#imagine. josh from the government

[witchspeka]

My friend called Joseph From The Government James and it killed me

God imagine if he had any other J name... IMAGINE IF HE WAS JOSH FROM THE GOVERNMENT

[ratwavegamehouse]

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

[creekfiend]

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.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

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.

[eretzyisrael]

by Dion J. Pierre

Share 

Tweet 

Print 

Email 

NOVEMBER 16, 2023 3:54 PM

1

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.”

[undeadcourier]

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!)

[mariacallous]

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.

[401bmma4]

➤ 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)

[schraubd]

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

[the-sappho-of-lesbos]

I feel like irl I don’t even know how to talk to anyone about the shame and isolation that comes from being 23 and on the dsp.

Like I have my sister rightfully complaining about a 5 day work week and being tired and having to worry about car insurance and her rent. Her boyfriend being tired over long shifts. I genuinely feel so horrible for them. I remember recently she was complaining about it and I was just telling her how I’m sorry and she was jokingly asking “well just help me fix it by making so I can get money with no job” and so I jokingly said “go on the dsp”

But I felt that you know. Like what leg do I have to stand on when complaining about the isolation that comes from being on the dsp when there are people working so much harder then I could ever imagine. It feels tone deaf and insensitive to their hardships.

I’m just sad and sleeping in my bedroom and get money from the government. I feel like that by default just takes away my right to complain about anything irl. What right do I have to be upset over other people. It’s their tax money that’s going towards me.

I guess that’s part of the reason I complain online so much. I just feel like I’m not allowed to irl. Morally I’m just not allowed to say anything.

Or if I mention not being able to work because of my mental illnesses I get people listing all the jobs they think I should or could do. And then I feel even more guilty. Like I’m just not trying hard enough. Or I really am a massive mooch and bludge and have no reason to be here. I’m not contributing to society via a job. I’m not just making people’s lives better by being around. If anything I make it more stressful. My living is a constant burden but my death would be even more of a burden. So I’m just here. I don’t feel as though I have a place in this world. I don’t have people around me or a friend group to be an important part of. And that’s all my fault and no one else’s. I don’t have a partner. I’m not gifting the world with stories or art that make people feel something. I’m not inspiring anything in anyone. I’m not changing the world or my community. I genuinely feel like my dad hates me. I feel like I’m an awkward smudge on the whole family that no one knows what to do with.

I’m not progressing or moving forward. I’m not bringing joy. I’m not even just enjoying life in it’s simplicity because I’m so damn depressed all the time. It feels like every avenue I could go down to be worth anything has been broken. And yet I’m still just here, sitting in my dark room, being sad, hating my body, being ugly and taking money from the government while people are working so hard. It makes me sick but I have nothing left to give so I can’t even change it. Maybe I can and I’m josh immensely lazy though who knows.

[vampsandmagesandpsychics]

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.

[almaqead]

"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."

[ratwavegamehouse]

PSYCHODUNGEON is out now physically and available to purchase from the Rat Wave Webstore. If you missed out earlier this year nows you're chance to grab the GMless mindscape dayjob dungeoncrawler that everyone's talking about.

(also there's now a deal on the site where if you email me a receipt of a digital purchase I'll offer you a 15% discount off the relevant book)

"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

[sa7abnews]

55 Things to Know About Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ Pick for VP

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/06/55-things-to-know-about-tim-walz-kamala-harris-pick-for-vp/

55 Things to Know About Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ Pick for VP

Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, once said he never expected a former high school geography teacher would make it so far in politics. He couldn’t have imagined that he would some day run for vice president.

That changed Tuesday when the 60-year-old was chosen by Vice President Kamala Harris to be her running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket. Walz, who has gained a reputation as an energetic and plain-spoken champion of Harris’ surprise candidacy, emerged late in a highly compressed vetting process — edging out Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona.

Here — culled from articles about his 20-year career in politics — is a look at how Walz, a former non-commissioned officer in the Army National Guard, went from being the rare Democrat representing a conservative and rural district in Congress to becoming the progressive governor in his adopted state. It offers a glimpse of the person he might be if he becomes America’s next vice president.

1.

Walz was born in West Point, a Nebraska town of just 3,500 people. But he was raised in an even smaller town called Butte.

