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philosophyblr · 5 years ago

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AFRICAN & BLACK PHILOSOPHY: Getting Started

Hello everyone! As many of us who study philosophy in some form are likely aware, people of color, especially black philosophers, are radically underrepresented in the field (composing only 1.32% of all philosophers in the US). In order to combat such marginalization, and in attempt to help amplify black voices within the field of philosophy, I have complied a series of links & information here for learning more about African/black philosophy, especially within the US. Please feel free to add to this post if you feel that anything is missing, esp if ur a black person!

Overview:

According to Wikipedia.org: “African philosophy is the philosophical discourse produced by indigenous Africans and their descendants, including African Americans. African philosophers may be found in the various academic fields of philosophy, such as metaphysics, epistemology, moral philosophy, and political philosophy. One particular subject that many African philosophers have written about is that on the subject of freedom and what it means to be free or to experience wholeness.”

Articles to start with:

“What African Philosophy Can Teach You About the Good Life.”

“A truly African philosophy.”

“African Philosophy.”

“Descartes was wrong: ‘a person is a person through other persons.’”

“Does Western Philosophy Have Egyptian Roots?”

“What You Should Know About Contemporary African Philosophy.”

“Philosophy in Africa - A Case of Epistemic Injustice in the Academy.”

“The African Enlightenment.”

“The Radical Philosophy of Egypt.”

“The first God.”

“African Philosophy Is More Than You Think It Is.”

And some introductory texts:

Barry Hallen, A Short History of African Philosophy. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press (2009).

Samuel Oluoch Himbo, An Introduction to African Philosophy. Lanham et al.: Rowman and Littlefield (1998).

Dismas Masolo, African Philosophy in Search of Identity. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press (1994).

Kwasi Wiredu, A Companion to African Philosophy. Malden, Oxford, Victoria: Blackwell Publishing (2004). (PDF version linked here.)

Key essays:

“The Struggle for Reason in Africa” by Mogobe Ramose in The African Philosophy Reader eds. P.H. Coestzee & A.P.J. Roux

“Appeal,” David Walker

“What to the Slave is the 4th of July?”, Frederick Douglass

“Ain’t I a Woman?”, Sojourner Truth

“The Black Woman’s role in the Community of Slaves,” Angela Davis

The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois (first chapter esp.)

“A Problem of Biography in African Thought” & “What Does It Mean to Be a Problem?” by Lewis Gordon in Existentia Africana

“Racism and Feminism,” by bell hooks in the PDF linked here

“Recognizing Racism in the Era of Neoliberalism,” Angela Davis

“Nonviolence and Racial Justice,” Martin Luther King, Jr.

“The Ballot or the Bullet,” Malcolm X

“The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism,” Audre Lorde

“Whiteness as Property,” Cheryl Harris

Important contemporary black philosophers:

Cornel West (political philosophy, philosophy of religion, ethics, race, democracy, liberation theology)

Angela Davis (also a writer and social activist & just a general badass, really worth knowing about regardless of whether or not you have an interest in philosophy)

bell hooks (race, capitalism, sexuality & gender through a postmodern perspective)

Lewis Gordon (Africana philosophy, black existentialism, phenomenology)

Kwame Anthony Appiah (probabilistic semantics, political theory, moral theory, intellectual history, race and identity theory)

Patricia Hill Collins (sociology of knowledge, race, class, gender studies)

John H. McWhorter (linguistics)

George Yancy (Critical philosophy of race, critical whiteness studies, African philosophy, philosophy of the body)

Kwassi Wiredu (African philosophy)

Franz Fanon (20th century Marxism, psychoanalysis, colonialism)

Online podcasts, blogs, & videos:

Podcast on Africana philosophy (the website linked here also contains several useful links and resources for further reading)

Youtube series on African Philosophy

Award-winning blog run by a Nigerian-Finnish woman which “connects feminism with critical reflections on contemporary culture from an Africa-centred perspective.”

Other links & resources:

Journal on African Philosophy

Wikipedia page, which includes a list of African philosophers

History of African Philosophy

Online bibliography on African Philosophy

25 Black Scholars You Should Know

The Collegium of Black Women Philosophers

#lmk if this needs to be edited or corrected in any way!#to be continued -- i plan on doing more posts related to african philosophy/black folks in philosophy #studyblr #philosophy #african philosophy #africana philosophy #black philosophy #black academia #academia #african academia #masterpost #race #blm #support blm #blm movement #black lives matter #i spent so much time on this rip

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dweemeister · 4 years ago

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2020 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (final round)

(Yet again, tumblr has not fixed bullet indentations. So this post doesn’t look as clean on your dashboards.)

TAGGING (among others): @addaellis, @cokwong, @emilylime5, @halfwaythruthedark, @idontknowmuchaboutmovies, @introspectivemeltdown, @maximiliani, @memetoilet, @monkeysmadeofcheese, @myluckyerror, @plus-low-overthrow, @shootingstarvenator, @themusicmoviesportsguy, @theybecomestories, @umgeschrieben, @underblackwings, @voicetalentbrendan, @thewolfofelectricavenue, and @yellanimal.

I would also like to tag some followers/previous participants as well who I also would welcome to participate in this final round: @birdsongvelvet, @bitch-genius, @dog-of-ulthar, @loveless422, @lvl9gay, @mehetibel, @phendranaedge, @poncho-honcho, @sayaf, @shadesofhappy, @thethirdman8, @uncoolforelimb, and @wehadfacesthen. Regardless of whether you were tagged or not, all of my followers can participate if they wish.

Happy Holidays to all! After a fascinating preliminary round, now begins the final round to 2020's Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (MOABOS). This is the eighth time it has been contested and the seventh year it has been open to involvement from family, friends, and tumblr followers. I begin every new year not knowing whether I will be able to share with all of you these songs and the movies they come from around November/December. So on the day that MOABOS becomes viable (usually around mid-year), it's a long stretch of anticipation to this point.

For those who have never participated in this before, my classic movie blog traditionally ends the year by honoring some of the best achievements from movies that I saw for the first time this calendar year (the "Movie Odyssey"; rewatches do not count) with an Oscar-like ceremony. I choose all the nominees and winners from each category, save one: Best Original Song. It is the only category I can think of that does not require you to watch several movies in their entirety. I know some of you wonder why I bother with this quixotic social experiment. But I have always considered it a sort of cinematic-musical thank-you for your moral support in various ways - in the hopes of introducing to all of you films and music you may not have otherwise encountered or sought. A small slice of the 2020 Movie Odyssey, so to speak.

This final will be contested by sixteen songs. As I've mentioned before, for the first time ever, there are no MOABOS entries originating from this year that made the competition - a MOABOS first. I have seen one 2020 film since the prelim (Wolfwalkers... at a drive-in mind you), but this entire final is one of yesteryear. Even without any 1930s songs, this year's final is probably the oldest on average. There are some very recognizable songs that made it straight to the final, bypassing the preliminary; those songs are contained within. Among them, a city anthem and a song that should be a city's anthem. Elsewhere, this is the first final to ever feature two classic Bollywood songs - but no classic Bollywood song has ever cracked the top ten. Elvis has three songs in this final, a MOABOS joint record along with Prince and the Bee Gees (both in 2016). But also appearing in multiple entries are Frank Sinatra and Liza Minnelli, Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday. With five non-English-language songs in the final, this year’s final ties 2017 with the largest contingent of finalists not in the English language.

INSTRUCTIONS Please rank (#1-16) your choices in order. The top ten songs will receive nominations. The tabulation method used in the preliminary round is being used for the final only as the second tiebreaker (the tabulation method that will be used principally for the final - aka "single transferable vote" - is described in the “read more” at the bottom). There is no minimum or maximum amount of songs you can rank, but because of the nature of single transferable vote, it is highly recommended to rank as many songs as possible, rather than only one or two. Those who rank fewer songs run a greater risk of their ballots being discarded in the later rounds of tabulation. Again, this is all described in the “read more”.

Please consider to the best of your ability: how musically interesting the song is (incl. and not limited to musical phrasing and orchestration); its lyrics; context within the film (contextual blurbs provided for every entry for those who haven't seen the films); choreography/dance direction (if applicable); and the song's cultural impact/life outside the film (if applicable, and, in my opinion, least important factor). Imperfections in audio and video quality may not be used against any song. I encourage you to send in comments and reactions with your rankings - it makes the process more enjoyable for you and myself!

The deadline for submission is Thursday, December 31 at 8 PM Pacific Time. That is 6 PM Hawaii/Aleutian Time / 10 PM Central / 11 PM Eastern. That deadline is also Friday, January 1 at 2 AM GMT / 3 AM CET / 4 AM EET. This deadline has been pushed back two consecutive times due to a sizable non-response rate - but I very much do not want to do so again.

I have compiled most of this final round's songs into this YouTube playlist. Please note that neither of Kaagaz Ke Phool’s two songs are contained in the playlist. You will need to access them using their respective links.

