#let's give harris the chance to be the best president ever

[penig]

Just back from early voting. We went to the nearest polling station, at the nearby community college, where we have been many times before and - we couldn't quite remember - where we have either never seen a line, or only had a line of four or five people once or twice. One of the advantages of early voting is the lack or shortness of lines; another is the ease of parking.

Well, the parking lot was full and the line was a block long. Apparently we were not the only people in town who wanted to be sure they did their bit to save democracy this year and didn't want to take any chances on trees falling on them or whatever.

I was a bit worried about the effect on my foot, but I'd crawl on my hands and knees to vote straight Democrat this year (I mean, it's not so long ago I had to do that just to get downstairs, so...) so we found the end of the line and took up our station.

I was beginning to be a little concerned about the foot about 20 minutes later, when a guy came down the line collecting disabled people. I almost didn't say anything, but - the line hadn't moved at all and I was feeling the foot and I really do have to start thinking of myself in those terms. So I said technically I was and he scooped up both of us and took us to the head of the line, although the people he was chiefly looking for was people from the nearby center for the deaf. The spouse said "This is embarrassing" and I agreed but at least my foot would hurt less tonight.

One reason for the long delays was the voter registration purges and an apparent influx of people not registered in Bexar County. They decided while we waited at the front of the line we heard the decision made to send people with registration issues to a different location - the actual office of registrations? Don't remember. And also not to ask about disabilities anymore because people were going to start saying they were just to get cuts in line if they saw a lot of it.

I kind of miss the old big clunky machines where you could turn a lever to vote straight, but even with the size of the ballot (Five city charter propositions and 29 races) it didn't take long once I got in, and then I collected my sticker (people love stickers!) and was told my dress was cute. Which it is - I was wearing the black and green princess seam thing that kicked my ass so hard.

And now we're home and the spouse is taking his nap and I have to troubleshoot the printer.

It's not much, but it's what I could do.

And now, we wait.

[kp777]

By Jake Johnson

Common Dreams

Oct. 24, 2024

"Every vote for Dr. Jill Stein or Cornel West instead of Kamala Harris makes it more likely that Donald Trump will win," wrote a coalition of leading environmental groups.

A coalition of leading U.S. environmental groups warned Thursday that a third-party vote in next month's election could help usher in climate disaster by improving Republican nominee Donald Trump's chances of victory, a risk they said the planet can't afford as time runs out to avert catastrophic warming.

Voting for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in the November 5 election is imperative because they represent "our best chance at making more progress over the next four years," 350 Action, the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, Climate Emergency Action, Earthjustice Action, Food and Water Action, Friends of the Earth Action, and other climate groups wrote in an open letter addressed to "potential supporters of Jill Stein or Cornel West."

While the letter thanks Stein, the Green Party candidate, and West, who is running as an Independent, "for raising important issues in this election," the groups argued that Harris "is the only candidate with a record of success addressing climate change," pointing to her tie-breaking vote in support of the Inflation Reduction Act and legal action against oil companies during her tenure as California's attorney general.

Trump, by contrast, "waged the worst White House attack ever against the environment and public health while in office," the groups wrote.

One analysis estimates that a second Trump presidency could result in an additional 4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 2030, negating recent progress in renewable energy development and inflicting large-scale climate damage. Fossil fuel industry attorneys and lobbyists are already drawing up executive orders for Trump to sign should he prevail on November 5.

"He has made clear that his second term will be even more extreme, drawing from the detailed anti-environment proposals and plans contained in Project 2025," the climate coalition wrote in the open letter. "Every vote for Dr. Jill Stein or Cornel West instead of Kamala Harris makes it more likely that Donald Trump will win."

In a separate social media thread on Thursday, the youth-led Sunrise Movement—a signatory of the new open letter—wrote that "this election will decide the temperature on our planet for thousands of years."

"It will decide if we have a fighting chance to stop the climate crisis or not," the group added. "Voting alone or voting third party won't save us. Let's be honest—financing a genocide, competing on who can be crueler to immigrants, or thumbs-upping fracking is fucked. A Harris presidency won't stop violence. No president ever will."

"But neither will disengaging or throwing away our votes. This election might not save the world but it will set the scene," said Sunrise, which has been working to mobilize young voters in swing states to back Harris. "We have six years to stop the climate crisis and we can't afford to give four of them away to Trump. What your summers look like in 2047, where your family might live in 2063, whether tens of millions of more people become climate refugees or not will be deeply impacted by the election results."

Tens of millions of ballots have already been cast in dozens of states across the U.S. ahead of Election Day, with officials reporting record turnout in battlegrounds such as Michigan and Georgia.

Stein and West are among several third-party candidates on the ballot in critical states that could decide the presidential contest. Recent polling has shown that Stein and West are both polling around 1% in the key state of Michigan, where Harris and Trump are in a dead heat.

Michigan has received significant attention this election cycle given that it was the birthplace of the Uncommitted National Movement, which began as a primary campaign effort to push President Joe Biden to halt U.S. support for Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip.

The movement has since shifted its focus to pressuring Harris to back an arms embargo against Israel, something she has declined to do. While Uncommitted opted against endorsing Harris last month, it said it opposes the Republican nominee and warned that "third-party votes in key swing states could help inadvertently deliver a Trump presidency given our country's broken Electoral College system."

"We are going to be voting for the world's climate future even if we are reluctant to admit it."

Stein has dismissed the notion that she's a potential "spoiler" candidate, arguing her supporters would likely opt to stay home instead of vote for Harris or Trump if there was no third-party choice.

But speaking in Michigan earlier this month, Stein supporter Kshama Sawant—a former member of the Seattle City Council—acknowledged that "we are not in a position to win the White House" and said she views the Green Party candidacy as an opportunity to "deny Kamala Harris the state of Michigan."

"And the polls show that most likely Harris cannot win the election without Michigan," Sawant added.

That approach could be devastating for the planet, progressive lawmakers and climate advocates have argued.

"If Donald Trump is elected, the struggle against climate change is over," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote in a social media post on Thursday. "The United States will withdraw from the movement toward sustainable energy."

Kumar Venkat, a carbon footprint analyst, wrote in an op-ed for Common Dreams on Friday that "if elected, it is reasonable to expect that Harris will build on the Biden administration's work and keep the U.S. on the net-zero path."

"Donald Trump has made it exceedingly clear that he does not believe climate change is even a problem," Venkat wrote. "Between Project 2025 pushing for a 'whole-of-government unwinding' of U.S. climate policy and the fossil fuel industry drafting detailed plans to dismantle the Biden administration's climate rules, it is a safe bet that we will no longer be on a trajectory to net-zero emissions if Trump is back in the White House."

"We are going to be voting for the world's climate future," he added, "even if we are reluctant to admit it."

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.

[tiltedsyllogism]

Thread here.

Text of a four-message thread from @authorjess:

1) If you are a Palestine ally, and you are leaning toward a third-party or no vote, I beg you to listen to me. As a Palestinian- American who lost direct family in the Nakba, I am giving you permission to vote for Kamala, if that’s what you need to hear. Here is why:

2) If HE wins, if you hand HIM this victory, our activism on behalf of Palestine will all but stop. We will be forced so far back here in America, will not have the time, energy, or space to continue to advocate in the way we need to be able to. We will not be able to hold protests or marches or rallies for Palestine. HIS administration will destroy any attempts to publicly gather for this cause. They CERTAINLY will not hear us in private.

3) We have gathered more allies in the past year than I think we’ve ever had in the history of this fight. But if HE wins, you will see those allies evaporate. Because they will be fighting for their very existence. because we sacrificed them for our own consciences.

4) My beloved SWANA community and allies: we will continue this fight. But we must ensure that we defend our capacity TO fight. At this point, a third-party vote is a vote for HIM, and a vote AGAINST any hope Palestine has left. We will never have the chance to rebuild the coalitions and momentum we have built this year.

We will lose EVERYTHING.

Vote Harris/Walz, and then let us continue this fight for liberation!

—-

I am the grandchild of Holocaust survivors. For me, this legacy entails a special obligation to fight back against genocide, and a particular anguish at knowing that genocide is being committed in my name. In a very real way, “what would I do in the face of another genocide” has been the organizing moral question of my entire life. Would I be like the people who helped save my grandmother, or would I be like the people who turned her away, and turned away her friends and family members who starved or were murdered because their neighbors failed them? All of which is to say: I understand being a single-issue voter on this, I really do.

But as the thread above makes clear, the best way to be a single-issue voter for Palestine is to vote for Harris— not even because we can trust her to stop enabling Israel (I think the odds are better than with Trump, but that’s beside the point here) but because, if Trump becomes President again, much of the pro-Palestine coalition in the US will be drawn to (or forced to) fight for other things.

[penig]

Stop talking about how bad the traitor is and start talking about how great Biden and Harris are! That is the way forward here!

What Joe Biden and Kamala Harris did in 2024.

I started this project back in January and for most of a year, every week, I came up with the highlights of what the Biden-Harris Administration did. I did it because it felt to me our media and national conversion was broken, our government was doing huge things that it felt like almost no one knew about. It's amazing how often I struggled to find a single news source that wanted to cover a huge life changing project.

This is the last Friday before Election Day, and if you haven't already voted, take a minute to go back and look at the last 40 weeks, and decide, do you like these things or want literally the reverse on every issue.

Week 1 January 19th

Week 2 January 26th

Week 3 February 2nd

Week 4 February 9th

Week 5 February 16th

Week 6 February 23rd

Week 7 March 1st

Week 8 March 8th

Week 9 March 15th

Week 10 March 22nd

Week 11 March 29th

Week 12 April 5th

Week 13 April 12th

Week 14 April 19th

Week 15 April 26th

Week 16 May 3rd

Week 17 May 10th

Week 18 May 18th

Week 19 May 24th

Week 20 May 31st

Week 21 June 7th

Week 22 June 14th

Week 23 June 21st

Week 24 June 28th

Week 25 July 5th

Week 26 July 12th

Week 27 July 19th

Week 28 July 26th

Week 29 August 2nd

Week 30 August 9th

Week 31 August 16th

Week 32 August 30th

Week 33 September 6th

Week 34 September 13th

Week 35 September 20th

Week 36 September 27th

Week 37 October 4th

Week 38 October 11th

Week 39 October 18th

Week 40 October 25th

Feel free to reblog this or go back and reblog a favorite, one that impacts your life or the one from the week of your birthday, whatever.

and remember to read past the headlines and dig to find out what your government is up to, it might shock you how much is happening that no one talks about.

[justahumblememefarmer]

I do like to think that if Trump loses this election, he's really going to drag Republicans further and further down until they either reject him or die.

He won them the presidency in 2016 and firmly tied Republicans to himself. They refused to keep him in check at all, and anybody who stood against him was either ousted or beat into submission to become another sycophant.

Then he did such a terrible job that in 2020 it inspired record turnout to oust him. Republicans still had the chance to oust him with the second impeachment for the insurrection, but they stood by him.

For the 2024 election, they again had a chance to oust him. Running somebody who already lost the presidency, especially against the same person he lost to last time, is probably not the best formula. He had mounting legal troubles they could've used as an excuse to drop him. When it came to the primaries, it was somewhat in question whether he'd get backed again, but more importantly if he lost the primary, would he run as an independent or as the MAGA party and split the right's vote? We didn't ultimately find that out.

What we're seeing now is that dropping Biden from the ticket and having Trump now be the older candidate is definitely hurting them. There's a lot of frustration with the fact that so many of our politicians are extremely old, so putting in Harris who's (relatively) younger has been a great move.

Now let's say Trump loses this election, what happens to him and the Republicans? He's still facing several legal issues, but honestly with this current Supreme Court, I don't have a lot of faith he'll face many consequences there. But I highly doubt that he will want to give up any power that he currenty has over the party, and desperately wants to have the power of the presidency again. So Republicans are going to have to face the same choice they did for this election.

Continue to follow behind him and run him as the oldest ever presidential candidate who has now lost TWO presidential elections

Oust him as the leader and elect somebody else, potentially risking his base coming after them

In option one, the party likely remains united, however if Trump loses this election, I don't think he will ever be able to win any election again. Running him in 2028 would likely be a third loss for him. And if he keeps running every 4 years, that ticket is just going to get worse and worse.

If they reject him and run somebody else, how will he react? He could tell his base to not vote. He could run independent/third party and split the vote. How much of his base would actually go with him might not be certain, but certainly enough that it could still cost them huge in some major elections.

So I think if Trump loses this, Republicans best option is for him to die. He's never going to give up power voluntarily. He's never going to name a true successor. Him dying while they trot him out as their hero is the only way they can be rid of him without causing a huge party schism or running a failing candidate yet again.

[jaythelay]

If you're scared of another Dump presidency, allow me to share some comfort:

He won't get the chance Only if you vote.

Before running off, listen, when I say that, I don't mean:

"Write on the paper of comfort and put in box hoping for the best"

Deadass every poll has R's flopping. Polls are Severely R sided since they're primarily the only ones to do them.

With that in mind, we aren't safe simply by keeping Dump out. We got states and the house and all the other bullshit. If you vote local, you further ensure Dump's cronies don't give him another chance.

This Only Happens if you Vote.

Without the vote, sure, he may still lose, but with your vote? It's a guarantee.

If you've been wanting that push that has a small chance of reforming R's, or keeping them out of power, this is it. There will never be another chance.

Stick with me on this, for one Dump. It's fucking dump and he's a threat. Despite this he's energized normal people into politics, the fact is though, we're never getting someone as embarrassing, and stupid, as Dump is, ever again. And we're never getting a candidate like Harris/Walz ever again. Not in our lifetimes.

This landslide could only happen because Dems swapped Genocide Joe with Kamala/Walz, and because Dump is himself and running. This will never, ever, happen again.

There will never be an opportunity like this again. Ever. Dump is not running again, the GOP won't allow it. And without him, and if he loses bigly, the GOP's reputation hits the shitter for the broader public. That all that grandstanding was laughably incorrect.

You will never get another chance like this ever, ever again. No third party will come, sorry Jill Stein fucking sucks and yes I was gonna vote for her originally.

Every R is gonna vote. Dems don't vote nearly as often primarly because of voter suppression. Polls are meaningless for the most part but carry a weight to them. Just vote, and you make the R voting block look smaller and smaller.

Biden was unforgiveable with Palestine. Kamala's working with a system that's actively participating in a Genocide, give her a break, Biden and co did this. She's working with that she's got, and definitively, it has been better than Biden's fucked up lies and murders. No she couldn't do shit as VP let's be honest with the situation.

Your best bet is getting a minority person in, not an old white guy who believes black people are super predators, if you want better for Palestine, I get it. Oh believe me, I can actually say Genocide Bad No Matter Who, unlike most dems, but at the end of it, Kamala, on paper, is the best bet. Nothing else will work.

