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allaroundnerd · 1 year

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Yet another rambling post from me. This is a bit heavier though.

I am a Christian. I will start out with that, but recently, my life here in the USA has shown me sides to this faith that I honestly should not be surprised by. Laws and straight up attacks on LGBT people, leaving people swinging from trees, some real Jim Crow adjacent crap...all of it spearheaded by people who claim to stand by the Bible as their justification. What am I, a black man, to do in this situation.

I've always been pretty liberal/leftist in my beliefs. This is something that clashes with my faith more often than not, but as I sit here and think about where it clashes vs where it agrees, maybe there's something to this: I've never really understood much about the sexual ethics that are enforced, at least in a modern lens. Let's be honest, orgasms feel good and they can be enjoyed alone, or with a partner(s) regardless of sex/gender in a way that doesn't leave anyone worse for wear, but as I'm sure most would agree, that view doesn't mesh with Christianity well at all. Between that and an underlying thread of women being placed in a subservient role to men just by merit of them being women, that's where my disagreements mostly lie. As for where I agree, the messages of caring for your fellow man, even to your own detriment at times, and selfless charity really resonate with me. Even within my friend group I have been told that I give too many chances, am a bit too loose with my money/time, and have "the patience of Job." I take their comments to mean I should be a bit better about taking care of myself and they mean well, but I couldn't leave someone hanging like that. So between those two points within my being, there is contention, but here's where it gets more complicated.

Every day, now more than ever, I see people, other Christians (mostly white) calling for laws that are meant to pretty much make an LGBT person's life harder and harder. Restricting marriage rights, the right to raise kids, the right to live their gender identity, etc. They cite biblical law as their precedent and the battle within grows fiercer, not because I think they are right mind you, but because I wonder if by being in opposition to doing such things, I make myself an enemy of God. These same politicians though, they also seek the banning of the Boogeyman that they've created called "CRT" or "woke" culture. A whitewashing of history that glosses over the crap my ancestors went through since they set foot on this country's soil and a peeling back of the civil protections we have to match. I see some people celebrating this "return to traditional norms" or to a time when "America was great" but as a black man, turning the clock back is a threat to my life.

So with these things in mind, what should I do? Cheer on the suppression of the LGBT community as a blow against "degeneracy" and take solace in the fact that by doing so, I am following God's will even if it all it'll get me in this life is a spot to watch them go to the gallows while being next in line? Even that sentence feels blasphemous to say, to even indicate that God would want me to follow a path that could lead back to my people in chains or worse, but what recourse do I have? While I'm on the topic, it's not as if I don't have any worry for my own soul in all this. Yes, I am in what people would consider a "standard" marriage, but given that we've played with the concept of being open, have no intention of having kids, and that she is not a Christian (I kinda started taking this seriously after the fact), I would be doing a disservice by pretending that I am anywhere near an ideal Christian. It's a bit jarring to think that these things I mentioned, which only really affect my wife and I, could be worthy of damnation, and yet my other actions and beliefs would be cast into the flame all the same. Of course, disbelief is not an option either, as if I were to go that route, would I not be putting myself at risk of damnation? Life is hard right now, and I have no intent of giving up, but maybe airing this out in some way will help me find some path forward.

If anyone else still professes to be Christian and can even remotely identify with this long rant, know that you aren't alone.

#homophobia #racism #sexism #lgbtqia #misogynoir #rant #black people #feminism #christianity #religion

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romeoandjulietyouwish · 2 years

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stop because after seeing percy and keyleth’s conversation, now i need to see someone (other than keyleth, maybe Percy again?) forcing vax to talk about his emotions because holy shit i am too invested (gods especially with what you posted of vax being able to HEAR kiki, please i would love to read some some vax having to process)

an addition to this fic

It's easy to find Vax. Percy knows that Vex has temporarily banished him from Keyleth's room so he goes out to the yard and sure enough, Vax is sitting under the large tree, head leaned back against the trunk, just staring off into space. Ordinarily, Percy wouldn't even bother going near Vax when he's having a hard time, that's usually Vex or Keyleth's job, but with both women currently occupied, it falls on him.

"What are you doing out here, Freddy?" Vax asks as he approaches. "You should be with Keyleth."

"You sister is in with her right now," Percy tells him. "Keyleth wanted me to check on you."

Vax smiles a little bit, "I'm alright."

"That's bullshit if I ever heard it," he lowers himself to the ground beside Vax, joining him in leaning against the big tree. "Don't lie to me, Vax."

Vax is silent for a long moment. "Did Keyleth tell you what happened?"

