-year-olds is legal and does not change the voting age.

Only those 17-year-olds who will be 18 by the general election may vote in the corresponding primary election or caucus. FairVote’s proposal treats the nomination contest as an integral part of the general election in which these citizens can vote.

The 26th Amendment prevents states from denying suffrage to 18-year-olds, but does not prevent states from establishing 17-year-old primary and caucus voting.

Its Primary Day In Pennsylvania Heres What Voters Need To Know

Will President Trump encourage Ohio Republicans to vote in the Democratic Primary

By

Laura Benshoff

May 18, 2021

Voters, wearing protective face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus, stand at a distance from each other as they wait in line to casts their ballot in the Pennsylvania primary in Philadelphia, Tuesday, June 2, 2020.

Its Primary Day in Pennsylvania.

Voters around the commonwealth will pick representatives from their parties to put on the ballot for the November general election. In Philadelphia, where Democrats outnumber Republicans seven to one, the primary can be more determinative than the general election.

Judicial races, school board seats, and the Philadelphia District Attorneys office are all in the running.

Recommended Reading: What Percent Of Republicans Approve Of Trump

You May Like: Are Republicans Or Democrats More Educated

How Do You Choose

When you show up to your polling location, youll decide whether you want a Democratic or Republican primary ballot.

But after choosing a side in the primary, you have to stay in that lane through the runoff. You cant vote Republican in the primary election and then participate in a runoff election between top Democratic candidates.

That said, voting in a primary does not commit you to vote for a particular candidate in the general election. You can vote for either partys candidate in the November election.

You May Like: Is There Any Republicans Running For President Besides Trump

A Brief History Of Crossover Voting

More than 20 states permit voters affiliated with any political party to vote for candidates in open primaries. Republicans can vote in Democratic primaries, and vice versa.

But as Jeff Stein detailed for Vox in 2016, members of both the Democratic and Republican parties have long railed against open primaries for the exact reason Martin cited during our conversation. Opponents argue that they can weaken the influence of loyal party members and move the party in the wrong direction.

Loyal party members can resent the idea of someone with no allegiance to the party selecting its most important nominee, Richard Berg-Andersson says.

The attitude is: Were the ones working hard, licking the envelopes, handing out the brochures, Berg-Andersson says. And we dont like the notion that someone who shows up every four years to vote and isnt really committed to the party gets to help choose its nominee.

For example, in the 2000 election, some Republicans argued that Democrats who voted for John McCain in Michigan were meddling in GOP politics but would never vote for a Republican in the fall. And some Democrats who voiced support for McCain in open primary states made it clear that they would not be voting for a Republican in the general election.

As the New York Times wrote in February 2000:

But ironic examples do not a political science trend make. So I asked some political scientists: can crossover voting really shift elections?

Also Check: How Do Republicans Feel About Donald Trump

What If I Moved Since The Last Time I Voted

If you moved from another state or D.C., you would have already had to register in Virginia. If you havent done that already, its too late for you to vote in the primary.;

If you moved within Virginia, you were supposed to update your voter record. But if your move occurred since the last November election, you may return to and vote at your previous polling location, the elections department says.;

The Present Process Is Prone To Chaos And Capture

We need not recount here the devastating effectiveness with which Donald Trumps insurgent candidacy steamrolled the traditional gatekeepers, commandeered media attention, and mobilized what some of his backers called his troll army. However, the weakening of gatekeeping was not limited to one candidate or one party. The Democratic Party establishment found itself barely able to contain the insurgency of Sanders, even though he was not a Democrat and he did not win a majority of self-identified Democrats except in his home state of Vermont and neighboring New Hampshire.

Neither candidate changed the system all by himself. Rather, both saw and exploited the invisible primarys fragility. Candidates could bypass traditional moneymen by reaping donations online, tapping deep-pocketed tycoons, or funding themselves. They could bypass traditional media by using social platforms like Twitter and Facebook, and they could hijack traditional media by behaving outrageously. They could treat their lack of endorsements as a mark of authenticity.

he nomination process makes unrealistic demands on voters, not because voters are lazy or stupidtheyre notbut because they are human.

You May Like: Did Republicans Riot After Obama Was Elected

Don’t Miss: Are Republicans Or Democrats Better For Small Business

Republican Presidential Nomination 2020

Presidential election changes in response to the coronavirus pandemic

The Republican Party selected President Donald Trump as its presidential nominee at the 2020 Republican National Convention, which was held from August 24-27, 2020.

Prior to the national convention, individual state caucuses and primaries were held to allocate convention delegates. These delegates vote at the convention to select the nominee. Trump crossed the delegate threshold necessary to win the nomination1,276 delegateson .

George H.W. Bush was the last incumbent to face a serious primary challenge, defeating political commentator Pat Buchanan in 1992. He was also the last president to lose his re-election campaign. Franklin Pierce was the first and only elected president to lose his party’s nomination in 1856.

Sixteen U.S. presidentsapproximately one-thirdhave won two consecutive elections.

South Carolina’s Open Democratic Primary Means Republicans Can Vote Too

When South Carolina voters cast their votes in the state’s Democratic primary Saturday, registered Republicans will also be able to show up and vote. Here, the state’s primaries are open, which means all registered South Carolina voters can participate in either party’s primary regardless of political affiliation.;

The South Carolina Republican Party;announced;in September that it would join a list of other states that would not hold a presidential primary this year. Historically, the South Carolina GOP also didn’t hold primaries when Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush were incumbents in 1984 and 2004, respectively.

