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lils-writes-stuff · 4 years

Text

A Thin Line

spencer reid x reader

Best years part 4 | part three | part two | part one

summary: the team takes on a case in California involving home invasions. the reader has a surprise for her when they get back.

warnings: normal criminal minds things, mentions of racism and sexism (are those warnings idk)

A/N: based on season 7 episode 15; this ones cute ngl

“I think you should tell Spencer,” Penelope said turning in her swivel chair to Y/N who was sitting behind her.

“Tell him what, ‘Hey Spence, guess what, this girl who tormented me through my college life has come back to haunt me.’ Yeah, okay,” she said, shaking her head. She took a sip of the coffee in her mug, “And besides, there’s nothing really to tell him, she could just be trying to scare me, she loves to play mind games.”

“Well, you should at least tell him what’s going on, you’ve received two more notes from her since the night that you called me, and it’s been almost a month,” Y/N sighed knowing that Penelope was right. “And you guys have been going out for that long now, so I’m sure he’ll understand if you don’t want to tell him all about your past right away.”

“You’re right,” Y/N said, her finger trailing along the rim of her mug as she thought about when she should tell him.

“And you should also tell Hotch.”

“Tell Hotch? Why would I need to tell him?” Y/N asked looking up at Penelope.

“I think it would just be smart, you know in case something happens,” Penelope responded with a small sigh, remembering back to the whole Emily situation and what happened when she didn’t tell them.

“I’ll tell him if I get another note.”

“Okay, good,” Penelope said, then she smiled and began to get really excited. “So, you have to tell me, how have you and the good doctor been doing?”

Y/N giggled as she watched her friend get excited about her relationship. “It’s been going good, we’ve gotten to know each other a lot more on our dates, the other night we went to this museum, and at first I didn’t think that would be a cool place to go on a date, but then it turned out really romantic,” Y/n smiled as she thought back to the night of the date. Spencer’s hand grasping her’s as they roamed the halls of the museum. Her eyes trained on him as he spoke about the parchments in a case or as he explained in depth about the artifact on the wall.

“Oh my gosh, that’s so adorable!” Penelope exclaimed, clapping her hands together excitedly. “Have you two kissed yet?”

“No, we haven’t, but I’m not rushing this, I don’t want to rush it.”

“Oh my- that is so mature, look at you, you're all grown up,” Penelope said, taking Y/N’s face in her hands squeezing her cheeks together. “I remember when you first joined the team, your 26-year-old self all antsy and ready to catch some serial killers. Now, look at you! 27 and so grown up I-”

“I’m 28 actually,” Y/N corrected Penelope with a laugh.

“Did we miss your birthday?” Penelope asked with a guilt written face.

“Yeah, but don’t worry about it, birthdays are just days,” Y/N said trying to reassure her friend.

“Don’t worry about it? You and Spencer both, he did the same thing awhile back on his birthday,” Penelope said referring back to when Spencer had turned 30. “And they’re not ‘just days’, it’s the day that you were born, they are wonderful days! We need to do something for it, when was it?”

Y/N just shook her head with a laugh before standing, “It was last week, but we really don’t have to do anything.” She tried to explain to the bubbly woman in the chair.

“No, we do, we are going to have dinner together as a family, and you are going to like it,” she stopped her rant when she saw her case alert go off and a text from Hotch. “Right when you get back from this case.”

--------

Y/N walked into the round table room smiling at her co-workers then making eye contact with Spencer. “Hi,” she said with school-girl glee as she took a seat next to him.

“Hi,” he said back, the light blush on his face growing.

“Y/N and Spencer, sittin’ in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-,” JJ began to sing the schoolyard rhyme.

“Shut up,” Y/N said giggling looking at the blonde who just laughed at her.

“Alright let’s get started,” Hotch said, taking his seat Derek and Emily following closely behind him.

“San Bernardino, California,” Penelope began as everyone opened up their tablets with the case file. “Two home invasions in less than a week, only a block apart, exact same M.O… Both houses were burgled, power and phone lines cut, and they broke in through a back window.”

“In each case, the entire family was shot and killed?” Spencer asked, eyebrows raised at the thought.

“Yes, that is right. I present to you the Mitchells and the Lewis family,” Penelope grabbed her remote from beside her, pulling the pictures of the family up on the screen.

“They took out the power and phone so what, they could feel isolated?” Y/N asked.

“The alarm system wouldn’t work and they couldn’t call for help,” Rossi explained the probable reasoning for why the power was cut.

“Most modern alarm systems have a backup generator and a cell phone connection to the security company,” Spencer said wondering why this didn’t happen in this scenario.

“Yeah, but the Mitchells had an older system, and the Lewis’ were behind on their account, so it was inactive,” Penelope explained.

“An assailant was killed in each case?” JJ asked, looking at Penelope next to her.

“Affirmative, but the sheriff hasn’t I.D.’d them yet.”

“So both families were armed, and fought back and shot one of their attackers,” Emily said looking around the table.

“Is that a coincidence or a connection?” Derek asked looking over to Emily.

“What concerns me is the frequency of the kills,” Hotch said looking up from his tablet.

“Only four days apart,” Y/N said looking at the dates.

“Alright, it’s a long flight, we better get going, wheels up in 30.” Everyone stood up and headed out of the room to grab their go-bags.

-------------

“Brian Mitchell was an avid hunter and Matt Lewis was an Iraq war vet, so it doesn’t surprise me that they both owned guns,” Y/N said looking up from her tablet.

“Last year, southern California’s inland empire ranked fourth in the nation in foreclosure rates. Typically, as the economy falls, the crime rates will rise,” Spencer said.

“Times are tough, desperate people do desperate things,” Rossi said, agreeing with Spencer’s statement.

“Greetings all,” Penelope said as she appeared on the screen. “Your herald bears tidings.”

“What you got, Mama?” Derek asked as he turned to the screen.

“The sheriff I.D.’d both the dead home invaders,” Penelope began to type on her computer pulling up some of the files. “First up is Alex Collison, twenty. Made an impressive list of bad life decisions before he croaked, included but not limited to...possession, a couple of drug charges, a card-carrying member of the Verdugo heights boys.”

“They’re gang members,” JJ realized as she listened to what Penelope was saying.

“Oh, he was, but slow your roll, home-girl,” Penelope said before she told of the next victim. “Because next up is Ronald Underwood, 19. Zero records, unless you want to count some volunteer work. Straight-A student, putting himself through school.”

“Not exactly the home invasion type,” Emily said.

“Both from a poor area of town, grew up a mile apart,” Hotch said while he looked down at the tablet in his hands.

“Hard to actually tell from the crime scene photos of how many assailants there actually were,” Y/N said as she swiped through the photos.

“Well, if it was gang-related, there could be a lot of them,” Emily said looking at Y/N.

“The homes that got invaded were on the other side of town, a predominantly white area full of middle-class families,” JJ explained the demographics.

“Hey, guys,” Penelope said, bringing the attention to her. “The M.E. report just came in, both of them had high levels of oxycodone in their system.”

“That’s strange. Violent crimes like these are normally associated with stimulant drugs,” Spencer said puzzled as to why that was.

“Like meth?” Y/N asked turning her head to look at Spencer next to her.

“Yeah, like meth.”

“Underwood’s as straight as an arrow,” Derek began. “Collison’s a garden-variety gang-banger. I grew up with knuckleheads like that, high-risk break-ins, and oxy, that’s not their M.O.”

“Regardless, we need to get ahead of it. The press has got a community on the verge of panic,” Hotch explained. “JJ and I will coordinate with the sheriff’s office, I want the rest of you at the crime scene.”

------------

Y/N walked into the home of the Lewis’, inspecting all the blood on the walls. It almost felt like she could hear them scream for help and she so desperately wanted to go back in time and save them from all this. The shattered family photos and the torn-up house just made her feel so unsettled.

Y/N turned as she had finished with the room she was in and headed out meeting Emily in the hallway.

“You alright?” She asked as she saw Y/N’s sad face.

“Yeah, just family annihilators, they always hit me differently, you know?” She said as they turned and walked down the hall towards the stairs.

“Ballistics confirmed that the rest of the Lewis family was shot with the same 357,” Spencer said as he turned and watched Y/N and Emily walk down the stairs together.

“So if it was a gang, there was only one shooter,” Rossi stated after processing the information he had just received.

“The second and third victims were Trisha Lewis and six months old Blake,” Emily said.

Spencer shook his head at the thought of a six-month-old being killed.

“The injury patterns suggest that Mrs. Lewis tried to shield the baby with her own body,” Y/N said with a sigh trying not to let herself get worked up.

“Matt Lewis was found right here,” Rossi said with his hands pointed to the floor. “Ronald Underwood just over there-” he pointed to the blood spot to his left- “Underwood was shot eleven times in the head and abdomen.”

“But Lewis himself only had a single gunshot wound to the head at almost point-blank range?” Spencer questioned.

“How did someone get that close?” Y/N asked looking between Rossi and Spencer.

“He could’ve been subdued first,” Emily proposed.

“The M.E. didn’t find any signs of a blitz attack or struggle,” responded Spencer.

“Well, it had to be an ambush of some kind,” Derek said as he inspected some of the walls with blood spatter. “Probably when he was confronting Underwood.”

“But that’s almost impossible based on where the body was found,” Spencer said looking over at Derek.

“It’s right in the middle of the room,” Emily said as she looked at the bloodstains.

“It’s too out in the open to surprise somebody,” Y/N said agreeing with Emily.

“Matt Lewis wasn’t shot here,” Rossi said as he pointed to the spot where the body was found.

“No, but someone moved the body to make it look like he was,” Spencer said.

“Forensic countermeasure designed to make us think that these guys died in a gunfight that never occurred,” Derek said as he realized what probably happened.

“Bullet and blood everywhere, too messy for an accurate reconstruction,” Rossi said.

“Okay, so the unsub gets the drop on Matt Lewis,” Y/N said as she pointed to where Matt Lewis was found. “He then kills the rest of the family, and then leaves behind a drugged-up patsy to cover his tracks?”

“This wasn’t a burglary at all. There was a higher purpose here, they’re staging the crime scene as some kind of message,” Spencer said.

“This guy’s trying to make it look like black kids from the hood are killing white families, in white neighborhoods,” Derek said.

“Pretty powerful message,” Emily said.

“No kidding,” Y/N added as she shook her head.

The five finished up in the house and decided to head back to the station

“You good?” Spencer asked her as they walked out of the house, noticing how she was looking a bit upset.

“Yeah, yeah, I just can’t believe what happened in there really, family annihilators you know they just get to me, this one more than the others,” she explained to him.

“Yeah, this one is sad, I get it,” he said as he looked at her. “But we’ll catch him like we always do, and if you’re lucky you’ll get to put the cuffs on him.” The last statement was a hope to make her smile because he loved her smile so much.

It worked.

A smile crept up to Y/N’s face. “I might just do that.”

-----------

Y/N sat in the station the next morning. Head laying on her arms as she looked at the crime board on the wall. Another family had been killed last night, so they had been added to the board.

She stared at the victims of the first two families, they looked so much like hers. She saw herself in the shoes of the young girls, the memories of her childhood overwhelmed her. She lifted her head up and rubbed her face with her hands lightly, not wanting to rub the makeup on her face off.

The feeling of a warm hand on her back made her pull her face out of her hands. She looked beside her and saw Spencer as he sat down after taking his bag off, a coffee in his hand.

“You didn’t bring any for me, I see how it is,” Y/N said with a fake hurt expression on her face as she leaned into the back of her chair.

“Actually-” he pointed to her right side- “I did think of you.”

Her heart fluttered, “You sure know the way to my heart Spence.” She grabbed the large coffee cup and took a sip from it. The warm liquid running down her throat soothing her.

“Hey love birds, we’re about to give the profile,” Derek said leaning into the room they were in. The two stood up and made their way to where the rest of the team was.

“We believe we’re looking for a white male, in his late twenties to early thirties,” Hotch said, beginning the profile.

“Wait, wait, wait,” A deputy said quickly. “I’m sorry, I thought we were looking at black gang-bangers?”

“The unsub has been staging the crime scenes to make it look like black gangs and undocumented immigrants were responsible,” Derek said to the deputy.

“Why would anyone do that?” The deputy asked.

“We think he’s trying to create some racial conflict,” Y/N said hoping that was the best way to answer.

“In 1969, Charles Manson orchestrated the Tate-La Bianca murders, in the hopes of creating a race war between the blacks and whites that he referred to as Helter Skelter,” Spencer explained.

“A name he stole from a Beatles song,” Rossi added, the comment only being funny to the team since they knew that Rossi’s friends with Ringo.

“Members of the Manson Family left watermelon rinds at the scene of the crime and also painted panther paws on the wall in blood in the hopes of convincing authorities that the black panther was responsible,” Spencer continued on his explanation.

“Hate groups like the Aryan Nation believe that race war is not only inevitable but necessary,” Hotch said looking over the see of officers.

“Our unsub may be a member of one of these groups,” Emily added.

“Aryan gangs have a strong presence in prisons, so he may be an ex-con or even possibly related to a convict,” Y/N said.

“We think he may also be some kind of zealot,” Rossi began. “He believes his war is already being fought, and these murders are a mission to him.”

“And like a soldier, he is willing to put himself in harm’s way,” JJ added.

“The unsub may also be vulnerable somehow, weak mind, or even lonely. His cause gives him a sense of power and belonging,” Spencer said giving more depth to who the unsub might be.

“He’s physically fit enough to move dead bodies, so he’s probably young,” Derek said.

“But not too young as to be impulsive,” Y/N added quickly.

“These attacks took planning and focus. So, he’s disciplined,” Rossi said.

“He uses oxycodone to drug his unwilling partners,” Spencer explained.

“He does this without killing them, which shows that he is knowledgeable about dosages,” Y/N said.

“And oxy is expensive, so look at medical care professionals and caregivers, anyone with access to prescription drugs,” Emily said.

“This unsub is dedicated and driven, it makes him especially dangerous. Surrender is not likely part of his strategy,” Hotch said as the profile came to a close.

---------

“Hey Hotch, Y/N,” Derek said as he walked over to the two that were sitting at a desk going over some geographics to help Spencer with his profile. “There’s a mayoral race in town, and there’s a guy named Clark Preston all over the news.”

“Looks like he’s running a close second,” Y/N said as she looked at the tablet in Derek’s hand.

“Yeah, and check this out,” He scrolled down and clicked on the video.

“These vicious home invasions are a sign of the times,” Clark Preston said in the video. “As demographics change, so do crime rates. Now we may not be able to slow the browning of America, but we can sure as hell take our city back. And if you elect me, I’ll lead that charge.”

“The browning of America?” Y/N asked with astonishment.

“That’s a damn near hate speech,” Derek said as he looked at Hotch.

“He’s using the murders to further his campaign and I guess people are rallying behind it,” Hotch said.

“So what if our unsub is nothing like Manson? Manson never got his hands dirty, what if our unsub is more like his followers?” Derek proposed.

“You think he’s being manipulated?” Y/n asked pulling her legs up in the seat she was sitting in.

“Maybe even unintentionally, but either way, rhetoric like this could fuel his fire,” Derek said.

“We should talk to Preston,” Hotch said, nodding to the tablet.

“I already sent a car,” Derek told Hotch.

“Good,” was Hotch’s short response. “Y/N, do you mind talking to him with us, your knowledge in political science might help,” Hotch said turning to the woman in the chair.

“Sure,” she said with a nod.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am you’re here gentleman,” Preston said, not even acknowledging Y/N in the room. “Maybe now someone will stop these savages, what can I do to help.”

Derek looked at Y/N with one raised brow in question, after noticing that the politician in the chair wouldn’t even look at her. She just shook her head while she shrugged her shoulders and listened to what Hotch was saying.

“We were hoping to talk to you about some of your rhetoric,” Hotch asked as he looked at Preston across from him.

“My rhetoric,” Preston said, it wasn’t a question just him repeating what Hotch said hoping he heard him right.

“We believe the recent murders maybe hate crimes,” Derek said walking closer to Preston.

“Some of the things you say, well they maybe be construed as inflammatory,” Y/N said while she moved spots to stand behind Hotch.

“Agent Y/L/N’s referring to some of your recent campaign speeches and the references to the murders,” Hotch explained.

“We believe that whoever’s responsible for these crimes is impressionable and may be responding to the vitriol,” Derek said.

“You think I’m responsible?” Preston asked, turning to look at Derek.

“Nobody said that,” Y/N said crossing her arms. Preston never even looked at her when she spoke.

“If this person is motivated by racist sentiments, then what you are saying publicly may be affecting him,” Hotch explained making Preston turn his attention towards him.

“You’re profilers right?” Preston asked.

“Right,” Hotch responded.

“You study behavior, not actual facts,” Preston’s comment made Y/N sigh. “And then you come up with theories.”

“It’s really, not that simple,” Y/N said as she looked at the man. For the first time, he looked at her, and then he rolled his eyes at her statement.

“I’m sorry, who are you a secretary or something?” The blood in Y/N’s body boiled with rage at the question. She then watched Preston turn to Derek, “I’ll bet you had to work extra hard to get in the bureau, didn’t you? Probably still have to prove yourself on a regular basis. I respect that. I wish there were more like you.” He took small pauses in between each statement.

The man stood up from his chair and began to head towards the door. “I’ll cut back my media appearances, for now. But I suggest you start proving some of those theories of yours. And get some of those hard-working men to arrest those punks doing this.”

The way he said men made Y/N want to punch him so bad that she had to fit the urge to walk over to him and do just that.

“You gentlemen enjoy your day,” Preston then let himself out, once again not acknowledging Y/N.

“We should check out his list of contributors and his staff, it might be somebody in his camp,” Hotch said standing up from his chair.

“We need to check him out, too,” Derek said.

“No kidding,” Y/N said stilled enraged by the man. “Did you see what he was doing? Or more like wasn’t, he wouldn’t even acknowledge my presence and than he dared to ask me if I was a secretary.”

“The guy is no doubt a racist and is also very sexist,” Derek said.

“Oh yeah for sure,” Y/N said as she walked over to Derek by the door.

“Come on Pretty girl, don’t let him get you all riled up,” Derek said to her as they walked out of the room.

“I know, I know, it just makes me angry,” Y/N said as she and Derek walked over to the area where the rest of the team sat.

“What makes you angry?” Spencer asked as she sat down beside her.

“Clark Preston, not only is he a racist, and let that be known when he spoke to Derek, but also he is majorly sexist,” she grabbed a paper cup from the middle of the table and then poured herself some water. “The whole time we were speaking to him, he didn’t even look at me, and the one time he did he rolled his eyes and asked me if i was a secretary.”

“Are you serious?” Emily asked with disbelief.

“That’s ridiculous,” Spencer said while he shook his head.

“Uh-huh, you know Derek if he is a part of this, you know what would make me so happy,” She said as she turned to Derek.

“What’s that?” He asked her.

“If we got to arrest him, but I want to put the cuffs on him, just to let him know that a woman has power over him,” she said with authority.

Derek laughed before agreeing and promising her that if Preston was a part, they would do that.

The team sat scattered at various desks around the station they were at. Y/N stood next to Emily and Spencer as they looked over some maps of the area. Rossi sat at a large desk to left and Derek in a desk behind them towards the right.

“Hey, talk to me, doll face,” Derek said answering his phone to talk to Penelope, everyone’s attention now drawn to Derek and the woman on the phone.

“I got some dirt on your mayoral candidate, Clark Preston,” she spoke.

“He’s a politician, that shouldn’t be hard,” Rossi said as he walked over to be closer.

“Yeah, he’s a real estate lawyer who ran for city council last year and lost,” Penelope explained. “And he’s rich, as in if money was dirt he’d be filthy. He quadrupled his net worth in the last ten years, mostly from real estate.”

“So he managed to thrive despite the area’s economic downturn,” Spencer said in realization.

“What do you mean by mostly?” Y/N asked leaning closer to Derek’s phone so that she could be heard.

“Well, he is on the board of several financial institutions. Hedge funds, pension funds, oh, he likes to shuffle his money around. Even found some offshore accounts of his, I did,” she said giving what other dirt she could find on Preston.

“You only do that if you’re trying to hide it,” Emily said.

“What about his staff and contributors?” Spencer asked the woman on the phone.

“Uh-uh. No, they’re clean,” she said.

“Alright thanks, Garcia,” Derek said before he hung up the phone.“Preston’s a part of this, me and Y/N both think so.”

“Yeah you should have seen him in there,” Y/N said as she turned to Emily.

“He’s sexist, racist, and a little shady, maybe, but a murderer?” Emily asked as she looked between the two.

“It may be just a feeling, but I know he’s in this, we just need to figure out how,” Derek explained.

------------

The next morning the team arrived to bad news, as another family was killed earlier that morning. Surprisingly this time, the guy the unsub would have left for the blame got away.

“His names Ramon Gomez, he’s an undocumented immigrant from Mexico City and he’s pretty freaked out,” JJ said as her, Y/N, Derek, Spencer, and Emily stood in front of the room Ramon was in.

“That’s pretty understandable,” Y/N said while she folded her arms over herself.

“Was he able to give a description of the unsub?” Spencer asked as he looked at JJ.

“Uh, just of the vehicle, his English is not that good,” JJ explained. “We put an APB out.”

Emily nodded her head, then turned to walk into the room with Ramon in it. “Hole, mi nombre es Emily Prentiss,” she said to Ramon.

The four others stood outside and watched as she interacted with the man sitting at the table.

“This poor guy,” Y/N said as she looked at the frightened man sitting at the table.

The three beside her hummed in agreement as the continued to watch and somewhat listen to what Emily was saying to Ramon. He pulled his arm out showing scars on his arm. He then got a look of realization on his face as he remembered more.

Emily then thanked him and walked out of the room to the other four.

“He remembers hearing a train and then loud music,” she said as she came to the four standing.

“That’s something, let’s get started,” Y/N said and the five began walking towards the area they had been working in.

“There are approximately two hours between Ramon’s abduction here-” Spencer pointed to one spot on the map- “and his escape here. He crossed the train tracks here. Now, given the time and distance parameters, there’s no way the unsub could have ventured outside this radius.”

“Okay, so he said the train was close, and he heard laughter and loud music,” Emily said.

“I looked at points of interest next to the train tracks and there really isn’t much. There’s a warehouse, a taco stand that would have been closed, and a bar called the drunken dog ” Spencer explained.

“Why stop there? He need a drink?” Rossi asked.

“He doesn’t seem like the drinking type,” JJ said.

“Yeah, he’s not impulsive or sloppy enough,” Y/N said sticking her hands into the back pockets of her pants.

“I live to serve you, sir,” Penelope said as she answered Hotch’s call.

“Garcia, what can you tell us about a bar called The Drunken Dog?” Hotch asked.

“Ooh, I like it already. Let’s see- uh- it’s been around thirty years. It was opened by a warehouse worker named Manny Gresham, upon his death six years ago it was bought by a hedge fund company called First Advantage.”

“Why would a hedge fund company want a bar?” Emily asked.

“Let’s see. Well, they bought it for a song,” Penelope began. “And, poor man, his medical expenses bankrupted him, I guess that’s why-- shut the front door.”

“What is it?” Y/N asked.

“Clark Preston is on the board of First Advantage, which explains why the bar is on a shortlist of local businesses that support Preston for mayor,” Penelope answered.

“Of course it is,” Y/N said as she sat down on the desk behind her.

“Okay we missed something, we need to go back over his staff and contributors again,” Emily said looking at Spencer beside her.

“They all came up clean,” JJ said.

“Garcia, look up DMV records and find every registration in the area that matches the description on the unsub’s vehicle,” Derek said to Penelope over the phone.

“Okay, 79 names and I’m way ahead of you, none of them match anyone Preston’s team-” she stopped. “What the what? Oh. I’m good at my job. Pamela Mills donates monthly to Preston’s campaign. Her son Trevor, his car matches the description, and it’s registered in his name.”

“Got a photo and an address?” Y/N asked.

“Yes, I do. I also have a place of work for Trevor. He is a part-time messenger, I’m sending it now,” Penelope said pressing ‘enter’ on her keyboard aggressively.

“Alright JJ, Morgan, and Prentiss take the workplace, we’ll take the house,” Hotch said dismissing everyone to go off.

---------

“What do you have, Garcia?” Hotch asked as he sped down the road, lights on in case they were stopped.

“Sir, I found the connection between the Mills family and Clark Preston. Ten years ago, the Mills were the victims of a home invasion. Robert Mills, the father, and 10-year-old Julie were killed. Pamela was raped, and now she has a lot of brain damage, that has left her in a near vegetative state,” Penelope said explaining the sad story of the family.

“What about Trevor?” Spencer asked.

“He hid in the closet and when it was over, he called 911,” Penelope answered.

“That’s why he stuffed that boy in the closet,” Hotch said referring to the last family that was killed.

“He was reliving his own victimization.” Y/N said in realization.

“He didn’t do that to the other children he murdered because he didn’t relate to them,” Rossi said.

“Garcia was anybody convicted of the crime?” Hotch asked.

“Yes, a Ronnie Green and Carlos Jackson. Both African American, both serving like in Folsom,” Penelope said before she continued with her story. “And then after the murders, Preston, he financially supported the family almost entirely. “

“So they’re close, he’s known the family for years,” Rossi stated.

“That must be how they’re paying Pamela’s medical expenses,” Spencer said.

“Yeah, it would be really hard to cover with Trevor’s part-time messenger salary,” Y/N added looking to Spencer beside her.

‘Yeah, I mean, it’s a top-flight policy,” Penelope said reading the health care bill.

“So Preston is playing the savior,’ Rossi said.

“And it looks like that monthly donation, that Pamela makes to Preston's campaign, is her disability check,” Penelope added.

“My guess is Trevor authorized that because he feels beholden to Preston,” Rossi said piecing together why that would happen.

“He probably Idolizes him,” Y/N added.

“So Preston is manipulating the Mills family to further his own agenda, he’s behind everything,” Hotch said coming to the conclusion that Preston was part of it all along.

“He took advantage of Trevor in a vulnerable state and made him trust and then brainwashed him,” Y/N said.

“Turned him into a killer,” Spencer added.

“Uh, guys,” Penelope interrupted. “There’s something else, Preston bought the Mills home after the invasions.”

The tires came to a screeching halt as Hotch pulled up to the Mills house. The four hoped out of the car, taking out their guns and walked to the front door.

Hotch pounded on the door, “FBI!”

When no answer came, Hotch pushed the door in and entered the threshold of the house. Y/N stood between Rossi and Spencer as they walked into the house. They then split up and looked around the house, Hotch and Rossi downstairs, Spencer and Y/N upstairs.

Y/N held her gun out in front of her as she entered a small guest room. She made sure the room was clear before walking out and meeting Spencer in the hall.

“You find anything?” She asked while she holstered her gun on her hip.

“Yeah, this note,” Spencer said as he inspected the note in his hand.

“Come on, let’s go find Hotch and Rossi,” She said before they walked downstairs.

“He’s not here,” Y/N said as she walked into the room with Hotch and Rossi. Spencer close behind her. Pamela Mills was seen laying in the bed not moving but looking at the four by her door.

“I found this in his bedroom,” Spencer said holding out the letter he found. “It’s addressed to her,” he said referring to Pamela.

“ ‘The price of peace is sacrifice, and I’m prepared to pay that price, no matter how high. I hope you’ll still love me.’ This is a goodbye letter,” Rossi said after reading the letter.

“Or a suicide note,” Hotch countered.

“He doesn’t profile as suicidal,” Spencer said in a hushed tone not wanting to disturb the woman in the bed.

“No, but he knows this could be his final mission,” Rossi said.

“He may want to go out in a blaze of glory,” Y/N said as she glanced at the woman in the bed.

“It’s all about the election, he’s only got one move left, we need to secure Mayor Wennington, I’ll have the rest of the team find Hilary Ross,” Hotch said pulling out his phone to call Derek.

They headed back out to the car and got an address for Mayor Wennington heading over to his house. Y/N walked up the front door, the three men with her following behind closely.

“Mayor Wennington?” She asked when the door opened and a white-haired man in a loose-fitting tie answered.

“Yes,” he responded.

“Hi, I’m Agent Y/N Y/L/N, this is Agent Hotchner, Rossi, and Dr. Reid, we’re with the FBI,” she said introducing the men behind her.

“Is this about those recent murders?” The Mayor asked with concern.

“Yes, sir, we have reason to believe you might be in danger, would you come with us,” she said gesturing to the car in his driveway,

“Yes, of course, let me grab my coat,” he turned around and walked ten steps to a coat rack to grab his jacket before he headed out the door with them.

“Yeah, Morgan,” Hotch said answering his phone while they walked to the SUV.

“We’re on our way to Hilary Ross’ house now, she’s still not answering her phone,” Derek said.

“All right, call local police, he’s not going to go quietly,” Hotch ordered.

“You have Mayor Wennington?”

“Yeah, keep me posted,” Hotch said before hanging up.

----------

The next day, Y/N pulled into Clark Preston’s campaign office parking lot with Rossi ready to arrest him.

“You want to do the honors kid?” Rossi asked Y/N as they exited the vehicle they were in.

“Absolutely,” she said with a smile, her wish from the previous day coming true.

“I hope this is a good enough birthday present,” Rossi said with a smirk looking at Y/N.

“Who told you? Penelope? I thought she would’ve dropped that by now,” she said with a laugh as she opened the door to the office.

The two agents walked back to the room where Preston was sitting.

“Clark Preston you’re under arrest,” Y/N said as she walked over to the man sitting at his desk. She pulled him out of his seat and placed her handcuffs from her pocket on him.

“For what?” He asked defensively.

“For orchestrating the murders of the Mitchells, Lewis’, and others,” Rossi said as he and Y/N began to lead Preston out of his office.

“What proof do you have?” He asked trying to find a way out of the situation.

“Voicemails left by Trevor Mills,” Y/N said shoving him when he stopped walking.

“Voicemail messages? That’s ludicrous, that boy is mentally unstable, always has been,” Preston said.

“Clark Preston you have the right to remain silent,” Y/N said, not only because she had to but because she really didn’t want to hear his pathetic excuses anymore.

“I’m Innocent!” He tried to protest.

“And please feel free to exercise that right,” Rossi said grabbing Preston’s other arm as he tried to move out of Y/N’s grasp.

“Anything you say can, and will be used against you in a court of law, you have the right to an attorney, if you can’t afford one, one will be appointed to you,” She continued as Rossi opened the door and led them out.

--------

“Come on, Spence please tell me where we are going,” Y/N asked, her arm linked with Spencer as they walked down the street.

“I can’t do that Y/N, you know that,” he said as he led her further down the road.

“Can you tell me if this has to do with my birthday?”

“Maybe.”

“Oh, come on, I told Penelope that we really didn’t have to do anything,” Y/N said as she shook her head.

“Well, I learned that you need to let them have their moment with you, cause they’re the closest thing you’ve got to family here until you have your own,” Spencer explained to her as he looked at her with a smile.

Y/N sighed in defeat, knowing Spencer was right.

“Oh look we’re here, can’t believe you didn’t notice where we were going before,” he said as he turned to Y/N’s favorite dive-bar in the downtown area of D.C. Spencer began to pull her inside but she stopped him before he could walk up the small stairs to go inside.

“Wait- Spencer, before we go in, I have to do something,” she said pulling on his arm making him turn to her.

“What is it?” He asked facing her with a curious look.

She replied by placing her lips on his in a gentle kiss. It was a kiss that made both their stomachs do flips. His hands reaching up to grab her face as hers gripped the front of his coat. A year and a half's worth of bottled up feelings were expressed as Y/N deepend the kiss.

“I just really wanted to do that,” she said to him after they pulled apart. A smile came on Spencer’s lips and he pulled her in again for a shorter but just as meaningful kiss.

“I really like you Y/N,” he said face still close to hers.

“I really like you too, Spencer,” she said back with a smile. “Come one let’s go in.”

The happy couple walked into the bar seeing their friends standing in a corner to the left of the door.

“There’s the birthday girl!” Penelope said as she saw Spencer and Y/N walk in.

“Happy Birthday!” They all said.

Y/N blushed as she approached the table, “Thanks, guys.”

The team laughed, drank, and danced till the late hours of the night. Even Hotch laughed and gave Y/N a hug as they all danced to the music. A smile stayed on Y/N’s face the whole night as she danced with all her friends and drank happily.

Spencer watched the woman he was beginning to fall in love with belt the lyrics to a Coldplay song that played through the speakers and dance with Penelope and JJ. Y/N looked over and saw Spencer staring at her at her and walked over to him.

“You know it’s rude to stare,” she said with a giggle.

Spencer laughed, “I wasn’t staring.” The blush on his cheek told Y/N otherwise.

She quickly grabbed his arm and started to pull him onto the dance floor.

“Oh no, I don’t dance really-” he tried to protest but Y/N wasn’t having it.

“You do tonight!”

She brought him to the dance floor Penelope and JJ yelling ‘Hi!’ over the music as they started to dance again. Y/N tried to help Spencer move less awkwardly and he eventually started to get the hang of it. Taking Y/N’s hand in his he spun her around and danced with her. A smile formed on their faces hoping the moment would never end.

tag list (let me know if you want to be added!!):

@throughparisallthroughrome @word-scribbless @nintendumbfuck @confused-and-really-hungry @justine-en

#spencer reid imagine #spencer reid #criminal minds #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds meme #aaron hotchner #aaron hotch hotchner #derek morgan imagine #derek morgan

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thetypedwriter · 3 years

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Firekeeper’s Daughter Book Review

Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that all of my in-depth reviews contain spoilers.

Firekeeper’s Daughter Book Review by Angeline Boulley

Well, this book review came quicker than I thought it would (which after weeks since my last published review for an actual novel that may sound absurd, but I promise it isn’t).

There’s a lot of great things about this book and a lot of really important representation, but I also found it to be an incredible slog to trudge through.

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley is the story of a girl by the name of Daunis Fontaine who finds herself stuck between two worlds: her Fontaine side, also known as her zhaaganaash or white side, and her Native side, or known as her Anishinaabe side, or even more specifically, Ojibwe side.

The debut novel from Boulley mainly describes Daunis’ struggle between these two worlds, the important people in them, and the war within herself to follow her heart, her gut, and her mind.

In the background of this identity struggle, or perhaps largely influenced by it, Daunis finds herself inexplicably tangled up in a secret federal investigation into a specific type of meth being produced in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula that affects people not only in her community, but other Native communities as well.

Suddenly finding herself becoming a spy, Daunis starts to learn and keep secrets, those in regards to the investigation as well as those regarding her feelings for fellow investigator-Jamie Johnson-an undercover narcotics cop posing as the cute new highschooler in town.

As Daunis deals with her own internal struggles, her community, her relationships, and her burgeoning romance, her past, future, and present all collide and come to a head in this new novel.

Now. Reading this summary, you might be thinking: this book sounds awesome! Love? Undercover cops? Drugs? Mystery? It has everything.

And you’d be right.

When I first read the jacket cover for this novel I knew it was a book I was inevitably going to read. Everything from the gorgeous cover art, to the intriguing summary, to the representation of Native Americans, I was completely drawn in.

Too bad I didn’t like it very much.

I will start off by saying that I think this book is incredible in its realistic depiction of the Ojibwe experience and I know how important it is to increase representation of all kinds of people and backgrounds in literature, especially YA literature.

Boulley did an absolutely stunning job of relaying the nitty-gritty of the Ojibwe community-the elders, the geography, the food, the stigma, the finances, the politics, the reputation, the racism, the prejudice, the community, the love, the healing, and so much more.

I always am in awe when authors utilize the golden rule of write what you know. Per the back jacket of the novel, Boulley herself states that she is an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and an active storyteller of the Ojibwe community.

This is beyond incredible. Having an accurate and active portrayal of people writing and drawing from their own experiences are powerful and significant. I could taste, feel, and see how clear and how real Boulley made the novel.

I questioned a lot of things during this read, but the Ojibwe community in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was not one of them. From vocabulary to the extreme details depicting Sugar Island to the care and craft when talking about specific ceremonies like funerals, Boulley did an outstanding job of bringing in what she knows from her own experience and that of her community in order to breathe life into these pages.

This was by far the best part of the novel for me.

On the back jacket, Boulley also states that she was a former Director of the Office of Indian Education at the U.S. Department of Education. While I did not know this until a few minutes ago when I sat down to write this review, I am in no way surprised.

The book was extremely intelligent. I could viscerally tell that Boulley knows her stuff and does her research. Everything from biology and chemistry processes and vocabulary, to mushroom identification, to legal matters like having an underage informant, politics regarding becoming a member of the Ojibwe Tribe, and due process of the law regarding FBI cases was very clear cut, very detailed, and obviously very accurate.

I appreciated how much time and effort was put into this, even if I did find a lot of it bone dry and dull, I still could appreciate the time, effort, and knowledge to make sure that everything in the novel was precise and correct.

That being said, it also made the book come across almost like an informational pamphlet at times, or like I was reading non-fiction. I understand being accurate, and I applaud her for that, but I don’t need or want five pages of in-book description of how one of these processes work. Just give me the bare-bones outline and I will go from there and look it up more if I so desire.

This brings me to my first critique of this book and a large reason it was so tedious to get through: it was mind-numbingly long.

Now. I just read a 2,000 page fanfiction not that long ago. That is long, you could argue, and you would be right. But, none of All of the Young Dudes was a bore to get through (sad, sure, but not boring), whereas whole sections of Firekeeper’s Daughter were too dragged out and too explicitly explained that I inevitably got bored and nodded off.

The pace was too slow and too bogged down with unimportant details, like Daunis’ daily visits to the elders or her overthinking every single thing, or her making lists of all the things she doesn’t know (these are long lists).

She often spends whole pages grieving about her Uncle David as well as her best friend Lily, and while understandable and realistic in real life, it was not fun nor productive to read about over and over and over again.

Take for example, the very beginning of the book. It takes over 100 pages for Daunis to realize the new-boy-next-door isn’t who he says he is and that he’s actually an undercover cop here to investigate a new strain of meth and asks for her help.

Over 100 pages of set up.

It was so goddamn boring.

It got better once she became involved with the investigation, but then so did the whining, the overthinking, and the reflecting. The first 100 pages could have been condensed to 20. No joke, I would have gotten the same exposition out of that I did.

In addition, despite things taking so long or not serving a purpose, I was often confused about what was happening, which is an overall unpleasant experience. Boulley simultaneously describes everything and yet nothing at the same time.

The reason for this discrepancy is because she often used native language to describe feelings, events, people, etc and while some of the words I learned over time, often the words left me confused or bewildered.

I appreciate the use of native language, but it also left me with big gaps while reading or made me struggle to put pieces together as they were happening.

The pace of the novel overall was incredibly bad. Things either took 12 years or two minutes. The actual plot to show up? 12 Years. Daunis and Jamie to fall in love classic YA style? Two minutes. Daunis to find Uncle David’s notebook? 12 years. The final confrontation of the bad guys? Two minutes.

With any event, it either felt sluggish or way too quick and mashing these two together in one novel was disorienting and frustrating, not to mention it made me not want to read.

Additionally, while I generally thought the plot was very interesting, who doesn’t like undercover cop stories? I thought all of the characters were very forgettable or downright shells.

Daunis was...a textbook female character in my eyes. The way she spouted off knowledge like the periodic table to fall asleep or reciting the scientific method wasn’t cool or new, it was irritating.

To me she wasn’t real.

She was someone’s idea of a female character who seemed cool, but wasn’t. Nothing about Daunis made me think of her as a great character. If anything, she just seemed like an empty vessel I was reading the book through, like the book was happening to me instead (cough cough Mary Sue).

Some of you may be upset with this statement, and that’s fine, but other than her love of science, her knowledge of geography, and her ties to the community, nothing about Daunis was a real person.

She hardly had friends, I don’t recall learning anything she liked or disliked (other than Jamie, hockey, and running) , and she was entirely surmised of the people who had left her and the identity struggle she had been born with. I don’t mean to undermine people who struggle with their identity, I know that’s important, but there is more to people than just that.

None of the other characters are frankly worth mentioning.

You might ask, what about Jamie? The shadowy, scarred love interest?

*Shrugs*

He’s fine. Genuinely that’s all I can say about him. We don’t even learn his real name as Jamie Johnson is a fake. All I know is that he’s got curly hair, a scar, and doesn’t know who he is. It’s hard to like a character when the character themselves have no idea of who they are.

The other characters either die or are in the background to progress the plot along.

To be fair, it’s a good plot. It’s intriguing, it’s mysterious, and I learned more than I ever thought I would about meth and mushrooms, but it doesn’t make up for the dead-end characters or the pacing issues.

I didn’t hate it, but I also didn’t like it. I guess I can say that I feel indifferent about this book, although the representation of Native Americans bumps it up slightly for me from being dead average.

The storytelling isn’t spectacular, even if the idea is promising, but if you have been searching for representation like this in YA I can see how this book would be much more impactful and important and I’m happy to have it as a part of the YA collective.

Recommendation: At the end of the day, this novel is a true smorgasbord. I love the representation, the draws from Boulley’s real life, and the intelligence, but I didn’t see any of the characters as real people, the pacing issues made it hard to gain and keep interest going, and the dialogue often came across to me as someone's warped version of what teenager’s sound like.

Score: 6/10

#firekeepersdaughter #angeline boulley #ya fiction #YA Books #YA literature #book blog #book review #Book Recommendations #YA Book Review #ya book rec #nativewomen #nativebooks #representation in fiction #book rec #book reccs #6/10

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elo-kuvat · 5 years

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Fleabag (2016-) and the ‘likability’ of women

What I love about Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag is its portrayal of an awful, garbage human being who is just trying to get through the day.

The concept of a ‘likable’ character is a highly contested one. Watching a film or show, the audience needs to root for their protagonist which tends to lead to the idea that the protagonist needs to be ‘likable’ and ‘relatable.’ This makes sense because no one wants to root for someone they dislike.

This being said, in the past we have seen hugely successful films and shows kill box offices with just completely unlikable characters. Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, Tony Soprano in The Sopranos, even Ross in Friends.

Possibly the best example of recent years is the critically acclaimed drama series: Breaking Bad. The protagonist of the show, Walter White, descends with the show’s progression into a self centered, morally corrupt and generally unlikable person. And yet the worse he becomes, he still managed to get the show renewed for a good five seasons.

It seems like the concept of likability and being relatable are loosely applied when it comes to male characters, but can be detrimental to female characters.

This summer I attended the LES Film Festival’s “Crafting the Female Protagonist” with a panel of amazing female writers, directors and filmmakers. One of the difficulties that Radha Blank (Empire, She’s Gotta Have It) discussed facing as a female writer of color in the industry was that her experience and creativity was often restricted by this idea of being relatable. She found that her projects and ideas were consistently being shot down because execs feared they would not be relatable. One can imagine pitching a film or show to a group of white male execs who see the divide between male and female or white and black as detrimental, especially when it comes to the box office.

They don’t feel the need to relate to the experience of a woman or a person of color as they don’t see them or their experiences as universal, at least not the way in which being white and male is considered universal. This is where we see the problematic effect of placing the characteristics of white, male and straight as the status quo. The story of a white straight man is not universal, however to the white straight male (who wields great power in society and Hollywood) it is assumed that his story is universal because he has been set up as the status quo.

That being said, as a female in my twenties I don’t find it disorienting trying to relate to a man with cancer in his sixties or even to his drug addict partner in crime. Similarly, I didn’t find it difficult to relate to an indigenous domestic worker in 1970s Mexico in Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma.

Relatability does not arise from having experienced the exact same story, life or struggle, but from basic human emotions and needs. Walter White is afraid of death and leaving his loved ones, he is also ashamed that he has failed in his career and is bored with the banality of everyday life. All of which fuels his greed to conquer the meth business world. This is how we relate to Walter, not because his status as a white American man makes him universal.

Likability is something women have to deal with off screen as well as on. When women present themselves to the world they are told they must be sweet, pretty and accommodating to the needs of the men around us. We can see this from the way men expect women to smile when they walk down the street or to the way in which women are harassed for not looking ‘womanly’ enough or to a myriad of other awful examples. Women are expected to act ‘nice’ and be likable to the male population. So one can imagine how difficult it would be to green light a (multi million dollar) show which portrays a real and ‘unlikable’ woman when it is already hard enough just to walk down the street as an ‘unlikable’ woman.

This is what makes Fleabag so special. The protagonist, who is only identified as Fleabag, is a deeply flawed human who is dealing with her mess of a family and the traumatic death of her best and only friend. Throughout the two hilarious and heart-breaking seasons of the show, she manages to do some quite horrendous things that begs the audience to dislike her, however, we also see her struggle with shame, humility and caring deeply for the people in her life.

The show uses a fourth wall breaking technique so that Fleabag can speak directly to the audience. While this technique has lost its effect in the past decade and become a bit of a cop out, here it has been revitalized as something new and beautiful. It is used as a special connection only the audience and Fleabag share within this dark world. Almost like a secret language between best friends.

This wall breaking not only makes us easily sympathize with our protagonist, but also adds to this idea of imperfection. We see the way in which she prides herself on predicting how the people around her will act, but we also see her surprise when she is wrong and the other characters act unpredictably.

Additionally, like any good wall breaking, we see her lie to the audience as well as to herself. This is common in wall breaking and generally through character action and development because it creates a rich and complicated tapestry in which the character functions and grows.

Fleabag uses sex as a distraction, saying herself that “I spent most of my adult life using sex to deflect from the screaming void inside my empty heart.” She even admits that it isn’t the physical act of sex that she is interested in, instead stating:

“I'm not obsessed with sex, I just can't stop thinking about it. The performance of it. The awkwardness of it. The drama of it. The moment you realize someone wants your body. Not so much the feeling of it.”

Her sexual expression and outright statement of her enjoyment with it, technically speaking, makes her unlikable. Doing so is still quite taboo for a woman and is often received with great criticism and shaming. We do see throughout the show how people react to Fleabag’s nonchalant sexuality and how they make assumptions about her, but ultimately it is an aspect of the character that is embraced.

Additionally, we see Fleabag struggle quite generally with facing issues, usually choosing instead to avoid or seek out a welcomed distraction. However, compared to the rest of the people in her life she is considered the black sheep who pops everyone else’s bubble of denial.

Her father, sister and godmother all try to passive aggressively talk around their issues or generally act be two faced. In this way, Fleabag sees through them and calls them out. This usually causes great backlash and places Fleabag as the ‘bad guy’ in the situation since no one wants to deal with their real issues.

The show brings up an interesting concept of being a bad feminist as well as a bad person. Fleabag is highly critical of herself, feeling shame and guilt with herself saying things such as:

“I have a horrible feeling that I'm a greedy perverted, selfish, apathetic, cynical, depraved, morally bankrupt woman who can't even call herself a feminist.”

Often when Hollywood wants to portray a feminist character in a ‘feminist’ show we depict them as perfect role models to look up to. However, those characters are often represent extremely simplified feminism as well as make for very bland characters. We don’t learn from just seeing an ideal feminist, instead we learn from passively watching a character trying and failing to be a feminist.

Because that is what feminism is at its core, looking inward and being self critical as well as making mistakes and learning from them. Additionally, isn’t a perfect feminist, as well as a perfect person, just someone who makes the effort and fails a thousand times, but still gets up to try again.

Ultimately, watching Fleabag struggle with herself and her seriously dysfunctional family is a breath of fresh air. Audiences can relate to dysfunction since we all feel our lives in someways and to some degree are dysfunctional. Seeing someone on screen struggling similarly or a hundred times worse than us, reminds us we are not alone. We also see a character facing great adversity and conflict and choosing everyday to keep fighting.

Surprisingly, no one is perfect and therefor watching other imperfect characters is always relatable, even if the protagonist is a woman.

Fleabag’s success will hopefully be used as an example to point to when trying to push for not only more female led shows and films but also to push for more ‘unlikable’ female characters.

I will leave you with possibly the two best quote from Fleabag:

“Women are born with pain built in. It’s our physical destiny. Period pains, sore boobs, childbirth, you know. We carry it within ourselves. Men don’t. They have to seek it out... And then they create wars, so they can feel things and touch each other, and when there aren’t any wars they can play rugby. And we have it all going on in here, inside.”

“Love is awful. It’s painful. Frightening. It makes you doubt yourself, judge yourself, distance yourself from the other people in your life. Makes you selfish, makes you creepy, makes you obsessed with your hair. It takes strength to know what’s right. And love isn’t something that weak people do. Being a romantic takes a hell of a lot of hope.”

Further reading:

How ‘Fleabag’ Seduces Us, Then Accuses Us - The New York Times

Season 2 of “Fleabag” Is All about Fessing Up - Bitch Media

Men Invented 'Likability.' Guess Who Benefits - The New York Times

Bad Feminist - Roxane Gay

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qualityhomeworkanswers · 4 years

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Reaction Paper Guidelines Reaction papers are a critical component of the conversation that will take place in this course. There will be a total of five different reaction papers throughout the course. Each of the five reaction papers will be approximately two pages in length. The text will be double-spaced and formatted using APA format. Students should clearly identify their topic and present their personal viewpoint or perspective; however, students must also present a factual basis for that viewpoint (as opposed to an opinion paper). All references supporting the factual basis must be properly cited to the original sources in accordance with APA guidelines. Topic: • Possession off contraband as a criminal offense While you are primarily addressing the topic selected, you may want to discuss or expand on a topic presented in the textbook, a case dealing with the subject, or a current event from the news or Internet, and present your viewpoint or perspective on that item as it relates to the issue present in your chosen topic. Main content 3-4Possession as a Criminal Act LO6 Let’s start this section by making clear that possession is not action; it’s a condition (Dubber and Kelman 2009, 252). It’s only by means of a legal fiction (pretending something is a fact when it’s not, if there’s a “good” reason for pretending) that the principle of actus reus includes possession. According to Professor Markus Dubber (2001): Possession offenses have not attracted much attention. Yet, they are everywhere in American criminal law, on the books and in action. They fill our statute books, our arrest statistics, and eventually, our prisons. By last count, New York law recognized no fewer than 153 possession offenses; one in every five prison or jail sentences handed out by New York courts in 1998 was imposed for a possession offense. That same year, possession offenses accounted for over 100,000 arrests in New York State, while drug offenses alone resulted in over 1.2 million nationwide. (834–35) In his criticism of the expansion of possession crimes, Professor Dubber (2001, 856–57) lists 38! And, he adds, “The list could go on and on.” According to Dubber, “millions of people commit one of its variants every day.… Operating below the radars of policy pundits and academic commentators, as well as under the Constitution, possession does the crime war’s dirty work.” Possession of weapons, illegal drugs, and drug paraphernalia are the most common possession crimes. The “good reason” for pretending possession is an act is the powerful pull of the idea that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Better to nip the bud of possession before it grows into an act of doing drugs or shooting someone. Also, most people get possession by their voluntary acts—for example, buying marijuana and putting it in their pocket. So their active acquisition brings about passive condition. But not always. Maybe a student who got a bad grade “planted” marijuana in my briefcase when I wasn’t looking. Or, maybe you put your roommate’s Ecstasy in your pocket to take it to the police station and turn it in. There are two kinds of possession: actual and constructive. Actual possession means items “on me,” such as marijuana in my pocket. Constructive possession means items not on my person but in places I control, for example, my car or apartment (ALI 1985, 1:2, 24). Possession, whether actual or constructive, can be either “knowing” or “mere.” Knowing possession means possessors are aware of what they possess. So, if you buy crystal meth and know it’s crystal meth, you have knowing possession. (Knowing doesn’t mean you have to know it’s a crime to possess crystal meth, only that you know the stuff you have is crystal meth.) Mere possession means you don’t know what you possess. So if you agree to carry your friend’s briefcase that you don’t know is filled with stolen money, you’ve got mere possession of the money. All but two states (North Dakota and Washington) require knowing possession. Also, almost all the cases in the court reports are constructive possession cases, and they’re almost all drug and/or weapons cases. Did She Possess Cannabis with the Intent to Sell, Manufacture, or Deliver it? Case In Williams v. State (2013), Zamara Janice Williams was convicted in a jury trial in the Circuit Court, Hillsborough County, of possession of cannabis with intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver. Williams v. State 110 So.3d 59 (FL App. 2013) History Zamara Janice Williams (Defendant) was convicted in a jury trial in the Circuit Court, Hillsborough County, of possession of cannabis with intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver. Defendant appealed. The Florida Court of Appeals reversed and remanded. CASANUEVA, J. Facts Tampa police officers Filippone and Cruz followed Zamara Janice Williams onto the interstate highway after they saw her drop off a passenger in the middle of 24th Avenue. They signaled to her to pull over because she was speeding and driving recklessly on the interstate and she complied, exiting the interstate and pulling into a parking lot. She was driving a rented compact hatchback with two passengers. Even before the officers pulled up behind her in the parking lot, she had exited her vehicle and approached them in an extremely agitated state, telling the officers to just go ahead and give her the traffic citation. She was behaving in such an overwrought manner, amounting almost to having a panic attack and hyperventilating, that it took the officers several minutes to calm her before they could continue with the traffic stop. One officer testified that her heart was beating so furiously that he could see it pounding in her chest and offered to call emergency medical services (EMS), but she declined. The officers also testified that during this initial period of the stop, she was continually moving away from her vehicle and thus drawing them away with her; they had to keep bringing her back to her vehicle. As they stood near the driver’s door, they perceived the strong odor of fresh marijuana that was emanating from the vehicle and traced it to a closed black bag behind the rear seat in the hatchback. Based upon the odor of marijuana, the officers asked Ms. Williams for permission to search the car. She responded by saying that she did not think that there would be drugs in the car but consented to the search. Upon further investigation, the officers noted that the car was unkempt with paperwork bearing Ms. Williams’ name strewn about. Inside the black bag they found a gallon ziplock bag containing almost a pound of fresh marijuana, a smaller baggie containing several pieces of what appeared to be, and what were later confirmed to be, crack cocaine; an open box of sandwich bags; and two digital scales. No attempt was made to lift fingerprints from the black bag or any item from inside the bag. Although the car was rented in Ms. Williams’ name, she was driving it, and her personal belongings were in the car, there was nothing on or in the black bag that tied it or the items inside it to her or anyone else. Based on the above, the State charged Ms. Williams with three counts: possession of cannabis with intent to sell; possession of cocaine with intent to sell; and possession of drug paraphernalia. When Ms. Williams’ defense counsel moved for judgment of acquittal at trial, the trial court denied the motion based on the strong odor of marijuana, the fact that the officers had found letters addressed to Ms. Williams in the car, and the fact that the car was rented in her name. After the jury submitted a question that indicated its concern about interpreting constructive possession, it returned a verdict of guilty of possession of cannabis but not guilty of the cocaine and paraphernalia counts. The trial court sentenced Ms. Williams to four years’ probation and she timely appealed. Opinion Because it was clear that Ms. Williams did not have exclusive possession of the black bag containing marijuana, as there were other persons in the car and she did not admit the bag was hers, the State was required to prove constructive possession with evidence beyond the fact that she was in near proximity to the black bag. When a defendant is not in exclusive possession of the vehicle where the contraband is found, the elements of knowledge and dominion and control may not be inferred or assumed but must be established through additional and independent proof. Therefore, the State’s burden was to prove two elements: (A) that Ms. Williams knew of the presence of the contraband and (B) that she had the ability to exercise dominion and control over it. It is the latter element for which we find the State’s evidence lacking. The first element—knowledge of the presence of the marijuana in the black bag—that the State had to prove in order to convict Ms. Williams of constructive possession is satisfied here by the evidence of the strong odor of marijuana of which the officers were conscious when they approached her car. Additional evidence to support this first element is the reasonable inference that can be taken from Ms. Williams’ extraordinary behavior when she was stopped. The officers testified that they had never before stopped anyone for a traffic violation and had the person react as Ms. Williams did. She was anxious and nervous to an unheard of degree, hyperventilating and having observable heart palpitations, causing the officers to fear for her health and to offer to send for EMS. Further, she continually tried to maintain a distance between herself and the officers and her car. The reasonable inference is that she knew there was marijuana in the car. It is the second element—ability to exercise dominion and control—for which there was insufficient proof. Had Ms. Williams been the only person in the car when the officers stopped her, this element would have been satisfied and a jury question raised. But because Ms. Williams had two passengers with her, the State is not entitled to the benefit of an inference of dominion and control. The State is required to produce independent evidence pointing to her dominion and control of the black bag containing the marijuana. . . . Even under the lesser standard of proof by a preponderance of evidence in a violation of probation case, the State in Hanania v. State, 855 So.2d 92 (Fla.2d DCA 2003), failed to prove constructive possession of contraband. A law enforcement officer had stopped the car in which the defendant was a front seat passenger, and a narcotics dog alerted on the passenger’s seat of the car. Upon his searching the car, the officer found a yellow manila envelope containing three baggies of suspected methamphetamine between the passenger’s seat and the center console transmission column, an electronic scale in a recess under the dashboard, and an envelope containing marijuana addressed to the driver and owner of the car under the passenger seat. The defendant testified that he had only recently entered the car, about five blocks before the traffic stop, because the driver, an acquaintance of his, had agreed to give him a ride home from the store where they had met. The State argued that the defendant’s proximity to the contraband was sufficient evidence of the conditions violated but this court disagreed because nothing in the record indicated that the defendant knew of the presence of the drugs or the scale or that he had the ability to exercise dominion and control over them. Even though Ms. Williams was the driver of her car and the defendant in Hanania was a passenger, the present case is much like Hanania because there was no independent evidence linking either defendant to the contraband sufficient to convict other than mere proximity of contraband not in plain view. The evidence presented at trial satisfied the first element—knowledge—that the State had to prove in order to overcome a motion for judgment of acquittal, but it did not establish that Ms. Williams was able to exercise dominion and control over the black bag that contained marijuana. Because the State failed to present sufficient evidence linking Ms. Williams to the contraband other than her mere proximity to it, the trial court erred in denying her motion for judgment of acquittal. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment and sentence for possession of marijuana. Because of the insufficient evidence supporting her conviction, on remand she must be discharged. Judgment and sentence reversed and cause remanded with instructions to discharge Ms. Williams. ALTENBERND, J., CONCURRING. I agree that our outcome today is required by the precedent that is well explained in the court’s opinion. Courts and legislatures around the country take different positions on this issue. If I were writing on a clean slate, I would be inclined to believe that a jury should be authorized to return a guilty verdict on a drug charge where the defendant is an operator of a motor vehicle and has actual knowledge that the vehicle contains illegal drugs that easily could be removed from the vehicle. In this case, Ms. Williams was driving her small rental car fully aware that a bag containing a large quantity of marijuana was behind her in the hatchback area. This marijuana was either her marijuana, her passengers’ marijuana, or marijuana jointly possessed by the driver and one or more of the passengers. Assuming the marijuana was not hers, she was in control of the car. She had the complete right before she entered the interstate to stop her car and order the criminal to exit the vehicle with the contraband. If she elected to continue to transport the contraband in this context, it seems to me that at a minimum she became a principal in the offense of possession and the jury was entitled to return this verdict. Questions 1. Identify the two elements of constructive possession discussed by the court. 2. List the facts relevant to deciding whether Zamara Janice Williams constructively possessed marijuana. 3. Assume you’re the prosecutor. Argue that Williams actually and constructively possessed marijuana. Back up your arguments with facts in the case. 4. Assume you’re the defense attorney. Argue that Williams didn’t physically or constructively possess marijuana. You Decide Did She Possess Alcohol? Tracy Kastl, a juvenile, was found to be delinquent, convicted of being a minor in possession of alcohol, and her driver’s license was suspended for one year. She appealed. The Arizona Supreme Court reversed and dismissed the case. Facts Tracy Kastl was one of five passengers in a vehicle that was parked in a parking lot in Waldron, Arkansas. Officers Johnny Smith and Ronnie Eisenhower of the Waldron City Police spotted beer cans beside the vehicle. They searched the vehicle with a flashlight and discovered a six pack of Coors Light beer lying on a “flat” in the hatch compartment of the vehicle behind Kastl. Randy Crowell, one of the passengers, admitted to purchasing the beer and claimed ownership. The officers testified that Kastl did not have in her hand or lap any alcoholic beverage. The state contended that Kastl had “constructive possession” of the alcohol because it was in the vehicle in which she was an occupant. . . . The problem with joint occupancy arises because of the rule that when joint occupancy is the only evidence the State has, there must be some additional link between the accused and the contraband. . . . Tracy Kastl was clearly not in actual possession of the beer in this case. The following was presented by the state to prove constructive possession of the beer by the appellant: 1. Beer cans were found lying between the vehicle in question and another parked vehicle; 2. A six-pack of Coors Light beer was found lying inside the vehicle in the hatch area behind Kastl, and according to Officer Eisenhower, all she would have had to have done was “just turn around and reached and grabbed it” [the beer]; and 3. Kastl had a smell of intoxicating alcohol about her person. The state’s evidence that there were beer cans beside the vehicle, that beer was found in the immediate proximity of Kastl in the vehicle, and that there was the smell of beer on her person are not sufficient evidence of constructive possession. The state has not proven the additional evidence necessary to link the appellant to possession of the beer. Reversed and dismissed. Dissent I believe substantial evidence exists to support Kastl’s conviction. . . . The state need not prove Kastl had actual possession of the contraband; constructive possession is sufficient. . . . The state can sufficiently link an accused to contraband found in an automobile jointly occupied by more than one person by showing additional facts and circumstances, indicating the accused’s knowledge and control. One such circumstance is when the contraband is found on the same side of the car as the accused was sitting or in his or her immediate proximity. Here, it is undisputed that Tracy was seated in the immediate proximity of a six pack of beer. However, there are even more facts to show Tracy’s knowledge and control of the beer or contraband seized in this case. . . . The evidence shows: 1. Officers Smith and Eisenhower drove on to the lot where the car, in which Tracy was a passenger, was parked. There was a beer can by the car and one on the lot. The officers had been on the lot earlier and no beer cans were on it. 2. Five people were in the car, two young men in the front and Tracy and two young men in the rear seat. A six pack of beer was seen immediately behind the rear seat and the beer was within arm’s reach of Tracy. 3. Several of the subjects were seen with open beer cans between their legs, although Tracy was not one of them. 4. Both officers smelled the odor of intoxicating beverage about Tracy’s person. The foregoing evidence speaks for itself. The trial judge could have reasonably inferred that Tracy had been drinking and that Tracy was within arm’s reach of the six pack of beer found in the car. Some of the others in the car had open beer cans in their possession, and it is fair to infer occupants of the car had discarded two beer cans onto the lot—one of the cans was located immediately next to the car. From this evidence, the trial judge, as fact finder, could have reasonably believed Tracy had knowledge and control of the beer located in the car. In fact, to have found and decided otherwise would, in my estimation, have ignored the obvious. The trial judge’s decision should clearly stand.

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mutualhighmaintenancemachin-blog · 5 years

Text

I need a fix cus I'm going down

Made the mistake of appraising myself sufficiently healthy to attend a bonfire with normal decent tax-payer type folks. Stood up too fast in my chair and blacked out completely, hit my head on concrete. When I came to i had no earthly fucking memory of having driven to the bonfire, nor could i really recall the names of the three concerned hipsters perched over my limp doughy abscessed jaundiced shit heap of a body. Told them it was a problem with blood sugar, i had forgotten to imbibe my afternoon orange juice! Translation-haven’t slept in four days, taking in roughly two hundred calories a day all in ginger ale. Meth heads opt to sustain themselves on a diet of paranoid resentment in lieu of proteins and grains. The cook gets super spun and lectures us like we’re babes about the dark leftist forces presently waging war on the masculinity of the white man-for one thing, he's convinced that jews run the porn industry and that fucking pornhub is riddled with overtures both overt and subliminal intended to brainwash white guys into identifying as weak and feminine and to associate men of color with heroism and strength. He also believes that soy causes gender dysphoria. All of these batshit crazy delusions act like stars in the broad constellation of the cooks worst dystopian fears-a workforce with no room left for traditionally male-centered leadership characteristics dominated from top-down by a host of future ladies who make their trade in creative collaboration, rather than fear and theft of other peoples ideas. Without a need for a provider, our nazi-bespectacled methamphetamine cook envisions a new sexual economy in which women will jettison their attachments to the family structure in favor of like, industrialism, i guess, and men will have no other resort but a desperate turn to cross-dressing and dick-taking and i guess maybe stitching scarves. It was at this point that i was really tempted to tell the cook something he needs to hear-if you really believe that large shadow societies are orchestrating history just cus they want to make you some dudes boyfriend, its probably cus part of you wants to be. I get that, sucking dick is a blast. if you’re terrified that you can’t compete in a post-modern job market, it might just be because you aren’t. There’s no place left for cowboys or outlaws or methcooks cus those professions only make sense in the context of an insanely violent frontier. You feel obsolete and useless because you are, but make no mistake, that hurt has nothing to do with the world everything to do with your soul being severely malnourished. I know cus mine is too! Real moral christian courage is showing up to your crucifixion with a smile on your face ready to graciously thank the romans for every nail they put through your wrist. You feel empty because your a paranoid fascist meth cook, i feel bad cus I'm a junkie. We are bad. The nazi pilots who blitzed france in two sleepless, speed-fueled nights probably felt fucking fantastic, as if they were aloft on the trade winds of history itself and their momentum across europe must have seemed like proof enough of the moral righteousness of the german cause. But then the morning comes and the meth wears off and your skin smells like piss and your back aches and you can’t stop grinding your jaw��and the first wave of survivors begin to trickle out from the camps and presumably in that moment a few nazis had the epiphany-that the very same starved beaten traumatized jewish women and men and children they had aspired to extinguish from human memory were now going to tell the story of what had happened. Power loses, grace is its own kingdom, etc etc. Furthermore those german officers who managed to transition back to civilian life and start families must have experienced a very strange new parental dynamic-can you imagine a family at a dinner table and the proud head of household instructs his small son to finish his vegetables and after pausing to mull it over for a few moments his son turns to him and says Father having thought about it a great deal i don’t think ill be following your instructions-after all you were only following instructions yourself when you helped to engineer the greatest cruelty in human history! To which ostensibly the father mumbles to clear his throat and asks his wife to pass the potato salad. Not even to invoke the possibility that the Fuhrer himself Mr. Adolph Hitler probably died surrounded by a swarm of shadow people, fucking hilarious just the thought, him yelling in that distinctive manic patois of his that he’s the leader and the abeyance of his will is sacrosanct blah blah blah while the little invisible mites under his pale skin shift and swell and scratch and the shadow people dancing around his peripheral vision taunting and cajoling and ridiculing him and the absurdity of his final solution and because he didn’t know speed the way we now know speed he probably didn’t know anything about the shadow people at all from his perspective they might just as well have been the ghosts of his victims come to taunt and ridicule him in his lowest hour pointing and laughing and daring him to pull the trigger!

The same entitlement motivates the mass shooter who imagines a world full of seven billion perfect strangers as an attack on his rightful pursuit of happiness. No one will sleep with him and he can’t make sense of his place in a world built on fucking so he begins to indulge in fantasies of coercion, revenging himself on the very public space he so craved Now if our hypothetical douchebag had any pretense of self-awareness he might have looked into the possibility of adopting several dogs, and in turn coming to see his life as a story about caring unconditionally for animals. That’s a helluva life-Saint Francis got into the catholic hall of fame for doing not a whole lot more. Or perhaps he could adjust his expectations of intimacy in consideration of the countless plain-to middling-to ugly folks who are forced to come to terms with the truth early on that all of our bodies are grotesque and hideously deformed billboard advertisements for our big beautiful impossibly dense souls-come see a kernel of divine inspiration made self-aware, shimmering in the glory of creation, just two exits past the tits and chin and ankles and all the rest of our faulty parts.

Now a discerning reader(however unlikely you’d be to find one in an audience consisting of absolutely fucking nobody lol) might have already begun to detect a certain heady strain of hypocrisy in this authors conclusion. Because while I'm not much of anything the one thing i certainly am is a self-destructive drug addict. So maybe its one thing for me to make fun of the cook for his wrath-filled flu-stricken infants tantrum of a way of viewing the world, assigning to his solipsism a generation-hopping solidarity with his nazi forefathers who came before and identifying in his politics the germinal seed of fascisms future, a politics so personal and self-contained that every divorce will be debated as if it were a stand in for larger cultural decay, every morning hangover a portent of spiritual decline, the vitals of the stock market remeasured and reassessed each time someone finds on the sidewalk a loose dollar bill. Political assemblies with real largesse exclusively devoted to trolling the instagram of a nebraskan man named doug’s now ex-wife for pictures of her maui vacation with husband number two drinking mojitos on a beach with sand bleached white as bone and both of them grinning with surgical precision an opulent almost confrontational kind of public grinning Doug couldn't recall that bitch ever having felt for him and the kids off playing in the surf and well how could any concerned and conscientious citizen fail to see the basic threat to democracy that whole scene represents? Donald Trump is probably the loneliest man in the world. He’s never met another person. He spends his time wandering the halls of his head checking for reoccurrences of his own reflection, a lifetime spent pathologically re-telling the same story about how he came to be the most powerful person in the world, so that by the time he really became who he had always pretended to be, the most influential figure in the free world, he had long-since bought into his own fraud to such a great extent that even the real thing couldn’t compare. Only a selfishness and self-centeredness as grandiloquent as his could explain the mindset of the modern mass shooter and the micro-politics informing him. He confuses his head for the world and then becomes enraged when it won’t do as he wishes, cursing the rain for its cold lash against his shoulder where he’d rather there have rested warm summer glow, furious at the thought of all the people he would never meet in far-off places he would never see who never paid him any attention whatsoever. Playing peek-a-boo a little bit of cheating peer through chubby fingers arrayed like a geisha’s fan and for the first time see that objects don’t disappear without our gaze to ontologically anchor them to earth. What a hurt. Now it might be technically correct that my addiction does to my loving family what the selfishness of the mass shooter does to public space. It intrudes like an alien thing and turns the air chilly in our childhood home and it transforms the medicine cabinet into a contested territory in need of defensive fortification and now that Cassies marriage has crashed on the rocks of addiction nobody could blame her if she never allowed another addict to darken her doorstep again and there was the sight of Jan opening my trucks passenger side door and a few rigs fell out onto the floor and all the spoons in the house have one side burnt-and-bruised like a black-eye you say you got from falling down a flight of stairs despite body language that says something entirely else why is it we don’t have a single spoon in the house what ghost spends all night punching the walls full of holes

recently went to an Alanon meeting to sneak a glimpse of how the other half lives...this lady said my addiction is to loving my addict. Bawled rivers out from red raw-rubbed rubber eyes and said my addiction is to my addict Not her person or qualifier or partner but her addict. Syntax almost seeming to suggest that something about the existential plight of the addict gets her intoxicated dizzy on pain. It’s quaint though cus that sort of sentiment is for fucking rookies-guarantee you no ones crying over me like a romantic. Not anymore. My thing these days is of a distinctly more shakespearian strand of tragedy, with wittgenstein and derrida’s influences also undeniable. I’m sick now in a way where people stop crying and praying you’ll find God and change and decide instead it’d be easier to just cross the street. Schizophrenics lost in a chorus meant only just for them, apocalyptic street preachers who stand on soap boxes while reeking of shit and give voice to visions of an America not our own, an alternate dimension where european arrival at the shores of the new world stalled out somewhere halfway across the pacific ocean on a wave so tall it scraped the heavens and America grew up a nation of nomads who set their watches to the rumbling migration of herds of buffalo and not even the highest priest could dream of a more beautiful idea than that of motion, movement without cease, the only acceptable fixed still frozen property being the burial mounds where the dead went after all their motion had gone-if they could view us on the other side of the looking glass stolen away in our own personal homes they would almost certainly come to the conclusion that this place where we live is just the land of the dead, a negative photograph of everything vital and good. Who would i be to disagree though, right?

The point is anyway that some alchemical reaction of A. Mental illness and B. Amphetamine abuse has more or less stranded me in words. Verbs and nouns and adjectives and adverbs in place of sky and grass. What Fredric Jameson called the prison house of language. Where derrida’s difference goes to play for eternity, never quite meaning what it had meant to say. What shook wittgenstein speechless. The president’s rhetoric so hollow that you can almost see him suffering a kind of dementia or spiritual torpor that results from the badness of his faith. Chewing and chomping consonants and sounds till they all are made to mush and shearing syllable after syllable off the network of signification until all that’s left is one satellite pinging a distress call hello is anyone there off of its own side. It’s own side like Adam plucked Eve from his rib and said put on this dress-after they ate the fruit and God cast him/her out to walk the world alone reportedly God said have fun all alone you worthless slut. Imagine trumps final state of the union-i am very sick, i have been alone for as long as I can remember, i wish i hadn’t lied so often, i wish i had occasionally told the truth, i would trade all of it to have known just one person.

Anyways, barring that miracle of political theater, the body gets sick and dissolves while the spirit is lost in words. I’d like to die in a bathroom stall in haughville with a rig stuck in my arm and the words I'm sorry stuck at the tip of my tongue and God decides to show some compassion and makes me a deal says you were never much good to people didn’t believe in a thing but you sure could do some impressive vomiting up of nonsense words and so what ill do is your soul will dissolve and turn into ink and for the rest of eternity you’ll be a naughty joke or a half-scribbled doggerel scrawled on the wall of a piss-soaked bathroom stall in the ghetto or you could say call this number here for a good time and don’t forget to ask for large marge and nobody’d ever suspect you were trapped in there or maybe a joke like this favorite of mine about my son it goes something like Jesus Christ was a God-awful carpenter, couldn’t pull a nail to save his own life. Christ was a God-awful, couldn’t pull a nail to save his own life. Couldn't pull a nail. Christ was God-awful. Couldn’t nail his own couldn’t save a carpenter terrible couldn’t pull god-awful a terrible carpenter he couldn’t pull a nail to save his own life. I can’t pull this nail to save my own life. It’s right there sticking out of my wrist, but for whatever reason I just can’t find the right words to pull it out he was a carpenter who couldn’t pull a nail even if his life depended on it couldn't save his own life he couldn't-

For a good time call this number 1-555-555-5555 and don’t forget to ask for-

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fitnesshealthyoga-blog · 5 years

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New Post has been published on https://fitnesshealthyoga.com/experimental-surgery-gains-support-as-opioid-deaths-rise-health-news/

Experimental surgery gains support as opioid deaths rise - Health News

SHANGHAI (AP) — Patient Number One is a thin man, with a scabby face and bouncy knees. His head, shaved in preparation for surgery, is wrapped in a clean, white cloth.

Years of drug use cost him his wife, his money and his self-respect, before landing him in this drab yellow room at a Shanghai hospital, facing the surgeon who in 72 hours will drill two small holes in his skull and feed electrodes deep into his brain.

The hope is that technology will extinguish his addiction, quite literally, with the flip of a switch.

The treatment — deep brain stimulation — has long been used for movement disorders like Parkinson’s. Now, the first clinical trial of DBS for methamphetamine addiction is being conducted at Shanghai’s Ruijin Hospital, along with parallel trials for opioid addiction. And this troubled man is the very first patient.

The surgery involves implanting a device that acts as a kind of pacemaker for the brain, electrically stimulating targeted areas. While Western attempts to push forward with human trials of DBS for addiction have foundered, China is emerging as a hub for this research.

Scientists in Europe have struggled to recruit patients for their DBS addiction studies, and complex ethical, social and scientific questions have made it hard to push forward with this kind of work in the United States, where the devices can cost $100,000 to implant.

China has a long, if troubled, history of brain surgery for drug addiction. Even today, China’s punitive anti-drug laws can force people into years of compulsory treatment, including “rehabilitation” through labor. It has a large patient population, government funding and ambitious medical device companies ready to pay for DBS research.

There are eight registered DBS clinical trials for drug addiction being conducted in the world, according to a U.S. National Institutes of Health database. Six are in China.

But the suffering wrought by the opioid epidemic may be changing the risk-reward calculus for doctors and regulators in the United States. Now, the experimental surgery Patient Number One is about to undergo is coming to America. In February, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration greenlighted a clinical trial in West Virginia of DBS for opioid addiction.

___

Human experiments

Patient Number One insisted that only his surname, Yan, be published; he fears losing his job if he is identified.

He said doctors told him the surgery wasn’t risky. “But I still get nervous,” he said. “It’s my first time to go on the operating table.”

Three of Yan’s friends introduced him to meth in a hotel room shortly after the birth of his son in 2011. They told him: Just do it once, you’ve had your kid, you won’t have problems.

Smoking made Yan feel faint and slightly unhinged. Later, he found meth brought crystalline focus to his mind, which he directed at one thing: Cards. Every time Yan smoked, he gambled. And every time he gambled, he lost — all told, around $150,000 since he started using drugs, he estimated.

His wife divorced him. He rarely saw his son.

Yan checked into a hospital for detox, moved to another town to get away from bad influences, took Chinese traditional medicine. But he relapsed every time. “My willpower is weak,” he said.

Last year his father, who had a friend who had undergone DBS surgery at Ruijin, gave him an ultimatum: Back to rehab or brain surgery. “Of course, I chose surgery,” Yan said. “With surgery, I definitely have the chance to get my life back.”

Before there were brain implants in China there was brain lesioning. Desperate families of heroin users paid thousands of dollars for unproven and risky surgeries in which doctors destroyed small clumps of brain tissue. Brain lesioning quickly became a profit center at some hospitals, but it also left a trail of patients with mood disorders, lost memories and altered sex drives.

In 2004, China’s Ministry of Health ordered a halt to brain lesioning for addiction at most hospitals. Nine years later, doctors at a military hospital in Xi’an reported that roughly half of the 1,167 patients who had their brains lesioned stayed off drugs for at least five years.

DBS builds on that history. But unlike lesioning, which irreversibly kills brain cells, the devices allow brain interventions that are — in theory — reversible. The technology has opened a fresh field of human experimentation globally.

“As doctors we always need to think about the patients,” said Dr. Sun Bomin, director of Ruijin Hospital’s functional neurosurgery department. “They are human beings. You cannot say, ‘Oh, we do not have any help, any treatment for you guys.'”

Sun said he has served as a consultant for two Chinese companies that make deep brain stimulators — SceneRay Corp. and Beijing PINS Medical Co. He has tried to turn Ruijin into a center of DBS research, not just for addiction, but also Tourette syndrome, depression and anorexia.

In China, DBS devices can cost less than $25,000. Many patients pay cash.

“You can rest assured for the safety of this operation,” Yan’s surgeon, Dr. Li Dianyou, told him. “It is no problem. When it comes to effectiveness, you are not the first one, nor the last one. You can take it easy because we have done this a lot.”

In fact, there are risks. There is a small chance Yan could die of a brain hemorrhage. He could emerge with changes to his personality, seizures, or an infection. And in the end, he may go right back on drugs.

____

A buzzing drill

Some critics believe this surgery should not be allowed.

They argue that such human experiments are premature, and will not address the complex biological, social and psychological factors that drive addiction. Scientists don’t fully understand how DBS works and there is still debate about where electrodes should be placed to treat addiction. There is also skepticism in the global scientific community about the general quality and ethical rigor — particularly around issues like informed consent — of clinical trials done in China.

“It would be fantastic if there were something where we could flip a switch, but it’s probably fanciful at this stage,” said Adrian Carter, who heads the neuroscience and society group at Monash University in Melbourne. “There’s a lot of risks that go with promoting that idea.”

The failure of two large-scale, U.S. clinical trials on DBS for depression around five years ago prompted soul-searching about what threshold of scientific understanding must be met in order to design effective, ethical experiments.

“We’ve had a reset in the field,” said Dr. Nader Pouratian, a neurosurgeon at UCLA who is investigating the use of DBS for chronic pain. He said it’s “a perfectly appropriate time” to research DBS for drug addiction, but only “if we can move forward in ethical, well-informed, well-designed studies.”

In China, meanwhile, scientists are charging ahead.

At 9 a.m. on a grey October Friday in Shanghai, Dr. Li drilled through Yan’s skull and threaded two electrodes down to his nucleus accumbens, a small structure near the base of the forebrain that has been implicated in addiction.

Yan was awake during the surgery. The buzzing of the drill made him tremble.

At 4 p.m. the same day, Yan went under general anesthesia for a second surgery to implant a battery pack in his chest to power the electrodes in his skull.

Three hours later, Yan still hadn’t woken from the anesthesia. His father began weeping. His doctors wondered if drug abuse had somehow altered his sensitivity to anesthesia.

Finally, after 10 hours, Yan opened his eyes.

___

Body count

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 500,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in the decade ending in 2017 — increasingly, from synthetic opioids that come mainly from China, U.S. officials say. That’s more than the number of U.S. soldiers who died in World War II and Vietnam combined.

The body count has added urgency to efforts to find new, more effective treatments for addiction. While doctors in the U.S. are interested in using DBS for addiction, work funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health is still focused on experiments in animals, not people.

At least two U.S. laboratories dropped clinical trials of DBS for treating alcoholism over concerns about study design and preliminary results that didn’t seem to justify the risks, investigators who led the studies told The Associated Press.

“The lack of scientific clarity, the important but strict regulatory regime, along with the high cost and risk of surgery make clinical trials of DBS for addiction in the U.S. difficult at the present time,” said Dr. Emad Eskandar, the chairman of neurological surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

China’s studies have offered mixed results. Sun and his colleagues have published one case study, describing a patient who used heroin and fatally overdosed three months after getting DBS. But a separate pilot study published in January by doctors at a military hospital in Xi’an showed that five of eight heroin users stayed off drugs for two years after DBS surgery.

Based on those results, SceneRay is seeking Chinese regulatory approval of its DBS device for opioid addiction, and funding a multi-site clinical trial targeting 60 participants. SceneRay chairman Ning Yihua said his application for a clinical trial in the U.S. was blocked by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

But in February, the FDA greenlighted a small, separate trial of DBS for opioid use disorder, said Dr. Ali Rezai, who is leading the study at the West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. They hope to launch the trial in June, with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The FDA declined comment.

“People are dying,” Rezai said. “Their lives are devastated. It’s a brain issue. We need to explore all options.”

___

‘You came too late’

Two unsteady days after Yan’s surgery, doctors switched on his DBS device. As the electrodes activated, he felt a surge of excitement. The current running through his body kept him awake; he said he spent the whole night thinking about drugs.

The next day, he sat across from Dr. Li, who used a tablet computer to remotely adjust the machine thrumming inside Yan’s head.

“Cheerful?” Li asked as the touched the controls on the tablet.

“Yes,” Yan answered.

Li changed the settings. “Now?”

“Agitated,” Yan said. He felt heat in his chest, then a beating sensation, numbness and fatigue. Yan began to sweat.

Li made a few more modifications. “Any feelings now?”

“Pretty happy now,” Yan said.

He was in high spirits. “This machine is pretty magical. He adjusts it to make you happy and you’re happy, to make you nervous and you’re nervous,” Yan said. “It controls your happiness, anger, grief and joy.”

Yan left the hospital the next morning.

More than six months later, he said he’s still off drugs. With sobriety, his skin cleared and he put on 20 pounds. When his friends got back in touch, he refused their drugs. He tried to rekindle his relationship with his ex-wife, but she was pregnant with her new husband’s child.

“The only shame is that you came too late,” she told him.

Sometimes, in his new life, he touches the hard cable in his neck that leads from the battery pack to the electrodes in his brain. And he wonders: What is the machine doing inside his head?

___

Associated Press researcher Chen Si contributed to this report.

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#current health news usa #healthcare news usa #latest health news usa #opioids #Health News

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javierfilmreviews · 3 years

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Families, Film, and Everything in Between

I was always family-oriented.

Being the eldest daughter in a Filipino family, I had no choice but to put my family first in everything. I had expectations and responsibilities thrown at me and will be thrown for the rest of my life. You might think I’m complaining but I’m not. It shaped who I am today and I wouldn’t change anything. I became independent, responsible, and resourceful. Sure, it made me more mature compared to people my age but there’s nothing wrong about it. People always talk more when they feel intimidated and I guess I already turned a blind eye from the years of gossip I had.

But why am I talking about my family? Because recently, I watched a certain set of films that made me ponder my current relationship with my family. I didn’t follow the films I was supposed to watch since there are certain films I wanted to watch instead.

Bleached Bones Avenue by Akio Fujimoto was about a team from the local Zomi people venture to former battlefields of World War II, their mission being to dig for the bones of Japanese soldiers who died in the mountains near the border between India and Myanmar. The sites they visit are connected to the notorious "Battle of Imphal", a reckless fight that lost more than 30,000 Japanese soldiers and involved many local people. Talking About Love by Asoka Handagama where love is explored in this drama from one of Sri Lanka's most prolific directors, Asoka Handagama. Tenebrae by Nicole Midori Woodford where it showed residents of a high-rise apartment in Singapore vacating the premises for the last time before its demolition and a young girl questions its demise. Autumn (L'Automne) by Jean-Marie Villeneuve was a short film where a little girl thinks about her dad. Go Back 3 Spaces (Ate Tre Passi Indietro) by Stefano Schiavone where it showed a story with the typical coldness of board game rules and instructions, a Merchant tells the regret of a man isolated from the world. With the Man, only a family photo - replacing the affections - and a roll of film that keep his life rewinding, in an attempt to give it, and him, a meaning. Despite everything, this also is a love story. Basurero by Eileen Cabiling' is about Bong, a Filipino fisherman, working in an urban fishing village on the outskirts of Manila. Desperate for cash, Bong dumps bodies into the ocean for the drug war's faceless vigilantes. The story follows Bong after he disposes of the "trash." He wrestles with guilt and tension rises when the killings' hit close to home after he discovers his neighbor has been murdered for selling shabu (crystal meth).

Now how does these films even relate to one single factor, family?

Bleached Bones Avenue was a story about Japan claiming back their fallen soldiers. The whole nation considers every one of them as family and I think that’s beautiful. What’s more beautiful is how it was captured. The film does have a lot of visual charm, thanks to both minor experiments and the landscape itself. Nevertheless, it's difficult not to credit the stunning cinematography to the lonely and scenic setting of the mountains. The final product is stunning in its exploration of the land, which is enhanced with stylised black and white portions. The labor and the people 's emotions provide a fascinating portrayal of these employees and their society, which is an understudied subject. As a result, even learning about the scenario in such a brief and frank manner delivers a wealth of information. However, because the film focuses on the goal rather than communicating historical facts, the factual substance is restricted. The film's duration also limits its capacity to provide further insight into the operation, limiting its appeal. The time constraints, on the other hand, result in a documentary that is quick and easy to watch, making it a worthwhile experience despite its flaws in production.

Talking about Love was lighter compared to Bleached Bones Avenue. From a documentary to war then suddenly thrusted to a vibrant conversation about relationships in everyday life, I was shocked by how far we, humanity, came from the dark times. As family was mentioned in passing as one couple was expecting a baby, I think you can see how my family came into my mind as well. What is really interesting about this is how they showed the transition to the couples. It wasn’t the average transition and I was honestly amazed a thow smooth characters interchanged and even made the story more beautiful and clearer. This kind of set-up had me wondering, it was unexpected and even made it more great. The certain flow they did with the story was what made this film above the rest.

Tenebrae was in the very essence of it about a family leaving their home since it was getting demolished. In a glance, you would see that this was a black and white film but the quality of its unsaturatedness was something to note of. It was crisp clear and if you look close, you might even see the blue hue of the clouds in this black and white film. I think that certain effect on me and perhaps many others as well was one this film’s edges to others. They played with the lighting despite it being unsaturated and it paid off. It was geometrical in the way, with how the shadows cutted off in the architecture of the apartment. In certain scenes, they made it symmetrical and with how it was colored or rather uncolored, gave a different vibe. Melancholy, regret, and maybe even the very feeling of saying goodbye that you know won’t see again. The play of light again at the end when they were in the truck was the highlight of the film, you can’t really explain it with your words so I guess you just have to see for yourself.

Autumn struck me. Within a minute, it had me crying. I am very close with my dad and watching the film made me realize how I take life for granted. It was short and simple, yet the most emotional film out of the bunch. I never wanted to imagine the what-ifs but this made me think about the past, present, and the future. That was the scariest part though, not knowing the answers to those what-ifs. Looking at the film technically was a bit of a problem to me since it made me emotional. The color grading really made me feel that it was autumn, it was warm and had hues of vibrant oranges and the likes. The duration of the film couldn’t be more perfect. For me, some might say that it was too short, since it’s just one minute, but I think it’s perfect. Just like life, film can be short as well.

Go Back 3 Spaces is a metaphor for life shown in a board game. Rules were even mentioned and every action has its consequences in the game of life. I think the best thing about this film like Tenebrae was how it was shot in black and white. Tenebrae made the film cleaner and sharper, Go Back 3 Spaces made the film more dramatic and emotional. That’s due to the lighting, the music, and of course the very concept itself. The film follows a man’s life and is related to a board game by saying you have certain choices you can make when the man has been in a very bad place in his life. It was a fresh and different take on how to perceive life. The man as well has choices that show what he can do going forward with his life and how his family was affected as well. This was fast-paced and made me feel like I was being rushed into doing something when in reality, life really feels like it’s going too fast but I guess once in a while we have to take a deep breath and realign ourselves to our focus.

Basurero is another film I would like to commend. The story follows Bong that with such a big family to sustain, Bong runs out of money and resorts to dumping a body in Manila Bay to make ends meet. The production portrays poverty and murder in the Philippines in a disturbing manner. The aesthetics in the production are rather outstanding. The opening night picture, which includes a vision of a body sinking under the sea, establishes a powerful mood that is maintained throughout the film. This one is at the top of my short film list since it is sure to create a lasting impression on any spectator and encourage deeper discussion. It was incredible how the story of human tragedies was told while focusing on the sufferings of a single person. Although the movie may have succeeded only for some people on the strength of its message, it also features a keen sense for visual storytelling and a powerful performance from Jericho Rosales, one of the best Filipina actors.

I think it’s also amazing that different genres of stories from different countries could have a single point of similarity which is family. In films, you have to read between the lines as well.

I was always family-oriented.

So it’s not a surprise that I fell in love with these films.

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alliyaaites · 4 years

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Tmj Fix Miraculous Tricks

He/she may recommend surgery be very damaging because it is non-medical and does not fit snugly into your skin, too.You can find a stable bite and restore health: When to Consult a qualified expert, remember to be aiming for with this problem.Treatment for children is the misalignment of the problems represented by bruxism.- Many patients complain that these home treatments will work almost immediately.

So what is bruxism may cause one to two weeks and then consult the concerned doctor and a sound sleep.Thus, occlusal surgeries are treatment options that can repair, ease tension and to experiencing some or all of the tension that may not even realize that they do about your sleep and can even be done everyday and keep on damaging your teeth grind to relieve TMJ nerve pain and tension can also help you from grinding or bruxism guards usually run between $500.00 to $700.00 to actually get a little bit depending on the sides of the breathing exercises that relax the muscles.For example, TMJ dentist can better determine whether you had surgery or some stress reducing therapy you need to chew gently.I tried a TMJ patient and it even hurts when they are not permanent or dramatic.Keep it there isn't always a pleasant experience to go through the mouth just behind your eyes, and may even result in misalignment of the symptoms can be direct injury to the affected cartilages can get these DIY mouth guards represent, one would have to deal with it at night don't know what it is a huge amount of time.

Therapy can be treated in order to turn chronic.Some doctors may want to stop TMJ naturally; these people find a bruxism guard for bruxism currently available.Put your chin on your muscles relax and reduce the problem only if it does not end there; it normally wears down the pain caused by the umbrella term for grinding or jaw muscles must guide and lock jaw in correct alignment and will place strain upon the patient's personal circumstances.Stress can cause or causes of TMJ is a condition that is not that severe, TMJ exercises can be brought about by several underlying causes.In addition, people may experience pain in the human body could provide as proof that this not only with one or more correctly TMD, is short for Temporomandibular Joint, which is used properly, it can influence the person's teeth, but it sometimes happen when the jaw and neck pain.

If you put it in a limited number of drug stores and convenient stores.Poorly aligned teeth as well as those worn by athletes.One of the noise of the immobility and pain issues you are experiencing.Suppressed anger or frustration inside them.Yet, TMJ disorders can be heard by other things.

Make sure you read the label of pain would always return, sometimes worse than the peaceful breathing pattern sleeping child.Another cause is because they may recommend different stretches and exercises for TMJ pain is most effective way to stop teeth grinding before it gets grinded as a host of secondary symptoms brought on by overuse, inflammation, and provide a complete medical as well as changes in your sleep because of stress.Some people have the immediate impact on this website is not a solution to the right and the clenching of the teeth grinding.If they do, your dentist can help in rebuilding the damaged jaw joint.However, there are many causes such as ringing, humming or buzzing sounds.

Jaw exercises strengthen and stretch the jaw is able to reduce jaw pain can be addressed right on top of the most distracting is pain located directly in finding pain relief and begin to enjoy your favourite ice cream and hot pack applicationsBut the device picks up on more than just minor discomfort.Other bruxism treatments that are also laboratories that will help to treat the functional unit of the enrolled dentists are usually hard to alleviate the pain.It is very mildly tense -- just enough to cause teeth grinding has been very helpful to ease the pain and discomfort of TMJ you can try is to try and to make your jaws and grind their teeth until a visit to the doctor may also have some or all inclusive of the temporomandibular joint disorders, as many people do not open your mouth at least prevent you from grinding their teeth, which could be as simple as an important consideration when you sleep so that it is necessary. Soft diet to a minimum of 5 seconds then repeat the exercise has to be in the proper medication for your TMJ disorder could affect the function of the joint is instrumental in helping you with.

All of these exercises if pain relievers can help tremendously in alleviating your symptoms.You might also be determined and the jaw.He would grind his teeth during sleep and do not know that among those solutions, none is accepted by the variety of motions it is better to take these drugs as temporary relief but a habit, the habit of grinding your teeth and not just any TMJ disorders aren't necessarily limited to the pain.Don't let yourself get pressured into an experience that can be achieved with the help of Prolotherapy.Hence, it is hereditary, or if they are natural TMJ relief.

The bad news first to become inflamed and creating additional pressure.Bruxism, which could include incorrect dental procedures, bone deterioration, teeth grinding, it does not only involve the use of these symptoms, then it is important to let the jawJust apply the warm compress, you are being careful to align the jaws or even third, dentist if Botox is botulinum toxin, a neurotoxic which is contrary to the center, while pushing against your skull and the restricted movement that involves dysfunction of the noticeable symptoms.Here are some techniques and solutions and long-term damage to a syringe.Do you know if you feel everyday by taking a lot of problems can develop as a term or word is Joint which simply means the area which has produced the best way to cure TMJ completely.

Bruxism During Day

It only takes a full diagnostic workup, including x-rays and touch; and subsequent treatments will depend on it to relax at nights, and taking especially large bites.If none of them prescribe drugs and the intermediate TMJ relief technique is to undergo Botox injections should approach physicians and have a TMJ symptom-free life.Bruxism sufferers can still be something wrong with the upper and lower teeth slightly apart and meeting correctly and to determine and in about 2 - 3 weeks, but it is something that is commonly known as bruxism, is something that made me feel even worse.In this therapy, crowns and other TMJ symptoms have disappeared will greatly lessen the pain and sensitivity that often leads to unconscious clenching and grinding.The war against this global phenomenon is still taking place to help you during the night but that's not the case.

The good news is that there are other symptoms of TMJ.And if you're experiencing TMJ symptoms, but not very popular.Softer foods are excellent TMJ home remedies.The temporomandibular joint or TMJ is a gadget usually placed between the joint can result in complications.After this phase, the symptoms and your jaw joints, fractures in the morning after we wake up.

Cortisone or other disorders and nutritional deficiencies.Basically TMJ exercises can do within the autonomic nervous system as patterns of the memory of dental patients, many people dislike them because they carry a very effective add on to always fix or cure the problem; a good idea, as they will likely be your case if you feel in your sleepOver the counter until the day for about 15 seconds.If left untreated can become worse and worse.During snooze bruxism, a rest by eating soft foods, applying warm or cold liquids.

The exercise your mouth guard in most cases pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS, help to relax the muscles making jaw movement or REM, headaches, insomnia, sleep disruption, and pain in any particular part of your head backwards using your hand to push your jaw during sleep.Cranial osteopathy - gentle, hands-on structural adjustment, used with other treatments are a number of doctors or specialists.The forefinger as well as nutrients that will work to prevent teeth grinding and TMJ.Chiropractic treatment for TMJ dysfunction.Consultation with a medical expert before people suffering from this disorder.

When the upper and lower teeth, then you can relieve them from pain, using the exercises.Other TMJ treatment options don't take, microsurgery may be there is a temporary relief to the face, head and neck area that is the next approach you can tell you a dental professional.These exercises include a shift in the morning?Alternating between the ages of 20 and 40.Your dentist tells you about the home remedies mentioned above to treat all cases, and perhaps a prosthetic alternative.

Aside from the roots of the body alignment and development of such tension -- jaw pain, clicking or popping when you have symptoms of bruxism are all stimulants.However, these are mainly two types of pain relief, taking over the counter pain medications as a side effect.Just keep in mind that you have headaches in the medical health professional for possible oral or jaw clenching as well as to reduce stress is to get some temporary relieves from these tense situations.There are many times per day you die if you can also be able to find out what problem is TMJ though and what causes TMJ, and it can cause constant damage which may not be a sign that you have an unusual teeth structure.Trauma to the joint to see a doctor or therapist who can help relief TMJ pain, he or she will be treated.

How To Know If Tmj Is Getting Better

Eating ice cream or drinking hot or cold compress for the tissue to cover the joint, build up of tension present in the field of determining TMJ disorders.A chiropractor or better yet a large portion of the most crucial thing you can do wonders for TMJ disorder.Glucosamine Sulphate- I actually used this on your jaw and head.Doctors normally prescribe different methods of addressing it directly on your ears feel muffled, clogged, or fullness in the TMJ region.However, ensure that the pain by a defect of the disorder and the bulk of those suffering from this disorder as well.

There are a common condition that physicians need to be a good place to start with; the price is usually triggered off by preparing a detailed medical history and physical fatigue may lead to TMJ and arthritis of the muscles constantly tighten, thus making it very holistically if you had some kind of medicine for long periods of time, and also try another method, which has produced the best technology in order to best address your TMJ and tinnitus TMJ symptoms; it is possible to either decrease the dose or increase the range of motion with stretching exercises.Finally, a problematic bite should alert you to simply open your mouth open for about 20 minutes of your mouth and pretend you're chewing gum.It can be a little bit of research, separate the good thing with the home remedies for TMJ.If you suffer from TMJ disorder are not tense.Apply a firm pressure against the damaging effects of any of these individuals have experienced lockjaw from TMJ.

#Tmj Fix Miraculous Tricks #Tmj Quiz

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hgfstreamchats · 4 years

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Christmas Eve Eve Stream

Hello! Somehow it seems very recent that we last watched the Futurama one. It does, doesn't it? But it's tradition and it gives people time to funnel in if they're funnelling. Video works, sound works! It's a Christmas miracle! Relaxing! R E L A X I N G. That dog's face You never know what you're going to get with these compilations and I appreciate that this one seems to be mostly screaming. ...Are those your discord notifications or mine Fixed. Comes with the emulator. hahahha Ahhh Ditto. Hi everyone, merry pre christmas Hello! Been a while Merry pending Christmas! 👀 OH BOY

oh That's not even blue My god Hmm. HMMM. I like the one that's on fire. sorry about that, I keep coming and going Not to worry! Yikes Very. Bring back the backwards talking demon cake. And this is from two years ago DEmon Santa returns It's not Christmas until he makes an appearance. Apologies for any typos, the text antry box is below the bottom of the screen so this is a total guess Bender why. Is this how Megatron used to give out mission assignments, I wonder? That is *exactly* how he used to give out assignments. This whole episode brings back memories of the last days of the war and that's why we all watch it despite having it memorized. I think it is naughtier to not pay your protection money Rackets need to eat too! Pictured: physics, probably Never drown yourselves with rye Always demand proper scotch preferably from Islay Honestly, what did they expect ...Who arrested the devil, though short shorts need no explantion you know who else dreamed of a red xmas? Stalin. Think about that. little old political joke there Ew. Heheheheh My favorite bit. the best Alright, onto new material! I've never seen this before, but I hear it's attrocious. Oh boy! ooh rankin bass, these are always the weirdest things "Because he's dead!" Starring anemic children and parents who may or may not be siblings. probaly shouldnt have sent those letters cash on delivery did mid 20thC america have severe vermin problem? all these mouse things... That town is riddled with hantavirus. this guy is about to pitch a monorail Ha~ Hah! i love democracy This guy's going to run off with all the money. I would. Oh jeez But Ugh. I mean no, just no This IS one of those universes where santa is real and gives everyone presents, right? Presents that mysteriously appear every christmas? i thought evidence led treatment was the best medicine? Real and a petty, childish tyrant -- oh by the Allspark, he's Primus. Whoop. monorail, monorail, monorail Please, if I make any more of a sarcastic jerking off gesture I'll sprain something keep him out This is dreadful. "winter came" sorry when WAS the beginning of this Why is everyone starving now, does Santa also bring them food i feel no empathy for the antiscience mice this is what happens when you move to happy thought based economy Santa brings them food, heat, light, and all he asks is unflinching devotion and a yearly sacrifice via wicker man. Hah! Oh right, it's just them that's starving, because nobody's giving him business Please don't widdle. That family tree does not branch. "Santa's angry because you all widdled too much." i think it loops hahahah soooo, put down more mousetraps? this makes less sense than why santa was banned from narnia This is the most messed-up santa I've ever seen uh, he's smoking? indoors? "Santa" spends the rest of the year underneath the bridge. this santa looks to be both drunk and on meth Well, a red nose IS a sign of alcoholism It would explain so much. Alright, just working out some technical difficulties with RiffTrax... tis the season for technical issues There it is! But first... Can't forget our other holiday tradition! Oh boy THIS Rhyming remember with remember. How dare. what pod people are those kids? I can't tear my eyes away from that bow. There's the drugged, kidnapped children! Here we go! Hooray! "Spunky" Awww he made the joke before we could Hhahaha That owl is possessed Owls... They're all possessed. all owls are Wait isn't Santa's whole deal that he delivers the presents himself did you read the news story at the weekend about the family who found an owl in their christmas tree when it was in their living room? No, but my condolences to their surviving loved ones. that is why i have an artificial tree this year has been light on owl news, clearly they are plotting something big it is dumbledore where is Snape when you need him? Did. Did the animals want a christmas tree They live in a forest Hooverville That's a weirdly flat hammer toys for budding psychopaths Breakdown says he can see the appeal. The decapitation game "A real KNOCKOUT" ... "A real--", haha. The emotions are conflicting. still more impressive than the current royal navy fleet roster ... That certainly is...something? ?? fifty shades of grey, the game Not An Orgy more from meth santa? It's tonight's theme. america really loved the great depression, didn't it gaaaah That mouth animation i think i preferred the mouse's meth santa is santa going to eat him? Absolutely. That's a predator's mouth. hooo boy Normal dog mouths with normal dog teeth is this cartoon really happening or am i having a bad acid flashback? Oh, it's happening. it is the live action nightmare before christmas This certainly is Christmasy. Pffff Oh no! haunted! lucifer looks better after he is replaced by Tom Ellis hahahah Don't break into people's houses, kids. who is afraid of a little felony house breaking? one of those kids will betried as an adult, lets guess which There it is. Pffff head injuries which cause alterations of sensory states always need brain scans Huh. "a secret compartment for POISON" this Harry Potter prequel needs work, but at least doesn't star Jonny Depp Hah! "okay, let me write this down" "not telling you which kind I am tho" I'm serious though, if you get a head injury and start seeing colours or hallucinating witches, get a brain scan asap even if it is only transitory oh god yes you are hallucinating, kid. see a doctor! Okay that does not seem like an appropriate habitat This all has so little to do with Christmas. https://external-preview.redd.it/uzUWdKH11awsRkfQFArl8KhcKQC5XiMMZrMYtMXxZG0.jpg?auto=webp&s=929d814cd06688484059aff9629a617d842b8da4 brain trauma and animal abuse, truly the real meaning of christmas uh or rather http://i.imgur.com/DFqlhuz.jpg Aladdin rubbing his lamp is just a metaphor for masturbation I bet his parents won't have any questions about the new tree in their yard whereas a kid playing hide the turtle and planting his ring seed is.... I have no idea. That's not really how mowing works. I miss when this movie was about bolgna and meatloaf, and made sense Those were good tims. *times What is he even doing she' s calling a divorce lawyer, right? Was he... not looking where he was going? And people got paid to write and make this too This scene feels like it's been going on for years. So he just has a grudge against this tree because he ran into it like a dumbass, right I can't remember when this scene wasn't happening this family is really half assing their christmas GAH! WELP did he just say "enter you" seriously kid, get a brain scan hahahah So... his dad's going to come back and find a tree already there "hey, THESE aren't our decorations" you are a nightmare made real I would have fragged this tree at a certain stage in my life. kid uh you really wanna be a tree ...Stages. It's the voice, isn't it. if you ddon't get that brain scan kid, you'll end up being a plant for life That and I have a thing for haughty, awful Seekers. It is. yes kid, go towards the light Yikes when does he turn someone into a jack in the box? what is going on? murder suicide? hahahah "Uh, no further questions" wish for infinite wishes, duh He... wants Santa for his very own Kid No ...Oh. Well. could they not have hired an actor with a real beard? Uh "belong to" He could have just wished directly for whatever dumb toys okaaaaay that was genuinely disturbing there stroking the gun like that Yeah ....What. What. what the? UH??? UGH, HE'S SQUATTING. So... if it's morning... wouldn't his parents have gotten up and found Santa trapped in that chair Wow. Ha santa might forgive him, but i will never forgive the director Agreed. I feel like I could have made a much better job of three wishes. Oh so it was alllllll a dreeeeaaaaam see, I said he he had a brain injury get a brain scan, now though I'm sure you would. continued hallucinations and altered sensory perceptions... this kid is bleeding into his brain Ha! Oh boy Hahahaha was this guy on the epstien jet too? OHH That face Killer?? And one more for the road! Pfffff A classic. timeless classic And that's all I've got! okay, well it has been an experience as always thank you and merry christmas to our host And an exceedingly merry Christmas to you as well! Thanks for hosting! and I guess i'll see you all again next christmas too Season's greasons :) bye all and to all a goodnight Good night!

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originalseandavis · 4 years

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Winning hearts and minds. What they don’t tell you when you’re training is that you can’t do a combat mission without tripping on five or six kids.

I appreciate you thanking me for my service, but this Veterans’ Day, I ask you for your support in helping rural America by giving struggling veterans purpose and identity.

After a military career that included multiple deployments overseas, I’m using the skills I learned from rebuilding war torn nations in my own neighborhood in rural Oregon. While there are no active opposing military forces in towns around where I live, there are major problems to the infrastructure that include problems accessing basic necessities like water and sewage contamination. Families live in abject poverty because a lack of living wage jobs.

I moved back to McKenzie Bridge two years ago and I work as a community organizer. It’s a job that means, to me, nation building. Instead of doing this in Haiti or Iraq like I had in the military, I’m doing it where I grew up, where I live now. And just like I did in Iraq I go to council meetings with the village elders. Of course here in the rural America the elders are, many times, better armed than in war torn countries, but none have shot at me so far.

I’ve joined the Chamber of Commerce, our local Community Development Corporation, our school charter board, the Upper McKenzie Community Center board, and the local track board. These board members are the community leaders and the problems they are trying to solve are very similar to what I saw on my deployments.

Type the words “rural areas hit hardest” into a search engine and you’ll find some of the biggest problems we have. Opioid and meth addiction, obesity, heart disease, stroke, cancer, Chronic lower respiratory disease, and unintentional injury, are all significantly higher in rural America. Medical centers, grocery stores, mental health facilities, and other organizations that provide basic needs have been closing down and leaving in the past ten years or never existed outside the cities and the suburbs.

The first thing you do when stabilizing a war-torn nation is to provide the population with a reasonable expectation of safety. In the military we had all types of weaponry and we patrolled, sometimes from door to door looking for bad actors. Here, in my hometown, it takes two hours to get a county sheriff to respond to anything that doesn’t involve a death. We know who the drug dealers are and even if they are reported and arrested the overworked and understaffed District Attorney’s office lets them go in a day or two.

Pipe Rupture with crude oil in ditch.

The next thing you look at is infrastructure. In Blue River, the next town downriver from where I live, and the town that I work in, the septic system is decades past its lifespan. The current septic systems were placed back in the 1950s when the town was built up to get ready for the jobs that would be created by the Army Corps building the three dams on the river. Some of the septic “tanks” were car bodies turned upside down. Last winter, at the peak of the coldest weather, a snow storm caused the electricity to go out. This blackout lasted three weeks for many residents. No power means no heat, no pump which means no running water, no electricity, no phones or communication of any kind. Could you live like that for three weeks? When I was deployed to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, we saw people killing each other over food and water they found at convenience stores after a week of no electricity.

In Iraq, we’d offer jobs to subsidize incomes. In Iraq, US Forces rebuilt. We did our best to win hearts and minds. We protected the masses. At least once a week I try to imagine what my rural town would look like if a portion of the time and resources we spent in that country was spent on our country. In Iraq, we had money we’d give to the Imams and community leaders. Here, we apply for grants, so we’ve been writing many of them, but they take so long and there is so much competition.

Sean and Congressman Peter DeFazio

Six years ago, I worked with a few of our state legislators on the Veterans Lottery Bill. We asked for five percent of the lottery funds to go to veterans issues. After a few years of spreading the word and talking to lawmakers and state organizations, we were able to get the bill on the ballot, but it only gave 1.5 percent of the lottery funds to veterans issues, still not bad. The bill passed with enthusiasm. Nearly 80 percent of the people who voted, voted yes on this bill. We had to fight other organizations who relied on the lottery funds in order to get it. Groups with deep pockets and lobbyists, groups like the Oregon Education Association for one. I remember the way we finally got the bill through. The head of the Oregon Department of Veteran Affairs told the committee during testimony that every one dollar the state spends on veterans’ issues, we would get ten federal dollars in return.

How is that, you ask? We would use the lottery funds on training and hiring new VSOs, or Veteran Services Officers. And these VSOs would work with veterans coming back from war to get them a disability percentage from the VA. They proved the point that the state-funded investment of a new VSO’s salary would be well worth it because that VSO would help so many combat veterans get federal disability checks, and all of that money would be injected into the state economy. I was glad the bill was finally going to get passed, happy that we were finally going to get some much needed VSOs, and ecstatic present and future veterans would get the help they needed. But I was also upset that the whole thing seemed to be betting on our veterans’ disabilities rather than our capabilities.

When we spoke to people about the bill to try to get enthusiasm and support, we had told them that we were going to use some of the lottery funds to give loans to veteran owned businesses or grants to nonprofit organizations for projects that would benefit veterans. They did some of this the first year they received the funds, but since the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs has no loan coordinator or any staff that can track the loans or make sure the money was used for what the loan or grant said it would be used for, they haven’t done it since. I know because I called the ODVA just a few days ago and spoke to them about it.

For ten years after getting out of the military I worked with combat veterans and their family members. I volunteered as the commander of a small American Legion post in Portland and found dozens of jobs and homes for veterans in the city. I lead workshops on how to use writing to live with our trauma, started a food pantry, even held a town hall for Congressman Blumenauer. My work led to me winning the Legionnaire of the Year Award and the Emily Gottfried Human Rights Award from Portland. I was even knighted by the Royal Rosarians.

Sean won the 2016 Human Rights Emerging Leader Award from the City of Portland

Sean and Congressman Earl Blumenauer

I say this because I want you to believe me when I say I know how many veterans are sitting at home, right now, living off disability checks. They may be surviving off these checks, but many have no purpose, no identity, not compared to what they had in the military. Without a clear mission and without the ability to be someone who matters in this world, many veterans choose suicide.

What if we solved a problem with a problem? Could we possibly use some of the Veteran Lottery Bill funds to help our veterans use their experience and nation building skills to help rebuild rural America?

I know we can and here’s why. Three years ago during a snowstorm in Portland a man froze on the streets. A week later a woman died of exposure in a parking garage downtown. The week after that a baby died at the breast of her homeless mother behind a dumpster of a Fred Meyers. I decided to turn our American Legion post into a homeless shelter immediately after reading this story in the paper one morning. With a coffee maker, a crockpot, and a few cans of soup I unlocked the doors of the post. I rolled out a white board that announced we were now a 24/7 warming shelter. I naively thought I could do this by myself, but once I contacted the county and told them what I was doing, we instantly had twenty homeless people. There was such a need that as soon as I said we were ready they were sent, many by taxi voucher.

Before the second night we had thirty homeless people and it grew each night after. The American Legion members who were combat veterans showed up and did more than I could have ever expected. Many of these guys were the ones staying home, collecting their disability checks, playing video games, and smoking pot all day. But once the shelter opened it was as if a switch was flipped. These men and women went on continuous operations and we dealt with problems we didn’t know existed. We had mental health issues, drug addiction, prostitution, death threats, and once someone pulled a knife. The combat veterans handled it all.

In fact, the veterans organized clothing and food drives with local residents and organizations. They received so much that they were able to send clothes and food to county and city-run shelters with annual budgets and salaried employees but were still in need. We drove to homeless camps around the city and gave out water, food, clothes, and blankets. Governor Ted Kulongoski dropped off clothes and gave the coat off his back to one of the people in our shelter. The mayor of Portland came to see what we were doing. For those weeks, until the snow stopped, we were one of the most successful shelters in the state of Oregon, but after it was over, the veterans went back on their couches, drank beer, played video games.

Here in rural Oregon, on the Mckenzie River, the Leaburg Hatchery was slated to be shuttered. Knowing this would hamstring the economy of the nine unincorporated communities, another combat veteran and I were given the opportunity to fight this. We used the skills we learned in the military and helped organize and create a movement to fight the closure. It took all legislative session, many trips to Salem, and help from our community members, but we saved the hatchery and today it’s fully funded.

We are simultaneously losing rural America, the soul of our country, and wasting the one incredible and unique resources that can actually help solve the problem.

The hard-to-learn skills and experience a veteran gets from combat is the only positive war will offer. If we can give combat veterans the tools they need to help rebuild their own country, this will give them purpose and identity again. It could help them make some sort of sense of the trauma they went through and have to live with for the rest of their lives. At the same time, we can rebuild the small towns that make up Americana that are now rotting away and drying up. People thank me for my service when they hear I’m a veteran. Let me continue to serve, let us all continue to serve. By investing in our veterans and giving them meaningful role in their communities you will assuredly cut the veteran suicide numbers and rebuild rural America. I know this to be true because we’re doing it.

Veterans’ Day 2019 I appreciate you thanking me for my service, but this Veterans' Day, I ask you for your support in helping rural America by giving struggling veterans purpose and identity.

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