2.

Walz graduated from Butte High School in 1982. “I come from a town of 400 — 24 kids in a class, 12 cousins, farming, those types of things.”

3.

Walz credits his rural upbringing for his values: “A town that small had services like that and had a public school with a government teacher that inspired me to be sitting where I’m at today. Those are real stories in small towns.”

4.

Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard when he was 17.

5.

In his state Capitol office, Walz displays hundreds of “challenge” coins that he’s traded and collected for years around the world.

6.

Walz’s father, a school administrator, died of lung cancer when Walz was 19. Walz said this moment fueled his views on health care access: “The last week of my dad’s life cost my mom a decade of going back to work to pay off hospital debt.”

7.

Walz graduated with a social science degree from Chadron State College in 1989. He earned a Master of Science in educational leadership from Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2001.

8.

He spent a year teaching in China after college before returning full time to the Army. He traveled to China with one of the first government-sanctioned groups of American educators to teach in Chinese high schools.

9.

He still speaks Mandarin.

10.

He taught on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. “I tell folks that managing a high-school lunchroom for years trained me for the craziness that can overtake Washington, D.C.”

11.

He rose to the rank of command sergeant major before retiring from the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion in 2005. He served for a total of 24 years.

12.

Walz met his future wife, Gwen Whipple, a native Minnesotan, as they were both high school teachers in temporary classrooms. The first lady said she was irked by his loud voice disrupting her classroom.

13.

The two eventually moved to Mankato, Minnesota, where they both worked at Mankato West High School. “Gwen loved living in southern Minnesota. We jumped at the chance to move to Mankato and start our lives together.”

14.

Walz taught geography and coached high school football. “I don’t know if every high school geography teacher expects to be in this position at some point.”

15.

He was the faculty adviser for the school’s first gay-straight alliance chapter in 1999.

16.

7.

Walz graduated with a social science degree from Chadron State College in 1989. He earned a Master of Science in educational leadership from Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2001.

8.

He spent a year teaching in China after college before returning full time to the Army. He traveled to China with one of the first government-sanctioned groups of American educators to teach in Chinese high schools.

9.

He still speaks Mandarin.

10.

He taught on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. “I tell folks that managing a high-school lunchroom for years trained me for the craziness that can overtake Washington, D.C.”

11.

He rose to the rank of command sergeant major before retiring from the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion in 2005. He served for a total of 24 years.

12.

Walz met his future wife, Gwen Whipple, a native Minnesotan, as they were both high school teachers in temporary classrooms. The first lady said she was irked by his loud voice disrupting her classroom.

13.

The two eventually moved to Mankato, Minnesota, where they both worked at Mankato West High School. “Gwen loved living in southern Minnesota. We jumped at the chance to move to Mankato and start our lives together.”

14.

Walz taught geography and coached high school football. “I don’t know if every high school geography teacher expects to be in this position at some point.”

15.

He was the faculty adviser for the school’s first gay-straight alliance chapter in 1999.

16.

Walz, 60, has drawn criticism for appearing older than his age. Walz responded to this on X, saying that it’s because he “supervised the lunchroom for 20 years. You do not leave that job with a full head of hair. Trust me.”

17.

He has two children, Hope and Gus. Hope recently graduated from college in Montana, and Gus is in public high school in St. Paul.

18.

Both children were conceived through IVF and fertility treatments: “There’s a reason we named [our daughter] Hope.”

19.

Walz’s first job in politics was as a member of former Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign. The campaign hired him to be campaign’s county coordinator as well as a district coordinator of Vets for Kerry.

20.

He said he was inspired to join Kerry’s campaign after he took a group of high school students to a George W. Bush campaign rally and security interrogated one of his students because he had a Kerry sticker on his wallet.

21.

Walz was first elected to Congress in 2006, in one of the biggest House upsets of the year. The district, home to both the Mayo Clinic and the Hormel meatpacking firm, had twice-voted for George W. Bush.

22.

He was the highest-ranking enlisted soldier ever to serve in the U.S. House and only the fourth Democrat/Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party member to represent his district.

23.

Walz defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Gil Gutknecht despite being outspent by close to a half-million dollar margin.

24.

Walz won re-election five times in southern Minnesota’s mostly rural, conservative 1st District, serving in the House for 12 years.