Enjoy the music! Feel free to listen as many times as you need, and I hope you discover music and movies you may have never otherwise heard of that you find fascinating. The following is formatted... ("Song title", composer and lyricist, film title):

2020 MOVIE ODYSSEY AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL SONG – FINAL ROUND

“Angela”, music and lyrics by José Feliciano and Janna Merlyn Feliciano, Aaron Loves Angela (1975)

Performed by José Feliciano

(English-language version) / (Spanish single version)

Played over the opening credits to this teenage drama that is partly a blaxploitation film, partly an interracial coming-of-age romance. The movie wasn't a hit, but the Spanish-language version of this song was received well in Latin America.

“Blue Shadows on the Trail”, music and lyrics by Eliot Daniel and Johnny Lange, Melody Time (1948)

Performed by Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers

This is the introductory song to the final segment of Melody Time. That segment is dedicated to the legend of Pecos Bill, and this atmospheric song leads into the telling of that story.

“Can’t Help Falling in Love”, music and lyrics by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss, Blue Hawaii (1961)

Performed by Elvis Presley

(film version) / (single version)

Chadwick "Chad" Gates (Elvis) has just returned to his home state of Hawai'i after a stint in the Army. Not wanting to work on his father's pineapple plantation (seriously), he rekindles his relationship with his girlfriend, Maile (Joan Blackman). This song is sung as an accompaniment to a music box he gives to Maile's grandmother (Flora Kaai Hayes, a former Hawaiian Territorial Representative to the U.S. House). This song is among Elvis' best-known and most widely-covered.

“Dekhi Zamaane Ki Yaari / Bichhde Sabhi Baari Baari”, music by S.D. Burman, lyrics by Kaifi Azmi, Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959, India)

Performed by Mohammad Rafi (dubbing Guru Dutt)

Lyrics in Hindi - roughly, "I Have Seen How Deeply Friendship Lies / I Have Seen People Abandon Me One by One"

Part 1 (3:44-8:27) / Part 2 (2:16:29-2:20:42)

Make sure to turn on the video’s English captions

In this romantic tragedy, Suresh Sinha (Dutt) is a washed-up director looking back on his life. In the first part, the song leads into the rest of the film - which is almost entirely a flashback. In brief, Suresh is unhappily married to a woman whose in-laws look down on him because, to them, working in films is contemptible to their social class. Suresh meets a woman, Shanti (Waheeda Rehman), on accident and she is soon cast as the lead for his next film. They fall in love, but it is never consummated for various reasons. Eventually, his career crashes after a box office bomb and her career is ascendant. Leading into the second part of the song, Suresh is penniless and working as an extra at the movie studio. Shanti recognizes him, wants to help, but he refuses to revive his career on the back of her success. Kaagaz Ke Phool has elements of autobiography, and Suresh's fate has parallels with what happened to Dutt after this film was released.

“(Do You Know What It Means to Miss) New Orleans”, music by Louis Alter, lyrics by Edgar De Lange, New Orleans (1947)

Initially performed by Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong and his band; reprised by various

(initial film performance) / (Louis Armstrong single version)

Endie (Holiday in her only appearance in a feature film) is a maid to the affluent Smith family, whose matriarch looks down on jazz as a disreputable genre of music. In secret, Endie frequents a gambling and jazz establishment in the historic Storyville district of New Orleans and performs here with Louis Armstrong (playing himself) and others when she gets the chance. The matriarch's daughter (Dorothy Patrick), an classical operatic soprano, is transfixed by this new music she has never heard before.

“ Exsultate Justi”, music and lyrics by John Williams, Empire of the Sun (1987)

Performed by orchestra and chorus under the direction of Williams

Lyrics in Latin

In this historical epic, affluent British school boy Jamie Graham (a young Christian Bale) is living with his parents in Shanghai when the Japanese invade. Jamie is separated from his parents and placed in an internment camp. Soon before the end of WWII, the prisoners are moved elsewhere, but Jamie hides and stays put. This song plays as Jamie bikes around the empty camp and continues to play as he encounters liberating U.S. troops. Jamie is dirty and malnourished when found; one can argue that this song is used ironically. It plays once more over the end credits. "Exsultate Justi" is a variation on a theme John Williams develops over the course of the film and harkens back to Jamie's past, attending Anglican services with parents.

“Farewell to Storyville", music by Louis Alter, lyrics by Edgar De Lange, New Orleans (1947)

Performed by Louis Armstrong and his band, Billie Holiday, and company

In New Orleans, the Storyville district was a den of drinking, gambling, jazz, and prostitution. The district was the home to a heavily black populace. The U.S. military, about to establish a Naval base nearby, forces the city to close the district for good. This song is a swinging dirge to a center of jazz - a musical genre looked down upon by many of the city's upper-class whites due to its ties (real and imagined) to crime.

“Happy Endings", music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, New York, New York (1977)

Performed by Liza Minnelli and company (that's Jack Haley - who played the Tin Man and was, at the time, Minnelli's father-in-law - roughly seven minutes in)

(use in film) / (soundtrack version)

It is highly recommended one sees how this song is used in the film. Bear with me: this song is part of a movie within a movie. Within that movie within a movie, there is another movie. "Happy Endings" is the title end song to a film called Happy Endings within New York, New York. Singer Francine Evans (Liza Minnelli) has made it big as a recording artist and caps off her hit film, Happy Endings, with this song. We see Francine's ex, played by Robert De Niro, in the audience as the film ends. "Happy Endings" is a homage/deconstruction to midcentury Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) musicals. It serves the film as "The Broadway Melody" does to Singin' in the Rain (1952) or the 17-minute ballet does to conclude An American in Paris (1951).

“Here They Come (From All Over the World)", music and lyrics by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, The T.A.M.I. Show (1964)

Performed by Jan and Dean

The link above provides the entire film. You only need to watch from 0:00-4:11. If you like music from this era or want to hear more, this film is highly, highly recommended.

This is the opening credits song to a concert film recorded over two days in Santa Monica, California on October 28 and 29, 1964. The Teenage Awards Music International (T.A.M.I. - yes, I know it's an awkward name) Show included many of the most popular musical stars of that time - almost all of them name-dropped in this song. Jan and Dean, a surf music duo, served as hosts (and performed during) the show. You folks are lucky that this is the only original song from this film!

“Is There Still Anything That Love Can Do?", music and lyrics by Yôjirô Noda, Weathering with You (2019, Japan)

Performed by RADWIMPS

Lyrics in Japanese (translation)

Weathering with You is a romantic fantasy anime about a high school boy who runs away from his rural home to Tokyo, where he meets a girl who can manipulate the weather. It has been inexplicably raining for weeks without interruption in Tokyo, so they form a business to help clear the inclement weather for special events. The melody of this song is heard throughout the film's score. It does not appear with lyrics until late in the film. The song is played under the boy's seemingly impossible attempt to save her from an unwilling human sacrifice.

There is so much plot in this damn film (it's all Makoto Shinkai's fault) - I can't explain the context of the song or this movie in a reasonable amount of space.

“Moonlight Swim”, music by Ben Weisman, lyrics by Sylvia Dee, Blue Hawaii (1961)

Performed by Elvis Presley

In a musical packed end-to-end with songs, Chadwick "Chad" Gates (Elvis) has taken a job with a tour guide agency. On his first day, he drives his first clients - a school teacher (who not so secretly is attracted to Chad) and four teenagers (one of whom becomes smitten) - to their destination.

“Personality”, music by Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by Johnny Burke, Road to Utopia (1946)

Performed by Dorothy Lamour

(in-film performance) / (live radio performance)

In the fourth film of the Road to... comedy series, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby's characters have just overpowered two Alaskan thugs with a history of murderous violence. As they enter a saloon dressed up as those two thugs, all of the patrons - in a town that only knows the thugs by reputation - shut up in terror. They are treated to a performance by Sal (Lamour), who is trying to find a map of a gold mine that the real outlaws supposedly have. A visual narrator (Robert Benchley) interrupts the scene before the song briefly.

“Please Don’t Stop Loving Me”, music and lyrics by Joy Byers, Frankie and Johnny (1966)

Performed by Elvis Presley

(in-film performance) / (single version)

Johnny (Elvis) and girlfriend Frankie (Donna Douglas) work on a Mississippi River riverboat as performers. Johnny is addicted to gambling and believes that another woman is spurring on his recent run of good luck. During a fit of jealousy-as-acting, Frankie accidentally shoots Johnny during a bit of musical theater (someone switched out the blanks for real bullets). This song occurs after Johnny has recovered from the accident.

“Theme from New York, New York”, music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, New York, New York (1977)

Performed by Liza Minnelli

(in-film performance) / (Frank Sinatra single)

For most of the film, saxophone player Jimmy Doyle (Robert De Niro) is trying to compose a song but cannot figure out the lyrics (this plays out as a subplot). His eventual girlfriend/later ex, Francine Evans (Minnelli) provides said lyrics. Some time well after they have broken up, he finds her singing this song - which he previously brought to the top of the jazz charts - in the nightclub where they first met. This film flopped (musical movies were out of fashion by the mid-'70s, and a musical didn't seem "on brand" for director Martin Scorsese). But the Frank Sinatra single popularized this song, and it has been used in many venues of popular culture.

“Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Haseen Sitam”, music and lyrics by S.D. Burman, Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959, India)

Performed by Geeta Dutt (dubbing Waheeda Rehman)

Lyrics in Hindi - roughly, "Time Has Inflicted Such Sweet Cruelty On Us"

Song begins at 1:03:31 and ends at 1:07:51

Make sure to turn on the video’s English captions

In this romantic tragedy told in flashback, Suresh Sinha (Guru Dutt) is a director looking back on his life. Suresh is unhappily married to a woman whose in-laws look down on him because, to them, working in films is contemptible to their social class. Suresh meets a woman, Shanti (Waheeda Rehman), on accident and she is soon cast as the lead for his next film. They fall in love, but it is never consummated for various reasons. This song is the most explicit statement of that love in this film. How much of the scene's set-up is observable by the characters is up to the viewer's interpretation.

“You Make Me Feel So Young”, music by Josef Myrow, lyrics by Mack Gordon, Three Little Girls in Blue (1946)

Performed by Del Porter (dubbing Charles Smith) and Carol Stewart (dubbing Vera-Ellen)

(use in film) / (Frank Sinatra cover)

In this rarely-seen musical (*insert plea to Disney to restore the massive 20th Century Fox catalogue they now own and are almost certainly neglecting*), three chicken farmer sisters decide to travel to Atlantic City in hopes of marrying a rich husband when they learn their aunt's inheritance is not nearly as much as they want. There, youngest sister Myra (Vera-Ellen) - despite the sisters' original intentions of marrying men of wealth - becomes involved with a waiter named Mike (Charles Smith). They go on a date, and they sing this song. A somewhat overly-literal fantastical dancing sequence ensues, complete with Vera-Ellen's dancing skills. This song was popularized by Frank Sinatra years later and has long enjoyed status as a big band/jazz standard.

Contact me however you wish if you have questions or comments regarding MOABOS' processes or something specific about a song or a few. Please let me know as soon as possible if you are having difficulty accessing one of the songs (especially if it is region-locked) or if there is an error in the playlist.

Once more, I thank you all for your support for the Movie Odyssey, the blog, and for me personally - no matter how long I’ve known you or in what capacity. There are no hard feelings if you cannot get to this, although I will be checking in as the deadlines get close. Please wear a mask. Practice social distancing. We'll see each other again on the other side of this pandemic.

TABULATION The winner is determined by a process distinct from the preliminary round. For the final, the winner is chosen by the process known as single transferable vote (the Academy Awards uses this method to choose a Best Picture winner, visually represented here - you should really watch this video if the below doesn’t make sense… which it probably won’t):

All #1 picks from all voters are tabulated. A song needs more than half of all aggregate votes to win (50% of all votes plus one… i.e. if there are thirty respondents, sixteen #1 votes are needed to win on the first count).

If there is no winner after the first count (as is most likely), the song(s) with the fewest #1 votes or points is/are eliminated. Placement will be determined by the tiebreakers described below. Then, we look at the ballots of those who voted for the most recently-eliminated song(s). Their votes then go to the highest-remaining and non-eliminated song on their ballot.

The process described in step #2 repeats until one song has secured 50% plus one of all votes. We keep eliminating nominees and transfer votes to the highest-ranked, non-eliminated song on each ballot. NOTE: It is possible after several rounds of counting that respondents who did not entirely fill in their ballots will have wasted their votes at the end of the process. For example, if a person voted the second-to-last place song as their #1, ranked no other songs, and the count has exceeded two rounds, their ballot is discarded (lowering the vote threshold needed to win), and they have no say in which song ultimately is the winner.

A song wins when it reaches more than fifty percent of all #1 and re-distributed votes.

Tiebreakers: 1) first song to receive 50% plus one of all #1 and transferred votes; 2) total points earned (this was the first tiebreaker in the preliminary round); 3) total #1 votes; 4) average placement on my ballot and my sister’s ballot; 5) tie declared

Previous years’ results for reference: 2013 final 2014 final (input from family and friends began this year) 2015 final 2016 prelim / final 2017 prelim / final 2018 prelim / final 2019 prelim / final

#2020 Movie Odyssey Awards

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stone-man-warrior · 5 years ago

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January 20, 2020: 7:55 pm:

I just now returned from another socio-terrific shopping experience in Dystopia, Grants Pass Oregon, where all of the current citizens are fake, and are Canadians who are using the name of an American that was killed by the SDA terror army. The conditions are best described as living in the aftermath of a slaughter and depopulation of the citizens who lived in the county twenty years ago, where the original population was all brutally killed, and the new, replacement population is implanted from Canada, mostly Quebec, and are commanded as an army by Screen Actor Guild leaders in Hollywood California. SAG gets their orders from the British Throne, Royal Family, and House of Lords British Parliament.

It’s all fucked up.

The current fake impostor population is instructed by SAG leadership to vote in specific ways, as the leadership commands the individual soldiers to vote. The US Election Ballots are filled with Screen Actor Guild Member Shill Candidates, who also take their commands from the SAG leadership in Hollywood CA.

The Josephine County Oregon population is composed of a mixture of Screen Actor Guild members, who are instructed to create a social atmosphere for cover, to make the county appear as a normal county does. The others are Seventh Day Adventist Christian religious cult, and are an army, armed with swords and Nitrous Oxide airborne gas. They use the gas to kill any outsiders who come the the county. SAG arranges replacement look-a-likes to take the place of the murdered victims. The army is supplies with vehicles, housing, food, clothing for free, all of their needs are supplied as any army is supplied by it’s leadership.

Commerce is all faked with false record keeping and the commerce itself, is used as a means of identifying and then marking, and killing those who attempt to make any kind of purchase, anywhere, for anything. Since the army is supplied for free, anyone who makes a purchase is marked as an outsider by virtue of the transaction of making a debit, credit, or cash purchase.

I went to:

6th Street Market

Walmart

As I was leaving my driveway, members of the Clyde Baum terror cell at 333 “Mystreet” were hovering around the front of my home in Clyde’s Red GMC Pick-up truck. Then, a member of the Monroe terror cell also passed by, and lingered at the mailboxes in front of my home. Monroe was driving a small black Crossover style vehicle, a Nissan “Versa”, Oregon License 976 FAV (976 is questionable, not certain)

I left on my way, members of the Google sponsored terror cell at the corner of Russell Road an Three Pines Road, the “Bad Guy Auto” terror cell, were inside the garage with the door open watching as I left on my way. They alerted the people at 6th Street Market of my location and possible ETA at the store.

A large white pick-up truck with a large white horse trailer came around the blind corner near Oxyoke, “Dead Man’s Curve” with all of it’s driver side wheels in my lane. Had I been near the double yellow line as I went around the corner, there would have been a head-on collision at that time. Fortunately, I am aware of the reasons that corner is called “Dead Man’s Corner“, it’s a popular place that terrorists arrange that victims will be taken there. Hollywood provides the professional Stunt Men for such activities.

I arrived at 6th Street Market. I had to park where the terrorists had arranged that I park. An “L” shaped parking arrangement there is a useful tool to take victims. A man waits in his large truck in a parking spot that is perpendictualr to the one that the victim is parked in, such that the two rear bumper’s of the vehicles are close to one another, and he exits that parking spot just as the victim is also exiting, causing a “T-Bone” in reverse. That allows that the driver of the truck will have a reason to engage with the victim close up and verbally. Victims are exposed to Nitrous gas at that time, and carted away. I avoided the “T-Bone” on the way out, but not by much.

Inside the store, each time I go, the clerk signals for two assassins to come in, sometimes three. Then, she creates some kind of distraction with the debit machine as the two enter the store behind me. Today, the distraction was simply to delay the debit machine, with the indicator that reads, “please do not remove card“ for an extended time after the transaction is otherwise complete. I just stare at the machine waiting for my card to be released from it. That’s when the assassins shoot the victim in the back. The .25 they use does not pierce my coat, and the bullet bounces away, and the clerk always steps aside right then.

So that happened. I heard the “SnaP! sound the gun makes. I lit my lighter, and one of the two terror assassins launched out the front door, and disappeared somewhere at the empty Christmas Tree sales yard across the street. One of the two store clerks, a large red headed woman about 28 years old, followed the launched terror soldier out the door, and began to use her smart phone to communicate with others about what had happened. She was standing by the drivers side door of my car as I exited the store. Also, whenever I go to 6th Street Market, part of the assassination attempt includes that two young people are entering the store as I am leaving. They are always at the entrence at the exact time that I am going through the door on my way out. Those two are not always the same people, but there are always two, to cart the murdered victim away, and they are summoned and come from the barber shop that is also in that shopping strip mall, Village Center, on 6th Street, across from Lithia Dodge Dealer.

So, at least one dead terrorist at 6th Street Market.

Also, I learned while I was there that one of the three bozo’s that attacked me last week while claiming to be Secret Service, US Army, and FBI, was a man by the name of Rick Manning, of the Medical Democrat Terror cell at 598 “MyStreet”. The one that said he was Secret Service, the oldest of the three, who told me he was “Strong” from 3747 Russell Road, the Strong Family “SAG House” terror cell, was Rick Manning. I cut Rick Manning’s throat and his eyes in defense that day, as well as the other two. Apparently, Rick Manning was BOTH “Strong”, from 3747 Russell, AND Rick Manning from 598 “MyStreet”, playing the role of both men. Rick Manning drives a odd, red Honda Station Wagon, about a 1986 model. They did not make very many of those, and it is easily mistaken for a Ford Taurus Station Wagon.