Percy sighs, "A bit, I got most of it from context. You did a good thing, protecting her as much as you could."

Vax laughs humorlessly, "I didn't protect her in the slightest. I got off easy, what they did to her was far worse." Vax doesn't say anything for a moment, but Percy can read the anxious energy about him. "I heard her," he tells Percy quietly, "I heard her screaming and begging for them to stop hurting her."

"Vax..." Percy knows better than to try to touch his friend in this state, so he turns his body to give Vax his attention.

Vax sniffs, clearly fighting back tears. "When they took me, I kept quiet just in case she would have been able to hear me. I didn't want her to know how bad it was. But she...but she did anyway. It was worse for her."

"Doesn't mean it didn't happen to you too," Percy tells him. "Vax, both of you went through something terrible. And you both deserve to be looked after and taken care of. It's not one or the other."

Vax shakes his head, tears welling in his eyes, "She was so scared, Percy. I couldn't protect her. I sat there for hours listening to her scream and cry and it was the worst experience of my life. And-And then they brought her back in and she wasn't conscious and she was covered in blood. I thought she was dead, Percy." Vax sobs, pressing a hand to his mouth.

Percy lays a hand on Vax's shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. "She's alright, Vax. So are you. You're both safe."

"It doesn't feel like it," Vax admits. "I know you killed those fuckers, I saw their bodies, but I can't stop thinking about what happens if they weren't working alone? What if they try to take us again?"

"They won't," Percy assures him. "We're on high alert now. The council has been alerted that someone is seeking information about them. They've sent guards to our keep who will stand watch night and day until they find the source. It's safe here."

Vax nods and leans into Percy's touch. Despite being younger than the half-elf, Percy sees so much of himself in Vax. He remembers that terror and that anxiety. So he does what he wishes someone would have done for him, he sits with Vax for a while, squeezing his shoulder and repeats over and over again that he's safe, that Keyleth is safe, and that he's not going to let anyone hurt either of them.

#my fic #critical role #vox machina #the legend of vox machina #tlovm #vaxleth

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partytilfajr · 4 years

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Salaam! My question is that since I'm in my mid-twenties and I'm starting my marriage search soon (I'm a woman) I want to know if i can ask the person I'm getting to know about their previous relationships? If they're a virgin? All of that stuff basically. I read that if they've repented for their sins they don't have to answer these questions or they can just lie and say no since they've repented, but as a potential/future spouse isn't it my right to know?

Wa alykum as-salaam!

So, Dar Al-Ifta Al-Missriyyah has written about this question, extensively, though it must said that the question they are answering is about a man asking about a woman about her status. You can read that answer here.

They write something that is important to note, as I want to underline that many times we fuse the rationale of larger society with the opinion of our Muslim leaders. In the opinion, they write this to conclude:

As for the claim of some men that they have to know if their future wife has fell into a sin or not is a corrupted opinion as it promotes declaring sins, revealing what God concealed, pursuing people’s pitfalls, and thinking ill of people which are all prohibited in Islamic law. As a matter of fact, there is no relationship between the loss of virginity and between adultery as this relationship only existed due to some cultures which do not see any problem when the man commits adultery whereas when the woman commits the same crime she is stained with shame and disgrace.

I just wanted to highlight that this double-standard that exists for women underlines to problems of our societies, and that Islam does not seek to enforce or encourage the hypocrisies that pervade society.

So, in short, yes, you should not be asking people about their status. The only time that people should be disclosing those sorts of things is if it impacts you. So, if someone has an STI, that will impact their partner, and so it should be disclosed.

I am quite aware that the standards for men and women are different, to put it kindly.

Boys expect their future wives to be virgins, while girls hope that their future husbands don’t have something. This is the double standard within our communities (Muslim or not) and it’s exhausting and annoying. I get it.

So Dar Al-Ifta, again, gives you the legal rationale, and again, they are writing about protecting the reputation and the value of a woman, since cultures have used sexism and misogyny to control women’s bodies and to stigmatize women for mistakes that they turn around and applaud men for.

My sense is that we have used this ruling as a way to protect sisters, but that we do not expect to use these same rulings for our brothers. I get why we do that, it’s an Islamic ruling that retorts and slaps away the sexist-fueled obsession with women’s bodies and the double-standards imposed upon women.

If I’m honest, I think most men tend to disclose these sorts of things, and many of them are not aware of this ruling--not anywhere close to the awareness of our sisters. I understand why sisters expect virginity, they’re like “hey, I waited, so should you.” I’d like to underline that there are more brothers that have waited, I’m not going to lie to you, I did not think it would be that high. Which is kinda sad, but I think you get what I’m trying to say.

