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somethingusefulfromflorida · 4 years ago

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1960: John F. Kennedy/Lyndon B. Johnson vs Richard Nixon/Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.

1964: Lyndon B. Johnson/Hubert Humphrey vs Barry Goldwater/William E. Miller

1968: Richard Nixon/Spiro Agnew vs Hubert Humphrey/Edmund Muskie vs George Wallace/Curtis Lemay

1972: Richard Nixon/Spiro Agnew vs George McGovern/Sargent Shriver

1976: Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale vs Gerald Ford/Bob Dole

1980: Ronald Reagan/George H.W. Bush vs Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale

1984: Ronald Reagan/George H.W. Bush vs Walter Mondale/Geraldine Ferraro

1988: George H.W. Bush/Dan Quayle vs Michael Dukakis/Lloyd Bentsen

1992: Bill Clinton/Al Gore vs George H.W. Bush/Dan Quayle vs Ross Perot/James Stockdale

1996: Bill Clinton/Al Gore vs Bob Dole/Jack Kemp vs Ross Perot/Pat Choate

2000: George W. Bush/Dick Cheney vs Al Gore/Joe Lieberman

2004: George W. Bush/Dick Cheney vs John Kerry/John Edwards

2008: Barack Obama/Joe Biden vs John McCain/Sarah Palin

2012: Barack Obama/Joe Biden vs Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan

2016: Donald Trump/Mike Pence vs Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine

2020: Joe Biden/Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump/Mike Pence

The same candidates tend to show up year after year. Not just President running for re-election, but Vice Presidents running for the top slot themselves, incumbents or candidates, successful or not; Richard Nixon (1952, 1956, 1960, 1968), Hubert Humphrey (1964, 1968), Walter Mondale (1976, 1980), Bob Dole (1976, 1996), Al Gore (1992, 1996, 2000)

I would expect John Edwards (D-2004) to try and make a comeback, though he was only a one term senator from North Carolina, so that’s looking increasingly unlikely. The state swung for Obama in 2008, but hasn’t voted blue since (except for governor, but he has no power because the Republicans control the state legislature)

Paul Ryan (R-2012) will be back for sure; he retired from the House in part over of disagreements with Trump, but one doesn’t just give up being Speaker and slink away into obscurity (just look at Newt Gingrich, he refuses to shut up or die), so I think Ryan is just biding his time and hoping the whole Trump thing blows over in the next decade. If the party shifts away from Trump, he might offer himself as a slightly more moderate (“moderate*”) alternative.

Or maybe Sarah Palin (R-2008) will try and reclaim the presidency for herself; she’s a hardcore right wing nutjob, she was a Bush supporter AND a Trump supporter, and she’s still relatively young, so I could see her stepping back into the spotlight to try and “being the country back” to the traditionalism of the early 2000s. Nostalgia is cyclical, so I figure around 2028 or 2032 people will start looking back fondly on the Clinton and Bush years (Clinton more so than Bush, what with 9/11 and the wars and such)

Tim Kaine isn’t even one of the famous senators; there are some senators that everybody knows, even if they’re not from your state, like Chuck Schumer, Joe Manchin, Lindsey Graham, Bitch McConnell, big names with big reputations. Tim Kaine is a nobody, just a bland and inoffensive white dude Clinton picked to be as uncontroversial as possible (she couldn’t pick a woman or a black person because then the ticket would have been “too diverse”). He’s not the future of the Democratic party, but I could see him trying to become part of the Senate leadership. Maybe the whip (vice leader), I don’t think he has what it takes to be leader outright.

I don’t think Mitt Romney (R-2012) will run for president again; that ship has sailed. Moderate Republicans are critically endangered, extinct in the wild, with single specimens in captivity (in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maryland). After back-to-back losses in 2008 and 2012, I don’t think Republicans will run a moderate candidate ever again. Romney could maybe just maybe become the whip if he so desired, he’s a big enough name with support enough to become their presidential nominee, though he’ll never be the leader; McConnell was their golden goose, he gave hem exactly what they wanted and changed the game to give them an advantage even in minority. They will only ever elect hardliners like him from now on. Romney is too soft; he cares too much about the other side (he’s not liberal by any stretch of the imagination, he’s a Mormon for Brigham’s sake, but he voted to impeach Trump twice which means he may as well be a liberal in the eyes of the public)

Mike Pence has committed political suicide. Democrats hate him for his homophobia, sexism, racism, classism, and weird relationship with his wife who he calls “mother.” Republicans hate him because he didn’t break the law to re-elect Trump. Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t. He’s ultraconservative and super religious, so under normal circumstances he’d be a shoo-in for the nomination, but after breaking with Trump in January he’s dead in the water (he didn’t even really break away, there was literally nothing legal he could do; if he had tried anything it would have been struck down by the courts). And besides that, Pence is boring as hell. He’s milquetoast, he’s a saltine cracker without the salt because it’s too spicy, he orders plain hamburgers with ketchup on the side, all his steaks are cooked well done, he gets a boner when he sees a woman’s ankle and has to self-flagellate for penance, he sends back water if it has too much ice because it makes his teeth hurt. He’s the sacrificial lamb they’d nominate specifically to lose so they can save a stronger candidate for later when there’s no incumbent.

Kamala Harris is basically president-in-waiting (or rather nominee-in-waiting; who knows if she can actually win?) Biden ran on the unspoken promise that he would step down in 2024, making her the front runner, but he has recently walked this back and says he plans on running for a second term himself, pushing Kamala back until 2028 at least. She has good PR and has convinced half the country that she’s a progressive instead of a cop, so if she runs she’ll definitely have an edge over Democratic challengers. The media picks the nominee, and in 24 or 28 they’ll pick her for sure.

It’s becoming increasingly harder for people to stay relevant over multiple decades. I can’t imagine any 2004 candidates running in 2024, but Bob Dole managed to get on as Ford’s #2 and come back as #1 himself twenty years later (he lost both times, but still). Richard Nixon beat the odds and actually got elected in 68 after losing the presidency in 60 and the governorship in 62; he was pretty much coasting on Eisenhower’s legacy, selling himself as the anti-Goldwater, who lost in 64 to LBJ in a landslide.

Trump is acting like he’s going to run again, but whether or not he’ll fully commit is up in the air. On the one hand, his least insane niece says that he doesn’t want to put himself in a position where he could lose again, his ego couldn’t take it, he’s so embarrassed he can’t even admit it happened the first time. On the other hand, he’s too proud to accept defeat and just let some other candidate take his spot as leader of the Republican Party; the Republicans haven’t had a leader since Eisenhower, every other president has disappeared after leaving office.

Nixon resigned in disgrace

Ford was elected out

Reagan disappeared in the 90s because he didn’t want the country to see him deteriorate from Alzheimer’s

Bush Sr was elected out

Bush Jr was despised with approval in the 20s (record low), and could potentially have been tried at The Hague if Obama had balls

Now Trump wants to stick around, even though he’s older than Reagan and FAR less healthy. He’ll probably be dead in 15 years anyway; no way he reaches 90. His mind may already be going, but unlike Reagan he isn’t self aware enough to know it, so he might try to stay in the spotlight even after the dementia sets in. Wo knows?

What his niece says, and what I think is most likely to happen, is that he will pretend like he’s running in order to scam donors out of millions of dollars to pay his exorbitant legal fees, but then bow out of the race before the primaries. Whichever candidate he personally endorses will become the nominee and go up against Biden. Biden will win the popular vote, but I don’t know if he’ll win the electoral college; if this happens for the third time in a quarter century, I expect nothing less than chaos in the streets, perhaps even civil war (well, I expected civil war after 2020, and we’re still standing, so again, who knows?). All I know is that congressional Democrats will throw a hissy fit but do nothing to stop the Republicans from sneaking their way into office without a mandate AGAIN.

The last Republican to legitimately win the presidency was George Bush Sr in 1988. Jr lost to Gore, and only got re-elected in 2004 because he invaded Iraq the year prior. Democrats have won 7 of the last 8 elections, including the last 4 in a row. There are more Democrats and left-leaning independents than Republicans and right-leaners. If the Republicans lose-but-win AGAIN, I don’t think the county could take it; there would be phony calls for secession on TV and legitimate whispers behind the scenes, there would be lawsuits, there would be an even bigger assault on the Capitol than January 6, people would riot, the National Guard would attack brown people with impunity while peacefully corralling the white ones with shields and loudspeakers.

There hasn’t been an assassination since 1963, and no assassination attempt resulting in injury since 1981. Someone threw a grenade at Bush Jr in 2005, but they wrapped a handkerchief around it so the lever didn’t release. I think multiple politicians on both sides of the aisle might be targeted in the event of another electoral college screw up.

Trump could face jail time for his tax crimes, though given his high profile I think he’d get off with a slap on the wrist. He has never faced consequences before, so why would they start now?

#politics #political #2024 #2024 election #2024 prediction #2024 presidential election #politicians #John Edwards #Sarah Palin #mitt romney #paul ryan #Mike pence #Kamala Harris #Donald Trump #Joe Biden #fuck trump #fuck donald trump #fuck Republicans

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bubblingoverwithcharm-us · 4 years ago

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9 ‘Starter Steps’ to Save America From Socialism

1. Face Reality

Millions of Americans are still in complete denial. Many think the military is secretly in control—that it’s only a matter of time until justice is done and President Donald Trump is restored. There’s a “secret plan”—just “have faith.” The truth is that Trump was outmaneuvered by an alliance of communists, globalists, and even traitors in his own party. The “deep state” is now almost fully in control.

Trump isn’t coming back into office any time before 2024—if we still have meaningful elections by then.

To make sure they can never be voted out of office, the Democrats plan to enfranchise 22 million illegal immigrants, abolish the Electoral College, gain at least four more far-left senators through Puerto Rico and D.C. statehood, and flood the country with tens of millions more refugees and illegal immigrants. They also plan to nationally introduce voting “reforms,” i.e., mass mail-in balloting, abolition of ID requirements, etc., that will guarantee eternal Democratic Party control.

If the Democrats can abolish the Senate filibuster and place at least four more leftist “justices” on the Supreme Court, there’ll be virtually no way to stop any of this if we rely on traditional political methods.

We’re undergoing a Marxist-Leninist revolution driven by China—right now, in real time.

The military can’t save us, nor can Trump. On the contrary, it’s up to patriots to protect Trump and the Armed Services from unrelenting Democrat/communist attacks.

When enough Americans face the unpleasant truth, then, and only then, can we talk about hope.

2. Stop All Violent Rhetoric

Violence will not save America. The harsh reality is that President Barack Obama had eight years to replace patriotic generals with left-leaning political appointees. He did a great job. If violence breaks out (God forbid), the military will stand with the government, not the insurgents.

Does anyone think Russia and China and Cuba and North Korea and Iran would stand idly by while their Democratic friends are being defeated by a patriotic uprising? They would undoubtedly use the opportunity to finish off their “main enemy” once and for all.

Beware of anyone inciting violence online, at a public gathering, or in a private meeting. Distance yourself fast. They will be at best hopelessly naive, at worst government provocateurs.

The left is praying for “right-wing” violence. It will give them an excuse for a massive crackdown on patriotic Americans. This country will be saved peacefully or not at all. If significant violence breaks out, it’s over.

Having said that, the Second Amendment must be preserved at all costs. An armed populace is at least some check on tyranny, even if useless in the face of biological warfare or nuclear attack. Americans should keep their guns and work every day to ensure they never have to use them against their own people.

3. Restore Election Integrity in All Red States

If voter trust isn’t restored within months, the Republican Party is doomed. Democrats will continue to vote. Large numbers of Republican voters will stay home. They won’t trust the elections and will refuse to participate. We’ve already seen this play out in the Georgia Senate elections.

Thirty states are currently led by Republican legislatures. Some are already holding inquiries into fixing deficient electoral procedures. Most will be whitewashes unless the public gets heavily involved. If the resulting recommendations don’t include the elimination of electronic voting machines and heavy penalties for organized voter fraud, it’s likely to be a window-dressing exercise. Be alert.

Patriots must work to restore voting integrity first in the red states, then the red counties of the blue states—then after 2022, the whole nation.

Get involved in this process. It’s a top priority.

4. Close the Republican Primaries Immediately

This should be a no-brainer, but no one is talking about it. Only five U.S. states have truly closed Republican primaries. This means that in most states Democrats and independents (even communists) can vote in Republican primaries—and they do. All over the country, the GOP’s enemies vote in Republican primaries to pick the weakest, most wimpy candidate they can.

That’s why the Republican base is super patriotic but most of their elected representatives in most states vote like “progressive” Democrats.

Close the primaries, Republican patriots. It will transform your party.

5. Organize a Compact of Free States

MAGA folk need to build a “nation within a nation.” This doesn’t mean secession—Russia and China would be quick to exploit such division. What’s needed is a reaffirmation of 10th Amendment rights as already outlined in the U.S. Constitution. The already out-of-control federal government is about to go on a rampage against every form of independence left in the country. Every red state with the courage to do so must immediately begin working toward a formal compact to collectively oppose all forms of federal overreach.

Such a formal alliance should start with Florida and Texas, then grow by inviting Oklahoma, the Plains states, most of the Southern states, New Hampshire, the free Midwestern states, and the Republican-led Northern and Western states.

Such an alliance, stretching from the Florida Keys and the Gulf of Mexico all the way to the Great Lakes and the Canadian border and even Alaska, would bisect the entire country.

Adding the red counties of the blue states such as Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and California, would create a voting and economic bloc that Washington would find exceedingly difficult to challenge.

When the Biden administration recently suggested that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis close all restaurants in his state to slow the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, the governor politely refused—citing the ineffectiveness and horrendous economic consequences of mass lockdowns.

Biden then reportedly hinted at an unconstitutional ban on air and road travel to and from Florida. This threat might work against Florida alone. It wouldn’t work against Florida plus Texas and Oklahoma and 10 to 25 other states.

The United States is technically a federation of free and independent states. It’s time to fully realize that ideal.

Southern states will soon be reeling under a massive new wave of illegal immigration. The federal government will do nothing to prevent it. Texas, Florida, Arizona, and the free counties of New Mexico and California need to be preparing to defend their borders now. This isn’t an immigration issue that is the constitutional preserve of the federal government—this is a state public welfare issue.

Of course, the Biden-Harris administration plans to pack the Supreme Court with more left-wing justices to make virtually anything they want “constitutional.” But this shouldn’t even need to go to the courts. State governments already have the power under the 10th Amendment to nullify federal overreach; they simply have to band together to put Washington back into its constitutionally tiny box.

The Republic will be saved through the courageous application of the First Amendment (free speech) and the 10th Amendment (state sovereignty).

6. Republic Review

Every free state should immediately embark on the adoption of the “Republic Review” process. There’s a small but growing movement in some Western and Northern states to review their engagement with the federal government to eliminate or nullify all unconstitutional relationships.

Under the Constitution, the states are technically superior to the federal government. They’re sovereign under the “equal footing” doctrine and have the legal power to refuse to engage in unconstitutional programs.

For instance, most states only get about 10 percent of their education budget from the feds—but are almost completely subservient to Department of Education dictates. Why not forgo the measly 10 percent in exchange for a return to local control over all public education? America is losing its youths in public schools. Every patriotic parent knows that.

This would give parents more control over their children’s education and restore citizens’ control over their own government. Is this worth 10 percent of your state’s education budget?

If the free states are willing to stand against federal overreach, they must also be prepared to forgo unconstitutional federal money.

A thorough Republic Review audit would soon return power to the state legislatures—where it belongs.

7. Form a Multi-State ‘America First’ Popular Alliance

The left has “Our Revolution,” a nationwide alliance of 600 groups operating both inside and outside of the Democratic Party. Operated by Democratic Socialists of America and the Communist Party USA, Our Revolution works in the Democratic primaries to elect far-left candidates such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) into office. Our Revolution isn’t subject to Democratic Party discipline, but it does get to choose Democratic candidates.

We need an “America First” umbrella group to operate both outside and inside the Republican Party—even possibly within the Democratic Party in some areas.

This organization should be all about pushing the MAGA/America First agenda at every level of government, in every state of the union.

Such a movement could harness the energy of 70 million to 80 million Trump voters without being under Republican Party control.

America First could unite the Tea Party and MAGA movements, grassroots Republicans, patriotic Democrats, and independents to mobilize tens of millions of voters to transform the GOP into the truly populist, patriotic MAGA party it should always have been.

Take that, Mitch McConnell!

Trump is already vetting candidates to stand against Republican House members and senators who betrayed their own base after the 2020 election.

America Firsters should register Republicans by the millions to primary out dozens of Republican sell-outs in 2022. The America First/MAGA movement could “own” every level of the GOP by 2024. The GOP needs the MAGA movement way more than the MAGA movement needs the Republican brand.

Meanwhile, there are almost 70 far-left Democratic members of Congress in red states. Just restoring voter integrity alone could defeat several of them in 2022.

Running MAGA candidates backed by Trump in every one of those races could flip many more. It would be more than feasible to take back the House in 2022 to make Biden a “lame duck” president.

8. Boycott/Buycott Bigtime

Patriots should be abandoning Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc. for more honest platforms. They should also enthusiastically support efforts by DeSantis to heavily fine Big Tech operators who “cancel” patriots. If 25 or 30 free states did the same, Big Tech would soon be little tech.

Patriots need to organize nationwide boycotts of unpatriotic companies and buycotts for loyal American companies like My Pillow and Goya Foods.

Already, local groups are drawing up lists of “unfriendly” local companies and friendly alternatives so patriots can stop supporting their opponents and spend more with their fellow MAGA supporters.

It would also be smart to sequentially target vulnerable unpatriotic companies.

Imagine if 80 million MAGA patriots resolved to begin a nationwide boycott of one such company, starting now. The boycott would go on indefinitely until the target company was broke, or it apologized for “canceling” patriots. If applicable, every MAGA family could simultaneously commit to buying at least one of the canceled person’s products this year.

On April 1, another disloyal company could be targeted, then another on May 1, another on June 1, etc.

After two or three companies had collapsed or apologized, we would soon see large companies start to back away from the “Cancel Culture.”

Patriots have spending power in this country, people. We need to starve our enemies and feed our friends.

Again, patriots need to build a nation within a nation.

It should be also a given that every U.S. patriot boycotts all communist Chinese goods wherever possible. Check those labels! Buying Chinese communist products in 2021 is like buying Nazi products in 1939. It’s immoral and it’s suicidal.

The Chinese Communist Party just crippled the U.S. economy with the CCP virus. Then, pro-China communists instigated mass Black Lives Matter rioting. Then, the same people worked to influence the 2020 election.

It’s about time Americans stop funding their No. 1 enemy—the CCP.

9. Remove Malign Foreign Influence at State Level

DeSantis has announced legislation to massively curtail communist Chinese activity in Florida. The legislation also targets several other enemy states, including Russia, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela—all of which interfere in this country’s internal affairs.

In December 2020, Trump’s Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe revealed that the Chinese Communist Party was conducting a “massive influence campaign” focused on dozens of members of Congress and their aides, including through attempted blackmail and bribery.

Currently, thousands of foreign companies from hostile regimes are buying up land, food production facilities, technical companies, educational facilities, and infrastructure. Tens of thousands of foreign agents are co-opting unpatriotic businessmen, unethical politicians, and sympathetic journalists in the interests of China and other malevolent states.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, nothing will be done to stop these activities at a federal level—but much can still be done by the free states. If every free state cracked down on foreign bribery, corruption, espionage, and subversion, this country would be transformed.

If hundreds of corrupt academics, journalists, businessmen, and politicians (from both parties) were exposed and punished, this country would soon be well on the way to moral, economic, and political recovery.

What Do You Think?

These steps alone won’t save America—but I believe they would be a huge step in the right direction. I will be following up with further suggestions and plans. But for now, I’d love to see your comments, suggestions, and criticisms in the comments section.

Thank you for reading. From a grateful Kiwi, God bless America.

Thanks,

Mike Capeloto

623-826-7108

...

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nadiawrites14 · 4 years ago

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voice of gen z

word count: 2784

for english class. tw for school shooting and police brutality mention

AN INTRODUCTION.

“GEN Z is too afraid to ask a waiter for extra ketchup but will bodyslam a cop.”

Dated June 5th, on Twitter. Many of us sit holed up in our rooms, laptops resting in our crossed legs as we scroll through social media, or the blue light of a phone screen on our face as the world around us is sleeping. Many of us are also the ones organizing, the ones leading, the ones fighting. News spreads that in Dallas, Providence, and in many more cities, teenagers were the ones organizing, the ones fighting. Teenagers were the ones turning viral memes into protest signs, organizing protests and sharing methods of resistance through apps like TikTok and Instagram. It echoes the methods of the Hong Kong protestors, using technology to battle their government head-on.

Teenagers who dance along to songs such as Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage”, as well as teens who live in the world of ‘deep-fried’ memes, whose bizarre absurdity reach ungodly levels of abstractism, are the ones leading in this young revolution. Teenagers are the ones who chant ‘no justice, no peace’ in filled city streets; teenagers are the ones working to create graphics and share information, a new form of armchair activism. K-pop fans fill conservative hashtags with videos of their favorite performers, burying rhetoric and dismissal of the protests with dances and songs. In hours, #BlackLivesMatter trends. It’s hard to believe that these new pioneers and leaders in activism and technology are children who are scared to give class presentations, share Juuls in bathrooms, and find humor in the most strange and ironic of places. While the old term goes that ‘the revolution will not be televised’ in many ways, this growing movement will be televised, publicized, expanded, through its own means and methods.

We are the generation of school shootings.

