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trophyposting · 8 months

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TROPHY HEADCANONS bc i am spinning him around in my mind 24/7

•he LOVES studio ghibli movies bc of the art. he saw some of the residents watching ponyo in the lobby and he did that thing where he just stood in one place not sitting down to watch it bc he didnt wanna seem like he liked it. but he does. his favorite scenes art-wise are the big zoomed out landscapes and that one scene in ponyo where the town is underwater

•he cries like super easily (see waffling about and this post) and he doesnt even have to be very upset either it just kind of happens. crybaby ass

•he is an (probably undiagnosed) adhd-haver. i dont really have any evidence for this i just feel it in my bones

•he has NPD. i do have evidence for this one actually but that would be a whole post on its own honestly

•eventually his interest in photography extends to an interest in things he likes to photograph (eg. plants/flowers and butterflies)

•when clover comes to the island trophy ends up photographing (and by extension hanging out with) her a lot because she's, like, supernaturally photogenic and trophy loves how photos of her turn out. they become friends :-)

•he actually does genuinely dominate at dodgeball bc it involves two of his favorite things: 1. violence and 2. targeting the most autistic people he can find. cheesy just happened to throw him off with that joke about balls (also one of his favorite things)

•there's gotta be like some actual psychological warfare shit going on between trophy and tissues bc not only are they both petty bitches (more accurately tissues is a petty bitch and trophy is quick to anger and holds grudges which creates a self-perpetuating cycle of bitchiness) and they also spent like,., months in a closet together which is of course a recipe for disaster. in the case of limegold they're like that post about having sex by standing on opposite sides of the room fully-clothed trying to explode each other with their minds

•if trophy and cabby met i think they would actually hit it off bc he loves talking about himself and cabby loves knowing things about people. i even think he would be understanding of her memory issues bc his adhd ass would be like "? you forget things sometimes? hey me too dw abt it" bc like. even if her memory problems are more severe than his he still, like, understands yk (i do NAWT CARE if this is ooc they mean everything. 2 me)

•if trophy and silver spoon met silver spoon would dislike him for being "uncivilized and uncouth" and trophy would dislike him for being a snob. i love the aesthetic of those two as a duo but sadly i can't imagine them befriending each other

•he's probably from some totally obscure and random state in the midwest. like, iowa or nebraska or something. minnesota perhaps

•he kind of knows, at least on some level, that his decision-making skills aren't. great. that knowledge has not and never will stop him from continuing to make questionable decisions

•he loves relaxing and being alone, probably more than anyone would expect. he does have a workout regimen as fan said but working out is really more of a meditative and stress-relieving activity for him even if he isn't really fully aware of it. this is also (at least part of the reason) why he loves photography

•he kind of hates sleeping in his room bc of tissues' sneezing so he's developed insomnia and kind of just. wanders around at night. when he does get tired he just falls asleep in random places, usually on the couch in the lobby but sometimes he just. passes out on the floor

•that is. it :-)

#🏆#my headcanons #k talks #trophy ii #suggestive tw #ig? bc of sex mention

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sharksandothernonsense · 6 years

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This (very, very extended) comparison occurred to me today while I was thinking about net neutrality and Literally Everything Else this morning; I found it encouraging, and figured I’d post it in the hopes that somebody else might, too.

(Yes, it’s long, and yes, if you know me you’ve probably heard this story at some point in your life. If nothing else, hopefully the visuals will be amusing.)

So, it's 2002, I was about 8 years old, and for the entire summer, I'd been playing on the giant dirt pile at the bottom of the hill that was intended to level out the yard so my mom could expand her vegetable garden. (My parents had a truckload of dirt brought in sometime around May, but didn't actually get around to dealing with it for one reason or another for a few months, so it became a default playground.)

I adored that dirt pile. It was the treacherous mountain I and my imaginary quest party had to cross to reach the forests in which we’d find treasure, the Fortress of Evil that had to be taken by force from the Bad Guys, the Fortress of Good where I reigned as Supreme Queen Empress of the Known World, all that fun stuff, and I was very, very attached to my imaginary worlds. (No, I didn't have a lot of friends. Actually, any friends.) So when a guy showed up with a little skid loader and I realized my dirt pile was going to be leveled, I was Not Happy.

(It's probably relevant at this point to mention that at eight years old, the entirety of my media consumption featured noble quests and valiant heroes who always ended up making dramatic last stands to protect something they loved and winning.)

My parents weren't particularly interested in listening to my version of a well-reasoned argument as to why the Dirt Pile (AKA Erebor, the Misty Mountains, the mountains between Narnia and Archenland, the Fortress of Solitude...) should remain intact, so like any other eight-year-old whose favorite playground was being taken down, I was distraught. Unlike some other eight-year-olds, I had recently finished re-reading The Hobbit and thoroughly idolized Thorin Oakenshield, so I knew exactly what one was supposed to do when one's beloved mountain was threatened by the forces of evil!

And that's how I, at eight years old, ended up standing on top of a dirt pile in front of a very confused gentleman with a tractor, shouting at him that this was my Dirt Pile and if he wanted to level it, he was going to have to Go Through Me!! before he could do his job.

It was, in my mind, a heroic last stand to rival any book's dramatic climax. Unfortunately for my childhood fantasies, heroic last stands don't work out so well when you're eight years old and the beloved artifact in question is a dirt pile that was never intended to stay there, and while I don't remember exactly how I was removed from the situation, I clearly was, and the yard renovations went ahead as planned.