Now, some South Carolina Republicans and Tea Party activists are encouraging Republican voters to participate in Saturday’s contest. Karen Martin, organizer of the Spartanburg Tea Party, is leading Trump 229 , an effort that’s using social media and word-of-mouth to encourage Republicans to vote for Bernie Sanders on Saturday.;

Joe Biden has been leading the race in South Carolina. Martin said that her small group was hoping to win enough support for Sanders to bump him into first place, above Joe Biden, who has been holding onto a shrinking lead in the state.;

The initial impetus for the group, according to Martin, was “who can we pick to coalesce our votes around that would make the most impact on South Carolina Democrats understanding why they should join us closing their primary?”

Don’t Miss: What Witnesses Did The Republicans Want To Call

How Are Primary Elections Conducted In California

All candidates for voter-nominated offices are listed on one ballot and only the top two vote-getters in the primary election regardless of party preference – move on to the general election. Write-in candidates for voter-nominated offices can only run in the primary election. A write-in candidate will only move on to the general election if the candidate is one of the top two vote-getters in the primary election.

Prior to the Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act, the top vote-getter from each qualified political party, as well as any write-in candidate who received a certain percentage of votes, moved on to the general election.

The Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act does not apply to candidates running for U.S. President, county central committee, or local office.

So How Does That Compare

Independent Voters Can Cast Ballot For Democratic Primary, But Not Republican In March

Voters who live in states with closed primaries are required to register with a political party in order to vote in that partys primary. If you wanted to vote in the Republican primary in New York, you have to register as a Republican. Oftentimes, third-party voters are locked out of the Republican and Democratic primaries. But some states, like Oklahoma, are a bit of a hybrid and let independent voters choose which primaries they want to participate in.

Also Check: How Can Republicans Live With Themselves

Do Democrats Support Public Education

In contrast to the Republican Party, the Democratic Party has always come out in strong support of public education and educators. Not only do they support those progressive systems and policies that are already in place, but they also favour continuing to reform the public education system in the following ways:;

Dont forget to join my , like my and follow me on

What Is A Voter

The Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act, which took effect January 1, 2011, created “voter-nominated” offices. The Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act does not apply to candidates running for U.S. President, county central committees, or local offices.

Most of the offices that were previously known as “partisan” are now known as “voter-nominated” offices. Voter-nominated offices are state constitutional offices, state legislative offices, and U.S. congressional offices. The only “partisan offices” now are the offices of U.S. President and county central committee.

Read Also: What Are The Chances Of The Republicans Winning The House

Do Republicans Support Public Education

The simple answer is noRepublicans as a general rule do not support public education institutions.

Instead, many Republicans support charter choice or vouchers for private schools, to push for the further privatisation of the educational system.;

In theory, this looks good. Students have more choice in where they will get to go to school, and money is funneled out of inefficient public schools. In practice, it is an absolute failure of implementation.;

Here are some of the ways that Republican policy has hindered public education in the past two decades:

Education has never been a cornerstone of the Republican political platform.

It should come as no surprise that whenever theyre in power, the educational system ends up getting fleeced.

[a-panda-reads-act-omega]

ACT OMEGA PART 8

THE 24/10/16 UPDATE

Woow, another liveblog from your favorite act omega liveblogger. Are there any other livebloggers out there i need to know.  So yeah, here we are with part 8! Big Vriska number for the win. Also only two updates away from double digits! Yeah, I’m not sure I thought this through with the whole update-update format, this might take a L OT of posts to get caught up. Luckily, I have no problem with making a fuckton of posts. Anyways, I think we left off with the kids, so lets hurry up and get back to them!

(Cant post the image. Here’s the link. http://mspfanventures.com/?s=16414&p=47)

GASP, IS thIS SOME MULTIPLE CHOICE SHIT? Well considering I’m forever going to be staying chronological, I suppose I should start with the one on the next page! 

A CHARACTER SELECTION MENU appears through the power of NON-LINEAR STORYTELLING. You know the drill by now, have some free will! Or just go in this order, if you think agency is overrated

ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE

Oh, that’s helpful. Great, I’ll start with ONE then.

The fact that you are a dedicated and loyal reader is obvious and indisputable, so of course you won’t be moving on ahead without having taken a gander at all of the options presented to you.

Obviously! what kinda brainless CHUMP would move on without you explicitly stating to? NOT ME.

Anyways, starting with ONE.

PFt, woah their eyes. 

KANAYA: (Hey) ROXY: oh heeeeey! KANAYA: (Hey To You Again Except Slightly More Quietly) ROXY: (oh sorry)

It seems they gotta be quiet for reasons. H  m m M..

ROXY: (why r we whispering) KANAYA: (I Am Not Entirely Sure)

So they just need to be miss zuipPer lips for no reason then?

KANAYA: (That Just Seems To Be What Everyone Has Lapsed Into Doing) KANAYA: (And Now Speaking In A Normal Volume Will Draw More Attention Than Desired Especially When Attempting To Have A Private Conversation) ROXY: (im lovin this private convo already but you might need to make it snappy)

so everybodys just whispering? do they all got SECRETS? Also, what’s the hurry Roxy?

ROXY: (john looks about ready to get down n dirty with some srs leadership biz)

Oh yeah.

KANAYA: (Alright Then I Will Attempt To Be Brief) KANAYA: (I Wanted To Thank You Again) KANAYA: (For The Matriorb Certainly)

Alright cool! It seems that this Kanaya does remember Roxy giving her the good ol’ matriorb. 

KANAYA: (But Additionally For Everything Else You Have Accomplished Today) KANAYA: (I Know Being The One To Strike The Final Blow Against Our Shared Enemy In The Midst Of Battle Does Not Necessarily Warrant Gratitude But I Thought It Might Be Nice For You To Hear That What You Did Was Appreciated)

What she DID, was prove herself to be a goddamn BADASS. But honestly everybody here’s a badass one way or another. 

