#motivational author in Arkansas

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s2 episode 24 thoughts

this episode was quite spooky. because cannibalism is real. but something about scully about to get her head chopped off and boiled seemed more outlandish than all the aliens and the guy that kills people with his shadow or even lizard man eugene tooms!

which is strange. because those things are pretty outlandish! maybe its because it was so much scarier than even evil lizard men.

let’s jump in:

so this is an episode involving more meat. did we need more meat, after the earlier meat processing content in s2 episode 10? many are saying no. but not chris carter!

we begin at a dirt road at night. in the state of arkansas. we have an older man and a younger woman named paula in a car, which is not suspicious at all! /s

oh and now the old man choking? is this natural or did she induce it with some poison. i mean maybe he deserved it, if she did. he takes some pills, so I’m guessing it is due to natural causes. now she beckons him out to the woods. 

into the woods. she says he has to catch her. is she luring him into a Bigfoot trap? we have yet to really see Bigfoot, and maybe he’s hungry. although Bigfoot is more Pacific Northwest than Arkansas, i think.

author's note: we tested negative for bigfoot in this episode :(

oh! this man tripped and is now surrounded by people with flashlights and very cool masks. get axe murdered, fucker.

back in DC! aforementioned fucker has been gone for 10 weeks and scully thinks the higher ups are sending them on a wild goose chase. “i’m not questioning the legitimacy of the case, just their motives in assigning it to us” <- damn, very well spoken by a rightfully suspicious woman

oh, but at the scene, someone saw a fire. and mulder says the fire is “supposed to be the spirits of massacred Indians” OH...

(mentally i was like, please do not be another scary Indigenous story episode. and we did in fact get that. sighs deeply. we can make things scary without making Indigenous people the scary ones! or using the trauma of genocide as a setting for spooky time! well, i'm sure you, dear reader, know that, so i shall not preach to the choir, but i will point out that these thoughts were going through my mind)

“these are only legends, mulder”, says a dismissive scully. and why is her hair looking excellent today. I mean not that it isn’t usually but damn. shoutout to the hair and makeup team.

the place on the side of the road where he went missing had a big fire! could be a bonfire, both parties thought. until mulder remembered a documentary he saw in college...

(hehehehe mulder spent college watching documentaries <3)

! MULDER LORE REVEAL ! wow it's been a while since i've gotten to format some text like that. he watched a documentary about an insane asylum in college and it gave him nightmares.

(and this may not be super relevant to his character, but to ME, it is, so i shall note it <3)

he's got the VHS from the doc all loaded up, and presses play on a guy rambling about a fire demon!! who was found in the same spot as the fire mark!!! dun dun dunnn 

(love the implication that he either purchased his own copy of the documentary that gave him nightmares in college, or had to go rent it from the video store. both are wonderful possibilities)

cut to arkansas. mulder is on the scene holding a plastic fork from the ground. wearing his silly sunglasses. lmaooo idk why they make me laugh. what a serious gentleman.

sheriff arrives at the scene. he says the witch’s peg to ward off spirits is normal there and also that the fire mark comes from illegal trash burning. and, as an American i am aware of how Americans love an illegal trash burn. but still. suspicious.

sheriff says the missing man george was chasing women out of town. lovely sounding fellow /s

wife questioning time!! he left her years ago. oh, but tea: the day before he went missing he was going to cite major health violations in the chicken plant! hmm... a cause for murder?

mulder gives the wife his phone number. also mulder is also looking very good today. but that is an evil voice in my head that ought to be silenced.

noooo, it's chicken plant time. no thank you ma’am, i would be out in the car <3

paula from the woods at work in the plant!!! taking mystery pills. seemingly in pain??

chicken cutting cam. oh, this is not for me! 

the agents chat with the manager, who says george was trying to shut them down. and while clocked in, paula is sweating. she just gasped in front of a whole bunch of chickens and some guy with very blue eyes. she sees a human head on the chicken stand and picks it up and throws it off. shoutout to this fake decapitated head and my best friends in the prop department for making such a funny creation.

(but of course, it was a hallucination, and she really just threw a poor chicken on the floor!!! his sacrifice was in vain... gone but not forgotten)

mulder is inspecting the chicken gutting operation and i've said it before and i'll say it again: he is braver than me. 

ohh, more chicken drama: george was filing a lawsuit about “line hypnosis” and it was dismissed before he vanished! he deserved to win. is there a meat processing union? there ought to be. but he was the only one citing bad health practices, the other 3 workers said it was fine... sooo what’s the truth…

“what’s that” asks mulder, who then gets shown the feed processor, and asks “chickens feed on chickens?” <- heartbreaking realization. many of us remember where we were when learning this information. i'm sure it will stick with him forever. and i'm frankly surprised he didn't know already.

NAURRR THE SLUDGE AND BLOOD nasty nasty evil

OH plot twist: paula is holding the manager with a knife to his throat… scully telling everyone to calm down. personally i would be not calm. she said “don’t get excited” but me? experiencing an active hostage situation at my place of work? i would be excited

NOOO the sheriff shot her and she fell into the feed conveyor belt processing… thing. sheriff i KNOW you are covering something up. you will not hide from me.

SHE GETS GULPED INTO THE FEED BELT THINGY GAGGG it’s giving the jungle by upton sinclair that caused many american 8th graders to confront the corruption of the meat industry

paula had gone to the doctor about headaches… like george!!! doctor had assumed the condition was stress induced. and they did have similar symptoms. 

treated them both with codine… ain’t that a bit strong?? this man doesn't seem to be a very good doctor, tbh. i mean i don't think the guy that works at the chicken plant to sew back on fingers needs to be an expert in everything but like. codine for headaches? umm girl.

mr. chaco of chaco’s chicken was paula’s grandfather… if i was a grandfather rich off of chicken money, my grandkids would not be working the processing line, let me tell u that much!

back to the agents: these two should not be looking as good as they do in a chicken processing plant. they had to really step it up today to compensate for the horrors of the set.

chicken man lives in a mansion. further evidence of corruption. paula, i would not have had you working in such conditions if i was your grandfather. there has been a deep wrong here, i can see already.

and he’s got a big hat and is feeding his chicken corn. not other chickens, like the feed he makes in his plant... seems he is aware of the ethical issues implied in his business. also, mulder with those weird ass glasses. 

cacho is going on about the subject of chickens. and how he built this town. he sure is taking an awful lot of credit for creating a town, pretty sure that's a team effort mr. chaco. he's also going on about how he thought george was trying to tear him down. 

AUTOPSY TIME!! rare degenerative disorder in da brain of paula. and scully has only seen it one other time back in med school because you can only really find it in an autopsy. nice work, doctor! <- i just typed “nice worm 🪱” so we'll let that stay for the added sense of whimsy it provides

but despite looking like a young girl fresh out of high school, paula was born in '48?! she was 47 years old. allegedly. this is not adding up. so they go on a quest to find her birth certificate and see what the truth is.

debrief in the car. so: odds are not great that she and george had the same very rare disease

during this discussion, our duo are run off the road by a chicken truck!!!! no! oh... he drove them into a river. mulder has shifted into rescue mode as the river is red with chicken gore. i feel someone might be distracting them and trying to get the body… (this was actually not the case i was just overly suspicious)

but more chicken drama: the driver had the same symptoms as george and paula! how can this be?!

“i just came up with a sick theory, mulder” (grabs her shoulder) “ooh, I’m listening” LMAOOOO this is sososo funny to me. yeah tell me ur sick theories scully you have my full attention.

GAG!! because it is both gross and shocking. her theory: what if someone put george’s body in the feed grinder, and then since it’s a prion disease, a chicken ate it, and someone ate a chicken, and it spread to the humans!!!! AHHHH! well that would be an epidemic, because they ship chickens out across the country… she glances knowingly, implying things could be very bad 

the river is filled with bird gore from the plant BLECH... who allows this??!! please say there are some modern regulations in place to prevent this being done irl.

mulder says he wants it dragged, thinking that maybe george is in there. and the sheriff is hesitant to do this. once again, i’m onto you, sheriff. i mean, a river full of chicken gore: it would be a good place to put a dead body.

and bam! a body is found. or rather. many many many bones. many bodies. and they are still going. damn.

so, we have a ton of bones. scully can put them into 9 distinct skeletons, one of which is in fact george. i love that she can do that, put the bones into distinct skeletons. she knows it's geroge from a pin in his femur!

“all of them share one, strange detail though” “well, they seem to have lost their heads” “… well, besides that” <- LMAOOOO idk why this was so funny to me... he really thought he picked up on something but he did Not.

here's the linking detail: all the bones are smooth and buffed like they have been polished. ??? who is polishing bones? it sure isn't me, i'll tell you that much. 

george’s wife is at the scene, learning her husband's body has been found, and she is sobbing. and the sheriff says “we’ll take care of you” now what does THAT mean? because it's not really sounding like the welcoming words of a man who is going to guide his neighbor through tragedy, and instead like there is something bigger at play here...

back at the plant, the doctor is mentioning another guy coming down “with the symptoms”…. omg. so this IS a known thing from the inside. mr. chaco knows but he isn’t doing anything about it!!!!! chicken dramaaaa goes crazy 

scully at the scene of all the bones, carrying a bucket of chicken. lmao. she is braver than me, for i would have gone vegan the first moment i set foot in chicken processing land.

mulder does some digging: 87 people have disappeared in the area in 50 years! that seems... a lot? and he thinks the same person or persons were responsible. he thinks they were EATEN!! boiled in a pot.

“they used similar evidence to prove cannibalism among on the Anasazi tribe of New Mexico” okay: 1. why do you know that 2. need to look into these allegations for myself and 3. Anasazi… that is the title of the next episode!!! what could this mean!! another cannibalism episode?!

scully is very sad to say that paula could have gotten sick from eating george :( girl I’m not convinced the chicken is clean put it down NOW 

cannibalism = eternal life? follow for more crazy mulder theories!

she puts aside the chicken……. good!

mr. chaco says “he’ll handle it” and george's wife doris arrives, saying she “can’t keep lying”… she says “she did it” (!!)

OH????? she... killed her husband? that is a bold thing to admit to.