A tragic ending to what was, in hindsight, not my finest moment (though it was a very good summary of my approach to everything).

HOWEVER. This was not, as it turned out, the end for the Saga of the Dirt Pile.

See, the thing about Nebraska is, it gets a lot of wind, and doesn't have a lot of plant life to hold the dirt in place. It's also very dry pretty much all the time. It’s not a desert, but one of the challenges of having a yard where I grew up was that the hill in front of the house was very prone to erosion.

Add in a couple of major ice storms, two teenagers learning to drive a riding lawnmower on that hill, and the fact that the tomato plants didn't actually take root much further down the hill, and today, 15 years later, there is a considerable dirt pile in that same spot at the bottom of the hill.

It took a lot of time and some effort from nature + a couple teenagers, but my dirt pile came back.

At that point, it occurred to me that this probably isn’t a bad possible outcome for what currently feels like taking a stand in front of the Bulldozer of American Politics--the thing we’re trying to defend might very well come back in a way we don’t expect.

(Which is, of course, a much more serious situation and not at all as lighthearted as my Dirt Pile Dramatics, but it's something, at least.)

BUT WAIT. IT GETS BETTER.

About six months ago, my dad calls me, which is weird, because usually I'm the one who calls him, and asks if I remember all those times where he said they had to get rid of something and I got really upset and tried to defend it. (The Dirt Pile was the most obvious example, but not the only one; others include a hideous orange couch that had belonged to my great-grandmother and had been used as a makeshift trampoline so long the inside struts had all broken, an old mattress that had become the replacement trampoline when the couch broke, and a stuffed Eeyore toy that the cat disemboweled to get to the jingle ball inside.)

"Sure, Dad," I said, wondering where this is going, because it's been like 7 years since the last time this happened and I've gotten significantly better at dealing with change. (I try to channel my Dramatic Last Stands into slightly more productive battles these days.)

"Well, I wanted to apologize for that, because I've been thinking about it lately, and it was obviously a bad idea. I should have let you hang on to the things you valued; we could have worked out another way to do what we needed to without making you feel like you had to stage dramatic last stands to save them."

First, jaw drop, because I don't think I've ever heard my dad apologize for something he did that long ago in my life, before or since (half the time I'm pretty sure he doesn't remember things from that long ago). And second...wow, it took 15 years, but he figured out the problem with no prompting, apologized, and it's not going to happen again!

Which kind of makes me hopeful, in a weird way, that the Social and Political Clusterfuck that is current America is going to come around to something like that in the future. It might not be next year, it might be 15 or 20 years from now, but if that can happen on the small scale, it can happen on a bigger one, too.

The dramatic last stand doesn’t have to be THE END. Sometimes it just means it’s going to take a lot longer to get the thing being defended back—but that doesn’t mean it will never come back. It’s not time to give up just yet. Keep fighting, keep hoping that the dramatic stand works, but if it doesn’t? That still doesn’t mean everything is lost.

And someday, even the people who don’t understand right now why it’s important might see it differently and come back and say so. It’s not likely, but if my dad (who is, shall we say, ‘set in his ways’) can realize that he fucked up when I was a kid, so can other people.

(Wow, that turned into an essay. Sorry. Still in Finals Mode, apparently.)

#text post #long post #hey look I actually WROTE something #current events #The Dirt Pile Saga

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bobby-singers-library · 7 years

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A Whirlwind Romance Chapter 11

wPrevious Chapters; Chapter1 Chapter2 Chapter3 Chapter4 Chapter5 Chapter6

Chapter7 Chapter8 Chapter9 Chapter10

Also you can read this on my AO3

This chapter starts smutty, so if you want to read you’ll have to click the Keep reading!!

Jo groaned as Crowley rocked her gently, his chest was pressed against her back, his large cock deep inside of her the slow rocking of their bodies making the bed move. He had one arm under her neck, her hair cascading over his tattoos, the other arm was over her hip, his fingers gently massaging her clit as he rocked into her from behind. Jo went from groaning to gasping as he sped up his hips, her back arched away from him, her hips pressing closer into his pelvis. He started whispering in her ear as he sped up the movement of his fingers, “Are you going to cum, sweetheart? I want you to, I want you to shutter around me, feel you tighten until I can't hold back anymore.” he bit gently on her neck and rubbed her clit just right, making him grin when he heard her breath catch and felt her body jerk against him. He groaned as she tightened around him perfectly, making him cum hard.

They lay there panting, nothing but the moonlight shining in from outside to illuminate them. It was so late it was early, and Crowley was determined to keep his promise to his new fiancee. This was only round two since they had went to bed hours earlier, but he figured in an hour or two they would have to get up to get ready to leave for their plane, but they would need a shower first, and he intended to make full use of it. For now they both slipped easily back to sleep.

5AM came quickly, they dragged themselves out of bed and into the shower, where Crowley made sure to keep his promise. As Jo was toweling her hair dry she smiled over at Crowley who was pulling on a pair of jeans, “You know I'm surprised I'm not walking bow-legged after last night,” she grinned at him.

Crowley let out a snort of laughter, “Yee haw.” he said in his most American accent.

Jo laughed, and shook her head. She hung the towel up and grabbed her own jeans to start dressing. By 6:30am they had eaten breakfast and had their bags ready to go by the door and now Jo was finding out how hard it was to leave a three year old behind.

Will was crying and holding onto Crowley tightly not wanting him to leave. Crowley was trying to convince the boy that it wouldn't be long before they were back, but he was still just a baby and he didn't want to be separated again. “I promise, next time we come to visit you will come back to America with us. But for now you need to finish up school for the year. It will just be one more month, I promise. As soon as school is done, we will come back for you.” Crowley tried to reason with the small boy.

