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qqueenofhades · 2 years

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You know, it remains absolutely wild to me how... like... we know exactly who is responsible for this, where, when, and why. There's a short list of like 10 people. It looks like this:

Donald Trump, for being a fascist narcissistic grifter, con man, and criminal, who nonetheless managed to weaponise enough white grievance, backlash against Obama, voter apathy, Clinton smears from the Republican slime machine, and leftist moral posturing to get elected as President and have three Supreme Court picks, all of which were obtained dishonestly;

Mitch McConnell, for being the absolute worst, not to mention proudly on record as wanting to obstruct everything a Democratic president ever does, a power-hungry shriveled racist who refused to even hold hearings for Merrick Garland and then filled that seat with Neil Gorsuch, colluded with Trump to force Anthony Kennedy to suddenly retire and install drunken sex abuser frat boy Brett Kavanaugh, then jammed Amy Coney Barrett onto the bench to fill RBG's seat, eight days before the 2020 election, in brazen open hypocrisy of everything he had said about SCOTUS and election years, since the only principle that matters to him is maintaining Republican power;

Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett themselves, for doing exactly what they were put on the court by theocratic dark money fundamentalist operatives to do, and joining Bush-era fascists Thomas, Roberts, and Alito to overrule Roe vs Wade, as the culmination of decades of deliberate and openly stated Republican policy;

Rupert Murdoch and the Fox News disinformation ecosystem, for creating the alternate reality that made Trump possible and continues to empower his sycophants, supporters, cronies, and other bad actors, and generated much of the anti-Clinton slime and smears that made their way into the mainstream, were endlessly repeated by so-called respectable media outlets like the NY Times, and poisoned the American electorate, already disposed to misogyny, against the most qualified (and historic) Democratic Presidential candidate there has likely ever been;

James Comey, for deciding to issue the "we are still investigating HER EEEEMAILS!" letter a week before the 2016 election, which took just enough off Clinton's increasingly narrow margins to put Trump over the top thanks to the rigged and racist Electoral College, which has often functioned exactly as designed in helping non-popular-vote-winning Republican presidents into power;

Vladimir Putin, for running a well-attested and repeatedly confirmed wide-ranging disinformation and interference campaign in the 2016 election to boost Trump, the Kremlin's pet stooge, and discredit Clinton, as part of his overall and equally well-attested scheme to disrupt and destroy Western liberal democratic institutions and boost Russian power;

And like... in terms of direct, locatable, empirically provable concrete responsibility, that's it. I'm even being charitable and leaving Bernie off this list, though I feel that he played a major part in creating both the 2016 clusterfuck and the "I'm too good to ever vote unless for my perfect socialist messiah" attitude that now prevails among much of the Online Left. That is a small number of names. Their actions are all verifiable in public records and a wide variety of news sources, both partisan and non-partisan. (Protip, anything you can only find in one news source that precisely matches your own ideological beliefs is, uh, deeply suspect.) I'm a historian. I work with verifiable facts and evidence, even if they might lead me to conclusions that I personally don't like. And any wide-sweeping broad generalisation, with absolutely no specific evidence or sources cited, is... not how it works and will get you a bad mark on an essay or research project every time.

So against this short list of 8 people, all demonstrably bad actors with bad motivations, what does your average Online Leftist do? They blame Obama, who "said he would codify Roe vs Wade and didn't!" Well, you might say, did Obama ever have a filibuster-proof pro-choice majority in the Senate? No, he didn't, but that's not an excuse, it just means he and Harry Reid didn't try hard enough (this already after McConnell's announcement about making Obama a one-term president and obstructing everything). Obama had the greatest financial meltdown since the Great Depression on his hands, and then spent all his political capital passing the Affordable Care Act, lost the House in 2010 as a result and the Senate in 2014, and which, despite being an actual, y'know, codified law, has been subject to literally hundreds of Republican challenges to gut, reverse, or overrule it as much as possible? YOU'RE JUST MAKING EXCUSES! WHO CARES ABOUT THE ECONOMY? OBAMA COULD HAVE DONE IT IF HE CARED AND FORESAW THE FUTURE!

Likewise, the left's other favorite scapegoat is RBG, for not "retiring in time" or otherwise precisely predicting the moment of her own death and who would be in office at the time. Literally no blame for McConnell, the one who actually and deliberately crammed the three illegitimate justices onto the bench in defiance of all protocol and precedent. So let's see... the so-called progressives are blaming a Democratic black man and a liberal Jewish woman for the actions of a bunch of evil Republican white men. Or the other laughable false equivalence I saw yesterday, which claimed that ever since the Democrats were elected in 2020, civil rights, LGBT rights, and now abortion rights were being stripped away (with the clear implication that it was their fault). This just happened on its own, I guess, and not because specific Republican-controlled state legislatures and the Republican-packed Supreme Court had deliberately done this as a strategy of pursuing and consolidating fascist power even after Trump's forced departure from the scene. Name one non-Joe Manchin/Kyrsten Sinema instance of the Democrats actively doing the same thing. I will wait.

This is not even to mention the leftists repeating straight-up QAnon propaganda about how Joe Biden is a racist sexist child molester and, I quote, "the literal scum of the earth." There are legitimate policy and performance grounds to criticise Biden on: his speech yesterday said all the right things, but it remains to be seen how much of a promised "whole of government" action will actually be made, including the available powers of the executive branch to which Biden, as chief executive, has access. His personal response has, at times, likewise seemed slow and flat-footed. But the Online Leftists have abandoned all pretense of a rational and reality-based critique, in favor of hurling the most overheated personal moral slanders possible, like the Puritans at a witch-burning. Again, I ask, we're supposed to believe that these are the progressives?

I saw a stat recently about how only 23% of American adults use Twitter. That is... not even one quarter of the country. Out of that, the Online Leftists are only a tiny percentage. These ideas are not popular or universal or just something that "everyone believes" outside of a carefully curated echo chamber. It may feel all-encompassing, but it's not, and frankly, its denizens seem to be interested in anything except building workable, practical coalitions, if it would mean taking any criticism or compromising on their exalted ideals (which, as I have noted throughout this post, really aren't as great as they seem). As I've said before, my own political views are as far left as it's possible to go, and yet, I doubtless will continue to receive more messages like the charming anon from the other day who told me to kill myself for being "bootlicking slime." This is how they like to communicate with people who otherwise agree with them on every policy level (at least as outwardly stated and certainly not as practiced). This... kind of seems like a problem.

