#judge Louis by his and his teams actions

[sunshineandlyrics]

More fans talking about Louis' team helping fans, FITFWT Red Rocks, 21 June 2023 x x x x x x x x x x

it seems like louis’ crew stayed with fans the whole time and helped them and the Redrocks staff were the ones that doing shit at their job .

https://twitter.com/totheverystart/status/1671809596795785223?t=5VlVVhzUD9WWp5Ghu5EWBQ&s=19

That's so good to read. It was an absolute exceptional situation for everyone involved and people's safety must have been Louis' and his crew's utmost priority.

[hlficlibrary]

✤ Flower Shop Fics ✤

A series of posts with the top five fics of each category by kudos plus five more hidden gems from that category! Remember to leave kudos and a comment on the fics you enjoyed to show your appreciation! You can find our other recs here.

- Top 5 H/L Fics -

1️⃣ Your Name Is Tattooed On My Heart by mcpofife {E, 86k}

Louis is ready to find the love of his life, but first he has to stop falling for the punk rocker next door.

2️⃣ Love's Truest Language by summerwine / @smrwine {E, 48k}

The first part was meant as a joke. He didn't really expect Harry to buy anything. It was just Louis’ way of softening the ‘get the fuck out’ blow.

“Where's your order forms, then?”

“I don't want your flowers.” Louis chided before directing all of his attention to the arrangement in front of him.

Harry laughed under his breath as he stood to his full height, “Who said anything about them being for you, love?”

3️⃣ A Hungry Heart by jacaranda_bloom / @jacaranda-bloom {E, 27k}

Harry Styles, florist and Great British Bake Off contestant, loves many things. He loves his flower shop, he loves baking, and there’s also that little crush he has on pop star Louis Tomlinson.

But when Louis arrives on set as the surprise guest judge, Harry’s worlds collide. Throw in a cup of cuteness, a teaspoon of teasing, and a pinch of pining, and there’s all the ingredients for an epic love story, or absolute chaos.

Or the one where the Bake Off tent has never been so hot, and it’s got nothing to do with what’s in the ovens.

4️⃣ time slows down whenever you're around by wildestdreams / @thelavendrhaze {E, 14k}

“Why did you two break up again?”

Harry turned to face Zayn again. “We had a fight sometime after we graduated from 8th grade. It was the summer before high school would start and it was a big blow out. I don’t even remember what it was about to tell you the truth. After that we lost touch. We came to high school and he got a girlfriend, joined the footie team. I found new friends and new interests.” Harry paused, while he grabbed the broom to pick up some stray petals and leaves. “Honestly, if it weren’t for you and Liam getting together, who knows if the two of us would have ever patched up.”

“I don’t know,” Zayn shrugged. “You were best friends and I feel like it was meant to be.”

“Yeah,” Harry said. “Best friends…that’s it. That’s all it was meant to be.”

or Louis plays "soccer" and falls for the wrong boy and Harry works in a flower shop and falls for Louis — again.

5️⃣ Far Afield by QuickedWeen / @becomeawendybird {T, 11k}

Harry Styles is a witch who owns the best flower shop in Manchester. Lottie Tomlinson is planning her wedding, and brings her brother along to her first appointment. Both men have been having a bad day and sparks fly.

HIDDEN GEMS:

💎 Sakura Sunset by MsHydeStylinson / @mizzhydes {E, 16k}

Harry and Louis have a tradition. Every spring they stand below hundreds of dazzling cherry blossom trees in Kew Garden, and year after year they come back to walk amongst the trees and experience that love over again.

This year everything changes. Louis is offered a once in a lifetime opportunity in Silicon Valley, California.

Only after Louis has left does Harry realise he made the biggest mistake of his life breaking up with Louis, and he has to live with the consequences of his actions.

Four years later, Harry discovers that Louis has returned to London, and in an effort to find the closure he desperately needs, he must tell Louis the truth behind their break up so he can move on with his life.

💎 To Plant New Seeds and Watch Them Grow by graceling_in_a_suit {T, 10k}

Harry's Hearty Herbs sits in Diagon Alley, filled to the brim with flowers and potion ingredients and the care of its owner. Louis Tomlinson also sits in Diagon Alley, a former Slytherin golden-boy descended from wizarding nobility and now running his very own potion stand. 70s Wizarding Britain isn't the safest place for love between a half-blood and a pureblood to blossom, yet blossom it does.

💎 I Kinda Need A Hero (Is It You) by @fallinglikethis {NR, 5k}

Louis is a barista who’s had his heart broken. Harry is the boy who wants to put the pieces back together.

💎 Monday by @nouies {NR, 2k}

A flower shop AU featuring a one-sided feud, puns, and a missing cat.

💎 Are You Thorny, Baby? by @homosociallyyours {NR, 2k}

When Louis stops in to buy flowers for Lottie’s birthday, he thinks he’s just stumbled upon a hip flower shop. Meeting Harry is just a bonus.

[reasoningdaily]

Georgia election workers settle defamation lawsuit against conservative website - ABC News

Georgia election workers settle defamation lawsuit against conservative website

Two Georgia election workers have reached a settlement in their defamation lawsuit against a Missouri-based website that falsely accused them of fraud in the 2020 presidential election

ByJEFF AMY Associated Press

October 11, 2024, 1:57 PM

ATLANTA -- Two Georgia election workers have reached a settlement in their defamation lawsuit against a Missouri-based conservative website that falsely accused them of fraud in the 2020 presidential election, according to a court filing earlier this week.

The lawsuit against The Gateway Pundit, its owner Jim Hoft and his brother Joe Hoft “has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties through a fair and reasonable settlement,” lawyers for Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss said Friday.

Monday's filing in St. Louis City Circuit Court didn't give any terms of the settlement, but said actions under the agreement are supposed to be completed by March 29. Both sides asked a judge to postpone the case until then, when they expect to request a dismissal.

Lawyers for Hoft did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Nearly 70 articles cited as defamatory in the lawsuit were no longer available Friday on The Gateway Pundit website, The Associated Press found.

The company that owns The Gateway Pundit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, but a judge dismissed the case in July, finding the company was solvent and had filed the suit in bad faith in an effort to frustrate the lawsuit by Freeman and Moss.

Freeman and Moss, who were Fulton County election workers, sued over The Gateway Pundit's repeated claims that the mother-and-daughter pair introduced suitcases of illegal ballots while working as ballot counters at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta in November 2020.

Freeman and Moss also sued others, including including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and One America News Network, saying they pushed Donald Trump’s lies about the election being stolen, which led to death threats that made them fear for their lives.

Freeman and Moss are trying to collect a $148 million defamation judgment they won against Giuliani for his false ballot fraud claims.

OAN settled with Freeman and Moss in 2022. It posted a video saying state officials “have concluded that there was no widespread voter fraud by election workers who counted ballots at the State Farm Arena in November 2020. The results of this investigation indicate that Ruby Freeman and Wandrea ‘Shaye’ Moss did not engage in ballot fraud or criminal misconduct while working at State Farm Arena on election night.”

Freeman and Moss were dragged into the spotlight on Dec. 3, 2020, when a representative from Trump’s legal team, Jacki Pick, showed a Georgia Senate committee surveillance video from the room where ballots were counted. Pick said Republican observers were asked to leave and that once they were gone, election workers counted hidden, fraudulent ballots.

Pick didn't name the election workers “but said ‘one of them had the name Ruby across her shirt somewhere,’” the lawsuit said. Later that day, The Gateway Pundit was the first outlet to publish Freeman’s full name, and in a subsequent story also identified Moss, the lawsuit said.

The allegation that “suitcases” of ballots were pulled from under tables away from the eyes of observers was almost immediately debunked. But the Gateway Pundit and the Hofts perpetuated the narrative, publishing and promoting stories after they were aware claims had been disproven, the lawsuit said.

In a phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, Trump pressed the Republican official to “find” votes for him and mentioned Freeman by name, calling her “a vote scammer, a professional vote scammer and hustler.”

Freeman was a temporary election worker in 2020. Moss has worked for the Fulton County elections department since 2012 and supervised the absentee ballot operation.

As the allegations spread, Freeman received emails, text messages and threatening phone calls, and strangers showed up at her house, the lawsuit said. The FBI concluded on Jan. 6, 2021, that she wasn't safe at home, and she relocated for two months. She abandoned her business selling clothing.

Moss’ teenage son was bombarded with threatening messages after harassers found her old phone number, which he was using, the lawsuit said. Because she previously lived with her grandmother, the lawsuit said, strangers showed up at her grandmother’s house at least twice and tried to enter to make a “citizen’s arrest.”

[theanimeview]

[Anime Review] Dragon’s Dogma: Compare And Contrast

Source: Dragon’s Dogma, Episode 2

By: Krow Smith | @coffeewithkrow

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is a game I hold near and dear to my heart. It is a Japanese action RPG in a high fantasy setting where you fight Harpies and Ogres, with the end goal of slaying a Dragon who has stolen your heart (literally). Is the story the best? Not really, but there is definitely something there to make you think and it is serviceable with a fantastic class system that keeps me coming back to replay it over and over again. In fact, throughout the years it has become one of my obsessions! This is why I viewed the release of the Dragon’s Dogma 2 showcase with such excitement, as I thought about what could be improved for the series. So, with my growing anticipation, I decided to finally watch Netflix’s Dragon’s Dogma and compare it with the game it is based on, which is what you are about to read below.

Source: Dragon’s Dogma, Episode 1

Episode One: Wrath

In comparison to the game, I can see where the story team is going with the plot. Not everything is going to be an exact copy story-wise, nor should it. Some things work better in the medium they were created in and need to be redone in order for them to fit into another form. Especially when, in the game, you create your character and go on a quest that’s the same for everyone who plays. With Netflix’s Dragon’s Dogma, you’re now following Ethan, who has his own past and his own path that is very different from the game.

For example, both settings for the game and the show start in a small fishing village named Cassardis. Yet, Ethan is in the forest when the dragon arrives rather than your character in-game being in the village as it happens. This is to coincide with Ethan’s backstory as a hunter in the forest rather than as a fisher, like every other person in Cassardis.

However, both have a key moment, wherein the protagonist picks up the sword and attempts to attack the dragon. This is vital to the Dragon’s Dogma story as it is the sole reason why the dragon chooses to make them (Ethan and your character) an Arisen. However, the reasons for taking up the blade are different between the game’s protagonist, player, and the anime’s protagonist, Ethan.