“No, now.” replied Will into Crowley shirt.

Crowley sighed and looked up to his father for help. Roderick reached out to help pull Will away from Crowley, taking him into his own arms. The little boy resisted at first, then seemed to realize it was fruitless. He let go and instead buried himself against his Grandfather, still letting out small hiccups. There was a car horn heard outside, with a sigh Crowley pressed another kiss to the boys head before turning around to grab his bag.

Jo pressed her lips together for a moment, before she kissed the little boy as well then grabbed her bag to follow Crowley out the door. This was harder then she thought it would be, just the night before she had agreed to be this little boys Mother, now she was leaving him for a month. It was a crappy feeling, but they had to head back the US and Will needed to finish his school year out. Just a month she promised herself.

She and Crowley sat in the back of the cab silently for a few minutes once the car pulled away before Jo decided to speak, “So, that was incredibly difficult.” she remarked sadly.

“It never gets easier.” Crowley replied with a frown, “Should we have just brought him?” he asked more to himself then Jo.

“He needs to finish out his school year.” Jo sighed, “He was excited about the things they were going to do this month, he shouldn't miss that.” she reached out and gripped his hand with her own.

“I know. But it kills me to see him so upset.”

“He's going to be upset when he comes with us as well. He'll be sad to leave his Grandfathers.”

Crowley sighed but nodded his head in agreement.

When they finally arrived back in Nebraska it was 3 pm on Sunday. The jet lag and time changes made Jo's head hurt. Luckily Crowley seemed pretty used to it. He was able to drive them home easily, as Jo napped in the passengers seat.

When they made it to the penthouse they were both so worn out that they just collapsed on the couch to sit awhile. “Order in tonight?” asked Crowley.

“Yeah, pizza.” said Jo. Crowley just nodded, but neither of them moved to order the food.

Jo let out a heavy sigh and pulled out her phone. She quickly sent a text off to her Mom letting her know they made it back, as well as one to Bobby. “That shouldn't have felt like it zapped all of my strength.” she mumbled. Crowley gave a soft huff of laughter. When Jo's phone buzzed she moaned and lifted it to look at the screen, her Mother sent a message back saying she wanted to come to her place to see her, “Shit.” grumbled Jo. She quickly typed a reply that she wasn't at her place. The next message asked when she thought she would be home. Jo sighed.

“What?” asked Crowley as he turned his head to look at her.

“She wants to know when I'll be home, so she can come see me.” sighed Jo.

“You are home?” asked Crowley tiredly.

“She means my apartment.” Jo raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh. Right.” he said. “I forgot you don't live here. You should live here.”

Jo laughed, “I think we're doing shit backwards.” groused Jo, “We're suppose to move in together, then get engaged.”

“They can't tell us what to do.” Crowley snarked.

Jo gave a snort of laughter. “I'm gonna have to tell my landlady I'm moving out. It's not like I have much there. I've brought practically everything here. I have a few more clothes and my plant, and my knifes. We have no use for any of my furniture, your stuff is all better then my crap.”

“So lets go get the rest of your stuff.” he replied, “Then you can be living in sin with me.” he leaned over to kiss her.

Jo giggled into the kiss feeling more awake. “Well, how about I go to my place, pack what I want, meet my Mom for my lecture, then come back here where we can have pizza.”

“I could go with you.” he said, “Help you carry things.”

Jo shook her head, “Naw, you stay here and unpack our bags. Or fall asleep, which is what you look like you need to do.”

“Hey, I had a late night.” he gave her a filthy smile.

Jo rolled her eyes, “Really? I slept all night. What did you do?”

“Oh you know, crocheted a new hat, played scrabble on-line. Nothing too exciting.” he said sarcastically.

Jo laughed and kissed him again. She looked down at her engagement ring. “I'm not sure I should let Mom see this yet. I think maybe my parents should meet you first.” she said suddenly serious.

Crowley nodded in agreement, “How about I hold it for you, luv. When you get home, I'll put it back on your finger where it belongs.” He said as he pulled the ring off.

“Thank you,” whispered Jo, she wrapped on arm around his neck and put her face to his chest, “Thank you for understanding.”

Crowley pressed a kiss to her head, “Better go, darling. Before I decide to re-enact last night.”

Jo pulled back and smiled at him, giving him a brief kiss before standing up. She stretched before sighing and moving towards the door. She picked up her purse and keys, “Love you.” she called over her shoulder as she exited the door.

“Love you.” answered Crowley as he smiled down at the engagement ring resting in his palm.

Jo let herself into her old studio apartment. She paused to look around and take note of what she needed to do. Tomorrow she would contact her landlady but for today she would just gather her possessions up. She had empty plastic containers from the last time she moved, and everything should fit in those. She didn't have much here, a lot of her childhood stuff was still at her families house. She began by taking her few pictures, knife shadow boxes, and art work off the walls. It only took 5 minutes and they only took up one container. She put a lid over the box and took it to her truck. She also took the few boxes that had loose knives in them and put those under her seat in the truck. She went back in and started putting what was left of her clothes and shoes into another container. She was almost done when she heard the knock on her door.

Jo walked the 10 steps to the door and opened it. Her mother was on the other side, looking like she always did in jeans and a work shirt with her hair around her shoulders.

“Hey mom, come on it.” Jo let her in and closed the door behind her. Jo went back to putting clothes in the container.

