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creekfiend · 1 year ago

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Hey, do you have family in Israel? Do you know whether they are alright?

sure, I do. in my experience most American Jews have family in Israel. When my family left their village in what is now Belarus, half of those leaving came to the US and half went to Palestine. (and those who remained were killed and that village does not exist anymore) I am not in close contact with the Israeli side but I expect I would have heard something if any of them had been hurt. Josh has much closer Israeli family as his brother Yoav and nieces/nephews all live there but they are also fine to my knowledge.

I appreciate the check in, but I will be perfectly honest with you that while it hurts my heart immensely that so many Israeli civilians have been killed, right now I am primarily concerned about the millions of people in Gaza without electricity or running water who have been ordered to evacuate or get exploded but who have nowhere to go. I am very, VERY concerned about the statements being made by the garbage fascists in control of the Israeli government right now openly stating their genocidal intentions on a scale that we haven't previously seen.

we are all triggered and traumatized as hell about everything, and by we I mean Jews, and I think it's understandable for us to feel that way. but I also am struggling a lot with the degree to which many of my fellow American Jews are making this ABOUT our big feelings of fear and anxiety. I understand that anticipating things becoming More Dangerous is something all Jews have had to do constantly forever. I understand that "position of relative privilege" is something that's extremely conditional for Jews and something that can be taken away at the drop of a hat. but... I don't know. I've been trying to think of anything coherent or helpful in any way to say for the past several days and coming up short. it's a nightmare. But it would be disingenuous to deny that it's a nightmare for me in ways that are removed pretty significantly from the ways in which it is a nightmare for other people.

my family is fine. I understand and empathize with the sentiments of "but what if my family becomes NOT fine?" especially when this is the largest mass killing of Jewish civilians since... well. and I am also enraged and terrified by the comfort with which many leftist gentiles seem to be practically celebrating those deaths. but I'm really preoccupied by the fact that millions of people and their families in Gaza are Not Fine in a huge and terrible way right now as we speak. this is not to say that it is a contest, but if I am doing triage, it is very clear to me whose leg is more broken right now. While acknowledging, again, that we are in a scary place globally regarding antisemitism.

Angry Jew on fb has been posting a lot of stuff that really speaks to how I am feeling right now. devastated by the horrible ways some of my people have been killed, and devastated also that inexcusable violence is being done, essentially, in my name. I hate to talk about this publicly because I also fucking wish American gentiles would kind of shut up about it a lot of the time, to be honest. and I hate feeling like I am giving anyone ammunition in their weird ideological internet fights about having The More Correct Opinion in the hypothetical trolley problem-ass situation that so many of them act like this is. the refusal to learn about any specifics of the situation in favor of just deciding it must be exactly like some other unrelated geopolitical issue that they feel they have a better handle on, and then just... overwriting the reality of the situation so that it matches up with what they are comfortable imagining in their heads. I have had to unfollow and block a lot of people lately.

I mostly talk to my safe Jewish and Muslim friends about this. and select few safe non-muslim gentiles.

Right now I am grieving for many reasons. Since you asked me about my personal connection I will tell you the main things I remember learning and feeling about this growing up. I've never been to Israel. Not close enough to my family there to visit, although my dad did, & never comfortable with programs like Birthright. I remember in the 90s my dad, who was an administrator at the school of Public Health at the local university, was helping put together programs that would bring Israeli and Palestinian universities and public health groups together to work on universal public health issues like helping ppl stop smoking, vaccination, etc. it was going really well at the time. he was going over there a few times a year to coordinate with the people running the programs there. he was really optimistic about it, & several other similar programs. this was back when Yasser Arafat and Yitzak Rabin/Shimon Peres were having a lot of talks that were seemingly productive and hopeful. like obviously it was hardly a golden age but it seemed like maybe Israel was moving away from violence. and then 9/11 happened and everything exploded and all the little programs simply disappeared and my dad never went back to work with anyone. and then fucjing... Netanyahu. and it seems like since then everything only gets worse and worse and further and further from anything other than horrible violence, and that devastates me

In high school I took a Mideast Civ class and one of my fellow students was a kid whose parents had been expelled from Palestine during the war and fled to America. what I remember being struck by when he talked about this was how his family's story was so similar to my family's story and a deep sense of shame and anger that people who had undergone what my family had could then make his family undergo the same thing. That's still a pretty big part of how I feel. I don't accept that that kid's experience was necessary to keep me or my family safe.

I'm just a guy. I try my best to learn as much as I can and listen to a large variety of people connected to this so I can have a more holistic view of things. I'm not making this post rebloggable for obvious reasons but since it's here on my blog, for anyone reading who is also feeling despair, here's some organizations that are good to follow & support if you are able (non-exhaustive obviously)

synagoguesrising.org Synagogues Rising is a coalition of leftist synagogues in the US who advocate for Palestinian liberation and who are currently begging the US government to work to deescalate military violence and provide humanitarian aid to people in Gaza

refuser.org Refusers Solidarity Network is a group advocating for Israelis who refuse to serve in the military as conscientious objectors

map.org.uk Medical Aid for Palestinians living under occupation & as refugees

Genuinely, thanks for asking about my family. if you also have family in the area, I hope they are also alright.

I want everyone to be alright. I know this is a lot of big baby feelings and no particular political ideologies or solutions and that's because I'm just one fucking Jew and I'm not an activist or a revolutionary and I kind of feel a bit like other online people could stand to admit more often that they're also just some guy and also not activists or revolutionaries. I sure have beliefs and I sure feel strongly about them, but man, right now I just want to express grief & anger & worry about how awful this government is and how many people they're going to kill and how much I wish it was not happening

my family is Ok.

eta: I'm reading this back and realizing that as a response to this ask it makes it sound like I'm saying that inquiring about the well-being of someone's Israeli relatives is like, inherently devaluing the well-being of other ppl and I very much am not saying that and do not believe that. I'm just enormously emotionally dysregulated and this got me kind of stream of consciousness about all of the things I have been chasing around in my brain about this.

#jewish #long post #israel palestine tag

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 5 days ago

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Steve Brodner

* * * *

A new low.

January 31, 2025

Robert B. Hubbell

On Thursday, with no evidence to support his claim, Trump used racist, sexist, ableist language to blame the Potomac aircraft collision on the alleged inferiority of women, Black and Hispanic Americans, and Americans with disabilities. He expressed no genuine sympathy for the victims or their families. He used their deaths as an opportunity to gain political advantage. It was despicable.

Trump blamed the aircraft collision over the Potomac on efforts to increase diversity in the workplace. In language that was callous, insensitive, and offensive, Trump returned to the pillars of his campaign: racism, sexism, and white supremacy. He did so even before the bodies of victims have been recovered because he felt safe in doing so.

Trump knew what he was doing when his campaign appealed to the basest prejudices lurking in the American electorate, and he knew what he was doing when he blamed the Potomac collision on “DEI.”

As noted by Chris Hayes and Josh Marshall on BlueSky, in MAGA-speak, “DEI” is code for “women and non-white people” or “Black people.”

Never before in the history of the nation has a president made such an explicit appeal to racism during a time of tragedy. A video of Trump's comments is here: President Trump Holds Press Briefing on Aviation Disaster - YouTube. It is infuriating to watch, so I urge caution in doing so.

The most egregious of Trump's comments are reported in this NYTimes article: Trump Misleads on D.E.I. Policies in Blaming Biden for Plane Crash. (Accessible to all.) The NYTimes fact-checks Trump's lies, including his efforts to blame Presidents Obama and Biden and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for the collision.

Trump doubled down on the slurs made during this press conference by issuing an executive order later in the day that ordered an immediate “safety review” of the impact of President Biden’s “dangerous diversity equity and inclusion tactics” on the FAA.

Trump's language was offensive on every level imaginable. During the press conference, he vomited slurs against disabled persons, “African Americans [and] Hispanic Americans,” raising questions about their “competence” and “intelligence.”

Former Secretary Buttigieg wrote,

Despicable. As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying. We put safety first, drove down close calls, grew Air Traffic Control, and had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights on our watch. President Trump now oversees the military and the FAA. One of his first acts was to fire and suspend some of the key personnel who helped keep our skies safe. Time for the President to show actual leadership and explain what he will do to prevent this from happening again.

As noted by Secretary Buttigieg, Trump fired the chief administrator of the FAA because Elon Musk was angry that the FAA had launched an investigation into the safety records of Space X and StarLink. See Daily Beast, FAA Chief Michael Whitaker Quit on Jan. 20 After Elon Musk Told Him to Resign. Musk is now reportedly vetting candidates to lead the federal agency that will have regulatory authority over Space X.

On the day of the collision, the FAA was without a leader because Elon Musk had bent the federal government to his will. The investigation of the crash will proceed under an “acting” administrator until Musk’s hand-picked, anti-DEI, pro-SpaceX candidate can be installed. See The Verge, The FAA will be forced to oversee the investigation of a fatal plane crash without a chief administrator.

It is difficult to describe how depraved and soulless Trump's remarks were in blaming diversity hiring efforts for the collision. But I will try, nonetheless.

The story is not—as reported in the legacy media—that “Trump blamed DEI” for the collision. It is that Trump resorted to racist tropes to deflect blame from himself and gain political advantage from the deaths of innocent passengers, pilots, and crew. As Senator Tammy Duckworth noted, Trump's remarks were made as the bodies of the military pilots remained strapped in the submerged wreckage of their helicopter.

Trump's comments desecrated the lives, memories, and bodies of the victims that have yet to be buried. And they insulted hundreds of millions of Americans who are not “white male Christians,” including women, people with disabilities, and Black and Hispanic Americans.

Trump's comments were grotesque, ghoulish, despicable, and racist. Every American of decency and good conscience should condemn Trump and disassociate themselves from his comments. However, as Trump was desecrating the dead, Mark Zuckerberg told Facebook’s 70,000 employees that he was excited to form a “partnership” with the Trump administration. See Daily Beast, Mark Zuckerberg Sells His Employees on ‘Partnership’ With Trump Admin.