I've likewise written before about how ideological revolutions to drastically remake societies with the Right Idea have never, ever succeeded, and only bring more pain, suffering, and death. To all those people preaching "revolution!" as the solution: you realize that all the idealistic young students manning the barricades in Les Miserables get shot, right? And that it's not an actual, legitimate political plan, not least because it isn't a plan? It's a reactive coping-mechanism magical-thinking wish that everything bad would just magically disappear in a burst of glory, and everything would be better now. It's comforting to daydream about, but it's not something any sane, rational adult really puts any stock in, since it's never something that has ever worked in history. What revolution? How? When? Surely you don't mean like the January 6 rioters, unless you do, since overthrowing the illegimate government with overwhelming violence is, oops, once again straight out of the right-wing playbook. Still waiting for those promised progressive ideals!

Basically, even in the unlikely event that they actually acquired it, I wouldn't trust the current crop of Online Leftists with power any more than I trust the Republicans, despite them outwardly sharing my beliefs and values. They haven't proven that they're interested in anything except punishing those who don't hold their exact narrow and rigid idea of "moral" views, blaming other people who again, think largely or entirely like them, threatening or using violence against anyone who disagrees with them, and finding ways to constantly excuse and ignore the actual perpetrators of illiberal Christofascism. All, again, while claiming to be progressive! Like the AO3 anti crowd, who thinks that perfect morality in the world can be achieved by aggressively and abusively policing the fiction that people write for fun in their free time, it's about using cult-like techniques and tactics to position the entire outside world as the morally inferior enemy and building in-group solidarity by attacking them. Which seems like, oh, I dunno... Trump supporters. Again. Womp womp.

I don't know. Call me an old person; I definitely am. But as terrible and cynical and generationally damaging as the Dobbs decision is, and how it represents the greatest legal denial of personhood and autonomy to American women in most of our lifetimes, there's something even worse about seeing the generation who claims to "know better" blaming the people who opposed it, excusing the people who did it, and then going straight into more nonsense about why it's not actually bad and/or twisting themselves into pretzels to invent the hypothetical (white, rich) woman who somehow won't be affected by this. Maybe that's just me in thinking that is a profoundly flawed and wrong response on literally every level, but you know, I suspect it's not. So yeah.

#hilary for ts #history #american history #politics for ts #long post

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fagcrisis · 22 days

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where did you watch that chris brookes drew parker match?? 👀 i’ve been trying to find it somewhere but can’t for the life of me

here it is babe bilibili's always got u. (chris brookes vs drew parker progress chapter 82 timestamps 1:20:00)

also while im here im just gonna drop some drew match recs for u all have funsiesssss

chris brookes & drew parker vs mao & shunma katsumata d-oh gp (2:06:41)

chris brookes vs drew parker for the ddt universal title 2020

yasufumi nakanoue & yuki ueno vs danshoku dino & drew parker ddt/bjw shuffle tag tournament 2020 (1:11:54)

drew parker vs john wayne murdoch (this is drews last american deathmatch before his retirement)

drew parker & violento jack vs effy & shlak free weapon style match freedoms/gcw

drew parker vs jun kasai (hes jesus in this one)

drew parker & abdullah kobayashi vs kun kasai & masashi takeda drews final deathmatch before his retirement

drew parker vs ryuji ito ikkitousen death match survivor final huge blood tw for this one he legit almost dies from blood loss but finishes the match bc hes crazy insane

drew parker vs suzu suzuki from suzu's deathmatch goodbye tour

#if i got any links wrong tell me #ive got a ton of drew matches saved but these r the ones i show ppl lol #wrassle #drew parker #rumini a zúzmaragyarmaton

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weirdowithaquill · 1 year

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Sodor: 1965-2020

Back when I talked about how Sodor would fuel its railways in the 2010's (find that post here), I said I'd talk about how Sodor would remain profitable into the modern era.

Well, with Murdoch the Mighty Engine now completed (find that here) it's finally time to really dive into what kept Sodor moving throughout the latter half of the twentieth century and into the 21st.

I'm going to go in event order - and yes, this is all canon to my Extended Railway Series.

1965: Breaking Away From British Rail:

In 1965, British Railways was pretty desperate for money. And I mean it. The BTC was losing around £300,000 a day in 1961. The company was not able to pay its loans, and that led to desperation and the Beeching cuts.

Sodor was at the time threatened with both the Peel Godred line and the Ffarquhar branch being drastically reduced in size or outright closed - and furthermore there was talk of Crovan's Gate Works being closed. The North Western Region was at the time chaired by Sir Charles Hatt, and he decided to take action.

This is where Sir Charles did perhaps the sneakiest piece of work in his entire career. For a man who was very above the board, this may come as a surprise.

Sir Charles was told by the BTC that if he could find 'the worth of the North-Western Region' - a number that they incorrectly overinflated to around £1,000,000. In comparison, 4472 Flying Scotsman cost £3,000 when bought by Alan Peglar.

Neither the NWR nor the Hatt family had that much money - and the railway, while profitable, did not make enough. So Sir Charles organised a secret backdoor deal with a different company to get the money.

Sir Charles went to the German Rail Company Deutsche Bundesbahn. He'd visited earlier that year and had witnessed the earliest development of the Linienzugbeeinflussung system (LZB) and had offered the Peel Godred branchline for further testing - only he needed the NWR to be independent before he could allow it, as BR didn't want anything to do with the tests.

The Deutsche Bundesbahn, ecstatic that someone wanted to basically hand over their railway to play guinea pig for a brand new untested system, forked over £1,000,000 in exchange for shares in the new NWR company and free access to the Peel Godred branch to test their LZB system.

Sir Charles Hatt gave British Railways the money, and on September 28th, the NWR was officially freed from BR, though the latter company got the rights to run trains to Tidmouth using their engines on 'trials'. The next day, Deutsche Bundesbahn was mysteriously given a massive share in the new company, and permission to test their new system.