Ellen looked around with a crease in her forehead, “What are you doing?”

“Ah, well. Crowley and I decided to move in together. I've been staying over there all the time anyway, so we figured, make it official. I don't even have much here, so I'm going to take everything over there once I'm done here and call the landlady tomorrow.” Jo gave her a forced bright smile. She already knew Ellen wouldn't be happy.

Ellen just looked at her daughter with her mouth open in shock for a moment, then moved to sit on the bed where Jo was working. Ellen studied Jo as she continued to fold clothes and place it neatly into the container she was using. As she looked at her daughter she felt like she didn't know this young woman in front of her. It felt like yesterday she was a little girl, a little girl who always needed her Mommy. Now she and Joanna barely talked, and when they did there was so much tension. She thought she had done well as a Mother, teaching her, guiding her, but now there was a wedge between them that no matter how hard she fought, she couldn't bridge. Ellen looked around again, sitting on the bed next her was a purse, but it wasn't the one Jo had carried around for the last couple of years. This one was brand new, Ellen reached out to bring it closer, “Did you finally get a new purse?”

Jo looked up to see her Mom holding her new Louis Vuitton bag. “Ah, yeah I got that in London.” replied Jo with a tight smile.

“Is this one of those knockoffs that's suppose to look like that famous designer?” Asked Ellen when she noticed the leather strip with gold stamped LV logo on it. She had never known her daughter to have any interest in such things.

“God, I hope not. If the people at the Louis Vuitton store in London are selling fakes I think they would have a lot of pissed off customers.” Jo joked.

“Are you telling me this thing is real?” asked Ellen as she looked down at he bag. Now that she looked closer she could see even if it was a fake, it would be an expensive one.

Jo cleared her throat, “Yeah it is. I can't believe it is, but yup.” Jo went back to the small closet to pull out her small amount of clothes that were hanging. Mostly coats and a couple dresses. She began to put those away as well.

“How did you get this? It must have cost a fortune.” said Ellen in a worried voice.

Jo snorted, “You have no idea.” she sighed and looked at her mom, “And Crowley got it for me. Not that I had much of a choice. When he gets his mind set of something he can be stubborn.” Jo said with a small laugh.

“Joanna Beth, you shouldn't be letting some man buy you things. I can't even believe you ran off to some other country with him, now he's buying you a thousand dollar bag! Nothing is free Joanna, I know I taught you that.” Ellen tossed the purse back on the bed and got up to pace the small room.

Jo rolled her eyes, “Yes you did teach me that. But you also taught me that relationships are about compromise and understanding. He is a ridiculous man, just like all of them are, and when he gets an idea in his head, sometimes as the sane one in the relationship, I just have to throw up my hands and let him have his fun. Just like you let Dad keep trying to build furniture, even though he has no skill, just like you let him try to fix stuff around the house, only to have to call a repair man anyway. Lord knows Crowley doesn't know squat about those things either, but he has no problem calling for someone else to do it. But what he does want, for some reason, is to blow his families money on buying me things he thinks I need. But because he's himself he thinks we should go to Louis Vuitton instead of Wal-Mart like a normal person. But I love him, so I just roll my eyes and let him be silly, to an extent anyway.” Jo rolled her eyes.

Ellen swallowed at the soft look on her daughters face, how many times had she made that same face thinking about Bill. She blinked back her tears, “You love him, so soon?” she said softly.

Jo finished putting the last coat into the container and put its lid on. “It's fast, I know that. But, I'm not going to belittle his feelings or mine by denying that I love him.” she said seriously. “I know you want to treat me like a child, you've been doing it for years. But I'm not a child. I'm a grown woman. I know our relationship has been rocky these last couple of years, but I do love you mom. We just need to get on the same page. I don't need you to be my protector, or my keeper, I just need you to trust that I can run my own life, and when I come to you in tears, I just want you to hug me, not tell me everything I've done wrong.” Jo sat down on the bed looking exhausted.

Ellen furrowed her brow, “Are you talking about what happened with that Gordon guy?” she asked, “I thought you were over that. Is that why you have been acting so ridiculous lately?”

“Ridiculous?” Jo glared at her mom, “Are you kidding me? He broke up with me, all I wanted was for my Mom to hug me and tell me it was going to be ok. Instead what I got was lectured. I felt like you didn't even care about my feelings, all you cared about way saying I told you so and making me feel worse. You want to know why I don't tell you stuff? Right there. Take a look at how you treat me when you think you know better then me.” Jo snapped out.

“I was trying to help you!” shouted Ellen, “All you do is make mistakes! You are so smart and you just threw it all away! For what, Joanna? You could have stayed in college and done something with your life, instead you work as a secretary at an old garage! You could have said yes when Martin Fine asked you out, he was perfect for you! Instead you go falling for men who will never want you for long! It's like you are trying to ruin your life! Now you have some man you picked up off the side of the road, who you won't introduce to anyone! I mean my god if he's throwing money away on purses and weekend trips to London of all places who knows what kind of shady character he is! How do you know he's not a drug dealer? Or worse?”

Jo looked at her mother with tears in her eyes, “That's what you think of me...well, at least I know. I'm so sorry to be such a disappointment to you.” Jo rubbed her eyes, “I mean, I knew you didn't trust me or respect me, but I never thought you were so disappointed with everything I am. That you think I would be involved with someone and not know if he's a drug dealer.” Jo let out a bitter laugh. “I was really hoping this would be the day we got past all of this, but instead it happens again. I open up to you, and you throw everything back in my face. Just like you always do.” Jo picked up her container of clothes and walked towards the front door. She held it with one hand and opened the door, walking briskly to throw it in the back of the truck, she stalked back into the small studio and grabbed her house plant, then her purse. She sent one last glare at her mother, who had just been standing there watching her. Jo was actually surprised her mother hadn't kept yelling like she usually did. Jo walked out the door and to her truck and left, not even thinking about how her mother couldn't lock the place behind her, she just needed to leave.