Trump and many of his followers will not care in the least if they are described as racists; indeed, they will wear it as a badge of honor. But business leaders and corporations who have a broader investment in the people and future of America cannot survive being associated with the ugly, vile, racist agenda of the Trump administration. Trump's comments on Thursday provided a moment of clarity which cannot be unseen.

We must condemn Trump and those who support his efforts to divide America by race, ethnicity, physical abilities, and gender. We must speak plainly. We must avoid circumlocution and oblique language.

Say the truth.

Here is the truth, in the words that opened this newsletter: On Thursday, with no evidence to support his claim, Trump used racist, sexist, ableist language to blame the Potomac collision on the alleged inferiority of women, Black and Hispanic Americans, and Americans with disabilities. He expressed no genuine sympathy for the victims or their families. He used their deaths as an opportunity to gain political advantage. It was despicable.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

#FAA #DEI #Steve Brodner #political cartoons #Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter #fascists #racism

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justinspoliticalcorner · 9 months ago

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Imagine this: It’s exactly one year from today, Memorial Day weekend, 2025. It’s 94 degrees in the shade, but the fact that the world keeps shattering monthly temperature records isn’t even making the news — and that’s not what has Philadelphians so hot and bothered. It’s been about two months since Donald Trump, the 47th president of the United States, announced Operation Purify America in an Oval Office address, and about a week since a stunned Philadelphia watched an endless convoy of militarized vehicles and federalized troops from the Texas and South Dakota National Guards roll up I-95. After a week of setting up a base camp at the Air National Guard base in Horsham, the actual operation began at midnight the day before, as a parade of Humvees and armored personal carriers cornered off a wide area in Philadelphia’s Hunting Park section and supported federal immigration agents who went door-to-door in the predawn chaos, bursting into homes and asking Latino residents for their papers. Journalists who’d been kept blocks away by the troops now search for anyone who could confirm the rumors of screaming, scuffling, and dozens of arrests. As the hot sun rises, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, Gov. Josh Shapiro, and several hundred angry protesters gather outside the Horsham gate to denounce the raids. A phalanx of helmeted troops pushes the throng back, firing tear gas to clear the road for the first busload of detained migrants. They are bound for the hastily erected Camp Liberty, an already overcrowded and decrepit holding center on the Texas-Mexico border that Amnesty International calls “a concentration camp.” This might sound like a page from the script of Alex Garland’s next near-future dystopian movie, but it’s actually a realistic preview of the America Trump himself, his cartoonishly sinister immigration guru Stephen Miller, and the right-wing functionaries crafting the 900-page blueprint for a Trump 47 presidency called Project 2025 are fervently wishing for. As polls show Trump in a dead heat nationally with President Joe Biden, and poised to win at least some of the battleground states where Biden was victorious in 2020, the presumptive GOP nominee is making no secret of his scheme for what he calls “the Largest Domestic Deportation Operation in History.” The audacious goal of tracking down and deporting all 11 million or so undocumented immigrants living and working within the United States is, experts agree, all but impossible. But even the forced removal of hundreds of thousands, or one million, would require a massive internal military operation on a scale not seen since the Civil War and Reconstruction. [...] What’s changed in 2024? Everything. Despite the Hannibal Lecter-ized outward chaos of Trump’s rallies, behind the scenes, Team Trump is focused and determined not only to name the most rabid Trump loyalists to key political posts but also todramatically strip civil service protections andremove recalcitrant midlevel government employees. And this time around, Republicans in Congress are going to be on board with whatever Trump wants. [...] It was somewhat amazing to watch the furious debate online and on cable news this week over the weird incident in which small text about a “unified Reich” found its way into a Trump promo video the ex-and-wannabe president posted on Truth Social. The perplexing part, for me, is that this was discussed as some kind of Sherlock-Holmes-magnifying-glass a-ha moment, revealing Trump’s secret plan for Nazi-style rule. Folks, he is screaming his plan out loud at his rallies! The Trump deportation scheme is really Trump’s blueprint for dictatorship.

Will Bunch at The Philadelphia Inquirer on how Donald Trump's proposed deportation plan is a pretext for a fascist MAGA dictatorship (05.23.2024).

Will Bunch nails it in this Philly Inquirer column on how Donald Trump's fascistic plan for mass deportations is a speed-run for a MAGA dictatorship.

#Will Bunch #Concentration Camps #Opinion #The Philadelphia Inquirer #Donald Trump #Project 2025 #Immigration #Insurrection Act #Economy

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eretzyisrael · 1 year ago

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by Dion J. Pierre

NOVEMBER 16, 2023 3:54 PM

Northwestern University Students, Faculty Slam School for Forming Committee to Combat Antisemitism

Thousands of anti-Israel demonstrators from the Midwest gather in support of Palestinians and hold a rally and march through the Loop in Chicago on Oct. 21, 2023. Photo: Alexandra Buxbaum/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

Dozens of student groups at Northwestern University just outside Chicago on Thursday dismissed concerns of rising antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war as “mass hysteria and collective psychosis,” seemingly calling for the destruction of the Jewish state and joining faculty in castigating the school for forming a new panel to combat Jew-hatred on campus.

On Monday, Northwestern President Michael Schill announced the creation of a new committee “on preventing antisemitism and hate.”

Comprising faculty, staff, students, alumni, and trustees, the committee was formed in response to an explosion of pro-Hamas sentiment and acts of antisemitism on campus following Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.

The school’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter has falsely accused Israel of apartheid, genocide, and “settler-colonialism” at its events and in its social media posts. The group also marched around campus earlier this month chanting, “Hey, Schill, what do you say, how many kids did you kill today?” In one incident — in which SJP has denied any involvement — an unknown group vandalized print copies of The Daily Northwestern, the campus newspaper, covering them in leaflets headlined, “Northwestern complicit in genocide of Palestinians.”

In Monday’s announcement, Schill disavowed such activity while noting specifically that chants of “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” are perceived by “significant parts of our community” as “promoting murder and genocide.” The popular slogan among pro-Palestinian activists has been widely interpreted as a call for the destruction of Israel, which is located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Nonetheless, in response to Schill’s announcement, 65 student organizations on Thursday signed an op-ed in The Daily Northwestern that was headlined, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

“Indeed we know there is a genocide happening, and it is happening to Palestinians by the Israeli apartheid government,” the article read. “Palestine has always served as a litmus test of our collective imagination of what freedom could look like. When we say from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, we imagine a world free of Islamophobia, antisemitism, anti-Blackness, militarism, occupation, and apartheid. From the river to the seas, Palestine will be free. Until liberation.”

The op-ed dismissed efforts to combat the recent surge in antisemitic incidents on college campuses as “mass hysteria and collective psychosis,” arguing Schill is being “irresponsible” and “dangerous” by “denying genocide” and “mischaracterizing the mission of activists.”

The students also argued that “the destiny of all marginalized people — both in occupied Palestine and around the world — is intertwined. We believe in the liberation of all peoples from Chicago to Sudan to the Congo to Western Sahara to Palestine.”

Some members of the Northwestern community lambasted the op-ed.

��Ah, yes! Let’s lump this highly complicated and charged conflict in with all of the bad things in this world and blame it on the Jews!” Northwestern University student Josh Miller tweeted in response to the column. “I cannot believe that this op-ed ran in The Daily Northwestern.”

The student groups did not mention or denounce the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, when they invaded the Jewish state and murdered over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped more than 240 others as hostages. The brutality of Hamas’ onslaught — which included rape, torture, and the beheading of babies — has shocked the world.

Also on Thursday, over 150 Northwestern faculty and staff signed a letter accusing Schill of undermining academic freedom and free expression, as well as jeopardizing the safety of “staff and faculty of color.” The letter went on to argue that Israel is committing “genocidal violence in Gaza,” despite the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) taking precautions to prevent civilian casualties.

Antisemitic outrages are not new to Northwestern University.

Last November, SJP tacked together copies of an op-ed by a Jewish student, Lily Cohen, graffitied it with the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and zip-tied it to fences enclosing the Deering Library. SJP took responsibility for the offensive displays that evening in an X/Twitter post charging that “US and Israeli law enforcement agencies collaborate to develop violent tactics to subjugate Black and Palestinian communities — in the name of American and Israeli racism, materialism, and militarism.”

#northwestern university #hamas #antisemitism #daily northwestern

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undeadcourier · 2 years ago

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I have a headcanon that my courier is from a small Islamic town/community near shady sands. I'm not sure whether the ncr would consider them tribals, bc they have a distinct culture outside of that of the mainstream ncr citizens, but they aren't indigenous (iirc the great khans are similar, bc they came from vault dwellers, and I doubt the vault dwellers in question were actually turkic or mongolian given how small that diaspora is). Do you have any thoughts on what a tribal actually is or means in postwar america?

Canonically, Shady Sands was founded by one group of former inhabitants of Vault 15, and other groups from the vault became the Khans, Jackals, and Vipers.

As far as how the label "tribal" is applied in canon, it's not incredibly clear. When Caesar, House, or the NCR speak of "tribals" it's often perjorative, referring to groups they deem uncivilized; more broadly, it's frequently used to refer to any distinct cultural group that lacks formal government and is self-sufficient.

Anthropologically speaking, a tribe is a group linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect—which covers a range of post-war societies and could very well encompass the society you described. Of course, there are still certain connotations associated with the terms (especially "tribal") both irl and in the game that you may want to avoid, especially if you're incorporating Islam and potentially MENA/MENASA diaspora.

I don't mean to suggest you wouldn't do your due diligence, and you've obviously given this a lot of thought, but since we're talking about how it relates to canon and the precedents Fallout sets wrt its fictional tribes range from thoughtless to abhorrent, you may prefer to refer to your society by a different term than to adopt the baggage that canon has attached to tribe.

Josh Sawyer has explained that, in Honest Hearts at least, the tribes were meant to be made up of descendents of diverse ethnic backgrounds, and I imagine that was likely the intent in the other games. However (and to his credit, JS owns up to this in the linked post), the end result still played into a lot of Western stereotypes of Indigenous Peoples, particularly Indigenous Peoples of North America.

