#most normal patriotic American family:

[ministerforpeas]

At Home with Ollie North's family!

[ericsonclan]

do you have any personal headcannons for what some of the ericson kids home lifes were like?

Louis: He had a very privileged upbringing but also grew up in a very controlling household. Image is everything. Everything that he did was watched and critiqued by his dad and if he wan't good enough he didn't receive love and affirmation. His mom didn't agree with his dad's way of parenting but she didn't speak up for Louis. Louis' lack of self confidence and self love were caused by his upbringing.

Violet: She had a horrible upbringing. She had some people that were safe to her like her grandparents and her mom as well when she wasn't completely burnt out. But her dad was an abusive drunk who made her childhood hell. She had pockets of time where it was safe like being at her grandparents but the rest of the time she was in an intense abusive setting that she felt like she would never escape. Her defenses and the walls she puts up around people are an outcome of her life growing up.

Sophie, Minnie and Tenn: They had a really good home life. Their parents were really nice and loving but they died and for years the three of them were tossed around in the foster system. No one wanted to adopted three kids and as a result they ended up at Ericson because the system didn't know what to do with them.

Omar: He had very strict, hardworking parents so his home life had very much the same mindset. His parents loved him but didn't necessary like him. They blamed their inability to connect to be something wrong with him. Those "problems" being his quietness and lack of showing strong emotions. Thus they sent him to Ericson.

Aasim: He lived in a household that held him to very high expectations. He went above and beyond in reaching those but he could not hold back his love of fire. He ended up setting something on fire in the neighborhood and greatly pissed off the neighbors who threatened to sue unless his parents sent him somewhere.

Ruby: She had a very loving and accepting household. Her mom passed away when she was young which left her with her dad and her many brothers. Most of the time everything was great but once her anger issues started showing up then problems started happening. She punched a kid so hard they pissed themself all over the playground and so Ruby was sent to Ericson to learn how to be a proper lady.

Brody: She had the most normal, boring upbrining. She lived in a very plain household. Her parents had a kid because "that's what couples do" and so there was always a disconnect between her and her parents. Her anxiety was something very alien to them and they couldn't relate. When her anxiety kept getting worse they kept getting more frustrated and decided to send her to a school to "fix" it.

Mitch: He grew up in a low income household. His mom passed away when he was young and so his dad tried his best to raise him but it was a struggle. His dad had his hands full with just trying to get bread on the table so when Mitch started picking fights over neighborhood kids teasing him about his face and when he blew something up his dad didn't know what else to do but send him away.

Willy: He grew up with a more conservative family. So when he started touching himself they thought he was possessed by the devil. Prayers and church weren't working and they found a brochure for Ericson so they sent him there, partly to try and help him and partly to get rid of him because they were creeped out by him.

Marlon: A very all American household, white picket fence, working class but getting by, very patriotic. His dad voted for Trump. His mom didn't vote because that's not a woman's place. It was a miracle he turned out pretty okay. He had bad anxiety around things surrounding school like tests and sports. So one day he decided to steal a car to blow off some steam. He got caught with that stolen car that he took for a joyride. So to Ericson he went!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Don Moynihan at Can We Still Govern?:

Robespierre, a central architect of the French revolution, may seem like an unlikely reference point for modern American politics, and Donald Trump in particular. But in one way he articulated a theory of governing that Trump is enacting today:

"If the basis of popular government in peacetime is virtue, the basis of popular government during a revolution is both virtue and terror; virtue, without which terror is baneful; terror, without which virtue is powerless. Terror is nothing more than speedy, severe and inflexible justice; it is thus an emanation of virtue; it is less a principle in itself, than a consequence of the general principle of democracy, applied to the most pressing needs of the patrie [homeland, fatherland]"

Trump won’t use the word terror in such a way. But when he labels his opponents to be enemies of the people, fulminates against the deep state, and declares “I am your retribution” the ethos is the same. Set aside how much the retribution is driven by his interests, versus those of his supporters. The key point is that Trump has normalized retribution as a proper scope of presidential action and the use of political power. Terror becomes the perverted populist funhouse mirror of patriotism. Far more than his first and second campaigns, Trump has made vengeance the central theme of his re-election platform, even reposting an wordcloud analysis of his campaign speeches that highlighted this theme.

Trumpism hastened a new version of right-wing politics, one that is not conservative nor libertarian in a meaningful sense, but one that urges the embrace of state power to go after their movement’s perceived enemies. Terror is chiefly directed towards public officials who stand in the way of Trump’s goals and interests. These include other politicians, educators, public health officials, election officials, judges, and other parts of law enforcement.

[...]

Lesson 1: Terror is Used to Subvert Legal Accountability

When Senate Republicans refused to indict Trump for encouraging a mob to storm the Capitol in a bid to intimidate public officials into overturning the election, they promised that the legal system would hold him accountable. The problem is that the legal system is deeply wary of Trump’s ability to intimidate public officials.

The FBI petitioned a judge to stop Trump from lying that its employees were ready to use lethal force against him. This is not an unreasonable concern on the part the FBI. After the Mar-A-Lago raid, a Trump supporter wrote on Trump’s social media platform wrote “Violence is not (all) terrorism. Kill the F.B.I. on sight” before attempting to do precisely that at a FBI field office. Right-wing media then printed the names of the FBI agents. Within the space of a couple of weeks, three officials who challenged Trump in some fashion in court were victims of swatting: the Maine Secretary of State who sought to remove him from the state ballot, the judge presiding over his election interference case (who was placed under 24-hour protection), and special counsel Jack Smith. In Colorado, state supreme court justices that ruled that Trump should not appear on the state ballot faced four “swatting” attempts. Another judge in a different Trump case faced a bomb threat. The family of Michael Cohen, a key witness against Trump, was doxxed. [...]

Lesson 2: Terror Provides a Means of Control Over Officials Trump Has No Authority Over

Terror provides a basis of control over individuals that Trump has no direct authority over using tools such as intimidation or outright threats. Just as Robespierre and other authoritarians could call upon “the people” and assume that militant supporters would act, Trumpism out-of-office has looked to non-democratic tools to reshape politics and regain power. Many of his targets are state or local officials (such as judges and election officials). An analysis by NBC News shows that Trump strategically times his social media attacks on judges or agencies when they seek to hold him accountable for wrongdoing. [...]

Lesson 3: Terror Will Be a Feature of American Public Life Regardless of The Election Outcome, But Worse if Trump wins.

Trump has primed his supporters and much of the Republican Party to refuse to accept that any electoral loss is legitimate. Searching for alternative explanations involves conspiracies, which requires vilification of election officials, judges or other parts of the “deep state.” While Trump losing will feed conspiracy mongering and intimidation, it is, I believe a lesser threat than Trump winning, which will marry informal terror and state power. Trump has repeatedly shown a willingness to use state power to punish his perceived enemies, and has primed a second administration of lackeys willing to do so. For example, Trump allies have prioritized using federal law to prosecute Alvin Bragg, for prosecuting Trump. Even if such as case does not end up imprisoning Bragg, the point is to create a sense of fear to discourage any officials from pursuing Trump. Trumpism has normalized abuses of state power by treating efforts to hold Trump accountable as outrageous.  [...]

Lesson 8: Most of Us Will Not Resist Terror

The fearful hypocrite becomes a more prominent character in political life under terror. Members of the Republican Party, right wing media, and business interests who once denounced Trump now embrace him or remain silent. Some privately express concerns they will not attach their names to when talking to reporters. It is easy to be disgusted by such hypocrisy. But this is not just opportunism. It is partly fear. These officials generally can’t afford to spend the hundreds of thousands of dollars that Mitt Romney spent on security. They are aware of Trump’s comfort with using public power to engage in retribution. [...] Faced with such harassment many will choose to withdraw, or more carefully manage their statements and actions. They will prioritize physical and psychological safety over doing what they believe to be the right thing. Such a decision may be understandable from an individual perspective, but it is a disaster from a collective point of view, since it implies that public officials will be too scared to tell the public the truth.

