#memorial monument hoax

[contemplatingoutlander]

Interesting proposal by Nate Loewentheil in a guest column in The New York Times. Not only was his proposal thought provoking, but two of the comments regarding it by readers were also worth contemplating. Below are some excerpts from the column, followed by the two comments.

Here is a proposal for the environmental movement: Pool philanthropic funds for a day, buy a small plot of land in Washington, D.C., and put up a tall marble wall to serve as a climate memorial. Carve on this memorial the names of public figures actively denying the existence of climate change. Carve the names so deep and large, our grandchildren and great-grandchildren need not search the archives. This is not a metaphor. The problem with climate change is the disconnect between action and impact. If politicians vote against construction standards and a school collapses, the next election will be their last. But with climate change, cause and effect are at a vast distance. We are already seeing the consequences of our past and present greenhouse gas emissions. In coming decades, those emissions will wreak their full havoc on the climate, and it will take hundreds, possibly thousands, of years for those pollutants to fully dissipate. But in the short term, the most immediate burdens are borne mostly by the poor in America and distant people in distant lands. Misaligned incentives are at the heart of why some political and business leaders deny and delay. [...] I would first nominate those who have sown confusion over climate science, like Myron Ebell, who recently retired as director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment, where he sought to block climate change efforts in Congress, and served as the head of Donald Trump’s transition team for the Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Ebell has argued that the idea that climate change is “an existential threat or even crisis is preposterous.” Then there are lawmakers who have consistently stood in the way of federal action, like the recently retired senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, the author of the book “The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future.” [color emphasis added]

Below is the first thought provoking comment to this article:

There is, in Iceland, a memorial to a dead glacier - the Ok Glacier. It reads: "Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier. In the next 200 years all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it." [color emphasis added] --Chris D., Colorado

Photo of the plaque at the at the Okjökull (OK Glacier) memorial.

Here is the second thought provoking comment to this article:

For reference this graph https://i.redd.it/ljifc828iui31.jpg is from the Exxon internal scientific report on climate change, 1982, produced by scientists working for that fossil fuel corporation. Look at what their graph predicted for 2020. Approaching 420 ppm CO2 and a rise of 1.2 C degrees above pre-industrial temperature - very close to what we actually got in 2020. Then look at what the graph shows for later this century, based on not reducing emissions. Very serious temperature rises, that could make agriculture very difficult in many countries. Yes, and then Exxon, having seen this, got involved in PR campaigns to "cast doubt" on climate science, to protect their assets. [color emphasis added] --Erik Frederiksen, Ashville, NC

1982 Exxon graph depicting average global temperature increases over time correlating with increases in atmospheric CO2. NOTE: Graph color was modified for greater clarity.

Fossil fuel companies like Exxon, and fossil fuel oligarchs like the Koch brothers should be included in any "Climate Wall of Shame."

[its-short-for-jackalope]

WOW! THAT WAS SOME LORE, HUH? :D

reposting this meme bc it's true and bc I really like it, lol

I have quite literally been scribbling notes on a scrap of paper like a madman while rewatching TGOA part 3 as many times as possible, just jotting down all the mindboggling information we've been given, and some less direct stuff that I could be reading too much into but is fun and neat even if it doesn't amount to anything crazy and galaxy-brained, lol.

So click/tap below the cut for rambles about the final part of Pulp Musicals episode 3

The Ghosts of Antikythera ⚓️

Names, Names, Names!!!

Hey, might as well start with all the new names we've gotten!

The captain of the Antikythera — the ghost ship from 'someplace else' — is Addison Arvad.

Kal (my beloved/beloathed ❤ ) is Kalfu

The Traveler we met in TBS is Sia 💖💖

Ahlaam is another Traveler. I adore her already, and not just because she saved Rose.

Dakkar is... somebody. As expected, I've been going crazy in my dms with @man-down-in-hatchet-town, and she believes Dakkar is probably inspired by/based on Captain Nemo? 👀

King(?!) Itzal is... probably bad news! Kal's the one who calls him a King and he is obviously pretty loyal and devoted to him, and wants to impress him (aww), so methinks Itzal is maybe not so good???? (I am also a proud supporter of Brooke's Dylan Saunders as Itzal campaign, lol)

The Blazing World is home. It's where the Travelers and the Antikythera's Searchers (rip) are from, it was destroyed once—but is being rebuilt?—and Kalfu and Itzal seem to want it gone for good.

Lincoln Island is the mysterious island our heroes on the Ellen Austin are approaching at the end of the episode, the place Ahlaam sent Rose and the Antikythera to via orrery.

Quick *Approximate* Timeline

Eh, what can I say? We got numbers and I decided to do a tiny bit of math about it.

1874 — the Antikythera & the Ellen Austin

🔴 YOU ARE HERE

🎶 When are we? 🎶 Well, Morgan Reese informs our time-traveling heroes that, uh yeah lol, last he checked the year was 1874. What a funny question from a bunch of rapscallions!

Captain Arvad's logs from the Antikythera start in January 1874, so we know the Searchers were out and about in this same year. Their disappearances were recent and the ship hasn't been empty for all that long, I don't think.

1865 — may this monument stand forever

On this site in 1835, Sir John Herschel and Anna Hanover launched the first brick satellite, the Sagitta, in what was known as Township Number Nine. Erected to commemorate their bravery, to thank them for their gift to all mankind, may this monument stand forever.

Dedicated August, 1865.

1864 — the dark angel appears

A desperate AJ makes his ill-fated deal with Kal in exchange for his crew's safety during the Battle of Mobile Bay.

Damn the torpedoes.

1835 — the beginning of our adventure

🎶 IT IS EIGHTEEN THIRTY-FIVE 🎶 and the Great Moon Hoax and The Brick Satellite both happen in this year. Things were so simple back then!

1829 — the Blazing World is destroyed

In 1874, we are told (first by Arvad's journal, and then by Sia) that their home, that the Blazing World was destroyed 45 years ago. If my math is right and they're not hippity-hopping too much in time (they have time travel capabilities so idk for sure) that would put the destruction of the Blazing World in 1829.

If the world being destroyed is also the Event that Kal alludes to in Gunpowder and Rum, pt. 3 ("Your powers are returning and you still don't remember what happened? 😒") AND it's the one that left Margaret without her memories and powers, then... could Margaret have been feeling lost, alone, and disconnected with her phantom pain in New York for 6 whole years before the Stratfords wrote the hoax that would bring the quartet together??? 🥺

And while we're on the subject of time passing!

If Sia and Kalfu and everyone besides the quartet has gotten to 1874 the long way 'round... (which I think is the case if Kal snarked at Sia for hiding Margaret in the future—if he has a sense of the future in relation to the world and time, I'd say this also implies he & the others have a pretty consistent present?) ...have they aged? Or does their magic also lengthen their lives? I imagine it would be mentioned if Sia was visibly older, and since Samuel described Kal as looking ~40 years old, then how could he be younger than the war he's been in? lol. But idk, this is just food for thought!

Kal Loves His Lore Dumps, Doesn't he? This one's mostly about Margaret <3

"You've proven quite elusive over the years... We've searched across the seven seas... I suppose it's only fitting that I find you here by chance, looking for an orrery! I'd have settled for the ship, what's its name? An-ti-ky-ther-a. But you will be quite the prize. It's you that will seal our victory! A ship from the Blazing World would have been quite the quarry. But you? That could end things once and for all!"

"The ship, the orrery, they don't matter now. Not when I can dispatch the two biggest traitors in history with just one blow!"

Seems like our girl is pretty special~ ��

I mean, of course she is, she's our Margaret, but if Kal is willing to let the Antikythera go to get her instead, and he's so convinced that taking her out will win the war... our girl is Pretty Special™ right? Maybe she's a princess or something, or maybe her Radiance is just that heckin' strong. idk, but I'm excited to find out either way.

I'm also wondering if there's a connection between Margaret and the orrery/orreries... If Kal thought it was fitting to find her when he was after the orrery, does that mean something more? Could Margaret have created the orreries and/or the magic behind them? 👀

...actually maybe this isn't such a good and fun thing. 😅😟 Things don't usually go very well for special and important characters—what is the saying, tragedies love heroes? I mean, Margaret has lost her powers and memories once already, as well as her home and whatever family she may have had before. I know all our pulp blorbos have been in dire straights a few times now, but I don't want them to get MORE DIRE than this!

Kalfu, Sia, & Margaret's history

Kal: High marks for cloaking the fleet, but seriously—

...

Kal: Come on, it's a Traveler reunion.

...

Kal: Just a drink between three friends.

...

Sia: Oh, you were once a man that I trusted. Tell me, where has he been?

...

Sia: Itzal poisoned your mind!

Kal: Itzal opened my mind!

...

Sia and Margaret: *powering up*

Sia: Hey, Kalfu!

Kal: Huh? Ugh, not again.

Kal: *team rocket fog's blasting off again*

I think it's pretty safe to say that, once upon a time, these three were once close. Maybe they were friends and peers, or maybe Kalfu was once Sia and/or Margaret's mentor with that "high marks" comment. Whatever the case, they used to be allies who trusted each other.

I think it's also safe to say all three of them are/were Travelers. Obviously Sia is, and Margaret probably is/was one as well, since she and Sia have a badass combined attack (that I'm betting they used against Kalfu ~45 years prior). As for Kal... I don't know how the radiance and the fog fit together exactly, whether they've always been separate or the fog is a dark bastardization of the radiance, but it seems like he is on equal footing with Sia as far as magic powers go, and he can teleport like they do—AJ witnessed this at the Battle of Mobile Bay, and Samuel did (kinda) on the deck of the Ellen Austin. I don't know if that's the only qualification for being a Traveler, but it's worth mentioning.

It seems like Itzal was a pretty big factor in this trio splitting up—for whatever reason, Kal turned his back on Sia and Margaret to follow him, or perhaps Sia and Margaret left Kal behind when he wouldn't leave with them. I don't know, but I want to—I have questions!!!

Sia and Itzal — Future sight?

Kal (to Sia): You know, for someone with precognitive abilities, you sure like to cut things close. 😒

...

Kal: How I wish King Itzal was here to witness this. Or did he already know? Eh.

There's not much to say about this, really, I just think it's interesting.

But it does make me wonder if Sia *knew* that sending Margaret and the others to Hanover in 1874 would lead Margaret to the Antikythera and help her regain her memories, even if Sia couldn't see much more than that. Like, if she knew that Kal would be there, I don't think she would have put Margaret at risk like that when she was still vulnerable. Unless she was betting on Margaret figuring things out before Kal could make his move... gah, who knows! (Matt. Matt knows.) We do know that Sia can't see everything, though—she knows that the crew of the Antikythera are gone but has to ask Kal what he did with them.

Also, obligatory "yikes 😬" at the idea of having an enemy (King Itzal) who could possibly see your attacks/plans before you make them. That can't make this war any easier!

Fogging the vortices, you say?

Kal: We've been fogging the vortices for decades. There was bound to be an Antikythera sooner or later.

Vortices.... plural for vortex, yeah?

"A mass of whirling fluid or air, especially a whirlpool or whirlwind."