KANAYA: (At Least By Me) KANAYA: (On Behalf Of My Species As Well As All Those Who Suffered At The Behest Of The Condesce) KANAYA: (And All Those That May Now Be Born And Live Free Of Tyranny) KANAYA: (You Did Good)

Pft, nice. “Ya did good, kid.” 

ROXY: (omg i am cri)

goddammit these lines always manage to be fucking perfect.

ROXY: (that wasnt brief @ all but twas so so bootiful) ROXY: (gdi cmere moms big loveable space gf)

OK this doesn’t need to be stated, but I fucking love roxy.

KANAYA: (Um I Would Prefer It If We Saved The Hug For Later Maybe) ROXY: (aww ok thats cool)

nO FUCKING HUG NOW

KANAYA: (Anyway I Have Only Just Met You But You Have Already Proven Yourself To Be Just As Extraordinary An Individual As Your...) KANAYA: (Uh) KANAYA: (Rose)

Nice Kanaya.

ROXY: (as my rose?) KANAYA: (Yes Your Rose) ROXY: (;D)

ITS CONFIRMED, Rose is Roxy’s Rose. this conversation is so cute.

See you’re still over there TZ. Whatcha lookin at? The uh... oh youre blind. what are you doing terezi?? come on girl, celebrate!

ROXY: (okay looks like john got distracted by somethin) ROXY: (so since we got a little more time to chat it up) ROXY: (and so long as were exchangin bomb as FUCK felicitations) ROXY: (youre not so shabby yourself yknow) ROXY: (like damn i was absolutely right youre one deadly customer)

Yeah no fuckin kidding, this girl knows how to kick ass.

ROXY: (seeing u whip out that BEASTLY CHAINSAW) ROXY: (was a sight to behold)

PFt, that was nothing. You should have seen when she single handedly put three of the most dangerous characters on the meteor out of commision. 

KANAYA: (I Really Did Not Do All That Much Surprisingly) KANAYA: (Or Perhaps Unsurprisingly) KANAYA: (I Am Not Sure If I Was Erring On The Side Of Caution After All) KANAYA: (Out Of Consideration For The Gift You Gave Me) KANAYA: (Or If Perhaps I Was Simply Unpracticed)

Well yeah, she didnt do as much in this battle as the others.  But like she said, she had the matriorb to keep safe. PLUS, she wasnt godtier. So yeah Kanaya, you’re excused from doing your makeup during the final epic battle.

ROXY: (who cares??) ROXY: (we WON) ROXY: (gave that witch what was COMING TO HER) ROXY: (and thats the end of that no point gettin our knickers all in a twist over it no more)

Roxy’s got the right idea. There doesn’t gotta be any more “proving yourself.” You did the battle, and you came out on top!  JUst be done with it.

KANAYA: (Yes I Suppose Youre Right) KANAYA: (Though I Do Wonder How Things Might Have Gone If I Had Attempted To Dust Off One Of The Old Fraymotifs)

Oh shit, Kanaya’s got fraymotifs? And also, you can use fraymotifs without being godtier?

oh. wait. terezi isnt godtier is she? Yeah, you totally can use fraymotifs without godtier.

ROXY: (no kidding!) ROXY: (yeah that woulda been pretty badass) ROXY: (we could have had a sick combo) ROXY: (void and...) ROXY: (uh) KANAYA: (Space) ROXY: (right yeah space)

Well too bad you’ll never have the opportunity to USE that sick deadly combo!

I am ONE HUNDRED percent sure that will be the case

i am SO SURE

nobody has to die anymore

so

completely sure.

KANAYA: (It May Have Indeed Been Sick But Upon Further Reflection Perhaps Not)

No kanaya, it would be SUPER fuckin badass dont even give me that shit.

ROXY: (wait rly) ROXY: (how come?) KANAYA: (I Dont Feel Like I Ever Got The Opportunity To Truly Get In Touch With My Aspect Like You) KANAYA: (It Has Never Seemed Pertinent That I Be Able To Cast Some Sort Of Spacey Enchantment) KANAYA: (In Fact I Have Yet To Stumble Across A Scenario I Could Not Handle Through More Traditional Methods) ROXY: (u mean a deadly body slam full a sharp metal teeth twice the length of your head) KANAYA: (Yes Precisely) KANAYA: (That Tends To Cover The Bases Pretty Well)

WELL, Chainsaws do seem to cover many different issues. Mainly the ones which involve somebody needing to be cut the fuck in half. But I dont know if being “In touch” with your aspect was ever really a thing. I mean, when did John become “in touch” with his aspect? He just sorta got the powers and did shit with them. i dont really know what that has to do with it- wait a goddamn second. People always associate the wind aspect with like independence and shit, right? And.. the last thing that happened before John went godtier, was a choice. Given to him by Vriska, who for the first time decided to step back and let him decide what to do on his own. Whether or not she would have owned up to what she said about letting him decide how to fall asleep, he still made the choice and went with it on is own. So maybe that’s got something to do with it.

Or maybe I’m just an idiot.

ROXY: (well you know what thats cool) ROXY: (u do u) ROXY: (besides) ROXY: (hopefully there wont be any more reason for you to wreck shit)

GOddammit stop saying shit like that

KANAYA: (That Would Be Ideal I Suppose) KANAYA: (However It Is Always Wise To Be Prepared) KANAYA: (Just In Case) ROXY: (ofc!) ROXY: (and hey) ROXY: (just cuz we won the game doesnt mean there wont be any more opportunities to like) ROXY: (explore yourself and your aspect) ROXY: (our cool powers are too friggin handy for them to just stop bein relevant once we walk thru a magic door)

SPeaking of which, can THEY HURRY UP AND WALK THROUGH THE MAGIC FUCKING DOOR YET IM GETTING ANXIOUS.