Don Moynihan wrote a solid piece in his Substack that the Trumpist MAGA cult seeks to rule via intimidation and threats towards its opponents to entrench their rule unchallenged.

[atom-writings]

Can I request Russia x reader? Ivan loves PDA and his S/O looks small and not dangerous. But one day S/O beats the shit out of Alfred because he made fun of Ivan's PDA.

hetalia with a small s/o who stands up for him

1.0k words ~ gender neutral headcanons + scenario

tw: swearing, alfred is a dick

a/n: ivan i vlove you sosososoosos much . did u guys know that hes my favouritest boy in all the lands????

A small and adorable S/O is exactly what Ivan wants in a partner!

He's very aware of how ironic it is that you two are together, and he can't help but find it a little entertaining at least. Normally, he pretends he doesn't though. He'd never admit it unless it was in a completely concealed joke.

You always come with him everywhere. Sometimes it's because he wants to show you off, sometimes it's because he wants you to lose it and go off on people. Every time you defend him, his heart nearly bursts out of his chest (It has done that before. Physically. It was horrifying) with love and adoration.

It just means the world to him that you think he's worth standing up for. Almost no one has ever done that for him before.

So obviously, he's very protective of you in return. Especially considering how people treat you as well, he's thrown a couple of people out of places (Again, physically) for you before.

He knows that you can defend yourself, but you're just so small and delicate! Like an adorable woodland critter! And if you got hurt under his watch, he could never forgive himself.

Also, yes, Ivan would LOOOVE PDA.

Even at the most inappropriate of times. He doesn't have any social awareness at the best of times, but when he sees you, his single shred of shame goes flying out the window.

As shy as he may be, he's not shy with you. Besides, when he’s affectionate, he gets to show the rest of his friends how much his S/O loves him <3 which is always a priority.

As soon as you two arrived at the G8 afterparty, you knew it was going to turn bad. A bunch of thousand-year-old men with a million issues with each other, getting drunk at some random American bar? Well, what could go wrong? That's what Ivan asked, at least. But really you were asking yourself, what could go right?

Yao wasted no time in calling you over, and Alfred wasted no time getting shitfaced. How they let him drink that much when he looked barely 21 and had an ID with a moustache drawn on it, you'll never know.

As you watched him begin hounding the bartender to play something more “patriotic,” Francis nudged you in the side.

”Just like his father, eh?“ He commented, causing you and Ivan to chuckle lightly.

That chaos continued for hours, with the two of you eventually joining in on the drinking. The tab that the 9 of you racked up must've been the budget of all of New York, but that's what government pensions are for, right? Besides, it's not often the group could get along without tearing each other apart. Might as well enjoy yourselves.

Well, enjoy yourselves for the most part. Because the moment Alfred dared to say a single thing about holding down his drink, Ivan of course had to challenge him. Despite the pleas of everyone around them, their boyish pride was not swayed in the slightest.

Alfred didn't last long. To everyone else that was inevitable, but it seems the young man didn't appreciate being outdone.

”Well, of course, you won! All you people do is drink!“ He slurred, holding onto the table for support as he approached Ivan, who didn't seem to care about the American's taunts.

”I do plenty of things, Alfred.“

”Yeah, like make your entire family hate you?“ Ivan's smile didn't falter, but he visibly tensed.

”Funny, I believe I could say the same thing to you!“

”I don't need my family, that's why I don't hang out with those weird Europeans! But you? Ever since your sisters abandoned you, your- your life has been a trainwreck!” He exclaims, breaking into laughter.

Ivan's smile faltered, and the air in the room became cold. The other nations turned to face the two, fearing the worst already.

“Don't say these things, you know they are not true,” His eyes flicker to you for a moment.

“If that's true, name a single thing that's gone well for you in the last 10- no, fuck, 30 years!”

“Simple, my lovely partner-”

“Yeah, your partner who you spend every waking moment being gross with!” 

Ivan failed to respond to that, his cheeks turning just the slightest bit pink.

“It’s almost like you’re trying to prove that they love you. Which like-” He started laughing again, “We all know you’re just paying them to date y-”

Alfred's speech was cut off as you launched your fist directly into his face.

He pulled back, looking at you in absolute disbelief. When he held a hand to his face again, he found it wet with blood leaking from his nose.

“You-” He started to say.

“Stop being an ass to my boyfriend”

Alfred's drunken face contorted in rage, standing up and immediately towering over you.  

“How- You’re so little- Wh-”

“OK! That's enough everyone! Let's go home now!” Ludwig forced both of you to step back, frantically trying to diffuse the situation.

“Yeah- I- I have to go as well...” Francis added, looking between you and Alfred in panic.

“M-Me too…” Japan sputtered out, already packing his bags.

-

As you and Ivan rode the metro to return to your shared hotel room, you sat in silence. At first, you thought it was because he was upset. With you? With Alfred's comments? You'd learned it was better not to ask.

At least, that's what you thought until you noticed the smile plastered on his face. Despite that, he failed to say barely anything the entire time.

That was until you two stepped onto the station platform, when he turned to you and said softly, “Thank you, my dear.”

“For... punching your friend?”

”Of course. What else?“

[myloudintrerestsandthought]

How do politics affect fashion? Blog #1

HI! You can call me AverageOverlord! lol I'm deeply sorry. This is my first post! Each week I'm going to try to do one post about pop culture and one about my interest. And if you have ideas lmk (if anyone actually reads this XD)!

Lots of people are thinking about the election, so I started thinking how does politics impact fashion? After thinking for a while I started to notice a pattern. When the country (America) was more conservative, people dressed more modestly and used trends from other conservative decades. When we were more democratic, our fashion would be looser, shorter and more freeing. For example during the 1920s, woman's clothing took a drastic turn compared to the previous decades. The 1910s had a more natural silhouette, woman had long sleeves and the dresses were below the ankles. The 1920s were dresses were shorter and boxier. Woman even started to cut their hair into bob which was extremely rare. It was a time were the woman's suffrage movement flourished and a good number of woman started to not dress according to men's standards. Credit had become immensely popular during the 20's. This was heavily directed in the fashion. Flappers were covered head to toe with glitz and glam. I've also noticed that when consumerism is bigger the fashion is more bold and extravagant. In the 20s, people had more free time so they started to buy more things. In the 1950s, after the war American's turned to a more conservative lifestyle. The Nuclear family was heavily marketed and the suburbs grew. The 50s fashion was heavily inspired by the late 1940s. Which was a was a very patriotic decade because of WW2. The fashion was modest and extremely feminine. It was a comfort for people who just wanted the normal life before the war back. The president for most of the 50s, Dwight D. Eisenhower, was a Republican. All these things influenced the reclamation of conservative fashion and values. 1960s and 70s fashion was very free and bold. Big hair, bright makeup and bold clothing. Disco-esque and Hippy/Bohemian clothing were extremely popular. Hippy and bohemian clothing were made up of elements taken from other cultures (that were often viewed as inferior). The Romani people is where this 'trend' originally started from. (so please if you want to dress Bohemian and you can afford it, don't buy from fast fashion brands, buy from local and small businesses, that are run by and supported by Romani people. They deserve the credit for THEIR clothing. THAT is cultural appreciation vs appropriation.) Also the civil rights movement was growing during this time. So people of color started to straighten and perm their natural hair less, It was a protest and a statement. This was called the Afro Hair Movement, It challenged Eurocentric beauty standards and celebrated Black people's natural hair and ethnicity. So as we can see the 60s and 70s were leaning towards liberalism. The 1980s was HEAVILY inspired by the 50s. It was after the Vietnam war and consumerism was booming. During the 70s bold colors were popular, But in the 80s that only increased! Neons, loud makeup, hair and bold layered fashion. Ronald Regan was the president for a majority of the 80s and he was VERY republican. Poodles skirts from the 50s came back and Polka dots were popular in both decades. They also had bright colors and cinched waists in common. I also noticed how in the 60s and 70s wedding dresses were getting shorter and less traditional. But in the 50s and 80s, the wedding dresses were huge ball gowns with long sleeves, The 80s was definitely a consumerist decade, it was full of game consoles, new technology, shopping malls and movies. I would say the 80s was one of if not the most consumerist decade in the 20th century. The 2000s was full of metallics and iridescence makeup and fashion. We had LOW cut jeans (yes lower than your mid rise lol). And red carpet fashion that was mostly street wear. (lol idk if you can feel by tone but I'm very salty about that XD). The 2000s were inspired by a revival of the 70s and 80s. The late 2000s had to stock market crash of 2008. After this fashion was never the same. We started to lean heavily on fast fashion because people couldn't afford anything else. I hope you liked this! ;)