Of course the problems didn't begin or end with Honest Hearts—from New Vegas' Blackfoots of Arizona (not to be confused with the irl Blackfoot Nation, whose traditional lands comprise what is now Alberta, Canada, and Montana, U.S.) to the Whachutu tribals of Peoria (from Fallout Tactics), whose name is a reference to the fictional African tribe called the Wachootoo from Ace Ventura, there are a ton of examples of how not to handle a topic like this in a culturally sensitive/respectful way.

I'm glad that the dev team at Obsidian is taking criticism of these depictions to heart and involving more sensitivity readers, but unfortunately there's a lot of shit baked into the Fallout canon that anyone making derivative works has to navigate with extreme care.

(Also, I'd love to hear more about your courier and their community!)

#barely got into how the geck races factor into all this #& essentially erase indigenous people who wouldn't also id as either black/white/hispanic/asian #the geck racial/ethnic categories are such a damn mess #on so many levels #fallout #fallout 2 #fallout 3 #fallout: new vegas #fallout 4 #fallout tactics #mojave express dropbox

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mariacallous · 4 months ago

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In a segment last week, Laura Ingraham could barely contain her glee when she announced that Harrison Butker had decided to venture into politics: a “move sure to drive the liberals crazy”.

Butker, for those who aren’t aware, is a kicker with the Kansas City Chiefs – who are famous in non-sporty circles for being the team that Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, plays for. As well as being the highest-paid kicker in the NFL and the owner of a very impressive beard, Butker is what a polite person might call “traditional” and a more direct person might call “Taliban-adjacent”. He essentially thinks women should stay at home making sandwiches for their husbands and looking after their kids. In May, the athlete caused a stir when gave a commencement speech at Benedictine College, a Catholic private liberal arts school, espousing these views. In the same speech, Butker also denounced “dangerous gender ideologies”, called Pride month a “deadly sin”, and rattled off various other conservative talking points.

Butker’s Benedictine speech caused enormous backlash but, predictably, it also made him a hero on the right. No longer was he just a guy who got paid millions of dollars to play ball, he was a fighter, valiantly opening up a new front in the never-ending culture war. Sales of his jersey surged.

Now it seems Butker plans on riding his newfound notoriety all the way to the White House. Don’t worry, he hasn’t announced a campaign for president yet – though one imagines the thought has crossed his mind – but he has decided to dip his toes into the murky world of political financing.

Over the weekend, the kicker established a political action committee called Upright Pac, aimed at getting more Christians to vote. “We’re seeing our values under attack every day. In our schools, in the media, and even from our own government,” the website explains. “But we have a chance to fight back and reclaim the traditional values that have made this country great. That’s why UPRIGHT PAC was founded.”

Butker announced the Pac shortly after he officially endorsed the far-right Missouri senator Josh Hawley for re-election. Hawley is the guy who raised a fist in solidarity to protesters during January 6 and was then filmed fleeing from those protesters when they violently breached the Capitol building. He also can’t stop talking about the “collapse of American manhood” and the supposed crisis of men retreating “into the enclave of idleness and pornography and video games”.

While the Upright Pac website doesn’t explicitly mention Donald Trump, Butker told Ingraham on Thursday that he would be supporting the former president because of his stance on abortion. “I think Donald Trump is the most pro-life president,” Butker said. Which might make things awkward at Kansas City Chiefs socials since Swift endorsed Kamala Harris.

With only weeks to go until the election, Butker’s new Pac is not going to make much difference when it comes to getting Trump elected. But who knows what it might achieve in the future. His decision to mobilize Christian voters via a Pac speaks to a broader issue: the oversized influence of special interest groups and influential individuals in shaping US politics.

Back in 2010, the US supreme court’s controversial Citizens United ruling loosened restrictions on campaign finance law and enabled corporations and special interest groups to spend unlimited money on elections as long as there was no direct coordination with political candidates or parties. This paved the way for Super Pac funding vehicles: basically fancy legal frameworks which enable big (and frequently dark) money to be funnelled into campaigns. Jimmy Carter has called it legalised “bribery”.

Pacs have played an important role in this election cycle. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), for example, has spent more than $100m on federal elections so far this cycle and may have played a large part in unseating Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush – two of Congress’s most vocal critics of Israel’s conduct in Gaza. It also seems to have helped to sustain support for the war: a Guardian analysis published in January found that the members of Congress who were the most supportive of Israel’s campaign in Gaza during the first six weeks of the war were politicians who had benefited from donations from pro-Israel groups like Aipac.

And Aipac is far from the only group toppling politicians. It’s possible Fairshake Pac, a Super Pac backed by the cryptocurrency industry, may have had a role in preventing Katie Porter from advancing in her run for US Senate in California earlier this year. Fairshake, backed by cryptocurrency industry leaders, spent millions in the primary on ads urging cryptocurrency enthusiasts to vote against Porter. Elon Musk, meanwhile, has donated roughly $75m over the last three months to his pro-Trump America Pac.

In short: Butker is in crowded company. Everyone with a chip on their shoulder and some money in their pocket has a Pac these days. If you want to buy friends and influence elections, they’re a must-have.

And while it’s still early days for Butker’s Pac, he certainly seems to have a lot of support. The owner of the Kansas City Chiefs said on Wednesday that he had no issue with his player’s foray into politics. Which is interesting because, when they lean to the left, athletes are often criticized for getting political. Indeed, the very same Laura Ingraham who is so thrilled about Butker’s move into politics memorably told the basketball star LeBron James to keep his political comments to himself and “shut up and dribble” back in 2018. Ingraham had taken umbrage at James discussing the challenges of being Black and a public figure in the US during an ESPN interview. “It’s always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball,” she snarked.

Butker, meanwhile, gets paid $6.4m a year to play with a football. And I haven’t heard a single person on the right tell him to keep quiet and kick.

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401bmma4 · 8 months ago

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➤ PRE-FINALS PERFORMANCE TASK PODCAST SCRIPT GROUP 4

THE CHANGES THAT HAPPENED IN THE PHILIPPINES BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE AUDIENCE AND THEIR FEEDBACKS TO ONLINE CONTENT ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES.

(PODCAST INTRO SOUND FADING IN)

(INTRODUCTION ; SERIOUS)

GENERATED VOICE: THE FOLLOWING EPISODE DEALS WITH VIOLENCE, GUNFIRE, ORGANIZED CRIME, MURDER, AND DEATH. PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THE TOPICS TO BE TALKED ABOUT IN THIS PODCAST ARE RATED R. FEEL FREE TO SKIP AS WE ARE GOING TO PROVIDE TIME STAMPS TO OTHER TOPICS THAT WE ARE GOING TO DISCUSS.

(CUTS TO THE SPEAKER, RENDHEL)

RENDHEL: WELCOME TO “WHEN IN MANILA” PODCAST WHERE WE TALK ABOUT “THE DARK SIDE OF THE COUNTRY WITH THE MOST GENEROUS PEOPLE, THE PHILIPPINES.” MY NAME IS RENDHEL. HOW IS EVERYONE? TODAY, WE ARE GOING TO REVISIT THE BRUTAL MASSACRE THAT HAPPENED AT QUIRINO GRANDSTAND IN MANILA.

WE ARE JOINED BY OUR GUEST, JOSHUA. WE’LL SEE WHAT HE CAN GIVE US REGARDING TODAY’S TOPIC.

LET US WELCOME OUR GUEST FOR TODAY’S EPISODE, JOSH! HOW ARE YOU TODAY?

MUSIC: (FADE IN)

JOSHUA: HEY, RENDHEL. EVERYTHING'S GOOD. HOW ABOUT YOU?

RENDHEL: DO YOU WANT TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO OUR AUDIENCE?

JOSHUA: WHAT’S UP? MY NAME IS JOSHUA. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME TODAY.

RENDHEL: I HOPE YOU’RE READY FOR TODAY’S PODCAST. SHALL WE START?

JOSHUA: AS A MATTER OF FACT I AM. LET'S DO THIS!

RENDHEL: ALRIGHT SO, ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE MANILA HOSTAGE CRISIS WHERE FILIPINOS ARE STILL BOUND BY THE ECHOES OF THIS CONTROVERSIAL EVENT?

JOSHUA: AS A GEN Z, I WAS ACTUALLY ONLY SEVEN YEARS OLD WHEN THE INCIDENT OCCURED. IT WAS 2010! I WAS IN 3RD GRADE AND THE ONLY THING THAT I WANT TO WATCH ON THE TELEVISION ARE CARTOONS. BUT ALL OF A SUDDEN, MY PARENTS ARE WATCHING. THEY WENT FIRST WHEN IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE MY TURN BECAUSE IT WAS TIME FOR SPONGEBOB. I WAS THROWING TANTRUMS BECAUSE I COULDN’T WATCH MY FAVORITE SHOW.

RENDHEL: YES, I AGREE. MY MOTHER SUDDENLY CHANGED THE CHANNEL WHEN I WAS WATCHING DORAEMON, AND I REMEMBER CRYING BECAUSE OF THE FRUSTRATION.

BACK THEN, SINCE WE WERE JUST KIDS, WE WOULD NOT HAVE UNDERSTOOD HOW SERIOUS THAT SITUATION WAS. BUT NOW, LOOKING BACK AT IT… IT WAS SCARY, HUH?

JOSHUA: YEAH. I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE BEING PUT IN THAT KIND OF SITUATION. THERE WERE MANY CASUALTIES AND THE GOVERNMENT AND POLICE HANDLED THAT SITUATION POORLY.

RENDHEL: BUT IF YOU ASK ME WHAT MADE THE SITUATION WORSE WAS THE MEDIA, THEY WERE BROADCASTING THE EVENT LIVE ON TELEVISION, WHICH GAVE THE HOSTAGE TAKER INFORMATION AS TO WHAT WAS HAPPENING ON THE OUTSIDE. THEIR GREED WAS VERY OUTRAGEOUS.

JOSHUA: I KNOW RIGHT? ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY REVEALED THE LOCATION OF THE SNIPERS, THAT WAS VERY STUPID OF THEM SINCE SNIPER POSITIONS SHOULD BE HIDDEN TO THEIR TARGETS.

RENDHEL: I THINK THAT EVENT EXPOSED HOW INCOMPETENT OUR GOVERNMENT IS, AND ALSO HOW THE MEDIA MESSED IT UP BY THEIR HUNGER OF GOOD SCOOPS, THE SITUATION WORSENED WHEN THEY SHOWED THE BROTHER OF THE SUSPECT BEING ARRESTED.