1965-1979: Implementing LZB on Passenger Trains:

Siemens - the German company working with DB on their LZB system - opened a branch at Cronk to begin work on testing their LZB systems on the electric Peel Godred branch. Originally a hard-wired logic system only, testing on the Peel Godred and utilising the massive amount of energy harnessed at the hydroelectric dam, the system was quickly developed into a computer system.

While the Peel Godred electrics were able to handle the computers on board, the mainline proved to be a different challenge. Stephen Hatt, then working at Crovan's Gate to help him grow accustomed to the engines on the NWR, suggested renovating the old Mark I coaches BR was beginning to retire to have the LZB systems in them, connecting to the brake pipes. LZB coaches would have the letters 'LZB' printed on the front and sides of the coach to identify them.

On June 3rd, 1979, the last non-LZB passenger train left Tidmouth, a local train that ran as far as Cronk. From that point on, all passenger trains are meant to have an LZB coach at the front of the train, though there have been incidents were it was forgotten. When Pip and Emma were bought, LZB was placed straight in their cabs.

1966-1996: Modernising the Steam Fleet:

Edward went in for a heavy repair in 1965 after his 'exploit' and when he came out, he was a very different engine. The early stages of independence for the NWR were marked by very heavy tourist traffic. The Railway Series books were at the height of their popularity, and Sir Charles was finally free to advertise and profit from them. He organised a huge number of special trips throughout the latter half of 1965, culminating in Edward's infamous excursion. This raised enough money for the NWR to survive the winter season - and enough to begin modernising their steam fleet. Welding replaced riveting, and new superheaters and blastpipes were added. Edward was also the first NWR engine to gain roller bearings.

When Edward departed the Works in late 1966, he was much stronger than before, and certainly more capable! Oliver would gain the same upgrades upon arrival to the NWR, and over the next twelve years the entire rest of the fleet was rebuilt. New arrivals to the railway would undergo the same treatment, with Murdoch being gifted a kylchap blastpipe while being overhauled. Another factor of this period was extensive standardisation, which included funnel diameter, coupling rods, valve gear and cab window sizing.

Much of this ability to develop their steam engines came from the partnership with DB in Germany, which didn't withdraw its entire steam fleet until 1977.

1970-1996: Modernising the Diesel Fleet:

Starting in 1970, Sir Charles began to work on improving and standardising his fleet of diesel engines. BoCo, Bear and Daisy were all very different classes, and the cost of parts was beginning to mount, even after purchasing plenty of disposed parts from scrapyards across the country.

This was far more radical than what was done with the steam engines, and for good reason. While DB was the expert on Diesel-Hydraulic, it was also very expensive at a time when the NWR did not have all that much money to spare. The Little Western and Arlesdale Railway projects sucked up pretty much all the money the railway made at this time. So, they simply took the engines inside BoCo and Bear and replaced them. Entirely. Sir Charles bought excess Sulzer engines which were being fitted to the Class 47 and fitted them to his two big diesels. He did have to move... a lot of stuff internally - this was a rebuild unlike any other, and it kept them both out of service for a very long time. But by the end, he had forcibly standardised BoCo and Bear. Then Derek came along, and Sir Charles was forced to figure something else out for him. This was in the end achieved by taking the engines used by Daisy and jamming them into Derek. Except more of them, and turbocharged. Remarkably, this also worked (after a lot of screaming and huffing by the Crovan's Gate foreman!)

Bert, Diesel and Arry were far easier for Sir Charles and Sir Stephen, all being Class 08's and ubiquitous on BR. As they were retired, the NWR bought old engines and spare parts to repair their fleet.

Bowler and Spamcan would be given the same Sultzer engines as BoCo and Bear, as by this point the Class 47s were being retired on BR and there were plenty of spare parts available. Pip and Emma would retain their engines. Selector catalytic reduction (SCR) emissions reducers would be fitted to all diesel engines.

1975: NWR Holdings Inc:

In 1975, the NWR was incorporated alongside the Arlesdale and Skarloey Railways into NWR Holdings Inc, a new international stock company aimed at raising capital for the railways. First floated on Sodor, it attracted plenty of attention from locals, tourists and international companies alike. NWR Holdings would buy shares in various companies around the globe, including the American Railroad Union Pacific and in Danish shipping company Maersk. The Hatt family personally bought a massive number of shares in the company in what was potentially a highly-legally-questionable move. Still, NWR Holdings Inc would be chaired by Bridget Hatt from 1975 onwards and become a very profitable share-owning company.

1976: AWS and Air Brakes:

By 1976, all trains on the NWR were equipped with AWS and Air brakes, leading to a drastic reduction in accidents across the following years. While not a foolproof solution, when added to the new LZB system, it led to the NWR becoming one of the safest railways in all of England and Europe.

1985: Tourism Boom:

The NWR was inundated with traffic following the airing of the hit TV series 'Thomas & Friends' both in the UK and internationally, with the summer season of 1985 being perhaps the busiest in the island's history until that point, and a major victory for Sodor, which was now the most profitable railway region in Britain outside of London.

British Rail would attempt to force the NWR back into its company at this point, but the courts struck the case down due to the Tory Government disliking the idea of nationalising the network any further. This was the era when the Tory government began to privatise the various government agencies of the UK, and the NWR was upheld as a success of privatisation.

This tourism boom would have a major impact on the economy of Sodor too, with the service sector becoming central to the island's economy. The regional airport at Vicarstown was expanded to accept planes from as far away as Poland - something the NWR helped fund. This was incredibly well-timed, as the last of the mines on the island began to dry up around this time, and the new expanded service sector and transport sector used up much of these redundant miners.

1993: Shares in Deutsche Bahn:

In 1992, Deutsche Bundesbahn began a merger with the Deutsche Reichsbahn to create the Deutsche Bahn in Germany. By this point, the NWR was an extremely profitable company and able to survive on its own, however it was also reliant on the DB for a reliable partner, especially as the UK was in the EU, and DB was able to offset much of the NWR's carbon emissions problems.

