#politics🤵

[satyam-vishwakarma-raja]

“रिश्तों को जोड़े रखने के लिए कभी अंधा, कभी बहरा तो कभी गूंगा होना पड़ता है”💓 “ਰਿਸ਼ਠਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਬਚਾਉਣ ਲਈ ਅੰਧਾ, ਕਦੇ ਬਾਹਰਾ ਤਾਂ ਕਦੇ ਗੂੰਗਾ ਹੋਣਾ ਪੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ”💓 "रिश्तों को बळकट के लिए आंधा, कभी बहरा तो कभी गूंगा होना पड़ता है"💓 “रिश्तों को कूट रखने के लिए अन्ध, कभी बहरा तो कभी गूंगा होना पड़ता है”💓 "রিশতদের কোঁকড়ানোর জন্য আন্ধা, কখনো বাহরা তো কখনো গুন হওয়া দরকার"💓 “റിഷ്തോം കോ ജോഡേ രഖനേ കഭി അന്ധാ, കഭി ബഹര തോ കഭി ഗൂഢാ”💓 “రిష్తోం కో జోడే రఖనే కభీ అంధా, కభీ బహరా తో కభీ గొంగీ”💓 “ரிஷ்தோம் கோ ஜோடே ரக்கனே கே லியே கபி அந்தா, கபி பஹாரா தோ கபி கோஹா”💓 #MIT_school_of_Government World peace University #Pune_Maharashtra_India #Bhartiya_chhatra_sansad_leader🙏 #Natural_Power_Superstar😎#businessmen🕴️ #politics🤵 #realestatemen🌁 (at सोनभद्र UP-64) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpleqT9BXik/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[aethertetsuya]

DP x DC

Eye candy is now my Sugar Baby?

Vlad and Danny came to a mutual understanding. Vlad gives up killing Jack and gets Maddie and Danny's friendship. Vlad also debuts Danny as his heir, making Danny one of the most eligible Batchelors of his time.

At the age of 22, he's fresh out of college and has to navigate the political world of billionaires.

With marriage proposals left and right, one can only take so much before snapping.

It happens when he was making an appearance at a Premire involving space (movie or new Nasa project he funded). Walking down the red carpet several reporters kept hounding him. So much camera flash, the mics and cameras being shoved in his face. He snapped.

He scanned the crowd and zoned on the one person who could help. With a mischievous grin (the paparazzi caught this), he strode towards his target, snaking his arm of the persons arm and kissed him on the cheek, then whispered "play along" on a low voice no other would hear.

He knew this guy. He was kind, has a big heart, and is such an eye candy. He was Jonathan Samuel Kent, aka superboy.

Jon was in a similar position to Danny. The girls kept coming in waves and flirting with him. It was honestly exhausting. He came to the event with his mom as her assistant but lost her while chasing the stars of the movie for a scoop. The noise, bright flashes, and the constant flirting are starting to get him.

Suddenly a cold calm washed over him as a guy suddenly snaked an arm with his, kissed his cheek and whispered "play along". When he looked, he gave the most smitten, love struck expression he could make.

"Danny, my starlight!" Jon said excitedly.

"Jon, my sunshine I missed you!" Danny replied.

And so the two got lost in their own world chatting and catching up. Oblivious to the reporters snapping pictures and scribbling notes.

When Lois came back she saw the two, but only Danny seemed to have noticed her. She gave him a knowing look at screams. You owe me.

Overall, Danny had a great time, and at the end of the event, he came home with a heart much fuller and a scheduled date with his new boyfriend.

Lois to Jon: Just letting you know. I approve, use protection, and let us know when to expect grandkids.

Jon: Wha- Mom! (Embarrassed)

Clark: Your mother is right. You could get Danny pregnant regardless if he's a boy. His Halfa status would allow him to make kids he only needs your ... ahem ... fluids.

Jon: Dad! (Already thinking of having kids with Danny)

Danny: Personally, I like 3 kids, maybe 2 boys and a girl. The ghost treasury is mine plus real world billionaire anyway, so I can support you and the kids. Hey! Wanna be my sugar baby?

Jon: Okay, that's enough. BTW. Im a top only.