ROXY: (maybe someday youll get the chance to blitz ur chakras and get spacey w it) ROXY: (and itll be at your own pace instead of having to rush it for the sake of fixing some giant spacetastrophe) KANAYA: (That Does Sound Nice)

YES IT DOES NOW HURRY UP THROUGH THE DOOR SO THAT BECOMES A REALITY COME THE FUCK ON JOHN

KANAYA: (Considering Right Now I Am Very Unsure Of How To Even Begin Blitzing Those Particular Chakras) ROXY: (i bet u can ask john) ROXY: (hes rly good at givin advice for stuff like that)

YES HE IS BUT HE ISNT GOOD AT OPENING DOORS AAAAA

ROXY: (tho he probably doesnt even know it pffff) KANAYA: (You Are Also Very Good At Giving Advice) KANAYA: (That Was Not Necessarily A Request I Simply Thought I Should Point That Out) ROXY: (TOO BAD youre gettin some anyway ;P) ROXY: (rly tho ive hardly even begun to wrestle my voidy powers into submission) ROXY: (still got a loooooong way to go on that front) ROXY: (but thus far most of my blitzing has just been like) ROXY: (being around the thing) ROXY: (and letting myself embrace this like) ROXY: (natural synergy i got going w it) KANAYA: (When You Say) KANAYA: (The Thing) KANAYA: (Do You Mean Nothing) KANAYA: (Considering Your Aspect Presides Over Literal Nothingness)

Yes Kanaya, this is exactly what she means.

ROXY: (pffft) ROXY: (yes thats what i mean :p) KANAYA: (Okay I Was Just Attempting To Clarify) KANAYA: (How Does One Surround Themselves With The Concept Of Nonexistence) ROXY: (i dunno!) ROXY: (when u put it that way it does sound pretty mind bending) ROXY: (i guess ive just been lucky?) ROXY: (or maybe the nothing is naturally attracted to me and lucks got nothin to do w it)

WELL YEAh, what isnt naturally attracted to you? Guys i just really love roxy help

ROXY: (but yeah i got that voidy ring @ one point) ROXY: (and when john started getting to fixing the timeline he took me to a place that felt like) ROXY: (the nothingest nothing to ever unexist) KANAYA: (That Sounds Interesting) KANAYA: (What Was It Like)

Probably nothing.

THATS a cool panel right there.

ROXY: (well it was) ROXY: (white) ROXY: (but not pure white) ROXY: (just slightly off) ROXY: (and) ROXY: (it was super vast) ROXY: (but not like regular outer space where you can actually see stuff like stars stretch on and on til you cant see it anymore) ROXY: (which at least gives u a sense of distance) ROXY: (but instead it was almost claustrophobic) ROXY: (cuz there was nothing there) ROXY: (you and all the other somethings just completely enveloped by a shrink wrap o absence)

HUmm.. thats pretty interesting to say the least. Not really sure what to think of it though! Just pretty nifty.

KANAYA: (Hmmmm) ROXY: (never really tried putting this into words) ROXY: (i think the thing about it was that the void sort of) ROXY: (changed) ROXY: (depending on how i chose to perceive it) ROXY: (cause the whole point is that its kinda like) ROXY: (idk) ROXY: (maybe a little like binary) KANAYA: (Binary?)

too bad sollux is dead he’d get a kick outta this.

did anybody make this connection. computer hacker guy who likes two’s. Binary. man. i feel like everybody did.

ROXY: (yknow binary) ROXY: (computer language) ROXY: (0011101100101001)

TRANSLATOr HELP

“;)“

omfg she just winked in binary.

KANAYA: (Oh That) ROXY: (the way that works is basically) ROXY: (you have a bit) ROXY: (like a computery bit) ROXY: (and it can say either 0 or 1) ROXY: (and dependin on which it is the computer displays the info differently) ROXY: (but the void is like a completely blank bit) ROXY: (there isnt a 0 or a 1 written on the bit yet but thats all were programmed to understand yknow) ROXY: (like 0 is technically nothing but whats important is that theres something there for you to see) ROXY: (but what im gettin at is that really void is just blank space waiting to be written on) ROXY: (by somebody like yours truly) ROXY: (im the computer and youre the person reading the display)

Oh. That’s pretty cool and shit. 

OH shes gettin all magicky here

ROXY: (and my whole voidy thing) ROXY: (is that i gotta figure out the code for whatever i wanna make exist) ROXY: (and write it on the blank bits) ROXY: (then) ROXY: (i snatch em outta the void!)

Oh AGAIN. YEAh, roxys power seems a lot cooler now.

ROXY: (yoink!!!)

*gasp*

nice lipstick yo

Kanaya is so fucking cute oml. She looks kinda dumbfounded by this lipstick.

KANAYA: (Wow) KANAYA: (That Was Really Quite Insightful Roxy) KANAYA: (I Think I Am Already Beginning To Understand Things Better) KANAYA: (But What Is This) ROXY: (p sure its lipstick!) ROXY: (and its 4 u) ROXY: (i dont rly know if pinks ur color but) ROXY: (here it is anyway!)

Oh god help me im already starting to ship it.

KANAYA: (Another Gift) KANAYA: (Why) ROXY: (daaaaw i dunno) ROXY: (i mean its actually kinda cool i was able to make this at all) ROXY: (i bet it must be bc of you somehow) ROXY: (you like lipstick right?) KANAYA: (Yes) ROXY: (i dont know if this is just me but i bet this is totes a thing w space players) ROXY: (like i get the vibe that u guys r more in touch with the objects around you) ROXY: (specially the ones thatre important to you) KANAYA: (I Suppose...)