Now, again, I think most people tend to disclose their pasts, both men and women, and I think they do this out of trust and love for the person they are talking to. I would counsel Muslims to not only take this sort of disclosure as a trust that they should keep to themselves and understand that whatever happens between you two, that you keep that information to yourself. I also think that both men and women tend to write people off for making mistakes.

First of all, we all make mistakes. The issue here is that we only have sympathy for people who sin the way we do. To be a “good Muslim” among Muslims, you don’t drink, don’t smoke, and don’t have a (public) girlfriend/boyfriend, and you’re a good Muslim. Our concern is centralized on discovery, so as long as people don’t know we do these things, we are fine.

We all make mistakes, the thing is, we are not defined by our mistakes, but what we do once we make them. Do we seek to rectify them? Or do we allow them to fester, do we seek help, do we try to fix what we’ve done?

The problem is that we fixate on sins that deal with our concerns vis-a-vis our place in society. The Prophet is reported to have said:

O those who embraced Islam with your tongue and its flow did not reach your heart yet. Don’t inflict harm on Muslims, don’t belittle them and don’t pursue and dig for their pitfalls as whoever digs for the pitfalls of others, God will dig for his own pitfalls and declare it before people… [Tirmidhi]

Now, I know you feel it is your right to ask this question. The ruling I’ve linked above. Just to speak plainly, I tend to believe people disclose this fact, regardless of the ruling--that’s just my sense in dealing with this concern quite often. I’d underline that you treat a brother as a human being here. Our world is filled with prejudices, sexism, misogyny, and all sorts of inequities too innumerable to list here. Of that, there is no doubt. When you are sitting across from another person, they are a human being--and yes different people benefit from these inequities and have various privileges--but I suggest that you treat the person across from you as that: a person.

We cannot abstract human beings. Our boys benefit from double standards--in that they are able to get away with things socially--but those double standards condemn them to facing the reality of their sins. Brothers cry to me about their mistake, it’s not just sisters, and yes, the brothers (if discovered) will face far less than if a sister was discovered, I am not questioning that, nor am I even debating it, I’m saying, just treat the person across from you as a human being.

People are going to ask and people are going to answer, but I ask you to show compassion for someone who is offering you a window of their vulnerability. We often look at potential spouses as products, with check-lists, like we are comparison shopping for a car. They are human beings. I’ve seen the dumb stuff boys write on Twitter, with their dumb jokes, talking about trust issues over a girl wearing makeup or whatever, and yes, they are cringe. I will try and petition Al-Azhar to make corny bro jokes haram, or at least makruh.

You are going to ask regardless of what I write here, and people are going to answer regardless of what they read, because they want to be honest, and it breaks my heart. People just want to be loved. That’s why they are reaching out. It’s why they laugh at dumb jokes. It’s why you stalk people on social media, because you want to reach out to someone else, to have someone love you and accept you, for, well you.

So I get why people respond and answer these questions, I know why people ask them, and I think the Islamic answer is there, and while the central framing of the Islamic answer is to protect women, their honor, and their place in societies that do not treat them with the respect and understanding that they should get for simply being a human, and that disconnect is violently enforced through sexism and misogyny--and Islam seeks to protect women from that human-made reality that contravenes the dictates of Islam. It is a failure of the test by God, on our collective society, that we create these inequities--for God demands justice, and our social norms are reflections of whether we truly believe in God or not, and when women face these barriers and prejudices, it means that our society has failed that test.

After writing this much, I asked myself: ‘why are you writing this much, Osama?’ I think because I have seen such a lack of compassion in our community, and I feel like we have taken religion and twisted it, but we are only aware of our rights and not our obligations, and that creates a very twisted way in dealing with religion and God--and then I thought about how consumerism fuels that self-centered understanding of God, so that religion really only has value as it pertains to our personal desires, rather than in improving our actions, softening our hearts, and in introspection so that we may work to improve society, starting with ourselves.

Anyway. My point is this: regardless of the rulings, you’re probably going to ask, they’re probably going to answer. If you can’t forgive someone because they made a mistake, then ask yourself why.

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postmortem-bookworm · 4 years

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Bright - Bucky Barnes - Part One

Fandom: Avengers

Type: Series

Word Count: 1,753

Character(s): Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, Shuri, T'Challa

Warning(s): Cussing, Mentions of attempted suicide (but shouldn't be anything triggering), smut (maybe), mentions of X-Men, Steve is crushing

A/N: This picks up almost right after Black Panther, but before Bucky is awake, there is no Thanos, and everyone is alive.

My first series! Please enjoy!