The NWR would put up a large sum of money - the modern equivalent of the £1,000,000 from 1965 - to prop up the company during the merger and managed to gain a healthy share out of the German rail company for its troubles. When the new Deutsche Bahn became public property all of five minutes later, the NWR kept its unique position, and the two became 'joint partners' - independent but aligned in much of their goals.

1994-1996: Expansion and the End of BR:

As explained in Modern Railway Engines, in 1994, the North Western Railway bought the Furness Line outright from British Rail. This included all stations, trackwork, and running rights. NWR trains now terminated at Lancaster on the West Coast Mainline, buying up platforms 5 and 6 at the station. the NWR now was directly connected to the WCML, and gained two mainline diesels, a HST and three shunting engines in the deal.

By 1996, these new engines had settled into their roles on the NWR, and the railway was well positioned for the turn of the century. The freight services along the NWR mainline would be fitted with LZB at this point, and further increase the safety of the entire network.

2007: Buyout of EWS:

In 2007, the British railfreight company EWS was bought out by Deutsche Bahn and NWR Holdings Inc as part of a joint-takeover of the freight sector of Britain's Railways after repeated issues with the company. The NWR and DB had very different designs on the company, however the NWR would triumph, and a period of drastic overhaul would occur over the next ten years. In 2017, DB Cargo UK would have rebuilt its entire fleet of Class 90s and Class 92s, as well as all 67s, 66s and 60s. The company would sell off a large number of unusable engines to other companies; but retain the Class 47s and rebuild them into class 57s.

This huge takeover by the two companies would have major implications for the NWR fleet, which only barely managed to keep their own freight services on Sodor from being added to the new DB Cargo UK company. Instead, traffic was streamlined across the two companies, and a direct freight service would commence between Carnforth and Wroclaw, Poland.

2012: Alternate Fuel Trials Begin:

As global warming became more prevalent, the NWR was criticised for its use of coal and diesel fuel. In response, the NWR began trials with several different alternatives, including E-Coal, torrefied rapeseed biofuel and 'electric steam'. Smaller engines like Neil were trialled with electric boilers to heat steam - and this led to the conversion of many smaller tank engines to the system, which was powered by electricity and thus extremely environmentally friendly (in theory). Other changes included solar panels installed on sheds and stations across the NWR and electric pre-heaters added to the steam engine boilers - something the NWR had been slowly working on since the mid-70s.

Torrefiers would be built by the NWR in 2014 to convert biomass into fuel for engines, and trials would be conducted with Murdoch - who had the largest firebox - throughout 2015. Torrefied rapeseed biofuel pellets would be used on some services from 2016 onwards, as Sodor led world research into the issue. However, its weakness to rain and its smell would keep it being used only on freight services, with a tarp pulled over the 'coal' pile to keep it dry.

2020: Global Pandemic and Coal Shortages:

In the modern era, the North Western Railway continues to be a profitable and successful company, providing services across the Island of Sodor and around the globe. The Covid Pandemic saw all but the most essential trains cancelled, including all of the extremely profitable tourist traffic Sodor relies on. For a few months, the railway was even divided into two, with Sodor services terminating at Vicarstown and Furness services terminating at Barrow. A number of engines were stored for the year, being reintroduced as Christmas approached and traffic began to pick up again into 2021.

Worse yet, coal shortages caused by the closure of most British coal mines and crises in Eastern Europe led the NWR to speed up its biofuel research, with most medium-sized engines (Edward, James, Emily, Arthur, Molly) being converted to burn biofuel by the end of 2022. Only the largest steam engines on the NWR and the diesels use fossil fuels as of the time of writing, due to the extremely successful implementation of biofuel, much of which is now grown on Sodor to provide for the NWR and other heritage railways, such as the Talyllyn in Wales.

Wow... that was a long post. As usual, no pictures belong to me, and I headcanoned basically all of this. I just love the idea of the NWR using everything at their disposal to work their way up from the grassroots railway we saw in the Three Railway Engines into a massive corporation that still has that grassroots feel to it... and a multinational holdings company reporting massive profits.

Thank you for reading this massive thing!

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elisabeth515 · 1 year

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Titanic Officer Barbie Movie Posters (and 1 fun fact about each of the officers!)

(Because why not)

Feel free to save as phone wallpapers 🙈

I’ve decided to include our babeypurser McElroy because the role of Purser is sometimes regarded as an officer role. Among all the officers, Lightoller (B), Pitman (5), Boxhall (2) and Lowe (14) survived the sinking. McElroy was the only officer whose body was recovered and identified; he was buried at sea.

Now to the fun facts!

Henry Wilde: he was already captain and was set to command the SS Cymric for the Liverpool to Boston Route. Unfortunately, the coal strike happened and his first voyage with Cymric was delayed to presumably 1st May. White Star Line decided to put him in onto the crew of Titanic as Chief Officer.

As you guys may know already, Henry Wilde is my favourite officer so it’s not surprising that I have been posting about him for this April. I also am currently doing a series of TikToks for his actions throughout Titanic’s maiden voyage as well🙈

Here’s my post about Wilde being made aware of joining Titanic

This is my post on the Crew Shuffle if anyone would like to read more about it

William Murdoch: Charles Lightoller thought his bestie’s moustache make him look ugly so he grew his moustache so that Will could shave. Nevertheless, we all think otherwise.

Charles Lightoller: of course, his role as one of the captains of the little ships during the Dunkirk Evacuation. He saved around 130 lives in it with his family yacht, the Sundowner.

Side note: currently, the Sundowner is a museum ship in Ramsgate but sadly, the yacht is in a bad condition and we need money to repair. I know I don’t have much high opinions on the British (yeah except Henry Wilde), despite having been living in England for almost 5 years, but Lightoller has been one of the most intriguing figures to me; being through 4 shipwrecks and fire, also living through Titanic, WWI, and Dunkirk, his story of hope and survival is worth a movie. If you would like to help preserving a piece of history, please consider donate to help save this famous getaway yacht little ship🙈

Donate here

And here’s the campaign video by our TikTok Lightoller Fan Club President Melissa on saving the getaway yacht

Herbert Pitman: despite suffering from seasickness, this son of a farmer had a more than half-century long seafaring career, retiring in 1946. He started his career as an apprentice, then a deck officer and when he could not pass the eye test due to colour blindness at one eye, White Star Line made him a purser and he stayed in this position for the rest of his career. Pitman served in both world wars on troop ships; when he retired, he was a Lieutenant-Commander of the Royal Naval Reserves and was created an MBE in 1948, in recognition of his long service in the merchant marine.