Danny: *eying Jon like a piece of delicious meat* I do 💍🤵‍♂🔔🤵

[greenerteacups]

Don't know if you aswered this already but I'm wondering abt Katie Bell. Is she a amab trans girl? Or nonbinary (the whole "most days" a girl)? Or what else? Because Draco "brain meltdown in the prefect bathroom" Malfoy mentions being totally cool with bodies in the locker room: is he talking about bodies with bits like his own? Or are quidditch locker room coed and his prudish ways are immune to teammates bodies and it's just Hermione who makes his brain melt?

The best way to describe Katie’s gender is 🤵🤷. I haven't really sat down and thought about what label she prefers, but nonbinary is probably right. Draco’s not really close with her, so his understanding of her gender is pretty much: “That’s Katie, she flies chaser, the rest is none of my business.” Katie embraces this view.

I don’t remember if the locker rooms are coed in canon — considering JKR's other political positions, that's almost certainly not what she intended — but I like to imagine it's coed with private bathrooms available for those who prefer it. The Gryffindor team is fairly friendly with each other, but Angelina, for instance, definitely keeps her pants &c on in the lockers, and the other girls can undress to whatever level of nudity they're comfortable with. Draco's general sense of decorum prevents him from making much of this; the typical locker room hijinks happen tend to happen around him more than with him.

[sylvaridreams]

🛏️ 🤫 🤵 for auruim!! and the laugh one for literally as many of ur characters as you're willing to do 🥺

Looks deep into your eyes hi....

Does he have a morning routine, and what is it? - his morning routine is whatever the person in charge of him is doing. If he's with Alba, it comes down to Alba's morning routine. If not, it's whoever he defers to in the meantime. So technically no, he personally doesn't have any laid out structure to start his day. But depending on who he's with for any period of time, that structure will be chosen for him. That said he's a heavy sleeper post-reformation, and gets low quality sleep, so it's always a fight to get him up in the mornings.

The silliest secret he has - not 100% secret and maybe a little less than silly. But he needs glasses. In fact, he has glasses. Several backup pairs! He refuses to use them. He doesn't want people to see him wearing them and laugh behind his back. But he's very low vision without them; the eyes are one of the first parts to break down and lose function once you become mordrem. Reformation didn't help either, made it even worse. Part of why he looks so angry and scary all the time is just that he's squinting cause he can't see shit. There are maybe 5 people in his life who can bully him into putting them on to read or look at something, and less than 10 people who he'll let see him in them. otherwise he just refuses or tries to break or hide them.

His definition of dressing nice - he thinks this means suits and tuxedos and stuff. Haughty stuffy wealthy human clothes. He finds them garish and abhorrent and unnecessary, so being told to dress nice is like being told to come looking like a pompous stupid ass. But we should back up. Because Auruim’s definition of "dressed" is also "You can't fully see 100% of my exposed skin." If he's wearing something, any garment, he's dressed. This is why he's running around half naked most of the time; chest out, thighs out, tummy exposed, ass in the breeze. He's come to understand that for some reason OTHER people disagree with his sentiment on what constitutes being dressed. So he also takes great offense to being told that he needs to get dressed, because to him he is already. 🧍 overall the idea of putting on fancy wear is like a punishment. It's too constricting and uncomfortable and he doesn't like how it looks.

What kind of laugh do they have? -

Alba's depends on if he's in a professional or more personal environment. Professional = the quiet chuckle only. It's polite and unobtrusive. Personal settings = polite chuckle, but if he's caught off guard or if he's inebriated in any way he'll laugh out loud <- turns heads when people don't expect him to make that noise.

Auruim isnt the type to laugh much at all. does more of a sneer and an amused noise if somethings funny. Maybe looks away squinting and covers a smile if its REALLY funny. Shockingly doesn't think jokes at someone's expense are funny, even light teasing, because he can't separate saying something gently ribbing from being outright cruel and mean.

Bourbon’s got a deep rich laugh. He also has a polite, fake laugh for when things aren't funny. You can tell the difference immediately because it sounds so forced.