Shifting nervously in her seat, she watches though the window as Steve and Natasha talk to the King and Princess of Wakanda in privacy. Steve seems to notice her watching as he looks over at her, giving a small smile, which Natasha seems to notice, because she turns to look at her with a unconvincing mirror of the Captain's, and her blood runs cold. Steve hasn't smiled much, since the battle of team Iron Man verses team Captain America at the airstrip. Natasha does smile much, period. This can't be good. She twirls a lock of burgundy hair around a finger, her nail is painted with chipped black varnish, something she'll miss from now on, unless someone in this almost alternate dimension, has any.

"-hut all ready for her stay." The King says as the door to the room opens, the four of them exit as she shifts in her seat once again, gnawing at her bottom lip as Steve nods to the King, before walking over to her, grabbing the suitcase resting at her feet.

"Good news, you can stay. They even have a semi secluded area where they've prepared your hut." She narrows her eyes at the Captain, his baggy eyes and mussed up hair, like he's ran his fingers though it a thousand and one times, doesn't help convince her much that this is for her safety, and not their own. His emotions are chaotic as they practically slap her in the face. "Maeve?"

"You should shave." She says as he reaches up to rub the beard that isn't quite stubble anymore, but isn't a full on beard yet, the apples of his cheeks are red, and the Princess giggles.

"I am princess Shuri, I will help deliver you to your new home, and help explain our culture to you, as best as I can." She says in a friendly manner as she steps up to Maeve, holding out a hand to the American. "Welcome to Wakanda, Ms. Smithe."

"Hello, Princess Shuri. I am pleased to meet you. Please, i-if you don't mind, please just call me Maeve, or Mae." She smiles, shaking the princess's hand, and Shuri drops her hand, smiling.

"Only if you call me Shuri." She says. "Come along. Brother, are you coming?" She asks, looking at the King. T'Challa nods and smiles, everyone following the Princess. The King is close to the Princess, Mae falls behind to talk to Steve and Natasha.

"We will be at your call, anytime you need us, Mae." Steve says as he puts his free arm around her shoulder. Regret and thankfulness emit from the Super Soldier, her exhaustion at everything lately makes her unable to shield against the emotions, though she's grateful she still can fight back against his thoughts.

"You know we won't be able to be here right away, but we'll be here as soon as you need, Mae. This isn't us abandoning you." Natasha says, draping her arm over Mae's other shoulder.

"I'm used to it." She says, ducking out of their hold, moving to follow the King and Princess closer. Natasha and Steve exchange looks with sadness radiating from the duo, as the burgundy haired mutant reflects the emotion back.

The hut sits in a grassy meadow, it's a medium size made out of wood, with a pergola off to the side, and stream in the back behind the small forest. Another hut sits not far away, but other than that, there isn't another in sight. The hut has modern equipment in it, a TV, fridge, stock and oven, running shower, and toilet, with a small bedroom tucked into the back, with a queen-size pillow top mattress. The floor of the hut is wood, with a nice rug every few feet, and plush couch in the living room. A modern house with an un-modern appearance. Outside the pergola is white, with ivy and flowers twining up the posts, a bench sits on the inside, and a foldable art easel is tucked in it, to the side.

"This is nice." Steve says after he sets her suitcase on the end of the bed. "It's remote, so you won't have to feel all of those emotions, of a bunch of strangers. You won't hear their thoughts." He smiles at her as she touches the drapes over one of the windows, before looking over at him.

"It'll do." She says simply, causing Natasha to give him an almost patronizing look, and Mae turns to her. "It's not just his fault." She looks at Mae in confusion, like she's not feeling what Mae knows that she knows Mae can feel. "I can feel your irritation." Natasha sighs as she walks over to rest a hand on Mae's shoulder. The air is tense, making her grateful that the King and Shuri decided to stay outside, to let the three of them have their time.

"This isn't like your parents, Maeve! We're not abandoning you, but we need to do this, for everyone's safety. Not just our's, but for your's as well." Natasha says in anger.

"Bullshit!" Mae snaps, jerking away from the two of them. "You can lie to me, and to yourselves, but your emotions betray you! You think that I'm too dangerous after what happened at the airstrip!" She clenches her fists, before wrapping her arms around herself. "Ju-Just leave! You did what you set out to do, so just go!" She turns away from them, fighting back tears as Natasha looks at Steve, who nods as he leaves the hut.

"I'm not leaving, Maeve." Natasha wraps her arms around the young woman, who is curling into a ball. "Not while you're like this." Natasha pets her hair, holding Mae close. "You're my sister, Maeve. You're my sister and I love you, and I would NEVER abandon you." Her whispers are soothing, her emotions just solidifying the affection she has for Mae.