Joseph Boxhall: he had a very happy marriage with his wife Majory and they were very fond of their dogs. This may be a substitute to children given that they do not have children together but anyways if anyone asked why you haven’t had kids yet, tell them about the Boxhalls and their doggos 🐶

Harold Lowe: he was a hobby artist who works with watercolours, as well as wood carvings. This may come across as surprising but you should not be surprised given that his father was an artist. There are a few of Harold’s drawings exists today, including a sketch of Titanic (in which he messed up with the funnels). Oh yes, he was also in the church choir as well when he was young.

James Moody: During his South American runs, he would sometimes flirt with female passengers with his very patchy Spanish and well, sometimes he just dropped in some swear words by accident. Yeah, in case you wondered, he’s not that shy as you thought after watching Ed’s portrayal of our daring Jim in the 1997 movie (the real Jim was quite cheeky actually).

Hugh McElroy: as the ship’s purser, he was there to take care of passengers’ needs (like he’s basically the “manager”). From parrot-tending (yes, and he trained the parrot to do morse code) to organising marriage ceremonies for runaway couples, he’s there to try to help. And as a result, he was a very popular man on the ship and passengers were honoured to share a table with him.

Sources:

TitanicOfficers.com

@/Melissafairlady on tiktok (the revenge ‘stache fact)

Encyclopaedia Titanica forum (the discussion thread on Moody)

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thebeesareback · 6 months

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Poll to determine the most evil Sherlock Holmes villain from the original stories

Part six: The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes

OK! So please vote for your favourite. I've done other polls with villains from the other short stories and the novels, and when the results are in I'll put the winners in a poll together

#poll #sherlock holmes #john watson #johnlock #sherlock #watson #superwholock #acd holmes #acd sherlock holmes #acd johnlock #sir arthur conan doyle #the case-book of sherlock holmes

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mysharona1987 · 1 year

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After reading that Vanity Fair article: So, the Murdoch family literally watch Succession and are like:

Sure, we all know some of the Murdoch kids and Jerry Hall have watched it.

But Rupert Murdoch has *absolutely* seen this show.

He’s old, retired and has too much free time on his hands. And he’s too much of an egoist. And he can probably afford the HBO Max subscription the package.

(But not by much. Even billionaires are cutting the costs these days.)

“Rupert, this show that is apparently based on you and your crazy family is winning all the awards and considered one of the best TV shows ever.

Of course he watched it.

And Rupert will never enter an airplane toilet again.

#Succession #Hbo #hbo max #Fox news #rupert murdoch #brian cox #Max #warner bros

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2oosterr · 2 months

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orcaprice sfw alphabet | wc: 3.5k

john price x ryan 'orca' murdoch

this was,,,, a lot lol. i keep trying to write little things for them but they always turn into 4k fics LMAO 😫😫 i just can't help myself........... anyway behold mama y papa <3

Affection (how affectionate are they? how do they show affection?)

orca isn't a very affectionate person to begin with, but she still prefers to keep things behind closed doors. she'll deny it to hell and back, but pretty much any kind of physical affection gets her very flustered very easily. she prefers to give price the affection she desires in subtler gestures, like linking her pinky with price's, or sitting close enough that their legs touch.

price is a more physical lover, he pulls orca into hugs and kisses her just to see her turn red, but he'll respect her wishes to keep most affection private. he shows his love for her in other ways that he knows she appreciates, like bringing her coffee in the mornings, or sitting down just to spend time with her.

Best friend (what would they be like as a best friend? how would the friendship start?)

orca is a difficult person to get along with. there's no way to manufacture a friendship with her; if she can tell you're intentionally trying to get on her good side – for example, by saying the 'right' things or forcing aspects of your personality – anything you try will have the exact opposite effect. earning her favour has to occur naturally, and by god she does not make it easy lol. but if you manage to somehow get past the walls around her heart, orca is a fiercely loyal person who is willing to do just about anything for the small circle she calls friends.

price is easier to become friends with, he's more willing to trust and more open to new people. despite this, it also takes a while for him to really consider someone a friend, and, unlike orca, for him there's a difference between trusting someone and being friends with them.

Cuddles (do they like to cuddle? how would they cuddle?)

orca loves to cuddle. she would never admit it, and she would deny it if anyone brought it up, but she would kill for a good cuddle – and price just so happens to be the best cuddler of all time, so it works out perfectly.

price loves physical affection, so he would never turn away an opportunity to have orca in his arms. laying wrapped up in each other, with no disturbances from the outside world – it's the best way to spend their free time together.

Domestic (do they want to settle down? how are they at cooking and cleaning?)

the idea of settling down has never been a possibility for orca. the life of a soldier is all she's ever known, the structure, stability, and sense of purpose this job brings her helps her to function and without that, she'd be lost. maybe one day, a lot later down the line, she might pass the mantle to someone else, but she would never be able to completely leave the company behind.

she didn’t have a normal childhood, and has been a soldier for basically all her life, so she never properly learned how to do a lot of domestic stuff like cooking. she tries her best, but she's just not good at it lol.

price, on the other hand, was very close with his mum growing, and learned how to maintain a home from a young age. despite joining the army as soon as he was legally able to, he still had a more normal youth compared to orca. he does most (all) of the cooking between them, and orca is content with simply watching him work. same as orca, settling down, or retiring, has also never been in the cards for him. his work is far too ingrained into who he is for him to be able to leave it behind.

Ending (if they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

in person. orca's never been afraid of other people's reactions, and that extends to breakups. that being said, she wouldn't get into a relationship with someone she didn't intend on spending her life with. the vulnerability, and with how long it takes her to open up to people, means that she takes her relationships – both platonic and romantic – incredibly seriously.

price would rather end things in person. to him, it's more respectful, and it's easier to communicate face to face rather than through a screen. he's had relationships in the past, and he always tried to end things as amicably as possible, for the sake of himself and his partners.