Third party would only work if Biden was still in. Without him there's not much point tbh, most moved back to dems, for Kamala. Jill Stein fucking. sucks. So much. It's just voting Dump Lite. She's a R anyways.

Just vote dem. Straight up, if you're scared of a second Dump, vote. That straight up ensures he loses. Without, it's alot more vague everywhere else. We need a crushing defeat sure, but Simply Voting is more than most people. Even most dems. Vote. It really is as simple as this, with the vote, it's ensured, without, it's vague.

On top of this, I still bet he loses by 9mil votes given his trajectory in both elections plummeting.

Let's reach 10mil. 11mil. Let's make it so the rest of the world gets scared to try a Dump there. Because all he was, was a lesson to normal people, what tyranny, idiocy, and cruelty, truly is. Once you go Dem/normal, you never go R nor back. Learning is fundamental, and it's why leftism is growing and republicanism still relies on lies and propaganda. It's why there's a rise in male youths for R support, they can only get the most sheltered, lonely of groups to believe in them. Take that ability to believe away. Watch as they start growing up later in life.

Vote. That ensures he loses. It's vague otherwise.

[titenoute]

Do you still support Kamala even though she will still support the genocide, and ultimately nothing changes, she has better policies on paper but it’s not enough to convince people, not helping the fact she went centrist at the last minute. I really don’t want trump to win. And third party votes ultimately don’t matter in the election? So WTF?! Do I just give up everything I worked for and just let fascism take over?! What can I do to stop this?!

tl;dr: Trump openly supports Israel. He also attempted to make a peace agreement between Isreal and Palestine during is previous mandate that suspiciously wasn't in favor for Palestine. If he passes, he plans on reconstructing Palestine himself and get rid of 'fanatics'. (Source here, but I'll show the exact part that support these claims below) If you grew up after 911, you know what this means. It means that Palestinians will stop being seen as victims and will be demonized in the future and that their country will stop being their. If that happens, their cry for help will be completely muted. Harris isn't demonizing them. So vote Harris. When you have to pick between laxative and lethal poison, you take the laxative. Your vote counts. Palestinians can't choose the next US leader but you can, lend them your voice.

You're here? Good, this is important. I want you to see what Trump has to say about the ruins of Palestine. This is an excerpt of an interview he had on Hugh Hewitt's Radio show (Full Transcription: Here. Audio: Here.) that demonstrates this, I have highlighted some important points but I advise you to read the whole thing :

"HH: You know how to build things. Gaza is in ruins. Could Gaza be Monaco if it was rebuilt the right way? Could someone make Gaza into something that all the Palestinian people would be proud of, would want to live in, would benefit them?

DT: It could be better than Monaco. It has the best location in the Middle East, the best water, the best everything. It’s got, it is the best, I’ve said it for years. You know, I’ve been there, and it’s rough. It’s a rough place, before the, you know, before all of the attacks and before the back and forth what’s happened over the last couple of years.

HH: Right.

DT: And I said wow, look at this. I mean, they have the back of a plant facing the ocean, you know. They’d have, there was no ocean as far as that was concerned. They never took advantage of it. You know, as a developer, it could be the most beautiful place – the weather, the water, the whole thing, the climate. It could be so beautiful. It could be the best thing in the Middle East, but it could be one of the best places in the world. And you know, there were other civilizations. I don’t know if you know this. It’s crazy, but that’s been a rough neighborhood. That’s been a rough place. You know, underneath that is, are two other civilizations where they’re, you know, they were wiped out and they started over, and they build on top.

HH: Oh, yeah.

DT: It’s amazing. I mean, that’s been a very contentious area for a long time, I can tell you that.

HH: Do you think your partners…can you get the Abraham Accords going again and get your partners, like UAE, Bharain and possibly Saudi to help you, and Egypt, to help you in Gaza if you’re president again to build it the right way and get rid of the fanatics? DT: Yeah, yeah, so I’ll tell you, I think not only the Abraham Accords, you know, the Abraham Accords is one of the great things that’s ever happened in the Middle East. That should be loaded up with everybody right now. And you know, I made the statement the other day, people said oh. I would have gotten, in my opinion, 50/50 chance, maybe more than that, Iran would have been in the Abraham Accords. They wanted to make a deal so bad until we had that phony election. They wanted to make a deal so bad that it was…and Biden missed the opportunity. Now, then he pours money down their throat, gives them billions and billions, hundreds of billions of dollars, takes the sanctions off. They wanted to make a deal so badly. I would have had everybody, and I believe I would have had Iran. You would have had real peace in the Middle East.

HH: Well, that would have stunned me, because I think they’re fanatics, and you can’t deal with them. But let me tell some of my affiliates we’re going to a break here.

DT: You couldn’t tell when they had no money, I’ll tell you.

HH: You’re right.

DT: You could have dealt with them when they had no money.

" So yeah, as someone who has grown up post 911, I have see a few red flags. First being : Trump would be in charges of the reconstruction because he'd rebuild it the "right way". You're telling me Trump, not a Palestinian state, would be in charge of reconstructing ? How is it his right ? That means the Palestinians wouldn't be in charge of their own country. Nor Israel. You should take a look at Trump's peace plan between Israel and Palestine, Palestine didn't get many concession from it. And the second and most terrifying point : The fact they're talking about fanatics. As a general rule, know that the use of that word should scare you. "Get rid of fanatics"?" Dealt with them"? Also, what type of people do they think are fanatics? The Hamas? People who supported the Hamas?...Muslims? How do you make the difference ? How do you know for sure you're dealing with a 'fanatic' ?? Last time I saw this word used, the solution they found to 'get rid of the fanatics' was bombing the whole country. That word is synonymous of a death toll. If you check is Isreal-Palestinian peace plan and Abraham Accords and take into account this interview ? There's some puzzle pieces that should suddenly start to fit right.

Trump doesn't care about Palestinians. He is not out there to try to help them. He will " get rid of fanatics" He only cares about the lands. He only cares about the profit. I'm pretty sure he wants to make the Middle East a giant Monaco really.

So are you CERTAIN he's a better deal than Harris? The difference with Harris, is that the cries for help from the Palestinians will keep on being heard as the voice of innocents. Under Trump ? They won't be victims anymore, but fanatics. They will be demonized and they won't be heard of again. This is the worst outcome. Vote Harris.

I know. I know she's not perfect, but I think I made my point. The situation can get worse very fast with Trump. And honestly, when someone tells me ' If I'm president, I'll stop this conflict' I hear ' If you give me power, I am soooo going to save those innocent lives.' I'm very sorry, but when lives are on the line, it doesn't stuck me as a fair deal. It struck me as blackmailing. Very Terrorist like even. Also, coming from Trump, the guy who made ICE happen, I really don't think he's on the side of people. Period.

[penig]

Also, you could get Covid, or hit by a bus, or a heart attack tomorrow. Vote NOW.

There is a very good reason to vote early. If you can, please consider doing so

1:30 video explainer here. TL;DW: Once you vote, it's in the system that you voted (not who you voted, just that you voted). That helps voting organizations know to spend resources elsewhere on people who haven't voted yet, are undecided, etc.

If you can vote early, whether by mail or a local place, please consider doing it.

Please vote.

[toetips]

I have a friend that I love dearly. She has truly been one of my best friends for many years. We started college together graduated together and overall just grew into adults together. We’ve voted together and took many years understanding how our morals and standards align and where they differentiate.

This current election is very huge. After Roe v. Wade was overturned, I think anyone would be able to tell that election is not one to play around with.

The presidential candidates and Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Anyone who has any sort of grasp on politics when know that Donald Trump is not a good fit for the position. He has been backed/endorsed by the literally KKK. When he was having his rally’s, he would only go very racist areas and areas where he knew people were pro Trump. Harris had been very vocal about her plans to reinstate Roe v. Wade and have get tax policy idea like increasing taxes for the rich and cutting them for the middle class and lower class.

Under Trump’s admin, it was been very clear that that his main demographics in terms of intended audience is white racist people. His has been convicted of rape and so far officially been convicted of 34 felony charges out of 88. He wants police to have full immunity from the crimes that they commit. And also wants to dismantle the department of education and will not want any funds to go to any schools that teach things that he doesn’t want to be taught like critical race theory. The people from his cabinet have said that he should not be president again and he had fascist views. He also praised dictators and has said that he wants the American people to obey his orders and will put the military against those he do not follow him. This is very clearly not a good man. It is very clear that this election is very important and I very big deal.

My friend Britney said that she was having a hard time choosing who to vote for. Which is obviously very concerning. Kamala Harris is the most qualified candidate. She been in the senate, House of Representatives and currently vice president. She has also been an attorney general. So to me it is not hard to know which is the better option. She has at least two policy that I align with and she is beyond qualified to been the representation of what the U.S. is. The day that Britney voted she didn’t want to tell anyone who she voted for. Obviously that is cause to assume that you voted for Trump if you’re embarrassed or not comfortable to talk about who you voted for. This is what the whole group thought.

Obviously I would not want to be friends with someone who thinks that voting for Trump is okay. Why would I want to be friends with someone who does not value my life and my rights? Why would I want to be friends with someone who thinks this is a game and is actively refusing to understand why this is a big deal.

But I love her. I love Britney and she has almost always been such a great friend to me. But I love myself more to not allow someone to keep their place in my life if they don’t value my rights and doesn’t see how the potential of losing them is a big deal. The idea of having to let her go hurt me a lot. But it is something that must be done. I can sit here and cry all day and night but that doesn’t change anything. I cannot make her understand basic human decency. But I also wanted to give her the chance to explain herself and I also wanted to explain myself and how her lack of understanding hurt me. But she declined the talk and wanted to reschedule but now I feel like I don’t ever want to talk to her again. I’m over it. As of now it’s done; I’m done.

[bllsbailey]

On 'The View,' Kamala Harris Is a 'Moderate,' She Isn't a 'Leftist' - and the Cow Jumped Over the Moon

Welp, look at that. More presidential campaign idiocy from the delusional geniuses of ABC's "The View."

Along with the lapdog media, the ladies of ABC's laughable cartoon were in euphoric spin-mode on Tuesday as they waxed idiotic (lied themselves silly) about Kamala Harris becoming the presumptive Democrat presidential nominee after mentally-vacant Joe Biden — the dead man walking — finally bowed (was forced) out. 

As has been the case with the left-wing media, "The View" ladies yet again asked "us" (their equally delusional  viewers) to suspend disbelief and buy into the preposterous notion that Harris is a "moderate." 

Sara Haines kicked off the festivities. We're talking pay-per-view-quality comedic entertainment.

One thing I also really love is, right now, the big attack for her, in addition to the dirty things, are ‘She's too liberal. She's too liberal.’ That is a very rich comment on her right now, because what Trump did was name JD Vance and – as you said – he's further right. He is Project 2025. He is the Heritage Foundation. He is the MAGA agenda. He had a chance to do something else and we said here the convention was really just a doubling down on extreme agenda. 

Can't make it up, don't have to. Haines continued:

Vice President Harris is really – and this is my — I don't have input here, but what I'm seeing — only looking at moderate beloved Democrats. And what that says to me is, for the person saying, "You're too extreme," she's the only one that's actually checking in with the American public.  Forty-three percent of this country identifies as independents. They are more moderate than the minority extremes would like you to think. By minority I mean partisan extremes. But the country is in the middle. She's saying, ‘I see you as voters.’ So, it’s not just political strategy. I feel like she's thinking about people like me when she's picking her vice presidential candidate.

Setting aside Haines's complete mischaracterization of JD Vance, for a bit, the co-host's portrayal of far-left-wing Harris was the stuff of fairy tales — delusional fairy tales, that is. 

Fellow genius co-host Sunny Hostin tossed her incisive genius thoughts (serial lying) into the ring. 

Well, to be clear, she's pretty moderate also. She's pretty moderate also ...  but former prosecutors aren’t leftist.

Did I mention that Hostin is aggressively racist and antisemitic? 

Finally, pretend token Republican co-host Alyssa Farrah Griffin put the icing on the absurd cake.

And for what it's worth, I think moderate, probably on the left-wing side. I don't think any Republicans see her as moderate. But I do think it’s a very wise idea to find a moderate vice president to open it to the biggest voting bloc.

"Moderate, probably on the left-wing side." I'm going to stop you right there, Ms. Haines. This is a No Oxymoronic Statements Zone. Please.

Let's Visit the Reality of 'Moderate,' Non-'Leftist' Kamala Harris

Most recently, Vance — Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate — said it best.

There's some bad news ... Vice President Kamala Harris ...  doesn't like me. Kamala Harris said something to the effect that I have no loyalty to this country. Well, I don't know, Kamala; I did serve in the United States Marine Corps and build a business. What the hell have you done other than collect a check? What has she done other than collect a check from her political offices, and we have to give her credit, my friends, she did serve as border czar during the biggest disaster — open border that we've ever had in this country. Let's get President Trump back there, close down that border, and bring some common sense and security to this country.

Every word of it, true — and then some.

WATCH: JD Vance Unleashes on VP Harris, As Trump-Vance Rally Starts in Michigan

Even Californians — Harris's home state — have weighed in on the San Francisco native's political views over the last 24 hours, including former Acting Director of National Intelligence under President Donald Trump, Richard Grenell.

Dear Pennsylvania…take it from this Californian, don’t let Kamala Harris anywhere near your energy sources. She’s a radical environmentalist even for California. Even Obama eventually read the science and agreed to fracking. As Attorney General, Kamala worked overtime to make sure liquid natural gas (LNG) terminals were not built throughout the entire state of California.

I could go on and on — trust me. 

HOT TAKES: California Weighs In on a Potential Kamala Harris Presidency

The absurd notion that Kamala Harris is a "moderate" is the stuff of fools. 

Wait. The imbeciles of "The View." Never mind.

[qqueenofhades]

Okay, y'all. Time to do this one more time. Let the fact that there are so many of these posts right now reinforce the point. Many of you already know this, and I see and love you, but for anyone still ~undecided about their choice, should they be an American citizen of voting age on November 3, 2020:

Time to not be. It was time a long, long while ago, but I am going to have to say it again.