"I'm sorry, Nat." She sobs, curling up against the assassin, who caresses her hair, silently crying as well. "I just can't forget about how it felt, when my parents left me at the School." Natasha shushes her, and pets Mae's hair.

"It's alright, Mae. I'm not going to hold it against you. We have to protect ourselves, but you too. Your emotions affect your abilities, and we can't have that happen when we're on the run." Natasha explains, and Mae wipes her face, and nods.

"I understand. It's okay." She takes a deep breath, and Natasha smiles at her as the two of them stand up. "Promise me, you'll be safe." She says as she hugs Natasha, who hugs Maeve back in return.

"We'll try, but we can't promise that." She points out, causing Mae to nod sadly as they part. "Now, go tell Steve goodbye." Mae smiles as she walks outside, Natasha is right one her heels. Steve smiles as Maeve smiles sadly at him, leaning up to kiss his cheek with a hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry." She murmurs, causing him to shake his head, his cheeks taking on a ruddy color as he cups her cheek with a free hand.

"No, doll. It's not your fault. I'm just sorry we can't stay." She smiles up at him, leaning up on her tiptoes to throw her arms around him.

"Please be safe, try and protect each other." She whispers in his ear as he places his hands on her waist, hugging her back.

"Of course, doll. And, don't forget that we're here for you, no matter what." He murmurs as she nods, leaning back on her heels. She ignores the rush of warmth in her chest, knowing that it doesn't belong to her. "You take care of Bucky for me, when he wakes up, okay?"

"Of course, Steve. You can count on me." She promises, causing him to smile, and scratch his scruffy cheek.

"I know, doll. I'll... give you two a minute to say goodbye." He says, gesturing between Natasha and Maeve. He walks a bit away as she turns to Natasha, who is smirking at her.

"What?" Natasha shakes her head and laughs, yanking Maeve by the wrist into her arms.

"You couldn't be more oblivious, even with your powers." Natasha says, hugging Maeve.

"No, I know how he feels. But, it's just a crush for him. He feels warmth when he's near me, but elation at the mere mention of Peggy's name." She steps away from Natasha. "And, I don't feel that way about him. I don't feel that way, after..."

"Logan, I know." She grinds out his name, before kissing her forehead. "Rat bastard." Her snarl has Maeve throwing her head back, laughing as Natasha blinks, before smiling. "Good to see you laughing. I love you, sis."

"Love you too, sis." She hugs the assassin again. "I'll see you soon, yeah?" She grins.

"It'll be fun." Natasha promises.

"Bye, Nat." She says, and the assassin nods as she starts to walk away, the King nods the Maeve, before walking towards the other two, walking them back toward the castle as one of the women warriors comes into view, standing on the hill with her spear in hand, waiting as Shuri rolls her eyes.

"Mae, these are you Kimoyo beads." She hands the to Maeve, who slides them on her wrist. "I've personally designed them, they will allow you to make calls, and purchases. Brother has taken care of funds, so you need not worry about it." Shuri explains, causing Maeve to nod as she studies the beads. "There are many other things they can be used for, but you can learn about them later."

"Thank you, Shuri." Maeve says as she slides the bracelet up and down, looking at them before, looking up at the Princess. "Would you- I mean... Could you- I feel..." Shuri was her stumble over her words, before nodding as she gestures towards the door.

"I will stay, until you are settled." She says with a smile, the two of them duck inside the hut, the lights coming on as the sun starts to set outside. The two young women talk for a few hours, about the world outside the Wakandan boarders, and Maeve's history with the Avengers and her life before. Shuri talks about the culture of Wakanda, her shenanigans with her brother, and his wife Nakia, and even life inside the castle. It turns out, they're just two lonely girls, craving a friendship. This might work out for the two of them, after all.

#Bucky Barnes x Reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x reader smut #bucky barnes x reader wakanda #Avengers x Reader #mentions of x-men #avengers series #Series part one

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movietvtechgeeks · 7 years

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Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/donald-trump-says-no-big-deal-russia-leak-big-deal/