December 14th, 2012. My mom tells me, as I hobble out from the red doors of my elementary school in Stamford, Connecticut, that something very bad has happened. I don’t understand. Nobody does. I see the faces of startled adults. I don’t remember the rest of that evening, or the day that followed it. Every time I think about Sandy Hook, the senseless school shooting that left 28 dead, I think about the multicolored walls of my school’s hallway, my sneakers on the white linoleum, the fear in my mother’s voice and in her eyes. That day was the first day I began to accept that I was a child in the United States of America in the 21st century. That day, and the brutal and confusing months that followed it, solidified something in my peers and I. Not just in Stamford, or even Connecticut, but within all young American students. The people in power didn’t care that a gunman marched into a wealthy and predominantly white Connecticut neighborhood and slaughtered kindergarteners. Because as I grew older, I saw the patterns, the televisation of suffering and permitted slaughter among my peers, our youngest, our posterity. This was normalized to us, just another school shooting, another period of brief outrage followed by inaction. The slaughter of children, the preventable slaughter of children shouldn’t be normalized. But it was.

February 14th, 2018. A gunman kills 17 students in Florida. As I’m waiting in a doctor’s waiting room with my mother, I lean over and tell her, “On Monday, all my teachers will talk about is school shootings.” I was wrong. School was another silent funeral march, my teachers quiet and solemn as they assigned us our work and progressed with their work. At dinner with my dad, I tell him, “It’ll never change.”

That isn’t entirely true. Leaders are found in teenagers who now walk through haunted hallways with clear backpacks. They are the face of a new movement, a march for our lives. Many are summoned to Washington and elsewhere a month later to organize, to fight. On March 27th, a day meant for students to walkout and protest the preventable slaughter of students, my school barricades the doors.

No legislation is passed. Nothing changes. The resistance lulls and fades, despite a number of school shootings following the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Gen Z is a symbolic Sisyphus, haplessly pushing a boulder of pleas up a mountain of indifference.

II.

Suzanne Collins published the Hunger Games on September 14th, 2008. It finds its way into the hands of teenagers of all shapes and sizes years later, and it has its cult following. Maybe the televised murder of children strikes a chord within the audience of young adults, as does the story of a growing revolution and a coup against a selfish government.

Gen Z gets its hands on theory at a young age, through Wikipedia and the uncensored vastness of the internet that we are handed. We are denoted as the generation born with the phones in our hands, but all I can remember is having a technology class from a young age, where we were measured on our abilities to type and memorize a keyboard. Our ability to cite and surf and stay safe in the face of danger. This wealth of information at our fingertips molds us.

Dystopian fiction is popular among young teens and young adults. Titles like Divergent the Giver, Harry Potter, the Maze Runner, all influence the devouring young readers. We are raised to see atrocity, in a place where atrocity is accessible to us in every way, shape and form. We are exposed and we are no longer innocent as we rise to 6th, 7th, 8th grade. Girls wear makeup for the first time and scream at the sight of bloodstained underwear. Boys become privy to the joy of video games and self-exploration. In this time, the internet truly consumes. There is no more script taught in classrooms, whiteboards have been replaced with Prometheans, and chromebooks are becoming normalcy.

In 7th grade I receive my phone. The niches and underground media I discover shape me. I find acceptance, friends, in places where I had lacked them before. As my classmates begin to enter into weeklong flings that end in Instagrammed tragedy, I take a quiz online to find out if I’m gay. I begin to think for myself, and I find independence and a voice on internet circles.

By the time we are promoted to high school, something has shifted. Something is different. Something’s coming, something good. Gen Z keeps calm and carries on.

III.

Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20th, 2017, to much outrage, but also to much support. In my town, there is a protest around his building that overlooks much of our city center. It’s peaceful, energetic, and beautiful. A Planned Parenthood sticker is on my bedroom door, and I have accepted that maybe, just maybe, I’m into girls.

In 2018, we are in high school. Little fish in a big pond. I don’t have friends in my grade, but stick closer to my premade friends in the Class of 2021. My teachers are lovely, kind, and supportive, and I shine in this new environment. Politics is a force in my life as I begin to write, and as I begin to form opinions and do research.

It’s easy to say that all of Gen Z is progressive, but this isn’t true. It’s actually very incorrect. The internet is a miraculous tool, one that can provide and produce and create new forms of communication and spread new ideas. But it is still an ocean that is widely uncharted, and young teenagers will fall into holes constructed by right-wing superstars. The racism and homophobia circulated by 4chan is on the internet for anybody to see. New popular figures and icons pledge their vote to Trump. Right-wing rhetoric overtakes in the forms of Ben Shapiro, Pewdiepie, 4chan, Reddit. There’s a neutrality to all things, but the dogwhistles and the normalization of prejudice are dangerously overbearing. As the 2016 election divided our country, it divides the new generation. A divided house cannot stand, and that is for certain.

It is around this time, in my Freshman summer, where the politics makes a crescendo. I have broken 1K followers on my Instagram art account, where I draw fanart for a variety of musicals and plays. I discover Shakespeare, and lose myself in Hamlet. I am happy with my identity and with myself, and as the 2020 election nears, I stay informed on current events, common issues, the things that need changing.

Sophomore winter. My dad and I take two-hour drives spanning Connecticut, and we talk. He says, “You know, your generation’s fucked. You’re the ones who are going to have to cope with our mistakes.” I tell him I know. I tell him about my feelings towards racial injustice in America, the battle for a higher minimum wage against growing costs, issues in healthcare, housing, poverty, climate change, all thrown aside and discarded. Our generation, of course, when most of our white and male politicians are dead and buried, will have to deal with the repercussions of rising sea levels and global temperatures, volatile weather and crippling natural disasters, all overlooked due to blatant ignorance. “You guys are going to have to fix all of this.”

“I know.”

I’m sick of the battle being placed on the backs of teenagers. I’m sick of our faces being the fight for climate change, the faces of Greta Thunberg and Emma Gonzalez and young revolutionary congresswomen being mocked and heckled by throngs of keyboard warriors. I’m sick of the battle our leaders and representatives should be fighting being placed on our backs, when we are already our own Atlas. Ignorance is dangerous, biting, and overwhelming. We look back to the images and words we were raised upon, the story of the Hunger Games and the broadcasting of school shootings for us all to see.

It is 2020. Happy new year! I watch from my living room as the ball drops. A brief Twitter moment about a newly discovered disease pops up in my recommended, I brush over it. Photographs of Australian fires are surfaced, and we joke about what a fantastic start it is to the year.

Sisyphus reaches a fork in the road.

MMXX.

At around 11PM on Wednesday, March 11th, I send a strongly worded letter to the principal and local superintendent. The coronavirus has picked up worldwide, and has made its way into the states. Johns Hopkins has an interactive map that shows bubbles above cities where cases have been reported. Stamford, Connecticut Dead: 0

Recovered: 0 Active: 3.

New York’s cases are on the rise. On that same day, I began to realize the severity that would soon overtake us. I spent the afternoon first at what would be our last rehearsal for our school musical, James and the Giant Peach, and then I went to the library. I did my homework, read The Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh, then bought a Subway cookie from the mall. I always keep a copy of King Lear in my backpack, and as my dad pulls up to the sidewalk I gloss over Edmund’s first monologue.

It’s the last normal day for a while.

March 12th comes in like a lion. In my first period class, civics, a classmate yells out, “Trump 2020!” A period later, my friend pulls me aside in the hallways, and asks if I heard that school was closing.

“It can’t be true,” I said.

“Schadlich just showed us.”

I take my route to my next class, and find the hallway a chaotic mess of energy and camaraderie. What was meant to be kept under wraps has been instantly transferred across the student body over Snapchat stories and texts. People dance, sing, hug. It’s branded as a “Coronacation.” Broadway announces its closure, and I walk out of the front doors for the final time in my sophomore year.

Once again, ignorance overtakes. Within months, the death toll skyrockets, spikes, as we stay holed up in our online classes. My focus wavers, but I press on. Many other students resort to simply neglecting their work, choosing to take this time to focus on their own health or fill up their new time with their own hobbies. Teenagers find solace in each other, through social media and through the connections we’ve built online. As ignorance mounts among our leaders, teenagers jokingly refer to Covid-19 as the famous “Boomer Remover”. It trends on Twitter. Graduation, prom, is cancelled. The generation whose childhood began with 9/11 is once again cut short by a tragedy of preventable errors. Gen Z is subject to adapting once again to an unfamiliar environment, and we undertake.

Protests take over the streets, screaming against government tyranny. The deaths crescendo to nearly 100,000. A video surfaces of a young black man, Ahmaud Aubery, being publicly killed on a road while jogging. Ignorance continues as cases spike, and the political climate is ripe for change. On May 25th, a black man from Minneapolis named George Floyd is killed in a brutal act of suffocation by a policeman. More names resurface -- Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Joao Pedro. Names neglected to injustice are once again in the limelight -- Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Terence Crutcher, Atatiana Jefferson, and more.

Sisyphus has had enough of pushing the boulder, and Sisyphus takes to the streets. It is the perfect storm. A storm fueled by ignorance and the preventable death of thousands, by decades of injustice, by the mere political climate in the United States of America. Gen Z, our generation, my generation, has lived the darkest hour. We were born at the cusp of a millenia, in an awkward position where society has begun to find its footing in an unfamiliar time. A time of domestic and overseas terrorism, shaped by 9/11 and a countless number of school shootings and slaughtered people of color. Where the new generation has accessibility to the injustice and wrongs committed by those before and those above, right at our fingertips. We have new ways to organize, new ways to televise, new ways to fight. In our armchairs and in our streets, wearing masks as we hold up our hands in surrender.

Generation Z marches. They lead. They throw tear gas back at officers with no hesitation. They create chants, organize through grassroots, and find a chorus of support online.

Generation Z leads. As politicians and leaders sit in ivory towers, like President Snow in Panem, our generation cries for change. We witness and feel the repercussions of their ignorance in our daily lives, from cuts to education to the publication of school shootings to the absence of American atrocity in our history textbooks to a pipeline that directs BIPOC and low-income students to prison or the military as they step off the graduation stage. Each year, our winters get warmer as our summers turn boiling. The preventable pile of corpses rises in front of us, and we have been taught to sit by and let it occur while the world burns.

No longer.

Sisyphus steps aside and allows the boulder to descend down the mountain. They are bruised, bloodied, their palms calloused and scuffed and their feet lacerated and sore. Up ahead, shrouded by clouds, is the mountaintop. Sisyphus wipes their mouth, finds their footing, and begins the march.

A CONCLUSION.

We have a future.

It’s awfully dim right now. Barely a light at the end of the tunnel. We began a dead march towards it from the moment we were born into this decaying way of life, held together with glue and string by leaders with fumbling hands and staunch indifference. Our backs are tired, and we are barely adults. Generation Z is tired of fighting a fight that shouldn’t be theirs. How desperately we still crave childhood joy and humor and innocence.

Change is necessary. It is something that is especially necessary in our time. We can no longer let people die because they can’t afford food or medicine or housing. Students cannot go into school wondering if it will be their last day. Black people should not fear for their lives while wearing a hoodie, driving, jogging in their neighborhood, shopping, or sleeping in their own homes. Elderly white men which encompass most of our political elite can no longer sit on their hands as their population suffers.

The voice of Generation Z screams louder than anything else. It screams in its silence, its activism, its useless martyrdom and battle. Change belies itself within our voice, and it has gone unheard for too long.

Change is the voice of Generation Z.

#writing #writeblr #essay #english #how else do i tag this #my writes #gen z #ashbfkbskdk #i just wanted to put this out into the world for eyes other than my english teacher #xoxo at the 2 ppl who follow my account

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lynneshobbydomain · 5 years ago

Text

Vengeance Chapter Six

(Thank you all so much for the likes and reblogs! Also thank you so much @sinfulwonders for beta-reading my chapter, also for telling me about the tagging system. Jesus I didn’t know that was a thing. Also, I’m changing the rating on all of my chapters from NSFW to mature as there is really nothing Explicit in my chapters thus far and probably won’t be. I maintain my position that ratings can change depending on what happens and as new information appears (like the tagging, jesus I still can’t believe no one told me. It used to be it was either sfw or nsfw and there was no in between...You’re so wonderful to me <3. Early update once again, but who knows why >:D)

Rated: Mature (language, murder, descriptions of violence, sexual language)

Summary: Amateur Detective Shuichi Saihara knew that searching for the “Usual 16” wasn’t going to get him anywhere. The disappearances weren’t being tracked in any news outlet, and very few families even tried to come forward to ask for help, let alone to report them missing. Yet, Shuichi can’t shake off the feeling that there’s a reason behind the disappearances, and he’s close to the answer.He just didn’t realize that the answer was going to hit close to home, in more ways than one.

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You can read this below the cut or at AO3

The house no longer felt the same. The missing sounds of the guitar were still too much and the scattered conversation between him, his aunt, and his uncle all felt forced and unnatural. Shuichi remembered how he interviewed the families who were missing and how they always said the house felt strange without them. Like there was a piece missing. It wasn’t the absence of routine. It was a literal piece and Shuichi wished that he never knew what it felt like.

It was raw. It was a constant reminder that she wasn’t there. It wasn’t just the missing guitar, it was the fact that his aunt was at the stove. It was his uncle that was at the living room table with files scattered and a furrowed brow. It was the strained silence that held too many words that Shuichi knew needed to be said, but no one was daring to say them. It was a loss. Calling it a heavy cloud of grief and of worry didn’t even make sense. It was more like a ghost. Every phone call was a jolt, a prayer, a hope. It was a spark that was easily extinguished and left a sour taste in the back of his mouth.

Shuichi pulled his hat over his eyes, and glanced down at the ground on the train. He didn’t want anyone to take a look at him and pester him for answers he didn’t have. Class was the same way, the same averted gaze. The teacher drowned on and on and he couldn’t grasp what was being talked about. The day both moved like molasses and moved at supersonic speed and he wasn’t sure which one he preferred. He just wanted the world to stop. He wanted to figure out this case.

On spur of the moment he decided to ditch the rest of his classes. They weren’t doing him much good mentally, and he wasn’t focusing. It was better for him to leave before someone figured him out, and asked him to go see someone. It wasn’t that he disregarded those who worked in the mental health field, it was just he had bigger fish to fry. He was going to have to figure out a way to get a new phone so that he could keep in contact with D.I.C.E and everyone else. Aki wasn’t going to be able to get a hold of him, but he sure hoped that she wouldn’t think he was kidnapped if she heard the wrong voice at the end of the phone.

Getting home was a surprise in itself. He didn’t remember getting on a train, but he remembered being around crowds of people. He didn’t remember turning at the corner like he usually did, but he did remember to stop at the park bench and wait a moment to see if someone was going to run and catch up to him. He also forgot that his aunt was home, and that he outed himself that he had skipped.

Soft padding of feet alerted Shuichi to look up to see that his aunt was standing at the foyer, hands on her hips. Her lips were pursed but it was easy to see that it was out of worry, not out of shame. The word “plain” echoed in his mind the last time his father spoke about his aunt. She wasn’t exotic with the different hair colors like himself or his uncle. Black straight hair, almond eyes that could pierce through any one’s soul. Much like she was doing to him now. Despite being home, she wore a professional button up blouse that was a wine red and black dress slacks.

Instead of arguing or telling him that he should go back, she stepped down into his space and hugged him tightly. Shuichi froze at first, feeling everything in him tense up and his skin prickled at the feeling. He could smell the soft scent of her perfume that she constantly wore to work. He brought his arms up and sank into her embrace, hugging her back.

“We’ll get through this.” Keiko spoke. Shuichi didn’t realize how similar his cousin and his aunt spoke. The same lit to their words, the same gentle tone. She pulled him away and she gently moved his cap so she could brush some of his hair out of his face. Her eyes were watery, red rimmed. She had been crying recently, and probably all day while he was at school. “Koji went to the station. See if he could find anything. You might’ve provided a lead with those emails.”

False hope wasn’t like his aunt, but they were grasping at anything really. Shuichi couldn’t blame her for that. For wanting to find some sort of hope. For finding some sort of peace. It was torture not knowing what was happening. Shuichi pulled his shoes off and decided to go back into his room.

The only way to know anything, Shuichi sat at his desk and pulled the laptop close, was to dive in. He braced himself for the worse, and he also braced himself for a spam email that’ll give his computer a thousand viruses. God he could imagine how hard Kokichi would laugh at that. Solo probably would have tried to contact him on his phone to warn him. Considering he requinished it to his uncle for evidence, he wouldn’t have gotten the message and Kokichi wasn’t ditching class. Or if he was, he probably was checking in on Deuce and Trick.

Keeping a mental tab open that he was going to have to visit too, he logged into his email account and froze when he saw a third letter from Danganronpa. The subject line made his blood freeze and his stomach feel hollow. It’s Voting Time.

The letter simply asked one question: What would the first round’s motive be? The answers that Shuichi were greeted with were appalling at best.

Fight For Your Loved Ones

Memories You Think You Forgot

Reasons To Live

“What the hell.” Shuichi whispered softly to himself, staring at the choices. He still didn’t know what the hell the motive was supposed to be for. He had meant to go into the link, to see what he was missing. Instead he was greeted with this and his heart rate accelerated. He could hear it throbbing in his ears and his stomach only buckled under the pressure of anxiety. He felt nauseous. It didn’t help that there was a time limit. He had until six in the evening to decide what it was.

Were these motives supposed to be reasons to escape? He would have thought that the “escape” would be reason enough. Using that as his own motivation, he clicked out of the email and he went into the second one with the invitation link. He clicked on it and pursed his lips together as his screen suddenly went black.

Well. That answered that question didn’t it? He was about to close his laptop and see about talking to Takahashi to fix it when an emblem of a crest appeared. The rest looked like a high school’s crest that was vaguely familiar to Shuichi. It had a checkered background of black and white. There was a pen going diagonally to the left and a jagged red gash that went the other direction. The crest was crowned like royalty and on either side was adorned with angel wings.

Shuichi could suspect that the crest was mocking someone or something. There was just...a bad feeling that etched into his psyche and told him to stay on guard. The screen disappeared turning back to black when it reappeared.

There was a chat log on the right hand side of the computer that was already taking off. Shuichi noted that there were a lot of banned comments that took up most of it. There were only three rules that were being stated. No pleading, no complaining, and no online bets.

Shuichi blinked slowly at the chat log before he turned his attention to the screen. The location looked to be like a dinning hall. There was a long table that had exactly sixteen seats and a kitchen in the nearby background. There were no windows, but the light overhead was bright enough to mock sunlight. There was also overgrowth that was happening in the corners of the room. Were they in a place that was abandoned? Inside the dining hall, there was a green haired boy that was talking to another boy. His brows furrowed, he could’ve sworn he saw that green-haired kid somewhere. When the camera moved to a different angle, the lightbulb appeared.

“Amami-kun?” Shuichi spoke softly. “But we thought you were in Japan…” He trailed off. They had been right in thinking that he was in Japan. But now it made sense why they couldn’t find him. He was also one of the Usual 16.

Same with that boy that he was talking to. He wore a black and blue flannel shirt and torn up jeans that had grass stains at the knees and mud at the hems. His boots were covered in it, meaning that he walked around hiking trails and forested areas quite a lot. His hair was an untamed mess that was a result of all the trees branches trying to snatch at him. Shuichi also noted that he wore brown heavy duty gloves. The kind that bird trainers would wear at the zoo.

“-Don’t think anything has happened yet.” Rantaro spoke. He had a tone to his voice that was soft and unassuming. A casual dialect. “So I don’t think we have to worry much about Monokuma's planning, Kokai-kun.”

Monokuma? Shuichi blinked slowly. He glanced at the chat log to see if anyone was going to answer that question, but all he saw were mockery and laughter. These were people who’ve probably seen more than their fair share of this kind of game if they knew what to expect.

“I jus’ don’ like the fac’ dat we’re all here and dat we dunno wha’s goin’ on.” The heavy accent made Shuichi’s head spin. He was really going to have to listen hard to understand what he was trying to say. “Dat bear ding really makes me a nervous willy. ‘Elling us dat dis is a killin’ game.”

Shuichi felt himself lurch backwards, his hands gripped in front of his desk. A killing game? Then that meant that the class trials were to figure out something. Was this supposed to be a game of real life murder mystery solving?! Then that would explain why no one was connected to each other. Why put family members in the same room when all they would do was try to find ways to save each other, or kill for each other?! Shuichi brought himself back into the conversation.

“Yeah that was a bit weird and unsettling.” Rantaro agreed. “For now our main focus is to figure out a way out of here. I know that we already split into groups, but do you wanna come with? You don’t have to if you’d rather stay out of it. I get it.”

“Nah, I’ll come.” Kokai agreed, tugging on his gloves nervously. “I dunno how much help I’ll be, bu’ if I can see or do somethin’ I dun mind.”

“Thanks partner. I’ll be relying on you.”

The blush on Kokai’s cheeks was flaming red and Shuichi glanced at the chat log again to see that more comments were going off.

The camera changed to another group. Two girls were in a grassy hallway with springtime flowers that were blossoming. The windows had the sun shining through the glass, pouring onto the ground and lighting up the area with its rays. One was wearing a sparkling leotard that caught the light and shimmered everytime she moved. Her blond hair was tied in a tight knot on the top of her head. She had an athletic build and she stood in a way that told Shuichi that she was used to being in a poised position. Either she was a ballerina, a dancer, or something else entirely.

Her accomplice was a messy looking character. Her ends of her hair were singed and she had a black streak that went across her cheek past the bridge of her nose. She had a lot of black marks on her clothes, and a lot of burn holes too. Her socks were over stretched and hung at her calves and she also had a plaid red black skirt. Her shirt had floppy long sleeves that were torn and burned as well. She had bandages wrapped around her fingers and hands, and she was twirling a lighter in between her fingers. Shuichi blinked slowly. If he didn’t know all of the members of D.I.C.E he wouldn’t have been surprised to find out she was one.

“That bear gives me the creeps.” The girl with the lighter spoke. “But you gotta admit he’s a cutie too. Do you think if we light ‘em up he’ll let us go?”

“I don’t think that’s how that works, Yuya-chan.” Yuya. Shuichi quickly grabbed his notebook from the side. He quickly jolted the name down. He just needed to see if anyone was going to be on a first name basis. “So um…” She shifted nervously. “Can I ask you something?”