“we’re gonna take good care of you”, says mr. chaco, which raises the question: are they a cannibal cult???? is that what he means when he mentions that he “built this town”???

now what the hell is going on. <- an interjection i stand by

mulder and scully are going to the courthouse to look at the papers and all the birth records are burnt!! doris calls mulder and says he’s afraid mr. chaco will kill her… they split up…. nooooo i hate splitting up!!! i watched so much scooby doo as a kid!

GASP! a guy in a mask like we saw at the very beginning of the episode is in doris' home!!! drumbeat playing while she screams…. overall, this is very not good, i wrote, referring to the use of Indigenous imagery for this murder, and also doris being murdered in the first place

scully at the scene of the murder ft. big ass flashlight. she gets in through the side door. gun: out. trench coat: open. looks: served. diagnosis: baby girl that could kill me, and i am respectful of the fact that she has this power yet refrains from using it on me.

mulder at mr. chaco’s house. mr. chaco has some… stuff in his home. including photos with Indigenous people and also bones. having human bones in your house, and especially on display, is not a good sign of ethics in play. and a skull. Oh! it says the skull is from a tribe in New Guinea... why tf does he have that. put it back???

at the back of chaco's parlor, we see a mysterious door. mulder is busting it open.

LORD ALMIGHTY, I DID NOT THINK THERE WOULD BE HEADS INSIDE??? HELLO???

so that must be where all of the heads that mulder noticed were missing have gone. they're sewn up sort of like shrunken heads. very spooky. once again, pour one out for the props department for such a creation.

noooo chaco is in the house with scully, who was investigating the call of doris. NOOOO HE KNOCKED HER OUT!!! this seriously needs to stop happening like i'm worried about the brain damage she is experiencing.

back to mulder cam. goodness. all of these heads. 

in a field now. doctor is serving some soup. to a bunch of people. who are eating around a big bonfire. do NOT tell me scully is in that meal....

she is not. YET! but he is bringing her over to be roasted. and they ate doris! chaco is yelling about turning on each other and how they were only supposed to eat outsiders. girl you shouldn't be eating anybody last time i checked. 

man in the mask shows up with an axe. and chaco is decapitated in front of scully. who is put into the decapitation thingy next. GIRL THIS IS FUCKED UP!!!

mulder on the scene, just in time. he shoots the dude in the mask.

“you alright?” he asks, brushing her hair back after lifting her out of the decapitation machine. my good friend, i would venture to guess that she is not quite alright at the moment!!! this will take an awful lot of unpacking!!!

sigh. but the tenderness of the near death experience. coming back to life in someone's arms. yeah i'll romanticize that.

TEA!!! the sheriff was the one under the mask!!!!!! i knew he was up to no good.

wrap up: chicken place shut down. unclear how many citizens of the town ate people. 27 have become ill with prion disease. chaco’s plane was shot down in 1947, and he spent 7 months with a cannibalistic tribe, and also he was born in 1902, so he was 93 at his death- so the cannibalism really WAS extending life. and we see some more feed being scooped to the chickens as scully says his remains have yet to be found. end scene.

HUH???? what in da hell. so what are we thinking kids…?

well, i'll tell you something: turns out i am afraid of cannibal cults, no matter how outlandish they seem! i guess when you get a villain or evil situation of the week show like this, you WILL learn exactly what kind of fear pushes your buttons. i can imagine almost nothing scarier than being led to the slaughter like scully was. seems a purposeful commentary on the meat industry, especially when taken in with the other meat episode this season.

so, if i were scully, i do think i would need to take a week or so off. but she is just built different than i am.

some things bugged me here. first of all, like i mentioned, you don't need to throw in Indigenous people to make a scary story. like is the thought of a bunch of arkansas cannibals not horrific enough? the scary was there!

second, i have not been doing a kidnapping count, but i feel that scully is getting the rough of the deal here. i believe in gender equality when it comes to characters being kidnapped. like, an even 1:1 ratio. why are we denying mulder his damsel in distress arc? does anyone think about how he would feel? how nice it would be to see scully burst in with a gun and shoot the fellow that was about to cannibalize him?

still, it is rare an episode actually spooks me, so i must give credit where it is due. even if it felt a little outlandish, your girl was frightened! scully needs a vacation now. i also thoroughly laughed at the sick theories line and his funny sunglasses.

it's funny to note, but i like the episodes that are either very silly and light hearted, or incredibly angsty the best. and that may seem contradictory, but you cannot tell me that one breath and humbug may be on opposite ends of the tone spectrum, but they are both objectively Perfect. i'll have to think more on why they are the best in my opinion, but i think honestly i would watch these two read the dictionary.

[rapidprime]

The Shocking Incident in Fordyce: A Closer Look at the Tragedy

On June 21, 2024, the small town of Fordyce, Arkansas, was thrust into chaos when a violent shooting occurred at the Mad Butcher grocery store. The event, perpetrated by Travis Posey Fordyce, left four people dead and ten others injured. The tranquil morning quickly turned into a nightmare as Posey opened fire both inside and outside the store, leaving shoppers scrambling for safety. The police, arriving swiftly, engaged in a shootout with Posey, who was eventually apprehended, albeit with minor injuries.

Courtroom Proceedings: A Grim Legal Battle Begins

Four days later, on June 25, 2024, Posey appeared in court for the first time, facing a litany of charges including four counts of capital murder and ten counts of attempted capital murder. The courtroom was somber, with a palpable sense of grief and disbelief. Despite the overwhelming evidence, Posey, with the assistance of his lawyer, pleaded not guilty to all charges. Judge Ryan Phillips ruled that Posey would remain in custody without the possibility of bail, underscoring the severity of the case.

Investigating the Motive: Unanswered Questions

As the investigation into this senseless act of violence continues, authorities and the local community are grappling with the question of why Posey committed such a heinous crime. The police have labeled the act as random, with no clear motive emerging. Speculation about Posey's mental state has been rampant, with some suggesting that underlying psychological issues may have played a role. However, the true reasons behind this tragedy remain elusive.

Media and Public Response: A Divided Community

The media coverage of the Fordyce shooting has been extensive, with national outlets like KARK 4 News and Yahoo News reporting on the case. The portrayal of Posey has sparked debate, with some criticizing the focus on his personal history rather than the victims. The community is left divided, with some struggling to reconcile the image of Posey as a once-respected member of society with the monstrous acts he is accused of committing.

Conclusion: The Road Ahead

As the legal proceedings against Travis Posey Fordyce unfold, the town of Fordyce remains in mourning. The tragic events have left a lasting impact on the community, raising questions about violence, mental health, and the responsibility of society to prevent such horrors. The coming months will see the case move through the courts, but the scars left by this incident will take much longer to heal.

[evoldir]

Fwd: Postdoc: UArkansas.NeuroEvoDevo

Begin forwarded message: > From: evoldir@evol.biology.mcmaster.ca > Subject: Postdoc: UArkansas.NeuroEvoDevo > Date: 14 March 2024 at 06:36:36 GMT > To: rdmpage@gmail.com > > > An NSF-funded postdoctoral fellow position is available in the Nakanishi > lab (https://ift.tt/IQvrReA) at the Department of > Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas. The primary field of the > lab’s research is cnidarian evolutionary developmental biology. In > particular, this NSF-funded project will investigate the mechanism of > life cycle transition, focusing on elucidating how neuropeptides control > this process using the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. > > We are seeking a highly motivated and independent scientist with strong > interests in advancing our understanding of the mechanism of cnidarian > life cycle transition. The specific focus of the project will include > 1) identification of neuropeptide receptors that are involved in > metamorphosis regulation, and 2) characterization of the identity and > function of transcription factors that are regulated by neuropeptidergic > signaling at metamorphosis. In addition, the postdoc will be encouraged > to develop an independent line of research that is broadly related to > the NSF project theme and research interests of the lab. Moreover, the > postdoc will have opportunities to mentor diverse students at the high > school, undergraduate and graduate levels. > > This is a full time, 40 hour per week position. The salary is commensurate > with experience and education and includes full benefits. This is a > one-year appointment, with the possibility to extend up to two additional > years renewable based on the need for the position, availability of > funding, and continued satisfactory level of performance in the role. > > For a complete position > announcement and information regarding how to apply, > https://ift.tt/xmHfI5t. > Applicants must submit a curriculum vitae, a cover letter/letter of > application, and a list of three professional references (name, title, > email address, and contact number).  For more information, please > contact Nagayasu Nakanishi, Associate Professor in Biological Sciences, > at nnakanis@uark.edu. > > The University of Arkansas is an equal opportunity, affirmative action > institution. The university welcomes applications without regard to > race/color, sex, gender, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability, > religion, marital or parental status, protected veteran or military > status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or any > other characteristic protected under applicable federal or state law. > Persons must have proof of legal authority to work in the United States > on the first day of employment. All applicant information is subject to > public disclosure under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. > > Nagayasu Nakanishi, Ph.D > Associate Professor > Department of Biological Sciences > University of Arkansas > Fayetteville, AR 72701 > 479-575-2031 (office) > 479-575-7393 (lab) > nnakanis@uark.edu > https://ift.tt/IQvrReA > > > nagayasu nakanishi

[ear-worthy]

True-Crime "Paper Ghosts" & Through The Flames About NFL's Reggie White

The recent release of these two podcasts (one new and one in its fourth season) reveals the diversity inherent in the true-crime genre. We have one classic true-crime podcast about two missing young people in the Ozarks. Then we have the firebombing of a church run by a famous NFL player, the late Reggie White. 

What we learn from both podcasts is that crime can have disparate motivations, ranging from hate to psychopathy, and racism to arson.

******************************************** First up, is a returning podcast from an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of 40-plus true-Crime books and chart-topping podcaster M. William Phelps. In this new season, Phelps confronts a new suspect in two unsolved Ozarks missing persons/murder cases. 

 The investigative true-crime iHeartPodcast “Paper Ghosts,” is back for its fourth season. Executive-produced, written and hosted by M. William Phelps, “Paper Ghosts” is known for uncovering new, breaking information in cold cases and bringing victims’ families answers in investigations otherwise long stalled out. Phelps is known for getting new and primary sources, and victim family members, who have not generally opened-up about the nuances of the cases, to reveal long-held secrets and exclusive information, sending dormant cases toward resolution with new suspects. The 8-part series will also include several special bonus episodes.