@gettinjoyful @roxy-davenport @wholita

#Crowley #jo harvelle #supernatural #fanfiction #fan fiction #romance #smut

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tessatechaitea · 7 years

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Batman #23

This looks like a scene from Evil Dead. Or was it Evil Dead 2?

Of course Swamp Thing as Daddy Issues! He is a DC Character, after all!

• I just called my cat Fart Taco. • After Alec mentions how he didn't really know his real father and took his step-father's name, Batman screams, "You had two fathers you took for granted?! You are a monster!" Then he begins sobbing and runs out of the room waving his fists in the air. Alfred rolls his eyes and excuses himself for a second as he goes after him with a bag of Mother's Cookies. The "Mother's" has been covered over in Sharpie, of course. • Bruce and Swamp Thing are enjoying tea and artificial light in Bruce's den. Front and center hangs the family portrait painted by Damian of Bruce, Alfred, Dick, Tim, and Damian. Jason Todd wasn't invited for the portrait because, at the time, it was only for Waynes without death certificates. Of course, now all of them have died and come back (okay, Tim isn't exactly back yet. But soon!) since then. So I think somebody should paint Jason Todd back into the family. To the left of that painting is a portrait of Bruce with Martha and Thomas. And to the right is a picture of Napoleon. • A dog sits in the den with them. It isn't Titus. It looks like Ace. You know, I'd forgotten that Ace was back! After decades of reading comics, my brain has been programmed not to remember anything that happens in an Annual. • I wonder how Titus feels about Ace taking over the spotlight? I hope Titus is living at Titans Tower now. At least then when Damian ignores him, he'll have Beast Boy and Raven and Starfire to take care of him. • Bruce notices that Swamp Thing doesn't seem upset by the death of his biological father.

He's a grown ass man, Bruce! Are you saying that even if you'd been 65 when your parents were gunned down, you'd have been so emotionally devastated that you still would have become Batman? Maybe Swamp Thing doesn't care because he's already a superhero. What is this trauma supposed to transform him into? Swamp Bat Thing?

• Chapter 4 of this story is called "Kite Man!" because Tom King is desperate to make Kite Man a recurring character in this comic book. It's not like he's the most ridiculous villain Batman has ever faced. He actually has a pretty good gimmick! I suppose it's his name. Nowadays, he'd probably be Base Jumper. But there's something silly about sticking what is thought of as a kid's toy and activity onto the suffix man. It's a bit too strange to have a villain using the playful term kite as part of his name. Of course, all of Batman's other enemies do the same thing. Catwoman! Cats are cute and fun and you usually don't fuckfight with them. Riddler! Riddles are a child's annoying pastime! The Joker! It's a card you throw away immediately which never pops up constantly afterward gassing your friends and family. • The last time I flew a kite was in Nebraska. It was a Xena the Warrior Princess kite and, not having a lot of experience with kites, I didn't realize the roll of string isn't always tied off at the end. Who the fuck sells kite strings and doesn't tie it off to the tube its wound around?! I'm supposed to risk string burn to my fingers keeping a constant grip on the actual string? Anyway, I lost the fucking kite when the string ran out and flew up and out of my grasp. Bye, Xena! Bye! You were too good for this world! • Kite Man! sold a kite to a pawn shop. That kite could have been used by the killer to get through a window on the 84th floor of a building! Wait. What was Swamp Thing's dad doing in an apartment on the 84th floor of a high-rise? That's where people with money live! Is Swamp Thing rich now? • Batman follows the clues and solves the mystery of who killed Swamp Thing's dad: Headhunter! He always shoots people in the head twice. Nobody knows why the second bullet. I'm telling you! It's a punchline! • Batman is all, "This guy won't be easy to find!" And Swamp Thing is all, "The grass just told me where he is! The grass knows everything. Usually I don't listen to them because it's mostly screams as people walk across them or bike on them or fuck all over them. But if you can get past the incessant screaming, they usually have the information you're looking for. Fucking grass!"

Wait. Was that a fuck joke? Does Batman need a car to fuck?!

• Alec and Batman confront Headhunter and he boldly confesses. Basically, he did it for the lulz. • Swamp Thing isn't as cool as he pretended to be about the death of his father. He flips the fuck out and kills Headhunter right in front of Batman. Batman doesn't even try to stop him. Batman would try to stop Superman. Batman would try to stop Wonder Woman. Batman would try to stop The Flash. Batman would try to stop fucking Lobo. But he doesn't try to stop Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing must be more fucking terrifying than I imagined. • Swamp Thing realizes he must be there because Batman's Daddy Issues are so strong. At that point, Swamp Thing is all, "Oh. Well, that answers that. I can go back to not giving a shit about my father now." He then dissolves back into The Green while Batman weeps, yet again, over the permanence of death. I mean the permanence of death where his parents are involved. Let's not get ridiculous. This is comic books, after all. • The moral of the story is that Batman really should have gotten therapy twenty years ago.

