#if elected you must be held *totally* accountable

[anxiousbugs]

highly important that the Central Committee and General Secretary have a tease/teased, brat/dom dynamic. otherwise it's not really vanguardist

[camoftarakas]

Gonna be super for real, here is my masterpost of why its important for me that you take advantage of your right to vote to choose Kamala Harris.

Section 1: Personal Issues

I am a transgender person. I live where i'm pretty sure it will be safe to do so for the next 4 years, but not only should i not risk it, i shouldn't be willing to send my trans family into danger, especially the young ones. Republicans are making a big point out of removing the Trans agenda from schools. what the fuck does this mean? right now the target is that teachers, counselors, school faculty who hear a child is trans will be obliged to report it to their home. this is a direct danger to the next generation. If you do not hide who you are, it may be ripped out of you. Children will feel they are better dead than being out. and adults who abuse queer kids will not be held accountable.

I am an autistic and disabled person. Donald Trump and his cronies think vaccines cause autism. this is absurdly hateful, but beyond that they call for pullbacks and regulation for vaccines. For an incredibly safe, incredibly guarded piece of protection against disease, regulation means less access to medicine. More epidemics, more sick people, shorter lives for the disabled.

Section 2: Domestic Issues

the full access to abortion and childcare must be restored. the two are forever linked, and both are essential healthcare. people in my life benefit from this, your neighbors benefit from this, human beings benefit from this.

whoever is in charge has the sole ability to appoint supreme court judges for 4 years. The court can not become further packed against us, whoever you are, because they are not shy about infringing the rights of your neighbors or your family on party lines.

the ability for people to only just get by under a Republican presidency will be gutted. tax cuts for the wealthy are not just immoral, but the government can not operate on less income. The burden comes down on those who deserve it least. Hunger, homelessness, freezing, overheating, death.

voting rights are the target of Republicans, especially for the most reliable opposition: Black and Latino Americans. this is happening now in states desperate to suppress minority voices, or to assimilate them into a regressive white culture of last century. If that isn't bad enough, voter suppression is sure to expand to any dissident population. The future is on the line.

Section 3: Global Issues

Donald Trump uses dog whistles to express israeli support. He calls democrats "Hamas", claims they are "Destroying Israel", calls jewish people delusional for supporting them. There isn't a perfect palestinian candidate. that is all but explicitly banned in politics. Vice president Harris will be clipped out of context saying that she vaguely supports Israel's right to self defense, because that is the most she can say without causing panic and confusion. If elected, Kamala Harris would be the most pro-Palestinian president ever, and it's not any amount of praise to say that. But she seeks solution, the end of Israel's control of them, the acknowledgement that what is happening there is unconscionable. MAGA has trained us to think that a vote to a candidate is a total endorsement of all their actions and word-of-mouth values, but it is the NORMAL and DECENT thing to do to demand better from the person you elect. Donald Trump is in Netanyahu's pocket, you won't get anywhere asking him not to rain terror on Palestine.

Ukraine has a right to self-governance as well. Republicans would pull support, and hold more conferences with Putin than with our allies across the world.

Republicans will refuse investment into clean energy. Trump's last presidency saw a resurgence in Coal, and ramblings about dead birds. Republican control will hold back any responses to the climate disaster another 4 years.

Section 4: Closing Thoughts

A US president can not fix the world. A US president can't even fix their own country. But god damn it don't give in to assured worsening. don't vote for third party; they're not gonna win, they're not gonna win next time, the point you want to make will fall on deaf ears; the time and place is not now or here. don't skip voting, 1/3 of americans don't vote because they don't think their voice makes a difference. vote in every category, there are important issues left to you. You may not turn your state, but you can turn a policy, or your city, or your county, or your representative, or make sure people in your district get a fair trail with a good judge, or that a good person is in charge of your schools. vote like your neighbors life depends on it; it does. vote like the world depends on it; it does. vote like it's the least you can do; it is. You have to participate in this one simple task, flawed as it may be, to not be a hypocrite when you ask for change, when you ask for progress, when you ask for justice. You can elect people who serve you, not who demand you serve them. You can choose to take a step forward, instead of standing still while you're dragged backwards with the rest of us. you can save lives, real lives! you fucking matter, every time, but please for the love of god, do the bare minimum at least this time. And after we're done, we'll go out, and ask for more, ask for better, because government is for us and they need to listen to us, forever, whoever.

[postsfromtheportalfuture]

godsareoverrated asked radiation-nursery-rhymes:

wait is PoP an abbreviation for Parliament of Planets? I dozed through civics classes because I figured I would never be allowed to vote.

unrelated, I saw you post a lot of politics stuff. any tips on how to get informed on candidates and such quickly?

radiation-nursery-rhymes:

Yeah, PoP does stand for Parliament of Planets!

I totally understand about not paying attention in civics classes, and you're definitely not the only one in this boat.

Thankfully, University Earth America realized this and have set up a page on their website with a really good crash course for those of us of voting age: [link]. This page gives a quick rundown of all the people who are going to be running as representatives of Earth in the PoP, what they're going to be campaigning for, relevant experience, etc. They also have a pretty good bibliography, so you can fact check them in case you're worried about biases towards any particular candidates.

On a broader scope, below are some links if you want to learn more about politics in general. A lot of these are going to be from offworld sites, but since you're interested in learning about candidates quickly, I'm guessing you're already out of Next Step and have unrestricted access to the wider net.

University Asgard on the Rights and Responsibilities of Parliament of Planets Representatives: [x]

University Zeus on the history, reasoning, and importance of the Military's stance of political neutrality: [x]

A quick and dirty rundown of Joint Sector High Congress and what situations require their intervention, by University Demeter: [x]

How Hospital Earth continues to fail its wards, and who must be held accountable, a comprehensive history by University Earth Asia, written in cooperation with University Earth Africa, University Earth America, University Earth Australia, and University Earth Europe: [x]

I hope this answers all your questions! Sorry, I know I've been posting about politics a lot recently, but I didn't actually go to school for it, and a lot of my knowledge of this stuff is a result of me hyperfixating what with the upcoming elections and wanting to make sure I'm properly informed. So please take everything I say with a grain of salt and make sure to do your own research as well!

I've tried my best to be as accurate as possible but if I made any mistakes in my answer, please let me know.

#politics #human rights #parliament of planets #joint sector high congress #history #human rights violations #this is not a hospital earth friendly blog #bootlickers can die mad about it

[dailyanarchistposts]

The Government Responds to the Yellow Vests

Those interested who wish to see two and half hours of political doublespeak can watch Macron’s press conference in full. Our goal here is simply to analyze some of the major decisions taken by the French government.

In the opening statement, Macron explained that he had learned a lot from the National Debate and emerged “transformed.” According to him, this three-month political experience highlighted that there is a deeply rooted feeling of fiscal, territorial, and social injustice among the population, alongside a perceived lack of consideration on the part of the elite. Therefore, the government has decided to present “a more human and fair” political project.

However, after these conventional words intended to create the illusion of empathy from the government towards yellow vesters and everyone else struggling on a daily basis as a consequence of the policies implemented by successive governments, Macron lifted the veil, adding:

“Does this mean that everything that has been done in the past two years should be stopped? I believe quite the opposite. We must continue the transformations. The orientations taken have been good and fair. The fundamentals of the first two years must be preserved, pursued, and intensified. The economic growth is greater than that of our neighboring countries.”

If some people still hesitated to believe that the National Debate was just a political farce, here is the ultimate proof. For months, people expressed their frustrations in the streets and traffic circles. Facing this unprecedented and uncontrollable situation, the authorities answered by saying that in a democracy, dialogue must not be established through “violence,” therefore offering the National Debate as an alternative in order to pacify the situation—while increasing police repression against demonstrators in the meantime.

After three months of National Debate—which fortunately failed to stop the movement—those who trusted the good intentions of the government saw their efforts and demands dismissed. In effect, Macron was telling everyone, “Thanks a lot for taking part of this debate, we heard you, but in the end, we decided to pursue our political agenda and continue the liberalization of the capitalist economy.”

So the long-awaited conclusion of the National Debate was simply a mix of old promises, a few adjustments to show the goodwill of the government, and new reforms to accelerate the transformation and liberalization of society.

First, Macron rejected some of the biggest demands of the yellow vest movement. The government will not officially recognize “blank votes” as a form of opposition during elections (so far, those votes are counted but they are not taken into account in the final results and in the total number of vote cast). Then, he refused to reverse the decision to reduce taxes on the income of the super-rich—one of the issues that had provoked the emergence of the yellow vest movement in the first place.

Furthermore, the government also opposed the idea of creating the Citizens’ Initiative Referendum (RIC). Instead, they want to develop an already existing alternative¬—the Referendum of Shared Initiative—by simplifying its rules. From now on, instead of requiring 4.7 million signatures to be discussed at the Assemblée Nationale, a petition will only need one million signatures and the approval of at least a fifth of the total number of deputies. If the National Assembly refuses to discuss the issue, a referendum can be held. Macron also mentioned his desire to reinforce the right to petition at a local scale.

Even with the proposal to simplify this participatory political platform, it is easy to see that the government is taking very few risks with this alternative. The idea is to give people the impression that they have more leverage within the democratic system, as they can address petitions to their representatives. But in the end, who will have the final word on these issues? Politicians motivated by self-interest, power, and careerism. There is very little probability that the deputies will validate any petition that could threaten the status quo. As in any other political system, this democratic game is obviously rigged: even if you play by the rules, you always lose!

Then, Macron repeated and clarified some reforms that were already present in his electoral program of 2017: limiting the number of terms for politicians (though he did not specify how many would be allowed); reducing the number of parliamentarians by 25% or 30%; increasing the degree of proportional representation in legislative elections (which will likely give more power to the National Front in French political institutions).[1]

After presenting what the government is planning to do to include more elements of participatory democracy in the French political system, Macron expressed his desire to undertake a “profound reform of the French administration” and of its public service. To do so, the government intends to put an end to the National School of Administration (ENA)—symbol of republican elitism and opportunism—in order to create a new institution that “works better.” Moreover, in May, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has been mandated to officially present a government plan to put more civil servants in the field so they can help the authorities find solutions to people’s problems at a local scale. Therefore, the government has abandoned its previous objective of abolishing 120,000 posts of civil servants—but this doesn’t mean that the government has abandoned the idea of cutting jobs.