Fiance(e) (how do they feel about commitment? how quick would they want to get married?)

initially, the idea of commitment scared orca. she's been independent all her life, and never even considered marriage until she met price, so being held to that standard was just never appealing to her. when they eventually began their relationship, it surprised her how quickly she was thinking about being married and committed to him – which, in turn, scared her even more, since she'd never felt this way before.

price never thought he'd ever get married. a combination of his upbringing – watching his parents' marriage fall apart, and vowing to never become his father – and his job, of course, lead him to make peace with the fact that it wasn't going to happen for him.

from the moment he realised he was in love with orca, he knew she was the one. it took a long time to get there, to get past her walls, but once they finally reached a comfortable point in their relationship, the thought appeared in his mind like it had been there all along.

Gentle (how gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

orca is not gentle in the slightest. she's mean and blunt, and she cares very little for how her words and actions affect others – though her attitude does change once she becomes closer with people. she still couldn't be considered nice, but she does make an effort to treat the people she cares about with more respect than average and a slightly kinder touch.

price is incredibly gentle. he knows his own strength, and he's well aware that he's a big man, so he's always conscious of how he's treating others. he very rarely shouts, he chooses his words carefully, and when he is physical with people, he knows where to draw the line.

Hugs (do they like hugs? how often do they do it? what are their hugs like?)

same as cuddling, orca loves hugs. it's embarrassing, and she'd rather die than admit it, but there's nothing she craves more than an overly long bear hug; and price, of course, is more than happy to oblige. she might squeeze just a little too tight, and it may feel slightly clunky, but it's the thought that counts.

I love you (how fast do they say the l-word?)

it takes orca a long, long time to get to the point where she feels comfortable enough to tell price she loves him. she's always struggled with trusting new people, and it usually takes years for her to properly warm up to them, for fear of rejection or judgement. she'd never had a real relationship before price because of her trust issues, so despite knowing she loves him, she still finds it difficult to say it out loud.

price tells her the first moment he realises it. it's spur of the moment, and he tells her he doesn't expect her to say it back, but he needed her to know. life is short, and with their line of work he knows that any day could be their last, so he'd rather not waste time hiding his true feelings.

Jealousy (how jealous do they get? what do they do when they’re jealous?)

orca isn’t one to get jealous. she gets annoyed very easily, but actual jealousy is rare for her. she’s a naturally confident person, and it takes a lot to shake that – but if she were to ever get jealous, it would be over her looks. she doesn’t see herself as an attractive person, and if someone she believes is more attractive than her gets close to price, she could definitely react badly.

it would take a lot of self control, but orca wouldn’t lash out in anger over her jealousy. logically, she knows its irrational to get jealous over something so shallow, she knows price isn’t like that, but that though still doesn’t make her feel any better. she’d prefer to isolate herself until she can get over it so she doesn’t risk hurting price.

price is also extremely secure in their relationship because he’s well aware of how difficult it is to get close to orca. basically, he knows he doesn’t have any competition lol. sometimes though, he does feel the tiniest amount of jealousy over how close orca and eric are, but he never lets it get to him. he's aware of the bond they share, and considering how long they've been friends, he knows there's no need to worry.

Kisses (what are their kisses like? where do they like to kiss their partner? where do they like to be kissed?)

orca isn't accustomed to affection, and she has her own way of expressing her fondness for price, so kisses aren't really common for her. a peck on the cheek, or a soft press of her lips on his shoulder is the most she can manage without having a flustered meltdown.

price isn't nearly as easily effected, and he loves to gently take orca's head in his hand and press their lips together, just to watch her face turn red. he loves to kiss her cheek, mostly because it's too quick for her to properly react to, so he can get away with it in public lol.

Little ones (how are they around children?)

orca hates kids. can’t stand the little bastards. she’s definitely the type to pull faces at babies and laugh when a kid falls over in public, but she’ll more so go out of her way to avoid contact with them. she understands it’s not their fault that she resents them, but she can’t change her feelings towards them either.

price is neutral towards kids. he can talk to them and interact with them just fine, but he’s definitely not responsible enough to babysit them, and he knows for a fact that he doesn’t want any of his own.

Morning (how are mornings spent with them?)

mornings are the invention of the devil according to orca. she hates them, it takes her forever to wake up, and she forbids anyone from speaking to her for at least an hour after she's woken up. she's even crankier than usual, if that's even possible.

price is the only exception to this rule, which he's incredibly smug about. he doesn't struggle as much with mornings, he's able to get up and go fairly easily not matter how early it is.

Night (how are nights spent with them?)

orca is definitely more of a night owl, and prefers to stay up late after the sun goes down. it's more peaceful to her, and the less chance she'll be bothered by anyone else, the better. she loves the quiet and the darkness, and it gets a lot cooler at night, which she prefers.

price wants to stay up with her, and he tries his best, but most of the time he ends up falling asleep on her. whether they're watching a movie, just talking, or he's watching her work, there's a good sixty percent chance he's knocked out waiting for her to come to bed.

Open (when would they start revealing things about themselves? do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

they both take a while to fully open up, orca especially. as they gradually got closer, and she learned more about price, she got more and more comfortable talking about herself. the pace of their relationship is slow, but neither of them ever felt the need to rush or force things.

Patience (how easily angered are they?)

orca? extremely.

price is much, much calmer in comparison. it takes a lot to truly anger him, he prides himself on his patience and his ability to keep a level head in almost any situation. despite this, orca has a unique ability to get under his skin like nobody else. he doesn't take her jabs seriously anymore, but when they first met, the burning anger she was able to evoke in him was a shock to him.

Quizzes (how much would they remember about their partner? do they remember every little detail they mention in passing or do they kind of forget everything?)

both orca and price remember every tiny detail about the other without fail. orca mentioned her favourite colour in an offhand comment and price ingrained that into his memory. orca overheard price talking about his favourite food and asked (ordered) eric to help her learn to cook it. they're insufferable about each other.

