#this post is about twins-Yankees by the way but it could be about many things | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bipercabeth · 4 years ago

Text

percabeth | hurt/comfort | 3k | commissioned by @mericatblackwood

a post-TLO fic in which we finally Let Percy Cry

Annabeth doesn’t know what to do with anger—her own or others’. She can take her problems to the sword fighting arena or bury her nose in blueprints for weeks, but she’ll still come away with a tight jaw. She doesn’t know what to do with her hands when they aren’t clenched into fists.

So when the tendons in Percy’s hands strain around his silverware at dinner, when his eyes are downcast and he’s closed off in that I’m-angry-but-trying-desperately-not-to-look-it way, Annabeth can only fumble over a painfully casual attempt at conversation and watch as he retreats to his cabin. He doesn’t even make an appearance at the campfire. The flames have been low in the weeks following the Battle of Manhattan, but they’re rising tonight.

The problem isn’t reading Percy; it never has been. Annabeth knows what’s hurting him and why. It’s the fixing part she struggles with.

continue on AO3

He’s been angry for the better part of a year, often because of the ambiguous impending doom of his sixteenth birthday, but not exclusively so. Annabeth caused more than her fair share of his anger, she knows. Rachel had been there to provide an escape in her place, but Annabeth supposes part of being Percy’s girlfriend means that it’s her who gets to provide solace now. Not that she didn’t before, but. There’s a deeper commitment now. He was always her person—as she was his—but it’s out in the open. She’s the first line of defense—she wants to be the first line of defense from danger, be it physical or emotional.

So Annabeth dons her Yankees cap and sneaks to Cabin 3, replaying the conversation where Percy shrugged and said he’s fine when she tried to call him out. He isn’t fine. She knows that much.

That doesn’t mean she expects to find him curled in on himself, bedsheets tangled around his middle. It shouldn’t be possible to look small in a twin bed, but he looks so small—not at all like the hero the other campers celebrate over the campfire. It’s a stark reminder that he’s only sixteen.

He lifts his head when the door opens, his eyes wide. Annabeth remembers that she’s invisible and knocks her cap off her head. She’ll pick it up later. Right now Percy’s breath stutters at the sight of her, his eyes shining like open wounds.

Annabeth can do dry anger: the cold, unfeeling rage that motivates, propels, inspires. But wet anger—the paralyzing, painful kind you cannot power through—leaves her scrambling for purchase. Annabeth is a runner. She doesn’t sit in anything.

The sheets rustle as Percy closes his eyes and takes refuge in his bed like a dog hiding his wounded paw. Despite his efforts, he cannot disguise his limp.

“Please don’t hide from us,” Annabeth pleads.

“I’m not hiding from you,” he says mildly, not lifting his head from the pillow. “I can’t hide from you.”

“But you came here.”

“I knew you would come.” Percy shrugs, casually stating as fact something Annabeth didn’t know herself until a few minutes ago.

In this moment, Annabeth envies Percy’s connection with Grover. She would kill to have a way to funnel her emotions into Percy’s brain in a way he could understand. All the love and concern she can’t articulate could exist in the world without the struggle of finding the right words.

Still, Percy specified her. Grover is out there at the campfire, probably sensing Percy’s pain like a twinge at the base of his neck, but Annabeth is the one Percy can’t hide from.

The thought propels her to the edge of his bed, sitting in the curve of mattress his torso folds around. His knees press into her right thigh as he shifts to close the space between them. Annabeth realizes with a jolt that he left this space for her to occupy.

On her other side is his face, youthful and soft in the moonlight streaming through the window. Blue light for a blue boy, swimming in blue sheets that should shelter him instead of giving him something to fist his hands in. His arms cage his chest as if his heart is trying to escape it.

Annabeth reaches for his hand, drawing it to rest between hers. If his heart is a burden, it’s not one he has to bear alone. They held the weight of the sky once. They can handle this.

For all their shared burdens, the one that weighs on Percy now is uniquely his. Annabeth is a hero, but not the hero. Shouldering “child of Athena’s final stand” for a few weeks is not the same as “hero’s soul, cursed blade shall reap” looming overhead for four years. Percy’s very existence has been dissected and politicized since the moment he was claimed, whereas Annabeth could’ve chosen a quieter, quest-free life if that’s what she wanted. She chose to pick it up. Percy’s choice was to stand under a weight that would otherwise crush him.

It occurs to Annabeth that everyone who has shouldered this burden before him is dead. The heroes whose birth was prophesied, whose death was prophesied, died fighting their battles centuries ago. There are no words for that.

Words are Percy’s strong suit, anyway. He has always known what to say to calm his friends down. Annabeth can’t recall the last time she saw someone do the same for him.

She squeezes his hand and focuses on being here, where it matters.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asks, knowing he doesn’t. Or rather, knowing he doesn’t want her to have to talk about it.

As expected, Percy burrows deeper into the bed. Half his face is squished in his pillow; the sole eye Annabeth can see fixes on the empty space in front of him. He gives her a noncommittal shrug she doesn’t buy. But at least he won’t lie outright.

Silence follows. It nips at Annabeth’s ankles, nagging her to move, to do something, but she decides to sit with the discomfort. The confession he’s suppressing is a palpable thing: Annabeth watches it stutter in his lungs and claw its way up his windpipe. Percy will tell her when he’s ready, and she’ll be here when he is.

“I’ve been having dreams,” he says, still not meeting Annabeth’s eye. That’s okay, though. He’s getting the words out. That’s what matters, right?

“What kind of dreams?”

Percy grimaces. “Not the useful kind. Nightmares, mostly. About the war.” He doesn’t breathe between the sentences, just grits his teeth.

“It’s over, Percy. The war is over. We can rest now,” she tries.

“They can’t.”

Dread settles over Annabeth, but she asks anyway. “Who can’t?”

“Beckendorf,” he chokes, his hand tightening in hers. “Silena, Castor, Lee, Michael—I killed him, Annabeth. I told the others where to go, and they died because of me, but I killed Michael.”

Annabeth opens her mouth to interrupt, but the names keep coming. Percy steamrolls through the tears, leaving her to watch his anger limp along until it collapses into the worn bed of sadness.

“Ethan shouldn’t have been on Olympus. I should’ve hit him harder, then he might have stayed down. And Zoe—I knew she was going to die. We found out who her dad was, and I knew and I couldn’t do anything. And Bianca wasn’t supposed to stop the automation. It was supposed to be me. She could’ve come home to Nico, and maybe then—”

“Percy…”

He shrinks with each word, looking every inch the child Annabeth found on Half-Blood Hill: bruised, tired, and crying for his mother. “My mom died because of me. I didn’t even save her—I saved the world, because that’s what I had to do. Hades let her go, but she still died.”

Annabeth gapes at him uselessly. To love Percy is to know intimately the amount of guilt and unearned blame he assigns himself, but that doesn’t make it any easier to stomach.

“You saved your mom,” she reminds him. “You saved her and the world. You shouldn’t have had to do either, but you did.”

“But I didn’t save the others.”

“No one could’ve.”

“I should’ve. When you fight the way I can, the people who die around you die because you can’t get to them fast enough. If I had just been faster, I...” He takes a shuddering breath. “Why do I get to survive when they don’t?”

A lifetime of war games and war alike, and that question is the worst thing Annabeth has ever heard. Percy is just laying there, still not meeting her eye, and she doesn’t know how to help him.

Terrified of how he’ll answer that question, Annabeth leans down to kiss him before he can. She tries to pour everything into it despite not having too much experience. Kissing Percy so far has been fun, sweet, and definitely trial and error. Nothing this desperate, this needy. She inhales him like she can steal the painful words from his lungs before he says them.

Annabeth tastes tears and pulls back, terrified that she’s done something wrong. Instead, Percy’s hand catches the back of her neck, keeping her close enough for their foreheads to touch. It’s there, inches away from his trembling lips, that Annabeth finds the words.

“You saved me,” she pants. “From the Furies on the bus, at the Lotus hotel, when Polyphemus knocked me out—” her fingers travel to his grey streak— “when we held up the sky, at Mount St. Helens, on Olympus… Too many times to count. From the first day we met, you gave me hope.” She strokes his cheek and wipes away the tears, feeling her own eyes well up. “Every day. You save me every day.”

Percy clings to her hand on his cheek and releases a deep breath, fully exhaling for the first time all night. “You save me just as often.”

“So let me do it now, yeah?”

Percy looks at her, green eyes wet and wide, and nods carefully. Annabeth sighs her relief against his forehead before pressing her lips there with an aching softness. There is more to say, but she takes a moment to just hold him. The Fates deemed her his anchor to mortality, so anchor him she will.

“You survived because you were saddled with the weight of the world at twelve years old and the gods owe you a fucking break.” She looks at the ceiling, almost daring thunder to rumble. The sky stays silent. “More campers are alive than dead after a war with impossible odds, Percy. You saved so many, but you can’t save everyone. None of them would want you to blame yourself for this. We have to honor their sacrifice—and, in some cases, their choice.”

That breaks him. The last of his anger gives way to painful sobs, the ugly kind that squeeze your lungs like a spasming fist. In this moment, he is not the wounded dog, but rather the limp itself: the awkward cadence of his breath reminiscent of limbs struggling to hold new weight.

“What do you need?” she asks. “What can I do?”

The mattress jostles as Percy scoots closer, freeing up part of the bed. “Could you stay here with me? Wake me up if it gets bad? If you have to go back to your cabin, that’s fine—”

He’s cut off by Annabeth kicking off her shoes and crawling into bed behind him. There isn’t much room on the twin mattress, but she tucks her knees into the backs of his and wraps around him, and they fit well enough. She settles quickly to avoid overthinking, glad for the excuse to be close to him.

This is entirely unfamiliar territory, as Annabeth discovers when she tries to figure out what to do with her hands. She’s never spooned someone before.

Percy senses her hesitation and laces their fingers, pulling her arm around his torso. Annabeth squeezes him tight, like maybe lining up their hearts will calm the frantic beat of his. Between that and her body protecting his Achilles spot, she’s got him.

It’s a little awkward, the silence that follows. They haven’t exactly had pillowtalk before, let alone while calming Percy during a breakdown. Annabeth doesn’t know how to hold him to make all that go away, so she clings to him as tight as she can.

“You’re like a boa constrictor,” he chuckles. It’s a wet, half-hearted laugh that tells Annabeth he still has more to say. He’s at his worst when he’s deflecting.

Still, she moves to loosen up. “Sorry.”

He tugs at her hand. “No! I mean, it’s nice. I feel… safe.” He pauses, his breath deep. “I always feel safe with you.”

Annabeth hasn’t kissed much of him apart from his lips, but she liked the comfort of kissing his forehead. She tightens her grip again and presses her lips to his shoulder, just because she can.

“Sometimes they’re about you,” Percy whispers.

Annabeth lays her cheek on his shoulder, trying to see his face. “What?”

“The nightmares. Sometimes they’re about losing you.”

“Percy, look at me.”

The tension falls from his spine as he flips around, tangling further in the mess of sheets. Annabeth smooths everything out for him before laying on her back and tugging him close. He ends up halfway on top of her: his arm around her waist, her hands in his hair, their legs a tangled mess.

She holds his face, thumbs swiping at his cheeks gently. He may be invulnerable, but he’s a fragile thing. Maybe even more so with the invulnerability.

“Tell me about them.”

“What? No. Annabeth, I’m not— I can’t talk about you d— about losing you. I can’t say those words.”

Annabeth just holds his face and his gaze. “You should. Talk about it here, safe, with me, and maybe it won’t be so bad when you fall asleep. I’ll be here the whole time.”

The tension in Percy’s body is palpable as he resists Annabeth’s coaxing. But slowly, she slips her hands to his scalp and massages him there, leeching the stress from his body as he sinks forward into her. His weight presses Annabeth into the mattress. It’s comforting, having him above her. She can feel every breath he takes, every time his heart beats in his chest.

“We’ve almost died a ton of times, but that was always together.” He swallows, and his Adam’s apple bobs against her collarbone. “But then on the bridge with Ethan, when you took the knife…”

Percy takes a shuddering breath.

“Sometimes we get you to the hotel and Will can’t help. Or I can’t find Will. Or Blackjack can’t grab you. Or—” his grip tightens around her, and his tears fall on her skin. “Sometimes you, you die right there at my feet. You jump a second earlier, and Ethan hits you in the chest, and I kill him for it. I kill everyone on the bridge. Most times it’s an accident, just the river listening to me, but sometimes… sometimes I don’t know. Both scare me.”

One of Annabeth’s hands moves to his Achilles spot of its own accord. Percy gasps into her neck, where some tears fall as well. He’d fought his way through his confession, coming from somewhere so deep inside him that the deluge of tears was unavoidable. She hopes to distract him from them now.

“You saved me on that bridge,” she reminds him, her free hand scratching lightly at the base of his neck.

“But what if I didn’t?” he breathes. He sounds so small.

“Doesn’t matter. You did. Anything else is a hypothetical.”

“But in the future—”

“Uh uh.” Annabeth’s chin taps Percy’s temple as she shakes her head. “It’s like strategy. You can think and think and think and plan your whole life out, but it’s not real. You never know what’s going to happen until your feet hit the floor. Are your feet on the floor?”

“No,” he grumbles.

“No,” she echoes. “You’re in bed. You get to rest now.”

Percy is still for countless heartbeats. Right when Annabeth thinks he might’ve fallen asleep, he props himself up on one elbow to look at her. Even in the lowlight, Annabeth can make out his puffy eyes and wet cheeks.

“You know you’re my best friend, right?” He sniffles, his nose wrinkling adorably as he does, and his eyes bore into Annabeth’s. “You’re my girlfriend too, but you’re my best friend first. Always.”

Annabeth hears that statement for what it is and grins despite the tears prickling in her own eyes. “And you’re mine. Always.”