To fight against the steady reduction of public services in the countryside and in some provinces—such as post offices and deliveries, health insurance, and unemployment agencies—the government aims to establish buildings that would concentrate all these rudimentary public services in one location. Such initiative already exists, in fact, but is suffering from critical underfunding.

Then, Macron stated that no further hospital or school will close until 2022—the end of his presidential term—without the agreement of the Mayor of the Commune they are located in. For years, successive governments have underfunded hospitals and schools, increasing the precarious aspect of working conditions. The main question is—what will happen after 2022? Regarding the education issue, Macron agreed to limit the number of students per class to 24 from kindergarten to second grade and to duplicate classes if necessary, as is already stipulated in some priority education areas—read poor districts. This is an interesting focus for Macron when in the meantime, government policies are worsening the educational system as a whole, especially via reforms targeting high schools and universities.

Concerning economic policies, Macron explained that he wants to “significantly reduce” the amount of income tax demanded from the middle class. However, to do so while balancing the loss of tax revenue, Macron is asking everyone to “work more.” The meaning behind this statement remains quite obscure, as Macron offered no further explanation. So far, we know that the government doesn’t want to change the legal age of retirement nor to cancel holidays. However, Macron is not opposed to the idea of increasing the number of working hours per week. The government also aims to reach its objective of “full employment” by 2025, without explaining how this might take place. In order to compensate for the tax cuts for the middle class, the government also aims to suppress some specific fiscal niches used by large companies, but Macron said nothing about the various strategies of tax evasion utilized by the super-rich.

Macron also explained his wish to increase the minimum amount of retirement pensions from today’s approximately €650 per month up to €1000. Moreover, Macron also reconsidered his previous policy regarding retirement and confirmed that pensions under €2000 would be re-indexed to account for inflation starting January 2020. Finally, the government wants to create some sort of mechanism to guarantee the payment of child support to families in need.

Starting in June, Macron wants to create a “citizen’s convention composed of one hundred and fifty people with the mission to work on significant measures for the planet.” In addition, he wants to establish a Council of Ecological Defense to address climate change. This council would involve the Prime Minister as well as the main Ministers in charge of this transition in order to take “strategic choices and to put this climate change at the very core of our policies.” This is not a measure to address the ecological crisis so much as yet another step in the development of the same French bureaucracy that sparked the yellow vest movement in the first place. Our governments and the systems that put them in power in the first place continue to lead us towards darker futures.

Finally, and most ominously, Macron presented his plan to “rebuild the immigration policy” of France. “Europe needs to rethink its cooperation with Africa in order to limit the endured immigration and has to reinforce its borders, even if this means having a Schengen area with less countries,” he proclaimed. “I deeply believe in asylum, but we must strengthen the fight against those who abuse it.” This will likely be the premise of a new step in the development of fortress Europe. And, of course, whatever authoritarian measures are developed to target migrants will also be used to target poor people and rebellious elements within France itself. In this regard, we can see that it has been self-destructive as well as racist and xenophobic that some yellow vesters have demanded more immigration controls.

[ultrajaphunter]

undefined

the Dalai Lama making an obviously uncomfortable child kiss him and suck his tongue.

Dalai Lama Previously Took Selfie With Democrat Mayor Charged With Possession of Child Pornography

The Democrat mayor of College Park, Maryland, resigned from the position one day before being arrested for possession and distribution of child pornography. Disgraced mayor Patrick Wojahn, 47, was arrested on Thursday after stepping down on Wednesday. Wojahn is facing a total of 56 charges related to child pornography. Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD) wrote in a press release, “on February 17, 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children notified the PGPD that a social media account operating in the county possessed and distributed suspected child pornography. 

The image and videos had been uploaded to the social media account in January of 2023. 

Through various investigative techniques, PGPD investigators discovered the social media account belonged to Wojahn.” Eleven days later, on February 28, PGPD detectives served a search warrant at Wojahn’s home. 

They seized multiple cell phones, a hard drive, a tablet, and a computer. “Wojahn is charged with 40 counts of possession of child exploitative material and 16 counts of distribution of child exploitative material. 

He is in the custody of the Department of Corrections,” the press release continued. Law enforcement said that there is currently no indication that Wojahn produced any of the child pornography himself. “We send a clear message to anyone involved in this type of material that units like this are looking, they’re working every day to make sure that we have a safe county and a safe state,” said Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Aziz during a press conference. Wojahn’s case remains an open and active investigation and anyone with information is being asked to call detectives at (301) 772-4930. The department added that “callers wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477), or go online at www.pgcrimesolvers.com, or use the “P3 Tips” mobile app (search “P3 Tips” in the Apple Store or Google Play to download the app onto your mobile device.) 

Please refer to case number 23-0009239.” The City of College Park released a statement saying, “last night, after business hours, Mayor Patrick L. Wojahn submitted his letter of resignation as Mayor of the City of College Park, effective immediately on March 2. 

Mayor Wojahn has served in this position since 2015 and on Council since 2007. 

The City of College Park thanks Mayor Wojahn for his many years of dedicated service. “Effective immediately, Mayor Pro Tem Denise Mitchell will serve as presiding officer until a Special Election is held and a new Mayor has been sworn in. 

Per the City Charter, a Special Election must be held within 65 days. 

The City’s Board of Election Supervisors will convene to schedule the date of the Special Election. 

Details about the upcoming Special Election, including candidate packets and voting information, will be posted on the City’s website at www.collegeparkmd.gov. 

The candidate elected as Mayor in the Special Election will serve until the next Mayor is seated following the November 5, 2023 General Election.” Wojahn’s resignation letter reads as follows: “It has been a profound honor and privilege to serve the City of College Park since 2007 as a City Councilmember and your Mayor. 

However, effective immediately, I must resign my position. On February 28, 2023, a search warrant was executed on my residence as part of an ongoing police investigation. 

I have cooperated fully, and will continue to cooperate, with law enforcement. While this investigation does not involve any official city business of any kind, it is in the best interests of our community that I step aside and not serve as a distraction. I have great trust in the ability of Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell, the City Council, and our staff to carry forward what we have accomplished. Many of you have already reached out with well wishes and thoughts, and I am eternally grateful. 

I am stepping away to deal with my own mental health.

 I ask that you continue to keep me and my family in your prayers. Sincerely, Patrick L. Wojahn”

[cksmart-world]

SMART BOMB

The Completely Unnecessary News Analysis

By Christopher Smart

June 4, 2024

BONKERS OVER VERDICT — MIKE LEE WANTS PAYBACK

Utah's Sen. Mike Lee has had it with all the injustice done to his hero Donald Trump. The Biden White House just convicted Trump of 34 felonies for falsification of business records and Lee's not going to take it. The toady-for-life has joined with seven other trumpriots: Sens. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who will hold their collective breaths until all meaningful work in the U.S. Senate crawls to a stop. “The White House has made a mockery of the rule of law and fundamentally altered our politics in un-American ways,” they wrote in a letter sent by stork to the big judge in the sky. President Joe Biden and his minions have weaponized the legal system that led to 34 unanimous guilty verdicts issued by a jury of Trump's peers. “Those who turned our judicial system into a political cudgel must be held accountable.” Some hinted he may toilet-paper Jenny Wilson's house, since the Salt Lake County mayor is one of the only Democrats in Utah. But what about that thing where Trump could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it. Well, no more — and you know it's gotta be Biden's fault.

FLYING DRIVERLESS TAXIS, OH MY!

Here's a recent headline from the Deseret News: “Would you get on a flying taxi without a pilot?” (Expletive deleted) No! We're not kiddin' about this Wilson. They're coming and there's nothing we can do about it. And you thought The Jetsons — the animated futuristic comedy of the 1960s — where people got around in flying cars would never happen. Never say never. Still, if the driverless automobile taxis in San Francisco are any indicator, we could be in for some scary rides. The San Francisco autonomous taxis malfunctioned regularly causing massive traffic jams all over the city; they blocked streets impeding emergency vehicles; they drove through wet cement and generally scared the hell out of everyone. The California DMV finally suspended their use. But get this: An outfit called Project Alta says it will have operational air taxis in Salt Lake City in time for the 2034 Winter Olympics. (No site of the 2034 Games has not been selected, although Salt Lake City is in the running.) You're right Wilson, it does sound like pie in the sky. And what if the pie falls out of the sky? What's the polite way to say squashed bodies. Collateral damage? On a positive note, the sky taxis could be a perfect compliment to the proposed space-age “entertainment district” downtown — The Jetsons would love it.

LORDY, THEY'RE WEAPONIZING THE FLAG, TOO

No one in their right mind could possibly think that an upside-down American flag flying at the house of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito could mean he supports Jan. 6 rioters, election deniers or Donald Trump. So said Alito in a pretensious letter to Sens. Richard Durbin and Sheldon Whitehouse regarding their plea to Chief Justice John Roberts that Alito be recused from the case of Trump v. United States. It's like this, Alito said, “My wife did it!” He asked her to take the flag down but she told him to stuff it. As to the “Appeal to Heaven” flag flown at his beach house, well, “My wife did that, too,” Alito said. (Both flags have been adopted by MAGA and election deniers.) Alito's wife, Marth-Ann, has First Amendment rights, too, he barked. And she's quite the battle axe so he doesn't like to mess with her. Dems observe that Alito clearly has the appearance of bias in favor of Trump and his claim of total immunity when he directed a mob to attack the Capitol on Jan. 6. Balderdash, Alito exclaimed. No reasonable person who is not motivated by politics or ideology could possibly think he's biased because he keeps his Christian Nationalist predilections to himself. Democrats have weaponized flags and other stuff, Alito said, like the free vacations he gets from billionaires. It totally sucks, right Martha-Ann.