Aeris has a quiet snide chuckle but then also has a big uproarious laugh for when something's really good. Laughs until she squeaks and cries, hits you on the back so hard it hurts for a long time cause she knocked something out of place, doubles over and wheezes, etc. Struggles not to keep going back and laughing at it for a minute but once she's done she's done. Goes stone faced if you try to retell the joke.

[aariandthediamonds]

You’re 🫵🫵a laughing stock 📉📉📉 in polite society🤵

You’ll ❌ never ❌ go to the opera 🎻again! 🙄

[raincloudlatte]

Murdle Results 8/24/24

DEDUCTIVE LOGICO AND THE CASE OF THE BODY OF THE POLITICAL DISSIDENT Murdle for 8/24/2024

👤🔪🏡❓ 🕰️ ✅✅✅✅ 4️⃣:5️⃣7️⃣

⚖️ 👩‍💼👑👨‍💼🧛‍♂️👨‍🦱🪖🕺🧛‍♂️🧓👱‍♂️👩‍⚕️🧛‍♂️🤠👩‍🍳👶👵👩‍🦳👨‍🦱👨‍🦱👩‍🚀👨‍🦲👩‍⚖️👨‍💼🧑🤴🤴🤵🤠🕵👶👩‍💻👤

[channel-d-is-open]

hey ummm guys did u know that 😳😳

IN NEW YORK CITY 🏙️ ON A STREET IN THE EAST 🧭 FORTIES THERE'S AN ORDINARY TAILOR 🪡🧵SHOP....OR IS IT ORDINARY 😳🤯

WE ENTER 🏃THROUGH THE AGENTS ENTRANCE 🚪 AND WE ARE NOW IN U.N.C.L.E HEADQUARTERS ‼️‼️ THAT'S THE UNITED 🤝 NETWORK 🌐 COMMAND FOR LAW ⚖️ AND ENFORCEMENT 🚩

UNCLE IS AN ORGANIZATION CONSISTING OF AGENTS 👫👬👭 OF ALL NATIONALITIES 🌐, IT'S INVOLVED IN MAINTAINING POLITICAL 🤵 AND LEGAL⚖️ ORDER ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD🌎

MY NAME IS NAPOLEON SOLO 👦 I'M AN ENFORCEMENT AGENT IN SECTION 2️⃣ HERE 💪 THAT'S OPERATIONS AND ENFORCEMENT 🙏

I AM ILLYA KURYAKIN 👱 I AM ALSO AN ENFORCEMENT 💪 AGENT LIKE MY FRIEND 💑 NAPOLEON, I GO🏃 AND I DO WHATEVER I AM TOLD TO 🤔 BY OUR CHIEF

OH YES, ALEXANDER WAVERLY 👴 NUMBER 1️⃣ SECTION 1️⃣ IN CHARGE OF THIS, OUR NEW YORK 🗽HEADQUARTERS 😌 IT'S FROM HERE 👆 THAT I SEND ➡️ THESE YOUNG MEN 👦👱 ON THEIR VARIOUS MISSIONS 🏃🏃🏼

[meinu-darling]

Can you do FrUK about their wedding in hetamu ? bc it’s so funny xD

🇫🇷Fruk Hetamyu Wedding🇬🇧

👰🤵💒💍🔔 feat. France x UK

Oh how bless my eyes are when i find out they legit wrote a whole script and skit for their wedding, c-canon. ♡👁

The only thing's left was the wedding kiss 😘

Tho in my HC they're still married, not for politics nor economies, but for themselves 😩

Notes and reblogs are highly appreciated!

[SHIP REQUEST OPEN]

[lawrencedienerthings]

Carman: If you liked the Y2K scam, you’re gonna love the QAnon trolls and their pack of lies

#conspiracytheory👬 😒 🤵 ⚱ 👨‍⚕️ ⚰

Colorado News

My friend Helen, who died last year at the age of 90, went through a serious conspiracy theory phase 20-some years ago. She had retired from a nursing career that had provided purpose, satisfaction and friendship for more than 40 years. She was grieving the recent death of her husband, adrift and feeling vulnerable. 