[lyledebeast]

Watching all these historian commentaries/butcheries of The Patriot often leaves me wondering if we aren't sending one humanities discipline to do a job as well or even better suited to another one. Obviously, some people do both--I did both!--but when historians criticize fictionalized accounts of history for representing people whose views and actions were not statistically common, maybe they are missing the point? The Patriot does not purport to be a biography. it is a fictionalized account of historical events. It does, however, purport to accurately reflect a historical setting, but it doesn't do that either! The more egregious problem with The Patriot is that it presents very rare views and actions as completely normal and far more commonplace ones as aberrant.

Historians often cite statistics about the pervasiveness of chattel slavery in colonial South Carolina to argue for the ridiculousness of Benjamin Martin not owning slaves. It is a very misleading choice given that Martin is a composite of several historical figures who certainly were enslavers, but there is a reason he isn't called Nathaniel Greene or Daniel Morgan or Francis Marion, and that is to give the writers some leeway in how they represent him. What is weird about Martin not owning slaves is that not one of his peers finds it weird. When he refuses to support the war for independence, none of his fellow assembly members responds with, "Well, what did we expect from a freak who pays free men to work his land?" Martin is in a long-term relationship with a woman who does own slaves, and his children spend most of the movie's run time with her without the issue of slavery ever coming up. When Martin's employee tells Tavington of his situation, Tavington replies without skipping a beat, without so much as a raised eyebrow with "Well, then you are free men who will have the honor and the privilege of serving in the King's Army" when a more appropriate response would have been " . . . What?"

You know what Tavington does find positively bizarre? Colonial Loyalists. He regards James Wilkins with suspicion from the moment he opens his mouth: "How can I trust a man who'd betray his neighbors?" When Wilkins replies that he sees neighbors who would betray England as traitors, Tavington looks at him like he's confessed to having a very niche fetish. And Tavington is his ally! Mr. Howard cannot credit finding Wilkins among the Green Dragoons at Pembroke church even though he exchanged verbal blows with him on the subject of independence years before. In a more accurate setting, they would have employed far more lethal materials than words against each other by 1780. Martin blithely leaves his children in the most obvious place possible without even considering that someone who knows his family might seek to harm them. The problem is not, as some have argued, that the film only has one Loyalist character. When its main focus is on South Carolina Patriots and their families, how may Loyalists does it need? The problem is that Wilkins is treated as a pariah rather than a representative of a population within South Carolina large enough to cause problems for the Patriots.

The South Carolina of The Patriot is absolutely otherworldly: a problem-free idyll until Cornwallis's army rolls up like Satan into Paradise and ruins everything for everyone, apparently. The small biographical inaccuracies seem to me to pale into insignificance against the film's refusal to depict South Carolina as the cesspool of racial and political violence that it actually was all throughout the American Revolution. Other representations of this war also contain numerous biographical inaccuracies--I am talking about Turn, if that's not abundantly clear--but nonetheless do a much better job of representing the diverse perspectives that made up colonial America. It seems grossly unfair to lump these kinds of texts in with The Patriot. Obviously, historical accuracy is important to consider when evaluating even fictionalized representations of history, but historians would benefit from considering character dynamics and narrative framing as well.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

January 5, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JAN 6, 2024

President Joe Biden launched his reelection campaign today with a speech at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. He spoke after a visit to nearby Valley Forge, where General George Washington quartered his troops from December 1777 to June 1778 during the Revolutionary War in which the former colonies sought to establish their independence from Great Britain.

Biden began the speech by outlining what the soldiers in the Continental Army quartered at Valley Forge had fought for. ���America made a vow,” Biden said. “Never again would we bow down to a king.”

A “ragtag army made up of ordinary people” fought for what Washington called “a sacred cause,” he said: “Freedom, liberty, democracy. American democracy.” Valley Forge, he said, “tells the story of the pain and the suffering and the true patriotism it took to make America.”

Three years ago, he said, when insurrectionists tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power on January 6, 2021, “we nearly…lost it all.”

“Today, we’re here to answer the most important of questions,” Biden said. “Is democracy still America’s sacred cause?... This is not rhetorical, academic or hypothetical. Whether democracy is still America’s sacred cause is the most urgent question of our time.”

“And it’s what the 2024 election is all about.”

Biden described Trump’s attack on American democracy and warned that “Donald Trump’s campaign is about him, not America, not you.” Biden remembered the “smashing windows, shattering doors, attacking the police” of January 6. He recalled the rioters erecting a gallows while the crowd chanted, “Hang Mike Pence,” hunting for then–House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and injuring more than 140 police officers. 

Like the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, Biden emphasized that while the whole world was watching the attack in horror and disbelief, and even as staff, family members, and Republican leaders pleaded with Trump to do something, the former president watched events unfold on the television in a little room off the Oval Office and “did nothing.”

Biden repeated the condemnation of former representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) when he called that refusal to act “among the worst derelictions of duty by a president in American history.”

The president went on to explain how Trump continued to lie that he had won the 2020 presidential election despite losing recounts and 60 court cases. For those lies, Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani was ordered last month to pay $148 million to election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss for defamation, and the Fox News Corporation agreed to pay $787 million to Dominion Voting Systems for lying that their machines had switched votes from Trump to Biden.

Then, when he had exhausted all his legal options, Trump urged his supporters to assault the Capitol. Since then, more than 1,200 people have been charged with crimes related to the events of that day; nearly 900 of them have pleaded guilty or been convicted. 

Trump has called those insurrectionists “patriots” and has promised to pardon them if he is returned to office. But normalizing violence as part of our political system destroys the reasonable debate and peaceful transition of power that is at the heart of democracy. Biden identified this danger, warning: “Political violence is never, ever acceptable in the United States political system—never, never, never. It has no place in a democracy. None. You can’t be pro-insurrectionist and pro-American.” 

Biden noted that Trump has promised to continue to assault democracy, threatening “a full-scale campaign of ‘revenge’ and ‘retribution’...for some years to come.” Trump has said he “would be a dictator on day one,” called for the “termination of all the rules, regulation, and articles, even those found in the U.S. Constitution,” and echoed the language used in Nazi Germany by calling those who oppose him “vermin” and talking about the blood of Americans being poisoned by immigrants. 

“There’s no confusion about who Trump is and what he intends to do,” Biden said. 

Immediately after January 6, 2021, “even Republican members of Congress and Fox News commentators publicly and privately condemned the attack,” he said. “But now…those same people have changed their tune…. [P]olitics, fear, money, all have intervened. And now these MAGA voices who know the truth about Trump on January 6th have abandoned the truth and abandoned democracy.”