“Do you wanna ask me how many buildings I’ve burned down?” Yuya stopped twirling the lighter and suddenly flicked it, scaring the other girl into jumping back a few feet away. “Nyahahaha! Sorry!” She extinguished the flame. “What was the question?”

“Why do you burn down buildings?”

“Would it surprise you if I told you I never did?” Yuya blinked at her as she twirled the lighter. “I think the only reason I got Ultimate Arsonist is because I set fire to my house once. By accident thank you.”

“H-how on earth?”

“Curious to know the same.”

The girls screamed and Rantaro and Kokai approached. “Sorry.” He waved casually. “Didn’t mean to scare you girls into a fright. You okay?”

“Amami-kun you’re like a ghost you know that?” Yuya pouted. “So you wanna know the story too huh? What about bird boy over there?”

Ultimates? Arsonist? Shuichi was starting to wonder if he could keep up with all of the information that was being poured out to him. What was an Ultimate? What did it mean in the context of the game? He didn’t hear about any house burnings in his area but...if they were all taken from different prefectures….then there had to have been a house burning recently that caught everyone’s attention. He was going to have to look that up later. If he could get a better name than just “Yuya”. Depending on where she lived, there could be plenty of them running around or just a few.

“Okay well since you’re soooo insistent. I guess I’ll spill. It was a cooking accident.” Yuya sighed as she folded her arms around her waist. “And just so happened that it was near something electrical and kaboom!”

“Sounds scary.” Rantaro had the same expression as the girl and the other boy that was next to him. Shuichi also couldn’t hide his own surprise. That was terrible luck. “Glad to see that you’re okay.”

“I got some major burns for it, but I’m walking!” She pounded at her chest. “Nothing gets me down. What about you Amami-kun? Since we’re being all chummy. How did you get your Ultimate title?”

“Haha.” Rantaro rubbed the back of his neck. “I suppose it’s because I often travel.”

“But you’re not the Ultimate Tourist.” Yuya pointed out. “You’re the Ultimate Adventurer. So there’s a story there.”

“Maybe.” Rantaro shook his head. “Personally I don’t really see it as a story. You know. Going off into the wilderness.”

“Oh that kind of adventurer.” Yuya pouted. “And here I thought you’d be looking for something. Like treasure.”

“Haha. Maybe I am and I just haven’t stumbled upon it yet.”

“Sounds like you Amami-kun. We already know why bird-boy’s bird boy-”

“Shuddup.” Kokai frowned.

Ultimate Adventurer. That fit with the fact that he was trying to go around the world and find his family. Shuichi paused in that thought process as the hand that cupped around his mouth slowly fell in realization. Ultimates weren’t “Ultimates”. That was just a fancy title. No, what connected these people together wasn’t how close they were. It was the accomplishments.

Every single person in that room, in that game that was being played out before Shuichi’s eyes, accomplished something. Which meant that they were in newspapers or they were in some sort of local event that gathered. They somehow caught Danganronpa’s attention. He just had to figure out where that point of interest was.

He looked at the chat log to see that some of them were annoyed with Yuya. Some thought she was cute. Some were commenting on Rantaro and whether or not he would last in the game. Some thought he was cute. Some thought he was bland. There were also comments about the girl too. Shuichi barely caught the word Maeji before he scrambled to write that down. He would have to wait and see how the game progressed to get her “ultimate” and see if he couldn’t find her.

Shuichi couldn’t deny that the fire and the description of it helped narrow down his results. He couldn’t open anything in a new browser since the game took up the computer screen, but he could wait until it was over, or at least until he decided to log off. He noted that there was a timer on the side of the chat log. He carefully wiggled his mouse and dragged the pointer over to it to see that it was the amount of time left before the voting polls were closed. He still had time.

He chanced a look at the chat logs, just to see if there were more banned comments. Instead his eyes were greeted to a simple conversation, but one that held meaning.

[ Loki: Maan so lame. How long are we gonna have to listen to them chat about how to get out of the stupid building? ]

[ Shinigami: This is the first episode of sorts, Loki. We’re still trying to get to know who the players are and who we want to show our support to. Hence why there’s such a long time for us to vote. They want us to feel something for these people. They’re going to allow them the luxury of feeling safe for now. The real game begins with the votes are cast. ]

[ Loki: Ugh you’d think they’d be able to do it without us. ]

[ Shinigami: The audience did request more of a presence. ]

Which was why the emails were sent. Which was why the timer was a constant reminder that they had to decide everyone’s fate. He watched the group split apart again after a chat and wander away. He knew that paying attention to every little detail, every little piece of the conversation could lead to something bigger, but he was also filled with worry, with dread.

Right now, it appeared their motive was simple. They were trying to escape or trying to find a way to get out. Shuichi could understand why they had to split up. The area that they chose to use for the game looked pretty big. They would need all hands on deck if they wanted to figure out a way out. If there was a way out. Shuichi wasn’t sure about that. Chances were it was a one-way ticket. There was no traditional way of getting out of there.

He was right when the camera took them outside. The dome shape barrier was enough to tell him that these people who were behind the game were smart. Dreadfully clever. They thought things through, they had to. They had 52 seasons to mess up. How many made it out alive? How many all died before they could reach the entrance? Shuichi pursed his lips together as he tugged his hat down slightly.

The camera focused in the courtyard by the fountain. There were two people that were wearing white lab coats. One wore the safety goggles and had different colors splattered all over her coat. She had her cotton candy colored hair tied in a ponytail and she kept a navy mask over her mouth too. Her features were...obscured heavily. The other one who wore a white lab coat wore a suit underneath. His tie was fixated at his neck and he had a couple of pens in his pocket. He carried a clipboard and his hair was slicked back since he couldn’t very well tie it.

They looked much older than the other classmates, but at the same time Shuichi wondered how much of this was due to what they were wearing. Now that he was thinking about it, it was a bit odd for them to be wearing such clothing. He doubted those were the clothes they were stolen in. If anything, Shuichi was starting to get the idea that this was a horrible game of “dress up the part”.

They were being mocked for their talents and they didn’t have a clue.

Shuichi was also starting to get the sense that the camera favored following around one particular student, but he couldn’t tell if it was the boy with the accent or Rantaro. The camera zoomed in on the conversation just as Rantaro and Kokai appeared to them. “Yo.” Rantaro greeted as he approached. “Did you two find anything?”

“So far our research fails us.” The woman spoke as she adjusted her goggles. “We had a hypothesis that said that the entrance could be outside somewhere rather than indoors, but we can’t seem to figure out where it could be. We supposed that it could be a manhole, but looking at it...we verified that it wasn’t the case. Our reasoning is that the manhole would be too...obvious.”

“Obvious in the sense that the mastermind or whoever thought of this game would think that we’d have the same idea.” The man spoke. “Ajshi-san thought so too, but we can’t come up with any other leads.”

“I also had a hypothesis that maybe someone might know more. I attempted to talk to one of the Monokubs, but they accused me of attempting to cheat.” Ajishi frowned, as she tugged up on her gloves. “I guess that proves my hypothesis correct even though I can’t exactly prove anything. Attempted repeats will probably get me killed. Ougai-san also convinced me not to go further in my research. I’m inclined to agree. I’m not good with people. I’m good with chemicals.”

“And depending on how bad things can get, if we have someone here that can at least help make medicine using my knowledge, it’ll be half the battle.” Ougai nodded sagely. “We’re too important to just risk.”

“I get that.” Rantaro replied. “So not the man hole then. Sucks. Would’ve thought that would be our way out.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Any other ideas?”

“None that I can think of so far. But we’re attempting to come up with an idea. Our thoughts were to use Yuya-san’s ability to the maximum. However, we’re unsure what would be good to break this dome. I have never seen anything like it. It’s thick to the touch.” Ajishi rolled her shoulder as she spoke. “I’ll have to see if Yuya-san has even worked with something like this before, and if she knows a way to make it explode. It could be our only way out.”

“That is if it doesn’t count as school property.” Ougai spoke just as a black and white bear appeared on the screen.

It was one of the most hideous creatures Shuichi had ever seen. The white side looked like a normal stuffed bear. The black side on the other hand had a red gash for an eye that looked vastly similar to the emblem that had been on the screen not too long ago. “What do you mean it’s not a part of school property?!” He yelled, in a very over the top high pitched tone. “If it’s on school grounds, it’s school property.” He changed tune quickly into a nervous wreck. “You youngsters and your rebellion phrases. I thought you would get over yourselves. I told ya, you ain’t leavin! That’s just a pipe dream! You know how to get out!”

“Murder isn’t our forte. We don’t have a killer among us.” Aijshi spoke up sternly. “You caught people who are pacifists in nature.”

“What do you know about being a pacifist?” The bear asked, suddenly curious. Shuichi was starting to get whiplash on how all over the place this animal was. What even was this creature? This couldn’t be real. That had to be the made up part about this show. “Anyone here has a potential of killing. But what do I know? I’m just a lonely stupid bear.”

“Besides escaping, what other reasons could we have to murder?” Rantaro spoke up, his voice just as firm as Ajishi’s. His arms were folded tight against his chest as he stared down at the bear, unphased by the creature’s looks or his wording. “There’s nothing.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows?” The bear suddenly sing-songed. “But I’ll tell you one thing. Ya ain’t leaving by trying to explode those things. We knew that grabbing an arsonist was going to make us look bad.”

“Whose we?” Ougai suddenly spoke up with interest.

“Uh oh.” Just like that he disappeared.

“Wait just a moment!” Ajishi shouted before slumping, her goggles slipping half-way down her face. “He ran away again. Just as he was about to let something important slip.”

“Dun’ ya dink it’s weird dough?” Kokai suddenly spoke up. “Dey planned for an arsonist.”

“Yes, I thought the phrasing was strange myself.” Ajishi suddenly perked back up, adjusting her goggles back onto her face. “Which means they prepared that there would be a chemist and a doctor among you as well. We should tread carefully. That animated bear may be on to something. Anyone has the capability of murder, that is correct. There is not a single person among us who is a detective.”

Shuichi’s heart lurched in his chest. Did that mean that she wasn’t in this game? At the same time, he had to stamp down that hope. He already knew that everyone had a talent that meant they accomplished something. Aki never did anything with detective work, so there was no way that would be her accomplishment.

It meant that he knew now what kind of motive that bear was looking for too. That motive vote was to either persuade people to kill or to persuade people to keep stalling the game. Shuichi cupped his mouth with his hand as he moved his mouse and clicked on the timer and saw that the vote was also embedded into the website. They must have come to the thought that not everyone was going to vote first or be able to escape out of the computer screen.

If Aki was going to commit a murder, Shuichi knew that she’d do it if she thought he was in danger. Which meant that he had to be very careful about what his choice was. Loved ones were out. He couldn’t afford to be the reason. He didn’t know if Aki suffered from depression like he did. She didn’t show that to him. He had no choice, Aki had developed a sixth sense of when he was down and unable to get out of bed. She would’ve caught him this morning looking like a wreck.

It would be amusing if it didn’t make his heart ache. That left with one other choice that didn’t make much sense to Shuichi. Memories. What could she have forgotten that the Danganronpa knew about and wanted to torment her with? It was a flip of a coin, but it was the safest alternative than either one of the previous options. He clicked the vote and held his breath.

Nothing happened besides a thank you screen. Shuichi let out the breath, both grateful that he didn’t have to see the cumulative results so far, and a little miffed that he couldn’t see what everyone else wanted to happen. He was also starting to see why the anonymity of having family members mingled in with the audience was a huge thing. The audience could try to rig it into their favor. That was why the rule of pleading and complaining was one of the hard rules of having comments banned. No one wanted to hear them plead and empathize with them. They wanted the game.

He heard his aunt calling for him and Shuichi reluctantly decided to close the laptop shut. He hadn’t realized that time had gone by so quickly that it was nearing dinner time. He was going to have to figure out a way to start jumping in on the chat conversations as well. If anyone was going to slip what was happening with the motives or with the contestants, that would be the place to make waves.

He just would have to come up with a good user handle.

Unfortunately when he got back to the room, the game was already over. At the very least, the website was down and everyone was still chatting in the logs, reminiscing on what was happening. Shuichi leaned back in his chair, content to lurk around. So far the only ones that were on were him, Shinigami and Loki.

[ Loki: So tell me Shini-shiny how long have you been watching the games for? ]

[ Shinigami: Never call me that again, otherwise I’ll tear your tongue out. As for how long I have been watching, this will mark my third year. I was invited through...different means you could say. ]

[ Loki: So you’re someone with a family member that offed themselves or something? ]

[ Shinigami: Your crudeness astounds me. No. Danganronpa was not so lucky as to get someone from me. Instead they got something better. I am a scholar, you could say. I was offered a chance to see what a real life killing game looked like. My observations are...anonymous. So if I were to publish a paper, I cannot mention anything. So, you could say that it would be futile for me to even attempt to document such a tragedy. Yet here I am, bound to do so. ]

[ Loki: Sounds like a bore. Do you have any idea of who might win this thing? ]

[ Shinigami: If I were a betting man, I would say the Traveler and the Cosplayer may have a chance. ]

Cosplayer? Shuichi decided that if this was the time to talk, it couldn’t hurt. He missed too much apparently.

[ Seeker: Sorry I’m new...but what do you mean by cosplayer? I think I missed them. ]

[ Shinigami: It is hard to keep up when there is new blood and everyone is trying to introduce themselves. You must have come in after the fact. The Ultimate Cosplayer is named Shirogane Tsumugi. She is...I hate to say...not as insane as the rest of her class. A typical wall flower if you ask me. Which is why no one will think to murder her. Unless of course the Ultimate Mangaka wishes to not have a fan among her midst. It’ll be interesting to see that death play if that’s the case. Other the other way around, considering some cosplayers are such huge fans...they hate the canonical work the author put in. Warping it and turning it into their own works of literature. ]

[ Seeker: There isn’t by chance a list of names and ultimates is there? ]

[ Shinigami: It’s considered too risky. You just have to be able to keep up I’m afraid. Though I’ll happily name drop who I am talking about. I have no qualms in discussing who may win or lose. Shall I indulge you on who I think may be our first victim? ]

[ Loki: Enlighten us Shiny. ]

[ Shinigami: It is times like these I wish I were a mod. Regardless I shall spill. I believe our first victim will be none other than Yuya Chika. ]

Shuichi couldn’t place that for a second. The girl was hyper sure, but he didn’t get the vibe from her that she would just commit murder or be a vitcim. Then again, maybe they would want her gone because of her talent to make things explode. It was a dangerous talent to just run around unchecked. He wrote the name down in his notebook regardless.

[ Loki: Hmm but who’d be her murderer? ]

[ Shinigami: I hazard to say that is a toss between the chemist or the figure skater. Did you not see the way she jumped away from the flames? I have no doubt that Yadori Miki could have a trigger and that Yuya caused it. It could be an easy motive to murder. Yuya demonstrated a danger, and she could easily fall into the mindset that she’s protecting people by taking her out of the game. Ajishi Misa on the other hand may take the arsonist out simply because Yuya is too close to her element of study, and people who study in scientific fields don’t usually like sharing titles. ]

[ Seeker: That’s an awful lot of maybes though. ]

[ Shinigami: Ajishi likes to be the smartest one in the room. She uses language in a way that indicates that she should be the only one using the jargon. She stayed close to the doctor, Ougai Eiji because they share similar fields but his is less about chemicals and more about the human body. He has to rely on her for medications to be made if medications can be made. ]

[ Loki: Ew. Power trips. I hate those. ]

[ Shinigami: But it is a good motive for a murder no? Ah speaking of motives and murder, I was curious about the voting poll that we participated in. I will not ask you what you voted for, as that is between you and Danganronpa, but I must say I was a bit...surprised at how tame it was. ]

[ Loki: Yeah me too! I thought we were going to be voting methods of death or something! ]

[ Shinigami: That could still be the case. After all, we are only voting to see what will push these contestants into the brink of despair. We haven’t exactly gotten through the first round. ]

[ Seeker: What do you mean “first round”? ]

[ Shinigami: It means what it means. ]

[ Loki: Yeah Seeker, pay attention! ]

[ Seeker: I think you two misunderstood my confusion. How can this be “first round” when nothing happened? ]

[ Shinigami: Ah you are correct. I did misunderstand. My apologies. No, it would be better to say this was the “first day”. Everyone is trying to get their bearings and understand what is happening. The hopelessness of no escape will start to eat at them by the third day. Monokuma usually is nice to allow that many days respite before the games begin. I suppose it is also his cruelty. We get attached to the contestants as the contestants get attached to each other. Then it all goes to hell for lack of a better term. ]

[ Loki: Ugh. So we have to spend three days watching them get chummy with each other? Gross. ]

[ Shinigami: Sounds like you only came for the murder and gore. ]

[ Loki: Uh duh? ]

[ Seeker: We already met everyone though correct? And this is...just us trying to get one on one time with them? To deepen connections? Why would they go so far if it’s a killing game? Wouldn’t it be better if they were handed weapons and say go off? ]

[ Loki: ^ ]

[ Shinigami: You really are new to this game aren’t you Seeker? Loki? I had pegged Loki to be a veteran, I was sorely mistaken. Well, considering that we aren’t kicked off the website yet, I can indulge you for a moment. Allow me to explain. There is a theme that goes on in these games. The most common is the fight between what is more powerful, hope or despair. There are some themes where the fight is different. For example, there was a season that dealt with living in the past or living for the future. There was a fight about whether or not memories were important to a person’s personality. There was even a fight, though I wasn’t around to witness it, on reality versus fiction. As you can see, there are plenty of things that this game prides itself on. Hope versus Despair is the common theme because it’s the easiest to implement. How can you cause despair? Get attached to these people. Let these people get attached to each other. Craft a motive that is to cause heart ache. At first no one would ever think that murder will cross each other’s minds, but we know differently. ]

[ Loki: What’s the TLDR version of that whole wall of text you greeted us with? ]

[ Shinigami: Rudeness doesn’t get a TLDR. ]

[ Loki: WAAAAAHH and here I thought we were FRIENDS ]

[ Shinigami: You must be insufferable in your real life as you are online. I cannot picture this any other way. ]

[ Shinigami: Before we part, I will give you some advice. Vote as early as you possibly can and if you are an insomniac, I recommend watching the episode that was playing live around midnight. They edit out the bits that don’t mean much, and you get hints in between the pauses about what this game’s theme or even what this game’s motive is about. ]

[ Loki: So what we’re watching is the live version? ]

[ Shinigami: Live versions start at nine in the morning depending on where you are. The episodes that are recorded are edited and put out by midnight. ]

[ Loki: That’s an hour of editing. ]

[ Shinigami: I imagine they edit along the way so that they can do that. Not everyone has the day off like I do, anot not every day I can make it to a live session. That is not to say that they do the recordings for me, but you get the idea. ]

[ Loki: Well it’s no skin off my nose, but I’m bored now. So I’m gonna say bye bye and hang with my boyfriend :D Goodnight. ]

[ Shinigami: Pity your boyfriend. ]

Shuichi couldn’t help but to laugh a little at that and he also decided to sign off since there was nothing else he could think of doing. He had a good amount of leads though and he felt confident that if he could gather all of that evidence up, he could present it to his uncle and the game would end before the first motive appeared, or at the very least before the first murder happened. Right now though, he needed to start looking at the ultimate titles he did have down and figure out their history.

He had a lot of work to do.

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quakerjoe · 5 years ago

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A CUPPA JOE for 21 January 2020: Let the Games Begin

Today, the Impeachment Trial of trump begins and I’d like to remind you all of something. This is not a trial to see whether or not trump is going to be removed from office and then tried for his crimes. This is not about trump. We already KNOW Moscow Mitch is going to do everything he can to whisk this whole thing on through, sloppily and haphazardly, and he’s going to exonerate the permanently impeached angry orange.

This trial is about you. It’s about all of us in the United States, and the world is watching. WE are the ones on trial today. We KNOW beyond shadow of a doubt right now before this even begins that trump is guilty of a multitude of corruption charges and abuse of power to enrich himself. It’s been clear since before, during and after the Mueller Report. There’s enough evidence in the REDACTED version of it to warrant trump’s removal from office. The recent interview with Parnas has just pissed a ton of gas onto this dumpster fire and we know it, even if a fifth of what he said is true.

Here’s what’s likely to happen. Fuck-all nothing. McConnell’s “rules” set this sham of a trial up to be done after midnight and during a time that will minimize the time Chief Justice Roberts can attend. He’s setting things up so that not only will new evidence NOT be admissible, but that the EXISTING evidence won’t be either. He thinks he’s got enough GOP support to pull this off, and he may be right. The Democrats have many, many charges to throw at this administration, but so far they’ve lead with their weakest hand and everyone’s having a nutter over it.

WE are on trial now. WE must decide if this is a severe miscarriage of justice being carried out by the GOP and the Senate, of if we’re going to show the world that we simply don’t give a flying fuck and that we’re perfectly happy to let a corrupt bag of dicks tear down what little is left of our Republic and full-on burn the Constitution to ashes as we slip into Kleptocracy and become a Oligarchy; a Fascist state run by the rich and supported by the feckless idiots who can’t be bothered to study a bit of political science on their own because schools don’t really seem to teach it anymore.

WE THE PEOPLE are the ones on trial here. We’ve literally reached a point where we’re trying to save not only our nation, but to save sanity, reason, our place on the world stage, and most importantly, the planet itself. If the GOP doesn’t hold an actual, fair trial complete with accrued evidence from before the submission of the Articles of Impeachment as well as after and allow for the calling of Witnesses (like an ACTUAL TRIAL does and this IS a trial) then they’ll have demonstrated that they are irrefutably corrupt and MUST be recalled by their states and summarily FIRED. They CAN do that. Kentucky, for instance, CAN recall McConnell and fire his sorry ass if they 1- even KNEW they could do that (it’s not like the GOP would make that public knowledge) and 2- really WANTED TO. The eyes of the nation are looking at them and wondering “Why do you keep sending this asshole to DC?”