She wanted to find an external explanation for her loneliness, helplessness and sense of isolation, and so she was the precise target for the self-aggrandizing cynics who engage in psychic manipulation to achieve their own ends.

This was before the social media explosion. Her medium of choice was AM radio and, in no time, she was sucked into the vortex of the dystopian talk-radio universe. 

Diane Carman

The fringe talk-radio goons back then said the dust trail of Comet Hale-Bopp was concealing a spaceship that would deliver aliens to take over the Earth, and she listened. When she repeated the ridiculous claim and her sons gave her that look, she admitted that, well, it did seem a little far-fetched.

There were other fantasies about invaders from the New World Order and about demons who own the Fed. She repeated them, but never got amped up about them.

Then, when they told her society would collapse at the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1, 2000, in something they ominously referred to as Y2K, she believed.

Oh, boy, did she.

With her two brothers, she invested in a gas generator for her house since she had become convinced the electric grid would collapse. They also stockpiled a basement full of freeze-dried food and bottled water, gassed up their cars, and dusted off the guns and ammo from storage, believing that society was on the brink of collapse. 

She warned us to prepare for martial law. 

She was genuinely frightened.

On Dec. 31, 1999, after years of roiling anxiety, she watched the New Year’s celebrations in Australia and New Zealand on TV waiting for all hell to break loose. Nothing happened.

READ: Colorado Sun opinion columnists.

Then, when she woke up on New Year’s Day after a fitful night’s sleep and nothing had changed at her home in St. Joseph, Mo., the creeping sense that she had been played started to sink in.

She realized she’d willingly suspended disbelief. She had allowed liars, fearmongers and crooks to take advantage of her. She let herself be victimized.

Embarrassed and angry, she quit talk-radio cold turkey and took her life back. She knew she’d been a sucker. She never wanted to feel that way again.

Helen’s story is a cautionary tale.

In 2020, when hurricanes, wildfires, police shootings, a pandemic, civil unrest, a derecho (say, what?) and a plummeting economy have provided all of us with plenty of legitimate sources of anxiety, the arsonists of fear and loathing have mobilized to pour accelerants onto our emotions and diabolically exploit them.

The faceless QAnon manipulators would have us believe that people who challenge Donald Trump are pedophiles who worship Satan and coordinate a child sex-trafficking operation, and that we’re being deceived because, they say, only 9,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 instead of the 180,000-plus deaths reported by hospitals, physicians, nurses, medical centers, coroners, Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Twitter mavens post unfounded rumors of black-clad “thugs” arriving in cities by the planeload to wreak havoc. Then, sinister politicians repeat the stories until their gullible followers believe that since they’ve heard it so often – despite a complete lack of evidence – it must be true.

And then there are the political henchmen who simply make stuff up and rely on highly placed enablers and apologists to provide cover so they can spread seeds of discontent across an already freaked-out populace.

We’re talking about University of Colorado Boulder’s Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy John Eastman, who speculated in a recent opinion piece in Newsweek that vice presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris might not be a full-fledged U.S. citizen because her parents were immigrants. 

It was a reprise of the despicable racist birther fabrication propagated for years by Trump and his fan club against President Obama.

You don’t have to have a Ph.D. or to have been a clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas to understand the 14th Amendment, which states that “All persons born … in the United States are citizens….” Eastman apparently thinks we’re too stupid to look it up.

And while Newsweek backpedaled after publishing Eastman’s thinly veiled attack on the legitimacy of Harris’ candidacy and apologized for publishing something that fanned the flames of racism and xenophobia, CU doubled down.

Chancellor Phil DiStefano said in a memo that although “Professor Eastman’s op-ed has marginalized members of our CU Boulder community” and undermined the university’s efforts to achieve racial equity, he will not rescind his appointment or silence him from publishing any further specious claptrap.  

Apparently academic freedom in Boulder is a license to publish utter BS.

All this should be a warning to people who are trying, against great odds, to weigh actual facts and make good decisions in the coming elections. 

A host of crooks and charlatans are out there – like the identity thieves constantly bombarding our phones with lies about the IRS coming after us – strafing our consciousness with sinister disinformation.

OUR UNDERWRITERS SUPPORT JOURNALISM.   BECOME ONE.