Primary season is over. The endless fine-tooth combing of candidates' policies and positions is over. We are all deeply well aware that the candidates on the Democratic ticket, being human beings and establishment politicians, are flawed. "BUT WHAT ABOUT THIS POSITION FROM 19/ 20-WHENEVER AS JUSTIFICATION FOR WHY IT'S TERRIBLE TO VOTE FOR -- "

No. Stop. Just stop. Stop threatening to hold the rest of us hostage, in the middle of a pandemic, the Great Depression, and racial inequality and protests on a scale not seen from the 1960s, because you did not get Barbie Dream Candidate. That is the behavior of terrorists and toddlers. If your supposedly enlightened morally pure ideology does not involve any action to mitigate the harm that is directly in front of you, it isn't worth a shit as an ideology actually devoted to helping people. If your approach to politics is to shout about how Pure your ideas are on twitter and tear down anyone working within a system of flawed choices to do the good that they can: you're not helping, and frankly, your constant threats to withhold your suffrage as a punishment to us aren't convincing the rest of us that we really need to listen to you or that you have anyone's best interests at heart. The Online Left TM is as much a vacuous, self-reinforcing noise chamber as the Online Right TM, and can sometimes tend to be even more dangerous.

I was saying this in 2016. A lot of us were saying this in 2016. I am just about to turn 32 years old and have been voting in federal elections for almost 15 years. For what it's worth.

This is not an ordinary election. This is not a contest between two flawed candidates who respect the system and want to work to enact their policies in the ordinary way. One is a flawed 90s era Democrat who nonetheless has already been pushed CONSIDERABLY left in his policies and platforms since the end of the primaries (and his existing platform would already make him the most left president elected, even more than Obama). The other is a fascist dictator who has openly spoken about refusing to accept the election results, his desire to abolish term limits and serve for life, and complete the pillaging of any remaining fragile American public funds for him and his cult of cronies. He does not respect the system. He does not want to do anything for anyone that is not himself. 160,000 and counting needless deaths of American citizens have already happened. Will keep happening.

This is the last time Trump has to face voters. This is the last chance the country has to repudiate his entire poisonous ideology and its marching Nazi minions. IF he steps aside, which is already far from guaranteed, he can ride off into the sunset as a vindicated two term president and probably be rehabilitated like George W. Bush was within a few years of leaving office. American political memory is very short. It will happen. Again, if he even leaves.

RBG is 87 and has cancer again. She will NOT survive another four years. Stephen Breyer is 81. Their seats could both come up in the next four years. The Supreme Court could be a right wing rubber stamp for whatever time we all have left before climate change and coronavirus kill us all.

"But if people just thought for themselves and did their homework and didn't vote the party line like sheep, we could support a third party/write in -- " Stop. Just stop. Attend a ninth grade civics class and learn about how politics work in America. Yes, the two-party system sucks. Yes, the Electoral College is a hot steaming pile of absolute bullshit. Magical unicorn fairy dust fantasies WILL NOT change that.

Do not vote for Kanye (who has pretty much openly admitted he is trying to play spoiler to Biden on behalf of his buddy Trump). Do not vote for godforsaken fucking Gary Johnson or Jill Stein who appear on ballots just to give sanctimonious leftists the illusion of virtue-signaling. If you want any chance of fixing the mess that 2020 has left America and the world in, you need to vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The end.

Biden is a flawed old man who was our last choice, sure. He is also a distinguished public servant who has already been in the White House for eight years under Obama and thus we KNOW what to expect. He is an empathetic man who connects with people's personal tragedy and picked as his running mate a younger Black/biracial woman who directly confronted and called him out on past behavior. While the pundit class was simpering and whining about how it was Disrespectful and how could he consider her, Biden did so, and that speaks well to me of the fact that he is willing to learn, to take criticism, and not just accept it from a former Black female rival, but make her his second in command and the potential first female president of the United States.

Can you EVER picture Trump doing that? Not in eight thousand million years.

As for Kamala, we are all aware of her previous checkered history as a prosecutor (and even then, she did plenty of good things as well!). Since joining the Senate, however, she has consistently become one of its most progressive members. She is the co-sponsor of an economic aid package designed to give every American $2,000/month, backdated to March (the start of the coronavirus pandemic) and continuing at least a few months after its end. A Biden-Harris White House could make that happen. Especially if they are put into office with a Democratic House and Senate (for the love of God, Kentucky, kill Mitch McConnell with fire). That is just one example.

Harris's nomination is obviously historic. And Biden didn't choose another Biden (or another Tim Kaine, the blandest white man imaginable). He chose another Obama: a younger rising star of an immigrant background, a person of color, a former lawyer and someone who represents the diversity of the country that the white supremacists and the Cheeto in Chief have tried to paint as its worst and most degenerate evil.

A vote for Biden and Harris means getting rid not just of Trump, but Mike Pence, Vladimir Putin, Jared Kushner, Betsy Devos, the Trump crony destroying the Postal Service, the rampant coronavirus misinformation and bullshit, the destruction of Social Security and Medicare, the spread of Nazi propaganda from the President's twitter account, the likely two Supreme Court picks that would be as bad as Brett Kavanaugh or worse... on and on. Biden and Harris would be elected by progressive voters and thus answerable to them in 2022 midterms and 2024 general. They can both be, and already have been, pushed further left. They are reasonable and competent adults who have demonstrated experience and compassion. I KNOW about their flaws and past actions I don't agree with. But I'm frankly done with any more counterproductive straw man bitching about This One Bad Thing They Did and how it makes it a terribad awful choice to vote for them. Open your eyes. Look at the alternative. LOOK AT WHAT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED AND THE FACT THAT THIS IS NOT EVEN AS BAD AS IT COULD STILL GET.

Check your registration or register at vote.gov.

DO NOT LOOK AT POLLS AND DECIDE "EH BIDEN IS CLEARLY GOING TO WIN, I DON'T NEED TO VOTE." THAT IS HOW WE LOST LAST TIME.

Unseating incumbents is HARD. It is even harder when the other side has openly laid out their plan to cheat in great detail, and there is nothing really stopping them from doing it. The only thing, in fact, is massive, unfalsifiable results on an undeniable scale.

So:

Vote.

Vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Thanks a lot.

[multimetaverse]

HSMTMTS 2x01 Review

New Year’s Eve was a great way to return to HSMTMTS especially after such a long gap. Let’s dig in!

Vladimir Lenin once said that, ‘’ there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen". It’s been almost a year and half since S1 ended but this past week has seen revelation after revelation as the fandom has resurrected itself and promotion for S2 kicked into high gear: Joshua Bassett came out, Frankie and Joe confirmed that they are a real life couple, Larry seemingly confirmed that S2 will only have 11 eps rather than the 12 initially ordered, and perhaps most importantly Olivia revealed that she and the main cast are under contract for 4 seasons and made clear that she’s leaving the show as soon as her contract is up.

I really enjoyed this premiere, it felt like picking up right back where we left off. I’m guessing that S2 was originally supposed to premiere around Christmas or New Year’s but the holiday decorations and real Utah snow add a charming aesthetic to the ep. Tim Federle deserves credit for giving HSMTMTS more of an ensemble feel which is no easy feat with a cast as large as this show has. It likely won’t last due to covid restrictions  but at least for tonight we got to see all the characters hanging out together acting like a real group of friends.

The dialogue tonight really reminded me of Glee and I think I mean that as a compliment. Miss Jenn in particular seems to be doing her best April Rhodes impression minus the alcoholism. 

The rini scenes tonight were lovely. Perfect gift was a great song and I loved the rini duet during the music in me as the world faded around them leaving just the two of them. The Harry Styles reference is funny in light of Josh’s coming out interview. Of course, it’s hard now to separate Nini and Ricky and Olivia and Josh. Their chemistry shines through as 2x01, 2x02, and possibly parts of 2x03 were filmed pre Jolivia breakup which seems to have happened around summer 2020. Whether they can keep that same chemistry later on in S2, not to mention future seasons, remains to be seen.

A major theme tonight was communication and clearly Rini need to work on theirs. Poor Ricky had to learn that Nini’s moving to Denver the night before she leaves town which has to remind of him of his mom effectively abandoning him. Ricky saying that he’s never gonna breakup with Nini ever again sure sounds like foreshadowing for a disaster though the odds that this time Nini initiates the breakup are pretty good. 

I’m glad that the show is continuing to delve in the Bowen’s divorce story with their house being sold and Ricky and his dad having to move into an apartment. Divorce is expensive and the division of assets typically leave people less well off. Mike Bowen needs to work on his communication skills but he’s rocking that beard; it takes him from depressed divorced dad to depressed divorced daddy.

Seblos was cute and in a nice change of pace Disney doesn’t seem to be cynically teasing them then cutting their scenes. It was refreshing to see them just being a couple and to hear Carlos casually refer to himself as gay. In that regard tonight’s ep didn’t seem like it was a Disney show at all and it’s major progress that there are now two main gay characters on HSMTMTS. We learn that Carlos is rich which seems likely to be a source of conflict with Seb who comes from a large farming family.

Bet on It was really fun and I liked that Ricky apparently couldn’t stop singing it. The medley of HSM 2 songs was fun but I’ll be real with you wildcats, I never thought HSM 2 or 3 were nearly as good as the first movie so I’m not sad that they’re doing something else this year.

Wild that Big Red’s mom also calls him Big Red. Salt Lake Slices seems poised to be a big part of S2 both as hangout spot and work location for some of the characters. Redlyn are sweet together but sometimes Big Red comes off as a closeted gay guy which isn’t ideal for a het pairing that is supposedly a big part of S2.

Nice to see Gina so excited to have sleepovers with Ashlyn. We know from 2x03 that Gina contends with being single on Valentine’s day and from her glances at Ricky tonight she’s clearly not over him. Tim’s playing with fire and I can only hope he knows what he’s doing. I liked the little detail of Kourtney having AOC on her vision board, it feels true to the character (hopefully AOC gets elected president one day if the USA doesn’t collapse into a fascist dictatorship or civil war before then). EJ’s beard has got to go but I like that he seems committed to being a better version of himself; very doubtful his plan to go straight to Duke like his forefathers doesn’t change by the end of the season. 

Derek Hough did a good job of playing Zach as a subtly condescending man who managed to swiftly undermine Miss Jenn’s confidence, we’ll see what he and North High bring to the table.

Looking Ahead:

Next week are auditions for Beauty and the Beast, we know Ashlyn gets the role of Belle and EJ has conveniently removed himself from the running for Beast which presumably clears the path for Ricky to take the lead. There’s been some controversy over the casting choices and I’ll save my comments about it for the 2x02 review.

We get to see Lily who looks like a meaner version of season 1 Gina, we’ll see how much depth she actually ends up getting. Howie is introduced in 2x03 and Antoine likely shows up later on. Jack likely shows up towards the end of the season.

Howie seems to have a connection with Kourtney though the character synopsis does say he gets close to a wildcat or two which certainly leaves room to slide him into Gina’s plot. We know Antoine is into Ashlyn so that’s another love triangle to look forward to. Jack was described as having wanderlust and most of the cast seems not to have filmed with him so I think it’s likely that he plays a role in convincing EJ to take a gap year rather than head straight to Duke. 

A translation leak on TikTok reveals that in 2x03 Gina is sad that she’s only gotten a Valentine’s Day gift from her mom. A brief clip from the promo shows up her on her porch at night holding a heart shaped box of chocolates. If that’s supposed to be from a secret or semi-secret admirer than it has to be from either EJ, Ricky, or Howie. If it’s a platonic gift then it could be from anyone, we’ll see what Tim has up his sleeves.

Nini moving back to SLC is a question of when not if. It’s going to be very difficult to bring her back in a way that’s justified and also doesn’t leave the time she spends in Denver looking like a total waste. Frankly, I’d rather the show just bite the bullet and bring her back with as little fuss as possible.

We’re possibly around a quarter way through HSMTMTS given that the mains have 4 season contracts and presuming that the show is not cancelled earlier. At the very least the show will be radically different after S4 if they try to continue it as Olivia has made very clear that she’s going to leave asap to pursue her burgeoning music career full time (notably she’s only done the bare minimum of promo for S2). 

Looming over the remaining seasons of HSMTMTS is what the professional relationship between Olivia and Josh looks like especially since in many ways the show is built around Ricky and Nini. Off screen relationships have often caused on screen problems and dating a co-worker is rarely a good idea since even clean breakups leave lingering resentments. Obviously the Jolivia breakup was not clean, Driver’s License, Deja Vu, and Good 4 U (which is a certified bop) were clearly written from a place of hurt and in some ways were written to hurt. It’s no surprise that Joshua has dropped his duet with Sabrina Carpenter from his EP; someone on his team at least is trying to stop the damage to his reputation. There’s a decent chance that Olivia’s songs becoming such hits has irreparably damaged Joshua Bassett’s reputation among the same pool of largely young women that he’s targeting his music towards thereby cutting off his music career at the knees. If nothing else this behind the scenes drama should keep things entertaining for a while.

Until next week Wildcats 

[be11atrixthestrange]

The Loft Chapter 4

After a bad break-up, Hermione Granger moves into a messy and dysfunctional loft with four single men. What starts as a temporary home until she gets back on her feet becomes so much more, as she learns there's a lot of life - and love - that happens at rock-bottom.

Inspired by the TV Series ‘New Girl’

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Also on A03 | FFN

More Chapters

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Chapter 4

[Ron]

Ron would best describe the loft as a mess, but a clean one. After hours of scrubbing, the windows are clear and smudge-free, and the concrete floor shimmers with its long-forgotten natural color. What makes him feel most at home, however, is not the fresh pine scent of the couch cushions, but the fact that they're strewn about the floor like plush stepping stones. The boys have arranged them around the trash can in the middle of the room, which is empty save for a dried-up bottle of Febreeze.

Ron's desperate to know Hermione's opinion on the new decor. Despite lifting an eyebrow at the bad doodles of United States presidents and the cardboard cutout of a bald eagle plastered to the wall, she doesn't say anything. She must know better than to think he'll offer an explanation.

After cleaning and decorating the loft, Neville, Seamus, and Harry dispersed into their rooms to make themselves presentable, leaving Ron and Hermione alone in the kitchen to finish up the last of the dishes. He hands her a plate to dry, and she takes it with a smile.

"Thank you for helping, Hermione."

"Of course! But I'm not sure why we're cleaning so much if it's just going to get trashed."

Trashed might be an exaggeration, but she's right in the sense that the new cleanliness of the loft isn't going to last very long. Tonight they're throwing a party, Hermione's first as a loft resident, and she's in for a treat. The boys have been purposely vague regarding loft parties, as any accurate descriptions might turn her off attending. Ron would hate to have her make other plans tonight, whether those be with the girls, or worse, a date.

"Hey, we're not animals. But if it's going to get trashed, it's nice to know it's new-trashed, not old-trashed," he says, earning an eye-roll from Hermione.

"So I'm guessing that this party is America-themed?"

"No. Why would you guess that?"

"No reason," she says, eyeing the miniature blow-up Uncle Sam doll that the boys have been tossing around like a basketball.