Is one of these vortices located here in the Sargasso Sea? Is that why Rose already knows plenty of ghost stories about these waters, why this is a strange place that'll one day be dubbed the Bermuda Triangle? Where are the other vortices??? How many are there??? What are they, exactly???

Okay, but what about the gates?

Kal: A war for a world of power and might

Sia: A war for a world of courage and light

Kal: Fought over decades

Sia: Over ascension

Kal/Sia: No chance of surrender, no chance of redemption

I'm just throwing darts here, but I feel like 'ascension' has to do with the gates that have been alluded to a few times now?

First, in TBS, Sia told Margaret that she couldn't take her to the gate until her memories were back. Then in part 2 of TGOA, Kal said something about the Antikythera's orrery leading him to the first gate.

I don't think these gates are the same thing as the vortices—if the bad guys have already been 'fogging' them, then Kal wouldn't need an orrery to find them.

The gates probably lead to the Blazing World, right? Kal and Itzal want to destroy the Blazing World for good, which is why Kal was trying to get the orrery, to get to the gate, to ascend to the Blazing World and turn it to dust once and for all.

Travelers and Symbols/Elements/Associations

To finish up, here's one of the things I've noticed more recently. We have four magical characters now who seem to be at similar levels of power and might all be/have been Travelers, and maybe it's just a fun bit of flavor rather than anything Extremely Vital to the plot, but they each seem to have their own kind of... niche?

Lemme run through 'em real quick.

Kalfu—

● Want a drink?

● Gunpowder and rum, too strong for some! 🎶

● And poison... is kinda my thing.

● Non-lethal fog, my latest brew

Kal's easy to figure out—he's been pretty clear with his gunpowder and rum (delicious!) and once he revealed it he's been very cheeky and upfront about his use of/preference for poison too. He also stands out as the only person wielding fog, but I'm sure that'll change as we delve further into the dark and into this war we're learning about.

Sia—

● "Was that sunlight shining in the sphere?"

● We're here to light the fuse

● Lay another hand on her and you'll go down in flames

● I will always be that feeling burning under your skin

hehe okay, Sia is the reason this whole section of my post exists lol. I noticed the references to fire in enough of her lines/lyrics in part 3 that I thought it couldn't be a coincidence, and then I looked at the others. I just think it's neat!

Maybe these lines are just nods to the fact that light can burn as well as illuminate—Kalfu would probably know, hah—but it is fun to think that maybe we could see our first and dearest Traveler friend whip out some cool fire magic later on—when she's not duking it out with somebody on a wooden boat, lol.

I'd love that for her, tbh.

...especially because alcohol is flammable. :)

Ahlaam—

Narrator: In a blinding flash, a woman materialized, and with a single motion, she pushed the water of the room with her mind

Okay, I fully admit this is mostly just a reason for me to make another waterbending joke. Ahlaam's appearance in this episode wasn't really long enough to give us much information about her, but I mean we also haven't seen anyone else do anything with water until she came along, so... if we see her do more stuff like this and she has more associations with water in episode 4 onwards, I will feel pretty smart. 😌

Margaret—

● the moon

● the sea

● astronomy

we might not know much about Margaret's magic beyond how brightly it glows—which isn't unique to her—and what she's been able to do with it, be we do know that she has a connection with the moon, of course.

I think we could also argue that she has a pull to the sea—mostly because of the view from her window and the rooftop, overlooking the water. Learning about the Searchers and the fact that Kal was looking for Margaret on the sea supports this connection, but again, that doesn't really single her out from the others.

Margaret does have an appreciation for astronomy, but even that might not be super unique, if her people have orreries on every ship and they all look up to the sky. However... my brain is still chewing on a possible connection between Margaret and the orrery, because of what Kal said. It would be pretty rad if she was the one who designed and crafted them, figured out that magic. So idk, that could be something.

If her memories are returning, maybe we'll see her really start to shine amongst her fellow Travelers as she recalls more about herself and brings together the person that resides in her memories and the person that losing her memories made her into.

phew, okay! this is a long post and I am now very sleepy, lol. I'm sure I missed a few things—I didn't take any *literal* notes during parts 1 & 2 and it'll be a few days before I get the album and lose my mind again—but maybe there's a few things I managed to catch that y'all will enjoy.

As always, feel free to reply/reblog with your own thoughts!!!

[clarestrand]

A BUTTERFLY AND HORSE

@a_butterfly_and_a_horse

"A Butterfly and a Horse by Clare Strand is a participatory monument to the complex relationship between analogue photography and the networked image. This new work commissioned by MA students at Sotheby’s Institute of Art opens for the Digital Design Festival at the Victoria and Albert Museum from the 19-21st September"

The 2024 student-led commission, Reimagining the Monument, will see artist Clare Strand exploring the photographic medium by posing new questions about our relationships with both analogue and AI image-making.

A Butterfly and a Horse by Clare Strand is a participatory monument to the complex relationship between analogue photography and the networked image. Inspired by the early image transfer experiments by Shelford Bidwell, a pioneer of modern digital technology, this monument explores how the creation, profusion, and circulation of images has a significant impact on our experience of time, memory, and identity.

It is the result of a collaboration and was commissioned by the Reimagining the Monument team, led by Sotheby’s Institute of Art MA students focused on debating and discussing the significance of monuments in the modern world. The monument will be installed at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), as part of their Digital Design Weekend (September 20 - 22, 2024).

The work will consist of a recreated darkroom, incorporating Strand’s own (and longtime unused) enlarger, which visitors will be invited to use to manually expose a photograph of either a horse or a butterfly, making reference to the first two images which Bidwell attempted to digitally transfer in 1880.

Although photography was originally considered the most scientifically accurate instrument capable of capturing reality, even the earliest pioneers recognized its potential for misinformation and the ‘hoax.’ It is now clear that photographic images can also pervert reality, especially considering recent developments in digital technology such as generative AI software. Far from Roland Barthes’ idea of the photographic image as an index of the ‘having-been-there’ of a precise moment in the past, digital technology has completely changed the prospects of the medium, manifesting in several respects as an oversaturation and deluge of images. It is precisely the phenomenon of the constant presence and rapid exchange of images in our daily lives, particularly through social media, that causes fundamental confusion and disorientation. This potentially leads to the draining of value from images themselves and even a distortion of the memory they carry. Paradoxically, the mere act of capturing what stands before us through the lenses of a smartphone or a digital camera to preserve a memory can lead to the oblivion of that very memory. It is as if digitising memory can somehow eradicate actual memory. Instead, we insist on the implicit mediating effect that photography has, as it is not a neutral instrument, but tends to frame reality through the photographer’s eye. Photographs epitomise the irreversible passage of time, inevitably interposing a distance between what has been captured by the camera and its viewers, like monuments which frequently claim to bear remembrance of the past but are necessarily detached from the present.

While monuments traditionally occupy public space and typically glorify certain individuals or values belonging to the past, the Reimagining the Monument team proposes a different concept of what monuments can be. Contrary to the traditional view, we emphasize that memory is inherently subjective, shaped by each person's unique experiences, personality, and identity. Rather than considering the function of memory as exercised simply through the visualisation of images, we must also consider that often identities are expressed through images, particularly via social media, as they are able to stage certain scenarios, which further suggests that memory is inherently subjective.

Erving Goffman in his seminal text The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1956), theorised the so-called “dramaturgical analysis” of social interaction, arguing that individuals behave like actors on a stage, perform their own identity to a public of social peers, and present themselves as they want to be perceived. In the context of social media, we could talk about a digital presentation of the self, in which individuals present or post their identity mainly through image sharing, contributing to the empowering of digital memory and building a data set that will be kept as reference by platforms operated by algorithms. The digital self would only function as a mere simulacrum of the real individual, inevitably blurring the boundaries between the virtual and real, creating a hybrid reality.

In this context, we might ask ourselves what the role of a monument is in our current society. Is it still a useful instrument to crystallise the past and preserve its memory, or does it risk standing as a mute symbol of something irremediably forgotten in our epoch, exclusively oriented to the hic et nunc dimension?

Strand’s work responds to these questions by conceiving a type of non-monument to the very idea of image creation and transference, focusing on the analogue photographic process and rejecting the modern thirst for immediate satisfaction by delaying the completion of the developing process of the photographs. People engaging with the monument will indeed receive their final photographs in the post weeks after exposing the negatives at the V&A.

In this sense, Strand’s own approach to the photographic medium, which she deliberately affirms to work ‘against’, is emblematic of the issues raised by digitalization. Shifting away from an essentially analogue practice, the artist has focused her approach on the intersection between the electronic and digital world, with its algorithms and generative tools as photographic lenses, resulting in an interesting exploration of the role of chance in the disoriented world we live in.

It is crucial to note that Strand’s monument also directly addresses the perennial issue of photography’s veridicity, as the images of a butterfly and a horse used for creating the negatives will be generated by an AI program trained on her own back catalogue of work. The two images offered are ‘memories’ of images, delivered in Strand’s own personal style, even though the animals depicted never existed and the photographs were never physically taken.

Finally, the very images produced by the people visiting the monument will be posted on a Butterfly and a Horse Instagram page, also showing the context in which every visitor framed them, and highlighting how digital image-sharing has become an important instrument to express identity. Thus, the participatory element of the installation will encourage visitors to focus on their own personal experience of images, shifting the paradigm of the monument from the public sphere to a more intimate and personal one, addressing the fragmentation present in modern society and the inescapable subjectivity of memory.

Alessandro Manetti, MA Contemporary Art '24 Sandra Nikusev, MA Art Business '24

[tulin006]

Unravelling the Mandela Effect Controversy

In a world teeming with conspiracy theories, the Mandela Effect stands as a towering monument to collective false memories and an emblem of historical revisionism. Named after the iconic South African revolutionary, Nelson Mandela, this bizarre phenomenon churns troubling waters — waters that whisper tales of Mandela’s alleged death in the 1980s, vehemently clashing with the historical records that celebrate his release from prison in 1990 and subsequent presidency.

From those roiling depths emerges an assertion so audacious it teeters on the precipice of disbelief: that the Mandela who ascended to power post-imprisonment was not the genuine article, but an impostor. Some proclaim it to be a clone, an artifice of political puppetry, while a more storied narrative insists upon a man named Gibson Makanda assuming Mandela's mantle. This line of conjecture paints a picture of deceit woven into South Africa's tapestry of freedom and echoes the shunned cries of Winnie Mandela, the revolutionary's wife, who some suggest knew all too well the man paraded before the masses was not her husband.

These tangled threads of conspiracy entice the curious and the skeptical alike, compelling us to question the very fabric of our perceived reality. But is there any merit to these claims, or are they merely the product of a society entrenched in cynicism?

The Death That Wasn't

The argument hinges on a straightforward premise: Nelson Mandela, the spearhead of anti-apartheid, met his demise within the cold, unyielding walls of prison during the 1980s. This claim starkly contrasts the well-documented account of Mandela's life — surviving 27 years of incarceration, only to emerge as a symbol of resilience, an advocate for peace, and ultimately, the President of South Africa.

Nonetheless, there persists a swath of individuals who vividly recall news coverage of Mandela's funeral during that decade, an event stirring enough to etch itself forever into their memories. How does one rationalize such a powerful collective recollection with recorded history?