JOSHUA: LOOKING BACK, THE HOSTAGE TAKER’S DEMANDS WAS PRETTY SIMPLE WHY COULDN'T THE GOVERNMENT GIVE THEM? OR SIMPLY PRETEND TO ACCEPT THE DEMANDS AND ARREST HIM AFTERWARDS? THEY EVEN MESSED UP AND MISCOMMUNICATED DURING THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS. THERE ARE SO MANY “WHAT IFS” SCENARIOS THAT WE CAN THINK OF REGARDING THAT EVENT.

RENDHEL: OH THERE DEFINITELY IS A LOT, BACK THEN WE HAVE VERY LITTLE INFORMATION WITH WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED BUT NOW WE HAVE LOADS OF IT. AND THE SUSPECT WAS ALSO A VERY RESPECTABLE POLICEMAN WHO WAS REMOVED FROM HIS POSITION DUE TO FALSE ACCUSES AGAINST HIM IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY.

JOSHUA: OH YEAH, I THINK THERE WAS EVEN EVIDENCE THAT HE WAS INNOCENT. IF ONLY THEY LISTENED TO HIM THEN THE HOSTAGE TAKING WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED.

RENDHEL: I AGREE WITH YOU, BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN IF THE GOVERNMENT ASSIGNED THE SAF TO HANDLE THE SITUATION IMMEDIATELY INSTEAD OF THE SWAT TEAM.

JOSHUA: OH I THINK THAT ORDEAL COULD HAVE BEEN DEALT WITH FASTER SINCE THE SAF WAS MORE WELL EQUIPPED AND SUITED FOR THOSE KINDS OF SITUATION, IT WAS REALLY HANDLED POORLY BY THE HIGHER UPS.

RENDHEL: YEAH, INCOMPETENCE AT ITS FINEST. ANYWAY, TIME IS RUNNING LOW SO MAY I ASK WHAT’S YOUR FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE ISSUE AT HAND?

JOSHUA: WELL, HOPEFULLY THE GOVERNMENT LEARNED ITS LESSON TO BE MORE COMPETENT WITH THESE KIND OF SITUATIONS IN THE FUTURE. YOU CAN TELL THAT IT WAS THE LEADERS AND HIGHER UPS WHO HAD ISSUES SINCE THEY GAVE ORDERS THAT WERE HEADSCRATCHERS, AND WITH THE MEDIA I THINK YOU RARELY SEE EVENTS SUCH AS THESE BE BROADCASTED LIVE LIKE WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE, THE MEDIA IS SLIGHTLY MORE CAREFUL WITH WHAT THEY BROADCAST, ESPECIALLY IF ITS A LIVE BROADCAST. SO I CAN SAY THAT THE MEDIA IMPROVED BECAUSE THEY KNOW NOW WHAT THEY SHOULD DO AND SHOULDN'T.

RENDHEL: WHO WOULD’VE KNOWN THAT SUCH AN INCIDENT WOULD HAPPEN WHEN WE WERE THAT YOUNG AND WE WITNESSED IT, SO OF COURSE GIVEN THAT WE WERE STILL KIDS WE WOULD NOT UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION FULLY. AND IT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE WHICH MAKES THE INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED MUCH MORE SHOCKING TO EVERYONE.

JOSHUA: SINCE WE ARE ADULTS NOW AND IT HAPPENED A LONG TIME AGO, WE HAVE MORE CONTEXT AND INSIGHT NOW OF THE EVENTS WHICH IS WHY WE UNDERSTAND IT MORE, AND WE DIDN'T HAVE YET BACK THEN.

RENDHEL: AND YEAH, WE WILL END IT THERE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INSIGHTS TODAY (STATES GUEST’S NAME), I'M SURE WE WERE ABLE TO EDUCATE AND INFORM THOSE WHO ARE LISTENING TODAY.

JOSHUA: NO PROBLEM, RENDHEL. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME ON YOUR PODCAST TODAY.

RENDHEL: THAT’S ABOUT IT FOR TODAY’S PODCAST, EVERYONE. WE WILL SEE YOU ON THE NEXT ONE.

(ENDS THE PODCAST)

#BMMA401 #WRITINGFORNEWMEDIA #GROUP4 #PODCAST

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schraubd · 2 years ago

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You Can't Message Your Way Out of Your Own Heartfelt Extremism

Following their preferred candidate getting absolutely blitzed in a swing-state judicial election due to his anti-abortion extremism, conservatives are now trying to argue that they need to pivot to better messaging on abortion.

There are a whole host of reasons why this won't work, starting with the fact that their favored "moderate", "compromise", "good message" alternative is Lindsey Graham's proposed nationwide compulsory women-maiming law. But another reason why it won't work is that the Republican Party cannot control the behavior of its own membership -- most notably, those the GOP's YOLO Joker caucus (federal judiciary division) -- who insist on nothing short of the absolute most draconian limits on reproductive care imaginable:

A federal judge in Texas blocked U.S. government approval of a key abortion medication Friday, siding with abortion foes in an unprecedented lawsuit and potentially upending nationwide access to the pill widely used to terminate pregnancies.

The highly anticipated ruling puts on hold the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, a medication first cleared for use in the United States in 2000. The ruling will not go into effect for seven days to give the government time to appeal.

U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, a nominee of President Donald Trump with long-held antiabortion views, agreed with the conservative groups seeking to reverse the FDA’s approval of mifepristone as safe and effective, including in states where abortion rights are protected.

On the one hand, Republicans need to find a way out of the abortion trap. On the other hand, unaccountable hack judges in Texas are banning abortion medication nationwide based on completely spurious, results-oriented reasoning, guaranteeing that the GOP's forced labor agenda stays front and center in all of its extreme, uncompromising splendor indefinitely.

The Texas injunction now is paired with a dueling injunction from a district court in Washington, which forbids any alteration by the FDA to the status quo (at least in the plaintiff states in that litigation; the judge declined to make his injunction nationwide). This means the case almost certainly is headed to the Supreme Court sooner rather than later. Will the Court actually follow the law for once, or will we get another (to borrow from Josh Blackman) "epicycle" as rule of law bends itself to satisfy the whims of anti-abortion extremists cloaked in Article III garb? Stay tuned.

via The Debate Link https://ift.tt/kTiznSU

#abortion #judiciary #reproductive rights #texas

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vampsandmagesandpsychics · 2 years ago

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When In Rome

"So... you and Macey are, like, training to be spies?" Preston asked, a sleepy smile emerging on his face. "Please tell me that spies in trained wear spandex."

He's laying on the ground in the guest room I'm occupying, and I can't believe I'm telling him all our secrets, it's terrifying, but the reference to our conversation that seems like it was so long ago catches me off guard and I laugh. "I tell you that Macey and I were 2 of the 90 girls currently enrolled in a so-secret-that-some-of-the-government-doesn't-know-about-us private school training us to be spies and you're first response is "do you wear spandex?"?"

"Girls in spandex are hot," Preston replies, half-shrugging.

I blush at this, and when I blush, my whole face turns red. I try to move on by actually answering his question, "Gallagher girls are expected to do any physical assignments in their uniforms, regular clothes, and every once in a while, formal wear, because one never knows when your job will require intense physical activity. You can't exactly ask the enemy agent you're pursuing if you can change into bike shorts and a sports bra."

It's his turn to blush now. He looks me over, and even though I'm wearing his plaid pajama pants and his very-secret-don't-ever-tell-Macey Taylor Swift's Fearless tour shirt, I feel exposed. He pays me back for my sports bra comment with a move so bold that I'm shocked it's coming from Preston Winters and not, like, Milo Ventimiglia. "Well, regular clothes Cammie is pretty hot too, so that's fine with me."

When I say shocked, you may picture me speechless. You probably don't imagine me, who is, once again, a spy in training, to slip out of my position of laying on my side, off the bed, and half on top of Preston. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened. It was like a scene Courtney Bauers would read out loud in the common room out of one of her well-loved, pink-covered mass markets about billionaires or vampires. He was laughing so hard, he was crying. I started laughing too. The laughs petered out within a few minutes until we were just laying there, faces wet from tears, staring at each other. And that's when he kissed me.

It was nice. Nicer than it had been with Josh. Damn it, Cammie, don't think about Josh. He grabbed my hips and rolled me on top of him. I starting kissing back in earnest. For god's sake, it was nice. He pulled away from my lips, starting down my neck, letting sense enter my brain. What is happening?

I tapped his side once and he stopped. Not all guys would have noticed. Not all guys would have stopped. He was so nice, so perfectly nice. And that's why I had to stop. I was ruining him every second I stayed.

"We can't do this," I say. I couldn't ruin him. And oh god, Macey. Macey would be devastated. And Zach...

"I understand," Preston said, "I'll leave." I didn't stop him as he gathered himself, patting down his hair, straightening his clothes out. When he reached the door, he turned and asked, "Cammie?" I looked towards him. "You were the woman in Philadelphia, weren't you? The one who flirted with me and talked about my suits?"

I close my eyes. I can't believe he remembers that. "Yeah. That was me."

"Did you mean those things?"

I think back, realizing right now that I had been expressing my own opinions back then. When would I ever learn how to lie to a cute boy? "Yes."

He left without saying good night. I pulled the bank heist the next day, never returning to the embassy.

#gallagher girls #ally carter #cammie morgan #preston winters

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newagesispage · 4 days ago

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FEBRUARY 2025

THE RIB PAGE

Jimmy Carter was given a wonderful proper send off. The catafalque that Carter’s casket was put upon, also held Lincoln’s coffin. The day was like a 9 or10 hour odyssey for those of us watching all the way thru. The family was probably physically and emotionally exhausted by the end of the day. Nearly every speech and remembrance made mention of the current Scary Clown 45 situation. 2 men could not be more different than Trump and Carter. Carter is all love and strength and character and Trump is all about fear and power. It was refreshing to hear about a genuine good man who restored faith in government with ethics reform. It is especially poignant as we watch Trump tear things down. It was wonderful to hear about the more than 4,400 homes in 14 countries that the Carters helped to build. The Deacon (his secret service name) made the cross, the collection plates and tables and chairs at his hometown Maranatha Baptist church. The image of all the living Presidents always gets me. The words from Josh Carter and Jack Ford truly affected me. Andrew Young sent such a heartfelt message. Jason Carter is such a natural and we might want to see him run for office. The Carter’s are such a closeknit and real and wonderful family. Let’s hope they have the next political dynasty in America. An honest, caring, truly charitable dynasty would be a nice change. Trump and Melania seemed very bored. Trisha and Garth performing ‘Imagine’ sent me into sobs. We miss U already Mr. President. Rest in Peace. ** Also, special shout out to Karen Pence and the Navy.