Post script — That'a a wrap for another fun-filled week here at Smart Bomb where we keep track of presidential polling, so you don't have to. Well Wilson, Trump was found guilty of 34 class E felonies. Now, the BIG question: Will it help him or hurt him in the Nov. 5 election. Some pundits say it will give him a boost because it will energize his base. Within hours of the guilty verdict his campaign took in more than $60 million in contributions. But other observers say, not so fast — undecided voters might not want a convicted felon in the White House. Yes Wilson, that would make a good bumper sticker: Let's Put A Felon In The White House. It's funny how that works in a backwards kinda of way. Biden and Trump will square off in debate on June 27 and that could, according to Dan Balz of the Washington Post, bring into focus two questions undecided voters must ask themselves. One: Which candidate poses the bigger threat to the future of the country? Two: which candidate will make the lives of Americans better than they are today? On the other hand, if it turns into a WWE wrestling match, well who knows... Titan Trump with his signature bodyslam vs. Batman Biden and his sneaky snake chokehold. Get the popcorn, Louise, it's going to be The Thrilla in Atlanta.

Well shucks Wilson, poor old Martha-Ann Alito, she's been havin' a time of it and of course so has her Sammy Pooh. So the staff here at Smart Bomb is wondering if you and the guys in the band don't have a little something up your sleeve for the couple of the moment:

When a man loves a woman, Can't keep his mind on nothin' else, He'd change the world for the good thing he's found. If she is bad, he can't see it, She can do no wrong, Turn his back on his best friend if he put her down. When a man loves a woman, He'll spend his very last dime Tryin' to hold on to what he needs. He'd give up all his comforts And sleep out in the rain, If she said that's the way It ought to be. Well, this man loves you, woman. I gave you everything I have, Tryin' to hold on to your heartless love. Baby, please don't treat me bad. When a man loves a woman, Down deep in his soul, She can bring him such misery. If she is playin' him for a fool, He's the last one to know. Lovin' eyes can never see.

(When a Man Loves a Woman — Percy Sledge)

[almaqead]

"The Perfect Record." From Surah Hud, "The Notice."

700 Terror Tunnels dug by the Philistines, the Mormons, under Rafah, Egypt and Israel have been discovered. In spite of international pressure to demonize Israel and demoralize if not deactivate it, are all bunk.

The Mormons are tunneling underneath what is called the Nephi-Lehi Trail in Israel which they believe was the launch pad for their journey to the New World in 600 BC. They are desperate to prove this is right and are tunneling under the Holy Land and murdering their way to do it, just like the Philistines they truly are. The Trail leads far as the Sidon River meaning Israel will have to invade Lebanon and restore order there or the problem will not end.

The Mormons clearly ran away from the kennel in America, and the United States Government, which has lost its stellar reputation as an enemy of terrorism was advocating for leniency against them in Rafah. I have said the Mormons, Hamas, Hezbollah and their benefactors, the Governments of Iran and the United States of America must be held accountable to the last man for the deaths caused on October 7 and before and during the planning stages of the assault.

So far, two American Presidents, George W. Bush and Donald Trump, three Vice Presidents, Dick Cheney, Mike Pence and Kamala Harris are implicated as well as two US Secretaries of State, including Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo are implicated in the efforts to attack Israel and kill as many Jews and Muslims as possible, caring very little how this destabilized the entire Middle East.

The current White House was informed there was a wave of attacks stemming from an unholy alliance between the Republican Party, the LDS and their overseas partners as soon as 2016, when it was discovered Donald Trump colluded with the Mormons in order to falsify the election results. It was known Dick Cheney, George Bush and the House of Saud and the Windsors were colluding to attack the World Trade Centers in New York long before that.

It is time for the human race to insist upon the utter annihilation of the Donald Trump and his sons, the Mormons, Republicans, Hamas, Hezbollah, the House of Sud, the Windsors, including Charles and Camilla Mary, the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Iranians and cut the lifelines that are supporting a network of state sponsored terrorism all around the planet.

The Surah, called Hud, "The Notice" continues.

11: 5-14:

Indeed, they enfold ˹what is in˺ their hearts, ˹trying˺ to hide it from Him! But even when they cover themselves with their clothes, He knows what they conceal and what they reveal. Surely He knows best what is ˹hidden˺ in the heart.

There is no moving creature on earth whose provision is not guaranteed by Allah. And He knows where it lives and where it is laid to rest. All is ˹written˺ in a perfect Record.1

He is the One Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days1—and His Throne was upon the waters—in order to test which of you is best in deeds. And if you ˹O Prophet˺ say, “Surely you will ˹all˺ be raised up after death,” the disbelievers will certainly say, “That is nothing but pure magic!”

And if We delay their punishment until an appointed time, they will definitely say, “What is holding it back?” Indeed, on the Day it overtakes them, it will not be averted from them, and they will be overwhelmed by what they used to ridicule.

If We give people a taste of Our mercy then take it away from them, they become utterly desperate, ungrateful.

But if We give them a taste of prosperity after being touched with adversity, they say, “My ills are gone,” and become totally prideful and boastful,

except those who patiently endure and do good. It is they who will have forgiveness and a mighty reward.

Perhaps you ˹O Prophet˺ may wish to give up some of what is revealed to you and may be distressed by it because they say, “If only a treasure had been sent down to him, or an angel had come with him!” You are only a warner, and Allah is the Trustee of All Affairs.

Or do they say, “He1 has fabricated this ˹Quran˺!”? Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Produce ten fabricated sûrahs like it and seek help from whoever you can—other than Allah—if what you say is true!”

But if your helpers fail you, then know that it has been revealed with the knowledge of Allah, and that there is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him! Will you ˹not˺ then submit ˹to Allah˺?

Commentary:

God knew the Mormons and their friends were planning to betray all mankind. We pretended not to know about it, but God knew about it. Now everyone knows.

The world has a growing population of desperate persons, whose plights Allah says we cannot ignore. Neither can we ignore the dipshitz, the King of England and his Mormon friends.

We are being given a Notice. Zakah must be restored. Lethal force for those who are corrupt and do evil, and special care for the emigrants and the poor, these are required by Allah. About this the Quran is clear.

Those who disagree must receive a terrible horrible painful public humiliating lasting and severe punishment.

"...those who patiently endure and do good. It is they who will have forgiveness and a mighty reward. You oh Prophet, are a Trustee of their affairs."

Regime changes are required in Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Russia, and the Republican Party must be closed down in America and the arrests of all heads of state responsible for what happened on 911 and October 7 must ensue. All Jews and Musims must join hands , voices, and combine their hunger for vengeance against their oppressors and then peace and prosperity in the world must prevail.

[radicalurbanista]

voting and protest are in extreme and increasing danger in the US this year

US elections have never been fair and are far from representative, but never in the past few decades has the establishment so strongly currated a movement, legal and illegal, against voting. Every liberal could shout “vote” to people online and that will change literally nothing about the threats to human rights and freedoms occuring before the election and likely after

The governor of Florida introduced a bill that creates a legal loophole allowing citizens to drive into protesters. Republicans are showing up to polls armed to “stop voter fraud” (they’e intending to intimidate POC and Democrat voters, illegally). Trump has already been saying he’ll claim victory despite the results and is relying on the now very conservative court system to support him. This is all on top of threats to the post office service, gerrymandering, and the electoral college, which selected trump when he lost 3 million votes.

Not all is lost!

-this post has links to current Senate races where either an incumbent Republican is being challenged or an incumbent Democrat is at risk of losing their seat

-the graphic below has important voter information

however, voting is contingent on your ability to do so, such as you just saw is under extreme threats and not a secure option to a better world

more importantly:

If you haven’t joined any defunding police protests yet, it’s not too late.

Trump doesn’t shut down protests, police do. Trump doesn’t arrest protesters, police do. Federal agents are too few to cover the US and aren’t responsible for the hundreds of people killed by local police every year. Law without violence backing it is just words on paper. Trump has the support of police forces and unions already. Police are protecting MAGA protesters attacking others and blocking the polls. You should know that they’re helping a dictator.

The police shouldn’t be emboldened to stop protests or dissent, ever. The police shouldn’t take 30-50% of city’s discretionary funds. Police shouldn’t endorse political candidates. They’re public servants with absolute power because current law holds no real constraints on them.

You don’t have to totally agree that police shouldn’t exist, but if you support ideas of democracy you cannot support tax money funding a standing army in every city that’s excited to crush protests against their budgets and filmed executions. There’s more people in the streets this year than ever before demanding their taxes be spent to help them and that murderers be held accountable regardless of occupation. The lack of concessions on politicians’ part is because they benefit from complacency and their constituents only ever waiting for the election, never marching against them or disrupting their lives.

Revolution is not an event. It’s a continuous process where more and more people act on their own agency and recognize the illegitimacy of the state and the violence it uses to keep the status quo made by dead men with concerns only for their own power. Revolution is creating a new, fair world while destroying the old world that eats workers alive to profit a few families. Revolution is reconnecting with the natural world and rejecting false hierarchies and borders.

The revolution will not be televised. You must participate.

[antidrumpfs]

TIME TO LOCK HIM UP...

Only a truly ignorant person could believe that we should just move on post Trump and not pursue every possible option of holding him for once in his corrupt life responsible with regard to his crimes before, during, and after his contemptuous presidency. There are those that think bringing Trump to justice would somehow fracture and divide our divided country further and that we should somehow just forgive and forget when in reality nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact it will surely lead to our demise if we don't demonstrate to the world that we have both the will and the mechanism to see that Trump is prosecuted to the full extent of our existing laws, and also we must show the entire world that we are implementing procedures that will prevent the next Trump who has now been given the blueprint in how to simply ignore the checks and balances we previously thought would be sufficient to prevent such an utterly corrupt person from ever becoming president in the first place.

With regard to the notion that holding Trump accountable would somehow cause division among us, that ship has already sailed. There has to be consequences for the 10 examples of obstruction of justice that we know about from the Mueller report, and the recorded examples in which he attempts to intimidate election officials in Georgia into “finding” him 11,780 votes, and his role along with his cronies at the rally prior to the insurrection and failed coup (once again all recorded and documented) wherein he openly incited the attack on our capitol. 

There have also been new revelations in recent accounts of further illegal attempts to manipulate those in the justice department. We have only seen the tip of the iceberg, and you can be sure there are more crimes to be revealed which we don't yet have evidence of but only suspect.

I'm confident that there are numerous financial crimes in addition to the massive tax fraud documented by the New York Times which we know was committed by the Trump crime family. I believe that we are about to see revealed in the coming months hard evidence of money laundering on a massive scale, and yes, with none other than Russian criminals.