"The decorations are just for the drinking game we're going to play," he says, motioning to the multiple cases of PBR lining the wall.

"Right, how do you play?"

"It's not really a game you can explain. You just have to experience it. Nice try, though."

"Then I look forward to experiencing it." She finishes drying the last dish and stacks it away neatly in the cupboard. "What else do we need to set up? Everyone's coming at eight, right?

Ron checks his watch. "Shit, you're right. People should be here soon. I'm going to get ready. Can you start on the beer castle?"

"The beer castle?"

"Yeah. Just stack beer cans in a castle shape around the trash can in the living room."

Ron doesn't wait for Hermione's reaction before he slips back into his room. He rummages around his closet in search of something to wear, something that makes him look both put-together and laid back, ready to party. He lands on a pair of khaki shorts and a pastel blue t-shirt that looks quite nice with his eyes.

He's pretty sure Hermione hasn't seen him in it. Not that it matters, anyway.

He pulls off his shirt and catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Surprisingly, he looks pretty damn good. He's a bit skinny but firm and fit. It comes as a pleasant surprise because he's been slacking on his workouts ever since Hermione moved in and he lost his home gym. It's been difficult to exercise in his tiny bedroom, so he doesn't. He hasn't wanted to work out in the living room for fear of Hermione seeing him, but maybe he should give that a try…

With a shrug, Ron pulls off his pants and stands back up. He can't resist the urge to take another look at himself in the mirror. As much as he wishes he was a bit more muscular, there are pros to being lanky. By comparison, his scrawny self really does accentuate his already well-endowed state.

He checks himself out from a few more angles before deciding that physically, he doesn't have much to complain about.

Before he has the chance to put on his pants, the door to his bedroom swings open. Ron startles when it crashes against the wall and Hermione barges in uninvited.

"Hey Ron, I have a question about the beer can castle—"

"Hermione!" Ron, completely naked, scrambles for something to cover himself with but doesn't have time before she's standing right in front of him. "You have to knock!"

She's staring at the two cans in her hands until she pauses and looks up, but her gaze never makes it to his face. Instead, it lands directly on his penis, and she seems to stare at it for an eternity. Thanks to his utter panic, Ron can't move.

It almost feels like time has stopped, and he's frozen there like the statue of David while Hermione ogles him. She appears to be frozen too, eyes wide, mouth agape, staring.

If his dick could blush, it would match the color of his ears, which are bleeding scarlet.

For a split second, he wonders if it's truly as bad as it seems. Maybe Hermione likes what she sees. A tiny seed of hope takes root.

But that hope shatters when she opens her mouth to speak and lets out the worst sound he's ever heard. It's somewhere between a scream and a giggle, and he wouldn't wish such a reaction on his worst enemy.

Without further ado, a red-faced Hermione mutters a quick and useless 'sorry' and rushes out the door and slams it behind her.

Ron stands there for a few seconds, dumbfounded, before the reality of what just happened crashes down.

Hermione just laughed at his dick.

Well, fuck.

Now that he knows how she really feels, he'll never be able to look her in the eye again.

Ron stays in his room until there's a knock on the loft's door, and he has to show his face in order to let in his guests. He's opted for a hoodie over his shirt so he can hide behind the hood whenever Hermione looks at him, because when she does, his neck prickles with heatwaves, and he feels like he's naked again.

It doesn't make sense — Ron's never reacted so strongly to having a woman see him naked, and he's had a decent amount of experience in that arena. He's no Seamus, of course, but he's not a stranger to the occasional hookup.

It's just because she laughed—no other reason.

He opens the door to find his sister Ginny, her roommate Demelza, and two of their mutual friends—Dean and Luna.

"Welcome," says Ron, opening the door.

"Hey, Ron!" says Ginny. "Hermione!"

Ginny crashes into Hermione for a hug, then introduces her to everyone else. "This is Hermione, Ron's new roommate."

"Nice to meet you all!"

Hermione falls into easy conversation with Ron's friends before they get a chance to greet him, but they don't seem bothered by it. He watches her through narrowed eyes and doesn't even realize he's glaring at her until she looks at him and scowls.

"What?"

"Nothing." He turns back toward his friends, hoping they didn't notice their interaction. "Make yourselves at home. Drinks in the fridge, food on the counter, and you know where the beer is," he says, pointing at the beer castle.

Harry turns the music up just as their guests crack open their beers, and everyone starts to relax. Except for Ron, of course. Even though he's hyper-aware of Hermione, he still manages to bump into her and make more frequent eye contact than he'd like.

For some reason, they seem to gravitate toward the kitchen to replenish food and drinks at the same time, and they barely manage a conversation when they run into each other.

"Oh, sorry," she says, trying to slide past him, only for him to walk directly into her in an attempt to get out of her way.

"Erm—"

"I'll go left; you go right."

"Yeah, okay."

Are they always this awkward around each other?

Every time he tries to act normal, all he can hear is her weird little high-pitched scream-laugh, and he just wants to disappear into his hoodie. On occasion, Ron can sense Hermione watching him, but she looks away whenever he tries to catch her gaze. Not that he wants to make awkward eye contact with her, he just wants her to leave him alone.

He continues to keep himself at a safe distance to avoid talking to her, making sure he's always involved in a conversation with someone else. Over the course of the party, he becomes progressively more resentful of how much mental space it requires to avoid her.

Then, like a hawk, she swoops in and catches him alone while he's in the kitchen grabbing another beer.

"Ron!"

"Jesus," he says, nearly crashing into her. "You scared me."

"Why are you being so weird?"

"I'm not."

"Is it because I saw you naked?"

"No."

"It's not a big deal, Ron."

Of course, she has the nerve to act like he's the one who's being childish.

"Oh yeah, Hermione?" he says. "Then why did you laugh? Too immature?"

Hermione opens her mouth to answer, but in the moment before she does, he turns away from her and shouts to the crowd, "Who's ready for True American?"

The loft whoops their approval and begins to gather in the living room.

"Right now?" whispers Hermione behind him. "We're still talking."

But he ignores her.

"The game is True American," shouts Ron at a volume much louder than necessary for the size of the room. "Say 'aye' if you've played before."

There's a chorus of 'ayes' and a room-wide scrambling toward the furniture. When everyone hops onto a cushion, a table, or a chair, Ron notices Hermione looking around frantically, her expression disheartened.

"I'm the only one who's never played?" she asks.

"It's okay, Hermione," says Harry. "All you need to know is that it's about fifty percent drinking, fifty percent life-size Candy Land."

"I'd argue that it's seventy-five percent drinking, twenty percent Candy Land, and the floor is lava," says Ginny. "Which is why we're standing on the furniture. Hermione, you're melting."

"Oh no," she says, hopping up onto the coffee table between the beer castle and Demelza, who extends a hand to help her.

"Honestly, guys, it's ninety-percent drinking and has a very loose Candy Land-like structure to it," says Neville. "There's also a truth or dare component."

"I just need to know how to play—"

"You're smart; you'll catch on," says Ron. His tone comes off a little more terse than he'd intended, so he quickly continues, "I'll start. JFK!"

"FDR!"

Everyone but Hermione shuffles to a new location, avoiding the lava floor, and Hermione is left standing in her same spot between the beer castle and now, Luna.

"What just happened?" she asks, looking confused.

"Hermione, since you're the last to find a new spot, you have to pick someone, and they'll ask you a truth or dare question," explains Ginny. "Just answer and drink."

"Okay, then," she says. "Um, Neville. Truth."

"How do you like loft life?" asks Neville brightly, eliciting a groan from the crowd.

"Neville, you can do better—" starts Seamus.

"It's her first game!" he says. "Let's ease her in. So, Hermione?"

"Well, it's great so far."

"Just so you know, not every question will be that tame," says Ginny from her precarious perch on the armchair.

"Go figure," says Hermione before chugging back a gulp of her PBR.

As soon as she swallows her drink, Neville shouts out, "The only thing we have to fear is…"

"Fear itself!"

When the crowd joins in, Hermione looks around the room, dumbfounded.

"Hermione, you didn't complete the quote," says Harry.

"I didn't know I was supposed to!"

"Well, now you do! Drink, and then pick someone."

"I feel like I'm at a disadvantage since you didn't explain the game," she says, challenging Harry.

"We've all been there," Harry says, shrugging, "It's a rite of passage."

"Fine," Hermione takes a long swig and points at Ginny. "Ginny, truth."

"Sweet!" says Ginny, beaming mischievously. "Hermione, are you attracted to anyone in the loft?"

Ron's ears tingle at Ginny's question, and he tunes in for Hermione's answer.

"Nope," she says, taking a hasty drink.

In his curiosity, Ron has made prolonged eye contact with Hermione for the first time since the penis-incident, but when she catches his gaze, he quickly looks away. Ron's stomach clenches. Not that he wants Hermione to be attracted to him, but after she saw him naked, it's quite the low blow. Trying to look casual, he pulls back a swig of beer.

"Really?" presses Seamus. "None of us?"

"Ginny's turn!" says Hermione, ignoring Seamus' question.

"Alright, here we go," says Ginny, her eyes narrowed in concentration. "Abe Lincoln! George Washington!"

"Cherry Tree!" shouts Ron.

"Correct! Pick a person and an amendment!"

"Hermione, second."

Everyone looks at Hermione, and Ginny tosses her an unopened can of beer.

"I don't understand," she says. "You still haven't given me any information."

"You have to shotgun a beer! And then pick someone to ask truth or dare," says Dean.

"Wait, what? That doesn't make any sense."

"Give it time, Hermione," encourages Neville. "I didn't understand it at first either."

Hermione groans and sets down her half-full PBR, and reaches into her pocket for her key. She stabs the bottom of her can, then tips it into her mouth, chugging it down while the loft's onlookers cheer in the background.

Eyebrows raised, Ron watches her shotgun her beer, trying to ignore the smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He never thought he'd see that, and he isn't complaining.

"Yeah, there's no going back now," says Hermione once she finishes. "Luna, truth."

"Yay!" says Luna. "Did you and Ron get into a fight? You've been avoiding each other all night."

Ron's face grows hot. He bores his gaze toward Luna, who is staring intently at Hermione and doesn't seem to notice Ron's glare.

"Is that really your question?" she asks.

"Yep!"

"Luna, you've never seen us interact," says Ron. "How would you know that?"

Luna shrugs. "I can just tell."

"You know what," says Harry as he looks between Ron and Hermione. "You two have been acting weird tonight."

"Is it that obvious?" asks Hermione.

Ron feels Hermione's eyes on him, and his palms break out in a sweat. Once again, his refusal to make direct eye contact probably serves as a sufficient answer to Hermione's question.

"Well, fine then," she says, turning back toward Luna. "Earlier, I walked in on him changing. But it wasn't a big deal."

"Ron, is this true?" asks Harry.

Everyone turns to look at Ron, who groans. "Yes, but as she said, it wasn't a big deal."

His roommates might as well be shining an interrogation light on him by the way they all continue to stare.

"If it wasn't a big deal, why are you all fidgety?" asks Seamus.

"I'm not," says Ron, but his defensive tone suggests otherwise.

"Yeah, women have seen you naked before, Ron," says Luna. "Why is it different with Hermione?"

"Whose turn is it?" says Ron, much louder than necessary. Anything to divert the attention from Luna's oddly specific question.

"Oh, it's my turn," says Luna. "One, two, three, go!"

Luna holds up the number five to her forehead, and everyone else follows suit with their own number. Ron looks frantically around the room and breathes a sigh of relief when he matches numbers with Harry.

It appears that Hermione, who was the last to catch on, as usual, is the only one without a partner.

"Not again!" she says. "But at least that one made sense. Seamus, truth."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" asks Ginny.

But it's too late. Seamus, who is already slurring his words, looks at Hermione and asks, "So, Hermione, what does Ron's dick look like?"

"Dude, what the fuck?" shouts Ron.

"Seriously, Seamus," adds Harry. "That's not even an interesting question."

"Sure, it is! I'm interested!"

"Old news," pipes in Neville. "We've all seen Ron's dick."

Embarrassed, Ron glances toward Hermione. She looks lost for words. "You don't have to answer, Hermione."

"No, we haven't!" says Seamus.

"Really?" says Dean as he side-eyes Seamus. "I've seen it, and I don't even live here."

Ron looks toward the loft door. Maybe he can make a run for it.

"Am I the only roommate who hasn't seen your dick?" asks Seamus, now appearing uninterested in Hermione's answer. When everyone in the room turns to look at Ron, he feels like he's naked in a crowd again.

Ron shrugs. "I guess so," he says, casually taking a sip of his beer.

"When? Where?"

"I don't know, dude. Locker rooms, penis fights, I'm sure you'll see it someday," says Ron. "Can we stop talking about my dick, now?"

"Yes, let's move on," says Hermione with an apologetic glance in Ron's direction. "Just ask me a different question."

"Fine," says Seamus, his words melding together, "Hermione, what did you think of Ron's dick?"

"Seriously, Seamus?"

"I guess we can't," mutters Ron.

Hermione rolls her eyes. "Whatever. He has a very nice penis."

"I wouldn't know," says Seamus bitterly. Then, just as quickly, "JFK!"

"FDR!"

Everyone scrambles for a new spot, and this time Ron's the only one left out in the shuffle.

"Fuck," he says, looking around for someone who won't ask him a dick-related question. "Uh, Demelza, truth."

Demelza smiles. "How did Hermione react to seeing your dick?"

"I picked you because I thought you wouldn't ask about my dick, Demelza."

"Sorry," shrugs Demelza.

"It wasn't a big deal," says Hermione.

Before he can stop himself, Ron scoffs, and once again, everyone snaps their heads in his direction.

"Sounds like it was a big deal."

"It wasn't!" says Hermione. "I mean—"

"Hermione, don't," says Ron, but Hermione continues without a missed beat.

"I laughed at first, but only because I was nervous."

"You LAUGHED?" asked Demelza. "No wonder you two are being so weird."

"It was an accident!"

"Let's move on," growls Ron. "Demelza, your turn." He shoots a glare in Hermione's direction.

"Niagara!" says Demelza.

Everyone brings their drink to their mouth and begins chugging. As soon as each person finishes, they toss their empty cans to the PBR castle in the middle of the room. Hermione, having caught on a moment too late, is the last one to toss it.

Hermione groans. "Harry, dare."

Harry grins. "Well, to make Ron feel better, I dare you to repeat after me. I love Ron's cock."

Ron's ears grow warm again, but they're also buzzing from the beer, which takes precedence over his embarrassment. Also, it'll be interesting to hear Hermione follow through with this dare.

Hermione narrows her eyes at him. "Fine. I love Ron's penis."

Ron sends her a curious glance. She said it so… formally, like she was taking an oath in court.