In the game, your character is doing it to protect your home and its people. This results in the mitigation of greater harm to the village due to your courageous sacrifice. For Ethan, it was an act of wrath, while focusing on the loss of his family and home.

This difference brings me to my next comparison: the naming of episodes for the story’s progression. When I saw that the episodes are named after the seven deadly sins, I was quite perplexed. This is not a concept in the game. I mean, you can attribute some characters to certain sins, but it’s not an overt, overarching theme when it comes to the story. This idea ends up weighing down the show as they try to shoehorn the sins into each episode, mostly unsuccessfully.

In terms of judging the first episode on its own, one thing I noticed immediately was the CGI, which does not bode well when it comes to first impressions. The animations are stiff and often appear to be emotionless, making it difficult to relate to the characters. Meanwhile, the dialogue doesn’t help with this problem either—in fact, it makes it worse. With repeated uses of trite lines, such as “breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” it’s hard to take it seriously.

There were also some awkward moments, such as Ethan and Louis (an orphan Ethan and his wife had taken in as their own) having a conversation with some guards while walking past them at a considerable distance.

Overall, I give this episode a 4/10. In terms of story, it wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t special either. Also, at this point, the CGI and stale dialogue had me quite dubious of what was to come.

Source: Dragon’s Dogma, Episode 2

Episode Two: Gluttony

This is where Netflix’s Dragon’s Dogma strays far from the game in terms of geography and story. In the game, there are only 2 towns: Cassardis and Gran Soren.

I know, I know, it sounds ridiculous to have only 2 towns in a fantasy game, but a lot was cut out of the game during production due to budget constraints. So, I understand adding more villages for the show to make it more interesting. However, in terms of the Pawn, Hannah, they do stray quite a bit compared to the source material. This change is less understandable.

Her vocation, or what you might call “class” are significantly changed between the anime and game. There are nine vocations in the Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen game, starting with the base classes of Fighter (sword and shield), Strider (dagger and bows), and Mage (staff). Then you have the upgraded versions of those vocations with the Warrior, Ranger, and Sorcerer. Next are the mixed classes, such as Assassin or Mystic Knight. Hannah is very obviously a Magick Archer, she uses a bow and magick (as it is spelled in the game). This is an issue conflicting with source materials because Pawns can’t be any of the mixed classes, only the Arisen have this option.

Not to mention the writers decided to make her detached in a way that is heartless and inconsiderate. While Pawns in the game lack a true will of their own, they simply follow the Arisen wherever they go and are always trying to help the Arisen regardless of the quest.

Anime-Hannah, on the other hand, doesn’t care to help anyone and only wishes to commit to the quest of finding and slaying the dragon. A stark contrast to Pawns in the game as they give advice on current quests and don’t complain about wasting time.

Returning to the episode, my judgment is that it is very bland, with more predictable dialogue and obvious story beats. For example, there is a corrupt mayor who is starving the townspeople and using a Cyclops as a tool to seize all of their belongings and food in order to satiate his gluttony. It was simply a classic case of “Evil, just because.”

The mayor was so comically evil that it even caused an eye roll or two and the “twist” at the end didn’t fare much better. I sighed in disappointment as the townspeople became the embodiment of gluttony. This episode is a taste of the template that the show follows throughout the rest of the season:

Something bad is happening → Main characters help → Someone or something represents the sin the episode is named after → “twist” → character(s) for the episode die or is/are afflicted → the end

There are very slight variations to this format depending on the episode, but this is what it all boils down to, and it becomes redundant almost immediately.

Source: Dragon’s Dogma, Episode 3

Episode Three: Envy

Disclaimer: MATURE CONTENT WARNING – This episode review contains content that we at The Anime View do not think is suitable for everyone. Possible triggers or subjects include sexual assault and suicide. By clicking “Read More,” you understand that you may encounter such content. Reader discretion is advised.

Wow, this episode was hard to watch (and not for the reasons that were probably intended)! Before I get ahead of myself, let’s compare it with the game. So far, I appreciated that the monsters looked exactly as they did in their source material. I’ve also noticed a trend in which some characters are loosely based on characters from the game.

For example, the mayor from the previous episode vaguely resembles Fornival from the game—a greedy, rich man who will gladly step on the downtrodden to get what he wants. In this episode, there is a woman named Elizabeth who is reminiscent of the game’s Madeleine, a merchant who flirts with her clients and is trying to make a fortune. However, there really isn’t much else to compare.

When it comes to the story in the anime, a couple is being escorted by two guards when they are overrun with Goblins and the wife, Elizabeth, is sexually assaulted by said goblins. This scene didn’t feel necessary and I believe the show could have suggested what was happening rather than outright showing it on screen, particularly when the assault feels so out of place from other episodes.

It was poorly done in another way too, as the other characters didn’t seem that concerned for her despite her screams. Their reactions were stiff and would be more fitting if she was simply trying to fight them off on her own and needed a little assistance.

Sure, the guards were busy fighting off Goblins themselves, but there could have been more urgency and horror in their voices or expressions as they called out to the husband, Theo, to help Elizabeth. Because of that, it felt like there was a dichotomy between the show making a big deal out of the sexual assault by focusing quite intently on it, all while the characters’ reactions downplay the event. Making the entire scene feel strange and at odds with itself.

I also have issues with the “twist” at the end. After Theo has his heroic redemption by saving Elizabeth from a Griffin, he stabs his wife, so that she will always be with him. Then she lovingly remarks, “I was always yours,” even though she actively tried to cheat on him with Ethan due to Theo’s lack of bravery during her assault scene earlier in the episode.

Theo then decides to stab himself and end his own life, so they can be together again? I end this as a question because it isn’t very clear what his intention was and I’m only assuming. The entire moment felt undeserved and unoriginal, like a strange Romeo and Juliet situation without having spent an entire story with these characters or connecting with them. I was simply left with the thought: “Well, glad that’s over with.”

Source: Dragon’s Dogma, Episode 4

Episode Four: Sloth

The episodes feel very paint-by-numbers at this point and are a real drag to get through. During this episode, I heavily considered not finishing the show. However, to make a full comparison between the game and the anime, it was imperative that I finish the season. So on I watched!

Ethan and Hannah find themselves traveling through a cavern where people are addicted to a moss, causing them to laze about. This episode did a poor job of making me feel any kind of empathy for the characters that Ethan and Hannah are trying to help. Perhaps it was the stiff CGI, or the painfully predictable dialogue once again, but either way, it resulted in a complete lack of emotion in the characters and more apathy from me. Even Ethan’s rage felt like there was no tension in his body, just angry faces with no power behind his attacks.

It is at this point in the show that Hannah is expressing more care and concern for humans, while Ethan is beginning to experience a lack of empathy for them instead. The change starts almost immediately and becomes more obvious by the next episode. However, considering there are only seven episodes in the season and the lacking quality of its writing, it realistically couldn’t have had a more natural progression.

In comparison with the game, there are a few discrepancies. This episode revolves around moss that these people are using habitually as a drug. The problem is, in the game, there is no moss. There’s a curative called “Moss Poultice,” but it’s not made with actual moss, nor are there any notes about recreational use. In fact, there are no recreational drugs in the game. The closest you get is ale.

Then, while fighting the Hydra, we have our male lead, Ethan, go into some kind of “berserk” mode, with glowing red eyes and uncontrollable growling. This is certainly not in the game. There is no “rage meter,” so to speak, for the Arisen—this is exclusive to the show.

Not that rage-mode is inherently a bad thing, just that I find, as a huge fan of the game, it creates a disconnect and makes me think of other series rather than the source material.

In addition to my previously addressed discrepancy that Pawns can’t be Magick Archers, Hannah not only uses a skill exclusive to that vocation, she uses it incorrectly. The skill in question is “Magickal Gleam” and it creates a bright light. However, in the game you use a bow to release it while Hannah casts it with her staff. A small gripe, yes, but I feel details such as this are important to keep straight. Lest anime fans decide to pick up the game and find themselves confused.

Source: Dragon’s Dogma, Episode 5

Episode Five: Greed

For this episode, the guards, Balthazar and Simon, return as they are hired to kill a Lich in order to free up a route for safer travels. In the process, however, Balthazar becomes cursed with greed and impales his best friend, Simon, foregoing his morals and code of honor.

There isn’t much to compare with the game. Yet again, it strays far from Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen in favor of a confused plot about the betrayal of friendship and ethics while being cursed with greed. However, I will say that I did care a little bit about the returning characters, Balthazar and Simon, as we had some time to get to know them. It still doesn’t mean their “tragic” fight to the death made me feel anything other than boredom, but it was nice to see them again regardless.

The animation, in the beginning, made me laugh as the Lich’s army of Skeletons running looked very silly to me. There was also a discrepancy between the quote “It burned everyone’s homes to the ground,” and then showing buildings still standing.

Source: Dragon’s Dogma, Episode 6

Episode Six: Lust

In this episode, Ethan and Hannah decide to rest at an inn for the night. When a Succubus imitating Ethan’s late wife seduces him, causing him to get lost in his memories of her. Until he snaps out of it and slays the monster. The plot felt shoehorned, like this whole episode was just an excuse to have a lust theme somewhere in the season.

There are no real game similarities in this episode, aside from the act of killing a Succubus. As a result, I didn’t write many notes other than “There really isn’t anything to note anymore,” and “The sex scenes are very uncomfortable and awkward.” There just wasn’t much else to point out. However, there was something that kept coming to mind as I was watching the show, and that’s Berserk.

Okay, here me out: In the first episode of Dragon’s Dogma, we’re shown the death of Ethan’s pregnant wife and adopted son, making him lose everything right before his eyes. In turn, the loss causes him to swear vengeance against the Dragon. Then, we have episode three, “Envy,” when it comes to the Goblin scene with Elizabeth, which is reminiscent of the disturbing Trolls from Berserk. In the fourth episode, “Sloth,” Ethan starts going into a state of complete rage, as does Guts in Berserk. Moreover, in this episode, “Lust,” we have a monster disguising herself as a human to fool men into intimacy. The part that reminds me of a scene in the first Berserk manga is when Ethan kills the monster after having just been intimate with her. The CGI also doesn’t help in separating the two, either.

The game, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, was very much inspired by Berserk and there was actually a merchant that sold the armor of Guts and Griffith from The Golden Age Arc movies as an in-game promotion.

I’m not saying it’s bad to be inspired by Berserk, in fact, I feel that inspiration can be a base for great things. The game itself is basically a love letter to Berserk! The problem is when, in the case of Netflix’s Dragon’s Dogma, it feels like it is trying to replicate the series rather than be inspired by it. As what tends to happen in cases such as this, is you have dark tones with blood and death, but no philosophical bite; no characters with depth and complexity; and no worldbuilding to make these story elements make sense.