The other two bozo’s said they were reporters from Los Angeles Times Newspaper after the fighting that day. One of them, the one that said he was FBI, and I described as Italian looking, may have been a member of the Google sponsored cell at “Bad Guy Auto”. I have met Rick Manning once, he used two snarling pit bulls to attack me one day. But I thought I killed him that day. Although the man looked similar to Rick Manning, I am not prepared to agree with what the clerk at 6th Street Market said tonight, that the man was Rick Manning. I have never met “Strong”, so I cannot comment about what “Strong” looks like up close, other than he looks like Manning, from about 500 feet away.

So, what I learned is inconclusive, with exception that Manning was NOT Secret Service, and is NOT LIKELY to be a Los Angeles Times Reporter. I did not learn anything new about the one that said his name was “Dan” and was from “US Army”.

Ok, back to the shopping experience:

I went to Walmart. I saw what looked like Juseph Myers white Crossover style vehicle parked in a driveway at the corner of “A Street”, and Beacon Street, at the South East house of the corner. There is a truck in my yard that belongs to a man that once lived at that house, Zachery White, so, that could be a Confusion Service sort of activity done my Juseph Myers, who is part of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police terror cells.

At the Walmart, the parking was not very full, plenty of parking. The store was not very active. The presence of terror soldiers was such that it was obvious that the people in the store were mostly Screen Actor Guild variety of “Bubble Service” terror activity. The Seventh Day Adventist terrorists were in very small number, SAG was in high number.

Nitrous Fogger soldiers were not obvious, there were only very few following me around. I decided to ask about Smart Phones from a store clerk, to learn about the payment, contract, and other things associated with owning a Smart Phone. The young man the helped me was friendly, knowledgeable, and courteous. He was not wearing a Walmart Vest. He was wearing a black shirt with name tag. I learned something important.

The Apple iPhone is available for only one penny. If you agree to use US Cellular Service Provider, at $75 per month, for two years, the phone only costs one penny. That’s $0.01 for a iPhone. There IS NO PENALTY to CANCEL YOUR CONTRACT with US Cellular, and you can keep the phone. That is where and how the terror army is obtaining some of the iPhone’s that the scouts use without service contract, and only use connectivity of Blu-Tooth networked to all of the other terror cell members such that the Blu-Tooth technology is creating a Blu-Tooth Grid, where each phone behaves the same way as a cellular tower does. There are so many terror soldiers, that they are always connected to one another, and can communicate without a service contract.

I think one terror soldier was ignited shortly after I arrived at the Walmart, and launched away from the shampoo, deodorant, first aid area. “Evac” was announced on the store PA system.

When I was checking out at the self checkout, the debit machine malfunctioned. That was supposed to be opportunity to make a hit attempt on me at that time. Something must have gone wrong, because there was no hit attempt at the time that the clerk came to reset the debit machine. Or, it was done to make it appear as if my debit card is no good, to fool someone who may be investigating terror in Oregon.

As I was leaving, I noticed that there are ZERO motor homes in the parking lot where there are always motor homes and buses. No cars, no buses, no motor homes there. Those buses and motor homes serve as nitrous tank refill area, first aid for injured terrorists, and for torture area’s when victims are taken in the parking lot.

They were all gone tonight.

Upon returning to “MyStreet”, I saw a vehicle come from Sparacino’s terror cell and go to 598 Manning, Medical Democrat (Med-Dems) terror cell. I did not see what kind of vehicle, but it was not a large truck.

That’s all for now.

end terror reporting: 9:42 pm.

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axvoter · 6 years ago

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Blatantly Partisan Party Review LII (federal 2019): Independents in NSW, Part Two

Time to cover the last six ungrouped independents on the NSW ballot for the Senate. Remember, you can only indicate a preference for these candidates if you vote below the line. To vote below the line you must give at least 12 preferences; you can keep going and give 13 or more—as many as you want. I recommend giving as many preferences as possible.

I cannot review independents standing for local seats in the House of Representatives. If an independent is standing in your electorate, I urge you to look into them. Some are very good options. Some are absolute cranks. Distribute your preferences wisely!

Glenn Wagner (Facebook)

Wagner might have a Facebook page for his Senate tilt, but it is pretty fucking useless. He has only added a couple of pictures and offers no information about his positions other than that “mental health matters” and that he wants more nurses and hospital beds. He appears to have responded to one website’s questionnaire in which he opposes government-led action on climate change or various banking, tax, and negative gearing reforms, but does want to approach drug use as a health issue rather than a criminal one and wants to increase the minimum wage and penalty rates.

My recommendation: give Glenn Wagner a weak or no preference.

David J. O’Brien (website)

O’Brien has one of the lengthier policy platforms of an ungrouped independent, although it is articulated mostly as bullet points. It’s generally left-leaning with support for action on climate change, a transition to renewable energy, better public transport and healthcare, greater funding for the arts, pill testing at festivals, ending the most punitive and destructive Centrelink policies, better TAFE funding, etc. He is opposed to any further mining of brown coal or the use of public funds to support fossil fuel industries. I find little to quibble with beyond it just reading as a shopping list rather than a serious articulation of policy or political ideology. The thing that leaps out at me most as cause for pause is that he has some hesitation regarding immigration, but he does not go hard at this like the anti-immigrant or stable population crowds.

My recommendation: give David J. O’Brien a decent to good preference.

Wayne Lindsay Bell

A local newspaper profile of Wayne Bell describes his passion to stand for election as arising from watching too many politicians behaving badly on TV while he was convalescing from an injury. Can’t fault him there. I can fault him on a lot of other stuff though. He goes on about “Australian and Christian values”, so we can see he’s from the right. His attitude to immigration is the whole thing of “well a previous generation of migrants, to whom I am accustomed, are fine and came here ‘properly’ but the current lot are bludgers who don’t integrate”. He has a peculiar demand that any foreign land sale must be approved by voters at mandatory referendums, which I scarcely need to tell you is impractical.

On the other hand, Bell does want at least some action on climate change, funding for renewables, and wealth redistribution. That wealth redistribution policy, however, does not seem to extend as far as relationship breakdowns, where he thinks each partner should contribute equally to the costs of raising their child no matter their income. Given that women usually have far worse incomes after relationship breakdowns, I can only describe this as a silly anti-women thought bubble.

My recommendation: give Wayne Lindsay Bell a weak or no preference.

Michael Kirkwood (website)

This guy is absolutely off-the-charts religious. His website leads with Biblical quotes, John 1:1 and John 1:14. He explains that his campaign is “built around explaining in today's words the leadership of Jesus through His loving word”. Kirkwood takes an extremely conservative and fundamentalist approach: he has an unhinged flyer about “laws that encourage divorce … [and] abortion”. He demands these be the subject of a People’s Commission for Australia, which he also calls—I am not making this up—the Jesus Great Commission.

Not only is this a particularly narrow far-right take on Christianity, it is also entirely inappropriate for governing a secular country.

My recommendation: give Michael Kirkwood a weak or no preference.

Pamela Johnstone (website)

MORE BULLET POINTS POSING AS POLICY OH DEAR LORD MAKE IT END.

Johnstone is one of the more organised ungrouped independents, in that she actually indicates a reasonable range of policies on a website you can find with minimal effort. Pity she has fallen victim to the pox on ungrouped candidates that is bullet-point lists. For the love of god could the ungrouped candidates please try to write actual paragraphs with real details rather than just making shopping lists? Johnstone’s list is reasonable. She wants action on climate change, no new or expanded coal mines, environment to have priority in decision-making, etc. She demands the government stop talking about high-speed rail and start actually building it. She supports legalising euthanasia. Her background in Armidale and the Southern Highlands guides some rural-centric policies, including that long-standing rural cry of “decentralise the government”.

In light of a controversial recent Four Corners segment, it might be worth noting Johnstone’s attitude to overseas students at Australian universities. I like her emphasis that overseas students should be encouraged for reasons other than financial ones—but I do not like her belief that local students should have priority. There is no queue here. We do not need to pit local against overseas students. But then this policy position does not surprise me as she wants a cut to our migration intake for the usual spurious reason that migrants overload our public infrastructure. It’s a pity about this because most of her platform, especially her attitude to the environment, is pretty decent really. She does, though, argue for one of my absolute pet peeves: abolishing state government. I have written for the Guardian that state abolition is basically impossible and undesirable.

My recommendation: give Pamela Johnstone a decent preference.

Carolyn J. Crossman (website)

Crossman is another ungrouped independent concerned about the environment. Her personal profile on the website suggests she has experience in community advocacy to achieve positive results locally. She is concerned with water security (“water is life”), growing the renewable energy sector, reducing carbon emissions, and making “all decisions through the prism of climate change”. She also indicates an interest in gender equality and in the rights of Aboriginal peoples.