A smile breaks out on his face like dawn at this late hour, brightening up the small space between them. Exhaustion sets in to close it, drawing Percy to settle back into Annabeth’s neck with the slow pull of gravity.

They drift off in a bed made to be slept in alone as they share a burden made for one person. Newness tinges the corners of this memory, this moment Annabeth finds herself missing before it’s gone: Percy asleep above her, finally getting the peaceful rest he deserves. Part of Annabeth wants to stay up all night to make sure he gets the most of it, to watch his back as she promised to do, but her eyelids are heavy with sleep in no time.

What sticks with Annabeth is this: Percy’s breath slow and steady against her neck, his heartbeat reliable as ever as it syncs with her own. The world is warm and safe despite all the evidence to the contrary, and that’s what makes this moment untouchable. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, here they are. Together in every way that matters.

#i hurt myself writing this i am not going to lie #if u read this on tumblr all i ask is u give it some love on ao3 bc engagement with tumblr is Trash but i try to keep commissions accessible #commissions #my percabeth #my fic #mericatblackwood

428 notes · View notes

rory-for-short · 4 years ago

Text

New Crossings New Horizons: Chapter 1

So I'm writing an animal crossing fan fiction. Never thought id say that but I'm really exited about it. Ill be posting it here this is Chapter one:

The beginnings of summer, and a 4pm flight. That's how this adventure started. The lights were all fluorescent in the airport terminal and the afternoon air as warm with the promise of summer on the horizon. Of course the private “plane” you were supplied scared you. It was an older model helicopter that was run by DAL and taking you to an island. You agreed to be part of this little venture, simply for the college credit. One semester of “city planning,” if you could even call it that. It was a program run by Thomas Nook. Mr. Nook had approached you via email, as he did many NewLeaf college students with the same major. Only you and three others responded, likely due to the difficult nature of his program. But the promise of a job directly after graduation was simply too appealing for you.

So here you were at 4pm with your suitcase full of necessities and a carry on of any food you could get past customs, walking down an airport runway to a questionable aircraft headed to a deserted island. A man greeted you. He looked about 30. He was wearing aviators, and a DAL pilot uniform, and scruff that made him look a bit more human than your fellow passengers did. His frame was of a muscle bound frat-boy that drank too much and let himself get just a bit squishier. He was talking to someone over a talk system. “Dodo 1 to Dodo 2, we’ve got walkers starting to onboard. Tango Tango Yankee Lima,” he finished as he turned to address us.

“Welcome civilans to Dodo airlines. Leave your luggage at the rear of the craft and ill load it into storage,” he commanded with a deep vibrato. Likey, he didn't intend to seem intimidating, but he was. Looking at him was like seeing a 6’3 wall walking around. You and your fellow passengers did as commanded. You struggled just a bit with your luggage as you moved your carry on bag and a strap on it broke. A temporary loss of balance and stumble from the weight shift, was quickly followed by two hands grabbing the now strapless bag with ease.

“Careful there, flyer. You alright?” asked the concerned pilot. It was at this point you noticed his name tag, a silver bar pinned to his lapel with the name “Wilber” etched into it. Wilber, how fitting for a pilot.

“Yeah, I’m good… Thanks” you managed as he lifted your luggage into the storage compartment.

“Not a problem,” he replied in a measured voice, unchanging despite the amount of weight he was lifting. You began to board the aircraft with you fellow passengers. Apollo, a stoic young man in ROTC, an alt girl who introduced herself as ‘Cherry’, and Bob who had eyes shiftier than a non-automatic car. These were the people you would be stranded on an island with. ‘Better make the best of it and make nice with everyone’ you thought to yourself.

“So, you guys ready to ruff it in the tropics?” Bob asked, breaking the silence.

“I've done training like this for the army. Anyone has any concerns you can ask me,” Apollo shrugged. Well at least one of us was a survivalist. That's a good sign.

“So, like, I did research on this Nook guy and he seems to be some capitalist robber baron. Hope we aren’t part of some get rich quick scheme.” Cherry huffed as she pulled out her phone. Your stomach dropped realizing you knew little about the man you would be working under, while stranded on an island. You should have done research but you were busy reading fine print and filling out your internship paperwork.

“I’m sure we will be fine.. NewLeaf is a prestigious college after all, I’m sure they don't hand out students to just anyone, right?” you said in an attempt to convince yourself more than anyone.

“Eh, I heard rumors he was a shady ass fellow. That's why I agreed to all this. Kinda like a twin flame thing,” Bob laughed. Apollo chucked at his announcement.

“Well I hope for our sake, you are the only ‘shady ass fellow’ we deal with on this trip,” Apollo shot back. you hoped so too.

It was 10pm when you landed. You and your cohorts hadn’t gotten any rest on the flight. Well, except Cherry who had no problem propping her head on Apollo’s shoulder to get some rest. Not that he seemed to mind. He just talked spout survivalist training the whole ride, and didn’t even register the small black and red haired girl leaning into him. Wilber had gotten a duffle bag out of storage to help you move you stuff that was in your now broken bag.

“This should be a bit more durable. Expecting a food shortage?” he asked as he helped move your dried fruits and trail snacks into the not as broken bag. You gave a half hatred laugh.

“Well its better to be prepared. I was a girl scout after all” you quipped. Wilbur nodded his head to that as he zipped up the duffel bag.

“Alright here you are. Watch your fitting as you make your way to camp. Your cohorts got the jump on yah,” he cautioned as you gathered you stuff.

“Thanks Wilber”

“Anytime Civilian”

With that, you made your way to camp. The only saving grace for you to navigate the darkness was the flicker of a fire light a mile ahead. The others had gotten there first, it was a clearing with several tents set up and what looked like a water pump and generator as well. A campfire was smouldering and your schoolmates sat around the fire in a circle on log seating.

“Well look who’s finally decided to join us. Not very nice to leave you behind, hm?” a man of middle age greeted. He was a bit taller than you, tan, with a mustache and a Hawaiian shirt. He kinda looked like Pedro Pascal and tom Sellicks love child.

“Oh don't worry, I made it all the same, just a slight luggage malfunction” you answered the older man.

“I see,” he extended his hand out to you, “I’m Tom Nook, curator of this internship. You must be Y/N.” So this middle aged man with the twinkle in his eye wearing a Hawaiian shirt and slides, was the shady capitalist that indoctrinated you all? Not quite what you had imagined and it relieved you, yet you were still apprehensive to trust him at all. All the same, you took his outstretched hand. “Nice to meet you Mr. Nook.”

#animal crossing #animal crossing new horizons #fanfiction #fanfic #new horizons #acnh #x reader #reader insert

12 notes · View notes

politicaltheatre · 3 years ago

Text

A Cloudless Sky

Like anyone old enough to remember that day, I have memories of September 11th that I will never be able to shake.

The first was the cloudless sky. Few of us really think about the weather when we think about 9/11, not first, but that morning was one of those perfectly beautiful September mornings we in the Northeast always look forward to after the long, humid summer. It was warm and dry and clear, not a cloud in the sky, and that should have been all any of us ever had to remember of that day.

The second was the subway. That’s where I was when the planes hit, on my way to work. I remember feeling dread, but it was the dread of going to work and the dread of being crammed in a car with so many other people dreading going to their work. We were spoiled in that way, being able to believe that the pressures and petty feuds of our jobs could be the worst thing in our lives.

The third was someone in an office calling out that a plane had hit one of the Twin Towers. I was rushing between cutting rooms, trying to keep the plates spinning. All I could think of was a private two-seater flying out of Teterboro in New Jersey. They had crashed into buildings before. That was all my mercifully sheltered life experience would let me imagine that morning.

The fourth was our collective reaction: confused, slow to accept, trying to rationalize, speculating, and trying to find out what was really going on even as it really was going on in plain view just three miles south of us.

The fifth was trying to give blood. When they finally sent us home, we all called our families to let them know we were okay and stepped out into that clear, blue day. We had to do something, to try to do something, anything at all to help, partly so that we could help and partly so that we wouldn’t feel helpless. We walked to St. Clare’s, one of the hospitals on Manhattan’s west side that just isn’t there anymore. They told us they weren’t accepting blood, that if we wanted to give blood we would have to go down to St. Vincent’s, another hospital that isn’t there anymore.

The sixth was the man on the payphone. As we walked down 9th Avenue, we passed the Main Post Office. It’s a railway station now. There was man on one of the payphones near the corner on 33rd Street. The payphones aren’t there anymore. It was so quiet outside. There was almost no traffic at this point. We were walking down the middle of 9th Avenue. The man was covered in gray dust, head to toe, a thick, gray powder. I can only imagine who he was talking to; his wife, his family, someone who would worry. “I’m okay,” he said. He kept saying it, again and again and again. It was all he said.

The seventh was the crowd of people around St. Vincent’s. Hundreds had had the same desperate thought we had. There were lines heading down 7th Avenue and heading up Greenwich Avenue, all of them waiting patiently, hoping against hope to be allowed to give something. The hospital was still preparing to receive victims at that point. They made sure to keep clearing 7th Avenue in case an ambulance had to go or, they hoped, came back. They were only accepting O Negative blood. I didn’t have it, so I had to go.

The eighth was the view from LaGuardia Place. It was one of the best views of the Twin Towers in New York. Looking down West Broadway, you could see them rising up at the south end. I still remember listening to the Yankees win the 1996 World Series on a radio from a delivery truck. The driver had stopped in the middle of the street just to listen. It hadn’t been strange that he had. Of course, he had. The Yankees won, we cheered and high-fived, and we went on with our lives. Of course, we did. It had been then I looked down at the Twin Towers, making them part of that memory. Five years later, I stood in that same spot and tried to remember what they looked like. There was only smoke.

The ninth were the military vehicles driving along my street to get downtown. My street was and still is one of the ones you take to get there. I don’t remember how many there were. They passed through for hours.

The tenth was going to a bar to look for coverage. The antenna so many of us used for broadcast television had been on the North Tower. Of all the unreal things that day, sitting in a bar watching the news with a bunch of strangers may have been the most unreal thing of all. No one knew what was happening. We could guess. We could smell the fires still burning. We could imagine what it must have been like down there when the buildings came down. We had all been down there at some point, some of us days or hours before.

The days and months that followed offered their own, indelible memories.

There were the fighter jets flying low on patrols up and down the rivers. It got to be that just the sound of jets brought back that sense of dread, like the clear, blue sky, like heading for another bad day on the subway. Some may see them and hear them and think they are an ultimate symbol of power, but they never had to see them and hear them that way for that long.

There were also the tourists, the ones who kept stopping us on the sidewalks and subway platforms to ask us how to get to “Ground Zero”. They were always so excited to get there. Always. You aren’t missed.

And then there were the politicians, the ones who wrapped themselves in tattered flags and used the pain and anger of that day to justify things that had nothing to do with it.

Everyone old enough to remember has memories of that day, far too many with ones far more painful and scarring than any of mine. The thousands who died left tens of thousands behind. Of them, hundreds died trying to save lives. They had given their lives to it before they gave their lives for it. They represented the best of us, that part of humanity that reaches out to help others, that defends those in need. That is the part of ourselves that we need to remember. We promised ourselves that we would.

Somehow, in these past twenty years, that was the memory we too often chose to forget. It left us far too easily. We allowed the need for revenge to lead us to war, to accept collateral damage and the deaths of innocent civilians. It was far away, a war fought there so we didn’t have to face it here. We learned too quickly to dehumanize others there, and then, in the years that followed, to dehumanize each other here.

In forgetting the sacrifice of those first responders, those who perished in the towers and those who died in the years after they sought to find survivors, we failed to protect those who needed and deserved our protection. We failed them and then we failed ourselves.

It isn’t too late. That’s what memory is for, to remind us, to steer us back to where we should be, to help us find that best part of ourselves and live up to it.

The other memories I have are strong, but not nearly as strong as that.

- Daniel Ward

#9/11 #first responders #selflessness #sacrifice #memory

4 notes · View notes

tangentmusings · 5 years ago

Text

I just saw a friend on facebook post that she had her little boy today, her “Yankee Doodle Boy.” And she had a picture of the whole family - her and her husband and the baby next to their three other kids. And I immediately thought, “Man, I could not imagine having four kids.”

And then a quieter thought came to me - “You did imagine it. All the time. You had names for them.” Four was the number for me.

And really I don’t particularly want another kid now - I am happy to never go through sleepless nights and diapers again - but there’s still just this sense of sadness and loss as I remember the plans I once had, and the things my illness has taken away from me.

And I know that I am fortunate to have even one child. So many people struggle and dream for even for that much. And then I feel guilty, because I got pregnant so easily, so it feels like I’m squandering the fertility that so many others wish they had.

But then I have to remember that I don’t have much of a choice here. My illness is just as much of a reason to stop as any other. I mean, I could throw caution to the wind and get pregnant and then probably have to go off my meds - but to what end? The destruction of my marriage? The destruction of my relationship with the kid I do have? Maybe the loss of my own life? And even if I managed to get through the pregnancy, there’s still the matter of raising a newborn, but now while juggling an older child and a mental illness that gets triggered pretty badly when I go too long without regular sleep.

No, having another kid really is out of the equation for a lot of reasons. And - if I can get religious for a moment - I don’t think I’m meant to have any more anyway. I was doing something completely unrelated one day, and the distinct thought came into my mind, “There are no more for you. You can be done.” Which was both relieving and heartbreaking.

(And then I tried to tell my mom this, and it was like the words went right past her in her desire to have more grandkids. She thought I was saying I wanted to be done because my son is autistic (not at all what I was saying in case there were any concerns there), and was encouraging me to talk to other families we knew that had multiple kids when one was disabled in some way. It doesn’t help that she has not-so-subtly talked about how my grandmother got pregnant (and went to term) with twins when she had an IUD, which of course just makes me afraid of my birth control failing. And I just have to remind myself that IUD technology has probably advanced at least a little in the nearly 50 years since the twins were born.)