There are more than 60 pages that are redacted in the Mueller report and they need to be declassified and available to the public. Will further evidence of Trump's corruption bring the rabid cult member around? Of course not, but it will chip off more of the those that sit on the fence and those first time Trump voters that do feel and least some regret or remorse for the fact they were conned just like the hillbillies were by a flabby orange buffoon loser in 2016. 

Those that voted for Trump the first round and now feel contrite can and should be forgiven, but those who after four years of total discord, open corruption, and more than 30,000 verifiable lies (not to mention his utterly incompetent handling of the pandemic) then decided to roll the dice for four more years are simply beyond help and not only can't be redeemed but furthermore don't deserve any attempt by anyone to even try.

In closing, I have two words for anyone that thinks that I or anyone else is obsessed or somehow “just as bad as They are” because we want Trump and each and every one of his traitorous co-conspirator enablers held accountable: FUCK YOU. I for one intend to rub his incompetence, his stupidity, and his corruption in the  face of the Cult 45 members for a good long time. Only a truly ignorant fool would not totally despise everything that Donald Trump stands for. - Antidrumpfs

[ducavalentinos]

Why do you think that Cesare helped Della Rovere become Pope? It's seems uncharacteristically...stupid? Perhaps illness and grief had made him desperate?

(Also I can't get that scene of Della Rovere hitting on Cesare in Borgia out of my head help lol)

Oh, thank you anon, for giving me the chance to vent my thoughts about the most frustrating event in Borgian history! This is long-ish, and tumblr is being weird(!!!!!!!) with the read-more link, so I'm not sure where/if it will show up below or not. Before answering your question, there is a question to be made first, I think: Why was Della Rovere still breathing in the year of 1503? If we follow the Borgias’ historical literature, the vast majority paints Rodrigo and Cesare, in particular Cesare, as unscrupulous, utterly ruthelss, vindictive men. They were the terror of Italy, and they meticulously eliminated all of their enemies. Yet, most of their enemies and their families, important to add, lived. Including Della Rovere, the most dangerous and bitterest rival of their family. What are we supposed to make of this? It's another one of those common situations in Borgian bios where what it is said is demonstrably at odds with the historical material, and it's something to ponder, I mean, Cesare only found himself in his predicament in 1503 because he and his father failed to strike down Della Rovere during those long eleven years they were in power. Their inability and/or unwillingness to do so was a graver political mistake than Cesare helping Della Rovere win the papacy in the end. And answering your question now, yes, I think the initial impression is that it does seem uncharacteristically stupid for Cesare to support Della Rovere, and help him win. But then again, I don't think Cesare's biographers are very good in showing the complexity of papal Conclaves, and the whole political landscape Cesare was in, and all the possible factors that came into play in his decision. Maybe it's a decision made not to overwhelm or bore the reader, but it usually has only one or two chapters covering both Conclaves, with a lot being left out or ignored, or simplified. The two most popular opinions are that: 1. Cesare had no choice, but to support Della Rovere. Some claim he was no longer in a powerful position, or felt lost without his father's guidance, and/or Della Rovere was the only and strongest candidate for that Conclave from the start, and his election was an impossible thing to avoid. It was already settled, and Cesare had to roll with it the best he could, and try not to make the future Pope even more hostile towards him. 2. He had other choices, namely he had cardinal Rouen, but in the end it didn't worked out, and Della Rovere stood unopposed as a candidate for the papacy, which forced Cesare to support him, and/or he apparently believed Della Rovere's promises, and thought they could reach an understanding. Opinion #1 is the most messy, and it makes zero sense to me today, given there is actual historical info reporting the contrary. The idea that Cesare's power and influence died out or diminished after his father died, or that he was lost without his guidance, are false. Prior to Della Rovere's election as Pope Giulio II, Cesare's power and influence remained strong. He still had large sums of money with his bankers in Genoa and other places of Italy, he continued to be visited daily by cardinals and orators, and indeed it even seems he was thought to be the decisive factor for any papal election. There isn't much criticism to be made either, when looking at his actions right after Rodrigo died, esp. considering at the same time he was dangerously ill himself, and it wasn't something he had prepared for, being it impossible to predict such a thing, he played all of his cards wise and correctly. He was able to secure Piccolomini as Pope, who if not a Borgia partisan, at least was not antagonistic towards him and his family. About the second Conclave, there is a report from Machiavelli in which he says cardinal Pallavicini was the only one being regarded as a possible rival to Della Rovere. And Burchard, whose info seems to have been correct in this instance, writes of a meeting that took place between Della Rovere and Cesare with the Spaniard cardinals at the Vatican, a variant of this info is of Della Rovere meeting Cesare and the Spaniard cardinals at the Castel Sant' Angelo, where they were able to reach an agreement. Opinion #2 makes a little more sense, and it matches a little bit more with the info there is, but it's still messy. Cardinal Pallavicini is almost never mentioned (only Woodward mentions him iirc), and it has to be said that even if Della Rovere succeeded in making himself an unopposed candidate, nevertheless, the Spanish vote could decide an election. So Cesare still had choices, and the reason why he didn't went with those choices, in my view, is not because he believed Della Rovere's promises, it's not the case of Della Rovere winning in the game of deception, I believe both men were aware that agreement was only temporary, and Cesare's decision there was composed by other factors. And between these two opinions, here's what I think is more plausible to have happened: Cesare, knowing his beloved tutor Giovanni Vera was as impossible a choice in that second Conclave as he had been in the first, thought about supporting the French cardinal Rouen. He was far from the ideal choice, but he was a workable choice for him. However, although his influence with the Spaniard cardinals was strong, he must have been aware his influence with them had limitations. The cardinals would never vote for a French candidate, because they were also obliged to King Ferdinand II of Spain, who also had his influence with them, and whose interests they were there in Rome to protect and represent. So much like Vera, Rouen quickly became an impossible choice for him. After this, it's reasonable to think he turned his efforts towards any candidate who stood a chance against Della Rovere, which turned out to be cardinal Pallavicini. Pallavicini is interesting, because like Della Rovere, he was also from the Liguria region (Genoa), but unlike Della Rovere, he maintained a friendly relationship with the Borgia family during Alexander VI's papacy. Rodrigo Borgia was able to secure his support during his own battle to win the papacy in the Conclave of 1492. He also counted on this cardinal's efforts when trying to nominate Cesare for the cardinalate. And he appointed him Bishop of Pamplona, a title previously held by Cesare himself. There is nothing, that I've found anyways, suggesting he and Cesare had direct interactions, but it's possible Cesare cultivated a relationship with him much in the same way he did with cardinal Piccolomini (later Pope Pius III). So by all accounts, Pallavicini was Cesare's best choice then, and it is intriguing there isn't much about this, or why Pallavicini failed to make himself Pope. In theory at least, with Cesare's support, he would have won the papacy. The Italian cardinals were not supporting Della Rovere because they wanted him, many disliked him, some still remembered the papacy of his uncle, but he seemed like a better choice than another Spaniard, or a French, or god forbid a Colonna or an Orsini, but with cardinal Pallavicini, they had a good choice there, and the only reason I can think of as to why they didn't elect him comes down to money and benefices. At some point, Pallavicini, even with Cesare's support, couldn't keep up with the resources Della Rovere made sure of having, and just like Rouen, he fell behind. From this point forward, things get more complicated for Cesare, but Della Rovere's election was still not a concluded reality. A question that follows when reading the info about him meeting with Cesare is: Would he have reached out to Cesare, the son of a man he hated to the core, from a family he despised, if his election was such a sure thing? I think the answer here is no. Della Rovere entering into an agreement with Cesare highly implies, if not proves it, he did not had the necessary votes to win. He needed the Spanish vote, 11 votes to be precise, which were under the influence of Cesare. Without the 11 votes, every single voting would end up nowhere, and a thought I believe was on Della Rovere's mind at the time was that: the longer it took for an election, the more difficult it became for him to stay as strong and unopposed. The support he had could shift in one week or two. New rivals could emerge, unexpected things could happen, because papal Conclaves were mostly unpredictable. It depended a lot on money, influence, the political situation on a daily basis, esp. in Rome, where as it was the norm without a Pope, was a city under total chaos. Della Rovere could only control so much for so long, and I think he knew that very well, hence why he swallowed his hatred, and went to negociate with the son of his archenemy, and get the 11 votes he needed to win as soon as possible.