Dragon’s Dogma, the anime, has a philosophy and it’s “humans suck.” The characters are bland and barely have a pulse; they’ve built a world with little history and no geographical coherence; and because of the poor writing, I cannot help but compare it to better work out there. Everything feels tacked on and yet so limited at the same time.

Episode Seven: Pride

Finally, the fight with the Dragon arrives, it’s the episode I’ve been waiting for. The reason this episode is important is because, in the game, this is the beginning of a series of choices that reveal a lot about the Arisen, the Dragon, and exposes the actions of the previous Arisen.

In the game, the fight with the Dragon isn’t simply something you’re building up to, it’s a peek behind the curtain before the full reveal of his purpose later on as you progress. The Dragon isn’t just some incarnation of evil with a taste for destruction. He has an objective, which is to choose the Arisen. When you pick up the blade to protect your small village, it is just as imperative as fighting the Dragon after a long journey. Your character is chosen specifically to kill him, as the Dragon’s existence is to find the next god. His divine purpose is exemplified by the fact that he is weak to the dark element and has resistance to the element holy.

By killing the Dragon, you then eventually get to proceed in fighting the Seneschal (the god of the game) and thus, taking their place if you defeat them. In this world, all of the energy and life is made by the Seneschal, as that is all they provide—creation and energy. However, after a while that energy becomes stagnant, causing the world to fall to a similar static state. Thus, the need to send out a Dragon to choose the next Arisen (a candidate to become the next Seneschal).

In the game, before fighting the Dragon, he gives you the choice between rescuing your beloved (the person who loves you most or hates you the least) and killing him. Or to sacrifice your beloved and he will go quietly, letting everyone think you defeated the dragon and making you the ruler of the land.

What happens if you don’t have a beloved? Well, for your character, it’s impossible as it is a forced mechanic. However, in the game there is an Arisen named Dragonforged who did not have a beloved and was simply left with the option to kill the Dragon, but failed in his attempt.

So, as a player, your only choice is to sacrifice or fight. This exemplifies the choice of the well renowned Arisen before you, King Edmun, as this is where you figure out that he chose not to kill the dragon and instead sacrificed his beloved to rise to the throne.

In the anime, the fighting sequence is out of order in comparison to the game. Even though it felt wrong considering I’ve fought the dragon countless times and know the battle by heart, I was able to withhold such feelings and understand that the order in which the battle happens isn’t so important.

What is important is the Dragon’s reasons. The anime does explain that Ethan was chosen to kill the Dragon. However, where the show falls flat in its explanation is in how they portrayed the Dragon as killing simply to kill. Relating it to Ethan as though he is killing the Dragon just because he can. This portrayal is very reductive not only for the Dragon, but for Ethan as well. I highly doubt Ethan would go out of his way to kill the Dragon for no reason.

As for the beloved, Ethan no longer has one as his wife was killed. It was strange but nice to follow an Arisen without a beloved, as it is forced on you in the game. It caused me to watch more intently since I didn’t know what to expect.

Judging the episode on its own merit, the use of pride as the ultimate sin that was committed by Ethan makes no sense to me. It seemed more like wrath than pride and it felt like a punishment after completing what he was meant to do. Not only that, but the idea the Dragon was trying to push that humans are full of sin and it was shown across Ethan’s journey was very obvious and didn’t make the entire gimmick feel any less unoriginal.

Though, the worst part is when Ethan turns into the dragon due to his committing sin, that being pride. In the game, the only time you are turned into a dragon is when you are bested by the Seneschal, off to find the next Arisen. There is no gameplay, it’s just a simple cutscene, but it shows the dragon’s holy purpose and expresses that Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is cyclical. As the game is an endless loop:

Seneschal creates Dragon → Dragon creates Arisen → Arisen fights Dragon → Arisen Fights Seneschal → Repeat with new game+

Meanwhile, in the show, it simply ends on the Arisen becoming a Dragon as though that is the only option, making it feel finalized, yet also incomplete. What is the purpose of the Dragon? Why bother creating another Arisen? These are some of the questions the show has left me with as the ending lacks any real meaning or reason for anything to happen the way it did.

Source: Dragon’s Dogma, Episode 7

The Conclusion

Well, there you have it! My entire review of Netflix’s Dragon’s Dogma and how it compares to the game is finished. Now I feel like I can truly put to rest this awful anime from my mind and continue to look forward to Dragon’s Dogma 2, set to release on 22 March 2024.

If you made it this far, Thank you! Please consider subscribing for more content and/or tell us what you think!

[sunshineandlyrics]

I saw "LouisTom" aka 'All Of Those Voices' this evening. Just a mix of thoughts which contain some SPOILERS ..

I haven't been to the movie theatre for about 2 years. The last movie I saw was either Parasite or Mulan live action. Only Louis could entice me back to sit in a public room surrounded by strangers for over an hour.

I really loved the behind the scenes in the studio, Louis talking about music and sharing FITF with his band, and all the interactions with his team. Lottie's comments shows how much she admires and loves Louis. The more you hear about Louis, the more you admire him.

The parts when Louis was talking about his Mum, and around Louis performing Just Hold On on the Xfactor were really hard for me. And Grandpa bless his heart.

Theo Hutchcraft really looks like a cool Vampire.

Oli is a gem. The most understanding friend and goofball mate anyone could ever want. I get why Louis has Oli with him all the time.

Mark Tomlinson quoted Louis saying something of an epiphany while during his Grease days (which reminded me of the Vanessa Hudgens' Austin Butler/Elvis epiphany).

One of my favourite moments was of Louis with his team on the yacht. The beautiful visuals, the chill, seeing some of the food, the band sharing their thoughts about Louis.

I heard Oli and Chris Frewin talking full sentences for the first time, and Oli's voice is not as I imagined and I understood him easier than I do Louis.

Louis has had to overcome his emotions and outside obstacles over his entire career. The documentary shows us the bumpy ride, from getting picked on Xfactor but dismissed and feeling insignificant, then overcoming that by contributing with his songwriting. He was shattered by the break, feeling lost on his career path, the family tragedies, then it's years to make his debut album, only for his tour to be hit by Covid, then tour starts again and his career is eventually on a roll. We already know the history but it's seen with some new insights. His Mum truly raised a man of good character.

The teary eyes didn't make me emotional for a few reasons and didn't make me change my mind because I've been here from the start of this stunt. Louis could've spent so much time between 2016-now (like during XFactor Judges), and especially during the lockdown with the kid but he didn't. Not even the dangerous Californian bushfires inspired Louis to visit the kid, and his team was like no comment on an article.

The scenes with the kid were cute but a bit awkward, and it raised more questions for me. Like why is Oli ALWAYS with them? Why didn't his family travel to America to see him more often if they miss him? Why does he hardly visit the UK, and only for the last 2 Christmases and the only clue of it was via the same pic we saw already posted by one of the sisters? Why is there a lack of unseens of Louis or his family with the kid from between 2016-2021? And the only baby pics were the ones taken in 2016 and already overused in the tabloids.

And my Dude, if 'it gets harder to leave the kid every time' and you get teary eyed talking about it, you should've gotten a lawyer to get full custody, or at least 50/50 years ago. Why does Louis need to travel 20 hours each time to LA for such little time with his own child? Also why none of his American family were with him backstage after the LA concert, just this other kid friend and a guardian (and remember the 'grandparents' and 'uncle' were there but sat separately from him, and potentially had to buy their own tickets to the concert).

It's funny hearing Louis being called both Lou-ee and Lew-is (Doncaster v non Doncaster people).

Given the amount of time I saw Oli and Louis spend with the kid and how they both interacted with him, it would not surprise me if it was later revealed that Oli was the Dad. That would explain why Oli hasn't spend more time in America with him, how the child hardly visits his family in the UK, why he hasn't hired a lawyer for better custody arrangements, because remember people, Oli's only on a PA's salary. And what the hell was that place Louis and Oli were supposedly staying at with the kid. Total opposite of the infinity pool house.

And after I heard Charlie talk twice about the filming having been organic, natural, not set up, etc and watching the 2 sections of the stunt in the docu, it just felt the opposite. Charlie was definitely trolling when he said that. And honestly for me, if these sections with the kid weren't in the film, it would not have been missed because Louis' own grandparents, siblings and childhood friends confirmed to us Louis' love for family and his personal journey. It defiantly felt like filming the kid was an afterthought, rather than preplanned or in the vision Louis or Charlie had in 2019.

Sadly no new insights about either broken arm incidents, no Louis hair and skincare discussions with Krystle, no fashion discussions with Helen, and no Clifford.

They celebrated Steve's birthday too hard in Iceland. His band is funny especially Matt. Mark Gillespie was seen backstage at Louis' LA show.

Familiar frequent flyer 'fans' were interviewed.

Louis loves his Louies, and his whole team appreciate us too.

There was only English subtitles for us. No local language because it was probably not worth translating for a limited screening that could only be used in 1 country.

I left feeling exhausted and heavy hearted seeing his journey, and very proud of Louis for how he kept going to where he is now, and how he has stayed a sweet person, and happy seeing he is surrounded by good people now. It's clear that Louis is loved and respected by those closest to him. As a One Direction fan and Louie, I enjoyed and appreciated this documentary.

This documentary is about a journey, and not a blockbuster, exposé film.

Now I feel so super ready for the tour to start because seeing Louis in concert again makes me miss those loud and fun times.

And remember, Louis is only getting started ...

(22 March 2023)

[hall-of-fame-guy]

WWE Hall of Fame class of 1994

Gorilla Monsoon started his wrestling career in 1958 as Gino Marella and would work for various different territories and company like Toronto, St Louis, Calgary and Japan. He later changed his ring name to his most famous and well known name, Gorilla Monsoon.

Monsoon became friends with late Vince Sr in 1963 after the WWWF was formed and he gotten a quarter of WWWF shares and booking power for WWWF in several places while going for Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Championship.

Monsoon won his first WWWF title with Killer Kowalski as WWWF United States Tag Team Champion

Monsoon won the IWA World title in 1968 and turned babyface in 1969 when he save Bruno from an attack and turned back heel for a short period in 1977 to feud with Andre The Giant.

Monsoon was involved in the infamous segment with the boxing legend, the late hall of famer Muhammad Ali in 1976 for Ali by giving Ali an airplane spin. Monsoon faced Hulk Hogan who was then a heel, on Jun 16, 1980.