Anyway. Sincere congratulations to my friend, and I don’t mean to be dismissive of any hardships in her life. But I think I’ll just take a moment and be sad.

7 notes · View notes

actuallylorelaigilmore · 6 years ago

Note

Hey, I saw you were doing headcanon stuff! So, I have this like burgeoning headcanon that Josh x Donna's first daughter is wlw. I don't know if you build off of other people's headcanons, but this one has been with me for a long time, and you are such a talented writer and storyteller in general that I thought maybe you'd be interested in taking a crack out of this very specific headcanon?!? I've just been projecting a lot of brainpower towards it and I want to talk to someone else about it!

Okay, so first, all my future headcanons for TWW spring from this original post that’s gotten around a bit. I’ve written a tiny bit of kidfic using them as well so I decided to connect yours to mine because tbh I love this idea and heck yeah, at least one of their daughters should be queer :D that’s just way more fun than if they’re both straight.

So, given what I’d already sorted out for the future, here are my thoughts. There are oh so many ideas behind the cut because apparently I can’t sleep but I can create a bunch of people out of thin air.

Their eldest daughter, Brianna Joan, started insisting everyone call her ‘Jo’ when she was five. They were both surprised by her stubbornness on the matter, but Josh was secretly pleased since her middle name was a tribute to his sister. Donna assumed it was a phase she would grow out of, like a lot of kids when they’re young and establishing their independence. She didn’t–and Jo later believed it was the first hint that she was never meant to be the girly daughter they might have expected.

Charlotte inherited her mother’s grace under pressure, along with her dancer’s form and creative flexibility. While Jo had Donna’s sass and sense of humor, she shared her dad’s brown hair and eyes, constant need to be in motion, and impulsive streak. Josh liked to say Jo got his athletic prowess, too, but Donna always countered with ‘your what now?’ and made the girls laugh. Jo surpassed him in sports talent by junior high, thanks in no small part to coaching by Charlie’s not-so-little-anymore sister Deena.

Junior high and high school were rough, especially girl’s softball and basketball. The rumors and slurs about which girls were probably gay because they were a little too good on the court or the mound bothered her, especially when she got sick of her unruly hair and cut it off at fourteen and the kids started aiming them at her…but it was hard to do the right thing and stand up to them when she was starting to wonder if maybe they were right.

The first crush she developed on an older, female student that she actually admitted to herself was a crush happened a year later, when she was trying to survive her entrance into high school. She came out to her best friend at sixteen and felt bad that she didn’t tell her parents first, but her dad was still working with the White House occasionally during his “retirement,” and her mom was starting her campaign for Congress, and the last thing Jo wanted to do was make that harder.

It wasn’t like she thought they’d be upset, or disappointed in her, exactly. But a tiny part of her did have doubts, after a couple of her friends had come out to their liberal parents and hit a cruel wall of family double-standards. Surely Josh Lyman and Donna Moss, champions of progressive causes, wouldn’t be that way…she hoped.

Just to be safe, Jo told them the week after her mom won her Congressional campaign, when it would cause the least trouble if they did freak out. Donna wasn’t surprised, not even a little, and only shared her worries at night with Josh. She knew how hard it was to be a woman in the world, and it could only be more painful for their eldest facing additional discrimination on top of that. “We just have to love her even harder,” Donna whispered, “and hope it’ll be enough.”

Unlike his wife, Josh was–as always–oblivious. Jo coming out was big surprise, but one he was happy about. She trusted them enough to tell them, and include them in her confusing teenage life. Surely that meant they were on the right track. “And hey,” he offered up in the initial shock of her disclosure, “I can’t exactly blame her. Women…are great. I’m a big fan. Of them.”

Just like he did with all the girl’s activities over the years, from dance to soccer, Josh threw himself into being a parental ally until he annoyed Jo with his enthusiasm. PFLAG, marches, fundraisers, sponsoring local clubs…"which one of us is gay again?” she would mutter to her sister with an eyeroll sometimes, out of earshot of the DC dad with the rainbow t-shirt passing out mini flags.

She was grateful though, especially after she survived college, and law school, and volunteered at a nonprofit that exposed her to so many kids whose parents didn’t care if they lived or died, simply because of who they turned out to be. Josh started getting handmade cards for his birthday and Father’s Day every year, filled with Jo’s illegible handwriting–that, he knew, she definitely didn’t get from him–telling him how much she loved and appreciated him. He put them on the fridge next to the sketches her little sister sent, like they were both still in grade school. Donna teased him about that, but whenever their friends visited she was the first one to casually point them out.

In the family, Charlotte was the only one that ever gave Jo any grief about her sexuality. It was mostly sibling sniping, because Charlotte was quieter than her sister but even more competitive, and she was never quite able to catch up with the three year gap between them. Still, it made Jo uncomfortable in her late teens because she and her baby sister were always so close growing up, and she couldn’t tell if the snark was coming from someplace deeper. When Charlie was fifteen, she got a week’s suspension for breaking a boy’s nose after he called her valedictorian sister a slur she refused to repeat to anyone. Jo worried less after that, and the sarcastic comments never happened again.

Toby’s son Huck came out as bisexual in college, and Jo joined his twin sister in being his closest support system while he braced for his parents’ reactions. There was a lot of hugging, and some knowing looks between Toby and Josh when the kids weren’t paying attention, and Huck had to pay Jo twenty bucks because she promised it would go over fine and he was certain it would be a disaster. He never learned to love the Yankees but he shared his father’s temperament from an early age. He and Charlie dated briefly in their twenties, causing a minor scandal to ripple through the connected families.

CJ’s daughter Nora, who was like a distant cousin Jo never got to visit enough in sunny California, only allowed the family to use her full name. She got a lot of weird looks when strangers overheard, or friends found out how old-fashioned it was, but Jo liked to call her by it anyway when they chatted. She never got to meet her dad’s mentor, and she thought based on the stories she’d heard that he would be embarrassed but proud to learn that Claudia Jean named her firstborn Leonora after she left the White House.

Nora was the one who introduced Jo to her future wife, an architect based out of Sacramento with an independent streak and temper that secretly reminded Josh of one of his exes. Unlike him and Amy, Jo and her fiance were a happy fit, sharing similar political beliefs but no professional rivalry. They spent as much time at home swapping stories and advice about their demanding careers as they did on community activism. Jo mellowed out a little after they got married–”she’s so much like you,” Donna told Josh with a smile–and they moved five times in three years before buying a house and starting their attempts to have a family.

That was the first time Jo ever really surprised her mom, who cried when she found out they were expecting. “I thought…you never talked about wanting kids,” Donna said carefully, and Jo just grinned that bright grin that was so much like her father’s. “I needed some time,” she told her mom, “to figure out what I wanted. But I think that if I manage to be half as good at it as you were, I’ll be an amazing mom.”

Josh and Donna bantered anxiously in the waiting room while each of their eldest daughter’s three kids came into the world. Two she gave birth to, and one she didn’t. They spoiled them all the same.

And when Charlotte brought the Lyman-Moss legacy back to the White House, Jo’s youngest son got to hunt Easter Eggs on the lawn. He stood next to his aunt during the photo op, just one of a dozen kids surrounding the first female President of the United States.

#seriously #just so. many. thoughts #this got totally out of hand #josh x donna #headcanons #it's super fun to play with future fic i must say #tww #replies #theonewithwaytoomanyfandoms

20 notes · View notes

patriotsnet · 3 years ago

Text

How Are Democrats Different From Republicans

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/how-are-democrats-different-from-republicans/

How Are Democrats Different From Republicans

As A Public Service I Have Endeavored To Distill The Differences Between The Parties Into Fair Terms That Children Can Understand

Democrats and Republicans prepare vastly different election campaigns

To keep the baseball analogy alive, the two parties are like the American and the National Leagues in baseball. If you have a little sports fan in your home, perhaps this analogy might help. In politics, the primaries are like the early playoff rounds. The parties will pick their winner like the American and National Leagues pick theirs. In baseball, the league winners play in the World Series. In politics, the primary winners will face off in the general election. The winner of the general election becomes President of the United States.

Jessicas note: Heres another take on it, in case your kids arent eloquent in the language of baseball. Imagine the boys and the girls in a class wanted to see who was the best at something. The boys would have a contest to pick their very best boy. Thats like the primary. And then all the girls would pick their best girl. And then everyone in the school would choose between the best boy, and the best girl. The winner over all is like the President.

Back to our baseball analogy. In baseball, there are differences between the leagues. One league has a designated hitter and considers the foul poll fair. The other league does not.

Flipping The Script And Cutting Checks

So why is it that blacks vote Democrat, for the very people that denied them freedom and continue to keep them subject to a new master government? And its not just blacks that have been duped by the Democrat Party, but its whites also. All in the name of helping the poor . Heres how the Democrats, the media, and now the globalist socialist, have enslaved black people to the government. They said you are oppressed and if you vote for us we will give you the help, through the government, to overcome that oppression. They then blamed the Republicans for oppressing the blacks when it was the Republicans that gave them their freedom and the right to vote, over the objections of the Democrats!

The Democrats were the oppressors, but once they realized that by giving government handouts they could buy votes, the Democrat Party launched the War on Poverty and started cutting checks.

The Republicans were the party of the individual and the American Dream, which said you could be anything you want through hard work and diligence. The Democrats, on the other hand, said you cant do it without our help. Then, black leaders realized that they could take advantage of that cash cow by playing the Democrat game of lies and deceit to enrich themselves while their brothers became lost in the quagmire of government assistance which has caused so many problems for the black community.

Democrats Republicans Take Different Approaches Ahead Of Crucial Georgia Senate Runoffs

This article was published more than 6 months ago. Some information in it may no longer be current.

Getting audio file …

Audio for this article is not available at this time.

This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy. Full Disclaimer

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Loeffler speaks to supporters during a campaign rally in Marietta, Ga., on Nov. 11, 2020.

Jon Ossoff took the stage in Columbus and looked out over a parking lot filled with cars, with supporters blaring their horns in approval as he declared that change has come to Georgia.

Hours earlier, Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler stepped to a microphone in suburban Atlanta and addressed hundreds of eager supporters packed into the Cobb County GOP headquarters. The freshman senator and her Florida colleague, Sen. Marco Rubio, stirred the crowd with their insistence that the change offered by Ossoff and his fellow Democratic Senate hopeful Raphael Warnock means radical elements would control Washington.

Those opening salvos of Georgias twin Senate runoff campaign Ossoff looking to unseat Republican Sen. David Perdue and Warnock facing off with Loeffler showcase starkly different approaches the two parties are taking to the unusual circumstances that make this newfound two-party battleground the epicentre of a national battle for control of the Senate.

Difference Between Democrat And Republican

Difference between Democrat and Republican is explained here in detail.

Democrat is a proponent of democracy, or democratic government. Democratic Party of USA is the worlds oldest active political party. They are more aligned towards liberal ideology.

Republican can refer to an advocate of a republic, a form of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. Republic Party is one of the 2 major parties of the USA.

Visit the given link for information on dates, structure and other details of IAS Exam.

Difference between Democrat and Republican UPSC Notes:-

Read the related difference between articles from below:

You may also read first the Difference between Democracy and Republic to understand the fundamentals.

The major differences between Democrat and Republican are:

What Is The Difference Between Republicans And Democrats

Republicans and Democrats are the two main and historically the largest political parties in the US and, after every election, hold the majority seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate as well as the highest number of Governors. Though both the parties mean well for the US citizens, they have distinct differences that manifest in their comments, decisions, and history. These differences are mainly ideological, political, social, and economic paths to making the US successful and the world a better place for all. Differences between the two parties that are covered in this article rely on the majority position though individual politicians may have varied preferences.

How To Explain The Difference Between Republicans And Democrats

Politics are confusing, even for adults. This years political cycle is even more confusing than most. Anything that confuses and parents is sure to raise questions in children.

As the primaries roll on, many children are asking questions about the two major political parties and what all the arguing means. This years political cycle is more emotionally charged than most. Those emotions can make it difficult for parents to fairly explain political differences to children. Goodness knows, as an avid sports fan, I could not objectively describe the rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.

Where Do Trump And Biden Stand On Key Issues

Reuters: Brian Snyder/AP: Julio Cortez

The key issues grappling the country can be broken down into five main categories: coronavirus, health care, foreign policy, immigration and criminal justice.

This year, a big focus of the election has been the coronavirus pandemic, which could be a deciding factor in how people vote, as the countrys contentious healthcare system struggles to cope.

The average healthcare costs for COVID-19 treatment is up to $US30,000 , an Americas Health Insurance Plans 2020 study has found.

How Did John Quincy Adams Become President

In the U.S. presidential election of 1824, Andrew Jackson received 99 electoral votes, Adams 84, William Crawford 41, and Henry Clay 37. Because no one had a majority, the House of Representatives chose between the three top candidates. Clay supported Adams, ensuring his victory and the bitter opposition of the Jacksonians to all his initiatives.

Difference Between Republicans And Conservatives

Democrats Vs Republicans | What is the difference between Democrats and Republicans?

March 30, 2011 Posted by Clarisse

Republicans vs Conservatives

Republicans and Conservatives have started to air out their differences more vocally and more pronounced in the past couple of years, though it was said that all Republicans were supposedly conservatives.

Republicans

Republicans can refer to a supporter of a republic. It refers to the people who believe in the form of government wherein freedom from dictatorship rules. Republicans believe that the government has no right to tax its people with amounts that are unrealistic in comparison to the recent economy. Republicans also promote small enterprise to promote the economy. Republican is one of the 2 major political parties in the United States.

Conservatives

Conservatives are group of individuals, mostly republicans who have a different view or philosophy in the political world. Conservatives have both a political and social philosophy that allows traditional institutions to be upheld and maintained in the government. It also allows and assists the social changes that are occurring every day. There are other conservatives who would rather maintain how things were and would rather have stability instead of change.