Donald Trump says no big deal but Russia leak is a big deal

One would think that eventually, politicians would begin to choose American patriotism over politics, but with Donald Trump, he seems to have cast a fog over the minds of seemingly rational Republicans. We all know that politicians aren't the most trustworthy, but as history shows, they've woken up when they realize that remaining silent when you see something bad happening makes you just as guilty as doing the act. By remaining silent bystanders, conservatives have enabled the president to feel like he can do anything and just flip his middle finger up to our country and the Constitution. I personally was saddened to see him speak to a graduating college class as he's the worst type of example for any student. All he has shown our next generation is that you can lie, disrespect women, channel your inner racist and trade out your country for money, AND you can get away with it. No repercussions as long as you bully and ignore the law. You can be sure that we will encounter a generation that begins saying "If Donald Trump can get away with it..." When people like Mitch McConnell continue to give Trump free passes just so he can screw over what's left of the middle class with his tax reform wish, you know that something has to give. Our Constitution and democracy truly have been put to the test, but it will take the actions of we citizens to make things right again. The one good thing that Trump has done is united many people who normally wouldn't bother speaking to one another for many reasons, but when our country is under attack, Americans have that common trait of banding together to salvage it. If you still don't believe that there is an attack from within, continue keeping your head in the sand. For those of you that can now see (or have seen it since Jan 20), we can't become normalized to all the lies, deceptions, and distractions. Having worked on a fundraiser that Donald Trump held for Chuck Schumer at his 5th Avenue home in the late 90's, I got to see firsthand that he has always won because he knows how to wear people down until they say "screw it, it's too much work." I worked for a pr/lobbying firm that learned the hard way of how Trump loved to let the bills pile up while demanding more work from people and then walk out on the check. He's left a huge trail of those throughout his career, and the biggest pile of bills that he's accruing right now will wind up getting dumped all over the American people. We can't allow him to do that to us, and I know how hard it is as I've felt the frustration of seeing him do things that would have gotten Barack Obama hauled off without any repercussions. This was the attitude of the 1980's and that wound up heading us off the cliff with the 2008 giant recession. All we can ask Republicans is to imagine that it was a Democrat in the White House and what they would be doing if they were doing the same thing as Donald Trump. Below is the Indivisible Guide for Activism that can be a great guide for those wanting to do something other than just protesting. I did the whole protest activism back in the 90's, and it wasn't until I jumped in doing more of what's in this guide that I realized true change could be made. So that's my rant, but do check out this guide, download it and share it as it will surely inspire you to realize that we are Donald Trump and all those Republicans bosses, not the other way around. They should be terrified of us. Nothing is more terrifying to a politician than a well-informed pissed off American. [pdf-embedder url="https://movietvtechgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/indivisle-guide-for-donald-trump-activism-2017.pdf" title="indivisible guide for donald trump activism 2017"] Below are the top 5 reasons why Donald Trump's actions this past week are such a huge deal for the future of our country. While the media does love to blow things up for ratings, this is one time to actually take them seriously as a crisis is not coming; it's already here.

1. The competence question

There are few commodities as important to presidents as a reputation for competence. Once public confidence in a commander-in-chief's capacity to do his job wanes, their political decline can be brutally swift, as President George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter could attest. That's why this story may end up being so damaging to Trump. Earlier uproars that buffeted the White House, over the President's inflammatory tweets and a litany of falsehoods over his inaugural crowd size, could be put down to Trump's idiosyncratic freewheeling style. Critics saw his firing of FBI Director James Comey as evidence of more worrying autocratic instincts. But the report that Trump shared top secret information about an ISIS terror plot with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the Oval Office last Wednesday -- the morning after the Comey firing -- poses a more searching question about whether the President can be trusted with the gravest responsibilities that come with his office and whether he understands the implications of discussing America's most carefully guarded secrets with a US adversary. As those questions rattled through Washington Monday night, the White House was in a bunker mentality. And even allies who have been supportive of the administration so far are now casting huge doubt on its credibility. "They are in a downward spiral right now and have got to figure out a way to come to grips with all that's happening," said Republican Sen. Bob Corker, who is viewed as a sober and restrained influencer on Capitol Hill. "The chaos that is being created by the lack of discipline is creating an environment that I think — it creates a worrisome environment," Corker said. There is not much doubt that of all the dramas that have battered this administration, the new Russia intelligence saga is the most dramatic. Alan Dershowitz, professor emeritus at Harvard University, said Trump is safe from criminal prosecution or impeachment because a President has the power to declassify intelligence. But he offered a stunning assessment of the gravity of the situation. "This is the most serious charge ever made against a sitting president of the United States. Let's not underestimate it," he told CNN's Erin Burnett. But Trump hit back early Tuesday, implicitly dismissing arguments about his competence by arguing that he had made a strategic decision to share intelligence with his Oval Office guests. "As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism," Trump wrote on Twitter. Former CIA Director Leon Panetta, however, told CNN's "New Day" that a lack of discipline by the President was causing him to make rash decisions. "The President of the United States cannot just do or say or speak whatever the hell he wants. That's just irresponsible. So you need to have some people that sit down with the President before he goes into a meeting and say these are the lines you cannot cross because it relates to the security of our country," Panetta said.