Remember (what is their favourite moment in their relationship?)

orca's favourite memory is a slightly more solemn one. it was relatively early in their relationship, and she'd been struggling with a relapse for a few months. he walked in on her with a bottle of whiskey in her office late one night, about to pour herself a glass, and she'd expected him to look at her with disappointment, or even yell at her.

he didn't, though. he didn't even acknowledge the bottle, and instead sat down in a chair opposite her desk and started a petty argument about something or other. she unwittingly took the bait and argued back with him, which eventually transitioned into a more civilised conversation. they'd talked for hours, and eventually gone their separate ways to get some rest.

it wasn't until a few hours later, when she was laying awake in bed, that she realised what he'd done. he'd stayed up late with her, effortlessly distracted her because he knew she couldn't resist the temptation of yelling at him, and she hadn't even noticed when he'd lifted the bottle from her desk and taken it with him when he left. it was a confusing feeling, being on the receiving end of what she usually does to other people, but it made her a little misty-eyed the more she thought about it.

price's favourite memory is of when he proposed to orca. like most other things they do, it was spur of the moment, he'd planned to do it for a while before but couldn't find the right moment.

it happened while they were both on leave. he'd taken her with him back to his home in england, and was showing her around the small town he grew up in. they were walking along a path through the woods, and the sunlight was hitting everything just right, the box in his pocket was practically burning a hole through his leg.

before he could think too hard about it, he just got down on one knee and pulled out the ring. orca didn't notice at first, too engrossed in whatever she was talking about, but after a moment she realised that he was missing from her side. she'd turned around, expecting him to be tying his shoe or something, to find him gazing up at her with the most lovestruck look on his face.

she'd stared at him for a few seconds, wide-eyed and frozen with shock, before rushing back to where he was kneeling and throwing herself into his arms. they'd both ended up on the dusty ground, but neither of them cared about the dirt covering them, because her response was more than enough for price to slip the ring onto her finger.

orca finds the memory embarrassing, because she couldn't stop crying at the time, but any time price finds himself missing her too much when they're apart, he looks at his wedding band and remembers it fondly.

Security (how protective are they? how would they protect their partner? how would they like to be protected?)

both orca and price are incredibly similar in the way that they would do anything to protect the ones they love. there is no line to cross when it comes to each other, no action is too far. they both have a reputation for being ruthless, and they're more than willing to risk their lives for the other.

Try (how much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

both of them put a lot of thought into dates for each other. orca's ideas may be a little more on the strange side, since she's not well versed in relationships, and she's a little unconventional anyways, but they're just as heartfelt as the more regular dates that price plans.

as for gifts, orca buys him a box of cigars and a fridge magnet from every new place she goes, and price buys her anything fighter jet or killer whale related he sees.

Ugly (what would be some bad habits of theirs?)

for orca, it's her tendency to lash out at others when she's upset with them. she tries to control her temper, and she's doing a lot better than she used to, but sometimes she can't stop herself before she says something hurtful.

for price, it's how he overly blames himself when things go wrong. he takes too much accountability for things that aren't reasonably his fault, and often refuses to let anyone tell him otherwise. he overthinks, about what he could've done differently and what more could've happened, and it's difficult to pull him out of that mindset.

Vanity (how concerned are they with their looks?)

it would be a lie to say orca doesn’t care about how she looks. when she was younger, she was somewhat vain because she saw herself as conventionally attractive, but since she got the scar on her face her looks have become somewhat of an insecurity for her. over the years it has bothered her less and less, but she definitely doesn’t think of herself the same way anymore.

at the beginning of her relationship with price, she found it incredibly hard to believe him when he said he was attracted to her. she honestly thought he was fucking with her, because she couldn’t understand why he didn’t think she was ugly. this insecurity has cause some problems in their relationship, but they’ve worked past them and thanks to him, orca feels a lot better about her looks now.

price, though, cares very little about vanity. he's attractive, he knows that, he's been pursued by women since he was a fresh-faced corporal, but he never allowed it to go to his head. he takes pride his appearance of course, and does his best to make sure he always looks presentable, but it's not something that's overly important to him.

Whole (would they feel incomplete without their partner)

yes, for both of them, but not in a co-dependent way. they're both very secure people, and they've lived most of their lives without each other – along with the fact that they don't get all that much time together due to their jobs and living in different countries – but they definitely feel more at home when they're together.

Xtra (a random headcanon for them.)

orca loves arguing. she finds it exhilarating, the way it makes her pulse race and how she can pull a reaction out of whoever she’s arguing with. most of the time, she’s just picking fights for no reason other than to entertain herself. she’s great at pretending to care deeply about something for the sake of the argument lol – and paired with her incredibly serious image, it comes far too easily to her. it took price – and everyone else, for that matter – a long time to realise that she’s joking most of the time, but now he likes to join in when he can tell she’s not serious (he still struggles sometimes).

Yuck (what are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

orca doesn't like people who take life too seriously. she knows her reputation, and how she comes across, is incredibly serious and intimidating, but she's a lot more laid back than most people think. she also knows that her job is serious by nature, but she values the ability to find humour in bleak situations.

price doesn't like people who need their hand held through every little task. he values independence and intelligence, and he's had partners in the past who relied on him for far more than he was comfortable with.

Zzz (what is a sleep habits of theirs?)

orca hates mornings with a passion. she thinks that waking up at six am is a crime against humanity, and if she had it her way she'd never be up before ten. she sleeps lightly, not light enough to be constantly woken up, but when there's a loud noise or something similar she'll hear it. she also falls asleep incredibly quickly, basically as soon as her head hits the pillow she's out.

price has made his peace with getting up at six every morning, but deep down he loves getting to sleep in. his body still naturally wakes him up with the sun though, and no matter how much he tries to go back to sleep, it never happens. unlike orca, he doesn't usually wake up during the night – once he's out, he's out.

#ryan 'orca' murdoch #captain john price x oc #john price x oc #cod oc #cod oc art #call of duty oc #price x orca #oc: orca

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snug-as-bugalugs-in-rugalugs · 2 months

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Is it just me or when you rewatch older seasons of Murdoch do you really start to feel like both William and Julia have lost a lot as characters over the years? I admit he was never exactly one of my faves, but at least at the beginning Murdoch felt like a somewhat fun + interesting protag. He shot arrows in his office and tested theories on dead pigs and recreated murder scenes in his mind and it was!! Genuinely entertaining!! And Julia was constantly working to open her mind and push the restraints around her-- be it through coming up with new ways to identify poisions or protesting for women's suffrage or even crossdressing! But now, Julia seems to have hardly any push left in her and Murdoch is just plain... well, dry. Then, after watching full episodes of Julia tagging along passively and Murdoch listing suspects dryly, we can always look forward to them ending it with the exact same flirting lines as have been said every episode since season 10.