Difference Between Republicans and Conservatives

Both revolve around politics and are quite disgruntled by the fact that their differences are not made more pronounce. As mentioned, republicans are political party members but do not mean that they are all conservative in terms of political views.

The Philosophy Behind Democratic Economic Policy

Democrats gear their economic policies to benefit low-income and middle-income families. They argue that reducing income inequality is the best way to foster economic growth. Low-income families are more likely to spend any extra money on necessities instead of saving or investing it. That directly increases demand and spurs economic growth. Democrats also support a Keynesian economic theory, which says that the government should spend its way out of a recession.

One dollar spent on increased food stamp benefits generates $1.73 in economic output.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt first outlined the Economic Bill of Rights in his 1944 State of the Union address. It included taxes on war profiteering and price controls on food costs. President Harry Trumans 1949 Fair Deal proposed an increase in the minimum wage, civil rights legislation, and national health care. President Barack Obama expanded Medicaid with the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

The Partisan Landscape And Views Of The Parties

Republicans and Democrats agree on very little in the current political environment, but there is a widespread belief in both parties that partisan divisions in the country are increasing. Among the public overall, 78% say divisions between Republicans and Democrats in this country are increasing, while just 6% say they are decreasing and 16% say they are staying the same.

Large majorities in both parties say partisan divisions are increasing, though Republicans are somewhat more likely than Democrats to express this view .

Similarly, large majorities in both parties express concern about rising partisanship. About eight-in-ten adults say they are very or somewhat concerned about divisions between Republicans and Democrats, including nearly half who say they are very concerned about the growing divide.

Comparable shares of Republicans and Democrats express concern about divisions between the two parties, though Democrats are slightly more likely to say this than Republicans .

A similar pattern is evident among independents who lean toward a party. About three-quarters of independents who lean toward the Republican Party or Democratic Party say partisan divisions are growing. Comparable shares of those who lean toward each party express concern about this.

California Voter And Party Profiles

NOTES: Likely voters are registered voters meeting criteria on interest in politics, attention to issues, voting behavior, and intention to vote. For a full description of these criteria and regional definitions, visit www.ppic.org/wp-content/uploads/SurveyMethodology.pdf. For race and ethnicity, results are presented for Latinos, non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic Asian Americans, non-Hispanic African Americans, and non-Hispanic other race and multiracial adults.

Related Content

What Is Republican

The Republican partys mascot is the elephant. Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, George Bush are some of the famous Republican Presidents.

Who Are Democrats

How To Avoid Wars

Difference Between Republican And Democrats

Regulating The Economy Democratic Style

Republicans, Democrats have different strategies to reach voters

Education Doesnt Help Either

The Republican Party General Policy And Political Values

Republican Vs Democratic Demographics

Interesting data about how support for each party broke down by race, geography and the urban-rural divide during the 2018 mid-term elections are presented in charts here.

The Pew Research Group, among others, regularly surveys American citizens to determine party affiliation or support for various demographic groups. Some of their latest results are below.

Early Life And Career

Ideological Differences Between Republicans And Democrats

Increased Media Consumption And The Perception Gap

Most Republicans See Democrats Not As Political Opponents But As Enemies

Most Democrats say that they tend to view Republicans as political opponents. Most Republicans say that they tend to view Democrats as enemies.

How is this unwound?

Democrat Vs Republican: Where Did The Parties Get Their Names

Republicans, Democrats Face Different Challenges in Post-Trump Era

In the United States, the words Democrat and Republican are widely used to mean the two major American political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

Left Wing And Right Wing Politics

Left-Wing

Right Wing

The 5 Key Differences Between Democrats And Republicans

Isadora GuidoniPolitics

515.2K

Well, we did that and here is our break down of the five key areas of difference:

1. Tax Policy

2. Social Issues

3. Labor and Free Trade

4. Health Care

Quirky Differences Between Democrats And Republicans

If nothing else, this election cycle has proven how divided our political inclinations can be. Voters across the spectrum have struggled to see others’ points of view.

Below are seven interesting contrasts between Republicans and Democrats. Do you follow your party’s preferences?

source https://www.patriotsnet.com/how-are-democrats-different-from-republicans/

0 notes

mrtroy · 4 years ago

Text

The Scores Have Changed, My Childhood Is Over, and I Think I Might Understand How Other People Look At Sports

Originally from December 5th, 2010

To say that the last twenty plus years of my life have been completely and hopelessly consumed by sports may be the grossest understatement I have ever put into print, yet until just recently, I don't think I had a grasp on what a more "normal" sports following could be like. I'm still not sure I am willing to accept this concept of "social sports fan-dom" as I'll call it, but it might be worth a prolonged look.

Let me explain.

I suppose that to best understand where I'm at now, it might be best to understand where I am coming from. I think I need to blame my mom for setting me off on this crazed obsession, or maybe the blame should go the Oakland A's for the utterly disappointing display they put on in the 1990 World Series. As I had really started to get into baseball in the Summer of '90, Mom had the great idea of taping the World Series. While other 5 year-olds were perfectly content watching Mr. Rogers zip up his cardigan every morning, Mom knew that if she was lucky a good World Series could provide my baseball fiending mind with seven games of pure VHS-driven bliss. At roughly 3 hours a game, played back ten times each, Mom would have 200 hours of fodder to answer the question, "Mom, when are they going to start playing new games again."

And then, Jose Rijo, Barry Larkin, Chris Sabo and the Don't Stand A Chance Reds had to ruin everything. It wasn't so much the fact that they won the series as it was that they did it in such decisive fashion that added insult to injury. Four games, and it was over. The minimum. The very least. And worse, Game 1 was a 7-0 blanking, and Game 3 was a convincing 8-3 rout in which the Reds put up 7 in the third, and the rest of the game was a mere formality. Translation: My to-be friends of 18 years later, Nathan Clinkenbeard, and Nate Kohrs, rejoiced as their Reds won it all, but more relevant to the situation at the time, I was left without much good winter baseball to tide me over until April.

I watched the tape, and all I wanted to do was to be able to break a bat on my back the way I had seen Reds journeymen outfielder Glenn Braggs do it. I emulated the overly pronounced batting crouch of Rickey Henderson, and began to wonder how Harold Baines could hit a ball so far, despite never looking like he was even swinging hard enough to hit the ball as far as I did in T-Ball.

In '91 things worsened. For some reason I got the Pittsburgh Pirates lineup in my head, and every day in the back yard I would throw the ball up to myself, hit the ball, run around imaginary bases, take a break to become an imaginary outfielder to retrieve the ball, and then switch back to being the base runner to continue running. Every day, it was Cubs and Pirates. I can remember getting mad at myself, and actually sitting down and pouting for extended periods of time because when it came time for Sid Bream's at-bat I ran too fast. Sid was a notoriously slow runner in real life, and I wanted to maintain a certain level of realism in my one-man re-enactments. Apparently in my excitement I had forgotten who I was supposed to be impersonating, and run too fast. In my six-year old world, this was enough to ruin my day.

The Fall came, and with it a Fall Classic for the ages. Why Mom didn't tape this one, I'll never know. Although, if she had, I may still be watching it. The Braves and Twins treated me to seven games of pure ecstasy. Although, all I cared about was the sweet headstand that Greg Olsen went into after a collision at the plate. Sports Illustrated put Olsen on the cover, and I spent all winter trying to duplicate the feat in my basement. Here's a look at the photo; it's a miracle I didn't break my neck. ( http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/9301/index.htm )

It was also in '91 that I first realized there were other sports other than baseball, as the Bulls were on their way to capturing their first title. I don't remember much of the season, other than laying on the floor with a basketball in my hand trying to mimic the Michael Jordan poster in my room.

History seemed to repeat itself over the next few years. The Bulls won another title and the Braves were in the World Series again in '92. I was incredulous to the fact that Otis Nixon would try and bunt his way on while representing the Atlanta's last shot to extend the series. I was mad about that until about March of '93 until Mom and Dad packed my brother and I into a conversion van and we set our sites on Mesa, Arizona for Cubs spring training. We ran into Cubs' pitcher Mike Morgan in the parking lot, he gave my mom his hat, and sent me into a swoon of idol-worshiping that would last even longer than Morgan managed to bounce around the big leagues.

**Side Tangent** I remember being in a bar in the Phoenix area eating dinner, and everyone was going crazy about the Phoenix Suns as they were on their way to meeting the Bulls in the Finals. And yet, all I cared about was that Steve

Buechele, Cubs third baseman was sitting a few tables away. I remember my French fries getting cold because I was too mesmerized to eat.

Later in '93 the Toronto Blue Jays won another World Series, and I began to understand for the first time what it was like to feel compassion. Mitch Williams gave up the famous home run to Joe Carter that sent Canada into a a frenzy, and while everyone was celebrating, all I could think about was how mad people were going to be at Mitch Williams for blowing it.

1994, my life almost came to a screeching halt. The day before I turned 9, the Major League Baseball Players strike started, and eventually culminated with the cancellation of the World Series. You may as well have cancelled my birthday, Christmas, New Years, Easter and any other meaningful holiday. We're talking total devastation.

Luckily in '95 baseball came back with a new playoff system, and I had spent the entire off season reading. It was about this time in school that we had to do free reading every day, and we had to write about it. Our school library had a seven or eight book series highlighting the different aspects of baseball that someone could be good at. The books were entitled, "Speed," "Power," "Pitching" etc. I read these books over and over. They were large format books that I think I would consider to be rotating coffee table material if I came across them today. Little matter, I read them cover to cover, and they had these charts that listed the all-time leaders in many of baseball's statistical categories. After a while, I'd just read the charts. Time, and time again. For some reason, knowing who was the best at certain things excited me. Even if this person had been dead for 60 years. The pages came alive in my mind, and even though I had never seen Ty Cobb play, never known anyone who had, or had any rooting interest for his team, the Detroit Tigers, I was fascinated by what the numerical data next to his name could teach me about him. I would later go on to read that Tyrus Raymond Cobb (I developed a penchant for knowing players full names) was not so much of a good guy, but actually was a mean spirited bigot. It was at this time that I remember being glad that many of his most hallowed records had been broken.

Around this time I also discovered that each morning the glorious, glorious sports editors at The Chicago Tribune published box scores for all the major sports action from the night before. It was an unbelievable development. Now I had happened upon a way to read new and evolving history, every morning. League leaders in all the statistical categories, short recaps of what had happened, and overall numbers galore; every day was better than the last. Ken Griffey Jr. was tearing up the American League with home runs on what seemed to be a daily basis. On the other side of the page in the paper, Greg Maddux was shutting down the National League, and further cementing himself as the best pitcher of his generation, (in my mind at least) and elevating himself to Greek God-like status in the mind of my father.

It was at this time that the foundation for my current sports revelation first planted its seeds. Although, I didn't know it at the time. I was too busy counting home runs to realize what was going on, but inside there was also this great love of Maddux developing as well. This really had nothing to do with Maddux himself, as he had moved on from the Cubs to the Braves a few years earlier, and I could no longer watch him on a day to day basis. This had all to do with Pops. Seeing my father get such enjoyment out of simply reading that Maddux shutout another opponent was very cool to me. And, as is the case with many father-son duos, I loved Maddux because Pops loved Maddux.

These trends continued. I read as much baseball statistical data as I could get my hands on, and I looked to Pops to find new interests to follow in the paper each morning.

Lots of guys rose to prominence at this time. But it wasn't necessarily the guys that were established that caught my eye. It was the young guys. Despite the fact that Maddux would go on to play for more than twenty years, he was old news by the time I really got into following this sort of thing. He was Pops' guy. Pops didn't much care for the new-age stars like a Ken Griffey Jr., but we could agree on a guy like Chipper Jones, the all-American can't miss kid, or Derek Jeter the emerging star of the Yankees. We weren't fans of their teams, but they were in the post season every year, and it was easy to watch them progress.

Then came the star of stars for Pops and I. Tiger Woods. Pops had been reading up on him for years, and by the time he burst onto the scene in '96, Pops had already drank about six quarts of the Tiger Koolaid. Every week our love grew, with every major championship, it wasn't just that Tiger had won, it was as if Pops and I had won. We won because we had followed him, we had read about him, and along with millions of others, we knew he was going to be good. And, every time he won, he elevated himself further into this land of unthinkable admiration. Never before had there been an athlete of whom I had come to expect so much from that had actually been able to deliver. Not only had he been able to deliver, but each time he delivered, he seemed to do it in such a way that I couldn't help but just think, man, I love this guy.

Time continued on, and my enthrallment with the games that these men played continued to grow. '96 marked the beginning of the Yankees run of dominance, and with it much reading of Yankee lore. Also I remember teaching Mom how to keep a proper score book for a baseball game. We'd watch the World Series, and while she didn't know Mariano Duncan from Duncan Hines, she came to learn that if there was a ground ball to Mariano at second, she would enter a 4-3 in the score book as soon as he recorded the out at first base.

As the numerical world inside my head expanded further, It may not shock you to learn that my abilities on the field experienced an inverse reaction. Once in possession of an above average fastball and an hefty appetite for shagging fly balls, by the time freshmen year of high school rolled around, my role on the high school baseball team had been reduced to pencil pushing scorekeeper, infield practice facilitator, and blowout mop-up inning specialist. This didn't so much bother me, as I recall an instance where I rushed out of an early season practice so my mom could drop me off at a fantasy baseball draft where I was the youngest guy in the room by about 30 years. (I picked up Mike Sweeney late in that draft, and was smiling cheek to cheek all season as he hit well over .300) My uncle Tony was nice enough to let me tag along in his fantasy league for years, and I remember the best day of the week being when the old stat packets would show up in the mail, and I'd spend all afternoon breaking down what the other team owners were doing, and what we could do to improve on our perpetual 7th place standing. This was before all of the fantasy sports had moved to the Internet, and while I have come to appreciate the ease in which I can stay connected to fantasy sports nowadays, there was something magical about tearing open that envelope to find out that we'd moved up a half a point, and were now only a point and a half out of 6th place!!