Season four of “Paper Ghosts” will take listeners deep into the heart of the Ozarks: Bella Vista, Arkansas and Pineville, Missouri. Phelps will put boots on the ground, investigating 18-year-old Dana Stidham’s 1989 murder and 22-year-old Shauna “Grace Doe” Garber’s 1990 murder. He will bring listeners authentic, jaw-dropping moments, with never-before-heard archival law enforcement audio, revealing previously unknown information about these 30-plus-year-old cold cases. Culled from over 50 hours of interviews, aside from Phelps’s regular cast of sources—friends and family members of the victims; law enforcement; cleared suspects; prosecutors and attorneys; journalists; and more—Phelps will unearth a potential new suspect and will confront the man with the evidence he’s gathered against him. “I’ve been a victims’ advocate my entire career, and crime victims’ stories are at the forefront of what I do,” says host M. William Phelps. “In ‘Paper Ghosts,’ I’ve always strived to tell the underlying story of what happened and who is responsible. The unexpected always comes up. I spend years on these cases, developing sources, digging for new information, with the goal of finding answers for family members. This season, I made it a priority not to settle for the long-held beliefs that these cases are unsolvable—which includes a direct connection to Dennis ‘BTK’ Rader, and a confrontation with a man I believe could be a prolific serial killer responsible for many additional murders.” New episodes will be released Wednesdays for the next seven weeks. Listen now HERE ********************************************** This next podcast is part true-crime, part-sports, part-primer on racial hate podcast. ESPN’s 30 for 30 and Andscape have partnered on a new podcast, Through The Flames: Reggie's Church, highlighting the NFL Hall of Famer, Reggie White. 

The podcast follows ESPN’s 30 for 30 installments on White, THE MINISTER OF DEFENSE, directed by Ken Rodgers (Bullies of Baltimore, The Tuck Rule, The Two Bills) and Courtland Bragg (Hard Knocks: Training Camp, Hard Knocks: In-Season, All or Nothing), chronicling the extraordinary career, complicated life, and profound spiritual journey of NFL Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champion Reggie White now streaming on ESPN+.

NFL Films producer Courtland Bragg investigates the mysterious 1996 burning of Reggie White’s church in Knoxville, Tennessee, and in the process, shines a light on the greater legacy of the NFL Hall of Famer.

In the midst of a rash of mid-1990s church burnings across the United States, White’s Inner City Church boasts a growing interracial congregation, and after the building is firebombed and reduced to ashes, White believes the attack is the work of racists.

The NFL legend and pastor uses his platform to maintain public pressure on the investigation, even as the sensitive nature of the crime causes government officials to tread carefully. As the story unfolds, questions are raised about the church’s financial status, along with the possibility of arson.

Bragg says, “I am excited to continue shedding light on the broader legacy of Reggie White. This podcast is personal to me and is more than just exploring a crime, it is a journey that reveals the deeper challenges our nation continues to grapple with today.”

The podcast brings the story to life through the voices of those involved with the church and the investigation – and in the process, draws a powerful parallel between these ugly incidents and the deeper challenges the nation still faces.

Listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[kennethhaskin]

Community Building Through Governance  The City Manager's Vision

In the heart of every thriving city lies a complex network of communities, each with its own distinct identity and shared aspirations. Community building, an essential component of fostering social cohesion and progress, is a multifaceted process that demands effective governance and visionary leadership. Within this context, the role of the city manager becomes pivotal in orchestrating the intricate dance between diverse communities, local authorities, and stakeholders, to create a harmonious and prosperous urban ecosystem.

Kenneth Haskin, the city manager, firmly believes in the power of inclusivity and equitable development, grounding his vision for Cape Girardeau in these principles. He is an advocate for a governance model that promotes engagement and cooperation among residents, local businesses, and institutions, thereby paving the way for a strong, interconnected community. Haskin places high value on open discourse and clear decision-making, ensuring a nurturing environment where every citizen’s voice, regardless of socio-economic background, is valued and heard.

Haskin's upbringing in a small town just outside Jonesboro, Arkansas, played a significant role in shaping his work ethic and values. His parents instilled in him the importance of hard work and perseverance, lessons he carries with him to this day. With a master's degree in public administration from Webster University and a PhD from St Mary's Seminary & University, Haskin brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his role as city manager. His background in economic development and senior level management for local municipalities makes him well-equipped to drive the growth and progress of Cape Girardeau.

In the heartland of America, a dynamic leader takes the reins of Cape Girardeau. Kenneth Haskin, a seasoned city manager, breathes life into the principles of inclusivity and equitable development, shaping the city's future with his powerful vision. Raised amidst the humble environs of a small town near Jonesboro, Arkansas, the echoes of hard work and perseverance passed down by his family resonate in his leadership style. Leveraging his extensive experience in economic development and top-tier management for local municipalities, Haskin stands as a beacon for growth, fostering a community where every voice is valued, every vision recognized, and every citizen feels a sense of belonging. His commitment to nurturing civic engagement through grassroots programs and accessible platforms breathes a shared sense of purpose into Cape Girardeau, empowering individuals to actively contribute to the city's blossoming future.

In tandem with cultivating a sense of belonging, the city manager prioritizes the establishment of sustainable development strategies that prioritize the long-term well-being of the community. By integrating environmentally conscious policies, infrastructure enhancements, and innovative urban planning, the manager ensures that the city's growth is not only economically viable but also environmentally responsible. This dual focus on sustainable development and community welfare not only safeguards the city's natural resources but also promotes a healthier and more resilient living environment for all its residents.

Kenneth Haskin possesses a unique constellation of skills that makes him perfectly suited to materialize the vision he has for Cape Girardeau. His solid background in economic development and top-tier management sets the groundwork for forward-thinking strategies and comprehensive planning. His leadership style, which was shaped by the teachings of his family, allows him to inspire and motivate those around him. This, combined with his in-depth knowledge of public administration, enables him to navigate the complexities of local governance and to implement policies that foster inclusivity, diversity, and equitable growth. His ability to drive civic engagement, foster a sense of ownership among community members, and promote a shared sense of purpose is a testament to his commitment to the citizens of Cape Girardeau. His skills, experience, and unwavering dedication set the stage for a bright and inclusive future for the city.

In the pursuit of fostering a thriving community, the city manager recognizes the critical role of effective communication and collaboration with local authorities and government agencies. By forging strategic partnerships and alliances, the manager harnesses the collective expertise and resources of various stakeholders to address complex challenges and implement impactful initiatives. This collaborative approach not only streamlines administrative processes but also amplifies the impact of community-driven projects, laying the groundwork for sustainable growth and development. Kenny Haskin City Manager

Furthermore, the city manager's vision extends to the cultivation of a safe and secure environment for all residents. By prioritizing public safety measures, fostering community policing initiatives, and investing in robust emergency response systems, the manager ensures that the city remains a sanctuary where individuals can live, work, and thrive without fear. This commitment to security instills a sense of confidence and stability among community members, bolstering their trust in the city's leadership and fostering a resilient and united community.

In conclusion, Kenneth Haskin's leadership stands as a triumph of integrative, sustainable, and inclusive urban management. His commitment to holistic community development, anchored in the principles of inclusivity, diversity, and cooperation, manifests in every aspect of his work as the city manager. His vision for Cape Girardeau is one of shared growth and prosperity, where every individual, irrespective of their socio-economic background, has the opportunity to contribute to the city's progression. By fostering a culture of active participation and civic engagement, he is cultivating a resilient and vibrant community that thrives on the collective strengths and aspirations of its citizens. Haskin's proficient governance, grounded in knowledge and experience, and his visionary leadership are paving the way for a future where every citizen shares in the city's prosperity and well-being. This, in essence, enriches the urban life tapestry, nurturing a legacy of enduring community spirit. Kenneth Haskin's role as a city manager, therefore, goes beyond administrative duties; he serves as a beacon of inspiration and a catalyst for transformative change in Cape Girardeau. His unwavering dedication and sincere commitment bear testament to the bright and inclusive future that lies ahead for the city. Under Haskin's leadership, Cape Girardeau continues to evolve as a city that values every voice, respects every vision, and cherishes the sense of belonging that binds its community together in common purpose and shared progress.

[allthingsdarkanddirty]

Six Days and One Knight by Cynthia D'Alba is now live!

Available on All Platforms

She thinks he’s up to no good. He’s desperate to catch her eye. When they’re paired up for a snowy getaway, can they ring in happily ever after? Brianna Treadway is thrilled to be her older sister’s maid of honor. Except she has no date for the couple-centered ski vacation that’s doubling as a weeklong wedding planning session. And when her sibling’s high school ex is invited as her designated plus-one, she suspects he’s coming along with ulterior motives to win back the bride. Brody Knight is ready for something more. With his heart set on his best friend’s younger sister, he jumps at the offer to head to the Montana slopes and charm the girl of his dreams. But he finds getting closer to the skittish woman is an uphill-yet-intoxicating challenge. Determined to warn her handsome companion off from ruining the engagement, Brianna is mortified after slipping up with a secret confession. And as Brody works to convince her they’re the ones meant for each other, he fears he’s setting himself up for rejection that will leave him out in the cold. Can they get a jump on the misunderstandings before they bomb past a forever love? Six Days & One Knight is the engaging third book in the Grizzly Bitterroot Ranch romance series. If you like smart-but-flawed heroines, fun with a side of angst, and wintery backdrops, then you’ll adore Cynthia D'Alba’s heartwarming tale. Buy Six Days & One Knight to kiss under the mistletoe today!

About the Author:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Cynthia D’Alba started writing on a challenge from her husband in 2006 and discovered having imaginary sex with lots of hunky men was fun. She was born and raised in a small Arkansas town. After being gone for a number of years, she’s thrilled to be making her home back in Arkansas living in a vine-covered cottage on the banks of an eight-thousand acre lake. When she’s not reading or writing or plotting, she’s doorman for her border collie, cook, housekeeper and chief bottle washer for her husband and slave to a noisy, messy parrot. She loves to chat online with friends and fans.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.dalba

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cynthiadalba/

Website: https://cynthiadalba.com/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cynthia-d-alba

[ptkenterprises]

Looking for the Best international motivational speakers in California?

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[beardedmrbean]

Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Authorities in Arkansas said a married Missouri couple has been arrested in connection to the murder of a missing pregnant woman and her fetus after their remains were found in separate locations.