“They made their choice,” Biden said. “Now the rest of us—Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans—we have to make our choice. I know mine. And I believe I know America’s. We will defend the truth, not give in to the Big Lie. We’ll embrace the Constitution and the Declaration, not abandon it. We’ll honor the sacred cause of democracy, not walk away from it.”

“Today, I make this sacred pledge to you,” he said. “The defense, protection, and preservation of American democracy will remain, as it has been, the central cause of my presidency.” 

“America, as we begin this election year, we must be clear,” Biden said. “Democracy is on the ballot. Your freedom is on the ballot.” “The alternative to democracy is dictatorship—the rule of one, not the rule of ‘We the People.’”  

“Together, we can keep proving that America is still a country that believes in decency, dignity, honesty, honor, truth,” he said. “We still believe that no one, not even the President, is above the law…. [T]he vast majority of us still believe that everyone deserves a fair shot at making it. We’re still a nation that gives hate no safe harbor…. We still believe in ‘We the People,’ and that includes all of us, not some of us.”��

In “that cold winter of 1777,” Biden said, referring back to the soldiers at Valley Forge, “George Washington and his American troops…waged a battle on behalf of a revolutionary idea that everyday people—like where I come from and the vast majority of you—…that everyday people can govern themselves without a king or a dictator.”

Americans “take charge of our destiny,” Biden said. “We get our job done with…the help of the people we find in America, who find their place in the changing world and dream and build a future that not only they but all people deserve a shot at.” 

“This is the first national election since [the] January 6th insurrection placed a dagger at the throat of American democracy,” Biden said. “We all know who Donald Trump is. The question we have to answer is: Who are we? That’s what’s at stake. Who are we?” 

And then he answered his own question, concluding with his characteristic faith in the American people. “After all we’ve been through in our history, from independence to Civil War to two world wars to a pandemic to insurrection,” he said, “I refuse to believe that, in 2024, we Americans will choose to walk away from what’s made us the greatest nation in the history of the world: freedom, liberty.”

“Democracy,” he said, “is still a sacred cause.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[deadpuppetboi]

So you think manhunt gangs would come together for movie marathon, Which movies do you think would be each gang's favorite?

I've tried hard to have to make this as accurate as possible, knowing their erratic personalities and such.

The Hoodz - Heat (1995)

Various movies encapsulate not only a bank robbery but how intense a shootout is such as Heat.

The Hoodz have had their fair share of bank robberies (even the ones with a badge) and have had times where they didn't know if they were going to make it. They take notes but share a good beer while at it, reminiscing on the ‘good old times.’

The Innocentz - Scarface (1983)

This movie has it all.

Drugs, gang wars, corruption, death, murder, and the disillusionment of The American Dream. Coming from immigrant parents or being immigrants themselves, The Innocentz (or some of them) found themselves in Tony Montana’s shoes. They want to hit it big and become the next drug lord like that one guy in Liberty City. Then again, they all love to reference ‘Say hello to my little friend’ whenever they watch the movie and laugh about it like the coked-up druggies they are.

The Smileys - The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999)

The image of them SCREAMING at the screen in complete despair over Elmo losing his blanket is something I can see them doing.

It's what I did when I was younger so I can see every member doing the same and cursing any other character who bothered Elmo in the slightest. They take their valuables very seriously, especially Barry who holds his ‘daughters’ close to his heart, threatening anyone who dares to even touch them.

The Wardogs - All Quiet On The Western Front (1930)

There's a scene where the main character Paul is asked by his Professor to tell young men about his heroism and patriotism when he served in the war. At first Paul is hesitant as he has so words to say before he finally tells them the truth. The real truth. There is death. There is murder. There is no mercy. That is all.

“It’s dirty and painful to die for your country.”

And everyone calls him a traitor, a coward, an embarrassment of a soldier who should be proud to serve his country.

It's an anti-war movie, sure, but it stays with The Wardogs constantly even when they remember walking back to their hometowns after serving their time overseas.

Cerberus - Se7en (1995)

Let's be honest, these guys have faced the worst of the worst in their line of work.

They may work with Starkweather but they work with all sorts of stupid rich assholes who cause even the worst of crimes to each other. All because of the dumbest feuds, the mishandling of expensive products, and the greed of collecting the greens. Se7en displays a world they've seen countless times whether it be in their ‘normal’ job or the job they take shooting down who is against their boss. They’ve seen detectives look too far into their work, serial killers who tore into men/women/children for their sick desires, innocent people in the wrong place and time, and watch as the life in their lives fades away.

So a serial killer who bases his killings on the seven deadly sins is not far from what Cerberus has faced by far.

CCPD - Maniac Cop (1988)

Sometimes these guys watch even the most ridiculous films centered around cops just for the hell of it.

Whether it be for fun, to live through a power fantasy, or even just to watch countless people (innocent or not) die in horrific ways, it's still a classic for the whole precinct to watch this movie or watch the series in general. Watching a dead cop go on a killing spree across New York City while simultaneously setting fear into the hearts of men and women alike just brings absolute joy to the gang as a whole.

It's a classic, classics never die.

SWAT - Falling Down (1993)

All it takes is one bad day.

I’m sure that rigorous training, having to support a family with blood money, having to work with a very disgusting man who runs a snuff film industry, and having to kill people whether they were innocent or not will demonstrate some problems.

You get frustrated.

Upset.

Angry.

You want to be able to have things go your way but you can't and everyone looks at you like you’re selfish for it. You want to have a normal life and have a normal family outing but you’re plagued with images of corpses being rigorously shot at a far or close distance, their insides painting the walls. You feel like you’re going to lose it by your wife asking for more money, your kids wanting a new toy, or even the traffic blocking your way to your ‘regular’ job. You're going to lose your mind and you’re one bad thing away from grabbing that gun and letting lose on everyone who ever put their doubt into you.

But give the SWAT some credit, at least they have each other to vent out their frustrations when the pressure becomes too much.

The Skinz - None

No one asked them. No one likes them. They weren't even invited. If they rode up they’d be met with a rain of bullets.

Bonus!!!

The Camheadz - 8mm (1999)

This movie is about a snuff film.

I mean, I feel like this gang in particular plays a huge part in Mr. Nasty’s snuff films not because their heads are cameras but because I feel like each one of them has a distinct style in general.

Like, one wants to go after women, another goes after men, another the homeless, and so on. They all have their tapes, each inserted into their camera heads to record their best moments and to either save for themselves or to sell for a few more bucks. But let's be honest, they keep the tapes for themselves, just for personal reasons.

So to have a film perfectly demonstrates their lifestyle, even if it doesn't get everything right, it does play well into how deprived human beings can be just to get what they want.

The Clownz - It (1990)

I mean, duh, what else would they watch?

They saw the miniseries and studied the book like it was the Bible just to increase their obsession like the white-painted fiends that they are. Speaking out lines from the alien creature clown itself to either scare children or grown men alike.

We all float down here, Cash.

The Jury - Punishment Park (1971)

Imagine a world during the Vietnam War when President Nixon decreed that those who were ‘anti-war’ would be detained and forced to either spend time in jail or spend three days out in the desert being hunted down by police so that they may reclaim their so-called ‘freedom.’

That is Punishment Park.

A pseudo-documentary film that was highly controversial for its political views but is now highly regarded for taking a stance against the government. It seems like the kind of movie for The Jury knowing how they seem to take the law into their hands, display their political views, and see the movie like the manhunts they frequently did.

The Lost - Dark Days (2000)

Numerous movies depict the harsh and despairing reality of homelessness for those who are homeless.

It's a cold reality that millions of people face from the most remote or even the most popular of places. Always forgotten, always left behind, and always left in the dark. The Lost can heavily relate to this scenario not only because of the various reasons why and how they became the way they are and how. It's a normal day and night for Carcer City, just as bland and bleak as it has always been.

