#they may have done that in the last court case but i cant recall

[eccedeus]

Ambassador Madonsela just called Israel "a settler colonial apartheid state"

[currentfandomkick]

Bio! Dad Strange part 4

Shorter but a paris update for her life and a little on gotham with Jason as Robin while Tim is a hero Stalker.

Marinette is 7 when she changes schools, ordered into the Dupont school chain by her teachers since she was getting ‘difficult’ and contradicting their ciriculum. When they challeneged her on this, she went to the school board with Rolland beside her of all people.

The board agreed on one thing, Marinette’s contradictions were not only factually correct, but were done to prevent the outdated ciriculum from hurting her classmates. Instead of punishing her, she got to skip a gade and was given to Dupont as a ‘highly reccomended gifted student’.

Her first day she met Max, who also skipped a grade. The pair bond in five seconds over a new programming focused on learning emotional intelligence. Uncle Riddler was showing her it, and Max got his hands on a various ai bases. This led to then teaming up and designing the one and only Markov together, if only in schematics.

A week in and the two notice that some kids are being followed around by a guy with a bat. They report it. Again and again, but no one can find him.

One day he catches the pair on their way to Max’s—they wanted to work on their ai together, ok? The guy tries to hit Max, saying something about them being lucky metas that needed to suffer.

Marinette’s gotham training kicked in. She caught the bat, ripped it away from him and hit him in the chest with it, while yelling at max to run.

At the end of the incident, videotaped by a bystander, the Dupont Stalker was arrested.

Marinette was given another name by the police, ‘fille de batte’ or bat girl. Her having family in gotham only made the nickname more popular.

This put her on Kim and Alix’s radar. Kim wanted a challenge for fighting and competitions, and this tiny kid did that—to an adult! New friend and rival!

Alix was went from shock to joy as Marientte does art. She does art. Art friend to rant to found!

Nino ran into Marinette not long after Kim and Alix attached themselves to her and Max. Nino became their judge for Kim challenges. Including Mari pinning Kim to the mat, or deciding who did a circus move better (Mari won acrobatics).

Chloe doesnt go to dupont until next year, and sabrina is in another class, mildly concerned for Marinette.

In this au, again, Dupont is considered a ‘i would not be shocked if there were metas there’ school for gifted kids in any way.

Marinette is sent there for her insane science obsession at the time, but is also put in their arts program with Alix to develop as an artist with her medium, fabrics and fashion.

And if marinette redesigns hero outfits as “monsiuer ross, scribbles have more style, let alone fashion sense” alot, well. Kids get obsessed a lot and the Justice League is a common one, as are known villians. Her everyday outfits having different hero schemes—oddly enough some forensic scientist she’s obsessed with from some american city ended up in her mix—well. She’s a kid and showing signs a few types of anxiety.

Possible social and OCD and a developing case of perfectionism common to the arts program. The school has her see a therapist and know she isnt telling them everything beyong mild concern for her gotham family, and confusion over people just ‘not getting things’ as she is terribly smart and good at finding patterns and how do people not see it?

By the end of the year Marinette is in a strong friend group who’s parents and hers have decided to have joint custody during the school year.

She was now (forced) to learn vietnamese from Kim’s Grandparents, italian from Rolland (her nonno that has a Thing for tradition and somehow married Gina and raised Tom mostly on his own while running the bakery to boot), english from Father/Strange, Mandarin from her Maman and she started Arabic to talk with Nino’s aunt who kept saying marinette was her future in-law and point out that nino and her are friends, not dating ma’am.

However, Nino endured most of this with her-not the italian or Mandarin, but the others. Kim couldnt get Arabic but mandarin was a breeze for him. Alix cannot get vietnamese or arabic but Mandarin is her jam after french. Max just speaks french and english, he understands the others he just cant get the sounds right, ok?

When Marinette goes back to Gotham that summer, she ends up dealing with Hero Stalker Tim (jason is robin now) while looking for Red Hoodie who No oNE is telling her what happened and she’s worried, ok?

Tim feeds her obbsession with fixing problems. He sometimes sends her building layouts of places Catwoman stole from. And then the jewlry reappears thanks to a nervous Marinette coached by Rose and Ghoul while Frost handles her post-fix it freak out. Tim also may or may not get helped by her alot during Batman Stalking Time as she teaches his butt how to sneak and complains he’s worse than penguin.

Tim hates that, works on it, and still has nonidea who she is. He does admit to figuring out who batman may be, but needs more evidence so...

Marinette hits him becuase “thats dangerous!” And tries to lecture him in identites.

Batman’s radiowave was used for said lecture.

“And it puts their families in danger you, uh, hero stalker! And stuff so no more identity investigations!”

“They have the same builds, and did signsture moves from—“ the signal cutout.

He and Jason are more careful... ish. They change channels and monitor the old one.

Sometimes Batman catches Marinette and Tim talking about coldcases and she has asked three times if he heard anything about Jason’s street kid identity. Jason is feeling guilty about this as she’s his Pixie Pop. This lets Bruce know that the probably-clark’s-kid would keep Jason away from GCPD and CPS.

When a convo leads to Batman finding out Tim and Marinette have considered asking the police for help with a case of medicine that needed to be recalled as it was beign used to mule drugs contaminated the batches and hurt patients, but turned it down after she saw some taking bribes from Fish, Batman lets Gordon know and an investigation is launched.

While Bats is away, Jason visits marinette as Robin and tries to get her to bats for more information and a lecture on heroing without adult supervision. Maybe.

Only she’s currently stealing from a sleeping selina at another HQ. A Selina who has stopped trying to stop marinette and let riddler turn her house into one of his ‘traps’ to stop Marinette’s ‘return theiving’.

Jason gets stuck in a trap. Marinette is gone by then, scared Robin will tell Superman about her and he’ll hurt her family or something.

Catwoman is annoyed at Marinette’s sucess. She goes to stop the girl after leaving him tied up for Batman with a message: leave her new kitten-to-be alone.

Follow up talk post-Caught Marinette reverse theiving.

“Blame the Council’s decrees. She’s their little princess, and my new neice,” Catwoman watched Batman carefully.

Confused Batman in interrogator mode. “You mean the Court of Owls, arent they disbanded?”

“Bats, the council is gotham’s underground. Apparently Two-Face made the contracts as penance for scaring the Princess during a breakout. Unless you want an organized attack by the council, steer clear of her.”

Batman conencts the dots and curses himself. The girl he was looking for last summer is the Princess of Gotham’s underground. It will be hell finding her. And Superman/Clark will lose it when he’s told.

He lets the JL know about it, saying ‘possibly kyptonian clone, female child. Gotham’s underground is calling her their Princess. Connor and Kidflash tailed her last summer during the arkham breakout while Robin was with the Titans. Be alert for a small asian girl.’

That was how Marinette ended up on the JL watch list and how Superman had another existential crisis.

Dick freaks out with the Titans over this. Becuase kyltonian raised by villians is terrifying. Jason forwarded the message and adds on “she’s a good kid and wants to help. Somehow keeps zsasz and joker from killing people, so its not good to take her away or issolate her from the villians if you find her. From what i remember, she is terrified of her family beign put in danger. The others wont listen to me. If you can, pass this along to the other sidekicks and your allies—none of them trust me enough to listen. I cant talk to her as a civilian like i used to either for obvious reasons. And she’s terrified of me-Robin. Maybe you can get through to her, or someone else can. Just talk to her first, she’s more reasonsble than she looks”

Dick doesnt read the add on until much later and regrets it.

He met marinette once. She was a very excited kid babbling about aerodynamics in acrobatics and asking about that. Not hero things, not power things, or justice league but That.

He tried to be nice but he was having a horrible mission, saw the girl floating as she rambled and tried to grab her.

She freaked out and bolted, sort of. He got slammed into a building, or would have had she not caught him, rambled in french while trying to apologize (he was a but stunned from the throw, and rebooting as villian-kyptonian was... nice?) and put him on the roof, hit his communicator and said one thing.

“I think i broke your robin? All are robins like bird bones or something?”

He regained a functioning brain as that. That was something he could respond to.

“I am human thank you!”

That seemed to be enough for her as he moved to get up. She waved bye and bolted, something about Rose being mad at her for being late...

“Titans. I think we might have been wrong about the kid...”

Later with Young Justice the info was passed on.

Jason asked if anyone read his attachment and was met with silence. He groaned and told them “so another team she’s going to avoid... great.”

Marinette added the titans to her list of ‘people to aviod—tetch and Jerimah were the worst. Luthor and Cadmus were under them. Then the entire Justice League (they would tell batman or superman. Snitches.), followed by GCPD, CPS, the Bat Family and now Titans. She wonders if she needs to add anyone else, and hates that she cant talk to heroes. They could help with controlling her powers instead of suppressing them but she cant trust them not to give her to superman like batman did with Rose to Poison Ivy and she’s pretty sure Superboy too.

Next time, times marinette accidently put together identities and curses Hero Stalker Tim for her now knowing.

[blackcatkita]

Find Him  (Liam x MC)

So my last fic was all fluffy sweetness, figured I needed some angst for my favorite couple.. My mc’s name is Jennifer Reilly as a cute little nod to the default name. Set during the engagement tour, you will recognize some of the dialogue I’m sure. I do not own any of the characters, I’m just playing with them. If you like it, please comment and/or reblog! Thanks for reading!

tagging by request @captainkingliam @umccall71 @trianiasti

“Drake? What are you doing here?”

“It’s a store. Anyone can go into a store.”

“Yeah, but you’re the last person I expected to find in store that carried jewelry that required a down payment.”

“You got me there. I’m here to find a wedding gift for Liam. What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to pick up Madeleine’s wedding ring.”

“Ouch, that’s cold, even for her… We’ll find Tariq soon Reilly, we have to”

“What if we don’t?”

“Maxwell, what if we don’t find Tariq?”

“No! Don’t say that Jennifer! I’m just waiting to hear back from a few stores. Don’t give up hope now! We’re going to find him, I know it!”

The nighttime breeze rolling across the bay is cool against Jennifer’s skin as she stands with her eyes closed, hands resting on the railing. In an effort to calm her aching heart, she inhales deeply, savoring the familiar scents of her hometown. Only it isn’t home, not anymore. Home is Cordonia. Home is with Liam, but is that enough? 

If Bastien is to be believed, Tariq is in Los Angeles. A huge city that’s heavily populated and chock full of designer stores he might shop in. Maxwell would never let her down, he would give it his all but that didn’t mean they would be successful and if Tariq can’t be found, or if he refuses to cooperate, could she stand in that cathedral and watch Liam marry Madeleine knowing it should be her? Watch him live a public life with someone else at his side while his private life was devoted to her? No, no she couldn’t.

They were running out of time, and she was running out of hope.

She opens her eyes and watches the city lights dance reflectively on the water. This could be my home again too... Staying wouldn’t be easy, but going back with Liam still engaged wouldn’t be either. No matter what she does, it’s going to hurt. She loves Liam with every fiber of her being, so much so that it was almost scary sometimes and she knows he feels the same way, but she couldn’t continue to live like this. It was killing her.

