#politics w lori

[sunflowersandscreams]

back on tumblr to say i am so fucking pissed. the government is increasing the minimum wage... by 45 cents. that's 28 cents in USD.

45 cents an hour. and still no indication of lowering tax rates on the lower bracket and increasing tax rates in the higher brackets. fucking insane

#i am so mad #after my taxes that's an extra 40 cents an hour #if i work a 6-hour shift i might get an extra $2.40... yippeee... #politics w lori #<- new tag bc i have more thoughts about politics i want to share as new laws are passed w/ the change in party

[longwuzhere]

Some cool Easter eggs I caught watching My Adventures with Superman that I want to show to people so they can be in on it with comic book readers pt2

Episode 1 of My Adventures with Superman Easter Eggs and references is here

Episode 3 of My Adventures with Superman Easter Eggs and references is here

Episode 4 of My Adventures with Superman Easter Eggs and references is here

Episode 5 of My Adventures with Superman Easter Eggs and references is here

Episode 6 of My Adventures with Superman Easter Eggs and references is here

Episode 7 of My Adventures with Superman Easter Eggs and references is here and here

Episode 8 of My Adventures with Superman Easter Eggs and references is here

Episode 9 of My Adventure with Superman Easter Eggs and references is here

Episode 10 of My Adventures with Superman Easter Eggs and references is here

My Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman comic issue 1 post is here

(SPOILERS obviously):

An obvious one, but a classic, the "up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!" line reference. This one never gets old.

Jimmy next name drops Flamebird. in the comics Nightwing and Flamebird were Kryptonian superheroes adopting their names from a species of Kryptonian birds. This is where Dick Grayson gets his Nightwing identity from. The page here is from Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #17 (1986) drawn by Curt Swan and Karl Kesel.

At the climatic battle of part 2 of Adventures of a Normal Man, we see Leslie Willis become blue and look more like her traditional Livewire look. Her first appearance was in Superman the Animated Series, season 2 episode 5 "Livewire" where she was voiced by Lori Petty, a.k.a. Tank Girl. In the show Leslie was a shock jock radio DJ slinging hot takes live on air knocking down Superman a peg or two

Obviously MAwS took Leslie in a whole different direction, design choice, and occupation change, but I am excited to see what happens next for her.

Before we see Clark battle Leslie we see this guy. White hair, wears orange and black, its Slade Wilson a.k.a. Deathstroke. This fool here in like 20 to 25 years will have his life spiral out of control and get his ass kicked by a bunch of colorfully dressed teenagers.

Deathstroke makes his first appearance in New Teen Titans #2 (1980) (W: Marv Wolfman and George Perez, P: George Perez, I: Romeo Tanghal, C: Adrienne Roy, L: Ben Oda) where he is hired by H.I.V.E. to kill the Teen Titans. In the comics he's a major piece of shit, but a damn good assassin.

After the fight we see Supes clean up and he picks up a billboard that reads Amazotech.

This is a good reference to Professor Anthony Ivo, a mad scientist of the DC Universe who built the Amazo robot who could adapt and replicate any power that the Justice League has and weaknesses. Both Ivo and the Amazo robot make their first appearances here in Brave and the Bold #30 (1960) with the cover art done by Mike Sekowsky and Murphy Anderson.

At the end of the episode Slade name drops Task Force X better known as the Suicide Squad. The name "Suicide Squad" is from the Brave and the Bold #25 where it was the name of Rick Flag's unit in the military. The Suicide Squad pop culture knows first debuted in Legends #3 (1987) as seen below (W: John Ostrander and Len Wein, P: John Byrne, I: Karl Kesel, C: Tom Ziuko, L: Steve Haynie).

The team at this time was composed of Rick Flag, Bronze Tiger, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Enchantress, and Blockbuster. The team members have changed out with each new Task Force X/Suicide Squad iteration.

Behind Slade, here is Amanda Waller, the most fearsome woman in the DC universe. She's ruthless, politically powerful, and will not hesitate to blow up anyone in the Suicide Squad if they screw up. She makes her first appearance in Legends #1 (1987) same comic series in the previous picture. Very excited to see where My Adventures with Superman goes with this cuz you don't see Superman interact with Deathstroke or Suicide Squad all the often.

Link to Episode 1 of My Adventures of Superman Easter Eggs and references is here

Link to Episode 3 of My Adventures with Superman Easter Eggs and references is here

Link to Episode 4 of My Adventures with Superman Easter Eggs and references is here

Link to Episode 5 of My Adventures with Superman Easter Eggs and references is here

Link to Episode 6 of My Adventures with Superman Easter Eggs and references is here

Link to Episode 7 of My Adventures with Superman Easter Eggs and references is here and here

Link to Episode 8 of My Adventures with Superman Easter Eggs and references is here

Link to Episode 9 of My Adventures with Superman Easter Eggs and references is here

Link to Episode 10 of My Adventures with Superman Easter Eggs and references is here

My Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman comic issue 1 post is here

#My Adventures with Superman #Superman #Clark Kent #Lois Lane #Jimmy Olson #Nightwing #Flamebird #Livewire #Leslie Willis #Superman the Animated Series #Deathstroke #Deathstroke the Terminator #Slade Wilson #Professor Ivo #Anthony Ivo #Amazo #Amazo Robot #Amazo Bot #Amazo Tech #Task Force X #Suicide Squad #The Suicide Squad #Amanda Waller #Rick Flag #Deadshot #Bronze Tiger #Captain Boomerang #Enchantress #Blockbuster #A little shorter but still long AF

[awigglycultist]

We Didn't Plan To Kill Our Guest w/ DYLAN Saunders thoughts bc I never watcher and yes I know I'm 2 days late but I've been busy and couldn't watch it ok

JAIME

PLEASE THE LORI LOUGHLIN CRIME MENTION

YEAH WOO TIN CAN BROS WOOO

Why is Corey in a trashcan lol

Woah didn't know Brian was drummer 10/10

Jesus ok just mentioning someone death

"it's democrats like you that cost us the election" Pft

Yup very popular dance totally have seen it

Uhm Joey it's BOYS what are we gonna do not GUYS

Wow Dylan has really aged

Sjsjdhd the snapping

RONALD REGAN?

Old man boomer Dylan Saunders

"we know you're super busy" "I don't do anything at all"

PLEASE THE BIT WHERE DYLAN SAYS HE CAN DRIVE WITH HIS EYES CLOSED AND THEN HE CANT GRAB THE CUP

On FILM?

"with Dylan Saunders!" "who's that?"

"I got tales from the war"

Omg he's dead

LAUREN sorry I mean DOCTOR

DEAD AS A DOOR KNOB!

GET THEIR ASS DOCTOR

"am I problematic figure?"

Joey don't worry the doctor said natural causes I'm sure you didn't bore him to death it's fine

Joey's and Corey's little skips bdjdb

Love how the doctor says it was natural causes but they think everyone's gonna think they caused his death. Like guys if the autopsy report says natural causes its finneee

Finished, toasted, gazumped, fleeced. Fucked.

PLEASE BRIAN AND JOEY BEGGING THE AUDIENCE WHILE COREY THREATENS SOMEONE

Please they freak out over Dylan's death making it look like they killed him but are perfectly fine with killing other people

Yup great acting guys very normal

[BEEEEEP] yup that is Dylan's exact address

Jesus Brian is really chugging that water

I love that Joey's the only person aware of the voice over. Also again totally not suspicious looking

Dylan is being a great dead body btw

DYLAN IS HIS OWN BREED?

COREY BREAKING DURING THE SNAPPING/SINGING BIT

"woah woah hey did you just litter?" "yeah what's it to ya?"

This whole thing with Joey being the only one to hear voice over and for him to keep responding to it is so fucking funny

HITTING HIS HEAD ON THE CAR AJDJDN

"in all my time narrating- watching" hm

"one person's actions can have detrimental cause on this planet" hmm

"is this forever now?"

"or a mental institution? Should I check myself in? Hahahahahaha"

You're gonna wanna see this

"I always thought Dylan just liked to eat palm fulls of hard candy"

The female doctor call back

Yup just moisturize the clothes

"his fleeting alpha male status" hshshlsndks

Brian backing up a the way onto the floor lmao

Fucking incredible speech from Lauren

Everyone breaking from Lauren including herself

"yes but did you have to Wikipedia that?"

HE DESIGNED THE HINDENBURG

"he left Italy AFTER the fall of the roman empire"

Well the age thing just got a lot more confusing with that

"and you're a better man for it NOT YOU! NOT YOU! NOT HIM. Not him. Not you!" "I'm trying!" "not him!"

I'm sure you'll get the numbers right at some point Corey (probably not)

Hey you're trying Brian

Yup ok Joey thinks he might be gods prohet now

*sigh* Dylan would know what to say

Why does Corey have a 3 phones

"wether its god-" "who is a woman!"

I am so truly entranced in this scene with Rachel and Marianne

Wow.

OMG HERE COMES DYLAN AND THE BROS

Again incredible dead body acting from Dylan and so this is so fucking funny

Yeah totally inspiring

"and not to get political but fuck Donald Trump"

Oh no the cops

Tammy!

Musical number!!!

"fucking kidding me?... You guys are just leaving me?... You guys think this funny?"

"how long is this fucking song?"

Dylan and Lauren breaking again

"NONE OF US KNOWS WHAT THAT MEANS"

God that was hilarious

#tin can bros #we didn't plan to kill our guests #tin can brothers #wdptkog

[arwainian]

Reading This Week 2024 #6-8

sits here. i have been behind on this.... once again... i think i just have to accept that i do these when i do these.

Finished Week 6 (Feb 4-10):

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (skimmed/read the spark notes for class discussion, won't be reading more)

Undoing Gender by Judith Butler (read Chapter 6 "Longing for Recognition", currently won't be reading more)

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin, narrated by Rob Inglis (started the same week, audio book was lots of fun)

i love Tenar...... i think it's really cool that the way the Earthsea books are working is that even tho Ged is a reocurring character, we get a new child perspective for each one

Orange, Vol. 4 by Ichigo Takano, translated by Amber Tamosaitis (started same week)

truly TRULY the love triangle/rivals in this are so primed to be read polyamorously it had driven me crazy. just form a triad, you all like each other

about 10 other smaller things (articles, short stories, excerpts) that i shall not be naming individually bc this post is already too long

Finished Week 7 (Feb 11-17):

Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie (started in Week 6)

this book flips is like reading a multigenerational family drama with each section involving the slowly growing tension of knowing what horrific historical event/conditions they are about to live through

Venus by Susan-Lori Parks (started same week)

The Way of the House Husband by Kousuke Oono, translated by Amanda Haley (started same week)

“Experiential Gender” in Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity by Julia Serano

“Black (W)holes and The Geometry of Black Female Sexuality” by Evelynn Hammonds

"Unsexed: A Zero Concept for Gender Studies" by Kath Weston

"Of Catamites and Kings: Reflections on Butch, Gender, and Boundaries" by Gayle Rubin (these four i read for a class that i lead the discussion four so while they fall under the category of articles i'm not mentioning right now, i felt they should be included for that reason)

a shit ton of student papers

6 smaller things (articles and abandoned books that i'm skipping for same reason as above)

Finished Week 8 (Feb 18-24):

Story of a Brief Marriage by Anuk Arudpragasam (started same week)

very in-depth descriptions of bowel movements in this

Orange, Vol. 5 by Ichigo Takano, translated by Amber Tamosaitis (started same week)

so cute! once again i am advocating for them to just form a poly triad

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan (started ages and ages ago...)

you've already seen my frantic reblog spam about this. i'm glad i finally finished reading this. the quarter 3 of it was kind a low point but i think it really captured me again by the end (however, i think the like... FINAL two pages are really scream "remember! that this is technically inspired by some real history!" in a way i found unneccesary and kinda too me out of the satisfaction of the end). i think the ending worked for me because Ma was really underused (i know it would have made the book kinda bloated but i would have loved a chapter or two of her perspective holding down the fort and dealing with internal politics while Zhu was away doing war things....), so her role in the finale was what really solidified it for me. this book drove me crazy in a great way, i think so many people should read She Who Became the Sun and then this sequel

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 11 by Kamome Shirahama, translated by Stephen Kohler (started same week)

the panelling in this manga is simply so fucking good. read this. its so cute

Orange, Vol. 6: Future by Ichigo Takano, translated by Amber Tamosaitis (started same week)

i don't think this volume was necessary lol... i did not need to know how Suwa and Naho got together in the future where Kakeru died, it was better as implications

Ongoing Reads:

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (read another chapter)

i am so sorry to my girlfriend who has to deal with me complaining about this book i am reading to her after every chapter... i am glad she is enjoying it regardless

The Farther Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin, narrated by Rob Inglis (about halfway through)

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (basically read the preface material so far)

#cal reading log #arwainian princessoid decrees

[militantinremission]

Mainstream Media claims that Lori Lightfoot lost on Crime, but The Truth is that she NEVER proposed anything specific 4 Black Chicagoans that put her in office. Turning that 'abandoned' School on the West Side into a Homeless Shelter 4 Illegal Venezuelans, was her Swan Song. There R PLENTY of Homeless Black Families in Chicago that could've benefited from a converted School.

The Truth of The Matter, is that Lori Lightfoot was touted as the 1st Black Woman & Lesbian Mayor of Chicago. She was forecasted 2 B a force in Chicago Politics. When it was All Said & Done, she never solidified her Black Base w/ anything Tangible, so there was NO Motivation 2 keep her in Office. As 4 her LGBTQ... Base, she 'found out', like Stacey Abrams- that demographic has tremendous Socioeconomic Capital, but they still require Political Alliances... She fogot: Always Bet on Black.

-Just Saying

#BootlickMarginCall #OnCode #Tangibles #B1

[jwood718]

The Fruits of the Extreme Religious Right and SCOTUS: Marci A. Hamilton (Univ. of Pennsylvania professor of political science) writes in The Guardian: "‘Warped history’: how the US supreme court justified gutting gay rights"

Ms. Hamilton examines the late case of 303 Creative LLC v Elenis in Colorado, where SCOTUS ruled in favor of religious (Christian) fervor over gay customers' rights.

"The extreme religious right’s mission to roll back civil rights from abortion to public accommodations is being fueled by false facts and false history. Recent articles in the New Republic have  documented  the shaky factual foundation behind...the case in which the supreme court held that a website design business owned by an evangelical Christian, Lorie Smith, could refuse service to same-sex couples. Even more troubling, the history undergirding the majority’s reasoning is misleading and dangerous to the separation of church and state.

...The justices’ new standard is whether a constitutional right is grounded in 'history and tradition,' the latest byword for the bogus doctrine of 'originalism'. So they need some history, and apparently any history will do.

...[The] foundational no-harm doctrine used to apply to all Americans. But now, with its recent decision, the conservative supreme court majority has carved out a gaping exception to the no-harm doctrine for the extremist Christian right, tossing aside established history.

Two conservative amicus groups, the Becket Fund and the Catholic League, provided the court with the necessary tools...by concocting fraudulent histories on the freedom of religious speech.

Both...rely heavily on a 1990 article by the conservative law professor Michael W McConnell that cherry-picks history to make the argument that the constitution mandates religious exemptions from the law. No legitimate scholar outside the realm of the religious right takes McConnell’s arguments seriously – they were thoroughly debunked by Philip Hamburger, Ellis West and myself 20 years ago. As I wrote in 2004, 'the power to act outside the law–was not part of the framers’ intent, the framing generation’s understanding, or the vast majority–and the best–of the supreme court’s free exercise jurisprudence.'”

Ms. Hamilton briefly shows how the Framers saw speech and religion (a subject that must surely occupy a library-worth of research and writing to date and will no doubt produce more) and lays out where SCOTUS flipped it all over to protect a particular believer.

"Let’s be frank. The extreme right Christian groups supporting 303 Creative are still burned up about the Obergefell decision, which enshrined gay marriage as constitutional. They have manufactured a fictional guarantee to so-called 'pure speech' and trivialized the anti-discrimination laws to make up for the fact they lost the war on LGBTQ+ marriage.

The majority’s decision in 303 Creative is, in fact, an expression of the Christian right’s constitutional sour grapes. The supreme court majority has deconstructed the first amendment to fit their Bibles."

Full story

#lgbtq rights #the guardian #SCOTUS #human rights

[arickaandherfictionalothers]

Top Gun Original Character Profile Sheet

Tags: Ricki x Blake, Leia x Rogue, purest form of soul mates

Blake’s theme song:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Basic Information~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Full Name: Blake Cameron Davis

Reason/meaning: I wanted a name I would remember easily and funnily enough I remember Blake Cameron Davis pretty easily since his name is alphabetically ordered.

Nicknames: Bee, Bubs, Blondie, Charmer, Pretty Boy, Braveheart, warrior

Callsign: Rogue- based off Ricki Mitchell’s call sign of Leia- they both love Star Wars.

Birthday: January 18th, 1962

Birth place: Anaheim California

~~~~Physical Appearance and Characteristics~~~

Eye color: a deep, Caribbean blue

Hair color: blonde with streaks of brown

Hair length/style: chin length, soft wavy mullet (see above gif)

Height: 6’0”

Build: solid, muscular, lithe

Notable features: his puppy eyes, the dimples in his smile, the left side of his smile curls up, the moles on his cheeks, the perfect Cupid’s bow lips, strong athletic arms.

Jewelry/accessories: not sure if these count but he wears his dog tags everywhere.

Dominant hand: right handed

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Mannerisms~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speech style: low, husky, comforting, his voice sounds like what a dryer-warm blanket feels like.

Quirks: has one mole/birthmark on his cheek that’s bigger than the rest, chews his lower lip/inside of his cheek when nervous, allergic to shellfish, stutters when saying “I” or “W” words, breath always smells like cinnamon gum, very introverted unless interacting with Ricki, Pete, Nick, Tom or Ron, has a unique organizational structure, loves playing piano and guitar, has a special connection with animals, charms his way out of trouble every time.

Positive traits: a born leader, thoughtful, resilient, brave, cutest dimples ever, fast metabolism, a great RIO, trustworthy, loyal, hardworking, dedicated, observant, comforting, charming, respectful, polite, gentlemanly.

Negative traits: stubborn, can be easily angered, sometimes forgetful, can be apathetic at times, a bit of a perfectionist.

Accent: he doesn’t have much of one, being from California.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Background~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hometown: Anaheim California

Best memory: the first time Ricki ever fell asleep on his shoulder. It was after a long day of training and she’d been exhausted, and while the four of them- Goose; Pete: himself and Ricki- sat in Blake’s dorm she fell asleep with her head on his shoulder with both her arms wrapped around one of his.

Where does Blake currently live: depends on the AU, but he always is close to Ricki.

Where does Blake want to live?: Florida, or back in Anaheim, he can take Ricki to Disney any time she wants to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Family~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Parents: Lori-Anne and Michael Davis:

Little sister: Michelle Nicole Davis

Best friend and depending on the AU, love interest: Aricka “Ricki/Leia” Mitchell

Friends: Pete “Maverick/Mav” Mitchell and Nick “Goose” Bradshaw; and the rest of the 1986 TopGun class.

Fankids: Nike Ophelia Davis

Gabriel Luther Davis

Nieces and nephews: Aricka “Lucky Charm/Lux/Mini-Mav” Mitchell and Jeremy “JJ/Jere-Bear/Iron Man,” Mitchell

Aurora, Piper and David Kazansky-Mitchell

@astralshipper @rosieshipper @hyperionshipping @sappy-secrets @yeehawselfshipping @tsundere-selfship @callsign-revenge

#Ricki x Blake #Leia x Rogue #purest form of soul mates

[nityarawal]

10/21/22

Endangered Species

Morning Songs

Do Nazis Feel

They're An Endangered

Species, And

That's Why They 

Witchhunt Us?

My Bro Was Headhunted

On Match.com

For My Land In Huelo!

His Starter Wife,

Ala,

Lost Everything

In Divorce Abuse

Over Immigration!

Forced Into Babies,

With A Boytoy,

Never Met Anyone,

As Smart, And Fun

As My Brother!

She Said He Was A

Great "Lover!"

Fulfilled Her With

Tantra Everyday!

We Had Fun Traveling

With Auntie "Ala!"

Don't Know

What To Do With

All These Match.com

"W" Words!

4 Were In 

His Harem!

Are They Spies,

For A Sex Cult

Sent By Osho?

Attorneys,

Still Grooming

Our Kids,

With Dr. GARDNER 

Methods?

Courts- Please Stop!

Our Tax Dollars

Won't Support This!

I Reported Marina,

Of Coldwell Banker,

To District Attorneys

And National

Association Of REALTORS!

Hopefully, They Work!

Better Than

National Domestic

Violence Hotline,

From Texas!

I Asked Hawaii DA

And California To

Stop Selling Their

Number On 

Websites, And Digital

Media! We Don't 

Want Victims 

Mislead Any Longer!

No More Head Injuries

For Divorcees!

Or X Hasbeens!

Spies Comitted

Treason!

On USA,

Scotland And Iran!

We Won't Take

Anymore, 1st Wife Trumpleberry,

Plays!

Down Stairs!

"Ala" Needs 50%

I Do Too!

We Want Kings

Pool In Huelo And

You Can Have A Shed

Haydn, With $20

A Week For Ramen!

Like You Gave Me

In Hollocoast Detention!

Told Me To

"Shut Up!"

When I Cried!

On The Phone! 

Subtext: "Obey! Officers

That Raped Us!"

Is That Advice

Your Broker 

Gave You? "Shut-Up!

Be a Good Giggolo, 

Like Us! And Keep Denise

Satisfied, Too?"

Did They Give You

Parasites? 

Covid 19- 2

For Artificial Intelligence?

Are The Cannibals

Wanting To Rape

Me And My Kids?

"Selling us, to Get Food 

The On Table," Officer Brown

Said! Dark Web

Bribes!

Does Marina Let

You watch Us? 

Do Ladies Look At You,

With Dollar Signs

In Their Eyes?

You're Golden Goose,

Did They Hunt You

Down For You DNA

From 1,2,3 And Me?

#Metoo

Huntley Genes!

Last Namesakes,

For Now, In Our Family!

They Tried To Kill Me!

Why'd You Silence

Dad Off The Internet?

I Told Every Officer

I Could,

He Served "US Army"

With Grandpa

Haydn

And Don't Deserve

Any Intelligence

Data Rape

Or Bullying From Cambridge

Analytica!

Mari-time Law

Belongs Overseas!

Send Your Marina!

Back To The Caribbean,

For Her Pleas!

We Thought She Was

Cool- Said From Findhorn-

Land Of Faeries! In Scotland!

But She Obliterated 

Her Brain! Self Medicating

On Prescription Drugs!

Both Her And Denise

Numb On Citalopram!

Like All Osho's "Good"

Sex Slaves,

And Subjects

Shellin' Out Blowjobs!

Osho Said His Partner

Was A "B" Word

When She Left Him!

She Attempted Life

Of Dr. & Tried To

Kill Him!

"I Like B's!" Osho Declared!

Now A Legend On Twitter,

"Sheela MA,"

Loved For Her Phrase,

"Tough Titties!"

Back To Him!

Firm Loving NANNIES

Motherin'

Is What Globe Needs!

Mixed Race, Light

Royals, Like Princess "Meghan!"

Don't Kill Her,

Please!

Political War By

Broker Nazi

Stings-Needs To Stop!

Daniel Smachtenberger

Doesn't Need To Advice

My Family Any Longer!

Or Real Estate Attorney,

Ken Carlsson,

With Hookers,

Happy Endings,

Boys' Club

Weaponizing!

Moms Aren't Cattle,

Not Chattel, For Coldwell

Banker

Or Sotheby's!

Paris Shut Down

Her Detention Center!

I Will Too!

No More Teachers

At Idyllwild Arts,

Sold To Courts!

Or Children Of Seabury

In Maui Getting,

No More Parents

Getting Beat On The Head

Like Bob Sagat

Or Marina's X!

Shocked You'd Do That

To Your Baby Daddy,

Marina! And Me, Sunil!

That's Not "Fairy Like!"

No Concussion

Courts Gave Me

For Buying Out

My Ex On Neptune

Beach Property!

We Had Civil Mediation,

Cost $8,000 Dollars,

Atty Anette Hallneville And

Carrie Took $20,000 More!

Hallneville Said She Couldn't 

Report Lori Clark

Viviano- At The End

Of The Session For Walking

Out- the Door! Reporting

"Sunil's Balls Worked

Just Fine!"

After His Vasectomy!

In Slinky Low Cut

Black Halter Dress

Rayon

Clinging,

Quadruple E Boobs

Bouncing!

Told To Go On 

Judge Judy, By

Atty Hotline And

Or 60 Minutes!

Scott Peters-

Congressmen Says 

It's A civil Emergency!

Of Course, I Told

The Courts, Twitter

Journalists, Sang

My Songs About

"Barracuda Mamma!"

She Had Me Beat

When Persian Armenian Atty 

Roseline Farrel 

Defended Me From

Domestic Racism,

Terrorism,

UK,

Lori Hired Marine

Officer To Beat Me!

Sunil Lied To Cops

Said: "I Hit Him All 

The Time!" Referring to 

When We Sparred In

College

Marshall Arts!

Before We Were Even Lovers!

We Had A Non-Violent

Household! He Was Only

One Doing Crimes,

Groomed By British

Courts, Maritime

Law Genocide-Of

Indians From Dad!

Estranged By Schoolteacher, Mom,

Patricia Jones Rawal Campbell,

Tended To Broken Hearts! A

Art Students

Missin' Moms

Some From

Divorce, Some Parents

Didn't Want Them

Like Poor Keith Stewart

Campbell, Who She Fusses 

Over; Her Boytoy!

Trumpleberry "Lost

Boys" Club!

They Drink

Themselves Into

Bladder Infections,

At Starbucks

Or Pubs!

Whatever Addictions Fit!

Don't Take A Bribe

On My Head,

For Your Decadent Life

Living, Outside Of

Your Means!

To Feed Parasites,

Brotherly,

From Cambridge Analytica!

Enough Spies Comitted

Treason!

On USA, Iran

And Scotland!

We Need Our

Peacekeepers To

Take Over

Today!

Need Mother Divine

Back!

Oh, My Pure Birgit,

"Sister Of My Heart," 

Divakaruni Poetically

Named That "Agape

Feeling!"

A Goddess Of Love,

From Germany!

Northerners Primal Hearts

Still Exist,

Despite Nazis! 

We Want Her Back!

Back In Our Tribe,

She Was Disappointed

By A Monk!

When She Lost Her

Virginity,

On The First Night!

Both 30 Years Old

Oh My God! It's A Sin!

She Should've Had

My Brother!

He Could've Given 

Her Orgasms!

He Wouldn't Have

Had An Abortion,

With A Woman He

Didn't Love,

Ashamed Of,

Seduced By Lior's

Sex Sting Cult,

"Passion Dancing!"

He Wouldn't Have

Violated My Mother

Or I At Harbon

Hotsprings,

Throwing Hookers

At My Family!

And Birgit 

Wouldn't Have Gotten Pregant

Before Even

Having An

Orgasm!

Haydn Wouldn't 

Have Been Groomed

By Judge Wasp Cougar

Beth, An Old Divorcee

In College, If

Birgit Would've 

Married Him 30 Years 

Ago!

Now She's Divorced!

2nd Chances Happen!

My Cuzband Said

Same Thing To Me!

He'd Wished He'd

Had Courage To Marry

Me Uin College!

When His Parents 

Sent Him To My

College In The '90's!

Now He wants to Start "Fresh!"

No Cuzbands Left!

Instead, Poor Prince Ali

Was Almost Murdered

In A Hit And Run

Probably By My X- 

Husband's Attorneys!

Car Came At Us

Thanksgiving Eve, 

On Our Way Home

From Murietta Hotsprings,

Del Dios Highway

Winding

With Kiddies

In Back!

Car Rammed Us

Into A Canyon Wall

All I Could Say

Was, "Ali! Careful!"

Before He Smartly

Swerved

Out Of Way!

We Were On Our Way

To Hawaii 

Next Day- Took Daughter

Anjali- And Saw Doctors There

Daily!

They Healed Us

Chiropractors

Massage,

But The Abuse From

Broker Marina

Horrendous!

She And Haydn

Lured My Daughter

Into Their Dirty

Sex Swing!

Identical One Appeared

In Sunil's Bribed

Listing!

Then They Bullied

Us To Sign Off

Selling Huelo-

I Said, "No! I 

Have Three Days

Right Of Recision!

And Our School Teacher

Nanny, Bhavani,

Is My Alibi!"

It Was Stressful!

Haydn Took Us to "Thai,"

Goades Us To Sign

With Their Lawyer,

Who'd Just Been Bitten

By A Wild Cat,

Thru A Kitchen

Window!

Probably For Good

Reason!

Sex Swing Emerged,

In Sunil's Bribed Listing

With Tacky Decor

From Dorms Of Ikea,

Styled By "W" Words!

Neda Lost The Listing,

Sotheby's Blackballed

Us With Courts,

A Black Eye

And A Trip To ICU!

Said I Violated

A Restraining Order

From Sunils Atty

By Self Litigating 

As A Realtor to

Buy My Home!

Why Didn't Marina

Use Her Brokers

License To Help?

Instead Numb!

Seems She Did!

But It Wasn't For

Our Family!

Lazing Around In

Careabean

Swingin'

Makin' My Brother

Build Her A Home

Alone

With His Bare Hands

Deserted

In A Draught

No Running Water!

She Sold Him A Lemon!

"An Alligator!" Dad Said!

We Were Bullied

Under Duress, To

Sign Off On Sale Of Huelo!

It Had An Ocean View,

Tiny House

Haydn Built,

Vastu,

Where You Could

Watch Sunrise

On The North Shore

On Ulalena Loop,

My Favorite

Valley- I Grew

Up At Kings And Queen's

Pools 

Since My 20's!

That's Heaven For Me,

Huelo,

Welcomes Me!

Got What I Need

God Provides

And Listens!

My Friends Grow

Tumeric And Ginger!

Botanical Rainforest

Divine- Every Herb

And Bean 

Abounds!

Abundance!

Why Would Marina

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

A "disgrace to our country." "The tyranny we rejected." "An embarrassment to every American."

In presiding over the cases of hundreds of people accused of breaching the US Capitol on January 6 in support of then-President Donald Trump, federal judges have not held back when describing the unprecedented nature of the events of that day.

"You called yourself and everyone else patriots, but that's not patriotism," Judge Amy Berman Jackson told defendant Karl Dresch earlier this month. "Patriotism is loyalty to country, loyalty to the Constitution -- not loyalty to a head of state. That is the tyranny we rejected on July Fourth."

As the congressional investigations grow more partisan -- and Democratic and Republican viewpoints on the significance of the Capitol attack grow farther apart -- it's notable that judges appointed by presidents of both parties have described the riot as an existential danger to American democracy.

"It means that it will be harder today than it was seven months ago for the United States and our diplomats to convince other nations to pursue democracy," Judge Randolph Moss said at a July 19 sentencing hearing. "It means that it will be harder for all of us to convince our children and our grandchildren that democracy stands as the immutable foundation of this nation. It means that we are now all fearful about the next attack in a way that we never were."

There have been various points in the judicial process in which judges have stepped back to elaborate on what the January 6 riot was, fundamentally, about. Sometimes it's when a judge is knocking down defenses that downplay the seriousness of the breach. On other occasions, a judge is explaining why she is not willing to free a defendant who allegedly was part of the mob. The most striking examples come during sentencing hearings, when judges put into context the punishments they're handing down.

The willingness to opine on the broader circumstances varies from judge to judge, Michael McConnell, a professor at Stanford Law School and a former federal appellate judge, told CNN.

"The sentencing is a public event and when the underlying justice has been challenged, even indirectly, I think many judges consider it part of their civic responsibility to speak to the public," he said. "They're talking to the defendants nominally, but they're really speaking to the public -- to restore and protect the rule of law."

That includes in situations, like in the sentencing of Dresch, where the penalty -- six months in prison, which was effectively time served -- may seem light for how starkly the judges describe the crimes

"The sentences have not been incredibly punitive, which is why their comments, putting the sentence in context, are so important," said Nancy Gertner, a former federal district judge who now teaches at Harvard Law School.

Replacing 'the will of the people' with 'the will of the mob'

Time and time again, judges have made the point that the defendants were not ransacking just any federal building, nor was it a typical proceeding that they were disrupting.

What they were able to interrupt was "a critical function required by the US Constitution for a peaceful transition of power in our democracy," as DC Chief Judge Beryl Howell put at a February 23 hearing with a Proud Boys member.

At his August 4 sentencing, Jackson said that Dresch, who pleaded guilty to illegally demonstrating in the Capitol, was an "enthusiastic participant" in an effort "to subvert democracy, to stop the will of the people and replace it with the will of the mob."

Moss, a nominee of President Barack Obama, said that the attack "threatened not only the security of the Capitol, but democracy itself," as he sentenced Paul Hodgkins, a rioter who pleaded guilty to obstructing an official proceeding.

"Our elected representatives from both political parties came together that day to perform their constitutional and statutory duty to declare, in the word of the statute, the person elected president," Moss said at the July 19 hearing. "The mob's objective was to stop that from happening. They were prepared to break the law to prevent Congress from performing its constitutional and statutory duty. That is chilling for many reasons."

The judges don't just have a symbolic viewpoint on the insurrection. Their courthouse sits only a half mile from the Capitol complex and is on the route that the rioters took from the rally in front of the White House. Howell has said that from her chamber window she could see the National Guard stationed at the Capitol in the wake of the attack.

"I teach in various countries and I'm always touting the greatness of America. It's going to be difficult for me to convince people in other parts of the world that we are that shining light upon a hill because of what happened that day," Judge Reggie Walton said at a Capitol riot plea proceeding that unfolded as the House Select Committee on the January 6 attack held its first hearing in late July.

"It's an embarrassment to me," he added. "It should be an embarrassment to every American."

'Gullible enough' to believe Trump

Judges have cited Trump's continued promotion of the same election fraud lies that propelled the riot that day as a reason that defendants should not be released from detention. Further, judges have rejected the justification put forward by some of the rioters who have argued that they deserve mercy because of how Trump encouraged the riot.

Howell, in her February 23 hearing with Proud Boys member William Chrestman, who is pleading not guilty, said that if that defense were recognized, it "would undermine the rule of law."

"Because then, just like a king or dictator, the president could dictate what is legal and what isn't in this country, and that is now how we operate here," said the judge, an Obama appointee.

But regardless of the legal conclusion they're making, judges have not shied from acknowledging the role that Trump played on that day -- even if they have not said his name explicitly.

"The defendant came to the Capitol because he placed his trust in someone who repaid that trust by lying to him," Jackson, an Obama appointee, said in her sentencing hearing for Dresch.

Earlier in Dresch's case, Jackson had denied his bond, in part because Trump "continues to propagate the lie that inspired the attack on a near daily basis," according to her May 5 opinion.

Likewise, during a plea hearing for Lori and Thomas Vinson, a couple who had stormed the Capitol, Walton said that Trump "is still making those statements" and the rioters "were gullible enough" to believe him then.

"Why should I believe they aren't prepared to do it again?" said Walton, who was appointed by President George W. Bush. "Why should I believe, if there's some type of uprising again in response to what is still being said by the former President, why should I believe they won't join in again?"

He called the situation "threatening to our democracy."

The directness and the candor may be, in part, because federal judges are seated on the bench for life. Still, former judges told CNN that they believed those judges had put thought into their comments and the public should take notice of how they view January 6.

"At times when the nation is being torn apart, it's especially useful that the branch of government that still commands the highest trust of the American public -- and, I think most of the time, does behave in the less partisan, less divisive ways -- for that branch to speak up and remind the American public the principles underlying this," said McConnell, the former appellate judge.

Even though, in theory, the federal bench occupies a place above the partisan fray on Capitol Hill, at least once a judge has felt the need to address that fray directly. Alluding to a remark made by Republican Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde, Judge Royce Lamberth, a President Ronald Reagan appointee, said that he was "especially troubled by the accounts of some members of Congress that January 6th was just a day of tourists walking through the Capitol."

At a June 23 hearing, Lamberth described the attack as a "disgrace to our country" and referenced the videos from the Capitol riot that the court was working to release publicly.

"We are getting them out as best we can now and it will show the attempt of some congressmen to rewrite history and say this was all just tourists walking through the Capitol is utter nonsense," the judge said.

#politics #us politics #news #cnn #capitol riot #capitol riot investigation #us capitol #capitol protests #alt right #proud boys #oath keepers #qanon #trump administration #donald trump #trump #fuck trump #anti trump #trump scandals #against trump #long post #Judge Amy Berman Jackson #Karl Dresch #Judge Randolph Moss #Michael McConnell #Nancy Gertner #Chief Judge Beryl Howell #Paul Hodgkins #Judge Reggie Walton #House Select Committee #William Chrestman

[chicago-geniza]

well i intended to go for a nice evening walk, ended up having a panic attack, ordering a couple of cocktails at the bougie bar, joining a jam session with a bunch of old hippies on the logan green (one of them gave me a handpainted wooden medallion which seems to be carved out of tree bark, strung on a length of yarn???), met a crustpunk train-hopping dude in town for the month (& his dog, in a leather-studded harness) who's lived in 45/50 states & a 44 yr old guy everyone called "the wizard" wearing a tattered, patch-covered robe who shares most of my parents' conspiracy theories & considers himself a latter-day prophet, he bought us sorbet & ice cream, wound up hanging out with them & staying up all night at their indescribably eclectic, cluttered, blood-spattered (!!!) apartment, belonging to 44 yr old guy's art curator father & decorated accordingly, smoking m*th & listening to music & talking (or rather listening to them rant/rave/recount stories from their incredibly wild lives), i gave them advice on applying for unemployment & medicaid & how to appear compliant enough w/ carceral psychiatric intervention so they won't section you without actually submitting to forced medication or institutionalization, especially if they assign you a case worker & do regular "wellness checks." also how to pass off certain aspects of behavioral dysregulation as executive dysfunction, get them to pay for an adhd evaluation, get an adderall IR scrip, sell the 30 mg pills (cite body weight, high doses of other psych meds as reason for higher dose; look sincere; play to systemic biases toward cis white men, unfortunately), & use the cash to buy m*th, if they'd prefer to keep doing that. you can also pass positive psychotic symptoms--agitation etc.--off as severe anxiety, especially if you have a history of trauma, & they will give you benzodiazepines. it is in their best interest to keep you docile, i.e. tranquilized, particularly if your past convictions & involuntary institutionalizations revolve around a pattern of aggressive behavior, & that's On The Record/there's a paper trail. (e.g. one dude got arrested trying to keep cars away from an injured bird on the road, some genre of raptor i think (???) by threatening them with a shopping cart, not hitting them, but like, running at them as if to collide then feinting at the last minute so they'd swerve out of the way. not the safest or most effective maneuver, lotta reckless endangerment, but the motivation was admirable. probably put the fear of god into some drivers, though. he doesn't seem to have, like, impulse control.) it's a lot easier & you have fewer run-ins with the cops if you game the system & appear cooperative. they gave me this coat, which "just showed up in their apartment one day," like i did. 44 yr old guy walked me back to apartment, stole a street sign & tore down a real estate sign en route, lori lightfoot did indeed take down the pride flag in front of her house on july 1st & replace it with an appropriately patriotic american flag, i walked past the idling plainclothes cop car & another marked police vehicle with their Mayoral Guarding Detail inside at like 4.30 am smoking a menthol cigarette (not inhaling), high on m*th, draped in a neon anime jacket, in the company of a visibly insane, unshaven & unshorn middle-aged man in a technicolor patchwork trenchcoat, holding a lit cigarette in one hand & an upside-down traffic cone in the other, which he was using as an ad hoc amplifier for a noise track playing on my phone. he was also carrying the stolen real estate banner &, inexplicably, a stack of mail. i gave him my old backup phone (no SIM card & doesn't hold a charge long, ancient, but still works), since neither he nor the other dude have phones (cops took them), also one hybrid edible for each of them, as a thanks for the m*th & the kindness. their hearts are in the right place but they have some fucked-up beliefs about "reverse racism" being real, while also saying in the same breath that you can tell our country is irredeemable by the way it continues to

treat black people. we were discussing medical weed for seizures on medicaid & 44 yr old guy mentioned one of his close friends, a black epileptic woman, whose seizures were frequent & severe enough they prevented her from working. then he added, in apparent bemusement, they she hadn't spoken to him in some time, & he wondered why. a little while later he relayed their last conversation & i was like "my dude, i can say with 100% certainty she is not talking to you because you said some *appallingly*, jaw-droppingly racist shit & did not even realize it was racist." then i, comma, a white person, explained to this man that he literally thought of their exchange as, like, an abstract argument over insignificant ideas, a theoretical exercise, & therefore considered it simply a smug gotcha to "counter" hotep theories about egyptian origin by claiming that "if that's true, american slavery & the oppression of black people in america are divine retribution for the enslavement of the jews in ancient egypt, an eye for an eye & a deserved punishment." like, first of all, what the actual fuck, if i were that woman i would also never speak to you again, second of all there's the collapse of historical time & mythical time, history & exegesis, an assumption that rests on spurious claims of biblical literalism (zionist colonization logic, btw! him: what's exegesis? what's zionism? me: never mind, not the point. exegesis is the interpretation of religious texts in a religious CONtext, in this case what you would likely call the hebrew bible.)--but most importantly it is 100% irrelevant to this discussion whether or not black americans are Actually Factually descendended from ancient egypt! you just told this woman to her face that the ancestry she claims, of which she's proud, is the reason & justification for SLAVERY & BLACK SUFFERING--not only that, but that if it WERE true, than black people would DESRVE to suffer, by DIVINE DECREE. you are trying to force her to abdicate her claim on this heritage by putting her in a position where she'd be forced to concede complicity in her people's historical & present-day persecution, oppression, & essentially the existence of structural racism. & using The Figural Jew as a rhetorical cudgel to bludgeon her into this corner. what a despicable thing to say. like, he hadn't considered it from her perspective at all, & once he groked why the comment itself was, like, unforgivable (idk, maybe she's more forgiving; she has a virtue-name), i started socratic-method-ing him through why it was particularly unforgivable for *him* to say to *her*--the individual is not responsible for the systems from they benefit, but they are imbricated in them, they are implicated when they actively perpetuate & uphold them, even with speech acts. & finally gave the same "there is no such thing as reverse racism because racism is not an individual act, it is an institutional, systemic phenomenon, & it is an ideology, one which individual acts can bear out or be in accordance with, & to which individuals can subscribe (this bearing it out in their behavior, in their institutional roles, in their interpersonal interactions--here i gave & solicited examples of each) or be subject (also gave & solicited examples). m*th makes me very good at Explaining clearly & he was surprisingly receptive--like, it was astonishing that it had not occurred to him??? but it hadn't, the same way it hadn't occurred to my mother, & she interpreted it as "reverse racist" when their next-door neighbor called her the "white devil" for disputing their property line, & i had to be like "ok but if you called in a random third party to mediate in lily-white [city], oregon, where white supremacists openly drive down the street in pickup trucks with swastika armbands, whose side do you think they would take, statistically speaking, in your property dispute. that's why racism is systemic & institutional, & your rude neighbor calling you a name over a disagreement does not constitute 'reverse racism,' because 'reverse racism' by definition cannot

exist." now this dude wants to like, read books, so i gotta get him some entry-level Intro To Racism primers??? how did i end up here, but better me than his black epileptic (ex-)friend, i guess??? jesus christ. both of these guys have the most chaotic, reactionary politics in a potpourri with these deep commitments to abolition & mutual aid & a kind of proto-anarchist consciousness, none of which would be called by those names, but all of which is borne out in practice & in the politics of everyday life. they remind me a LOT of my parents. i'm loath to imagine how they'd internalize my stepdad's rambling, street-preacher-style libertarian lectures. probably go out & buy guns & invest in gold on the stock market & double down on the conviction that free speech is being curtailed & individual rights are in jeopardy because you can no longer unleash a barrage of harassment against some guy on the street because you think he looked at you funny. these claustrophobic convictions, like the space to express oneself is getting smaller & smaller every day, *other people* are taking it away from you, suffocating you on all sides with their offense demanding your silence, they are *making* the walls close in--when in fact it's more like a holodeck. you're a member of the Hegemonic Group, afforded the privilege of the default, so you don't question the vast verdant expanse that is your domain--ah, Free Speech, the sun never sets on the empire of ~uncensored expression, you can say whatever you want whenever you want without facing consequences because you control all the organs that mete out consequences & you have also determined that those groups who might be adversely affected by your words--emotionally OR materially--are not, well...of consequence. but of course the vast verdant domain is an illusion, photons & forcefields, held together by the all-encompassing TOTALITY of the dominant group's hegemony, power, etc. once that power begins to redistribute throughout the system--however unevenly, however incrementally, however slowly--as even the smallest pieces are appropriated by those deemed inconsequential, who have endured years of systemic, material, institutional violence that allowed the dominant group to become dominant & retain its dominant position--once those 'inconsequential' groups speak up & say "actually, these words bear an indelible imprint of the violence enacted upon us, these words are the legacy of that violence, these words are a tacit endorsement of the ideology behind that violence, which classifies us as subhuman, & even if *you* can't hear those echoes, the words broadcast on two historical frequencies, so now that we're able to broadcast on a frequency *you* can hear, we request you find other language, & consider the implications of the words you've been using for years." well--once The Subaltern Speaks, the dominant group loses its 'innocence,' & becomes aware the vast verdant expanse of language is an illusion of infinite space, aware of the four holodeck walls pressing in behind the simulacrum of the horizon, & suddenly "what one can say without negative consequences"--largely social, sometimes, rarely, if social media goes viral, professional--feels much more claustrophobic. so they get angry. & some of them are just bigots, obviously, but some of them--like my parents, &, even, this weirdly well-intentioned m*thhead who said one of the most shockingly racist things i've heard in my life & *honestly didn't understand why it was racist*, is really riled up about free speech & individual rights, hates the government, hates "FANG" (facebook amazon netflix google) & has a bunch of dystopian conspiracy theories about data harvesting & personal information that only miss the mark in that they get too nefariously biopolitical (billionaires want to put microchips in everybody for surveillance to monitor our movements & sell us more stuff; they don't need to, they already use our phone location & browsing habits to generate the algorithm & sell the information to ad companies lol, it's digital& cast a

single illuminati figure in the role of comic book villain, controlling the operation behind the scenes like an evil puppetmaster (classic conspiracy fare; again, we gotta take that energy, that suspicion, the understanding that they are being taken advantage of & tricked, the idea that power & capital & resources are concentrated among a very small number of people, however it's not an individual wealthy villain with a desire for world domination who wants to turn Free Americans into microchipped drones, it's a *class* of people--or rather several classes, but *who those people are as individuals does not matter*. if you guillotined bill gates, another billionaire would take his place. bill gates qua bill gates is not the problem. it is classes of people who control the means of production & own property & profit enormously from exploiting the labor of a desperate, rapidly increasing underclass, i.e. from the system as it is. therefore it is in their interest to maintain the status quo, because it serves them. 'the rich get richer, the poor get poorer.' the middle class gradually ceases to exist. if you want to compound it by race, consider the GI bill as an example - you learn about it as the leg up that enabled thousands of WWII vets to buy houses, enabling them to enter the middle class. hundreds of thousands of third-gen middle class white americans still reap the structural, socioeconomic benefits of their grandparents' initial upward mobility, including,, very tangibly, those selfsame houses, which can be inherited & then rented out as a second property if the children or grandchildren accrue enough money to buy their own properties. but only about 100 black vets got approved for homeownership loans, despite the staggering numbers of black soldiers who enlisted & applied through the GI bill. anyway! the impulses are there, & they're only being funneled into conspiracy thinking because that makes intuitive sense on a narrative level. these guys have a high school education; so does my stepdad. their reading habits are...eclectic, sporadic, pretty much dictated by occasional recommendations & like, little free libraries around the neighborhood. it's both interesting & frustrating to see like - hey, here are these people, we agree on a lot of things, they're earnest & open & want to learn & would give their neighbor the shirt off their backs as a matter of principle. they'd give a *stranger* the shirt off their backs; they'd share whatever they had. even what chores there are in their collective--they live with two other guys--(dumpster diving, walking the dog, tidying up the apartment) are allocated by ability & inclination. they made advance plans to look after the dog & their roommate with War PTSD on the 4th of july if the fireworks upset them, jokingly called the dog an emotional support animal. you give them the tools, the reading, talk to them like normal people with a stake in society--like, imagine a society that would have a stake in people like you instead of criminalizing you & consigning you to the margins! that's already *political imagination* because anyone who occupies a marginalized position will have their existence politicized, whether they want this or not, so better to become a self-aware, self-reflexive political subject, no?--talk *with* them because tbh i am them, i'm just better at situational masking & also i am very very afraid of cops so i only damage property in groups during planned political actions (not spontaneously, because i feel a flash of rage at my neighborhood gentrifying, & simply do not have a superego, so i tear down the real estate sign for the fancy new apartment complex in a fit of pique, because in this house we believe that spontaneity can & should be developed into class consciousness, again, the seeds of which are there in the initial trigger for the spontaneous reaction, i.e. anger at gentrification. not opposed to a little direct action, but they're just gonna put up a new sign tomorrow, it doesn't advance your agenda or hinder the gentrifiers' progress. now, if

you sabotaged the construction site for the new apartment buildings & painted a few potent symbols + graffiti'd a pithy, written statement expressing your opposition to gentrification generally & these apartments specifically? in a prominent place, large font, eye level, visible & legible from oh, a block away? maybe as a member of a collective, your neighbors, perhaps? & you could sign it "[neighborhood] or [block] residents" to pack more of a punch, the power of a crowd speaking in unison to say "not OUR home, you predatory developers"? that's no longer spontaneous, impulsive, affective violence, & it's also no longer an individual--acting alone leaves you vulnerable. again--i didn't just *intuit* that he tore the sign down because he was mad about gentrification, i asked, in a genuinely curious tone, not at all accusatory, no hint of reprimand or censure, just...interested, "why did you do that?" & he was like "it made me fucking mad." & i was like "what about it made you mad? the apartments? how come?" & he thought about it for a minute & explained. i'm not sure *he* necessarily made the conscious connection until prompted. idk, i know people talk a lot about the fact that breitbart & drudge report are free while NYT & "all the news fit to print" is paywalled, & q-pilled covid hoax sites are free while "reputable" pandemic coverage & public health guidelines & explanations of mRNA vaccines for a lay audience are paywalled & that's true but also We Live In A Society & if you talk to the wingnuts who AREN'T that way because of any far-right ideology, a lot of them are just...autodidacts without much formal education but a lot of raw intelligence that leads to analyzing The Big Picture & trying to deduce a pattern, find a framework that explains why the world is the way it is, profoundly frustrated, deeply aware of American society's, universalized & figured as the world's, exceptional unfairness & cruelty, & *that can be redirected* with reading, discussion, prompting critical thought, introducing community connections, & perhaps most importantly for this genre of person, getting them to see patterns at work in terms of systems & structures rather than individuals, letting go of American individualism's explanatory power & belief in its liberatory potential (see: the sort of ad hoc libertarianism that goes hand-in-glove with much conspiracy thinking, both stemming from 1) mistrusting the government, & 2) ultimate freedom of the individual as the most sacred value, therefore it is what all enemies want to take away), outlining positive, actionable goals rather than just ambient suspicion & anger at authority, & figuring out how those goals can be accomplished more effectively by an organized collective (but this will ultimately benefit the individual). If the world isn't run by a shadowy cabal, if you begin to understand the structures responsible & how they manifest even on the scale of your block (e.g.!!! predatory developers buying up properties during a pandemic, tearing down affordable housing to build expensive condos on the lot, or giving old buildings a "spit and polish" so they can double the rent, pricing all the current residents out, not to mention all the little local businesses, almost all mexican & run by the mexican families who live here, that give our block its culture & will get pushed out by boutique coffee shops & the like, catering to a more affluent & almost certainly whiter clientele)--you can, in fact, change the world, something both of them repeatedly referred to as their purpose on earth. it may not be as a maverick figure, one against an army, but strength in numbers is an aphorism for a reason.

anyway! thse guys were also really weird about jews, in the philosemitic way conspiracy theorists of a certain stripe often are. the itinerant vagabond guy gave me one of his drawings; it's really lovely. i'm going to give them "are prisons obsolete?" & "the wretched of the earth" & some david graeber. 44 yr old guy has this idea that society is atomized & people aren't connected to each other & have lost the willingness or the ability to communicate with each other, also that the overreach of authority has driven some people to violence, & that makes the world feel unsafe to everyone else. he feels guilty because he is acutely aware that language, when wielded adroitly & intentionally, always has the capacity to manipulate; he is afraid of succumbing to the temptation, because he senses the coercive power of language within himself. the other guy was mostly quiet but said 44 yr old guy is one of the best friends he's ever had. he thinks animals are able to sense emotions and to heal, & he thinks they can mediate between people who have become too isolated, who have forgotten humans' innate ability to forge connections, approach others as social creatures seeking to bond instead of mistrustful, apprehensive, rejecting overtures of friendship because they expect subterfuge, or propriety has evolved to deem such overtures inappropriate outside of strictly delineated, artificially orchestrated contexts. deviation from the norm is not permitted. & back again to policing. they have an idea called "the omega family," omega for the end, a group of like-minded people who come together, who encounter each other serendipitously (predicted through auspicious auguries & recognized on sight through a constellation of signs & wonders, because of course we are all psychotic here, it was nice to just be psychotic & discuss these things like they were normal lol), & serve as catalysts to each other's "personal truth." anyway this is why i don't go out when i'm crazy, i always end up in situations like this, see also: the last time i did m*th, in a pizza hut bathroom in tallinn with an art student from glascow named muhammad ali (he went by ali), the son of white muslim converts--we thought it was c*ke but it got lost in translation & that's how i figured out i had adhd. later i got [redacted] by a filmmaker from kazan & he gave me his business card afterward for some reason, which was extremely funny. thankfully these dudes were better behaved. one of them even gave a speech about how men shouldn't rape people??? & also how our society shouldn't construct women as universal victims because in doing so it makes victimhood almost compulsory & shoehorns women into a victim role as part & parcel of womanhood? i was like yes my dude you are almost there, read the essay "abject feminism." (i did not tell them i was trans bc i wasn't sure how that would shake down, to be honest; couldn't get a read on it. did tell them i was gay & they respected it, though one did say he dated a lesbian once, & i explained that many men feel compelled to interject with an anecdote relating an exception to the rule or insist that they will he the exception to the rule, & it's really just bad manners, not even getting into the bad politics. he took it on the chin & talked about how the girl in question came home to find her partner dead of an overdose & his wife had just died of MS, so their relationship was more about grief & comfort than sexual attraction. i was like that's really, really sad, & it's wonderful that you were able to be there for each other at a time of such staggering loss, & i am a person who totally understands what you mean to communicate, but if a lesbian tells you they're a lesbian & you reply that you once dated a lesbian & they get offended & instead of responding with contrition or correction you elaborate on the tragic backstory of the relationship as though that explains the circumstances in which a self-proclaimed lesbian would date a cis man, other lesbians *will* deck you, or at the very least not take you, an unwashed white guy in

his 40s who isn't neurotypical & sits way too close for social convention in a way that could easily be construed as a come-on, in good faith.) tl;dr made some new friends, did some good drügs (i much prefer smoking m*th to snorting it, basically like purer, more potent adderall, & as such will not be doing it again for a LONG time, because i enjoy it FAR too much; slices through the brain fog & the chronic fatigue & the joint/bone pain, makes me able to pay attention, follow the thread of a conversation, actually be *interested* & want to ask *questions* & expand, build, encourage my interlocutor to elaborate, place more kal-toh pieces until the conversation shimmers into a three-dimensional shape, instead of being listless & exhausted & disengaged & *bored* all the time, so obviously i would get addicted immediately if given the opportunity, & i've known this forever lol)--now going to hydrate, refill pill case, write some emails, & meet C at the beach! not how i expected to reboot my brain, but it works! also putting them on limited facebook view because i try to keep some groups of people in my life quarantined from each other & that includes 1) my relatives & my academic ~colleagues (ne'er the twain shall meet), 2) my exes & my family, 3) my relatives, colleagues, & uh. a couple of lovely, but extremely psychotic dudes with very long criminal records i met while doing hard drugs

[cannibal-rainbow]

The History of Pansexuality

(Edit.21.5.22) there's a lot more in depth archive of mentions of pansexuality so I recommend you read more detailed history timeline here.

The hybrid words pansexual and pansexualism were first attested in 1917, denoting the idea "that the sex instinct plays the primary part in all human activity, mental and physical", a reproach Sigmund Freud levelled at early psychology.

In a 1952 speech, Pope Pius said that the “pansexual” method of psychoanalytic therapy went against Christian values.

“The prefix “pan” means that you’re open to all kinds of sexual experiences, with all kinds of people. It means an end to restrictions, it means you could relate sexually to any human being, it means and end to unreal limits. I like that idea.” - Alice Cooper (1974)

Around the 1980s, “pansexual” meant a person who was interested in a wide array of sexual experiences which started at pansexual play BDSM parties. “The era following the onset of the AIDS crisis has brought to the leather/BDSM community a pansexual trend toward increasing inclusiveness, changing it from a predominantly gay-male phenomen onto a community that also includes lesbians, transgendered people, heterosexuals, and bisexuals.”

“Pansexual: Lacking highly specific sexual orientations or preferences; open to a range of sexual activities.”

Probably the first modern day usage of the term was in 2002 when the LiveJournal community “I Am Pansexual” proclaimed in its first post:

“... [T]his community is for pansexuals, as described in the user info. Pansexuals love people of all genders, male and female, but unlike bisexuals, pansexuals love transgendered, androgynous and gender fluid people, people who don't fit into the categories of male or female.”

In 2008 published article Questioning Gender and Sexual Identity: Dynamic Links Over Time had an interview of a pansexual trans woman Lori who claimed:

Lori’s solution was to adopt alternative labels, such as “queer,” “pansexual,” or “omnisexual,” and her preference for these terms was directly influenced by her increasing familiarity and experience with the transgender community (...)

“So I think [identifying as pansexual/omnisexual] is more about saying it doesn’t really make a difference what their gender is, it’s more about who you’re attracted to.”

In 2010, the pansexual pride flag emerged on the web, with a pink stripe, blue stripe, and a yellow stripe in the middle to symbolize trans, intersex, agender, bigender, nonbinary etc gender identities.

“For a long time we've shared a flag with bisexual pride, but I believe as more people are choosing to identity (though we don't choose what we are) themselves as pansexual rather than bisexual. Both are legitimate orientations, neither is "better" than the other, but they both deserve to be represented individually.“ Pansexual Pride Flag (2010)

In 2017 published article Who Adopts Queer and Pansexual Sexual Identities there is a research and theory about what makes people identify pansexual instead of bisexual:

“... [W]hat types of non-heterosexual individuals adopt queer or pansexual sexual identities? It stands to reason that queer and pansexual labels are most frequently adopted by those who experience sexual attraction to more than one gender (...)  In this case, queer and pansexual populations would be similar in sexual/romantic attraction and sexual behavior to those who are bisexual identified, with their differences having more to do with their sexual politics than their sexual orientation perse. Moreover, some nonmonosexual individuals may adopt queer and pansexual labels to avoid stigma associated with a bisexual identity.”

The article The pansexual revolution: how sexual fluidity became mainstream (2019) summarizes  “labels such as “pansexual” do capture a specific sense that fancying someone isn’t just about gender. “

And as above there are many opinions and misconceptions about bisexuality here is The Bisexual Manifesto (1990) as a reminder of the origin of bisexuality as well:

“Bisexuality is a whole, fluid identity. Do not assume that bisexuality is binary or duogamous in nature: that we have "two" sides or that we must be involved simultaneously with both genders to be fulfilled human beings. In fact, don’t assume that there are only two genders. Do not mistake our fluidity for confusion, irresponsibility, or an inability to commit. Do not equate promiscuity, infidelity, or unsafe sexual behavior with bisexuality. Those are human traits that cross all sexual orientations. Nothing should be assumed about anyone’s sexuality, including your own.”

#pansexuality #bisexuality #pan history #lgbt history #homophobia #lgbt #resources #long post

[cowboyjen68]

cant be bothered to say nothing about current events bro? ur always so politically vocal and youve been REAL QUIEY lately. dont think nobody noticed

 I have been busy privately.. talking to friends of color.. seeing what they need from me as a white person. I don’t have the ability to protest. I can’t risk injury, jail, or covid because I am Lori’s only parent and the sole provider.  

Going on to Tumblr or Facebook and virtue signalling or giving my opinion or talking about any donations I made to local groups that provide resources to people of color. blah blah... as white person.. seems empty and like I am giving myself a big old pat on the back.. Yay me.. 

I have also had some discussions with the non profits boards I am on and how we can best support either the demonstrations or individuals in our community who might be not dealing well with feeling safe. How to best put something on our social media to show support, encourage engagement and even how to be safe if demonstrating. 

ON my personal page I posted this

“Local Friends/Family Planning on Going to the Protests: PLEASE READ THIS!!! 1. Please put a couple of numbers of people NOT going in Sharpie on your skin; if something happens (arrested, hurt) you may not have access to your phone. You are welcome to use my number. I/we will help you, i/We will pick you up, etc. 2. Have a person, again NOT going, as a check in. This is a person you will contact by X time when you are home safely. Talk to this person ahead of time w/where you are going, with whom, & emergency contacts in case you can't call.

.3. Password protect your phone (not touch/face recognition) 4. Go with a buddy. Designate a meeting place ahead of time in case you are separated. 5. Bring water, wear comfortable shoes, wear your face masks, put your hair up. Bring your id. Keep anything important in pockets, not in bags (supplies only in bags, not keys, not id, not money, not your phone, etc) 6. Only take with you items you are a) willing to not get back right away, if ever, and b) can not be seen as any kind of "weapon" 7. Exercise your right to remain silent, ALWAYS. If you're detained but not arrested ask, repeatably: Am I being arrested? Am I free to go? 8. If pepper spray is used DO NOT use water! Water will make it spread. Do not wear contact lens. 9. Document any police misconduct you see; if taking video state the date, time and your location. 10. Stay with the group as much as possible; beware of snatch squads detaining outliers. If you'd like more tips, there are a lot of resources out there, and I am happy to share some more with you or just talk about it; call or text me”.

My ex Jen wrote it and I shared with permission. I also added to make arrangements for pets home alone and weigh your physical and mental abilities before you rush to action. 

Some of us do great on the front line. Others..do better in support or background roles. 

SOO anon.. just because you don’t follow me on all social media do not think me quiet or not engaged. I was organizing protests likely before you were born. BLM and what is going on it not about my opinions. 

I have a lot of younger followers AND everyone of them needs to decide for themselves if they can demonstrate and how they should conduct themselves. Do you want me to say “I hate all cops”  because I won’t. But I hate the way the institution has become a power imbalance where just getting pulled over means you are not sure if the officer will be human or treat you like you are less than him. I don’t like that families have to pay money to write a letter or email or speak to a loved on in jail. I hate that many prisons are a profit centers. I hate that overwhelmingly young black teens are jailed for minor pot charges while their white counterparts rarely spend a night in custody. 

I can’t even begin to imagine what it feels like every time you walk from your house as a person of color and know that you are judged (and negatively) for the color of skin you were born with. NO matter how hard I try I just can’t and when I do try and get anywhere it is over whelming. 

I know lots of people, including maybe you, think I have answers and can share wisdom that can help people make decisions. This movement and the demonstrations are a long time coming. Just like any human can be, I am overwhelmed and saddened. I am unsure how to proceed, what to do exactly so I do what I can. Today I read the BLM website to see what they suggest. I am weighing my need to pay my bills and donate. Weighing  the need and desire  for me to be a good ally to POC and at the same time not make it about me or toot my own horn. And I have no answers. The entire law enforcement machine needs to be shaken empty and rebuilt with a coalition of citizens. I am afraid it won’t. And I hate that too.   

I guess I should be flattered that you “don’t think no one noticed” clearly you did. And I appreciate that you value my opinion and thoughts so much that you reached out to find out why I haven’t spoken. The fact is, I have not been sure what to say. I have been hesitant to speak on actions or opinions that might not follow the wishes of the black leaders of this movement. 

If you are asking if I am a racist.. yeah....probably to some extent. I am not immune to false stereo types or judgement calls based on skin color. The difference is I am self aware enough to call myself out when I do that and think over my internal voice. I used to be one of those A holes that said I was “color blind” until i went to college away from my home town. That is a story for another blog entry. 

[bowlingshirtbellas]

Gender Forking: a Twilight Saga Podcast episode masterlist

Lori and Sam, two best friends/sex educators/twilight enthusiasts, are re-reading Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga book by book, chapter by chapter through the lens of gender, violence, race & more. If you’re interested in Twilight discussions about: 

Edward and Bella’s relationship dynamics 

The politics of imprinting

Themes of agency, control, and power

Representations of violence and sexuality 

Anti-indigenous racism in the Saga

Class & race intersections in vampire/werewolf depictions

    then this is a podcast for you!

How does the Twilight Saga hold up 15 years later? We try to answer this question, and also laugh a lot. Now streaming everywhere podcasts can be found. If you like the podcast, please consider becoming a Patron! And as always, please considering donating to Move to Higher Ground!

Season 1 - Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined

1. Intro to Life and Death (Foreword) // Apple Spotify

2. We Forked Up (Chap. 1-4) // Apple Spotify

3. Girls Just Wanna Hike (Chap. 5-7) // Apple Spotify 

4. Boner Theory (Chap. 8-10) // Apple Spotify 

5. Bella Would Never (Chap. 11-13) // Apple Spotify 

6. Vampire Sex Ed (Chap. 14-16) // Apple Spotify 

7. Whomst?! (Chap. 17-19) // Apple Spotify 

8. *Gender-Fueled Screaming* (Chap. 20-23) // Apple Spotify 

9. Straight History (Chap. 24) // Apple Spotify 

10. Justice for Charlie (Epilogue, Afterword) // Apple Spotify 

Bonus Episode: Q&A with Sam and Lori // Apple Spotify 

Bonus Episode: A Drunk Retelling of Life and Death // Apple Spotify 

Season 2 - Twilight

1. Returning to Twilight // Apple Spotify 

2. Brain Glitch (Chap. 1-2) // Apple Spotify 

3. A League of Her Own (Chap. 3-4) // Apple Spotify 

4. Blood Type (Chap. 5) // Apple Spotify 

5. La Push, Baby (Chap. 6-7) // Apple Spotify

6. Trauma, First Dates, & Other Teenage Things (Chap. 8) // Apple Spotify

7. #YOLF (You Only Live Forever) (Chap. 9) // Apple Spotify 

8. Thirsty (Chap. 10-11) // Apple Spotify

9. The Lion, the Lamb & the Meadow (Chap. 12-13) // Apple Spotify

10. Everyone’s a Witch (Chap. 14-15) // Apple Spotify

11. Vampire Baseball (Chap. 16-17) // Apple Spotify

12.  Would Die for Victoria (Chap. 18-19) // Apple Spotify

13. Babysitting w/ Alice & Jasper (Chap. 20-22) // Apple Spotify

14. Human Experiences (Chap. 23-Epilogue) // Apple Spotify

Season 3 - Midnight Sun

Midnight Sun Celebration (Collaboration with Twilight Phase & Remember Twilight Podcast) // Apple Spotify

1. Murder Boy (Chap. 1-2) // Apple Spotify

2. Edward’s Guide to Gaslighting (Chap. 3-4) // Apple Spotify

3. I Watch You When You Sleep (Chap. 5-6) // Apple Spotify

4. Edward the Spy (Chap. 7-8) // Apple Spotify

5. How to (Not) Be an Ally feat. Edward Anthony Masen Cullen (Chap. 9-10) // Apple Spotify

6. Ugly Green Sweater (Chap. 11-12) // Apple Spotify

7. The Roast of Bella Swan (Chap. 13-14) // Apple Spotify

8. Merry Christmas, Edward (Chap. 15-16) // Apple Spotify

9. Thousands of Bugs, Apparently (Chap. 17) // Apple Spotify

Season 3 Christmas Special: Happiest Season // Apple Spotify

10. Edward, Gemini (Chap. 18) // Apple Spotify

11. Skirt? Khaki. Tear? Tasted (Chap. 19) // Apple Spotify

12. Vigilante Edward (Chap. 20-21) // Apple Spotify

13. Red Flags (Chap. 22-23) // Apple Spotify

14. Vampire Car Chase (Chap. 24-25) // Apple Spotify

15. Team Alice (Chap. 26-28) // Apple Spotify

16. In Conclusion: No <3 (Chap. 29-Epilogue) // Apple Spotify

Season 4 - New Moon

1. Intro to New Moon (Preface) // Apple Spotify

2. A Ravenous Birthday (Chap. 1-2) // Apple Spotify

3. Byeeee Edward (Chap. 3-4) // Apple Spotify

4. Hellooo, Jacob (Chap. 5-6) // Apple Spotify

5. Hallucination Station (Chap. 7-8) // Apple Spotify

6. New Wolf Just Dropped (Chap. 9-10) // Apple Spotify

7. Break Ups, Boy Wolves (Chap. 11-12) // Apple Spotify 

8. Emily’s Boys (Chap. 13-14) // Apple Spotify

9. Bella’s Worst Idea(s) Yet (Chap. 15-16) // Apple Spotify 

10. Vampires Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Use the Phone (Chap. 17-18) // Apple Spotify

11. Edward Goes Streaking (Chap. 19-21) // Apple Spotify 

12. Reunited and It Feels So Cringe (Chap. 22-23) // Apple Spotify

13. Worst Proposal Ever (Chap. 24 & Epilogue) // Apple Spotify

14. Bonus: New Moon Outtakes // Apple Spotify 

15. Bonus: Couch Surfing in Your Crawl Space (New Moon Extras)  // Apple Spotify

Season 5 - Eclipse

1. Eclipse! (Chap. 1) // Apple Spotify

2. Team Edward Explain (Chap. 2) // Apple Spotify

3. Stroking my girlfriend’s face while confronting my mortal enemy in a school parking lot *emotional* (Chap. 3) // Apple Spotify

4. So the eagle fell in love with the fish... (Chap. 4-5) // Apple Spotify 

5. Rosalie’s story (Chap. 6-7) // Apple Spotify

6. Edward’s Best Behavior Ever (Chap. 8-9) // Apple Spotify

7. Unpacking the Pack’s “Legends” (Chap. 10-11) // Apple Spotify

8. Major Jasper Whitlock, Ma’am (Chap. 12-13) // Apple Spotify

9. Jacob’s Worst Behavior...So Far (Chap. 14-15) // Apple Spotify

10. Revenge of the Khaki Skirt (Chap. 16-17) // Apple Spotify

11. Battle Rehearsal (Chap. 18-19) // Apple Spotify

12. Prenup (Chap. 20) // Apple Spotify

13. Interview With A Vampire (By A Werewolf) (Chap. 21-22) // Apple Spotify

14. The End of Truce and Triangle (Chap. 23) // Apple Spotify

15, Edward Said Polyamory is Fine (Chap. 24-25) // Apple Spotify

16. More Than a Little Traumatized (Chap. 26-Epilogue) // Apple Spotify

17. Strange Vampire Kissing Sounds (Bree Tanner Part 1) // Apple Spotify

18. Crispy Fried Vampire (Bree Tanner Part 2) // Apple Spotify

#gender forking #twilight saga #twilight podcast #the twilight saga #updated! #midnight sun #life and death #new moon #eclipse

[askamydaily]

This year -- put a Book on EVERY Bed

This year: put a Book on EVERY Bed

By “Ask Amy” advice columnist Amy Dickinson

10 December, 2020

Dear Readers: Every year at Christmastime, I delight in promoting a Book on Every Bed. I do so in memory of my mother, Jane, who raised her children to understand that if you have a book, you are never alone.

The idea originally came from historian David McCollough, who recounted the Christmas mornings of his youth, when the very first thing he woke up to was a wrapped book at the base of his bed, left there by Santa.

The most important part is what happens next: Family members reading together.

That’s it! That’s the whole idea!

Over the last ten years, working with my local literacy partner Children’s Reading Connection (childrensreadingconnection.org), this campaign has grown to include schools, libraries and bookstores, who have donated scores of books to families that might not have access to them. The goal – and our dream – is that families will experience the intimate and personal connection of diving into and sharing stories, the way my mother and I did throughout her life.

Over the years, important literacy advocates, such as the Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and LeVar Burton, and bestselling children’s authors Brad Meltzer and Peter Reynolds, have endorsed and helped to spread the good word.

This year is different. So many of us are alone, hurting, and separated from family and familiar holiday routines.

All of us – not just children – need a good book on our beds.

I have broadened the scope to include specific recommendations for books spanning all ages. I’ve reached out to some of my favorite writers, literacy advocates, and independent booksellers across the country for their special picks.

Whether you purchase a book or share an old favorite, I hope you will be inspired to put A Book on Every Bed this year. It is not necessary to make a Christmas deadline – this idea is one to sustain people throughout what might shape up to be a very long winter.

Following are recommendations for all age groups.

Baby and Toddlers: From Brigid Hubberman, Children’s Reading Connection, Ithaca, NY (childrensreadingconnection.org):

“Words are the language of love for babies.  The best books for infants should be about the world they know. Parents should choose books to surround babies with an abundance of loving and delightful words.”

Baby Cakes, by Karma Wilson and Sam Williams

Haiku Baby, by Betsy E. Snyder

Shine Baby Shine, by Leslie Staub and Lori Nichols

Ages 3-5: From Lisa Swaze, Buffalo Street Books, Ithaca, NY (Buffalostreetbooks.com)

“If You Come to Earth,” by Sophie Blackall is one of my favorite picture books of 2020. This book is beautiful both visually and lyrically, and it will feel like a warm hug to any child or family who receives it.

“You Matter,” by Christian Robinson is a bright and elegant book that takes children on a journey around the world to make it clear that everyone matters, and perhaps more importantly, reassure them that they matter, no matter what they look like or where they are from.

Early Readers: From Sandra Dear, owner of The Little Boho Bookshop, in Bayonne, NJ (thelittlebohobookshop.com)

“The Suitcase,” by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros: This beautiful story about immigration, is full of heart and humanity as it teaches our littlest ones about hope, tolerance and kindness.

“Home in the Woods,” by Eliza Wheeler: This stunningly beautiful picture book has fast become a customer favorite. A story about starting over, of overcoming! A story of family, love and joy of being and growing together.

Middle Grade Readers: From Becky Anderson, co-owner of Anderson’s Bookshop, in Naperville, Illinois (andersonsbookshops.com):

“Ways to Make Sunshine,” by Renee Watson: Watson writes her own version of Ramona Quimby, one starring a Black girl and her family, in this start to a charming new middle grade series about spirit, kindness, and sunshine.  Ryan, a fourth grader, finds the positive in difficult situations and when trouble strikes. She is that character to love and bring in the sunshine!  Grades 3-6

Skunk and Badger by Amy Timberlake, illustrated by Jon Klassen: Winnie-the-Pooh and Frog and Toad meet in a fresh take on a classic odd-couple friendship.  Klassen’s illustrations add much to a story of an unlikely friendship that proves that opposites can see the good in one another. The first in a series.  Grades 3-7

“The Silver Arrow,” by Lev Grossman: Kate’s humdrum life is transformed when her eccentric Uncle Herbert brings her a colossal locomotive train, the Silver Arrow, as her eleventh birthday gift, leading her and her younger brother on a mysterious journey.  The train will remind readers of the Hogwart’s Express. A story that is environmentally aware and calls readers to action. Perfect for fans of Roald Dahl and The Chronicles of Narnia.  Grades 3-7

YA Readers: Danielle Kreger, Blue Bunny Books, Dedham, MA (bluebunnybooks.com):  "One of Us is Lying" by Karen M McManus: An edge of your seat mystery that takes place in Bayview High school during detention. Simon, a so-called "outcast," never makes it out of detention alive. What follows is a tale of twists and turns that has the reader questioning the reliability of the characters, and the secrets they keep.

"Burn" by Patrick Ness: A fast-paced young adult fantasy that begins with fifteen-year-old Sarah, who meets Kazimir – a dragon who has been hired to help on her family's farm. Still reeling from the death of her mother, Sarah finds herself feeling an intense and unusual connection with Kazimir. As the story unfolds secrets, dangers and Kazimir's true purpose are revealed.

"The New Kid" by Jerry Craft: A spot-on graphic novel about navigating a new school, new friends and identity. Jordan Banks is in seventh grade when he is sent to a rigorous private school and grapples with staying true to himself- his love for creating cartoons, how to maintain his old friends and how he fits in in a less than diverse new school. A totally lovable and relatable character!

Adult Non-fiction: From Alex George, the author, most recently, of The Paris Hours, founder and director of the Unbound Book Festival, and the owner of Skylark Bookshop, in Columbia, MO (skylarkbookshop.com)

“Wintering,” by Katherine May: This is a deeply personal, quietly beautiful book, written with grace and immense thoughtfulness. We all go through difficult times; by mulling over her responses to her own misfortunes, the author offers insight as to how we might think differently about low points in our lives. Instructive, inspiring, and ultimately profoundly hopeful.

“The Book of Delights,” by Ross Gay: This utterly charming book of micro-essays by Ross Gay, a beloved and renowned poet, is a perfect gift for – well, just about anyone. Gay set himself the challenge of finding one thing that delighted him each day for a year, and then writing about it. The result is a quirky, brilliant book that you can dip in and out of, always finding something to make you smile, and think. A guaranteed lifter of spirits.

“Intimations: Six Essays,” by Zadie Smith: I’ve always loved Zadie Smith’s nonfiction work, and this small but powerful book shows her talents at their finest. Written during the pandemic, these six pieces are sharp, and funny, and thought-provoking. Smith’s deeply personal reflections on this strangest of years is essential reading. If ever there was a book for these strange times, it’s this one.

Adult Fiction: Mark LaFramboise, Senior Book Buyer at Politics and Prose in Washington, DC (politics-prose.com)

“The Butterfly Lampshade,” by Aimee Bender: This is a beautiful story of mental illness, the bonds of sisterhood, and the liveliness of a child's imagination.  Francie is 8 years old when the book begins, the daughter of a single mom.  This is the story of her odyssey after her mother is committed to a mental hospital, and she is sent to be raised by an aunt and uncle.

“Luster,” by Raven Leilani: Edie, the young protagonist in Luster, Raven Leilani's debut novel, is daring, sexy, hilarious, super smart, and drop dead beautiful.  Her affair with a married man takes a turn for the strange when she meets and befriends the man's wife and daughter.  Edie is whip smart because Raven Leilani is whip smart and her voice propels this beguiling novel.

“What Are You Going Through,” by Sigrid Nunez: Sigrid Nunez writes so beautifully that plot feels irrelevant.  The writer's confidence and authority are apparent from the first page.  Ultimately, it's the story of a woman who is asked by an old college acquaintance to be with her when she takes her life, after a cancer diagnosis.  But, like her previous book The Friend (about a woman who inherits a large Great Dane), it doesn't matter what story she tells because her words bristle with life.

Elders: Gayle Shanks, Changing Hands Bookstore, in Tempe and Phoenix, AZ

(changinghands.com)

“Apeirogon,” by Colum McCann: Two fathers, one Palestinian and one Israeli have both lost their young daughters to violence but have decided that reconciliation, not revenge, is what they needed to seek. In the process, they became best friends. McCann describes the insanity and senseless violence bred in the Middle East, the Occupation under which the Palestinians are forced to live, but also the beauty of the country, the migration of birds, the many ways humans overcome adversity and find solace in the natural world and each other. In a series of 1001 fragments, McCann walks us through his imaginary polygon, the Apeirogon of the title, containing an infinite number of sides, an infinite number of gorgeous sentences, and ultimately an infinite number of ways to view the human condition.  

“All the Way to the Tigers,” by Mary Morris: Travel writer Mary Morris’ book, written in small chapters, was in some ways similar to reading Colum McCann's, Aperagon, also written in small bits (in his case 1001, in Mary's -- 112 chapters). Morris travels to India in search of the elusive Bengal tiger, but in so many ways she is searching for herself and her place in the world as she recovers from a serious ankle injury that leaves her debilitated but determined.  

In her short vignettes, she quotes Rilke, Wendell Berry, other writers she admires and reminds us how important it is to listen intently to others as in active listening we are rewarded with deeper understanding.

“The Chair Rocks,” by Ashton Applewhite: From childhood on, we’re barraged by messages that it’s sad to be old. That wrinkles are embarrassing, and old people useless. Author and activist Ashton Applewhite believed them too—until she realized where this prejudice comes from and the damage it does. Lively, funny, and deeply researched, This Chair Rocks traces Applewhite’s journey from apprehensive boomer to pro-aging radical, and in the process debunks myth after myth about late life. The book explains the roots of ageism—in history and in our own age denial. Whether you’re older or hoping to get there, this book will shake you by the shoulders, cheer you up, make you mad, and change the way you see the rest of your life. Age pride!  

#Ask Amy #Amy Dickinson #Book on Every Bed #literacy #books #independent bookshop #book recommendations #changing hands bookstore #politics and prose #skylark bookshop #Blue Bunny Books #Childrens Reading Connection #Buffalo Street Books

[ericfruits]

Sources and acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the following for their help:

Erin Amico; Michael Amiridis; John Austin; Ed Bachrach; Carmelo Barbaro; Tom Barrett; Tim Bartik; Austin Berg; Scott Brave; Max Brickman; Sherrod Brown; Pete Buttigieg; Kendall Byram; Dan Caulkins; Hayley Child; Chris, in Assumption; Kathy Cramer; Kate Collignon; John Cranley; Rick Cruse; Art Cullen; Donald Dennis; Orphe Divounguy; Mike Duggan; Rahm Emanuel; Thea Ewing; Micah Ezekiel; Flash, in Decatur; Tony Flora; Charles Franklin; Tim Franklin; Laura Frerichs; Tim Frisbie; Jeremy Jacobs; Edward Glaeser; Anika Goss-Foster; Nathan Grawe; John Gurda; Beth Hansen; Dave Harrison; Brad Henderson; Tom Henry; Eric Herman; Walter Johnson; Aaron Jones; Robert Jones; Paul Judge; Bruce Katz; Ryan Kelly; Thomas Klier; Birgit Klohs; Paul Krugman; Bob Leonard; Lori Lightfoot; Richard Longworth; Jeffrey Lyttle; Jeremy Manier; Bert Matthews; Richard Mattoon; Sonya Mays; Kenny McDonald; Scot McLemore; Leslie McGranahan; Rick Melcher; Julie Moore; Aidan Mouat; Tom Murphy; David Oppedahl; Mark Patton; Tef Poe; Darrin Redus; Brian Reisinger; Aaron Renn; Jamala Rogers; Rafael Salmi; John Sampson; Jeff Sloan; Tom Sloan; Sloan Spalding; Ramesh Srinivasan; Diane Swonk; Lauren Underwood; John Urbanus; Mike Venerable; Jay Walder; Thomas Walstrum; Ray Waters; Ben Wikler; Bob Zemsky.

A list of books and reports used for this report follows.

Books:

“Bleeding Out; The devastating consequences of urban violence, and a bold new plan for peace in the streets”. By Thomas Abt.

“Dignity, Seeking Respect in Back Row America”. By Chris Arnade.

“The New Chicago Way; Lessons from other big cities”. By Ed Bachrach and Austin Berg.

“Shortest Way Home; One mayor’s challenge and a model for America’s future”. By Pete Buttigieg.

“The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker”. By Katherine Cramer.

“Nature’s Metropolis, Chicago and the Great West”. By William Cronon.

“Storm Lake; A chronicle of change, resilience, and hope from a Heartland Newspaper”. By Art Cullen.

“Evicted; Poverty and profit in the American city”. By Matthew Desmond.

“The Nation City; Why mayors are now running the world”. By Rahm Emanuel

“Our Towns; A 100,000 mile journey into the heart of America”. By James Fallows and Deborah Fallows.

“What’s the matter with Kansas? How conservatives won the Heart of America.” By Thomas Frank.

“Triumph of the City; How our greatest invention makes us richer, smarter, greener, healthier and happier”. By Edward Glaeser.

“The Making of Milwaukee”. By John Gurda.

“Janesville; An American Story”. By Amy Goldstein.

“The Fall of Wisconsin; the conservative conquest of a progressive bastion and the future of American politics”. By Dan Kaufman.

“American Summer; Love and death in Chicago”. By Alex Kotlowitz.

“The Heartland, An American History”. By Kristin L Hoganson.

“The Broken Heart of America; St Louis and the Violent History of the United States”. By Walter Johnson.

“The New Localism, How Cities can Thrive in the age of Populism”. By Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowak.

“The Promised Land; the great black migration and how it changed America”. By Nicholas Lemann.

“Sundown Towns, A Hidden Dimension of American Racism”. By James W Loewen.

“Caught in the Middle; America’s heartland in the age of Globalism”. By Richard Longworth.

“The South Side; A portrait of Chicago and American Segregation”. By Natalie Y. Moore.

“Cahokia; Ancient America’s Great City on the Mississippi”. By Timothy Pauketat.

“Great American City; Chicago and the enduring neighbourhood effect”. By Robert Sampson.

“North America”. By Anthony Trollope.

“The Warmth of Other Suns; the epic story of America’s great migration”. By Isabel Wilkerson.

Reports:

“A Vital Midwest; the path to a new prosperity”. By John Austin and Alexander Hitch; The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. 2020.

“Between the Great Migration and Growing Exodus: the future of black Chicago?” By William Scarborough, Iván Arenas, and Amanda E. Lewis. Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago. 2020.

“How stagnating cities can prepare for the future”. Aaron Renn. Manhattan Institute. 2019.

“Jobs for the Heartland: Place-based policies in 21 st century America”. By Benjamin Austin, Edward Glaeser, Lawrence Summers. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity. 2018.

“Midwest success stories, these 10 cities are blooming not rusting”. Aaron Renn. Manhattan Institute. 2019.

“The State of the Heartland”. Mark Muro, Jacob Whiton, Robert Maxim, Ross De Vol. Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings. 2018

“Why the Garden Club couldn’t save Youngstown; Civic infrastructure and mobilization in economic crises”. Sean Safford. 2004

The Midwest an outsized punch

This article appeared in the Special report section of the print edition under the headline "Sources and acknowledgments"

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[kittyit]

2018 READING ROUNDUP: USA RADICAL FEMINIST EDITION these are max and i’s top picks for “wow, this expanded/influenced my feminist consciousness” from 2018. brief tips: goodreads is useful for keeping track of reads & what you want to read (gr links are goodreads), use interlibrary loan, buy books cheap (we use thriftbooks), don’t feel bad if you can’t finish a book or you need to skim it, one chapter at a time, if the digital form doesn’t work for you try the book in your hand, try reading out loud to yourself, and/or try to find a reading buddy. they don’t want us to know our history (long or short term) or the context for events in the present day, but FUCK THAT! epidemic: america's trade in child rape by lori handrahan (gr) informative, extremely harrowing, carefully sourced expose of the scope of the usa’s globally leading production of child porn. this book contains matter of fact descriptions of child porn, so really can’t content warn enough. reality bites back: the troubling truth about guilty pleasure tv by jennifer l. pozner (gr / pdf / mobi) a blistering and irreverent takedown of the reality tv division of the entertainment industry as a marriage between capitalism and misogyny

a passion for friends: towards a philosophy of female affection by janice raymond (gr / pdf) a loving & optimistic call for positive & deep female solidarity mixed with thought-provoking & still-relevant criticisms of the 70s - 90s radical feminist movement complaints & disorders: the sexual politics of sickness by barbara ehrenreich (gr) examines the misogynistic history of the medical field from the mid 1800s to late 1900s in america. lots of crazy facts about how “being sick” has evolved, especially in relation to class demonic males: apes and the origins of human violence by richard w. wrangham (gr) the only book by a man on the list, but holy shit. thought-provoking in the extreme, learned a lot of horrible stuff about apes the demon lover: the roots of terrorism by robin morgan (gr) heartbreaking analysis of gender dynamics in the context of terrorism, including many accounts by women who were friends/lovers/relatives of male terrorists. the author was also previously involved with a terrorist movement backlash: the undeclared war against american women by susan faludi (gr / pdf / epub) a generalized but expansive history of feminism & the various suppression/backlash women have faced in america. i know i gush about this book constantly but it’s a must for an american feminist (radical or not, hatereaders this means you!) killing the black body: race, reproduction, and the meaning of liberty by dorothy roberts (gr / pdf / epub) incredibly comprehensive and accessible history of anti-black, eugenicist woman-hating in the united states. dorothy robert’s work is incredible, please also read fatal invention which is about the racism of consumer genetics  women of ideas (and what men have done to them) by dale spender (gr / pdf) this is a long ass book that establishes a continuity of feminist thought over 3 centuries that has been actively suppressed and concealed from us by males. women speaking up about oppression have always existed.

#reading list #hopefully will have a moral disorder pdf soon bc i'm gonna try to scan it #i fucking love lists i'm making like 4 of these enjoy #also if anyone has audio books PLEASE LINK... #roundup