Police have been looking for Ashley Bush, who was a mother of three as well as 31 weeks pregnant, since the afternoon of Halloween when she was last seen in the passenger seat of a tan pickup truck driven by a woman described as White in her 40s with shoulder-length brown hair.

Authorities said the woman went by the name "Lucy" and that Bush, 33, met her online while looking for a job she could do from home. Lucy picked Bush up Monday morning at a Handi-Mart convenience store in Maysville, Ark., on the border with Oklahoma, under the premise of taking her to the job interview in nearby Bentonville.

Benton County Sheriff Shawn Holloway told reporters during a press conference Thursday that police have found the bodies of Bush and her baby, named Valkyrie Grace Willis, dead in Missouri.

Holloway would not go into specifics, but said the two bodies were found in separate locations, with the baby's remains being discovered Wednesday and the body of Bush being found Thursday. Authorities believe the mother was shot to death.

"Over my career this has been one of the most horrific cases that I have been personally involved with," he said.

The McDonald County Sheriff's Office in neighboring Missouri said the human remains were discovered when a search warrant was executed on Laughlin Ridge Road in connection to the investigation.

Benton County Prosecutor Nathan Smith said in the press conference that police have arrested Amber and Jamie Waterman of Jane, Mo., who are being held at the McDonald County Jail on kidnapping charges.

Smith explained he expects further and overlapping state and federal charges to be filed against the couple as the investigation progresses and jurisdiction over the case is decided.

He also would not elaborate on the circumstances surrounding their killings nor state how Jamie Waterman was involved other than to say that they had evidence to show culpability. A motive was under investigation.

Smith added that they were investigating whether Bush and her baby were killed in Arkansas or Missouri.

"This is just a reminder that there is evil in the world, that people do evil things," he said. "That someone would prey upon a pregnant woman at her most vulnerable state is just unimaginable, but, unfortunately, that is just the world we live in."

In a statement to 4029 News, Bush's fiancé, Josh Willis, said he was "disgusted."

"I just lost my wife and daughter," he said. "I've lost all hope in humanity."

[changeagentexpress]

#retweet #speakerj #empowerment #trainer #author #writer #educator #renaissance #changeagent #Arkansas #motivation #chalk #business #typography #chalkboard #accomplishment #display #achievement #education #type #wisdom #goal #philosophy #opportunity #solution #strategy #vision #TheGlobalRenaissanceMovement #greatness #crowdfunding https://www.instagram.com/p/B1FcJy_l2xS/?igshid=1se0m1fdte3jq

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“One of the most striking features of prison social topography is the cadre of dominant inmates, the elites. These prisoners have translated pre-prison reputations, physical prowess, or special skills into the power to influence a wide range of prison outcomes. Their prominence in prison accounts for the extensive literature devoted to descriptions and explanations of elite role behavior (Schrag 1954; Irwin and Cressey 1962; Carroll 1974). Beyond descriptions of the "argot" roles they play and the subcultures they represent (Bowker 1977), a central theme in this literature has been these elites' informal contribution to prison social control. For example, Reimer (1937) states that inmate leaders act as agents of social control by defining proper prison conduct for other inmates. More to the point, Cloward (1960, see also McCleery 1960) concludes that 'the inmate elite constitute the single most important source of social control in the prison," achieving the order and stability desired not  only by the elites but also by the officials. In recent years several researchers have shown that inmate leaders of cliques or gangs foster prison peace by informally arbitrating among hostile groups (Jacobs 1974; Davidson 1974; Carroll 1974).

In most prison organizations these elites share many of the stability-and-order goals of prison authorities. They are not, of course, motivated by a desire to help the staff per se such an orientation is the province of "rats" and "square Johns." Instead, inmate elites control other prisoners to protect their own statuses, their marketable influence with key prison officials, and their control over the prison economy and rackets. This elite power over the inmate masses is necessarily tentative and informal (Cloward 1960; Sykes 1958). Compliance by the inmates rests largely on the elites' ability to reflect the anti-authority values of the traditional convict code. Even where their actions help maintain peace, elites cannot be overtly pro-administration into do so would undermine their status with the inmate population. Indeed, where collusion between elites and prison authorities does occur in the interests of order maintenance, it tends to be situation-specific or based on particular relationships.

Although most accounts depict prison elites as contributing to prison order in the informal manner described above, there are cases in which prison elites, coopted by prison officials, have maintained more formal control over other prisoners. In such cases, the elites' authority over their fellow prisoners rests not on the defiance of or covert cooperation with officials, but rather on a formal alliance with them. Rarely discussed in the prison literature, this practice is not uncommon. The overt or official use of strong, cooperative inmates has been reported, for example, in the Soviet Union (Solzhenitsyn 1973; 1975) India (Adam n.d.; Bhattacharya 1958), Australia (Shaw 1966), and French Guyana (Charriere 1970). Moreover, several writers have indicated that this form of prisoner control is centuries old (see Shaw 1966; Pendry 1974; Klockars 1974).

Extreme examples in this country are found in the recent history of the plantation prisons in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas (see McWhorter 1981; Mouledous 1962; Murton and Hyams 1969). Although the formal use of elites by prison officials disappeared from these southern prisons a decade ago, the practice continued in some Texas prisons into the 1980s. In this model, the elites' control was sanctioned by the authorities, not by the general population or a convict code.

It is axiomatic that in large maximum security American prisons, some inmates or groups of inmates will dominate others. If that dominance is unquestioned and predictable, then the prison environment can be stable, even safe. Conversely, if one power group falls, then others will move in to fill the vacuum; such power shifts within the informal prisoner world are always disruptive and often dangerous (see Colvin, 1982). Where elites have been coopted into serving as formal agents of institutional regulation, officials can both increase daily control within the cellblocks and maximize general stability by ensuring that there is never a power vacuum.”

- James W. Marquart a & Ben M. Crouch, “Coopting the kept: Using inmates for social control in a southern prison,” Justice Quarterly, 1:4 (1984): pp. 491-493.

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Bill Colbert

Bill (or Billy) Colbert is best known for serving as an officer of color who upheld the law in the Indian Territory during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Though the details of his early life are scant, historical records indicate that he was of African Choctaw ancestry. His position as a descendant of former slaves and America’s first people gave him unique knowledge of the local culture. Colbert’s knowledge of the local language and customs was recognized by U.S. District Court Judge Isaac Parker who from Fort Smith, Arkansas, had jurisdiction over the Indian Territory. In March 1875, Judge Parker appointed Colbert to serve as a US Deputy Marshall. In that position he joined Bass Reeves and two other black Deputy U.S. Marshals given the responsibility for tracking down lawbreakers of any color in the Territory. Colbert was among the most prominent lawmen of his day, and occasionally worked in concert with Bass Reeves. Although some sources disagree on whether Colbert was truly commissioned with the title of Deputy, he was at the very least a federal “posseman” who served warrants and tracked outlaws out of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Patrolling Indian Territory was dangerous work. Although records are sparse, a handful of reports indicate that on more than one occasion Colbert was required and authorized to use deadly force. In 1896, a newspaper article from the town of Ardmore describes the hunt for the murderous Christian brothers and their notorious gang. According to the article, the federal posse included Deputy Marshals Bass Reeves, Bill Colbert, and four others. Together, the lawmen tracked the gang to a pair of cabins where a shootout ensued. Although the Christian brothers escaped, the six Deputy Marshals either arrested or killed two additional gang members.

After decades of public service marked by danger and violence in Indian Territory, Bill Colbert retired. His departure was likely motivated by the transition of what had once been Indian Territory to the state of Oklahoma in 1907. Colbert lived in his long-time home in Atoka, Oklahoma until his passing in 1933 at the age of 98. Today, Colbert is remembered as one of only a handful of African American law officers operating in Indian Territory, a unique and often forgotten feature of the American West.

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/bill-colbert-1835-1933/

[imacrowcawcaw]

A Lover With A Red Hot Thong -- Duzzy -- Ch. 1

Author (as known on various sites): luluthechoosingcrow - AO3, theladylovingcrow - Wattpad and Deviantart, lady lover - Rockfic, @insannywestan - Sanny shipping blog, @gretavanfleetconfessions

Fandom: Guns n Roses

Pairings: Duff McKagan/Izzy Stradlin (Duzzy)

Tags/Warnings: Fluff, like extreme fluff, attempted humor, airports, Duff has anxiety, Izzy is really good at comforting him, cuddling, sharing a bed, romance, dates, friends to lovers, adorable giggly boys, kissing

Summary: Duff dressed like a stripper from Arkansas that had discovered the Sex Pistols last week, drank more vodka in a month than most people did in a year, baked amazing blackberry streudals, sang Prince in the shower, and made out with his friends when he was lonely. Izzy was pretty sure that he was in love with him. Something certainly comes out of it when they end up spending a rather romantic week (totally not a honeymoon) in New Orleans because somebody (the very Duff of his longings) always loses their passport.

Taglist: @brianmaysclog @love-n-my-heart-4-n-army-apart @1800endmeplease @tymeconsuming @satans-helper @ageofkiszka @karrotkate @therealswanqueen @mountainofthesunn @onlyan-angel @lantern-inthenight @love-philautia @ubernoxa @kill-fear-the-power-of-lies (reminder that I just remade my taglist and organized it as best as I could, but if you either don’t want to be tagged in something (like GNR) or want to be added, just let me know!)

Author's Notes (aka disclaimers): 

1 - Don't own the people or places 

2 - It's a combination of real and made up (to my knowledge) places for this story. Don't use this as a fucking tour guide, I've never been to New Orleans and I don't have memories of anywhere east of Lake Tahoe

3 - The timeline of this is also completely made up. I like to bend reality to my will because I am a lazy writer

4 - I tried my hand at writing a character with anxiety. I'm trying my best with the info online and my own experiences, but please let me know if something is wildly inaccurate and detracts from the story 

5 - I mean no disrespect to the band. I try my best to be a humorous writer, and I think that I have a pretty healthy view of them, seeing both the good and poking fun at the bad. Some of this might come off as mean, but I’m not really trying to be. I just want people to laugh

6 - Trying that thing where I port my WIPs to get motivated. We’ll see if this works!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday, September 15, 6:46 AM, New Orleans Louis Armstrong National Airport 

"Duff, what exactly do you mean you don't have your passport?" Axl spit, breathing hard in an effort to diffuse combustion. He was not exactly the happiest camper this early in the morning, especially when some people's forgetfulness interrupted the sleep he had planned on getting as soon as they boarded the plane.