There's a tense silence while everyone stares at Hermione. "Try again," says Harry.

"Why?"

"I love Ron's cock," he repeats. "Say it."

"I did."

"You said penis. Not cock."

"Same thing!" she protests.

"Hermione, why can't you say cock?" repeats Harry.

"Penis is the technical term," she says, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Ron chuckles at the argument playing out before him.

"What about dick?" suggests Demelza.

Hermione stares at Demelza, her cheeks flooding with color. "Why?"

"Schlong? Wang? Knob?" offers Seamus.

"Seriously, what's wrong with 'penis'?"

"Nothing, it's just weird that you won't say cock," says Harry. "I think that should require two drinks for refusing a dare."

Ron looks around the room; everyone nods in agreement.

"Fine," says Hermione before taking a second sip.

As soon as she finishes her sip, Harry shouts, "Give me liberty or—"

"Give me death!"

As assumed, Hermione is the only one who doesn't catch on.

"Ugh," she says. "Dean, dare."

"I dare you to make it even!" slurs Dean.

"What does that mean?"

"He showed you his; now you show him yours."

"Executive order," says Ginny. "Vetoed."

"Why?" asks Ron. "I don't think it's a bad idea. Plus, it would make me feel better." He pouts at Hermione with wide, puppy-dog eyes and grins when her cheeks flood with color. He's well aware that she never responded to Dean.

"Too far, that's why," says Ginny.

"Well," says Ron. "You guys are no fun."

There's a moment of silence when no one seems to remember where they are in the game or whose turn it is. Seamus breaks the silence with a question directed at Ron.

"Can I please just see it?"

Ron groans and rolls his eyes. "No. And I'm going to bed."

"Why?" whines Seamus.

"I didn't think my dick would be such a huge topic of conversation, yet here we are."

"More of a slightly above average topic if you ask me," says Harry.

"See what I mean?" says Ron, as he hops off his cushion and turns his back to the crowd. "Goodnight."

x

After chugging a tall glass of water, Ron retreats to his room for the night, ready to escape his roommates' drunken shenanigans. He changes into sweats, settles underneath the covers, and is about to turn off the lights when there's a knock at his door.

"Erm, come in."

The door creaks open, and Hermione pokes her head into his room. "Hi," she says.

"Hi," he responds, raising his eyebrows at his unexpected guest. "Thank you for knocking."

"So—"

"I'm not naked. Sorry to disappoint you." He cuts her off, aiming for an icy tone, but unfortunately, it comes off whiny.

Maybe he has been acting a bit petty and childish.

She stares at him, expressionless, for a few tense moments and then bursts out into laughter. He can't help but follow suit. Her laughter is quite contagious when he's fully clothed.

"For the record, I'm not laughing at the thought of you naked," she assures him as if reading his mind.

"Sure, Hermione. Sure," he says. His cheeks are heating up, but he's glad it's not from embarrassment this time.

"I meant it, you know," she says, as soon as her laughter dies down.

"You meant what?"

"That you have a very nice—" she clears her throat, "cock."

Ron beams — at both the compliment and her word choice. "You said cock!"

She stands a little taller. "I've been practicing."

"Say it again!" he urges.

"Please don't make me."

"Pretty please—"

"Fine," she says, taking a step, so she's fully in the room. The door closes behind her. "Cock. Dick. Schlong. Willy."

"Okay, now you're embarrassing yourself."

"Give me more words," she says, now grinning. "I want to prove that I can do it."

"Okay, why don't you try Peter Pecker. Big Red. The Orange Cannon."

Hermione's face flashes red, and she slaps a hand to her mouth.

"Too much for you?" asks Ron.

"Did you nickname your penis?"

"No!" Ron protests, although his flushing cheeks likely give him away. "Those are from former lovers."

"Oh, well, I'm not going to say them then."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not your former lover," she argues.

He catches a slight emphasis on' former' and forces himself to keep his expression neutral. Maybe some good will come from the penis incident. Either that, or he's imagining it.

"While technically true, I still want to hear you say them."

"Too bad."

Thankful that the awkwardness seems to be dissipating, Ron grins at her. "Then you'll have to make it up to me another way."

As soon he speaks, he winces, hearing the implication of his words a moment too late. Did he actually just say that?

Hermione doesn't waste any time with her response. "How? By making it even?"

Ron cannot interpret her expression — it almost looks like she's trying to keep it neutral. In his effort to decipher it, he hesitates for too long, and by leaving her comment hanging, he might as well have agreed.

"That was actually what I came in here to do," she says, biting her lip.

"Really?"

"Yes."

At this point, it feels like his whole face is on fire, and Hermione's smirk isn't helping at all. He can't bring himself to look away from her eyes nor say anything, as the air feels too thick with tension. She could be bluffing, but he has no desire to call her on it if she is.

Is she joking?

His question answers itself when Hermione averts her eyes to the ground and hooks her thumbs at the hem of her shirt.

Holy shit. She's not.

Hermione keeps her eyes on the ground, and Ron can't help but grin at how her cheeks turn bashfully pink. He wishes he could help it because he's definitely beaming like an idiot. With a deep, nervous breath, she pulls her shirt up and over her bra—

She's not wearing a bra.

Fuck.

Ron lets out a breath that he didn't even know he was holding. "Well damn, Hermione."

Still holding up her shirt, she meets his gaze. "Yes, Ron?"

"You have amazing… knockers."

"Ron!" she says, shoving her shirt back down. He immediately misses the view, but he doesn't regret his word choice. "They're called breasts."

"Boobies. Bing Bongs. Spongey love mountains."

"And I'm the immature one?"

"Jesus, woman, just take the compliment! I'm trying to tell you that I love your tatas." He speaks before he can filter himself, hoping she doesn't read too much into his phrasing. There's nothing wrong with showing appreciation, after all.

She lets a small smile at his admission but quickly narrows her eyes and crosses her arms over her now fully-clothed chest. "If I have to say cock, you have to say breasts."

"Sorry, Hermione," says Ron, his tone veering dangerously close to flirtation. Then, feeling a bit bolder, he continues, "what I meant to say is you have wonderful breasts."

Her face tinges red, and she smiles smugly. "Thank you, Ron."

"You're very welcome. Your turn."

"What?"

He motions toward his pants. "I want to hear you say it again."

She groans. "Fine, but this is the last time."

"Sure it is."

She rolls her eyes before continuing. "Ron, you have a lovely cock."

His breath hitches in his throat. Hearing her say that again definitely does something to him, and it's not helped by the sincerity in her tone. She's not lying. As a result, his hair stands on end, heat pools in his stomach, and he's thankful for the positioning of his bed covers.

"Thank you, Hermione," he responds, looking directly into her warm brown eyes. Reflecting her slight smile, they appear softer and darker than usual, as if they're deep in thought.

Ron and Hermione keep eye contact for a few elongated seconds before the awkwardness of the interaction kicks in, and they avert their eyes, looking anywhere but each other. What an odd conversation to have with a roommate.

"I should go to bed," says Hermione, pointing at the door.

"Erm, yeah. Me too."

"So I guess I'll see you in the morning?"

"Good night," he says, but Hermione's already out the door. He sighs.

It shuts behind her, and Ron turns off the light and leans back in his bed. When he closes his eyes, the image of Hermione's perfect breasts is still fresh in his mind, and he makes no effort to let it morph into something else because who knows if he'll ever get to see them again.

Why would he? She's just his roommate.

Yeah. I'm definitely attracted to my roommate.

A smile creeps onto his face. It feels good to admit it, even if it's only to himself.

[aion-rsa]

Scarface: Where Tony Montana Went Wrong

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“All I have in this world is my balls and my word, and I don’t break them for no one,” Tony Montana declares in the 1983 gangster classic, Scarface. Yet Al Pacino’s antihero breaks both in his quest for money, power, and women. And just as he is on the brink of winning the trifecta, he is blown away like so much dust up a nose.

Did he lose because the Cuban mobster didn’t heed the advice of his first crime boss? Or is it because he just couldn’t stand to see his sister and his best friend wearing his-and-her pajamas? In truth, Montana’s fall can probably be traced back to when he learned to speak English by “watching guys like Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney.”

Directed by Brian De Palma, and written by Oliver Stone, Scarface is a remake of Howard Hawks’ vastly influential 1932 mob movie, so Montana’s explosive descent was preordained. Tony Montana continued Pacino’s run of criminal icons, which included Sonny in Dog Day Afternoon and the ultimate crime family head, Michael Corleone in The Godfather films. The actor supplanted Paul Muni’s Tony Carmonte as the recognizably scarred face of the title role. Pacino would go on to play Carlito in Carlito’s Way and Lefty in Donnie Brasco, but while each hoodlum brings a new facet to his rogues gallery, none of his gangsters ever achieve their ultimate desires. They almost all reach dizzying heights, and everyone of them sees the dream slip through their fingers. Still, Montana experiences perhaps the greatest fall of all.

The original 1932 film took place during Prohibition when crime was a viable means of survival. De Palma’s adaptation happens in the Reagan era, a time when lucky opportunists could get their lips around the spigots of cash before it got a chance to trickle down. Tony’s economic theory is much more succinct: “You know what capitalism is? Getting fucked.”

Scarface is a rags-to-riches-to-self-destructive fireball story, and nothing succeeds like excess. Montana’s first crime boss in America, Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia), has weathered the climate change from President Carter to the Gipper, and warns Tony to never “underestimate the other guy’s greed.”

In the original Howard Hughes production, Tony was an immigrant from Italy. In the Cold War era film, Montana is a refugee from Cuba. Their shared first mistake is to believe in the American Dream.

The World Is Yours

These words are flashed in both films and hit each of the two criminal aspirants as hard as the “give me your tired, poor, and hungry” promises carved under the Statue of Liberty. Scarface opens shortly after the Mariel boatlift, the 1980 exodus which followed Cuba’s economic crash. Montana seeks asylum, telling immigration officers he is a political prisoner who doesn’t agree with his country’s politics and owns nothing under communism. He says even American prison is better than his life on the Caribbean island. The officers note his criminal past, the telltale tattoo on his arm, and the scar on his face, which despite their insults was obviously not caused by oral sex.

In exchange for a Green Card, Montana and his friend Manny Ribera (Steven Bauer) assassinate Gen. Emilio Rebenga, who tortured the brother of the crime boss Lopez. Tony settles in sunny Miami. And when he gets out of the kitchen and into the heat of crime, he hits the ground running. “The World Is Yours,” after all. All you have to do is take it, and Montana has both hands out.

Frank warns his protégé, “The guys who last in this business are the guys who fly straight – lowkey, quiet; and the guys who want it all – chicas, champagne, flash – they don’t last.” But Montana is a meteor, bound to burn up in the atmosphere. He gets caught on the orbit of Alejandro Sosa (Paul Shenar), agreeing to supply cocaine from Bolivia independent of the other drug lords. Within a few years, Montana is doing so well, the feds target him for tax evasion.

Tony’s Betrayal of Frank Lopez

Montana’s betrayal of Frank Lopez is crucial to his downfall. Frank is the father figure who initially took a chance on Tony. He let him rise through the ranks, even as he tried to bite off more than he could chew. Frank’s biggest mistake is not making sure his underlings follow his sage advice. He also ignores one of his own commandments. Lopez underestimates Montana’s greed. He trusts Tony to accompany his trusted second-gun Omar Suarez (F. Murray Abraham) to Bolivia to meet with Sosa, and continues to let Tony operate after the druglord hangs Suarez from a helicopter.

The deal Montana makes behind Frank’s back is a major step toward the fall. The vow Tony takes never to betray Sosa ultimately leads to the last splash. Montana breaks his word to both of these men, and they bust his balls as a result. When Tony returns to Miami, Frank is suspicious over Omar’s death and his returning soldier’s independence. As Montana begins to build his own cocaine empire, Frank orders a professional hit.

For gangsters, the only good cop is a bad cop, and it is advisable to grease the wheels which move crime. Mel Bernstein (Harris Yulin) demands his take early in the film at the Babylon Club, which has the perfect cocktail napkins for bribery notes. Bernstein was willing to overlook the murders of Rebenga, “Hector the Toad,” and “that bloodbath at the Sun Ray Hotel.” Tony should have taken him at his word when the cop said he could clean up Tony’s Lopez mess.

Before Tony eliminates Frank, he is hungry. The money and drugs are not a distraction. After he begins to accumulate power, he lets his public profile rise and indulges in conspicuous consumption. Montana keeps a chained-up tiger in front of his compound just to let everyone know how powerful he is. There are real life precedents for this. Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar imported hippos for his private zoo. Brooklyn mobster “Crazy” Joe Gallo kept a pet lion named Cleo in the basement of his headquarters. The scenario was also probably inspired by Miami’s most notorious drug lord, Mario Tabraue, whose predilection for wild cats was featured in the Netflix documentary Tiger King. But the most conspicuous acquisition Montana leveraged cut Frank the deepest.

It’s always a mistake to go after the boss’ girl. James Cagney’s Tommy Powers knew this in The Public Enemy (1931). James Woods’ Maximillian “Max” Bercovicz skirts this in Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America (1984). Montana sets out to steal Frank’s trophy wife, Elvira Hancock (Michelle Pfeiffer), from the moment he lays eyes on her, though he waits for the height of his reign to claim her. He does it as much to emasculate his former boss as he does it out of desire. It’s a betrayal equal to having Manny whack Frank while he pleads for his life.

The new couple is married by 1983, but with a marriage always on the rock.

Don’t Get High on Your Own Supply

Montana’s downfall is aided, abetted, but most of all mirrored in his descent into addiction. He probably took his first sniff from Elvira’s stash, but even as Montana bemoans, “I got a junkie for a wife,” he doesn’t get wind of his own problem. “Another Quaalude, and she’ll be mine again,” he reasons as the trophy wife climbs off the pedestal and up on a shelf.

Montana is in deep drug denial when Elvira leaves him after he openly complains she can’t have children because she is polluted with the yaya he’s been peddling. He should at least entertain the notion when she openly wonders if he would even be alive to raise their child.

In American Gangster, Denzel Washington’s Frank Lucas knows enough not to dip his nose into the supply. And while Pacino’s slide into the junkie aspects of his character is physically more subtle than Ray Liotta’s bug-eyed Henry Hill in Goodfellas, the results are just as devastating. When Montana was crushing the competition and bagging the Sandman, he had discipline. His mind gets muddled as his drug use spirals out of control. He makes rash decisions, dips into schizoid delusions, and succumbs to white powder paranoia. He can’t see his way through the haze to find alternatives. He walks right into the undercover cop’s money laundering bust.