Gorilla Monsoon would retire from in ring action in 1982 where Vince Jr transitioned him to commentary where he was known as the Voice of WWF during the Expansion year, always calling match with Jesse " The Body" Ventura and later with his friend and having an onscreen love-hate relationship with the late Bobby " The Brain" Heenan from Prime Time Wrestling to the early years of Monday Night Raw.

Monsoon step down as lead commentator for Jim Ross at WrestleMania 9 in 1993 and did appear from time to time on the commentary booth if needed. Monsoon called his final PPV at 1994 Survivor Series and he became an onscreen "president" for WWF in the summer of 1995, replacing the late Jack Tunney

Monsoon would retire from his onscreen position as "president" in 1997 due to health issues and appear on WrestleMania 15 as a judge for "Brawl for All" in 1999

Gorilla Monsoon was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1994 by his former tag partner, Killer Kowalski and passed away on Oct 6th, 1999 at the age of 62 due to heart failure, stemming from diabetes

Accolades:

1x IWA World Heavyweight Championship

2x WWF United States Tag Team Championship

2x WWA World Tag Team Championship

2x WWC North American Heavyweight Championship

WWE Hall of Fame class of 1994

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame class of 2010

[alltheselights]

Hey Emma, so I'm really struggling with this bg bullshit. I'm at a point where I can't excuse this behavior anymore. The kid was flown out for the second year in a row to spend xmas with strangers in a foreign country. I'm sure he is treated completely well but it's still so shitty. And what's worse is that I totally believe it was Louis' request. Every reason I can come up with for bg still going on ends up falling short.

Contract? - get a good lawyer and get yourself out of this mess or breach the contract and face the consequences

Closet? - that's what eleanor is for and if eleanor wants out get a new low key one instead of using a child, or better yet don't even have one. I think 10 years of stunting is more than enough to cement your closet

Career - it's doing absolutely nothing for his career so this one makes less than zero sense to me

Harry's career and popularity? - this one I think is the least likely but if it's a contributing factor I think it's incredibly unhealthy and shitty for harry to be okay with it and for louis to be this self sacrificing

All this being a means to an end? - I can sort of get this one but also think it's wholly unnecessary and stupid

If you had to guess and based on your gut what do you think is the most likely reason for it still going on?

Also on a side note, I think it's difficult for fans to not have certain expectations and hopes and dreams when it comes to Harry and Louis (both individually and together) and it's just really upsetting and frustrating to watch things unfold in certain ways when you know in your gut things could be SO different and SO much better if only other choices where made.

Anyway sorry for this long message. Appreciate you even reading it. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I won't pretend to understand it and at this point, I don't think it's for us to understand. What I do know is that it's not doing Louis any favors with the general public or his fandom. I'd say like 70 percent of the fandom hates it (and not just Larries - I've seen many solos, including those that think he's a dad, who are tired of his personal life being promoted more than his music) and the rest may think the photos are cute, but they wouldn't miss it if it was gone either.

Louis' life and career continue to be baffling to me - and not in a way where dismissing everything I've seen and starting to believe he is in fact a dad and dating Eleanor would make it any less baffling. In my opinion, it's bizarre and disjointed and makes very little sense whether you believe the public narrative or not. His words frequently don't align with his actions or the actions of those around him. His successes continue to be owed almost entirely to massive efforts by fans, not efforts by his team. His personal life continues to be pushed at the expense of his music. None of these things help him.

And so, the mysteries continue and we just have to watch. I try not to let myself get angry or upset about it because I just don't have the energy anymore and there's really no point. Quite frankly, I think the "fans" who wait for things like this to happen and immediately unleash vitriol toward Louis and talk about how he's chose this life and deserves it and is a bad person and a flop should walk away from the fandom. I don't know why people like that are still pretending to be a fan of his if they think he's a terrible person.

We don't actually know any of these people and we don't know the motivation for any of the choices they make. I won't pretend that I like seeing any of this stuff either, but I have the ability to recognize that Louis is making choices in a context that I don't and never will know. We may not like or understand his closet, we may think all of this is unnecessary, we may think all of this is hurting him, we may think it's gross, and we may be right about some or all of that - but his closet and life are his, not ours. It's easy to judge from the outside.

I will always love Louis and hope that he will one day be able to live the life that he deserves, but I can't make it happen for him. So I'll enjoy his music, I'll believe what I believe, and I'll hope that one day, he will have the life he deserves. That's all any of us can do.

[beardedmrbean]

A Missouri inmate convicted of ambushing and killing a St. Louis area police officer he blamed in the death of his younger brother was scheduled to be executed Tuesday, barring a last-minute intervention.

Kevin Johnson’s legal team doesn’t deny that he killed Officer William McEntee in 2005, but contended in an appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court that he was sentenced to death in part because he is Black. But in a 5-2 ruling late Monday, the state Supreme Court denied a stay.

The U.S. Supreme Court also declined a stay request last week, and Gov. Mike Parson on Monday announced he would not grant clemency.

“The violent murder of any citizen, let alone a Missouri law enforcement officer, should be met only with the fullest punishment state law allows,” Parson, a Republican and a former county sheriff, said in a statement. “Through Mr. Johnson’s own heinous actions, he stole the life of Sergeant McEntee and left a family grieving, a wife widowed, and children fatherless. Clemency will not be granted.”

It wasn’t immediately clear if other appeals were planned. A message left early Tuesday with Johnson’s lawyer was not immediately returned.

Johnson, 37, faces execution Tuesday evening at the state prison in Bonne Terre. He would be the second Missouri man put to death in 2022 and the 17th nationally.

McEntee, 43, was a 20-year veteran of the police department in Kirkwood, a St. Louis suburb. The father of three was among the officers sent to Johnson’s home on July 5, 2005, to serve a warrant for his arrest. Johnson was on probation for assaulting his girlfriend, and police believed he had violated probation.

Johnson saw officers arrive and awoke his 12-year-old brother, Joseph “Bam Bam” Long, who ran to a house next door. Once there, the boy, who suffered from a congenital heart defect, collapsed and began having a seizure.

Johnson testified at trial that McEntee kept his mother from entering the house to aid his brother, who died a short time later at a hospital.

That same evening, McEntee returned to the neighborhood to check on unrelated reports of fireworks being shot off. A court filing from the Missouri attorney general’s office said McEntee was in his car questioning three children when Johnson shot him through the open passenger-side window, striking the officer’s leg, head and torso. Johnson then got into the car and took McEntee’s gun.

The court filing said Johnson walked down the street and told his mother that McEntee “let my brother die” and “needs to see what it feels like to die.” Though she told him, “That’s not true,” Johnson returned to the shooting scene and found McEntee alive, on his knees near the patrol car. Johnson shot McEntee in the back and in the head, killing him.

Johnson’s lawyers have previously asked the courts to intervene for other reasons, including a history of mental illness and his age — 19 — at the time of the crime. Courts have increasingly moved away from sentencing teen offenders to death since the Supreme Court in 2005 banned the execution of offenders who were younger than 18 at the time of their crime.

But a broader focus of appeals has been on alleged racial bias. In October, St. Louis Circuit Judge Mary Elizabeth Ott appointed a special prosecutor to review the case. The special prosecutor, E.E. Keenan, filed a motion earlier this month to vacate the death sentence, stating that race played a “decisive factor” in the death sentence.

Ott declined to set aside the death penalty.

Keenan told the state Supreme Court that former St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch’s office handled five cases involving the deaths of police officers during his 28 years in office. McCulloch sought the death penalty in the four cases involving Black defendants, but did not seek death in the one case where the defendant was white, the file said.

Assistant Attorney General Andrew Crane responded that “a fair jury determined he deserves the death penalty.”

McCulloch does not have a listed phone number and could not be reached for comment.

Johnson’s 19-year-old daughter, Khorry Ramey, had sought to witness the execution, but a state law prohibits anyone under 21 from observing the process. Courts have declined to step in on Ramey’s behalf.

The U.S. saw 98 executions in 1999 but the number has dropped dramatically in recent years. Missouri already has two scheduled for early 2023. Convicted killer Scott McLaughlin is scheduled to die on Jan. 3, and convicted killer Leonard Taylor’s execution is set for Feb. 7.

[vividxp]

Part 3 of Liveblogging my second watch of IWTV Ep 5 because I need to process and get it all out

Part 1

Part 2

So the reveal that Claudia has been trying unsuccessfully to turn humans into vampires. She demands for Lestat make her one, otherwise she’s going to go and find other vampires. 

Louis finally gets angry at Lestat and tells him to shut the fuck up. Like dude, same. Like is Lestat right that other vampires are most likely bad news? Probably. Is he still being shitty? Yes. Like...his resentment of Claudia is pure and strong. He really has deluded himself into blaming her for the downfall of his relationship with Louie. The delusion is powerful. Everyone knows this isn’t true, everyone knows Louis straight up left him...that as much as Lestat wants to blame Claudia for ruining things, it was Claudia who managed to salvage scraps out of the burning trash heap of their relationship. And what does Claudia get in return? An eternity of horrors.

Claudia asks Louis again, “He treats us like shit and you take it, why is that?”

Girl, I’d like to know too.

The reveal that Antoinette is still in the picture is shocking to me. Like what the fuck is so special about her that she’s still in the picture? Is it the fact that Lestat knows that it would hurt Louis? That Louis showed jealousy for the first time over her? 

“He’s gotten tired of us Daddy Lou, the housewife and a mistake”

I will now transcribe my reaction to Lestat daring to open his mouth to speak words after this bomb was dropped. “Shut the fuck up, no seriously, shut the fuck up, don’t even try it. just shut up.” 

And then he’s like “I’ll kill her soon.” Bitch, fuck outta here. The fuck?

Claudia tells Louis to think about his decision to turn her. And I agree with her. Actually you know what, I’m Team Claudia this episode. Like even though she is being reckless, the way that her new family has treated her has been bad and I commend her trying to make something out of her situation. 

Louis’s examples of explanations for his actions were all bad. “Vampires were born out of trauma”. Yeah, but like she said, she could have lived if he truly cared about her well being. She could have died. There was a line that Lestat says at the end of the episode and it rings devastatingly true “it was never you”. It was never about Claudia it really wasn’t. That’s the tragedy. 

Daniel telling Louis that he and Lestat are boring and annoying and that Claudia’s story is what’s going to get the people going. Which judging by reactions so far seems to be correct. I saw someone mention that Daniel’s remark that "once you put it out there, they decide what it is” is something that fans have to keep in mind when viewing this episode.