2. The Intelligence angle

There have already been several reports that allied intelligence agencies, fearful of the administration's capacity to guard the most sensitive secrets, have been wary about sharing top secret information with the United States. Those concerns are now likely to multiply. The Washington Post said in its report, major details of which were confirmed by CNN, that Trump had told the Russians about information provided by a US partner agency in an intelligence-sharing agreement that was so sensitive details were withheld from allies and restricted even within the US government. The consequences of that could hardly be more serious, former CIA case officer Bob Baer told Burnett. "The President, by revealing this to the Russians, has lost control of this information. It's going to go to the Syrians, It's going to go to the Iranians — Russian allies," Baer said. "The ability to protect that source whoever he is, wherever he is has been seriously undermined ... If a CIA officer had revealed this information to the Russians, he would be fired instantly." The White House on Monday blasted the reports as "false." National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said that Trump did not compromise any sources and methods. But while the identity of the country that provided the US with the information is not publicly known, it is unlikely to be too hard for the Russians, with their highly sophisticated intelligence agencies, to work out where it came from. That leaves open the possibility that vital intelligence, key to protecting American lives, may not be available to US clandestine services in future. Lawmakers and intelligence officials are already warning that disclosing this type of information could harm US efforts to counter an ISIS plot to place explosives in laptops and other electronic devices to evade airport security.

3. The political hit

One reason why Trump is so politically vulnerable to Monday's reports is that he anchored much of his campaign on lambasting Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton over her handling of classified information. But now he appears to have acted in way that is just as much, if not more, injurious to American secrets as Clinton's private email scheme, exposing him to accusations of hypocrisy. Republicans meanwhile are getting strung out by the constant chaos raging around the Trump presidency — and that they are constantly forced to address, to the detriment of their once-in-a-generation chance to use Republican majorities on Capitol Hill to enact a conservative agenda. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said sardonically Monday: "Can we have a crisis-free day? That's all I'm asking." The big unknown for the White House is whether the latest Trump-triggered crisis is so significant that it wreaks political damage of greater magnitude than he has so far experienced. It could be that the latest drama is so explosive that it opens up space between the administration and Republican leaders who have so far stood firm behind Trump. House Speaker Paul Ryan notably put out a statement seeking more information on Monday's development, but did not rush to back the President. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell kept his own counsel. It's probably still too early to assess how the constant controversies impact Republican prospects heading into the 2018 midterm elections. But as the political calendar grinds through summer, vulnerable lawmakers may begin thinking of their own skins more than the fate of the Trump administration. That point may not be here yet, but it will not be far off if things keep going badly for the White House. The fast moving developments of Monday night into Tuesday also again called into question the credibility of the White House -- which was already compromised by its shifting explanations for the firing of Comey. Both McMaster and his deputy, Dina Powell, used the word "false" to describe the Post's reporting. Yet Trump's tweets appeared to validate at least parts of the story.

4. The Russia question

If suspicion was rampant in Washington about the President's links to Russia before, it is going to go into overdrive now. Already the pictures of Lavrov and Kislyak yukking it up with Trump pointed to a political gaffe by the White House. Now, Democrats are using Trump's apparent intelligence lapse to renew calls for a special prosecutor to probe allegations of Russian election-meddling and possible collusion with the Trump campaign — and to hike pressure on Republicans on the issue. "What we know is that it is a very, very serious threat to our national security and safety, and that's why my hope is that Republicans and Democrats will come together in favor of an independent investigation through a special prosecutor and through an independent commission," Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Monday on CNN. "Make no mistake: this kind of serious grave threat really requires a national response, putting country above politics." At the very least, Monday's bombshell will renew intense curiosity about why Trump, unlike almost everyone else in Washington, does not seem to be as wary of Russia and its motives. "It's the Russians -- we have been going through all this stuff," CNN senior political analyst David Gergen said. "Why is he giving information to the Russians of all people?"