EVERY Senator today is on trial. We, the VOTERS are the judges, juries, and executioners come time for the election. If YOUR members of Congress have been hampering the investigation into ‘Individual 1’ and have supported measures to protect him from the reach of Justice, then you had damn well take notice because one day it may be YOUR guy on the dock and looking at a trial. The GOP had NO problem with interviewing everyone-and-their-mother during Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial but now the complete opposite is the accepted norm for trump? Fuck off, GOP; seriously? Right out in the open you’re doing this crap? You don’t even pretend to want to carry out justice anymore. YOU are the ones on trial, GOPers. YOU on the Left aren’t out of the woods either. If you Dems don’t get your heads out of your asses up there at the DNC and LEARN from 2016 that we are in a time where brave, bold measures are needed to unfuck the situation we’re in and that a centrist, “Status Quo” candidate will only get trump re-elected come 2020, then We the People need to replace ALL of you from the top down apparently.

Once this sham of a trial is done and over with, and it will be oddly quick and not remotely thorough, trump is going to walk back to the White House or, more than likely, Mar-A-Lago, and sleep like a babe. This WILL happen. He’s going to curl up to go to sleep, laughing the whole time because not only did he win, but We the People LOST. We ALL lose this trial. Rule of Law will not mean fuck-all NOTHING. What little respect there is left coming from our allies around the world will be gone. Nobody will trust the USA be it fighting terrorism or trade agreements. Meanwhile, the GOP will continue to wield power, your rights will wane away, and the economy, while seeming great for the rich twats on Wall St. will continue to be stagnant for the Average Joes out there and this notion of the “Middle Class” will become simply “The Working Poor” altogether.

I mean, face it- the Middle Class are the Millionaires. The Upper Class- Billionaires. The Poor- That’d be YOU. You think you can retire at a certain age? You think your pension will carry you through retirement? (I hear most of you asking ‘my what?’ here) You think you’re safe from crippling medical bills? You think the GOP cares about YOU? Don’t be thick. You think Democrats are coming to save the world? Bollocks. They’re paid to lose. Centrist assholes like Biden are the GOP if yesteryear. This is why Clinton lost in 2016, people. We the People do NOT want the goddamn status quo, but the Dems will offer us that because we’re spiraling down the drain under the GOP so to them, they’ll get to keep the corporate cash because they’ll be slowing down the rate of decay compared to the GOP. Yeah; great choice, Democrats.

Until we get more BRAVE Democrats willing to take a Progressive stand and call the Corporate Dems out on their bullshit and make trump and his cohorts accountable for their crimes, we as a nation are going to lose this trial that We the People are under right now. We ALL are going to lose, from the stupid fuckwits who thinks trumps just all that, to the frustrated, disenfranchised Independent voters who are going to throw their hands up and just NOT vote because there’s NOTHING to vote for. We are ALL on trial today. Today we will see, not the shit-show going on about trump, but the absolute, Olympic-grade fuckery of the Senate under the GOP, and if YOU, the Average Joe, don’t get active and recall those GOP assholes or at the VERY LEAST vote their asses out of office come November and hold them ACCOUNTABLE, then YOU lost this trial. We will have lost our nation, and from here on out, as the wings of liberty collapse, the wages plummet, and the inevitable rumblings of revolution grow louder to the point where the nation collapses into the next Civil War, we’ll have nobody to blame but We the People Who Did Nothing and we’ll deserve the horrors that follow. Let’s not let it get to that, eh?

Once this little shit-show is over, it’s up to YOU to get the current GOP shit-birds OUT so that an actual FAIR trial can happen. If Pelosi is every bit this legendary mega-mind her fans are raving about, then she’ll see to it that NEW charges are compiled and that trump becomes the first to be impeached TWICE. With a new Senate and a REAL trial to work with, maybe then justice will be carried out. Today’s inevitable debacle will be, or at least SHOULD be a wakeup call to ALL of us that the GOP is unwilling to uphold the Rule of Law that oddly enough the rest of us are expected to obey. The time to hold them and their supporters accountable is past due- Democrats needed to take the Senate last election cycle, not JUST the House. It wasn’t this big Blue Wave like they’re advertising. Loss of the Senate has led to where we are now and that’s on We the People. This is why there’s a mile high stack of passed, bi-partisan legislation sitting on McConnell’s desk right now collecting dust- because ‘We the People’ allowed him to remain in charge of the “Get Nothing Done” Senate.

So, I wish you good luck today. Pay attention, because with our current track record here in the US, We the People seem incapable of actually having the balls to call out our own government’s fuckery and we’re about to see nothing happen at all and the consequences will be the collapsing of the pillars of which hold this nation up. We’re witnessing history with this, and I’m betting that this is the beginning of a very horrific end of the United States of America. This is, of course, a bet that I’d be more than happy to lose.

#FuckTrump #FuckTheGOP #MoscowMitchTraitor

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etraytin · 5 years ago

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What’s Your Favorite Chapter?

Hey all! I’ve been pretty caught up in applying for the bar exam for the last few days, but I’m also still archiving the JDFF list and trying to work on my WIPs as well. Busy, busy! Anyway, I was rereading some of my old stuff when it occurred to me that sometimes we don’t see peoples’ best stuff because it’s buried in the middle of stories that are too long for the time we have or that we aren’t sure we’d like the plot of. And that’s a shame.

So all you authors who follow me, here’s a challenge! Find your favorite chapter of one of your long fics, then post it on Tumblr along with just enough background that we can follow it, plus a link to the story it came from. I don’t want to miss out any more!

Here’s mine, it’s Chapter Six of my West Wing story Such A Winter’s Day, which is a rewrite of Seasons Six and Seven (and after) with the idea that instead of joining the Russell campaign after Impact Winter, Donna asked Sam to help her get out of DC entirely. Without Donna in the campaign mix, of course, everything unfolds quite a bit differently for our heroes. But this chapter, near the beginning, is mostly just the story of Bisexual Disaster Human Josh Lyman.

Chapter Six: Interlude One, Been Thinkin’ About My Home

Contrary to popular opinion, Josh Lyman was neither clueless nor even particularly obtuse when it came to the emotions of others. Nobody got to the top in backroom politics without an innate ability to size up another person and understand what they needed, what was most important to them, what they would sacrifice for and what they would never give up. Sure, a lot of times he simply didn't care what his opponents were feeling, but that didn't make him unaware. When it came to the people he was closest to, he'd always understood more than they'd thought. It just hadn't been enough to let him keep them from slipping away.

Sam, god, Sam. He'd known Sam forever, it seemed, back in a time when they were barely politicians, barely adults at all, finding their way around Washington DC for the first time and trying to figure out the people they wanted to be for the rest of their lives. Sam had been just as beautiful then as now, dark hair and sculpted face and impossible blue eyes that lit up with every new challenge. They'd made friends at the office and would go out together to blow off steam, pick up women, get irresponsibly drunk and talk about how someday they would cut through all the bullshit and change the face of politics forever. Sometimes they'd find women to take home, sometimes they'd bring along whoever they were dating at the time. Twice, just twice in three years, they'd gotten drunk enough to take each other home and wound up in Sam's bed together. But it was the eighties, and people could experiment, and they'd nervously laughed off both those times and never really talked about it afterwards. It didn't mean Josh didn't remember.

But then Josh had gone to the whip's office and Sam had gone to New York, and though they called each other after important votes or Mets games, it wasn't the same anymore. That was how it happened, Josh had figured, and ignored the pang in his chest that might have been lost chances. Sam had dated, mostly upwardly-mobile professional women looking for suitable marriage partners. Josh had dated, mostly Washington insiders with sharp smiles and quick minds who were looking for a power husband who would one day sit in important rooms. There had been Lisa, and there had been Mandy, and then there had been a day when Leo McGarry asked a favor from the son of an old friend, and then there was Sam, looking ridiculously polished in his thousand dollar suit but with the same impossibly blue eyes and goofy grin. He'd left Sam behind and gotten on the train to Nashua, but “Josh, what are you doing?” echoed in his head the entire time. When he'd watched Jed Bartlet speak and realized what kind of president he could be, he was back on the train to New York before the rubber chicken was fully coagulated in the pans.

Working with his best friend again had been amazing, infusing Josh with the energy to run a no-money, no-sleep campaign for a candidate who couldn't even remember the names of his closest advisors from day to day. With Sam around, he had a partner in crime, someone to bounce ideas off, someone to take his own pragmatic make-the-sausage politics and turn it into something beautiful and full of the ideals Josh was a little afraid to even say aloud. And sometimes he'd meet Sam's eyes across the room, but there was Lisa (for awhile) and Mandy (until there wasn't), and neither of them were naive or reckless anymore. They'd won the election, gotten the chance to change the world that they'd always talked about. Josh knew that doing anything to risk that chance would've been crazy, but sometimes when he would watch Sam get worked up and start making passionate speeches to anybody who'd listen, he had wondered if maybe a political genius could figure out a way.

During the celebration after the first State of the Union, Leo had clapped Josh on the shoulder while they watched Sam and Toby celebrate their own speechwriting. “You'll have my job one day,” he'd told Josh conversationally. “You'll have to kick Sam's ass around the block a few times until he's ready, but it'll happen. That'll be the day, won't it?” He'd given his hoarse bark of a laugh and wandered away then, leaving Josh with his jaw on the floor and such an overwhelming feeling of pressure in his chest that for a moment he'd wondered if he was having a heart attack at thirty-eight. Pride, there was incredible pride in knowing that Leo was right, that this could really happen. Anxiety, plenty of that, over the fifty million things that Josh would have to do in order to make that happen. And loss, amorphous, nebulous, not to be examined, over something that had never really existed in the first place.

Josh had still felt the weight of Sam's gaze on him from time to time, sometimes from halfway across the West Wing, sometimes from inches away, but he didn't look up to meet it anymore. Sam was going to be president someday, but not if Josh let the things they didn't talk about turn into a noose around Sam's neck. If Josh could just ignore those looks and those thoughts, then it would be just like they didn't exist, and he and Sam could be best friends like they'd always been. Except it didn't work out that way. Not meeting Sam's long looks had slowly turned into not going out alone with Sam for drinks, turned into not talking to Sam the way he used to because he kept choking on all the things he couldn't say. He'd send Donna to talk to Sam instead, then close himself off alone in his office, an unlikely figure for a Jewish martyr.

And Donna, of course there was Donna too. Josh had still been finding his feet on the campaign trail, stumbling around with Mandy, tiptoeing around Sam, when he'd walked into his office one day and run straight into another pair of impossible blue eyes. Donna was fresh off the farm and fresh out of a bad relationship, achingly vulnerable but at the same time so brave it had made his heart clench. He'd thought it had taken courage to leave Hoynes and join the Bartlet campaign, but he'd never in a million years have had the guts to pack his whole life in an old car and drive halfway across the country for the possibility of a job that paid nothing but might change his life. Technically he'd been doing her a favor, taking her on and giving her his staff badge, but in the moment it had felt like giving her nothing more than a deserved acknowledgment. Then she'd given him her sun-bright smile for the first time, making his heart clench even harder, and he'd wondered what he was getting himself into here.

From almost the first day, he'd fallen into a synchronicity with Donna that bordered on the eerie. Her office skills were basic and her political knowledge all but nonexistent, but she had a quick mind and such strong intuition that she usually seemed to know what he meant before he even finished saying it. There were whispers on the campaign because she was beautiful and so young, but he'd deliberately chosen not to notice those things about her. Didn't he have enough problems already? In any case, the fact that she'd managed to whip his disastrous office into shape had quieted any naysayers, especially after the way he'd fallen to pieces during her brief failure of resolve back in Wisconsin. By the time they'd stepped into the Operations bullpen for the first time, he'd had no idea how he'd ever coped without her.

No matter what crisis he'd gone through, national, professional, or personal, Donna had always been there, a step or two behind him, guarding his flank as they'd waged the political battles he'd been born to fight. She'd researched for him on a thousand topics, networked all over Washington to keep him informed of disasters hiding in the weeds, taken up deliberately contrarian positions on every stance he'd chosen, just to hone his arguments to perfection before he unleashed them. For all practical purposes she'd been his deputy and protege, but in reality, on paper, she was always his assistant, subordinate to him, subject to his evaluations and criticism. He'd seen the looks she gave him from across his desk, heard the undertone to her playful banter. How could he not? Just the heat of her body when she'd sit next to him on buses or in meetings was sometimes enough to drive him to distraction. And he was no saint. He'd flirted back, bought her presents, let her tie his bow ties as she watched him from below her lashes. But he'd never touched her back, not like that. It would've been inappropriate.

Three years of detente in all directions, and it might have gone on forever if it hadn't been for a handful of skinhead assholes and a single wild bullet. Josh had no memories from the night of the shooting or the next three days, but he'd been told how it happened, how Donna had waited like a statue, dry-eyed, barely moving, through fourteen hours of surgery. He'd seen the videos of Sam on Today and Good Morning America, answering questions as though he barely heard them, swallowing two or three times whenever Josh's name was mentioned. Toby had told him once, when they were both very drunk and he was feeling lyrical, how when the word had come down that Josh would live, Donna had collapsed into Sam's arms and Sam had held onto her like his last anchor to the earth, her face against his neck, his face in her hair. Josh's first memory of the hospital was of them both, sitting on either side of his bed. Sam had been asleep with his head resting very uncomfortably on the raised bedrail, while Donna read quietly aloud from Newsweek. He couldn't remember the article, but she'd assured him that all the magazines that week were about him. He did remember how relieved he'd felt, how grateful, to wake up and realize they were both with him.

Things had been different after the shooting, in ways both subtle and profound. He'd missed three months of work while trying to piece himself back together, and Donna and Sam had both been there for that as well. Donna had run his office for him, using her own light touch to keep the assistant deputies in line and on task, freely invoking his name even when he was really too drugged to be making cogent decisions on his own. Sam had stepped in as liaison to the Hill, taking Donna's thoroughly-researched positions and turning them into an actual legislative agenda with which to prod the Congress. When they weren't working, they'd taken it in turns to look after Josh, Donna mostly in the days, Sam in the nights. They'd come to some kind of understanding during that time, one that Josh had never been a party to, but he could see it easily enough in the tight-knit alliance between them after the midterms. Maybe it was fatuous, but it had reminded him a little bit of two people who'd gone to war and seen things nobody else could comprehend.

He hadn't thought about it much at first, just grateful that the two people who comforted and confused him most could get along with each other. After he'd returned to work, though, he'd found himself swamped by inexplicable anger at times, and at other times by suffocating isolation and loneliness. How did Sam and Donna understand each other, how were they war buddies, when Donna hadn't even been there that night? When Sam's worst injuries were scraped hands and skinned knees, not a bullet through the thoracic region? (That's what it was in the hospital and in CJ's briefings, not his chest, not his heart, “the thoracic region,” like he'd gotten shot in the demilitarized zone of some unpronounceable ex-Soviet state.) How were they getting on with their lives and going on dates with unsuitable people and god, still watching him with unbearably heavy gazes from impossible blue eyes? He couldn't reach out, so he'd pushed instead, taking verbal swipes at Donna, ignoring Sam, burying himself in the work that was always his refuge from things he couldn't think about. And even after all that, after the concert and the window and Stanley, Donna had taken him home to her apartment because his was too cold, and on Christmas Day she and Sam had boarded up his window frame and then rehung the curtains so he wouldn't have to look at it till it was fixed. They'd watched black and white slapstick comedies and eaten Chinese food (Jewish Christmas, Sam had quipped,) and Josh had finally started believing that maybe people really could get better.

Things had gone almost back to normal, but then there had been the MS debacle and the hearings, and Josh had seen Sam's deep disillusionment but hadn't been able to say anything about it. It was his fault, after all. He'd dragged Sam into this, promised him the real thing and delivered a frightened, lying man with feet of clay. He'd dragged Donna into it too, deeper than the other assistants, by relying on her for so much, for being closer to her than was proper even if he'd never crossed the line. If either of them had broken, it would've been his fault. But they'd each rallied in their own way, and they'd kept his head above the water at the same time. That lasted barely long enough to catch a breath, and then it was reelection and Bruno, midnight in America and a kind of campaign none of them had hoped for. Sam got louder and louder as his voice was heard less and less, and Donna had all but disappeared, shrunk small by the incident with her diary, made invisible by the radiating presence of Amy Gardner. Josh had seen all that too, but he'd been exhausted by Sam's stubborn idealism and angry about Donna's nebulous act of betrayal and he'd pushed all of it aside to focus on the thing he could actually affect. And sure, he hadn't been entirely absent, he'd tried to comfort Sam after Kevin Cahn and the return of Lisa, and he'd actually accomplished something nice for Donna when he'd gotten her teacher a Presidential phone call. But in hindsight it had been so little, not nearly as much as he should've done, not nearly what he owed.

He'd thought things would be different in the second term. Maybe he could've sorted some things out in his own head if he'd just been given a little time to think without having to think of polling numbers and the values voters of America's Heartland. Instead the election had come and Sam had gone, and with Amy and everyone else pushing him to run in the special election, what could Josh have said to make him stay? Sam had claimed he'd be back after the vote, but Josh could see in those impossible eyes that something in Sam was desperate to escape from what had become of them. So he'd let Sam run to California, run for Congress, run screaming away from the White House and from Josh himself. Josh tried not to think about it very much, and luckily there was always work. There had also been Amy again, and he hadn't been entirely sure she was anything he wanted, but once Donna had started seeing Jack Reese, at least Amy had given him something to counter with. He couldn't say aloud why having a counter had been so important, but even with Jack and Amy gone by Inauguration, he and Donna had both been bruised by the experience.

There had been a moment on the night of the Inauguration Balls, when he'd looked into Donna's eyes and seen everything in her that was waiting for him, all the love and trust in the world, that he'd thought seriously for the first time about reaching out and taking it. Taking her and keeping her and damning the consequences for both of them. He'd already lost Sam, and something inside Josh had known that Donna wouldn't look at him this way forever if he kept looking away. But it was wrong, he'd reminded himself. It was inappropriate and wrong and it would cause a scandal that would see both of them crucified by the right wing press. That might have been nothing new for him, but Donna, beautiful, smart, intuitive Donna with her quirky filing system and no college education, she'd never have worked in Washington again. So he'd made her call him “Wild Thing,” and had put her in a cab alone at the end of the night with money to get home and his key to her place, then had buried himself in the business of the government for weeks so he wouldn't have to see the love in her eyes fading into confusion and disappointment. Sam's election had ended the way everyone predicted, and Sam had decided to take a job at a law firm in Los Angeles instead of returning to DC. Then there way Hoynes, and Zoey, and Glen-Allen Walken, and Josh didn't even have time to miss anybody.

It wasn't as though he hadn't seen something coming with Donna, obviously. He wasn't that obtuse. But he'd had no idea how he could get by without her, and he had no viable plan that would let him keep her, so the only solution was to ignore the problem and not acknowledge it at all. They'd still worked together as well as always. She'd kept him in one piece through the hell that was Carrick and Angela Blake, she'd kept his office running via cell phone during the shutdown, she'd held her own with the pardon attorney and in the Oval Office (even if she'd wept on his shoulder after learning about Donovan Morrisey.) After the State of the Union, Angela Blake had come to him to ask for Donna in Legislative Affairs, where they needed someone with an endless well of tenacity to coordinate the policy shops. It would've meant more money and more responsibility for Donna, but it would've meant her leaving Operations, reporting to his office and Communications equally and usually through his assistant deputies. It would've meant her leaving him. He'd put Angela off with some muttering about big projects in the pipeline and maybe after the midterm elections. Later he'd wondered a thousand times if he'd moved her, or if he hadn't blown her off on that damned Brussels trip, maybe things wouldn't have happened the way they did.

Josh had enough regrets to keep him in therapy well into the afterlife, but giving Donna that diplomatic passport was easily in the top three. It hadn't been the career advancement she'd wanted and there'd been no real need for the Deputy Chief of Staff and the Communications Director to have eyes on the ground in Gaza, but Toby had wanted someone keeping an eye on Andy and Josh had wanted Donna not to leave him, and somehow that translated to him sending her to the most dangerous place on Earth, armed only with a little brown book and a laptop. When CJ had stopped him in the hallway and told him about the CODEL, he'd felt the familiar crushing chest pain he associated with love and bullets. His first, sudden impulse was to call Sam, make sure he was safe, ask what he was supposed to do now. The urge passed in seconds, but hours later he did call Sam from the plane, even if all he could do was worry along with Josh. Most of that trip was a blur in his memory, till he'd gotten to that hospital room and she wasn't gone and his heart could beat normally again, even with the new Irish boyfriend there to remind him of the lines he'd drawn and couldn't cross. Then Josh had gone and done his job, and come back and this time she wasn't there or okay and words like pulmonary embolism and brain damage erased all thoughts of lines entirely. He'd stayed at her bedside for hours, thinking pleas too disorganized to be prayers, until she'd opened her impossible blue eyes and murmured his name, and in that moment there was nothing in the world he wouldn't have given her if she'd asked. But she'd been exhausted and drugged, and she'd smiled at him instead and gone back to sleep.

He'd planned on keeping an eye on her when she got back to the States. Everything had been so hard for her at first, even just dressing and feeding herself, much less navigating the hectic pace of her life. She'd come back before she had probably really been ready, but the whole world had been going to hell and he'd needed her so badly that he didn't tell her no. He'd meant to help her do things, and make sure she went home when she was too tired and took her medicine when the pain got bad. And sometimes he had, but sometimes he'd left her sitting in the middle of the hall in her wheelchair, or asked her to stay just one more hour so she could finish something vital, or avoided looking at her face because seeing her in pain made him hurt too, made him remember that he was hurting her and there was no way to fix it. He'd noticed her tension and her bursts of sullen anger, but there'd been nothing he could do, not with Leo sick and CJ struggling and the country seeming ready to fly apart at the seams, not when he didn't even know if he still wanted the career he'd sacrificed everything for. He hadn't known if he was ready to leave the White House and start all over again, hadn't known if he was strong and smart enough to do it on his own, hadn't known what it would mean for him and Donna.