Crossman’s website has too many bullet points, surprise surprise, but she does go into detail on some policies. It is obvious she has a serious interest in addressing the crisis that has befallen the Murray-Darling Basin. She describes the deleterious effects of casualisation on on workers, especially for women, and how it both affects women’s incomes and restricts their life choices.

My recommendation: give Carolyn J. Crossman a good preference.

#auspol #ausvotes #ausvotes19 #ausvotes2019 #Australia #Election 2019 #Australian election #NSW #Senate #independent politics #independent politicians #independent candidate #independent candidates #independent #independents #ungrouped independents #bullet points are not policy for the love of god!

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aroacehogwarts · 7 years ago

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Aro/Ace Harry Potter Fanfiction and Fanart Competition!

We’re happy to announce AroAceHogwarts’ first Fan Creation Competition!

What it is: A competition to encourage some new aro/ace HP fan content, especially of longer length works! A work will be considered a fic if it is five paragraphs or longer.

How it works: If you’re interested in participating, you simply work on a piece of fanart and/or fanfic and post it before the deadline arrives. When you’re ready, you post the work on your blog! In your original post, you need to tag @aroacehogwarts, tag the piece #aroacehp within the first five tags, and submit a link to the work here: https://goo.gl/forms/d7SbbehsaIwHuF7o1 If you do not follow these steps, your work may be missed and not entered into the competition.

Fanart can be as detailed or simple as you want. It can have a background or scenery or be a portrait or character sketch with no background.

Fanfic can be as long as you want, as long as it is at least five paragraphs (full paragraphs; one-sentence character dialogue doesn’t count as its own paragraph). Bullet-point form is fine as long as it’s generally about five paragraphs long, as well.

Fan works must include an aromantic and/or asexual component, as well as be HP-verse themed. Fanworks should be safe for work (no explicit sex) but can imply or mention sex. It’s preferred that your work center around a canon character but you can include OCs.

Fanworks need to follow our blog rules. You do NOT have to be following our blog to participate in the conversation (creating works or voting).

Once the creation period is over, there will be a period of time in order to give people some time to read the fanfic and browse the fanart. Then the voting period will start, and people will be given a short period of time to vote for one piece of fanart and one piece of fanfic each. Once that’s over, we’ll announce the winners and award them a personalized certificate!

Why participate: Several reasons!

Flex your creative skills.

You can earn five house points towards our monthly Headcanon Cup if you include your House in your post or tags!

Help create some new aro/ace and HP-themed works, which have been lessening recently.

Get to participate in a community event and perhaps meet new people.

Get to do something for Pride Month!

Your work will be boosted by our blog to all our followers.

A chance to win a personalized certificate if you win.

Get a personal thank you from the mod team at the end of the competition.

For fun!

The dates:

Creating Period (time to work on writing/drawing): June 7th - August 15th EXTENDED TO Aug 31st

Reviewing Period (time dedicated to looking through the submissions): August 16th - August 31st You can, of course, read and peruse submissions during the creating and voting periods, but this is a little extra time to make sure you have time to look through everything.

Voting Period (time to vote for your favorite piece of fanart and your favorite piece of fanfic): September 1st - September 7th EXTENDED TO Sept 14th

Rules:

Submissions must be HP-themed and contain aro/ace content.

Submissions should center around a canon HP character. OCs are okay to include, though.

Submissions should have been started within the competition dates. No old creations, please, although you may re-work or re-create an old idea for entry!

Submissions can be submitted (mobile) directly to aroacehogwarts or posted directly on your own blog. If submitted to us, you need to clearly state the work is for the competition. As well, once we post the work, you’ll need to copy the post url and submit it here. If posting on your own blog, you need to tag @aroacehogwarts on the post, tag the post #aroacehp within the first five tags, and submit the post url here. If you do not follow these steps, your work may be missed or otherwise accidentally excluded from the competition voting.

Submissions should be safe for work.

Submissions should follow our blog rules: http://aroacehogwarts.tumblr.com/faqask

You can submit up to two pieces of fanart and two pieces of fanfic each.

Unless we figure out how to do weighted voting, you will only be able vote for one piece of fanart and one piece of fanfic apiece. Please be classy and do not vote for yourself. Ballot information found here.

Other: If you need some inspiration, check out our past and present Potter Prompts! If you have questions, please feel free to contact us! If you’re confused about something, probably others are, too!

-The AroAceHogwarts Mod Team

#aroacehp #fanworks competition #fanwork competition #aromantic #asexual #potter prompts #housekeeping #announcement #the mod team

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dr-archeville · 4 years ago

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INDY Week: A.G. Stein Sues the Pants off of DuPont for Poisoning Our Water

Everything you need to know this morning

Thank you to this week's sponsor,

The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. The Nasher is collaborating with Duke Arts and Duke Health on an outdoor exhibition and public awareness campaign. The project emphasizes the disproportionate impact of the deadly virus on the lives of communities of color.

Support the INDY Press Club: Better Journalism for a Better Community

It's Tuesday, October 13.

Hey y'all,

ALERT, ALERT! OUR ENDORSEMENTS ISSUE IS OUT NOW! You can find it for free at our paperboxes throughout the Triangle, and as with every issue of the INDY, we put the whole thing online too. We know that many of you rely on our endorsements to help you find candidates you can trust, and we put an unfathomable amount of time researching candidates, discussing their merits, analyzing the issues, and writing endorsements that both tell you about the folks on your ballot as well as argue why they're the best choice this year. Leigh Tauss, our Raleigh News Editor, did a phenomenal job of organizing this project, and it's my sincere hope that our endorsements help you make an informed decision when you cast your ballot. On to the news!

Like the INDY Daily? Share it with your friends and ask them to subscribe!

The INDY Daily is made possible by the INDY Press Club, which is helping us keep fearless, independent local journalism viable in the Triangle.

Voting Is an Important Task, So Please Wear a Mask

Early voting in North Carolina starts Thursday, October 15, and will last until Halloween. I am about to make an incredibly corny joke, so if you'd like, you can just skip to the bullet points below. BUT, if you're still reading, here is my corny joke: Halloween is not the only day that it is socially acceptable to wear a mask while voting early, and in fact, it would be great if you wore a mask no matter which day you cast an early vote.

The state Board of Elections has done everything it can to make polling places safe. Poll workers will be required to wear masks, there will be free hand sanitizer and masks on site, and when you fill out your ballot, you will get your own special pen that no one else has used and that no one else will use in the future.

Despite all of these safety measures, voters will not be strictly required to wear a mask at their polling place. Instead, they will be "strongly encouraged" to wear one.

The state's "Wear a Mask Pretty Please We Can't Actually Make You But Still C'mon Man Everybody Else Is Wearing One" policy is rooted in the fact that folks have a constitutional right to vote. The Board of Elections, evidently, has interpreted that right to mean you can't get kicked out of a polling place even if you're maskless.

This is one of those situations where essentially, there's a conflicting set of rights: I have a right to not get coughed on during a pandemic, which is why people are supposed to wear a mask. But you (not literally you, just "you" in the general sense) have a right to vote, no matter what, and that right's in the Constitution. So in the eyes of the law, my right -- which is rooted in an unwritten social contract -- loses. It's a bummer.

What's more, everything is so crazy right now that wearing a mask is very much a political issue -- the left is pro-mask, the right... eh, not so much. There is a strong possibility that if voters in North Carolina were required to wear a mask while voting, some Pro-Trump lawyer out there would sue the state, grease the legal system to get the case in front of a pro-Trump judge, and then the hypothetical mask-while-voting mandate would get thrown out.

I'm not a lawyer so I don't know whether the hypothetical lawsuit I outlined above would appear in state or federal court, but either way, now is a great reason to get acquainted with your judicial candidates. Oh! Our endorsements issue is out today and it contains oodles of information about every judge who's not running unopposed!

In closing, please pick up a copy of the INDY's new issue.

Attorney General Stein Sues Chemical Companies for Poisoning the Environment and Also Us

Things seem so uniquely bad at the moment that it can be hard to remember that sometimes, things are just always bad. Like PFAS being in our drinking water. PFAS have been in North Carolina's water supply for a long time, and it's really bad.

Hold on, you may be thinking, What are PFAS? I'm glad you asked! The term PFAS refers to a subset of synthetic chemicals used in consumer products because of their ability to repel water and oil. PFAS are frequently the reason that rain water seems to slide off of your water-resistant jacket. They're why Teflon products are so slick. They line the bags of our microwave popcorn, allowing the oil in the bag to get really hot and cause the kernels to pop without anything catching on fire. They're in lots of other stuff, too.

In fact, they're in so many things that the companies which produce PFAS -- in North Carolina, that means DuPont (the Jeff Gordon company) and its spin-off, Chemours -- create just unfathomable amounts of them, as well as their byproducts, and not all of them end up in consumer goods.

Where do unused PFAS end up? Given that PFAS are known to be toxic to humans and have been linked to cancer, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, weakened immune systems, and hypertension, that's a really, really, really important question. It would be terrifying if DuPont and Chemours were just dumping waste PFAS willy-nilly, as cheaply as possible, and with no regard for human or environmental health.