Another question that follows after reading all this is: Ok, so why didn't Cesare used that for his advantage? better yet, why didn't he use the chaos in Rome, for example, to subtly force the cardinals to stop supporting Della Rovere and find a more favourable candidate for him? Or why didn't he simply stalled the election until a more favourable candidate appeared? These are all things he was in a position of doing, and the reason why he didn't do it, and instead went with helping Della Rovere can be better explained when considering the following factors: 1. You mentioned his grief, and his illness, which might have made him desperate, and while I don't think it was that exactly that made him desperate, I do think it counts as a factor into understanding his state of mind at that moment, and why he made that final decision. Cesare had gone through a rollercoster of events, and dare I say, emotions in less than 3 months. He lost his father, the constant and closest male presence in his life, as far as we know. He didn't had time to grieve him nor make sure he had a decent and respectful burial (it's possible he heard later what was said about his death and burial, and I have no idea how that made him feel) because he was also fighting for his life then. First against illness, then against his enemies in Rome. Not only that, other people and things depended on him. He was the head of the house then, and it fell to him the responsibility, among all that chaos, to keep the women and children of his family safe, as well as to make sure to get all the valuable possessions left in the Vatican and in his palace, before they were sacked completely by servants and others. This was an important step to ensure their survival in the coming months. Gioffre was there to help him, and he did helped, but you know, everyone looked at Cesare for leadership and protection, and he could barely leave his bed, so that surely must have added an extra layer of stress for him. But then, he succeeded in making Piccolomini pope, and it looked like the worst was over, things looked hopeful for him and the Borgia family. And then, suddenly Pius dies, only after 26 days of papacy. Again, if it was truly a natural death, there is no way Cesare could have predicted that, and just like that he was right back where he started. Having to navigate the messy political affairs of a papal conclave and its outcome, of which he and his family’s lives and future depended on. Cesare was resilient. Rodrigo raised his children to be resilient, and to not crumble at the face of adversity, to persist. But I guess we can agree this a lot for a person to process in such a short amount of time. So by the time the second Conclave happened, it would be reasonable to think Cesare might have been feeling overwhelmed, tired, in pain (he had gone through awful treatments), and overall just a bit shaken up mentally and emotionally, although he always tried to look strong and positive —it's interesting to notice it didn't seemed to have been in his nature to be a pessimist, only much later he is recorded as feeling more despondent, and saying Fortuna has left him *gets sad in spanish* — which made him more open to consider options he wouldn't have had under normal circumstances, I think. 2. As said above, Cesare seems to have had this trait in his personality of being resilient, it's one of the reasons why I think he survived for as long as he did (same with Lucrezia, I suppose), he had an instinct to not give up no matter how impossible the situation looked, of not being afraid to face adversities that came his way. He seems to have welcomed challenges, and it was when he felt most encouraged to fight and to thrive. When he was the prisoner of Della Rovere in the Vatican, then pope Giulio II, one of Giulio's men said to him: "signor duca, you have always been spirited." to which he is recorded as having said that: "quando più sono in adversità tanto più mi fortifico di anima. // the more I am in adversity, the more I strengthen my soul." So this is another factor to consider. It's possible he saw the situation with Della Rovere as just another adversity he had to face, and with his tenacity, intelligence, and most importantly, with time, he could overcome it. 3. Another possible factor, but this one is only my personal assessment after reading Alvisi and some of the documents he exposes there, is that both Rodrigo and Cesare display a difficulty in understanding not everyone was as cold-headed and pragmatic as they were. It's evident in their actions, they never had much, if any, trouble putting their personal dislikes aside, and working with their enemies, if it meant they would reach a certain goal they wanted, and/or if it avoided needless conflict or bloodshed. However, not everyone is capable of rising above their feelings, and in this case prejudices, and work like that with people they see as enemies. It was the case of Florence and Venice, for example. Every single conversation the Borgia men had with these two city-States made it painfully clear no agreement would ever happened between them. They would much rather damned themselves and their cities than to genuinely try to work with men they suspected of being marranos and who they saw as being beneath them. It was personal, deeply personal, and to a point just irrational, too. But Rodrigo and Cesare did not seemed to grasp that, like the idea of acting against one's own interest simply out of personal dislike or prejudice didn't register inside their minds, it was just preposterous to them (I agree! dsdjsdjsj). With the right terms, surely an agreement can be reached, no matter how they feel about us, that's what they seem to think, and it's a bit funny, and sad to observe. And if I'm correct here, then Cesare helping Della Rovere might have carried some of this mentality, too. Him thinking: yes, of course, Della Rovere hates me and my family, but not to his own detriment, right? (wrong, just as like in the cases of Venice and Florence, but he later learned that the hard way) and this thinking made him conclude they could work together, despite of any hatred. 4. And finally, the last factor, which I see it as the final nail the coffin, sort-to-speak: His impatience. In the middle of all this papal business, and him fighting for his life, Cesare was also receiving daily news from the Romagna, and after Pope Pius's death, the situation went from bad to worse, his dukedom was being attacked by the men he had ousted from those cities (instead of having had them executed, as it was the norm of his times) with the full support of Venice and Florence in doing so, and only a few cities, like Cesena, were able to withstand these attacks. This is what I think made him desperate. We have to keep in mind Cesare was a man of action. Sitting idle watching his project, one that seems to have been dear to him beyond just mere ambition, wasn't how he did things, and it had to be pure agony for him to be in a position where he couldn't do much. He was still ill, he couldn't organize his men well, he was pretty much trapped at the Castel Sant'Angelo since the one time he tried to leave Rome, the Orsinis almost caught him, and if they caught him, he was a dead man, him and everyone with him. And he didn't had papal authority, only with that would the attack of these cities stop and only with that could he leave Castel Sant'Angelo and finally do something, so he needed a Pope elected as soon as possible, too, even one like Della Rovere. This hurry, this agony, combined with the other factors mentioned above, very likely might have made him overlook some details about his particular situation, misunderstanding Della Rovere’s nature, and underestimating this man’s hatred for him and his family.

Personally, I believe he should have stalled the Conclave for as long as possible, and waited a more favourable papal outcome for him. Sure, it involved other risks. The main one losing all of the Romagna, but here's the thing: the Romagna was basically lost to him anyways. That region belonged to the Church and to papal rule, and Cesare's control over it came from his position as Gonfaloniere of the Church, but imo, that wasn't a position he could have kept. Popes tended to appoint this position to men close to them, family members preferably, because it was an important and influential position, and they needed someone they could trust, and whose interestes would be aligned with them and their papacy. Maybe there is a precedent of a Pope letting the son of the previous Pope in this position, instead of changing it for someone inside their own circle, and nothing bad happened either lol, but no example comes to my mind right now. And in any case, I don't think they were quite in the same situation as Cesare. Cesare's situation was kind of unique, too. He was a beloved and popular ruler, and this little fact, whether he realized it or not, made him even more of a threat to any Pope who wanted to have full control over the Papal States. It created a conflict of power where the Gonfaloniere's influence in the Romagna would have been stronger than that of the Pope himself, which could lead to dangerous situations. With a decent amount of money, the right partisans, and the people's support (who always had anti-papal feelings to being with) Cesare, if he wanted to, could very easily strike up a rebellion against papal authority. No clever Pope, surely not Della Rovere, would have wanted to have that hanging over their heads. That's way too much power for a person to have over them and their papacy. So the Romagna wasn't something possible for him to keep, unless we consider other possbilities, but that's another topic, the point is: at least with a favourable Pope, one like Pius, Cesare could have tried to secure some cities, as well as some fortresses in the lines of the Romagna, Umbria and Tuscany regions. I think that's something he could have achieved with a favourable Pope, creating a new duchy for him and his family, not as Gonfaloniere, but as the Pope's vassal perhaps. But, maybe he didn't considered that, or maybe he had info that didn't came down to us which made this scenario not an option, or info which made him feel confident with his decision with Della Rovere, as usual, this is another theme where there's many things we will never know for sure, but I hope this helped a bit into shedding a light on this confusing, frustrating event in Cesare's life. (And I don't remember that scene, anon??? lol is that the one where Della Rovere is already pope, and he wants to humiliate Cesare further so he brings him naked and in chains to his rooms? and then proceeds to take advantage of the situation, forcing Cesare to kiss him? that one? that's the only scene that comes to my mind, and I have to say I felt pretty disgusted watching it. I guess it's another example of the poor taste of much of Fontana's writing, he really seems to like taking things to an extreme and always enter this sadistic, twisted territory with his characters that really is not my thing. On the other hand, it made me appreciate Mark as an actor even more, because it's not every actor who could have put that scene off, among so many others tbh, without looking utterly ridiculous, and failing to convey any emotions to the viewer. I felt very sad for Cesare there, in Fontana's world, Cesare was a victim of rape in the past, and in that scene with Della Rovere, he was again at a vulnerable position, without any power, and being force to kiss this man who had his life and his future on his hands. It's again, a extreme and sadistic take of the real psychological torture Della Rovere seems to have had enjoyed inflicting on irl!Cesare once he was pope Giulio II.)

[mojave-pete]

Expect Democrats To Move At Breakneck Speed Following The Blueprints Of The Soviet Union, Venezuela And Other Tyrannical Regimes Of The Past To Complete Their Crackdown Upon America

By US Navy Veteran John C. Velisek for All News Pipeline

The country is under a once distant threat that is bullying its way through our culture. Big Government, Big Tech, academia, and entertainment are the four pillars that are destroying our countries foundations. Hell-bent on the destruction of our basic liberties, the progressive socialists, are following the blueprints of the one-time Soviet Union, Venezuela, and other regimes of the past.

Part of this blueprint is the canceling of our fundamental liberties. The Chinese virus is but the start of this tyranny. Following the rigged election of China Joe Biden, we are now hearing for the leftists a call for revenge. In academia, professors of public policy at Duke Bill Adair, also the founder of the far-leftist Politifact, and Philip Napoli have argued that there is a need for the government to decide what speech will be permitted. In their ivory tower, the poor snowflakes can not accept that there may be someone with ideas different from what they believe. They can' handle disagreement but opt for the censorship of those they feel are below the.

In their world, the citizens cannot decide because they have believed all the lies fed to them by the opposition. They do not understand that facts matter and millions of people have decided to stop drinking the progressive socialist Kool-Aid and have started to think for themselves. Lied to by the leftist political officials within our midst and talking heads of television, the American people have seen the truth and will resist the temptation to allow our government officials to continue their run to the control of every aspect of our lives.

Big Tech and media's crushing censorship will not change the facts and will not distort the truth. The American people will see through the lies and misinformation. The next step, which is just beginning, is the cancel culture of destroying the livelihoods and families of those who disagree. Big government is taking a more active role in the misinformation campaign and the politics of personal destruction. Moving at breakneck speed to further totalitarianism, the leftists call for a government-run by leftists and anarchists to further dictate what is or is not allowable speech.

Coupled with the liberal programs to revise our culture and history is persecution directed at the American liberty loving patriots. They are attempting to coerce the American patriots into bowing down and declaring our great country's history is evil. Tearing down our monuments and revising our history have taken hold because we have let our educational system flounder on the shoals of progressive socialism that had its start under FDR and Woodrow Wilson.

We are being told that if you believe in individual rights as enshrined in our Constitution and Bill of Rights, you must be a racist. The anarchists in the streets' sole purpose are the creative chaos and attempt to cause the patriots within our country, the majority. The progressive socialists hope that the disorder will cause behavioral changes in the psyche of the American patriots causing patriots to bend in their beliefs to the point where they give up and submit to the globalists' demands.

And make no mistake, the globalists, along with the factions within such as teachers unions and community activist groups that work to cause racial disharmony. Those in our government will never understand that the individual citizen is who built this country. Personal responsibility and rugged individualism are what this country was built on. Without personal responsibility,  the anarchists and the enablers behind them cannot be held accountable. And without rugged individualism, how can the people stand up to the sorts of things we see today in the circus of politics that threatens to bring this country down.

