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historyhermann · 1 year

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The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder Season 2 Review

The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is a coming-of-age animated sitcom and adventure by Bruce W. Smith and Ralph Farquhar, two well-known producers. It is a revival and soft reboot of The Proud Family, a classic Disney series by Smith which aired in the early 2000s. This review will have spoilers.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the twenty-third article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on February 13, 2023.

This animated series centers on Penny Proud (voiced by Kyla Pratt), a 16-year-old Black girl in the town of Smithville. She attempts to navigates her home life, filled the antics off her father, Oscar (voiced by Tommy Davidson), who owns a failing snack business, her mother, Trudy (voiced by Paula Jai Parker), a well-off veterinarian, her grandmother, Suga Mama (voiced by Jo Marie Payton), and her two siblings, Bebe and Cece. At high school, she has four friends-of-sorts: Michael Collins, Dijonay Jones, Zoey Howser, and LaCienega Boulevardez. They are voiced by EJ Johnson, Karen Malina White, Soleil Moon Frye, and Alisa Reyes respectfully. All the while, two new kids, Maya and KG, raised by two dads (Barry and Randall), try to adapt to their new life in Smithville.

The show's first season broke ground for featuring openly gay characters, unlike in the original series, such as Michael, who is also gender non-conforming. His voice actor even considered gender transition. This character is joined by an interracial couple: Barry and Randall Leibowitz-Jenkins, who voiced by two gay actors (Zachary Quinto and Billy Porter). They are the adopted fathers of Maya and Francis "KG", voiced by Keke Palmer and "A Boogie" Dubose. Palmer previously voiced Izzy Hawthorne in Lightyear, a lesbian character who has a wife named Alisha. She has also stated that she does not want her sexuality to be defined by labels and that people should be fluid when giving themselves labels.

The series has been swept in the culture wars, with claims it is promoting the "gay agenda" or is "anti-White". In reality, there are various White characters, including Zoey and Barry, and often promotes themes of racial togetherness, rather than division. Additionally, Michael is the only protagonist in the series who is part of the LGBTQ community. Barry, Randall, and Makeup Boy (voiced by Bretman Rock), with the latter beginning to date Michael later in the second season, are only recurring characters. In fact, Penny and Dijonay both have boyfriends, Darrius St. Vil (voiced by Chance the Rapper) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Brown (voiced by Asante Blackk), by the end of the season. Furthermore, Zoey is sweet on Myron (voiced by Marcus T. Paulk), and Maya romantically connects with one of the Chang Triplets, Billy.

Like the original The Proud Family, the series is not neutral when it comes to politics. It often focuses on racial injustice, whether noting past bans on interracial marriage, reparations, prejudice of Black people toward White people, anti-Black racism, sexism, or White skin privilege. This is interwoven with an emphasis on the importance of Black history, friendship, family, indigenous rights, harmonious neighbors, paying people fairly, respecting people for who they are, going beyond the color of their skin, and the folly of celebrity worship. Many books are name-dropped throughout the series, like Africans and Native Americans, as are the names of intellectuals such as Michelle Alexander, Robin DiAngelo, Elizabeth Acevedo, Leslie T. Chang, Saeed Jones, and Ta-Nehisi Coates. Many of these names are displayed during the English class taught by Kwame (voiced by Leslie Odom, Jr.).

Similar to season one, the second season of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder provides more background about the characters, whether about Suga Mama's short-lived romance with an indigenous cowboy named Quanah (voiced by Wes Studi), and how Barry and Randall met, or the history of the Soul Vibrations band composed of Oscar and his brothers, and Giselle. As Penny says, in one episode, "you can't know yourself unless you know where you come from". This interconnected with the meaningful, and well-done, episode in which Bebe is diagnosed with autism, with the Proud family trying to figure out what to do with him, and coming to accept him, even if he requires more attention from them.

Other episodes focus on family conflict and fissures between friends, and neighbors, all of which are resolved before the end of each episode. This includes an episode when everyone is enamored with LaCienega's uncanny athletic ability (because of her big feet) and realize they have gone into a frenzy, another about Oscar, Felix, Puff, and Suga Mama fighting one another in an absurd parody of TV court shows, and one in which animals protest the awful Proud Snacks created by Oscar Proud. One of my favorite episodes in Season 2 featured a Princess Ball, with references to other Disney princesses: Penny dressed up as Princess Tiana, Dijonay as Cinderella, LaCienega as Princess Elena, Michael as Pocahontas, Maya as Beyonce, and Zoey as Princess Merida.

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There are many notable characters in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder like the Principal Hightower (voiced by Patricia Belcher), who insults and demans the students, reporter Vanessa Vue (voiced by Brenda Song) or incredibly wealthy Wizard Kelly (voiced by Aries Spears) who is shown as too tall to fit on the screen. However, in this season, Maya comes into her own, especially in the season two finale. In the episode, the ghost of Emily (voiced by Storm Reid), a Black girl enslaved by the town's founder, Christian A. Smith, guides her, revealing her diary which proves that Smith is a slaveowner, contradicting the common town myth.

In an interesting depiction of wealth-as-power, Wizard Kelly orders the police, clad in riot gear, to stop Maya, and her friends, who are protesting a ceremony dedicating Smith, with chants and placards. As a result, all of them, and their parents, are thrown in the city jail, despite the efforts of Barry to protect his children. His detective badge shown to mean nothing, as the police, who are serving as Kelly's goons, step over it with their boots.

Although Maya is just as determined as Wednesday Addams, in Wednesday, she does nothing equivalent to her. The latter, with the help of Thing, lights the statue of Joseph Crackstone, the Pilgrim founder of Jericho, on fire, causing it to melt. In fact, Kwame counsels his students to not pull down Smith's statue. This makes it ironic, then, that some reactionary media and personalities are all up-in-arms about the series, acting like it either "ruins" the original, or is "causing" division. Where were these people when Wednesday came out? They could have said some of the same things about that series, but they did not.

In many ways, the Season Two finale of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder sets the series apart from methods of police control over the citizenry depicted in Velma or the incompetent police force shown in The Simpsons. That is because this series emphasizes how some can control and distort history to their benefit, covering up what they don't want others to see. There is no acceptance of the town myth which Lisa Simpson conceded to in The Simpsons. Instead, the town's name is changed to Emilyville and a new statue is erected. In a possible indication of the long-standing nature of the existing economic system, Kelly becomes the mayor of the town, and faces no consequences for cracking down on Maya, her friends, family, or other town residents.

This series features many guest stars like Jane Lynch, Gabrielle Union, Al Roker, Ceelo Green, and Andre Jamal Kinney, along with other lesser-known ones like Forrest Goodluck, and sports stars Laurie Hernandez, Gabby Douglas, and Dominque Dawes. Of the guest characters, I liked Dr. Lord (voiced by Holly Robinson Peete) best as she gives Penny a chance to talk about her experiences as the oldest child in the family, in which she is given additional responsibilities.

All of the episodes of the second season of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder all aired on February 1st, unlike the previous season, which aired over a two month time period. There's strong animation and backgrounds which make the show stand out, as does the voice acting and music selection, which fit with stories and characters. It is unfortunate this 10-episode season isn't spread out across two months, because it would be easier to watch the series and take in all that happens. Even so, this season is much less glitzy than season 1 and that is to the show's benefit.

Furthermore, I appreciate that the series did an episode based on the little-remembered, or regarded, but wild, The Proud Family Movie, which seemed like an episode from Milo Murphy's Law, especially when they are fighting the Pistachions. In some ways, the episode reminded me of the annual Treehouse of Horror episodes of The Simpsons.

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It is hard to know where The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder goes from here. If it follows the recent pattern of Disney series, such as Amphibia and The Owl House, it will have at least one more season. If that was the case, it would have one more season than the original series. However, it would need another 32 episodes to match the original, which aired from 2001 to 2005. This revival is different because the episodes range from 27 to 30 minutes, similar to the first season.

This series comes at the time that Disney is producing and airing series with diverse casts, like The Ghost and Molly McGee. In fact, this year, Iwájú, Kiff, Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Primos, and Hailey's On It! are set to air. Disney has also contracted to produce series such as Cookies & Milk, Moana, and Tiana. On the other hand, Disney series with similar casts such as Mira, Royal Detective and Amphibia ended last year, while The Owl House is set to end this spring.

The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is more unique, incorporating perspectives of Black creators, unlike Hamster & Gretel, Phineas and Ferb, Kim Possible, and Star Wars: The Bad Batch, which likely have mostly White writers rooms and have casts largely composed of White characters. As production coordinator, Breana Navickas, recently wrote, the show's writer's room is Black, and much of the staff is Black and "a mix of asian folks, latine folks, white folks". This shows in this season even more strongly than in the first season, with the series establishing itself more, and putting the original into the dustbin.

This series is not alone. Craig of the Creek, Victor and Valentino, Carmen Sandiego, Arcane, and Glitch Techs are all recent series with diverse stories and characters. As such, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, comes at an opportune time, when some executives are cutting back resources dedicated toward animated series, or squeezing workers in tough working conditions.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the second season even more than the first, and hope that Disney orders another season sometime this year, considering the amount of people watching it. There are so many more stories to tell with these characters. This could include Penny getting new, and non-toxic friends. Even so, I doubt this will happen because the plot of the series depends too much on their existence to bring in new friends, just as Futurama would fall apart without the antics of the Planet Express crew keeping its current members. In addition, considering the issues with colorism in the original The Proud Family, and somewhat replicated in the first season, it was good to see that the Gross Sisters (Nubia, Olei, and Gina), all by Raquel Lee, only had a small part in this season. The fact that Maya had a bigger part in the season, instead of the Gross Sisters, is a welcome development.

One of the series' downfalls is repeating elements of narrative set-up in the original series. Although I still believe the series could be stronger if it focused on older versions of the cast, the second season made the characters, at their current age, workable. It didn't fall into simple tropes used in Kim Possible and Totally Spies!, both animated series centered in school environments.

Seasons 1 and 2 of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is currently airing on Disney+. While you are at it, you can watch The Proud Family and The Proud Family Movie on Disney+ too!

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mariacallous · 3 months

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In early February 2024, the Russian authorities sent the country’s music producers and promoters an updated list of artists who are “banned from concert activity” in Russia. Meduza has obtained a copy of the document from two sources in the music industry.

The blacklist contains attendees of the “almost naked” party that drew sharp backlash from conservative activists and the Russian authorities in December, including singers Philipp Kirkorov, Lolita Milyavskaya, Natalya Ionova (better known as Glukoza), Dima Bilan, and Anna Asti. It also includes artists who have spoken out against the war in Ukraine, such as rapper Loqiemean and the band Neschastny Sluchai (“Accident” or “Unfortunate Event”), as well as others who have been more cautious in their statements about the war, like the bands Komsomolsk and Shortparis.

Even some artists who recently took part in “patriotic” events landed on the list. The bands Mongol Shuudan, Yorsh, and Plan Lomonosov, for example, performed at KinchevFest, a musical festival organized by Alisa band leader Konstantin Kinchev, who has spoken out in support of the Russian army.

One of the artists on the list told Meduza that the new version of the list is its “third iteration.” Shortly before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he said, people with links to the Putin administration warned him that there would be lists like this and that he would land on it if he didn’t “change [his] position.” Another source in the music industry also said the list came straight from the Kremlin.

A Russian music promoter told Meduza that he has seen evidence of the ban being implemented against at least two of the artists on the list. “Promoters are getting calls and being told that we can’t include these artists at events that use state money or hang outdoor ads [for them],” he explained.

The Russian media has reported on the existence of unpublicized music industry blacklists in the past, though the Russian authorities have denied that such lists exist. According to one banned artist who spoke to Meduza, the lists are compiled by the Presidential Directorate for Social Projects, which is led by Sergey Novikov. Meduza’s sources have characterized Novikov as the top figure behind the Russian authorities’ censorship of film, theater, and music. Novikov did not respond to Meduza’s request for comment.

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miss-tc-nova · 2 years

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Sick S/O - Alphinaud, G’raha, Thancred

Fuck yes you can! Here! Have a cold now that I’m nearly over mine.

~~~~~

When You’re Sick

Alphinaud:

The moment you miss breakfast, Alphinaud is immediately worried. Like worst-case scenarios worried.

Poor baby loves you. So he’s off to your room when you don’t turn up.

And of course you haven’t gotten out of bed. You’re congested and coughing and sniffling.

Before you realize he’s even there, boy slams the door shut and he’s immediately off to scrub the germs away.

It’s not that he’s a germaphobe, but Alphinaud does not do well when he gets sick.

“I’m so sorry, starlight, but I cannot get sick.”

Still, he feels a significant unwarranted guilt in knowing you’re sick and he just left you, alone, in your room, suffering in illness.

So baby boy starts researching ways to alleviate your symptoms. Healing magic, potions, home remedies, home cooking: he’s willing to do whatever it takes to speed up your recovery. Hopefully he goes to F’lhaminn before he attempts cooking.

With potions/medicine and food in hand, he cautiously ventures back into your room.

He keeps his distance, placing the tray on your lap and immediately stepping back, grimacing when you cough and fidgeting.

He’s not very subtle at hiding his discomfort, but when you tell him he doesn’t have to stick around, his guilt overpowers his unease and he convinces himself to sit.

So while he insists that you rest, Alphinaud reads tales to you. There are frequent breaks for him to go clean up he may have scrubbed off several layers of skin in the process, but Alphinaud spends time with you regardless the best he can.

But let’s be honest, it wouldn’t take much to convince him to drop his guard and cuddle with you. He’s very weak when it comes to you.

Twelve help you if he catches your ailment. He’s worse than a toddler and Alisae refuses to help.

“I’m sorry you’re sick, my light, but please try to contain your germs. No, I’m not afraid of your germs, I just don’t want to get sick as well. Because if I get sick, who’s going to take care of you? No. No! No kissing!”

G’raha:

G’raha recognizes something’s amiss in the same way Alphinaud does: the moment something is out the norm, which is pretty early in the day.

He’s less worried than Alphinaud when he finds out you’re sick. Worried nonetheless though.

He doesn’t work himself into a hypothetical frenzy, but he does go to check on you as soon as he can.

If he happens to wake you as he enters, he sits on the edge of your bed, brushing the hair from your face and checking your temperature.

You cough, groan, and curl up and G’raha witnesses your unsightly moment, all while rubbing at your back.

“Oh dear, sweetheart. You’ve certainly caught something unpleasant, haven’t you. Worry not; I’ll look after you.”

And G’raha does as promised. He’s meticulous about your medication and hydration, giving you said items like clockwork.

Everything that touches your lips he’s ensured is either for your benefit or something your stomach can handle even while ill.

And you certainly won’t be getting out of bed without good cause or you’ll get a worried mother hen pestering you until you lie down again.

He’s comfortable enough tending to you that he doesn’t ban all contact, but he still minds his hygiene, washing up when he leaves your room or handles objects you’ve touched.

That doesn’t stop him though.

While you rest, the man will sit with you in silent company, indulging in his research, occasionally telling you about what he’s found.

When you seem restless yet tired, G’raha lies with you, holding you close, dragging gentle fingers along your back and arms, and humming soft lullabies until you drift away.

“Rest well, my love. I will watch over you until you’re hale and hearty again…By Twelve you’re beautiful, even when you’re ill. Oh! Y-you’re still awake? Ahah, yes, I am utterly hopeless. All thanks to you.”

Thancred:

Thancred instantly notices something is unusual when you’re not up and about at your usual hour.

However, he’s not exactly a worrywart when it comes to you so he gives you time.

But after an hour or two, the man caves and ventures off to see what’s keeping you from being out and about.

And when Thancred opens the door, he chuckles to himself.

There you are, sprawled on your bed, in a mess, tangled with your blankets, your breathing marred by rasps and coughs—clearly sick.

He’s really not sympathetic to start with.

“Aww, look at the star’s savior, frail like a newborn gazelle.”

After he’s done teasing you, Thancred will take his duty as boyfriend of the sick more seriously.

He’ll ask if you need anything and be off to get it for you. Should you neglect asking for medication, food, and/or water, he’ll show his thoughtful side and grab it for you anyway.

Thancred believes rest will be most helpful to you and doesn’t think he has the right to disturb it, but should he hear of any duties that require your attention, he’ll shoulder those himself so you won’t need to worry later.

He does inevitably end up back in your room. He still wants to spend time with you and he’s got more supplies to battle your ailment.

He’ll sit at the table and tend to his gear, whether or not you’re asleep, trying to be good, courteous company.

Perhaps he’ll tell you a tale or two of his wild shenanigans in his youth while awkwardly avoiding those more risqué.

But Thancred doesn’t have much of a self-preservation instinct when it comes to you.

He’ll share the covers if you ask, feed you, share a drink, even kiss you. If he turns up sick later and he will he’ll try to simply soldier on until you intervene and hold him down.

Until then, though, he spends the night at your side, assuring you that everything will be alright without you for a few days.

And teasing you.

“Get your rest, darling. I’ll take care of things in your stead, but you’ll owe me one once you’re better. Mmhm, well you see, that will depend on my mood when all’s said and done.”

#thancred waters #Graha Tia #alphinaud leveilleur #novas requests #novas ffxiv headcanons #gender neutral reader

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ze-maki-nin · 2 years

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ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪꜱɴ’ᴛ ᴀ ꜱɪɴɢʟᴇ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴ ᴡʜᴏ’ꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ᴀꜰʀᴀɪᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴀ ꜰɪɢʜᴛ, ᴡʜᴀᴛ’ꜱ ɪᴍᴘᴏʀᴛᴀɴᴛ ɪꜱ ʜᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀɴᴅʟᴇ ɪᴛ.

these are masterlists p.t 1 of who and what i write for! all of my writings are here!

please look through this before requesting! as it will tell you what animes i write for and what characters from said anime i write for!

ʀᴜʟᴇꜱ

masterlists p.t 2

ᴊᴜᴊᴜᴛꜱᴜ ᴋᴀɪꜱᴇɴ

Yuji Itadori

Megumi Fushiguro

Nobara Kugasaki

Maki Zenin

Toge Inumaki

Kento Nanami

Kasumi Miwa

Aoi Todo

Junpei Yoshino

ʜᴀɪᴋʏᴜᴜ!!

Daichi Sawamura

Asahi Azumane

Yu Nishinoya

Ryunosuke Tanaka

Tobio Kageyama

Shoyo Hinata

Tadashi Yamaguchi

Kiyoko Shimizu

Hitoka Yachi

Saeko Tanaka

Morisuke Kai

Taketora Yamamoto

Kenma Kozume

Alisa Haiba

Hajime Iwaizumi

Kentaro Kyotani

Takanobu Aone

Kotaro Bokuto

Keiji Akaashi

Yukie Shirofuku

Wakatoshi Ushijima

Satori Tendo

Tsutomo Goshiki

Yuji Terushima

Runa Kuribayasha

Atsumu Miya

Osamu Miya

Rintaro Suna

ꜱᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴅᴇᴀᴅʟʏ ꜱɪɴꜱ

Meliodas

Ban

King

Diane

Elizabeth Liones

ᴛᴏᴋʏᴏ ʀᴇᴠᴇɴɢᴇʀꜱ

Hinata Tachibana

ᴘʀᴏꜰᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴘᴜᴍᴘᴋɪɴ ᴄᴀʀᴠᴇʀꜱ

ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʏᴘᴇ ᴛᴏ. . .

Emma Sano

ᴘʀᴏꜰᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴘᴜᴍᴘᴋɪɴ ᴄᴀʀᴠᴇʀꜱ

ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʏᴘᴇ ᴛᴏ. . .

Mikey Sano

ᴘʀᴏꜰᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴘᴜᴍᴘᴋɪɴ ᴄᴀʀᴠᴇʀꜱ

ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʏᴘᴇ ᴛᴏ. . .

Naoto Tachibana

ᴘʀᴏꜰᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴘᴜᴍᴘᴋɪɴ ᴄᴀʀᴠᴇʀꜱ

ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʏᴘᴇ ᴛᴏ. . .

Ken 'Draken' Ryuguji

ᴘʀᴏꜰᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴘᴜᴍᴘᴋɪɴ ᴄᴀʀᴠᴇʀꜱ

ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʏᴘᴇ ᴛᴏ. . .

Keisuke Baji

ᴘʀᴏꜰᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴘᴜᴍᴘᴋɪɴ ᴄᴀʀᴠᴇʀꜱ

ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʏᴘᴇ ᴛᴏ. . .

Takashi Mitsuya

ᴘʀᴏꜰᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴘᴜᴍᴘᴋɪɴ ᴄᴀʀᴠᴇʀꜱ

ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʏᴘᴇ ᴛᴏ. . .

Nahoya 'Smiley' Kawata

ᴘʀᴏꜰᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴘᴜᴍᴘᴋɪɴ ᴄᴀʀᴠᴇʀꜱ

ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʏᴘᴇ ᴛᴏ. . .

Souya 'Angry' Kawata

ᴘʀᴏꜰᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴘᴜᴍᴘᴋɪɴ ᴄᴀʀᴠᴇʀꜱ

ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʏᴘᴇ ᴛᴏ. . .

Chifuyu Matsuno

ᴘʀᴏꜰᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴘᴜᴍᴘᴋɪɴ ᴄᴀʀᴠᴇʀꜱ

ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʏᴘᴇ ᴛᴏ. . .

ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋ ᴏɴ ᴛɪᴛᴀɴ

Eren Yeager

Mikasa Ackerman

Armin Alert

Reiner Braun

Bertholdt Hoover

Annie Leonhart

Jean Kristen

Connie Springer

Sasha Blouse

Historia Ress

ʜᴜɴᴛᴇʀ x ʜᴜɴᴛᴇʀ

Gon Freecss

Killua Zoldyck

Zushi

Kurapika Kurta

Neon Nostrade

Feitan Portor

Machi Komacine

Shizuki Murasaki

Shalnark

Pakunoda

More will be added when I watch more!

#- 🕯﹒∬﹒delicacies #- 𖦆 💌 ⭑ my lover #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk x reader #haikyuu x reader #seven deadly sins x reader #sds x reader #tokyo rev x reader #tokyo revengers x reader #tr x reader #attack on titan x reader #aot x reader #snk x reader #hunter x hunter x reader #hxh x reader

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russianglitter · 2 years

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perhaps by 2033 (alisa mustafina-zaytseva's senior debut) russia will no longer be banned from international competition

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whatisonthemoon · 10 months

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Excerpt that touches on Rod of Iron Ministries

And in Pike County, Pennsylvania, the local Moms for Liberty chapter has close ties to another extremist group: The Rod of Iron Ministries, the MAGA-loving religious sect that worships with AR-15s, whose leader was tear gassed during the Capitol riot, and which has close ties to multiple other far-right and Christian nationalist groups.

Rod of Iron Ministries, also known as The World Peace and Unification Sanctuary, is run by Pastor Hyung Jin “Sean” Moon. The gun-centric religious sect is a spinoff of the much larger Unification Church, run by Moon’s father, whose followers were known as the “Moonies.”

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Moon and his supporters began attending school board meetings to oppose mask mandates and school closures.

"I have been fighting Sean Moon's gun cult for 10 years, and now he was in the halls where my kids learn,” Amanda Pauley, a local parent and activist, told VICE News about seeing Moon at a school board meeting, adding: “It was obvious that they were really prepared at this meeting, more so than any other meetings. Every single person had a speech to read. They all walked in at the same time. The whole room clapped and cheered.”

The crowd responded to Moon’s speech, during which he called America “the least racist country on the planet,” with loud cheers and applause. One man sitting close by leaned over and shook Moon’s hand as he sat back down.

Sean Moon and the Rod of Iron Ministries did not respond to VICE News’ request for comment.

At the time Moon spoke at the board meeting, there was no Moms for Liberty group active in Pike County, but a chapter formed in November 2022 just weeks after the majority conservative board voted against an effort to ban “pornographic” books in the district. One of the leading members is Kerry Williams, who has close ties to the Rod of Iron Ministries.

Williams attends school board meetings on behalf of Moms for Liberty, and is one of the administrators for the Facebook page for the Pike County Moms for Liberty chapter. She has also spoken at the Rod of Iron Ministries events in the past and has even hosted a podcast for the gun-worshiping church that relayed parts of the church’s Sunday service. During some Sunday services, she can be seen on the altar where she is referred to as “Queen Kerry.” Williams did not respond to VICE News’ request for comment.

And just like Moms for Liberty has backed candidates for local elections, the Rod of Iron Ministries is following suit, running handpicked candidates not only for school board elections, but for county commissioner and town supervisor positions.

Rod of Iron Receives Paramilitary Training - Alisa Mahjoub

Insurrection Connections

Inside the Bizarre and Dangerous Rod of Iron Ministries - RollingStone

Doug Mastriano, Christian Nationalism, and the Cult of the AR-15

Excerpts from a 2015 Hyung Jin sermon, where he encourages Sanctuary members to have spiritual sex with his father, Sun Myung Moon

The Leader of the Gun Church That Worships With AR-15s Is Now a MAGA Rapper

#rod of iron ministries #sean moon #hyung jin moon #sanctuary church #right wing politics #politics #conspiracy theories #far right politics #unification church in the united states of america #unification church in usa #american church #religion #unification church in the united states #moonies #guns #weapons

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kon-kon-kon-kon · 2 years

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foreverlogical · 11 months

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A federal appeals court panel appeared skeptical on Tuesday of calls to impose a nationwide freeze on Obamacare’s rules for no-cost coverage of preventive care while litigation continues — a move the Biden administration warned would threaten access to a range of services for millions of people on employer-sponsored insurance and Obamacare’s individual market.

Both sides in the case agreed that the individual Texas businesses that sued over the mandate should be shielded from it while the case makes its way through the courts. But they split on whether more harm would be caused by keeping the current coverage rules intact for everyone else in the country or by suspending them nationwide.

Attorneys representing the Texas employers and individual workers challenging the policy argued that because

the United States Preventive Services Task Force is made up of outside experts who are not Senate-confirmed or overseen by Senate-confirmed government employees, their recommendations of what preventive services should be covered by insurance — from syphilis tests to depression screenings — must be “set aside” and can’t be enforced.

Their suit also claims the Obamacare requirement for insurance to cover the pre-exposure prophylaxis pill used to prevent transmission of HIV — known as PrEP — violates the religious rights of the challengers. In their legal briefs, they equated covering the highly effective medication with encouraging homosexuality and promiscuity.

The merits of those legal arguments didn’t come up in Tuesday’s hearing before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which focused squarely on whether the nationwide freeze of the Obamacare mandate a lower court ordered in March went too far.

That ruling, Justice Department attorney Alisa Klein told the court, was a “legal error” that “extinguished the rights of about 150 million people who are not parties to the case.”

Klein urged the appeals court judges to consider the “balance of equities,” arguing that there would be no harm done to the already-protected plaintiffs by putting the nationwide injunction on hold, but great harm done to everyone else if they failed to do so.

“It can’t be overstated how important the guarantee of cost-free access is when patients go to get their mammograms and colonoscopies,” she said. “We’re talking about 50 different types of care.”

The attorney for the conservative challengers, Jonathan Mitchell, responded that the nationwide ruling was appropriate because “agency actions must be set aside if they are unlawful.”

Mitchell — the architect of the six-week abortion ban Texas imposed before Roe was overturned — attempted to reassure the judges that imposing a nationwide injunction wouldn’t cause harm because insurers are unlikely to drop coverage of preventive care services while the case is still in process.

The judges on the appeals court panel seemed unconvinced.

Leslie Southwick — an appointee of former President George W. Bush — called that assertion “speculative” and said it was “very unusual” to be asked to rule on “our sense of how insurance companies would react.”

“I’m not sure what we have to go on,” he said.

The judges also grilled Mitchell on whether a win for his side would solve his clients’ problem — a legal threshold known as “redressability.” When Mitchell argued that individual workers he represents who are refusing to buy insurance because of the PrEP coverage requirement would be able to get covered if the mandate were lifted, Judge Stephen Higginson noted that the workers’ own affidavits “don’t say that.”

Higginson — an appointee of former President Barack Obama — pointed out that only one of the four workers came anywhere close to making that claim, and that he expressed “a desire to buy insurance, not a specific intent.”

Mitchell acknowledged that there’s no “iron-clad guarantee” his clients would buy health insurance if courts blocked the Obamacare mandate.

In closing, the judges urged both him and the DOJ to try to broker a compromise that would more narrowly tailor the nationwide ruling without infringing on the rights of the plaintiffs.

Tuesday’s hearing was the latest in a months-long saga over the preventive care mandate that’s been in place for more than a decade.

Texas District Court Judge Reed O’Connor — the author of several rulings against pieces of Obamacare — issued a nationwide ruling in March for the challengers, striking down all of the decisions made by the United States Preventive Services Task Force since 2010 about what insurers must cover without cost sharing.

In May, the 5th Circuit Court issued an administrative stay of that lower court ruling — keeping the current coverage rules in place while the case proceeds.

Public health groups warn of serious consequences if O’Connor’s ruling is upheld — citing research showing that even small out-of-pocket costs deter many people from seeking preventive care, leading to sicker patients and more costly treatments. Medical experts are particularly worried that coverage rollbacks would exacerbate already record rates of sexually transmitted diseases by making testing and treatment services unaffordable for vulnerable populations.

Many major insurers have pledged to maintain preventive care at no cost to patients for the time being no matter what courts decide, but experts fear that patients could eventually be hit with out-of-pocket charges should the 5th Circuit and Supreme Court side with the challengers.

The case also throws more than two-dozen new recommendations the federal task force is currently weighing in jeopardy, rules that could expand coverage of everything from prenatal care to speech therapy to osteoporosis.

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spiritcc · 2 years

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can i ask for a pyramid scheme of top 5, aka not only best soviet actresses, but also best movies they played in, or will that get me banned for unsustainable business practices

Oof that IS pyramid scheme of top fives and i will do it diligently, alas i am not as interested in gals as i am in pals so i dont actively seek out their movies and the general good vs bad criteria is different. it's guys who i always put against each other and make them fight eg. acting ability/quality of films etc, but all girlies are winning ye know?? like that russian kindergarten memo said, for the ball girls can be dressed as stars and snowflakes while boys are all clowns.

alisa freindlich my queen, just like everyone on this list there is just That in her and her acting that makes it pop, she's very cool and i love her mannerisms and her lesbian haircut

1. who am i to be original, the office romance. peak #look, a great opportunity to actually act, there's both comedy and drama to pull off there, the movie itself is funny as shit like? accept the classics 2. musketeers, not original again. her fingersnapping is hell yee and she's so smug there most of the time, just like in office romance she gets to sing but on screen this time, and the series itself i think need no introduction it's all iconic shit. you win anywhere you go 3. fuck you. stalker. it is the best tark movie and a great movie by itself and she was there for five minutes but she looked cool and also made up her entire monologue in the finale. she looks and acts like she absolutely could be routinely living in this vague apocalyptic grunge world and like man if she was a fallout npc or somethin my life would have never been the same 4. princess on the pea, just like with smoktun. i actually rewatched their bits today and they're just so poggers, he's her L hasban and she is his girlboss wife, it's one of these dynamics i never thought about but maaan smoktun and freindlich pop together. big fan! 5. shake and piss and cry because that's for me only <3 the stage play i saw in bdt with her and bas, those name i can barely even remember. bas was fantastic like at some point i was like OMG SMOKTUN LEVEL but i guess seeing acting live just hits different, the play was funny and serious when it needed and she was so lively and energetic and moving with such ease while bas was Dying and like yea they're acting, but i wondered because at the time of when i saw it bas was pushing like 82? i then looked it up and turned out that freindlich is older than him. i think she was 85 at the time jumping like she's 40. thats MY memory to cherish.

2. irina kupchenko and well. first of all she's the first person whose filmography couldnt be any less interesting to me, she was stuck in these domestic 360p dramas and i wasnt tempted to look them up even for a second. second of all, thats the death of the range right here, you can say she's pretty anytime but can you say she's played anyone but a girl with the vibes of someone who just went through 4-6 hours of Grade A Torment and as her eyes started drying out it all began again?

1. an ordinary miracle, obviously, her Grade A Torment that is her husband. wizard waifu for life and all but the strong whiff of divorce papers was always in the air between them 2. come take a look at me, her Grade A Torment that is her ma. a role where she's finally not the Turgenev's girl archetype as it's called in russia, really cool to watch her be snarky and funny and real. 3. strange woman on account of It All. never seen the movie and never will, but why must you have saucy scenes with your own irl husband....it was so forbidden, were we even meant to be watching this....im just standing there in your bedroom..... also one their exchange was like "we gave women their rights!" - "you didnt, the soviet regime did" and like asdfghj never forgot it for some reason. it's just so There. 4. uncle vanya because sure, she's small there. gets to have a family dynamic with peak looks smoktun AND be around utterly giant names. i personally dont think her role was interesting but she appears and i go AH SMALL! 5. ah yes. me. who has definitely watched 5 movies with her. movie number five. i totally have it. no i have seen more than five it's just they're not worth anythin actually, idk let поворот be here as the only movie where yankupchenko actually sucked face <3

3. yekaterina vasilyeva omg the Grunge. she's so cool man, also the whole mannerisms thing.

1. my dearly beloved detective, i think because she had an opportunity to kinda express it all there. the comedic side, the dramatic side, the touching acting of love, the femininity, the masculinity, you dont get many movies that allow all of that. also the movie where she finally reconciled with gaft lmao had to happen after the previous 2 of them killing each other 2. the wizards, my favest movie ever but lower on this list because not as much range, but she's still oh so cool. her style in there was poppin and her and val played out their little relationship as if they were in an oscar nominated romcom and not actually sharing about 3 scenes together. 3. come take a look at me surely, her leetle slightly deranged momther, from The Grunge in her early years to this softness later down the line. 4. we keep saying ooo yankupchenko but it was her and val the proto on-screen otp btw. anyway, what i havent seen fully but maybe should one day is a series called the village i think, just literal russian village schenanigans and her and val are having A Day there man. her losing her goat but knowing how to find it bc she makes the goat produce Special Shit, or how her and val were dying telling the story of dick out no pants dead guy in a coffin. wish i were there!!!!! 5. can her irl count before she converted to church lmao i just have a crush on her maybe, but that one frame from the MHAT split documentary where she was sitting on a chair backwards and the lgbt movement was born.

4. lyudmila gurchenko, now here's The Range.... here i can defs say i havent seen many works with her but thats because im calm and confident that when i finally do she will once again dominate me

1. station for two, i think it encapsulates The Range very well if she gets to sing, to be dramatic and humorous, and most importantly to pull off that whole aesthetic of.... being a person and living a life you dont want to have. a village bumpkin having the most mildly undesirable experiences, who wants to serve at a restaurant and have quickies with m*kh and sell smuggled goods? she is so real, so sincere in this that none of that matters because that's life that all of us do live in our own capacities and just like us, her character is more than that. 2. mama, truly The Range... putting her whole goatussy into this movie like she's getting her goat children stolen for real, like how can you play this teehee musical out one second and then switch to heavy dramatic roles. my god The Range....she was doing it all with a broken leg too there, she was always hardcore 3. carnival night because looking at how incredibly plain 50s she was you'd never guess there would've been The Range. lotta singing but what else, right? and then it's so hard to believe it was really her. also the return of the queen how this was made in like 1956 and almost 20 years later she came back for the station, glow up for both ryazanov and her. 4. i guess sure, love and pigeons for i have seen her scenes recently. i know a person who is her character irl my god lmaoo is the movie not lying. sure she's just a little weirdo but she too wanted love!!!!!!!!! dont touch her!!!!!!!!!!!! also how she once again pulls off comedy and that touching drama of NOOOOOO 5. ah yes. movie number five. a movie number five that i have seen and that deserves a mention. for now insert any 100% dramatic role i havent seen yet i trust her.

5. lyubov orlova. now this one is right at the bottom because i have seen exactly one movie with her currently and im waiting diligently to watch the other planned 3 with yall so i dont even know shit man!!! it's the fact that a few days ago i suddenly saw her in a non-alexandrov movie and literally started barking, well when i saw what i thought was her i went full pointing wojak meme, then i confirmed it was her and covered my mouth and started going WOOF WOOF and. if that happened with any of the actors im with, i would've just thrown myself off a cliff. dont mind never telling that to anyone, just wouldnt bear living knowing that i did that. but since it's girls night and we're still in the dating stage with her i think it's a sign of something right lmao?

1. what do you fucking think. what can it possibly be. will the science ever know. will the mystery ever be solved. 2-4. jolly fellows - volga-volga roster i dont know man lmao work in progress. i insist on watching them consecutively because i have a feeling neither of them have aged entirely well and if we watch one and yall dont really like it we'll never watch volga-volga ever and thats what im waiting for. maybe i will appreciate these more than anyone in our group, maybe i can predict as much.

#do i think uuuuh #tag all of them #irina kupchenko #lyubov orlova #lyudmila gurchenko #yekaterina vasilyeva #alisa freindlich #more top fives come on keep em goin

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aneyeforlondon · 1 year

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Thursday, April 27, 2023

Today is Kings Day in the Netherlands and despite not being there now, we are all dressed in our orange to celebrate anyway as there will be some festivities tonight. We arrived in Antwerp sometime in the late evening, early morning hours and we are up on time today. We get showered and dressed, and head down to breakfast. Heather and Bridget are at a table with two other ladies, and there are two empty chairs so we join them. They have all just about finished, but we finally get noticed and place our order for breakfast. One of the ladies, Debbie, is an ex LPGA golfer and her friend, (Pat I believe), is also a golfer and they live in Florida. We visit for a while and then wrap up breakfast and come back to the room to wait for Rachel to summon us for our walk. In the lobby, we spot Rachel and she’s got this orange monster hat on her head. I cannot resist and call out to her so I can take her picture as we are walking off the boat. Our tour guide today is Nadine and she is lovely to listen to, and as with others, very informative about the city. She starts the walk off by talking about, diamonds of course. She explains that the jewelers that cut and polish the raw stones are primarily Jewish, Yiddish to be exact. She says they have their own part of town, with security, their own bank, their own shops, etc. and talks about the story of how a very large diamond was stolen in a heist that sparked the idea for the movie Ocean’s Eleven. This is why now, the security is so tight. Next she talked about the brass shells you will see in the pavement which mark the way for the St. James Pilgrimage. In the Middle Ages, thousands made their way to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. The shells are markers so along the way, they would get their book stamped and in each location, on the route, would then have a place to stay for free. The stamps would show they had completed that portion of the journey. Antwerp also has castles and the one we see is Het Steen and is Antwerp’s oldest building. We don’t go inside, but simply take pictures. They also have a wheel, like the Flyer in Singapore or the Eye in London which is situated along the water. We continue our walk through the city seeing some lovely buildings, public housing (which is very nice), and then we are at the Cathedral of Our Lady. There is a line to get in, however; Nadine asks us to wait, goes inside and then comes out and tells us we get to jump the queue. Inside our lovely Rachel is there and we begin our tour of the church. This is a beautiful church and much to our delight, there are two Ruben paintings inside. Nadine tells us the history of the church, and about how, when the Protestants took over the country, attempted to ban anything Catholic, removed all traces of the Saints (or so they thought). We continue through and see some of the most incredible confessionals as well as all the little chapels that are inside the church. She continues telling us how the women of Belgium are so strong and the pulpit represents that as it is being held up by women. Four, to represent each continent (as at the time there were only 4). One represents Europe, one Asia, one is dressed like Pocahontas so for the United States and the last is Africa. She gives great detail about Ruben’s life and how he learned to paint in Italy, but comes back to Belgium for his mother’s funeral. He does not plan to stay but falls in love and as such, stays in Belgium. We have had a wonderful morning and proceed to make our way back to the boat as we have an afternoon tour and need to eat beforehand. It is well past 11 and our tour was supposed to end at 11, so we decide not to wait and walk back ourselves. We once again encounter Rachel and she walks back to the boat with us. We drop off our coats and head down to the dining room where Cindy and Alisa are waiting for us. Lunch today was potato cakes, ham, salmon and a sauce that tasted like pimento cheese for starters, I had vegetable consommé and pasta for lunch and ice cream for dessert.

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