According to a lawsuit filed by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein yesterday, that is exactly what DuPont and Chemours have been doing for decades, loading the Cape Fear River with PFAS-infused wastewater from a plant in Fayetteville, NC. And if PFAS are getting into the Cape Fear River, that means they're getting into the land around the river, as well as wherever the river and its tributaries flow -- including a not insubstantial portion of the state's water supply.

While this is by no means the first time state officials have gone after the company for its practices (the suit alleges that Chemours is effectively a shell company controlled by DuPont), the 58-page suit is a sweeping condemnation of DuPont's relentless pursuit of profit at the expense of the environment as well as human life.

By the way, Attorney General Stein is up for re-election and we have endorsed him in our new issue.

Statewide COVID-19 by the numbers: Tuesday, October 13

1,734 New lab-confirmed new cases (234,481 total; seven-day average trending upward)

20,630 Completed tests (3.44 million total; most recent positive rate was 7.1 percent)

1,103 Current hospitalizations reported (seven-day average trending upward; 3,816 total deaths)

Quick Hits

North Carolina drivers, especially those in Wake County, hit an unfortunately high number of animals last year. [Associated Press]

Joe Biden is leading Donald Trump in North Carolina polls, 50 percent to 45. [WRAL]

Speaking of the presidential race, Kamala Harris will be visiting Charlotte and Asheville on Thursday. [News & Observer]

Learn about the importance of -- and challenges inherent to -- maintaining the roads that snake through Western North Carolina's national forests. [Carolina Public Press]

This song about how to safely use the Duke University Library's services during the pandemic is.... really good. [INDY Week]

Today's weather: Sunny with a high of 74, low of 49.

Song of the day: "Born too Late" by Saint Vitus

It's getting close to Halloween, and until that day comes I'm going to try to recommend the spookiest songs I can. That's going to mean lots of old rap music from Memphis, metal songs like the one I'm recommending today, and if I'm feeling crazy, "The Monster Mash." I like Saint Vitus's "Born too Late" because it seems like frontman Scott "Wino" Weinrich is both singing about how he wishes he were old enough to have been in Black Sabbath, and also about how he wishes he were old enough to have been a medieval warlock whose magical powers allowed him to play sick guitar solos.

— Drew Millard — Send me an email | Find me on Twitter

If you’d like to advertise your business to the Daily's 33,000-plus subscribers, please contact John Hurld at [email protected].

Love the INDY Daily? Support it by joining the INDY Press Club.

#NC #news #Election 2020 #masks #voting #pollution #public health

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geoffs2017 · 4 years ago

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A New Threat Arises ~ Critics of Property Tax Relief Look to Unravel CA Proposition 58 with (2020) Prop 19

A Threat to Proposition 58, Parent to Child Exclusion, Arises

If they were keeping both eyes open, most property owners in California were looking, tentatively, for signs on the horizon of any new threat to the popular property tax break known as the “parent to child exclusion” meaning exclusion from having your home, or any other property, reassessed every year at current property tax rates. Being that this exclusion is the the main foundation that property tax relief in California is built on, if you were serious about dismantling property tax relief in this state, it would be likely that you’d go after this critical tax break in earnest.

So naturally, at the last moment, when everyone thought they might have “dodged the bullet” in terms of efforts to dismantle Proposition 13 or Proposition 58 one more time, relentless critics of California Proposition 13 and Proposition 58 decided to add one more measure to the mix, to remove the parent to child exclusion allowed under Proposition 58, from California home owners… A measure they are calling Proposition 19.

No longer being able to avoid property tax reassessment would be a truly devastating event for home owners who depend on extra spendable cash freed up by the money they save from the lack of property tax reassessment. Losing the parent to child exclusion, in an already hyper-expensive state, would devastate millions of Californians. Not to mention the possibility of the so-called Split-Roll or “Proposition 15” commercial property tax, which would certainly add to the devastation by raising industrial and commercial property taxes, including apt. building landlords, forcing landlords to raise rents on residential and business tenants…

Or we could talk about trust beneficiaries or estate heirs losing their ability to get a loan for hundreds of thousands of dollars to an irrevocable trust to buyout siblings who are intent on selling their share of a beloved inherited home, along with establishing a low property tax base made possible by Proposition 13, working in tandem with Proposition 58. And the list goes on.

Without being partisan or subjective – it’s fairly clear to any reasonable person that would herald in grave economic disturbance, and even disaster, for the entire state, where middle class and working class people are concerned. Obviously, many residents in Malibu or Beverly Hills or Santa Barbara would not be feeling the pinch. However, we’re not talking about the 1%.

This brainchild of C.A.R. and the CA Legislature is, if you step back and think about it, not only brazen but also short-sighted, as they are actually looking to fund special interests with revenue from property taxes — right smack in the middle of a Pandemic. With over 6.7 million Californians having signed up for unemployment checks, these critics of property tax relief want to remove these universally popular property tax breaks protected by Proposition 13 and Proposition 58. Benefits that middle class and working class California families have become accustomed to, and depend on.

Proposition 58 Particulars Most Californians are familiar with Proposition 58 and the Prop 58 parent to child exclusion. As you know, California Proposition 58 serves to protect folks who owe $8,500 or more in additional property taxes, while they settle their affairs. Prop 58 also allows beneficiaries who wish to keep inherited property in their family to buyout co-beneficiaries’ property shares, through a trust loan, and helps those looking to keep their inherited home also keep a low Proposition 13 protected property tax base their parents paid. And everyone goes away happy, win-win, all the way around. In 1986, to protect families from massive property tax hikes, voters passed Proposition 58, revising the California constitution to ensure transfers of property between parents and children could be executed with the right to avoid property tax reassessment. Under Proposition 58 property of any value, plus additional property with up to a million dollars of assessed value, can be transferred between parents and children without reassessment. However, the chief sponsor of ACA-11 (Proposition 19) the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) came along and decided to spoil all these critical win-win protections. C.A.R. assembled enough signatures to get their initiative on the ballot. Apparently, C.A.R. is motivated by their monetary interest in drumming up new home sales, regardless of the fact that the measure creates a multi-billion-dollar tax increase statewide, will throw the entire middle class California economy into chaos, already in turmoil due to the Covid-19 health and unemployment crisis… The 2020 Proposition 19 would look to repeal the 1986 Proposition 58 and impose reassessment of inherited or transferred property within families. The one exception being if the property was used as the principal residence of the beneficiary to whom it was transferred, and that exclusion is even capped. Unintended or Intended Consequences? The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) estimated that the repeal of the “inter-generational transfer protections” guaranteed by the Prop 58 parent to child exclusion, and Proposition 193 grandparent to grandchild exemption would, if passed, cause somewhere between 40,000 to 60,000 families in California to be crippled economically by higher yearly property taxes.

Obviously, most middle class families would be forced to immediately sell an inherited home left to them by a surviving parent. Thus, a serious imposition has been placed on the “right to choose” for countless middle class families… simply so realtors can sell a few more homes on the market. The trade off does seem to be rather uneven. If Proposition 19 passes, all those beneficiaries in California will be expected to move in to their parent’s home and make it their primary residence within one year of their surviving parent’s death. The basis for this measure is unrealistic on its’ face, for a number of reasons… Many beneficiaries are already home owners, and pay out a fair amount of cash every month already to maintain their own mortgage and/or property upkeep. Moreover, if a beneficiary has a large family, and his or her parent’s home is not spacious enough – what alternatives are left for these folks? If Mom or Dad’s home is situated a long distance away from a beneficiary’s place of work, and/or the spouse’s workplace – and perhaps inconveniently far away from their children’s school, adding possibly an additional 60 or 90 minutes on the freeway each way, back and forth every day… What options will these families have to look to? Critics of property tax relief in California are proposing somewhat unrealistic measures that, although they may look good on paper from a financial perspective, they fail to incorporate realistic issues and scenarios that exist for regular people with regular lives.

So vote your conscience in November. We suggest you vote “No to Proposition 19”.

Information and Trust Loan Funding

For more details on the C.A.R. originated Proposition 19 effort to turn back the clock on property tax relief in California, you can go to CaliforniaProposition58.org For more information on trust loans working in concert with Proposition 58, go to Commercial Loan Corp Or to apply for a trust loan and speak to an account representative, go to “Apply for a Trust Loan”… Simply to read up on Prop 13 and Prop 58 parent to child exclusion, as well as on critics of property tax relief in California, plus the Covid-19 effect on real estate throughout the state – please go to the article: Coronavirus Crisis is the Last Thing the California Real Estate Market Needed!

#Property Tax Relief in California Under Assault ~ VOTE NO on PROPOSITION 19 & 15

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expatimes · 4 years ago

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In Breonna Taylor's Louisville, anger fuels demand for change

Louisville, Kentucky - It had only been a day since Louisville, Kentucky, learned there would be no murder charges in the police killing of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old unarmed Black woman, and more than 200 demonstrators were back in the square that has been the center of 120 consecutive days of protests.

Many talked among themselves. Every few minutes, someone led a chant, “Say her name.”

“Breonna Taylor,” the crowd shouted back.

At 8pm, long high-pitched alerts echoed from phones throughout the square: a one-hour warning before the mayor-issued curfew would take effect. A few minutes later, a woman on a megaphone told protesters to get ready to march. The night before, different groups got split up, according to one protester, resulting in the arrests of several dozen after the curfew began. On last Thursday night, they were not taking any chances.