I mean, I do understand why this could be happening-- for one, it's been, yk, 17 seasons of the same protag and his same partner/love interest. But also, hot take, if the writers can't keep writing them in ways that feel interesting, they just shouldn't. It's high-time that Murdoch retired/switched workplaces and Watts and Miss Hart were able to take over as the prime crime-solving duo! They've both only been around for 6-7 seasons and still have SO much more development to be had, especially if they were finally giving the time + space.

Even the problem of repeating murder mystery plots would probably be improved. Watts obviously has VERY different investigative methods (when he's even allowed to use them, since ofc Murdoch as protag HAS to solve 99% of the crimes :/) and thus pretty much the entire trajectory of the murder plotlines would be shifted. New stories/solutions would be opened up, since maybe Watts' methods would be more likely to yield them than Murdoch's. Or maybe he'd just be more likely to be around certain murders. The point is, having a character who was literally created to be almost the 'opposite' of Murdoch as the new detective would certainly add some much-needed variety.

Unironically, I think getting rid of Murdoch might be the only way to save Murdoch Mysteries at this point.

#murdoch mysteries #william murdoch #julia ogden #violet hart #llewellyn watts #detective murdoch #detective watts #hot take #unpopular opinion #actually i feel like it's becoming kinda popular at this point :|#snugbugbabbles #rambles #anti william murdoch #anti julia ogden #just to be safe #cbc murdoch #peter mitchell peter mitchell peter mitchell #i've heard that spawns him. we'll see #tw murder

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artemistartarus · 1 month

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Still not over this, Elon Musk and Rupert Murdoch are using their money to spit on her grave.

Full article here:

“An award named after Ruth Bader Ginsburg has gone to a slate of accomplished women since it was launched four years ago to honor the legacy of the late Supreme Court justice known for championing women's rights and liberal causes. This year is different.

Next month, the Dwight D. Opperman Foundation will present the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Leadership Award to four men and Martha Stewart. Among the winners are two convicted felons, the founder of right-wing Fox News, and Elon Musk.

Stewart, Musk, Rupert Murdoch, Michael Milken and Sylvester Stallone are the five "iconic" and "exceptional" recipients of the 2024 RBG Leadership Award, the organizing foundation said in a news release on Wednesday.

Ginsburg's family is blasting the foundation's selection of this year's recipients, saying the decision is an "affront" to the memory of the late justice and her values.

"This year, the Opperman Foundation has strayed far from the original mission of the award and from what Justice Ginsburg stood for," Jane Ginsburg, daughter of the Supreme Court justice, said in a statement.

The award was conceived in 2019 to recognize "an extraordinary woman who has exercised a positive and notable influence on society and served as an exemplary role model in both principles and practice." Past recipients have included Queen Elizabeth II and Barbra Streisand.

This year, "woman" has been dropped from the name of the award, and the criteria has expanded to include "trailblazing men and women" who "have demonstrated extraordinary accomplishments in their chosen fields," the Opperman Foundation said.

"Justice Ginsburg fought not only for women but for everyone," the foundation's chair, Julie Opperman, said in the news release. "Going forward, to embrace the fullness of Justice Ginsburg's legacy, we honor both women and men who have changed the world by doing what they do best."

The Ginsburg family says it was not informed of the changes in name or criteria for the award. It is pressing Opperman to remove Justice Ginsburg's name from the award "unless the original award criteria, as accepted by Justice Ginsburg, are restored," as Trevor Morrison, Ginsburg's former law clerk, wrote in a letter to the foundation's chair that spoke on behalf of the Ginsburg family.

Until then, Morrison said, the justice's family wishes "to make clear that they do not support using their mother's name to celebrate this slate of awardees, and that the Justice's family has no affiliation with and does not endorse this award."

"Each of this year's awardees has achieved notable success in their careers, and each may well deserve accolades of one form or another. But the decision to bestow upon them the particular honor of the RBG Award is a striking betrayal of the Justice's legacy," he wrote.

Most of the awardees' track records bear controversies and scandals rivaling their achievements.

Milken, an investment banker famous for creating the junk bond market, was arrested in the late '80s for securities fraud. After he was released from prison, he built a reputation on his philanthropy. President Trump pardoned Milken in 2020.

Stewart, who built a multimillion-dollar empire as a homemaking maven, served prison time for lying to investigators about a fishy stock sale.

Murdoch, the retired mogul who leveraged his media outlets to embrace right-wing leaders and views, allowed Fox News stars to promote baseless claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Musk, the billionaire owner of SpaceX, has been accused of antisemitism and, since taking over Twitter — now known as X — reportedly allowed pro-Nazi content to proliferate on the platform, prompting companies to pull ad revenue.

Actor Stallone of Rocky fame has faced multiple allegations of sexual assault, all of which he denies and for which he's never been charged.

Stallone escorted Justice Ginsburg to the stage — as the franchise's theme song played — during the award's inaugural ceremony in 2020, as Opperman noted at the time.

At that ceremony, Justice Ginsburg stated her hopes for the award: "By honoring brave, strong and resilient women, we will prompt women and men in ever-increasing numbers to help repair tears in their local communities, the nation and the world, so that the long arc of the moral universe will continue to bend toward justice."

In an email to NPR, RBG's son singled out two recipients in his condemnation of the new criteria.

"... that is quite a step down from the original criteria and, apparently, means people like Murdoch and Musk who are antithetical to everything Mom stood for, qualify," Jim Ginsburg said. "Speaking only for myself, I would say that those who foment hatred and undermine democracy do not stand for the ideals of equality, respect, and engagement my mother strived to advance."

The Opperman Foundation has not yet responded to NPR's request for comment.

#ruth bader ginsburg #npr #us politics #american politics #rip rbg #elon musk #rupert murdoch #liberal #librals #news article #full news article

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