They can only dream of becoming as rich as Starkweather is but they’ll accept what they’re given, they don't have a choice.

[dflogerzi]

This could end up unpopular as a post. And I may lose followers. I am okay with it. I never speak of many things political.... I came here to Tumblr to follow the royal family and my dismay over Meghan and Harry. But this is a good day, and he is on my mind. I have a granddaughter. When she got her first shots as a very young soul my son brought her home and she started to bang her head against a wall. For our family it was a shock. Mind you, I went into the military in the 1980's and the immunizations were brutal. So did my son. But with her I started to look at things. I worked for the Federal Aviation Administration for thirty years. Every year they had free flu shots. Towards the end I started to get rashes and react badly myself. What is in these? My left leg swelled up and is still not normal to this day. It has rashes I treat even now daily. Here is my point. None of us knows all. And we do know some of the ingredients of the recent shots. Graphene Oxide alone should scare the crud out of anyone.

I am only posting this because I believe Robert F. Kennedy Jr is one of the most beautiful American Patriots of my time. He has worked tirelessly to save our children and expose big pharmacy for what it is. He is a person I keep on my list of people I want angels to protect. I just love him. He will not win anything in the Democratic party. He is only attempting to be heard and save those he can. He is doing honor to his name. And one day on the other side I will go find him and if possible hugs will happen.

I thank him for his work. I would vote him into whatever office could help our world. May he have the good energies of our world help him in his journey. Stay safe. God bless. All love sent.

[alwaysbewoke]

'A Man Who Stands for Nothing Will Fall for Anything'—Here Are 150 of the Best Malcolm X Quotes

“There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time.”

“My alma mater was books, a good library… I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.”

“Any time you beg another man to set you free, you will never be free. Freedom is something that you have to do for yourselves.”

“I have no mercy or compassion in me for a society that will crush people, and then penalize them for not being able to stand up under the weight.”

“Without education, you’re not going anywhere in this world.”

“It is a time for martyrs now, and if I am to be one, it will be for the cause of brotherhood. That’s the only thing that can save this country.”

“Right now, in every big city ghetto, tens of thousands of yesterday's and today's school dropouts are keeping body and soul together by some form of hustling in the same way I did.”

“All of us—who might have probed space, or cured cancer, or built industries—were, instead, black victims of the white man’s American social system.”

“When ghetto living seems normal, you have no shame, no privacy.”

"I think that an objective reader may see how in the society to which I was exposed as a black youth here in America, for me to wind up in a prison was really just about inevitable. It happens to so many thousands of black youth.”

“When a person places the proper value on freedom, there is nothing under the sun that he will not do to acquire that freedom. Whenever you hear a man saying he wants freedom, but in the next breath he is going to tell you what he won’t do to get it, or what he doesn’t believe in doing in order to get it, he doesn’t believe in freedom. A man who believes in freedom will do anything under the sun to acquire . . . or preserve his freedom.

“I'm sorry to say that the subject I most disliked was mathematics. I have thought about it. I think the reason was that mathematics leaves no room for argument. If you made a mistake, that was all there was to it.”

“You're not to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it”

“You don’t have to be a man to fight for freedom. All you have to do is to be an intelligent human being.”

“I have often reflected upon the new vistas that reading has opened to me. I knew right there in prison that reading had changed forever the course of my life. As I see it today, the ability to read awoke inside me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive.

“It is only after slavery and prison that the sweetest appreciation of freedom can come. ”

"[...]After becoming a Muslim in prison, I read almost everything I could put my hands on in the prison library. I began to think back on everything I had read and especially with the histories, I realized that nearly all of them read by the general public have been made into white histories. I found out that the history-whitening process either had left out great things that black men had done, or some of the great black men had gotten whitened.”

“True Islam taught me that it takes all of the religious, political, economic, psychological, and racial ingredients, or characteristics, to make the Human Family and the Human Society complete.”

“America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem. Throughout my travels in the Muslim world, I have met, talked to, and even eaten with people who in America would have been considered white, but the white attitude was removed from their minds by the religion of Islam. I have never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all together, irrespective of their color.”

“The hardest test I ever faced in my life was praying.”

more here...

[selenestarmoon]

Emperor Belos and Funny Valentine: The Lie and Toxicity of White Savior Complex

It may seem strange what I'm going to comment but Belos shares some similarities with Funny Valentine from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run in the sense that both are a satire of radicalized white supremacists, genocidal colonizers.

Even if we look at it from a historical point of view, Valentine's ideal (Americans superior to other cultures) is clearly the evolution of Belos's ideals for modern times (pure humans superior to native savages and heretics).

Both were heavily influenced by their upbringing, young Phillip being in an environment of anti-witch frenzy, while young Valentine was told from early on that above all else stands patriotism, that the only pure righteous action one can take is born from the love of one's country and they follow these ideals because a loved one inspired them (Caleb and Valentine's father) to the point that Belos and Valentine see it as a way to bond with said loved one as well as that they both feel that they should live by the ideals or values of their respective loved ones but as time goes by they genuinely believe in these values regardless of what Caleb or Valentine's father genuinely believed in those values so Belos and Valentine never question these values to the point of wanting and seeing themselves as heroes or marthyrs for what they think is a noble cause.

Beneath what appears to be a feeling of wanting to do good for their people lies a distorted feeling of love that they both have and firmly believe is normal and/or good:

Valentine sees his patriotism as an extension of love for family and friends and he becomes a soldier and later the president to protect the United States.

Belos became a witch hunter to fit in in Gravesfield and protect his family and town from witches and aspires to be Witch Hunter General.

This is because Belos and Valentine don't love Caleb and Valentine's father but love the idealized versions of them that they both had in their heads. Belos saw that Caleb left with Evelyn and believed that she manipulated him into abandoning him when clearly Caleb left of his own free will and was happy with her and Valentine never got to know his father, he only knew what others had said about him.

What I'm getting at with this is that at first they both followed their ideals because they believed they were doing something good, but as time went by those ideals were flawed (and most likely Caleb and Valentine's father knew it or at least they suspected it) but Belos and Valentine continued to cling to those ideals to a toxic degree because it gave them power, control, benefits and justification of their nefarious actions to the point of developing a desire for personal satisfaction of being remembered as heroes by showing that they are better than others for being the chosen ones (Valentine wanting to become the best and greatest president of the United States of America and Belos by wanting to become the best and greatest Witch Hunter General). This can be seen by the simple fact that they saw themselves as the chosen ones because they believe that they are the only ones that can save their people (Valentine sees himself as the only one who can take the corpse and bring prosperity and security to his country and Belos is seen as the only one who can protect humans from witches).

Later they both become politicians in order to achieve their goals:

Valentine wanted to use the saint corpse to bring good fortune to the United States at the cost of ruining other countries and total chaos and killing innocents and Belos wanted to protect humanity by committing genocide to the inhabitants of the Boiling Islands, except that Valentine became the president of the country he loved the most and Belos became the Emperor of the place he hated the most.

Belos and Valentine hurt their own citizens or fellow (fellow humans for Belos, fellow americans for Valentine) they claimed to protect and they manipulated everyone in the process thanks to their charisma, everyone admired and respected them to such an extent that they manipulated the protagonist at one point in the story and even manipulated the audience into believing that they are selfless heroes.

Valentine and Belos say they want to make things better for their respective nations but they follow an ideology that hurts the marginalized and don't seek to improve their situation (in Valentine's system black people are still treated as slaves and the natives continue to be massacred and their lands are stolen. The system Belos supports excludes all those who don't fit his impossible standards of virtue like Luz or Caleb).