#Batman #Tom King #Mitch Gerads #Swamp Thing #DC Comics

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fullspectrum-cbd-oil · 5 years

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Many U.S. Farmers Fume at Washington, Not Trump, Over Biofuel, Trade Policies

American farmers helped elect President Donald Trump in 2016 on hopes he would shake up Washington and turn around a struggling agricultural economy, but many of his policies have actually stung farmers, notably his trade war with China and biofuel waivers for oil refiners.

Many farmers are angry, and some are directing their anger not at the Republican president, but at Washington’s bureaucracy.

Trump has faced backlash from agricultural groups, ethanol producers and Midwestern politicians upset that his trade war with China has slashed export sales of U.S. soybeans and other crops. Also, Corn futures tumbled after the government forecast a big crop when a flood-ridden spring stalled plantings. Corn-based ethanol plants shuttered after the administration granted waivers to dozens of exempting oil refineries.

Yet polls show that while Trump’s support in farm country has slipped, it remains substantial.

Instead of directing their anger at Trump, dozens of farmers interviewed by Reuters blasted the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other Washington institutions they believe are thwarting his true agenda. Unsubstantiated conspiracy theories involving USDA staff are circulating in farm country and gaining traction online.

USDA did not respond to Reuters’ questions on Monday.

Farmers are struggling with how to emotionally process their pain from the Trump administration’s policies, and anger at the USDA may be a coping mechanism, said Ted Matthews, a Minnesota psychologist who has spent 30 years counseling farmers and rural residents across the Midwest.

“The question I hear from farmers who voted for (Trump) is, ‘We believed him when he said he would help make the farm economy better, that we could save our farms. Now, who do we blame?'” Matthews said.

Many farmers told Reuters they intend to support Trump again in his re-election bid in 2020.

“It’s much easier to be angry at a faceless Washington bureaucracy than at the man you voted for,” said Jere Solvie, 69, grain and hog farmer from west-central Minnesota who voted for Trump and still supports him.

Ahead of Democratic nominating contests, that party’s presidential candidates have been campaigning hard in Iowa and other Midwestern states where farms have lost billions of dollars in crop sales to China.

Still, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last month shows five in 10 U.S. adults in rural areas approved of Trump’s performance in office, higher than his 41% approval nationwide.

Trump’s approval rating was 71% as of Aug. 23, down from 79% in July, according to trade publication Farm Journal Pulse’s poll of 1,153 farmers.

Of the farmers who supported the president, 43% said they “strongly approve” – down 10% from July and the first time the number fell below 50%. The farm journal’s poll came as ethanol groups complained that demand was decimated when Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency granted biofuel waivers to dozens of refineries, saving the oil industry hundreds of millions of dollars.

ALREADY FURIOUS

The USDA is a natural scapegoat and a topic of conspiracy theories among farmers suspicious of its sprawling bureaucracy, career employees and its research who sometimes conflicts with what they see on their own farms.

One farmer, enraged by the USDA’s corn crop estimate, threatened an agency employee last month. The threat of violence prompted USDA to pull all staff from a privately run crop tour that surveys Midwest crops.

This is a sharp contrast to early days in the administration, when Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue was a reliable point person. His folksy southern charm and his appeals to patriotism helped sell Trump’s policies to farmers, even the trade war.

But Perdue’s honeymoon in farm country has ended. Farmers booed the agriculture secretary in Minnesota last month after he joked: “What do you call two farmers in a basement? A whine cellar.”

“He’s supposed to support us, especially during times of distress,” said Gary Wertish, a fourth-generation Minnesotan who farms 500 acres of corn, soybeans and navy beans, and heard the remarks in person.

Grain farmers were already furious that corn futures prices <Cv1> posted their biggest drop in three years after USDA estimated a bigger-than-expected crop on Aug. 12, despite floods that slowed planting.

Market analysts said farmers have more of a localized view on crop health and are often skeptical of the national focus of USDA forecasts.

Trump voter Byron Heppler, a soybean and corn farmer from Calhoun, Kentucky, said he is open to considering other Republican candidates if any emerge. He said he believes USDA’s research methods are flawed and he feels its employees want to unseat Trump, although he offered no evidence to back up those views.

Other disgruntled farmers have also alleged, without offering evidence, that federal agriculture employees are overestimating corn plantings as part of a plot to hurt Trump in the 2020 election. These farmers said they believe USDA employees are upset the administration is relocating hundreds of economists and other researchers to Kansas City from Washington.

The agency has stood by its forecasts, saying they are in part based on surveys of thousands of farmers. On Trump’s order, the agency has rolled out $28 billion in trade aid support for farmers over the past two years.

Wes Hitchcock, a corn farmer and Trump supporter in Sparks, Nebraska, wrote a 1,700-word paper titled “USDA vs. Trump” and has repeatedly posted it on Facebook in a grain market discussion group with 13,000 members.

Hitchcock said he was unable to plant about 30% of the 2,200 corn acres he had planned to grow because of heavy rains this spring. The corn he did manage to plant is not looking great, either, he said.

“I’m going bankrupt and everybody else will this year too,” he said in a phone interview with Reuters.

His Facebook posts received some skeptical responses.

“To think the USDA deliberately is skewing numbers to make their boss look bad and that people appointed by the president allowed this to happen is delusional,” wrote a user named Zach Alger from Palmyra, Pennsylvania.