It may take some time, but the American people will stand up to the intimidation and force used by Marxist forces such as BLM and the Democrat Party. Andrew Cuomo, New York Governor and nursing home murdered, even stated on air that nowhere does it say that protests should be peaceful. But Cuomo can't explain how riots, looting, and burning a citizen's business taking away their livelihood can lead to a fearful police department that runs over someone in a mob surrounding the police car. Even our fake vice-president Kamala Harris has said that riots should continue; she even helped the few arrested to make bail. But she can’t explain that the riots will find everyone, including those in the Capitol who rules the supposed little people from on high. Where the progressive socialists have gained a foothold, threats, violence, censorship, and chaos follow. What will these socialists say when the populace has had enough and start fighting back. They have nothing they can do but declare it an "insurrection.” It will be civil disobedience and the American people's triumph over the authoritarianism they, the progressive socialists, are trying to force upon us.

Leading with the devices at their command in social engineering, political repression, and destroying the best economy before the pandemic will lead to the ultimate collapse that is part of the plan the progressive socialism. By the end of the Biden/Harris regime, our constitutional separation of power and fealty to freedom and fundamental equality will begone. The replacement of the necessary foundation of our country will be tribalism and identity politics. The truth will be supplanted by the ideology of socialism, including mass censorship. Socialism will maintain the status quo of corporate oligarchies. It has been shown that even during the past socialist takeovers of democratic countries, the movement has been nothing more than a funded operation for the benefits of the elites in positions of power.

The mainstream media and the leftists are doing their best to make the "insurrection" a pivot point in the nation's psyche because of a national election that will not admit it was stolen. The mountains of evidence were not investigated or ruled on by ANY court. The challenges that did make it to the courts were dismissed on technicalities and procedural issues. The evidence has never been examined, and in the few cases that made it courts, was dismissed out of hand without any investigation. The MSM and leftists won't tell you this and refuse to allow anyone to question the election results. Why would they not let the citizens of a supposedly free country see the evidence and will enable us to decide for ourselves?

Is it because in the world of journalism of today, there can be actions to question or investigate any information that is not committed to "the Cause." The globalist elites who have decided that the peasants need to be led without their consent and forced to agree to limits on their liberty. They claim this suppression is a constitutional norm and that the lower class must comply. The globalists see themselves as figureheads meant to make declarations that the peasants will bow down to and follow unquestioningly. They have badly misinterpreted the American people's pulse and are ill-prepared to tamp down the citizen interaction.

The Biden administration is a coup, an open attack on our country to usurp our republic and culture.

In the word of George Washington:                

“The time is now near at hand which must properly determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves: whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to pillaged and destroyed; and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness.”

What more can be done to the middle class? Caught between the globalists and the progressive socialists in our Congress and the radicalized mobs such as Antifa and BLM below them, what is left open to the middle class? And it appears that the mobs destroying our cities and attempting to intimidate our citizens do not understand that what they are doing is becoming an ally to the socialist left. It doesn’t matter that socialism has never worked; these thugs don't understand socialism. They have been brainwashed since earl yon through the leftists that indoctrinate them in our schools. Being told that in socialism, "the people" run everything and share equally, it will be a rude awakening when these mobs discover that the Insider elites in total control of consolidating and controlling the wealth.

Add to this the censorship, and cancel culture taken from the likes of the Soviet Union and understand that the anti-America cabal has plans to separate and chase the middle class hard working patriots from the forum of American politics.

PLEASE HELP KEEP ANP ALIVE BY DONATING USING ONE OF THE FOLLOWING METHODS.

[tcsparky-blog]

A fair acquittal for Trump?

The big story nationally during the past week has been the second impeachment trial of former President Trump. Members of Congress brought up articles of impeachment against Trump alleging that he was responsible for the Capitol riots on January 6th. That trial came to a sudden end yesterday when the Senate voted on the articles and the number of votes needed to convict Trump was not reached, therefore, he was acquitted. There has been a lot of debate over whether this trial was even necessary in the first place. Many feel this was a complete waste of time and just another highly partisan effort to get rid of one of the most hated politicians ever in Washington. While others maintain that the former president must be held accountable for his actions (or lacked of them) on that fateful day last month. Was the acquittal a fair and just ending to this trial? If you are one of those many Trump haters out there, you are absolutely outraged today and feel that justice was not served. However, I would like to explain why I think this acquittal was justified and we should just move on.

The big allegation against Trump was that he incited this riot by his speech and his words. I totally disagree with that charge. The former president has ever right in the world to hold a rally and tell his supporters to fight and stand up for their rights. He also clearly stated near the end of the speech that they should also do so in a "peaceful manner" something that was conveniently not shown in the video designed to indict Trump. It was never Trump's intention to have people storm the Capitol and riot. You can never convince me that was so. Did not a few of his supporters get killed in the riot? Why would he put his supporters in danger?

There is an argument by those in favor of the impeachment that Trump also added to the riot by claiming the election was stolen in aftermath of the election thus inciting people to commit violence. If that is the case, perhaps we should look at impeaching many politicians for their roles in past violent acts. Former President Barack Obama talked very negatively about the police during his terms. Perhaps his words led to riots in St. Louis and other places after the killing of Micheal Brown and created a very dangerous anti-cop attitude around the country. Many innocent people were put at risk. Vice President Kamela Harris donated money to help rioters this past summer. Where is the outrage over that? There is a story that one of rioters helped by Harris got out of jail and was arrested again. Maybe we should consider impeaching them as well. Funny how they seem to get off while Trump has to stand trial over just giving a speech which contained absolutely no evidence of incitement words. Why is there such a double standard here?

I totally agree that Trump could have done more to handle the situation in the aftermath of the situation. He certainly could have shown more leadership in trying to defuse the situation. But pinning this riot squarely on the hands on President Trump is utterly ridiculous! The claim that he encouraged people to storm the Capitol and riot is grasping at straws for people who detest Trump. Until there is more evidence out there that he did indeed instruct people to riot, I am not buying these claims. The president was justly acquitted based on the very weak testimony by House managers. Whether Trump will run for office again will be decided by the American people, not by a bunch of  Trump hating politicians. And that is the way it should be.

[robertreich]

The Solutions to the Climate Crisis No One is Talking About

Both our economy and the environment are in crisis. Wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few while the majority of Americans struggle to get by. The climate crisis is worsening inequality, as those who are most economically vulnerable bear the brunt of flooding, fires, and disruptions of supplies of food, water, and power. At the same time, environmental degradation and climate change are themselves byproducts of widening inequality. The political power of wealthy fossil fuel corporations has stymied action on climate change for decades. Focused only on maximizing their short-term interests, those corporations are becoming even richer and more powerful — while sidelining workers, limiting green innovation, preventing sustainable development, and blocking direct action on our dire climate crisis. Make no mistake: the simultaneous crisis of inequality and climate is no fluke. Both are the result of decades of deliberate choices made, and policies enacted, by ultra-wealthy and powerful corporations. We can address both crises by doing four things: First, create green jobs. Investing in renewable energy could create millions of family sustaining, union jobs and build the infrastructure we need for marginalized communities to access clean water and air. The transition to a renewable energy-powered economy can add 550,000 jobs each year while saving the US economy $78 billion through 2050. In other words, a Green New Deal could turn the climate crisis into an opportunity - one that both addresses the climate emergency and creates a fairer and more equitable society. Second, stop dirty energy. A massive investment in renewable energy jobs isn’t enough to combat the climate crisis. If we are going to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we must tackle the problem at its source: Stop digging up and burning more oil, gas, and coal. The potential carbon emissions from these fossil fuels in the world’s currently developed fields and mines would take us well beyond the 1.5°C increased warming that Nobel Prize winning global scientists tell us the planet can afford. Given this, it’s absurd to allow fossil fuel corporations to start new dirty energy projects. Even as fossil fuel companies claim to be pivoting toward clean energy, they are planning to invest trillions of dollars in new oil and gas projects that are inconsistent with global commitments to limit climate change. And over half of the industry’s expansion is projected to happen in the United States. Allowing these projects means locking ourselves into carbon emissions we can’t afford now, let alone in the decades to come. Even if the U.S. were to transition to 100 percent renewable energy today, continuing to dig fossil fuels out of the ground will lead us further into climate crisis. If the U.S. doesn’t stop now, whatever we extract will simply be exported and burned overseas. We will all be affected, but the poorest and most vulnerable among us will bear the brunt of the devastating impacts of climate change. Third, kick fossil fuel companies out of our politics. For decades, companies like Exxon, Chevron, Shell, and BP have been polluting our democracy by pouring billions of dollars into our politics and bankrolling elected officials to enact policies that protect their profits. The oil and gas industry spent over $103 million on the 2016 federal elections alone. And that's just what they were required to report: that number doesn't include the untold amounts of "dark money" they’ve been using to buy-off politicians and corrupt our democracy. The most conservative estimates still put their spending at 10 times that of environmental groups and the renewable energy industry. As a result, American taxpayers are shelling out $20 billion a year to bankroll oil and gas projects -- a huge transfer of wealth to the top. And that doesn’t even include hundreds of billions of dollars of indirect subsidies that cost every United States citizen roughly $2,000 a year. This has to stop. And we’ve got to stop giving away public lands for oil and gas drilling. In 2018, under Trump, the Interior Department made $1.1 billion selling public land leases to oil and gas companies, an all-time record -- triple the previous 2008 record, totaling more than 1.5 million acres for drilling alone, threatening multiple cultural sites and countless wildlife. As recently as last September, the Trump administration opened 1.56 million acres of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, threatening Indigenous cultural heritage and hundreds of species that call it home. That’s not all. The ban on exporting crude oil should be reintroduced and extended to other fossil fuels. The ban, in place for 40 years, was lifted in 2015, just days after the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement. After years of campaigning by oil executives, industry heads, and their army of lobbyists, the fossil fuel industry finally got its way. We can’t wait for these changes to be introduced in 5 or 10 years time — we need them now. Fourth, require the fossil fuel companies that have profited from environmental injustice compensate the communities they've harmed. As if buying-off our democracy wasn’t enough, these corporations have also deliberately misled the public for years on the amount of damage their products have been causing. 

For instance, as early as 1977, Exxon’s own scientists were warning managers that fossil fuel use would warm the planet and cause irreparable damage. In the 1980s, Exxon shut down its internal climate research program and shifted to funding a network of advocacy groups, lobbying arms, and think tanks whose sole purpose was to cloud public discourse and block action on the climate crisis. The five largest oil companies now spend about $197 million a year on ad campaigns claiming they care about the climate — all the while massively increasing their spending on oil and gas extraction. Meanwhile, millions of Americans, especially poor, Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities, already have to fight to drink clean water and breathe clean air as their communities are devastated by climate-fueled hurricanes, floods, and fires. As of 2015, nearly 21 million people relied on community water systems that violated health-based quality standards. 