From Human to Clone

Leaping from the foothold of disputed death, believers in the clone theory assert that political forces meticulously fabricated a Mandela clone to maintain the charade of leadership and seamless transition while safeguarding their interests.

What purpose would such an elaborate hoax serve? For these theorists, it's a matter of control. A living Mandela embodied the struggle against systemic inequality, wielding influence powerful enough to uplift a nation or send it toppling into chaos. A clone, they argue, could be manipulated, a figurehead dancing on governmental strings.

Gibson Makanda: The Replacement Theory

While cloning suggests science fiction leaping into the political arena, another claim rooted in doppelgänger deceit declares a living man, Gibson Makanda, as the surrogate Mandela. This shadowy figure is said to have been coached extensively to replicate Mandela's mannerisms, speech, and essence, fashioning himself as the long-imprisoned revolutionary emerging into the light of freedom, ready to heal a divided country.

Winnie Mandela's supposed ostracization serves as purported evidence of this switcheroo—a once-revered figure gradually silenced, marginalized, and dismissed. Could it be that her steadfast spirit and intimate knowledge of her husband made her a threat to a fabricated narrative?

The Power of Perceived Reality

Entertaining such theories requires a suspension of disbelief and a willingness to peer beyond the veneer of recorded history. These notions call into question the veracity of our collective memory, the potentialities of technology and political intrigue, and the slippery slopes of revisionist histories.

Are these claims mere flights of fancy, or could they contain threads of unsettling truth? The Mandela Effect extends beyond the man and into the realm of societal self-reflection. It dares us to gaze into the murky waters of consensus and challenge the certainty that what we “know” aligns with reality.

Stirring the Pot of Thought

The appeal of such conspiratorial narrations lies not just in their sensationalism but in their ability to provoke reflection and discourse. They compel us to scrutinize our systems of belief, our relationship with the past, and the reliability of truth as it is presented.

The "alternative Mandela" narrative may ultimately be unveiled as fiction, a complex tapestry of rumours and ideations. Yet, its very existence underscores an inherent scepticism, a residue of mistrust in the institutions that shape our view of history. It begs the audience to ponder not just the likelihood of such claims, but their implications—on the politics of identity, legacy, and remembrance.

In the court of public opinion and human memory, the truth is often not the victor but the most compelling story. Are we willing to accept that our cherished narratives might be premised upon foundations as unstable and enigmatic as the Mandela Effect suggests? Or do we choose to stand by the history that has been carved into granite by textbooks and ceremonies?

These are the questions that remain inscribed upon the walls of our collective consciousness as we grapple with the shadow of uncertainty that the Mandela Effect casts over one of history's brightest leaders. And while we may never unearth the ultimate truth, the power of the story — true or not — endures.

[angeldcgs]

he couldn't even look at her, too sick with shame to face what he was sure would be disappointment, if not utter revulsion. all rory wanted to do was sink in the floor and cease to exist, knowing already that nothing he said could ever make up for what he'd done. the sickest part was, minnie didn't even know the half of it. in her eyes, he was a pervert, and a catfish, and an intruder, but she had no idea that he had access to pretty much her entire digital presence, and had been watching her through her webcam every night. hopefully she never would, because things were catastrophic enough as it was. though he wasn't looking at her, he was imagining the horrified look on her face as she scrolled through their messages for proof this wasn't a hoax, re-living each and every filthy fantasy they'd fed each other with a new perspective on the whole thing. what had brought them both so much pleasure at the time, all the nights he'd spent furiously beating off to her her dirty words, all the pictures that were permanently burned into his memory— it had all rotted, thanks to rory's hubris. even more than the sexual component of their relationship, he was mourning the loss of that deep emotional connection they'd forged, the only genuine one he had in his life at the moment. only, it wasn't genuine, because he'd been hiding behind a false identity the whole time. minnie didn't know him at all, technically, and yet he'd shared things with her he'd never felt comfortable enough to tell anyone else, confiding about his insecurities, his constant fear of inadequacy. of course, coming from such a conventionally attractive man, such anxieties seemed absurd, but having her reassurance that he was, in fact, more than good enough was monumental to him. only when she held his phone out in his direction did rory glance back up at her face, unable to go on without knowing just what she was feeling. fully expecting her to either cast him out with a barrage of insults to his character, physically beat him, or both, he was somewhat stunned to hear her brokenhearted interrogation. "i never meant to hurt you," he insisted, full aware of how unbelievable that must seem. "i-i promise, i never wanted this to happen... i wanted to tell you! i didn't mean to lie, i—" his tongue felt too thick, choking on each word of his poorly crafted explanation, but minnie just wouldn't let up. each well deserved question caused his pulse to raise another five beats per minute, until he swore he would go into cardiac arrest. and then she boxed him in, instructing him to take a seat and come clean, and rory wished he had. "i... ok, i will, i'm sorry." his hands raised in surrender, he begrudgingly dropped down onto the edge of the mattress, feeling as though he'd sullied her girly sheets just by perching on top of them. again, he couldn't look at her in the eyes as he spoke, his jumpy gaze darting down to her feet instead. which was a mistake. she was wearing those cute frilly socks she'd ordered online a week or two prior, and he struggled to swallow the lump forming in his throat as he forced himself to look away. "i, um... i made the profile to, um— i just didn't think girls would talk to me if i looked like... y'know, like me. because girls don't... talk to me. ever. so i just wanted to meet people and, um... t-to talk." every few sentences his eyes would bounce up to check her expression before plummeting to the floor once again. "and then i met you, and i started getting to know you, and you're just... i knew you were way too good for me, and i didn't want what i look like to ruin everything we had, because it was really, really special to me. it is special to me." finally, he'd mustered up the courage to hold her gaze for an extended period of time, his eyes bloodshot and rimmed with tears as his lower lip trembled pathetically. "i'm really sorry, minnie... i just thought— i love you. that was real, everything else was totally real."

minnie's stomach churned at the sight of their messages, with those words she got herself off to but this time from the sender's perspective, cold hard proof that this man standing before her was zach. her knees give away, and she drops onto the edge of her mattress, blinking and blinking at the screen as if to will it away. how can this be? she thinks. unless he'd hacked him, this creep standing before her, in which case—minnie pulls her phone out of her pocket and sends zach a message. just a simple question mark. "?" and nothing more. her stomach drops when it appears on his screen in real time, but then again, what was she expecting? a part of her hopes the real zach would message her back while she's she's holding the intruder's phone, a sign that this scrawny man in front of her is not who he claims to be, but nothing. nada. and zach almost always was quick to reply, as if he was waiting on her every word the way she had been waiting for us. minnie's eyes sting with her tears. the first man she'd ever let herself be vulnerable to, the first man she'd trusted enough to send her nudes to, and he wasn't even real. how fucking stupid was she? and then he says it: her most recent confession, one uttered in the heat of the moment as she pressed her vibrator between her thighs, writhing in bed and moaning out his name. zach, oh, zach. and he wasn't even who he said he was. she'd been getting it off to a complete and utter made up fantasy. a total fucking creep. and here he was, caught in the flesh rifling through her fucking laundry like a rat in search of scraps. minnie sniffles, swipes at her nose with the back of her hand before passing him back his phone. she should tell him to go away. to leave her alone forever, and to never talk to her again. but she loved zach, didn't she? had said so, just recently, the profession of which felt like a revelation. i love you. i love you so much. you're the only one i've ever loved. the only one i ever will love. how fucking foolish of her to let herself catch feelings for someone she'd never even met. never even called. serves her right, really. you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. she turns away from him, digging deep within herself to find the courage to banish him. to be done with it so she can get a move on and forget about this embarrassing little blunder. but her pathetic little heart thumps, protests, and in a rage, she whirls around and demands, "how could you? how—i trusted you. i loved you. if you're even who you say you are." she glares at him with disgust. "you didn't have to lie to me. you could have just been yourself. why did you do that? why didn't you come clean sooner? and why—how did you get in here? how did you know where i live?" the moment she started firing off questions, she couldn't stop herself. she wanted answers—no, needed them. and she wasn't going to let him go until he gave them to her. she slams the door shut and points at her bed. "sit. you have an hour to explain yourself or i'm calling the cops, and then it's bye-bye zach and whoever the fuck you are forever." it stings just to say it, and minnie wonders whether she even has the gall to follow through.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

This is so crazy:  Monuments & plaques are common around cities and tourist areas, giving insight into historic events or landmarks. The Staten Island Ferry Disaster Memorial blends in with these monuments, except that it’s completely phony. (Look, someone even left flowers.)

The monument, in Battery Park, Manhattan, was created by artist Joe Reginella and honors the “400 victims who perished during a giant octopus attack of a Staten Island ferry named the Cornelius G. Kolff on November 22, 1963.” (The same day that Pres. Kennedy was assassinated, so this disaster went almost completely unnoticed.)

The elaborate hoax was 6 months in the making, and is also seen by Reginella as a multimedia art project and social experiment.

The website, and fliers distributed around Manhattan by his team, gave a false location for a museum, ironically a place you must get to by ferry.

The story: It was close to 4am on the quiet morning of November 22, 1963 when the Ferry vanished without a trace w/nearly 400 passengers on their way to work. Eye witness accounts describe “large tentacles” which “pulled” the ferry beneath the surface only a short distance from its destination at Whitehall Terminal in Lower Manhattan.

Nobody on board survived and only small pieces of wreckage have been found…strangely with large “suction cup-shaped” marks on them. The only logical conclusion scientists and officials could point to was that the boat had been attacked by a massive octopus, roughly half the size of the ship.

Phony newspaper story.

This man was so overcome with emotion, he’s crying.

The Monument is currently on display at Hypno-tronic Comics located at 156 Stuyvesant Place in Staten Island, NY every day through New Year's Day. Just a 2 minute walk from the Staten Island Ferry Terminal.

https://nycurbanlegends.com/octopus-disaster

[zvaigzdelasas]

Edmonton police have charged the editor of a left-wing Alberta news outlet with mischief after a controversial [sic] statue of a Ukrainian military commander was defaced last year.

Duncan Kinney, 39, was charged with mischief under $5,000 "in relation to an August 2021 incident that occurred at a Ukrainian complex in the area of 96th Street and 153rd Avenue," Edmonton Police Service spokesperson Carolin Maran told CBC News Tuesday night.

Kinney is expected to appear in court on Nov. 10.

Last August, the words "Actual Nazi" were written in red paint on the statue of Roman Shukhevych at the Ukrainian Youth Unity Complex.

During the same week, a memorial in St Michael's Cemetery near 138th Avenue and 82nd Street was also defaced, with the words "Nazi Monument 14th Waffen SS". 

Shukhevych's role in the military has fallen under increased scrutiny [sic] over his actions in leading the Ukrainian Insurgent Army during the Second World War and the deaths of tens of thousands of Belarusians, Jews, Poles and Ukrainians.

The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies has called for the removal of the memorials, stating that they honour "Nazi collaborators and war criminals."[...]

In a public statement, four Ukrainian organizations said they were thankful for the police's work "investigating and making an arrest for the trespassing and defacing of our monument of Ukrainian military commander Roman Shukhevych."