(Additional reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Decatur, Illinois; Editing by Caroline Stauffer and David Gregorio)

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topbeautifulwomens · 5 years

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#Skin #Deep #Beauty #and #How #to #Keep #it #canada #curl #fashionstyle #filmmaking #likeforlike #makeupjunkie #maquiagembrasil #polishgirl #wakeupandmakeup #water

Soil has been which includesned to the pores and skin masking our bodies. Each undergo significant erosion from wind, h2o and solar injury if still left unchecked. Sandthorn is one of these exceptional vegetation which have proven to be very handy in landscape recovery and beauty treatment of the skin.

Erosion Management The Filth Bowl of the lnine30’s was the most tragic land calamity ever to hit the North The usn continent. Cattle overgrazing by ranchers and over farming by sodbusters taken off virtually all of the grasslands from America’s prairies, leaving the unprotected soil to periodic rain washouts and recurrent guiding winds.

A tale circulating in those times taged of an old Nebraska farmer sitting down on his front porch for the duration of a horrendous filth storm. As soon as questioned what he was seeing so closely, he drolly replied, “Oh, I am just counting them Kansas farms as they go traveling by.”

This kind of are the methods of erosion as soon as the land just isn’t safely and securely cared for as it have to be. Related illustrations have been discovered in northern China, Pakistan and quantities of the Indian subcontinent, exactly where the systematic elimination of old expansion forests and the consistent under plowing of surencounter floor have triggered serious soil erosions and landslides.

But agronomists shortly discovered that the sandthorn shrub was hugely useful in aiding bind world and for good soil conservation actions; therefore, thousands and thousands of acres have been at some point replanted with it.

The Residing Barrier Merely as soil handles considerably of the ground we stroll in, so does yet another type of material protect the sensitive internal areas of our bodies from put on and tear, knocks and actual physical damage, and extremes of temperature. Skin is the entire body’s most significant and heaviest organ. It covers virtually 21½-sq.} toes (2 square meters) on an grownup all around 9 to fifteen pounds (four to seven kilograms), symbolizing about one-12th of the body’s total excess weight. If you have ever worn an overcoat that large, then you’d start to take pleasure in how heavy your skin is.

Such as a shower evidence raincoat skin retains out most of the water and other fluids to which it’s uncovered, although it is not entirey water-proof. H2o is repelled by the normal oils and waxes produced in the little sebaceous glands just under the area of the skin. Individuals sebaceous items also keep the skin adaptable arid supple.

Skin insulates the body way too. Beneathneath is a delicate, yellowish layer named subcutaneous fat. It performs like the padding in a quilted coat to keep the body warm and also absorbs knocks and bumps.

The globe is full of microscopic germs. They float in the air and lie on the stuff we contact. Even objects that are seemingly clean have germs on or in them.

Skin helps prevent germs from inputing the body. Under a microscope, the skin’s surface displays numerous useless, flattened cells that interlock and overlap tightly, like tiles on a roof. Couple of germs can penetrate this barrier, which entirely covers wellnessy skin. But they can enter the body through cuts or breaks in the skin.

The natural waxes and oils on the skin’s surface incorporate germ-killing chemical substances. These are the body’s own disinfectants, supplying additional basic safety against germs, yeasts, and other possibly unhealthy microscopic organisms.

Dermatological Wonder The landscape of the skin, much like that of the earth1 undergoes numerous transformations over a lifestyletime. It encounters distinct varieties of erosions brought on by the substances of local weather, negative diet plan, psychological upset, overuse of chemical cosmetics, and sluggish growing older.

Two types acquainted to many older individuals are rosacea and eczema. The very first ailment is characterised by dilation of the facial capillaries, acne breakouts like pimples, and occasionally thickened skin on the nose. Specific food – this kind of as tea, espresso, alcoholic beverages, and those that are spicy – are relevant with worsening of rosacea. A present go through means that the warmth in coffee or tea may possibly be guilty.

Eczema is an all-bordering phrase, sometimes used synonymously with dermatitis, to clarify infected, scaly, itching skin that may be because of to any number of brings about. Current reports imply a achievable romantic relationship in between this problem and impairment in the skin’s metabolic rate of the necessary fatty acid linolenic acid. Clients with this condition improved when presented dietary supplements that contains a natural supply of gamma-linolenic acid.

A female someplace in her nineteen sixties, Lisa J. of Taylorsville, Utah endured with rosacea of the face and eczema of the scalp for many several years. But when she started drinking an unique fruit mix containing forty two % sandthorn berry extract, she started realizing advancements in her look. In just two months most of the dry, rosy red patches on her nose and face experienced disappeared. And inside a month her scalp had fixed as well. The skin doctor she had been seeing for some 20 years was amazed by the outcome of things on her subsequent pay a visit to to him. She attrihowevered this to her daily two-ounce use of AlpineV with the sandthorn drink. He instructed her to stay with whatsoever she was performing.

The Beauty in Fatty Acids Fatty acids are common denominators for all life forms. Not entirely the volume but also the type of nutritional fat plays principal roles in being health. The human body absolutely needs sure essential fatty acids in the forms of alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3) and linoleic acid (an omega-six). Therefore they’re termed “essential” fatty acids (EFP’s).

But most people are deficient in them and do not even know it. Info from the 2006 Wellness & Wellness Developments Databases, designed by the All-natural Advertising and marketing Institute of Harleysville, PA, show that almost one-3rd of the all round inhabitants were deficient in omega-3’s. An even greater proportion were regarded as deficient in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) (another omega-6 EFA).6 However all a few of these EFA’s are crucial to the health of the skin. A couple of placebo-managed reports over the previous 15 years have demonstrated that they improve the signs and symptoms of rosacea, eczema (sometimes called atopic dermatitis) and related inflammatory skin head aches.