An important aspect that Belos and Valentine have is that they both support colonialism:

At the time Valentine is president the native american population was being exterminated and Valentine does nothing to stop that. That it's so true that there are some natives like Sandman, who learns the culture of the Americans and signs up for the Steel Ball Run in hopes of winning the prize money to buy his people's land for the white men to leave them in peace.

Before Belos came, the people of the Boiling Islands were more connected with nature, they could use magic freely and they were kinder but when Belos comes and establishes his system, those who did things before Belos came are branded as wild witches and are imprisoned at best or petrified at worst, in addition to the fact that the inhabitants are more discriminatory and unsympathetic than before.

All of the above regarding the idealization of their flawed ideals is that Belos and Valentine refuse to change or at least have a reflection on these ideals because as I said before that gives them power and they justify it by saying that they are doing something good for their people and being the choosen ones to do that. The Owl House and Steel Ball Run waste no time in showing that all this makes Belos and Valentine had a feeling of colonialist white supremacist superiority.

It is most likely that Belos was taught as a young man that the Native Americans are savages and that the only ones who could "fix" said natives were colonists like him. At the time of Steel Ball Run, the Native American population is still being eradicated and their lands stolen, and it is most likely that Valentine has been taught the same thing as Belos regarding the "savage" natives. And even their plans consist of expanding this genocide with other cultures that don't adhere to their ideals of what a human/American should be like.

The aspect of colonialism reaches the point that Belos and Valentine use the corpse of a long-dead person praised by the land they rule (Jesus Christ and the Titan respectively) as part of their plans regarding their nation. They claim that they're chose them to carry out their actions.

When actually that's not true:

Luz and Johnny are selfish, immature and have a lot of traumas, contrary to how Belos and Valentine paint themselves but even so Jesus Christ and the Titan choose to help Luz and Johnny throughout their stories for the simple fact that Luz and Johnny choose to mature and improve as people which makes Luz and Johnny choose to accept the help while Belos and Valentine appropriate the bodies of the Titan and Jesus Christ as if they were their possessions and take the choosen one role by force and at the end of their stories they take literal possession of the Titan and Jesus Christ's bodies.

Also, Valentine and Belos have a disturbing fixation on two 14-year-old girls with similar names who ended up helping them without wanting it (Lucy Steel and Luz Noceda) and the fact that both girls have helped them makes Belos and Valentine see this as a sign that their actions are just and right. The way Belos and Valentine see Luz and Lucy is almost, if not completely, misogynistic as they relegate both girls to roles and treat them as objects that only serve to help Belos and Valentine and feed their delusions of white saviors,even both girls have powers from the aforementioned deities (Ticket to Ride/Love Train and the glyphs) that Valentine and Belos waste no time in appropriating and using them for their nefarious goals (again seeing the factor of forced appropriation by white colonialism).

Another thing that Valentine and Belos share is tha both use clones to achieve their goals (Valentine brings copies of himself and other people from other universes thanks to his stand D4C and Belos creates grimwalkers to help him) but they also use their knowledge/powers in an attempt to find a loved one who inspired them and who they miss dearly (Valentine tried to find an alternate version of his father from another universes but failed and Belos created grimwalkers because he misses Caleb and longs for human contact).

Although Belos and Valentine had presumptions of superiority, in the end they are defeated by Luz and Johnny who obtain greater power (Johnny gaining Tusk Act 4 after Gyro's death, and Luz gaining the Titan's power after her own death) and what they do is beg them to don't kill them.

Belos tries to appeal to the fact that he and Luz are human but she ignores him and let Eda, King and Raine from trampling on him.

Valentine tells his story to Johnny and he wants to believe in Valentine but still suspects the president and when his suspicions turned out to be correct, Johnny kills Valentine.

The failure to accept their deaths with dignity to the point of trying to manipulate the protagonists only shows how hypocritical and cowardly Belos and Valentine are because both believe that sacrifices are necessary and sacrifice others but are unable to admit that their ideals reached toxicity or that their plans are nefarious and that beyond doing it for their people, they did it for the pure personal satisfaction of being the heroes of their stories. Belos could at least try to understand the witches like Caleb and Luz did and could even accept Collector's kindness but he refused, Valentine could make America prosperous in other ways and improve the situation or quality of life of minorities who did need his help such as women, afroamericans or native americans, but Valentine refused.

All this shows that they don't want to help anyone and they just want to be the heroes of their story regardless of who they have to harm to do so. Just as the Titan said:

[newstfionline]

Sunday, September 3, 2023

No power and nowhere to stay as rural Florida starts recovering from Hurricane Idalia (AP) The worst of Hurricane Idalia left residents of a region of tight-knit communities trying to find places to live as they rebuild—if they decide it’s even worth it—and waiting potentially weeks for electricity to be restored after winds and water took out entire power grids. A power cooperative warned its 28,000 customers it might take two weeks to restore electricity. More than 100,000 homes and businesses in Florida and Georgia remained without power Friday, according to PowerOutage.us. And even with high temperatures below normal, the high humidity meant sweltering late-summer days and nights, with no power to run air conditioners. Emergency officials promised trailers would arrive over the weekend to provide housing in an area that didn’t have much to begin with.

Americans’ Ideal Family Size Is Larger Than the Birthrate Suggests (WSJ) What do you think is the ideal number of children for a family to have? Most Americans say the answer is two to three children, according to various surveys over nearly 90 years, even as actual birthrates drop lower than that. In fact, the share of people saying they want three or more children has risen as the actual number of children being born has dropped. Why aren’t people having the families they idealize or intend to have? All sorts of life happens, and you don’t necessarily end up with the family you expected theoretically in a survey.

.ai (Bloomberg) The Caribbean island Anguilla, a British territory, has made bank this year because their country-level domain address is .ai, and amid the AI trend they’re making a fortune off of new registrations. This year, registrations at the top level domain doubled to 287,432 on the year, which would mean that Anguilla will reap in the ballpark of $30 million for the year from selling the domains, up from $7.4 million brought in in 2021.

The Bolivian Job (Rest of World) An estimated 20 percent of the total vehicle fleet in Bolivia has been smuggled, mostly stolen in neighboring Chile and then driven across the desert to one of the 73 illegal markets that are remarkably easy to find. The Bolivian government is aware of the issue, and the car thieves have become a lifestyle of their own, called chuteros with their own TikTok scene and whatnot. Naturally, this has the Chileans furious, and local police are overwhelmed with reports. Chile’s even got a new AI-fueled startup, SafeByWolf, designed to identify boosted cars faster for the insurance industry.

More than 100 British schools may face danger of collapse (BBC) More than 100 schools in England are scrambling to make arrangements after being told to shut buildings with a type of concrete prone to collapse. The government gave the order just days before the start of the autumn term. Some pupils have already been told they will be learning remotely, in temporary classrooms or at different schools. Schools found with buildings containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) have been told they must introduce safety measures, which could include propping up ceilings. This came after the government was made aware of a number of incidents where RAAC failed without warning, not just in school buildings, but elsewhere too.

Russian students are returning to school, where they face new lessons to boost their patriotism (AP) Clad in white shirts and carrying bouquets, children across Russia flocked back to school Friday, where the Kremlin’s narratives about the war in Ukraine and its confrontation with the West were taking an even more prominent spot than before. Students are expected each week to listen to Russia’s national anthem and watch the country’s tricolor flag being raised. There’s a weekly subject loosely translated as “Conversations about Important Things,” which was introduced last year with the goal of boosting patriotism. A new high school history textbook has a chapter on the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and the “special military operation”—the Kremlin’s euphemism for the war, and some basic military training is included in a course on self-defense and first aid. “School ... is a powerful mechanism for raising a person subordinate to the state,” said Nikolay Petrov, visiting researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. “For a while the school was outside the active attention of the state. Today, it’s all coming back.”