In a statement Tuesday, the Edmonton branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress said it was pleased that an arrest was made.

"We thank the Edmonton Police Service for their thorough investigation of this matter and call on all law enforcement agencies to redouble their efforts to investigate and prosecute the spate of harassment and violence against Ukrainian Canadians since Russia's invasion of Ukraine," the congress said in a statement.

In a statement Tuesday, the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association described the vandalism as a "hate-crime hoax" that stoked social discord and fear among Canadian Ukrainians.

"We believe all Canadians have the right to enjoy their property without being subjected to intimidation or threats," the statement said.

25 Oct 22

[simonalkenmayer]

Russia got rid of Memorial. China took down the Tianamen Square monuments in Hong Kong. Rioters stormed the Capitol because they didn’t like that their thief of a candidate lost in the most secure election in history. People think that democratic leadership eat babies and worship Satan. Thirty percent of the electorate thinks COVID is a hoax or built to target them…the ones who won’t get a vaccine based on 50 years of research.

Conservative politics and outright dictatorial rule is on the rise in the countries that hold weapons of mass destruction. This is not good.

These patterns make me so angry. For fucks sake will you people learn. Learn! Remember! Retain!

I’m tired. This is tiring. You can’t afford to be apolitical. You have to stand for something, or you will end up on your knees.

[walviemort]

Fairy Godfather, part 1

Summary: The fairies have asked a monumental favor of Killian: be the surrogate for their babies—all nine of them. He's been pregnant before, but this? This is a whole other level. What has he gotten himself into? And just how big will he get?

A/N: As usual, the muse has gone off and done whatever it wants to do, rather than, y'know, work on a WIP. Alas. The idea for this came about when I sent @sancocnutclub​ this picture of a woman who was supposedly pregnant with 10 babies; it has since come out as a hoax, but dang—her BUMP. Subsequent doodling and headcanoning brought about this story (also partly inspired by a conversation with SherlockianWhovian a while back), and here we are! I should note that this also takes place after a couple of past one-shots, which can be found here and here. Hope you like it!

rated T / 3k words / AO3

Of all the requests put in front of Killian in his long life, this was by far the oddest.

“You want me...to carry babies...for how many of you?” he asked, trying to wrap his head around the query.

“Nine,” Blue answered matter-of-factly. “Normally, it wouldn’t be so many, but we’re past due for a brood. There was just no one around who we thought could handle it.”

“And he can?” Emma was at his side in the booth at Granny’s, where Blue and Tink had requested to meet with them. Their daughter, Hope, was sitting in the high chair at the end of the table, making a mess of some oatmeal. 

“It helps if they’ve given birth before,” Tink replied. Well, he had done that—not intentionally, but he had been the one to carry and birth Hope, who was 10 months old now.

And while it had ended up being a beautiful experience, he obviously had reservations. “Yes, but that was only one baby—and you genuinely think I can handle nine?”

“We do,” Blue confirmed. “And we’d obviously provide as much help as we can.”

“It also wouldn’t be like a normal human pregnancy,” Tink added. “No morning sickness or cravings, or anything like that.”

“No, I’d just be massive,” he sighed; memories of his own perceived whale-like proportions toward the end of his pregnancy with Hope were still fresh; this had potential to put that to shame.

“Well, fairy newborns are smaller than the average human infant—less than 4 pounds. But yes, you would go full term.” Blue was awfully clinical in her statements.

Killian glanced down at his midsection, which had yet to fully regain its previous flatness, and he doubted it ever would. Especially not if he agreed to this. “I’m really your only option?” he asked again. “What about David?”

“It’s too soon,” Blue answered. David gave birth a couple months prior to their daughter Ruth, and as promised, Killian was at his side. However, he’d had to have a C-section, which slowed his recovery a bit compared to Killian’s. “And it must be done at the upcoming winter solstice, or we’ll have to wait another few years.”

Killian was about to suggest that until Tink jumped in. “Plus, you kind of still owe us for the whole hat thing.”

“That was the Dark One and you know it,” Emma snapped back, but they both knew Killian still harbored a fair amount of guilt over that. It was a low blow on their part, but not undeserved. 

She most likely saw the acceptance in his eyes when they exchanged a glance, but he also saw she wasn’t quite there. “Does it really have to be a guy?” she enquired, turning back to the fairies. “I mean, there are lots of women here who meet your criteria, too.”

“It does,” they said simultaneously, though Tink at least looked somewhat apologetic. 

Emma was ready to protest again, but he put his hand over hers on the table and told her with a look that it was okay. She reclined in her seat while he turned back to the pair. “I’ll agree, but with one condition: you’ll have to help pick up my slack—around town and at home,” he said evenly. He was sure he’d get to a point when it wasn’t feasible for him to continue as deputy, or at the library, or even keep up with Hope, who was dangerously close to walking. 

“Actually, one more,” Emma added. “He’s not on the hook for any, like, actual fatherhood, right? You won’t be coming after him for child support or anything?”

“No, he's simply the surrogate,” Blue confirmed. 

“And we’ll definitely help out—whatever you need,” Tink added. 

Emma gave him a tentative but supportive look. “Then I’ll do it,” he told them. 

“Excellent,” Blue stated with less enthusiasm than he expected. “We’ll send you more information soon, but the most important thing is to be at the convent next Saturday. Green,” she then turned to Tink, “come; we have much to do to prepare.” (Which was a polite way of asking her to slide out of the booth first.)

Tink rolled her eyes and stood up. “I’ll text you,” she said, and the two flitted out of the diner.

Killian and Emma were silent for a long moment after they left, other than making sure some oatmeal actually ended up in Hope’s mouth. 

Emma started to clean up the baby and then said, “I know it’s too late now, but are you sure about this?”

“Not entirely,” he confessed, “but they were right—I do owe them.”

“You don’t,” Emma said matter-of-factly, “even though I know you think you do.” She wiped the mess off Hope’s face. “But if this will finally relieve some of that guilt, then I get it, and I’ll support you.”

“Thank you, love,” he sighed, and pressed a kiss to her temple. “I’m going to need it, I think.”

“Oh, you are,” she said wryly. “And you should probably start planning how you’ll tell my dad.”

“Bloody hell,” he cursed, then dragged a hand down his face. “He’s going to be relentless.” What had been playful ribbing during their respective pregnancies was likely about to be amplified. 

“Maybe you can talk to Belle? See if she knows anything on what to expect? Pun not intended.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” he agreed, then followed Emma as she slipped out of the booth. He pulled Hope from the high chair and settled her in his left arm, then grabbed her diaper bag and slung it over his shoulder. “Guess we’ll pick her brain now. See you later.” They kissed farewell and headed off to their respective jobs that day—Emma at the station, Killian at the library, where he’d taken something of an assistant librarian position (and could keep an eye on Hope and her “cousin” Gideon in between reshelving and assisting patrons).

Belle was surprised when he told him about the morning’s turn of events, but then got an almost academic excitement. “I can’t say I know much about their physiology, and I didn’t know this about their reproduction, but let’s see if we have anything.”

She dove into research while he took care of normal library functions, but by midday, didn’t have much to show for it. 

“They’re so secretive! Obviously their existence is documented, and there’s mention of someone other than Blue being in charge at some point in the past, and that their young mature faster than average, but that’s it. What did they tell you?”

“Not much,” he answered, relaying what little he’d been told. “But they did call it a ‘brood’, so it sounds like multiples are common. Just not quite so many.”

“Do you think they’d let me take notes?” she wondered. “It’s not like there's any research journals on magical beings I could submit a paper to, but more for my own study.” 

“If they don’t let you, I won’t do it,” he commented. “Do you still have everything from last time?” She’d done quite a bit of documentation on his first pregnancy, considering it was the product of a misunderstood spell.

“Of course; David’s, too.” Then she laughed. “Of all the things I imagined becoming an expert in, magical male pregnancy was not one of them.”

“Someone had to,” he countered.

“That’s true!”

---------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the week was fairly uneventful, save for a text from Tink telling them when to arrive at the convent, and to make sure he ate lots of greens and wore something comfortable (which he took to mean stretchy). And they assented to Belle’s presence, too, which didn’t change anything but did make him feel more at ease.

David was something between amused and horrified about what Killian had agreed to, but ultimately glad they hadn’t asked him.

The afternoon of the solstice, before they headed to the convent, Belle took some notes and measurements of Killian as a baseline for her study—and honestly, he was kind of glad, if the proportions on this were going to be as overlarge as he expected. “How big do they make those maternity pants?” he asked Emma as Belle was making note of his waist size (not significantly larger than it used to be, he was at least proud to say). 

Emma’s eyes grew large. “I don’t know; I think the fairies are gonna have to help with that one.”

“Let’s hope that’s a ways off, then,” he settled. 

They dropped Hope off at Snow and David’s on their way to the convent, where they were greeted by Blue herself. She ushered them in without a word, and a couple other fairies were there to gather their belongings, before Blue guided them further into the building. Killian was both surprised and not to see that they were all in their traditional attire, though he was a bit shocked that they were all still large and not the miniscule size they were known for. Belle had had a similar question a few days ago; they’d ask at some point. 

They were led into a large, candlelit room, where Tink suddenly appeared in front of him. “Drink this,” she commanded, holding a mug of steaming liquid, “and take off your shirt.”

“Is that necessary?” he asked as he took the mug.

“I mean, I already know what’s under there, so I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t,” she countered with a wink.

He complied with a sigh. The drink was a potion of some sort, he gathered almost immediately; a warm, tingly feeling took over his body as he drank it, eventually settling in his stomach, which made sense. Weirdly, though, when he removed his tshirt, there was a slight glow under the skin of his abdomen. (Belle was off to the side, furiously taking notes; Emma was next to her, trying to keep a straight face and surreptitiously taking pictures.)

Blue was watching a clock, and when it struck a seemingly random time—the peak of the solstice—she began chanting in a tongue he didn’t quite recognize, with others gradually joining in and forming a circle around him. The glow under his skin got brighter, especially in his midsection, although he didn’t feel any different—yet.

“Human,” Blue finally addressed him. “You have agreed to be the vessel for our young. Do you promise to protect them with your life, and care for them until they are ready to join our world?”

“I...yes,” he answered, as confidently as he could manage. “I will.”

Blue continued briefly in the foreign tongue, as did the others. “Now, let the gravidation commence.”

One of the fairies approached him with her hands cupped as the rest continued to chant; she was dressed all in pink, and he thought he’d seen her spending time with Grumpy on occasion. As she got closer, he saw a small ball of pink light pulsing her palm that she was murmuring to, until she was close enough to touch him. 

And she did, guiding the ball of light toward his navel and then—it disappeared inside him as she pressed her hands against his stomach. He felt a small twinge inside as it settled within, but no pain—just a spark. The glow from his midsection briefly took on a pinkish hue, but then returned to the white color it had been emanating.

Each of the nine fairies did the same thing, one by one. He did wonder how it was decided who would be reproducing, given that there were far more than nine fairies present, but that was another question for a later date. They appeared before him in all colors of the spectrum—purple, seafoam, navy, yellow, fuschia—and then Tiger Lily’s deep orange joined the array of hues, followed by Tink’s bright green.