Walking into the ballroom, her eyes fall on Liam and she smiles, heart stuttering in her chest like it always does. He radiates regality in his formal tuxedo, blond hair perfectly styled and a polite smile on his handsome face. She watches as he greets all who approach him, marveling at how he maintains the stoic façade that masks his private despair. He’s worried too, she can see it in his eyes. He’s in pain, and it takes every ounce of willpower she has not to wrap her arms around him and never let go.

Warmth spreads across her cheeks as he looks over and catches her staring. Eyes locked with hers, his smile brightens significantly for just a moment before the mask settles again and he turns back to the delegate to excuse himself.

He makes his way over, reaching out for her hand before remembering where they are. With a rueful smile, he drops it at his side. “Jennifer you look.. absolutely stunning.  I am thrilled to see that you made it safely over the Pacific.”

“Safely though not entirely comfortably. I think Maxwell downed about three pots of coffee and was bouncing off the walls complaining about time zones and ‘it’s not polite to not return messages’.”

“Ah,” Liam nods. “Unfortunately that is beyond my control but perhaps I can make it up to you. If you will allow me, I would very much like to take you out in the city tonight.”

“Wouldn’t it make more sense for me to take you out? This is my city after all.”

“You are right about that,” he agrees with a smile. “What would we do?”

“We can get lost in the crowd at Times Square.. stroll through Central Park.. It will remind us of the night we met, which if I recall, was a pretty good night.”

“You recall incorrectly,” His expression takes on a flirty air. “It was a spectacular night.” A man with an air of importance approaches and Liam’s falls so slightly that no one but she would notice. “It seems my courtly duties call. If you will have me, I will be waiting for you after the party.”

Aside from Maxwell’s faux paus over Sweden, then hitting an ambassador in the face with a bruschetta projectile, the night goes off without a hitch. Adelaide is sufficiently impressed, dances are danced and Jennifer works the room, pretending everything is fine and she couldn’t be happier to join the court on the engagement tour. Just as she’s ready to steal Drake’s flask for her own selfish needs she spots Liam at the edge of the ballroom, meeting her eyes and winking before sneaking out the doors. She waits a few minutes for good measure, saying goodnight to Maxwell before meeting Liam outside.

“Are you ready for the best walking tour of New York?” she asks him, heart racing with excitement. 

“Lead the way,” he replies with a smile.

Taking his arm, they begin to walk through the crowds of people, stopping briefly to buy Liam a graphic t-shirt from a street vendor and change into more casual clothes. They make their way toward Central Park, chatting and laughing like a normal couple in love visiting the city. But as happy and excited she was to pretend they had no worries about the future, it was a fantasy and as they enter the park, the conversation takes on a more serious tone. 

“Jennifer, there is something I wanted to discuss with you tonight,” he speaks softly, taking her hand in his and running his thumb across her knuckles. “I have been thinking about what the future may hold for us.”

“So have I, to be honest”

“We are so close to finding Tariq. Closer than ever to being able to be together in the open. If.. if that’s what you still want.” Sitting down on a park bench, he pulls her down beside him and tilts her face to meet his gaze with a forefinger beneath her chin. He looks down at her shorter form, eyes full of hope and longing. “Jennifer, it is important to me that you know that, regardless of what happens in the next few days, I love you. With everything that I am.”

“I love you too, Liam. So much.” 

He smiles, hand moving to cup her cheek. “No words have ever brought me greater joy than those,” he pauses, letting out a deep sigh as his smile melts into a frown. “The thing is.. knowing how you make me feel and that my feelings are returned.. How can I even conceive of marrying Madeleine?”

“What are you saying?”

“I don’t know whether I can go through with marrying Madeleine.. I know that I must, for my country, but.. I don’t want to think about what happens if we can’t find Tariq.”

Here it is, she thinks. The moment I’m going to break his heart. “Liam, I need to tell you something.”

“What is it my love?” he asks, worry taking over his expression as he drops his hand.

“If we cant find Tariq..” She forces the words out despite the crushing weight in her chest making it hard to breathe. “If we cant find Tariq, I’m staying here.. I’m staying in New York.”

He inhales sharply, gripping her hands tightly.

“I can’t watch you marry her Liam. I can’t,” she whispers, throat tight as tears blur her vision. He pulls his hands from hers and looks away, visibly shaking as silence stretches between them. “Liam, say something, please..”

He takes a deep breath, running his hands through his hair. “In the grotto, you said we would be together. No matter what. You said I was all you needed. In Paris, we hung our lock as a symbol of our commitment to each other. You told me I was the love of your life, that I would always have you. Now you’re telling me that you’re staying here. You’re telling me that everything you said to me before, it was all a lie.”

He’s angry, desperate and she knows he’s heartbroken, because she is too. Saying those words to him was one of the hardest things she’s ever done, he has to understand that. “None of it was a lie Liam.” Unable to hold it any longer, a sob escapes her lips as tears spill from her eyes and roll down her cheeks. “I love you with all my heart and that’s why I can’t watch you marry her. I can’t be the other woman living in secret. I can’t continue to watch the two of you every day pretending to be the happy couple. I can’t watch you be in a loveless marriage.”

“So instead you will leave me with no love at all?” he bites back.

“Let me finish please.. You expect me to live in the shadows? To only see you when she allows it? To never get married? To never have children? To be your whore for the rest of my life?” His head whips around to look at her, shock and anger written on his face. “Is that the life you want for me Liam?”

“Of course that’s not what I want!” he yells. “I want you! I want children with you! I want you to be my wife!” He trails off, eyes and voice softening as he looks away. “And don’t ever call yourself that again..”

“That’s what I would be though. You know it and I know it.”

“I know no such thing. You are not ‘my whore’ and you never will be. You are the woman I love. The woman I will love until my dying breath,” he pauses, thinking for a moment before determination takes over. “I will abdicate. I will stay in New York with you and we will build our life together here.”

“We’ve talked about this, Liam. You can’t abdicate. There’s no one to take your place, it would throw Cordonia into a tailspin. I wish with everything in me that wasn’t the case, but it is. Your country needs you, your people need you.”

“I don’t care. I need you, nothing else.”

“We both know that’s not true. You do care.. and that’s one of the many reasons I love you so much.”

“You’re breaking my heart Jennifer... please don’t do this.” He leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees, holding his head in his hands. “I can’t... I can’t live without you. I won’t.”

“Liam, my heart breaks everyday.” She drops her gaze to her lap. “Every single day.”

He looks at her, cheeks wet with his own tears and wraps his arm around her, pulling her tight against his chest. “I’m so sorry my love. I’m so, so, sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen.” Reaching up, he gently brushes the tears from her cheeks. “We still have time. I have to believe we will find him. Please don’t give up on us yet. I love you more than anything in this world. We are meant to be together, I know we are.”

Gripping his t-shirt tightly, she kisses him desperately, trying to hold onto whatever time they had left. They cling to each other, both of them pouring the love they share into the embrace until she pulls away, burying her face in his neck. She breathes in his familiar scent and a warmth spreads through her chest. She knows without a doubt, that wherever it may be, with him is where she belongs. “I love you so much Liam.. I hope to God you’re right.”

Returning to the hotel hand in hand after what feels like hours, Liam walks her to her room. “Will you stay with me tonight?” she asks hopefully.

“Nothing would make me happier my love.” Bending down to place a soft kiss on her lips, he smiles, though his red rimmed eyes still betray his sadness.

“Hey you two!” Maxwell exclaims with his usual zeal as soon as they cross the threshold. “Where the heck have you been? We’ve been waiting for hours.”

“I apologize for making you wait Maxwell, we were on a date,” Liam answers.

“Oh really? Nice! Where did you go?”

“Central Park,” Jennifer replies, looking between Maxwell’s jovial expression and Bertrand’s scowl. “What are you two doing here?” 

“Well, I finally heard back from all the stores.” Maxwell’s smile widens further. “And... drumroll please... I narrowed it down to only ten!” 

“Which is still a high number,” Bertrand chimes in.

“Yeah, but it’s a start and a hell of a lot less than I thought it would be. You deserve a pat on the back Maxwell!” 

Pulling his phone from his pocket, Liam steps away as Maxwell enthusiastically pats himself on the back.

“Wait,” Jennifer adds. “Adelaide told me Tariq only wears Sartorini shoes, does that help narrow it down further?”

“Hell yes it does! Make that only three stores!” Maxwell holds up his hand for a high five and Jennifer raises her palm, clapping it against his with a smack. “Woo! Go team Jennifer!”

“How much sugar did he have today?” she asks Bertrand.

“You don’t want to know,” he answers, upper lip curled in disgust.

“I spoke with my pilot,” Liam informs them, walking back over as he slips his phone back in his pocket. The royal jet will be waiting at JFK to take you to Los Angeles.” He turns to Jennifer, face set in fierce determination. “Find him”

[howsit-going-toend]

Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) Pt. 5

A Kwon Jiyong x Reader AU series featuring Kim Jiwon and Choi Seunghyun

Genre: Crime/Mafia/ANGST

Warnings: Swearing/Violence

Word count: 4,000+ (There’s A LOT going on here....)

Summary: You joined the police force years ago to help clean up the streets of Seoul and rid the city of organized crime. You’ve seen some shit. You’re surely prepared for anything…but how are you supposed to feel when the big bad crime boss you’ve been after turns out to be a familiar (to say the least) face?

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

The police force prepares you to handle and respond to just about anything; to be a master of balancing action/reaction in any scenario under limitless amounts of pressure. When you wear that badge, you should be ready to tackle whatever is thrown at you no matter what. In the four years you’d held your position, you’ve proven your capabilities through and through.

But the look on Jiwon’s face rendered you almost catatonic.

It was the look a child gives to a parent upon catching them stuffing their face with cookies that the child had left out for Santa Claus. It placed a massive weight on your chest that you would have done anything and gone anywhere to remove. You just sat there staring back at him, knowing it was impossible to take back the last three minutes. Your silence was enough of an answer for him.

His face left yours for no more than a second to recall the mixed company. There was an undeniable shift in the room’s tension as he offered Chief Kim a polite nod. “I apologize. Don’t let me interrupt.” His expression had softened. But it was a smile of his that you knew all too well. You knew exactly what he was thinking when he heard that name, and it ridded your heart with a massive amount of guilt to see him smile through it.

“Jiwon…” You began.

“Here.” He offered the paper bag out to you. “I got you breakfast from the food court. Let me know if you don’t like it and I’ll get you something else.” You couldn’t bring yourself to play along and respond.

The forced smile remained on his face as he bowed to Chief Kim before exiting the room once again. You continued to stare at the door, speechless, until your superior cleared his throat, returning to his own unanswered question.

You squeezed your eyes shut before looking back to him. “I’m sorry about that.” You muttered. “I know that it wasn’t on record anywhere in the basement. That’s because I saw him face to face…he was there when I was hurt…he gave the man the orders.” Your gaze fell to your right leg as you said those words.

Chief Kim shifted in his seat. “This is the first I’m hearing about this.”

“I know.” You paused, still unable to maintain eye contact as your heart and brain continued to wage their war against one another. “But it’s true.”

“You…know him?” He stated it as a fact more so than an actual question.