*****

We all giggled as we were told about the Carter’s and their land line and the way they hang up baggies to recycle. I know this behavior. I have always been surrounded by it. I am sure Trump could not relate at all. Did he feel like a lesser man when he heard of all carter’s accomplishments? ** It does seem a bit apocalyptic with the fires in the west and record snow in the south. It is so cold that the inauguration was moved into the Capitol. How is that for irony? Reagan was the last to move indoors in 1985. He is quite elderly so it probably wasn’t safe for him out there. Obama had freezing weather and he had big crowds outside. Word is that attendance was not going to be as huge as Trump expected but we will never know. In the end, it was the smallest inauguration crowd ever. That will be associated with him forever. Why couldn’t he touch the Bible? Did he think it would burn his hand?* * The most disrespectful thing of all is interrupting mourning so the flags will be high on the pole for inauguration day. Half the country will show the 47th the same respect. ** Was Billy Ray and the Village people at the inaugural just about the saddest thing you ever saw? At least I have never given any of the artists from the parties a penny of my money. It will stay that way, they don’t need my $ anyway, I am sure Trump is taking good care of them.

*****

Help! Our country is being held hostage by a fanatical criminal and half of us want it that way. What?

*****

Literally nothing is as MAGA as watching a bunch of self-righteous frauds who pretend to give a damn about Christianity, viciously attacking a minister who preached about caring for the vulnerable while their rapist- felon Messiah scoffed at her. - John Pavlovitz

*****

The fire Marshall wouldn’t allow his hand on the Bible. - Stephen Colbert

*****

At least 3 states already have roads named after Trump and more are on the way.

*****

With live sports on deck, Netflix will just keep going up. ** Netflix is bringing us a new Little House on the Prairie. The right is already bitching.

*****

Anthony Fauci’s security detail was pulled. He will now hire private security.

*****

Can’t wait to see Sly Lives! from Questlove!!!!!!!! Questlove did a great job on the 50 year SNL music special!!! I know there were lots to cover but no Scissor Sisters, Rickie Lee or Leon Redbone?? What?

*****

Sara Haines said that her father was hot and everybody freaked. Why? Some people have hot parents and nobody ever lets them forget.

*****

Re: The Capitol.. Good thing his followers already know how to get inside. - Dan’s Cafe ** The funny thing was they couldn’t get in because Trump knows how easy it was to breach so he made sure HE was safe. Most of the fans who were interviewed outside did not look elite enough to actually get close to the man. All he wanted was their votes. Even the screens were taken down. It is reported that he did meet with a group of supporters after the initial event.** Say what you will about the racists, they sure do know how to organize.

*****

Why didn’t Trump have to pay for all the property damage to the capitol? We make a man President and he does not have to pay for his crimes. Half the country wants there to be 2 sets of rules. The mental illness in this country is out of control.

*****

The real heroes from this month are AOC, Rev. Mariann Budde and Pamela Hemphill. AOC said she would not go to the inauguration because she does not celebrate rapists. Pamela told Trump to keep his pardon because she committed the crime and was glad she paid her dues. Meteorologist Sam Kuffel called out Musk as a Nazi in a private place and was fired from WDJT in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Rehire that brave girl. Oh right.. The call letters are D(onald)J(ohn)T(rump). I guess she is out of luck. Rev. Budde of the Washington National Cathedral asked the President to have mercy for those that are scared right now. The Vice President rolled his eyes and Trump has been bitching ever since. That poor woman will probably never have a moments peace again. It is women who are showing back bone and fighting back. Unity is not partisan. When compassion is a bad thing, it is proof that so many don’t understand the love of God.

*****

The course of human events, even the greatest historical events, is determined ultimately not by the leaders, but by the common, ordinary people. Their hopes and dreams, their doubts and fears, their courage and tenacity, their quiet commitments determine the destiny of the world. - Jimmy Carter

*****

Our nation now has no understandable national purpose. We move from one crisis to the next as if they were fads, even though the previous one hasn’t been solved. - Jimmy Carter

*****

Shouldn’t we have schoolchildren read Jimmy carter (ex: Why not the best?) to see how Government should be run. He called for honesty, integrity, fairness, liberty, courage, patriotism, compassion and love. I am so sick of fighting the same fights. Equality should be a given. It is so simple. Ignorance and arrogance and greed keep rising to the top over and over.

*****

Word is that The Stones will tour Europe soon.

*****

People thought eggs were high before but with the Trump administration in, they are up over 35%.

*****

Trevor Noah will host the Grammy’s again!

*****

The Black Eyed Peas have cancelled their Vegas residency before it even began.

*****

Can we give David Alan Grier some love this year at the Emmy’s?? ** Episode 9 of St. Denis was a perfect show. They have found their groove.

*****

Conan will receive the Mark Twain prize for American humor.

*****

Vivek Ramaswami is thinking about running for Gov. Of Ohio. He will not be serving in the DOGE. I guess they are going to try and take over everywhere so they never lose again. The criminals are everywhere!

*****

Vince McMahan has to pay $400,000 to settle SEC charges.

*****

The reboot of Frasier was cancelled.

*****

Roy Wood Jr. has brought us Lonely Flowers. ** Also look for Roy in ‘Outcome’ with Keanu Reeves, Jonah Hill, Cameron Diaz, David Spade, Laverne Cox, Susan Lucci and Matt Bomer.

*****

The National Society of film critics have given some awards to Nickel Boys, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Colman Domingo, Michele Austin and Kieran Culkin, just to name a few.

*****

The public domain is now open for Hitchcock’s first sound film, Blackmail as well as The Wild Party, The Karnival Kid, the song, Singing in the Rain, the poem, an American in Paris, John Ford’s first sound film, The Black Watch, Buster Keaton’s last silent film, Spite Marriage, the first sound film to win the best pic Oscar, The Broadway Melody, the first Marx Brothers feature, The Cocoanuts, the books A farewell to Arms, Red Harvest, the Maltese Falcon, the play Rope, the animated Skeleton Dance, Popeye, Bolero, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Rhapsody in Blue, Shreveport Stomp, It had to be you and California, here we come.

*****

Days alert: It was nice to see a party full of secrets at the DiMera mansion. It was like old times but with young major players. ** It was hilarious and shocking when Bonnie fell down the elevator shaft. I like how they are getting ridic and crossing the soap lines with fake soap lines. Just when I was ready to give up on Heart and Soul, things got interesting. ** I heard that Thaao is coming back!!!! Yes!!!! ** More Rachel with Rachel. I have always wanted to get into Kristen’s birth family more. Love it!!!!! ** How did Marlena and Leo become such buddies? Funny. ** So glad to see Patrika Darbo in her latest interviews.** On my.. Rita Leslie is back for a minute! Just when you think you have seen the last of her, there she is. Gotta love a soap!

*****

Costco may go on strike on Feb. 1. ** And hooray for Costco standing up for their DEI program with no help from Kentucky. Now we are hearing about raises.

*****

Warwick Davis will receive the BAFTA fellowship on Feb. 16.

*****

The Oscar noms are here and they include Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong, Conclave, A Complete Unknown, Wicked, Emilia Perez, The Substance, Colman Domingo, Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance most foul, Timothee Chalamet, Adrien Brody, Cynthia Erivo, Sebastian Stan, Demi Moore, Fernanda Torres, The Brutalist, Nickel Boys, Nosferatu, Isabella Rossellini and Ed Norton. Honorary awards will go to Quincy Jones and Juliet Taylor. The Jean Hersholt humanitarian award goes to Richard Curtis and the Irving Thalberg award will go to Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. Watch on March 2 with host Conan!!! ** Old tweets are haunting Emilia Perez. Hate will get you nowhere.

*****

Insurance companies are getting no love right now with the CEO shooting and the disregard apparently being shown to victims of the wildfires.

*****

CBS is bringing us Beyond the Gates with Clifton Davis and Tamara Tunie. I am in!!!!!

*****

A rare yellow cardinal was spotted in St. Louis.

*****

Joe Biden gave out some Presidential citizens medals to Liz Cheney, Chris Dodd, Ted Kaufman, Nancy Kassebaum, Bill Bradley, Carolyn McCarthy, Mary Bonauto, Frank Baker Jr., Bobb Sager, Eleanor Smeal, Tom Vallely, Frances Visco, Paula Wallace, Evan Wolfson, Mitsuye Endo Tsutsumi, Joseph Galloway, Louis Lorenzo Redding and Judge Collins J. Seitz ** Medals of freedom went to Denzel Washington, Michael J. Fox, Bono, Anna Wintour, Ralph Lauren, Magic Johnson, Jose’ Andres, Hillary Clinton, Jane Goodall, Bill Nye and George Romney. ** Biden also dedicated 2 new National monuments, Chuckwalla and Sattitla, protecting Tribal lands in California. Trump, previously rolled back National monument protection reducing acreage in Utah. Biden restored those boundaries. ** Biden claims he probably would have won. Time to be quiet.

*****

It seemed to take some doing but Mike Johnson was voted back into leading the house for the 119th congress but he does have a weak hold on the hammer.

*****

Stop making stupid people famous. * Hate never made any nation great. - Banksy ** Have you seen all the artwork? GO BANKSY!!

*****

There is now The Weekend View. ** John Fetterman sure used a lot of ‘Aw shucks’ attitude on his View appearance. I think it is time for him to move on. Enough with his double talk. He never sounded more like a true politician. With every line, he got less applause. Nobody is buying his schtick.

*****

Wendy’s is bringing us a thin mint frosty.

*****

No hot dogs in North Korea??