The man being questioned gazed at Axl nervously through wide, panicked eyes. 

"I don't know, man! Er- I mean, yeah I don't have it... I'm pretty sure the last time I saw it was at the hotel when we checked in. I'm sorry! We just got up so early and it was still dark and I kind of have a hangover from last night so I just shoved my stuff in my bag and went downstairs so we wouldn't be late, but now we're going to be late shit I'm sorry I don't-" 

"Hey, hey. Duff, it's okay, just breathe," Izzy soothed, speaking his first words of the day besides a 'fuck off' to Steven, who'd been tasked with waking him up. He settled a coffee-cup-warm, pale hand on Duff's shoulder and turned to speak to Axl.

"It's fine, Bill, we'll figure it out. None of us function well in the morning, do you have your snakeskin belt, hmm?" He asked, knowing that the beloved item was still hanging from a lamp in the hotel room they had checked out of at 4 AM.

Axl's mouth shut with a clack as he glared at Izzy and his damned know it all face. He huffed out a breath and made a big show of rolling his eyes and changing his expression to one of fond exasperation.

"Fine, then, you can figure it out. Don't expect any help from us, though!" 

Izzy snorted at his friend's drama and his statement; Steven was currently trying to convince an off duty captain to let him fly his plane, Axl was Axl, and Slash was still dead to the world behind his hair -- very helpful.

"Okay, well, we'll meet you there as soon as we can. Enjoy your flight, don't become members of the mile high club without us," Izzy replied, pulling Duff up and swinging his backpack over his shoulder.

They walked away, arms brushing with every step, to the sound of Axl screaming at them to bring back his belt, and the disgruntled looks of other early morning airport commuters whom they ignored. Izzy followed the overhead signs back to a check in desk with Duff in tow, hoping that everything would work out and that they could be in Amsterdam with the rest of the guys by nightfall.

No such luck, of course.

"I'm sorry," the lady said with a completely uncaring smile, "but the next flight to Amsterdam, commercial or private, isn't until next tuesday. I can book two tickets for you, Mr. Stradlin, but there's nothing more I can do." 

Izzy sighed, but nodded. He sorted through bills in his wallet, mocking the lady in his head all the while. 'I'm sorry, but your daughter is going to die from a wrench to the eye socket. I can give you a bandaid, but there's nothing more I can do.'

Duff, though, having woken up on the walk over, was looking closer to an anxiety attack than the mild annoyance Izzy was feeling. 

He quickly excused them and grabbed Duff's wrist, pulling him a few feet away for the false illusion of privacy to calm him down.

"Shh, shh, take a deep breath," Izzy whispered, hands gripping Duff's shoulders to force them to look straight in each other's eyes. "Everything will be alright. We'll find your passport, hang out in the city for a while, then go meet up with the guys. Easy, no problems. Relax babe, just try to relax and breathe."

Duff tried to steady his breathing as he clung to Izzy, pulling the man into a hug. He wasn't sure what he would do if Iz wasn't here -- his friend was usually the only one who could stop his incoming anxiety like that.

They stood there for several minutes; Duff regaining a normal breathing pattern, and Izzy slowly rubbing his back. As they pulled away from each other, Duff spotted a hippo in Mardi Gras attire glaring at them in disgust. He smirked rather weakly, still a bit shaken and queasy from his panic but back on the track to his usual self.

"Hey, Iz, it looks like we have an audience, and he's not very pleased."

Izzy grinned back at him, relieved that the Duff he knew was still kicking. Besides, this was their favorite game. 

Every once in a while, the boys were subjected to odd stares and the occasional slur. Usually, it was just for dressing like Dolly Parton while shoplifting, but occasionally, it was because they got pretty close. Sometimes they were drunk, sometimes they were just talking to each other or hugging, sometimes because they were blatantly trying to piss off as many people as possible (sometimes the "people" included Axl).

Izzy moved his hands from Duff's shoulder blades, one wrapping tight around his waist and the other getting a firm grip on his delectable ass. 

Duff snorted and cupped Izzy's face in his large hands, angling him upwards slightly so that they could lean their foreheads together. He bit his lip to stop from giggling, and Izzy brushed his own mouth against him for a split second, getting a quick hint of teeth and coffee-breathe.

Out of the corner of his eye, Izzy saw the man visibly shudder, his beady eyes grimacing. 

A fake blond, middle aged woman Izzy assumed was his wife laid one hand on his polo shirt, as if in an effort to calm him down. It had the opposite effect. The man grunted and skewered his mouth to the side, squinting even more as if a giant rainbow spotlight was being blasted into his eyes.

Izzy smirked, though it was barely noticeable against Duff's mouth. 

Duff murmured something about 'making a scene', but Izzy knew he was referring to their audience and not themselves. Neither of them cared who saw this, though if it was printed in any magazines Axl might try to suplex them out of a window. "Try" being the key word -- the little red terror was too chicken to actually try that with Izzy, and too short to get enough leverage on Duff. 

Somewhere behind him, Izzy heard the woman whine, "Oh, Charles!" like she was getting the worst rimjob of her life. 

"It's disgusting, Carol! I won't stand for it!" 

"Time to get going?" Duff whispered, pulling back an inch.

Izzy gave him one last searing kiss and an extra probing squeeze to the ass then nodded, breaking away. They quickly picked up their suitcases and high tailed it out of the building, leaving dust, stares, and a purple and green, mouth breathing, homophobic fatman in their wake. 

Duff laughed as they came to a stop in the middle of a group of Japanese tourists. They all turned to look at him as he barked, panted, barked, and then wheezed with his hands on his knees.

Izzy was looking at Duff too, a rare - though not as much as some people would think - smile on his lips. He patted his friend on the back and pulled out a cigarette, then offered one to Duff. It would make the wheezing worse, but a smoker cares none about that. 

They lit up from Izzy's lighter as the tour grouped streamed past them, completely nonplussed at the disgruntled - or awed, recognizing - stares they received. Once they had the stretch of sidewalk to themselves, Duff stacked their suitcases one atop the other and sat down while Izzy hailed a cab. His long arms soon garnered them a ride and they hopped into the sedan after tossing their bags into the trunk. 

It was blue, with a peeling leather interior and a hand stenciled logo on either window; the usual black and white checkers ran a wobbly circle around the outside of the car. The driver glared at them from underneath bushy brows as they smoked their cigarettes, and Izzy smiled at him politely, meeting his eyes in the rearview mirror, until he finished and put out his cig on the door's plastic. 

Duff's mind was in some far off place and he didn't notice any interactions taking place. Izzy wondered if he was thinking about how to find his passport, or what to do in the city, or about girls -- or, the bleach blonde head rolling onto his shoulder could have been asleep. The snores more or less confirmed it. 

"Where to?" The driver asked after a minute. 

“Marriott on Jackson,” Izzy answered, turning his torso minutely to get more comfortable.

Etta James’ smoky vocals floated out of the speakers, half of the tone quality getting lost in the maze of beads hanging down from the cab ceiling in a curtain between driver and passengers. Izzy sighed and shifted; the leather creaked; Duff snorted and drool ran down his arm. He smiled down at the man asleep on him and brushed some hair back from his sticky mouth, fingers slowly tracing Duff’s jawline. 

Michael Andrew Mckagan was a unique specimen, that was for sure. He was laid back and welcoming, yet had enough energy to rival Popcorn, at times. He was loving and affectionate to his friends, and scathingly rude to those that hurt them. Duff dressed like a stripper from Arkansas that had discovered the Sex Pistols last week, drank more vodka in a month than most people did in a year, baked amazing blackberry streudals, sang Prince in the shower, and made out with his friends when he was lonely. Izzy was pretty sure that he was in love with him.

The engine of the cab coughed, and suddenly the vehicle was rolling to a stop outside the hotel they had left only an hour or so ago. Izzy gently shook Duff awake and went to pay the man while Duff got their bags back out of the trunk. 

“That will be forty dollars,” the man said, staring Izzy down from beneath his fuzzy caterpillar. Interestingly enough, that was the only facial hair he had; perhaps he’d shaved off his mustache and glued it, hair by hair, onto his brow bone. 

“Really? It was half that to get to the airport two hours ago. What’s your game, man? You think you can scam us?”

Izzy didn’t like being scammed. It was damn near impossible to get one up on him - let alone very rare someone even dared to try - so this guy was about to get it if he thought he could. 

“You ruined my interior. Smells like smoke. I need to clean it now. I know you have the money,” the man glared, narrowing his eyes. The caterpillar hunched down too, like it was trying to curl up on itself to avoid getting eaten by a hawk-nosed Stradlin. 

“Is that so?” Izzy snorted, fishing out another cigarette just for the hell of watching the man get angrier. 

“Here, forty dollars. C’mon Iz, let’s go.”

Duff handed the man a fold of two twenties with a sigh, his other hand subtly resting on Izzy’s lower back for a moment before removing itself again. He wanted to fight it - there was no way that guy should be getting away with charging them double price, fuck that! - but Duff was tired and the money was already handed over. Izzy knew that physical signal from Dff, too, the hand on the back: it meant “leave it”. 

With a final huff and a not so subtle bird, Izzy grabbed his carpet bag from where Duff had lain it on the asphalt and followed his tall friend through the hotel’s front entrance, cigarette dangling from his mouth all the while. 

They made their way over to the front desk, explained the situation, and then they were back inside the mirrored elevator armed with the suite’s key card, going up like they had never left in the first place. 

“Hmm, wonder what it would be like to make love in this elevator?” Duff mused, staring upwards at his reflection in the ceiling. 

Issy followed the bold line of his profile, from Adam's apple to nose to messy hair, before he finally glanced at the ceiling, too. 

“Interesting, certainly. I’ve done it in front of a mirror, but not in a whole box of them.”

“Yeah. Hey, we should come back here and incorporate this into our next video!” Duff exclaimed, grinning at him. 

“Izzy snorted. “What, you wanna come back here a third time? This place got like a magical draw or some shit?”

They both cracked up.