I absolutely disagree with that sentiment. IMO this feels like a meta commentary on the writers themselves. Are we not seeing exactly what Daniel is saying play out? Whatever the writers’ intentions were with this episode, viewers are deciding what is it for better or worse. This self awareness does make me believe that the writers know what they’re doing with this turbulent ride of the episode. I don’t know how they’re going to be able to land the plane but I’m willing to see the attempt.

We’re getting to the halfway mark of the episode. I think this is a good spot to end this for now. 

[anne-i-write]

moriarty the patriot headcannons

| requested by anon: “uhhh kinda weird lmao but how would the moriarty bros react to an s/o from the future? (Headcanons) thanks! OwO” |

william x reader; louis x reader; albert x reader

word count: 1355

tw: a few swears, if i’m missing any please let me know!

a/n: i’m so sorry that these are coming out so slow please enjoy!

william: 317 words

please

as soon as you wake up he’ll be staring at you intently

“where am i?”

“durham, england, 1880… and in my room”

it takes you like ten minutes to process everything that’s going on because: “i’m dreaming right??? or did i actually shift???

after finally accepting the fact you indeed did not shift and are not dreaming, you finally looked at the man who had stayed silent during your incoherent ramblings

“you seem more awake now, is it alright if i ask a few questions?”

hhh he’s such a gentleman

you both honestly take this whole time shift thing really well

louis definitely walks in on you two and he’s like,,

“who tf are you and how did you get in”

sdjkfhd pls its so funny when you guys converse

his speaking manner is so refined and yours is just,, yours

but he loves it

he thinks its cute

he comes up with a story for you because there were people who were no doubt going to question how you came into his life

and from there you two hit it off really well

accidentally said you two were to be wed during a conversation and the nobles went insane

when you are on the carriage ride back from the party he apologizes for saying something so out of line

“i wouldn’t mind being married to you, william.”

this man always has something to say but THIS

YOU

he wanted to respond with something witty but you just,, existed and made him melt

“let’s go buy a ring tomorrow then.”

asks you questions about the future

only trivial things, never if his plan works in the long term

but judging by the way you talk about your previous life he can tell that everyone is somewhat equal, except for “the dumbass politicians” you speak about

oh did i mention he picks up your swears too LMAO

louis: 459 words

 he’s heading back to his room when you come OUT of his room

“who tf are you, how did you get into this house, and why are you here”

instant kill mode

you think you’re dreaming so you’re like,, ok cool and you tell him most of your life story and he’s like

??????

has never been more dumbfounded in his life

who is this person and what are they wearing and why are they telling me their life story

eventually the rest of the moriarty team gets involved and matters are settled lmao

you all agree that staying in the manor is the best course of action at the moment

louis thinks you’re taking this a little too well so he’s still a little sus of you

like seriously,, the future?? cmon now

the people you’re working for probably made those weird clothes for you

but anyways

you’re helping him clean the house and cook

“this is fun,,, but honestly?? if i have to do this by myself everyday i would cry”

you keep saying this and you know it’s getting annoying for louis but he ISNT TALKING

if you can’t beat em, annoy em

finally gives in

“how did you used to wash clothes in the future?”

and you get this big smile on your face and you start TALKING

you’re so excited that he finally spoke to you

even tho you know you lowkey annoyed him

but you’re talking and louis is like,, huh

you’re talkative, but not annoying at all

you have little stories that make him laugh sometimes

needless to say you both get closer

but it isn’t until one night louis is making rounds around the manor that he passes by your room and hears crying

so he’s worried and he goes into your room

bruh you try pulling that shit where you wipe away your tears and be like “oh i’m okay!”

like,, no u aren’t

louis makes you spill what’s bothering you

“my friends, my family… are they okay? are they looking for me?? they must be so worried”

note that you’ve already been at the moriarty estate for about two months without any word that you can return to your own time

and louis holds you

he teaches you more about the year that you’re currently stuck in and he tries to take your mind off of the bad things

asks william to buy more books to indulge you bc you have some book withdrawals bc “WHAT DO YOU MEAN A TALE FOR THE TIME BEING HASNT BEEN PRINTED YET” followed by a short crying session

he’s a really good boyfriend

you taught him what a boyfriend was and he couldn’t stop thinking about how much society’s view on relationships changed

albert: 579 words

is walking down the streets at night when he sees you barreling down the road in your clothes

you look pretty scathed when you run right into him

“are you alright?”

you’re scared and out of breath but he’s wearing what you can only assume is a uniform of england

he takes you to his place and tries to calm you down

he asks you questions and you tell him everything straight out

you know you look crazy but you couldn’t bring yourself to care

you were just walking back from a friend’s place IN BROAD DAYLIGHT and you felt dizzy and you woke up alone in a dark alleyway

“where are you from?”

you obviously give him your city but he corrects himself

“what year are you from?”

“2019”

doesn’t want to believe you bc you’re all frantic and maybe insane

but your clothes just seem to different for him to brush off the possibility

tells you to sleep it off and gives you his bed

he’s already writing a letter to his brothers that he’s possibly coming back with someone

“ohoho brother albert has a suitor now?”

anyways, albert asks you more questions about your other life as you’re both on the train to durham

albert went out to buy you more fitting clothes before leaving and you couldn’t even repay him

but he tries to get you in a comfortable position so you don’t spiral again

but he’s genuinely nice about it when he finally accepts the fact that you are in fact from the future

funny enough, you both don’t get each others names until you get onto the train

“oh, my name is albert james moriarty”

and you’re briefly like “oh like sherlock’s nemesis” but then you remember that this is only the victorian era

sherlock holmes doesn’t exist, it’s just a coincidence

so you both get to the manor and he introduces you to the moriarty team and this is where you’re like,,

oh my God

this is real and i know the ending

you suddenly want to travel back further in time and never meet them bc they’re all really sweet towards you

and you got attached to them more than you should have

albert notices you’re a little tense so he makes small conversation to get your mind off of things

“i do like to play the piano”

bro

they have a piano delivered to the house to make you feel more comfortable and hopefully keep you occupied

itching and nostalgic (ironic), you play songs from rachmaninoff and joe hisaishi, despite it being from the future

everyone knows chopin so shhh

“that’s beautiful, did you compose that?”

“no, but another composer did, i don’t even think he exists yet”

you’re very adamant on keeping things the same

like,, no i’m not going to tell you how to create a washing machine because i don’t want to mess up the timeline if i do go back to the future

you do get very sad occasionally because you are homesick and being placed in a world where you have only heard stories of is very disorienting

but albert and the boys make up for it

albert always tries to be by your side and if he can get his hands on a piano sheet he’ll buy one for you and see if you already know it

it’s always nice to have them around, but you know the troubles you’ll eventually have to face

moriarty the patriot taglist: @zoehanji

[96thdayofrage]

Kim Gardner has endured death threats, racial slurs and the relentless opposition of the police union as she tries to keep her election promise and remake the justice system. The first African-American to be elected top prosecutor in St. Louis says she's not backing down. Bill Whitaker reports on Gardner's attempts to reform the justice system in one of America's most divided cities on the next edition of 60 Minutes, Sunday, March 14 at 7 p.m. ET, 4 p.m. PT on CBS.

The Black Lives Matter movement has deep roots in St. Louis. The city has one of the highest rates of police shootings in the country, and Black mistrust of police runs deep. In 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed Black teen was shot dead by a White police officer in a nearby suburb of St. Louis. Since then, protesters have clashed repeatedly with police. Gardner was swept into office by a landslide last November with her promise to hold police to account. Since she's been on the job, she's received hate mail, and her family has been threatened.

"I was sent emails and that said I should be hung up by a tree by the KKK," says Gardiner.

Whitaker reads some of the hate mail aloud. "'I hope people destroy your neighborhood, threaten your family. What do you think when you open up your mail and you have something like this? Some of these are death threats. Does that frighten you?" asks Whitaker.

"I signed up for this. But what frightens me is now that it's calls to my family, and I'm afraid that a loved one may be harmed because I took this job," says Gardner.

Gardner has tangled often with the city's powerful police union. In 2017, after another White officer was acquitted of murdering a Black man, Gardner proposed an independent team investigate all police shootings. The union lobbied City Hall to torpedo her reforms. "We work well with everyday police officers, every day. But what we have is a police union who basically injects fear and misinformation in the police department," says Gardner.

Gardner became so frustrated, she took the unprecedented action of suing the police union and the city of St Louis, using the Reconstruction-era Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, to claim a racist conspiracy was preventing her from doing her job. A judge called the suit "a compilation of personal slights" and dismissed it.

"She's a prosecutor that wants to second guess everything law enforcement does," says Jeff Roorda, the public face of the police union. "And find fault when there's no fault to find… she's no partner with law enforcement."

Roorda, a former suburban police officer who was fired from his job in 2001 for falsifying a police report, calls himself a "proud" critic of Gardner. And he's not alone. State Republican lawmakers have tried to strip Gardner of her authority.

But Gardner says she won't stop. "It's about the will of the people. And the people of City of St. Louis overwhelmingly voted me in to do my job to reform a system that we all know is beyond repair. It needs to be dismantled and rebuilt," she says. "We as law enforcement have to hear the cries for help in the community and deliver. And that's why I'm not going to back down. That's why I'm not going kiss the ring of the status quo to keep it a certain way," she tells Whitaker.

[ibelieveinharrystyles]

Chapter Six: Empty Words and Emptier Promises

Ashley stared at the clock, the taxi to take her to the court was due to arrive in a matter of minutes, and yet Harry was nowhere to be seen, when she told him about the new date for the trial he promised he’d be by her side. But here she was, sitting alone on her sofa, she heard her doorbell ring, meaning the taxi driver had arrived, she was still managing to hide the bump, knowing there would be members of the press loitering outside trying to get a good picture. If Ashley was completely honest, she still hadn’t told Harry about the baby, even though she was almost five months pregnant, even when lockdown measures eased Harry still didn’t come back home. Ashley wasn’t stupid, she knew where he was because she followed dozens of fans on twitter, she knew full well he was having a nice time in Italy. Lottie was looking after Daisy, and Lou had agreed to meet Ashley at court, she had also been called as a witness, seeing as she was the one who found Ashley lying on the floor in the first place. Without the support of Lou, Lottie and Louis, Ashley had no clue where she’d be by now, they were the only people who knew about the baby, even when her mum came to London for Daisy’s birthday, she couldn’t tell her. Compared to Daisy’s pregnancy she felt so disconnected, she had been to all the necessary scans, but she didn’t feel the glow, she didn’t feel the joy, she just felt alone.