Honestly, we’re all exhausted by the real dangers of 2020. It’s cruel and disgusting that we’re being targeted with sick fantasies.

So, as a tribute to Helen, let’s just remember New Year’s Day 2000 and think about how angry she was when she realized she’d been duped.

Don’t let it happen to you.

Diane Carman is a Denver communications consultant.

The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy and submit columns, suggested writers and more to opinion@coloradosun.com.

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from Straight News https://ift.tt/331fzOC

[satyam-vishwakarma-raja]

पहचान तो सबसे है हमारी भरोसा खुद पर है। 💓 Identity is with everyone, we have faith in ourselves.💓 ਪਹਿਚਾਣ ਸਭ ਦੇ ਨਾਲ ਹੈ, ਸਾਨੂੰ ਆਪਣੇ ਆਪ ਵਿੱਚ ਵਿਸ਼ਵਾਸ ਹੈ। 💓 ओळख प्रत्येकाशी असते, आपला स्वतःवर विश्वास असतो.💓 ઓળખ દરેકની સાથે હોય છે, આપણને પોતાનામાં વિશ્વાસ હોય છે.💓 পরিচয় সবার সাথে, নিজের প্রতি বিশ্বাস আছে।💓 ഐഡന്റിറ്റി എല്ലാവരിലും ഉണ്ട്, നമുക്ക് നമ്മിൽ വിശ്വാസമുണ്ട്.💓 గుర్తింపు అనేది ప్రతి ఒక్కరికీ ఉంటుంది, మనపై మనకు నమ్మకం ఉంటుంది.💓 அடையாளம் எல்லோரிடமும்💓 இருக்கிறது, நம் மீது நமக்கு நம்பிக்கை இருக்கிறது.💓 #MIT_school_of_Government World peace University #Pune_Maharashtra_India #Bhartiya_chhatra_sansad_leader🙏 #Natural_Power_Superstar😎#businessmen🕴️ #politics🤵 #realestatemen🌁 (at Khatima) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpAKcC6svHb/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[satyam-vishwakarma-raja]

रेलगाड़ी भी वही है।सीट भी वही है।सिर्फ, बैठने वाले लोग बदल रहे हैं..!😊 The train is also the same. The seat is also the same. Only the people sitting are changing..!😊 ਟਰੇਨ ਵੀ ਉਹੀ.. ਸੀਟ ਵੀ ਉਹੀ.. ਬੱਸ ਬੈਠੇ ਲੋਕ ਹੀ ਬਦਲਦੇ ਨੇ..!😊 ट्रेन सुद्धा तीच आहे सीट पण तीच आहे फक्त बसलेली माणसं बदलत आहेत..!😊 ટ્રેન પણ એ જ છે સીટ પણ એ જ છે બસ બેઠેલા માણસો બદલાય છે..!😊 ট্রেনও একই, সিটও একই, শুধু বসা মানুষগুলো বদলাচ্ছে..!😊 ട്രെയിനും അങ്ങനെ തന്നെ.. സീറ്റും അങ്ങനെ തന്നെ.. ഇരിക്കുന്നവർ മാത്രം മാറുകയാണ്..!😊 రైలు కూడా ఒకటే.. సీటు కూడా ఒకటే.. కూర్చున్నవాళ్లు మాత్రమే మారుతున్నారు..😊 ரயிலும் அப்படியே.. இருக்கையும் அப்படியே.. அமர்ந்திருப்பவர்கள் மட்டும் மாறிக் கொண்டிருக்கிறார்கள்..😊 #MIT_school_of_Government World peace University #Pune_Maharashtra_India #Bhartiya_chhatra_sansad_leader🙏 #Natural_Power_Superstar😎#businessmen🕴️ #politics🤵 #realestatemen🌁 (at बांसुरी नगरी, पीलीभीत) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cney4YQhapc/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[satyam-vishwakarma-raja]