She'd started scheduling meetings with him, like she were some rogue Congressman he was supposed to talk back into line, but he didn't know what to say to her, so he'd found a reason to cancel, first once, then again and again. Eight times, he'd realized later, too late. Eight times he'd blown her off, made her feel worthless instead of invaluable, until she'd stopped him in the middle of the bullpen and told him she was leaving and his mind had gone entirely blank and he'd done what he'd been doing for a year and a half: deny the problem entirely until he could think of some way to fix it. When he'd looked into her cubicle the next day and a stranger was at her empty desk, all he could see was Donna's eyes as he'd turned and walked away, still impossibly blue, but shattered and sad and alone.

It hadn't taken long to figure out where she'd gone. Donna was methodical to a fault, even when she was packing her whole life into an old car and driving all the way across the country for a chance at a job that was entirely unknown but might change her life. It turned out she'd given two weeks notice to HR, sixteen days and eight broken lunch meetings ago, had provided them with a Los Angeles post office box as a forwarding address, and the law firm of Carrington, Schuster and Hawthorne as a work contact. Josh hadn't known whether to laugh or throw something when he'd realized that she'd run away to Sam, because of course she had. He'd noted the number, knowing as he did that he'd never call, because what could he possibly say? He'd given her everything he had available to give and it hadn't been enough and she was gone and it was over. He'd flown to Houston the next day. Leaving the White House had seemed less like a gamble by then. Somehow it seemed more like an escape.

#the west wing #fanfiction #favorite chapter challenge #josh lyman #such a winter's day #josh x sam #josh x donna #poor josh has all the troubles

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dis-easedfairy · 6 years ago

Text

Impulsive Christmas

WARNINGS: Swearing | Fluff | Maybe some slight hints to the future chapters.

Pairing: BTS x Gender Neutral Reader

Genre: Poly!au, fluff, humor

Word Count: 5,035

A/N: I’m not telling you if this is canon to the Impulsive Decision series or not. #getrekt (gif not mine) I finished this at 4am to keep my promise to post this on Christmas morning (for me anyway) so tired

“Joon. Put the ornament down. ” I stated cautiously, my hands up as I stopped decorating the tree.

“Hyung, Jimin made that, so if you break it you break his heart.” Jungkook stated, only looking up from his phone for a brief moment.

“Don’t be dramatic.” Hoseok scoffed, getting a garland from the box.

“Are we thinking silver or gold theme?” Seokjin asked, walking into the room with two boxes of ornaments.

“We’re thinking Namjoon puts the WINGS ornament down.” Yoongi informed, untangling the white lights.

“I won’t break it! I just don’t know where to put it!” Namjoon defended himself.

“DOWN. That’s where you put it.” Jungkook exhaled in slight annoyance.

“If Jimin comes back to see you with that, he will lose his mind.” Hoseok shook his head.

I walked over to Namjoon and took it carefully out his hands, “Don’t worry about it right now, Joonie. We haven’t even decided the color scheme of the tree.” I smiled.

“Taehyung is voting on rainbow.” Jungkook informed us while typing on his phone.

“And Jimin?” Yoongi asked, handing off the lights to Hoseok to hand on hooks around the room.

“He’s thinking either red and white or silver and purple.”

“This would be a lot less complicated if we did this in the bunker.” Seokjin frowned, helping Hoseok steady himself on the couch arm.

“You know our family is just waiting to surprise visit. I don’t want to explain to them why we’re in a bunker.” Namjoon grumbled moving to get the box of stockings.

I shrugged going over to Namjoon to pluck a few stockings out the box to hang, “It’s bad enough we had to make up a story of how we met.” I frowned.

“It’s not all bad. How about this, we’ll tell them the truth when you and I get married.” Jungkook bargained.

“YAH! WHO SAID YOU ARE THE ONE WHO GETS TO MARRY THEM!?” Seokjin demanded.

“I always thought it would be me.” Yoongi smirked as he untangled more lights.

“You are very sensible at times.” I pondered.

“You only think that because he’s good at making himself look good!” Hoseok argued, making Seokjin chuckle.

“If I’m losing to any of you at the marriage game, I’d rather it be Namjoon-Hyung or Taehyung!” Jungkook scrunched his nose at the word ‘losing’.

“Why them!?” Hoseok looked offended.

“OKAY, that’s enough of that! We won’t argue about this right now!” I shouted over them.

I took a deep breath, “Jin, Hoseok, as soon as the lights are done, the two of you start on the cookies, one cuts and bakes, and the other frosts and decorates. Yoongi, please get a hold of Christmas classic sheet music or something of that nature to play for me, please? I need to stay sane and you know you and your piano calm me the most. ” I whined, showing weakness for a brief moment before starting again, “Jungkook, Joon, you two work on moving the living room to better fit the tree and then work on the lights for the hallway, please baby boys.” I sighed.

“We like when you take charge.” Hoseok smirked.

“Baby Boys? Don’t you mean Baby Boy?” Namjoon scoffed.

I frowned, “No, Joonie. You’re really cute today. ” I saw color litter at his face as his smile grew.

“Yeah, she means Baby Boy.” Jungkook teased.

Before he could retaliate Jin spoke up, “What about Jimin and Taehyung?”

“They will be wrapping presents as I try to decorate the tree as fast and presentable as I can.” I looked over at the tree, frowning.

It took Namjoon, Hoseok, Jungkook, Jimin and I almost an hour to set up the fake tree because we didn’t have time to get a real one. We left the safety of the bunker in a hurry that we didn’t think about much. We headed to the store and bought as much as we could to decorate the dorm that was empty of decorations and holiday cheer. The boys wanted the calm bunker that was already decorated. They wanted to spend Christmas worry-free, but due to my family and theirs, it became clear that it might not happen.

Jimin and Taehyung left forty minutes ago to go food shopping because we didn’t really plan to spend Christmas Eve at the dorms.

Jungkook got off the floor with a sigh, “Why does our first Christmas with you have to be so stressful.” I frowned, moving to cup his face.

“How about we have a re-do after Christmas? We can do it the way we planned when it settles down?” I proposed.

Jungkook quickly nodded, “Cozy morning and a lot of food!” I smiled brightly at his excited expression while his eyes twinkled in happiness.

“Done!” I gave him a quick kiss on the forehead, “Now help Joon with the furniture.” I giggled as his face flushed a bit.

It was chaos. I wished my plan had worked.

“WHY DID YOU BUMP INTO ME!? THE COOKIES ARE ON THE FLOOR NOW!” Hoseok exploded.

“WHY TAKE OUT THE COOKIES WHEN I SAID I WOULD!?” Seokjin shot back.

“THEY WERE BURNING!”

“THEY WERE TOASTING!”

“STOP SCREAMING IT’S CHRISTMAS EVE FOR FUCK’S SAKE!” I screamed.

“Will you stop moving the box!? I’m trying to line this up right!” Jimin almost snapped a Taehyung.

“Well line it up right and I wouldn’t have to move the box!” Taehyung argued.

“HYUNG! Stop stepping on the cords!” I heard Jungkook scold from the hallway.

“WILL YOU ALL STOP YELLING!? I’M TRYING TO LEARN THIS SONG!” Yoongi shouted from the piano.

“I SHOULDN’T HAVE TO SUPERVISE YOU ALL FOR EVERYTHING TO GO ACCORDINGLY!” I cried out.

“STOP STEPPING ON THE COOKIES YOU’RE MAKING MORE OF A MESS!” Hoseok yelled at Seokjin.

I would hear the arguments between the three duos and Yoongi who wanted them to stop.

“KNOW WHAT!? FUCK THE TREE THEN!” I stated finally, walking over Taehyung and Jimin.

I got the wrapping paper with the grid on the inside and put it next to them, “Get it together you two!”

I moved over to the kitchen, “JIN! Just keep cutting cookies!” I dropped down and helped Hoseok pick up the hot broken cookies and then made my way to the hallway.

I grabbed the stray light strand off the floor, rolled it up neatly and handed it to Namjoon, “Keep the cords rolled up so it’s easier and you don’t step on it! Jungkook! Have the hooks go between the braiding of the light strand so they don’t fall!” I stomped back into the living room and picked up and ornament.

I took a deep breath in the more quiet, cooperative home.

“Blue, silver and gold.” I breathe, trying to calm myself.

“Hyung, you better stop or they will kill you.” Hoseok chortled.

“Seokjin! I better not hear you fucking up over there!” I called in warning.

“I’m not!” Seokjin defended.

“Really!? Because I hear fuCKING UP OVER THERE.”

“He’s making the cookie man have a pink beard.” Hoseok notified.

“…Is it stylish?” I questioned.

“…It has a cowboy hat.”

“SEOKJIN I WILL KILL YOU!”

“OKAY OKAY! IT’LL JUST BE MINE!”

“ARE YOU YELLING AT ME, MISTER!?”

“NO.”

“He’s yelling at you.”

“HOSEOK STOP TELLING ON ME.”

“HOSEOK TELL ON HIM! I CAN’T LEAVE YOU ALONE FOR 2 MINUTES, SEOKJIN!” I felt hands on my shoulders.

“Take a deep breath and relax.” Yoongi’s voice floated into my right ear.

I took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to shake off the tenseness of my muscles.

“Taehyung-ah, get me the ribbon.” Jimin asked casually.

“Ribbon? We don’t have any remember?” Taehyung whispered.

“Guys stop! I just got them to ca-!” I cut Yoongi off.

“HOW DID WE FORGET RIBBON!?”

“They ran out!” Taehyung held up his hands in surrender.

“Y/N! Calm down!” Yoongi grabbed my face and making me look at him.

“Who cares about ribbon!? Just calm down. Seokjin and Hoseok are handling cookies. Jimin and Taehyung are handling gifts. Namjoon and Jungkook are handling decorating. The tree looks done. Just come sit with me and relax a bit.” I sighed, nodding in agreement, letting him lead me to the piano.

Yoongi guided my head to rest on his shoulder and started to play a light melody.

“Is that ‘Silver Bell’?” I ask softly, now calm.

“Are you calm?” Yoongi urged.

I only nodded.

“Thank God. I was worried I would have to tie you to the tree.” He exhaled.

“But it’s a blue, silver and gold theme.” I frowned.

Yoongi shook his head, “I love you.”

“I love you all too.” I smiled.

“You just all irritate me sometimes.” I added.

“…You just had to add that, didn’t you?”

“A genius once told me honestly is the best policy.”

“The one time you actually listen to me.”

I rested my head on Hoseok’s stomach as he idly played with my hair while on his phone. I hummed happily. Namjoon moved a bit on the couch to put my feet on his lap.

“My parents are going to my sister’s this Christmas, so less to worry about,” Hoseok stated, looking up from his phone.

“My family is on vacation.” Jimin sighed, tossing his phone on the coffee table.

“What do they mean ‘we didn’t know you wanted us’,” Seokjin mumbled, still focused on his phone.

Taehyung decided to climb on top of me and Hoseok, “I’m tired.” He only said as we complained about being disturbed from our comfort.

“We should head back to the bunker since no one is coming tonight.” Yoongi suggested, putting his phone in his pocket.

“All this for nothing.” Jungkook shook his head.

“We got cookies out of it.” Namjoon smiled.

“Let’s leave everything here and just come back for stuff later. I’m too tired to clean and move stuff.” Jimin whined.

“Sounds like a plan.” Taehyung’s voice was muffled as he tried fighting off Hoseok trying to push him off us and the couch.

We all reluctantly got up and put on our shoes and jackets. We made our way to the car and drove back to the bunker. As soon as we got in the boys spread out, turning on lights and making their way to their rooms to change into more comfortable clothes.

I happily went to the living room and turned on our tree. I went to the kitchen and started to make us all hot chocolate as they all came back into the living room.

“We could watch that one!” Jungkook suggested as Namjoon scrolled through holiday movies.

Taehyung started to make bowls of popcorn and Seokjin started putting the cookies in our glass cake stand and Yoongi was getting blankets out the storage closet.

Jimin and Hoseok started pushing the two large couch ottomans to the already large couch to make it seem like a large bed.

Yoongi lied out the blankets. Taehyung put popcorn in three large bowls. Seokjin began to walk to the living room with the cookies. Namjoon and Jungkook settled on a movie. Jimin helped Yoongi by putting down pillows. Hoseok moved the coffee table more towards the side of the couch and I served the hot chocolate in eight mugs.

Taehyung handed out the bowls and Seokjin put the cookies on the coffee table. I started putting the mugs on a tray to carry easier and moved them to the coffee table, happy my boys were getting comfortable. I climbed into the makeshift nest right in the middle and moved under the blankets. Seokjin pulled me a little closer and Jimin happily leaned against me. Namjoon ran to turn off the bright light in the kitchen to only leave us in the soft glow of the tv and twinkle of the tree and string lights we put up.

All cuddled together, drinking hot chocolate, eating popcorn and enjoying the mutual love in between us.

“This is the best Christmas Eve.” Yoongi smiled while reaching over to get popcorn out of the bowl Taehyung was sitting with.

“I’m paranoid I’m going to spill this.” Hoseok admitted before taking a sip of his hot chocolate and setting it on the coffee table for good measure.

“Can we do this every year? It’s really relaxing.” Namjoon sunk more into the pillows.

Jungkook playfully shoved Namjoon more into the couch, causing Namjoon to let out muffled panic for a few moments. Jungkook let out an evil laugh and resumed watching the movie. I tried to hold back my laughter, unlike Hoseok and Jimin as I reached over and fixed Namjoon’s hair.

“This is why we decide you get alone time with Y/n last.” Seokjin shook his head at Jungkook.

“No, you’re saving the best for last. ” I only frowned at Jungkook’s comment.

Namjoon gave me a big grin to which I giggled at, “You’re so cute, Joonie.” I beamed, my heart squeezing in admiration.

I gave him a small kiss on the lips, restraining myself from giving him more, and settled back into my spot.

“Why does he get a kiss?” Taehyung questioned.

“Because there was an attempted assassination,” Namjoon stated nonchalantly.

“That’s a lie. I didn’t try to kill you. You only stopped breathing for a second.” Jungkook rolled his eyes.

“That sounds so bad out of context.” Jimin commented.

“Because it was bad.” Namjoon shot a look at Jungkook.

“Can you all stop talking? Jin and I are trying to watch the movie.” Yoongi grumbled.

After a few moments of silence, I started thinking more.

How did we even begin to explain this complicated relationship? It was bad enough that we had to sit a the dining room table and make up stories on how I met each of them. Then we had to pretend I was only dating one of them for certain amounts of time. it always broke my heart when I couldn’t hold hands with them in public, they looked like they really wanted to as well. Right now I’m just like their REALLY close friend to the public. Each of their parents think I’m dating their son and their son only.

Surprisingly the boys loved the bunker as much as I did and I had to make copies of the key to everyone. They spent their days off in the bunker. My apartment was still there mostly untouched, I only slept in it when I would be very busy because it was closer to the company.

I really wanted to settle down with the men I fell in love with, but it was far more complicated than that. They seemed to know too but brushed it off. The one who did this the most was Jimin. Every time the boys would bring it up so we could sort it out, Jimin would just say we would figure it out in time. I couldn’t marry them all. I might not be able to have children with them all either.

“We should take a picture,” Jungkook suggested, sitting up.

Hoseok grabbed his phone off the coffee table while Namjoon paused the movie. We all moved closer to the Christmas tree where Jungkook at. I smiled at the atmosphere that hung around us. I did focus too much on the negative sometimes. The outlook always left me when I looked at them. Despite the situation that was given to me, I would enjoy this Christmas. I would enjoy the loves of my life for the holidays to come.

“SAY BUNKER!” Namjoon encouraged in English.

“BUNKERRR!” We cheered, giggling as Hoseok took the picture.

I helped Seokjin make pancakes as he mixed around the large pan of eggs. Seokjin and I didn’t hold back singing off tune and dancing like idiots to Christmas songs as Namjoon and Hoseok unloaded the car from getting our presents from the dorms. Jimin laughed at us and poured Yoongi coffee. Yoongi only shook his head as he focused on his ‘Genius Book’. Taehyung walked out from the hallway, dancing with nothing but a large puffy green robe and garland around his head like a crown. Jungkook walked behind him, black hood and robe, smiling but shaking his head.

Namjoon came back into the room, seeing the chaos and shaking his head, “You were actually serious on wearing those outfits?”

“Why do you think Jimin wore white pajamas?” Jungkook chuckled.

“I DON’T NEED TO HANG MY STOCKING, THERE UPON THE FIREPLACE!” Seokjin, Taehyung and I obnoxiously sang.

“You all started without me!?” Hoseok gasped, quickly going behind Seokjin and me to start being obnoxious with us.

Jungkook and Jimin quickly joined in, “SANTA CLAUS WON’T MAKE ME HAPPY, WITH A TOY ON CHRISTMAS DAY!”

“You are all embarrassing!” Yoongi complained from the table.

“ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOONGI!” We somehow managed to think the same thing to tease our grumpy boyfriend.

“YAH! ENOUGH!” He shouted flusteredly.

“This is what we deal with ARMY.” Namjoon sighed holding out his phone to record us.

All us star singers started serving the big breakfast and delivering it to the table. Pancakes, waffles, sausage, eggs, toast, berries, and home fries. We really didn’t care about diets that day. Jimin happily retrieved the non-virgin eggnog from the fridge and got out glasses.

“That’s for the night, not the morning!” Namjoon took the large glass eggnog bottle from Jimin.

Seokjin took the bottle from Namjoon and began to open it, “We have three of these, one for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! It’s Christmas!”

“Fuck yeah!” Jungkook cheered making Yoongi give him a look.

“This is going to end badly isn’t it?” I turned to Hoseok who nodded.

“Y/n! Why did you get three!?” Namjoon interrogated.

I held my hands up, “My family makes it every year so it’s really good! I figured one bottle would do us justice. Yoongi and I get drunk with music so one bottle was for us and the other two were for Christmas and New Years!” I quickly defended.

“Then why didn’t you hide our bottle!?” Yoongi demanded, getting up from the table to run to the fridge to protect our bottle.

“We’ll just see how this goes,” Taehyung sighed, covering his cup so Jimin wouldn’t make him drink.

“I’ll just have one glass.” Hoseok asserted, sitting down.

“No one gets plastered before nine pm. I don’t give a fuck, I’m not peeling anyone off this table!” I warranted.

“As the Ghost of Christmas Future, I demand chicken nuggets!” Jungkook ordered.

“Who thought it would be a good idea to get fast food for Christmas lunch!?” Seokjin demanded from the backseat.

“Because you wouldn’t let us cook in ‘your’ kitchen!” Taehyung defended from behind the wheel, still in nothing but his boxers, green robe, garland crown and now slippers.

Jimin giggled, trying to hold my hand, “Chim, you’re making it very obvious, you’re not sneaky.” I sighed.

“How did WE become the sober ones!?” Taehyung groaned.

“Because you don’t love us.” Yoongi mumbled from the very back.

“Our leader stood strong but lost the battle to save us.” I fake cried, making Jimin look worried enough that he tried unbuckling his seat belt so he could hug me.

“He did take my cup so I wouldn’t have to drink.” Taehyung agreed, pulling into the McDonalds drive-thru, coming to a stop behind a car.

“Hyung, I’m a hero.” Namjoon whispered to Seokjin.

Hoseok was just leaning back, I wasn’t sure if he was sleeping or dead at this point.

“Ghost of Christmas Past, I wasn’t really crying.” I muffled from Jimin’s shoulder.

“Chim Chim, sit back!” Taehyung commanded, prying Jimin off me.

“Stop hogging them, Taehyung!” Seokjin complained.

“I’m not! You all need to sit back and put on your seatbelts!” Taehyung was so done with them all.

“You’re not nearly as fun as the REAL Ghost of Christmas Present.” Jungkook taunted.

“Oh shit, you just got called out.” I instigated.

“Y/n, not now. ” Taehyung gave me an unamused look.

“Do we just order chicken nuggets for everyone to keep them busy while we make the real lunch?” I asked.

Taehyung looked to the back seat and rolled down his window, “Time to order eighty chicken nuggets.”

Taehyung shoved more bread into Jimin’s mouth, “Mmm sofer!” Jimin muffled in protest.

“This isn’t very necessary. ” Namjoon said with a frown, all sobered up twenty minutes ago after lunch, water and coffee but Taehyung insisted they eat bread too.

Jungkook unhappily nibbled on the sandwich bread, looking disinterested.

“It is! This is punishment for making Y/n and I have no fun while you were all gone.” Taehyung established.

“You liar! We all know you snuck some time with Y/n during lunch!” Seokjin inquired.

“HEY! I wanted a gift and the Ghost of Christmas Present was more than happy to give me that present.” I clapped back, mixing the soup for dinner.

I mean can you blame me? He had on a soft robe that showed off his chest and I thought he looked especially sexy in an outfit I didn’t think he would wear.

“You will unwrap me later.” Jungkook teased.

“Stop saying something that won’t happen.” Jimin fussed.

“He’s the Ghost of Christmas future. Doesn’t he know everything to come?” Yoongi examined.

“He could be lying though.” Hoseok debated.

“You won’t know until the future comes.” Jungkook shrugged.

“I should help Y/n with dinner.” Seokjin began to stand.

“No! I’ll help them.” Taehyung stood quickly.

“Now you’re just being clingy!” Hoseok laughed.

“You know he gets clingy after.” Yoongi smiled.

“You do too. That’s why we all have a DAY with Y/n and not an hour.” Namjoon chuckled.

“How about you hug and I help.” Seokjin rolled his eyes.

“Deal!” Taehyung agreed before jogging to me and attaching himself to my back, wrapping his arms around my waist.

“Can we just agree to sleep in the BED tonight? Christmas a New Year will be spent in the big bed. All together.” Jimin recommended.