As she had expected there were several members of the press waiting outside the court, although neither Ashley or Harry had publicly confirmed their relationship, most people had worked it out. Ashley climbed out of the taxi, ensuring her top effectively concealed her baby bump. Lou was there to meet her, welcoming her with open arms. The pair made their way up the stairs and into the court building, “So Harry’s a no show then?” Lou asked.

“Yep, I’ve been texting him all week, as far as I was aware he was going to be here today.” Ashley explained.

“Oh Ash, I’m so sorry, how’s things with you and the baby?”

“Fine, I almost feel like it's not real, Harry still doesn’t know.” Ashley told her.

“When do you think you’ll tell him?” Lou asked.

“When he decides to show up.”

“Hello stranger,” Ashley looked over her shoulder to see both Louis and Niall, she half expected Louis to come, but seeing Niall provided an added sense of relief, “Lou thought you might need some moral support.” Niall told her.

“You have no idea how glad I am to see you both,” Ashley told them, “I know it’s a big thing for you both to come, so it truly means the world to me.”

“Ash, we’ve been mates for ten years, that counts for something.” Louis assured her.

“Try telling Harry that.” Ashley replied.

“Is he not coming?” Niall asked.

“He’s sunning it up in Italy,” Ashley remarked bitterly, as Will and his barrister walked past the group.

“There goes the man of the hour,” Niall muttered.

“I swear if I’d been there I would’ve decked him,” Louis told them discreetly.

The trial was well in progress and Ashley had finally been called to the stand, as she stepped up to the box she looked up at Louis, Niall and Lou. “I swear that the evidence I give today shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” she read from the sheet.

“Thank you, Miss Hanson you’re in a relationship with Mr Harry Styles aren’t you?” The barrister asked.

“I mean I’m not really sure what relevance that has,” Ashley told him.

“It’s relevant Miss Hanson, when did your dalliances with Mr Styles start?” He continued.

“December last year.”

“When you were still in a relationship with my client Mr Clarkson?”

“We kissed two weeks before Will attacked me,” Ashley told him.

“Did it ever go further than that?” He asked.

“No, not when I was with Will.” Ashley replied.

“So, do you not think it was expected for Will to be angry that his partner of a year cheated on him with a global megastar?”

“I don’t really see how Harry’s success and wealth have any relevance, and I don’t understand how you can try and blame me for Will’s actions,” Ashley told him, “You seem to be trying to justify his unlawful beating of a woman, by the fact that whilst I was in an unloving relationship I was in love with another man, who yes on several occasions I met up in secret with. But last time I checked, nothing I have ever done with Harry has been illegal.”

“Are you pregnant Miss Hanson?” He asked her abruptly.

“How the fuck do they know about that?” Louis whispered to Lou.

Ashley remained silent, “I’ll ask the question again, are you pregnant Miss Hanson?” Will’s barrister asked.

“Yes I am, not that I see how that's relevant, and that information stays within this courtroom, if me or our legal team hear of that information being leaked to the press you will be sued for every last penny you have.”

“And when was the baby conceived?” He asked.

“February.”

“Are you completely sure of that?” The barrister asked.

“Well I know when I had sex with my boyfriend, and I also got an A in A Level biology so I know how the reproductive system works.”

“No further questions, your honour,” The barrister told Ashley.

All the witnesses had been called and the jury were busy making their verdict, Ashley sat in between Niall and Louis. “It’s going to be okay Ash, they can’t let him get off.” Niall assured her. The jury promptly returned and took their seats, “Could the foreman of the jury please rise?” The judge declared, “On the count of grievous bodily harm do you find the defendant Will Clarkson guilty or not guilty?”

The pause felt like an eternity, Ashley was on edge, Niall took hold of her hand, holding it tight, “Guilty.” The foreman announced, tears streamed from Ashley’s eyes as she let out an overwhelmed sigh of relief.

“We said it would all work out didn’t we?” Louis whispered, wrapping an arm around her.

“Mr Clarkson, you will serve a minimum sentence of twelve months, when you are released, the restraining order, preventing you from any contact with Miss Hanson or her daughter. Take him down.” The judge said.

“I can’t believe it’s finally over,” Ashley whispered, watching as Will was taken down to the holding area.

“You were incredible Ash,” Lou told her.

“You really were, how about we all go for drinks to celebrate?” Louis suggested.

“Not sure if that’s the best idea,” Ashley replied, gesturing to her bump. “But Lottie’s back at mine looking after Daisy, we could go back and join them, order in a takeaway like the old days?”

“That is an incredible idea,” Niall declared, throwing an arm around Ashley’s shoulder before the group made their way out of the building.

Back at Ashley’s house everyone was sitting in the living room, watching Daisy as she performed a new dance that she had been perfecting, Ashley stood at the island in the kitchen, organising all the food that had been delivered from the chinese takeaway. “Anything I can do to help?” Niall asked, appearing at the door.

“If you could just unwrap those few things and take them into the kitchen you’d be a lifesaver.” Ashley smiled, gesturing to the untouch carrier bag.

“So how are things going with our dear Harold?” Niall asked.

“I never know what's going on with him Niall, he promised me he would come back for the trial, he knew exactly when it was, he also missed Daisy’s fourth birthday, and I haven’t had the chance to tell him about the baby.” Ashley explained.

“How come you haven’t told him?” Niall continued.

“It didn’t seem right to tell him over facetime, and I don’t have a clue how to tell him, I know he wants a family more than anything, but whenever gets on tour I will effectively be a single parent.” Ashley explained.

“I’m so sorry Ash, it’s a shit situation, but I think there’s more than enough love between you two to make things work, and besides, now his schedule is way less busy than when we were touring as a band, he’ll put in the effort to make it work for you both.” Niall assured her.

“I’m worried though, if you were Harry, would you have handled it how he has?” Ashley replied.

“Probably not Ash, but you know what he’s like, sometimes he likes to work things out in his own space.” Niall replied.

“I just wanted him there more than anything Niall.” Ashley sighed, glancing at the photobooth pictures of them from his 21st birthday that sat in a frame on the window sill, Niall proceeded to take a couple of the plates into the living room as Ashley picked up the frame. “Come back to me H.” She whispered, looking up at the amber sunset.

February 2015

“Happy birthday Harry!” Ashley slurred as she entered the venue, stumbling with each step.

“Hey there Ash, I’ve got you love.” Harry smiled, taking hold of both her arms. The party had only been going for a couple of hours and Ashley was already very much plastered.

“You’re amazing Harry, I love you loads.” Ashley smiled, placing a kiss on his cheek, she looked up at him, moving to kiss him on the lips.

“You don’t want to do that Ash, not while you’re drunk.” Harry insisted, moving out of her way, “Come on, let’s grab you some water instead.”

“I don’t deserve you Harry, you’re too pure for this world.”

***

Harry was restless, he stood on the balcony of his room, staring at the starry skies of Italy, over thinking all the mistakes he’d made in the last four months. He felt dreadful for not being at the trial, he didn’t even know what the outcome was, Ashley hadn’t called or texted to let him know. He dialled her number quickly before he had the time to change his mind, she answered pretty quickly. “Hey baby.” He whispered, holding to his ear.

“Hey.” She replied softly.

“How did it go today?” Harry asked, knowing he had let her down.

“He got twelve months.” Ashley told him, cradling her baby bump as she snacked on a pot of cookie dough ice cream.

“That’s good isn’t it?” Harry replied.

“It was pretty shit actually H, his barrister tore our relationship to pieces,” Ashley sighed, “We haven’t publicly addressed the rumours so I assumed Will filled him in on everything, but he knew stuff that only a handful of people were aware of.” Ashley told him, meaning the baby.

“Like what?” Harry asked.

“Nothing really, just little things.” She told him, “When are you coming home H?”

Harry paused, if he was honest, he didn’t have a clue, “Soon baby, I promise.”

“That’s what you said last time H, I haven’t seen you since February, I needed you there today.” her voice began to wobble as tears formed in her eyes.

“I know love, my head’s been a bit all over the place, I needed to get out of the city.” Harry explained, holding his head in his hand.

“Harry you were in LA for three months, thats a fucking massive city.” Ashley told him angrily, “Ever since we went into lockdown I’ve been picking up the pieces of what you left behind, for two months the only person I’ve had contact with has been Daisy, who is now four, in case you had forgotten that.”

“I know I’ve been stupid Ash, I’ll make it up to you both I promise.” Harry replied, his voice now wobbling too.

“Don’t make empty promises we both know you can’t keep.” Ashley sobbed, “I don’t know if I can do this anymore H, you mean the world to me and it’s tearing me up inside. I’m not sure if I can be that person.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she told him the cold hard truth.

“Don’t say that Ash, please don’t do this.” Harry replied.

“Let me go H, please just let me go.” Ashley whispered, she ended the call, the phone slipping straight from her hand, she was broken, they were broken.

[randomnameless]

Do you think 3H is a critic of various political systems? Feudalism, Meritocracy and Theology?

Answering this old ask because something popped out in the replies of a post -

Just like FE16 is NOT a critic of feudalism, it is not criticising theocracy nor meritocracy.

Of course we, as players, know what can go wrong and/or how fast it can go wrong with those regimes.

But FE isn’t a Civ game, it doesn’t promote a regime over another.

FE, is, at heart, a franchise where good guys almost always have to return to their rightful throne to rightfully rule over randoms who are happy to see them return, because they were mistreated by an evil empire/ an evil sect / an evil dragon.

It has been pointed out regarding FE16, but I remember an earlier discussion we had with friends about Jugdral, FE is irrigated by the “Mandate of Heaven” concept. It is not Louis’s divine right to rule, but the contrary. If the people want you, then you have to be their ruler - fit in those shoes whether you want it or not. Of course the “traditional” Lord wants to fit in those shoes, and be a good ruler to his/her randoms, that is, get rid of Bandits (tm), make sure there are no wars and no asshat who wants to conquer the land.

FE10!Elincia is widely regarded to be a compassionate and a good Queen for Crimea, but Brom and Nephenie (two peasants) do not elect a representative to form a parliamentary house to balance Elincia’s powers. Crimea is a monarchy, yes, and we dgaf about it.

Meritocracy? FE also doesn’t care about it.

One could say Ike earnt his “noble status” in FE9 because of his talent and swordskill but 1/ he ditches it when it’s too much work 2/ he doesn’t care about it 3/ we’re talking about the man who “inherited” his Father’s mercenary company not because of his skill, but because it was his Father’s mercenary company. The only ones who complain are a racist and a skirt chaser so we’re not supposed to take them seriously.

Meritocracy in Jugdral? No, of course not. Absolutely not! Seliph and Leif are destined to rule over people and lands, but through their journey, they have to learn about what it takes to be a good ruler and not fall in the pitfalls of their fathers. Jugdral’s lords (FE lords?) are destined to rule, they can’t decide to fig off, and in Leif’s case, he isn’t the best suited to rule because he isn’t as awesome as other people (or so he thinks!). But the Lord has to pull through and become a good/worthy leader (worthy of the mandate) and usher in his/her ending card an era of peace.

Ephraim learns the lesson in the later half of FE8. Hector does too when Uther kicks the bucket.

I know FE16 tries to paint a certain conflict with meritocracy, just like Ashnard did. But Ashnard turned his brother in law in a mindless beast to mount him, ditched his wife when she couldn’t transform in a dragon and couldn’t give a fuck about his son since he wasn’t OP at birth. We are not supposed to care about Ashnard’s ideals, and even if street rats like Sothe and the Dawn Brigade seem to miss him, they don’t understand who they’re talking about (and the guy is dead!). Reyson shot Ashnard’s ideals in their battle quote. Elincia did too. Sothe (kid?) and the nostalgia surrounding Ashnard is only used to show what Begnion does is awful because people miss the crazy war mongerer, but also, that Tellius Twitter doesn’t exist, so no, Leonardo, Kid!Sothe and Nolan doesn’t know Rajaion isn’t a big wyvern.

However, in FE16, it is raised again as a solution against systemic corruption, but again with this game, the localisation/direction went completely off the rockers.

Localised!Hanneman seems to preach how meritocracy and nobility always sucked because it keeps low-born people down.

However, @garlandgerard pointed out, OG!Hanneman doesn’t judge as harshly nobility. OG!Hanneman strives to be a “good noble”, nobility or what it entailed is not completely rotten to the core, but some people use the concept of “nobility” to, well, be rotten to the core.

Just like Begnion Senators abused their privileges to be slave traders, or marry women against their consent, or kept humans as pets, etc etc. No one in FE10 says the Senate sucks because Senator sucks.

Localised!Hanneman doesn’t reach the same conclusion, because some nobles are asshats, nobility sucks. Judith sucks, not because of her actions, but because she is a noble, unless Judith is one of the “good ones” Hanneman mentions how nobility “often” is used to keep people down - but then goes on dismissing it entirely calling it “nonsense”.

And while part of me just want to say “oh it’s just a localised thing” - it is again another grain of salt in the vase about, say, a localisation team not understanding a game, giving directions completely contrary to its meaning which gives us a half-baked product.

To be clear, I am not saying Meritocracy is the bestest thing ever, or it sucks, not am I saying Empires are cool and/or monarchy is OP.

What I’m saying is, FE doesn’t give a crap about political regimes.

The only mention that could be made is about merchant republics, who are always shat on in the franchise, but that’s all.

[miloqnzh925]

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Explore the world by means of You, Tube travel channels and vlogs Nathan Hutchinson/ Getty Images, The art of travel has actually changed beyond all acknowledgment in the past couple of years. What once cost a fortune and took weeks of preparation can now be recorded on a phone and by booking a flight on the way to the airport. Here's a selection of You, Tube's finest travel channels and vlogs that showcase the imagination the new medium opens to everybody. Travel stories have been shared orally from the earliest days of humankind. Yarns of excellent adventure might have been embellished with the occasional sea beast and one-eyed giant, however even these fanciful accounts had some basis in reality.

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One male making a genuine modification is Phil of Philwaukee fame, who has partnered with the Matador Network for this series. It's fun, loaded with favorable vibes and something we truly wish to see more of. Delving into a classic Volkswagen (VW) van and driving off into the sundown is the things teenage dreams are made from. It's also the truth that this vlog follows, as 2 intrepid visitors intend to go off the grid and find their own adventures around the globe. VW vans obviously have various labels depending upon where you are for Brits, they are understood as camper vans, while Americans call them buses. best travel vlog.

Originally from Australia and now settling into the Los Angeles lifestyle by method of a substantial stay in Shanghai, Jenny Zhou's profession is simply as remarkable as her travel content. There are some great on-location videos on her channel, however as Jenny tries to make it in the acting world, we question how lots of more travel videos we'll get. There's still plenty to check out in the vlogger's back brochure though, and her Shanghai films, in specific, make for fun watching.

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Vlogging has actually ended up being a super popular way for nomads to package up their experiences and share them with the world. On the audience side, they condense an entire mess of details down into a tight little package, in addition to providing a genuine and tangible sense of what a location might be like, assisting you judge whether it's worth a go to or not. But not all vloggers are produced equivalent. To help you arrange the wheat from the chaff, we have actually gathered a list of the 16 finest and most prominent travel vloggers that you need to be following in 2021, particularly if this is the year that you're going to explore the land down under!Max & Lee are an Australian/ Canadian couple and along with their charming Australian Shepherd pet dog Occy, they have excellent enjoyable tape-recording their vlog travel adventures for their substantial 1.

If you're a fan of Van Life, then this video blog is for you. You can get some amazing pointers to help you get your own adventure on the road. It might seem a little arrogant to call yourself The Professional Vagabond, but this is a title that Matthew Karsten has well and really earned - travel documentary. He's been on the road for over eight years, and is showing no sign of slowing down, despite the fact that he's now a daddy. He's acquired over 50,000 subscribers on You, Tube, over 150,000 followers on Instagram, and runs an effective and popular blog site.

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The set have generated almost 300,000 subscribers, and travelled to Australia in 2017, producing videos along the method (vlog). With over 700,000 You, Tube subscribers, British backpacker Ben Brown has made a profession out of feeding his travel addiction by developing an army of eager followers. Ben has travelled all over from the Arctic to Australia and Africa, shooting in an individual, POV style so that you seem like you're right there in amongst the action and when it comes to his most popular upload, in a vehicle crash!Hey, Nadine! This travel blogger is a water fountain of understanding when it pertains to travel ideas, techniques and hacks, offering up a genuine encyclopaedia of valuable content.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

December 4, 2020

Heather Cox Richardson

While coronavirus continues to burn across the country, Trump is focusing instead on continuing to contest the election results and on the Pentagon.

The main story in the country continues to be the coronavirus. As of tonight, according to the New York Times, more than 14,441,700 people in the U.S. have been infected with the virus and at least 278,900 have died. Official daily death counts are well over 2000.

As several states continue to count votes from the November election, President-Elect Joe Biden’s popular vote margin over Trump is now more than 7 million. Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, and Michigan, all states in which Trump contested the vote, have already certified their election results for Biden. In all six of those states, judges have ruled that Trump’s lawyers have provided no evidence of fraud. They have used words like “baseless,” “flimsy,” “obviously lacking,” “dangerous,” and “not credible.”

Trump’s obsession with winning an election he has clearly lost has brought into relief the struggle for control over the Republican Party. Trump is clearly trying to turn the party into a vehicle for loyalty to him and him alone. He has always turned on those who no longer serve his interests: Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions was one of the first elected Republicans to support Trump’s 2016 presidential candidacy, giving it an air of legitimacy. He left the Senate to become Trump’s first Attorney General, only to have Trump turn against him when he recused himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, because he had lied about his own contacts with Russians. Trump forced Sessions to resign, and when Sessions ran again for the Senate, endorsed his rival and attacked Sessions on Twitter. Sessions lost his primary.

Now Trump has turned on men who similarly sacrificed their careers for his. Three days ago, Trump’s loyalist Attorney General, William Barr, undercut Trump’s election fraud arguments when he said that he had not seen such fraud. This apparently so infuriated Trump that he is considering firing Barr. Then, this morning, Trump turned on loyalist Louis DeJoy at the head of the United States Postal Service, who removed mail sorting machines and changed USPS rules to slow mail-in ballots expected to be for Biden. Trump tweeted that the USPS “is responsible for tampering with hundreds of thousands of ballots” and thus stole the election from him. He called the USPS a “long time Democrat stronghold,” although DeJoy is a major Trump supporter and donor.

While Trump is talking about running again in 2024, his turning against his most loyal supporters in the Republican Party will not inspire others to rally to his banner. Instead, it may simply be that he’s keeping the idea of his candidacy alive because it keeps money flowing in. Since the election, he has raised more than $200 million in donations.

While he is fighting over the election results, Trump has done very little else except to replace civilian employees at the Pentagon with his own hand-picked loyalists. This is unusual in a lame duck period, when presidents usually try to smooth the transition to the next administration.

Far from trying to smooth that transition, Trump is making it as bumpy as possible. His appointee at the General Services Administration delayed the start of the transition for weeks. Now that Biden’s team finally has access to Trump’s people to learn about their planning for the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, it turns out there hasn’t been much planning. Biden today noted that “There is no detailed plan that we’ve seen, anyway, as to how you get the vaccine out of a container, into an injection syringe, into somebody’s arm…. It's going to be very difficult for that to be done and it’s a very expensive proposition…. There’s a lot more that has to be done.”

Also disturbing is that the Trump administration has denied the Biden team access to U.S. intelligence agencies that are controlled by the Defense Department, including the National Security Agency (which is the nation’s largest U.S. intelligence service), the Defense Intelligence Agency, and other intelligence services with a global reach. The Biden folks have, though, been able to meet with their counterparts at the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The refusal of the Pentagon to meet with Biden’s people comes at a time when Trump has been shaking up personnel there. Immediately after the election, Trump fired his fourth Defense Secretary, Mark T. Esper, and replaced him with an acting secretary of defense, Christopher C. Miller. Miller, in turn, has presided over the installation of a number of Trump loyalists both in the Pentagon leadership and on the Defense Policy Board, a group of advisors who consult with the Defense Secretary on specific issues when asked. Pushed out were about a dozen advisers, including former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Henry Kissinger, as well as former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

Today, there was another major purge at Defense, this time from the Defense Business Board, a nonpartisan group of about 20 volunteers from the business sector who are appointed to give business advice to Pentagon leaders. The White House threw nine people off the board—informing them with a terse email—including its chair, Michael Bayer. Trump replaced them with his former 2016 campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, and that year’s deputy campaign manager, David Bossie, among other loyalists. Both Lewandowski and Bossie are outspoken Trump supporters who have led the fight to contest the election.