#आईआईटी_कानपुर से लंबे-समय के बाद सफलतापूर्वक का सर्टिफिकेट प्राप्त हुआ💓😘😊 Successfully received Certificate of Success after a long time from #IIT_Kanpur💓😘😊 ਲੰਬੇ ਸਮੇਂ ਬਾਅਦ #IIT_Kanpur ਤੋਂ ਸਫਲਤਾਪੂਰਵਕ ਸੰਪੂਰਨਤਾ ਸਰਟੀਫਿਕੇਟ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਕੀਤਾ 💓😘😊 खूप दिवसांनी #IIT_Kanpur कडून यशस्वी पूर्णत्वाचे प्रमाणपत्र मिळाले 💓😘😊 લાંબા સમય પછી #IIT_Kanpur તરફથી સફળતાપૂર્વક પૂર્ણતાનું પ્રમાણપત્ર મળ્યું 💓😘😊 বহুদিন পর #IIT_Kanpur থেকে সফল সমাপ্তির শংসাপত্র প্রাপ্তি 💓😘😊 நீண்ட நாட்களுக்குப் பிறகு #IIT_கான்பூரில் இருந்து வெற்றிகரமாக முடித்ததற்கான சான்றிதழ் கிடைத்தது 💓😘😊 చాలా కాలం తర్వాత #IIT_కాన్పూర్ నుండి విజయవంతంగా పూర్తి చేసిన సర్టిఫికేట్ అందుకుంది 💓😘😊 ഏറെ നാളുകൾക്ക് ശേഷം #IIT_Kanpur-ൽ നിന്ന് വിജയകരമായി പൂർത്തിയാക്കിയ സർട്ടിഫിക്കറ്റ് ലഭിച്ചു 💓😘😊 #MIT_school_of_Government World peace University #Bhartiya_chhatra_sansad_leader🙏 #Natural_Power_Superstar😎 # #businessmen🕴️ #politics🤵 #realestatemen🌁 https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm_qpeThEEJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[satyam-vishwakarma-raja]

आप सभी देशवासियों को #मकर_सक्रांति #लोहड़ी #पोंगल और #बिहू की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं🙏🙏💓💓💞😊😊🤗🤗 Best wishes to all countrymen on #Makar_Sakranti #Lohri #Pongal and #Bihu 🙏🙏💓💓💞😊😊🤗🤗 #ਮਕਰ_ਸਕਰਾਂਤੀ #ਲੋਹੜੀ #ਪੋਂਗਲ ਅਤੇ #ਬੀਹੂ ਦੀਆਂ ਸਮੂਹ ਦੇਸ਼ ਵਾਸੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਸ਼ੁਭਕਾਮਨਾਵਾਂ 🙏🙏💓💓💞😊😊🤗🤗 सर्व देशवासियांना #मकर_संक्रांतीच्या #लोहरी #पोंगल आणि #बिहूच्या हार्दिक शुभेच्छा 🙏🙏💓💓💞😊😊🤗🤗 તમામ દેશવાસીઓને મકર_સક્રાંતિ લોહરી પોંગલ અને બિહુ ની શુભકામનાઓ 🙏🙏💓💓💞😊😊🤗🤗 সমস্ত দেশবাসীকে মকর_সংক্রান্তি লোহরি প���ঙ্গল এবং বিহুর শুভেচ্ছা 🙏🙏💓💓💞😊😊🤗🤗 എല്ലാ ദേശവാസികൾക്കും മകര_സക്രാന്തി ലോഹ്രി പൊങ്കൽ, ബിഹു ആശംസകൾ 🙏🙏💓💓💞😊😊🤗🤗 దేశప్రజలందరికీ మకర_సక్రాంతి లోహ్రీ పొంగల్ మరియు బిహు శుభాకాంక్షలు 🙏🙏💓💓💞😊😊🤗🤗 அனைத்து நாட்டு மக்களுக்கும் #மகர_சக்ராந்தி #லோஹ்ரி #பொங்கல் மற்றும் #பிஹு வாழ்த்துக்கள் 🙏🙏💓💓💞😊😊🤗🤗 #MIT_school_of_Government World peace University #Pune_Maharashtra_India #Bhartiya_chhatra_sansad_leader🙏 #Natural_Power_Superstar😎 #businessmen🕴️#politics🤵 #realestatemen🌁 (at Hotel Arihant) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnYojJGBV5V/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[lawrencedienerthings]