HMm.. Interesting bit of aspect analysis. That could possibly be a thing.

ROXY: (well?) ROXY: (ru gonna take it or what) KANAYA: (I Really Cant Accept This) KANAYA: (I Was Attempting To Alleviate The Debt Of Gratitude I Have Already Been Accumulating Towards You) KANAYA: (A Measly Thank You Is Hardly Enough) KANAYA: (And Yet You Present Me With Even More To Be Thankful For)

COme on Kanaya dont be like that. Just take the thing and be hAPPY! you dont gotta prove yourself for a gift.

ROXY: (man thats not how this works) ROXY: (you dont owe me nothin) ROXY: (but heck if it makes u feel better) ROXY: (the space egg wasnt rly 4 u it was 4 all the little trollings that need to be born) ROXY: (skewering the batterwitch was definitely 4 me and earth and stuff) ROXY: (and the lipstick is to thank u for takin such good care of my mom :D)

Dont you mean your Rose?

KANAYA: (... That Does Make Me Feel Slightly Better) ROXY: (so youll take it??) KANAYA: (Okay) ROXY: (hella) KANAYA: (Thank You) KANAYA: (Again) ROXY: (dont mention it!)

She will likely mention this many times.

WEll that was the end for their interaction I suppose, so it seems like we get one page of another interaction then? I guess Dirk and Jake.

Ohp, yep. Jeez they look awkward.

DIRK: (... So.) JAKE: (...) DIRK: (...) DIRK: (That was some fight, huh.)

Goddammit this is awkward. 

JAKE: (Oh yes that sure was a doozy of a brawl we all just participated in.) JAKE: (Or rather multiple brawls.) DIRK: (I think you’re probably up to speed on exactly how well mine went.) JAKE: (Um.) JAKE: (Should i be?) DIRK: (Nevermind.)

Just another beheading of good ol’ Dirk. Seems like that’s a common thing for him. 

((OhOFOHSANSIJFN  HOLY SHIT I PRESSED A BUTTON AND FOR A SECOND I THOUGHT I ALMOST DELETED EVERYTHING I WROTE DAMMIT TUMBLR GIVE ME WARNINGS))

JAKE: (Sorry... its just difficult to, uh...) DIRK: (Don’t be sorry. It doesn’t actually matter.) JAKE: (The important part is you won right?) DIRK: (Yeah...) DIRK: (How did yours go?) DIRK: (If you feel like sharing, that is.) JAKE: (Oh i won too!) DIRK: (Well. Obviously.) DIRK: (I meant... like.) DIRK: (Specifically, HOW you won.) DIRK: (I’d be down to hear some details of all the kickassery you've been dishing out.) DIRK: (That must've been pretty crazy solo.)

Come ONNNN guys, quit dancing around the topic here. Somethings bothering you and its making everything shitty.

JAKE: (Oh.) JAKE: (Well i wasnt alone for long actually.) JAKE: (In fact it was quite the clusterfuck of skeletons sprites and green goblin brutes!) JAKE: (That crabby troll fellow even showed up at one point.) JAKE: (He seemed to be having a difficult time with one of the tinier rascals but i was up to my ears in fracas and fisticuffs myself and couldnt really lend him a hand.)

Dammit Karkat. I love him, but god he’s adorably pathetic in fights.

DIRK: (It looks like he’s alright, so no harm done.) DIRK: (How many of those green dudes were there again?) JAKE: (Im fairly certain there were 14.) DIRK: (And you trounced all of them?) JAKE: (Actually k...carat dealt with one of them i think.) JAKE: (They were small but a decidedly tricky foe. It was scurrying around so fast i dont think a single one of my bullets even grazed it!)

He has ALLLL the luck Jake, ALL of it!  Honestly, can we get a Vriska/Clover battle?

DIRK: (Well, shit. Sounds tough.) DIRK: (Still, my score reads "Jake: 13, Goblins: 0".) DIRK: (Oh, and I’m pretty sure the name you’re looking for is Karkat.) JAKE: (Is that so?) DIRK: (Yup.) JAKE: (My mistake then...) DIRK: (Don’t worry about it.)

Dammit Jake, don’t be so fucking hard on yourself. I feel bad for him now. Like, he’s beating himself up over not knowing a complete strangers name.

JAKE: (Have you spoken to him at all yet?) DIRK: (Nah.) JAKE: (Would you like to?) DIRK: (I guess? Sure.) DIRK: (He and Dave seem to be in the middle of something, though. No point in interrupting.) DIRK: (Besides, I’m talking to you right now.) JAKE: (...) DIRK: (...)

(...)

Alright dammit, I guess we’ll see if they get over whatever’s bugging them in the next update, because that’s the last page. Seeya next time and whatnot folks.

[therealestatesparkblog]

How Two 30-Something Twins Achieved FIRE in 5 Years on Rental Income

Spoiler alert: Drew and Scott Hoefler still work today. Except now its by choice. Now in their early 30s, the twins live and invest in the Twin Cities, and a decade ago never even considered a career in real estate. After five years of investing in real estate, they successfully reached financial independence. Heres their story, complete with the mistakes they made along the way. House Hunting, House Hacking In 2013, the twins were single 20-somethings working for agricultural giant Land-O-Lakes, looking to buy their first home. They planned to buy a home with a few bedrooms together, move in, and bring on a roommate or two if the house were big enough. Then, over dinner with their parents one night, their mom offered a better idea: Why dont you buy a two-flat? (Thats Midwest for duplex, FYI.) Teenagers may sneer at every idea their parents have, but in your 20s, you start paying attention once more to your parents advice. We quickly realized that we could live in one side, rent out the other side and cover our mortgage we were all-in. The hunt for the perfect duplex was on!