The drugs dull his instincts. If Tony wasn’t high at the security command center, he would have seen Sosa’s soldiers encroaching his compound over the cameras. He had 10 bodyguards on the property, he could have positioned them defensively. The only thing his ultimate hit man is hiding behind is a pair of killer shades. He never should have been able to sneak behind Montana’s back. Tony also wouldn’t have gotten rid of his most trusted weapon.

Over and Underestimating Little Friends

Tony Montana’s right-hand man would have been the best, first defense against the Sosa attack. What Tony does to Manny Ribera is his worst action. The two are virtually brothers. Their bond goes beyond being partners in crime, it tightened in the “Freedomtown” concentration camp, and solidified in the Miami chainsaw massacre. It is because Manny is Tony’s most trusted soldier that he will never be good enough for Tony’s sister Gina (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). Tony’s saving grace is he believes he is doing all this to ensure a better life for his sister. Gina is supposed to represent the innocence he sacrificed, but she is also an unattainable sin.Tony’s mother doesn’t try to separate her children merely because her daughter might be swallowed in the criminal life; she is curbing what she sees as Tony’s unnatural urges. 

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Even if Tony doesn’t see Manny as a rival for his sister’s affections, he still sees him through the eyes of a fellow criminal, and a womanizing one at that. Tony is just like his mother, who rejects him. Tony brands his friend, and ultimately seals his fate with it.

The problem is Ribera wasn’t made to be a gangster. He is a loyal and efficient consigliere and soldier for Tony’s crew, but he would have been happier slapping his name on knockoff designer jeans. Besides the bubbling incestuous tension exacerbated by the coke haze, Tony doesn’t want to see his best friend happier than him, and denies Gina a real chance at the happiness he wants for her.

It’s the one thing Tony can’t buy for her. Gina and Manny fully expect Tony to be thrilled by their marriage. They were going to surprise him with the news. Tony’s incestuous protectiveness speeds his downfall. He murders Manny as a punishment. Gina is shot by Sosa’s men. Montana loses the two most important people in his life, and his inability to control his lusts destroy them all.

“Say Goodnight to the Bad Guy”

The biggest contributory factor in Tony’s downfall is his humanity. In The Godfather, Sonny Corleone advises his brother Michael not to take things too personally in business. When Lopez gives Montana the mission of delivering a bundle of cocaine to Columbian dealers, the rising mobster takes things very personally. The deal goes bad when Montana’s friend Angel Fernandez is murdered with a chainsaw in a scene so aurally graphic (watch it again, there’s no violence shown, only heard), it almost got the film an X rating.

It was allowed in the film in the name of education, Stone pointed to a DEA report which detailed the exact scenario. Tony teaches the Colombians a lesson in humanity. Not content with leaving with the cash and the coke, he kills every single gang member who had anything to do with Angel’s death.

Tony also lets his conscience be his guide when he’s working the GPI on a hit. Faced with serious jail time for his tax evasion arrest, he makes a deal with Sosa, who is also under fire. Montana agrees to fly to New York and assassinate a journalist before he can give a speech on Sosa’s organization. A bomb has been planted in the journalist’s car, and Tony is in charge of tailing until the perfect detonation point. But when Tony arrives on the scene to assassinate the journalist, he notices the man’s wife and children are with him. Montana not only breaks his word, the promise to protect his powerful partner, but he murders Sosa’s right hand man, Alberto, rather than kill the children playing in the back seat.

“I Always Tell The Truth. Even When I Lie.”

Tony Montana may have been the ballsiest and most charismatic of his machismo mob, but he wasn’t the brightest. He acknowledges his intellectual shortcomings, “I come from the gutter,” he admits. “I know that. I got no education, but that’s okay. I know the street.” But he doesn’t read signs. He can’t tell a freeway from a dead end. Frank Lopez may be a blowhard, but his words of wisdom could have been carved in the cement. 

All the concrete Tony brags about has gone to his head, making his skull thicker than Pacino’s accent. Montana is brash and unbending, narcissistically adherent to only his own advice, and his own worst counsel. His anger blinds him, the battery is running low on his foresight, and he’s so flashy his enemies can see him coming from miles away. And he can’t see them when they’re standing close enough to breathe on the back of his neck. 

Final Massacre

Of course the most obvious reason Tony ends up the way does is because he fights off an army by himself. He’s got quite an arsenal, and the coke probably makes it seem like a good idea at the time, but the decision to stay and fight is vastly miscalculated. Even if Tony had survived the last assassination attempt, Sosa’s men would always be hunting for him. It would have been a short hunt. Tony Montana would have died of a heart attack from all that coke he snorted.

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[penig]

The only reason we didn't flip last time is we're gerrymandered to hell and gone.

My own county has been blue for a long time. Every day I go out I pass dozens of yard signs - so far this year there is one sign for the traitor. Sometimes GOP names crop up in a yard full of Democrats, but always in conjunction with other words like "Mothers Against Greg Abbot" and "Lose the Cruz." Although too many signs first-name Harris, one of them on the south side calls her "La Kamala," and I can live with that. (i.e., she is The Kamala.)

We get enough people to the polls, count on it, Texas will be blue from top to bottom.

But it's gonna take a lot of people, 'cause those districts are whack.

Early-voting turnout in Texas is off to a hot start. 🔥 More than 840,000 people have cast their ballots in person statewide, almost 100,000 more than 2020!

On top of that, the number of registered voters in Texas grew more than 10% between 2020 and 2024.

What are you waiting for? 🤠 Make your plan to vote and go #VoteEarly at WeAll.Vote/voterhub.

📹 : eureka.dawn.lmti

[halothenthehorns]

TLTNL- THE OTHER MINISTER

Remus wasn't really asleep. Sirius had shared a dorm with him for seven years and a flat for the past two years already, he knew how he slept as well as any of his mates, far better than anyone from his own house, so those little snorts he was trying to pass off as his real sleep wasn't fooling anyone, especially not Sirius. He let him keep going though, in hopes that he actually would fall asleep soon. Sirius, for once, was not in a very talkative mood tonight. None of them really were, which is likely why the other three had gone to bed so early after an equally timely supper. The curiosity lingered of course, to ask why Moony would feign sleep instead of staying up for whatever time they pleased, chatting away about nothing. Both of them were night-owls by nature, easily staying awake the latest without even realizing it. James had more been the early riser, bounding out of bed with the most energy easily and whipping them all up for the morning.

Sirius had to force his mind to cut off there, to remind himself again why he couldn't just go out right now and fix this problem that had lead to more awkward silence between them than even Sirius had ever caused. So instead he sat there, stirring his cold tea and gazing out the back door at nothing and forcing himself to remain on an issue he could pick apart. Normally Remus only feigned sleep the night before a full moon, he was usually least talkative those days and still no matter what tried to put a bit of distance between himself and everyone else. This clearly wasn't it this time though. Perhaps he was just dreading what they were going to hear next like they all were, no one wanted to keep going and hear more of Harry's life after what he'd last been through. It grew harder by the day to pretend like this future was fixable, now even he wasn't around to help Harry anymore. Remus was the last of James' friends who stood any chance in staying in Harry's life, and his track record wasn't stellar for doing that so far. Remus likely no more believed than Sirius it would change now.

By far the most agitating part of it was that Moony hadn't just come and talked to him about it. Sure he feigned normalcy earlier when they'd been reading those Beedle tales with Harry, but Sirius had still been waiting at any moment for Remus to turn around and tell him what was really on his mind. He hadn't, and he still wasn't now at the most opportune time.

  He was trying to be mature about this, not let the idea his future would cease after so many terrible and long years crush him into a weeping mess. So he wouldn't go in and bother Moony if he didn't want to be, but also the idea of being shut up in a room alone was just too repellent right now, even in a house he actually liked. What he wouldn't give just to leave, for ten minutes. To be back in the Forbidden Forest where their biggest worry was which direction Moony was headed in, the moonlight bathing everything with a mysterious glow they understood better than anyone, just running to run and caring for nothing more than each other...

James came down the stairs next morning and frowned with concern. Remus was face down into the couch cushions like always, but Sirius seemed to have passed out at the table right where he'd left him last night. He'd fully expected Padfoot and Moony to be up for hours chatting away like he and Lily had, but clearly neither had moved an inch.

With a heavy sigh he went to work getting his infant's morning bottle ready, and settled in the seat next to his best man, sitting contently as his charge at his breakfast. James couldn't sit in silence for long though, so as soon as the baby was done he set him in his highchair and reached over to prod Sirius awake.

He merely groaned and buried his face into the crook of his arms, the cup of tea coming dangerously close to being knocked over in the process. James scooted this farther away from him before doing it again. "You're an idiot."

"Always a lovely thing to hear first moment of the day," he muffled around a yawn.

"Then don't be an idiot and fall asleep in a position that we're going to have to hear about all day," he returned much more pleasantly. It wasn't that unheard of, Sirius had been known to fall asleep over his homework a few times in their sixth year, but they'd learned the reason for that later, at the time they just hadn't realized how right they'd been in mocking him for trying to impress someone.

"Why's he slumped over the table this time?" Lily yawned her greeting as she passed by.

"I'm working up to that," James promised.

She stopped and greeted her infant before giving her husband a quick kiss and sitting down on his other side. Sirius still had his face buried away, but the scent of the bacon and eggs she'd started had his nose finally twitching towards the surface.

It wasn't until Harry came down the stairs that Sirius forced himself to wake fully, rousing by shaking himself and blurry eyes focusing on nothing.

"I volunteer Sirius to be the one to wake up Moony," James said around a full mouth, runny egg still going down his chin.

"I say we leave him there, if he wants to sleep through breakfast that's his problem," Sirius huffed while ripping bacon apart and managing to fit more in his mouth that way.

Lily turned with the same napkin she'd just used on her infant to plop onto James' face as a hint before going up to do it herself while the boys hardly noticed as they kept bickering.

Even as Remus joined, stirring brown sugar into his eggs but still mixing more than eating them, Harry seemed the last to really wake up. Who would have thought he'd long for the dreams of the graveyard back, yet the replay of watching Sirius fall through the veil all night had been more a stab to his soul than Voldemort could ever do to him.

He would have thought coming down here and finally interacting with him would help, but even watching that color on his face, hearing him chat animatedly with his dad, watching him shift his weight restlessly as even food couldn't contain all of his energy, it only made the feeling he'd been suppressing the past day double. This wasn't his Sirius, the one he'd lost fourteen years from now. So how then was he supposed to cope with a loss when it kept making jokes in his face?

Lily had to wrangle all of the boys to get into the living room so they could start Harry's next year, if she had to see her boy with half-lidded eyes much longer she would have tucked him back into bed herself, yet just as much she couldn't have stood hearing the sounds of his nightmares through the walls. She and James had gone in there through the night to soothe him, but he'd hardly seemed any better in their presence.

She'd even seen Sirius duck out, but his presence seemed to have helped no more. Their ability to comfort him had lasted no longer than his childhood innocence, and it was quickly growing worse by the hour as he continued to pull away from them, absorbed more than ever in memories of pain. So she went back to reading, determined more than ever to help him have all of those moments from his past back, so that he could start focusing on his future. 

The book was a gossamer silver, with a little green six on the spine. Its length hadn't lessened any since Harry's fourth year, and cracking open the spine new to the first page still felt like a bad omen.

It was nearing midnight and the Prime Minister was sitting alone in his office, reading a long memo that was slipping through his brain without leaving the slightest trace of meaning behind.

Sirius had been fully prepared to start back in Privet Drive, hearing of Harry's suffering there again somehow worse than ever, so the response on the tip of his tongue fell flat and instead they all gave mutters of confusion, and some relief. They had no clue what a Muggle Prime Minister had to do with anything, but honestly the fact that they weren't focusing on Harry right now was a bit of relief considering where they'd left him.

Lily took this in stride though. The fact that it wasn't starting on Voldemort was as good a note as she could ask for considering previous times these books had gone off Harry, so she happily asked of him, "oh, do you know who it is?"

"No," Harry answered with a shrug. He hadn't done a very good job of keeping up with Muggle politics.

Lily went back to the book in slight disappointment. Her father worked in the current Prime Ministers' office as the secretary, and it would have been interesting if Harry knew anything about the future of the position.

He was waiting for a call from the President of a far distant country, and between wondering when the wretched man would telephone, and trying to suppress unpleasant memories of what had been a very long, tiring, and difficult week, there was not much space in his head for anything else. The more he attempted to focus on the print on the page before him, the more clearly the Prime Minister could see the gloating face of one of his political opponents.

"It's good to know Muggles struggled with their homework as much as we did," Sirius snickered.

James continued listening with high curiosity, he had not a clue how the Muggles government worked, he'd never really asked Lily about it, but this wasn't starting off very interesting.

This particular opponent had appeared on the news that very day, not only to enumerate all the terrible things that had happened in the last week (as though anyone needed reminding) but also to explain why each and every one of them was the government's fault.

"Ugh, politics," Remus made a face.

The Prime Minister's pulse quickened at the very thought of these accusations, for they were neither fair nor true. How on earth was his government supposed to have stopped that bridge collapsing? It was outrageous for anybody to suggest that they were not spending enough on bridges. The bridge was fewer than ten years old, and the best experts were at a loss to explain why it had snapped cleanly in two, sending a dozen cars into the watery depths of the river below.

All five of them lost a shade in color of shock for that. Maybe it was because of their, better knowledge, but Harry most of all shivered at what could really be implied with this. All last summer he'd been begging for this kind of news, now he seemed to be getting it.

To the others it just explained why this was being shown at all, though clearly it had nothing to do with Harry. Perhaps now that the Ministry had no choice at the end of his last year to acknowledge Voldemort's return, they were given the greater impact of this on the Muggle world before going back to him. Not something they really wanted to hear, they could get all they liked of this from their own time.

And how dare anyone suggest that it was lack of policemen that had resulted in those two very nasty and well-publicized murders? Or that the government should have somehow foreseen the freak hurricane in the West Country that had caused so much damage to both people and property? And was it his fault that one of his Junior Ministers, Herbert Chorley, had chosen this week to act so peculiarly that he was now going to be spending a lot more time with his family?

His opponent had concluded what a grim mood this left the country in with a broad grin.

Sirius gave a bleak laugh before saying, "aw, look, the whole country's feeling the same way I am." He waited patently for Prongs to reach over and smack him, but his own smile didn't dim.

And unfortunately, this was perfectly true. The Prime Minister felt it himself; people really did seem more miserable than usual. Even the weather was dismal; all this chilly mist in the middle of July... It wasn't right, it wasn't normal...

"Speak of the You-Know-Who," Remus muttered snidely.

Lily tried for a smile, but it was flimsy at best.

He turned over the second page of the memo, saw how much longer it went on, and gave it up as a bad job. Stretching his arms above his head he looked around his office mournfully. It was a handsome room, with a fine marble fireplace facing the long sash windows, firmly closed against the unseasonable chill. With a slight shiver, the Prime Minister got up and moved over to the window, looking out at the thin mist that was pressing itself against the glass. It was then, as he stood with his back to the room, that he heard a soft cough behind him.

He froze, nose to nose with his own scared-looking reflection in the dark glass. He knew that cough. He had heard it before. He turned very slowly to face the empty room.

He called out, trying to sound braver than he felt.

Lily shifted uneasily in place. This wasn't even about Harry, but if this book started off with anther murder of a stranger being described like Harry's fourth year had, she'd start screaming already. Was it so impossible to keep going without all of this fear smothering them through these words.

For a brief moment he allowed himself the impossible hope that nobody would answer him. However, a voice responded at once, a crisp, decisive voice that sounded as though it were reading a prepared statement. It was coming - as the Prime Minister had known at the first cough - from the froglike little man wearing a long silver wig who was depicted in a small, dirty oil painting in the far corner of the room.

"Ah," they muttered, mostly in further confusion. This man was a Muggle, what was he doing with a Wizards painting? And the description wasn't one they exactly enjoyed, it reminded them far to much of pink, a reminder no one needed as of now.

The painting stated of the urgent business from Fudge and if he could be seen now? After a tiff about his phone call being rearranged against his wishes by this Other Minister, the Prime Minister agreed to see Fudge.

"What was the point of posing it as a question if he was just going to barge in anyways?" James said through gritted teeth, all of them red faced with anger. They'd rather focus on just about anything than hearing more of that dunderhead.

No one responded, but Lily wasn't surprised. It seemed just like Fudge to find himself important enough to rearrange someone else's life for whatever this was that involved him.

He hurried back to his desk, straightening his tie as he went. He had barely resumed his seat, and arranged his face into what he hoped was a relaxed and unfazed expression, when bright green flames burst into life in the empty grate beneath his marble mantelpiece.

"Better than apparating I suppose," Remus couldn't help but grudgingly give credit for this. "Least the flame's a bit of a warning, would have given the man heart failure to just appear out of nowhere instead."

He watched, trying not to betray a flicker of surprise or alarm, as a portly man appeared within the flames, spinning as fast as a top. Seconds later, he had climbed out onto a rather fine antique rug, brushing ash from the sleeves of his long pin-striped cloak, a lime-green bowler hat in his hand. He greeted it was good to see the Prime Minister again, but he could not honestly return the compliment,

None of them could help a little snort of laughter, honestly they all agreed with that.

so said nothing at all. He was not remotely pleased to see Fudge, whose occasional appearances, apart from being downright alarming in themselves, generally meant that he was about to hear some very bad news. Furthermore, Fudge was looking distinctly careworn. He was thinner, balder, and grayer, and his face had a crumpled look.

Harry frowned, though not in sympathy. It was about time someone other than him felt the pressure of what was going on, and if Fudge had only listened sooner maybe he wouldn't be looking so bad.

He shook Fudge's hand very briefly and gestured toward the hardest of the chairs in front of the desk.

"Man knows how to send a message," Sirius said after a heavy chuckle.

The Prime Minister asked how he could be of help, while making it clear as possible he wanted to do no such thing after the week he'd had. Fudge pointed out they'd been having the same bad week. The Brockdale Bridge collapse, the Bones and Vance murders,

Lily couldn't help but pause at the last name Vance. Emmeline was one who'd actually survived through the first time in the Order, and it would truly be tragic for her to lose someone else now, yet she'd wish that fate upon no one, especially not Emmeline's niece or any other member of her family that could apply to.

not to mention the ruckus in the West Country.

The Prime Minister had to confirm some of Fudge's people were involved in those?

"I do like that he didn't automatically blame us, considering he knows of us," Lily said with a small smile.

Fudge fixed the Prime Minister with a rather stern look, stating of course they were, surely he'd realized what was going on?

"Why would he do that? You certainly didn't," Remus snapped.

It was precisely this sort of behavior that made him dislike Fudge's visits so much. He was, after all, the Prime Minister and did not appreciate being made to feel like an ignorant schoolboy. But of course, it had been like this from his very first meeting with Fudge on his very first evening as Prime Minister. He remembered it as though it were yesterday and knew it would haunt him until his dying day.

James knew that feeling all to well, he'd had several of them in the past week alone, since Harry had arrived here a grown man.

He had been standing alone in this very office, savoring the triumph that was his after so many years of dreaming and scheming, when he had heard a cough behind him, just like tonight, and turned to find that ugly little portrait talking to him, announcing that the Minister of Magic was about to arrive and introduce himself.

Naturally, he had thought that the long campaign and the strain of the election had caused him to go mad.

"Naturally," Sirius giggled.

"Actually, I've never thought about this," James still had that interested smile in place. "I knew that the Muggles often reported our news, usually to keep them aware of...well anything majorly bad going on, but it never occurred to me who told them, or how they knew."

"Hooray for answers you never asked," Remus rolled his eyes.

He had been utterly terrified to find a portrait talking to him, though this had been nothing to how he felt when a self-proclaimed wizard had bounced out of the fireplace and shaken his hand. He had remained speechless throughout Fudge's kindly explanation that there were witches and wizards still living in secret all over the world and his reassurances that he was not to bother his head about them as the Ministry of Magic took responsibility for the whole Wizarding community and prevented the non-magical population from getting wind of them. It was, said Fudge, a difficult job that encompassed everything from regulations on responsible use of broomsticks to keeping the dragon population under control (the Prime Minister remembered clutching the desk for support at this point).

"Can't even blame him there," Sirius shook his head in sympathy, he knew he still wanted to duck and cover at the mention of those beasts, imagine that being one of the first things you heard.

Fudge had then patted the shoulder of the still-dumbstruck Prime Minister in a fatherly sort of way.

Harry twitched in agitation, remembering that all to well, and knowing what Fudge would really be like in a matter of years.

He'd concluded this was nothing to worry about, he'd only see Fudge again if something serious was going on,

"He wasn't kidding," Sirius stated with a bleak smile, that turned into a true one when Harry still managed a slight giggle at this never ending joke no matter how much the others groaned in misery.

something that's likely to affect the Muggles. Otherwise, it's live and let live. He even congratulated the man on how well he was taking this, his predecessor had tried to throw Fudge out the window, thinking him a hoax.*

"I'd do it for an entirely different reason, but to each his own," Remus pleasantly informed.

At this, the Prime Minister had found his voice at last. It had been his last, desperate hope this wasn't a joke.

Fudge gently told it wasn't, and proved as much by changing a teacup into a gerbil.

"Honestly the perfect amount of flamboyant," Lily couldn't help but smile, knowing certain others who would have gotten carried away proving what they were saying.

The Marauders had the decency not to bother denying what she was implying.

The Prime Minister watched his teacup chew on the corner of his next speech,

"Please tell me he named it Teacup?" Sirius chuckled.

while demanding why no one before had told him of this?

Fudge laughed at this, and asked, would he be telling anyone?

"He's got him there," James chuckled.

Still chortling, Fudge had thrown some powder into the fireplace, stepped into the emerald flames, and vanished with a whooshing sound.

"Rude," Lily sniffed, wishing he'd stuck around encase the poor man had more questions, but at the same time she could understand anyone not wanting to linger, the Muggle needed a chance to recharge after an encounter like that.

The Prime Minister had stood there, quite motionless, and realized that he would never, as long as he lived, dare mention this encounter to a living soul, for who in the wide world would believe him?

"Another wizard," Sirius said in a duh voice.

"What are the odds he would run into one while sharing this?" Remus rolled his eyes.

The shock had taken a little while to wear off. For a time, he had tried to convince himself that Fudge had indeed been a hallucination brought on by lack of sleep during his grueling election campaign. In a vain attempt to rid himself of all reminders of this uncomfortable encounter, he had given the gerbil to his delighted niece and instructed his private secretary to take down the portrait of the ugly little man who had announced Fudge's arrival. To the Prime Minister's dismay, however, the portrait had proved impossible to remove.

"I wonder how that conversation went," James ruffled his hair curiously, imagining Muggles trying to explain away permanent sticking charms and the like.

When several carpenters, a builder or two, an art historian, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer had all tried unsuccessfully to prise it from the wall,

Lily groaned and grumbled a bit. She wasn't even that high in the Ministry yet and could imagine all the paperwork that would have caused to help smooth those things over, Fudge really should have at least explained that!

the Prime Minister had abandoned the attempt and simply resolved to hope that the thing remained motionless and silent for the rest of his term in office. Occasionally he could have sworn he saw out of the corner of his eye the occupant of the painting yawning, or else scratching his nose; even, once or twice, simply walking out of his frame and leaving nothing but a stretch of muddy-brown canvas behind. However, he had trained himself not to look at the picture very much, and always to tell himself firmly that his eyes were playing tricks on him when anything like this happened.

"That sounds far more like he'd be going mad than anything else," Sirius said in exasperation. He certainly knew the more you tried not to do something the more tempting it became.

Then, three years ago, on a night very like tonight, the Prime Minister had been alone in his office when the portrait had once again announced the imminent arrival of Fudge, who had burst out of the fireplace, sopping wet and in a state of considerable panic. Before the Prime Minister could ask why he was dripping all over the Axminster, Fudge had started ranting about a prison the Prime Minister had never heard of, a man named

Lily paused with some torn expression on her face. It was part tight lipped pain for something, and part long exasperation for an overplayed joke that they didn't understand until Lily spelled out the word,

"Serious" Black,

Sirius at least burst out laughing the Muggle had no clue of what had been going on, but the others couldn't muster up the same. Who knew hearing of Sirius getting out of Azkaban would be the highlight when it came to what his life would hold.

Harry in particular shivered and leaned just a bit closer to his godfather for the reminder he would have been all to happy to forget all over again of the travesty, but Sirius just threw an easy arm around him and happily encouraged Lily to go on like he was hoping more name puns would appear any moment.

Lily admired his optimism even as she wished James would smack him again.

something that sounded like "Hogwarts," and a boy called Harry Potter, none of which made the remotest sense to the Prime Minister.

Harry at least got a smile for that, always enjoying the phenomenon of someone not knowing who he was. Maybe he should spend more time in the Muggle world.

Fudge's explanation about coming from Azkaban was not pleasant, nor the information he shared about Black being a known Muggle killer and planning to rejoin You-Know-Who.

Lily only got that out through heavily gritted teeth, the pain and anger still lingering of all the things surrounding Sirius, and just because he wasn't around to suffer this injustice anymore didn't make that slight any better in this time!

But of course, the man didn't even know who You-Know-Who was.

Remus clucked his tongue in agitation. He'd always found it stupid to refer to Voldemort as that, and this was a prime example of why. That was a ludicrous sentence if ever he'd heard one.

He had gazed hopelessly at the Prime Minister for a moment, then offered some whiskey while he explained.

The Prime Minister rather resented being told to sit down in his own office, let alone offered his own whiskey, but he sat nevertheless. Fudge pulled out his wand, conjured two large glasses full of amber liquid out of thin air, pushed one of them into the Prime Minister's hand, and drew up a chair.

Fudge had talked for more than an hour. At one point, he had refused to say a certain name aloud and wrote it instead on a piece of parchment, which he had thrust into the Prime Minister's whiskey-free hand. When at last Fudge had stood up to leave, the Prime Minister had stood up too.

He tried to paraphrase the whole thing, saying this Lord Vol-

"Honestly though, why the title again?" James snarked rather than thinking about whatever else was shared that night, as if he needed more of a reminder of all Harry went through.

Fudge cut in with a snarled reminder he was to be called He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!

The Prime Minister corrected himself this He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was alive.

Fudge said Dumbledore certainly thought so,

"Which will apparently mean nothing in a very short time," Sirius snarled what no one needed reminding of.

but he wasn't dangerous until he had support.

Remus looked a tad interested at this line of thinking on the mans part. He wasn't wrong of course, but also it was a useless statement as a madman would always have power, and therefore would always have those seeking it and therefore support.

so it's Black they ought to be worrying about.

Sirius flinched that Lily could hardly say his name without a bit of a hitch in her throat. It was like that first book all over again, and now his own name would feel as terrible a constant reminder as her own.

He of course couldn't stand for that, so told her, "what's with the tone Lils? I know you worry about me on a constant basis without anyone telling you to."

Her nostrils flared for a moment as she eyed him, but couldn't quite hide a smile either when she snapped, "then stop giving me reasons to you idiot."

He encouraged a warning to be put out before hoping they never had to see each other again,

"You and me both," James snapped.

and vanishing back into the fireplace.

But they had seen each other again. Less than a year later a harassed-looking Fudge had appeared out of thin air in the cabinet room to inform the Prime Minister that there had been a spot of bother at the Kwidditch (or that was what it had sounded like)

Lily's mouth twitched in a smile again, she didn't even need to look up to visualize the four agitated expressions for the butchering of that word.

World Cup and that several Muggles had been "involved," but that the Prime Minister was not to worry, the fact that You-Know-Who's Mark had been seen again meant nothing; Fudge was sure it was an isolated incident, and the Muggle Liaison Office was dealing with all memory modifications as they spoke.

Oh, and because of the Triwizard Tournament, the one tiny detail that they were bringing dragons into the country should be told according to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical creatures.

"Thank you for summarizing all of my hatred for that year in one sentence, much easier that way," James scowled.

Despite the Prime Minister stuttering in surprise, Fudge merely repeated himself before vanishing again.

Remus couldn't help but snicker just a bit, Fudge really had always been terrible at his job.

The next visit less than two years later was no more pleasant. He stepped out of the fire long enough to announce a mass-breakout from Azkaban before already putting one foot back in to depart,

Lily couldn't help but scowl at bit, this man was just useless.

promising they'd have them rounded up in no time!

"He hadn't even caught the last one yet!" Sirius threw his hands up in the air in exasperation, though he threw his voice like he was trying to mimic this Prime Minister instead to further put on a joke instead of reminding them all of how not funny all of this was.

And before the Prime Minister could shout, Fudge had vanished in a shower of green sparks.

Whatever the press and the opposition might say, the Prime Minister was not a foolish man. It had not escaped his notice that, despite Fudge's assurances at their first meeting, they were now seeing rather a lot of each other, nor that Fudge was becoming more flustered with each visit. Little though he liked to think about the Minister of Magic (or, as he always called Fudge in his head, the Other Minister), the Prime Minister could not help but fear that the next time Fudge appeared it would be with graver news still.

Harry couldn't help a sigh while rubbing at his scar already. It hadn't escaped his notice he'd been involved in every instance Fudge had appeared for, clearly his hope from before was already eradicated, he couldn't even get by in the Muggle world.

The site, therefore, of Fudge stepping out of the fire once more, looking disheveled and fretful and sternly surprised that the Prime Minister did not know exactly why he was there, was about the worst thing that had happened in the course of this extremely gloomy week.

He demanded how he should know anything about the Wizarding community in relation to his concerns-

Fudge cut him off to again point out they were all the same concerns, every instance the Prime Minister was dealing with were all magically done. Even Herbert Chorley was safer with them for now since he was suffering from a poorly done Imperius curse.

The Prime Minister could only bluster in surprise for a moment.

"That poor man," Lily couldn't help but mutter, suddenly seven years old again and having far to much explained to her all at one time.

Fudge took a breath and then parted the news that You-Know-Who was back. He couldn't even properly explain how he was alive, Dumbledore wouldn't explain properly,

"At least it's not just us," Lily grumbled, or Harry, more accurately, but the point still stood.

but for the purposes of this discussion he was walking, talking, and killing.

The Prime Minister did not know what to say to this, but a persistent habit of wishing to appear well-informed on any subject that came up made him cast around for any details he could remember of their previous conversations.

"I really do like him. Muggle or no, can we have him as Minister," James sighed.

He began to ask if

Lily couldn't help but stop and giggle this time before spelling out again the Muggle's misuse of Sirius' name, causing the man to preen and his friends to roll their eyes yet again.

Serious Black was with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?

Their amusement died that instant though, this was just something they could never joke about considering all there was to be said on the subject.

Fudge distractedly informed that Black was dead.

Lily's voice hitched hard, she could hardly say the word without flashing back to that dark room, that veil, and this time Sirius was all out of breath right with her.

Turned out they'd been mistaken, he was innocent.

James's lip curled, the vicious comment on the tip of his tongue of how at least he could say that at some point...even when it was too late!

He hadn't been in league with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named either.

"Headliner news, honestly," Sirius snarked.

Fudge defensively pointed out they'd had fifty eyewitnesses saying otherwise, but the point was he was dead now.

Lily couldn't stop her voice hitching any harder the second time she was forced to say that, it wouldn't get any easier to think of anymore than her own.

Murdered, as a matter of fact.

Harry tensed at his side, his face set with that scary calm expression of just who he owed for this fact.

On Ministry of Magic premises.

"Right under their noses," James stated, keeping himself carefully neutral or he'd start screaming again.

There's going to be an inquiry in fact.

Remus made an annoyed little huffy noise that of course this was what mattered most to Fudge.

To his great surprise, the Prime Minister felt a fleeting stab of pity for Fudge at this point.

"Far more than I'd give him," Sirius huffed.

It was, however, eclipsed almost immediately by a glow of smugness at the thought that, deficient though he himself might be in the area of materializing out of fireplaces, there had never been a murder in any of the government departments under his charge... Not yet, anyway...

Lily couldn't help but stop for just a moment, honestly hoping one of her boys would further that with a joke, but none did. They just couldn't make light of any of this when they kept being reminded of far worse things.

While the Prime Minister surreptitiously touched the wood of his desk, Fudge continued, that Black was by-the-by now.

"The most tragic thing anyone could have said about my life, I was forgotten!" Sirius declared.

He got a real smile for his comment all for himself when he saw Remus and Harry try to glare at him proving otherwise.

The point was they were at war, again reminding of the incidents as facts. The Brockdale Bridge, You-Know-Who had done it in retaliation for Fudge not stepping down for him.

While surely this was not the first time something like this had happened, Lily still froze for the position Fudge had been put in. She couldn't imagine what the right answer to that was, and wished the question on no man.

The Prime Minister was in shock it was his people at fault for that!

"Fault," Remus repeated with a heavy sigh. "Must there always be fault."

Fudge was clearly agitated at this, saying would he have caved to blackmail?

The Prime Minister agreed not, but he would have put all his efforts into catching the blackmailer before it went as far.

"Well sure it's obvious enough to say," James grumped, not nearly as enamored with this Muggle minister anymore. While not as annoying as Fudge, yet, clearly all politicians really were the same, speaking the obvious answer and expecting someone else to do the hard work.

Fudge snapped right back they'd certainly been trying, but he'd already been alluding capture for three decades!

"I mean, he actually was dead for some of that," Sirius did offer, whatever form of not around Harry he was anyways for eleven years.

It was infuriating to discover the reason for all these terrible disasters and not to be able to tell the public, almost worse than it being the government's fault after all.

"Why are we passing this news along to him then?" Sirius huffed. It wasn't doing the man any good.

"I'm confident he was there to deliver the message about Voldemort and got sidetracked into this," Lily reminded.

He asked how the hurricane was involved, and Fudge explained that was no hurricane.

The Prime Minister barked his confusion while nearly stamping in place at this point.

"Thank you for the mental image though," James tried for a smile again, and Sirius was snickering so much in agreement he didn't even make a dog joke.

Fudge impatiently explained it was giant involvement that had ripped apart those houses. They had the whole Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures running around Somerset,

"Good to hear they're actually doing something of use," Sirius muttered, shifting restlessly at mention of that Department and glancing at Remus who still tried to force himself not to flinch at the name.

but it wasn't doing much good. Morale was already even lower with the loss of Amelia Bones.

The name had niggled at something in Harry before, but now he heard the first name he recognized one of the few people at the trial who'd given him a chance. To hear she'd now been lost as well was still yet another blow, as if no decent people had a chance at living through this.

They were under the impression He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named may have murdered her in person, all the evidence was that she put up a real fight.

The bit of Voldemort doing it personally was sadly the only shocking part to them, they'd heard this far to many times in multiples over their time with the Order. It just never made the news easier to hear.

Then there was Emmeline Vance,

Lily felt as if her feet had been knocked out from under her, the room spun crazily for a moment and she had to shake her head hard to keep focus. How was it that every time she pictured all the faces of the Order, another was left out...

maybe he hadn't heard about that one-

Oh yes the Prime Minister had! It had happened around the corner from his office! The press had been having a field day with it happening in his backyard-

"Next time we'll have it done a few dozen blocks away, make it more convenient!" Lily seethed, such anger coming from her words they expected her to spit fire next.

Fudge hardly heard him as he concluded all this mist was because of the dementors attacking everything at every opportunity.

Harry shifted restlessly, clutching his wand tighter to him for a moment as if preparing to throw up a Patronus now at just the thought of those things. He had no want for those to be back in his life, to have Sirius' final words to him play out in his head again, and again...

Once upon a happier time this sentence would have been unintelligible to the Prime Minister, but he was wiser now.

James made a little humming noise, like he wanted to chuckle at that but the mood was still beyond him.

He reminded he'd been told dementors were prisoner guards,

"Credit to the man remembering that so many years later," Remus forcefully tried for a pleasant comment.

Sirius ruined it at once by hissing, "not a conversation easily forgotten."

but Fudge explained they'd deserted the place.

The Prime Minister was in shock, recalling that these things drained happiness!

Fudge agreed that was true, and they were breeding.

Harry gagged in shock, never before having wanted to question how the things came into existence, and no happier to hear an explanation now!

Remus eyed him for a moment but kept details to himself, for once, he could tell Harry wanted to hear none of them.

That's what was causing all this mist.

The Prime Minister sank, weak-kneed, into the nearest chair. The idea of invisible creatures swooping through the towns and countryside, spreading despair and hopelessness in his voters, made him feel quite faint.

"Well that was, almost sweet," Lily muttered, her nails nearly breaking through the page already and having to force her hand to relax. They were only a few pages in and this was already relentlessly depressing!

He demanded that this was Fudge's responsibility as Minister of Magic to do something-

but Fudge cut him off he really thought he still held that position after all this?

Finally, all five of them had a reason to perk up with interest, actual excitement for the prospect of news that didn't create more gloom for them!

He'd been sacked three days ago! The whole Wizarding community has been screaming for his resignation for a fortnight. He'd never known them so united in his whole term of office! Fudge concluded with a brave attempt at a smile.

"The man still has a sense of humor!" Sirius yelped, that was the first bit of good news he'd ever heard about him.

"Wish we'd seen more of that than his blithering ways," James agreed, but quickly waved Lily on to hear of a replacement who hopefully wasn't such a dunderhead.

The Prime Minister was momentarily lost for words. Despite his indignation at the position into which he had been placed, he still rather felt for the shrunken-looking man sitting opposite him.

Remus was saddened at the display of empathy, as if they needed more people understanding the woes of their world.

He'd tried of course to hang on, though Dumbledore had been no help.

"Can't even blame the man," James said scathingly. Even with all Dumbledore had done to them recently, he could still understand being like this to someone at least minorly responsible.

If he'd just been prepared to persuade the boy, he might still be...

Lily's brows shot up in confusion for that, but Harry just shrugged with as much knowledge as anyone for what that could have meant.

Well, maybe Scrimgeour would have more success.

"Finally a man that makes sense." Even at his words James was blinking in mild confusion why Scrimgeour had gotten the job. He was a high end Auror now, not quite as well known as Moody, but certainly none to be trifled with. Yet he'd never seemed one for politics that they'd known of, clearly something had changed though for this kind of step to be taken, not at all a bad thing considering what Harry had been putting up with.

Fudge subsided into what was clearly an aggrieved silence, but it was broken almost immediately by the portrait, which suddenly spoke in its crisp, official voice to announce the arrival of the very man.

Harry's brows ruffled as he picked upon this name that shouldn't be so new to him. Considering his interactions with Fudge, he supposed not feeling black anger for the man was off to a good start, but he wasn't really sure what he felt either.

The Prime Minister distractedly agreed to see him,

"Would he really say no at this point?" Sirius muttered.

and he barely flinched as the flames in the grate turned emerald green again,

"Adapting," Remus tried to say in a chipper tone of voice, but they were already exhausted and wanted this to be done with. They'd had enough of hearing about Ministers already, another arriving wasn't going to give them much heart.

rose up, and revealed a second spinning wizard in their heart, disgorging him moments later onto the antique rug.

The Prime Minister's first, foolish thought was that Rufus Scrimgeour looked rather like an old lion.

That at least gave them a small laugh for such a description arriving, clearly Scrimgeour had gotten on in years more than they'd initially thought.

There were streaks of gray in his mane of tawny hair and his bushy eyebrows; he had keen yellowish eyes behind a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles and a certain rangy, loping grace even though he walked with a slight limp. There was an immediate impression of shrewdness and toughness; the Prime Minister thought he understood why the Wizarding community preferred Scrimgeour to Fudge as a leader in these dangerous times.

"I can't say another solider pushing for firepower will make it better though," Lily argued what she'd said many times in the past few weeks as the change was coming for a new Minister soon.

"Can't hurt either," James disagreed.

The two met eyes with a smile just for each other.

The Prime Minister greeted him politely enough, but Scrimgeour hardly had a care for formalities, at once locking the door and shutting the curtains against the Prime Ministers wishes.

"I don't blame the man needing an escape from these two," Sirius agreed.

His only response was to say he didn't want to be watched, or interrupted.

"Well he certainly makes an impression," James couldn't help but agree with this logic right off the bat.

He began ticking off a mental list it seemed, starting at once that the man needed better security-

The Prime Minister cut in he wasn't getting rid of Kingsley Shacklebolt!

The lot of them snorted in surprise at Kingsley showing up again like this, though it was just a bit more forced than they would have liked...considering his last assignment was no longer needed.

He's highly efficient, gets through twice the work the rest of them-

"Humm, I wonder why," Sirius said dryly, his voice far more high pitched than he'd meant from continued stress watching everyone around him fidget with unease that even a person once associated helping him now doing something else could still so easily upset.

Scrimgeour cut in that was because he was one of their wizards, an Auror and the very protection he'd been speaking of.

"I wonder how often that happens," James muttered without much care for an answer this time. He wasn't surprised when no one knew.

The Prime Minister furiously tried to refuse these people couldn't just place others in his office!

"Bit of a tail chaser this one is," Remus got a half smile for that, this Muggle really had a problem picking a side, but then, who could blame him with who he was dealing with.

Scrimgeour coolly reminded he'd just been defending this, and the Prime Minister lamely had no choice but to admit-

"I can tell how well this relationship's going to go," Sirius snorted.

Scrimgeour just kept plowing on into the topic of Herbert Chorley's poorly done Imperius Curse-

"Clearly," Lily repeated snappily, she already wasn't having to high an opinion for this new Minister, a little sympathy wouldn't kill the man fighting this war.

the Prime Minister tried to defend he was only quacking.

"Not much of a problem at all," Sirius agreed, smiling much easier at a pun he would have loved to insert about barking being much harder to cope with, but Lily wasn't waiting around for it.

Scrimgeour pointed out he'd already tried to strangle three Healers at St. Mungo's, so it was best to keep him where he was sedated.

"Eesh," Harry winced, rubbing at his neck. He'd never thought of Healers having to restrain violent patents and wasn't happy doing so now.

When the Prime Minister asked if he'd be alright, Scrimgeour merely shrugged, already moving back toward the fireplace.

Lily scoffed heavily now with a nasty catch in her throat. How was a lack of caring for the people better than Fudge's lack of caring for the truth?

That was everything, if there was more he'd likely send Fudge along, who had agreed to stay with the Ministry in an advisory capacity.

While none of them carried much for Fudge after all he'd done to Harry, they certainly didn't hate him enough to laugh at this predicament of being demoted like that, it was just insulting the way Scrimgeour put it.

Fudge attempted to smile, but was unsuccessful; he merely looked as though he had a toothache. Scrimgeour was already rummaging in his pocket for the mysterious powder that turned the fire green. The Prime Minister gazed hopelessly at the pair of them for a moment, then the words he had fought to suppress all evening burst from him at last.

They were wizards! Couldn't they solve all of this with a simple wave!

"Ah the ignorance of Muggles," James sighed, twirling his wand around with loaded eyes out the window.

Scrimgeour turned slowly on the spot and exchanged an incredulous look with Fudge, who really did manage a smile this time as he said kindly, that the trouble was, the other side could do magic too.

"What's worse, magic we can't use without turning into them as well," Sirius added on quietly for Harry, who only nodded without surprise. Gone were the days where he was confused at comments like this.

And with that, the two wizards stepped one after the other into the bright green fire and vanished.

"Well that was a terribly depressing way to start," Lily snapped, shoving the book towards James with such force he let out a woof of air when it hit him.

She uttered a genuine apology which he gratefully accepted, kissing her temple before flipping to the next one.

HPHPHPHP

  *Fun fact, the Mayor being spoken to may have been John Major according to the timeline, but the misstep is that the Minister before would have been a she, Maggie Thatcher, making this statement of the previous also being a male clear that JK had no intentions of basing this off of real Muggle Prime Ministers.