He sighed at your lack of response. “Y/N. I know I don’t need to remind you of the protocol that comes into play here. Personal connections to a case like this…it shouldn’t be allowed.” Your eyes shot up to meet his before he continued. “I don’t want to remove you from your position in this. Your qualifications and passion exceed damn near everyone, and you are a fantastic detective.” His stern look bore into you. “But I will not hesitate to shut this whole thing down.”

You shook your head. “No. No, Chief, I assure you I can do this. I’m just still shook up from what happened… I will get over it. I promise you.”

The look on his face oozed skepticism. You took a deep breath. “Yes I knew him… Once. That was a long time ago…Clearly, he is a different person.”

He took a minute to silently mull over your words before nodding his head. “All right…I do want to see where you take this case. I know what you are capable of, Y/N.” He paused for emphasis. “But the second I see this becoming an issue, I am putting an end to it. That goes for Seunghyun too. Do you understand?”

You returned a firm nod with zero hesitation.

Speaking to your superior helped reignite your desire to succeed. You silently reminded yourself to shake every ounce of emotion off and maintain your professional demeanor. At least on the surface. Despite how desperately you may wish otherwise, you know that you can’t change the past. You had a job to do and there was no time to waste on your feelings.

After all, you now had someone else’s to worry about.

The amount of anxiety that stayed bundled in your chest when Jiwon reentered the room was ungodly. The room was absolutely silent aside from your IV pump’s beeping and the sound his shoes made as they scuffed against the linoleum flooring. Once he took his place in the metal folding chair beside your bed, he grabbed your left hand and held it without a word. He didn’t even look at you. You watched him intently, feeling sweat slowly begin to bead at your hairline. The weight on your chest felt heavier and heavier as the minutes passed by.

He might as well have been screaming at you. Anything but this…aren’t YOU the one that got shot? What the hell do you have to feel guilty about right now? You had all intentions of telling him. You were going to…eventually.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

He uttered the words monotonously as he stared down at your fingers. It wasn’t what you’d wanted to hear but it was something. You sighed and nudged the untouched paper bag full of food.

“Yeah. I’ll eat some in a minute.” You offered a small smile despite the fact that he still hadn’t looked at you. He nodded his head slightly before silence fell on the room once again, putting a fast end to his attempt at a normal conversation.

The truth was, Jiwon never actually met Jiyong. Ever. There was a lot about you and Jiyong that he never even knew. Whether it was due to pent up insecurities, or jealousy…he knew enough to start countless fights. Even though you never really believed you did anything wrong or gave him any real reason to be mad at you, you apologized again and again, until it was all brought to an end years ago. It was Jiwon’s decision that Jiyong’s name was never to be spoken between the two of you ever again. Today, of course, had broken all of that.

Beep…Beep…Beep…

He brought his left hand up to his lips, which he kissed before gently lowering it to your right knee. His thumb slowly moved back and forth. You felt yourself relax slightly at the affectionate gesture, holding onto the hope that that subject had actually been left in the past, for good. His eyes lingered on your right leg protectively.

“So…that’s what he’s been doing all these years.”

Your warm expression fell. You should have known better.

Your responding silence made him look up at you and hold your hand a little tighter. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to get us into this again… We finished that conversation a long time ago.” He forced a small grin that you did your best to match. Three years ago actually, but who’s counting?

“I just can’t believe this.” He let out a sigh and shook his head, bringing his eyes back to your leg. “That son of a bitch…”

Discomfort began to fill your chest again as you readjusted your hand in his. You didn’t know how he expected you to reply to any of this. Your mind had been filled with so much confusion; you were proud of yourself for even remembering how to blink. He muttered something to himself, but the room’s dead silence made it impossible for you to not hear him.

“He’ll get his soon...”

Your eyes widened reflexively. Without taking another second to think up an actual response, your face contorted into a wince. “Aish.”

Jiwon removed his left hand from its position with raised eyebrows. “Are you o-?”

You cut him off. “Will you get the nurse? I…I think this pain medication has worn off.”

One week later

“And so, ya know, that’s why I wanted to meet with you in person today. I wanted to be sure you heard it from me first.” Dongjoo folded his hands together. The young man said the words with enthusiasm but his eyes never stopped shifting anxiously between the two men seated across from him.

Jiyong said nothing. He merely tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes, as if trying to convince himself that this really was the same man he’s known for years. The same man who, in the beginning, had appeared on his hands and knees quivering before Jiyong and begged like a dog for “just one more day.” Who had gladly “organized” thousands and thousands of dollars into his little tobacco shop at the drop of a hat, because he feared the name, G Dragon. Who’d answered any and every cop or government worker that grew the least bit suspicious, reading all his lines without missing a cue. There’s no way this was the same man who had just so confidently informed Jiyong that he’s decided to move his business to America, and would no longer require his men to “look after” him and his store.

After entertaining the thought for a minute, Jiyong raised his eyebrows in amusement and returned his gaze to the grill. Dongjoo’s smile faltered slightly. His eyes darted back to Jiyong’s partner, silently begging him to say something. Taehee offered no assistance, only staring back at the man with the same mute expression he’d been sporting all night. A small smile found its way to Jiyong’s face as he grabbed a set of tongs to rotate the beef. The loud sizzle it made helped to disguise the audible gulp from his, now former, business associate.

Jiyong continued to stare at the meat with watchful eyes as he brought his elbow to rest on the table, allowing the hand holding the tongs to support his chin. Dongjoo watched him closely, feeling the nervous sweat begin to bead at his forehead. A chill ran down his spine as Jiyong blinked before locking eyes with him once again; that same smile painted across his face.

“Well, that’s too bad.” Jiyong finally said, casually. “I’ve got to say, I’m a little disappointed.” He pointed the tongs at Dongjoo in a playful manner. “America doesn’t deserve your good business.”

Dongjoo burst out in an exaggerated laugh, making it clear he’d been holding his breath. “Oh come on now.”

“No, no, honestly.” Jiyong raised his eyebrows and nodded his head. “You come on; no one runs a tobacco shop over there like you do. No question.”

Dongjoo shrugged his shoulders and laughed again, visibly relaxing. “You’re making me blush. Enough, enough.”

“I think that’s ready.” Taehee interrupted and nodded to the beef.

“Oh here let me cut it.” Dongjoo began to reach for the scissors beside the grill, before Jiyong beat him to it.

“Oh no, please, allow me.” He grabbed the tool with his free hand. “This calls for a celebration. The least I can do is serve you some quality barbecue.” He grabbed the beef with the tongs and carefully eyeballed where to slice it.

“America…now that’s exciting.” He said with his eyes on the grill, lining up the scissors into position. “How’s the Mrs. feel about that?” Slice.

Dongjoo flinched at the sound, while furrowing his eyebrows at the unexpected personal question. “Oh uh.” Slice. “She’s ready for the change I think.” Slice. He laughed lightly.

“You think?” Slice. “Oh, you better know. Don’t want any issues being caused in the marriage because of this. Moving to another country is no small step.” Slice. “What about your daughter?”

Dongjoo laughed nervously once again. Slice. “She’s, uh, she’s excited.” Slice. “She’s only five so, you know, she doesn’t really have much of an opinion.” Slice. He reached up to scratch the back of his head uncomfortably. They’d never discussed his family before.

Jiyong smiled wider. “Ah, kids.” Slice. “They just go with whatever you say.” He looked up at Dongjoo and served him a few strips of beef. “They trust you.”

Dongjoo did an awful job at disguising his discomfort. He hesitated in bowing his head to accept the serving, and quickly averted his eyes to his plate. But Jiyong wasn’t done.

“When do you leave?”

Dongjoo looked up with his chopsticks still in his mouth, having just taken his first bite. “Huh?”

Jiyong was placing a few strips of beef on Taehee’s plate; he looked up to make brief eye contact with his partner before turning back to the nervous gentleman across from him. “I said when do you leave? For America?”

“Oh, ha…ha, in about a month.”

Jiyong raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Oh, well why don’t we just ride this thing out for another month then?” He asked before taking a bite of his own serving. His eyes didn’t leave Dongjoo, who began to shift in his seat as he stared back down at his plate.

“I don’t, uh…you know, with moving and everything that goes into it, I won’t be really doing much business and just-.”

Jiyong cut off his word vomit with a laugh, waving his hand with a full mouth. “I’m fucking with you. Do what you gotta do.”

“Oh.” Dongjoo chuckled out of relief once again. “Thank you. I-… I appreciate that.”

The rest of the dinner didn’t get any more comfortable than that. Jiyong continued to eyeball Dongjoo, who continuously blotted the sweat on his forehead, which he insisted was due to his angle from the grill. Taehee continued to stare blankly between the two of them, only mildly confused, until they all got up to leave. Jiyong held the door open, and as Taehee passed, he grabbed him by the shoulder and muttered something under his breath. Taehee looked at his boss for just a moment, before nodding and walking outside.

Dongjoo walked a little too eagerly in the direction of his car, parked on the opposite side of the building. As he began to walk through the narrow alleyway to get there, he turned to bid a quick goodbye to the two men. “Thank you for everything, gentlemen. I wish you nothing but the best.” He made a hasty bow, which Jiyong and Taehee returned, before turning on his heels.

Just as he’d taken a single step towards the safety of his vehicle, he heard Jiyong’s voice once again. But this time it was closer. He turned around to see the crime boss walking towards him at a leisurely pace. “Now, now. What kind of a goodbye is that? We’ve been through a lot together, you and me. You’ve got to give me more respect than that, right?” As he arrived before him, Jiyong reached his right hand out with an honorable grin.

Dongjoo’s face flashed with worry before quickly covering it back up. “Oh, I’m sorry, GD. I just don’t want the wife to worry, you know? Of course, of course. I surely didn’t mean any disrespect.” He reached a clammy hand out to make contact with Jiyong’s. “No hard feelings?” He asked with a hopeful smile.

Just as Jiyong let out a small chuckle, Dongjoo’s eyes flashed to Taehee. He was standing behind Jiyong, far back by the alleyway entrance, with his back turned to both of them. It took him less than a second for Dongjoo to understand what was about to happen.

As he locked eyes with Jiyong, who was holding his now quivering hand with a firm grip, he had no time to think before his skull swung forward to collide with his own.

Dongjoo released the hand he’d use to shake Jiyong’s as he flung his head back in pain. “Fuck!” His vision was blurred while he tried to look forward, seeing four Jiyong’s coming towards him, each with darkened expressions and their right fists reeled back.

His nose shattered the minute Jiyong made contact, sending Dongjoo’s body immediately to the alley ground. His hands flew to his face as if trying to manually preserve whatever features that remained intact. He coughed and spat out dark blood that had rushed in from his nostrils. Jiyong stalked towards him slowly, like a lion playing with its dinner. Dongjoo’s vision was even hazier now, but his fight-or-flight instincts had kicked in full force, giving him the strength to turn over onto his stomach.

Just as he attempted to bring his arms and legs in to hoist himself up, Jiyong lowered his boot to the man’s ear, putting in just enough pressure to push his head against the pavement. Dongjoo let out a piercing groan. Placing more of his weight into that leg, Jiyong leaned down to get a little closer to his face. As Dongjoo’s exasperated breathing and whimpering for mercy got louder, Jiyong shushed him.