[katehuntington]

Title: In Bad Waters - part five Word count: ±4250 words Episode summary: Still in possession of the Winchesters’ belongings, Zoë meets up with the hunters on her next case. When it turns out to be a little more complicated than anticipated, she accepts their help in order to make an important deadline. Part five summary: Sam tries to find out more about Zoë’s past, but when he meets up with his brother again, he never thought he would have to reveal his own. Episode warnings: Dark! NSFW, 18+ only! Descriptions of domestic violence/child abuse. Drug use/addiction. Angst, gore, violence, character death. Description of blood, injury and medical procedures/resuscitation. Swearing, alcoholism. Supernatural creatures/entities, mentions of demon possession. Descriptions of torture and murder, drowning. Illegal/criminal practices. Mentions of nightmares and flashbacks. Author’s note: Beta’d by @winchest09​​ and @deanwanddamons​​. Thanks, girls!

Supernatural: The Sullivan Series Masterlist

S1E02 “In Bad Waters” Masterlist

     Paragould, Arkansas      June 16th, 2005 - Five months ago

     A shrill whistle reverberates over the training fields. Children stop in their tracks and run back to the teacher, bursting with energy.      “Alright! Good job, everyone! Red team wins!”            A woman, probably around her thirties, smiles as she is surrounded by her class. Like they always do after practice, they sit down on the grass in a circle, looking up at their teacher, waiting for her to give the cue to head off to the dressing rooms. The sun shines brightly and stands high in the blue sky, shining down on them. Birds chirp, hopping from branch to branch in the trees surrounding the fields, while the American flag flutters from the frontage of a school building.

     “Looking forward to summer break?” the teacher asks, laughing when her question is answered with loud enthusiastic cheer.      “Aren’t you even going to miss me?” she pouts.      “We’ll miss you, Mrs. Dawlson,” one of the little boys speaks up.      More kids agree with him, causing their supervisor to smile, humbled.      “I’m sure you will do fine at Oak Grove, Roy. You’re all going to middle school! Fifth graders already, my boys and girls are all grown up.” She observes her class, pride in her kind eyes. “I tell you what. Next Friday we are going to play lots of fun games, alright?”      The faces of the children light up and they happily beam at each other, already excited for next practice.      Their teacher lets them off the hook. “Be safe, off you go!”

     All get up and bolt for the dressing rooms, challenging each other to get there first. Some squeal and laugh as they play tag along the way. All but one. The joy disappears from Mrs. Dawlson’s face as she watches one of the girls, who slowly strolls back to school. Despite the warm weather, she’s wearing a long sleeved shirt and blue sweatpants.      Mrs. Dawlson sighs, clearly caring too much about her children to let this slip. “Laura?”      The little girl looks over her shoulder, her expression blank. She carries her long, chestnut hair in two braids, her bangs cover her eyes.      “Could you come here for a second?” Mrs. Dawlson asks, gently.

      Laura drags her feet with her head hanging down, like a dog who has done something wrong and is now called back to get punished. The teacher sits down on her heels to level with the little girl, making sure not to talk down to her. But Laura doesn’t look her in the eye and keeps staring at her feet.      “How are you doing, Laura?” she wonders, her voice friendly and calm.      “I’m fine, Mrs. Dawlson,” she replies, politely.      The coach hesitates for a moment, figuring out the best way to approach her pupil.      “Well, alright. But if there is anything you want to talk about, let me know, okay?”

      The young girl looks up and Mrs. Dawlson startles at what she sees. She can detect a dark bruise through her bangs, right above her left eyebrow. With her fingers, she carefully sweeps away Laura’s hair and reveals the injury underneath. Scared, the student backs out and turns her head away. Quickly, but without hurting her, Mrs. Dawlson grabs Laura’s wrist and pulls up her sleeve. What she sees then, would make everyone’s stomach turn; her entire arm is bruised.          “How did you get these?” Laura’s teacher questions, a bit firmer than before.      “I fell,” she lies.      “Tell the truth, Laura. Who did this to you? It’s alright,” Mrs. Dawlson tries to convince her.      “No one! Please don’t tell anyone!” The little ten year old begs as she pulls herself loose.      “It’s safe with me. I promise,” her teacher assures.      “No, I - I can’t,” Laura stammers.

     By now she’s crying. Big tears stream down her porcelain cheeks. It seems like she is going to cave in, but suddenly she turns around and makes a run for it. Mrs. Dawlson lets her go and straightens her back. With a sigh, the teacher places her hands on her waist and watches the girl leave the field.      Disapproving, she shakes her head and closes her eyes, swallowing thickly. “Poor girl…” she whispers to herself.

     Paragould, Arkansas      November 26th, 2005 - Present day

     It’s still early morning when Sam pulls over at 2310 West Kings highway and enters the parking lot of the Ramada Inn. He left Zoë still asleep; apparently she really needed her rest. Last night, he wondered what was going on in her head and what she’s been through, as he went over the database she developed during her years of hunting. He could tell from the file properties that she didn’t just accidentally stumble on a ghost and got curious. He doesn't know the entire story behind her possession, but something happened. Something bad.

     The first file was added over four years ago, containing information on a Diligo Vesco. ‘Diligo’ can be translated to ‘love’ in Latin, ‘Vesco’ meaning ‘eater’ in that same ancient language. A demon who served directly under the devil himself in the early years, one of Lucifer’s creations, if you believe the lore. Not your ‘casual’ black eyed rat from hell, like the ones Dad dealt with every so often. No, this one was much worse.

     The name fits, because that’s exactly what it does; it literally feeds on love, by possessing someone and slaughtering the host’s loved ones. The demon doesn’t just kill them, though. A Diligo Vesco is one of the most vicious and sadistic of its kind. It’s been reported to take its sweet time torturing the victims, before actually killing them. Sam found case reports in Zoë’s database that described the gory details. Limbs severed, organs ripped from bodies, missing parts of the brain. Arson, waterboarding, skinning, mutilation. Ways of torture he had never seen before. One of them was called Blood Eagle, where the demon would cut open its victim’s back, break all the ribs and twist them upwards, giving the poor soul ‘wings’.

     Since the beginning of time, these creatures are responsible for unexplainable and brutal murders within families and close circles. The Ade family murders in 1874, where the children were cut up and set on fire. The Green Family massacre in 1994, in which the mother of three slaughtered her children with an axe. These smart monsters play the game well, framing the vessel for the blood that the demon sheds.

     The Diligo Vesco is only able to show its true face when the host is physically close to someone he or she loves. Until that time it holds on like a leech. An exorcism would be the only way to spare the life of the possessed, but this is where it gets tricky; the demon can only be exorcised when it manifests. By the time a hunter picks up its scent, it is usually too late. Most of the time the damage is done and the thing is long gone. When it does come to driving out the demon, the host nor the exorcist rarely survive. Killing these demons is close to impossible without harming the person it's controlling. Yet this is what his father and Dean must have accomplished, since Zoë is still walking amongst them.

     Curiously, Sam had compared Zoë’s online database with his father’s journal, but the case happened to take place in a period of time from which a couple of pages of the book are missing. Zoë does not elaborate on the details of her own case either, but whatever happened, it triggered her to become one of the best hunters in the country. The list of creatures that she slayed after her possession is impressive. Zoë ended more supernatural spawn from Hell in the past four years than some hunters manage to kill in a lifetime.

     Still pondering over this newfound information, Sam gets out of his brother’s car. On his way over to Paragould, he and Dean talked about this new Sullivan girl. The youngest Winchester couldn't help but to be curious about her motives, her past. Dean doesn’t get why Sam even gives a damn. He said it’s none of their business and if Zoë doesn’t wanna share, why dig further and risk getting your eyes scratched out?

     While rummaging in his pocket, he enters the motel lobby and makes a left turn to the main corridor. The red carpet underneath his feet is stained and the wallpaper has come off at the corners, a sheer contrast to the Hampton Inn, where Zoë is staying. Here, the coffee machine in the hall spits out the most horrendous brew, they need a flashlight in the bathroom because the light is broken and the air conditioning sounds like a generator, but doesn’t actually do jack shit. But then again, he has a feeling that not even a freezer could have cooled down the rabbits inside of room 106.

     Just as he takes out his room key, he sees that he won’t need them; Dean is already at the door with the blonde he picked up the night before.

     “Call me,” she tells him, as she saves her number in his phone.      “I sure will,” Dean smirks.      They kiss once more. Both can barely keep their eyes off each other as the young lady parades away in last night’s clothes with a flustered grin on her face. 

     Sam passes her in the hallway and looks over his shoulder. He can see where Dean’s coming from; she’s beautiful. Dean has spotted the look upon his brother’s face, though.      “Forget it, tiger. She’s mine.”      “Had a good night?” Sam chuckles, hoping he will skip the details.      Dean yawns and saunters back into the room. “Did I have a good night? I barely got a chance to sleep.”      “Okay, already more than I wanted to know,” Sam cuts off, before Dean spills the goods.

     He follows his older sibling into the room, finding one bed untouched and the other a complete mess. An empty bottle of Sauvignon lays on the ground, while a dirty glass still stands on the cabinet next to a half a bottle of Jack Daniels. The window is wide open, the heavy curtains wave in the wind slightly, but despite the fresh air, the room still smells like sex. Seems like they had one hell of a party.

     “Let’s get going,” Sam announces.      Dean looks aside at his little brother, frowning. Since when is Sam the one who gives the orders?      “Already?” he replies, bummed, clearly hoping for a rendezvous.      “Yeah, I found our stuff,” Sam informs.      “Ah, so you found Sullivan,” Dean chuckless, raising his eyebrows.

     Sam huffs and rolls his eyes, but his older brother doesn’t pay attention to it, tipping over an empty bag which once contained potato crisps. Apparently he’s hungry.      “Yeah. It didn’t take me long to find her. Her bike was parked outside a hotel. She’s working a case,” Sam explains, acting casual, but Dean can’t help himself.      “If it didn’t take you long to find our shit, then where were you all night?”      Reluctantly, Sam sighs before he answers. No way in hell his brother is going to respond maturely to what he is about to say.  “I spent the night at her place.”      Dean laughs out loud, throwing his head back. “I knew it! You cheeky bastard!”      “Nothing happened, Dean,” Sam states with a tone.      “Oh, come on. Not even a little smooch?” he teases, but Sam denies.      “A look then? You know, one of those cheesy Notebook moments.”      But again, Dean’s brother shakes his head, although he can’t resist to comment on that. “You saw The Notebook?”      “Well... no. So I’ve heard,” the oldest corrects uncomfortably, quick to turn the conversation back around. “But let me get this straight; absolutely nothing happened?”      “That’s what I said,” Sam confirms.