Going by population, that’s essentially 200 Flint, Michigans, happening all at once. If we continue on our current path, many more communities run the risk of becoming “sacrifice zones,” where citizens are left to survive the toxic aftermath of industrial activity with little, if any, help from the entities responsible for creating it. Climate denial and rampant pollution are not victimless crimes. Fossil fuel corporations must be held accountable, and be forced to pay for the damage they’ve wrought. If these solutions sound drastic to you, it’s because they are. They have to be if we have any hope of keeping our planet habitable. The climate crisis is not a far-off apocalyptic nightmare — it is our present day. Australia’s bushfires wiped out a billion animals, California’s fire season wreaks more havoc every year, and record-setting storms are tearing through our communities like never before. 

Scientists tell us we have 10 years left to dramatically reduce emissions. We have no room for meek half-measures wrapped up inside giant handouts to the fossil fuel industry. 

We deserve a world without fossil fuels. A world in which workers and communities thrive and our shared climate comes before industry profits. Working together, I know we can make it happen. We have no time to waste.

[zobairblogs]

BCB AGM to be held on August 26

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has confirmed that the board's Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Thursday (August 26) in Dhaka.

According to article 12.1 of the BCB constitution, it is stated that the board shall host the AGM within 120 days of the completion of each fiscal year. This is not the first time the BCB AGM has been delayed. During the last 11 years, there have been only three AGMs held, in 2010, 2012 and 2017.

After the board meeting on June 15, the decision was taken to hold the AGM on July 7, but it had to be postponed indefinitely due to the growing Covid-19 threat in the country leading to a nationwide lockdown.

BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury confirmed the development. "We kept trying but we weren't able to arrange the AGM in the past few years due to several problems," he said. "We have to admit that we have some limitations. Though I don't want to put it as an excuse, you have to remember that apart from Covid, we were busy with other events as well, causing the delay. We had tried to arrange it in July but we couldn't do it because of the restrictions."

BCB CEO and the Chief Finance Officer will present all the activities, accounts and audits of the Board for the last three financial years (2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20) approved by the Board of Directors.

BCB President Nazmul Hassan's second term is set to end in September this year and according to the constitution, the board must arrange for an election within the next 45 days. He is expected to run for the BCB President's post for the third successive term, and at the moment there is no other candidate running for the post. A total of 166 councillors have been invited to the AGM.

Source: @Cricbuzz

[fluffykitty1999-blog]

Dog of the Military- Chapter 35

Chapter 35

A little bit of rest and relaxation for our favorite heroes, and some family bonding time fluff. 

Also- Mustang gets a little ribbing from Hughes and acknowledges that yeah, he’s a dad.

Roy ended up lacking the motivation to carry Ed up the stairs to his room. Or to make himself climb the stairs to get to his own bedroom. He ended up depositing Ed on the couch and flopping into his favorite recliner.

Alphonse had gotten a ride to the hospital at some point, and he puttered into the house behind them, with a bag full of prescriptions for both the other residents of the home.

Al seated himself calmly on the floor and started reading an issue of Cosmo as the Roy and Ed slept.

It was sunlight streaming through the window, the smell of coffee, and voices that woke him in the morning.

Roy blinked harshly, getting to his feet and checking the time. It was almost noon.

He'd thought he was doing good- but as he walked, he realized there was a jackhammer drilling behind his eyes and his headache came back as he became more awake.

Still, he trooped into the kitchen, intent on tracking down some of the coffee he'd been smelling.

He found Hawkeye sitting at his kitchen table, speaking quietly to Alphonse.

"Good morning Colonel!" Al said happily.

"Morning, Alphonse." Gosh, he felt like absolute garbage. Still, if He slammed some coffee and painkillers, he could probably get in a good half day at work, if the Lieutenant was kind enough to drive him. There was no way he'd be able to drive himself in his current dizzy state.

"Lieutenant- mind giving me a ride to work?"

Riza sipped from her mug of coffee, shaking her head. "No need. You've been given the day off. Edward, too."

"By who?"

"General Haruko himself, sir. He and the brass have enough to deal with, he wanted to congratulate you on catching Banks." her gaze flickered to Alphonse for a moment, and Roy knew he wasn't getting the whole story. Still, he knew that Riza must have a reason for keeping the truth from him, and he nodded, grabbing some bread from the breadbox and making himself some plain toast, pressing his palm to his pounding head.

"Take two of these, sir. Alphonse will give you more in an hour." Riza offered him something from a prescription bottle, and he downed both pills dry before nodding, grabbing his toast.

"What about Ed?" Roy asked, thinking of the boy still passed out on the couch. "Has he got anything he has to take?".

"I woke him and gave him his medication about an hour ago. My lunch is almost over, though, I have to get back to the office. One of the men from the office will bring by dinner, Alphonse will call and tell us what you want..."

Riza Hawkeye was, in fact, an angel in human form.

Ed was still out cold on the couch, and Roy took the opportunity to toss a blanket over him before sinking back into the recliner. He briefly considered reading the paper before electing not to, deciding today would be better spent being lazy. He hardly ever got days off like this- and neither did Ed. Might as well waste it sleeping while he could.

LINEBREAK LINEBREAK LINEBREAK LINEBREAK LINEBREAK

"Yeah- four cheese pizzas, with like, a bunch of shit on them. I don't even care, as long as those little fish aren't on it. Surprise me. I dunno- a soda. Something brightly colored. Yeah, he'll probably eat some too. No, he's not awake. You know what, throw some breadsticks in there too. They're really good. Yeah, he's alive, I totally checked like five minutes ago. Alright. See you soon. Thanks Havoc." Ed hung up the phone and plunked himself back on the couch, looking pleased with himself.

Roy opened his eyes.

"Oh good- you're awake." Alphonse said cheerily.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Bastard." Ed smirked. "You want anything for dinner? You weren't awake, but I can call back and order more..."

All Roy really wanted right now was some tea, and maybe a breadstick or two.

"No- I'll have some of whatever." his headache was still there, but not as intense as before. It was more a quiet sort of misery than a burning agony, now.

"Alphonse- do we have any tea?"

"Yes, we do! I'll go put on the kettle." Alphonse bounded to his feet, setting something off his lap and going into the kitchen. He was glad to be of help.

Roy looked down to see some sort of red yarn monstrosity nearly covering the floor of his living room.

"Alphonse taught himself how to knit today. I'd say that's lame, but all I've been doing is drinking juice boxes and complaining, so he did more than me." Ed spoke up from the couch.

"I tried to read something about the stone, but then I fell asleep again. These damn pills ruin everything." Ed complained, sitting up a little straighter.

Roy smirked. "That's not what you were saying at the ER last night. The pain medication made you act like a little kid."

"Shut up, I don't wanna hear it!"

"It was adorable. You came over and cuddled with me."

"Lalala!" Ed was covering his ears, now, and Roy laughed slightly. The only bad thing was that with Hughes in the hospital, he wouldn't have photographic evidence.

The doorbell rang just as Alphonse came back into the room with tea, and Ed jumped to his feet, excited. "Dinner!"

He came back with Havoc and several pizza boxes, settling himself down on the floor and starting to demolish an entire pizza by himself.

Havoc smirked. "Well. Glad to see the Chief wasn't too badly affected by everything. How are you, Boss?" Havoc looked over at Roy, who shrugged.

"I'll live." he sipped his tea and grabbed a bread stick from one of the take out containers. "How are they resolving this whole incident?"

Havoc shrugged. "I'm under orders not to talk about work with you. Hawkeye says you can get caught up on it yourself." Havoc shot a quick glance at Ed, who was still eating at an insane pace, and once again, Roy realized that there was something he didn't want to tell him in front of the boys. He'd find out soon enough when he went back to work again tomorrow, anyways.

"Hey Havoc- you wanna sign my cast!?" Ed held up his casted arm and continued to eat pizza with his other arm, and Havoc grinned, pulling out a sharpie from his pocket.

"Sure, Chief, let me see.".

LINEBREAK LINEBREAK LINEBREAK LINEBREAK LINEBREAK

The morning at work was quiet- Hughes had been discharged from the hospital yesterday, and Hawkeye told him he should go visit him friend immediately when he came in, despite the obvious stacks of paperwork on his desk. Roy complied without question- he'd known something was up since yesterday.

Fullmetal was occupied filling out his own share of paperwork about what'd happened, and getting people to sign his cast between forms.

He found it easy to duck out and stride into the investigation's branch, letting himself in and nodding to Scheska before he was knocking on the door to his friend's office excitedly.

Hughes was sitting sideways at his desk, his casted leg propped up on a chair set beside him. He gave a tired smile when he strode into the room.

"I was wondering how long before you showed up."

Roy snagged another chair and pulled it up, sitting down across from his friend.

"Well, I'm here. And I get the feeling something else has happened, but none of my team will say it outright. So tell me what it is. How are they resolving this case? Is Banks in custody?"

"No." Hughes frowned, sliding a manilla folder across the desktop.

"Banks was driving a car with two Drachmans in it and Ed in the passenger seat. They were tailed by a car driven by a single Drachman. Despite the crash, there was only one fatality. A Drachman in the car Ed was in- he was ejected and died on the scene. Everyone else survived the crash."

"So why aren't they in custody, then?" Roy said, not understanding.

"Open the file, Roy."

Roy obeyed. He found himself staring at the pieces of a destroyed car- the black car was upside down, the windows shattered, the front absolutely smashed... Roy found himself nauseas just looking at it, and he had to pull his eyes away.

"Ed... that was..." he could hardly put the words together.

Hughes nodded. "That was the car Ed rode in, yeah. He was the only one wearing a seat belt. He was also the only one uninjured enough to walk away from the crash. And it's a damn good thing he did."

"I don't understand. Ed said Banks was breathing when he left him, they were too injured to run away..."

"Someone else got there before the military, Roy." Hughes said gently. "Armstrong is processing the scene- he's the one who took these pictures. Shortly after Ed left, the wedding band killer surface from a nearby manhole."

Roy continued flipping through the folder- pictures, of a blood trail from bodies being dragged across the pavement, an open manhole cover...