“You know… I expected more from you.” His tone was menacing. “I considered you a friend, really.” Dongjoo cried out, too terrified to even attempt to move. “America? Yeah, buddy?” Jiyong chuckled. “You and I both know that’s fucking bullshit. I just gave you chance after chance and you just continued to lie right to my fucking face.” Jiyong leaned forward and spat on the ground right by the man’s broken nose. “You want to know something? You really think the Yang brothers are going to protect you better than we can? That’s a riot. What did they tell you about me, huh? Who do you think we’ve been protecting you from? Huh?” Dongjoo only sobbed more, his body shaking as the “please, please, please”’s and “I’m so sorry”’s continued to flow from his mouth just as quickly as the blood ran from his nose. Jiyong sighed in frustration. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill you. No, that wouldn’t be right to do to a family man. Just know that I will never forget about this.” He lifted his boot and allowed the man to hoist himself up to his knees. Dongjoo coughed violently, simultaneously gasping for the air he’d been hoarding in his lungs.

Jiyong dug into his pocket and threw a handkerchief on the ground in front of him, along with some cash. Dongjoo flinched, recoiling his arms across his face before looking down to see the stitched piece of cloth and the paper bills. Trembling, he looked up to lock eyes with Jiyong, whose dark expression hadn’t changed for a second.

“Wipe yourself off and get that nose looked at. Don’t you go home to your wife and kid and let them see this pathetic sight.” Dongjoo only cried in response, to which Jiyong let out a sigh. “What? What are you still doing here? Go.”

He didn’t have to tell him twice. Dongjoo picked up the money, the handkerchief, and himself up off the ground and stumbled his bodyweight in the direction of the far parking lot. Jiyong waited for the sound of his whimpers to fade and be replaced by the sound of an engine before turning back towards Taehee. He approached the man and placed his hand on his shoulder once again. “All right. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

“Jesus, he did all that just now?”

Taehee nodded at his partner before taking another swig of the beer in his hand.

“Damn, he’s really not playing around these days...” Wonhae replied, ensuring to keep his voice down, knowing that Jiyong wasn’t far down from them at the bar.

Five men: Gyechul, Taehee, Wonhae, Gwangbok, and Jiyong, all sat side by side. The place was a favorite spot of theirs, which they frequently visited after a long day. It was old, secluded in the outer edges of Seoul, and run by people they knew like family. No other bar could be safer for clientele such as themselves.

“Weeell, we all know fucking why.”

Taehee and Wonhae looked over at their partner on their end of the bar, Gyechul, who’d already had his fair share of alcohol for the night. He was staring up at the little box television set with his mouth agape, intently watching the news. “Look! Look look look, there she is now. Pfffft.” He mumbled and pointed up towards the screen. The local news was broadcasting a story about a cop who’d been shot in a “gang related incident” and had “barely made it out alive.”

Gyechul let out a chuckle, muffled through his teeth. “Hey, look everyone we’re in a gang.”

Taehee spoke up in a firm tone. “Gyechul. Enough…Be smart.”

The man turned from the TV to laugh in Taehee’s direction mockingly. “Be smart…pfffft. If I was smart that night I woulda jus killed that cop…but noooo I was following orders.” He waved his hands in the air as he lazily dragged out each word.

“You’re not fucking killing anyone.”

Taehee closed his eyes in a wince, knowing this was bound to happen. He turned to the right to see their boss staring across the bar right through the three of them to Gyechul. Everyone went quiet.

Gyechul chuckled again. “Pffff, whatever you say boss. You see this?!” He pointed to the TV which now showed an old mugshot of his, displaying him as a wanted criminal. “Now we have this to deal with…the fucking news is after me.” He slurred.

“There would have been even worse news if I let you have ‘cop killer’ thrown on your record. I did you a fucking favor.” Jiyong said coldly, silently refusing to look at the TV.

Gyechul stared his boss down. “Ya know what? Fuck you GD. Fuck you and your favors.” He mumbled with his finger pointed in Jiyong’s direction. He pushed himself up into a standing position, slightly swaying back and forth. Jiyong closed his eyes and took a deep, annoyed, breath.

“Gyechul, stop. All right? Let’s get you some water.” Taehee attempted to intervene again.

“Hey, hey, I’m fine all right? It’s him who’s got the fucking problem.” He pointed at Jiyong again before letting out a drunken laugh. He then dramatically gasped and stared out into space. “P-p-put the gun down! This-this is my final warning! … Bang! AH!!” He flailed his arms in the air, falling against the bar while gripping his leg, and bursting out laughing. Jiyong wasn’t the slightest bit amused. The second he stood up, so did the other three men.

“GD, it’s ok. He’s just drunk. He doesn’t know what the fuck he’s saying. We’ll take him somewhere to chill out.” Taehee and Gwangbok attempted to alleviate the situation while Wonhae grabbed his out of line partner by the shoulders.

“What? Do you think I look fucking worried?” Jiyong spat.

“Touchyyyyy.” Gyechul mused, poking his head around Wonhae’s to continue talking at Jiyong. “Ya know, I’ve never seen you like this over someone. Especially a fucking cop. What’s up with that?! Huh?” He yelled belligerently. Jiyong said nothing. He just stared at the bar while the other men continued to try to calm things down. But Gyechul wouldn’t listen. “You know…it’s almost like she’s that girl.”

Jiyong looked right at him.

“Gyechul, shut the fuck up!” Taehee yelled while Wonhae attempted to smack the man to shut up. But he persisted.

“Noooo, come on, you guys know the girl I mean. The one we all fucking know about but no one ever says anything about because GD will freak the fuck out on them.” He narrowed his eyes at Jiyong, who looked ready for slaughter. “It’s her isn’t it?” He chuckled. “She’s the only one that’ll make you so fucking soft like that.” He pointed to the TV. “Oh but…..” He grinned. “She doesn’t make all of you fucking soft.” He sneered before groping himself mockingly.

Jiyong was on his side of the bar in seconds, with his hands gripping his collar. Jiyong has always been a very stoic person, but right in that moment there was a raging fire in his eyes. The other three men nearly tackled them both to stop whatever was about to happen.

Taehee grabbed Jiyong and pulled him back while the other two men pulled Hyechul away. Jiyong’s chest heaved as he took a deep breath to steady himself. He took a second to close his eyes while he waited for Hyechul’s drunken slurs to pipe down. When they finally did, and it looked like their night at the bar had finally ended, Jiyong got up to leave.

“Hyechul.” He announced.

“Yeaah?” The man turned his head, barely able to maintain eye contact.

“You watch yourself.”

After arriving back at his private home, having had enough bullshit for one night, Jiyong poured him and Taehee both a glass of whiskey. Amongst his four major partners, Taehee was by far his closest and most trusted. He knew better than to push any further, in regards to Jiyong’s feelings, than just one simple question.

“You ok?”

“Yeah.” Jiyong muttered, taking a pull from his glass.

Taehee nodded his head and paused for a minute to sip from his own. “Well… How about some music?”

Jiyong grinned and pointed at him before springing up and pacing towards his record collection. “Yes. What’re you feeling?”

“Anything.”

Jiyong was suddenly as giddy as a child. He stuck his hands in his pants pockets, sticking his tongue out slightly and narrowing his eyes as he looked closely at every title. As he began to feel overwhelmed by the amount of choices, Hyechul’s words from earlier made his mind wander back.

He gently began to flip through one of the older stacks of records he’d gotten from his parents’ house. He smiled sadly as he browsed through classic American tunes from Dion, to Chuck Berry, Frankie Valli, and even the Righteous Brothers. Every album had unique memories attached, but they all had one thing in common.

As he flipped past a Frank Sinatra vinyl, a small 45 popped out and nearly hit the floor. Upon saving it and flipping the cover over, a small gasp escaped his lips. It was a 7” Elvis Presley record with “Love Me Tender” and “Any Way You Want Me.” He wasted no time in putting it on and letting one of his most cherished memories return to him.

“Man, I love Elvis.” Taehee chimed in as the song began.

“Me too.” Jiyong smiled as he swayed in place, staring at the cover. A warmth filled his chest as he read the small words that had been handwritten on the front in white marker.

Love me tender, love me true. All my dreams, fulfilled

For my darling, I love you. And I always will

As he traced his fingers around the small heart that had been drawn by the last word, he was hit with an insane idea. In one second, he’d wiped the smile from his face and restored his stoic demeanor to look at Taehee.

“We’re not going over business right now, but I need you to do something for me.”

Taehee sat up straight and alert.

“Get me the address for Jungbu Police Station.”

[statetalks]

What If The Republicans Win Everything Again

The Mail Ballot Factor Is A Wild Card

Saagar Enjeti: Trump WON The GOP Civil War, But Can They EVER Win Again?

Early on, California election authorities decided to proactively send mail ballots to all registered voters, just as they did in the pandemic general election of 2020. They can be returned via enclosed postage paid envelopes or dropped off at voting centers on September 14. So, if California Democrats do become motivated to vote, it wont be hard for them to do so. And you do have to wonder if Donald Trumps demonization of mail ballots during and after the 2020 presidential election might still inhibit Republicans from voting that way, even if there remains an option for turning in ballots in person.

Newsom Is Embracing A Risky Message Telling Voters To Ignore The Replacement Race

Without question, the 2003 recall election haunts todays recall opponents. There is a strong belief that Davis lost because his lieutenant governor, Cruz Bustamante, jumped into the replacement race and drew voters into supporting the recall without mustering enough support to beat Schwarzenegger. So, Team Newsom not only kept credible Democrats from running to replace him; theyve also tried to discourage Democratic voters from answering the second question on the ballot about their preference among replacement candidates. As Politico noted recently, this one-and-done messaging may be confusing or even angering the very voters Newsom needs:

Its kind of counterintuitive to forgo your right to vote,;said;Barbara OConnor, director emeritus of the Institute for the Study of Politics and the Media at Sacramento State. Everyone is in a conundrum about what they should do.

What makes the pay-no-attention-to-the-replacement-candidate-behind-the-curtain instruction to Democrats especially confusing is a new round of anti-recall ads attacking replacement front-runner Larry Elder as to the right of Trump. If Elder is so evil, shouldnt Democrats vote for someone else in the field of 45 other candidates, some of whom identify as Democrats? Its unclear.

What If Trump Wins

For many people, the prospect of what might happen if Donald Trump wins a second term is too awful to contemplate. But, as we are witnessing with the coronavirus, not contemplating scenarios that have at least some chance of happening is a grave mistake. Indeed, its a mistake that helped elect Trump in the first place.

Ideally, the press corps would be hard at work exploring this question. Alas, it is not. In the thousands of presidential campaign stories that have been published this year, you will be hard pressed to find much reporting or informed speculation about what policies Trump might pursue if hes reelected, or what the consequences might be if he were successful in enacting them. Thats not because such things arent knowable in advance. If that were the problem, political reporters wouldnt have spent the last six months gaming out which candidates were, say, likely to win which primaries. The real reason campaign journalists dont do this kind of work is that its not what theyre trained to doand, perhaps, its not what most people want to read.;

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The Gop Would Rather Nation Crumble Than Give Democrats Political Win On Infrastructure

Politics in Washington is full of playacting, but few recent charades have been as absurd as the extended negotiation between Democrats and Republicans over whether they can agree on a bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Now it seems to be approaching its inevitable end: Republicans now say they’ll be making a counteroffer to the latest White House offer, even as everyone tells reporters how poorly negotiations are going.

All of which provides an excellent case study in how the two parties are motivated and constrained by their political incentives, regardless of what they might think about the substantive issue at hand.

Let’s start by considering three possible outcomes of this effort. First, Congress could pass a meaningful infrastructure bill with support from members of both parties. This is what both sides say they want .

Second, Democrats could pass an infrastructure bill with zero Republican votes. This is probably what will end up happening, provided that Sens. Joe Manchin III and Kyrsten Sinema , self-appointed guardians of bipartisan compromise, can be persuaded that the effort to win the support of Republicans was performed with sufficient enthusiasm.

Third, the bill could fail altogether, either because Manchin or Sinema pulls their support, or because a Democratic senator falls ill and can’t vote for it in the 50-50 Senate, or for some other reason.

Bipartisan passage of the bill Democrats-only passage of the bill Failure of the bill

What Motivates The Republican Party

The GOP seems wildly hypocritical and unprincipled, until you understand its guiding idea.

In the fall of 2014, the Obama White House was busy trying to stop the spread of Ebola. The administration sent advisers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assist the afflicted countries health ministries, and it sent troops to West Africa to build emergency hospitals. It began screening people arriving in the United States from at-risk nations. It isolated and treated several American medical personnel who contracted the virus abroad and brought it back home.

Toward the end of his new book, The Imposters, Steve Benen reminds us of what the Republican Party was doing while all of this was happening:

As Election Day neared . . . Kentucky Republican eagerness to exploit public anxieties started to spin out of control. Paul publicly questioned Ebola assessments from the actual experts, blamed political correctness for the Ebola threat, and traveled to battleground states questioning whether Obama administration officials had the basic level of competence necessary to maintain public safety.

He added soon after, describing a hypothetical flight, If this was a plane full of people who were symptomatic, youd be at grave risk of getting Ebola. If a plane takes twelve hours, how do you know if people will become symptomatic or not?

The Impostors:How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politicsby Steve BenenWilliam Morrow, 384 pp.

Ed Kilgore

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How Far Can A Governor Take Emergency Powers

Republicans have criticized Newsoms use of emergency power during the coronavirus pandemic, saying hes exerted too much control without the usual checks and balances. As the pandemic sidelined normal work in the Legislature last year, Newsom issued as many executive orders in 2020 as his predecessor did in eight years.;

Assemblymember Kevin Kiley a Rocklin Republican now running in the recall election sued Newsom to try to limit his emergency power, but ultimately lost in court. With that ruling that a governor has broad authority to change or rescind laws during an emergency, GOP candidates are now talking about how theyd use such power themselves.

I would not use executive authority to create new laws and new policies, as this governor has, Kiley said in an interview with CalMatters. But I would use it to unwind things that never shouldve been there to begin with.;

Kiley said he would end Newsoms pandemic emergency declaration, which would set the stage for reversing related public health rules, such as the requirement that children wear masks at school and that state employees and health care workers get vaccinated against COVID-19 . Other GOP candidates also pledge to reverse Newsoms mask and vax orders.;;;

But the major Republican recall candidates are talking about using emergency powers for a lot more than the pandemic.;

Kevin Faulconer, the Republican former mayor of San Diego, said he would to speed up prevention efforts to clear trees and brush.;

Republican Party Faces Rage From Both Pro

By Peter Eisler, Chris Kahn, Tim Reid, Simon Lewis, Jarrett Renshaw

13 Min Read

WASHINGTON – After riots at the U.S. Capitol by President Donald Trumps supporters, the Republican Party is facing defections from two camps of voters it cant afford to lose: those saying Trump and his allies went too far in contesting the election of Democrat Joe Biden – and those saying they didnt go far enough, according to new polling and interviews with two dozen voters.

Paul Foster – a 65-year-old house painter in Ellsworth, Maine – is furious at party leaders for refusing to back the presidents claims that the election was stolen with millions of fraudulent votes. The party is going to be totally broken if it abandons Trump, Foster says, predicting Trump loyalists will spin off into a new third party.

I just wish he would run away with his tail between his legs, Cupelo says.

Though Republicans have now lost control of the White House and both houses of Congress in just four years, Trumps base remains a potent electoral force in the party. That base helped him capture more voters some 74 million than any Republican in history. The vast majority of his supporters, including 70% of Republicans, remain loyal, according to new Reuters/Ipsos polling conducted days after last weeks riot at the Capitol, and many activists say theyre willing to abandon the GOP for any perceived slight against their leader.

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Theres Even More Drama On The Horizon

Sparse polling of the recall election has shown a tightening contest on whether or not to remove Newsom. Elder also has a growing lead in the replacement race, though at least one poll has YouTube financial advisor and self-identified Democrat Kevin Paffrath actually topping the field. Team Newsom probably has mixed feelings about future polling, fearing both confirmation of the trend favoring Newsoms removal and less alarming numbers that might let Democrats relax back into complacency and indifference.

The anti-recall effort has the resources to dominate paid advertising down the stretch , but it will need to settle on a consistent message and combat the growing word of mouth among Republicans that this is the moment theyve all been waiting for. Another variable involves the internal dynamics of the replacement race. With no general election on tap , Elders Republican rivals have no reason to hold back from savagely attacking him from one angle as Democrats attack him from the other. If late polls show a rival catching up with the talk-show host, it could have a hard-to-predict effect on turnout or might even vault Paffrath into the governorship should Newsom fall.

What If 19 Alternate Histories Imagining A Very Different World

Caller: Can Republican Party Ever Win Again?

Alternate history, long popular with fiction writers, has also been explored by historians and journalists. Here are some of their intriguing conclusions.

1. What if the South won the Civil War?

Effect: America becomes one nation again in 1960.

Explanation: In a 1960 article published in Look magazine, author and Civil War buff MacKinlay Kantor envisioned a history in which the Confederate forces won the Civil War in 1863, forcing the despised President Lincoln into exile. The Southern forces annex Washington, DC renaming it the District of Dixie. The USA moves its capital to Columbus, Ohio now called ;Columbia but can no longer afford to buy Alaska from the Russians. Texas, unhappy with the new arrangement, declares its independence in 1878. Under international pressure, the Southern states gradually abolish slavery. After fighting together in two world wars, the three nations are reunified in 1960 a century after South Carolinas secession had led to the Civil War in the first place.

2. What if Charles Lindbergh were elected President in 1940?

Effect: America joins the Nazis.

3. What if Hitler successfully invaded Russia?

Effect: The Fuhrer is revered in history as a great leader.

4. What if James Dean had survived his car crash?

Effect: Robert Kennedy survives his assassination attempt.

5. What if President Kennedy had survived the assassination attempt?

Effect: Republicans win every election for the next 30 years.

6. What if Christianity missed the West?

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‘combative Tribal Angry’: Newt Gingrich Set The Stage For Trump Journalist Says

All these factors combined to produce a windfall for Republicans all over the country in the midterms of 1994, but it was a watershed election in the South. For more than a century after Reconstruction, Democrats had held a majority of the governorships and of the Senate and House seats in the South. Even as the region became accustomed to voting Republican for president, this pattern had held at the statewide and congressional levels.

But in November 1994, in a single day, the majority of Southern governorships, Senate seats and House seats shifted to the Republicans. That majority has held ever since, with more legislative seats and local offices shifting to the GOP as well. The South is now the home base of the Republican Party.

The 2020 aftermath

No wonder that in contesting the results in six swing states he lost, Trump seems to have worked hardest on Georgia. If he had won there, he still would have lost the Electoral College decisively. But as the third most populous Southern state, and the only Southern state to change its choice from 2016, it clearly held special significance.

Trump Says Republicans Would Never Be Elected Again If It Was Easier To Vote

President dismissed Democratic-led push for voter reforms amid coronavirus pandemic during Fox & Friends appearance

Donald Trump admitted on Monday that making it easier to vote in America would hurt the Republican party.

The president made the comments as he dismissed a Democratic-led push for reforms such as vote-by-mail, same-day registration and early voting as states seek to safely run elections amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Democrats had proposed the measures as part of the coronavirus stimulus. They ultimately were not included in the $2.2tn final package, which included only $400m to states to help them run elections.

The things they had in there were crazy. They had things, levels of voting that if youd ever agreed to it, youd never have a Republican elected in this country again, Trump said during an appearance on Fox & Friends. They had things in there about election days and what you do and all sorts of clawbacks. They had things that were just totally crazy and had nothing to do with workers that lost their jobs and companies that we have to save.

I dont want everybody to vote, Paul Weyrich, an influential conservative activist, said in 1980. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.

The urgency of getting election officials those resources should not be lost in the political fighting, said Myrna Perez, director of the Brennan Centers voting rights and elections program.

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Reality Check 2: The Fight Is Asymmetricaland Favors The Gop

While Democrats gesture on Twitter at building new systems, Republicans are working the current one with ruthless effectiveness.

The threats to a free and fair election that have emerged since last November are realand require nothing more than the willingness of state legislators to use and abuse the existing tools of government. Arizona, whose two new voting rules were just validated by the Supreme Court, also took the power to litigate election laws away from the Secretary of State and gave the power to the Attorney General. In at least 8 states, Republicans are advancing legislation that would take power away from local or county boards. Many more states are moving to make voting harder. It might be anti-democratic, but it falls well within the rules.

Also within the rules: How McConnell helped build a federal bench almost certain to ratify the power of those legislatures to pass laws far more restrictive than the Arizona rules upheld last week. He creatively eviscerated Senate norms to keep Merrick Garland off the Supreme Court and hand Donald Trump an astonishing three nominations in a single term. And hes recently suggested that, should a Supreme Court vacancy open, hed block even consideration of a Biden nominee if the Republicans take the Senate back in 2022. This is abnormal, anti-democratic and a cynical abuse of powerbut its legal within the existing rules.

The Plausible Solution: Just Win More

Whether the public sees Democratic demands for these structural changes as overdue or overreaching, the key point is that they are currently exercises in futility. The only plausible road to winning their major policy goals is to win by winning. This means politics, not re-engineering. They need to find ways to take down their opponents, and then be smarter about using that power while they have it.

They certainly have issues to campaign on. In the few weeks, we have learned that some of Americas wealthiest people have paid only minimal or no federal income tax at all. Even as the Wall Street Journal editorial writers were responding to a Code Red emergency , the jaw-dropping nature of the reportfollowed by a New York Times piece about the impotence of the IRS to deal with the tax evasions of private equity royaltyconfirmed the folk wisdom of countless bars, diners, and union halls: the wealthy get away with murder.

Of course this is a whole lot easier said than done. A political climate where inflation, crime and immigration are dominant issues has the potential to override good economic news. And 2020 already showed what can happen when a relative handful of voices calling for defunding the police can drown out the broader usage of economic fairness.

Filed Under:

Read Also: How Many Senate Seats Do The Republicans Have

Can Democrats Avoid A Wipeout In 2022

Bidens plan: Go big or go home.

The good news for Democrats who watched Joe Biden unveil a historically ambitious agenda last night is that newly elected presidents have almost always passed some version of their core economic planparticularly when their party controls both congressional chambers, as Bidens does now.

The bad news: Voters have almost always punished the presidents party in the next midterm election anyway. The last two times Democrats had unified controlwith Bill Clinton in 199394 and Barack Obama in 200910they endured especially resounding repudiations in the midterms, which cost Clinton his majority in both chambers and Obama the loss of the House.

Theres a very different strategy this time, David Price, a Democratic representative from North Carolina and a former political scientist, told me. Theres an openness now to the sense that a bolder plan, ironically, might have greater appeal for independents and others we need to attract than trying to trim and split the difference with Republicans.

There is this recognition of this moment and how fleeting it is, and an evaluation that, absent the trifecta of control, it is very hard to move big policy, said a senior official at one of the partys leading outside advocacy groups, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategizing. So you have to take your shot. I think thats part of what undergirds Go big.

source https://www.patriotsnet.com/what-if-the-republicans-win-everything-again/

[patriotsnet]

What If The Republicans Win Everything Again

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/what-if-the-republicans-win-everything-again/

What If The Republicans Win Everything Again

The Mail Ballot Factor Is A Wild Card

Saagar Enjeti: Trump WON The GOP Civil War, But Can They EVER Win Again?

Early on, California election authorities decided to proactively send mail ballots to all registered voters, just as they did in the pandemic general election of 2020. They can be returned via enclosed postage paid envelopes or dropped off at voting centers on September 14. So, if California Democrats do become motivated to vote, it wont be hard for them to do so. And you do have to wonder if Donald Trumps demonization of mail ballots during and after the 2020 presidential election might still inhibit Republicans from voting that way, even if there remains an option for turning in ballots in person.

Newsom Is Embracing A Risky Message Telling Voters To Ignore The Replacement Race

Without question, the 2003 recall election haunts todays recall opponents. There is a strong belief that Davis lost because his lieutenant governor, Cruz Bustamante, jumped into the replacement race and drew voters into supporting the recall without mustering enough support to beat Schwarzenegger. So, Team Newsom not only kept credible Democrats from running to replace him; theyve also tried to discourage Democratic voters from answering the second question on the ballot about their preference among replacement candidates. As Politico noted recently, this one-and-done messaging may be confusing or even angering the very voters Newsom needs:

Its kind of counterintuitive to forgo your right to vote,;said;Barbara OConnor, director emeritus of the Institute for the Study of Politics and the Media at Sacramento State. Everyone is in a conundrum about what they should do.

What makes the pay-no-attention-to-the-replacement-candidate-behind-the-curtain instruction to Democrats especially confusing is a new round of anti-recall ads attacking replacement front-runner Larry Elder as to the right of Trump. If Elder is so evil, shouldnt Democrats vote for someone else in the field of 45 other candidates, some of whom identify as Democrats? Its unclear.

What If Trump Wins

For many people, the prospect of what might happen if Donald Trump wins a second term is too awful to contemplate. But, as we are witnessing with the coronavirus, not contemplating scenarios that have at least some chance of happening is a grave mistake. Indeed, its a mistake that helped elect Trump in the first place.

Ideally, the press corps would be hard at work exploring this question. Alas, it is not. In the thousands of presidential campaign stories that have been published this year, you will be hard pressed to find much reporting or informed speculation about what policies Trump might pursue if hes reelected, or what the consequences might be if he were successful in enacting them. Thats not because such things arent knowable in advance. If that were the problem, political reporters wouldnt have spent the last six months gaming out which candidates were, say, likely to win which primaries. The real reason campaign journalists dont do this kind of work is that its not what theyre trained to doand, perhaps, its not what most people want to read.;

Read Also: How Many Registered Republicans In Texas

The Gop Would Rather Nation Crumble Than Give Democrats Political Win On Infrastructure

Politics in Washington is full of playacting, but few recent charades have been as absurd as the extended negotiation between Democrats and Republicans over whether they can agree on a bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Now it seems to be approaching its inevitable end: Republicans now say they’ll be making a counteroffer to the latest White House offer, even as everyone tells reporters how poorly negotiations are going.

All of which provides an excellent case study in how the two parties are motivated and constrained by their political incentives, regardless of what they might think about the substantive issue at hand.

Let’s start by considering three possible outcomes of this effort. First, Congress could pass a meaningful infrastructure bill with support from members of both parties. This is what both sides say they want .

Second, Democrats could pass an infrastructure bill with zero Republican votes. This is probably what will end up happening, provided that Sens. Joe Manchin III and Kyrsten Sinema , self-appointed guardians of bipartisan compromise, can be persuaded that the effort to win the support of Republicans was performed with sufficient enthusiasm.

Third, the bill could fail altogether, either because Manchin or Sinema pulls their support, or because a Democratic senator falls ill and can’t vote for it in the 50-50 Senate, or for some other reason.

Bipartisan passage of the bill

Democrats-only passage of the bill

Failure of the bill

What Motivates The Republican Party

The GOP seems wildly hypocritical and unprincipled, until you understand its guiding idea.

In the fall of 2014, the Obama White House was busy trying to stop the spread of Ebola. The administration sent advisers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assist the afflicted countries health ministries, and it sent troops to West Africa to build emergency hospitals. It began screening people arriving in the United States from at-risk nations. It isolated and treated several American medical personnel who contracted the virus abroad and brought it back home.

Toward the end of his new book, The Imposters, Steve Benen reminds us of what the Republican Party was doing while all of this was happening:

As Election Day neared . . . Kentucky Republican eagerness to exploit public anxieties started to spin out of control. Paul publicly questioned Ebola assessments from the actual experts, blamed political correctness for the Ebola threat, and traveled to battleground states questioning whether Obama administration officials had the basic level of competence necessary to maintain public safety.

He added soon after, describing a hypothetical flight, If this was a plane full of people who were symptomatic, youd be at grave risk of getting Ebola. If a plane takes twelve hours, how do you know if people will become symptomatic or not?

The Impostors:How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politicsby Steve BenenWilliam Morrow, 384 pp.

Ed Kilgore

Read Also: What Is Trump’s Approval Rating Among Republicans

How Far Can A Governor Take Emergency Powers

Republicans have criticized Newsoms use of emergency power during the coronavirus pandemic, saying hes exerted too much control without the usual checks and balances. As the pandemic sidelined normal work in the Legislature last year, Newsom issued as many executive orders in 2020 as his predecessor did in eight years.;

Assemblymember Kevin Kiley a Rocklin Republican now running in the recall election sued Newsom to try to limit his emergency power, but ultimately lost in court. With that ruling that a governor has broad authority to change or rescind laws during an emergency, GOP candidates are now talking about how theyd use such power themselves.

I would not use executive authority to create new laws and new policies, as this governor has, Kiley said in an interview with CalMatters. But I would use it to unwind things that never shouldve been there to begin with.;

Kiley said he would end Newsoms pandemic emergency declaration, which would set the stage for reversing related public health rules, such as the requirement that children wear masks at school and that state employees and health care workers get vaccinated against COVID-19 . Other GOP candidates also pledge to reverse Newsoms mask and vax orders.;;;

But the major Republican recall candidates are talking about using emergency powers for a lot more than the pandemic.;

Kevin Faulconer, the Republican former mayor of San Diego, said he would to speed up prevention efforts to clear trees and brush.;

Republican Party Faces Rage From Both Pro

By Peter Eisler, Chris Kahn, Tim Reid, Simon Lewis, Jarrett Renshaw

13 Min Read

WASHINGTON – After riots at the U.S. Capitol by President Donald Trumps supporters, the Republican Party is facing defections from two camps of voters it cant afford to lose: those saying Trump and his allies went too far in contesting the election of Democrat Joe Biden – and those saying they didnt go far enough, according to new polling and interviews with two dozen voters.

Paul Foster – a 65-year-old house painter in Ellsworth, Maine – is furious at party leaders for refusing to back the presidents claims that the election was stolen with millions of fraudulent votes. The party is going to be totally broken if it abandons Trump, Foster says, predicting Trump loyalists will spin off into a new third party.

I just wish he would run away with his tail between his legs, Cupelo says.

Though Republicans have now lost control of the White House and both houses of Congress in just four years, Trumps base remains a potent electoral force in the party. That base helped him capture more voters some 74 million than any Republican in history. The vast majority of his supporters, including 70% of Republicans, remain loyal, according to new Reuters/Ipsos polling conducted days after last weeks riot at the Capitol, and many activists say theyre willing to abandon the GOP for any perceived slight against their leader.

You May Like: Did Republicans And Democrats Switch Names

Theres Even More Drama On The Horizon

Sparse polling of the recall election has shown a tightening contest on whether or not to remove Newsom. Elder also has a growing lead in the replacement race, though at least one poll has YouTube financial advisor and self-identified Democrat Kevin Paffrath actually topping the field. Team Newsom probably has mixed feelings about future polling, fearing both confirmation of the trend favoring Newsoms removal and less alarming numbers that might let Democrats relax back into complacency and indifference.

The anti-recall effort has the resources to dominate paid advertising down the stretch , but it will need to settle on a consistent message and combat the growing word of mouth among Republicans that this is the moment theyve all been waiting for. Another variable involves the internal dynamics of the replacement race. With no general election on tap , Elders Republican rivals have no reason to hold back from savagely attacking him from one angle as Democrats attack him from the other. If late polls show a rival catching up with the talk-show host, it could have a hard-to-predict effect on turnout or might even vault Paffrath into the governorship should Newsom fall.

What If 19 Alternate Histories Imagining A Very Different World

Caller: Can Republican Party Ever Win Again?

Alternate history, long popular with fiction writers, has also been explored by historians and journalists. Here are some of their intriguing conclusions.

1. What if the South won the Civil War?

Effect: America becomes one nation again in 1960.

Explanation: In a 1960 article published in Look magazine, author and Civil War buff MacKinlay Kantor envisioned a history in which the Confederate forces won the Civil War in 1863, forcing the despised President Lincoln into exile. The Southern forces annex Washington, DC renaming it the District of Dixie. The USA moves its capital to Columbus, Ohio now called ;Columbia but can no longer afford to buy Alaska from the Russians. Texas, unhappy with the new arrangement, declares its independence in 1878. Under international pressure, the Southern states gradually abolish slavery. After fighting together in two world wars, the three nations are reunified in 1960 a century after South Carolinas secession had led to the Civil War in the first place.

2. What if Charles Lindbergh were elected President in 1940?

Effect: America joins the Nazis.

3. What if Hitler successfully invaded Russia?

Effect: The Fuhrer is revered in history as a great leader.

4. What if James Dean had survived his car crash?

Effect: Robert Kennedy survives his assassination attempt.

5. What if President Kennedy had survived the assassination attempt?

Effect: Republicans win every election for the next 30 years.