     After opening a pizza box that - to Dean’s disappointment - is empty, he stops searching for food. Then he turns to Sam, who is clearly annoyed with the interrogation.      “Are your eyes fucked up?” Dean wonders in disbelief. “Honestly, I'm a little disappointed. I thought I taught you better than that. How can you spend the night with a woman like that without making a move?”      “That’s it. I’ve had it.”      Sam squares his shoulders and stares at Dean, furiously. His brother pissed him off, but Dean can hide his victorious grin. For weeks he has tried to push Sam over the edge, to trigger him to let it out. To yell, cry, take a swing at him if that was what his little brother needed to do to feel better. Anything to get him out of the dark hole in which he’s currently hiding up.

     “Did it ever occur to you that I might feel terribly guilty if I would just head off with some girl for a one night stand like you always do?!” the youngest of the siblings exclaims.      “I have no idea, Sam. You never talk to me about it, so how the fuck am I supposed to know how you feel?” Dean bounces back.

     “And you think it’s strange that I don't talk about what happened?! My girlfriend was murdered, Dean! I was going to ask her to marry me, for fuck’s sake!” He pauses, growing even more furious. “I had everything planned out! Law school, Jess, everything!”      By now Sam paces from one side of the room to the other, restless and upset.

     “You were gonna marry her, really? Sam, with your background the chances of the American dream coming true was close to zero. You should’ve known that,” his brother reminds him.      “I was just trying to move on, I was trying to be happy! And you know what? I actually was!” Sam halts in front of Dean and raises his voice even more. “I loved her, Dean! I still do and I can’t get her out of my fucking mind! She died because of me!”      Dean looks at his younger sibling, sympathetically. “Don’t do that to yourself, man. It’s not your fault she’s dead.”      “It is. I didn’t warn her about the danger out there!I lied to her--”

      Sam intends to ramble on, but Dean intervenes.      “- What makes you think that telling her the truth would have made a difference? Whatever killed Jessica, wasn’t just some ghost, Sam. Hey, listen to me.” The older brother grabs Sam’s shoulder and forces him to look down into his eyes. “That same thing killed Mom, and probably a whole bunch of other people. It’s powerful, and if Dad has trouble stopping it, no offence, but you wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

     “I’m not talking about stopping him at that moment, Dean!” Sam pulls himself loose and turns away.      An unpleasant silence fills the room as Dean waits for a follow up, but his brother doesn’t continue.      “What then, Sam? Talk to me,” he pleads.

     Again that silence. The younger Winchester doesn’t move and stares at the wall with his hands placed on his waist. He swallows apprehensively, his jaw tensed. Then Sam sighs and turns around for Dean to see his eyes glister.      “I could have prevented it,” Sam claims, his voice soft and broken now.      Dean observes him, thinking through his next question first before he shoots. He has a feeling there’s more to this than just guilt.      “How?”      Sam bites his lip and averts his gaze. Then, after a month of silence, Sam finally opens up to his brother.      “I dreamed of Jessica’s death, days before it happened.”

     Complete silence. While the air grows even thicker with tension, Dean stares at his brother, his eyes confused and stunned. Taken aback, he opens his mouth in order to respond, but can’t find the words he’s looking for.      “Y-you mean, as in… a vision or something?” he returns disbelieving, chuckling nervously.      Sam scoffs as he moves away, ready to leave this conversation already; he knew Dean would respond like this. “Never mind.”      But Dean doesn’t let it go. “You’re telling me that you actually saw Jess die, like she did, in a dream?”      His younger brother halts, turns back slightly and eventually nods his head. “I didn't think anything of it at first. I figured it was just a bad dream. Until…”

     He doesn't need to finish his sentence. Dean says nothing, instead he just stares at Sam. Several thoughts rage through his head. What the hell is going on with him? What the hell could this mean? Why the fuck didn’t he tell me this before? The sheer thought that something might be terribly wrong with his little brother, has his stomach in knots. This isn’t ordinary. In fact, this is as far from ordinary as a human can get. He is stunned and overwhelmed by the idea, but his own brother might actually be something a hunter would keep a close eye on.

     Sam swallows thickly, feeling exposed and embarrassed. “You’re looking at me as if you’re about to empty a bottle of holy water over my head.”      For a moment Dean glares at the flask on the table.      “Dude, you’re seriously considering?!” Sam shouts, frustrated.      “You wanna tell me that this is normal, Sam?!” Dean counters, raising his voice.      Sam shakes his head and turns around, already regretting that he brought it up.      “Why didn’t you tell me before?” the older brother questions.      “I don’t know,” Sam mutters, staring at the ground.      “You don’t know? You’re psychic, right?” Dean scoffs.

     The youngest of the Winchester boys grinds his teeth, but doesn’t say a word. The tension between the two of them is heavy and familiar; it feels the same as when they had the argument before Sam took off for college.

      “Anything else I should know, Sam?” Dean pressures, clearly worked up over this. “I don’t know, maybe you can stop bullets or run super fast.”      Dean steps to the other side of the room with his arms folded in front of his chest, making fun of the situation because he has no idea how else to deal with it.      Sam eyes him, following his movements. “Funny,” he snaps. “Mature, too.”      “It would explain a lot of things. The ‘S’ stands for ‘Sam’ and there’s your love for tights,” Dean provokes.      “Stop it,” Sam hisses, but Dean isn’t done.      “Can you fly? ‘Cause that would be fucking awesome.”      “Dean!” Sam warns mad.      “What?! Either I joke about it or I lose my fucking cool! Take your pick,” Dean returns.      “One way or the other, it doesn’t help!” the youngest exclaims. “You see? This is exactly why I didn’t tell you, Dean! I knew you would give me this kind of shit!”      “What did you expect? You kept this from me for over a month!” Dean brings to mind, hurt seeping past the words.      “I don’t have to tell you everything I go through. I don’t owe you that,” Sam makes clear, venom in his tone.      “And that’s where you’re wrong,” Dean turns to him, pointing his finger as he approaches his brother. “I am your fucking brother, Sam! So yes, you do owe me that!”

     Dean stares straight into Sam’s eyes, his head tilted slightly backwards to look at his younger yet taller brother. Sam can see his words struck a nerve.      “We used to tell each other everything. What happened to that?” Dean wonders.      “It left, along with me.”

     Sam breaks eye contact and walks past him. As Sam bumps his shoulder against his, Dean shuts his eyes and clenches his jaw.      “I know you’re pretty damn good at it, but don’t you walk away from me,” he threatens, not brave enough to turn around to watch Sam leave.      “Why wouldn’t I?” Sam tests, not impressed by Dean’s stern words.      “Because this is not something you can walk away from! When will that finally come to you? When you’re in, you’re in. There’s no way back when you know about the things in the shadows, especially not when you have fucking visions about it!”       Now Dean does turn to face Sam, who scoffs at the message. “So what then, huh?! You’re planning to hunt until you’re in a wheelchair?”       “No, I’m planning to hunt until I finish the job Dad left for us to do and along the way, I will kill as many sons of bitches as I possibly can. Saving people, hunting things, the family business.” He pauses, staring at his brother with fiery eyes. “I intend to prevent people from going through the same shit we’ve had to endure, and if I don’t succeed, I’ll die trying.”

     This time, Sam doesn’t have a counter ready. No stubborn remark, no smart answer, just silence. He’s not sure what to say to that. He has to admit, he respects Dean for his morals, his honor. It gets him thinking, too. About his own future, his own life. Because deep down he knows Dean is right. He can run from the supernatural all he wants, but it will continue to follow him, always and everywhere.

     “Why should we be the one to sacrifice everything?” Sam questions, less hostile than before.      “I don’t know,” Dean sighs. “It’s just the way it is. So we either feel sorry for ourselves, or we suck it up.”

     Sam nods, admitting, but not at all okay with the inevitable. He can never have the life he wishes for. There will always be more to hunt, more to kill; this is a never ending story. And even if he does turn his back on the business for good, will he be able to forget about Jessica’s death? Can he move on without scanning every street, expecting something out of the ordinary around every corner? Right now, actually getting his law degree seems impossible, but then again, maybe he was being naïve when he went to Stanford in the first place.

     “Shall we go?” Sam suggests.      Dean looks up at the defeated man. The peace has returned, but brought a sense of devastation along as well. Accepting his fate is hard on Sam, he understands that. So Dean decides they had enough arguments for one morning and lets it go. He got Sam to talk to him; one step at a time.      “Can’t we stay one more night?” Dean tries, carefully.      Sam frowns, but then understands his reason for hesitation.      “Denise”, he chuckles. “Or Demi? I’m not sure. Her name started with a ‘D’.”      Dean’s typical grin appears on his face again, his eyes still soft, though.

     “Listen, man. I’m not pushing you to hook up with some chick just to mess you up, okay? At some point it’s gonna be time to move on, and I just figured a girl might help with that,” Dean lets him know, somewhat apologetic.      Sam eyes at his brother for a little while with an expression saying something in the line of ‘yeah right’. After a moment of who-gives-up-glaring-first, Dean caves.      “Alright, I wanted to piss you off so that you would get it out of your system,” he admits.

     The corner of Sam’s mouth twitches upward; he knew it. He’s not mad at Dean for playing that card, though. His older brother means well and he actually feels a little better now that he told him what is going on.      “Seriously, man. Talk to me when something’s up,” Dean underlines.      Sam responds with a nod of the head, then he gathers his stuff, apparently intending to leave.      “Ah, come on. One night,” Dean begs.      “There’s something ripping out hearts down in Texas, described by locals as ‘possibly coyotes’,” Sam offers.      Dean rubs his unshaven chin and thinks it over.      “Awesome werewolf hunt or awesome sex? Tough one,” he ponders.      Sam can’t help but smile and waits for the final call.      “Alright, let’s hunt some wolf,” Dean gives in. “Do you need to change in a phone booth before we go?”      Sam gives him a death-stare once again, but his brother keeps a straight face.      “No?” he checks, teasing.

