#karoun

[hauntinghope]

Rotini and Karoun Milk Cheese Casserole

[colfernarvaezwrites]

Rotini and Karoun Milk Cheese Casserole

[maranull]

Thought I'd try invading with my old character again.

I had forgotten I made her this good looking. Also the in-game time was lovely for this pic, I had to.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Read Alejandro Mayorkas' letter in response to the MTG/Trump impeachment gambit. It's a superlative document. And I've never been more proud to have once been his law partner. https://www.documentcloud.org/.../24391336-dhs-secretary...

[Robert Scott Horton]

* * * *

Update on effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas.

A House committee voted to advance the impeachment resolution against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the House floor for a vote. As of Tuesday evening, it seems likely that the resolution will pass, but with a three-vote margin in the House, the outcome is not certain.

A NYTimes analysis piece explains the obvious—that Mayorkas has not committed constitutional “high crimes and misdemeanors.” See NYTimes, Karoun Demirjian, Impeachment Case Against Mayorkas Ignores Government’s Immigration Powers.

As Demirjian explains, the number of migrants detained at the border far exceeds the available facilities to house detainees. So, the federal government must exercise discretion in deciding which migrants to continue to hold in detention. The unsurprising answer is that the federal government prioritizes the detention of detainees who pose a national security threat or have criminal histories.

It is that exercise of discretion that the House believes is an impeachable offense. Demirjian writes,

What the charges do not take into account, however, is that Mr. Mayorkas also has the legal authority to determine which migrants to prioritize for detention, given limited bed space and long backlogs in the immigration courts.

The Senate will not convict or remove Secretary Mayorkas. The impeachment is a performance worthy of the theater of the absurd and Mao’s “reeducation camps” in the Cultural Revolution. And it is a complete waste of time by a Congress whose major accomplishment this year is extending the deadline for passage of a 2024 budget that should have been approved no later than June 30, 2023.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[mycatstupid7]

Jean Cocteau with his cat, Karoun, (1950)

Photo by Jane Brown

[pupsmailbox]

NATURE ID PACK

NAMES︰ abelia. acacius. aciano. aini. alder. alfie. almus. amaryllis. ame. antonio. archer. arthur. ashe. ashley. aspen. asper. aster. aveline. aviv. azalea. basil. belle. benedict. berry. bloom. blossom. bluebell. brook. calix. calla. carli. carline. carly. carolina. carrillo. cassia. cassiopeia. cedar. cherie. chun. cider. cira. cirrus. clover. coral. cordelia. crescent. cynthia. cypress. cyrus. dahlia. daisy. daphne. douglas. dune. echo. eilir. elara. elm. elowen. elyana. enon. erica. ester. everest. everett. evergreen. ewan. fauna. fern. finn. finnley. fleur. floor. flora. florian. florise. flower. flynn. forest. forrest. glen. gracie. gunner. haru. haruhime. haruki. hawthorne. heather. hemlock. honey. hyacinth. ianthe. indigo. ione. ipomea. iris. ivy. jaskier. jasmine. jasper. juniper. kalina. kallie. karolina. karoun. kath. kelda. ken. kingsley. lake. lavae. lavender. leilani. lennox. lente. lief. lilac. lily. linnea. lotus. lucinda. lucky. lucy. maayan. madeline. maggie. magnolia. maple. maren. mari. marian. marigold. mars. mary. maud. mauve. meadow. miles. momo. moss. mossie. mossy. moxie. muna. narcisow. nimbus. noi. oak. oasis. oleander. oybahor. pandora. pearl. pebble. pege. petal. plum. poppy. pınar. quanlian. quill. river. rosa. rosalie. rosalind. rose. roswell. rue. rune. saem. sage. sakura. san. sky. sol. star. story. strider. striker. summit. sunny. sylvia. sylvie. tasnim. terra. thistle. thorn. thorne. tree. udaberri. vasanta. verna. violet. waipuna. wells. westley. willow. wisteria. wisty. wren. yuki. zephyr. ziedonis. zinnia.

PRONOUNS︰ amaranth/amaranth. aster/aster. bee/bee. bee/bees. bless/blessed. bloom/bloom. bloss/bloss. bloss/blossomself. bud/bud. camell/camell. camellia/camellia. carnati/carnation. chirp/chirp. ci/cir. cloud/cloud. colum/columbine. columbine/columbine. comfort/comfort. dais/daisy. dawn/dusk. dew/dew. dog/dogwood. dog/wood. ey/em. fe/fer. fer/fern. fern/fern. field/field. fir/fir. fleur/fleur. flor/flor. flor/flora. floral/floral. flori/florid. flow/flower. flower/flower. freesi/freesia. fruit/fruit. fuch/fuchsia. garden/garden. grass/grass. green/green. grow/growth. hawth/hawthorn. hawth/thorn. hi/hits. hib/hibiscus. honey/honey. hy/hys. hya/hyacinth. hyacin/hyacinth. h✦/h✦m. ir/iris. jas/jasmine. jessa/jessamine. jour/ney. laven/lavender. le/leaf. leaf/leaf. leaf/leave. lil/lily. lotu/lotus. lu/luna. mag/magnolia. mar/mar. matcha/matcha. misel/mistletoe. mo/moth. morning/morning. moss/moss. mossy/mossy. narc/narcir. narcissus/narcissus. nature/nature. orch/orchid. pe/peony. peace/peace. peak/peak. per/peri. peri/periwinkle. petal/petal. pi/pix. picnic/picnic. plum/plum. pollen/pollen. pop/poppy. prick/prick. pur/purple. qu/quest. rain/rain. rhod/rhode. ros/rose. rose/rose. sa/sap. sage/sage. sakura/sakura. scent/scent. se/ser. shine/shine. shroom/shroom. sh✦/h✦r. si/strike. smile/smile. soft/soft. sol/solar. spikes/spike. spring/spring. sprout/sprout. star/star. stem/stem. sun/sun. sun/sunrise. sun/sunset. syr/syringa. tea/party. tea/tea. thist/thistle. thorn/thorn. th✦y/th✦m. tul/tulip. vi/vier. vi/viol. wi/wild. win/winkle. wind/wind. wister/wisteria. yucca/yucca. zinni/zinnia. ☀️ . 🌱 . 🌳 . 🌷 . 🌿 . 🍎 . 🍏 . 🍵 . 🐝 . 🐞 . 💐 . 💐.🌷 . 🕷️ . 🦋 . 🦟 .

[caspersgraveyard]

older vs younger siblings: mein karoun toh saala character dheela hai

[faendan]

I WROTE A STORY ABOUT THIS ON REDDIT! I'm so excited. I wrote a story about a healer named Saneqil, and the relationship between helaers and Karoun (Death). I had this idea first (not in a testy way - I'm just happy that other people like the idea).

“So, your patron is the God of Death?” Yeah. “So, are you a necromancer? A great Warrior?” …Nah, I’m a Doctor.

[ivankahasbeentreatedsounfairly]

By Edward WongErica L. Green and Karoun Demirjian

The two top security officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development were put on administrative leave on Saturday night after refusing to give representatives of Elon Musk access to internal systems, according to three U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter.

John Voorhees, U.S.A.I.D.’s director of security, and his deputy are the latest senior officials at the agency to be put on administrative leave. Last week, Trump administration appointees suspended about 60 senior officials and fired hundreds of contractors. There has been talk among current and former agency employees and lawmakers that the agency could be subsumed within the State Department in a drastically reduced form.

The employees working for Mr. Musk’s task force who clashed with Mr. Voorhees were seeking to enter a secure area of the agency’s offices to get at classified material, two U.S. officials with knowledge of the incident said. It is not clear exactly what exchange took place between them and Mr. Voorhees, who could not immediately be reached for comment.

U.S.A.I.D., which is funded by Congress and takes some guidance from the State Department, has otherwise operated independently.

“USAID is a criminal organization,” Mr. Musk wrote on Sunday in a social media post that many aid workers saw as confirmation the agency would soon be absorbed into the State Department and that some viewed as a potential threat to their personal safety. “Time for it to die.”

U.S.A.I.D., which spent about $38.1 billion on health services, disaster relief, anti-poverty efforts and other foreign assistance programs in fiscal year 2023, makes up less than 1 percent of the federal budget.

Multiple people who identified themselves as representatives of Mr. Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency were on site at U.S.A.I.D. last week, demanding access to the agency’s financial and personnel records, according to two U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the activity and the agency’s inner workings.

The cost-cutting effort led by Mr. Musk, the world’s richest man, is not a department but rather a task force that nevertheless has been granted unusual power. An executive order signed by President Trump gives its workers unfettered access to government agencies. But in theory, the employees would still need to get proper security clearances to access classified material.

Katie Miller, a spokeswoman for the Musk initiative, responded on Sunday to the reports of security officials being put on leave. “No classified material was accessed without proper security clearances,” she said on X. The clash involving Mr. Voorhees was first reported by CNN on Sunday.

A sense of despair was settling in over the weekend among employees remaining at U.S.A.I.D. as they learned of the new suspensions and braced for the potential of even more sweeping layoffs and a dismantling of the agency.