6. What if Christianity missed the West?

Read Also: How Many Federal Judges Are Republicans

‘combative Tribal Angry’: Newt Gingrich Set The Stage For Trump Journalist Says

All these factors combined to produce a windfall for Republicans all over the country in the midterms of 1994, but it was a watershed election in the South. For more than a century after Reconstruction, Democrats had held a majority of the governorships and of the Senate and House seats in the South. Even as the region became accustomed to voting Republican for president, this pattern had held at the statewide and congressional levels.

But in November 1994, in a single day, the majority of Southern governorships, Senate seats and House seats shifted to the Republicans. That majority has held ever since, with more legislative seats and local offices shifting to the GOP as well. The South is now the home base of the Republican Party.

The 2020 aftermath

No wonder that in contesting the results in six swing states he lost, Trump seems to have worked hardest on Georgia. If he had won there, he still would have lost the Electoral College decisively. But as the third most populous Southern state, and the only Southern state to change its choice from 2016, it clearly held special significance.

Trump Says Republicans Would Never Be Elected Again If It Was Easier To Vote

President dismissed Democratic-led push for voter reforms amid coronavirus pandemic during Fox & Friends appearance

Donald Trump admitted on Monday that making it easier to vote in America would hurt the Republican party.

The president made the comments as he dismissed a Democratic-led push for reforms such as vote-by-mail, same-day registration and early voting as states seek to safely run elections amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Democrats had proposed the measures as part of the coronavirus stimulus. They ultimately were not included in the $2.2tn final package, which included only $400m to states to help them run elections.

The things they had in there were crazy. They had things, levels of voting that if youd ever agreed to it, youd never have a Republican elected in this country again, Trump said during an appearance on Fox & Friends. They had things in there about election days and what you do and all sorts of clawbacks. They had things that were just totally crazy and had nothing to do with workers that lost their jobs and companies that we have to save.

I dont want everybody to vote, Paul Weyrich, an influential conservative activist, said in 1980. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.

The urgency of getting election officials those resources should not be lost in the political fighting, said Myrna Perez, director of the Brennan Centers voting rights and elections program.

Also Check: What Do Republicans Think About Healthcare

Reality Check 2: The Fight Is Asymmetricaland Favors The Gop

While Democrats gesture on Twitter at building new systems, Republicans are working the current one with ruthless effectiveness.

The threats to a free and fair election that have emerged since last November are realand require nothing more than the willingness of state legislators to use and abuse the existing tools of government. Arizona, whose two new voting rules were just validated by the Supreme Court, also took the power to litigate election laws away from the Secretary of State and gave the power to the Attorney General. In at least 8 states, Republicans are advancing legislation that would take power away from local or county boards. Many more states are moving to make voting harder. It might be anti-democratic, but it falls well within the rules.

Also within the rules: How McConnell helped build a federal bench almost certain to ratify the power of those legislatures to pass laws far more restrictive than the Arizona rules upheld last week. He creatively eviscerated Senate norms to keep Merrick Garland off the Supreme Court and hand Donald Trump an astonishing three nominations in a single term. And hes recently suggested that, should a Supreme Court vacancy open, hed block even consideration of a Biden nominee if the Republicans take the Senate back in 2022. This is abnormal, anti-democratic and a cynical abuse of powerbut its legal within the existing rules.

The Plausible Solution: Just Win More

Whether the public sees Democratic demands for these structural changes as overdue or overreaching, the key point is that they are currently exercises in futility. The only plausible road to winning their major policy goals is to win by winning. This means politics, not re-engineering. They need to find ways to take down their opponents, and then be smarter about using that power while they have it.

They certainly have issues to campaign on. In the few weeks, we have learned that some of Americas wealthiest people have paid only minimal or no federal income tax at all. Even as the Wall Street Journal editorial writers were responding to a Code Red emergency , the jaw-dropping nature of the reportfollowed by a New York Times piece about the impotence of the IRS to deal with the tax evasions of private equity royaltyconfirmed the folk wisdom of countless bars, diners, and union halls: the wealthy get away with murder.

Of course this is a whole lot easier said than done. A political climate where inflation, crime and immigration are dominant issues has the potential to override good economic news. And 2020 already showed what can happen when a relative handful of voices calling for defunding the police can drown out the broader usage of economic fairness.

Filed Under:

Read Also: How Many Senate Seats Do The Republicans Have

Can Democrats Avoid A Wipeout In 2022

Bidens plan: Go big or go home.

The good news for Democrats who watched Joe Biden unveil a historically ambitious agenda last night is that newly elected presidents have almost always passed some version of their core economic planparticularly when their party controls both congressional chambers, as Bidens does now.

The bad news: Voters have almost always punished the presidents party in the next midterm election anyway. The last two times Democrats had unified controlwith Bill Clinton in 199394 and Barack Obama in 200910they endured especially resounding repudiations in the midterms, which cost Clinton his majority in both chambers and Obama the loss of the House.

Theres a very different strategy this time, David Price, a Democratic representative from North Carolina and a former political scientist, told me. Theres an openness now to the sense that a bolder plan, ironically, might have greater appeal for independents and others we need to attract than trying to trim and split the difference with Republicans.

There is this recognition of this moment and how fleeting it is, and an evaluation that, absent the trifecta of control, it is very hard to move big policy, said a senior official at one of the partys leading outside advocacy groups, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategizing. So you have to take your shot. I think thats part of what undergirds Go big.

[starcunning]

This Beast That Rends Me: 5 Apr

Hi I obliterated my word count target for the day but I still wish I could have done more. See you tomorrow!

Previously: 1 Apr, 2 Apr, 3 Apr, 4 Apr

Chapter Three

The sky—her sliver of it, anyway—was leaden gray in the morning. Her calves ached, a bone-deep feeling that satisfied more than troubled her, but stretching took most of it away. There was a carafe of coffee awaiting her on the table, and propped against it an envelope of vellum. Both were black.

Shasi poured herself a mug, tail twitching behind her as she drank, and then she took the envelope and turned it over in her hands. The seal on the back was gold wax, stamped with a pair of scales. That didn’t surprise her, but she finished her coffee first.

Lieutenant Kilntreader, the letter inside read, Under most circumstances even results would not spare you the indignity of a court-martial, but Ul’dah has done enough harm to the name of the Scions. So says the Sultana, who has ever counted you a friend. If I were you, I would do nothing that would jeopardize that friendship, nor the friendship between Ul’dah and Ala Mhigo, even with our home restored to us.

Although we have declared a general moratorium on your briefings, you should be permitted to know this: the interim leadership council of Ala Mhigo has been selected. It is their intent to serve the will of the people—the same people Zenos yae Galvus kept beneath his heel. That he yet lives is not common knowledge, or there would be rioting in the streets. Learn what you can from him, but do not expect him to survive.

Included is a questionnaire on matters of critical import. Of especial interest are the “Populares” mentioned in your conversation with Urianger Augurelt. You may submit your report in writing. You are under no circumstances to break the terms of your sequester; the Echo is the only thing that keeps you on an even footing with him, but its unpredictable nature precludes your contact with anyone holding sensitive knowledge.

I trust you will remember what it is to serve.

For Coin and Country, General Aldynn

Shasi frowned, flipping through the pages of the questionnaire, committing them to memory. The room felt cool, and she shivered. Whatever relief was to be found in Raubahn’s letter, it was tempered by a sense of foreboding. But this was the bargain she’d struck, and now had to fulfill. She could delay it a while—another cup of coffee, and then she’d make ready for the day and go find a megalith board—but X’shasi had learned better than to think she could shirk her own destiny.

She could smell the petrichor from the menagerie even within the glass walls of the greenhouse, a few of the windows canted so that the air might circulate. She had dressed more formally, in a coat of slate blue and dark trousers—there had been, for a moment, the temptation to come in uniform, but that had seemed unwise. The game board was folded under one arm, tucked against her elbow.

The Viceroy’s head was already turned toward the entryway as she approached, and the lift of his chin betrayed his attentiveness, but when he rose he did not look directly at her. He loaned his robe an air of formality despite the simplicity of his garb: the same indigo yukata she had seen him in weeks before.

“Eikon-slayer,” he greeted her. “Viceroy,” she said in turn. “No,” he said, “you have taken that from me.” “What should I call you, then?” Shasi asked. “As my friend, you might call me Zenos. Come,” he said, “sit.”

The table was set below a chandelier of crystal. With no candles, it simply refracted what light it could snatch from the air around them; in the wanness of the morning it was little enough. He waited for her to sit first, and she found herself recalling he was royalty after all, and schooled in some manner of courtly graces.

“You found one,” he said as she set the megalith set between them. “I had to bribe a quartermaster,” she said with a sly little smile. “Somehow I doubt that.” She turned it around on the table, lifting the latch on one side to open the casing. “They’re all Ul’dahn, don’t you know.” He regarded her a moment, and as she laid the case open to reveal the pieces stowed away, he plucked one up, running a nail over the carved stone. “Aren’t you?” “Yes,” she said, sorting them by color. “And no. I was born in the mountains of Gyr Abania, but I barely remember it. Then it was southern Thanalan, but I don’t recall that either. Perhaps my memories are hazy enough that it all looks the same to me.”

She pushed the marble pieces across the table at him, flipping the case over to reveal the playing board of inlaid stone on the other side. “I thought you would play light,” he said with a tight little smile. “I thought you might like to represent the ivory standard,” she countered. His laughter filled the airy room then. “Perhaps I might. Well,” he said. “Your Princeps goes here, on his own color.” He set the piece in place with a decisive motion.

Soon, the board had been arranged, and the pieces and their movements explained.

“White plays first,” Zenos told her, those long fingers plucking up a piece to advance. “Just as well,” Shasi laughed. “Is that how you see it? Is acting not better than reacting?” Shasi could only shrug at that, tentatively moving one of her pieces in turn. “You know the game better than I. At least I have the benefit of observation.” He shook his head, that smile still tugging at his lips. “Eventually, observation and reaction can carry you no further, and you must round on your foe and act,” he said, removing a piece from the board. “But you know this already, eikon-slayer.” “I thought we were friends. Zenos.” “It is a compliment,” he said. “In its way.” “From the rest of the Empire I might believe that,” Shasi agreed, propping her chin on a loosely curled fist. “Not from me?” “I don’t think it impresses you overmuch,” she told him. “Don’t overextend,” he told her. “You’ve left your castrum vulnerable. When did you come to Ul’dah?” “As a girl,” Shasi said. “I was perhaps five summers old then.” “With your tribe?” “No,” she said. “Why do you want to know?” “Call it a personal curiosity,” Zenos told her, leaning in to move a piece across the board. “You must have a curiosity of your own,” he said. “Several,” she said, capturing one of his flanking pieces and plucking it from its place. “What do you know about the Populares?” “I said ‘of your own,’ he reminded her. “This one, I think, comes by way of your Scions.” “Perhaps,” she said, “but I have a personal interest. We know of the Empire by their exclaves—the castra that Gaius van Baelsar established after the Calamity, and the provinces you have conquered. I have only the smallest inkling of what the heart of it is. It snows there?” “Often,” he agreed. “The winters there are bitter. Exile was bitterer.” “Like Ishgard?” she wondered. “Coerthas was blanketed in snow after the Calamity, but Garlemald has always been swathed in white,” he said, moving his Princeps back to a more fortified position.