Eventually the Internet won out for statistical tracking, and while I was sad, this transition gave me access to entire portals of data that were completely dedicated to my passions. Living with my buddy Ed Liss my freshmen year of college, he must have thought I owned a partial stake in www.basketball-reference.com. While I wasn't much of an NBA fan at this point, the historical standings, all-time leader boards, and player searching capabilities kept me occupied for hours on end. In fact, my choice of the University of Illinois to go to college in the first place was a choice that I made in large part due to the Big Ten sporting atmosphere that I knew I'd experience while I was there.

Jeff Renfro and I lived and died along with every play of the Illini's historic run to the Final Four in 2004-05, and I'll never forget going to games in the years following with Melissa Colgan, Suzan Balch, Gregg Conn, and countless others. I wore my Luther Head # 4 shirt to every game, and for something like 41 times in a row, if I wore the shirt, the team didn't lose. It was unbelievable.

In 2008, the Illini football team made a rare appearance in the Rose Bowl, and took on the heavily favored Trojans of USC. The family made the trek out to Pasadena for the game, only to watch our team get thoroughly trounced. Walking out of the stadium, if I would have had a tail, it would have been tightly tucked away between my legs as if I were a puppy who had just ruined a garden full of freshly planted petunias. The Illini had been humiliated, and so too had I.

I'm not sure if my transformation really started because the teams I rooted for never won, or if it was just gaining a new perspective that can only come with growing up, but I started to realize, maybe the keys to the games didn't so much lie in the encrypted world of statistics.

Time passed and one by one, the sports heroes of my childhood faded away. Maddux retired after the '08 season, and watching Ken Griffey Jr. limp through his final days in Seattle early in the 2010 season really put the nail in the coffin of my childhood. Sure, I was 25 years old at this point, and far from actually being a child, but here was the guy whose jersey I had, baseball cleats I had, video games I played, baseball cards I collected, and the guy who I had simply first known as "The Kid." And here he was, 40 years old and unable to keep his legs healthy enough to play every day. I may not have been a kid anymore, but Ken Griffey Jr. was my childhood.

And so I thought, "This is what it was like for Yankee fans as they watched Mickey Mantle hobble around the bases in 1968? This was the anguish of watching Johnny Unitas try and hang on with the Chargers, or Willie Mays with the Mets?" The unmistakable ending of an era, right before your eyes.

It was awful.

No amount of statistical data could save me, either. On the stat sheet, Griffey Jr. may have hit 630 career home runs, but that was just it, at this point, those were just stats. They were history. The guy who could never get old, got old. And just like that, he was gone. Next thing I knew, Chipper Jones tore his ACL, and there is a good chance his career could be coming to an end shortly. Somehow Derek Jeter is 36 now and has just negotiated the final contract of his career. All of these guys that I associated with my childhood, they're old. Sure, there are always new players, and there will always be guys to make assaults on the record books, but unfortunately for me, for every new young star that comes along, I'm no longer going to be that little boy who doesn't know any better than to worship the ground on which he stands. The innocence it takes to one day envision yourself running the bases at Wrigley Field or Yankee Stadium, these thoughts can only be conjured up by the mind of a pre-pubescent teen. I'm sure a new young star will enter the game in the coming years, and there's a good chance I'll admire the level at which he's honed his skills, but there's no way he'll turn me into a major leaguer, the way I thought Ken Griffey Jr. could.

Maybe that's why golf, despite being what most would call a boring game, has endured over time and remained relevant. In no other sport can a guy like Jack Nicklaus win major championships 24 years apart, or a guy like Tom Watson compete a few months shy of his 60th birthday for an Open Championship. For any average 50 year-old watching Watson toil at Turnberry, an opportunity arose for them to remember back to when the same guy did they same thing at the same course- when they were in high school. Just think of that.

All of this leads me back to Tiger Woods. My sports equivalent to a Lord and Savior. Mine and Pops guy. The same guy who prompted Pops to call me in June of 2008 when I was at the College Baseball World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, just so Pops could channel his inner Dan Hicks and give me the play by play of Tiger's famous putt.

"He's lining it up. Now he's walking around it. You know, looking at it from every angle, like he always does. He really seems to be taking longer than he usually does on this one..."

At this point, the baseball game I'm watching is in between innings, and not much was going on, but Pops continued.

"Alright, I think he's finally ready. I think it's about 18 feet or so. He putts it. And....Ohhh my gosh Matt, HE MADE IT. HE MADE IT. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. HE MADE IT!!"

At this point, I let out a loud cheer 450 miles away in Omaha. I'm sure the people around me were looking at me like I was crazy, but at this point, I didn't care. Tiger had done it! The guy was playing with a torn ACL, and a broken leg, and the next day he would go on to with the U.S. Open. This is the kind of legend that Mark Twain couldn't write, and Steven Spielberg couldn't make any more sensational.

A year and a half later when the world came to find out that Tiger wasn't exactly the guy everyone thought he was, I was crushed. While his feats on the golf course should not be diminished in light of the details that came out of his personal life, the mystique and the aura that he carried with him could never be the same. Steroids rocked baseball, the NBA after Michael Jordan lacked the luster that it once had, the NFL, while great, had never had quite standing in my sports universe, but this was more than those combined. This was fifteen years of bonding between my father and I that all the sudden seemed hollow. Sure, those events that we cheered about still happened, but the big part of what made it so special was the fact that it was Tiger, and up to that point, he had represented all of the things that my parents had tried to teach me to be. A hard worker, a fierce competitor, and a well-rounded individual away from sports. I should be clear in emphasizing that my parents never told me to emulate Tiger, or any athlete for that matter, yet his case just so happened to be one was easily relate-able. With the deeper meaning of what Tiger meant to my father and I now in question, I was sent searching.

This all helped me realize that being a sports fan is not about the people who play them, or the stats they accumulate.

You can say that I'm going "soft," or that in this moment in time I must be feeling overly sentimental, but, I think I'm ready to come to grips with the fact that being a sports fan is about sharing your rooting interest with those around you.

Really? You had to spend thousands of words to figure that out, genius?

I never thought I'd say it, but being able to share these moments with others means more than a box score ever could. Sure winning helps, but the jubilation I watched my friends experience when the White Sox won the World Series in 2005, or the way people partied when the Bears advanced to the Super Bowl after the 2006 season, none of that would have existed in a vacuum. Sure, you'd be excited if a team you'd rooted for your whole life finally achieved their goal and won something, but being able to call up your dad, or party with your buddies, or text your uncle, those are the things you remember.

I look back fondly on that U.S. Open, not for how it turned out, but for the memories I have with my father. I think back to the Final Four with Renfro reduced to tears as we watched players from North Carolina cut down the nets. I remember an Illini basketball game where it appeared as though Rich McBride had hit a last second shot to beat Penn State. The shot was later overturned, but my memory of clutching the arm of my friend Jessica Young, hoping against hope that somehow they'd overrule the call can't be taken from me. The Rose Bowl from '08, my most indelible memories are of my friends Tim and Meghan Michaels having a comical battle with their GPS as we drove around LA. To this day I don't watch an Illini fooball game without thinking of Steve Contorno and his detest for my old E.B. Halsey Illini football jersey. Halsey has moved on, and the jersey is gathering dust in my closet, but that one little morsel of a fact has been enough for Steve and I to remain friends five years after the fact.

The fantasy sports I play today, I no longer have rabid tendencies to devour stats, or prove to anyone that I'm smarter than they are. In fact, the playful ribbing of a Steve Hild, or the incessant banter of Jeff Lizzo, Kevin Barry and Drew Stiling mean more to me than winning a fantasy league title ever could.

I often wondered as people sat in the stands at games, or watched on TV, how they could fully enjoy the experience without knowing that the last time there had been a statistical oddity like this or that was in 1974, and before that 1921, and so on and so on. Rather, I've moved on. Beyond all the statistics, and all the analysis lies the significance of human emotion. And while I may never be able to quantify it, and it may have taken me longer than most to come to this conclusion, it really is what sports are all about.

0 notes

truemedian · 5 years ago

Text

Jennifer Lopez strips off to her bra at Alex Rodriguez daughter's birthday bash in Miami

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez are showing considerable ingenuity and gall when it comes to throwing parties during a pandemic. On Tuesday, the engaged couple ambitiously pulled off a twelfth birthday party for his daughter Ella Alexander Rodriguez in Miami, while trying their best to abide by strict social distancing policies. The bash was also attended by Ella's mother Cynthia Scurtis, 47, - Alex's ex-wife whom he was married to from 2002 to 2008 - who appeared to be helping out with the festivities alongside Jennifer, 50. At one point, there appeared to be an awkward moment between the pair as J-Lo stripped off in the heat, revealing her lacy bra. Stripping off: Jennifer Lopez appeared to be struggling in the Miami heat on Tuesday, as she took off her top reveal a lacy bra while attending Alex Rodriguez daughter's 12th birthday bash in Miami Also present was Ella's sister Natasha Rodriguez, 15, and J-Lo's twelve-year-old twins Max and Emme, from her marriage to Marc Anthony, 51, as well as other young family members. Although it seemed that guests were encouraged to just drive-by the area with birthday wishes, there did appear to be a number of people involved in the celebrations - including someone who appeared to be a videographer capturing the special day. The couple are just some of many celebrities who have been urging the public to stay home to help fight the spread of COVID-19. Awkward! Alex's ex-wife Cynthia, who he divorced in 2008, which pictured just a few feet away from his fiance Jennifer as she stripped down to a lacy bra On The Floor: Jennifer Lopez, 50, showed off her lacy bra as she was seen at Alex Rodriguez daughter's 12th birthday bash in Miami on Tuesday ....also attended by his ex-wife Cynthia Taking a break: Engaged couple Jennifer and Alex were seen having a breather from the festivities sitting out on the lawn in Miami Playing ball: Jennifer was first seen with Alex's ex-wife Cynthia at Natasha Rodriguez's graduation in May last year proving there is no animosity Family affair: (L-R) Cynthia Scurtiz, Alex Rodriguez, Natasha Rodriguez, Ella Rodriguez, Jennifer Lopez Captured on camera: There appeared to be a videographer in attendance, holding a camera with a microphone attached In an Instagram video earlier this month the singer said: "Hey everyone. We want you to please stay home to stop the spread of COVID-19 is to stay home." "We're staying home those on the front lines - the doctors, nurses and technicians that are working so hard to keep everyone safe." J-Lo and Alex, 44, - who were tagged by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo - then nominated Jimmy Fallon to do his part and #StopTheSpread. A few days later, Jen was spotted attending a VIP gym in Miami for a work-out with Alex, though it was unclear if this was a private session. Jen and the ex: The pair were pictured hanging out together at the birthday bash on Tuesday Good sports: The family made sure to abide by social distancing guidelines for the party Friendly: Jen and Cynthia appeared to be in good spirits at the birthday bash together Getting stuck in: Cynthia was seen serving the three-tiered cake with the birthday girl's name written across it. Feeling the heat: J-Lo adjusts her outfit amid festivities for Ella Rodriguez's 12th birthday party

Birthday gang: Alex, Jen, and Cynthia are seen with their children and family members for Ella's special day However, it seemed that most guests at the party were restricted to 'drive-by' happy birthday wishes to the teenager, creating a procession with banners. One SUV was seen with a 'happy birthday Ella' poster plastered to the trunk. Meanwhile, Jennifer went round in a golf buggy with her kids, to oversee everything including a three-tiered cake with 'Ella' written on it, balloon displays and birthday banners. Weather in Miami has been in the mid 80s fahrenheit, and it appeared that the Jenny From The Block singer had got a little hot, removing the top of her all-white ensemble. Looking good: Jen showed off her incredible physique as she walked around in an all-white ensemble Modern family: Jen was seen with the birthday girl Ella (right) and her own daughter Emme (left) Party on the lawn: Jen and Alex appeared be throwing quite the spectacle, despite social distancing guidelines Big arrival: Ella's sister Natasha is seen driving on a gold buggy with a woman helping keep the birthday cake upright Spectacle: There appeared to be a gathering among those coming to wish Ella a happy birthday Crew: Jen's twins Max and Emma are seen with Ella wearing a birthday girl sash Alex, Jennifer and Cynthia were first seen all together last May at daughter Natasha's graduation from middle school. "How is my beautiful angel going to be a freshman in High School?! Congrats Tashi, we love you!" Alex captioned the group picture. The show of friendship was unusual as the year before there were reports that Cynthia was angry that Alex wanted to lower her child support and alimony payments. Alex had been embroiled in $115k a month spousal support row with his ex, which began in 2018, ten years after their bitter divorce. Birthday drive-by! To ensure they were not having a 'mass gathering' for the party, guests were encouraged to drive by to wish Ella a happy birthday Well-wishes: Friends of the birthday girl made their wishes known by holding up banners Are you SURE you're social distancing? A group of people are seen leaving gifts near a lap top that has been set up in relation to the birthday party Grouped together: Alex Rodriguez is seen standing in a group by a pile of gifts and a lap top set-up that looks like it could be used for a DJ set Party time: An array of balloons were seen tied to a gate as guests drove by to say happy birthday Lining up: Friends of the birthday girl were seen poking their heads through sunroofs to shout happy birthday Coming together: It appears Jen and Cynthia have a friendly relationship as they walked alongside each other at the bash Cute: Jen's daughter Emme also looked to be enjoying time with birthday girl Ella In 2018, it was reported that the former Yankees player requested to pay less child support, as he was no longer receiving his $30 million per year salary anymore. Alex was reportedly willing to pay $20,000 a month for his daughters, while Cynthia allegedly wanted the figure to be closer to $50,000 a month. The amount was to go towards school tuition, with their expenses reported to be somewhere between $7,000 and $12,000 a month. A day to remember: Jen was seen capturing the birthday bash on her iPhone Fun all round: Emme was seen kicking a ball about outside during the celebrations Keeping a distance? Alex and Jen have been urging fans to stay home during the current pandemic Good one! Jen and Alex give the classic parental 'thumbs up' as their children play Tip top: Jen was pictured recently visiting a VIP gym in Miami where she has been exercising Reuniting: Alex, fiancée Jen and his ex-wife Cynthia all gathered to celebrate his and Scurtis’ 15-year-old daughter, Natasha, graduating from middle school last May alongside Jen's twins, Max and Emme. At the time, Cynthia gave a rare public interview to the New York Post saying: "All I can tell you, there’s been a shift, and I’m not sure what to attribute it to." "Alex has dated some wonderful women since our divorce, many of whom have had positive relationships with our children. Alex and I have worked well trying to create a stable environment for our daughters and there has never been an issue. Until now." However, judging by these pictures, it seems Alex and his ex-wife may have come to some sort of mutual agreement. Abiding by the rules? The singer has been urging fans to stay at home during the pandemic Taking it in her stride: J-Lo appears to be finding ways to enjoy herself despite being on lockdown Mulling things over: The engaged couple are yet to announce a date for their wedding Sporty: The singer was dressed the part to indulge in some light activity Read More Read the full article