“We're going down a new route,” the woman on the megaphone announced. “Stay together,” she said. The group then headed out.

Breonna Taylor, 26, was shot dead by police on March 13 [Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath/Al Jazeera]

Protests have rocked the city since late May when demonstrations erupted across the country over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In Louisville, it is the name of Taylor, who was shot dead by police on March 13, at the forefront.

A grand jury on Wednesday declined to indict the three Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers who fired into Taylor's apartment on charges directly related to her death. Instead, it indicted former officer Brett Hankison, who was fired in June, on three counts of wanton endangerment for “blindly” shooting into a neighboring apartment.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said in a news conference the other officers who fired their weapons were justified in their actions because Kenneth Walker, Taylor's boyfriend, fired the first shot. Walker has said he mistook police, who barged through the door while serving a “no-knock” warrant, for intruders.

The highly-anticipated decision left protesters angry and in tears. But the feeling of dejection quickly turned to motivation as they charted a path forward.

In 24 hours following the grand jury's decision, those next steps began to take shape: protesters and leaders pledged to stay in the streets, called on local legislators to change policies that they say led to Taylor's death, demanded increased investment in impoverished neighborhoods, and urged residents to vote.

New strategies

As demonstrators marched in Louisville on Thursday night, organisers were already adapting and changing their strategies.

“Whose streets? Our streets, ”the group chanted as it weaved through the city's downtown core. At one point, those in the lead pack who knew the march plan spotted police, dressed in riot gear, running along the city block where the group was headed.

The organizers quickly switched course. They appeared to do the same on several occasions, including cutting through a McDonald's parking lot to avoid an intersection blocked by the police. Just before 9pm, they headed towards First Unitarian Church.

This is a “sanctuary space”, pastors and others told the marchers, welcoming them to the place of worship where the curfew did not apply. As what appeared to be the last of the marchers made their way onto the church grounds, phones buzzed again with an emergency notification: “Louisville Metro is now under curfew until 6:30 am. Please be heading home. ”

A police line stands behind a sign outlining the history of the First Unitarian Church, where protesters sought refuge in downtown Louisville [Chris Kenning/Al Jazeera]

Protesters used the restrooms and grabbed food and water. A loud commotion then ensued. “Oh s ***,” one protester said. Police marched down an alleyway towards the church where dozens stood crammed together. It was quickly apparent that the church was more or less surrounded, and protesters would be in for a long night.

Soon, whispers of “they got Attica” could be heard in the crowd. Nearby, police had arrested Attica Scott, Kentucky's only Black female state legislator.

“I did not understand what was happening,” Scott later told Al Jazeera. “It wasn't even nine o'clock yet,” she said. "They literally rushed us, 'yelled, circle them, circle them' so that we couldn't even get to our cars or across the street to the church for sanctuary."

There seems to be two justices in America: one for Black America and one for white America

Benjamin Crump, US civil rights lawyer representing the Taylor family

Scott, who did not march with the protesters, said she was walking near the church with her 19-year-old daughter and others when police encircled them. They were taken into custody and charged with first-degree rioting - a felony - along with failure to disperse and unlawful assembly, both misdemeanours, according to a police spokesman.

Police claim Scott and others “caused extreme damage at multiple locations including setting fire to the Louisville Public Library”, according to the citation shared by local arrest media - an allegation Scott dismissed as “frivolous”.

“It was clear that [police] were targeting leaders, ”she said, pointing to Shameka Parrish-Wright, the site manager of the Louisville Bail Project, and Donny Greene, the co-founder of Feed Louisville, who were arrested alongside Scott.

New legislation, more investment

Scott has been at the forefront of the recent protest movement since it began. Authoring a bill called “Breonna's Law”, she is now leading an effort at the state level to ban “no-knock” warrants like the one used the night Taylor was killed.

Pushing through this kind of legislation is one way Scott and other city and state leaders see a way forward for the movement. Scott said in addition to Breonna's Law, she and her colleagues are working on other initiatives, including legislation that would require independent investigations for police killings.

Activists have already seen some victories at the hyper-local level with a city-wide ban on “no-knock” warrants and other promised police reforms. But politicians, including Jecorey Arthur, who grew up and continues to live in one of Louisville's predominantly Black neighborhoods, say measures must go beyond police reforms.

The 28-year-old Democrat says when he takes his Metro Council seat in January, he will focus on economic development in the city's mostly-Black areas, including the West End. "The policies that I'm thinking about are wealth-building policies, so that we don't have to resort or don't feel like we need to resort to a life of crime, which of course attracts police to our neighborhoods," he told Al Jazeera. He also wants the city to allocate more funds to neighborhoods such as the West End that experience higher levels of poverty.

Back at the church on Thursday night, protesters agreed: without investment in the city's predominantly Black neighborhoods - which are the product of a long history of codified and informal segregation - true change would be impossible. “Come clean up the West End,” Jomikha McGee said as she and other protesters remained holed up at the church.

“Clean this s *** up. We need to do something, ”the 28-year-old told Al Jazeera, comparing the city's West End and downtown area to predominantly white areas of town. "This ain't right."

Protesting for 120 consecutive days, McGee says she is even more enraged now that she knows no police officers will face murder charges in Taylor's killing. McGee, like many activists, dismissed the idea that the officers were justified in firing back after one was hit. “I'm angry. I'm so mad because you know, it could have been me, ”she said. "It could have been my mama."

That rage pulsated throughout the church grounds as protesters shouted at police who stared on, helmet shields down, batons in hand. “How do you spell racist? LMPD, ”the crowd chanted.

Protesters gasped as they watched officers tackled a man who crossed the perimeter and load him into the back of a police transport truck. Organisers and church staff, meanwhile, negotiated with police to allow protesters to go without being arrested. "How can we believe them?" one protester asked, referring to the police.

As time went on, small groups of officers slowly left the area. At 10:57 pm, what appeared to be the last of the officers climbed onto truck beds and headed out - ending the two-hour standoff.

Turning anger into votes

At a news conference back in the sun-filled square the next morning, the tone shifted to one of demands and calls for action beyond protests and legislation.

Benjamin Crump, a prominent US civil rights lawyer representing the Taylor family, demanded that Cameron, the attorney general, release the full transcripts of the grand jury proceedings. “So we can know if anybody was giving a voice to Breonna Taylor,” Crump said as he spoke in front of a large mural of Taylor.

The lawyer said the three wanton endangerment charges stemmed from bullets that entered white neighbor's apartments, not Taylor's or other Black residents. "No wanton murder charges for the bullets that mutilated Breonna Taylor's body?" Crump asked, standing next to Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer. "There seems to be two justices in America: one for Black America and one for white America."

In a statement read by Bianca Austin, Taylor's aunt, Palmer said: “I knew Cameron would never do his job. But what I do know is that him and countless others will go to bed sleeping with Breonna's face, still hearing her say her name. ”

Other speakers called for all the officers involved to be fired. “We will make this city as uncomfortable as it can be,” said activist Tamika Mallory. Crump urged people to turn their anger into votes. “If you were protesting for Breonna Taylor, if you signed a petition for Breonna Taylor, we need you to go sign a ballot and vote” in November, Crump said.

Following the more than one-hour news conference, just a small group of protesters along with some media remained. Among them was Bail Fund's Parrish-Wright, who had only gotten out of jail hours before.

Walking towards the Metro Corrections jail to check on a fellow activist who was also arrested on Thursday night, the 43-year-old said she is hopeful for the movement's future. “Even through all the trauma, and the continued aggressiveness from LMPD, I feel like I see a light in our youth being more activated,” Parrish-Wright told Al Jazeera, her voice full of energy, but eyes heavy from lack of sleep.

She said the youth will lead the movement as it moves forward. “We have to be led by our young people because even history tells us all of the major gains in the fight started with young people being bold, so we have to get behind it,” she said. “That's hope. This is hope in action. ”

That action was again on display on Friday evening - Day 121 of the protests - as the sun began to set.

A memorial for Breonna Taylor has been set up in Louisville [File: Bryan Woolston/Reuters]

Protesters again marched in downtown Louisville, at one point stopping at businesses they had not heeded demands to hire more Black workers. Police declared the march an "unlawful assembly" because people were walking in the street. They then set off two thunderous flashbang rounds to “get the crowd's attention”, a police spokesman said, and made two arrests before protesters eventually headed back to the square.

With less than an hour to go before curfew, a lull took over the park. One man said things would soon get “real different”, encouraging some to find a safe place. By 8:20 pm, 40 minutes before curfew, about two dozen of the remaining protesters marched towards the church they had sought refuge at the night before - this time with little police presence.

Within sight of the church, phones buzzed with an alert: “A curfew is beginning at 9pm… Please begin heading home.”

“Hello and welcome,” a former minister said, as the group reached the yard. There, a familiar call-and-response broke out between small groups. "Say her name… Breonna Taylor." How long they would be saying that name in Louisville's streets to win change, no one was certain.