“I have to give them something,” Shasi said, “and I do want to know.” He sighed. “The Populares are exactly what their name implies,” he told her, watching as she picked off one of his supporting pieces. “They are populists. My great-uncle was their champion. Whether they survived him I couldn’t say. It seems unlikely any would reveal themselves to me.” “Because you are your father’s son?” “Am I?” he asked, fixing her with a tight lipped smile. He drummed his fingers against the board. “He never seemed to think so. Because I am a Legatus, X’shasi. A military man. So yes, in that, I am Varis’s son. I am Solus zos Galvus’s great-grandson. They concern themselves more with internal matters than conquest, so I am beyond the remit of their trust.” Shasi heard the regret in his tone, and told him so: “So perhaps Varis was not wrong to doubt your loyalties. What could they offer you?” “He was,” Zenos said, snatching back one of his pieces angrily. “It was van Baelsar’s journals that changed my mind, and I did not read those until I arrived here.” “What was in them?” Shasi wondered. “A great deal,” he said. “Half a decade’s observations of Eorzea. His collaboration with the last ‘Warrior of Light.’ Musings on the primals,” he said, nudging a piece into place. “And you.” That surprised her, and she looked up into his face. He was smiling at her, an indulgent sort of expression. He continued: “He admired you, in a way. I suppose he would have made you regent. It would have made things much simpler, don’t you think?”

“That’s not something the Populares could offer you,” she said, feeling her jaw tighten. “No, but they could have offered it to you,” he said. “An end to Garlean expansionism? A different approach to the problem of the eikons? Tell me that holds no appeal for you.” “I don’t think you’re so terribly opposed to your empire’s expansion,” she said mildly, pressing forward to take another piece. “No more than you are opposed to Lominsan expansionism,” he agreed. He must have seen how it stung her, for he lifted his fingers from the piece he had been toying with and made a less threatening move instead.

A less obviously threatening one, anyway.

“So now you know something to tell your masters.” “Later,” she said. “I did promise. And if it had been any less dire a portent before, I would not have gone then.” “This Elidibus occupies you greatly,” he noted, lifting one of his discarded Legatii to examine its form. “Are you afraid of him?” Shasi swallowed, glad his gaze was elsewhere. “Yes,” she said. “You never seemed to fear me.” “No,” she agreed. “I knew your reputation ere ever you came to Rhalgr’s Reach, as it seems you knew mine, but even then … I was not afraid.” “You knew me,” he said flatly. “My mentor had spoken of you, once or twice. As a thing of unholy terror. But … it was not so long before that I chanced to see myself through another’s eyes, and I was no less a horror than as had been described.” He chuckled, a low, rolling purr that seemed to spill over the table between them. “So you were not afraid because you thought you had my measure, as I was sure I had yours.” “No, I was not afraid because I wanted to take your measure,” she said, darting a piece forward with a small smile. “Why not take his?” Zenos wondered. “He’s an emissary,” she told him. “I could no sooner harm him than, say, a prisoner of war.” “A pity,” Zenos said, plucking up one of her pieces to set his down in the square. “I have you,” he told her. “No, you don’t,” she said, diverting a piece to her defense. He looked at her a long moment, a crooked smile upon his features. “So your hands are bound,” he said. “Little as I like it,” Shasi shrugged. His smile only broadened. He leaned in, took her castrum, and set a fingertip to the crown of her Emperor. “I have you,” he reiterated, and toppled the piece.

Shasi cursed. “Well, I suppose at least I have the comfort of knowing you weren’t holding back.” “Have I ever?” he asked. “Dine with me tonight. That seems an appropriate forfeit.” “I didn’t know we were dictating terms,” she said. “What if I’d rather write a letter to my masters, as you so disdainfully call them?” He pouted, an oddly boyish expression bereft of the anger she had expected. “How disappointing,” he said. She looked at him, reaching down to roll the Emperor beneath her fingers. “Do you know what your life is missing, Zenos?” she said. “Challenges, I should imagine,” he drawled. “Yes,” she agreed, sweeping the pieces from the board. “Just not the ones you mean.” “Oh?” “You don’t hear ‘no’ nearly enough,” she said, turning the board back over.

“X’shasi,” he said, reaching out to take hold of her wrist. His grasp was gentler than expected, his fingers rough with a swordsman’s calluses, but surprisingly warm. She looked down at his hand a long moment, where it lay against her skin. “Please,” he said. “Please what,” she prompted, her voice steadier than she might have feared. “Please come and dine with me this evening.” She waited, not looking up into his eyes. In the face of her indifference—feigned though it might have been—he capitulated. “Not because you owe it to me, or because I’ve won it from you. Come because it pleases you to do so.” She nodded once. “I will return for dinner,” she said. “For now I should see to other matters.” He let go of her wrist, but she lingered over the task of putting away the megalith pieces, rising only when she was sure her knees were steady.

[perfectirishgifts]

Presidential Election: Understanding Leaders Who Can’t Stop

New Post has been published on https://perfectirishgifts.com/presidential-election-understanding-leaders-who-cant-stop/

Presidential Election: Understanding Leaders Who Can’t Stop

Dec 12: Trump supporters demonstrating against the election results

Normally in any country, including the U.S., the outcome of a head-of-state election is prompt. In the U.S. presidential election of 2020, now some 40 days since the election, President Donald Trump is still contesting the outcome, even though all 50 states and the District of Columbia have certified the result, showing that Joe Biden won 306 electoral votes against 232 votes for Trump. That’s the same margin in electoral votes as won by Trump in 2016. It’s a clear win for Biden, who also won the popular vote by more than 7 million votes.

Yet Trump continues to contest the outcome. More than 50 lawsuits alleging various irregularities have been rejected by the courts, including by judges appointed by President Trump. Last week, a suit brought to the Supreme Court by the Attorney General of Texas, that was alarmingly supported by President Trump, 17 attorneys general from Republican states, and 126 Republican congressional representatives, and that challenged the outcome in four states, was unanimously rejected by the Supreme Court without a hearing.

This effectively ends any judicial challenge to the election outcome, but Trump seems determined to explore further political challenges to the outcome.

·       Trump and the Republican Party have raised more than $200 million, ostensibly to fight the election outcome, although the money can also be used other purposes.

·       Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), head of the conservative Republican Study Committee, spearheaded the effort to round up support on Capitol Hill for the Texas lawsuit and implicitly threatened electoral retribution from Trump for any Republican who failed to sign up.

·       The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump is actively pursuing the possibility of appointing a special counsel to investigate allegations of fraud in the November elections, which would continue the issue of the election outcome well into the Biden presidency.

·       Former constitutional law professor, Jamie Raskin, has predicted that, when the joint session session of Congress considers the report of the Electoral College on January 6, 2021 in accordance with the 12th Amendment of the Constitution and the Electoral Count Act of 1887, Trump will have pressured Republicans in Congress to object to the report in a further attempt to force a political reconsideration of election outcome. Already at least one Republican in the House—Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala.— has declared an intent to object to the Electoral College report, with praise from the President.

·       Raskin predicts that the attempt to subvert the outcome of the election will be unsuccessful, either because the objections are not sustained in Congress, or, if they are, because they will be ultimately overruled by the mostly-Democratic governors in states that voted for Biden, thus confirming the report of the Electoral College.

·       While some analysts such as Chicago law school professor Eric Posner argue that America has already “passed the Trump stress test”, it is nevertheless unnerving that the future of American democracy may yet depend on the wisdom and character of a handful of state governors defending against the efforts of a president who just can’t stop.

Leaders Who Can’t Stop

The phenomenon of leaders who can’t stop even when the odds of victory seem almost non-existent is documented in a book co-authored by Harvard professor Barbara Kellerman, Leaders Who Lust: Power, Money, Sex, Success, Legitimacy, Legacy (Cambridge University Press, October 2020), The book is Kellerman’s 16th on the subject of leadership. In this book, she writes about leaders who, for better or worse, can’t stop pursuing whatever they are pursuing. She maintains that it is leaders who lust who mostly make history.”

Professor Barbara Kellerman and her book, Leaders Who Lust

I caught up with professor Kellerman this week and explored with her the case of Donald Trump.

Denning: When will Donald Trump stop fighting the outcome of the 2020 election?

Kellerman: Never. Trump will be contesting the election forevermore, if only in the court of public opinion.

Denning: Your book suggests at least six categories of “leaders who can’t stop” in terms of the object of their desire: power, money, sex, success, legitimacy, and legacy. How does Trump fit into your six categories?

Kellerman: Trump has what might be called an addictive personality. In the book we use the term “behavioral addiction.” He cannot stop lusting. By every account—including his own—his lifelong lust has been for money. In January 2016 when he was running for president he said of himself, “My whole life I’ve been greedy, greedy, greedy. I’ve grabbed all the money I can get. I’m so greedy. Now I want to be greedy for the United States.”

His lust is still clearly for money. In fact, the main thing that he has done since losing the election is raising money. He is not interested in power in any conventional sense of this word. He does not for example want to govern. Controlling America’s response to the pandemic was the last thing he wanted to do! You will recall he shifted this responsibility to the states. But it is true that he has a deathly fear of losing control—losing control over his fame which is tied as he sees it to his fortune.

 Denning: In your book, you write about “leaders who have a fire in their belly that is impossible to douse. Leaders who lust have a life force that is impossible to slow not to speak of stop. And leaders who lust have an appetite so enormous and relentless it is impossible ever fully to satisfy. Thus is lust a trait, or an attribute, or a characteristic that must be singled out. It is leaders who lust who mostly make history.” Is that what we are dealing with here?

 Kellerman: In short, yes. In reverse order, Trump has already made history. He has refashioned not only the American body politic but, arguably, to at least a degree, the world order. Biden notwithstanding, there will be no returning to the international system as it was. Moreover Trump is so obviously a leader who lusts—who cannot stop—one could reasonably claim he is a poster child for a lustful leader. He will never stop lusting until/unless he is obliged to—forced to either by his own body/mind or by some sort of intervention from the outside.  

 Denning: You also wrote: “Though the leadership industry touts the virtues of moderation, in the real world not only does excess often succeed, it is often widely appreciated and even applauded. One could even go so far as to argue that balance and moderation tend more to foster mediocrity, whereas leaders who lust, who are focused laser-like on the object of their desire, tend more to stand out.” Is that applicable to Trump?

Kellerman: Yes, to me this is self-evident. It is precisely his insatiability that separates this leader from the others, from the crowd—and that appeals to the crowd! Some of us remain astonished at his continuing attractions—but one of them is precisely his refusal to be stopped or even slowed no matter what happens. He will never, of his own volition, give in.  

Denning: Trump seems indifferent to his legacy in the normal sense, even though he is intent on presenting himself to his current audience as the best and the greatest. Is that correct?

 Kellerman: The subtitle of the book is, as you know, “power, money, sex, success, legitimacy, legacy.” Trump’s interest is in the here and now—preferably instant gratification. He doesn’t give much of a damn about what will happen when he’s six feet under! 

And read also:

Your Guide To The Post Election Landscape

From Leadership Strategy in Perfectirishgifts