The boys seemed to agree to the idea. Not wanting to start the New Year in sperate rooms and beds.

“We haven’t even opened presents.” Jungkook frowned.

“I was surprised you all didn’t go right for them.” I tittered.

“Do we open them now?” Namjoon asked.

“Sounds good!” I assured trying to walk to the living room with Taehyung not letting go.

“WHY ARE YOU THE WAY THAT YOU ARE!?” Seokjin demanded as Jimin put down a 4+ Uno card.

“I want it green.” Jimin shrugged.

“No one has green but you!” Taehyung groaned.

“WHY DID I SUGGEST THIS!?” I cried out, my head falling forward so my face pressed to the glass of the coffee table.

“I DON’T KNOW! BUT THIS CHRISTMAS STOPPED BEING MERRY WHEN NAMJOON-HYUNG DIDN’T LET ME WIN FROM THAT DRAW TWO!” Jungkook bellowed out, equally devastated.

“This game has gone on for longer than forty minutes,” Hoseok declared, his voice sounding emotionless, he’s been dead inside since the ten-minute mark of the game.

“Dinner had been done for an hour!” Yoongi complained.

“This was supposed to be a quick game…” Namjoon trailed off, looking at his hand of cards, wondering where it all went wrong.

“It would’ve been if you would’ve just let me win the damn game!” Jungkook snapped.

“Let’s just agree we are all competitive assholes who don’t want the others to win.” I whispered, my voice hoarse from shouting, not looking up from the table.

“Jimin is the asshole right now.” Taehyung muttered, drawing cards to get a green.

“All I have is green!” Jimin objected.

“WELL, YOU GOT ALL THE GREEN OUT THE DECK!” Taehyung finally snapped as he already drew six cards trying to find a green card.

“Fuck you all, I’m going to go eat.” Hoseok grunted, throwing his cards on the table and leaving to serve himself.

“Stop abandoning this family, Hoseok!” Seokjin called after him.

“I want to abandon this family too.” I lifted my head up from the table.

Yoongi got up wordlessly to follow Hoseok and Namjoon began to draw for a green card.

“Guys, come back I’m cold and I don’t want Jimin near me right now.” I whined to Hoseok and Yoongi who were at my sides.

“Hey! You should be mad at Jungkook too! He’s heartless!” Jimin bickered.

“Then come eat.” I dropped my cards without hesitation and decided to join the two.

“DON’T TURN THIS ON ME YOU GREEN STEALER!” Jungkook held a finger up.

“We should really stop before we all hate each other.” Seokjin laughed.

“The constant Christmas music is really adding to the slow decline of my sanity.” Namjoon added, changing the color to blue.

“WHY BLUE!?” Seokjin roared in disbelief, his attitude flipping on a dime.

“What do you mean? You don’t have green, blue or red? You have a banana hand over there?” Jungkook asked, lifting up slightly to peek at Jin’s cards.

I happily pulled apart a dinner roll as Hoseok slurped up soup. Yoongi wrapped his arm around my hip and pulled. I understood and moved so I was sitting on his lap but still enjoying my meal.

“We had it on yellow and you complained. Something you want to get off your chest?” Taehyung asked.

“This is why I hate playing games with you all sometimes!” Seokjin complained as he drew cards.

I wiggled a bit in Yoongi’s lap, making him grip my hips as a warning. I heard groans and cried of anguish as I looked up to see Jungkook lay down a 4+ card.

“NO! I REFUSE TO DRAW ANYMORE CARDS!” Jimin shook his head.

“You have to! That’s the rules!” Jungkook growled.

“No, because I know you have a blue in that hand and you just want to be petty!” Jimin fought.

“Jungkook-ah, don’t be a brat.” Taehyung seemed to scold.

As much as I was mad a Jimin and liked the fact that he was getting a taste of his own medicine I knew Kookie had a blue in that hand as well. I sighed, knowing Jungkook was just acting out because he was frustrated and competitive.

“No, I don’t, just draw the cards!”

“Chimmm!” I called out.

Jimin snapped his head over to look at me.

“If you come eat with us, I’ll feed you!” I tempted with a smile.

“I know what you’re doing! He can’t act this way bec-”

“But Chim, I’ll even give you a kiss!” I baited.

Jimin let out a sigh, “Y/n, he’s being a brat!”

“And I want to love you! Who’s going to get their way?” I pouted.

Jimin looked at his cards then dropped them on the table, standing so he could make his way over to the table.

“WHAT!? That’s not fair!” Jungkook accused.

Jimin served himself the soup and sat in front of me. I gave Yoongi a quick kiss on the cheek and made my way to sit next to Jimin.

“Do I get a kiss if I quit?” Seokjin negotiated.

“Then Yoongi and I get a kiss too.” Hoseok insisted.

Jimin happily leaned forward and cupped my face. He tilted his head and pressed his lips softly against mine. Our lips moved in sync for three seconds before I pulled back with a smile and got his spoon. I scooped up a perfect dumpling and blew on it for safety reasons. I lifted the spoon to Jimin’s mouth, he blew on it twice before taking it into his mouth lovingly.

“Stop or I barf.” Jungkook fussed.

“It’s your fault the rest of us have to see that!” Seokjin challenged.

“I will give you all a kiss if you stop playing that game, come eat this multiple course meal and love each other.” I offered.

I saw cards spew across the table and the boys rush to the kitchen.

I nustled my face in Namjoon’s neck as we all got in the big bed after dinner to watch a movie.

“If it’s not you, it’s Hoseok being stingy with Y/n for movie time.” Seokjin complained, sitting next to Yoongi.

“They were next to us last night.” Jimin stated, unamused by Seokjin’s lie.

“You also tried to get your day tomorrow even though it’s Jungkook’s day.” Taehyung added making Hoseok “Oooh”.

Namjoon was in the middle of the bed, I was cuddled up to Namjoon, meaning I was technically in the middle myself. Hoseok was to our right, next to Hoseok was Taehyung and at the end was Jimin. To our left was Seokjin, then Yoongi at the end, leaving a space between the two for Jungkook.

Jungkook kicked off his slippers and climbed on the bed. He made it a point to push Seokjin towards Yoongi so he could take the spot next to us.

“YAH! WHO SAID YOU COULD DO THAT!? YOU CAN’T JUST MOVE PEOPLE OVER WHEN THEY WERE THERE FIRST!” Jungkook only grinned at Seokjin’s rant, while Hoseok and Jimin laughed.

“You really are bratty today, Jungkook.” Namjoon commented.

“I think it’s because Christmas Eve was his day but we moved it until after Christmas.” Yoongi guessed.

“We should really make a better schedule,” Seokjin hinted.

“Hoseok on Sundays. Namjoon on Mondays. Taehyung on Tuesdays. Seokjin on Wednesday. Jimin on Thursday. Jungkook on Friday. Yoongi on Saturday?” I recommended.

“What?? No! That would mean Jin-Hyung has his day tomorrow!” Jungkook sat up.

“Brats get punished.” Jimin fake coughed.

“I like it, we don’t have to choose and argue because we have assigned days.” Namjoon shrugged.

“It’s only two days, Jungkook.” Hoseok teased.

“It’s been two days already!”

I yawned, relaxing more into Namjoon, effectively making most of the boys lay down instead of watching the movie.

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow,” Taehyung smirked.

“No, we talk now! Don’t be mean!”

“You’re the Ghost of Christmas Future, not Christmas Present, we can’t talk now.” Jimin mumbled.

“You all suck.” Jungkook huffed as he lied down.

“We love you too.” Yoongi stretched.

“Good night!” Seokjin teased Jungkook as he turned the other direction.

“…Good night everyone. I love you and Merry Christmas.” I said tiredly.

“I love you too.” They responded, half asleep.

“We should have a rule or something. The days of the week system is flawed during the holidays.” Jungkook’s voice pressed.

“Give it a rest, brat.” Jimin argued sleepily.

A/N: HAPPY HOLIDAYS! I hope you all have an amazing rest of/beginning of the year! I hope this brought you a little happiness. Thank you for reading and here is to the year to come!

#bts poly au #bts ot7 x reader #poly bts #bts humor #bts x reader #Impulsive Decision

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wrongfullythinking · 6 years ago

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And then there were five...

The numbers say 20. Or maybe 21. It’s hard to tell. But in reality, I think we’re down to five. Five’s a good number, the same amount you can fit on a basketball floor and really know who is out there. Let’s face it, nobody but the most die-hard fan knows who bats 8th and plays left. Five? Five’s a number we can deal with. And looking at the state of things, we’re down to five realistic candidates. Maybe some of the other 15 or 16 will get a nice mike-drop moment, and maybe they’ll get a chance to advocate for a cause they believe in. But if your party is so oddly out that you need to use the presidential nomination as a way to get your ideas across... well, it worked for the Bern, but rarely do imitators have the same success as the original.

In this piece, I’m going to give brief thoughts on the five candidates, and then assign my own completely arbitrary “chance-of-winning-the-nomination” percentages.

The Frontrunner: Biden (50%) At this point, [5/2/2019], preliminary voters are presented with a choice: Joe Biden, or somebody else? It is very much Biden vs. the Pack, and if Biden is the nominee, he’ll make it very clear that it is actually TheObamaLegacy vs. EverythingNotObama. Without an Obama endorsement, that’s a tough one to pull off. Frankly, I don’t think Joe Biden is the strongest candidate, and I don’t think he will make a great president. But he’s also not going to go away until the very end of this, and if he loses, it will be because everybody else decides to unite behind another candidate.

There’s this fiction that Biden is the most “electable” candidate. He’s not, he’s the third-most electable. The second-most electable is Michelle Obama. She is a sure-fire nominee and general election winner, pulling southern states, the female vote, Florida and Michigan away from Republicans and guaranteeing there is no red path to 270. Does Biden do any of that? Probably not. He’s not Bill Clinton, with charisma to go with midwestern history. He’s not Obama himself, with a genuine melancholy and a realist outlook. He’s a meme more than a politician since 2008.

But let’s get straight what matters about Biden and what doesn’t. Nobody really cares about what he said to Anita Hill or his tough-on-crimes stance in the 90s. The media will keep dredging up these issues, and the fact that they’re having to dig this deep to find some pretty thin soil tells you a lot about Biden. He’s pretty hard to object to, and Trump is very easy to object to. There is no doubt that Biden will garner the vote of everybody who hates Trump. But can you win an election with just “Not-Trump?” Apparently not, if I remember the 2016 final tally. [But let’s not get started into how Democrats can bungle this thing, if they don’t learn from their “ignore the whites and the heartland, whine incessantly about the other guy, and then say that we should thank them for raising taxes” plan from 2016, they’re hopeless anyways.]

How can Biden win the nomination? The longer everybody else stays in, the more likely Biden wins. Let’s be clear: Biden is going to be the “least objectionable” candidate in both the Primary and the General. Biden’s chances also go up every time somebody else goes low, but his years of experience as Washington and his long, long list of friends, combined with strong association with Obama, make him the most resilient and easily-forgiven of the candidates.

How does Biden lose the nomination? The rest of the field unites behind one or two other candidates who pound Biden with policy expertise, passionate speeches, and a presidential air. Or, frankly, Biden himself disengages. The more time Biden has to prepare (and hire the best speech-writers), the more Biden is likely to be president. The more time the media spends showing his off-the-cuff gaffes (and there will be plenty), and we could see a Howard Dean scenario emerge, provided there is another strong candidate. The other danger to Biden is that the young vote deserts him in favor of another candidate, and the older generation stays apathetic for the days of Obama.

What to expect from a Biden presidency: First, a lot less headlines. Wouldn’t it be nice to open CNN on any day and see that the webpage’s headline was not about the President? That’s not a ringing endorsement of Biden, nor will it excite the often-raving-horde of young politicos. But let’s be honest... young politicos have always been a bit of a raving horde, and this generation really isn’t different. They just tweet instead of march and browse webpages instead of newspapers. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Biden establish a legacy as the “infrastructure President.” And that’d be fine with most Americans. I certainly would love to see some high-speed rails, because **** the airline companies. They’re terrible. The American Highway System is a wonder of the modern world, and improving it with a series of electrical refueling stations and solar-powered rest stops couldn’t hurt. Infrastructure is an easy win, and Biden’s going to take easy wins. As he should.

The Rabble Rouser: Bernie Sanders, 15% The Bern seems to be a better candidate on paper than he actually is; right now, he’s benefitting from the same early-momentum wave that carried Hillary to the Chair of the Anointed One at the Democratic Convention. Bernie’s always had bad timing though, and I’m not convinced this is any different. Had Biden stayed out of the race, I’d put Bernie’s chances at 30 or 40%. But with Biden in, I’m not sure there are enough Obama-era democrats who actually prefer the Bern. Sure, the young/gay/urban/unemployed/coastal [pick two] crowd who wants to reshape the country into a Scandinavian one loves him. But how many of us want to weigh our trash and be charged 6$ for each pound of it the garbage guy has to pick up? How many of us want to be told by a bank that they can’t offer us a loan, because we didn’t attend a prestigious enough university [coastal degrees only for investment bankers]? Let’s not even start on 55% tax rates for the middle class or subsidizing a 29-year-old’s NYC apartment as he trucks through a medieval literature degree one-course-at-a-time. This is obvious hyperbole, but “democratic socialism” starts with “democratic,” and that means “the beliefs of the people” are synonyms with “the will of the people.” Could some of the Bern’s policies work in America. Sure. But there’s no evidence that he can convince any except his already die-hard advocates that they all can, and a policy doesn’t make a system. I’m not convinced Americans, be they blue or red or the purple-murky-middle, are really excited about this sort of sea change.

How to Sanders win/lose the nomination? If the “woke” wing of the party fails to find a demographic-win in Harris or Buttigieg, and decides to yell loud enough to keep the Obama-era democrats from crowning Biden, or if Biden drops out as well as Harris/Buttigieg, Sanders could end up engaged in a rhetorical battle with Warren that neither of them want, but the country might need. At that point, it’s a coin-flip and a nasty convention, and lines in the sand may become tracks on the ground, separating the haves-and-have-nots in the Democratic party. Still, Sanders could emerge in such a scenario with a win, though I’d tip my hand towards Warren.

What to expect from a Sanders presidency: There’s a small chance we get a lot of everything, and a large chance we get absolutely nothing, depending on how Congress plays out. It is always amusing to me to watch candidates at this stage talk policy, because, you know... the President doesn’t write policy. Okay, he [or soon-to-be “she”] does, but not really. You’ve got to go back to the 70s/80s to find Presidents who were really able to institutionalize their policies in statute, and unless Sanders picks up a majority in both Houses, and even then, it is tough to see most of his ideas actually making it into law. I’ve critiqued Obama before as being “the Toothless President,” because his “signature accomplishment” of the AHCA is already mostly dust-in-the-wind, and it wasn’t even much of a victory to start with [he didn’t even get a government-based option!]. Sanders’ ideas are likely too big for any political reality, and remember, he’s been in the Senate for a LONG time. How much of his work do you see in your daily life?

The Best: Elizabeth Warren, 30% One of the strangest (and most chilling) realities of this election cycle is how dismal Warren is polling. What we’re seeing here is what I call “The Hillary Effect,” where an unlikable-older-white-woman is conjuring up all our memories of nasty assistant principals and that mean piano teacher who kept whacking our fingers. Warren is neither of those things, but her image is not, at this point, helping her. Warren needs the rest of the electorate to come to Warren-land, where what matters is your policy chops, and it remains to be seen if the Democratic party (no racism, no slander, no ableism!) allows itself to move past her white-and-rich appearance.

So, let’s have that experiment. Let’s get past the appearance and the fact that she listed herself as 25% Native American in order to get a law school scholarship. What do you have left? What you have left is a woman who can be President. She’s been a far more successful politician than either Sanders or Biden, and she’s the candidate with the best touch to the realities of the parties from coast-to-coast. Warren’s policies, although a bit left-of-center, are clearly centered around the groups she wants to elevate: small businesses, Americans with children, and all of us who are willing to work for a living but want to be able to live like we want if we do. Warren’s the president who believes in exchange: you put in your time with her, and you feel like she’ll give you something back. That’s a big difference from the Hillary Clinton campaign. Look at the Clinton slogan: “I’m with her.” Compare that to Trump’s slogan (Make America Great Again), and we know which one won. On a slogan level, the second one SHOULD win. You want a president who is about making the country great. Warren’s the politician who gets that, and understands how Trump is appealing to people’s needs, rather than setting out for a list of “the world should be like this.” The fact that her policies are so well-defined and solidly based in the needs of Americans is what sets her so far apart from the rest of the crowd. I have no qualms in saying that of the current pack, I would much rather have Warren as my president than any other candidate, and it isn’t close.

How does Warren win/lose the nomination? Warren’s path to victory starts by convincing Obama-era democrats that she is more Obama than Biden is. That’s a tough sell, because she looks more like Hillary... who, let’s not forget, lost a nomination to Obama before she lost to Trump. Warren needs to separate herself from Hillary and align herself with Obama. Frankly, an Obama endorsement might be the thing that lands the race in her lap. Warren also needs the conversation to revolve around policy. She’s the best at that, and she needs to convince people that she can get her policies not just in front of Congress, but through it. The less talk is about policy, and the more it is about nebulous ideas or demographics or social media or broad philosophical stances, the worse Warren will do.

What to expect from a Warren presidency. We might get some high-speed rails, but we’ll likely see taxes go up on the rich, stay stagnant on the middle class, and see some supplement for popular welfare-type programs (college aid, family aid, etc.). I’m not convinced Warren can make a difference in healthcare, and I’m fine if she doesn’t; we’ve wasted 12 years on the topic now and it just may not be the window. But there are so many other issues that Warren can tackle that would make a difference to Americans. I’d love a tax credit for putting solar power on a roof, and Warren’s the one I see making that happen, not Sanders. I’d like to see university students get some more support federally [good job on Summer Pell!] and that is most likely to come from Warren. Generally, I think we’ll see the “B” versions of her stump-speech policies become realities. The middle-50% of Americans will pay 20-30% in taxes, not 15, and the highest-1% will pay 40%, not 50 or 70. Small businesses will get their health care burden for employees subsidized, but won’t be able to write off all debts for a decade. Farmers may again be able to make a profit off a cow, though we may all pay an extra 25c per gallon for milk and an extra 30c per pound of beef.

((My wish list for Warren: rein in credit card companies and payday loans. Nobody but a bank should be able to give you a credit card, let’s stop all this “Sears Card, Best Buy Card, Kohls Card” nonsense that keeps American families in debt from their late-teens to retirement. And banks need transparent policies about awarding credit cards and loans, and be forced to stick with them, not making nebulous decisions about eligibility based on who-the-lending-officer-is and the skin color of their applicant. /rant end))

Bernie 2.0 or Trump 2.0???: Buttigieg, 3% Buttigieg may have the most energy, but the primary process may be the most damaging to him. I mean, it let him get into the race in first place, and he does look a bit like a Kennedy, doesn’t he? And his charisma is first-rate, his qualifications trump Trump’s at this point in the last election cycle [low bar, right?] and he’s just non-white enough [because he has sex with men, so that counts] to keep some of the Democrat’s own bloodhounds off his back. The weaknesses are also glaring: he doesn’t have the policy of Warren, the political capital of Biden, or the funds and the rabid fans of Bernie. But he is from a Midwestern state, and the Democrats could do worse than considering that. The trouble here is that no one really sees the energy lasting for another year. But hey, it worked for Trump, right?

The trouble is that Buttigieg needs a Trump-like groundswell of support to carry him to the nomination, and right now, that base is going Sanders, and may squash any non-Sanders candidate who should appeal to them simply by virtue of them already having Sanders bumper stickers. To get it, Buttigeig may have to be the one who starts to go low, and he’s shown a reticience to do so. At some point, Buttigieg will need to argue that he’s the Midwestern candidate, and the Democrats need the Midwest. How he makes that argument, who he convinces, and if anybody can be convinced, will all dictate how long Buttigieg stays relevant.

How does Buttigieg win/lose the nomination? Frankly, I don’t see this happening without Sanders dropping out the race, and that likely means a Sanders health problem. That’s not an exciting prospect for anybody, but if Sanders drops out and then endorses Buttigieg, we could see a late-term surge for him past the other remaining candidates. He has to raise enough money to be in it for that long, and he’s got to continue to have great town halls and debates, which are two areas where he shines. I think Buttigieg is going to be a player in the democratic party for years to come, but I don’t think this is his race.

The Californian: Harris, 10% Harris is not likable. She wants to be Michelle, and she’s not. Oh yeah, earlier, when I said that Michelle Obama was the second-most electable person in America? That’s because she’s behind Beyonce. And let’s be clear, Harris is NOT Beyonce. That’s not a dig against either of them, it is a reality of the situation: there are a number of high-powered black women easily in the public eye (in addition to the above two, let’s not forget Oprah, Whoopi, and Stacy Abrams), and Harris is less-likeable than all of them. She comes across brusque, aggressive, and well... a little bit like Trump. That’s not what we want, right? Right? The point is, the Democratic party vilifies unlikeable women, and if Warren is struggling with this, Harris is absolutely going to drown in it. We can talk about feminism and compare waves all we want, but people are going to pay lip-service to that in public, and in private, quietly mark ballots for Biden. That’s always a concern of the Democratic party, and I’m not sure Harris is the one that cures it. I am sure that Harris does not carry the female vote away from Biden, Sanders, or Warren. She’s not a woman’s candidate.

What’s really difficult for Harris is that she’s not anyone’s candidate. California? Sure, why not, but any democrat carries California against Trump. Who cares? The black vote? Last I checked, it was what, roughly 8% of America and not enough to carry Pennsylvania or Michigan? Nor any of the Deep South (that Obama won) against a Trump campaign. The nice part of this is that Harris has the potential to make in-roads with a lot of groups. She’s a professional, she has a presidential air, and she has a prosecutor’s wit. She’s unashamedly intelligent and not afraid of a big moment, like we saw with the 13,500-to-teachers announcement or the recent Barr hearings. She’s less good in-the-moment, where she comes across as a lawyer and not a politician, appealing to the paper rather than the audience. And there’s not a good sound-byte here yet. But Harris could be all those things. Maybe.