Blue was the last to approach, and her orb seemed to be the biggest of them all, which he supposed was no surprise. However, her hands lingered on his abdomen and she continued to chant, the intensity and volume increasing as everyone’s voices joined in.

He suddenly felt a slight cramp within—still nothing painful, but like his insides were being gently rearranged, which they probably were. Then his stomach glowed brighter, casting all the colors of the fairies whose offspring he was now carrying around the room.

“Gods above, watch over this man; let he be exalted among the fairies, and let no harm befall him nor our bairns,” Blue called out with a sense of finality.

The glow grew brighter, until it was too bright for him to look at, but then was gone in a flash. The fairies gave a collective hum that seemed to resolve the ceremony, and then began to file out of the room, although Tink approached and wrapped him in a soft robe.

He felt...he wasn’t sure. Content, at the very least, but also like he might float away were it not for the sensation of a weight within him holding him down. His hand drifted to his midsection, and if he wasn’t mistaken, it was ever so slightly rounder than it was before he arrived; with nine babies in there, he supposed that made sense. He couldn’t feel any sensations of kicking yet, but it was probably too early—and honestly, he still kind of tingled all over. The analytical side of him wondered where they would be considered in their development relative to a human fetus—and if they’d even show up on an ultrasound.

“How are you doing, Captain?” Blue was still in front of him, but in the afterglow (literally) of the spell, he’d lost sense of anything else around him.

“I’m good,” he answered. “Possibly too good.”

Blue gave a small, knowing smile. “That tends to happen. Come, let’s sit; you must have more questions.” She gestured toward the door the fairies had exited out of and then moved toward it herself, expecting him to follow.

Emma was suddenly at his side, and Belle not far behind. “You okay?” she asked, brow furrowed in concern.

“I seem to be,” he replied. “Have I ever told you how bloody beautiful you are?”

She grinned, amused. “Many times. What was in that cup?”

“Potion of some sort,” he shrugged as she started pushing him in the direction of the door. “Why?”

“Seemed like some really potent potables,” she quipped. Yeah, he did feel a little drunk.

He somehow ended up on a very plush couch, with Emma on one side and Belle on the other, sitting across from Blue, Tink, and Tiger Lily. Someone gave him a glass of water, and there was food on a coffee table, but he wasn’t much hungry. 

Honestly, he was mostly fascinated with the stained glass windows in the room, and with inspecting whatever was going on in his stomach, until he did hear Belle ask a pertinent question:

“So why men?”

“Well, we’re all women,” Blue answered. “It does take two.”

“But I thought you said he was just a surrogate,” Emma countered. “Are these actually his babies? Because we didn’t agree to that.”

“No, they’re not; I suppose in modern terms, you’d say that we reproduce asexually. But nature still seems to demand the involvement of a man and a woman. So that’s why a willing male carries the brood.”

“Are there always so many?” Belle asked.

“No; usually only 4 or 5. But no one was available at the last solstice.”

Killian didn’t really pay attention to the next several questions regarding fairy reproduction—he’d read Belle’s notes later when he was a bit more focused—but he did eventually get to interject one of his own: “Why are you big right now, though? And why aren’t the babies going to be tiny?”

The fairies chuckled—he supposed his statement wasn’t as coherent as it sounded in his head—but still replied. “Shrinking is an acquired skill,” Tink said. “That’s why we weren’t small when we didn’t have our powers,” she explained, nodding at Tiger Lily. 

“But once we learn, it’s our preferred size,” Blue added. “It’s easier to do our job then.”

That made sense. 

“So, what else can he expect,” Emma asked. “I know you said it’d be different, but how much?”

“Well, the size, obviously—and you will still gain weight to support that,” Blue explained. “Increased appetite is to be expected, but no cravings or anything like that.”

“Your hormones will be altered, similar to a normal pregnancy,” Tiger Lily added. “But that just helps the body prepare for birth.”

“Bloody hell, what will that be like?” he wondered aloud. 

“Nowhere near as difficult,” Blue laughed. 

“Wait—if my hormones are affected…” He trailed off, remembering how much those threw him for a loop last time—particularly, certain desires. “I can still have sex, right?”

Emma covered her face with her hands at his blunt question, but it was important. 

“Of course,” Blue said plainly. “Do whatever you need to—within reason, of course.”

“Although, don’t forget—you’ll be at least twice as big as last time,” Tink reminded. “At least. That might make it harder.”

More difficult, maybe, but it hadn’t altered either person’s desires the last time around. He turned to give Emma (what he thought was) a salacious look, but she just burst into giggles. 

“Just—listen to your body,” Blue finally said. “For everything: rest, food, activity. The spell you drank will last the whole pregnancy and keep things going. We trust you, though.”

“I’ll guard them with my life,” he said, suddenly emotional, covering his stomach with his hand. 

“Aaaand there’s the hormones,” Emma commented. “Come on; let’s get you home.”

He was suddenly very sleepy. “Aye; that’s a good idea.”

“Yes, he’s going to be tired the next couple of days,” Blue added. “But otherwise—see you in 40 weeks.”

Emma wrapped her arm around him, said goodbye, and poofed them straight back to their bedroom. He was nearly asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, but had one last thing to ask Emma.

“You’ll still find me sexy when I’ve got a big, huge belly, right?”

She kissed his forehead. “Incredibly so. Sleep tight.”

------------------------------------------------------

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[captcas]

hoax

exile by capthamm

your faithless love’s the only hoax i believe in

part five of capthamm’s captain swan’s folklore read on ao3 / read the ao3 series

Grounding herself, Emma fists her hands until her fingers irritate the road burn coating her palms. Regina just got off the phone with Cruella DeVil and Ursula. Cruella and Ursula.

What the fuck?  

Killian arrives and she immediately feels the cool touch of his hook rest on her slightly exposed hip. She’s not sure when this became second nature but she’s glad it has— the consistency grounding her further.

Storybrooke. Chernabog. Town line. Cruella. Ursula. Killian. Hook.

Captain Hook.

She’s dating Captain Hook while co-parenting with the Evil Queen who's trying to decide if she should give Cruella DeVil and Ursula a chance at redemption.

What. the. fuck.

She doesn’t have to deal with these looming realizations as often as she did when the curse broke (the first time), but every once in a while something throws her into a tailspin and she has a hard time finding her way out.

If it weren’t for Killian she’d bet her life savings that Storybrooke was all a delusion and she was sitting in a hospital somewhere compensating for years of home hopping and abandonment.

But then there’s Killian.

There’s been three moments in which Emma knew she wasn’t living a lie.

The first was when Henry came back to her after biting the poisoned turnover. The moment he hugged her… that moment was so visceral, she knew it had to be real.

The second was when Neal died, when she felt a wave of feeling wash over her too great to comprehend. More sobering than any event in her life before, it was a direct reminder nothing is permanent.

The third is every moment she’s spent with Killian since the moment she’s met him. Maybe that’s cheating, shoving hundreds of moments into one, but since she’s met Killian everything has changed.

She was standing in the middle of Cora’s attack, heartless corpses scattered at her feet and she felt another loop setting in, then there was Killian. And so their story goes. Every moment of what the fuck and you’ve got to be kidding me, Killian’s been there— whether on the right side or not is here nor there.

She grasps his hand tightly, drawing a small “x” with her thumb near his wrist and she notices him nod slightly before addressing their ragtag fairytale army, “Emma and I are going to head to Granny’s for some food and then we’ll meet Belle at the library to research our new winged friend.” Everyone nods enthusiastically and leaps into action, David delegating the rest of the group out as Killian squeezes Emma’s hand and leads her away from the chaos.

Once they’re out of ear shot, Killian speaks, “Are you alright, love?”

She loves him. It’s weird, the moment you realize something so profound, but she guesses the small moments are as good as any. “I will be. It’s just… a lot.”

“Aye, Swan. I’m sure it would be for anyone not of our land, but you’ve made great strides in making your own place in this world.” He pulls her in tighter and Emma breathes in his welcoming scent. She always envisioned pirates smelling awful, but Killian is probably the cleanest person she knows. Pirates. She takes a deep breath before diving too deep into that thought.

“Thanks.” She smiles up at him, and she can tell Killian knows how much she means it despite her lack of flowery sentiments he is so versed in. He kisses her temple and she welcomes the silence.

She could handle Elsa making her way into town. Emma was on a level playing field with everyone else, backstories practically nonexistent until Anna entered the picture, but with the arrival of Cruella and Ursula, something shifted in everyone.

There’s history there Emma isn’t a part of and no one is being very forward when it comes to clueing her in. Killian’s holding something back, but she assumes it’s out of shame and knows he’ll tell her on his own time– she didn’t fall in love with a man unscathed; dismal pasts are just part of the package. What’s killing her are her parents, both clearly hiding some dark past with these villains. It’s resurfacing all the anxiety she felt the day the first curse broke. Everyone was so elated, families reunited and memories restored, but Emma felt exactly the same– her relief Henry was going to be alright aside. Snow White hugged her daughter for the first time while Emma hugged her friend Mary Margaret for what felt like the hundredth time.

The playing field was anything but level.

The Enchanted Forest was only a further extension of that, Emma constantly on edge yet feeling 6 steps behind. When she got back to Storybrooke, she felt herself level out— at least she knew how to use the restroom here.

Emma hates to say it, but besides the fact Henry was kidnapped, Neverland was a welcome challenge. Killian warned them the island was greatly unknown even to those who reside there permanently. The playing field leveled itself out completely as everyone seemed just as clueless as she was.

Don’t even get her started on her magic.

Henry has had that book memorized since she met him, the stories practically his now despite him not being alive for the majority of them. He’s always on pace with the rest of the group, knowing references to past dalliances and squabbles without so much as turning a page. She’s glad he’s not feeling this level of anxiousness, but wishes beyond all belief that she could take some of that photographic fairytale memory for herself.

It’s the squeeze of Killian’s hand that brings her back to the present and allows her to walk up the steps to Granny’s without tripping and making an ass of herself. Killian places their order and leans in close to tell Ruby something privately. Before Emma can wonder what he’s said, Killian is leading her up the back steps towards his room and unlocking the door.

“I thought you could use some familiar territory to decompress, love.”

Emma loves him. It’s the only thing that’s convinced her this isn’t some dream that is only minutes from being over. It’s what keeps her fighting tooth and nail for some semblance of normal in her new life which is decidedly anything but. It’s what grounds her when there are literal flying demons from hell trying to take her into the sky.

It’s the only thing that’s made perfect sense.

“Thank you, Killian.” He smiles and begins to turn away, not picking up the true gravity of her appreciation. Emma grabs his wrist and he turns back towards her, worry etched into his brow.

“Are you sure you’re alright, love?” She should answer, but finds herself too busy searching his eyes for any hint that this is a dream.

Emma’s known she loves him for a while now, since the moment they returned from the past– the monumental nature of his trade for her family’s safety winning her heart completely. She doesn’t dare tell him that though– she fears the moment she does is the moment she wakes up back in Boston… alone. Emma hasn’t been alone since the moment Henry found her, and while there are moments she wishes for time to sort out her thoughts, she relishes every moment with her family. At this point, she’s not sure she’d know how to be alone anymore and the thought of leaving this reality for the truth scares her everyday.