Coloradan Connie Shoemaker had stories to tell after years of international travel and work with immigrants

#teachingenglish🗣 🌎 🎓 👨‍👨‍👦‍👦 🗽 👨‍🎓 🇬🇧 🖋 🤵 📰 👯

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Connie Shoemaker has experienced more than half her life in an international setting. Her interest in Muslim women began with four years at American University in Cairo, Egypt, where her husband initiated a graduate communications program and she combined raising three children with teaching English, writing for Associated Press and other newspapers, and publishing a book of poetry. She continues that interest as co-founder and director emerita of Spring International Language Center and board member of Immigrant Pathways Colorado. She has paired her passion for the Muslim world with her commitment to the value of writing life stories. 

The following is an interview with Connie Shoemaker.

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Each week, The Colorado Sun and Colorado Humanities & Center For The Book feature an excerpt from a Colorado book and an interview with the author. Explore the SunLit archives at coloradosun.com/sunlit.

What inspired you to write this book?

The hope of bridging the social and political chasm dividing America today. 

Fear of persons of a different skin color, religion, dress, or political party has burst into a flood of hatred that has damaged the paths that should connect us and is being used by those who would divide us. 

The Muslim community is one of the major targets of this fear. Just as knowledge frees us and makes us more able to function correctly, ignorance condemns us to the bondage of fear. I wanted “Taste the Sweetness” to chip away at ignorance by giving readers the opportunity to become intimately acquainted with two Muslim women through the life stories they tell.

Place these two excerpts in context. How do they fit into the book as a whole and why did you select them?

The first excerpt focuses on a pivotal event in the life of Nisren, the Kurdish Iraqi woman who has lived her life under the stress of a dictator, six wars, sanctions, and the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Her husband, an interpreter for the U.S. Army, has received death threats by factions against the U.S. occupation of Iraq. His meeting with a Colorado National Guard member changes the course of the family’s life.

Tell us about creating this book: any research and travel you might have done, any other influences on which you drew?

I’ve spent more than half my life in an international setting, including four years in Cairo, Egypt, with my husband and three children. He initiated a graduate program in mass communication, and I taught English as a foreign language and wrote for Associated Press. An additional 40 years of my life have been dedicated to international students and immigrants as I co-founded Spring International Language Center and directed the English as a Second Language program in Littleton, Colorado. 

My work with Spring International took me to Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East recruiting students for the program, visiting former students, and fulfilling a U.S. Department of State project on the island of Cyprus that sought to build a bridge between the Turkish North and the Greek South of the country. Yes, that’s a lot of years and, yes, I’m rather old—86 to be exact.

What were the biggest challenges you faced, or surprises you encountered in completing this book?

The winnowing-down process. I spent more than 300 hours with Nisren and Eman, encouraging them to tell me their life stories, recording the interviews, choosing the most insightful responses and drafting them into their life stories. 

I then tried to create scenes that would vividly illustrate the events in their lives, had them review these and add or subtract from them. Then, of course, came multiple drafts, lots of discards, research into politics of Libya, Iraq, and the U.S., and so on. 

The interviews were a joy that I’ll always cherish because Nisren and Eman allowed me to experience their lives through their own voices. I discovered that they, too, benefited from sharing their stories.  The process validated their experiences and helped them to reflect on their difficulties and rejoice in their strengths.

Walk us through your writing process: Where and when do you write? What time of day? Do you listen to music, need quiet? 

I’ve always been an early riser, so I usually go to my office upstairs after breakfast, accompanied by resident ragdoll cats, Sophie and Muffy, who like to curl up under the desk. 

When I reviewed the audio recordings, I needed to close the door to the office, so I could listen intently to what Nisren and Eman were saying.  When my husband and I were under a 14-day Covid-19 quarantine, I needed to listen to light classical music to take my mind away from the cable news that I watch too frequently.

What’s your next project?

I enjoy writing poetry and have a book of poems, “The Last Good Night,” which I would like to revise and complete with new verses.  Immersion journalism is a moniker for the genre of writing in “Taste the Sweetness,” and I’m interested in using the same process to tell the story of the amazing participants from ages 70 to 94 in a Silver Sneakers exercise class. Also, at the back of my mind for several years, has been the story of an American family of five living in Cairo, Egypt, during the 1970s.