25.

When he arrived in the House, Walz was elected to share the freshman class presidency with Rep. Paul Hodes of New Hampshire.

26.

He was named the ranking member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs in 2017. He focused on issues such as veterans’ mental health, suicide and pain management. He also called for funding to research medical cannabis treatment for veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain.

27.

More than half of the bills Walz co-sponsored between 2015-2017 were introduced by non-Democrats.

28.

Walz once earned an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association and the group’s endorsement. In 2016, Guns & Ammo magazine included him on its list of top 20 politicians for gun owners.

29.

He later denounced the NRA and supported gun-control measures, such as an assault weapons ban. Duringhis first campaign for governor in 2018, the NRA completely downgraded his rating. “I had an A rating from the NRA. Now I get straight F’s. And I sleep just fine.”

30.

Shortly after the deadly Las Vegas shooting in 2017, which killed 59 people, he donated campaign contributions from the NRA to a nonprofit that supported the family of military members who died or were severely wounded while serving.

31.

Walz is an avid hunter and scoffed at JD Vance for talking about guns when “I guarantee you he can’t shoot pheasants like I can.”

32.

In 2019, Walz left the House to run for governor of Minnesota. He beat Republican Jeff Johnson by more than 11 points.

33.

Walz frequently defends his policies, such as the universal school meals bill signed into Minnesota law earlier this year, as common sense: “What a monster! Kids are eating and having full bellies so they can go learn and women are making their own healthcare decisions,” Walz said jokingly.

34.

Violence erupted after police killed George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020, an incident that led to protests against racism and police brutality across the nation. Republican lawmakers issued a report later in the year, criticizing Walz’ administration for not intervening quickly enough to prevent looting and arson. “I certainly believe our administration … whether it be the National Guard, the State Patrol or the DNR [Department of Natural Resources], our front line folks responded in a noble and heroic manner. They saved lives,” Walz said. “A one-sided report coming out right before an election isn’t as helpful. But if there is helpful advice in there, I’ll certainly take it.”

35.

In recent weeks, Walz is credited for popularizing the Democratic Party’s latest line of attack against the Republican ticket, when he called Trump and Vance “these really weird people.”

36.

He told POLITICO in 2023: “When we’re running against the generic Republican, our races are always really close, but there’s no such thing [as a generic Republican]. These guys are weird. Once they start running, their weirdness shows up, and especially with the nominee on the other side. I don’t think it’s that surprising.”

37.

Walz told The New York Times that his comments about weirdness are about Trump and Vance, not Republicans generally: “And ‘weird’ is specific to him. I’m certainly not talking about Republicans. I’m not talking about the people who are at those rallies. I’m hearing this from my Republican friends, because the people at those rallies, they’re the ones that can most benefit from the message we’re delivering.”

38.

Last year, Barack Obama praised Walz when the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party gained control of the governor’s mansion, the state house and the state senate.

39.

Walz first met his lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan, when he attended Wellstone Action, founded after the 2002 death of Sen. Paul Wellstone to train progressive organizers, activists and candidates. “I showed up and had a fantastic young trainer who turned out to be Peggy Flanagan. That’s when we started our friendship.”

40.

After Minnesota legalized recreational marijuana last year, Walz appointed a hemp shop owner to be the state’s top cannabis regulator. The next day, cannabis entrepreneur Erin DuPree stepped down from the role after the Star Tribune reported she had sold illegal products at her hemp shop and had federal tax liens and judgments against her. Minnesota’s nonpartisan government watchdog the Office of the Legislative Auditor later found the governor’s office missed some standard background check steps before the appointment of DuPree.

41.

In December 2023, Walz was tapped to chair the Democratic Governors Association, responsible for defending and growing the party’s share of chief executives in the states. “I’m a firm believer now that governors do make a difference. We saw it in Minnesota, we saw it in Michigan, we saw it in Colorado. We see these trifecta states improving folks’ live.”

42.

His beverage of choice is Diet Mountain Dew. He got a DWI in Nebraska in 1995 before he quit drinking.

43.

Walz is a runner, who has participated in multiple competitions in Minnesota’s Twin Cities: “I’ve found that even before the most stressful events, if I’ve gone for a run, I’m calmer and more collected.”