So has another Trump nominee for a Pentagon post, Scott O’Grady, who has endorsed the idea that Trump won by a landslide and that Trump should declare martial law. Trump has nominated him to become an assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, overseeing operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Exactly what Trump is doing with this packing of the Defense Department is unclear. There are, though, three major issues on the table right now that may or may not be involved, but are worth keeping in mind.

The first is that Trump is trying to remove many U.S. troops from around the world before he leaves office, and had gotten serious pushback on that from the people he has now purged from the Defense Department. Today, he ordered nearly all of about 700 U.S. troops out of Somalia, where they have been training local soldiers to hold ground against terrorists. They will not come home, though; they are being sent elsewhere in Africa.

There is also still hanging out there the administration’s sudden announcement of a $23 billion sale of arms to the United Arab Emirates, including a number of advanced F-35 fighter jets and Reaper drones. Lawmakers of both parties object to this sale, concerned about risks to Israel and that the UAE could transfer the technology to China and Russia. The Senate will vote next week on banning the sale.

There is also the effort by the White House to force the Pentagon to lease its airwave spectrum to a private company, Rivada Networks, to create a nationwide 5G network. Rivada is backed by major Republican figures, including operative Karl Rove, but established Pentagon officials have little interest in the project, pointing out that there is no proof that Rivada knows what it’s doing or that the plan would be legal. It’s also not clear that the use of this spectrum for private carriers wouldn’t impact its use for national security. The Defense Department spectrum the White House would like to lease to private investors is worth between $50 and $75 billion.

I always believe in following the money, and that’s especially true now as Trump’s years in the White House, which have given him access to huge sums, are drawing to a close.

—-

[FROM COMMENTS]

Scott M. Krasner

I waver between bewilderment and rage when reading these daily summaries. I can almost "understand" his more political moves - installing loyalists, withdrawing troops, even trying to sell access to the Defense Department's wavebands. I don't agree or condone these actions, but they're consistent with his approach to governance to date.

What's comprehensible is ignoring - in any and every way - the coronavirus and its impact. Unconscionable doesn't begin to describe his failure to acknowledge the deaths of 280,000 Americans, or to endorse any means of protecting each other as best possible. It's inhumane. It's devoid of empathy, morally vacuous, and ethically deplorable. It is unequivocally and unalterably wrong.

And yet 74,000,000 thought it acceptable to return him to office. McConnell has personally obstructed any efforts to extend relief for 8 months and counting. It's Hobbseian in its social brutishness. Even Hobbes might be appalled. And Republican leadership is mute.

I'm almost beyond shock. Since the beginning, many thought each of Trump's transgressions would be the last straw, yet nothing happened. The only apparent imposition of accountability is his having lost the election. Court losses haven't swayed him. Our perverse campaign finance laws have given him license to steal despite the misleading fine print. His Cabinet, always incompetent for the task, is asleep, silent, or in on the game. Each day goes by with no visible effort to limit his efforts to salt the earth in advance of his successor. And Republican leadership ignores or enables him to proceed unhindered.

He's unmoored. He's looking to preemptively pardon family and loyalists who are most likely would be criminally liable but haven't yet been charged. His most ardent supporters are almost insane (read Giuliani and Powell) or seditious (read Flynn and Lin Wood). And still the Republican party watches with bloodless faces and dead eyed stares, saying not a word.

What is one to think? How does one explain this to children? How can one reason with any family, friends, or acquaintances who somehow believe Trump is in the right, brought low only by a grand, silent conspiracy of wrong minded citizens and foreign actors?

Perhaps history can look upon Trump's reign of terror more dispassionately. Today, however, I and many others feel like we're helpless, our minds and sensibilities best represented by the visage of horror in Edvard Munch's The Scream.

*

Linda Mitchell

Hannah Arendt's book (based on her reporting for The New Yorker), "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil" encapsulates the issues TCinLA and the people who posted replies to it raise. I have read only bits of it but what she presents is a picture of evil that is stripped of glamour and that indicts everyone. As she says about Eichmann, "Except for an extraordinary diligence in looking out for his personal advancement, he had no motives at all." If you have access to JSTOR (you can read online for free but not download if you don't have access through a library) there is a great short article in The History Teacher (1981) that discusses Arendt and her book in clear and concise terms. https://www.jstor.org/stable/493684

Miller and most everyone else surrounding the Deranged Cheeto--including the criminal enablers in Congress--fit Arendt's description perfectly. They are not monsters. They are not (most of them) pathological narcissists. They are sterile, unoriginal, uncreative people who have decided that personal advancement through doing terrible things is fine with them. It is actually harder, in our modern world, to be a good person than to be an awful one. Empathy, emotional maturity, awareness, and wisdom all require effort on the part of the individual. One has to engage, one has to become self-aware, one has to be brutally honest with oneself. Evil simply requires reaching down to that lowest common denominator of the id: a desire for self-advancement by any means necessary.

This is why they all seem so petty, so puerile, so childish, so joyless. This is why their tantrums are so infantile. And this is why Biden and Harris seem, by contrast, so refreshingly mature, so willing to allow joy. Both have been radically affected by what Hegel referred to as the "slaughter-bench" of history. The subhumans surrounding the Unelected Ex-President have not got enough imagination to be affected by anything except their own hunger.

[LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN]

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[things2mustdo]

I am not interested in football, neither the American distortion of rugby nor soccer. Unsurprisingly, this can leave one ostracised from many conversations in the workplace and other modern, bourgeois scenarios. Is it because these sports are just too masculine and rough? On the contrary, it is because they are too feminine!

Things only get worse when I explain that I enjoy more masculine, dangerous (not necessarily violent) sports. The very worst reaction comes when I declare it feminine to not be engaged in such sports personally. After a brief, heated discussion, I am usually on the receiving end of the same, silent, frustrated scramble for a good answer. You can forget about mentioning my thoughts on porn – it is hardly alpha male behaviour to masturbate whilst watching another, better-endowed man plough nubile nymphs. This is no digression, mind you; there is something more masculine to being involved in the action, whether conquering foes or fair maidens.

But, can I really prove it?

After all, I might dislike football because I am not particularly good at it and, conversely, like wrestling because I was. Perhaps I had the bias and the others were right – aside from all the padding and effeminate diving about with feigned injuries, perhaps watching a match of some bourgeois, team sport was just as masculine as becoming the Ultimate Fighting Champion.

What are the fundamental differences between the aristocratic sports of old, which focus much more on the individual man, and the spectator sports of today, which focus more on some team, seemingly devised to maximise profitability from said spectators?

Where the traditional aristocrat sought, for example, the adventure of mountaineering, the bien pensants bourgeoisie thinks, ‘Why on earth would you be so reckless? You could get hurt!’ The same attitudes apply to the traditional aristocratic sports, such as boxing, wrestling, historical fencing, horse racing and jousting.

Notice how these sports focus on the individuals, often dueling one against the other. A certain sense of transcendence is required to engage in such daring activities, elevating the noble above mere practical concerns in their struggle for glory – immortal fame, as it were. Once you conquer the mountain, conquer your foe and, in so doing, conquer your fear, you have in a certain sense conquered yourself; winner or loser, the shaking of peers’ hands afterwards is, yes, out of Christian charity, but also a showing of respect for those on the same noble quest.

So, what changed?

Acclaimed historian, Jacques Barzun’s book, From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, describes the uneasy relationship between the old, knightly order and the newly developing, modern state, headed by an increasingly dominant bourgeoisie, merchant class. On the subject of duels, he wrote that the ‘desire for self-vindication is deeply ingrained in western man.’

Up to the early modern and revolutionary periods, this ‘was called “the point of honor.” Its moral force derived from medieval chivalry, which regarded the knight as the champion of all that is noble and fair and as an independent judge in his own cause. No monarch wanted his subjects to lose all of these qualities, and the ethos persisted.’ Time has since eroded any such regard for masculine virtue, however.

Barzun uses the example of the bourgeois, French monarch, Louis XIV, who led the transition not only from kingship to monarch but also from the quest for honour to quests for honours: ‘titles, decorations, favors slight in themselves but of infinite value, such as being spoken to by the king before anyone else among a cluster of courtiers.

As for the love of titles and decorations, it has become the rage in the democracies—prizes for everything and everyone.’ Thus, a mere glance at the transition from the medieval to the modern period can give us a clear picture of how far removed the modern, Western man is from his self-vindicating ancestors; whereas the modern bourgeoisie relies on the ubiquitous state to act as middle-man and safety net for all social interactions, and has no communal or cultural authority in his life except for the state, this is a far cry from the chivalry of old.

The Ten Commandments of Chivalry

Thou shalt believe all that the Church teaches and thou shalt observe all its directions.

Thou shalt defend the Church.

Thou shalt respect all weaknesses, and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them.

Thou shalt love the country in which thou wast born.

Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy.

Thou shalt make war against the infidel without cessation and without mercy.

Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of God.

Thou shalt never lie, and shalt remain faithful to thy pledged word.

Thou shalt be generous, and give largesse to everyone.

Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of the Right and the Good against Injustice and Evil.

It is the generally irresponsible attitude of the modernist, bourgeois mind that I take exception to. For over five hundred years now, Western man has been palming off responsibilities to some far off group, purporting to be the Leviathan state, all in exchange for comforts. Of course, we are increasingly comfortable and entertained. I can’t complain, but we are also increasingly detached from reality, hardship and the consequent gumption to fight for what is ours, let alone to fight for what is right, good and true.

So, when I see grown men talking with the depth of a philosopher on the eve of battle about what is effectively a game for juveniles, and one in which they shall not participate and indeed will be played by overpaid foreigners, not even kinsmen of their beloved region, I dare not laugh, as these are the death throes of my civilisation.

I cannot help but agree with reactionaries of the 20th century in this regard, but this is no idle or defunct theory and I am in good company – the work of Prof. Walter J. Ong on the subject of masculinity confirmed these intuitions from the data regarding male development and competition:

‘Historically, the agonistic, masculinising era has given way to one of greater femininity. In a sense, the male television sports watcher…[described elsewhere as] slumped alone with his can of beer before the screen under the glare of his justifiably outraged sports widow…is a product of a highly feminized culture: no earlier oral-agonistic age could have produced this abstract half-disinvolvement with the agōnia in the arena.’

I would recommend his excellent work, Fighting for Life: Contest, Sexuality and Consciousness, but more than this, I would recommend we all revolt against the modern world by striving against such disinvolvement, by becoming more engaged in our communities and also in sports which really test our personal mettle. I realise this will be hard for some of us to come to terms with, but, as the proverb says,

Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

Read More: Why Chivalry Is Dead