*****

Just one more thing about the election. I couldn’t help but think of Carter’s malaise speech when Harris was telling us we aren’t afraid of hard work. I loved hearing her say we had to roll up our sleeves and work hard. How did I not realize that half the country does not want to hear that? They didn’t want to take responsibility for their shit in the 70’s and they don’t want to now. I guess they only want a barrage of lies so they can live in denial.

*****

The 41st Sundance Film Fest will go on from Jan 23 to Feb 2 with 90 features.

*****

I am always thinking social media is good and bad as it goes with most things. When I see Tik Tok in court and the damage on X and FB, it is hard to see the good right now. Online scams are out of control. It is a plus to look up information that may save a life or save $. It is a good thing for the criminals addicted to their phones to get caught because law enforcement can track them. Every huge innovation needs time to sort it out. It does seem that the Republicans want to make us as stupid as possible. Throw away the department of education and keep Tik Tok. Really? Take food out of the mouths of the hungry and keep the rich tax breaks coming. Really?

*****

I was glad that Kimmell pointed out Tom Brady and his preference for studs. I was a bit distracted by that.

*****

Tucker Carlson’s son, Buckley is joining Vance’s team.

*****

The Golden Globes were a hit. I admit, I am not really a Nikki Glaser fan but she knocked it out of the park. She was very funny with minimal hurt to the egos. Winners included Kieran Culkin, Zoe Saldana, Ali Wong, Emilia Perez, Jodie Foster, Demi Moore, Jean Smart, Hacks, Shogun, Wicked and Adrian Brody. My best dressed were Mary Steenburgen, Kate Winslet, Kieran and Jazz, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Garfield, Angelina and Zahara, Michelle Yeow, Tilda Swinton, Anya Taylor-Joy, Kathy Bates, Erin Foster, Paul W. Downs, Jackie Sandler, Jeff Goldblum, Maren Morris and Dakota Fanning. I think Seth Rogan and Catherine O’Hara should be tapped to host something. They were great together. ** I lost half a nipple. - Catherine O’Hara

*****

Macy’s, Jo Ann Fabrics and Kohls are closing stores. Walgreens are closing about 450 stores.

*****

Trump continues to disappoint. - Sebastian Stan

*****

New Years Day left us trying to figure out the New Orleans attacks. Many blamed an illegal immigrant. WRONG! ** I wish the coasts would keep in mind that the extremes are in power now but most of us are somewhere in the middle.

*****

Will the Hollywood squares go on forever?

*****

The Songwriters Hall of Fame is bringing in The Doobie Brothers, George Clinton, Ashley Gorley, Rodney Jerkins, Mike Love and Tony Macaulay.

*****

Jack Smith resigned for the DOJ.

*****

The L.A. fires are a tragedy and we send love to them all. We will never know the names of so many of those that lost homes or family members. But many famous people also lost homes like Paris Hilton, Billy Crystal, Jeff Bridges, Cary Elwes, Ricki Lake and Melissa Rivers. The Hollywood sign survived. Quit blaming others when you seem to have no idea what you are talking about. My own ears heard a bar patron tell others bogus info about fire trucks from other states. This was a story lifted directly from Fox news. He also stated that people in California deserve what they get because of the people they elected to run their state. I hope he keeps this in mind when the Trump administration wreaks its havoc. Did half the country forget how to think for themselves? ** And while I am at it, why are there still Trump flags everywhere? The election is over. Do they think they will forget his name? Give it a rest. Are these the same folks that leave up the X-mas decorations til Valentines day? ** UPDATE: A few days after I wrote this, I happened to drive by a town that is known for its racism and sure enough there was a yard full with Trump and Christmas paraphernalia at the end of January. These are the same folks. ** Some are saying that trump is cool to many people. What? The man is a joke. Yes, a joke that could leave us with serious consequences but still a joke. It is like Jethro was given the White House except at least Jethro had a heart and he wasn’t a Nazi.

*****

You can become the President of the US as a felon! - Joe Exotic

*****

The ratings for Late Night with Seth are up.

*****

Zendaya is engaged to Tom Holland. ** Caitlin Hale wed Angelo Massagali.

*****

The Pope called nuns, “vinegar faces” and told them not to gossip.

*****

Beyond SNL should be a series. They have enough material.

*****

Chuck Todd is out at NBC.

*****

We seem to have a cease fire in Gaza. Some say it is thanks to both administrations.

*****

If you want religion in schools, I want the IRS in churches- Comrade Sisko

*****

A$AP Rocky is on trial for 2 felony assault charges from 2021. He is also hosting the Met Gala in May along with Anna Wintour, Lewis Hamilton, Pharrell Williams and LeBron James.

*****

A judge ordered My Pillow to pay $778,000 to delivery service, DHL. ** Rudy Giuliani was held in contempt again. Was he just waiting for Scary Clown to take office and all of his $ issues would just disappear? Do any of these people pay their bills? In the end, Rudy agreed to stop defaming Ruby Freeman and Wadrea Moss. He gets to keep his property and the next trial is dismissed. Done?

*****

Trudeau resigned. ** Will President Musk leave the other countries alone? He is apparently at every meeting at Mar A Lago. Does he think he runs the world now that he has Trump in his pocket? Probably so. ** Isn’t it ridic that they are creating different departments when they said they would be downsizing? The ERS? What? That is customs, we already have that. Just more money spent. Is Musk going to pay for all this if we can get him away from microdosing for a minute? And these are not real departments, they are made up. Congress creates Government departments. ** The confirmation hearings are pretty disgusting. More Tammy Duckworth please!! An affidavit was sent to the Senate alleging violence from Pete Hegseth. It was sent from his former sis in law, Danielle. It didn’t matter. He was confirmed. Kristi Noem is in and already making no sense. Each pick is more rancid than the last! ** Doctors are urging the Senate to reject RFK Jr.

*****

Gavin Newsom met with Trump and seemed to kiss ass. That does seem to be the new normal. Trump says terrible things about you and then you have to smile and take it so you can help your people. Why is the President still wearing a MAGA hat? Isn’t America better yet?

*****

Re: Trump and veterans: They’re just trying to make money off the backs of veterans. - Tammy Duckworth

*****

After the plane disaster, Trump couldn’t wait to blame everyone else. Gee, when you fire all the safety folks, like head of the FAA, things could happen. ** META has to pay $25 mil to the President. ** The new FCC Chief is investigating NPR and PBS. Saw that coming.

*****

President Musk wants to bring smart, talented people from other countries to have our jobs. Why not give proper funding to the gifted programs in this country so our own can have those great jobs? ** Perhaps he should be worried about his failed rocket and exploding vehicles and leave the rest of us alone. ** The congressional budget office says that the tax cuts alone will cost about $5trillion. Is Musk gonna cover that cost? ** It seems that the Presidents are already trying to work out a 3rd term. ** The U.S. has paused most foreign aid.

*****

Donald Trump has let ignorance flourish. It’s time to fight back. - Rex Huppke ** Melania is so uncomfortable. - Isaac Mizrahe ** Scary Clown was given an unconditional discharge on all charges for the hush money trial. I’ll bet those jurors feel like fools. What a waste of their time. The same goes for all the Jan. 6ers. All the time and money it took to punish the offenders is just wasted. The lesson is that if you want to kill law enforcement be sure that you put on a MAGA hat first. I guess that Trump hates police. ** I suppose it will be an interesting experiment to see who they kill next. Should Pence go into hiding? **Let’s not forget that he also gave full pardons to Andrew Zabavsky and Terence Sutton. They were involved in the death of Hylton Brown and then covered it up. It is a good thing that Manson and Gacy are passed or we’d probably have them on the loose again. ** Just the release of all these criminals should be enough for impeachment. It is a public safety concern to have him in office. ** Funny how Trump said he would instantly fix everything. Now he complains that he was left a mess and he can’t just fix it. The coffers should be empty by the time he leaves, the way he is spending, if he leaves. He is freezing and unfreezing stuff funds and rules. Anything for the chaos! ** About 17 Inspectors General were pushed out.

*****

Over 100 years later, it seems like Trump is our Titanic (or Lusitania). It has taken less than 100 years for the NAZI’s to take back power. The spirit of Hitler is back with Musk’s Nazi salute and Stuart Rhodes in for muscle. The Oath Keeper abused his own family. What might he do to us? Since half of the country is fine with it, why don’t they just admit what they are? Why so afraid? ** It was so sad to see 30 miles of black fence around Washington for the inauguration. Violence makes the world a little less beautiful every day in so many ways. Tik Tok dude was there next to Tulsi Gabbard. Bezos, Zuckerberg and Nazi leader, Musk, the Unholy Trinity were on full display on Jan. 20. I guess this proves what a regular guy Scary Clown is. Hooray to the women who refused to come like Karen Pence, AOC, Pelosi and Michelle. Was it a thorn in his side that the Clintons showed up? Hope so. It seems like those folks that played at inaugural events and participated in celebrations make it clear that they don’t care what the rest of us think. They seem to have the same narcissistic bone as their Presidential friend. Where was that stupid garbage truck? In only a few days, the rich are already a lot richer. ** I don’t understand why Trump never wants anything released since he makes it clear that he does no wrong. The most unhappy man in the world is back to bitching about water pressure and wind turbines. Why is he the only one with water pressure issues? I suppose it is a priority because it only affects him. ** Did anyone see the pic of all the MAGA hats in Greenland? It turns out that Don Jr. gave them to homeless people and told them to wear them for a photo op and they would get a free meal.

*****

Re: RFK Jr.: He is a predator. - Caroline Kennedy ** Of course, the Republicans seem to like that sort of thing, he is probably a shoe in now. It makes me a bit sick to see Cheryl Hines standing by her dickhead of a man.