44.

He likes to tinker on his vintage blue International Scout, a four-wheel-drive vehicle that International Harvester stopped producing in 1980.

45.

He has custom license plates that read, “ONE MN,” his campaign slogan for his gubernatorial bid.

46.

Walz promised his son Gus a dog if he won governorship in 2019. When the election was called, Gus exclaimed, “I get a dog!” Walz kept his promise by adopting Scout, a black lab mix, later in the year.

47.

Walz and Scout make daily morning visits to an off-leash Twin Cities dog park.

48.

Walz signed a bill last May expanding voting rights for an estimated 55,000 formerly incarcerated residents.

49.

Walz has met with the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States to sign a letter of understanding that creates an agricultural partnership between Minnesota and a northern region in Ukraine called Chernihiv. “Once we drive the Russians out, we will have some cooperation,” Walz said. “It’s a really important showing of friendship and a real important showing of ties.”

50.

In 2023, Walz signed an executive order protecting access to gender-affirming care. “As states across the country move to ban access to gender-affirming care, we want LGBTQ Minnesotans to know they will continue to be safe, protected, and welcome in Minnesota,” said Walz.

51.

His tater tot hot dish — the unofficial dish of Minnesota — won the Minnesota Congressional Delegation Hot Dish Off in 2014.

52.

He is a self-proclaimed sci-fi fantasy guy when it comes to books. “I just finished reading the four-book series Mortal Engines. I read a lot of these young adult ones, because I do it with my kids. I was reading that one with Gus,” he said in 2019. “And then I just finished one I would not suggest reading because it is terrifying: Command and Control. It traces the history of America’s nuclear arsenal.”

53.

His favorite song by Bob Dylan, one of Minnesota’s most famous celebrities, is “Forever Young,” which contains a “timeless message from a dad to his son,” according to Walz.

54.

He enjoys the all-you-can-drink milk booth at the Minnesota State Fair — so much so that he volunteered at the booth in 2022.

55.

Walz is a self-described optimist, but when it comes to government he tries to plan for the worst. “I think people should have an expectation of a forward leaning, anticipatory government,” he said as he took office in 2019. “A lot of things people write off as accidents or chance is really just poor planning and anticipation.”

[tomorrowedblog]

Friday Releases for June 21

Friday is the busiest day of the week for new releases, so we've decided to collect them all in one place. Friday Releases for June 21 include The Bikeriders, Kinds of Kindness, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, and more.

The Bikeriders

The Bikeriders, the new movie from Jeff Nichols, is out today.

THE BIKERIDERS follows the rise of a midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals. Seen through the lives of its members, the club evolves over the course of a decade from a gathering place for local outsiders into a more sinister gang, threatening the original group’s unique way of life.

Kinds of Kindness

Kinds of Kindness, the new movie from Yorgos Lanthimos, is out today.

KINDS OF KINDNESS is a triptych fable, following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader.

Thelma

Thelma, the new movie from Josh Margolin, is out today.

The feature directorial debut of Josh Margolin, THELMA is a poignant action-comedy that gives veteran Oscar nominee June Squibb, her first leading role, and features the final performance of trailblazing actor Richard Roundtree. Squibb, who did most of her own stunts in the film, plays Thelma Post, a feisty 93-year-old grandmother who gets conned by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson (Fred Hechinger)and sets out on a treacherous quest across Los Angeles, accompanied by an aging friend (Richard Roundtree) and his motorized scooter, to reclaim what was taken from her.

Green Border

Green Border, the new movie from Agnieszka Holland, is out today.

In the treacherous and swampy forests that make up the so-called “green border” between Belarus and Poland, refugees from the Middle East and Africa are lured by government propaganda promising easy passage to the European Union. Unable to cross into Europe and unable to turn back, they find themselves trapped in a rapidly escalating geopolitical stand-off. An unflinching depiction of the migrant crisis captured in stark black-and-white, this riveting film explores the intractable issue from multiple perspectives: a Syrian family fleeing ISIS caught between cruel border guards in both countries; young guards instructed to brutalize and reject the migrants; and activists who aid the refugees at great personal risk.

Blackwater Lane

Blackwater Lane, the new movie from Jeff Celentano, is out today.