The (First) Duplex After touring some duds, the twins came across a gem in the Arts District in northeast Minneapolis. They described it as an up and coming neighborhood, which was not a euphemismthe neighborhood was gentrifying with a fun and funky craft beer scene. Then came the first stumbling block. At first look, Drew and I had trouble seeing the lower unit because of issues with the renters. We put our offer in based upon seeing the upstairs unit only. You know where this is going. The downstairs unit needed work, which they discovered after putting the duplex under contract. Luckily, the work was cosmetic, nothing structural or mechanical. Upon buying the property, they non-renewed the tenants, made updates such as removing the drop ceiling, and moved in. The purchase price was $208,000. Our financing was an American Dream program that was an owner-occupied conventional loan financed by U.S. Bank. Great program. We rented the upstairs unit out for $1,300 from day one. That proved enough to cover their mortgage payment. A successful house hack. Nowadays, with further gentrification in the neighborhood, they charge $1,700 for that upstairs unit. Related: Are Your Children Stopping You From Achieving Financial Freedom? Rinsing & Repeating the House Hack When you use owner-occupied financing, you have to live in the property for at least one year. So thats exactly what the Hoefler twins did. Seeing how easy it was to house hack and generate rental income, the twins knew they were onto something. They wanted to expand their portfolio. The first thing they did was look for other ways to lower their expenses, so they could put more of their income aside for their next property. If youve ever read a single sentence about FIRE (financial independence, retiring early), you know that the first rule of FIRE is maximizing your savings and investments. (FIRE Challenge: Start by brainstorming ways to live on half your income!) As they neared the end of their first year of house hacking, they set out to find another multifamily to house hack. They successfully rinsed and repeated this process for several years, living in the property for a year then buying a new multifamily and moving in, with owner-occupied financing. Which is a great way to start, but not a viable long-term strategy. First, its slow. It limits you to a maximum of one property per year. Another problem is that at a certain point, conventional lenders stop lending to you. Most conventional lenders allow a maximum of four mortgages on your credit report. Then theres the fact that you have to move every single year. That gets old, even when youre in your 20sespecially when you get married, and your wife isnt keen to live with your twin brother for the rest of your lives. Which, of course, is exactly what happened. It was around this point that Scott married Jennifer, and this whole hopscotch-investing plan started showing its limitations. Transitions Fortunately for the Hoefler twins, Jennifer instantly saw the appeal of the twins vision. She looked into the FIRE and liked what she saw. With her contributing a third income and the rapidly accruing income from their rentals, Team Hoefler set their sights on 20%-down rental property loans. They picked up two single-family rentals. The first was rented for $1,350, which they bought for $107,000a straightforward enough deal. The second was a small one-bedroom home they picked up for $65,000. Initially, we planned to rent it conventionally at around $900, but while we were doing the turnover updates, we listened to a BiggerPockets episode about Airbnb. Halfway through the hour-long episode I decided to make it into an Urban Cottage and make well over $900/month using the vacation rental platform.

Scaling & Strategy Most of the properties we buy need heavy cosmetic work: paint, cabinets, floors, bathrooms, light fixtures, and so on. We do most of the work ourselves. It helps to be handy! The Hoeflers have also tried their hand at full renovations, though those havent always been smooth (more on that shortly). But typically the Hoeflers follow the BRRRR strategy: buy, renovate, rent, refinance, repeat. They use hard money to finance the acquisition and renovations, then refinance to a 30-year fixed rental property mortgage. Our business model is to find properties that are undervalued from a rental perspective and do heavy cosmetic work to push market value. Or find complete remodels where we can capitalize on the potential ARV (after-repair value). The result? They average around $350-400 monthly net cash flow from each door. Related: Why Financial Freedom Can Be Highly OverratedAnd Not Necessarily Lead to Happiness Missteps Along the Way Our first full remodel was a bust. We had issues with contractors, blew our budget and eventually ended up with an overpriced home that wasnt even completed. We still own the home today, as a rental with minimal cash flow. The good news? Our saving grace is that we went into the project with plenty of backdoor options. The property is in a fantastic neighborhood, which has been seeing solid growth. We knew that the rental market would be strong enough to at least break even. I asked the Hoeflers about what they learned from the experience. The main lesson (among many others) is Do not make decisions based on need. At a certain point we realized we were in over our heads, and we failed to think through our options and the long-term consequences of our decisions. We were making emotional decisions based on our current sense of need. Reaching FIRE & The Ever-After The stability that real estate investing has brought to our lives meant we have been free to change careers, build businesses, travel, and ultimately give back in ways we never thought possible. The twins quit their day jobs, but they found they loved investing in real estate enough to keep going. Today, they sell small multifamily properties to other investors in the Twin Cities, through a company called The Duplex Doctors. Why retire when youre having so much fun making money? Altogether, along with my wife Jenny and my brother Drew, we own eight total properties with 14 doors. We are about to close on another four properties with seven doors. I asked Scott about his final words of advice for anyone looking to reach FIRE through rental properties. Sit down and think through your why for purchasing real estate. Everyone says money at first. But to be truly successful in this industry, you need a deeper reason than just the desire to make money. So? Whats your why, Scott? For me, my time is my most valuable resource. My hope is that real estate will allow me the capacity to give back to this world in ways a standard 9-5 job cant. Its hard to argue with that.