— Buy “Taste the Sweetness Later” through BookBar. — Read two excerpts from the book.

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[lawrencedienerthings]

Republicans are using the 2017 Firestone home explosion to attack Hickenlooper. A survivor demands they stop.

#anad💥 🤵 ☠ 👊 📍 🚩 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 😤

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A survivor of the deadly 2017 home explosion in Firestone caused by a leak from a nearby oil and gas well is calling on the National Republican Senatorial Committee to immediately take down an ad that uses the blast to attack former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. 

Erin Martinez, whose husband, Mark, and brother, Joey, were killed in the explosion called the ad “horrifying.”

“My family and I have worked extremely hard to create positive changes that will keep my story from happening to anyone else and in doing so, honoring the memories of Mark and Joey,” Martinez said in a written statement. “Not a single day goes by that we are not heartbroken and struck with unimaginable grief. This ad uses my story in a negative light and disgraces the memory of Mark and Joey.”

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The NRSC, which is spending millions in Colorado to reelect Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, says it won’t take the ad down. Hickenlooper is running to unseat Gardner. 

Before-and-after photos of the home in Firestone that was destroyed in a 2017 explosion caused by a nearby oil and gas well. The NTSB said a contributing factor to the incident was local officials’ decision to allow homes to be built near oil and gas drilling facilities without knowing where buried pipelines were. (NTSB photos)

“The kind of grief Ms. Martinez and her family have survived is unimaginable, and their public fight to keep other Colorado families safe is incredibly important,” said Joanna Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the NRSC. “John Hickenlooper said he was going to do the right thing to protect Colorado families right after the explosion, but then a private donation to his office from the gas company responsible changed that.”

The 30-second ad lacks context. 

It accuses Hickenlooper of not doing more to sanction Anadarko, the company that owned the leaky well, because his office took a donation from the driller after the blast. While it’s true that Hickenlooper’s office accepted the money weeks after the Firestone blast, there isn’t proof that his office wasn’t tougher on Anadarko because of it. Hickenlooper’s office also accepted money from Anadarko before the fatal blast.

The ad also says that no one went to jail and there were no fines issued under Hickenlooper’s administration. Both claims are true, but state regulators were waiting to pursue fines until after the National Transportation Safety Board finished its investigation. The explosion was caused by a pipeline that was severed during construction of the home.

The pipeline was attached to a well that was dormant until a few months before the incident. When it was restarted, raw natural gas leaked into the house.

The NTSB investigation wasn’t released until October 2019, long after Hickenlooper left office. Four months later, Occidental Petroleum, which acquired Anadarko, was hit with an $18.25 million fine. 

The ad does not name Martinez’ family, but it does use images of their home engulfed in flames.

Hickenlooper’s campaign also called for the ad to come down. “Erin Martinez is absolutely correct — Washington Republicans must take down their ‘horrifying’ and false attack and stop exploiting this tragedy and distorting the facts to score political points,” said Melissa Miller, a spokeswoman for Hickenlooper.

She also pointed out that Hickenlooper took a number of actions after the blast, including calling for pressure testing of pipelines near homes.

A spokesman for Gardner’s reelection campaign declined to comment.

Both Hickenlooper and Gardner have faced criticism for their ties to the oil and gas industry.

Erin Martinez has pushed for stricter regulations on the oil and gas industry in the wake of the explosion. She was instrumental in the passage last year of Senate Bill 181, which dramatically shifted Colorado laws around drilling, but she has mostly stayed away from partisan politics. 

MORE: Colorado lawmakers are using the deadly Firestone explosion as a fulcrum for change — just as Erin Martinez wanted

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Martinez’ son also survived the 2017 blast.

The NRSC has booked or spent $4.9 million in Colorado for the election cycle, including $1.3 million this month alone.

Colorado Sun correspondent Sandra Fish contributed to this report.

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Republicans are using the 2017 Firestone home explosion to attack Hickenlooper. A survivor demands they stop.

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