After witnessing a tragedy on a dangerous country road, Cass is visited by a ghostly presence and begins to question her sanity. As these otherworldly experiences intensify, Cass is driven closer to the brink until she begins to assemble the pieces of a horrific plot against her.

Trigger Warning

Trigger Warning, the new movie from Mouly Surya, is out today.

A Special Forces commando uncovers a dangerous conspiracy when she returns to her hometown looking for answers into her beloved father’s death.

Janet Planet

Janet Planet, the new movie from Annie Baker, is out today.

In rural Western Massachusetts, 11-year-old Lacy spends the summer of 1991 at home, enthralled by her own imagination and the attention of her mother, Janet. As the months pass, three visitors enter their orbit, all captivated by Janet and her spellbinding nature. In her solitary moments, Lacy inhabits an inner world so extraordinarily detailed that it begins to seep into the outside world.

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, the new movie from Ariane Louis-Seize, is out today.

Sasha is a young vampire with a serious problem: she’s too sensitive to kill. When her exasperated parents cut off her blood supply, Sasha’s life is in jeopardy. Luckily, she meets Paul, a lonely teenager with suicidal tendencies who is willing to give his life to save hers. But their friendly agreement soon becomes a nocturnal quest to fulfill Paul’s last wishes before day breaks.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, the new expansion for Elden Ring, is out today.

The Shadow of the Erdtree expansion features an all-new story set in the Land of Shadow imbued with mystery, perilous dungeons, and new enemies, weapons and equipment.

Discover uncharted territories, face formidable adversaries, and revel in the satisfying triumph of victory. Dive into the riveting interplay of characters, where drama and intrigue intertwine, that create an immersive experience to savor and enjoy.

Times & Galaxy

Times & Galaxy, the new game from Copychaser Games and Fellow Traveller, is out today.

Embark on an interplanetary adventure as the first robo reporter for the Times & Galaxy, the solar system’s most trusted holopaper. You’re just an intern, but if you can get the scoop, write great stories, and impress your colleagues, maybe you'll get to keep your job!

Dystopika

Dystopika, the new game from Voids Within and UNIKAT Label, is out today.

A city-building sandbox for futuristic cities. No goals, no management, just creativity and dark cozy vibes.

CRASH

CRASH, the new album from Kehlani, is out today.

[bookoformon]

The Book of Moroni, Chapter 3. "The Blackmail."

It's a shame all those kids were led astray by their pedophile parents and are now raising the flags of Hamas and Hezbollah and threatening Israel. The Order of the Melchizedek Priesthood is an honor to belong to.

The Missionaries I met were all sharp as tacks, sweet as huckleberry pie, all were impressive in their fluency with the Book of Mormon and the Bible in spite of the fact they could not decrypt it properly, but they were very dedicated to their work in ways I don't see within too many people. I saw many inner elbows tracked marked black and blue on boys that were far too young for intravenous substances, epecially those who claimed Jesus had saved them, but they were otherwise quite pious on the surfaces of their appearance.

I initially went in search of Missionaries when I realized I knew nothing about the Book of Mormon or the Mormon faith and rather than make fun of its practitioners, decided to speak some in person.

Then they started showing up in large numbers to make pedophile pornography along with their adult friends at the residence of a man I knew here in WDC and then the intersection of these persons and politicians like Mike Pence, Mitt Romney, Josh Hawley, Roger Wicker, Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, Jared Kushner, Dan Quayle, Bristol Palin, there were many, forced me to run for my life.

They all used copious amounts of methamphetamine, molly, heroin, rohypnol, and engaged in the most elaborate kinds of BDSM you could imagine. They helped cheat Donald Trump into the White House in 2016, and they are responsible for the Capitol Coup on January 6, all the deaths due to abortion bans, they are all ignorant about climate change, and have no interest in the well being of other persons. These things they discussed openly with me and I discussed them openly with the government and the police but nothing was done.

The Mormons became outraged at me because I discovered and exactly what they were: drug addicts and perverts. I have been running for my life from them for almost a decade.

When these same persons started appearing in news videos from Gaza, Iran, Lebanon and other locations where there was heavy terrorist activity after October 7, and thousands of people died. The very sight of all those white kids wearing ski masks and spray tan charging at Israeli settlers with all those guns blaring unsettles me in a way I cannot explain.