0 notes

jxkewxrd · 7 years ago

Text

200 Things About Me

200: My crush’s name is: John. (Fischer) @fxscher 199: I was born in: 1999 198: I am really: fucking fun  197: My cellphone company is: Verizon 196: My eye color is: Brown 195: My shoe size is: depends on brand. Nike: 15 Adidas: 14  194: My ring size is: idfk lol 193: My height is: 6’ 2’’ 192: I am allergic to: poison ivy  191: My 1st car was: 2001 toyota camery 190: My 1st job was: Dishwasher at a Buffett Restaurant  189: Last book you read: The Soloist  188: My bed is: comfortable  187: My pet: my dog, Harlee 186: My best friend: @fxscher also my boyfriend 185: My favorite shampoo is: well my mom does hair so idk 184: Xbox or ps3: Xbox all the way 183: Piggy banks are: overrated  182: In my pockets: are black holes 181: On my calendar: blank months 180: Marriage is: a huge goal of mine and im so excited for it 179: Spongebob can: run me over in his boat and i would thank him  178: My mom: is the best in the world even tho we have many disagreements. Love her 177: The last three songs I bought were? None bitch tf i have spotify premium  176: Last YouTube video watched: uhm for sure the music video for camp rock “we cant back down”  175: How many cousins do you have? Bitch i don’t know, a lot 174: Do you have any siblings? Twin brother. Little brother. Little sister.  173: Are your parents divorced? Nope 172: Are you taller than your mom? For sure 171: Do you play an instrument? Do i look like a band/orchestra kid lmaoo 170: What did you do yesterday? I don’t even remember what I did 20 min ago stop

[ I Believe In ] 169: Love at first sight: of course 168: Luck: yes 167: Fate: yes 166: Yourself: uh yes bitch 165: Aliens: universe is too small to not believe 164: Heaven: YES 163: Hell: Eh 162: God: OF COURSE  161: Horoscopes: yes 160: Soul mates: yes 159: Ghosts: yes 158: Gay Marriage: im gay so yes hoe 157: War: uh yeah  156: Orbs: yes 155: Magic: yes duh

[ This or That ] 154: Hugs or Kisses: both bitch 153: Drunk or High: why not BOTH  152: Phone or Online: online 151: Red heads or Black haired: neither lmao 150: Blondes or Brunettes: brunettes but im gay so 149: Hot or cold: bitch. Hot for sure but christmas isnt christmas without cold weather  148: Summer or winter: summer 147: Autumn or Spring: here in ohio we call it “fall” 146: Chocolate or vanilla: vanilla  145: Night or Day: both 144: Oranges or Apples: apples 143: Curly or Straight hair: dont care 142: McDonalds or Burger King: mcdicks bitch 141: White Chocolate or Milk Chocolate: is that racist😉 jk but forsure white chocolate  140: Mac or PC: MAC 139: Flip flops or high heals: neither lmao 138: Ugly and rich OR sweet and poor: how and RICH AND SWEET fuck the sterotype  137: Coke or Pepsi: COKE-aine  136: Hillary or Obama: obama lol 135: Burried or cremated: uhm idk idrc i lowkey wanna be cremated and thrown in the ground with some tree seeds  134: Singing or Dancing: both 133: Coach or Chanel: chanel 132: Kat McPhee or Taylor Hicks: who are they 131: Small town or Big city: big city 130: Wal-Mart or Target: target 129: Ben Stiller or Adam Sandler: neither 128: Manicure or Pedicure: idk 127: East Coast or West Coast: west coast for sure  126: Your Birthday or Christmas: dont care enough 125: Chocolate or Flowers: flowers i dont need to be happy AND fat 124: Disney or Six Flags: havent been to either 123: Yankees or Red Sox: this is tumblr we dont care about sports on here

[ Here’s What I Think About ] 122: War: i dont care #MakeAmericaGreatAgain 121: George Bush: fuck u 120: Gay Marriage: yes bitch we do what we want 119: The presidential election: i love donald trump 118: Abortion: under certain circumstances should it be okay. If you’re doing it bc you fucked up, that child doesnt deserve to not have a life because of your poor choices sorry 117: MySpace: dumb 116: Reality TV: love it 115: Parents: love them but back tf off 114: Back stabbers: i’ll fucking ruin your life  113: Ebay: what 112: Facebook: hi 111: Work: love my job so much 110: My Neighbors: ok this bitch who lives next to us is psycho and wants to literally BE my mom i feel like im in an LMN movie sometimes 109: Gas Prices: fucking really dude like go back to the way they were before the hurricanes  108: Designer Clothes: LOVE LOVE LOVE 107: College: I love it so much can’g wait to graduate  106: Sports: dumb 105: My family: love them 104: The future: ony God knows, he has a plan for me

[ Last time I ] 103: Hugged someone: idfk 102: Last time you ate: like 2 hrs ago 101: Saw someone I haven’t seen in awhile: today 100: Cried in front of someone: months 99: Went to a movie theater: months 98: Took a vacation: June 97: Swam in a pool: August  96: Changed a diaper: never 95: Got my nails done: never 94: Went to a wedding: years ago 93: Broke a bone: never 92: Got a peircing: never 91: Broke the law: idk today i guess when i went 60 in a 35 90: Texted: hour ago

[ MISC ] 89: Who makes you laugh the most: my dog bruh and my boyfriend and sometimes cece😉 88: Something I will really miss when I leave home is: my dog and my mom 87: The last movie I saw: Norma Rae 86: The thing that I’m looking forward to the most: a future with my boyfriend 85: The thing im not looking forward to: being poor when im out of college 84: People call me: gay 83: The most difficult thing to do is: ignore the negativity  82: I have gotten a speeding ticket: nope 81: My zodiac sign is: taurus 80: The first person i talked to today was: john 79: First time you had a crush: bitch i used to be heartless  78: The one person who i can’t hide things from: john or gabby  77: Last time someone said something you were thinking: lost brain cells thinking about this 76: Right now I am talking to: no one 75: What are you going to do when you grow up: own my own coffee franchise or ya know get rocognized for something dumb and get famous  74: I have/will get a job: yes i work at subway 73: Tomorrow: i work 72: Today: i worked 71: Next Summer: im gonna work 70: Next Weekend: im gonna work 69: I have these pets: dog 68: The worst sound in the world: dfc 67: The person that makes me cry the most is: not one person has made me cry in 5 years 66: People that make you happy: my boy 65: Last time I cried: like 5 min ago bc tears of happiness thru music 64: My friends are: the best i’ll ever have 63: My computer is: if only i had one 62: My School: Mount St. Joseph University  61: My Car: needs a little work 60: I lose all respect for people who: are rude af 59: The movie I cried at was: too many 58: Your hair color is: brown 57: TV shows you watch: usually pretty little liars 56: Favorite web site: 😉 55: Your dream vacation: sicily, italy  54: The worst pain I was ever in was: when i wanted to kill myself for like 5 years 53: How do you like your steak cooked: idk  52: My room is: simple, classy n cozy 51: My favorite celebrity is: like really idk 50: Where would you like to be: sleeping 49: Do you want children: maybe 48: Ever been in love: yes 47: Who’s your best friend: my bf and gabby and cece 46: More guy friends or girl friends: girl 45: One thing that makes you feel great is: eating healthy and drinking coffee 44: One person that you wish you could see right now: my boy 43: Do you have a 5 year plan: no 42: Have you made a list of things to do before you die: ya 41: Have you pre-named your children: ya 40: Last person I got mad at: the person who accused my bf of sexual assault  39: I would like to move to: a beach 38: I wish I was a professional: in BUSINESS

[ My Favorites ] 37: Candy: ew 36: Vehicle: blacked out range rover 35: President: Donald Trump 34: State visited: Florida 33: Cellphone provider: verizon 32: Athlete:dc 31: Actor: dc 30: Actress: dc 29: Singer: Cardi B, Post Malone, Halsey, Migos god damn so many 28: Band: dc 27: Clothing store: anything name brand 26: Grocery store: kroger hoe 25: TV show: pretty little liars 24: Movie: the hunger games movies 23: Website: hmm 22: Animal: idk 21: Theme park: kings island 20: Holiday: halloween/xmas 19: Sport to watch: nope 18: Sport to play: volleyball 17: Magazine: idk 16: Book: Looking for Alaska 15: Day of the week: saturday 14: Beach: yes yes yes yes, santa rosa  13: Concert attended: lana del ey 12: Thing to cook: anything  11: Food: i love all food fwm 10: Restaurant: skyline 9: Radio station: idk 8: Yankee candle scent: anything seasonal 7: Perfume: idk 6: Flower: idk 5: Color: blue 4: Talk show host: i dont know do i look 50 3: Comedian: idk 2: Dog breed: german shepard  1: Did you answer all these truthfully? Yes bitch

2 notes · View notes

animelow7-blog · 5 years ago

Text

Everything to know about Cubs' closer role

As the 2019 season draws near and rosters take a clearer scope, MLB.com has been examining each club's current construction and projecting how personnels might look on Opening Day.

With bullpens becoming more versatile and less defined, the closer role has seen as drastic a change as any in recent years -- particularly with many clubs opting for their best relief arms in the most high-leverage situations, regardless of inning.

That trend could certainly continue in 2019, and it has led to some uncertainty about who will pitch the ninth for a handful of clubs. And for others, some of the most established closers will retain their roles. Here is a breakdown of where things stand for each club at closer.

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Blue Jays: Ken Giles The Blue Jays' bullpen has plenty of question marks this year, but the one area where there appears to be a lot of certainty is at the very back end. Toronto might have parted ways with an established -- yet troubled -- closer in Roberto Osuna but they got an effective one in return by landing Giles during last year's trade. The 28-year-old posted a shaky 4.65 ERA in 2018 but almost all of his troubles came in non-save situations. In save opportunities, Giles was a perfect 26-for-26, and he enters camp as Toronto's undisputed closer. The better he pitches this spring, the more likely it is he will be dealt before the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline. -- Gregor Chisholm

Orioles: Mychal Givens Like nearly everything with regards to the Orioles roster, the closer spot remains in flux. Givens is the obvious choice. One of the O's few veteran holdovers, Givens finished 2018 as the closer after spending the previous three and a half years as an effective setup man, particularly against right-handed hitters. He is clearly Baltimore's most accomplished reliever at this point. But whether Givens closes remains an open question. It'll likely take weeks of assessment before new O's manager Brandon Hyde tabs someone specific for the ninth, if he even does so at all. The O's could also decide whether they prefer to deploy Givens in high-leverage situations regardless of inning. For what it's worth, Givens has said he's open to any role. -- Joe Trezza

Rays: Jose Alvarado There's a good chance the Rays go into the 2019 season without naming an official closer. Sergio Romo led the team with 25 saves last season, but he's not expected to return in '19. For the most part, Romo served as the team's primary closer, but manager Kevin Cash wasn't afraid to use Romo earlier in the game if he believed that was the pivotal part of the game. While that will continue to be the case this season, left-hander Alvarado has the chance to establish himself as the primary closer, with right-handers Diego Castillo and Chaz Roe as other potential options. Alvarado finished third on the team with eight saves last season and established himself as one of the best relievers in the American League. His fastball velocity ranks in the 93rd percentile, and he showed a dominant curveball also. -- Juan Toribio

Red Sox: Matt Barnes, other contenders For a team that won the World Series last year and is loaded in most areas, it is somewhat eye-opening that the closer's role remains unknown so close to Spring Training. If Craig Kimbrel isn't re-signed, who will fit at the back end of Boston's bullpen? Barnes (96 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings last year) is the top internal candidate, but the righty has never done it before. Ryan Brasier, who came out of nowhere as a Minor League free agent last year, will also compete for the job. Brasier mixed his pitches better in 2018 than ever before, leading to his breakout. If you're looking for an unconventional option, don't rule out knuckleballer Steven Wright, who has consistently pitched well for the Red Sox when healthy. -- Ian Browne

Video: Barnes discusses potential closer role in 2019

Yankees: Aroldis Chapman The Yankees' closer situation is clear-cut, with Chapman set to be again entrusted with the ninth inning. Chapman converted 32 of 34 save opportunities last season with a 2.45 ERA, holding opponents to a .136 average while leading all relievers with a 16.3 K/9 ratio. Chapman missed four weeks late in the season due to left knee tendinitis, but with Dellin Betances, Zach Britton and Adam Ottavino pacing their setup crew, the Yanks appear to be well covered in the event of any similar absences in 2019. -- Bryan Hoch