Interested in FIRE from real estate? Whats your why? How are you approaching the journey to FIRE, and what are your questions along the way? Weigh in with a comment! https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/fire-in-5-years-on-rental-income

[dailydoseofme5]

insanity

I feel like I am going insane. It is January 17th 2017 at 2am and I cant sleep (but whats new?)

I don't know whats going on with me. I don't know what is wrong with me but I feel like I'm on right. 

How is everyone else sane?! How is everyone else not always worried about the future? How does everyone else not have all these questions swirling around in their head all the time?! How is everyone else not paralyzingly scared they are going to end up alone or never really be understood?

I’m writing this because I need to sort this out some way and writing things down helps me come to terms with how I am feeling. 

Tonight I am struggling with the feeling that I have lost my zest for life. What happened to the joy that I use to feel all the time? What happened to just being excited to wake up and do life? Now it seems that everything is a chore. I am just going through the motions and I feel like a zombie. I don't know exactly when but I have lost my joy and excitement in the little things and I think when I lost that, I lost my happiness. Ive been struggling with thoughts of suicide and that scares me. The thoughts have been more frequent and I don't know what to do about it. But, I don't think I would ever really act on these thoughts. Its just something that I wish I had enough balls to do. Its not necessarily that I WANT to die, its more of a “I wish I wasn't alive and I wish I could just go into an endless sleep.” The thing about suicide thoughts is that you cant tell anyone because they will all think you are crazy. Or they will never forget it about you. But that is a very lonely thought to keep all to yourself. I am scaring myself as I type this so next subject. 

Life is hard. It aint for no sissys at least...

I just DO NOT know what I want to do with my life. Lately I have been struggling with ideas of going into sales THEN staying in Lafayette or moving away, becoming a flight attendant, or going back to school to be an ultrasound technician. 

Like, how do you not know what you wanna do? Its your mind so why cant you just pick something? 

Why am I so scared to move to a city and be all alone? I have always been independent and never relied on other people. But, here I am, completely dependent on others and SCARED. I have NEVER been that girl. I always liked being on my own, adventuring out, ect. So why am I suddenly changing into someone I don't admire? 

What I wanna do changes DAILY. shoot, HOURLY. 

Some days when I have a good day in Lafayette, and I can call a friend over to drink wine and watch The Bachelor with me, I think I wanna stay here. 

Then some days, when I’m left out, or roommate struggles, or all my friends wanna go out and I don't, I wanna move. But what if I move and am all alone and become MORE suicidal and lonely? BUT what if I move and meet best friends, get my zest for life back, and finally get into a relationship? (lol) 

It could literally go either way. Its a gamble. 

I am scared to stay here and be mad at myself for never leaving and experiencing something Ive always wanted to do. And I am scared to go and Im scared to be far away from my family. Im scared my friends will move on without me and then what did I spend 4 years of my life with these people for? ugh I am crying as I type this because I have been in such agony over this decision for a long time. I CONSTANTLY have so many questions whirling around in my mind and at this point, its like I DONT EVEN CARE what happens just make a decision so I can stop obsessing over it!!!!!!!!

I have been praying about it for a YEAR and I feel like I haven't gotten much clarity from God so I have been frustrated honestly. Even though I know I shouldnt.

 I want this decision to be over. 

I want to be happy with my decision. 

I want confirmation from God.

I want a zest for life. 

I want to be comfortable in my own skin. 

I want to stop over anything everything. 

I want to be successful. 

I want more supportive people in my life that I feel actually LISTEN to me and don't just dismiss these things that I am worried about by saying, “just don't worry, everything will work out”......DONT YOU KNOW I CANT JUST NOT WORRY ABOUT MY LIFE DECISION?

I want to have more self control

I want to find joy in the little things. 

I want to stop feeling like a failure in all of these interviews. 

I know that it is probably very unlikely this will happen, but I just want to have an epiphany and be like, OMG THIS IS WHAT IM GANNA DO. I want a prophecy to speak to me. I want God to come to me in a dream and speak to me. 

The more I am thinking about all this...I wonder if I have just talked about moving away so much and for so long that now I feel pressure from myself to do it. To live up to what I said. But you know what? Feelings change, desires change, people change. And thats OKAY. we are allowed to change our minds. 

And then the other half of my brain that likes to torture me is saying, “you were scared when you left for college too and it turned out great!! Don't let your fear of striking out keep you from playing the game!” It will be a fun adventure and will give your heart joy to experience a new place and new people!

But whats the rush??? Why not wait a year untill you are ready?

But “if you wait untill you are ready then you will be waiting forever...”

DO YOU SEE WHAT I AM DEALING WITH HERE???!?!?!?!?!?!?

Absolutely no one understands how much I am just being TORE UP inside over all of this. I think people think I’m kidding when I talk about being stressed about it. 

I feel like I am literally just being completely attacked by the devil in my thoughts. I need to take control. 

Wish me luck. 

[therealestatesparkblog]

How Two 30-Something Twins Achieved FIRE in 5 Years on Rental Income

Spoiler alert: Drew and Scott Hoefler still work today. Except now its by choice. Now in their early 30s, the twins live and invest in the Twin Cities, and a decade ago never even considered a career in real estate. After five years of investing in real estate, they successfully reached financial independence. Heres their story, complete with the mistakes they made along the way. House Hunting, House Hacking In 2013, the twins were single 20-somethings working for agricultural giant Land-O-Lakes, looking to buy their first home. They planned to buy a home with a few bedrooms together, move in, and bring on a roommate or two if the house were big enough. Then, over dinner with their parents one night, their mom offered a better idea: Why dont you buy a two-flat? (Thats Midwest for duplex, FYI.) Teenagers may sneer at every idea their parents have, but in your 20s, you start paying attention once more to your parents advice. We quickly realized that we could live in one side, rent out the other side and cover our mortgage we were all-in. The hunt for the perfect duplex was on!