*****

Turn the valve back towards Los Angeles/ When you’re a rich person, you like to take a shower. - Scary Clown 45&47

*****

The hundreds of executive orders being signed will turn our country over to litigation for the next 4 years and nothing will get accomplished. The Nazi dictators will stop at nothing to take the country backwards. Is it that they can’t feel like real men unless they take everybody else’s rights away? They do not seem strong enough to actually participate in life unless the deck is stacked against the rest of us. Weak! This mixed- up obsession they seem to have with fear and respect is textbook. We need to tell the man every day that he is not a king until he believes it. ** Kicking out career diplomats, allowing only 2 genders, release of the JFK, RFK and MLK files and bringing down FEMA are just the beginning. It will take months to even figure out all the damage since they are so shady. And we are not safe with all the violent criminals he is letting out. Many of the Republican office staff suggest that they are afraid for themselves and their families if they speak out. He wants to dismantle everything good that his predecessors have done. The lawsuits are already started. The President signed a ‘memo’ to bring down inflation. He is also a fan of the private prison since his friends can make big $ on that. ** Dr. Phil and actual bounty hunters seem to be in the chase for illegal immigrants.

*****

I was his biggest defender the entire election season and now his billionaire administration official, Musk is trying to strip me of thousands of dollars of subscriber revenue that I use to fund my independent journalism. It’s outrageous. I worked my ass off to help Trump and now I’m being retaliated against, censored and deliberately financially attacked. - Laura Loomer

*****

Mexico and Colombia are turning planes of possible immigrants away but then there are threats and now a continuing expensive mess.

*****

Tik Tok is a national security risk- Rep. MIke Turner

*****

How funny is it that Susan Markowski is surprised that trump let the criminals out of prison. Other republicans are playing stupid too. Are they deaf or have some mental issues? It is clear that they don’t mind looking stupid as long as they have power. It is like the Klan does not work quite as well in small factions but put them all together and we are fucked. ** Menthol cigarettes will not be banned. There is no more Denali or Gulf of Mexico for the Republicans. Everybody else will still call them their real names. There are firings and withholding of funds and it will keep going. It is like Jefferson Davis Pickett is a real person. He even gives that same smirk of disapproval, always sour. Trump takes Andrew Jackson’s quote very seriously: To the victor belongs the spoils. The man does not understand that one looks stronger and smarter when they hire competent people.

*****

The Washington Post claims an aide working for Mike Johnson persuaded Republicans not to issue a subpoena for former WH aide Cassidy Hutchinson at the Jan. 6 committee. It is said that they feared it could expose the sexual texts many of them had sent her.

*****

New Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt is just another delusional Trumper. He does seem to love to put young women out there and watch them say wonderful things about him as they squirm. Why are his press secretaries so mean?

*****

I need to get out of this Hell hole. - Harvey Weinstein

*****

A student fell off a pole and died celebrating the Eagles win.

*****

Sen Bob Menendez was sentenced to 11 years in prison for corruption and bribery.

*****

It has been said that 89% of Trump’s total wealth came in the last couple of weeks with help from the shit coin. Most of the sales are from overseas. It seems a safe and easy way to funnel $ to him with no questions asked. ** I think my biggest concern with all this mess is the new team getting a hold of facts and changing official records because they can. Will Nazi’s be looked on as a bad thing by the time they are thru?

*****

Many Federal DEI employees are on paid leave. How does that save the country money? ** *****

White House.gov has taken down founding documents, the constitution, the Bill of Rights, tourism, internships and info about former Presidents. They claim it will be back. The Nazi’s are here.

*****

And just in time, Duck Dynasty is back.

*****

Bill Burr seems miffed at Howie Mandel for blindsiding him on a podcast. Give ‘em Hell, Bill!!!

*****

Officer Brian Sicknick would still be alive if it weren’t for Donald Trump. - Occupy Democrats ** Perhaps the Capitol security or police should refuse to watch over Republicans since they can’t be counted on to defend them.

*****

Have you seen the back and forth t shirts with Mac Culkin and Ryan Gosling? Cute! We need a silly sweet story right now.

*****

Sexual assault news: Sexual harassment suspect Brett Ratner has been pegged to direct a doc about Melania Trump. That sounds about right. ** Cartoonist Darrin Bell was arrested on child porn charges. ** It looks like Visa and MasterCard willingly let people charge illegal child sex abuse content according to a whistleblower. ** Marilyn Manson won’t be charged with any sexual abuse after a 4 -year investigation.

*****

R.I.P. John Capodice, Tesla truck victim, Wayne Osmont, Tomiko Itooka, Jeff Baena, Britt Allcroft, Mike Milligan, Brenton Wood, Peter Yarrow, Richard Cohen, Jet blue landing gear victims, Jack Waddell, Bill Byrge, Mike Rinder, DJ Unk, Antioch high victims, Turkish ski resort victims, Sam Moore, Christian Juttner, Claude Jarman Jr., Phyllis Dalton, Francisco San Martin, Harvey Laidman, Reagan National Airport crash victims, Medevac jet victims, Lynne Taylor- Corbett, Leslie Charleson, sea turtles, Jules Feiffer, John Sykes, Bob Uecker, Joan Plowright, David Lynch, Garth Hudson and Marianne Faithfull.

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ratwavekayla · 4 months ago

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PSYCHODUNGEON is out now digitally!

Descend into mindscape dungeons, navigate and survive a client's traumas given monstrous form, pull someone back from the brink and take home a meagre paycheck.

No dice, no masters, no insurance, no way out but down.

What people are saying about PSYCHODUNGEON

"PSYCHODUNGEON is a post-Blairite, post-Dungeon, modernist nightmare laced with hope. Imagine if the adventuring party sent to accompany you into the labyrinth spawned from your traumatic past are employed by the same company who decided to skimp on COVID protections for their care homes as it made more money than ensuring nobody living in them died, and overseen by the government department tasked with making sure nurses are as overworked/underpaid as possible. Sure, this band will try their best to help (most of the time). But also, their lives are hard as fuck. They are gonna be messy and imperfect and it is going to get weird somewhere along the line. Truthfully, I'm surprised this game didn't first appear as a strip in 2000AD." - Tanya Floaker (The Connection Machine, Solstice, Be Seeing You)

"PSYCHODUNGEON does what some of the best Belonging Outside Belonging games do, which is create a setting that is a powerful mirror to our own, and then weave that setting into the very marrow of the game. The setting, its dungeons, clients, and psychoplumbers are inescapable in the best way possible because you don’t want to escape it. You want to dive in and see and feel everything that the postdungeon city of Glyndain has to offer. And then come out the other side changed by the experience." - Josh Hittie/Ostrichmonkey Games (Vibe Check and DEATHGRIND!!MEGASRUCTURE!!)

"PSYCHODUNGEON is one of those rare gems of a game that are at the same time strong death-of-capitalism critique and interesting dungeon delving. Most importantly, the way characters are very much not-ok is fresh and stimulating. I want to go and be not well in a psychodungeon." - Paolo of Lost Pages

#indie ttrpg #game design #ttrpg #psychodungeon

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monsooninn · 2 months ago

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Berakhot 13a: 30. "The Pleasant Fish."

The people of Syria revolved their lives in a matter of days. Every day that passes these will bring more peace and order to the world. Imagine if all around the world, in every neighborhood we overthrew people like Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and the Assahola and restored as the Syrian Constitutions tastes, "government without prejudice."

The Mishnah says this is the right way to do it:

30: And did Rabbanan Nami write "and they were"? This is a problem for him that will not be called a problem.

Multiple pleasant fish are a problem that will not be called a problem.

The Value in Gematria is 5344, הג‎דד, this is the new Haggadah. We must free all oppressed people from their oppressors, all at once. Donald Trump and his sons, Vladimir Putin, Bashar Assad, the Iranian Regime, they must all be taken down NOW.

Former Texas Governor Rick Perry was featured in pedophile pornography at Clayton Green's house, located at 2127 12th Pl NW in DC. Frequent vistors included Karl Rove, Mike Pence, and Donald Trump's sons. These are the weak links in the chain. They can be made to give up their father/former boss and we can get rid of him, possibly all of them.

Recall Donald Trump publicized the fact he allowed Geoff Tunicliffe, the Chief Editor at the Christian Post to film himself sodomizing Barron Trump saying the brat deserved it, and then permitted Mister Green to circulate the film. There are many state and federal laws binding criminals who offend against human trafficking statutes and acts.

Please write to your local state governor or representative and request the records from mister Green's arrest be publicized for the sake of public safety. In addition, federal law requires mandatory restitution to be paid to all victims of underage sex trafficking rings. David Hogg, Josh Rush, Milo, Kevin, Geoff Johns, Justin Timberlake, read this.

Donald Trump is also affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Christian Broadcasting Network, Liberty University, the Waltons , Marriott Corporation, Church of Scientology and others that have taken responsibility for the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks in Israel alongside personnel affiliated with the Hamas terror organization. This means he and they can be investigated and incarcerated with extreme prejudice under the Patriot Act.

Full enforcement of the Patriot Act, anti-trafficking statutes and the laws banning insurrectionists from holding public office should finish Donald Trump off. This will end all doubt about the war in Ukraine the deporation of all those poor immigrants and guarantee the safety of the nations LGBTQ soldiers, its veterans and women who at risk so long as Pro-Life is permitted on American Soil.

This is a nice, sane, clean, legal, bloodless way to start the next American Revolution.

#donald trump

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engbergsinfinland · 2 months ago

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Back from Ruka and a Happy Monday!

Hi all! Well, we are on the train back to Tamepre from Helsinki airport, after a three-day trip to Ruka Ski Resort outside of Kuusamo, and a little trip to Santa's cottage while there. We hade a great time, but I think I may have come down with a touch of a cold! I am not surprised, because this week has been so go-go-go. I was exhausted last night and the night before and felt my eyelids weighted heavily while I was sitting on the couch watching TV.

The Fulbright Thanksgiving at Josh's apartment was so nice! He holds the Bicentennial Chair in American Studies at Helsinki University and with that Fulbright comes a specific apartment and the Bicentennial Chair always has it. It is spacious and very old-style, with built-ins, antique furniture, and even draperies from the '70s ;) But, it was such a lovely setting for the Thanksgiving feast. And what a feast it was! The kids had a great time too, even ending the evening with some Uno with the other kids who were there.