Killian’s the only one who seems to remind her this is as real as it gets.

His thumb brushes softly across her wrist where he’s slowly taken control. As though he could read her mind, Killian nods ever-so-slightly, a comforting smile breaking across his face. She squeezes his hand, purposely placing one of his rings in an uncomfortable position on her hand in a futile attempt to wake herself up before she jumps to the point of no return.

Emma finds his eyes again– somehow her anchor even though they’re as blue as the sea. She used to drown in them, the emotions she felt overtaking her as they acted as x-rays into her soul, but as time moved on all she found was comfort. Taking a deep breath, she decides she doesn’t want to live on this edge anymore. If this is all a hoax, she wants to know now before the pain of waking would be more excruciating than she already imagines it would be, but also before he tells her first, and the fear of the unknown stops her from returning the sentiment. Emma aches to tell him, so that she can finally know if the fairytale (literally) she’s been living is truly her life.

So she does.

“I love you.”

As Emma expected, he surges in for a kiss, his actions speaking louder than her three words -even long ago. He comes up for air, and for a moment, Emma refuses to open her eyes, sure the dream will have changed, or worse she’ll have woken up all together, but then that moment passes. Killian’s forehead is hot against hers as she feels the smiles lines grow across it. He breathes out and his breath graces her lips softly. In a seemingly impossible task, Killian closes what little distance remains between them. Emma moves in to kiss him once more, but he leans back slightly to stop her. It’s then, on instinct alone, that Emma finally opens her eyes. As she gazes into an endless expanse of blue, a weight lifts from her chest– a weight left long ago when she turned to find cops in that alleyway instead of Neal. She never realized how heavy it was, not until the moment it was gone– or if not gone, shared.

“I love you too, Swan.”

He brings her back to the here and now in an instant and she’s home.

His voice– light and full of the kind of happiness she truly thought was reserved for the best of dreams– buries itself deep into her mind, creating a sort of tattoo on the memories that lived there. Sure, she’d been told I love you many times, by many people, but the words that leave Killian’s mouth feel permanent.

They feel real.

She rushes forward to kiss him, once again. The electricity radiating through her body, the feel of his hands laced along her lower back, and the smile forming  against her lips finally convince her that, while her life may be part fairytale, it’s undoubtedly as real as any of the others in Henry’s ancient book.

. . . 

@mariakov81​ @lfh1226-linda​ @kmomof4​ @superchocovian​ @pirateherokillian​ @teamhook​ @nikkiemms​

[didanawisgi]

Arturo De Hoyos, Grand Archivist, on Albert Pike

** He has lived! The fruits of his labors live after him **

“Like many of you, I watched the news last night as a mob pulled down and burned the statute of Albert Pike. Earlier in the day I gave a TV interview in which I said that Freemasons did not want the statue to be a point of conflict, but that it was property of the United States, under the Parks Service. I preferred that it be moved to a museum where he could be understood in context.

Last night, as the mob did their work, the news media called it a “Confederate Statue,” the presence of which was “painful.” In truth the statue had nothing to do with the Civil War. It was Pike as a Freemason, in civilian clothing, holding a copy of Morals and Dogma.

Pike was a man of his times who embodied the strengths and weaknesses of his generation. Freemasons acknowledge Pike’s personal foibles and frailties, and revere his ethical and moral teachings. They respect what he accomplished, and see in him an example of a person who was willing to abandon personal prejudices on the path to self-improvement.

Among his strong points was his pursuit of knowledge and self-improvement. Within one lifetime he seems to have lived multiple lives that sometimes overlapped each other. He was, for example, an advocate for Native American rights, an accomplished attorney, an author, an educator, an explorer, an historian, a military leader (Brigadier General), a philosopher, a poet, and a translator.

A Boston native, Pike’s wanderlust led him to explore the South and follow the Santa Fe Trail. He had a particular fascination with Native Americans, and became a friend to several tribes, compiling personal dictionaries of their languages and dialects. Later in life, as an attorney, he became a legal advocate for Native Americans, trying to secure the rights which they had been promised by the government.

As with other “larger than life” vocal personalities, he was occasionally controversial. Strongly in favor of the Tenth Amendment (States rights) Pike, like many other Americans, sided with the South during the American Civil War. Although his wife’s family owned slaves he personally considered slavery a great evil, and the greatest calamity of the South. In 1856 he walked out of the Southern Convention saying,

“he would suffer himself to be torn by wild horses before he would justify the renewal of the African slave trade.”

He was ridiculed for his hope that a time would come for all men to be free, but he failed to condemn slavery outright. Following the war, under President Johnson’s amnesty proclamation, Pike returned to private life and in late 1869/early 1870 he moved with the Scottish Rite to reside in Washington, DC.

Pike has been quoted to say that he preferred to leave Freemasonry than sit in lodges with Black men. If this was his earlier view, he matured and changed. In fact, he became a supporter of Black Freemasonry and enjoyed a friendship with Thornton A. Jackson, Grand Commander of the Prince Hall Affiliation. Pike even shared his rituals with the Prince Hall Freemasons, and exchanged cordial and fraternal letters.

After Pike’s death he was maligned when it was falsely alleged that he had been a member of the KKK. Pike’s enemies claimed he was one of the founders and/or chief judicial officer of the KKK. However, when the US Congress investigated the KKK in 1871, its report failed to support these allegations. (Testimony Taken by the Joint Select Committee to Inquire into the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary States, 13 vols. [Washington: Government Printing Office, 1872]). The allegations were so prevalent and persistent that even some Masonic writers were fooled and repeated them. However, there are no primary documents, membership records, or letters from Pike’s time which suggest his participation in any way. In the vast collection of the Supreme Council’s archives, there is not a single document connecting him with the KKK.

Another false claim is that Pike was a “Luciferian.” The French hoaxer Leo Taxil (Gabriel Jogand-Pages) asserted that Pike was the “Sovereign Pontiff of Universal Freemasonry,” and that he taught the worship of Lucifer in the Scottish Rite’s highest degrees. Taxil later publically admitted this was a hoax, at the expense of the Catholic church. Although Freemasonry admits good men of any faith, Pike was himself a Bible-believing Christian, who encouraged Masons to respect Jesus “Above all the other great teachers of morality and virtue” (Morals and Dogma 28:573). In several long passages, Pike implored Masons to follow Jesus’s example, calling him “the Great Master” whose life was an “undeniable Gospel” (M&D 28:575). Pike urged us, “Believe that there is a God; that He is our father; that He has a paternal interest in our welfare and improvement; that He has given us powers, by means of which we may escape from sin and ruin; that He has destined us to a future life of endless progress toward perfection and a knowledge of Himself—believe this, as every Mason should, and you can live calmly, endure patiently, labor resolutely, deny yourselves cheerfully, hope steadfastly, and be conquerors in the great struggle of life” (M&D 12:22).

Throughout his writing Pike encouraged us to make the most of ourselves, to see ourselves as part of a human family, and to do good to all: “Learn, that you may be enabled to do good; and do so because it is right, finding in the act itself ample reward and recompense. To attain the truth, and to serve our fellows, our country, and mankind—this is the noblest destiny of man” (M&D 4:8-9).

Perhaps, however, his most famous saying is that famously engraved near his bust at the House of the Temple:

“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”

These wise words remain as true today, as when he spoke them.

Freemasons honor Albert Pike for the several reasons: for his love of a fraternity which seeks to improve the social order and encourages humankind to find commonalities to form bonds of friendship; for his willingness to discard personal prejudices when confronted by better information; and perhaps, most of all, for his love of the truth and commitment to share whatever truth he discovered.

Like the rest of us, Albert Pike was far from perfect. But he had the moral courage to abandon the past and move forward. He tried to make his personal weaknesses into strengths, and his writings encourage us to do the same. The remainder of his life was dedicated to a Fraternity that seeks to transcend barriers, both real and artificial, to make strangers into Brothers. This is why, when his statue was erected in Judiciary Square in 1901, it was attended by men who had previously faced each other on the battlefield.”

Pike never wanted a statute of himself. Rather, he said:

“When I am dead, I wish my monument to be builded only in the hearts and memories of my Brethren of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and my name to be remembered by them in every country, no matter what language men may speak there, where the light of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite shall shine, and its oracles of Truth and Wisdom be reverently listened to.”

[arcticdementor]

There was a time when a kind of nobility still existed among our leaders. In Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, delivered March 4, 1865, while the nation was still riven by a bloody Civil War, he envisioned a future of national healing. In words now carved in the marble of the Lincoln Memorial, he pledged, “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right,” to go on “to bind up the nation’s wounds,” and to “do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves . . .”

A few weeks later, when the war actually came to a close, the victorious General Ulysses S. Grant, accepting the surrender of General Robert E. Lee, allowed Lee and his men to keep their horses and their swords, and to return to their homes.

The victors, Lincoln and Grant, could understand that the Confederates still deserved some respect. As Lincoln earlier had noted, again in his Second Inaugural, the people of North and South “read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other.”

A little less than a century earlier, following the defeat of the British in the Revolutionary War, John Jay observed in Federalist 2:

that Providence has been pleased to give this one connected country to one united people—a people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and customs, and who, by their joint counsels, arms, and efforts, fighting side by side throughout a long and bloody war, have nobly established general liberty and independence.

That sense of shared humanity, shared piety, and shared nobility has now all but evaporated.

…

In 1800, in the first American transfer of political power between rival factions, the defeated Federalist president, John Adams, graciously stepped aside, and, after a decision by the House of Representatives following the most vitriolic election contest that had yet occurred, the Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson became president.

Two-hundred-and-sixteen years later, when Donald Trump won an Electoral College victory over Hillary Clinton, many Democrats declared him an “illegitimate president” because Trump failed to win the popular vote. This blatant and malicious refusal to accept the result dictated by our Constitution (and thus the rule of law) led to the relentless “resistance,” to Obama Administration holdovers’ clandestine plotting to oust Trump through the Russia collusion hoax, and then to a failed impeachment effort.

…

In a way we are now experiencing a second Civil War, with the tearing down of monuments, the riots and looting in many of our cities, and many of our intellectuals telling us that ours is a society replete with systematic racism and injustice. The troops of Antifa and the activists of Black Lives Matter (BLM) are agitating for reparations for slavery, and some have justified looting as a kind of “do it yourself” reparations.

…

If Antifa and the BLM are revolutionaries, they are more like French Jacobins or Russian Bolsheviks than they are like our American forebears, who sought simply to preserve the liberties guaranteed by the British common law.

Those now engaged in the tearing down of American monuments are also engaged in shredding the fabric of our Constitutional order. As Attorney General Bill Barr recently remarked, they are the heirs of one of the intellectual fathers of the French Revolution, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, with his belief in absolutism, and the perfectibility of humankind.

The Christian beliefs so important in American history were anchored in an understanding of the inherently imperfect nature of humanity, its cupidity, and its need to erect a constitutional structure that protected the American people from their governors, and, ultimately from themselves.

…

Barton Swaim recently observed that the Democrats’ current push for racial justice requires “the constant expansion of state and federal welfare bureaucracies and programs.” It includes the belief “that government at all levels has a duty to monitor the business and social practices of citizens through an array of civil-rights divisions and commissions empowered to prevent any form of discrimination.” To oppose any of this, Swaim saw, “opens you to the charge, veiled or explicit, of racism.”