AL CENTRAL

Indians: Brad Hand The Indians acquired lefty Hand -- one of the game's elite back-end arms -- and right-hander Adam Cimber from the Padres last July in exchange for catching prospect Francisco Mejia. The addition of the two relievers was not only to bolster the bullpen in 2018, but to also prepare for the departure of Andrew Miller and previous closer Cody Allen at the end of the year due to free agency. The immediate plan was to leave Allen in his ninth-inning role, but with Hand's arrival along with Allen's uncharacteristically shaky season, the Indians soon decided to leave the relievers' roles undefined. After both setting up and closing for the Tribe last year, Hand will officially earn the label of Cleveland's closer in 2019. In his time with the Padres and Indians in '18, the two-time All-Star recorded a 2.75 ERA with 32 saves and 106 strikeouts against 28 walks in 72 innings over 69 outings. -- Mandy Bell

Video: Hand talks Cleveland, perspective on trade rumors

Royals: Wily Peralta The Royals will go into 2019 presumably with the same closer, right-hander Peralta, who finished 2018 in that role. The Royals re-signed Peralta last fall to a one-year deal. But while manager Ned Yost likes to point out, and he did so again at the Winter Meetings, that Peralta was 14-for-14 in save opportunities once he claimed the job from Kelvin Herrera (who was traded), club officials have hinted that the closer's role isn't necessarily locked in stone. There is a sense that the Royals will get somewhat creative with how they employ their bullpen in 2019, and set roles may never be completely defined. "It comes down to whatever we can do to get 27 outs," general manager Dayton Moore told MLB.com. -- Jeffrey Flanagan

Tigers: Shane Greene While Joe Jimenez is the Tigers' closer of the future, Greene remains the closer going into this season. Part of the reason is his experience in the ninth inning, while part can be tracked to his potential trade value down the line if the Tigers make a move. Greene's 32 saves last year ranked tied for fourth-most in the AL, but his ERA nearly doubled from 2017 (2.66) to 2018 (5.12) thanks to 12 home runs allowed 63 1/3 innings, despite a four-percent drop in his hard-hit rate dropping according to Statcast™. Five of those homers came off his sinker, which dropped in velocity from 2017. On the flip side, his 3.42 strikeout-to-walk ratio last year was the best of his career. If he can avoid the longball, he should be in line for a bounceback season. If not, Jimenez will be looming. -- Jason Beck

Twins: Several contenders There are five pitchers in the Twins' bullpen -- Trevor May, Taylor Rogers, Addison Reed, Trevor Hildenberger and Blake Parker -- with the ability and experience to close, but manager Rocco Baldelli and his staff aren't in any hurry to install anyone in the role. Instead, the Twins are confident they have several arms capable of pitching three of the last nine outs, and how exactly those nine outs will be allocated will be determined in the weeks to come. Fernando Romero, a hard-throwing 24-year-old, has been a starter throughout his Minor League career, but the Twins' braintrust has also had discussions about whether his fastball might play better as a late-inning option moving forward. There's still time for the Twins to acquire a more proven arm via free agency or trade, but even if they don't, remember that Joe Nathan and Glen Perkins weren't proven when they stepped into Minnesota's closer role, either. -- Do-Hyoung Park

White Sox: Alex Colome, other contenders The White Sox haven't named an official closer, and to be honest, they have given themselves a number of options for the 2019 season. Colome led the Majors with 47 saves in 2017, but he also worked as a setup man for the Mariners last season. Kelvin Herrera, who the White Sox brought in via free agency, and returnee Nate Jones also have closing experience, and the White Sox could turn to Jace Fry from the left side. The focus for the White Sox simply is getting outs late in the game, and they have a number of high leverage options. -- Scott Merkin

AL WEST

Angels: Cody Allen The Angels signed right-hander Allen to a one-year deal worth $8.5 million earlier this month to be their closer in 2019. Allen is coming off a down year with the Indians that saw him post a career-worst 4.70 ERA in 70 appearances, but he's averaged 29 saves over the last five seasons and has a career 2.98 ERA. His velocity has declined over the years, but he still has a strong strikeout rate, so the key will be limiting homers. If Allen falters, the Angels could turn to Ty Buttrey, Justin Anderson, Hansel Robles or Cam Bedrosian as closer, but they're confident Allen will bounce back. -- Rhett Bollinger

Video: Allen joins Angels on one-year contract

Astros: Roberto Osuna After the up-and-down tenure of Ken Giles, the club stabilized its late-inning situation by trading for Osuna last July. The Astros sent three pitchers, including Giles, to Toronto for Osuna, who was suspended for the 75 games last year. He converted all 12 save chances with the Astros in the regular season, posting a 1.99 ERA in 22 2/3 innings over 23 games, walking three and striking out 19. The former All-Star will be only 24 years old on Opening Day, and he is under club control for three more seasons, so the Astros should be in good hands in the ninth inning for the foreseeable future. He's the youngest pitcher in Major League history to record at least 100 saves. -- Brian McTaggart

Athletics: Blake Treinen The A's employ one of the game's best closers in Treinen, who posted historic numbers in 2018. The right-hander compiled 38 saves and turned in a tidy 0.78 ERA, the lowest in Major League history among pitchers with 80 or more innings. He was also the first pitcher in the history of the game to notch at least 30 saves and 100 strikeouts with a sub-1.00 ERA. The All-Star pitcher showed no signs of slowing down and could very well duplicate this success in 2019, leading a bullpen that also includes newcomer Joakim Soria -- who also boasts closing experience -- and flamethrower Lou Trivino. -- Jane Lee

Mariners: Hunter Strickland, other contenders A year ago, manager Scott Servais could trot out All-Star closer Edwin Diaz, whose 57 saves tied for the second-most in Major League history for a team that went an amazing 66-0 in games where he entered with a lead. But after dealing Diaz to the Mets along with Robinson Cano in a seven-player blockbuster, the picture is a little fuzzier. Free agent right-hander Strickland, who saved 14 games for the Giants last year in a season shortened by a broken hand, signed a one-year deal on Sunday and could be the early favorite to fill that role. Fellow newcomers Anthony Swarzak (six), Cory Gearrin (five) and returnee Shawn Armstrong (one) are the only other contenders with an MLB save to their name, and Servais said he'll likely use different ninth-inning options depending on matchup situations. -- Greg Johns

Rangers: Jose Leclerc Manager Chris Woodward made it known on Friday that Leclerc would be the Rangers' closer this season. The Rangers had debated the best use for Leclerc, but decided to keep him in the role he excelled in for the final two months of the season after Keone Kela was traded to the Pirates. Leclerc can be dominating with his fastball and changeup if he stays under control and keeps his emotions in check. He did that for all of last season, but especially after taking over as closer. Leclerc did not allow a run in his final 21 games last season, and he allowed just five hits and six walks while striking out 32 and saving 12 games in that stretch. Overall, he pitched in 59 games with a 1.56 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. He posted a13.3 K/9 ratio and allowed 3.7 hits per nine innings. -- T.R. Sullivan

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Braves: Arodys Vizcaino or A.J. Minter A healthy Vizcaino has proven to be a reliable closer, but concerns about the durability of his right shoulder could lead the Braves to primarily use Minter in this role. Minter struck out 43 percent of the batters he faced while experiencing his first 16 career appearances in 2017. That number dipped to 25.6 percent last year, when he tried to be too fine and then battled the lingering effects of lower back discomfort. If the young southpaw further develops the changeup he displayed more frequently in September, he'll have an offspeed pitch to compliment his effective cutter. -- Mark Bowman

Marlins: Drew Steckenrider, Adam Conley, other contenders Without a clear front-runner, the Marlins may be leaning to "closing by matchup." Right-hander Steckenrider and lefty Conley are the likely choices, but adding a veteran free agent to join the mix is certainly possible before Opening Day. Their closer situation came in question when Kyle Barraclough was dealt to the Nationals in October for international bonus pool money, as it created an opening in the ninth inning. Manager Don Mattingly said at the Winter Meetings that the team may be leaning toward going by matchups. If there are tough lefty batters lined up in the ninth inning, Conley may get the call on those days. If not, it could be Steckenrider, who had five saves as a rookie in 2018. A third candidate could be Tayron Guerrero, one of the hardest throwers in the league. Guerrero's average fastball was 98.8 mph, per Statcast™, with a high of 104 mph. But Guerrero lacks a reliable second pitch. Should he find it, the lanky right-hander could join the closer mix. -- Joe Frisaro

Mets: Edwin Diaz Upon acquiring Diaz in a seven-player deal in December, the Mets made it clear that Diaz would take ownership of the ninth inning both in 2019 and beyond. Arguably the game's best closer last season, Diaz converted 57 of his 61 opportunities with a 1.16 ERA in save situations. He would need to take a half-dozen steps backward to lose his grip on the ninth. The Mets have another proven closer in Jeurys Familia to fill in on Diaz's off-days, or if injury strikes, but he's not a threat to take Diaz's job any time soon. -- Anthony DiComo

Video: Diaz excited to be playing for the Mets

Nationals: Sean Doolittle Remember a few years back when "who would close?" used to be an annual question for the Nationals? Well, not anymore. Doolittle has all but erased those concerns since he arrived in the summer of 2017. His dominance on the mound, personality quirks and passion off the field are all reasons he quickly became a favorite in Washington, inspiring fans to chant "Doooo" as he marches out for a save in the ninth inning at Nationals Park. And last season further cemented him as one of the game's best relief pitchers. He made the NL All-Star team after compiling a career-low 1.60 ERA with 25 saves in 26 chances, although his season was interrupted by a nagging foot injury. His hold on the closer's job is very secure. -- Jamal Collier

Phillies: David Robertson, other contenders Robertson will receive some closing opportunities, but so will Seranthony Dominguez and possibly Hector Neris. Yes, Phillies manager Gabe Kapler still plans to use his relievers like he used them last season. If Robertson's best matchup is the eighth inning, then the Phillies will have him pitch the eighth. If that spot is best for Dominguez, it will be Dominguez, or Neris or Pat Neshek or Tommy Hunter, and on and on. Kapler might not be ready to implement an opener, like some other teams, but he loves relievers being open to any situation in any inning. -- Todd Zolecki

NL CENTRAL

Brewers: Corey Knebel, Jeremy Jeffress or Josh Hader The club appears likely to split closer duties between three capable relievers: right-handers Knebel and Jeffress, and left-hander Hader when an opposing lineup warrants it. Because manager Craig Counsell likes to pick his spots with Hader, often for multiple-inning stints that burn Hader for the next day or two, Knebel and Jeffress are the leading candidates for what we think of as traditional closer duties. Both have experience in that role and made the NL All-Star team; Knebel in 2017, and, after Knebel went down with a hamstring injury last April, Jeffress in 2018. Whomever emerges as the ninth-inning guy, Counsell has solid options for the late innings. -- Adam McCalvy

Cardinals: Andrew Miller Perhaps the Cardinals' depth chart at closer should read Miller with an asterisk, as the club intends to maintain some flexibility in how they cover the ninth. Miller is the most experienced option, but because he's the most dynamic lefty in the bullpen, he will also be deployed in key situations earlier in games. That will open up opportunities for second-year righty Jordan Hicks to receive some ninth-inning exposure. And don't forget about Alex Reyes, the returning top prospect who could be used as a late-inning reliever if the Cards feel that's the best way to manage his workload. In other words, the Cardinals believe they've built a bullpen with options. -- Jenifer Langosch

Cubs: Pedro Strop Expect Strop to begin the season as the Cubs' primary option for save opportunities, given Brandon Morrow's situation. Morrow underwent a debridement procedure on his right elbow in November and will likely miss at least the first couple weeks of the regular season. That will likely lead to more chances for Strop, who has a 2.63 ERA in 361 games with the Cubs over parts of the past six seasons. He notched 13 saves in '18 when Morrow was also injured. The heavily-used Steve Cishek will present another option, and the Cubs also have an agreement in place with righty Brad Brach, who has closing experience over the course of his career. -- Jordan Bastian

Pirates: Felipe Vazquez Vazquez will be back in the ninth inning for the Pirates this year. The Bucs are betting on their bullpen being a strength, and it starts with the 27-year-old left-hander. Vazquez has put together a 2.35 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with 216 strikeouts in 172 2/3 innings since joining Pittsburgh in a trade that sent former closer Mark Melancon to Washington. Last season, the hard-throwing Vazquez racked up 37 saves and struck out 89 in 70 appearances despite a handful of blown saves in May. Right-hander Keone Kela gained plenty of experience as a closer with the Rangers, but he is set to serve as a high-leverage setup man in his first full season with the Bucs. -- Adam Berry

Reds: Raisel Iglesias Iglesias is in his fifth year with the Reds but he has quietly become one of the game's better closers the last two seasons with a 2.43 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 58 saves in 64 chances over 129 games. But after signing him to a new three-year, $24.1 million contract in November, Reds management indicated that Iglesias' role could expand beyond the ninth inning. New manager David Bell and pitching coach Derek Johnson could tap into the right-hander's starting experience and enjoyment of working multiple innings in relief to use Iglesias' elite arm in a variety of ways to get outs in high-leverage situations. If he's not closing a game, the job could fall to Jared Hughes or David Hernandez. -- Mark Sheldon

NL WEST

D-backs: Archie Bradley With the departure of Brad Boxberger, it appears like Bradley will inherit the closer's role. After a dominant 2017, the right-hander had some struggles in 2018. Some of that might be attributable to trouble with the nail of his right forefinger, which continually cracked and made it difficult for him at times to use his curveball. Yoshihisa Hirano will also be a big part of the backend of the bullpen and look out for rookie Yoan Lopez, who flashed electric stuff and a confident demeanor during a September callup. -- Steve Gilbert

Dodgers: Kenley Jansen The Dodgers know who their closer is, they just don't know how he is. Jansen had a five-and-a-half-hour procedure to address a recurring irregular heartbeat. He had one six years ago and was fine by Opening Day and the Dodgers are cautiously optimistic that the issue -- which disrupted his 2018 season -- is resolved and he will be ready for Opening Day, but they won't really know until observing him in Spring Training. If he isn't, the acquisition of Joe Kelly looms large. At the club's FanFest on Saturday, Jansen said he's lost 25 pounds and is ready to roll for the start of Spring Training. -- Ken Gurnick