As Ukraine’s Fight Grinds On, Talk of Negotiations Becomes Nearly Taboo (NYT) Stian Jenssen, the chief of staff to the secretary general of NATO, recently had his knuckles rapped when he commented on possible options for an end to the war in Ukraine that did not envision a complete Russian defeat. His remarks provoked an angry condemnation from the Ukrainians; a clarification from his boss, Jens Stoltenberg; and ultimately an apology from Mr. Jenssen. The contretemps, say some analysts who have been similarly chastised, reflects a closing down of public discussion on options for Ukraine just at a moment when imaginative diplomacy is most needed, they say. Given that even President Biden says the war is likely to end in negotiations, Samuel Charap, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, believes there should be a serious debate in any democracy about how to get there. Yet he, too, has also been criticized for suggesting that it is important to talk to Russia about a negotiated outcome. “There is a broad and increasingly widespread sense that what we’re doing now isn’t working, but not much of an idea of what to do next, and not a big openness to discuss it, which is how you come up with one,” he said. “The lack of success hasn’t opened up the political space for an open discussion of alternatives.”

Pope, in Mongolia, laments earth devastated by countless conflicts (Reuters) Pope Francis, in words that appeared to be aimed at China rather than the neighbouring country he was visiting, said on Saturday that governments have nothing to fear from the Catholic Church because it has no political agenda. In an address to bishops, priests, missionaries and pastoral workers, he said Jesus gave no political mandate to his apostles but told them to alleviate the sufferings of a “wounded humanity” through faith. “For this reason, governments and secular institutions have nothing to fear from the Church’s work of evangelization, for she has no political agenda to advance, but is sustained by the quiet power of God’s grace and a message of mercy and truth, which is meant to promote the good of all,” he said. On Saturday morning, Francis called on leaders to dispel the “dark clouds of war.”

Typhoon Saola makes landfall in southern China but appears to cause only light damage (AP) Typhoon Saola made landfall in southern China before dawn Saturday after nearly 900,000 people were moved to safety and most of Hong Kong and parts of the coastal mainland suspended business, transport and classes. Damage appeared to be minimal, however, and some services were returning to normal by afternoon. Meanwhile, Taiwan issued a warning Saturday for a second typhoon, Haikui, which was expected to pass over the island Sunday, before traveling onward to the central Chinese coast.

Biden approves military aid to Taiwan under program normally used for sovereign states (NBC) On Wednesday, Washington approved a transfer of arms to Taiwan under the Foreign Military Financing program, which is normally reserved for use with sovereign states. Currently, neither the U.S. nor U.N. acknowledges the island nation as its own country in order to maintain diplomatic ties to China. Beijing voiced its “strong dissatisfaction” and “firm opposition” to the weapons sale, claiming that it hurt “China’s sovereignty and security interests” while damaging “peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.” Even as China-U.S. dialogue has picked up in recent months with multiple American officials visiting Beijing, the White House has continued funneling arms to Taiwan. Last month, Washington approved a $345 million arms package to the country, and is working to send $500 million worth of F-16 fighter jets to Taipei as well.

With wary eye on China, U.S. moves closer to former foe Vietnam (Washington Post) The United States and Vietnam are poised to significantly enhance their economic and technological ties, bringing the former foes closer at a time of increased Chinese assertiveness in the region. The deal, expected to be announced when President Biden makes a state visit to Vietnam next weekend, is the latest step by the Biden administration to deepen relations in Asia. For Hanoi, the closer relationship with Washington serves as a counterweight to Beijing’s influence. The establishment of a “comprehensive strategic partnership” will give the United States a diplomatic status that Vietnam has so far reserved for only a handful of other countries: China, Russia, India and South Korea.

The low, low cost of shipping (London Review of Books) The truth is that shipping is responsible, as Rose George put it in the subtitle of her classic 2013 book on the subject, for ‘90 Per Cent of Everything’. It is the physical equivalent of the internet, the other industry which makes globalisation possible. The internet abolishes national boundaries for information, news, data; shipping abolishes these boundaries for physical goods. The main way it does this is by being almost incomprehensibly efficient and cheap. As George points out, if you’re having a sweater shipped from the other side of the planet, the cost of shipping adds just a cent to the price. Another way of putting it would be to say that shipping is, in practice, free. This has had the effect of abolishing geography and location as an economic factor: moving stuff from A to B is so cheap that, for most goods, there is no advantage in siting manufacturing anywhere near your customers. Instead, you make whatever it is where it’s cheapest, and ship it to them instead.

[justalittleobsessedhere]

Bear with me, this is going to be a little long.

Just got off the phone with my mom who told me this story about my dad that makes me so angry.

My parents got some summer property in Michigan to take a break from the summer heat of Louisiana. My dad is super liberal and likes to challenge the conservative thinking of the other guys at the morning coffee klatch (some weird word for chatting and coffee). He likes to point out the factual errors they hear on their conservative media. He’s usually really laid back and the right kind of person to talk to these kind of guys.

Well, apparently he hit a nerve and they couldn’t fight back with actual logic or facts so they told my dad to go back where he came from.

My dad is a naturalized US citizen. He has been for over twenty years. And before that he was a legal permanent resident for another 20-something years. He’s from the Middle East and finally got his citizenship after September 11th when it became much harder to travel back to see his family.

My dad is foreign looking and has a weird accent (weird because it’s his in normal accent mixed with a local Louisiana accent). But back in Louisiana, he’s considered part of the community. Everyone knows who he is and loves him. I swear he could run for office and win with his very foreign name.

My dad never planned on staying. He was going to go to college and go back home. Instead, he met my mom (born and raised Louisiana girl) and married her. They literally got married after knowing each other two months. Both their families cut them off for getting married to this person from a completely different culture. (Both eventually reestablished ties.) It was a random set of circumstances that had him settle in the tiny, middle-of-nowhere town for over 40 years.

But he loves this adopted country. He is more informed about the history and current events than most people born here. He ingrained a strong sense of patriotism in me. He saw the value of this democratic republic where you have the constitutional right to say what you want about the government and not be arrested for it. Where votes actually matter. That’s why he gets so angry about claiming elections are rigged because in his home country, they literally are.

On my 18th birthday, I walked in to register to vote and I have never missed an election no matter where I lived. I have always voted even if I had to send in my ballot from overseas. He instilled that commitment in me.

I tell you all this to set up how shocked he was to hear that. He yelled back at this guy and pointed out that he CHOSE to be an American. He considers “where he comes from” to be Louisiana. He’s spent more time there than the county he was born in. He didn’t luck into this citizenship. He never takes it for granted.

He didn’t go back for a couple of days. But he did today. Because he wasn’t going to let that guy win. He told him why what he said was insulting and bigoted, and now that guy has to look at my dad every day and live with the fact that he was a small-minded jerk.

I’m proud of my dad. For this small act of rebellion in this conservative crowd and the overall life he chooses to live.

I have no great purpose in telling you this, but I just wanted to put this out in the world.

TL;DR: my immigrant dad got told he go back where he came from and my dad stood up to that small-minded jerk.

[smol-blue-bird]

I’m currently watching Defunctland’s “The War for Disney’s America,” and somehow this is more baffling than any of the other insane Disney decisions that have been featured on that channel

Like, okay. Making a theme park based entirely on American history is a questionable decision to begin with. But then they decided to put it in Virginia, just outside of Washington DC, which is already an area surrounded by American-history-themed museums and attractions that cost much, much less than tickets to a Disney park. Their aim was to “make history interesting” in an area where that’s already the goal for tons and tons of different organizations. And then, when people complained that making a Disney-style theme park version of history in an area where you could easily go and see the real history is a bad idea, they announced that they planned to include attractions about the horrors of slavery and war??? In a Disney theme park???? I don’t think anyone in the history of ever has wanted that! And, as if that wasn’t enough, they wanted to build the park on a real Civil War battlefield that had been preserved. Literally paving over actual history to create a theme park version of American history in an area that’s already seeped in American history, so people can go on “horrors of war”-themed WWII paratrooper rides.