The (First) Duplex After touring some duds, the twins came across a gem in the Arts District in northeast Minneapolis. They described it as an up and coming neighborhood, which was not a euphemismthe neighborhood was gentrifying with a fun and funky craft beer scene. Then came the first stumbling block. At first look, Drew and I had trouble seeing the lower unit because of issues with the renters. We put our offer in based upon seeing the upstairs unit only. You know where this is going. The downstairs unit needed work, which they discovered after putting the duplex under contract. Luckily, the work was cosmetic, nothing structural or mechanical. Upon buying the property, they non-renewed the tenants, made updates such as removing the drop ceiling, and moved in. The purchase price was $208,000. Our financing was an American Dream program that was an owner-occupied conventional loan financed by U.S. Bank. Great program. We rented the upstairs unit out for $1,300 from day one. That proved enough to cover their mortgage payment. A successful house hack. Nowadays, with further gentrification in the neighborhood, they charge $1,700 for that upstairs unit. Related: Are Your Children Stopping You From Achieving Financial Freedom? Rinsing & Repeating the House Hack When you use owner-occupied financing, you have to live in the property for at least one year. So thats exactly what the Hoefler twins did. Seeing how easy it was to house hack and generate rental income, the twins knew they were onto something. They wanted to expand their portfolio. The first thing they did was look for other ways to lower their expenses, so they could put more of their income aside for their next property. If youve ever read a single sentence about FIRE (financial independence, retiring early), you know that the first rule of FIRE is maximizing your savings and investments. (FIRE Challenge: Start by brainstorming ways to live on half your income!) As they neared the end of their first year of house hacking, they set out to find another multifamily to house hack. They successfully rinsed and repeated this process for several years, living in the property for a year then buying a new multifamily and moving in, with owner-occupied financing. Which is a great way to start, but not a viable long-term strategy. First, its slow. It limits you to a maximum of one property per year. Another problem is that at a certain point, conventional lenders stop lending to you. Most conventional lenders allow a maximum of four mortgages on your credit report. Then theres the fact that you have to move every single year. That gets old, even when youre in your 20sespecially when you get married, and your wife isnt keen to live with your twin brother for the rest of your lives. Which, of course, is exactly what happened. It was around this point that Scott married Jennifer, and this whole hopscotch-investing plan started showing its limitations. Transitions Fortunately for the Hoefler twins, Jennifer instantly saw the appeal of the twins vision. She looked into the FIRE and liked what she saw. With her contributing a third income and the rapidly accruing income from their rentals, Team Hoefler set their sights on 20%-down rental property loans. They picked up two single-family rentals. The first was rented for $1,350, which they bought for $107,000a straightforward enough deal. The second was a small one-bedroom home they picked up for $65,000. Initially, we planned to rent it conventionally at around $900, but while we were doing the turnover updates, we listened to a BiggerPockets episode about Airbnb. Halfway through the hour-long episode I decided to make it into an Urban Cottage and make well over $900/month using the vacation rental platform.

Scaling & Strategy Most of the properties we buy need heavy cosmetic work: paint, cabinets, floors, bathrooms, light fixtures, and so on. We do most of the work ourselves. It helps to be handy! The Hoeflers have also tried their hand at full renovations, though those havent always been smooth (more on that shortly). But typically the Hoeflers follow the BRRRR strategy: buy, renovate, rent, refinance, repeat. They use hard money to finance the acquisition and renovations, then refinance to a 30-year fixed rental property mortgage. Our business model is to find properties that are undervalued from a rental perspective and do heavy cosmetic work to push market value. Or find complete remodels where we can capitalize on the potential ARV (after-repair value). The result? They average around $350-400 monthly net cash flow from each door. Related: Why Financial Freedom Can Be Highly OverratedAnd Not Necessarily Lead to Happiness Missteps Along the Way Our first full remodel was a bust. We had issues with contractors, blew our budget and eventually ended up with an overpriced home that wasnt even completed. We still own the home today, as a rental with minimal cash flow. The good news? Our saving grace is that we went into the project with plenty of backdoor options. The property is in a fantastic neighborhood, which has been seeing solid growth. We knew that the rental market would be strong enough to at least break even. I asked the Hoeflers about what they learned from the experience. The main lesson (among many others) is Do not make decisions based on need. At a certain point we realized we were in over our heads, and we failed to think through our options and the long-term consequences of our decisions. We were making emotional decisions based on our current sense of need. Reaching FIRE & The Ever-After The stability that real estate investing has brought to our lives meant we have been free to change careers, build businesses, travel, and ultimately give back in ways we never thought possible. The twins quit their day jobs, but they found they loved investing in real estate enough to keep going. Today, they sell small multifamily properties to other investors in the Twin Cities, through a company called The Duplex Doctors. Why retire when youre having so much fun making money? Altogether, along with my wife Jenny and my brother Drew, we own eight total properties with 14 doors. We are about to close on another four properties with seven doors. I asked Scott about his final words of advice for anyone looking to reach FIRE through rental properties. Sit down and think through your why for purchasing real estate. Everyone says money at first. But to be truly successful in this industry, you need a deeper reason than just the desire to make money. So? Whats your why, Scott? For me, my time is my most valuable resource. My hope is that real estate will allow me the capacity to give back to this world in ways a standard 9-5 job cant. Its hard to argue with that.

Interested in FIRE from real estate? Whats your why? How are you approaching the journey to FIRE, and what are your questions along the way? Weigh in with a comment! https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/fire-in-5-years-on-rental-income