5. The international angle

Monday's explosive disclosures erupted at a time when the President is preparing to take his first steps on the world stage. He will leave Friday for a trip to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Italy and Belgium. That was always going to be an onerous test to such an inexperienced commander-in-chief. Now, Trump will be under even more intense pressure to counter perceptions abroad that he is out of his depth in the Oval Office and to reassure foreign leaders that America remains a force in the world under his leadership and can be relied upon to keep allies' secrets. It is not just the reputation of the President himself that is on the line. The credibility of the United States, the most powerful nation in the world and the guarantor of Western security, is being publicly eroded. Ultimately, it comes down to Trump himself and his attitude toward his job. "He is very inexperienced, this is an absolutely new world to him," Hayden said. "If I fault him for anything, it's not that he's inexperienced -- he doesn't have humility in the face of his inexperience." The White House on Tuesday defended President Donald Trump's disclosure of classified information to senior Russian officials as "wholly appropriate," as Trump tried to beat back criticism from fellow Republicans and calm international allies increasingly wary about sharing their secrets with the new president. The highly classified information about an Islamic State plot was collected by Israel, a crucial source of intelligence and close partner in the fight against some of the America's fiercest threats in the Middle East. Trump's disclosure of the information threatened to fray that partnership and piled pressure on the White House to explain the apparently on-the-spot decision to reveal the information to Russian diplomats in a meeting last week. In a series of morning tweets, Trump declared he has "an absolute right" as president to share "facts pertaining to terrorism" and airline safety with Russia. Although top aides on Monday had declared reports about Trump's discussions false, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster on Tuesday sought instead to downplay the significance of the information Trump revealed. The president had been engaging in "routine sharing" with foreign leaders, he said, arguing that some of the information was publicly available. Still, the revelations sent a White House accustomed to chaos reeling anew. It is extraordinary for a president to share such information without consent of the country that collected it, apparently violating the confidentiality of an intelligence-sharing agreement with Israel. It was, perhaps, even more remarkable that Trump chose to confide in representatives of an adversary, who could use the information to find its source. A U.S. official who confirmed the disclosure to media outlets said the revelation potentially put the source at risk. The U.S. official told media outlets that Trump shared details about an Islamic State terror threat related to the use of laptop computers on aircraft with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak. The official said the disclosure came as Trump boasted about his access to classified intelligence. An excerpt from an official transcript of the meeting reveals that Trump told them, "I get great intel. I have people brief me on great intel every day." The extraordinary leak of Trump's private conversations in the Oval Office appeared to be a direct consequence of the president's combative relationship with the U.S. spy agencies. The White House vowed to track down those who disclosed the information. The president's action drew rare criticism from some Republicans, who are desperate to get the White House refocused on health care and tax changes. Coming days before Trump's first trip abroad, it also raised questions about his standing with world leaders and led some countries to start second-guessing their own intelligence-sharing agreements with the U.S. In a statement, Israel's ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer said the partnership between the U.S and Israel was solid. The New York Times first reported that Israel was the source of the information. "Israel has full confidence in our intelligence sharing relationship with the United States and looks forward to deepening that relationship in the years ahead under President Trump," Dermer said. But other nations appeared to be reconsidering. A senior European intelligence official told media outlets his country might stop sharing information with the United States if it confirms that Trump shared classified details with Russian officials. Such sharing "could be a risk for our sources," the official said. The official spoke only on condition that neither he nor his country be identified, because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The revelation was first reported by the Washington Post. After he spoke with the Russians, Trump was informed that he had broken protocol and White House officials placed calls to the National Security Agency and the CIA looking to minimize any damage. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly, would not say which country's intelligence was divulged, but the New York Times and other outlets reported Tuesday that Israel was the source. On Tuesday, McMaster, in a White House briefing, cast some of Trump's revelations as information that was available from publicly available "open-source reporting" and added that the president did not know the precise source of the intelligence he had shared. He appeared to be suggesting that Trump had not knowingly compromised a confidential source, but the statement also indicated that the president had not asked his advisers for detailed information about the intelligence report he'd received. "In the context of that discussion, what the president discussed with the foreign minister was wholly appropriate to that conversation and is consistent with the routine sharing of information between the president and any leaders with whom he is engaged," McMaster said. On Capitol Hill, Democrats and Republicans alike expressed concern. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called the reports "deeply disturbing" and said they could affect the willingness of U.S. allies and partners to share intelligence with the U.S. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called for Congress to have immediate access to a transcript of Trump's meeting with the Russians, saying that if Trump refuses, Americans will doubt that their president is capable of safeguarding critical secrets. Trump ignored reporters' questions about whether he disclosed classified information. Following a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump said only that his meeting last week with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was "very, very successful." CIA Director Mike Pompeo was to brief members of the House intelligence committee late Tuesday. The new controversy left White House staffers, already under siege following last week's botched handling of FBI Director James Comey's firing, on edge. The communications team, in particular, has come in for sharp criticism from the president, as well as his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner. Trump has told advisers he's aware of a need to make changes to his White House team, though it was unclear what those moves might be or whether any were imminent.

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