It’s just, like, what were they expecting? Anyone legitimately interested in history would probably rather go to the Smithsonian than a historical amusement park. Anyone looking for a family-friendly history-themed attraction would probably take their kids to one of the many similar attractions aimed at children that are already scattered all around DC. Anyone looking for a fun amusement park experience would probably be put off by the attractions themed to slavery and war. Hell, most normal people are would probably be put off by that. It seems like the kind of thing that would deter even die-hard Murica patriots. “Come ride a rollercoaster based on a glitzy recreation of a 1930s state fair, and then stop by at the Slavery Pavillion to witness horrible abuse!” Who would want that? Who wouldn’t consider that incredibly insensitive??

Everything about it is just so utterly baffling.

[caffeineandsociety]

As a Proud Weirdo and kinda narrative-minded person, and I say this with equal parts amusement and seriousness, I'm starting to feel like the conversation about "be normal" as internet slang was almost a kind of foreshadowing.

To be clear: I'm totally cool with calling right-wingers weird, because they ARE fucking weird. That's not the ultimate problem with them, but it IS fundamentally at odds with the way they present themselves. Their whole damned thing is their belief that they're actually, secretly, just saying what we're all thinking. That they're the normal ones and the world has "gone mad". "Weird" is not inherently bad - but it is not, and by definition will NEVER be, the silent majority that these, well, fucking weirdos want to think it is. There will never be a silent majority that wants to roll around in Cybertrucks emblazoned with the most pathetic tryhard "patriotic" symbolism of all time. There will never be a silent majority of "straight men" who would huff another "straight man"'s chair for being sufficiently good at hating women. There will never be a "silent majority" that wants to be ground into dust along with their entire families and take pride and honor in the money they're generating for the ultra-wealthy in the process. That shit is, in fact, by all possible definitions of the term, fucking weird.

Pointing that out takes the wind out of their sails. It prevents centrists from being radicalized, because that "we're just saying and doing what EVERYONE wishes they could" thing is such a load-bearing aspect of their strategy.

Of course this has the potential to backfire when people think "weird" IS the ultimate problem with this...

There's a neutral, even good kind of weird - stuff that is morally neutral at worst, but simply not part of the majority mindset and in many cases never will be - and then there's a bad kind of weird - stuff that is abnormal because it is actively harmful and people have made it socially unacceptable for a damned good reason. A lot of the shit we're pointing to in Republicans, in a vacuum, is honestly the neutral-to-good kind of weird! Who cares whether or not JD Vance fucked a couch? Who cares if someone wants to drive the gaudiest, ugliest truck of all time? That's fine! And the fact that having this pointed out makes these people utterly MELT THE FUCK DOWN is very useful...especially if we're not even SHAMING them for that part. Like. You're weird. it's fine. But you can't be a secret silent majority and be fucking weird at the same time. That's the point of acknowledging how fucking weird that shit is. Yes, Aunt Susan, it IS in fact more normal - both statistically and socially - to live in a city and mind your business than it is to deck your house out in American flags and act like a single politician is the messiah, sorry!!

And then there's the bad kind of weird. The QAnonism. The wellness mysticism and antivaxx shit. The insistence on getting all up in everyone's private life if they catch your eye as even superficially slightly unusual. The open hate. The rampant sexual harassment and general creep behavior is, unfortunately, one of the most normal things about these guys, but even that's taken to a level that's just plain fucking weird. We teach people not to do that - not to be bigots, not to reject doctors and get all their public health info from snake oil peddlers on Facebook, not to creepily pry into and try to micromanage strangers' sex lives, and so much more - because it actively hurts both them and people around them. It works for the majority! For normal people! But it doesn't work on everyone, and when people fall through the cracks...it's weird. That's not WHY it's bad, but the weirdness is born from the fact that this is bad, and so we try to prevent it.

All this to say: My thinking? We gotta play up that it's FINE to be harmlessly weird when talking about this - because that will both prevent people from taking this talk in the "conformity is a virtue" direction, AND come off as even more condescending to the rude, nosy, creepy, WEIRD people whose illusion of normalcy we're no longer playing along with.

[line-of-fire]

Independence Day

Because nobody's gonna stop me from making a 4th of July hc post for my American oc. And because time isn't real.

SSG Pixie-

It's kind of charged for her, just because it's one of the few days out of the year she'll force herself to actually go home for, where she has to hang up the mask as 'Pixie' to just be Red for a few days; daughter, sister and mother. Because of her relationship with her parents and older siblings, there's always a lot of tension, and truthfully she only goes to spend the time with her brother and daughter. A couple hours of being able to spend time with her other relatives without an argument breaking out is just a neat little bonus that sometimes happens.

But outside of that, it's a military family, so naturally it's a good-sized celebration with fireworks and grilling out and all that fun shit. So it isn't all bad.

CPT Pixie-

Yeah, this is one of those 'TF-291' functions. Pixie treats it like 'family day', letting her soldiers invite their families out if they're in town for barbecue, lawn games and fireworks later in the night. How big it is really depends on the year, and who all actually took leave.

Sweet Tea, Romeo and Copperhead are the main three that have consistently stuck around every year; each for their own reasons. (aka Sweet Tea prefers not to go home for 'minor' holidays; Romeo's Italian and Copperhead just doesn't go home). But Pixie always makes sure there's at least something going on to fit whatever the circumstances were that year. And it's always a good rnr opportunity; morale's always boosted and there's usually at least one story or two to come of it all.

DFW!Pixie-

She hates 4th of July, simple as that. It's a holiday, so automatically she's left feeling a certain sort of way about it. Especially considering how 4th of July was always a big thing in her family- a family who she's lost now partially due to her own actions.

Not to mention the jadedness she's developed towards her country's government after everything that happened. Hindsight is 20/20 after all, and she's become bitter over it all; how she ran into almost no barriers to enlisting at 17, not even a full legal adult, how she was allowed to re-enlist as an amputee with no shortage of mental health issues; how- and most importantly- she was abandoned, her death faked and then covered up, her brother murdered for knowing the truth. There's no love for the government lost on this former patriot, even if she continues to be employed by a three-letter agency.

And then there's the fireworks, the seemingly-constant explosions. On normal days, when she can expect it, it's already enough to drive a hammer into her mood and keep her nerves running high. But on Independence Day, when all she knows is that they'll happen? It's much worse for her, keeping her on-edge the entire day; each firework set off sending her closer to a breakdown.

As far as she's concerned, the day is just emblematic of decades of propaganda, state-sanctioned crimes and lost family members for the benefit of a government that couldn't give a rat's ass about the people it was supposed to be 'protecting'.

She'd rather consider the 4th of July to be a celebration of the American people and of their ideals, of community. Not a monument to history that only gets warped over the centuries (even though she does acknowledge the history as important as well).

Phoenix-

She lets herself have fun on the fourth. Why wouldn't she, after all? As far as she can tell, she is- or was- American, and it's an excuse to set off fireworks. Which her pyromaniac ass absolutely adores. Honestly? She probably loves the Fourth of July.

The fireworks, again, are probably the biggest and most obvious factor. Now, fire and smoke tend to have a sort of somewhat warped comfort and familiarity for her, but fireworks just feel a little different for her. There's no 'real' damage to be risked as far as she's concerned (She is heavily leaning on the use of her prosthetic arm), and they're oh so pretty to look at.

And it just feels different too, overall, especially if she's with Borealis. That sense of vague community she doesn't usually get to have. It's a day where it's a little easier to drown out her thoughts and truly embrace the moment.