The next day, along with other Fulbrighters, I got to go to the Finnish Parliament and get a tour of the building (completed in 1938), see a session of Parliament in session, and have lunch with two MPs, one from the Åland islands, Mats Löfström (he represents the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland, and their interests), and one from a Centre party, Mikko Savola (he comes from a farming area, Ähtäri, a ways north of Tampere). It was very, very interesting to hear them speak. Both of them take regular trips on government business to the US, trips that (as you might imagine) center around two main themes: 1. defense and security and 2. trade/industry. They spoke about how important the US/Finland relationship is, especially now with the Ukraine/Russia war and Finland's entrance into NATO. We talked about serious topics, like their hopes for Finnish/US defense collaboration, and about lighter ones, like where in the US they liked most. Mats talked about how breathtaking Yosemite is. I have actually never been there!

So, after our time at Parliament, I returned to Risto's apartment to meet Eric and the kids and start getting everything finalized for leaving that place--getting their bedding/towels laundry done, cleaning up, etc. We then went to play a bit of Finnish floorball, as a fun activity planned by Fulbright. Eric and the kids played with a bunch of other Fulbrighters and kids, and I watched, and the Fulbright employee who taught them about the game had her four-month-old baby there, so that was the job I self-appointed myself: caring for that lil' one! So, so cute. Floorball is a very fast-paced game, like soccer and hockey. Like hockey, it has sticks. Like soccer, it's on land ;) After floorball, we scooted (not literally, but figuratively) back to the apartment, got our things, and took an Uber to the airport. Off to Kuusamo we flew! And we flew on a propeller plane! I managed to not lose my sh*t too. It was a smooth flight and I was *sure* that on a clear flying night like that, I'd have a good chance of seeing the aurora out the plane window! No such luck. Once we got the rental car, I was *sure* we might be able to see it in the clear starry sky out to car window, but, nope, no such luck. Although, I think if we'd stopped on our drive to our rental house, in the middle of nowhere, we might have been able to. I think I saw the faint lines vertically across the sky from the car window in the dark, dark night. And if we'd gotten out of the car, away from its lights and the street lights, they might've popped. Alas. No such luck. And the next two nights in Kuusamo were cloudy. We did go out the second night to the snowy forest (which was a bit scary), and there was too much cloud cover for seeing anything. I am still holding out hope!

Our rental home adjacent to the Ruka ski resort was amazing! It was a nice cottage made out of just *massive* logs. It was like living in an actual Lincoln Log home. The kids were so thrilled with the small kids bedrooms upstairs. All of the linens and kitchen tools and appliances were of such high quality. It makes sense that they were, because we had to pay through the nose for the place. I could not find anything at the resort itself when I booked only about 5 weeks ago, but now I know there was that World Cup ski race I mentioned in my last post-- and perhaps that is why lodging was so tight (side note: our flight back to Helsinki Monday morning was full of World Cup athletes from that race and Rowan and I sat next to a ski tech for the German team, who was a former ski jumper himself). Anyway about our rental home, we were absolutely thrilled with the place we had. No bathtub, though! I am so, so eager to get myself in a bathtub. I may just rent a hotel room in Tampere with a bathtub for one day -- and just sit in it all day ;)

Ok -- I see that this post is getting insanely long already -- and I have not even told about our afternoon with Santa at his cottage outside of Kuusamo (Pohjolan Pirtti -- there was tobogganing on a frozen lake! Cookie-making with elves! Singing!) or our ski night and day at Ruka! I'll briefly summarize that the time with Santa was amazing and the kids had so, so much fun, and I really enjoyed talking with a family from Spain that was also there (and the mom and I may go have coffee in Madrid when I go there in March!). The skiing at Ruka was fun too, but I could not see well, with the fog and my googles getting like an icy windshield on a car. And the slopes had lots of icy patches. But, it was all in all very, very fun skiing there.

Alrighty--I will fill in some details in the next post. But, for now, WHEW! What a busy week we had this last week!

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almaqead · 3 months ago

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"The Outcome." Conclusion to Surah 28, Al Qasas, "The Proper Sequence."

People do not deserve the governments they get. This is the opposite of the process identified by the Qasas, the Muslim Islamic Passover Seder, the path to liberation from tyranny.

No one deserves to be taxed, mistreated, abused, misused, trafficked, lied to, or fucked by their government no matter the assumptions that led to the outcome. Just before the Kaaba, the historic receipt of the Holy Ghost by the first Muslims in Mekkah, Muhammad stipulated all of the enemies of God and the people must be put to death, and with them, all inklings for the uses of the weapons of war and must be snuffed out.

This is an aspect of the Hajj we are yet grappling with all over the world. In spite of a heaping pile of evidence of gross misconduct including acts of international terrorism, the American White House will not honor the Kaaba "cure the sickness" and destroy the biggest threat to global environmental stability and security, the Republican Party. Now Mike Huckabee, a child molestor and gay rapist is ready to move to Israel to continue the work he and the LDS began on October 7, 2023. Huckabee and etc. were turned into the FBI on June 12, 2021 along with Josh Hawley and his sons over a significant sexual assault at Clayton Green's house in NW DC. There are therefore no indications for a Republican Party at this time.

The world must protest. America must be embargoed, blockaded, sanctioned with the harshest of economic controls as it is plain and obviously out of control. American ships must be turned back, American planes cannot land, not until the American Government demonstrates complete competence. The effort to kill the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses for their roles in October 7 must not lose steam.

Large numbers of minors were impregnated or killed after the RVW overturn, this is an International Crime Against Humanity. The Head of State responsible, Donald Trump is a vocal proponent of child porn and child molestation, he violated federal law during a siege, and we know he cheated in 2016. But still, we are going to take a trip over the falls. This is not sensible or appropriate.

As the prior frame said, Allah expects all of His enemies to be presented. We must do as the Quran says and present Donald Trump without further delay, before more time is lost. He has been screaming at me all day long "That Mosque belongs to me!"

Except it does not belong to him or his Republican Party which covets it:

"The most holy spot [al-quds] on earth is Syria; the most holy spot in Syria is Palestine; the most holy spot in Palestine is Jerusalem [Bayt al-maqdis]; the most holy spot in Jerusalem is the Mountain; the most holy spot in Jerusalem is the place of worship [al-masjid], and the most holy spot in the place of worship is the Dome."Thawr ibn Yazid, c. 770.

Dar al Islam is in danger of losing its most important artifact, the site where the Prophet said we were to create the Masjid amidst the city lights. Something has to be done.

The Surah continues, discussing a glorious day every faith meets to settle the matter and create world peace, what is called Masjid in Arabic:

28: 71-88:

"Ask ˹them, O Prophet˺, “Imagine if Allah were to make the night perpetual for you until the Day of Judgment, which god other than Allah could bring you sunlight? Will you not then listen?”

Ask ˹them also˺, “Imagine if Allah were to make the day perpetual for you until the Day of Judgment, which god other than Allah could bring you night to rest in? Will you not then see?”

It is out of His mercy that He has made for you the day and night so that you may rest ˹in the latter˺ and seek His bounty ˹in the former˺, and perhaps you will be grateful.

And ˹watch for˺ the Day He will call to them, “Where are those you claimed were My associate-gods?”

And We will bring forth a witness1 from every faith-community and ask ˹the polytheists˺, “Show ˹Us˺ your proof.” Then they will ˹come to˺ know that the truth is with Allah ˹alone˺. And whatever ˹gods˺ they fabricated will fail them.

Indeed, Korah1 was from the people of Moses, but he behaved arrogantly towards them. We had granted him such treasures that even their keys would burden a group of strong men. ˹Some of˺ his people advised him, “Do not be prideful! Surely Allah does not like the prideful.

Rather, seek the ˹reward˺ of the Hereafter by means of what Allah has granted you, without forgetting your share of this world. And be good ˹to others˺ as Allah has been good to you. Do not seek to spread corruption in the land, for Allah certainly does not like the corruptors.”

He replied, “I have been granted all this because of some knowledge I have.”1 Did he not know that Allah had already destroyed some from the generations before him who were far superior to him in power and greater in accumulating ˹wealth˺? There will be no need for the wicked to be asked about their sins.2

Then he came out before his people in all his glamour. Those who desired the life of this world wished, “If only we could have something like what Korah has been given. He is truly a man of great fortune!”

But those gifted with knowledge said, “Shame on you! Allah’s reward is far better for those who believe and do good. But none will attain this except the steadfast.”

Then We caused the earth to swallow him up, along with his home. There was no one to help him against Allah, nor could he even help himself.

And those who had craved his position the previous day began to say, “Ah! It is certainly Allah Who gives abundant or limited provisions to whoever He wills of His servants. Had it not been for the grace of Allah, He could have surely caused the earth to swallow us up! Oh, indeed! The disbelievers will never succeed.”

That ˹eternal˺ Home in the Hereafter We reserve ˹only˺ for those who seek neither tyranny nor corruption on the earth. The ultimate outcome belongs ˹only˺ to the righteous.

Whoever comes with a good deed will be rewarded with what is better. And whoever comes with an evil deed, then the evildoers will only be rewarded for what they used to do.

Most certainly, the One Who has ordained the Quran for you will ˹ultimately˺ bring you back home ˹to Mecca˺.1 Say, “My Lord knows best who has come with ˹true˺ guidance and who is clearly astray.”

You never expected this Book to be revealed to you, but ˹it came˺ only ˹as˺ a mercy from your Lord. So never side with the disbelievers ˹in their disbelief˺.

Do not let them turn you away from the revelations of Allah after they have been sent down to you. Rather, invite ˹all˺ to ˹the Way of˺ your Lord, and never be one of the polytheists.

And do not invoke any other god with Allah. There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him. Everything is bound to perish except He Himself.1 All authority belongs to Him. And to Him you will ˹all˺ be returned."

Perform the Meeting, and fulfill the Process. The world must change and the only persons who can change are you. The excavation of the Lehi-Nephi Trail under Gaza and other parts of the world is an American infraction, a superior act of evil wickedness performed on sacred ground. It must not be blamed on Muslims, nor impede the peacemaking purposes of the Quran which says:

"Glory be to the One Who took His servant ˹Muḥammad˺ by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose surroundings We have blessed, so that We may show him some of Our signs. Indeed, He alone is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing."- 17:1.

Thus ends the Surah.

سؤال وجواب سى

Qa and Sa.

"Question and answer what is bad and causes sorrow."

#islamic #islam #welcome to islam

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