"They were too injured to get away. The wedding band killer dragged every living man out of those cars and took them down into the sewers with him. He's having a hell of a lot of fun right now chopping them up- Armstrong has been able to confirm Banks is dead, though we're still looking for pieces of the other two. The corner is going to get back to me- let me know if we have enough body parts to account for three bodies. He left the dead man in the street- he only wanted the ones that were still alive."

Roy kept flipping through the photos. There were messages written in blood on the sewer walls. Cryptic warnings, some quotes of religious text, and for one, just a large smilie face drawn in blood.

"Are you okay?" Hughes asked, looking at Roy with concern.

Roy took a deep breath, closing the file folder when he was done. His heart was hammering in his chest. "I will be." he said finally, looking up. "I just... didn't expect them to all be dead. And like that..."

"Dragged into the sewers by a madman and tortured to death. Yeah, it's not exactly an ideal ending for anybody..."

"That could've been Edward."

"But it wasn't." Hughes said firmly. "Your staff all knows, but nobody has told Ed, and we're not planning to. All he needs to know is that they've been handled by the justice system."

"What kind of justice is that?" Roy looked down at the folder in disgust.

"Street justice. I know nobody deserves that, and it's horrific, but the one good thing that came out of all of this is that Ed is finally safe in Central again. That's what I tell myself, anyways."

"So- what does the brass think of all of this?"

Hughes sighed. "They have... mixed feelings on the matter. They're glad the whole Banks Fiasco has been dealt with. They're glad the Drachman issue is dealt with and was never publicized. And they're breathing down my neck trying to get me to catch the Wedding Band killer. I've already borrowed a couple of your men and called in as many favors as I could to help locate this guy. We're going to be starting to search the sewer systematically in teams next week." Hughes said simply.

"Enough of the official talk, though- what about the boys?"

"What about them?" Roy asked, looking puzzled. "I'm not planning on telling them about any of this. Now that the Drachmans and Banks are out of the picture, he'll probably start asking to travel again..."

"And what will you do?" Hughes asked, steepling his fingers and eyeing his friend carefully.

"I'll let him go." something painful in his chest tugged as he said those words, but he knew it was the right thing to do. Edward had goals to accomplish, leads to chase- and he wouldn't get anywhere standing still. "There's no reason to worry about him more than usual, now that things are dealt with. Besides, it's probably safer. It means I won't have to worry about him while I'm helping with the Mr. Fingers case. I'd rather have him out of the city while this is dealt with- he's already gotten too close to this killer for comfort a few times."

"Right. That's what I figured. How soon do you plan on letting him go out again?"

Roy paused for a moment, thinking. Ed did have a broken wrist- he was still sleeping more than usual, starting to recover...

"I'll keep him here for a week. Then he can go back out on his search."

"You sound disappointed." Hughes observed.

"It's... more lively with them around. But I'd only be hurting them if I kept them too close. I'm not the only one with goals, Hughes." he wondered about the day when Ed would return to Central city not with a suit of armor, but with Alphonse in the flesh. He realized he didn't know what Alphonse physically looked like- not even in pictures- and something fluttered in his chest at the thought of finally seeing the younger of the two boys for the first time.

"That's what being a parent is, you know. Knowing when to protect them and keep them close, and knowing when to let them go into the world on their own."

"I'm not their father, Hughes."

"No. You're not. But you're the closest thing they have. Ed's probably gonna be back here in two months, pissed and tired because he hasn't found anything. What'll you do then?"

"Tell the kid to go take a shower and let him crash upstairs. If he finds any alchemy that he needs my help with, he'll ask me about it."

"That's what a parent does. You're they're father, Roy, in all but name."

"Somethings are better left unsaid, Hughes. I'm climbing up the ladder- the less people know about who I care about, the better."

"And if Edward says it?"

"He already has."

"He has!?" Hughes eyes widened and his grin grew impossibly wide.

"Yes. He was drugged to high heaven in a hospital, but he's called me Dad."

"And did you correct him?"

"No."

"That's it. I'm starting a damn photo album." Hughes was rooting through his desk drawers.

Mustang sighed, standing and heading for the door. This was probably all the useful conversation he'd get with Hughes today.

"You had two damn kids and I didn't even get to come to your baby shower!"

"Shut up, Hughes!"

Obligatory ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/fluffykitty12 .

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

February 17, 2021

Heather Cox Richardson

The crisis in Texas continues, with almost 2 million people still without power in frigid temperatures. Pipes are bursting in homes, pulling down ceilings and flooding living spaces, while 7 million Texans are under a water boil advisory.

Tim Boyd, the mayor of Colorado City, Texas, put on Facebook: “The City and County, along with power providers or any other service owes you NOTHING! I’m sick and tired of people looking for a damn handout!... If you are sitting at home in the cold because you have no power and are sitting there waiting for someone to come rescue you because your lazy is direct result of your raising! [sic]…. This is sadly a product of a socialist government where they feed people to believe that the FEW will work and others will become dependent for handouts…. I’ll be damned if I’m going to provide for anyone that is capable of doing it themselves!... Bottom line quit crying and looking for a handout! Get off your ass and take care of your own family!” “Only the strong will survive and the weak will parish [sic],” he said.

After an outcry, Boyd resigned.

Boyd’s post was a fitting tribute to talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, who passed today from lung cancer at age 70. It was Limbaugh who popularized the idea that hardworking white men were under attack in America. According to him, minorities and feminists were too lazy to work, and instead expected a handout from the government, paid for by tax dollars levied from hardworking white men. This, he explained, was “socialism,” and it was destroying America.

Limbaugh didn’t invent this theory; it was the driving principle behind Movement Conservatism, which rose in the 1950s to combat the New Deal government that regulated business, provided a basic social safety net, and promoted infrastructure. But Movement Conservatives' efforts to get voters to reject the system that they credited for creating widespread prosperity had little success.

In 1971, Lewis Powell, an attorney for the tobacco industry, wrote a confidential memo for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce outlining how business interests could overturn the New Deal and retake control of America. Powell focused on putting like-minded scholars and speakers on college campuses, rewriting textbooks, stacking the courts, and pressuring politicians. He also called for “reaching the public generally” through television, newspapers, and radio. “[E]very available means should be employed to challenge and refute unfair attacks,” he wrote, “as well as to present the affirmative case through this media.”

Pressing the Movement Conservative case faced headwinds, however, since the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enforced a policy that, in the interests of serving the community, required any outlet that held a federal broadcast license to present issues honestly, equitably, and with balance. This “Fairness Doctrine” meant that Movement Conservatives had trouble gaining traction, since voters rejected their ideas when they were stacked up against the ideas of Democrats and traditional Republicans, who agreed that the government had a role to play in the economy (even though they squabbled about the extent of that role).

In 1985, under a chair appointed by President Ronald Reagan, the FCC stated that the Fairness Doctrine hurt the public interest. Two years later, under another Reagan-appointed chair, the FCC abolished the rule.

With the Fairness Doctrine gone, Rush Limbaugh stepped into the role of promoting the Movement Conservative narrative. He gave it the concrete examples, color, and passion it needed to jump from think tanks and businessmen to ordinary voters who could help make it the driving force behind national policy. While politicians talked with veiled language about “welfare queens” and same-sex bathrooms, and “makers” and “takers,” Limbaugh played “Barack the Magic Negro,” talked of “femiNazis,” and said “Liberals” were “socialists,” redistributing tax dollars from hardworking white men to the undeserving.

Constantly, he hammered on the idea that the federal government threatened the freedom of white men, and he did so in a style that his listeners found entertaining and liberating.

By the end of the 1980s, Limbaugh’s show was carried on more than 650 radio stations, and in 1992, he briefly branched out into television with a show produced by Roger Ailes, who had packaged Richard Nixon in 1968 and would go on to become the head of the Fox News Channel. Before the 1994 midterm elections, Limbaugh was so effective in pushing the Republicans’ “Contract With America” that when the party won control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 1952, the Republican revolutionaries made him an honorary member of their group.

Limbaugh told them that, under House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the Republicans must “begin an emergency dismantling of the welfare system, which is shredding the social fabric,” bankrupting the country, and “gutting the work ethic, educational performance, and moral discipline of the poor.” Next, Congress should cut capital gains taxes, which would drive economic growth, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and generate billions in federal revenue.

Limbaugh kept staff in Washington to make sure Republican positions got through to voters. At the same time, every congressman knew that taking a stand against Limbaugh would earn instant condemnation on radio channels across the country, and they acted accordingly.

Limbaugh saw politics as entertainment that pays well for the people who can rile up their base with compelling stories—Limbaugh’s net worth when he died was estimated at $600 million—but he sold the Movement Conservative narrative well. He laid the groundwork for the political career of Donald Trump, who awarded Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a made-for-tv moment at Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address. His influence runs deep in the current party: former Mayor Boyd, an elected official, began his diatribe with: “Let me hurt some feelings while I have a minute!!”

Like Boyd, other Texas politicians are also falling back on the Movement Conservative narrative to explain the disaster in their state. The crisis was caused by a lack of maintenance on Texas’s unregulated energy grid, which meant that instruments at coal, natural gas, and nuclear plants froze, at the same time that supplies of natural gas fell short. Nonetheless, Governor Greg Abbott and his allies in the fossil fuel industry went after “liberal” ideas. They blamed the crisis on the frozen wind turbines and solar plants which account for about 13% of Texas’s winter power. Abbott told Fox News Channel personality Sean Hannity that “this shows how the Green New Deal would be a deadly deal for the United States of America.” Tucker Carlson told his viewers that Texas was “totally reliant on windmills.”

The former Texas governor and former Secretary of Energy under Trump, Rick Perry, wrote on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s website to warn against regulation of Texas’s energy system: “Texans would be without electricity for longer than three days to keep the federal government out of their business,” he said. The website warned that “Those watching on the left may see the situation in Texas as an opportunity to expand their top-down, radical proposals. Two phrases come to mind: don’t mess with Texas, and don’t let a crisis go to waste.”

At Abbott’s request, President Biden has declared that Texas is in a state of emergency, freeing up federal money and supplies for the state. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has sent 60 generators to state hospitals, water plants, and other critical facilities, along with blankets, food, and bottled water. It is also delivering diesel fuel for backup power.

—-

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON