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#ive also been like listening to it like crazy since november for no reason
lwveless · 2 years
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i loooove hard feelings/loveless but like since 2019 it's been consistently hard to listen to
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mrs-jake-blues · 3 years
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Hey! I'm one of the anons that's been sending you questions!! I know for a fact that I'm not the only person sending you anonymous asks. That means you've got at least two or more people sending you asks! Most of my asks have been questions about John. I've been watching SNL for a quite a few years now, but I'm just now kind of getting into the behind-the-scenes of SNL. For example, books that are written, other shows and movies that feature the cast, and so on and so forth. I'm just very curious about everything! Unfortunately, I live in an area that's kind of in the middle of nowhere. The closest town to me has maybe seven buildings in it - a police department, a fire department, a mom-and-pop grocery store, one of those old-fashioned pharmacies with a soda fountain that also doubles as the only restaurant in town, a very small library, a gas station, and a post office. Most of the books in the library are history books of the US or the very common pop fiction books. There's absolutely nothing about SNL in the library. The second closest town is actually a city with loads of stuff to do, but I can't afford to drive all the way to the city all the time, especially since it's over an hour away. There's actually a large network of libraries in the city and at one point they considered putting the library in my town into the network, but most of the rest of the people in my town refused for reasons I do not understand. I haven't had a chance to really explore the SNL books from the large library network yet, but I plan on doing so when I can! I'm pretty sure the Belushi book you mentioned is at the large library. I have thought about reading books online, but I'm very old-fashioned in the sense that I like to actually hold books. I have also thought about straight up buying the books, but if I change my mind it's hard for me to return them. I didn't realize how long this message was getting! Sorry! Before I leave though, are there any other books you recommend about John or SNL? Or even any documentaries or movies? I know to avoid the W*red video at all costs.
Dude this is wild I thought you all were the same person now I’m confused 😭. I’ll occasionally get anons about John but this is like crazy how many I’m getting and lowkey maybe thought it was someone fucking with me but that makes more sense but I appreciate your asks. I’m glad you know to avoid Wired haha. But Belushi by Judy and Samurai Widow also by Judy are must haves. The documentary that came out in November Belushi is amazing. If you can find it online, there’s a mini documentary about John with interviews with everyone on his “Best Of” DVD and I love it. There’s also “It’s Always Something” by Gilda which I’ve yet to read and the documentary “Love Gilda” which I’ve had yet to watch but heard is amazing! I think there’s a book about the first five years? And Jane has a book but I don’t wanna read that because I’m not a fan and Ive heard the whole thing is her being miss holier than thou and really negative so 😕. Laraine bas a book but I think it’s only audio book? I really wanna read/listen to it because I adore her and her stories about John make me 🥺🥺🥺 because she loved him so much and I wanna know if she talks about banging Dan 👀 lmao. But thanks for your asks, hey, I know with bigger blogs that get a ton of asks they have regular anons put like a little emoji with their names so maybe you could do that so I know which anon you are haha! Cause I thought you were all the same person 😭 And if you ever wanna talk about John my dms are always open!
Also sorry if I came across as rude when I said you should read belushi last night, I was in a bad mood I’m sorry :(
Also edit: your town sounds cool as hell, I wish we had a pharmacy slash soda fountain instead of all these hipster places we have here.
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volgotha · 4 years
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Holy shit I just read your text post I'm so sorry! How are people so easily sold on bullshit??? What happened that lead up to all that?
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Okay, strap yourself in. I’m only typing this mess up once more and then I’m never mentioning it again as long as I live. I’m not going to tag it with anything relevant either so once its posted, i’m letting it get lost in the sea of reblogs. Here we go, warning; this is gon be long.
In 2006 I went to college. From 2006 to 2009 I hung out with 5 friends and my bf at the time, Andre. It was in 2007 that we started to poke our heads into the 2C11 room (the clubspace room). Matt and his best friend Jogn Carlo started coming with us to Rocky Horror, a thing only myself and two of my 5 friends would do together, along with ppl they knew from their old highschool. By 2009, we had formed a big gang of friends from the clubspace, and we all started going to movies and sushi together. One of my friends organize panels for Otakuthon, where we’d all meet up.      
But in 2009, two of the 5 ppl I hung out with had a falling out. They stopped being friends. One went to university, the other was around for one more year then she went to university in 2010. That’s when the old group began to change from a family to a clique: In 2010 new members joined the club, and became new staples in the old group–most importantly, a guy named Tin.
It used to feel like a big family, but when the new semester started in September 2010 and new members flooded the club, everything changed. Tin instantly gave me a strange feeling in my gut, like there was something off abt him I couldn’t articulate. Shannon was dating Alex, the then club president, who stepped down in disgrace after I and one of those 5 friends went to the student union to complain abt him being the Harvey Weinstein of the club,. He wanted to permanently ban her from the club bc that summer when he was making a shitty youtube movie, he asked her out and she said no. The only reason he stepped down is bc I helped her take it to the student union and took him down. So when 2010 came along, Tin swooped in and became Alex 2.0, and when I warned ppl abt him they didn’t listen.
Fast forward a year to 2011, and the shitstorm happens; My mom had bvee battling with cancer since 2009. She had a hysterectomy but it didn’t work, and the cancer came back with a vengance.
January 15th 2011: My mom comes into my room and tells me her doctor doesn’t give her 1 year left to live. A few minutes after she leaves my room, Tin talks to me on Steam. He starts trolling me, I exploded on him. I felt bad about it so I tried to apologise to him, and I wrote on my facebook wall a message: “Just found out my mom has a year left to live, not in my right head, plz stay away from me for a while” so i wouldn’t explode on anyone else. I said I tried to apologise to Tin on steam, because him being an abujsive sociopath, instead of just accepting the apology or not like a normal person, instead he starts demanding that i admit to being a shitdisturber. I ignore him at that point, tell him im sorry, wish him good night and then sign off steam, and go to bed.
The following day, Shannon heads me off as I’m in the 2C11 hallway heading to the clubspace room; she warns me that Kelly is having a shit fit and screaming about how much of a horrible person I am, that apparently Kelly thinks my facebook post is me using my mom as an excuse to get away with being a bitch. I run to confront her, because excuse me, no it fucking wasn’t yknow? and whatever trauma she hasn;’t resolved yet doesn’t give her the right to twist my meanings and paint me as a monster. Thats when she goes into the Oliver’s caf so I follow her, and she screams at me calls me pathetic and heads back into the clubspace, and everyone followed her and left me in the caf crying with Shannon and Alex. :/
The situation was made ten times worse later that night by a certain person named Mathew, remember him? He was supposed to be my friend. Instead, he took the opportunity to write a huge post on fb tearing me down, on which everyone else joined in taking a public jab at me. Matt was seen as the community leader at the time. He could have used his power to calm the situation down, instead he made things worse. To this day, I suspect that troll Tin is the one who twisted my words to trigger Kelly and cause all of this, and that he also had Matt in the palm of his hand, but i digress; Matt’s post convinced most of them to ditch me. That devastated me in an already overwhelmed state, and I attempted suicide a few nights later.
That summer, I saw that my former friends were all having a big party, “What Killed the Dinosaurs? The Bad Movie Night.”, and I wasn’t invited. Shannon saw how much it hurt me, so she invited to her bf’s party instead, and that’s where I met Paul.
The following school year of 2011-2012 went by without much incident. The people who had ghosted me slowly added me back, Matt even apologized for his shit, and things seemed to be on the up and up. It looked like all this drama was behind us. I was wrong.
After I graduated, I decided to go visit the club in Fall 2012. Big mistake.
I saw someone I knew, Sarah, crying on someone’s lap, and asked her what was up. She told me she was in an abusive relationship with Tin. For giving her the advice to leave him, Tin came at me on steam again, and I told him that he was an abuser, that he would not intimidate me and to go fuck himself, and I blocked him. Suddenly, Matt was trying to extort 100$ from me for 2 locks I had broken the year before, which should’ve only cost 42$. Where did that come from? Well, Tin was the club’s Treasurer that year. He was trying to get back at me for standing up to him and helping his victim escape, and he was doing it through Matt, who was going apeshit on me on MSN for refusing to pay 100$. I insisted I should only have to pay what I owe, which was 42$. He kept freaking out on me, so finally I threatened to get a lawyer involved, and that’s when he backed down. I still paid the money I owed for the locks I had broken but I blocked Matt, having had enough of his bullshit, and that’s when suddenly a bunch of ppl from the group ghosted me for good.
Why was I ghosted when Matt was clearly the one in the wrong? Because Tin. They ghosted me bc Tin told them to. Tin and Matt told them all sorts of shitty things about me and they believed them. They don’t hold Tin or Matt to any of their shitty actions though bc they don’t want the same abuse that happened to me to happen to them. They turn a blind eye to every shitty thing Tin and Matt do. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand there’s an extremely toxic abuse dynamic at play in that group.
But the story doesn’t end there. Remember that party I went to with Shannon, and that guy I met named Paul? From november 2011 to march 2015 we were together. I was isolated from whoever was left, only hung out with him and his friends. In 2014, I became close friends with a girl name d Ariel, a member of that old groiup who ghosted me. But that was probably a manufactured relationship manipulated into existance by Paul, so he could jump to her when he was done with me.
Paul was extremely abusive when no one was around. The night he left, we had a huge fight. I tried to escape the situation by running upstairs. He chased me and when I ran into my TV room and closed the door behind me, he started pounding on it and trying to push his way in. When he did manage to get through the door, I panicked, picked up a glass bottle and threw it at him, and then slammed the door again when he backed out. The bottle broke, and cut his finger very deep. He used that cut to get everyone present during the situation on his side. Nevermind all the crazy abusive stuff he had just pulled in front of them, no, I was the bad guy, and once he had them convinced, he left to my then bff’s house, who later became his new gf.
He posted a picture of the wound on facebook, and because of that and previous drama from years ago that never really went away, most of the friends I had left from Dawson believed him, and ghosted me. I couldn’t tell them that a week earlier he had raped me, and that’s why I was scared enough to throw that glass bottle at him.I filed a police report, I warned everyone who would listen to me about him, and I warned her. I did all I could.
 I was too scared to tell this story for such a long time, because if asking for understanding while my mom was dying was twisted into me using my mom as an excuse to get away with being a bitch, then asking for understanding for the outbursts I had after being raped would just be twisted into me using my rape as an excuse to get away with being a bitch. I couldn’t handle the idea of my rape being trivialized as just some excuse–and Mathew is in part responsible for it all, because of that fucking post he made publicly tearing me down. Had he not posted that, I would’ve never lost my support system, I would’ve never gone to that party with Shannon, and I would’ve never been raped.
So I spent the better parts of 2016-2018 telling those involved off for their part in my current situation and blocked them, and the rest rebuilding what I had back in 2009, with resounding success. 
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So, there you have it. That’s what happened. Fuuuuuuuucking insane isn’t it. Its over now, none of them can hurt me anymore and Ive once again surrounded myself with friends I can actually trust, so everything’s good now. I still have my low days bc this was yknow, a lot, but I’m doing much, muuuuch better now. 
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masterdipster · 6 years
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anon date ask meme pt.1
I’ll be answering all the asks about the date ask meme! I wanted to answer to each and every one without flooding your feeds - if you sent in an ask, check here! So many lovely people sent asks that I’m kinda shy aaaaa >///< but thank you to everyone who sent one! This is about 29 asks, so I cut them into two parts; I’ll have part two up tomorrow!! I love all of you guys!
17, female, 5'4, my eye color is blue green and my hair is currently dirty blond soon to be red-orange. My favorite color is blue lavender and my favorite class is choir. I would have to go cliche and take you to a cat cafe, if you aren't allergic, so we could relax have some hot drinks and get to k ow each other while playing with cats. ^u^
- I LOVE BLUE GREEN EYES THEY’RE SO SOFT TO LOOK AT IMO??? dirty blonde is amaze but wow red orange is bold!!! cliches are cliches for reasons girl and if you take me to a cat cafe i swear you own me <3 1000/10 would date!!
174cm, 24yo, Female, little thicc. Favourite ice cream is vanilla bean, specifically. My favourite date would probably be a walk in the snow in winter, sit down somewhere with a cup of hot coffee/tea/chocolate and just talk about our interests. And cuddles.
thicc is beautiful :’))) also I’ve experienced snow exactly one week in my life in Japan and it fuccin killed me, I would love to snuggle with warm drinks <3 1000/10 would date!!! aaa
21, m, darkblond hair, 1m82. Brown eyes with a smidge of green in them. I'm a trained chocolatier, I play the bagpipes and i like writing (even though i never get around to actually doing it). As for a date, I can't decide between a movie, or walk through a nice forest. But afterwards a homecooked meal. I like vanila, not crazy about it but surtain brands are irresistable to me. My fav ice cream to buy is a scoop of chocolate and a scoop of banana together.
did you,,, mention that you’re a chocolatier bc you know my weakness for chocolate???? bc it worked. absolutely. wow. you had me there (and with the brown eyes aaa) yes to movie and/or forest stroll, and YES TO THE HOMECOOKED MEAL, did someone give you a cheat sheet to my heart??? 1000/10 would date wow r u real <3
I'm 16, a female and 160cm. I have dark brown almost black eyes with dark brown hair. I love reading, writing, drawing and learning new things. Since I also love food, maybe the date can be lunch or dinner in a restaurant with us talking about our interests, just to get to know each other. Then we can have desert :D Which is ice cream ofc. I quite like vanilla ice cream, but my favourite is probably Mint Choc Chip :)
your hair and eye color slay me :’)))) FOOD DATES ARE AMAZING AND I LOVE THEM PEOPLE SHOULD ALWAYS DO THEM!!! there is something so sweet and intimate about eating good food and talking with each other, i love it. I love mint choc chip too so we can absolutely share!!!! 1000/10 would date!
24, Non-binary, 166.6 tall, fave ice cream is salty licorice or licorice, good old true creamy vanilla with real vanilla is so good holy shit. I don't do dates, I'm very bad at that. So series/movie marathons with themes, like VERY bad horror movies or low budget movies with bad acting etc. and good food is a go. i have short brownish red hair and green eyes, my hobbies include searching information of anything i ever get interested in and starting tons of projects i never get to finish
TALL! i’ve never had salty licorice, pls introduceee :DD TRUE VANILLA ICE CREAM IS THE BOMB OKAY when it has real vanilla beans, it’s amazing,,,, I’M EXTREMELY EASY TO SCARE SO MAYBE WE’LL STICK TO THE LOW BUDGET ONES YEA XD any date with good food and i’m sold, good food makes me happy and kind and loving <3 1000/10 would date
15, girl, 5’2. Heterocromic one blue eye one green and Strawberry blond hair. I love reading, drawing, gardening and baking. I take kung fu so I can protect u lol. I would take u on one of those berry picking farms where you buy what you pick, and then we’d go home and try to make a pie of some fruit, and make homemade vanilla ice cream! (I rly like vanilla ice cream lol)
I loved reading this one because with every new sentence my attraction to you just kinda skyrocketed. eye color and hair color?? queen. ur hobbies? amazing. kung fu??? yes pls my god. BERRY FARM? HELL YES. ICE CREAM WITH PIE? dead. just. dead. 1000/10 would date i love you very much
Date Challenge: 5’9”, 18, male, turquoise eyes, loves reading MHA on ao3 (or just watching it lol) and listening to movie scores. Favorite Ice Cream: Cotton Candy. Date would probably be lunch at a cafe, talking about interests and just heading home to watch cartoons all night
TURQUOISE EYES??? BEAUTIFUL. MAGNIFICENT. LEGENDARY. YOU OWN ME. Movie scores are shizz, you gotta introduce me to those!!!! and hell to the yes to that date - let’s cap it all off with a Gravity Falls marathon!!!! 1000/10 would date <3
I'm nb, 1.59m, 23 with blue eyes and short hair whose colour varies depending on what I want. Now it's red but I wanna dye it pastel pink next. I love video games and reading (so much books to read... SO MUCH.) I like coffee dates (or tea or chocolate depending on your favourite taste!), but also going out to a restaurant (crêperies are my favourite!) or chilling with each other (kinda like cats, simply being in the same room is enough for me haha). I love vanilla ice cream but my fave is mint!
I WANT PASTEL PINK HAIR AND HAVE WANTED IT FOR SO LONG!!! i plan on getting pink hair once we figure out the logistics of getting my hair bleached :’( PLEASE BRING ME TO A CREPERIE I BEG OF YOU I NEED IT DIRELY!!!! same, being peaceful in the same room is so nice and comforting?? simply being quiet with each other is a date in its own way <3 1000/10 would date!!!
I'm 17 (18 this November) l, I'm male (trans). I'm 1.70 m (5' 7 ) tall. I have brown eyes and dark brown hair (but I'm planning of painting it lilac). I love to draw and I'm actually going to study digital animation. My favourite ice-cream is chocolate with mint probably. And for a date I'll probably take you to a cafe or a chill restaurant and later to the movies.
lovely lovely lovely brown eyes <3 ANIMATION!! amazing aaaaa!!! mint chocolate is amazing, isn’t it??? lmao i love how everyone here seems to know that the way to my heart is food xD but yes, pls, do so, 1000/10 would date!!!
female, 15, hazel eyes and brown hair, 151 cm, my ideal date would just be talking while at a restaurant. ive never had any ice cream, but i would love to try it one day!
HONEY!!! MY SWEET SUMMER CHILD!! WE NEED TO GET YOU TO ICE CREAM ASAP!!!!! let that be our date; let me show you the WORLD!! 1000/10 would take on a magical adventure to discover ice cream
16, trans guy, like 155cm or something, blue eyes n ginger hair, BNHA and figure skating are my special interests rn, and my fave ice cream flavour is chocolate with brownies in it. um,, date,,, is pokemon go in the woods a date?
back the fuck up, you have blue eyes and ginger hair? AMAZING. ICONIC. LEGENDARY, I LOVE YOU!!!!!! OMG we can talk about figure skating all day and have chocolate brownie ice cream, which is amazing!!!!! i deleted my pokemon go app but that’s ok, let me be ur misty and go with you as we find pokemon in the woods!!! 1000/10 would date <3
24, Male leaning genderfluid, 193cm (and also a paunch belly, I'm built like a brick house), blueish grey eyes and long brown hair that I dyed the back third green so that when I tie it back in a braid one of the strands is green. I like speculative world building and roleplaying games like DnD, and I like vanilla and all its variations and everything you can combine with it to make something delicious. For a date, I'd take you out to icecream and invite you to play DnD probably.
A BRAID WITH A GREEN STRAND!! THAT’S AMAZING HOLY SHIT!! AND YOU’RE SO BIG!! bet it would be so easy for you to carry me around xD please please please take me out for ice cream and teach me DnD, i’ve always wanted to play!!! 1000/10 would date!
For the date meme: I'm 16, female, 1.67 cm tall, blue-green-gray eyes with a little bit of amber and brown, brown-ish hair, I love reading, drawing and writing(even though I'm bad in the last two), try to teach myself dancing and piano and I love vanille ice-cream, even though I prefer cookie or stracciatella as flavours^^
oh were you the one who sent me an ask about stracciatella before?? YOU SOUND SO BEAUTIFUL OMGG <3 god i wanna learn how to dance too, we can learn together!!!!! <3 <3 <3 1000/10 would date!!
22, female, 155cm green eye, green curly hair. I love baking and making the others happy. I will take you to city u don't know, we will get lost there and explore and then eat in small cozy restaurant.
GREEN HAIR AND GREEN EYES!! ICONIC!! I accept only under the terms that we eat at more than one cozy restaurant!!!!!! i can already imagine us holding hands while misreading street signs xD and maybe you could give me something you baked?? <3 1000/10 would date!
For the date me challenge thingie!!! I’m 18, female, uhhhhh 150cm I think, short black hair (like a fluffy undercut kind), dark brown eyes, hhnnnnngggggg I love reading, movies, songs, drawing, autumn, nature, animals, tea, chocolate ice cream and a lot of other things. As for the date, I’ve never been on one, but a walk in the park or going to a carnival sounds fun!
omg undercuts are so amazing i love them <3 <3 <3 I LOVE ALL THE THINGS YOU LOVE except nature isn’t always so kind to me so I love it from afar (war flashbacks to Girl Scouts camp,,,,,) please take me to a carnival!!! PLEASE PLEASE!! I want to try this funnel cake that I keep hearing about!!!! But anyway you sound beautiful and amazing, 1000/10 would date!!!
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patriotsnet · 3 years
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How Do Republicans Feel About The Wall
New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/how-do-republicans-feel-about-the-wall/
How Do Republicans Feel About The Wall
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Half Of Republicans Believe False Accounts Of Deadly Us Capitol Riot
How do Hispanic Americans truly feel about the border wall?
7 Min Read
WASHINGTON -Since the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have pushed false and misleading accounts to downplay the event that left five dead and scores of others wounded. His supporters appear to have listened.
Three months after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to try to overturn his November election loss, about half of Republicans believe the siege was largely a non-violent protest or was the handiwork of left-wing activists trying to make Trump look bad, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll has found.
Six in 10 Republicans also believe the false claim put out by Trump that Novembers presidential election was stolen from him due to widespread voter fraud, and the same proportion of Republicans think he should run again in 2024, the March 30-31 poll showed.
Since the Capitol attack, Trump, many of his allies within the Republican Party and right-wing media personalities have publicly painted a picture of the days events jarringly at odds with reality.
Hundreds of Trumps supporters, mobilized by the former presidents false claims of a stolen election, climbed walls of the Capitol building and smashed windows to gain entry while lawmakers were inside voting to certify President Joe Bidens election victory. The rioters – many of them sporting Trump campaign gear and waving flags – also included known white supremacist groups such as the Proud Boys.
DANGEROUS SPIN ON REALITY
They Just Come For Show
The four House Republicans were unfamiliar with the history of the fight over Santa Ana.
It was not addressed by the Border Patrol agents who led the morning excursion. And by the time E&E News connected with Chapman, the delegation had departed the refuge for a briefing on Border Patrol activities at the local headquarters of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Later, when asked whether Westerman thought the environmental impact of installing a wall at Santa Ana and in other refuge areas was a necessary sacrifice to stop the flow of illegal immigration, the lawmaker said it didnt sound unreasonable.
One hundred and fifty feet kind of sounds like what the right of way would be on a levee, but I dont know, he said. Obviously, if youre going to build a wall, theres going to be clearing. And from what Ive seen, stories Ive heard about human trafficking, the rapes, the deaths yeah, I think its worth building the deterrents.
At the National Butterfly Center a 100-acre nature preserve that was also exempted from having a border wall built on its land in the same 2019 spending package Executive Director Marianna Trevino Wright said she thought the GOP lawmakers were ignorant by choice.
I think they have no idea, Trevino Wright asserted. They come just for show. Theyre not interested.
The real litterbugs, she contended, were the officers with Border Patrol.
There’s Something Happening Here
But he uses a different touchstone: Occupy Wall Street, the left-leaning anti-establishment movement that blossomed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
“This is Occupy Wall Street Part 2, but this time it is on their turf, and there are real financial consequences,” he said. LeGate, who received a $100,000 Thiel fellowship to drop out of college and start a company when he was 18 years old in 2013, has been watching the WallStreetBets Reddit discussion for several years.
He said he is seeing increasing frustration and anger, which is exploding in the Covid pandemic era and it is bringing together the traditional political left and right.
“People were willing to take a risk on Trump and now they’re willing to take a risk in the markets,” he said. “A lot of people just want to see the world burn right now, and they’re enjoying watching it happen.”
He said he’s already seeing people on the WallStreetBets Reddit page looking for new targets and there are two themes. First, they’re looking for highly shorted stocks where big hedge funds might have a lot of leverage. And second, they’re looking for nostalgia plays to bring back the companies from their youth. That’s why Nokia, Blackberry and Blockbuster are all getting attention.
Border Walls In The Middle East
One major proof of concept that Republicans supporting a Mexican border wall cite is the success of similar walls in the Middle East. For example, walls along the Israeli-Palestinian border reportedly cut down illegal immigration between the countries. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who is also the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, stated that he was impressed with a system of fences he had inspected along the Israeli border with Palestinian territories. Johnson stated Im always looking for best practices. Its been incredibly effective. They had thousands of illegal immigrants; its down to the teens.
House Republicans Propose $10 Billion For Trumps Border Wall
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House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a plan to provide $10 billion for President Donald Trumps border wall with Mexico, a bill unlikely to clear the Senate but which could fuel a shutdown fight in December.
Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul said his panel will vote on the legislation next week. The bill also would add 10,000 more border patrol agents and Customs and Border Protection officers, tap the National Guard to patrol the southern border and target people who have overstayed visas.
Now that we have a partner in the White House who has made this a top priority, its time to send a bill to President Trumps desk so we can deliver the American people the security they have long demanded and deserve, McCaul said in a statement.
The bill represents Republicans opening salvo in both the looming year-end government funding fight and high-stakes negotiations over undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.
It almost certainly wont pass the Senate, where at least eight Democrats would be needed to clear a 60-vote threshold.
Partisans Approve Their Partys Approach To Shutdown Negotiations Disapprove Of Other Partys
Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 76% approve of how Trump is handling shutdown talks, including 50% who say they strongly approve of Trumps approach. In contrast, just 4% of Democrats approve of Trumps handling of the negotiations, while 93% disapprove .
The overall pattern is similar in views of Republican leaders in Congress: 69% of Republicans approve of their partys leaders handling of negotiations, while just 10% of Democrats approve.
And while about seven-in-ten Democrats and Democratic leaners approve of the way Democratic leaders in Congress are handling the shutdown negotiations, just 11% of Republicans say the same.
Republicans Pray For A Border Crisis To Bring Biden Down
Joe Biden and his programs are popular. Republicans cant lay a glove on him. So theyve settled on immigration as the way to drag him into the mud.
Guillermo Arias/Getty
Republicans are crazy about immigration. No, really. The issue makes them loco. Just listen to the things theyre saying. Many of them have lost touch with reality.
Or maybe Republicans are crazy like a fox. The GOP seems to have once again pinned all of its hopes for retaking powerin this case, by winning back control of the Senate in the 2022 midterm elections and possibly regaining seats in the House of Representativeson the immigration issue. If either of those things happen, Republicans will be in decent shape to try to retake the White House in 2024.
President Joe Biden has only been in office for about 60 days, and Republicans who want to attack him and his administration dont have a lot of material with which to work.
Thats what some of the current fearmongering over the situation at the U.S.-Mexico borderabout half of itis all about. The other half is made up of good ol fashioned nativism and racism. Thats one reason why Republicans act like the prospect of what could turn out to be 100,000 would-be refugees from Central America mostly women and children is the end of Western civilization as we know it.
Here we are again. And the same Republicans who were quiet and subdued when former President Donald Trump confronted this same problem now cant stop talking about this being a crisis.
Republicans Spent Two Years Resisting Trumps Border Wall What Changed
Since the government shutdown 25 days ago, Republicans have largely defended the need for a border wall. While there appear to be some cracks in support, most are standing by the presidents insistence on funding.
As recently as September, The Washington Post described it this way:
The same Republican lawmakers who rushed through the tax bill Trump wanted, confirmed his first Supreme Court pick and are fighting to defend his second, and have remained largely deferential amid multiple scandals, have taken a far different approach when it comes to one of Trumps most memorable campaign promises deeming the wall to be impractical, unrealistic and too costly.
Most GOP lawmakers didnt come right out and say that, of course.
Instead, for the first two years of Trumps presidency, GOP lawmakers avoided the wall debate completely. In September 2017, USA Today took on the laborious task of surveying every member of Congress to determine their position on Trumps wall. At the time, the White House was requesting $1.6 billion to begin wall construction. The survey found that just 69 of the 292 Republicans in Congress said they supported Trumps funding request. Three outright opposed it, but the majority avoided answering the question directly.
Shortly after Trumps inauguration, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham , Trumps onetime nemesis turned close ally, told Politico that the border wall is probably not a smart investment.
Every Congressperson Along Southern Border Opposes Border Wall Funding
How would Republicans build Donald Trump’s wall? BBC News
Nine congressional representatives serve the districts that line the 2,000-mile southern border. They are men, women, freshman politicians and Washington veterans. The Democrats among them span liberal ideologies, while one of them is a Republican.
But they all have one thing in common: each is against President Donald Trump‘s border wall.
Last week, the House of Representatives passed a multi-bill package that provided funding for federal agencies and reinstated Department of Homeland Security appropriations without offering any new border wall funding. All nine of the politicians serving in districts along the border voted in favor of the bills, which were an effective rebuke of the Trump administration’s request for $5.7 billion in border wall funding.
“It’s a 4th-century solution to a 21st century problem,” said Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat and one of the lawmakers along the southern border who voted against funding the wall.
Gonzalez doesn’t oppose border security. He said, “Nobody wants stronger border control than me.” But he’s against adding to the existing border wall because he doesn’t “think it brings real border security and it comes at a major cost to taxpayers,” the lawmaker said Tuesday in a telephone interview with CBS News.
“At the time I thought we were going to be able to have a reasonable conversation,” Gonzalez said. “I had no idea it was going to get this crazy.”
Everybody Look What’s Going Down
Holmes believes the key to understanding the power of this new movement is the gamification of investing melded with an anti-elite fervor. Sticking it to hedge funds and potentially making a lot of money is, simply, fun. And if you believe its also the right thing to do, and thrive on the engagement of a community of like-minded traders, so much the better.
“When things really get going is when the fun meets the purpose,” Holmes said. “This is the perfect storm of those two.”
His warning to Wall Street is: understand this. Be willing to scrutinize yourself. This not going away, and it is probably bigger than you think.
“People need to take the time to understand the social dynamics of this. What are the problems that have created this class of retail investor who seek to completely destroy your industry, and how do you remedy that?” Holmes said.
Holmes said he has spent the past decade watching American politics turned inside out. An earlier generation of politicians spent their time raising money at country club ballrooms from hundreds of donors writing $500 or $1,000 checks.
But now they spend their time on the internet raising money from millions of donors making $5 and $20 contributions. In politics, the retail money turned out to be bigger much bigger — than the institutional money. And that’s driven massive political spending inflation: the big Senate campaigns that once cost $15 million now cost $100 million.
There’s Battle Lines Being Drawn
But what explains that nostalgic impulse in the midst of a revolution? It is the same emotion that animated the MAGA movement which, after all, stood for make America great, again. It is a desire to return to an earlier time that the members of the movement remember as better than today.
“There’s a feeling I sense across society that people want to go back to a simpler time,” LeGate said. “No one likes Covid. People don’t feel the economy is fair. Everything looks better in hindsight.”
And he argues that efforts to regulate trading will feel to Reddit traders more like suppression, and could fuel more anger.
“If someone on Main Street loses half their portfolio in a day, nothing’s going to happen. But if a hedge fund does, they literally stop the trading,” he said. “I myself question whether this is really about protecting the individual investor or protecting the hedge fund.”
Public Disapproves Of How Shutdown Negotiations Are Being Handled
Most Americans offer negative evaluations of the way that the nations political leaders in both parties Donald Trump, Democratic congressional leaders and Republican congressional leaders are handling negotiations over the shutdown.
Overall, just 36% of the public approves of how Trump is handling negotiations over the government shutdown, including 23% who say they strongly approve. About six-in-ten disapprove of Trumps approach to the negotiations, including 53% who say they strongly disapprove.
Views of how Republican leaders in Congress are handling shutdown negotiations generally parallel evaluations of Trump. Six-in-ten Americans say they disapprove of the way Republican congressional leaders are handling negotiations, while just 36% say they approve. However, fewer Americans characterize their views of GOP leaders handling of negotiations as strong approval or disapproval than say this about the president.
Public views of Democratic leaders handling of the shutdown talks are somewhat more positive than views of Trump or GOP leaders. Still, more disapprove than approve .
Intensity Of Trumps Support Increases
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Also in the poll, 46 percent of voters approve of President Trumps job performance, which is consistent with the other NBC/WSJ polls over the past year and a half.
But other numbers in the survey his strong job approval ticking up to its all-time high, his positive rating jumping to its highest level since after his inauguration prompts GOP pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies to call this Trumps best NBC/WSJ poll in three years.
Still, 49 percent of all voters say they are very uncomfortable about Trump when it comes to his re-election bid in 2020.
Thats compared with 43 percent who are very uncomfortable with Sanders, 36 percent with Warren and 35 percent with Biden.
Klobuchar: Trump’s Actions Are Like A ‘global Watergate’ Scandal
Today, as Democrats in the House of Representatives move toward bringing articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, with the next Judiciary Committee hearing of evidence set for Monday, few Democrats are still clinging to the hope that Republicans will reach a breaking point with Trump like they did with Nixon.
“I really don’t think there is any fact that would change their minds,” Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told NBC News.
Why? Two key changes since Nixon: a massive divide in American political life we hate the other team more than ever before and a media climate that fuels and reinforces that chasm, powered by Fox News on the Republican side.
Himes said he was “a little stunned by the unanimity on the Republican side,” especially among retiring lawmakers who don’t have to worry about surviving a GOP primary had they gone against Trump. “We’re in a place right now where all that matters to my Republican colleagues is the defense of the president,” he added.
No Republican congressmen have said they support impeachment. In the Senate, the entire GOP voted to condemn the impeachment inquiry, except for three moderates: Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. The three have stopped short of saying they support Trump’s impeachment, however, and it would take at least 20 Republican senators to vote to convict him in a Senate trial for removal to succeed.
What Do Republicans Believe In
Do all Republicans believe the same things? Of course not. Rarely do members of a single political group agree on all issues. Even among Republicans, there are differences of opinion. As a group, they do not agree on every issue.
Some folks vote Republican because of fiscal concerns. Often, that trumps concerns they may have about social issues. Others are less interested in the fiscal position of the party. They vote they way they do because of religion. They believe Republicans are the party of morality. Some simply want less government. They believe only Republicans can solve the problem of big government. Republicans spend less . They lower taxes: some people vote for that alone.
However, the Republican Party does stand for certain things. So I’m answering with regard to the party as a whole. Call it a platform. Call them core beliefs. The vast majority of Republicans adhere to certain ideas.
So what do Republicans believe? Here are their basic tenets:
Questions Ahead Of The Democratic National Convention
Andrew Redleaf, founder of the hedge fund company Whitebox Advisors, has been a Republican donor in the past. He gave to the campaign of 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney. He calls himself a libertarian conservative who favors free trade and immigration.
This year, he’s given money to the Lincoln Project, a group of conservative never-Trumpers who are running scathing ads against the president in swing states.
“I’d like there to be a right-of-center, limited-government party … which is not the Trumpist Republican Party,” Redleaf says.
Redleaf is wary of Democrats and has no particular affection for Biden.
But the former vice president is a known commodity on Wall Street and is widely seen as a more centrist, acceptable alternative to more liberal Democrats who ran for president, such as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Biden has also been a top recipient of financial industry money for decades as a senator from Delaware, home to financial and credit card companies.
“He’s not somebody that the industry is particularly afraid of,” Bryner says. “So I think that we would see them kind of hopeful that he would be a more moderating influence, whereas Trump can be quite unpredictable.”
Widening Party Divide Over Expanding The Border Wall
El Chapo financing Trump border wall is a yes vote: GOP lawmaker
Public views of a U.S.-Mexico border wall have changed little over the past three years. But the partisan gap has widened, as Republicans have become more supportive of a border wall, while Democratic support has declined.
Currently, 58% of Americans oppose substantially expanding the wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, while 40% favor the proposal.
Since early 2016, roughly six-in-ten Americans have opposed building or expanding the border wall .
Yet partisan differences are now wider than they have ever been. Today, 82% of Republicans and Republican leaners favor substantially expanding the wall along the U.S-Mexico border. Over the past year alone, Republican support for expanding the border wall has increased 10 percentage points . Over the same period, the share of Democrats who favor expanding the U.S.-Mexico border wall has declined from 13% to 6%.
Conservative Republicans and Republican leaners overwhelmingly favor expanding the U.S.-Mexico border wall . Moderate and liberal Republicans are somewhat less supportive .
Overwhelming shares of both liberal Democrats and conservative and moderate Democrats oppose expanding the border wall.
As in the past, opinions about expanding the U.S.-Mexico border wall are divided by race, education and age. Whites are more than twice as likely as blacks or Hispanics to favor expanding the border wall.
Why Do Republicans Behave The Way They Do
Why are the Republicans so mean-spirited when it comes to the poor and so indulgent when it comes to the rich?
Why are the Republicans so mean-spirited when it comes to the poor and so indulgent when it comes to the rich? Thats the incessant question as posed by liberals today about the partys now enacted tax reform. Not only does the bill include another attack on Obamacare, but it provides the pretext the need to reduce deficits to go after other long-held goals, the end of Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. 
The answer should be obvious by now. Republicans behave as they do because they can get away with it! Its no more complicated than that. 
Contrary to liberal opinion, Republican politics isnt out of the mainstream provided we push the clock back sufficiently. A political economy without social services and entitlements is in fact the default position of the capitalist mode of production from its inception. If recent comments from Republican Sens. Orin Hatch and Charles Grassley sound like characters from a Charles Dickens novel their barely disguised contempt for the working poor that should come as no surprise. Such attitudes were almost de rigueur for ruling elites in capitals long ascent. The constant refrain of the rich Why should we be taxed to pay for the education of the children of the irresponsible poor?  explains why public school education became a widely accepted norm only in the 20th century. 
How Dems aided and abetted
What Republicans And Democrats Have In Common On Wall Street Regulation
The Democratic and Republican parties disagree on most major issues. When it comes to Wall Street, however, it’s a mixed bag. Take the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.
Democrats believe the bill has reined in the type of out-of-control behavior that led to the near collapse of the banking industry in 2008 and prevented a similar crisis. Republicans have criticized the legislation calling it “the Democrats legislative Godzilla.” They feel the financial regulations have made it too difficult for small lenders and community banks and has indirectly slowed the growth of small businesses. 
Regulation of the financial services industry has been a major issue not only in the current presidential election but in house and senate races. Democrats believe that the electorate largely sides with them that banks have overstepped and that they can use their position to win votes and take back the Senate. Republicans currently hold a majority 54 votes. Because of gerrymandering rules, Democrats will have a tougher time retaking the House.  
Dodd-Frank was intended to increase transparency and accountability in the financial services industry and to protect consumers. Among other things, the bill created a new consumer protection agency and standards for a number of common financial services products. 
A Shift In Immigration Thinking
Representative Luis Gutierrez of Illinois is one of the Houses most outspoken Democrats on immigration reform, and she understands this shift, and believes it is essential. Lives are at stake and the lives of Dreamers are more important to me than bricks, Gutierrez said. If advocates would reject any money for Trumps wall in exchange for freedom and legalization and eventual citizenship for the Dreamers, I understand their choice, but for my part, I would lay bricks myself if I thought it would save the Dreamers. For me, the very real attacks on legal immigration are far greater threats than bricks and drones and technology on the border.
This shift has also led Democratic views on a border wall to soften in general. As Trump has become less demanding, Democrats have begun to consider what type of barrier, and what size, they would be willing to agree to if push came to shove. The 2,000 mile wall that Democrats had feared would be a looming symbol of America turning inward on itself is becoming something closer to the 2006 plan; some new barriers, some new monitoring technology, and that is somewhat agreeable to Democrats, especially if they can garner support in other arenas in exchange for it.
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statetalks · 3 years
Text
How Do Republicans Feel About The Wall
Half Of Republicans Believe False Accounts Of Deadly Us Capitol Riot
How do Hispanic Americans truly feel about the border wall?
7 Min Read
WASHINGTON -Since the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have pushed false and misleading accounts to downplay the event that left five dead and scores of others wounded. His supporters appear to have listened.
Three months after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to try to overturn his November election loss, about half of Republicans believe the siege was largely a non-violent protest or was the handiwork of left-wing activists trying to make Trump look bad, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll has found.
Six in 10 Republicans also believe the false claim put out by Trump that Novembers presidential election was stolen from him due to widespread voter fraud, and the same proportion of Republicans think he should run again in 2024, the March 30-31 poll showed.
Since the Capitol attack, Trump, many of his allies within the Republican Party and right-wing media personalities have publicly painted a picture of the days events jarringly at odds with reality.
Hundreds of Trumps supporters, mobilized by the former presidents false claims of a stolen election, climbed walls of the Capitol building and smashed windows to gain entry while lawmakers were inside voting to certify President Joe Bidens election victory. The rioters – many of them sporting Trump campaign gear and waving flags – also included known white supremacist groups such as the Proud Boys.
DANGEROUS SPIN ON REALITY
They Just Come For Show
The four House Republicans were unfamiliar with the history of the fight over Santa Ana.
It was not addressed by the Border Patrol agents who led the morning excursion. And by the time E&E News connected with Chapman, the delegation had departed the refuge for a briefing on Border Patrol activities at the local headquarters of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Later, when asked whether Westerman thought the environmental impact of installing a wall at Santa Ana and in other refuge areas was a necessary sacrifice to stop the flow of illegal immigration, the lawmaker said it didnt sound unreasonable.
One hundred and fifty feet kind of sounds like what the right of way would be on a levee, but I dont know, he said. Obviously, if youre going to build a wall, theres going to be clearing. And from what Ive seen, stories Ive heard about human trafficking, the rapes, the deaths yeah, I think its worth building the deterrents.
At the National Butterfly Center a 100-acre nature preserve that was also exempted from having a border wall built on its land in the same 2019 spending package Executive Director Marianna Trevino Wright said she thought the GOP lawmakers were ignorant by choice.
I think they have no idea, Trevino Wright asserted. They come just for show. Theyre not interested.
The real litterbugs, she contended, were the officers with Border Patrol.
There’s Something Happening Here
But he uses a different touchstone: Occupy Wall Street, the left-leaning anti-establishment movement that blossomed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
“This is Occupy Wall Street Part 2, but this time it is on their turf, and there are real financial consequences,” he said. LeGate, who received a $100,000 Thiel fellowship to drop out of college and start a company when he was 18 years old in 2013, has been watching the WallStreetBets Reddit discussion for several years.
He said he is seeing increasing frustration and anger, which is exploding in the Covid pandemic era and it is bringing together the traditional political left and right.
“People were willing to take a risk on Trump and now they’re willing to take a risk in the markets,” he said. “A lot of people just want to see the world burn right now, and they’re enjoying watching it happen.”
He said he’s already seeing people on the WallStreetBets Reddit page looking for new targets and there are two themes. First, they’re looking for highly shorted stocks where big hedge funds might have a lot of leverage. And second, they’re looking for nostalgia plays to bring back the companies from their youth. That’s why Nokia, Blackberry and Blockbuster are all getting attention.
Border Walls In The Middle East
One major proof of concept that Republicans supporting a Mexican border wall cite is the success of similar walls in the Middle East. For example, walls along the Israeli-Palestinian border reportedly cut down illegal immigration between the countries. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who is also the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, stated that he was impressed with a system of fences he had inspected along the Israeli border with Palestinian territories. Johnson stated Im always looking for best practices. Its been incredibly effective. They had thousands of illegal immigrants; its down to the teens.
House Republicans Propose $10 Billion For Trumps Border Wall
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House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a plan to provide $10 billion for President Donald Trumps border wall with Mexico, a bill unlikely to clear the Senate but which could fuel a shutdown fight in December.
Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul said his panel will vote on the legislation next week. The bill also would add 10,000 more border patrol agents and Customs and Border Protection officers, tap the National Guard to patrol the southern border and target people who have overstayed visas.
Now that we have a partner in the White House who has made this a top priority, its time to send a bill to President Trumps desk so we can deliver the American people the security they have long demanded and deserve, McCaul said in a statement.
The bill represents Republicans opening salvo in both the looming year-end government funding fight and high-stakes negotiations over undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.
It almost certainly wont pass the Senate, where at least eight Democrats would be needed to clear a 60-vote threshold.
Partisans Approve Their Partys Approach To Shutdown Negotiations Disapprove Of Other Partys
Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 76% approve of how Trump is handling shutdown talks, including 50% who say they strongly approve of Trumps approach. In contrast, just 4% of Democrats approve of Trumps handling of the negotiations, while 93% disapprove .
The overall pattern is similar in views of Republican leaders in Congress: 69% of Republicans approve of their partys leaders handling of negotiations, while just 10% of Democrats approve.
And while about seven-in-ten Democrats and Democratic leaners approve of the way Democratic leaders in Congress are handling the shutdown negotiations, just 11% of Republicans say the same.
Republicans Pray For A Border Crisis To Bring Biden Down
Joe Biden and his programs are popular. Republicans cant lay a glove on him. So theyve settled on immigration as the way to drag him into the mud.
Guillermo Arias/Getty
Republicans are crazy about immigration. No, really. The issue makes them loco. Just listen to the things theyre saying. Many of them have lost touch with reality.
Or maybe Republicans are crazy like a fox. The GOP seems to have once again pinned all of its hopes for retaking powerin this case, by winning back control of the Senate in the 2022 midterm elections and possibly regaining seats in the House of Representativeson the immigration issue. If either of those things happen, Republicans will be in decent shape to try to retake the White House in 2024.
President Joe Biden has only been in office for about 60 days, and Republicans who want to attack him and his administration dont have a lot of material with which to work.
Thats what some of the current fearmongering over the situation at the U.S.-Mexico borderabout half of itis all about. The other half is made up of good ol fashioned nativism and racism. Thats one reason why Republicans act like the prospect of what could turn out to be 100,000 would-be refugees from Central America mostly women and children is the end of Western civilization as we know it.
Here we are again. And the same Republicans who were quiet and subdued when former President Donald Trump confronted this same problem now cant stop talking about this being a crisis.
Republicans Spent Two Years Resisting Trumps Border Wall What Changed
Since the government shutdown 25 days ago, Republicans have largely defended the need for a border wall. While there appear to be some cracks in support, most are standing by the presidents insistence on funding.
As recently as September, The Washington Post described it this way:
The same Republican lawmakers who rushed through the tax bill Trump wanted, confirmed his first Supreme Court pick and are fighting to defend his second, and have remained largely deferential amid multiple scandals, have taken a far different approach when it comes to one of Trumps most memorable campaign promises deeming the wall to be impractical, unrealistic and too costly.
Most GOP lawmakers didnt come right out and say that, of course.
Instead, for the first two years of Trumps presidency, GOP lawmakers avoided the wall debate completely. In September 2017, USA Today took on the laborious task of surveying every member of Congress to determine their position on Trumps wall. At the time, the White House was requesting $1.6 billion to begin wall construction. The survey found that just 69 of the 292 Republicans in Congress said they supported Trumps funding request. Three outright opposed it, but the majority avoided answering the question directly.
Shortly after Trumps inauguration, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham , Trumps onetime nemesis turned close ally, told Politico that the border wall is probably not a smart investment.
Every Congressperson Along Southern Border Opposes Border Wall Funding
How would Republicans build Donald Trump’s wall? BBC News
Nine congressional representatives serve the districts that line the 2,000-mile southern border. They are men, women, freshman politicians and Washington veterans. The Democrats among them span liberal ideologies, while one of them is a Republican.
But they all have one thing in common: each is against President Donald Trump‘s border wall.
Last week, the House of Representatives passed a multi-bill package that provided funding for federal agencies and reinstated Department of Homeland Security appropriations without offering any new border wall funding. All nine of the politicians serving in districts along the border voted in favor of the bills, which were an effective rebuke of the Trump administration’s request for $5.7 billion in border wall funding.
“It’s a 4th-century solution to a 21st century problem,” said Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat and one of the lawmakers along the southern border who voted against funding the wall.
Gonzalez doesn’t oppose border security. He said, “Nobody wants stronger border control than me.” But he’s against adding to the existing border wall because he doesn’t “think it brings real border security and it comes at a major cost to taxpayers,” the lawmaker said Tuesday in a telephone interview with CBS News.
“At the time I thought we were going to be able to have a reasonable conversation,” Gonzalez said. “I had no idea it was going to get this crazy.”
Everybody Look What’s Going Down
Holmes believes the key to understanding the power of this new movement is the gamification of investing melded with an anti-elite fervor. Sticking it to hedge funds and potentially making a lot of money is, simply, fun. And if you believe its also the right thing to do, and thrive on the engagement of a community of like-minded traders, so much the better.
“When things really get going is when the fun meets the purpose,” Holmes said. “This is the perfect storm of those two.”
His warning to Wall Street is: understand this. Be willing to scrutinize yourself. This not going away, and it is probably bigger than you think.
“People need to take the time to understand the social dynamics of this. What are the problems that have created this class of retail investor who seek to completely destroy your industry, and how do you remedy that?” Holmes said.
Holmes said he has spent the past decade watching American politics turned inside out. An earlier generation of politicians spent their time raising money at country club ballrooms from hundreds of donors writing $500 or $1,000 checks.
But now they spend their time on the internet raising money from millions of donors making $5 and $20 contributions. In politics, the retail money turned out to be bigger much bigger — than the institutional money. And that’s driven massive political spending inflation: the big Senate campaigns that once cost $15 million now cost $100 million.
There’s Battle Lines Being Drawn
But what explains that nostalgic impulse in the midst of a revolution? It is the same emotion that animated the MAGA movement which, after all, stood for make America great, again. It is a desire to return to an earlier time that the members of the movement remember as better than today.
“There’s a feeling I sense across society that people want to go back to a simpler time,” LeGate said. “No one likes Covid. People don’t feel the economy is fair. Everything looks better in hindsight.”
And he argues that efforts to regulate trading will feel to Reddit traders more like suppression, and could fuel more anger.
“If someone on Main Street loses half their portfolio in a day, nothing’s going to happen. But if a hedge fund does, they literally stop the trading,” he said. “I myself question whether this is really about protecting the individual investor or protecting the hedge fund.”
Public Disapproves Of How Shutdown Negotiations Are Being Handled
Most Americans offer negative evaluations of the way that the nations political leaders in both parties Donald Trump, Democratic congressional leaders and Republican congressional leaders are handling negotiations over the shutdown.
Overall, just 36% of the public approves of how Trump is handling negotiations over the government shutdown, including 23% who say they strongly approve. About six-in-ten disapprove of Trumps approach to the negotiations, including 53% who say they strongly disapprove.
Views of how Republican leaders in Congress are handling shutdown negotiations generally parallel evaluations of Trump. Six-in-ten Americans say they disapprove of the way Republican congressional leaders are handling negotiations, while just 36% say they approve. However, fewer Americans characterize their views of GOP leaders handling of negotiations as strong approval or disapproval than say this about the president.
Public views of Democratic leaders handling of the shutdown talks are somewhat more positive than views of Trump or GOP leaders. Still, more disapprove than approve .
Intensity Of Trumps Support Increases
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Also in the poll, 46 percent of voters approve of President Trumps job performance, which is consistent with the other NBC/WSJ polls over the past year and a half.
But other numbers in the survey his strong job approval ticking up to its all-time high, his positive rating jumping to its highest level since after his inauguration prompts GOP pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies to call this Trumps best NBC/WSJ poll in three years.
Still, 49 percent of all voters say they are very uncomfortable about Trump when it comes to his re-election bid in 2020.
Thats compared with 43 percent who are very uncomfortable with Sanders, 36 percent with Warren and 35 percent with Biden.
Klobuchar: Trump’s Actions Are Like A ‘global Watergate’ Scandal
Today, as Democrats in the House of Representatives move toward bringing articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, with the next Judiciary Committee hearing of evidence set for Monday, few Democrats are still clinging to the hope that Republicans will reach a breaking point with Trump like they did with Nixon.
“I really don’t think there is any fact that would change their minds,” Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told NBC News.
Why? Two key changes since Nixon: a massive divide in American political life we hate the other team more than ever before and a media climate that fuels and reinforces that chasm, powered by Fox News on the Republican side.
Himes said he was “a little stunned by the unanimity on the Republican side,” especially among retiring lawmakers who don’t have to worry about surviving a GOP primary had they gone against Trump. “We’re in a place right now where all that matters to my Republican colleagues is the defense of the president,” he added.
No Republican congressmen have said they support impeachment. In the Senate, the entire GOP voted to condemn the impeachment inquiry, except for three moderates: Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. The three have stopped short of saying they support Trump’s impeachment, however, and it would take at least 20 Republican senators to vote to convict him in a Senate trial for removal to succeed.
What Do Republicans Believe In
Do all Republicans believe the same things? Of course not. Rarely do members of a single political group agree on all issues. Even among Republicans, there are differences of opinion. As a group, they do not agree on every issue.
Some folks vote Republican because of fiscal concerns. Often, that trumps concerns they may have about social issues. Others are less interested in the fiscal position of the party. They vote they way they do because of religion. They believe Republicans are the party of morality. Some simply want less government. They believe only Republicans can solve the problem of big government. Republicans spend less . They lower taxes: some people vote for that alone.
However, the Republican Party does stand for certain things. So I’m answering with regard to the party as a whole. Call it a platform. Call them core beliefs. The vast majority of Republicans adhere to certain ideas.
So what do Republicans believe? Here are their basic tenets:
Questions Ahead Of The Democratic National Convention
Andrew Redleaf, founder of the hedge fund company Whitebox Advisors, has been a Republican donor in the past. He gave to the campaign of 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney. He calls himself a libertarian conservative who favors free trade and immigration.
This year, he’s given money to the Lincoln Project, a group of conservative never-Trumpers who are running scathing ads against the president in swing states.
“I’d like there to be a right-of-center, limited-government party … which is not the Trumpist Republican Party,” Redleaf says.
Redleaf is wary of Democrats and has no particular affection for Biden.
But the former vice president is a known commodity on Wall Street and is widely seen as a more centrist, acceptable alternative to more liberal Democrats who ran for president, such as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Biden has also been a top recipient of financial industry money for decades as a senator from Delaware, home to financial and credit card companies.
“He’s not somebody that the industry is particularly afraid of,” Bryner says. “So I think that we would see them kind of hopeful that he would be a more moderating influence, whereas Trump can be quite unpredictable.”
Widening Party Divide Over Expanding The Border Wall
El Chapo financing Trump border wall is a yes vote: GOP lawmaker
Public views of a U.S.-Mexico border wall have changed little over the past three years. But the partisan gap has widened, as Republicans have become more supportive of a border wall, while Democratic support has declined.
Currently, 58% of Americans oppose substantially expanding the wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, while 40% favor the proposal.
Since early 2016, roughly six-in-ten Americans have opposed building or expanding the border wall .
Yet partisan differences are now wider than they have ever been. Today, 82% of Republicans and Republican leaners favor substantially expanding the wall along the U.S-Mexico border. Over the past year alone, Republican support for expanding the border wall has increased 10 percentage points . Over the same period, the share of Democrats who favor expanding the U.S.-Mexico border wall has declined from 13% to 6%.
Conservative Republicans and Republican leaners overwhelmingly favor expanding the U.S.-Mexico border wall . Moderate and liberal Republicans are somewhat less supportive .
Overwhelming shares of both liberal Democrats and conservative and moderate Democrats oppose expanding the border wall.
As in the past, opinions about expanding the U.S.-Mexico border wall are divided by race, education and age. Whites are more than twice as likely as blacks or Hispanics to favor expanding the border wall.
Why Do Republicans Behave The Way They Do
Why are the Republicans so mean-spirited when it comes to the poor and so indulgent when it comes to the rich?
Why are the Republicans so mean-spirited when it comes to the poor and so indulgent when it comes to the rich? Thats the incessant question as posed by liberals today about the partys now enacted tax reform. Not only does the bill include another attack on Obamacare, but it provides the pretext the need to reduce deficits to go after other long-held goals, the end of Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. 
The answer should be obvious by now. Republicans behave as they do because they can get away with it! Its no more complicated than that. 
Contrary to liberal opinion, Republican politics isnt out of the mainstream provided we push the clock back sufficiently. A political economy without social services and entitlements is in fact the default position of the capitalist mode of production from its inception. If recent comments from Republican Sens. Orin Hatch and Charles Grassley sound like characters from a Charles Dickens novel their barely disguised contempt for the working poor that should come as no surprise. Such attitudes were almost de rigueur for ruling elites in capitals long ascent. The constant refrain of the rich Why should we be taxed to pay for the education of the children of the irresponsible poor?  explains why public school education became a widely accepted norm only in the 20th century. 
How Dems aided and abetted
What Republicans And Democrats Have In Common On Wall Street Regulation
The Democratic and Republican parties disagree on most major issues. When it comes to Wall Street, however, it’s a mixed bag. Take the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.
Democrats believe the bill has reined in the type of out-of-control behavior that led to the near collapse of the banking industry in 2008 and prevented a similar crisis. Republicans have criticized the legislation calling it “the Democrats legislative Godzilla.” They feel the financial regulations have made it too difficult for small lenders and community banks and has indirectly slowed the growth of small businesses. 
Regulation of the financial services industry has been a major issue not only in the current presidential election but in house and senate races. Democrats believe that the electorate largely sides with them that banks have overstepped and that they can use their position to win votes and take back the Senate. Republicans currently hold a majority 54 votes. Because of gerrymandering rules, Democrats will have a tougher time retaking the House.  
Dodd-Frank was intended to increase transparency and accountability in the financial services industry and to protect consumers. Among other things, the bill created a new consumer protection agency and standards for a number of common financial services products. 
A Shift In Immigration Thinking
Representative Luis Gutierrez of Illinois is one of the Houses most outspoken Democrats on immigration reform, and she understands this shift, and believes it is essential. Lives are at stake and the lives of Dreamers are more important to me than bricks, Gutierrez said. If advocates would reject any money for Trumps wall in exchange for freedom and legalization and eventual citizenship for the Dreamers, I understand their choice, but for my part, I would lay bricks myself if I thought it would save the Dreamers. For me, the very real attacks on legal immigration are far greater threats than bricks and drones and technology on the border.
This shift has also led Democratic views on a border wall to soften in general. As Trump has become less demanding, Democrats have begun to consider what type of barrier, and what size, they would be willing to agree to if push came to shove. The 2,000 mile wall that Democrats had feared would be a looming symbol of America turning inward on itself is becoming something closer to the 2006 plan; some new barriers, some new monitoring technology, and that is somewhat agreeable to Democrats, especially if they can garner support in other arenas in exchange for it.
source https://www.patriotsnet.com/how-do-republicans-feel-about-the-wall/
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anxiousauthor89 · 4 years
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We Have The Same Birthday
Hearing what sounded like the cashier machines at school when he was a child, Joseph woke up realizing he was actually hearing the machine he was hooked up to. Blinking hard, and trying to sit up, he felt sharp pains in his head. “Aw damn man I told Jeremiah them niggas was setting us up! He don't listen. I gotta get outta here and get back to my life... got shit to do.” Joseph mumbled to himself after he  recalled the bar fight that had him laying in the cold hospital room. Scenes from the fight replayed in his mind as he remembered the beer glass being smashed across his head. His curly black hair wasn't thick enough to block the damage. Joseph didn't have a desire to be in the streets. He decided he would be nothing like his father. He was the complete opposite from his identical twin brother, Jeremiah, who was cold as ice, and had always been rebellious. Like their father from what they had always been told. He was murdered when they were 4 days old, so all they have to go by is stories from different people, and pictures from a few jail bids he did when he was alive. Just as he was going too deep down memory lane, there was a light knock at the door. “Scuse me miss, let me get this for you... I don't have to knock I’m the man so I just walk in.” Jeremiah flashed a big smile exposing four gold teeth at the bottom. The female doctor smiled and nodded in thanks as they both walked in. “Don’t pull too far away from the bed your IV pouch doesn't travel. How you feeling? Got a nasty lil cut up at the top of your head. You feeling dizzy or having vertigo?” The doctor inquired as she visually observed her patient. She was a different type of doctor. Joseph could tell. He saw it in her eyes she was serious about her work. If he was dying she would have saved him. Her entire aura was pure. She didn't do this for the money. It was her passion. Seeing how much she really cared, Joseph was honest with her. “Well I'm okay. I am kinda dizzy but I'm ok... just wondering why my brother never listens to me!” He snapped his neck and gave Jeremiah the evil side eye as Jeremiah turned his head and looked up to the ceiling awkwardly. Shaking her head and laughing, the doctor admired the bond the brothers shared. It reminded her of her own children. Joy and Harmony, her daughters, were the reason she lived. She was always striving to be better than her mother was. That's what her mother always wanted for her. And she wanted it for herself even more. Even though the girls were a few years apart they were glued to the hip. Just like her mother and aunt were as they were coming up. “Good, I'm glad to hear that! If that is true I am sending you home... let you get back to your life.” she smiled and winked.  Amazed that the doctor said what he had been thinking, he couldn't help but stare at her. He found himself loving what he saw. Looking deep in her eyes wondering if they are really gray, or if he was seeing things. But no. Her eyes were really gray. Looking at her hands, noticing they are hard working hands, but soft hands. “You want a bib to wipe that slob off ya lip?” Jeremiah teased his brother as the doctor turned to leave. Joseph laughed but continued examining the kind woman. He noticed a birthmark on her wrist, that he thought was familiar. But he dismissed it. He needed to know more about this woman. “I appreciate that doc I was thinking the same thing. Aye what's your name? Maybe I can fill out a survey for you... get you some cool points....? And what is your sign? If I may ask.... You just seem so familiar to me.“ Joseph tried to look past her eyes into her soul so he could confirm his feeling. “Shit...hell naw, here he go with that Dr. Sebi shit. Tryna get the doc digits.... she don't want you man shut up.” Jeremiah rolled his eyes and opened the door for the doctor. Once again she silently smiled as she made her way to the doorway. But in her heart she felt the same way about him for some reason. She normally goes thru the meds they have been on, and even gives tips on how to maintain wellness once released. But this time she had to go. She looked at him and saw what felt familiar but seemed unknown.....but was also pulling her in like quick sand. Peaking curiosity. “Chill girl. What is your deal?” she mentally scolded herself while rubbing her temple on the right side. “You gotta lay off the Tequila at night. Just discharge the man and go. Before you end up staring crazy like he is!” Obeying the stern voice in her head, she straightened her jacket, cleared her throat, and flipped her hair before answering professionally. “If I seem familiar Mr. Joseph, its because I genuinely care. My older patients tell me that a lot, in fact they often ask have we met before. But I assure you we have never met or have any connections in life. But, since you must know, I am a Sagittarius. I was born November 25th. And my name is Dr. Myricle Sharee Steeples.” Standing there feeling proud that she can officially call herself a doctor she waited for a response. The room was dead silent as the twin men looked like they had seen a ghost. “What's wrong? Everything ok gentlemen?” Myricle began to wonder if she should have just walked out without answering when Joseph broke the ice. “Yea we good. I think we both just a lil shocked. Joseph said. “Shocked about what?” Myricle asked. “That's crazy that we have the same sign....I mean of course you know we twins, so that's why we the same, but......” Joseph flashed a quick smile and chuckled. “.....we have the same birthday.” 
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landodreamin · 5 years
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I just need a second
hi 
this is going to take a while. I don't know how to properly write what I'm about to write. I really don't. 
you drive me crazy. actually make me insane. there's a pit in my stomach that NEVER leaves. it hasn't left since November. NOVEMBER. its starting to hurt me. very very much. im starting to feel sick. again. my head hurts. I just need one fucking minute where you're not in my head. 
Ive never been an emotional person. I've been beaten down by every single emotional connection that ive ever had. and im only 19. you did something, you unlocked me without either of us knowing it. it happened so suddenly and I can't even remember the exact time it happened. we’re friends. I like to consider us best friends. we’re me and you. you and me. but that was never what you wanted. and that's okay. but I just need a second.
I told you 6 months ago that I liked you. that look every single ounce of being that I had. on that particular day, I thought maybe I could have the life I want. with you. but you didnt want anything. and again, that's okay. but from then on, it just got worse. the pit in my stomach. I found myself becoming someone that I never thought id be. me, thinking about someone else thoughts and actually caring. its a lot to adjust from going to someone who's floating though life with very little emotional connection and expression to someone who expressed feelings to someone that she cared for deeply. I just need a second.
im a forgiving person, sometimes. but no matter what you do, I can't be angry at you for long. and im a very hot headed person. everything hurts. you push me away and punish me for something that's human and harmless. I didnt mean to make you worse. I promise. you do everything in your power to single me out and make sure that I know im not special. and thats okay. because im not special. im me. just me. and im okay with that. I just need a second. 
im trying to give you space. but the friendship we have doesn't involve space. I think ive spent more time with you/taking to you than anyone else ever. that includes my mother. im not even fucking kidding. but its not enough. its like, everything is easier when you’re there. we revised for exams together and it seemed so much easier when you needed help. because I was on that. I literally would do almost anything to help you. and that isnt good. because I can't help myself. im up till 6 am every night, trying not to cry, distracting myself so I dont overstep boundaries that you never told me we had. all you needed to do was tell me what's going on. tell me what to do. but instead im trying to figure it out for myself and its hurting. I just need a second.
when you don't answer me, it makes me think ive done something wrong. but I know I didnt. but you’ve literally changed my brain chemistry. you’ve rewired it in a different way. and I don't like it. I want it to go away. that's all I want. I don't want this anymore. I want to be okay again. I want to be able to do something without thinking you’re going to be sad. because I don't like it when you’re sad. I want you to talk to me but you never will. and the reason why that is drives me crazy too. because as you told me, im the one you talk to the most. but when I ask if you’re okay, you always are, but I know you’re not. but I can't push. because im scared ill make It worse. but thinking about you all the time makes me suffer and I just need a second.
I wish id never told you. I really do. I wish that id not listened to every other person and done that. I should have listened to that voice in my head that says im not good enough for someone to feel like that towards me. because they’re correct. as shown. I should have trusted my gut and known that it was the worst idea. im never doing it again. ever. I promise. that will never happen again. I don't have it in me to go through this again. its hard to accept that you fucked up something that was so special. im working on it. but I just need a second.
I love you. mostly as a friend. because let me tell you, you’re one of the best people ive ever met. the way you care about everything. even salt packets that are not being used. or the last cookie being on its own. sure, they’re inanimate objects. but its charming. it makes me laugh. you make me laugh a lot. when you talk about something that you like, your entire face lights up. you express everything you have with such passion. its amazing. I love to listen to you talk about your interests. you act like no ones ever listened before. that makes me sad. and I want to sit there and listen to you without my heart bursting. I just need a second.
you’ve changed me so much these past 8 months. and I mostly like it. besides my head always being really heavy and sad. the rest is good. im not a person who's scared to talk about problems. I will bring it up. but with you, its harder. I know you’ve got a busy head also. I don't ever want to make that worse. my burden and my feelings can remain with me. I never want you to be at fault because of how I feel. its not you. mostly. im working on the mostly, but I just need a second.
so there you go. I adore u. and that's okay. because everything I feel for you roots from friendship and finally feeling like I click with someone and I belong somewhere. friendship is the most important thing to me. trust me when I say I don't want or need anything more. all I need from you is to be my friend. and for you to let me be yours. lets work on that? after I get that second.
maybe I can finally go to sleep now.
goodbye you, thank you and fuck you.
-A
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handslows · 7 years
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Pretty sure no one should be tolerating the beards when we know how nasty Eleanor was especially towards Harry and then the story of how Danielle basically forced herself on Louis in public came out (plus, if you stick to the narrative, she did cheat on him), and to me both those girls are ugly since they chose to help closet a person. So yeah there's really no reason to be tolerating either of them
ok but like. listen.
this is gonna be long because yall are exhausting me and miss the point every fucking time
i never liked eleanor bc she was annoying and said nasty things about fans and larries and her friends were terrible esp. max. we only heard these bad stories about what she allegedly said about harry AFTER they broke up too. so i didnt particularly like her and she had done her fair share of bad shit across the years but that doesnt mean ppl can say shit about her looks?? which no one did btw. people were far kinder to eleanor than they ever been to danielle.
the thing with danielle is for months and months and months she NEVER said a single word about louis and never posted about him on social media and NEVER interacted with fans (still hasnt). she was just there. but people still spent HOURS talking shit about how bad her shoes and clothes and facial expression were. which was just super unnecessary and nasty. you can not like someone for the job they are doing but attacking a young woman for how she looks is just really fucking low. so i always stood out against that, against the completely unnecessary criticisms. because you know these were not personal criticisms against her, these people wouldve said more or less the same shit about any woman because they dont like what she represents. so yeah, it really fucking annoyed me.
i also lost followers and mutuals for being done with people’s bullshit. people kept projecting so many intentions on her like, people were legit talking like she was forcing herself into louis’ family house bc she was so ‘desperate’. some posts even sounded as if she tricked louis into taking a pic so she could post it on her insta like??? calling her non-expressive resting face ‘smug’ on every pap pics??? like JFC shes not smug shes just!! existing!!! if everyone saw my resting face theyd all call me a bitch. and if she was smiling then she was desperate. so smug or desperate, what a luck. people were losing their fucking minds. i never gave a shit about her, i thought she was a pretty girl doing an annoying job and i wanted her gone as much as everyone else but thats it. except for being a beard (which btw we dont know the details of the contract between the two no matter how much ppl tried to blame her for everything thats bad in the world) she didnt do ANYTHING publicly that was annoying enough or on par with eleanor except existing. people mocked her over how she swung her bag for like, 2 weeks. 
the story of danielle allegedly forcing herself on louis happened LATE 2016, like november?? and only got discussed on tumblr like, a month ago, so you using this as an argument is weak. There was no reason to preemptively hate danielle because of this story back in january 2016 no matter how hard you try to convince yourself that your hate was justified. everyone was just being nasty and bitter and going crazy over babygate and losing sight of what their priorities are. that’s it.
even if people had “receipts” on her prior to that that would justify why they hate an unknown nonfamous 21 years girl so much, they never shared it with the fandom as a whole and therefore, the fandom as a whole did not have any reason to hate her this much. literally the only story i heard is that apparently she was rude to a waiter in a restaurant. omg!!! bring out the torches!! this totally justify you spending hours mocking her face!!!! unless youre telling me that “big larries hated her therefore we all hated her too” because thats just sad and another problem altogether. so yeah dont try to use that as a reason of why you said nasty shit about her appearance back in february 2016.
i dont even know why im saying this because…having reasons to hate her will never justify the amount of absolutely deranged comments ive read about the way she looks. it was and will always be totally uncalled for and i cant believe how far this fandom went, i cant believe the stuff adults have written about this thinking it was ok. if she is that much of a terrible person there has to be more shit you can say about her than your subjective opinion that her resting face looks “smug” and that shes desperate for being in the presence of louis. i also cant believe how much people mocked her for not being famous enough even though a recurrent role in tv show is more than most people can achieve and when yall know you wouldve hated her for being famous if she was. so, eleanor was bad because she was non-famous using louis’ money and not going to school, taylor is bad because shes too famous and using 1d and harry’s name for her own career and danielle had a recurrent role in a popular franchise and that still was not ok for yall. i get the point is that youre never gonna “like” any beard no matter what her job is because you hate beards but just ADMIT IT and find other things to talk about instead of making up reasons why shes a bad person.
so, honestly, this isn’t about danielle at all. i dont care about her feelings or whatever. my problems is that for months ive read thousands of comments criticizing this girl for doing ANYTHING. and the worst is that when i was telling people they should probably calm down and that attacking a girl for how she looks is not cool at all, i got hate and lost followers and had mutuals indirecting me. because apparently having human decency was too much for people to handle. because apparently people still dont get that criticizing a girl for how she looks and dress as bigger far-reaching consequences in the long run. for months ive had to see people spreading bullshit and lies about her just because of their assumptions. 
and this goes for briana too. that girl is awful and did a lot of fucked up shit and i totally support talking shit about her AS LONG AS ITS FOCUS ON THE BAD THINGS SHES DOING. ive also been disgusted at comments towards briana or ashley shaming her for how they look and i dont find it more acceptable just because i hate them too. theres a line and yall crossed it, like, 12 months ago.
im not saying you have to tolerating neither of them now because of you what found out, im just saying that what you DIDNT KNOW a year ago cannot be used to justify what you did back then. 
anyway this isnt about danielle this is about how i still can’t believe i lost hundreds of followers and dozens of mutuals because i argued that talking shit about how she looks was not valid criticism and was a harmful behaviour. 
and if you still don’t think that’s fucked up and still wanna defend that nasty behaviour from last year i can’t help you.
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amaintainedrisk · 4 years
Text
first of all, I apologize for Siri. My eyesight has been really bad since all of this has happened so I can’t see at all what Siri is screwing up or not. So if a sentence makes no sense, I apologize. I can’t see the picture.
I’m still trying to piece together what happened to me. The backstory is, about a month ago I started having heart palpitations really badly. Not a fast heartbeat but a pounding heartbeat. So I thought it was cardiac issues so he went to a cardiologist and they found nothing on the echo. That’s… When neurological issues setting. all the symptoms I had before my 2009 Chiari surgery we’re slowly repeating themselves, but 1000 times worse. I just felt really really heavy and it felt like someone had their hands on the top of my head and we’re pushing my head down. All of this also made the cardiac symptoms worse. So I made an appointment with a neurosurgeon and by the time he saw me, I couldn’t even walk into his office. I was wheelchair-bound. I couldn’t lay in a flat position and I just could not breathe and every day the symptoms were getting worse. But through it all, I had all my mental faculties and I knew exactly what was going on and processed everything. I was mentally stable. The neurosurgeon ordered CAT scans but they needed to be approved by the insurance first so I had to wait and… They never got a chance to be approved.
on Tuesday, November 26, my hospice nurse came out in the morning. He brought along I knew Nurse because he’s switching routes so I’m getting a new hospice nurse/case manager and she was going around meeting all her new patients with him. They came in and saw me sitting in the hospital bed in the middle of the living room and saw how pale I was and said I needed to go to the hospital and that I didn’t look well at all. I refused at the time but I had planned on going sometime later that week if things didn’t get any better. I was just trying to stay out of the hospital as long as I possibly could. Bad mistake.
like I said, that was on Tuesday. I felt awful but I had my phone about me. I understood everything, I felt like shit and walk to the bathroom if I had to. I couldn’t go up the stairs anymore though. I just couldn’t breathe. so that was Tuesday. The next few days are really fuzzy to me. I think it was by Wednesday afternoon I started losing it and losing control. My memories are all screwed up. I just remember sitting in the bed downstairs And talking to mom and watching things on TV and being up in the middle of the night just sitting in bed for no reason, not sleeping. I don’t know how to clean it. It’s so fuzzy. by Friday afternoon, all hell has broken loose.
I remember very little from the day I was admitted into the hospital. I was admitted into the hospital late Friday night, just before midnight. So technically Saturday morning. But mom called an ambulance on me because I was pretty much just sitting in the bed screaming, And moaning, and when I would talk I would only say one word sentences that made no sense. And I actually remember some of the work. I was just sitting up in bed screaming the word “diamond“ and “okey-dokey“ and shit like that over and over. My mom would ask what was wrong and I would just say diamonds or okey-dokey over and over. I remember some of that. I was mentally gone and when I wasn’t making any sense I was screaming at the top of my lights. I remember my mom telling me over and over and over and over and over to stop screaming because the neighbors will call the cops because that’s how loud I was being. But the reason I was screaming is because I couldn’t breathe. And I couldn’t convey any of my thoughts outside of one word sentences that made no sense.
here comes the embarrassing part. Except I’m not that embarrassed to say it to you guys because you’re my best friends. in the last 24 hours of being admitted, I was peeing and pooping in the bed. I’m not sure. I had a potty chair/bedside commode by the hospital bed that I was in, in the living room, and I couldn’t even make it to there. I remember consciously sitting in the bed and thinking that I had to go really badly but I couldn’t move so I just soiled myself right there in the bed. I lost control of my bladder and my bowels. When my mom came down Friday morning and found me laying there covered in urine and pooping in the bed, that’s when she really really wanted to call an ambulance. that must’ve terrified her. One of the reason she didn’t call the ambulance is because after what happened to me in Cleveland, both times, she promised me she would never call an ambulance until I said it was OK to call the ambulance. And apparently I was in the bed taking her not to call the ambulance yet so she was just following my orders that I had laid out from before. so she cleaned me up and change my clothes and that’s why she kept trying to get me to talk and I would only use one word answers. Then around midnight I went to the bathroom all over myself again, in both ways and I was sitting in the bed screaming and yelling out those one word answers and just yelling at the top of my lungs. so around midnight my mom cleaned me up again, and by this time I couldn’t even move. She had to undress me, clean me up, and then redress me oh by herself and then she called the ambulance around midnight Friday.
DMV aunts came and rushed me to Saint Joe’s hospital. I don’t really remember that much. I remember the sound of the sirens and the EMTs coming in and having to lift me off the bed onto the gurney. I remember them trying to get an IV in the ambulance but I hadn’t eaten in a month and was so dehydrated they couldn’t. I remember arriving at the hospital and just not being able to breeze. By that time I can only communicate in grunts. I was so gone. Honestly, the first few days in the hospital? I’m not sure what’s real or not. Which memories are real or not, because I lack so much oxygen to the brain that honestly some of my memories are just fucking made up. I’m actually going to set my mother down tonight and talk to her and ask her which memories are real and which art and what happened the first three days in the hospital because honestly, I don’t know. I remember somethings but I don’t know if the real…
what happened to me? Why was I fine on Tuesday but soiling myself on Friday? The doctors think it was a combination of my neurological disorder and me internally bleeding somewhere slowly. Somewhere inside me there was a slow internal bleed and that’s why I was so pale and unable to breathe. I had six blood transfusions while I was in the hospital lol. I probably shouldn’t laugh at that but… Wow. it was the closest I ever came to this. My doctor said that, my mother said that, and I fucking agree. My mom said it because it was the first time that even my mental faculties were gone. when I was discharged from the hospital that Doctor said my hemoglobin score was the lowest score he had ever seen in his 30 year career. The doctors and nurses said my score was the lowest score they had ever seen, with that person actually surviving. they had never seen someone with that low of a score survive, let alone remain conscious. They kept drilling that into me. That nobody has ever walked away from that Louisville score before. I think they were doing that because they wanted to make sure I didn’t wait so long to call the ambulance again the next time. And yes I said the next time because they think it will be a next time. They never found the bleed. It’s still in there somewhere. It’s just… Stopped for now. But it could start up again at any time.
The next thing they’re doing is making me take that test where are you swallow a pill and it’s actually a camera. That way they can look for the bleed in the areas the endoscopy can’t reach. So they have to schedule that. They’re trying to do it quickly because the normal score is in the range of 12 to 14. When I got to the hospital, my score was two. So yeah that was pretty low. I can’t get my medical records until the middle of the week next week, and when I do I’m going to take pictures and scan them in to show you all the levels. I should not be alive right now. I should not be alive right now. I do not know how I made it through that. Hopefully I can beat the internal bleed to the punch and get this test and find out what’s wrong before fucking starts up again. I almost lost it in there. I was floating in between fantasy and reality and right now I don’t know which is which so that’s all I’m going to say for now until I talk to my mom and try to sort out my thoughts and my memories.
So yeah… Crazy month, am I right? What else is now.… By the way, my mother pretty much save my life. And I have to give her props for cleaning me up and taking care of her daughter when she was 33 years old and laying in her own filth and respecting her wishes and not calling the ambulance until I gave the OK. but I gave the OK kind of late so I already called my mother in the hospital that if this happens again, do not wait for me to say yes. Just call the ambulance before my levels drop and I actually don’t survive the next time. My mom said OK. So I have that safety plan in place but yeah.
I know my mother and I have had some hard times, especially over my aunt who my motherfucking told that I was in the hospital when I asked her not to and I’m pissed off about that but considering my mother saved my life I decided not to bitch her out for it. It’s not like she ever listens to that anyway, she told my aunt everything so now my aunt fucking know so I’m just waiting for that time bomb to hit. But since my mother cleaned me up and continue to do so in the hospital, what kind of person would I be to yell at her for that right now? I don’t want to be like my aunt or my mother in some respects. I’m upset that she told my aunt but yeah, she cleaned me up and got me to the hospital. I’m going to let this one go.
like I said, I am so fucking fuzzy on everything that happened from Wednesday the 27th to about Sunday morning. I’m talking to my mother tonight to see if I can please so until then, this is my little helper today. I am most hit the dust again. fucking shocker. Hopefully they can find the bleed before it starts bleeding again but at least if it does, I know the symptoms and I can get to the hospital a lot sooner. That way I don’t need six fucking blood transfusions and a miracle like I did this time and apparently God… For once.
so how was your Thanksgiving? mine was eventful.
Turning onto no… That was the scariest week of my life. I honestly felt myself end it was you moments I do recollect screaming in pain and not being able to breathe my last moment from home, and then coming around in the hospital still not been able to breathe… I thought myself floating away. I was terrified. I remember trying to talk and just being able to grunt and moan and stare down and just… OK I just burst into tears thinking about it so I’m just going to end this for now lol. I’ll post more when I clear up my memories better. That’s just it for now. I need a break.
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bmyselfandi-blog · 5 years
Text
mom
there was a time in my life where the hardest thing i was going through was a high school breakup. i thought the world was ending, that id never experience a worse heartbreak than that one. i got over it and went back to the guy a few times. it was on and off. that was the beginning of my junior year, around september. come april 21st i received the worst news i could have handled at the time. my mom was diagnosed with cancer. now she never really told us, well at least me, she never told me the stage of the cancer. but it was rectal. they tell you not to look up that kind of shit because it will scare you but me, i dont listen when told not to do something. now, i probably should have, it scared me what i found, but also gave me hope. it said curable. they said long life span. so, in my mind it was all going to be okay. my dad took it very hard. i poften found him crying alone, and i cried too. we all did. my mom was the type of person to help anyone in need, she was amazing, loving, wonderful, generous, warm, any fucking word to describe an angel, that was fucking her. still is. anyways fast forward about a year, end of my senior year. i start dating this new guy, hes amazing, he gave me the world. i couldnt have asked for a better man. stuck by my side through some fucked up shit that was my fault. we had our fights, like every couple. he did some things that i didnt like but i pushed past it because i loved him. thats what couples do right? well, not even a year later i spent less time with my family, more time with him and his. i regret that every day of my life. ill never forget the first day of my new job my dad made me cry because he told me my mom thought id rather spend time with my boyfriends mom than her. i balled my eyes out on my way to work. i never wanted to hurt my moms feelings like that. she couldnt do much, she was weak and it was getting harder for her to do everyday things. that was november. come march 25. it was a saturday. my mom was sitting in her spot on the couch and my dad was downstairs on the computer. i dont remember my sister being home. my mom asked me to look at her eyes and tell me what color the whites were, they were yellow. that meant jaundice. i told my dad, we told her she needed to go to the hospital. she said she didnt feel well and didnt want to go that day and if she wasnt feeling any better shed go the next day. i didnt think too much about it, this wouldnt be the first hospital trip that month or let alone that year. sunday; i went to my boyfriends to hangout and have dinner. after dinner my dad told and said they were going to the hospital. we then drove up to meet them. they took my mom in the back, i went back with her as did everyone else. the crazy thing is, is i dont remember all too much. i remember being back h=there, them asking her certain questions that made me sad, like if she was sad, depressed, thinking about dying. i brought her up some things when we went, i had this pair of ankle fuzzy sicks that i gave to her, she asked me to put them on her feet, i remember there being a hole in the big toe, she thought it was funny. it got later, they ended up admitting her but were trying to find a room. my dad had to work the next morning and i hadnt started my new job so i told him i would stay with her that night so she wasnt alone. they had a room in the pediatric ward so they sent us up. there were two cribs, a bed and a couple chairs in the room. i slept in the chair that turned into a bed. the nurses were very nice. we got some rest after being moved up there. it was very late, almost 4am. the next morning my uncle was up there and my dad came soon after as well. days went by, i started my new job, id go up as soon as i got off to go and see her. she got worse each day but we didnt think anything of it. turns out the tumor was actually starting to quickly crush her liver. she started not being able to talk well. they eventually put her on a heavy breathing treatment. she stopped talking and responding. my dad asked a timeline and the doctor said he didnt like to put timelines. i thought she would get better. they had my dad sign a DNR, we werent going to make her suffer if she didnt have to. it was selfish of us to want her to stay with how much pain i knew she was in. we had family up there always. april 4th. it was a wednesday. by now they had put my mom into hospice care, we had the option of bringing her home but we didnt want to make her uncomfortable by moving her. they gave us the whole room we were in. 315 bed B. we had people come and talk to us about urns and getting things like that. a hospice worker told us that their phone line was always available to talk on, whether it was a week later or a year later. i didnt have workbthat day. i went up to the hospital early. my moms cousin Colleen was there. my boyfriend came up as well. my dad my sister and her cousin kim came up as well. we hung out all day. i told colleen i probably wouldnt end up going to this festival i had in may because i wanted to be there everyday for my mom. colleen said that was almost 2 months away and that my mom may not be here by then. i didnt want to think about that. my mom would always be here right? that night me and my boyfriend ordered chinese. we were going to pick it up but they had delivery. we were also supposed to go to the store but we decided not to for some reason i dont remember. we ate our nasty chinese food. i got shrimp and lobster sauce, my moms favorite. we were all sitting aruond talking. my dad had ran home to let the dogs out since no one had been home in a while. anytime he would leave the room for anything longer than a half hour he would hug my mom and tell her to wait for him. he left. he got to the house. he let the dogs house. we were sitting there when my boyfriend looked over at my mom. her eyes were open. they hadnt been open in days. we instantly went over to her. her cousin got the nurse. me and my sister held her hand. i called my dad crying. all i could muster out was the word “hurry” and the pain in his voice when he said “okay” was enough to break anyones heart. the nurses knew. we all knew. i held my moms hand crying. my boyfriend rubbed my back. i told her i loved her. my sister told her she loved her. kim consoled her. we knew her fight was over. kim closed my moms eyes and like that she was gone. it was 10:15. we had to wait for a doctor to pronounce time of death. time of death was 10:25. my dad got there, tears in his eyes. we called family to tell them. his best friend was up in a heartbeat. his brother came up. i called my best friends. sarah and her boyfriend were up within minutes. my boyfriend held me. everyone cried. my dad hugged me and my sister so tight. the nurses were wonderful and sweet. it was probably 3 something in the morning when we left. i said my final goodbyes and told her i loved her. how could i just leave my mom in this room all alone? i couldnt handle it. i drove home with my boyfriend and let my dad drive alone. i dont know why i did that. i should have went with him. we got home and i couldnt tell you anything after that. i dont remember much about the days that followed. i know the next day we had to make phone calls to change things into our names and take my moms off. we received lots of “im so sorry for you loss”’s. it got sickening. we got flowers, cards, food. my boyfriends family was so helpful. i took that friday off of work and went back monday. got a lot of sorrys there too. her memorial was friday the 13th. i worked that morning. i shouldnt have but i had to go on like normal. how do you just go on like normal? how do you just up and live without your best friend, your fucking mother? she was supposed to be there through everything. she was supposed to live a long happy life with my dad. she was supposed to watch me get married and watch my have her grandchildren. she was supposed to be free of cancer and get better and live happy and healthy. she wasnt supposed to die. she should still fucking be here today. but shes not. months later, not even a year. my boyfriend and i broke up. just shy of a year since her passing, march 2nd. my friend and i had a run in with my ex. she flipped him off while we were driving. he followed us to the gas station and cussed us out. later that night he posted a story on his snapchat. black screen with the words “ your mother would be ashamed of you” written on it. directed towards me. how dare he say that shit. how could the same man that held me while i held my dying mothers hand say some dumb fucking shit like that to me? i dont quite get how he could ever in a million years say that shit. she was liuke amother to him. he was there through everything we dealt with, all the grieving, the sadness and depression in my house. but what bothers me is how a few months later we were getting back together. and how i could forgive him for saying that. i never did forgive him and i dont think i ever will. he said he posted it to hurt me because he was hurt. but how could he stoop that low. later on he brought her up again when he wanted me to stop smoking. “ how would mom feel” i tried kicking him out, ive never yelled at him before until that night, i got in his face and screamed not to talk about my dead mom. he didnt again. we stopped talking about a month later and havent talked since. he never understood what i was going through. what i am going through. i cry a lot. i miss my mom everyday. i think about her every hour of the day. my dad texts her almost every day. he posts on her facebook sometimes. i text her sometimes. i call too to see if someone new has her number. its still disconnected. i dont want someone new to have her number. thats her fucking number. no one elses. i still dont feel like this is all real and here its been a year and a half. christmas is coming up. her birthday is christmas eve. it was her favorite time of the year. we held the party at our house very year for anyone who wanted to come. it was always a full house. everyone loved my mom, she was an amazing person. a family friends words describing my mother to someone were “she had to adjust her halo when walking into a room” and thats always been true. even now, im sure she visits often. i wish so bad that she could be here, that she could see how everything is going. i miss her so fucking much and i just want my fucking mom back. i know everything in life would be okay if she was here. i know it would solve every problem me and my family have if she was just fucking here. she should be here. she should fucking be here right now. 
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mrskeithgreen-blog · 5 years
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The start of something new…
It has been so long since I updated this that I had to look back to see where I had left off. We had a very busy Christmas, the whole month of December actually with both Sarah and Zoe turning 11, and as much as I love the Christmas season, I am glad to be on the other side.  I know I do it to myself and create more traditions and things than are necessary but I love to make people happy.  It is who I have been my entire life.  Keith jokes that God knew all along that he was going to need a caregiver so I was sent into his life.  I often bite off more than I can chew and I have to tell myself it’s ok if everyone at the part doesn’t get a handmade ornament or knitted hat or whatever my project is that year.  I also take a lot of care in paying attention to people and making mental notes during conversations about what would be a great gift for them.  
Well, this year I didn’t even get our Christmas cards out.  I also didn’t hang half of the ornaments on the Christmas tree and I decided that our friend party was going to be pajama themed so we didn’t have to fuss about what to wear.  What seemed as failures at the time actually created a less stressful, picture perfect time that allowed us to relax a little more and focus on quality time.  
Right before Christmas, my Aunt Dar passed away and left a huge hole in our family.  She was such an amazingly kind soul that could light up any room and always made Keith feel like he had always been part of our family. The words spoken by those closest to her at the funeral sparked something in us and we have not stopped talking since.  Walking out, Keith looked at me and said, “our kids don’t see us that way, we have to do better and be better.” We have been talking and praying about how to live outwardly what we feel inwardly.  That is kind of hard to put into words but I think the reason behind my strategic gift giving and memory making is to make sure my loved ones know that I listen and care. But we can always do better and inspire others to do better as well.  A few short weeks after losing her, my grandpa suddenly passed away.  I always knew what a quiet, amazingly supportive man he was, but why do we wait until someone dies to take the time to learn things about them?  I never knew what he did for a living, or that my grandparents married while still in high school, or that he adored Keith and was so happy that I had found happiness. We rush through life without taking the time to listen and ask questions about the important things.  There’s so much more to learn from our elders.  I love listening to my grandma tell stories. She always says I’m sure these stories bore you! Are you kidding me? I love it! I need to start writing them down though because my memory isn’t what it used to be.
So, at the beginning of December Keith received his first immunotherapy infusion which is a very similar process to receiving chemotherapy, we even go to the same department and sit in the same chairs.  They hook up the IV and then wait for the meds to finish.  Unlike chemotherapy, he did not experience any of the nausea, weakness, loss of taste or the other hundred side effects.  He was a little more tired than usual for about a week or so after but otherwise tolerated it very well.  After the first week, he started getting some major visual changes that started out as what he calls “seeing stars” and developed into a complete visual field deficit.  He couldn’t see anything clearly and after a few days of him trying to convince me he was “fine” I insisted that we go to the ER.  The episodes were lasting longer and longer and I didn’t feel safe leaving him home alone ever in case it was seizures or something life threatening. In the ER, the screened for seizures and determined it was likely increased swelling in the brain due to coming off of the steroids.  He had been on steroids for over a month because of the surgery but when he was told that in order to start immunotherapy, he had to be off steroids, he tapered very quickly.  Too quickly according to the neuro team.  He refused to go back on the steroids for fear that it would make the immunotherapy less effective.  I was at a loss, I know he needs the immunotherapy, as he says it’s his last shot, but at the same time he can’t function if he can’t see.  After going home, the episodes continued to worsen and after talking to the doctor, he was forced to go back on the steroids.  He saw this as a setback, but they told him prolonged swelling on the brain is more damaging so it has to get under control. Within a few hours he was back to “normal” whatever that is anymore.
Just before he was to receive his second infusion, he was doing something in the basement and felt a pop in his shoulder.  Within a few hours, his entire arm had turned purple, was swelling up and all of the veins from his chest down to fingers were bulging.  He assured me it was just a pulled muscle and not to worry about it. A few days later when we saw the doctors, I mentioned it and asked to have it looked at.  He immediately shot me a look and said he’s fine.  He was worried they wouldn’t let him have the infusion if they thought it was a reaction to the meds.  They looked at it and didn’t seem concerned.  They were however concerned with him getting back on the steroids and the dose he was at to control the swelling is too high to receive the immunotherapy drugs.  It would essentially be a wash.  Steroids suppress the immune system while immunotherapy drugs boost the immune system. He promised he would do what he had to do to get down to the acceptable level since he didn’t want to be on them in the first place!  He sweet talked them into giving him the infusion, after all there really isn’t a protocol for him and after all of the research we have done, we knew the risks and were willing to take them in order to stay on track.  
The third infusion was this past week and when the other nurse practitioner came in the room, I may have mentioned the purple arm against the looks of my husband.  She immediately said it needed to be looked at. It was going on 5 weeks and there was no improvement.  She was willing to allow the infusion and send us to the cardiovascular center immediately after.  While doing an ultrasound of the area he claims was a pulled muscle, they discovered a six-inch-long vein in his shoulder that was completely blocked.  I had never heard of a six-inch-long blood clot! My mind started racing and I told him i am not taking you home until that thing is out. I have watched too many episodes of Grey’s Anatomy to know what happens when a blood clot travels to the heart and lungs. But seriously, I wasn’t prepared for them to just say he was going to be prescribed blood thinners and was going home.  I really thought they would scope in there and remove it! Instead, the nurse came in to show me how to give him injections twice a day until this clot is gone and then they said he would go down to once a day for the rest of his life.  If you know my husband, you know this wasn’t going to fly.  As soon as we got in the car he said, well I’m not doing that for the rest of my life.  I was so frustrated I couldn’t speak.  Apparently, cancer patients are more prone to blood clots than the rest of us so it’s not uncommon to be on a blood thinner.  I calmly said maybe there would be an oral one to switch to once this clot is gone and please stop with all of the stubborn “I’m not going to…”
I have heard the saying that if a man had to give birth, we would be extinct and I am starting to see why. Granted he now bruises like crazy and has very thin skin, but when he tells someone about this injection, you imagine the 12-inch needle they used when I had an amniocentesis.  Nobody likes to get poked, but the needle is very tiny and it’s over very quickly.  He has gotten used to the actual poke but says the burning that comes a few seconds after the medicine distributes is so bad, he would rather go back to brain surgery.  Not funny, but in our house, we make bad jokes like, “you act like it’s brain surgery” all the time which seems to lighten our day.  The doctors say is could take months for this large of a clot to dissolve so the injections aren’t going away any time soon.  
In the meantime, we have decided to start a non-profit foundation to help others find hope in otherwise dark times by seeing the love of God all around.  We hope that this foundation will bring awareness to others that helping someone and praying for them and helping them see God can change their outlook on not only their situation, but in life.  We have so often been asked how we stay so positive, and optimistic with such a grim diagnosis?  It hasn’t really occurred to us to be any other way, so we didn’t realize the power that has.  If we can help at least one person to go from feeling hopeless and down to having hope and a light in their day then perhaps this is our purpose for all of this and it will be worth it.  
Next week will be a scan of the brain to see where we are compared to November right after surgery. They forewarned us that after only 3 treatments, we may not see much but hopefully after 6 we will get a better idea of whether or not it is working.  Any time you have a test or scan it is impossible to stay completely calm. We know in our hearts that it is what it is and we will continue on this path until we are told there is nothing more they can do.  As of today, he continues to work every day, he goes to the kids sporting events, we have been out to several charity fundraisers the past few weeks and although he tires out easily and has a hard time navigating through crowds, he never gets discouraged.  
So this crazy life of raising five kids, owning a business, starting a foundation, and surviving cancer will continue.  One day at a time.  I just recently saw a quote I’d like to share.  It goes something like this...”People say you only live once, but actually you only die once, you live every day.” I will add that since only God knows what day is our last, why don’t we live with more purpose as if today is our last?
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patriotsnet · 3 years
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How Do Republicans Feel About The Wall
New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/how-do-republicans-feel-about-the-wall/
How Do Republicans Feel About The Wall
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Half Of Republicans Believe False Accounts Of Deadly Us Capitol Riot
How do Hispanic Americans truly feel about the border wall?
7 Min Read
WASHINGTON -Since the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have pushed false and misleading accounts to downplay the event that left five dead and scores of others wounded. His supporters appear to have listened.
Three months after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to try to overturn his November election loss, about half of Republicans believe the siege was largely a non-violent protest or was the handiwork of left-wing activists trying to make Trump look bad, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll has found.
Six in 10 Republicans also believe the false claim put out by Trump that Novembers presidential election was stolen from him due to widespread voter fraud, and the same proportion of Republicans think he should run again in 2024, the March 30-31 poll showed.
Since the Capitol attack, Trump, many of his allies within the Republican Party and right-wing media personalities have publicly painted a picture of the days events jarringly at odds with reality.
Hundreds of Trumps supporters, mobilized by the former presidents false claims of a stolen election, climbed walls of the Capitol building and smashed windows to gain entry while lawmakers were inside voting to certify President Joe Bidens election victory. The rioters – many of them sporting Trump campaign gear and waving flags – also included known white supremacist groups such as the Proud Boys.
DANGEROUS SPIN ON REALITY
They Just Come For Show
The four House Republicans were unfamiliar with the history of the fight over Santa Ana.
It was not addressed by the Border Patrol agents who led the morning excursion. And by the time E&E News connected with Chapman, the delegation had departed the refuge for a briefing on Border Patrol activities at the local headquarters of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Later, when asked whether Westerman thought the environmental impact of installing a wall at Santa Ana and in other refuge areas was a necessary sacrifice to stop the flow of illegal immigration, the lawmaker said it didnt sound unreasonable.
One hundred and fifty feet kind of sounds like what the right of way would be on a levee, but I dont know, he said. Obviously, if youre going to build a wall, theres going to be clearing. And from what Ive seen, stories Ive heard about human trafficking, the rapes, the deaths yeah, I think its worth building the deterrents.
At the National Butterfly Center a 100-acre nature preserve that was also exempted from having a border wall built on its land in the same 2019 spending package Executive Director Marianna Trevino Wright said she thought the GOP lawmakers were ignorant by choice.
I think they have no idea, Trevino Wright asserted. They come just for show. Theyre not interested.
The real litterbugs, she contended, were the officers with Border Patrol.
There’s Something Happening Here
But he uses a different touchstone: Occupy Wall Street, the left-leaning anti-establishment movement that blossomed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
“This is Occupy Wall Street Part 2, but this time it is on their turf, and there are real financial consequences,” he said. LeGate, who received a $100,000 Thiel fellowship to drop out of college and start a company when he was 18 years old in 2013, has been watching the WallStreetBets Reddit discussion for several years.
He said he is seeing increasing frustration and anger, which is exploding in the Covid pandemic era and it is bringing together the traditional political left and right.
“People were willing to take a risk on Trump and now they’re willing to take a risk in the markets,” he said. “A lot of people just want to see the world burn right now, and they’re enjoying watching it happen.”
He said he’s already seeing people on the WallStreetBets Reddit page looking for new targets and there are two themes. First, they’re looking for highly shorted stocks where big hedge funds might have a lot of leverage. And second, they’re looking for nostalgia plays to bring back the companies from their youth. That’s why Nokia, Blackberry and Blockbuster are all getting attention.
Border Walls In The Middle East
One major proof of concept that Republicans supporting a Mexican border wall cite is the success of similar walls in the Middle East. For example, walls along the Israeli-Palestinian border reportedly cut down illegal immigration between the countries. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who is also the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, stated that he was impressed with a system of fences he had inspected along the Israeli border with Palestinian territories. Johnson stated Im always looking for best practices. Its been incredibly effective. They had thousands of illegal immigrants; its down to the teens.
House Republicans Propose $10 Billion For Trumps Border Wall
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House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a plan to provide $10 billion for President Donald Trumps border wall with Mexico, a bill unlikely to clear the Senate but which could fuel a shutdown fight in December.
Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul said his panel will vote on the legislation next week. The bill also would add 10,000 more border patrol agents and Customs and Border Protection officers, tap the National Guard to patrol the southern border and target people who have overstayed visas.
Now that we have a partner in the White House who has made this a top priority, its time to send a bill to President Trumps desk so we can deliver the American people the security they have long demanded and deserve, McCaul said in a statement.
The bill represents Republicans opening salvo in both the looming year-end government funding fight and high-stakes negotiations over undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.
It almost certainly wont pass the Senate, where at least eight Democrats would be needed to clear a 60-vote threshold.
Partisans Approve Their Partys Approach To Shutdown Negotiations Disapprove Of Other Partys
Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 76% approve of how Trump is handling shutdown talks, including 50% who say they strongly approve of Trumps approach. In contrast, just 4% of Democrats approve of Trumps handling of the negotiations, while 93% disapprove .
The overall pattern is similar in views of Republican leaders in Congress: 69% of Republicans approve of their partys leaders handling of negotiations, while just 10% of Democrats approve.
And while about seven-in-ten Democrats and Democratic leaners approve of the way Democratic leaders in Congress are handling the shutdown negotiations, just 11% of Republicans say the same.
Republicans Pray For A Border Crisis To Bring Biden Down
Joe Biden and his programs are popular. Republicans cant lay a glove on him. So theyve settled on immigration as the way to drag him into the mud.
Guillermo Arias/Getty
Republicans are crazy about immigration. No, really. The issue makes them loco. Just listen to the things theyre saying. Many of them have lost touch with reality.
Or maybe Republicans are crazy like a fox. The GOP seems to have once again pinned all of its hopes for retaking powerin this case, by winning back control of the Senate in the 2022 midterm elections and possibly regaining seats in the House of Representativeson the immigration issue. If either of those things happen, Republicans will be in decent shape to try to retake the White House in 2024.
President Joe Biden has only been in office for about 60 days, and Republicans who want to attack him and his administration dont have a lot of material with which to work.
Thats what some of the current fearmongering over the situation at the U.S.-Mexico borderabout half of itis all about. The other half is made up of good ol fashioned nativism and racism. Thats one reason why Republicans act like the prospect of what could turn out to be 100,000 would-be refugees from Central America mostly women and children is the end of Western civilization as we know it.
Here we are again. And the same Republicans who were quiet and subdued when former President Donald Trump confronted this same problem now cant stop talking about this being a crisis.
Republicans Spent Two Years Resisting Trumps Border Wall What Changed
Since the government shutdown 25 days ago, Republicans have largely defended the need for a border wall. While there appear to be some cracks in support, most are standing by the presidents insistence on funding.
As recently as September, The Washington Post described it this way:
The same Republican lawmakers who rushed through the tax bill Trump wanted, confirmed his first Supreme Court pick and are fighting to defend his second, and have remained largely deferential amid multiple scandals, have taken a far different approach when it comes to one of Trumps most memorable campaign promises deeming the wall to be impractical, unrealistic and too costly.
Most GOP lawmakers didnt come right out and say that, of course.
Instead, for the first two years of Trumps presidency, GOP lawmakers avoided the wall debate completely. In September 2017, USA Today took on the laborious task of surveying every member of Congress to determine their position on Trumps wall. At the time, the White House was requesting $1.6 billion to begin wall construction. The survey found that just 69 of the 292 Republicans in Congress said they supported Trumps funding request. Three outright opposed it, but the majority avoided answering the question directly.
Shortly after Trumps inauguration, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham , Trumps onetime nemesis turned close ally, told Politico that the border wall is probably not a smart investment.
Every Congressperson Along Southern Border Opposes Border Wall Funding
How would Republicans build Donald Trump’s wall? BBC News
Nine congressional representatives serve the districts that line the 2,000-mile southern border. They are men, women, freshman politicians and Washington veterans. The Democrats among them span liberal ideologies, while one of them is a Republican.
But they all have one thing in common: each is against President Donald Trump‘s border wall.
Last week, the House of Representatives passed a multi-bill package that provided funding for federal agencies and reinstated Department of Homeland Security appropriations without offering any new border wall funding. All nine of the politicians serving in districts along the border voted in favor of the bills, which were an effective rebuke of the Trump administration’s request for $5.7 billion in border wall funding.
“It’s a 4th-century solution to a 21st century problem,” said Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat and one of the lawmakers along the southern border who voted against funding the wall.
Gonzalez doesn’t oppose border security. He said, “Nobody wants stronger border control than me.” But he’s against adding to the existing border wall because he doesn’t “think it brings real border security and it comes at a major cost to taxpayers,” the lawmaker said Tuesday in a telephone interview with CBS News.
“At the time I thought we were going to be able to have a reasonable conversation,” Gonzalez said. “I had no idea it was going to get this crazy.”
Everybody Look What’s Going Down
Holmes believes the key to understanding the power of this new movement is the gamification of investing melded with an anti-elite fervor. Sticking it to hedge funds and potentially making a lot of money is, simply, fun. And if you believe its also the right thing to do, and thrive on the engagement of a community of like-minded traders, so much the better.
“When things really get going is when the fun meets the purpose,” Holmes said. “This is the perfect storm of those two.”
His warning to Wall Street is: understand this. Be willing to scrutinize yourself. This not going away, and it is probably bigger than you think.
“People need to take the time to understand the social dynamics of this. What are the problems that have created this class of retail investor who seek to completely destroy your industry, and how do you remedy that?” Holmes said.
Holmes said he has spent the past decade watching American politics turned inside out. An earlier generation of politicians spent their time raising money at country club ballrooms from hundreds of donors writing $500 or $1,000 checks.
But now they spend their time on the internet raising money from millions of donors making $5 and $20 contributions. In politics, the retail money turned out to be bigger much bigger — than the institutional money. And that’s driven massive political spending inflation: the big Senate campaigns that once cost $15 million now cost $100 million.
There’s Battle Lines Being Drawn
But what explains that nostalgic impulse in the midst of a revolution? It is the same emotion that animated the MAGA movement which, after all, stood for make America great, again. It is a desire to return to an earlier time that the members of the movement remember as better than today.
“There’s a feeling I sense across society that people want to go back to a simpler time,” LeGate said. “No one likes Covid. People don’t feel the economy is fair. Everything looks better in hindsight.”
And he argues that efforts to regulate trading will feel to Reddit traders more like suppression, and could fuel more anger.
“If someone on Main Street loses half their portfolio in a day, nothing’s going to happen. But if a hedge fund does, they literally stop the trading,” he said. “I myself question whether this is really about protecting the individual investor or protecting the hedge fund.”
Public Disapproves Of How Shutdown Negotiations Are Being Handled
Most Americans offer negative evaluations of the way that the nations political leaders in both parties Donald Trump, Democratic congressional leaders and Republican congressional leaders are handling negotiations over the shutdown.
Overall, just 36% of the public approves of how Trump is handling negotiations over the government shutdown, including 23% who say they strongly approve. About six-in-ten disapprove of Trumps approach to the negotiations, including 53% who say they strongly disapprove.
Views of how Republican leaders in Congress are handling shutdown negotiations generally parallel evaluations of Trump. Six-in-ten Americans say they disapprove of the way Republican congressional leaders are handling negotiations, while just 36% say they approve. However, fewer Americans characterize their views of GOP leaders handling of negotiations as strong approval or disapproval than say this about the president.
Public views of Democratic leaders handling of the shutdown talks are somewhat more positive than views of Trump or GOP leaders. Still, more disapprove than approve .
Intensity Of Trumps Support Increases
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Also in the poll, 46 percent of voters approve of President Trumps job performance, which is consistent with the other NBC/WSJ polls over the past year and a half.
But other numbers in the survey his strong job approval ticking up to its all-time high, his positive rating jumping to its highest level since after his inauguration prompts GOP pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies to call this Trumps best NBC/WSJ poll in three years.
Still, 49 percent of all voters say they are very uncomfortable about Trump when it comes to his re-election bid in 2020.
Thats compared with 43 percent who are very uncomfortable with Sanders, 36 percent with Warren and 35 percent with Biden.
Klobuchar: Trump’s Actions Are Like A ‘global Watergate’ Scandal
Today, as Democrats in the House of Representatives move toward bringing articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, with the next Judiciary Committee hearing of evidence set for Monday, few Democrats are still clinging to the hope that Republicans will reach a breaking point with Trump like they did with Nixon.
“I really don’t think there is any fact that would change their minds,” Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told NBC News.
Why? Two key changes since Nixon: a massive divide in American political life we hate the other team more than ever before and a media climate that fuels and reinforces that chasm, powered by Fox News on the Republican side.
Himes said he was “a little stunned by the unanimity on the Republican side,” especially among retiring lawmakers who don’t have to worry about surviving a GOP primary had they gone against Trump. “We’re in a place right now where all that matters to my Republican colleagues is the defense of the president,” he added.
No Republican congressmen have said they support impeachment. In the Senate, the entire GOP voted to condemn the impeachment inquiry, except for three moderates: Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. The three have stopped short of saying they support Trump’s impeachment, however, and it would take at least 20 Republican senators to vote to convict him in a Senate trial for removal to succeed.
What Do Republicans Believe In
Do all Republicans believe the same things? Of course not. Rarely do members of a single political group agree on all issues. Even among Republicans, there are differences of opinion. As a group, they do not agree on every issue.
Some folks vote Republican because of fiscal concerns. Often, that trumps concerns they may have about social issues. Others are less interested in the fiscal position of the party. They vote they way they do because of religion. They believe Republicans are the party of morality. Some simply want less government. They believe only Republicans can solve the problem of big government. Republicans spend less . They lower taxes: some people vote for that alone.
However, the Republican Party does stand for certain things. So I’m answering with regard to the party as a whole. Call it a platform. Call them core beliefs. The vast majority of Republicans adhere to certain ideas.
So what do Republicans believe? Here are their basic tenets:
Questions Ahead Of The Democratic National Convention
Andrew Redleaf, founder of the hedge fund company Whitebox Advisors, has been a Republican donor in the past. He gave to the campaign of 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney. He calls himself a libertarian conservative who favors free trade and immigration.
This year, he’s given money to the Lincoln Project, a group of conservative never-Trumpers who are running scathing ads against the president in swing states.
“I’d like there to be a right-of-center, limited-government party … which is not the Trumpist Republican Party,” Redleaf says.
Redleaf is wary of Democrats and has no particular affection for Biden.
But the former vice president is a known commodity on Wall Street and is widely seen as a more centrist, acceptable alternative to more liberal Democrats who ran for president, such as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Biden has also been a top recipient of financial industry money for decades as a senator from Delaware, home to financial and credit card companies.
“He’s not somebody that the industry is particularly afraid of,” Bryner says. “So I think that we would see them kind of hopeful that he would be a more moderating influence, whereas Trump can be quite unpredictable.”
Widening Party Divide Over Expanding The Border Wall
El Chapo financing Trump border wall is a yes vote: GOP lawmaker
Public views of a U.S.-Mexico border wall have changed little over the past three years. But the partisan gap has widened, as Republicans have become more supportive of a border wall, while Democratic support has declined.
Currently, 58% of Americans oppose substantially expanding the wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, while 40% favor the proposal.
Since early 2016, roughly six-in-ten Americans have opposed building or expanding the border wall .
Yet partisan differences are now wider than they have ever been. Today, 82% of Republicans and Republican leaners favor substantially expanding the wall along the U.S-Mexico border. Over the past year alone, Republican support for expanding the border wall has increased 10 percentage points . Over the same period, the share of Democrats who favor expanding the U.S.-Mexico border wall has declined from 13% to 6%.
Conservative Republicans and Republican leaners overwhelmingly favor expanding the U.S.-Mexico border wall . Moderate and liberal Republicans are somewhat less supportive .
Overwhelming shares of both liberal Democrats and conservative and moderate Democrats oppose expanding the border wall.
As in the past, opinions about expanding the U.S.-Mexico border wall are divided by race, education and age. Whites are more than twice as likely as blacks or Hispanics to favor expanding the border wall.
Why Do Republicans Behave The Way They Do
Why are the Republicans so mean-spirited when it comes to the poor and so indulgent when it comes to the rich?
Why are the Republicans so mean-spirited when it comes to the poor and so indulgent when it comes to the rich? Thats the incessant question as posed by liberals today about the partys now enacted tax reform. Not only does the bill include another attack on Obamacare, but it provides the pretext the need to reduce deficits to go after other long-held goals, the end of Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. 
The answer should be obvious by now. Republicans behave as they do because they can get away with it! Its no more complicated than that. 
Contrary to liberal opinion, Republican politics isnt out of the mainstream provided we push the clock back sufficiently. A political economy without social services and entitlements is in fact the default position of the capitalist mode of production from its inception. If recent comments from Republican Sens. Orin Hatch and Charles Grassley sound like characters from a Charles Dickens novel their barely disguised contempt for the working poor that should come as no surprise. Such attitudes were almost de rigueur for ruling elites in capitals long ascent. The constant refrain of the rich Why should we be taxed to pay for the education of the children of the irresponsible poor?  explains why public school education became a widely accepted norm only in the 20th century. 
How Dems aided and abetted
What Republicans And Democrats Have In Common On Wall Street Regulation
The Democratic and Republican parties disagree on most major issues. When it comes to Wall Street, however, it’s a mixed bag. Take the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.
Democrats believe the bill has reined in the type of out-of-control behavior that led to the near collapse of the banking industry in 2008 and prevented a similar crisis. Republicans have criticized the legislation calling it “the Democrats legislative Godzilla.” They feel the financial regulations have made it too difficult for small lenders and community banks and has indirectly slowed the growth of small businesses. 
Regulation of the financial services industry has been a major issue not only in the current presidential election but in house and senate races. Democrats believe that the electorate largely sides with them that banks have overstepped and that they can use their position to win votes and take back the Senate. Republicans currently hold a majority 54 votes. Because of gerrymandering rules, Democrats will have a tougher time retaking the House.  
Dodd-Frank was intended to increase transparency and accountability in the financial services industry and to protect consumers. Among other things, the bill created a new consumer protection agency and standards for a number of common financial services products. 
A Shift In Immigration Thinking
Representative Luis Gutierrez of Illinois is one of the Houses most outspoken Democrats on immigration reform, and she understands this shift, and believes it is essential. Lives are at stake and the lives of Dreamers are more important to me than bricks, Gutierrez said. If advocates would reject any money for Trumps wall in exchange for freedom and legalization and eventual citizenship for the Dreamers, I understand their choice, but for my part, I would lay bricks myself if I thought it would save the Dreamers. For me, the very real attacks on legal immigration are far greater threats than bricks and drones and technology on the border.
This shift has also led Democratic views on a border wall to soften in general. As Trump has become less demanding, Democrats have begun to consider what type of barrier, and what size, they would be willing to agree to if push came to shove. The 2,000 mile wall that Democrats had feared would be a looming symbol of America turning inward on itself is becoming something closer to the 2006 plan; some new barriers, some new monitoring technology, and that is somewhat agreeable to Democrats, especially if they can garner support in other arenas in exchange for it.
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