My chagrin at the US Government over this has crested. Especially since it knows Sam Alito, Clarence Thomas, Justice Roberts, Donald Trump and the rest are all Mormons and exceedingly lawless. It has been all thumbs and excuses about its failures to learn as much as possible about their agenda and put a final stop to their ability to commit crimes and project harm.

The connection of all of this to Charles Mary and Gorilla Girl, Prince William, will have to wait for another time.

Now, read the words little Mormons read when they are ordained into the faith, and explain to yourself how it is possible this evil has been loosed upon the land, and how we can use real faith in God to recover our innocence and return security to the world:

Elders ordain priests and teachers by the laying on of hands. About A.D. 401–21.

1 The manner which the disciples, who were called the elders of the church, ordained priests and teachers—

2 After they had prayed unto the Father in the name of Christ, they laid their hands upon them, and said:

3 In the name of Jesus Christ I ordain you to be a priest (or if he be a teacher, I ordain you to be a teacher) to preach repentance and remission of sins through Jesus Christ, by the endurance of faith on his name to the end. Amen.

4 And after this manner did they ordain priests and teachers, according to the gifts and callings of God unto men; and they ordained them by the power of the Holy Ghost, which was in them.

The Values in Gematria are:

v. 1: They were called to be ordained priests and teachers.

The Number is 5393, הגטג‎ ‎‎, the gettag,"You are the gates."

v. 2: They laid their hands on them. The Number is 4089, דאֶפֶסח‎‎ט "blackmail."

Good men are supposed to blackmail the wicked and force them to repent, not the other way around. In order to end the blackmail all one has to do is agree to follow the Covenant be like God and do no harm.

v. 3: By the endurance of faith. The number is 8657, חוהז‎‎ ‎, hohaz, "the holder."

Faith is a matter of how much knowledge about the underlying truth of religion one has grasped. One cannot just flip open a book that is not written in English or is, as it promised within the Book of Mormon encrypted, and run amok.

When I discovered how to read it and published my paper, the Mormons really went nuts. I was convinced of it when I tried to get Donald Trump put to death for cheating in the 2016 election, but my research into the Book of Mormon made them positively flip their chickens. They really think they are the children of persons who boarded fast schooners in 600 BC and sailed to America from Jerusalem like a bunch of Jewish pilgrims on a science fiction Mayflower. Of this there is not a shred or proof, nor their claims of the existence of a language called Reformed Egyptian, which the Book of Mormon says is English.

The LDS will defend this belief to the death. It explains their bizarre fixation with killing Jews and their mad attempts to conquer it in recent times. To this end, now the Mormons openly proclaim their affiliations with the terror organizations, Hamas and Hezbollah. Perhaps this means we can make more progress disposing of all of them without further hesitation.

v. 4: After this manner they did ordain priests. The Number is 9131, טא‎גא‎ ‎, taga, "reach, arrive, touch others."

Because the US Government has not taken the threat of the cult of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints seriously, large numbers of people have been killed, hurt, lost their livelihoods or are scared to death.

They think they are going to reelect Donald Trump and put him back in the White House and regain the ability to harm others without a care in the world and the current White House has not demonstrated proper Duty of Care regarding the precise level of threat the LDS represents. Americans and their allies discuss this possibility like it could be a fait accompli.

This is not a responsible way to approach this extremity. Like you have I have shocked at the contrast between the way Americans, especially the Mormons think and act and the directions we have been given by God in the Book of Mormon, our very own religious catechism, made just for us.

In spite of the success of the Book and its ability to finally banish slavery from the world its resonance is not over. Terrorism in this world must be made extinct. So long as the US Government does not do everything in its power to address its root causes found under its very own soil, the way to the gate to freedom will be barred.

So really what we want Chucklehead to do is cease discussions about a cease fire in Gaza and Hezbollah until the combined threat of the Mormons, Republicans, Hamas, and Hezbollah has been completely eradicated. This is just not going fast enough. Those of you who have suffered at the hands of the Mormons or Hamas et al and survived a brush with death know the best way to bounce back is have a brush with life. If the only way to obtain it is to blackmail the US Government, force it to act with a conscience, then so be it.