How does Harris win/lose the nomination? Harris gets 10% here because she may be the one with the most obvious route past Biden, if Sanders and Warren get out of her way. She needs to improve her on-stage performances (that Town Hall was dismal) and she needs to make sure her focus is where it needs to be, and not get caught talking about things like medical care or Yang’s tech-policies that are clearly not her wheelhouse. It is a matter of sticking to her lane, and then including as many people as possible in her car. She wants to pull people towards her, and the better she can do that, and avoid her lawyer’s instinct of defining boundaries of “Yes” and “No,” the better she’ll do. Harris has the real potential to use this race to grow up from prosecutor to politician, and if she does that, she could be a force. I don’t see her as a serious challenge to Warren or Sanders if it comes down to them as the final two, but I do see her challenging Biden if it ends up with the two of them. Harris needs to stay in the race, keep practicing her presence, and start avoiding troublesome questions like a politician, while maintaining a few key clear policies that people can tie to her name. The bump-for-teachers was a great start, and if she could become “the education candidate,” we might really have something here.

The Rest: 2% I feel like the rest of the field isn’t trying to be President, they’re trying to use the nomination process to make money/crusade-a-cause or just stir up feelings. I’m disappointed this is happening to democrats, because it keeps the five real potential candidates from offering powerful distinctions. Does the party want to move towards Bernie-socialism? Can we believe in Farmers? Do Democrats actually value the MIdwest (according to Hillary, no... does Biden change that narrative)? What is the role of the US internationally, specifically with regards to China and a post-Brexit UK? Was is the reasonable path towards renewable energy, and how does it help me lower my energy bill next January? Will I be able to claim Social Security, and if the system is poor, how do we fix it [or incentivize workers and companies to start doing a better job with retirement plans]? What does a rising interest mean for American home-buyers, and do we want Americans to buy homes? There are so many questions that the candidates differ on, and I worry that we won’t be able to hear from the important candidates on them, because we’ll be hearing somebody’s own hot take on Putin or how Universal Basic Income is something we should pretend to care about for the next 12 minutes. That’s a disservice to the party and the voters, and I hope the debate moderators, pundits, and press over the next 12 months give us a clear view of where the candidates stand and the differences between then.

The afterthought: AOC. Well, we’ve got to talk about her, right? The thing is, we don’t. She’s not a political force, she’s a social one. So, let’s get the obvious out of the way: she’s not eligible to run for President now, though she might be in four years (I’m actually not clear on where her birthday lines up with inauguration day, and I don’t think she’s important enough to check). The very real flaw here is that AOC is not representative. No person is. Yes, I get that she’s non-white and female. Guess what, our country is about 50% male and somewhere around 50% white. So by virtue of being not, it is impossible to argue that someone is. However, the real problem with “representative” is that AOC is coastal and urban, and her perspectives are entirely based on those realities. This is a shame, because for all that people can tout her LatinX heritage, she is very much out-of-tune with high-LatinX states like New Mexico, Texas, and even the non-coastal parts of California. Does that matter in an electoral college world? Maybe not... no Democrat is expected to carry Texas, and no Democrat will fail to carry California. But she’s not a candidate (like Harris, or Obama) who can expect to pull a huge amount of votes simply based on her demographic information. That math has never worked out as well as pundits want it to... remember the Palin experiment? That certainly didn’t persuade the female vote to go Red. And this is one place where I think the American electorate is sadly underestimated; it is assumed we vote for people who look like us, and I find American voters quite a bit more savvy than that. AOC doesn’t pull the LatinX vote as a block, and she certainly doesn’t carry Texas. Alongside the coastal-based policies and city-only mentality she carries, there is no reason to nominate AOC in four years.

#politics #democratic presidential nomination #nomination

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dearyallfrommatt · 5 years ago

Link

So this young lady posted this on Twitter. If you need some help, it’s a fake $20 festooned with the Blind Idiot God’s picture and championing his re-election campaign for the 2020 election. Some rat bastard left this in lieu of a tip.

In her mentions, someone Venmo’ed her a $20 tip, which is nice and an example of people being decent in a world of buttholes. But this is just so typical of people in Trump’s cult and their behavior. This is especially true for people in the service industry, for whom conservatives hold in contempt already.

Honestly, of all the weird bullshit Trump cultists have done - including sending pipe bombs to media people, shooting up synagogues or massacring people trying to buy their weeklies at Wal-Mart - this might just be the most petty and small. “Being a butthole to minimum wage workers (at best) to own the libs” really isn’t a way to drum up votes.

If, that is, that’s what they want to do. Like I wrote about earlier concerning the Evangelicals, a lot of the humanoids ride with Trump because they’ve been waiting for a complete douchebag to strong arm the country and “prove” that might equals right. Even when it’s all smoke and mirrors, that’s what they want.

“Trump is a billionaire,” the say. Well, no, maybe he isn’t. We don’t know he’s actually a billionaire because he’s fighting like hell to keep his tax records from the public eye. In any event, he was born into money. His father, Fredrick “Fred” Christ Trump, took his father’s fortune, largely built on running a brothel, and turned it into a real estate empire. By the time Young Donald was 8, says The New York Times, he was already a millionaire largely based on a trust fund set up by dear old dad.

As an aside, it isn’t creepy as hell that a brothel owner named his son who later became known as a two-bit crooked racist landlord had the middle name “Christ”?

Anyhow, Young Donald claims he only borrowed a million from Pops to get the ball rolling, but investigations into it put the number at more like 60 million, which he largely failed to pay back before Fred kicked the bucket. So, Trump made his fortune in real estate... which his dad pretty much set up by the time the little shit was old enough to stiff his first contractor. It’s not like, say, Howard Schultz (the guy who started Starbucks) or even Bill Gates (who was able to turn his family connections and wealth to turn it around to form Microsoft); he did not do anything but be born.

I’ve read elsewhere that if Trump had never gotten into real estate and spent his life (and trust fund) learning guitar or weaving baskets and just rolled in the investments and what all, he’d be richer now than before his “business genius”. Anyhow, by the time the ‘70s was over, Trump had filed for bankruptcy at least once and perhaps twice. Lest we forget, filing for bankruptcy basically means you don’t have enough money to pay your debtors, so you can put it off, sometimes indefinitely.

I know this is Tumblr and all y’all are teenagers with blue hair, but when I was a young lad, Trump “wrote” a book called The Art Of The Deal. Before you knew it, this asshole was all over the place, on television and movies. In fact, it wasn’t until he screwed around on his first wife Ivana with the lady who’d become his second, Marla Maples, and blew all his good will, he was considered an icon of the American Dream.

Since then, it’s all been downhill. He went bankrupt four or five more times, put his name on everything from shrink-wrapped steaks and bottled water which all flopped, burned bridges in real estate and business for being known as someone who doesn’t pay his bills or employees, and got embroiled in feuds with Rosie O’Donnell and Spy Magazine. In fact, he spent 10 years arguing with the guy from Spy who initially made fun of his tiny hands.

Now, the reason he did all this was, after going bankrupt the first or second time, someone hipped him to the magic of public relations. Trump ceased being a real estate tycoon and became a brand, just something to put the name of “Trump” on it to make it seem classy.

And that’s how things were until Barrack Obama’s second term. Trump tried to get the Reform Party’s nomination for the 2000 election and got laughed out of the room. But when Twitter became a Thing, it was like Chuck Berry discovering guitar. He had found his medium and started building his cult.

During the 2008 election, some right-wing blog (remember those?) started spreading the rumor that Obama wasn’t actually born in the United States. As a part of what’s called “opposition research”, the Hilary Clinton campaign did some research into this claim and found it incredibly lacking. Of course, the wingnuts have taken this as gospel and still do to this day, despite Obama showing proof he’s a citizen and how silly the idea is that the entire GOP, U.S. bureaucracy, his opponents in the Democratic party, and media creature is in on the scam.

Now I don’t know if it would have stayed a wingnut fringe theory - the “Birthers” - had Trump not made it part of his Twitter persona, but here we are. He even claimed to have hired a private investigator who gathered irrefutable proof that Obama was born elsewhere. However, he never put up, just adding to the perception that he’s a proliferate liar.

At a White House Press Dinner, Obama poked fun at Trump for pulling this shit and if you go back to look at the footage, Trump looks like someone shit in his punch. He was pissed because he cannot handle someone mocking him. So, when 2016 rolled around, he decided to run for the Republican nomination for president.

If y’all remember, there was like 17 incredibly unlikable politicians running for the Republican nod. Seriously, Ted Cruz and Scott Walker, that’s who was running. Over on the Democratic side, Hilary Clinton edged out Bernie Sanders for the nod. We’re not going to argue anything about that, we’re just going to roll with reality.

So, it wound up Trump and Hillary, and we know how that all worked out. Again, we’re not going to argue the particulars on this. Trump won, by hook or by crook, he became the president. Now. What people want to say is that he and his actions and policies are the reason the rise in white nationalism, anti-immigrant sentiment, antisemitism, and general buttholery we’re seeing among the Right. Even Joe Biden thinks things will “get back to normal” with Trump gone.

He’s not the cause. He’s a symptom. The reason he was elected is because his campaign resonated with the absolute dregs of our culture. People who were pissed about people of color and women taking their due place in society. People who’re furious about LGBT just existing. People who cannot imagine an American not run by rich white guys.

And they are assholes, believe you me. They get off on pulling shit like the above nonsense - remember that; it takes a while but I get back to the topic at hand eventually - being mean to people who aren’t in the position to fight back. That’s how they see things as the “way it should be”. That’s what America is to them.

And that’s why they love Trump. They’ve been thirsting for a guy like this at least since Reagan. Bush Junior was supposed to be this guy, but I truly think his reportedly sincere Christian faith prevented it. For the movers and shakers, Trump is a useful tool. For the great unwashed, Trump is the strong-arm asshole of a leader they’ve been waiting on since Rush Limbaugh first told them how it was all the fault of liberals giving your hard-earned guns to the black lesbian intellectuals.

So. I’m tired of writing, but I think this pretty much makes the nut. What can we do? Vote. Vote in this upcoming election, vote in 2020 and keep voting. Not voting basically means you’re fine with the rich bastards running things. You’re not sending them a message that they suck; you’re sending them a message that you’re sheep. Stay informed, bug the hell out of your elected representatives and get as involved as you can on a local level.

Okay, I’m done except for one thing. Remember: nothing in the above is “fake news” even if it would hurt Trump’s feelings. Look it up on your own and deal with reality not being as cut-and-dried as we’d like. If you’re so inclined to try to argue me down for whatever reason, feel free to suck my farts, cry more and die mad, fanboy.

#the blind idiot god #the cult of 45 #people being assholes #2020 election

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loudlytransparenttrash · 7 years ago

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The 99.9% of Muslims Aren’t Extremists Myth

A number of what I can only hope are well-intentioned people, including Barack Obama, have claimed that the Islamic State and other militant radical groups have practically no support among Muslims and only one percent of Muslims worldwide hold extreme views. In response to a question of why his administration avoided using the phrase, “Islamic terrorists,” Obama responded by saying the vast overwhelming majority of Muslims reject radical interpretations of Islam, distinguishing between those with extreme views and the remaining “99.9 percent of Muslims.”

Every day we are told that Islamist terrorism has nothing to do with Islam. They say the causes of al Qaeda and ISIS are not Islamic and we are told to align ourselves with the 99.9 percent of Muslims who are looking for the same thing we're looking for. But is it true that 99.9 percent of Muslims don't support extremism? I understand the desire to believe this and the optimism expressed in such a claim, but what is the evidence for it? Our feelings? It’s what our Muslim college friend told us? What about major research and polling organizations who have repeatedly shown a very different picture?

There are two main arguments that are in significant need of addressing. The first is against the claim that the beliefs and goals of al Qaeda and ISIS are not Islamic. The truth is, those who repeat this lie don’t actually know much about Islam, especially the liberal teenage Hillary supporting Muslims living in California who want to call everything and anything Islamophobic. It may sound surprising but most of them don’t even speak Arabic and haven’t read the Quran and only choose fragments of the Quran to follow, they only know what they hear from their parents and their Mullahs, and so most of them think the radical Islam actions are against Muhammad's teaching and Islam does not support these things.

Why are they ignorant about their own religion? Because the interpretations of Islam and most of the Quran verses are very vague which leaves the door open to multiple interpretations, none technically being more correct or incorrect than the other, all equally Islamic. Most people don’t bother to do a little research or read some books since they can easily be refuted, so they will usually say “do your praying and that’s good enough, if you look any deeper into Islam, it will just be confusing.” The ones who actually do the research and learn the history of their religion and the meaning of their scripture, usually they become one of these three things:

They become horrified and either become non-religious and abandon the faith. They become “reform” supporters who try to focus on the good side of Islam while wanting to repeal and move on from the violent and oppressive ideas of Islam. Or they become terrorists.

It’s easy to say the extremists are taking the Quran out of context but who’s to say their interpretation is wrong? Are you saying there are no calls for death, violence, torture and extremism in the Quran? It’s only love and peace? Give me a break. There are hundreds of Islamic scholars and clerics all studying the context and none of them can agree on one interpretation and amongst them are both moderates and terrorist leaders. There is no Islamic world leader like the Pope who can set the record straight so every Muslim has their own interpretation of being a good Muslim, and their ideas simply cannot be called un-Islamic as they have taken their interpretations from the exact same book and the exact same scripture. That’s why Dr. Shabir Ally can talk about the fair nature of Islam while the leader of ISIS - who also has a PhD in Islamic and Quranic studies - is running a campaign of terror in the name of Allah. There isn’t a moderate version and a terror version of the Quran, it comes from the same book and they are legitimately interpreting and practicing what it says. Everything terrorists are doing today is what Muhammad and his men have already done and it’s all there within the Quran and Hadiths. To deny the link between terrorism and Islam is to deny there is no link between belief and behavior and that my friend, is to deny yourself rationality and impartiality.

Now the other argument that is all too often being regurgitated is the myth of 99.9 percent of Muslims do not support extremism. As anyone who cares enough or has the courage to admit, Islam has a problem with extremism but it’s more than just terrorism, it’s extremism as a whole and it’s about time we have an open, honest and fact-based conversation about it. Our society has evolved to a point where we can have a civilized debate about almost anything, except what may be the most important issue of our time - the rise of radical Islam. The left somehow feel worried that they're going to be called racist if they criticize an ideology but it’s this fear of being called a racist that has caused many people to act against their better judgment and it has lead to the cost of innocent lives.

People have become afraid of reporting suspicious activity in fear of being called a racist. The perfect examples being San Bernardino and the most recent Manchester bombing. Political correctness seems to have cost people their lives yet nothing changes. Freedom of speech is supposed to be a liberal principle but today’s liberals bury that basic right the moment Islam is mentioned. Muslims don’t need to be defended by teenage girls with blue mohawks or ISIS roleplaying “anti-fascists,” they need to be protected from the radicals in their own religion who want them dead along with the rest of us.

There are about 1.6 billion Muslims, in fact there’s probably a lot less since in almost every Muslim country it’s illegal to denounce Islam. There’s almost a billion less Muslims in the world than Christians yet most of the terrorism in the world today involves Islam in one way or another. Obviously, not all Muslims are terrorists, in fact a small percentage are, I agree, but how many hold extremist views and beliefs? How many could you say are as peaceful as Obama and left-wing activists want us to believe? This is significant because when we are considering even small percentages of the Muslim world, then we are still talking about tens, if not hundreds of millions of people. This is especially concerning when we consider the different types of Islamic extremism and what they mean for us.

There are three main categories of Islamic extremism. The left automatically jump in at this point screaming “they’re not all terrorists!” but they have to understand that when we are talking about extremism and Islam, we are not just talking about just terrorism, we are identifying and talking about the very specific extreme ideas of this particular ideology, which creates the link between belief and behavior. It has nothing to do with race and it’s so much bigger than just terrorism. Terrorism is the result of dangerous fundamentals and it’s those fundamentals we are talking about when criticizing Islam. It’s not racist or xenophobic. It’s critical analysis.

First we have the jihadists. These are people who wake up in the morning wanting to kill apostates, they believe paradise is waiting for them if they kill infidels, they believe in martyrdom and global Islamic domination. Jihadists are organizations like ISIS, al Qaeda, Boko Haram, Hezbollah, Hamas and the various jihadi lone wolves who murder people in San Bernardino, Texas, Paris, Belgium, Jerusalem, Ottawa, Madrid, New York, London, Boston, Sydney, Orlando, to name a few. It’s these “bad apples” that the left only focus on when defending Islamic ideology, they say because only a tiny minority of Muslims actually commit terrorism, it’s no reflection on Islam. But Islam extremism doesn’t stop with terrorism, it’s only the tip of the Islamic iceberg.

Next we have the Islamists. These are people who are just as convinced of martyrdom and global Islamic domination but they are more willing to work within the system, they're aren’t yet prepared to blow themselves up on a bus, they instead want to overtake governments and use democracy against itself. Islamists want many of the same things as the jihadis, it's just that their tactics differ so instead of engaging in terror themselves, they use the political and social systems to further their aims. Perfect examples are the Palestinians who voted terrorist group Hamas into power and the Egyptians who in 2012 elected the Muslim Brotherhood into power. The Muslim Brotherhood have not hid the their stated goal of establishing a global Islamic state run in accordance with Sharia law. Another Islamist group that’s actually on our doorstep in North America, CAIR, has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and has been listed as a terror organization. CAIR presents itself as a moderate civil rights group representing the interests Muslims in America. They pop up often in the media calling everything Islamophobic and getting every film or ad they don’t like shut down. This is who Linda Sarsour is working for when she continuously tries to convince young American women that Sharia law is so cool and progressive and the sad part is, it’s actually working.

The third category of Islamic extremism are the fundamentalists. It’s this group that the left ignores the most in order to keep the numbers as low as possible when trying to debate the percentage of peaceful Muslims and those who don’t hold any extremist views. Sadly, Islamic fundamentalists come in the masses. They hold views about human rights, women and homosexuals that are deeply troubling and the people who should be concerned the most are feminist, LGBT and left-wing activists but we get the exact opposite reaction from them.

In a 2013 Pew Research poll of Muslims around the world, they found only 57 percent had an unfavorable view of Al-Qaeda and only half had an unfavorable view of the Taliban. 13 percent of respondents declared outright support or favorability for Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The Pew numbers showed remarkable consistency when they came out with their 2015 poll that focused on Muslim responses to the “Islamic State.” In an average of ten primarily Muslim nations sampled in that poll, Pew demonstrated alarmingly high percentages of either outright support for ISIS or many respondents who were undecided on how they felt about the world’s largest terrorist organization. In Pakistan for example, just 28 percent of Muslims were against ISIS. In Nigeria, 34 percent of respondents either saw ISIS favorably or undecided how they felt about them, in Turkey the number was 27 percent, in Indonesia 22 percent, in Malaysia 36 percent, and in Senegal it was 40 percent. In total, only half of all Muslims polled throughout Islamic countries rejected ISIS and other terror organizations.

When asked if religious judges should decide family and property disputes using Sharia law which includes being sentenced to lashings, being stoned to death and hung for crimes committed ranging from dating a non-Muslim, talking to a man or being gay, between 66 and 94 percent of Muslims in 10 Sharia countries said they supported it. An average of 81 percent of Muslims in South Asia and 57 percent of Middle East - North Africa Muslims support cutting off the hands of thieves and while 76 percent of Muslims in South Asia and 56 percent of Muslims in the Middle East - North Africa support the execution of those who convert from Islam to another faith. When you take the average from all the Muslims surveyed around the world, an average of 27 percent believe that apostates should be executed, 39 percent of all Muslims believe that honor killings can be a justifiable punishment for a woman who has had pre-or extramarital sex while 42 percent of French Muslims, 35 percent of British Muslims and 26 percent of American Muslims, 39 percent of Palestinian Muslims, 29 percent of Egyptian Muslims, 39 percent of Afghani Muslims, 26 percent of Bangladesh Muslims, 18 percent of Malaysian Muslims, 15 percent of Turkish Muslims believe suicide bombings against non-muslims can be justified. Is none of this extremism? Is this just “cultural differences?” How exactly did the left come up with the 99.9 percent figure?

In South-Eastern Europe, 88 percent of Muslims say homosexuality is morally wrong, same applies to 95 percent of Muslims in Southeast Asia, 89 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa, 82 percent in the Middle East - North Africa and 80 percent in Central Asia. 51 percent of Turkish Muslims living in Germany believe that homosexuality is an illness. As for sex outside of marriage, 94 percent of Muslims in the Middle East - North Africa and Southeast Asia and 87 percent in South Asia want it illegal. As for women’s rights, 93 percent of Muslims in Southeast Asia, 88 percent in South Asia, 87 percent in the Middle East - North Africa, 70 percent in Central Asia and 43 percent of Muslims in South-Eastern Europe believe women must not have the right of choice, she must obey her husband and she must cover herself. Only 25 percent of Muslims in the middle East - North Africa believe daughters should be paid inheritance equally, Jordan 25 percent, Iraq 22 percent, Morocco 15 percent and Tunisia 15 percent believe daughters should be paid and treated equally.

36 percent of 16 to 24-year-old British Muslims believe converts to another religion should be punished by death. 13 percent of 16 to 24-year-old British Muslims "admire organizations like al-Qaeda that are prepared to fight the West” and 58 percent believe that "many of the problems in the world today are a result of arrogant Western attitudes.” 40% feel it is unacceptable for Muslim men and women to mix freely. Two thirds of British Muslims say they wouldn’t alert police if another Muslim joined ISIS, one in four British Muslims want British law replaced with Sharia law, one in four British Muslims say terrorism is justifiable, 100,000 British Muslims sympathize with suicide bombers, over thirty percent of British Muslims believe violence against anyone who mocks the Prophet is justified, half of British Muslims believe homosexuality should be illegal, forty percent believe wives should submit to their husband and five percent agree with stoning cheaters to death. This whole 99.99 thing isn’t quite stacking up now, is it?

it is not just Pew reporting such findings, as a number of other polls have demonstrated similarly depressing results. Consider the 2015 survey by ORB International which found that 22 percent of Syrians see the Islamic State as having a positive influence on their country. A 2011 MacDonald Laurier Institute Poll found 35 percent of Canadian Muslims would not oppose al-Qaeda. A 2015 Metropoll that found that 20 percent of Turks supported the slaughter of Charlie Hebdo staffers and cartoonists. A 2015 poll by The Polling Company CSP Poll showed that 37 percent of Muslim-Americans viewed ISIS beliefs as Islamic or correct and 33 percent said the same about al-Qaeda.

So what other evidence might one point to as a justification for the 99.9 percent claim? None. While it’s easy to prove against the firm assertion of ISIS and extremism having practically no support in the Islamic world, which has been repeated by most western politicians and leftist activists, I am not suggesting that most Muslims agree with the extremists in their faith, only that the extremists represent a much, much larger and more troubling minority than anyone on the left will ever be willing to admit so it continues to be swept under the rug and never talked about. It denies reality and does nothing to address the endless problems described above or aid those Muslims who are making efforts to combat a very real problem among their co-religionists and one that ultimately impacts us all, Muslim or non-Muslim. We have a deadly virus that is spreading rapidly and will soon be out of our control, we have to identify the virus honestly and openly and fight against it while we still can. We have to start being honest about Islam.

#islam

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news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog · 8 years ago

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That 'paid protester' is actually your mom, and she's taking over Facebook to fight Trump

In the past few months, Facebook has transformed from the platform we love to hate to the platform we still love to hate but unfortunately find useful.

And while millennials poke fun of their parents' social media naïveté (sorry, dad), the charge appears to be led, in part, by red-state parents and otherwise non-traditional protesters who now are posting constantly and organizing rapidly under the group Indivisible.

Members of the GOP might label this "tea party of the left" as "radical," "left-wing," "anarchist" or "paid protesters," but these members know who they are: librarians. Teachers. Veterans. Nurses. Your moms.

SEE ALSO: What to do when you're so overwhelmed by the Trump presidency you can barely move

There's a stereotype about the modern protester that's proven hard to shake: the whiney, internet-savvy highly educated socialist coastal liberal who wants nothing more than to destroy capitalism and replace it with Lena Dunham.

The current face of the resistance to the Donald Trump administration and its policies, however, is more diverse (and largely female-led) than some GOP senators would have you believe.

"I've never protested anything before," Liz P., an Indivisible member in Alabama says.

Indivisible, the coalition of 5,802 anti-Trump grassroots groups that rapidly organized after the election, gave her a platform.

"I'm from Alabama. We never even talked about politics around here before, it's kind of a social survival thing."

Overwhelmed by Trump and the daily barrage of threats they feel he poses to the American democracy, these "violent paid protesters" got together on platforms millennials thought their parents didn't understand — Facebook, Slack, and Twitter — and did something about it.

They'd like people to know they're not quite the radical left-wing extremists Marco Rubio and others say they are. And they definitely aren't paid to protest.

They come from deep red states

Sara Anderson of West Viriginia

Image: Sara Anderson

Americans love nothing more than dividing themselves into a FiveThirtyEight map: red or blue, Clinton or Trump, facts or alternative facts.

Some of the loudest voices of the resistance aren't from blue states at all, but from places like West Virginia, which Trump won by a margin so large we'll just hyperlink it.

Sara Anderson lives in Morgantown, West Virginia, a blue speck in the heart of Trump country. Since she since started organizing after the election, first on Pantsuit Nation West Virginia and then on Indivisible, she's started to see members pop up from everywhere.

"We've had women from Pocahontas County, a beautiful, rural, Trump county, drive hours to Charleston to make it to a meeting. They connected on the Indivisible page. They're doing what they can to find each other."

Users sometimes take advantage of the Indivisible map to discover grassroots groups in their state. All the way over in Northwest Arkansas, a Muslim woman in a red state, whose name we've abbreviated to A.P., was thankful to connect to anti-Trump neighbors she didn't even know existed.

"I got involved shortly after inauguration when I heard of the Indivisible groups popping up all over the nation. I live in the South in a very red state so I doubted there was one near me," A.P. says. "As a Muslim American, I felt more lonely than ever. But ,lo and behold, thank goodness, there was one nearby."

A.P. admitted that she's nervous to share some of her story, as a Muslim woman living in a Trump-friendly state. But she's glad she doesn't have to experience this administration alone.

They could otherwise be confused for a Trump voter

It's no surprise that A.P. thought she wouldn't find allies in her state. If you read the post-election hot takes, Trump supporters, we came to understand, were white, married, working-class, highly religious, and liked to eat their steak well done.

The Women's March itself, the largest protest in U.S. history by some tallies, was led by women of color (after significant backlash). Many of the "paid protesters" showing up at these town halls, however, look like they'd fit in one of the typical Trump voter categories.

Kim Holmes from Huntsville, Alabama, checks off all of these boxes: She's a married, white heterosexual woman from a deep red state with three kids and a job in marketing. But she also has a gay son, who helped to make her aware of people whose life experiences were dramatically different from her own. She wants her children to be involved in politics so that "they will be comfortable with it as adults."

"I think I used an Obama Presidency as my safety net, so I didn't feel the need to be super active in the political sphere. But now the safety net for marginalized communities is gone and I suddenly feel the weight of my privilege as a white women in a heterosexual marriage with middle class means," Holmes says.

Kim Holmes (Center) and two of her kids in Huntsville, Alabama

Image: kim holmes

Holmes alone doesn't change the data of who voted this election, and which candidate they voted for. But she's actively looking to find "non-traditional" protesters — even former Trump voters — and get them involved in the cause.

They're addicted to Facebook, they're blowing up on Twitter, and they even like Slack

Kim and others like her stressed that they're dependent on Facebook for their organizing, as much they sometimes resist it. Kristin Moline, another Indivisible organizer and nurse and a veteran, didn't want to get on Facebook or Twitter. She barely even maintained her accounts. Now, Moline says, "she's fomenting the resistance from my cellphone," and had to buy a new computer to help her organize post-election.

Moline didn't think much of social media until she started organizing after Trump's election. When she learned that her congressperson was holding his town hall across the state (400 miles away from their district's largest population center), she drove 12 hours round trip and filmed her experience for Twitter, where it quickly blew up and made headlines.

"I only got on Facebook six months ago, I only started to use Twitter three weeks ago and my life is going off right now," Moline said, who now manages a group of over 3,000 members. "I'm able to take a leadership role because of Twitter."

Indivisible reports that the page has already received 17.23 million page views in just two months alone.

Nothing (besides everything they're fighting against) makes them madder than being called 'paid protesters'

Though their concerns were diverse, from protecting the Affordable Care Act to investigating Trump's potential ties to the Kremlin, nothing unified these women more than their resentment as being dismissed as "paid protesters."

"I'm a stay at home mom and I'm doing this out of my own time and effort," Leigh Altman, organizer of one of the Indivisible chapters in North Carolina, says. "Without exception, these are hardworking ordinary citizens. The paid protester thing is a testament to how desperate [the opposition] are. They'll come up with any face-saving lie to try and explain a spontaneous groundswell from the people that we've never seen before."

Leigh Altman organized a town hall when her own Senator, Thom Thillis, wouldn't show up to one

Image: Leigh altman

While there are some people who are paid to organize, not "protest for pay," all of these women strenuously asserted that they had little to gain financially by organizing.

Lorena Johnson, a citizen and formerly undocumented immigrant from Mexico, is truly embarrassed that her representatives allege that she's motivated by money. She'd like her senators to know she's here for a different reason.

Lorena Johnson and her family

Image: lorena johnson

"I'm here because I remember what it was like to be an undocumented immigrant. I knew how people feel. You are are always scared you will be caught [and] deported. You're hiding. I lived here for a year without documents and I remember what it's like to suffer ... So I'm speaking up because I have to tell this story. Now."

Note: Names in this piece are abbreviated to protect the subject's identity, per their requests.

WATCH: Here's a clip of Kellyanne Conway's previous (and mercifully brief) career in stand-up comedy

#_author:Heather Dockray #_uuid:252ab180-baa5-308d-927c-446ef1e81abf #_lmsid:a0Vd000000DTrEpEAL #_revsp:news.mashable

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wandashifflett · 4 years ago

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Ann Coulter: C’mon, let’s take out Mitch McConnell in November

I won’t be participating in the effort but I think it’s a fine idea to start the post-election party bloodletting early. Until something changes meaningfully about the pandemic and/or Trump’s approach to it, there’s nothing to say about November. Trump’s on track to lose, probably badly. And if he does, there’ll be an unholy cyclone of recriminations followed by a power struggle over what a post-Trump GOP should look like.

Why wait? Start the purges now.

Coulter’s effort is actually a counter-purge. McConnell’s the one trying to purge Kris Kobach by spending big money against him in the Kansas Senate primary. He tried to recruit Kansas native Mike Pompeo to run for that seat but Pompeo ended up passing. Kobach is the biggest name left in the field, with his only real competition coming from GOP Rep. Roger Marshall. Cocaine Mitch has at least three reasons to dislike him. One is that Kobach’s a populist, a stalwart border hawk who wasn’t above taking a sustained interest in Barack Obama’s birth certificate back in the day. People like that aren’t as easily controlled by McConnell inside the caucus as establishmentarians are.

Two is that Kobach’s proved he’s capable of losing a big statewide race against a Democrat, falling five points short in the gubernatorial election in 2018 — in Kansas. He’s not Roy Moore but he’s Moore-ish in the sense that he seems to have already alienated enough of his state’s Republican majority to make what should be an easy victory in a red state needlessly competitive.

Three is that McConnell knows what the GOP is up against this fall. Even Kansas isn’t safe from turning blue if you believe Republican internal polling. Kobach is an especially risky choice in a climate like that. The GOP may still have a modicum of influence over the Senate next year if Democrats end up with a narrow majority since centrists like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema will be wary of left-wing policy programs, but every seat that’s added to Schumer’s margin gives a would-be President Biden more room for defections.

So … why not turn Kentucky blue too by electing Democrat Amy McGrath and let ’em go hog wild?

Three million dollars is a big ad buy in a rural state like Kansas:

After CNN reported on the effort Monday night, [Plains PAC] publicly announced its plans on Tuesday morning, attacking Kobach’s record and saying his loss in the 2018 gubernatorial race means he can’t win a Senate race in November. The group said it will launch a multimedia campaign — worth $3 million — with its first ad emphasizing Kobach’s “ties to white nationalists.”

“Kris Kobach gave Kansans the most liberal governor in our history,” Plains PAC Executive Director CJ Grover said in a statement. “Kansas Republicans support President Trump and his positive vision for America, but not Kobach’s consistent affiliation with a toxic ideology explicitly rejected by the President and Kansans of all stripes. Plains PAC’s mission is to remind primary voters why a vote for Kobach is too big a risk for our future.”…

The group’s media buyer, Mentzer Media Services, has worked on behalf of Republicans, including Senate candidates and the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC affiliated with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Kobach’s campaign called the “white nationalist” charge garbage, stressing that they immediately severed ties with an independent contractor when they found out he held those views.

Coulter’s probably right that the only way to teach establishment dark-money groups to stay out of primaries is to take a scalp from one of their heroes. If McConnell gets to scalp-hunt, populists get to scalp-hunt too. An obvious distinction is that Plains PAC is hunting in a primary whereas Coulter’s going nuclear by hunting in a general election, with a Democrat the direct beneficiary of the “Stop Mitch” push. But a Democrat will benefit indirectly in Kansas from the PAC’s gambit against Kobach if he emerges as the nominee anyway, since the “white nationalist” stuff might stick to him in the general election campaign. And if the attacks on him work and Marshall ends up winning the primary, it’s an open question how many disgruntled Kobach fans will turn out for Marshall in the fall after their guy was savaged. Seems like a clusterfark in the making no matter what happens, which is very on-brand for the GOP in 2020.

As for Trump, he’s been quiet about this race as far as I’m aware. No doubt he’d prefer Kobach over Marshall, but (a) he’s probably spooked by Kobach’s dismal showing in 2018 and doesn’t want to gamble any of his own political cred on him and (b) McConnell’s doubtless begging him to hold off on endorsing, knowing that Trump declaring his support for Kobach might decide the primary. If anything, Mitch probably has Trump lined up to campaign for Marshall in case he defeats Kobach, as maybe only POTUS has the juice to convince Kobach voters not to hold a grudge against the nominee.

Given the way things are going for Trump right now, I wonder if Marshall would even want that endorsement. Better to keep his distance, run his own race, and trust that Kansas Republicans who turn out for Trump against Biden will pull the lever for him too, however reluctantly.

Anyway, before the purges begin, I think it’s heartwarming that ardent populists like Coulter are capable of aligning with ardent anti-Trumpers like the folks at the Lincoln Project (George Conway, Rick Wilson) in a common cause. The LP is trying to sink McConnell and other Republican senators as punishment for their years of loyalty to the president. Now here’s Coulter trying to sink McConnell as punishment for his years of machinations against populists. Together, the sky’s the limit on the number of red Senate seats these two rascally factions might potentially flip this fall. Two ads here for your enjoyment. Our unity is our strength.

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from Rayfield Review News https://therayfield.com/ann-coulter-cmon-lets-take-out-mitch-mcconnell-in-november from The Ray Field https://therayfieldreview.tumblr.com/post/623423616122552320

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therayfieldreview · 4 years ago

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Ann Coulter: C’mon, let’s take out Mitch McConnell in November

Why wait? Start the purges now.

So … why not turn Kentucky blue too by electing Democrat Amy McGrath and let ’em go hog wild?

Three million dollars is a big ad buy in a rural state like Kansas:

Kobach’s campaign called the “white nationalist” charge garbage, stressing that they immediately severed ties with an independent contractor when they found out he held those views.

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from Rayfield Review News https://therayfield.com/ann-coulter-cmon-lets-take-out-mitch-mcconnell-in-november

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rfhusnik · 6 years ago

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Remember: You’ll Do The Work, And You’ll Pay The Bills

Written By: Steven Fillmore

For many years I tried to more or less keep my mouth shut. I got up every morning and went to work. But, as a recent retiree, I’ve become very concerned about the future of The United States of America. And I don’t think the majority of Americans today realize the potentially perilous position that their dismissive attitude toward illegal immigration will most likely place their children and grandchildren in in years to come.

And as far as I can see, there are three dangerous points of view now “setting up” America for tragic consequences in years to come. First, there are those Americans who think they’ll be able to keep themselves isolated from the increasing number of Hispanics now living either legally or illegally in their nation. These are the people who illegally pay for various services, such as their children’s education, and build walls around their property, yet don’t want our nation to build a wall to protect its current poorer inhabitants. And by the way, why is it that every time a proposed border wall or border shutdown is mentioned in the media, only negative things are said? Second, there are those who believe God will provide an answer to illegal immigration. And they also believe that the Almighty won’t allow a Hispanic majority to harm or misuse non-Hispanic minorities in the years to come. And then there is that third group which says it cares about the future of the U.S.A. It has grave concerns it says, about environmental issues. But rest assured, environmental concerns will take a back seat in importance to future Americans if those Americans are no longer able to live freely because what once had been a class of illegal aliens now controls their very lives.

And, in the midst of these future fears, like most elderly white men, I’ve paid a price for the concept of white supremacy, though I never believed in it; and, if the truth be told, often wondered if a fair amount of those who said they believed in it actually did, or were simply using that bogus concept as a tool to stir up some excitement in what otherwise would have been very boring existences. But then, maybe dad was right. He told me I’d amount to nothing someday.

Yet, with that said, I can’t lie now and say that life has gotten better for white American males over the span of my lifetime – oh no! And it seems that this fact has become especially noticeable over the last ten to fifteen years. And here are some examples of what I mean. Today, America’s heroes aren’t the people who work to keep the nation functioning. No, today we look up instead to such people who are able to enter our country illegally, and then live off the fruit of the labors of this nation’s working class. And today white American males are pretty much automatically held in disdain by many women and members of other races.

Nonetheless, I’m in a reflective mood today. Thus, I hope I won’t ramble (too much) in this piece. And, let me tell you that this is the last time Steven Fillmore will appear as a writer of these posts. And I’ve informed my city’s mayor, Ralph Hawk, who compiles these writings, of that fact. And Ralph said he was sorry to hear that, but admitted that he can probably find several other people from our city who’ll be willing, able, and probably glad to hold forth here.

So, anyway, today I’m thinking back to forty some years spent working in this city’s main factory, and how yesterday, a few days after I retired from the workforce, I heard some liberal legislators say that most white males of my age actually wasted their lives. And how did we waste them? Apparently during our working years we didn’t do enough to help socialists, communists, fascists, criminals, drug users, illegal aliens, deeply indebted college graduates, feminists who weren’t living out the full feminist dream, so-called dreamers, gay, lesbian, and transgender activists, animal rights activists, environmental activists - and especially those of that group who want to ban cows and airplanes, as well as pass a number of other asinine dictatorial laws, members of Congress whose vocabulary seems to be limited to the word impeachment, members of Congress who dress as foreigners, and members of Congress who all dress in the same color for special events, just like the brown shirts did many years ago when they conducted their business in a Reichstag that was trending toward Nazism.

And, of course the American liberal media concurs with that afore - mentioned assessment of America’s working class. And it makes sure that everyone knows that during our lifetimes people such as myself didn’t care enough about the poor and downtrodden; but more importantly than even that, feared what an invasion of foreigners seeking to end what had been the American way of life would do to the legacy and wealth we hoped to leave our heirs.

Thus, I’m leaving these words as a very troubled soul. I only pray that the youth of America will reject the socialism and near communism which already we see being peddled by most of those who so far have announced their candidacies for president in the next election.

And we know that a portion of America’s youth will be, and already has been taken in by the ridiculous promises which left-wingers have, and will continue to make. But the postulation that the rich should pay their fair share in taxes is truthful, yet is easier said than done. Few know of, or take the time to learn of how dollars sheltered from taxes often, in the long run, do more for the American economy than do those confiscated via taxation, and then wasted on government frivolities such as conspiracy investigations which investigate the innocent, and allow those who may really be guilty of what’s being investigated to appear blameless, even though those of that second group are probably the same individuals who got the phony investigation started in the first place, and perhaps used America’s highest information gathering unit to aid them in that quest.

And it’s difficult to leave when it’s known that soon Americans will be bombarded by left-wing campaign ads promoting various presidential candidates. And we know that soon the youth of America will be severely tested. It will have all sorts of financially impossible promises made to it such as: Everyone should have a free college education, airplanes should be banned (can you even begin to imagine the negative impact of this!), cows should be banned – this will do wonders for America’s agricultural sector – especially when the large numbers of Hispanics whom the leftists apparently wish to have enter our country have found the livestock industry to be one of only a very few industries which actively seeks them as workers. And, the list of crack-pot ideas which already have been floated by many potential candidates for president goes on and on.

Thus, before the snowball of lunacy which no doubt will descend upon us in the months ahead reaches its full speed, I’d like all Americans, but especially young Americans to remember that nothing is ever given away, or accepted in a completely free fashion. A price is always paid; and under socialist and communist leadership, a despised lower working class always toils to benefit bureaucrats, even though socialists and communists tell the masses that the exact opposite is the true experience under their way of life. So, don’t be fooled in the upcoming presidential election. Don’t vote for someone who’ll keep you working to support him or herself, while he or she keeps right on importing more people into this nation who’ll also lessen your paycheck amount through their welfare needs.

And, as a final sign off here, I want to say that I’m aware of course that the dictatorship of the right (fascism) can be as destructive to human rights as that of the dictatorship of the left (communism). But only people who deserve to live freely will live freely. Ask yourself, “If my car died on the roadway tomorrow, would I simply leave it there, run away to the north, and not care about it anymore? And would I leave others to deal with its obstruction?” Those questions, though simplistic, are probably dually pertinent at this time. First, if something is wrong in my nation, do I simply run away to where other people can take care of me? And second, will I allow myself to be conned by politicians, either young or old, or male or female, who should know that the policies they’re advocating will be disastrous for America, yet pursue them anyway �� apparently only to appease their own large egos.

Anything that’s wrong in a capitalist America can be fixed in a capitalist America. But there are a few facts to be faced. No economic system is inherently fair. Some people will always need to do the blue and white collar jobs that will need to be done. And if those people are forced to labor under a system which takes too much from them and then gives too much to criminals, illegal aliens, or government officials who don’t understand the importance of fiscal responsibility, then the entire society will have serious problems.

And remember, don’t be intimidated by old or young male or female presidential candidates. All of them have one thing in common; they want to shake their fingers at you and tell you what a bigot and destroyer of the environment you are, and have been, and, especially so if you’re white and male. And remember also, while they’re chasing their socialist dreams, such as giving freebies to non-workers, trying to end the airplane and livestock industries, severely altering the American way of life for the worse, and importing more foreigners who’ll live off your labor today, and perhaps confiscate your heirs’ wealth in the future; you’ll be the people who’ll be doing the work which always needs to be done in any society, be its economic system capitalist, socialist, communist, fascist, feudal, monarchical, or whatever. Yes, you’ll do the work, and you’ll pay the bills, but they’ll continue to devastate America and its way of life.

And also, you may say this is crazy, and hopefully it will prove to be false, but what will America be like when Hispanics are the majority ethnic group in it? Will they abide by the laws and ways of life which traditionally have been the foundations of The United States of America? Or will they pursue their own agenda, using their majority status to elect Hispanic candidates to national office, including perhaps the presidency, and then use their political power to severely restrict whites and blacks, and, who knows, perhaps confiscate their lands and wealth, and perhaps even enslave them?

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