Racism, in our time, is the ultimate evil, and it is no surprise that our president and his supporters have been freely tarred as racists. That charge, and the “cancel culture” of political correctness that abets it, Swaim noted, results in a “variety of social punishments.”

The presidential election of 2020 offers an opportunity to reject these pernicious beliefs. In the face of 95 percent broadcast media hostility, it will take the most powerful outpouring of the traditional virtue of the American people to overcome them, but it should and must be done, if American greatness as we know it is not to vanish from the earth.

[yaru88]

Confederate Statues/Flag

Everyday Trump either lies or does something inexplicably stupid. It is almost impossible to keep up with his ignorance. Today he accused Bubba Wallace, the only African American NASCAR driver, of perpetrating a hoax with respect to the noose found in his garage stall at Talladega. He did NOT find the noose; a NASCAR worker found it and reported it to NASCAR officials. NASCAR reported it to the FBI. After a thorough investigation, the FBI found that the noose ( the rope on the door was tied like a noose) had been there for several weeks. It was not a hoax; it was a mistake, but not by Bubba Wallace. Later today the White House press secretary said Trump has no position on the Confederate flag. That flag is a symbol of racism in this country. Anyone with common sense realizes that now. Some who are ignorant of history might argue that the flag and the Confederate statues are just to celebrate one’s Southern heritage. The truth is that the Confederate flag (actually Robert E. Lee’s battle flag) did not start widely appearing in Southern states until the Civil Rights movement started after WWII in the late 40′s and early 50′s. The statues were erected to give the middle finger to the civil rights movement and to put black people on notice that the racists were still in charge. My junior high school in Orlando was named for Robert E. Lee for similar reasons. As a lawyer I support the First Amendment. Any person has the right to fly the Confederate flag or have it on a license plate. However, I and others have the right to call that person a racist if he does so. With regard to the current debate over whether Confederate statues should be removed, I think it depends on the purpose and motivation. The Confederate War Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery should remain. The purpose was to honor the dead, not to say FU to the civil rights movement. However, any statue/monument in a public place should be removed (peacefully and lawfully). There should be no public tributes to traitors. Put the statues in museums or on private property. The primary reason for the Civil War was to permit states to choose to continue to allow slavery. The South lost; the Civil War resulted in more than 600,000 deaths--more the WWI And WWII together.  (BTW--if Trump is reelected, we may well exceed that number). For those who argue that we are destroying our history; how can we remember if we tear down the statues? I have traveled to Germany 15 times during the last 30 years and I did not see one statue of Hitler in any public space and yet somehow we still remember him. What a ridiculous argument. BTW I thought Trump only likes winners. The South and these generals lost the war. They are losers and traitors to our country. If this sounds too harsh, I would not put the average Confederate soldier in the same category as the leaders of the Confederacy. The soldiers were following orders just like German soldiers during WWII. One more thing--the Monuments and statues for the Founding fathers should remain. Although they were all flawed, they did establish the framework for a country based on the Rule of Law; at least until Trump became president. They preached better than they practiced. Many had slaves and none believed in a woman’s right to vote, but they were probably the most progressive men on the planet at that time. AND-- they created this country; they did not take up arms against it. One more thing---slavery is sanctioned by God throughout the Old Testament. Jesus said nothing to oppose slavery; silence is violence. If the SJW’s have their way, I guess we have to remove all statues/artwork of  God and Jesus? Be careful when taking any argument to the extreme.

[atheistforhumanity]

Why I Vote Blue

When Abraham Lincoln bravely embraced the liberal philosophy at the time that African American's should not be property conservatives responded by saying:

South Carolina

“...A geographical line has been drawn across the Union, and all the States north of that line have united in the election of a man to the high office of President of the United States, whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery.”

Mississippi

“Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery—the greatest material interest of the world...These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization.”

Louisiana

“The people of the slave holding States are bound together by the same necessity and determination to preserve African slavery.”

Alabama

“for the triumph of this new theory of Government destroys the property of the South...to gratify the lust of half-civilized Africans.”

Texas

“...in this free government all white men are and of right ought to be entitled to equal civil and political rights; that the servitude of the African race, as existing in these States, is mutually beneficial to both bond and free, and is abundantly authorized and justified by the experience of mankind, and the revealed will of the Almighty Creator, as recognized by all Christian nations; while the destruction of the existing relations between the two races, as advocated by our sectional enemies, would bring inevitable calamities upon both and desolation upon the fifteen slave-holding states....”

Conservatives are still waving the flag of these people today! To anyone who says I don't understand what that flag represents, you need to learn more history.

Source

After the Civil War, when the Democratic party was the conservative wing in this country and dominated the south, confederate veterans formed the KKK-an American terrorist group-to fight the peaceful integration of African Americans into our society. People like to bring up the KKK and Dixie Democrats to deny that the Republican party is the home of racism, but the fact is that in the 1960's the two party's switched platforms. Mainstream Democrats broke ranks with the southern Dixies and all of their conservative and racist values. The south flipped to the Republican party in support of Goldwater and his vicious attack against civil rights. LBJ won the presidency and lead Democrats toward the liberal end of the spectrum we operate on today. That is why the south, which waves the confederate flag and is a stronghold of racism today votes solidly Republican. This is also why the KKK and white nationalists vote Republican, because they find support for their causes in their policies. In fact, in at least 5 races happening right now there are self-avowed Nazis, white supremacists, and holocaust deniers running as Republicans. We have a racist Republican president who called white supremacist demonstrators “very fine people.” It's seriously hard not to see where conservative values live.

When women wanted to vote:

When women wanted to vote men lost their minds and were not having it. Truth be told, women largely had to make this happen on their own because men were hostile to the idea. As far as which party supported women's suffrage it was truly a mixed bag with lukewarm support from both sides. However, I'm focusing on ideological mindset, not party labels. It was a liberal idea to support women voting, just like it was liberal to support feminism in the 70's. Conservatives today are still using the same talking points used by anti-suffrage proponents in the 1920's. 

Here is a anti-suffrage political cartoon from the 1920's. This is mirrored by Senate Candidate Courtland Sykes. He doesn't want his daughters to become "career obsessed banshees who forego home life and children and the happiness of family to become nail-biting manophobic[sic] hell-bent feminist she devils who shriek from the tops of a thousand tall buildings they think they could have leaped over in a single bound – had men not ‘suppressing them’."

The GOP largely embraces an anti-women platform. Trump famously claimed he had the right to grab women by the pussy at any time, and with nearly 20 accusers of sexual assault he was still elected President. Republican Todd Akin famously said “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” Modern Republicans have proved that they know nothing about rape and it's not surprising given their anti-feminist platform. Republican Clayton Williams flat out said to reporters that "If it’s inevitable, just relax and enjoy it." He said he was “joking.” Even Republican women are breathtakingly ignorant of the concept of equality for women. Republican state lawmaker from Florida, Kathleen Passidomo, made the worst victim blaming statement I've ever heard in support of a school dress code: “There was an article about an 11-year-old girl who was gang-raped in Texas by 18 young men because she was dressed like a 21-year-old prostitute," she said. "And her parents let her attend school like that. And I think it’s incumbent upon us to create some areas where students can be safe in school and show up in proper attire so what happened in Texas doesn’t happen to our students." Notice that was in Texas, a strongly conservative state. I could literally write pages and pages of quotes against women by conservative figures. The point is that we can see very plainly the conservative minded citizens of our country are not advancing the equality of women and never have.

The Civil Rights Era

Remember when I said the parties switched platforms in the 1960's when the south supported Goldwater for President? Well, Goldwater was a serious opponent of the civil rights act, another conservative man running for president became the face of racism and anti-equality. That mans name was George C. Wallace and he made a fiery speech denouncing LBJ and the Civil Rights Act. Here are some snippets:

“It is therefore a cruel irony that the President of the United States has only yesterday signed into law the most monstrous piece of legislation ever enacted by the United States Congress.

It is a fraud, a sham, and a hoax.

This bill will live in infamy. To sign it into law at any time is tragic. To do so upon the eve of the celebration of our independence insults the intelligence of the American people.

It dishonors the memory of countless thousands of our dead who offered up their very lives in defense of principles which this bill destroys.

Never before in the history of this nation have so many human and property rights been destroyed by a single enactment of the Congress. It is an act of tyranny. It is the assassin's knife stuck in the back of liberty...

...Ministers, lawyers, teachers, newspapers, and every private citizen must guard his speech and watch his actions to avoid the deliberately imposed booby traps put into this bill. It is designed to make Federal crimes of our customs, beliefs, and traditions...

...Yet there are those who call this a good bill.

It is people like Senator Hubert Humphrey and other members of Americans for Democratic Action. It is people like Ralph McGill and other left-wing radical apologists...It was left-wing radicals who led the fight in the Senate for the so-called civil rights bill now about to enslave our nation.

We find Senator Hubert Humphrey telling the people of the United States that "non-violent" demonstrations would continue to serve a good purpose through a "long, busy and constructive summer..."

...I am having nothing to do with this so-called civil rights bill. The liberal left-wingers have passed it.”

Okay, we will stop there. If you think listening to Donald Trump makes you feel like you've entered another reality where everything immoral is cherished, then I suggest you read Wallace's full speech. It makes modern Fox News hosts sound rational. Do you think he is just the remnant of a distant past when conservatives didn't know any better? Well, let's compare his statements to modern conservatives.

Wallace called the Civil Rights Act “an Act of tryanny,” and Donald Trump called Black Lives Matter “purveyor's of hate.” In fact the knee jerk reactions of Blue Lives Matter and All Lives Matter deny the core issue of constant racial violence against black people in America today, both by police and right-wing terrorists.

When Wallace says that the CRA made crimes of “our customs, beliefs, and traditions,” this is echoed in the defense of the confederate flag today and confederate monuments. Conservatives deny that rejecting those symbols of slavery and oppression are a moral action, therefore denying the true dynamic and pain they cause. That's exactly what Wallace was doing by framing civil rights protections for minorities as turning traditions into crimes. Modern supporters cry about the civil war soldiers who will be dishonored, completely ignoring that their cause was dishonorable to begin with and not caring about the disrespect and fear those symbols represent for non-whites.

Wallace mocked the protests of the era and the idea that they were a force for good. What's ironic about that is that Conservatives today always talk about the non-violent methods of MLK and condemn modern protests as being violent and destructive, but that's exactly how conservatives in MLK's day talked about him. Republicans have come out strong with legislation against protesting, taking a page out of the 60's play book. On top of police brutality and violent lash back against protestors, they want to make protesting as illegal as possible.  

Will Herberg in the 60's made scathing comments about MLK and his protests, “in almost every part of the country, called out their mobs on the streets, promoted “school strikes,” sit-ins, lie-ins, in explicit violation of the law and in explicit defiance of the public authority.” He spoke of King inciting anarchy and chaos.

Does this sound familiar? It should, because conservatives on Fox News have been pushing the same narrative that the left has devolved into mob rule, that they are violent people, and protests are illegitimate. The similarities go on and on. Nothing has changed.