     Dean can’t wipe the comical smirk off his face and so Sam shoves his brother towards the door, triggering him to let out a laugh. Before he follows, the younger Winchester feels his pockets for his phone and freezes. Unpleasantly surprised he looks around.      “Lost something?” Dean wonders.      “I think I left my Blackberry at Zo’s,” Sam realizes.      “Naturally,” Dean chuckles, failing to believe he didn’t leave it there on purpose.      “Would you quit it already?!” Sam returns, feisty.      “Okay, I’ll stop,” Dean promises. “We need to score some food anyway, I’m hungry.”      “There’s a In-N-Out a block from Zoë’s hotel,” Sam mentions.      Dean’s eyes light up, imagining the food in front of him already. “A Double-Double it is.”

     Sam grins as Dean picks up a small duffel containing only the few things they carry around at the moment. He follows Sam outside, who locks the door behind them. A quick bite before they leave another town and move on to the next. They never stay long, but the last two stops have been extremely short. Dean likes Denise, or whatever her name is, yet he has never been the guy who sticks around long enough to get serious with a girl. To be honest, a wolf hunt already sounds more fun than doing the girl he already did last night. After that shapeshifter drama, and now this newfound information about Sammy, he’s up for something equally exciting and distracting. Dean is sure of it; Texas, here they come.

Thank you for reading. I appreciate every single one of you, but if you do want to give me some extra love, you are free to like or reblog my work, shoot me a message or buy me coffee (Link to Kofi in bio at the top of the page).

Read chapter six here

[creepingsharia]

50% Increase in Domestic Islamic Terror Arrests and Plots in 2019

We’d argue that number is actually higher based on a review of our posts from May-December 2019, almost all sourced from the DOJ and FBI websites. That count has more than 40 arrests and indictments, and dozens more arrests, guilty pleas and sentencings related to jihad activities. See a partial list from our daily posts at the end of this post.

50 Percent Increase in Domestic Islamist Extremism Arrests and Plots in 2019

New York, May 18, 2020 … There was a 50 percent increase in arrests and plots linked to domestic Islamist extremism in 2019, according to data released today by ADL’s (Anti-Defamation League) Center on Extremism. There were a total of 30 arrests linked to domestic Islamist extremism, nine of which were for terror plots. Of the nine individuals arrested for plotting attacks, seven (78 percent) were U.S. citizens.

While there were no attacks or murders linked to domestic Islamist extremism last year, the findings indicate that Islamist extremism still poses a significant threat to the United States.

“Make no mistake: the threat of Islamist extremist activity in the United States is serious and cannot be ignored,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. “In 2019 alone we saw nine individuals arrested for planning attacks on U.S. soil and a total of 30 arrests linked to domestic Islamist extremism.  We are deeply grateful for the efforts of federal and local law enforcement to investigate and disrupt these potentially dangerous attacks.”

In addition to the nine individuals arrested for plotting attacks, 21 others were arrested for engaging in domestic criminal activity motivated by Islamist extremism. Of those 21 individuals, a large majority faced charges for attempting to provide material support to ISIS. Approximately 70 percent of domestic Islamist extremist criminal activity in 2019 was inspired by ISIS, which has reportedly lost all of its territory in Iraq and Syria.

“ISIS’s ability to continue inspiring a large percentage of violent activity even after being effectively disbanded demonstrates the lasting influence of its violent ideology and propaganda on Islamist extremist activity in the United States,” said Oren Segal, Vice President for ADL’s Center on Extremism. “As long as the ideology persists and spreads online, extremists will continue to be inspired by violent rhetoric and instruction.”

While no physical attacks by domestic Islamist extremists materialized in 2019, a Saudi Arabian national attacked the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida, in December, killing three people and injuring eight others. Federal authorities announced on Monday that they had uncovered evidence that the shooter, Mohammed Alshamrani, was encouraged by al-Qaeda to carry out the attack.

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

Again, we’d argue the increase is greater than 50%.

Below is a sampling of posts on Creeping Sharia throughout 2019 - all sourced if searched in the archives:

Count  / Details

1 Indiana: Muslim Brothers Indicted for Manufacturing Fully Automatic Rifles for Islamic State

2 Maryland: Muslim Immigrant Indicted for Attempting to Provide Material Support to Islamic State

3 New Jersey: Muslim Immigrant Indicted for Terror Activities on Behalf of Hizballah’s Islamic Jihad

4 Virginia: Known-Wolf Indicted for Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISIS

5 Alabama: Jordanian Muslim who grew up in Saudi Arabia arrested in terrorism probe

6 Arizona: Muslim arrested for jihad attack on Phoenix cop, now charged with aiding ISIS (VIDEO)

7 Arizona: Two Somali Muslim Refugees Arrested for Conspiring to Provide Material Support to ISIS

8 Arkansas: Muslim Immigrant Charged With Providing Material Support to Al Qa’ida While Overseas

9 Bronx: Bangladeshi Muslim immigrant arrested at JFK, planned to join Taliban, kill U.S. soldiers

10 California man threatens to kill First Baptist Dallas pastor ‘in the name of Allah’

11 California: Muslim arrested in planned attack on Santa Monica Pier, Long Beach rally as “retribution” for mosque attack 

12 California: Somali Muslim Refugee Who Tried to Run Down Jews at Synagogue Charged with Attempted Murder

13 Chicago: Gang leader arrested for sending money to Islamic State (ISIS)

14 Chicago:  Muslim Student at DePaul Univ. Charged with Attempting to Support Islamic State (ISIS)

15 Connecticut: Man Charged with Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISIS

16 Connecticut: Muslim Arrested After Attempting to Travel to Middle East to Join and Fight for ISIS

17 Florida: Muslim Arrested for Plotting Jihad Bombings Against College Deans

18 Florida: Muslim tries to slash Walmart employee, yells threats in Arabic

19 Florida: Suspect sent bomb threats to judges 'for cause of Islamic State'

20

Former San Diego Resident Jehad Mostafa Charged with Providing Material Support to Islamic Terror Org al-Shabaab

21

Georgia: Muslim arrested for plotting IED, anti-tank rocket attacks on White House and other D.C. buildings

22

Georgia: Muslim Woman Arrested For Conspiring To Provide Material Support To ISIS

23

Illinois: Muslim Arrested for Threatening to Bomb Aurora Casino for Allah

24

Maryland: Muslim arrested after using car to strike and injure woman; kill woman in Virginia

25

Miami: Muslim mechanic who sabotaged American Airlines plane accused of spreading ISIS propaganda videos 26

Michigan: 3 Muslim immigrants arrested for plan to join Islamic State (ISIS)

27

Michigan: Dearborn Muslim charged with receiving terror training from ISIS 

28

Montana: Albanian Muslim immigrant who discussed US attack arrested at gun range

29

New Jersey: Man who funded Hamas, spoke of bombing Trump Tower, attacking Israeli Consulate is arrested

30

New Mexico: Muslims who ran Islamic compound charged with planning terror attacks in the U.S.

31

New York: Bangladeshi Muslim immigrant arrested in Times Square terror plot

32

New York: Brooklyn Man Arrested - Encouraged ISIS Supporters to Attack NYC Subway System

33

New York: Pakistani Muslim immigrant in Queens plotted jihad attacks at World’s Fair Marina and Flushing Bay Promenade

34

North Carolina: Jordanian Muslim who tried to access Fort Bragg special ops facility faces 7 charges, deportation

35

North Carolina: Pakistani Muslim immigrant arrested after lying about contacts with terror organizations

36

North Carolina: Woman intentionally runs over, kills 79-year old woman, tries to hit 4 others

37

North Dakota: Somali Woman Charged With Terrorizing Neighborhood Was Previously Tied to Human Sex Trafficking Case

38

NYC: Muslim shouting “Allah Akbar” shoves NYT illustrator onto subway tracks

39

Ohio: Muslim indicted for Fourth of July al-Qaida car bomb plot in downtown Cleveland

40

Pittsburgh: Syrian Muslim Refugee Arrested for Planning Jihad Attack on Christian Church

41

Saudi student at University of New Mexico charged with illegally possessing gun; had hit list of people he wanted to kill before leaving the U.S.

42

Texas: Defendant Returned to Dallas After Being Detained by the Syrian Democratic Forces 

43

Texas: Foreign Muslim recruited at least 5 inmates to join ISIS and wage jihad in the U.S. after their release

44

Texas: Muslim Charged with Conspiring to Provide Material Support to ISIS

45

Texas: Muslim convert who tried to become English teacher for ISIS indicted

46

Two American jihadis captured fighting for ISIS in Syria, militia says

47

Virginia: Somali Muslim FBI translator charged after his own voice was intercepted on terror surveillance calls

That’s just the first 40+ we found.

[humanrightsupdates]

Curbing Political Threats by Law Enforcement in the US

Phoenix Police Department vehicles block off a street in Phoenix, Arizona, May 30, 2020.© 2020 AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

Recent politically motivated threats and calls for violence by local law enforcement officers in the United States underscore the need for government authorities to ensure police equally protect all members of the public, including at protests in the wake of the November 3 elections.

On November 6, an Arkansas police chief with reported ties to an anti-government militia called for recruits to “fight [their] way” into the US Congress to “arrest” Democratic lawmakers, and “shoot and kill” Democrats and Black Lives Matter and Antifa members to stop a “coup” against President Trump.

Two days earlier in Alabama, a police captain, also on social media, wrote that people who voted for President-elect Joe Biden should get “a bullet in their head for treason.”

In October, an on-duty police officer in Phoenix, Arizona, allegedly threatened to seriously harm the city’s Democratic mayor, Kate Gallego.

The police departments in each of these cases have responded promptly. The Arkansas police chief and Alabama police captain resigned after their supervisors questioned them about their postings. In Arizona, the Phoenix police department sent the accused officer home pending criminal and internal investigations.

Authorities need to ensure meaningful accountability, including through thorough disciplinary measures and, as appropriate, criminal investigations in these cases. They should also thoroughly and impartially investigate any other cases involving law enforcement officers who advocate violence, discrimination, or hostility toward any individual or group; participation in intimidation and violence; or collusion with or tolerance of criminal activity by extremists. Generally, in the tiny percentage of cases in which officers are known to have links to extreme-right armed groups, the authorities’ responses have been insufficient, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. - [x]