Giants: Will Smith Smith enjoyed an impressive bounceback season with the Giants last year after missing the entire 2017 season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. The 29-year-old left-hander posted a 2.55 ERA with a 0.98 WHIP over 54 appearances and converted 14 saves in 2018. Smith is currently projected to reprise his role as the club's closer, but it remains to be seen if he'll still be wearing a Giants uniform on Opening Day. The Giants have been taking calls on Smith this offseason, and they could move him or fellow left-hander Tony Watson as they look to build a younger and more versatile roster under new president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. Smith is slated to earn $4.225 million in his final season before free agency, further motivating the Giants to explore trades for him. -- Maria Guardado

Padres: Kirby Yates Coming off a career year, Yates enters camp as the presumed closer in San Diego. He took over last July when Brad Hand was dealt to Cleveland. Despite a couple late-season hiccups, Yates finished with a 2.13 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 63 innings. In fact, Yates' 37.2 percent strikeout rate since joining the Padres in 2017 is highest in franchise history. It's worth noting, however, that the Padres played around with matchups quite a bit last season. Yates, a right-hander, will presumably pitch the eighth inning on occasion if he's set to face a string of tough righties. In such cases, a lefty like Jose Castillo could be saved for the ninth. -- AJ Cassavell

Rockies: Wade Davis In many senses, the Rockies and their closer, Davis, are in an enviable position. Davis led the NL in saves with a club-record 43, with 5.70 strikeouts for each walk and a .122 batting average against in those games. But he also had a career-high six blown saves (two off the league lead). Manager Bud Black points out Davis has been dedicated to tweaks to improve his pitches, and bullpen coach Darren Holmes revealed that Davis -- who during last season had to change his eating and workouts because he felt more worn than usual -- has added weight and strength this offseason as he heads for the middle season of a three-year, $52 million contract. -- Thomas Harding

Source: https://www.mlb.com/news/each-mlb-clubs-projected-closer-for-2019/c-303272400

0 notes

newagesispage · 4 years ago

Text

AUGUST 2020

PAGE DEB

There is a limited series coming to Showtime ,Blackbird: Lena Horne and America.

*****

Barack Obama joined a zoom call to Crip camp for the 30th anniversary of Americans with Disabilities act.** Hearing Obama, Clinton and even Bush speak as they remembered John Lewis reminds us how calming it can be to hear inspiring words.** Feel bad that Jimmy Carter could not attend since it was in Georgia. We miss ya.**John Lewis put his own words out there in the NY Times on the day of his funeral. He also wrote letters over the last couple of months to many activists to continue the fight.

*****

Racism is so American that when you protest it, people think you’re protesting America. – Romy Reiner

*****

Check our Smartless, the new podcast from Sean Hayes, Jason Bateman and Will Arnett. Each episode one of the hosts brings a surprise guest that answers questions.

*****

Opening some states is like opening a ‘peeing’ section of the pool. –Neil de Grasse Tyson

*****

Rumor is that Dave Chappelle will be on Letterman’s next batch of Netflix shows, My next guest needs no introduction.

*****

Check out the album Grandpa Metal from Brian Posehn, Brendon Small, Scott Ian, Al Yankovic, Corey Taylor and Jill janus.

*****

Reports have come thru that Brett Kavanaugh wanted the Supreme Court to avoid decisions about abortion and Trump’s financials.

*****

The Redskins have become the Washington Football team.

*****

Hulu will bring us Nine Perfect Strangers with Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy and Michael Shannon.

*****

Days alert: I wish Bonnie would turn out to be Adrienne. If the switch was made when she chose Justin over Lucas,that would explain a lot. Eve is back for revenge but Ciara and Hope will find Ben. Will it be too late? I hope this brings Shane and Teresa back to town. Allie will have a boy but who is the Father? Rumor is that it could be Theo Carver or Parker Jonas or Tripp Dalton. Will Eli and Lani have twins? Sarah and Xander will reunite??

*****

Spencer Grammer was stabbed while trying to break up an altercation in NY. She is on the mend.

*****

The Green Banana is a sort of 425 foot bright blue sink hole that has been found off the coast of Florida. Divers say it is about 155 feet below the surface.

*****

The Department of Homeland Security has more law enforcement capability than all other branches combined.** Why aren’t the storm troopers working on real crime?? Fingers crossed for no more Trump troops for “Operation Legend.”

*****

Jim Jordan says that, “Big tech’s out to get conservatives.” The top performing FB posts that day: Ben Shapiro 2. Fox news 3. Dan Bongino 4. CNS news 5. Ben Shapiro 6. Ben Shapiro 7. Fox news 8. CNN 9. Blue lives matter

*****

2 million Americans do not have running water.

*****

Actor Bryan Callen has been accused of sexual assault.

*****

Breonna Taylor is on the cover of O.** The WNBA has dedicated their season to Breonna and the Black Lives Matter movement.

*****

Epix has brought us a sort of new look at Manson with Helter Skelter: An American Myth.

*****

Southern Crossroads has a slogan: Rednecks for Black lives!!

*****

Louis De Joy, the new Postmaster General has apparently shut down sorting machines and cut overtime so that mail carriers must leave mail behind.

*****

David Duke is permanently banned from Twitter.

*****

The Emmy noms are here: Netflix broke all previos records for number of noms. Leading the pack was Watchmen, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Ozark, Succession, The Mandolorian, SNL and Schitt’s Creek. The best drama category is the toughest with The Mandolorian, Ozark, Succession, Better Call Saul, The Crown, The Handmaids tale, Killing Eve and Stranger Things. Best supporting actor in drama and comedy is tough including Kieran Culkin, Giancarlo Esposito, Matthew Macfayden, Andre Braugher, Tony Shalhoub, Kenan Thompsonand Daniel Levy. The limited series or movie supporting actress is loaded with goodies too like Holland Taylor, Uzo Aduba, Margo Martindale, Tracey Ullman, Toni Collette and Jean Smart. How can you pick?? The 72nd Emmy’s will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.

*****

A new low: College Covid parties in Alabama to see who can get it. I think we need to crack down on education because we have some pretty stupid people in this country. Why do we want to work the medical professionals within an inch of their lives??** 155 thousand dead. The total cases have dipped slightly but fatalities are up. ** Pelosi has issued mandatory mask order for the house.** In the new covid bill they want 1.75 bill for a new FBI building that will stay in the same place that it now stands?? This surely couldn’t be because it is across the street from the Trump hotel and he does not want competition and likes his special locale. **The Senate decided to take a long weekend and not deal with it until August. How do so many not care about their fellow man??** The longer it takes to get the virus under control, the more business’s we lose forever.

*****

The Catherine’s clothing chain is closing.

*****

We need more detective shows with real stories about cops that don’t do things by the book. We have all heard of the fucked up crime scenes like Jon Benet Ramsey or Jeff Macdonald and we know that is just the tip of the iceberg.

*****

There have been shootings all over the country at various gatherings which should not even have been held.

*****

There is a long history with these vipers, Bill Barr’s Father hired a 20 year old Jeff Epstein to teach at Dalton. He was a high school drop out with no degree.** The usual suspects, Nugent and Baio et al.will speak virtually for Trump at the Republican convention.** Contrary to what the administration said, Paw Patrol was not cancelled.** You knew he would get around to wanting to postpone the election. Too bad for him congress has to agree and if they can’t work it out then the speaker may have to take over.

*****

Shep Smith has joined CNBC.

*****

Colin Kaepernick’s life will come to Netflix from Ava Duvernay. **

*****

The world hates us so much right now. We’ve been ruined in more ways than we know.** What kind of shithole President wishes a child sex trafficker well?

*****

Billy Eichner will play Paul Lynde in Man in the Box.

*****

The U.S. has told the Chinese consulate in Houston to shut down. Is this because of intellectual theft?? Now China has moved us out of our consulate there.

*****

Fairfax County will rename Robert E. Lee high after John Lewis.

*****

The Reagan foundation has asked the Trump campaign to stop raising money off of his name.

*****

I’ve been begging everyone for years; please wear a mask! –Emo Phillips** CVS and Wal Mart no longer require masks!!

*****

The company, Tele Tracking that took over control of the covid info is owned by Chris Johnson. The 10 mil contract went to the NY real estate dude.

*****

Funny how everything is a handout besides generational wealth.

*****

Hooray to the Yankees and the Nationals for taking a knee before the game.** Trump claims he was busy with Covid and could not throw out the first pitch. Come to find out, he was not asked. He made it up.

*****

Favre and Trump golfing, yea, that sounds about right.

*****

A company can keep women from birth control if there are religious or moral objections. About 126 thousand women will lose coverage.

*****

Lt. Col Vindman had been approved for promotion but the President would make the final decision. The brave hero decided to retire.

*****

The Supreme Court ruled that Trump can’t block his records being released. It is in the public interest but Trump can try again to block with different tactics.** They also ruled that most of Eastern Oklahoma will remain Native American land.** The Esselen tribe of Monterey county have reclaimed land on the Big Sur coast that was theirs 250 years ago. This was a cooperative effort between them, the California natural resources agency and a conservancy group.

*****

Trump calls the Black lives matter in front of Trump tower, “a symbol of hate.”** Cops shot, Cops killing civilians, mask confrontations: The mental illness in this country is officially off the charts.

*****

Biden claims he will use the Trump tax cuts to pay for 5 million new jobs in products and technology. The Dems released their agenda that touts free child care.** 100 days before the election, Brad Parscale was demoted. Jared puts his friends in high places and it goes on.** They say John Kasich will speak for the Dem convention. **

*****

Hey Seth Meyers: I LOVE the sea Captain!!

*****

Muddy Water’s former Chicago home at 4339 S. Lake Park Ave. will be a museum.

*****

Sen. Tom Cotton called slavery, “a necessary evil.”

*****

Still advertising on Fox news: Verizon, Noom, Allstate, Pfizer, Ancestry, Honey, Poshmark, Purple and Sanofi. ** And we know never to eat Goya again.

*****

Jean Smart will star in Miss Macy.

*****

Oprah mag will stop print.

*****

It is so Scary Clown: The only thing the enemy can’t stand is being laughed at. –Mark Twain

R.I.P. all the Covid victims, Nick Cordero, Hugh Downs, Ennio Morricone, Bill Field, the elephants of Botswana, Ronald Schwary, Charlie Daniels, Mary Kay Letourneau, Max B. Bryer, Kelly Preston, Naya Rivera, Ben Keough, Phyllis Somerville, Grant Imahara, Emitt Rhodes, Regis Philbin, John Lewis, John Saxon, Peter Green, Malik B., Herman Cain, Alan Parker and Olivia de Havilland.

1 note · View note

patriotsnet · 3 years ago

Text

How Are Democrats Different From Republicans

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/how-are-democrats-different-from-republicans/

How Are Democrats Different From Republicans

As A Public Service I Have Endeavored To Distill The Differences Between The Parties Into Fair Terms That Children Can Understand

Democrats and Republicans prepare vastly different election campaigns

Back to our baseball analogy. In baseball, there are differences between the leagues. One league has a designated hitter and considers the foul poll fair. The other league does not.

Flipping The Script And Cutting Checks

The Democrats were the oppressors, but once they realized that by giving government handouts they could buy votes, the Democrat Party launched the War on Poverty and started cutting checks.

Democrats Republicans Take Different Approaches Ahead Of Crucial Georgia Senate Runoffs

This article was published more than 6 months ago. Some information in it may no longer be current.

Getting audio file …

Audio for this article is not available at this time.

This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy. Full Disclaimer

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Loeffler speaks to supporters during a campaign rally in Marietta, Ga., on Nov. 11, 2020.

Jon Ossoff took the stage in Columbus and looked out over a parking lot filled with cars, with supporters blaring their horns in approval as he declared that change has come to Georgia.

Difference Between Democrat And Republican

Difference between Democrat and Republican is explained here in detail.

Democrat is a proponent of democracy, or democratic government. Democratic Party of USA is the worlds oldest active political party. They are more aligned towards liberal ideology.

Visit the given link for information on dates, structure and other details of IAS Exam.

Difference between Democrat and Republican UPSC Notes:-

Read the related difference between articles from below:

You may also read first the Difference between Democracy and Republic to understand the fundamentals.

The major differences between Democrat and Republican are:

What Is The Difference Between Republicans And Democrats

How To Explain The Difference Between Republicans And Democrats

Politics are confusing, even for adults. This years political cycle is even more confusing than most. Anything that confuses and parents is sure to raise questions in children.

Where Do Trump And Biden Stand On Key Issues

Reuters: Brian Snyder/AP: Julio Cortez

The key issues grappling the country can be broken down into five main categories: coronavirus, health care, foreign policy, immigration and criminal justice.

This year, a big focus of the election has been the coronavirus pandemic, which could be a deciding factor in how people vote, as the countrys contentious healthcare system struggles to cope.

The average healthcare costs for COVID-19 treatment is up to $US30,000 , an Americas Health Insurance Plans 2020 study has found.

How Did John Quincy Adams Become President

Difference Between Republicans And Conservatives

Democrats Vs Republicans | What is the difference between Democrats and Republicans?

March 30, 2011 Posted by Clarisse

Republicans vs Conservatives

Republicans

Conservatives

Difference Between Republicans and Conservatives

The Philosophy Behind Democratic Economic Policy

One dollar spent on increased food stamp benefits generates $1.73 in economic output.

The Partisan Landscape And Views Of The Parties

Large majorities in both parties say partisan divisions are increasing, though Republicans are somewhat more likely than Democrats to express this view .

Comparable shares of Republicans and Democrats express concern about divisions between the two parties, though Democrats are slightly more likely to say this than Republicans .

California Voter And Party Profiles