The U.S.A.I.D. website went dark on Saturday, and a smaller, scaled-back version of the aid agency’s online presence appeared on the State Department’s website — a possible indication of a looming loss of the agency’s independence that employees anticipated Mr. Trump would soon make official with an executive order. Spokespeople for the White House did not immediately return a request for comment.

Lawmakers and aid workers also learned that at least some of the signs at the agency’s headquarters had been removed.

The State Department and U.S.A.I.D. did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The changes underway have jarred nonprofit organizations that are supported by U.S.A.I.D. Those groups were already reeling from the Trump administration’s decision to freeze nearly all foreign aid programs, a move that was slightly modified by a subsequent vague waiver for programs that administer lifesaving humanitarian aid.

“An abrupt collapse of the agency would put the rights of millions of people around the world at greater risk as a result,” Paul O’Brien, the executive director of Amnesty International, said in a statement. “What dismantling USAID doesn’t do is make anyone safer or more prosperous. Congress should immediately step in to challenge this.”

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

* * * * *

Meanwhile, the struggle in the House of Representatives today looked like a preview of the 2024 election. 

Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), a staunch supporter of former president Trump and a key figure in the attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, is pushing hard for election as speaker, emphasizing how imperative it is for the House Republicans to enable the House to get back to business. As Karoun Demirjian outlined in the New York Times, Jordan and his allies have deployed a pressure campaign against those Republicans opposed to him, as she puts it, “working to unleash the rage of the party’s base voters against any lawmaker standing in his way.” 

This is the same tactic that the extremists have used for decades to move the Republican Party to the right. But there is a different dynamic at play in this speakership crisis. Jordan and his allies created the crisis in the first place by supporting Trump’s demands to shut down the government, tossing out former speaker Kevin McCarthy because he would not agree to shut down the government, and refusing to abide by the vote of the Republican conference to accept the choice of the majority: first McCarthy and then Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA).

There is another way in which this moment is different. Jordan is a flamethrower who was one of the original organizers of the right-wing Freedom Caucus. Republicans saw McCarthy, who was an excellent fundraiser, as a pro-business Republican who worked with the far right, but Jordan is the real deal: a far-right extremist. Republican donors have already suggested they are not enthusiastic about working with him to fund Republican candidates.

The third way this moment is different is that putting Jordan in the speaker’s chair makes him, along with Trump, the face of the Republican Party going into the 2024 election. Representative Pete Aguilar (D-CA) previewed the many downsides of Jordan as speaker when he nominated Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) for the speaker’s chair. Aguilar blamed extremism and partisanship for the unprecedented chaos of the House and urged the Republicans to embrace bipartisanship to do the work the American people had sent them to Washington, D.C., to conduct. 

Aguilar noted that Jordan was “the architect of a nationwide abortion ban, a vocal election denier, and an insurrection inciter.” He has “spent his entire career trying to hold our country back, putting our national security in danger, attempting government shutdown after government shutdown, wasting taxpayer dollars on baseless investigations with dead ends, authoring the very bill that would ban abortion nationwide without exceptions, and inciting violence on this chamber. Even leaders of his own party have called him ‘a legislative terrorist.’” 

Aguilar pointed out Jordan’s opposition to disaster relief, veterans’ relief, support for Ukraine, and military aid to our allies, including Israel, and added: “This body is debating elevating a speaker nominee who has not passed a single bill in 16 years. These are not the actions of someone interested in governing or bettering the lives of everyday Americans.” Jordan as speaker would mean the Republican Party would “continue taking marching orders from a twice-impeached former president with more than 90 pending felony charges.”

Even without mentioning Jordan’s involvement with the cover-up of a sexual assault scandal at Ohio State, Aguilar put Republicans on notice that placing Jordan at the head of the party would have brutal consequences in Democratic campaign ads. 

When House members voted for speaker, the Democrats were unified behind Jeffries, who won all 212 of their votes. Jordan won only 200 of the 217 votes necessary to become speaker, with 20 Republicans voting for someone else. His allies initially said they would call a second vote tonight but changed their minds, apparently realizing that another loss would weaken his candidacy significantly. They say they will hold another vote tomorrow.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[antonio-velardo]

Antonio Velardo shares: Johnson Digs In Against Border Deal as Negotiators Try to Salvage It by Karoun Demirjian

By Karoun Demirjian The speaker said the emerging bipartisan immigration deal would be “dead on arrival” in the House, after senators conceded that the opposition of former President Donald J. Trump may have doomed it. Published: January 26, 2024 at 01:08PM from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/ugdprqJ via IFTTT

[maranull]

Another pic.

Thought I'd try invading with my old character again.

I had forgotten I made her this good looking. Also the in-game time was lovely for this pic, I had to.

[mochinnnn]

Literature or book reading ka bhi shauq nahi tou ab kese usko impress karoun