LGBTQ

It is unquestionable that support for LGBTQ people is a liberal value, and conservatives have fought tooth and nail to resist granting these citizens fair and equal treatment both socially and legally. 

This graph illustrates my entire point I've been making about voting blue, about being liberal. Modern conservatives will reject the label of bigot while still rejecting homosexuality. We can see that consistently through the past liberal supported LGBTQ FIRST! Every civil rights issue you can think of was pushed by liberals first. I've laid out evidence showing where conservatives and liberals stood for some of the most important issues of our time and where they are today. Conservatives are always playing catch up. They are morally regressive, but always eventually giving in to a moral standard made in the past by liberal minded people. Now, you look at this graph and see that not even all liberals support homosexuality, but the point is not that liberals are perfect only that they are further ahead. Every value that liberals push for eventually becomes a moral standard. Democracy was a liberal idea in the face of conservative monarchists, capitalism was liberal compared to feudalism, religious freedom was a liberal idea compared to state sponsored religion. To be conservative is to be fundamentally against moving forward.

I don't vote blue for the Democratic party, the party may change, I vote for who represents the liberal spectrum. Liberal ideology has brought us everything good in this country and conservative voices have done nothing but hold us back. Whenever conservatives win it is on a campaign of fear. I vote blue because I know that one hundred years from now the people who call themselves conservatives will have accepted much of what we fight for today, but will be refusing to accept new advances. I know the liberal values of today are the values of the future.

I apologize for not going into as much detail about LGBTQ, but I felt that it’s less contested as far as who supports the movement and Pew Research shows where we are at today. It’s no secret who fights against marriage equality, and equal rights.

I hope everyone voted blue today, because you can see what a major impact it has on our lives.

[florabucketthegianthunter]

The search begins

Using these memories, I decided to do a simple google search to see if the chair was still there and who made it etc, simply to make note in my university research.  

I could find nothing.

I dug a little deeper and found a word press blog from 2012, produced by Queen Elizabeth Country Park themselves. In this blog it talked about the Giant’s chair being taken down and a new one taking its place.

“The Giant’s Chair was constructed in the QE Forest in the late 1970s. It was built from 4 large beech trees cut from the surrounding area and was designed as an art project rather than as a play facility. However, over the years it has served as both to the many visitors who know where to find it.

The Chair does not feature on any maps or plans, and there are no signs or waymarked trails leading to it. The secret of its appeal over the years has been the element of mystery that surrounds its location. Sadly though it has suffered over time and the timber used in its construction is now rotten and unsafe. Within the next month it will be dismantled to be replaced by a bigger better version.”

This was extremely interesting to me because as a child I hadn’t once thought about how old it might have been, or whether or not we were supposed to be climbing it. The blog also said:

“The Park has commissioned Andy Frost, a Hampshire based designer to come up with a new design for the Giant’s Chair. This will take elements of the original design and will also act as a play facility and be located in a more accessible spot. Andy made the existing tots play area, which can be found by the visitor centre, and has been involved in outdoor play projects up and down the country.  More details at www.andyfrostdesign.net  

A date has yet to be set for the project to begin but it is hoped that it will be ready for the start of the Summer holidays. The Kyle Bartlett Memorial Fund will be providing some of the funding for the Giant’s Chair and more information about this worthy cause can be found at www.kbmf.co.uk

On a related matter work will begin very soon on a new addition to the Juniper Adventure Play Trail. There are currently 20 different pieces of play equipment made of timber, chain and cable. Every year we replace at least one item to keep pace with the heavy wear and tear that this facility enjoys.”

This information although great, gave me more questions than answers. I also had no knowledge of a new chair going in its place. I scoured the rest of the blog to try and find more information on the original chair but found nothing. I did however find another entry discussing other people leaving possible artwork in the park.

“Strange decorated holes have been found, deliberately cut in to the forest floor.  Who did these and why? At present we have no idea. Ideas include ancient rituals, pet burials, GCSE Art projects or a simple hoax. If you know or can help with a suggestion please get in touch. The main hole is about 1 metre long and is lined with sticks and filled with moss.

On a serious note this area of the forest was recently designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, with Bronze Age, Roman and Saxon remains, and it is illegal to disturb the surface in any way that may cause damage. The features highlighted in these images will be removed in two weeks time and in the meantime we hope to make contact with their creator.”

[reading-writing-revolution]

Heather Cox Richardson:

July 22, 2020 (Wednesday)

Today Trump announced that he will send federal agents to Chicago and Albuquerque, New Mexico, as part of his push to advance the idea that he is a “LAW & ORDER” president. Trump insists that “violent anarchists” allied with “radical left” Democrats have launched “a shocking explosion of shootings, killings, murders and heinous crimes of violence.” “This bloodshed must end,” he said. “This bloodshed will end.”

To hear the president tell it, the country is at war against a leftist enemy that is destroying us from within.

But his dark vision is simply not true.

While crime is indeed up in some cities in the last month or so since the stay-at-home orders lifted, crime is nonetheless down overall for 2020. Indeed, violent crime has trended downward now for decades. And more crime in the short term is not exactly a surprise, as we are in an unprecedented time of social upheaval, with a pandemic locking us in our homes, the economy falling apart, and police violence—particularly against Black people—in the news day after day.

What has changed in the last few months, though, is Trump’s strategy for the 2020 election. It is notable how desperate he appears to be to win reelection. While all presidents running for a second term want to win, most of them are also willing to lose if that’s what voters decide. Trump, though, has withheld military funding from an ally to try to rig the election—that was what the Ukraine scandal was about—and, according to John Bolton, begged Chinese leader Xi Jinping to make a trade deal to help get Trump reelected. The insistence that he absolutely must win sets the stage for the federal troops in our cities.

Trump had planned to run on what he believed to be a strong economy, for which he took the credit (although he inherited a growing economy from his predecessor, President Barack Obama). But then the coronavirus hit.

Determined to keep the economy humming along, Trump downplayed the dangers of the virus, convincing his supporters that it was not as serious as Democrats insisted it was; they were, he said, hoping to sabotage his reelection. Then, when it was clear the disease was not a hoax, he was unwilling to use the federal government to address the crisis, and his administration botched early testing and isolation. Death rates spiked as we locked down, but then, as it seemed that infections were leveling off, states reopened quickly, despite warnings from experts that they were opening too soon.

Now, of course, cases are skyrocketing. While the rest of the developed world has corralled the virus, we have had close to 4 million infections and more than 140,000 dead. Today more than 1000 people died of the disease. After weeks of refusing to wear a mask, Trump was finally forced to acknowledge that it is imperative for us to slow the spread of the coronavirus after prominent supporter and former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain apparently contracted Covid-19 at Trump’s Tulsa rally. Cain has been hospitalized since early July.

And yet, Trump is desperate to get children back into school and their parents back to work, in part because Republicans object to government social welfare programs like unemployment insurance, and in part because he wants the economy to rebound before the election. But on this, too, he has been stymied, as most parents are worried about exposing their children to the disease. More and more school districts are opting to start the school year online.

So, Trump’s campaign is trying to rally voters with the idea that American cities run by Democrats are seething with violence. And to create that violence, the administration is sending in law enforcement officers that belong to departments within the executive branch of the government.

Trump included the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, in his photo-op on June 1, after officers cleared peaceful protesters out of Washington D.C.’s Lafayette Square with tear gas and flash-bangs. But military officers and defense officials past and present pushed back strongly against the attempt to politicize the military, and made it clear they would not permit soldiers to be used in ways they considered unconstitutional.

So Trump is turning the officers of the executive branch into the president’s private army.

On June 26, Trump issued an “Executive Order on Protecting American Monuments, Memorials, and Statues and Combating Recent Criminal Violence.” That is the document supporting the deployment of officers from what appears to be Custom and Border Protection, wearing military uniforms, in Portland, Oregon. Their original mission was to defend the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse, which had sustained vandalism and thrown fireworks.

The Executive Order blames the protests in Portland on “rioters, arsonists, and left-wing extremists who… have explicitly identified themselves with ideologies — such as Marxism — that call for the destruction of the United States system of government.” It says that those calling out racial bias in America are seeking “to advance a fringe ideology that paints the United States of America as fundamentally unjust and have sought to impose that ideology on Americans through violence and mob intimidation.” It claims: “These radicals shamelessly attack the legitimacy of our institutions and the very rule of law itself.”

The administration justifies the operations in Chicago and Albuquerque differently. On July 8, Attorney General William Barr announced a Department of Justice initiative called “Operation Legend,” named for a four-year-old victim of gun violence. Operation Legend began in Kansas City, Missouri, “to fight the sudden surge of violent crime.” Under the initiative, Barr is deploying federal agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshal Service, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) to “surge resources” first to Kansas City, and now to Chicago and Albuquerque. The DOJ also promised to move personnel to Kansas City—and now, presumably to the other cities— “to handle an anticipated increase in prosecutions.”

All the affected cities are run by Democratic mayors.

The Trump administration is hammering again and again on the idea that Democrats will bring chaos and violence to American streets. To illustrate that argument, it is instigating violent encounters. In Portland, officials said that the protests were calming down before the new federal force moved in. They asked for the officers to be removed, but Trump refused. His acting director of the Department of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, says: “I don’t need invitations by the state, state mayors, or state governors to do our job. We're going to do that, whether they like us there or not.”

Today, Tom Ridge, the country's first Director of Homeland Security, who served under President George W. Bush, warned that the department "was not established to be the President's personal militia." "It would be a cold day in hell before I would give consent to a unilateral, uninvited intervention into one of my cities," he said.

What is really at stake is the delegitimizing of Democrats altogether before the 2020 election. Today Jenna Ellis, senior legal adviser to the Trump campaign and one of Trump’s personal lawyers tweeted: “No Democrat should EVER AGAIN be elected in the United States in any capacity. The government’s constitutional obligation is to preserve and protect OUR rights, not to preserve and protect their own power. They are willing to sacrifice America and our freedom and liberty. NO!!!”

(Wolf is not Senate-confirmed, and there is question about whether or not he’s even legally in his job, since he has now been 251 days in a post that can only have an “acting” director for 210. With no experience in intelligence or security, it is unlikely the former lobbyist could make it through the Senate, but Trump likes his loyalty.)

The Trump campaign has released an ad suggesting that the choice in 2020 is between “PUBLIC SAFETY” and “CHAOS AND VIOLENCE.” But observers quickly noted that the image of street violence in the ad was not from America, it was from Ukraine in 2014.

And the image was not of respectable police officers defending the rule of law. It was the opposite. It was a picture taken when democratic protesters were trying to oust corrupt oligarch Viktor Yanukovych from the Ukraine presidency. Yanukovych was an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and fled to Russia when he was thrown out of office in Ukraine. Yanukovych was in power thanks to the efforts of an American adviser: Paul Manafort, the same man who took over Trump’s ailing campaign in June 2016.

So to illustrate “chaos and violence,” the Trump campaign used an image of a corrupt Ukrainian oligarch’s specialized federal police wrestling a pro-democracy protester to the ground. And Donald Trump and that oligarch won power thanks to the same advisor.

Honestly, it’s hard to see the use of the image as a mistake.