#world Read full article: https://expatimes.com/?p=10935&feed_id=7456

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littlepinksockofmine · 5 years ago

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IMO NOTHING IS MORE IMPACTFUL THAN GETTING INTO THE HABIT OF DONATING, COMPARTMENTALIZE SOME TIME AND GET YOUR DONATION STREAMS IN ORDER. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT WITH YOUR MONEY.

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Money talks, and I want my money to say that Black Lives Matter. Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law was established in the 1960's and is fighting the good fight all day, every day. They are suing federal officials for the illegal use of tear gas and rubber bullets against BLM protesters in DC. They are fighting battles in multiple states to eliminate voter suppression. They are doing the work. Please donate whatever you can, and share with your network, both on and off Facebook (short-link is tinyurl.com/vvhfb). Adding a note about why this is important to you can make the share more effective ♥ After the immediate crisis is over and all the protesters have been bailed out, we need to find a way to make this country the kind of place where anyone can go for a run, or watch birds, or just live life, without fear, even if (especially if) they are not white. There are a lot of great orgs to choose from, and I want to focus on orgs with longer range plans to work towards social justice. With that in mind, I asked a college friend and choirmate, Anne Harper Charity Hudley (who is a tenured UC professor in the Linguistics of African America, and who also spends a lot of her free time and energy showing and telling the rest of us about what it means to be living while Black in America) to pick a single social justice org that I should support. Anne picked Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law -- it is led by Kristen Clarke, a Black woman who was two years ahead of me at Harvard, and three years ahead of me at Columbia Law School. After reading about their past work and ongoing focus, I believe in their mission and expertise, and I believe that in their hands, our donations will be used to help shift Black Lives Matter from movement to reality. In their own words: "The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed at the request of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Today, we are one of America's finest civil rights legal organizations. We work inside and outside the courtroom for a just America, fighting voter suppression, ensuring equal access to the ballot box, combating the racial disparities that infect our criminal justice system, addressing economic inequality, advocating for fair housing, promoting equal educational opportunity, confronting the rise in hate crimes, and more. For more than 56 years strong, we have been fighting to secure equal justice for all through the rule of law, targeting in particular the inequities confronting African Americans and other racial and ethnic minorities."

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garudabluffs · 5 years ago

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From The Beatles to Etta James: Read the full lyrics to Bob Dylan’s new 17-minute song ‘Murder Most Foul’

Twas a dark day in Dallas, November ’63 A day that will live on in infamy President Kennedy was a-ridin’ high Good day to be livin’ and a good day to die Being led to the slaughter like a sacrificial lamb He said, “Wait a minute, boys, you know who I am?” “Of course we do. We know who you are.” Then they blew off his head while he was still in the car Shot down like a dog in broad daylight Was a matter of timing and the timing was right You got unpaid debts; we’ve come to collect We’re gonna kill you with hatred; without any respect We’ll mock you and shock you and we’ll put it in your face We’ve already got someone here to take your place

The day they blew out the brains of the king Thousands were watching; no one saw a thing It happened so quickly, so quick, by surprise Right there in front of everyone’s eyes Greatest magic trick ever under the sun Perfectly executed, skillfully done Wolfman, oh wolfman, oh wolfman howl Rub-a-dub-dub, it’s a murder most foul

Hush, little children. You’ll understand The Beatles are comin’; they’re gonna hold your hand Slide down the banister, go get your coat Ferry ‘cross the Mersey and go for the throat There’s three bums comin’ all dressed in rags Pick up the pieces and lower the flags I’m going to Woodstock; it’s the Aquarian Age Then I’ll go to Altamont and sit near the stage Put your head out the window; let the good times roll There’s a party going on behind the Grassy Knoll

Stack up the bricks, pour the cement Don’t say Dallas don’t love you, Mr. President Put your foot in the tank and step on the gas Try to make it to the triple underpass Blackface singer, whiteface clown Better not show your faces after the sun goes down Up in the red light district, they’ve got cop on the beat Living in a nightmare on Elm Street

When you’re down in Deep Ellum, put your money in your shoe Don’t ask what your country can do for you Cash on the ballot, money to burn Dealey Plaza, make left-hand turn I’m going down to the crossroads; gonna flag a ride The place where faith, hope, and charity died Shoot him while he runs, boy. Shoot him while you can See if you can shoot the invisible man Goodbye, Charlie. Goodbye, Uncle Sam Frankly, Miss Scarlett, I don’t give a damn

What is the truth, and where did it go? Ask Oswald and Ruby; they oughta know “Shut your mouth,” said the wise old owl Business is business, and it’s a murder most foul

Tommy, can you hear me? I’m the Acid Queen I’m riding in a long, black limousine Riding in the backseat next to my wife Heading straight on in to the afterlife I’m leaning to the left; got my head in her lap Hold on, I’ve been led into some kind of a trap Where we ask no quarter, and no quarter do we give We’re right down the street from the street where you live They mutilated his body, and they took out his brain What more could they do? They piled on the pain But his soul’s not there where it was supposed to be at For the last fifty years they’ve been searchin’ for that

Freedom, oh freedom. Freedom cover me I hate to tell you, mister, but only dead men are free Send me some lovin’; tell me no lies Throw the gun in the gutter and walk on by Wake up, little Susie; let’s go for a drive Cross the Trinity River; let’s keep hope alive Turn the radio on; don’t touch the dials Parkland hospital, only six more miles

You got me dizzy, Miss Lizzy. You filled me with lead That magic bullet of yours has gone to my head I’m just a patsy like Patsy Cline Never shot anyone from in front or behind I’ve blood in my eye, got blood in my ear I’m never gonna make it to the new frontier Zapruder’s film I seen night before Seen it 33 times, maybe more It’s vile and deceitful. It’s cruel and it’s mean Ugliest thing that you ever have seen They killed him once and they killed him twice Killed him like a human sacrifice

The day that they killed him, someone said to me, “Son The age of the Antichrist has only begun.” Air Force One coming in through the gate Johnson sworn in at 2:38 Let me know when you decide to thrown in the towel It is what it is, and it’s murder most foul

What’s new, pussycat? What’d I say? I said the soul of a nation been torn away And it’s beginning to go into a slow decay And that it’s 36 hours past Judgment Day

Wolfman Jack, speaking in tongues He’s going on and on at the top of his lungs Play me a song, Mr. Wolfman Jack Play it for me in my long Cadillac Play me that ‘Only the Good Die Young’ Take me to the place Tom Dooley was hung Play St. James Infirmary and the Court of King James If you want to remember, you better write down the names Play Etta James, too. Play ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ Play it for the man with the telepathic mind Play John Lee Hooker. Play ‘Scratch My Back’. Play it for that strip club owner named Jack Guitar Slim going down slow Play it for me and for Marilyn Monroe

Play ‘Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’ Play it for the First Lady, she ain’t feeling any good Play Don Henley, play Glenn Frey Take it to the limit and let it go by Play it for Karl Wirsum, too Looking far, far away at Down Gallow Avenue Play tragedy, play “Twilight Time” Take me back to Tulsa to the scene of the crime Play another one and “Another One Bites the Dust” Play “The Old Rugged Cross” and “In God We Trust” Ride the pink horse down the long, lonesome road Stand there and wait for his head to explode Play “Mystery Train” for Mr. Mystery The man who fell down dead like a rootless tree Play it for the Reverend; play it for the Pastor Play it for the dog that got no master Play Oscar Peterson. Play Stan Getz Play “Blue Sky”; play Dickey Betts Play Art Pepper, Thelonious Monk Charlie Parker and all that junk All that junk and “All That Jazz” Play something for the Birdman of Alcatraz Play Buster Keaton, play Harold Lloyd Play Bugsy Siegel, play Pretty Boy Floyd Play the numbers, play the odds Play “Cry Me A River” for the Lord of the gods Play number 9, play number 6 Play it for Lindsey and Stevie Nicks Play Nat King Cole, play “Nature Boy” Play “Down In The Boondocks” for Terry Malloy Play “It Happened One Night” and “One Night of Sin” There’s 12 Million souls that are listening in Play “Merchant of Venice”, play “Merchants of Death” Play “Stella by Starlight” for Lady Macbeth

Don’t worry, Mr. President. Help’s on the way Your brothers are coming; there’ll be hell to pay Brothers? What brothers? What’s this about hell? Tell them, “We’re waiting. Keep coming.” We’ll get them as well

Love Field is where his plane touched down But it never did get back up off the ground Was a hard act to follow, second to none They killed him on the altar of the rising sun Play “Misty” for me and “That Old Devil Moon” Play “Anything Goes” and “Memphis in June” Play “Lonely At the Top” and “Lonely Are the Brave” Play it for Houdini spinning around his grave Play Jelly Roll Morton, play “Lucille” Play “Deep In a Dream”, and play “Driving Wheel” Play “Moonlight Sonata” in F-sharp And “A Key to the Highway” for the king on the harp Play “Marching Through Georgia” and “Dumbarton’s Drums” Play darkness and death will come when it comes Play “Love Me Or Leave Me” by the great Bud Powell Play “The Blood-stained Banner”, play “Murder Most Foul”

READ MORE https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/bob-dylan-new-song-lyrics-murder-most-foul/

#Murder Most Foul Lyrics Dylan

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