It so occurs that sandthorn berries are high in all three of these essential fatty acids,eight incorporating other people to be mentioned in the next chapter. Sandthorn yields 20-36 percent alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3) and 35-forty three per cent linoleic acid (an omega-6).9 Patients with eczema were given sandthorn berry extracts for four months; during comply with up they confirmed enormous improvement in their condition. The benefits were attributed to the high content material of EFAs.ten

Mother nature’s Very own Beauty “A man of 40-5 seems well known, but a woman of the identical age is over the hill.” So wrote feminist creator Nancy Friday in her thoughts-jarring ebook, The Vitality of Beauty. “We stay in a tradition, she proceeds, “that trades in the forex of seeing and being considered. We need to have beauty not just for others; we want to look the way we truly feel, that’s fairly younger, quite potent, and quite gorgeous, although we’re maturing.”

Nature has incorporated the “natural cosmetic” for women to gain this. It lies within the beautifying elements of the sandthorn berry. Palmitoleic acid is a principal constituent of skin fat and will help to maintain skin softness even though decreasing wrinkles. Sandthorn has a very “high content” of this crucial omega-7 fatty acid, “which is strange in the plant kingdom,” states one famous authority.

Diseases of skin swelling also fare well with this specific berry. Jap and Russian studies have revealed extracts of sandthorn will minimize inflammation and market the regeneration of clean skin in many occasions. My own dad Jacob Heinerman took daily intakes of a certain beverage containing 42 percent sandthorn berry for the very last six months of his life (he handed absent in his snooze at age ninety three in early Feb. 2007). His skin before this was as thin and delicate as parchment paper. But when he went on the berry juice the skin on his fingers and forearms began possessing again some of their natural tone and elasticity. To me, this was the very best testomony of all to sandthorn berry being character’s own cosmetic wonder for recreating skin deep beauty misplaced years before.

The post Skin Deep Beauty and How to Keep it appeared first on Beautiful Women.

source http://topbeautifulwomen.com/skin-deep-beauty-and-how-to-keep-it/

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jeannesgarrison · 5 years

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Biofuels Industry Reacts To The New RVO Requirements

by Jim Lane

What a whirlwind weekend after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced their final renewable volume obligations (RVO) under the Renewable Fuel Standard program for 2019. “It’s just numbers,” some say, but oh no, not in the biofuels world. It’s never just numbers. This time it’s about waivers, fixing the damage done, and ensuring a bright future for biofuels. It’s about hollow chocolate bunnies and two steps back for some.

French mathematician Rene Descartes is best known for “I think, therefore I am,” but he also said “Perfect numbers, like perfect men, are rare.” So true in this case as not everyone is happy about EPA’s numbers and how they relate to small refiner waivers. If you want to know get the details on the digits from EPA, the waiver what-what, the reactions ‘round the country from biodiesel, biogas, ethanol and more, the Digest has you covered.

The Numbers

If you just look at the numbers alone, they look pretty decent for biofuels compared to 2018 numbers. Unlike the stock market, nothing went down and most went up, albeit slightly. They include a total renewable fuel volume of 19.92 billion gallons (up from 19.28 which is about 3% increase), of which 4.92 billion gallons (up from 4.29) is advanced biofuel, including 418 million gallons (up from 288) of cellulosic biofuel, 2.1 billion gallons of biomass-based diesel (same as 2018). That leaves a 15-billion-gallon requirement for conventional renewable fuels like corn ethanol. You can read the EPA’s Final Rule here.

The Reactions – from chocolate bunnies to two steps back

“Without reallocation of small-refinery exemptions, the numbers released today may look good on the outside, but just like the chocolate bunnies my children open up on Easter morning, they are hollow on the inside,” said Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw. “While any increase is better than a flatline, these modest increases vastly underrate the potential of advanced biofuels.”

Iowa Corn Growers Association’s President Curt Mether said that while happy to see the EPA’s numbers for corn-based ethanol, they have a very important request for the EPA: “stop granting unnecessary waivers to obligated parties and not to include those waivers in its formula for determining annual volumes as required under the RFS. This intentional omission effectively cuts ethanol demand and works against the goals of the RFS program to the detriment of motorists, our environment, and Iowa’s corn farmers.”

Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor, said that while the numbers are a positive step forward and they “hold promise with a 15-billion-gallon commitment to starch ethanol and 418 million gallons of cellulosic biofuels,” the billions of lost gallons due to excessive small refinery exemptions need to be accounted for. “Until these are addressed properly, we’re still taking two steps back for every step forward,” said Skor.

South Dakota-based American Coalition for Ethanol CEO Brian Jennings agrees the exemptions are a huge issue and is “fighting this injustice with a challenge of three specific Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs) in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit and a petition asking EPA to account for the lost volumes resulting from retroactive SREs.”

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said that the 2019 numbers are good news and encouraging but the true test is yet to come. Senator Grassley met with EPA’s Acting Administrator Wheeler and said he is “optimistic about the potential for a revisiting of this practice” referring to the hardship waivers to multibillion-dollar oil companies. “There’s no good reason oil companies making billions of dollars in profits should be exempted from following the law as passed and intended by Congress. I’m disappointed the rule didn’t reallocate waived volumes to make up for the damage done by former Administrator Pruitt.”

Grassley remains hopeful and said, “Specifically, I’m glad levels for biodiesel are maintained and slightly increased. And although the levels for advanced biofuels and cellulosic biofuels don’t represent the full potential of the industry, they are very promising and will help significantly.”

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper didn’t mince words when he said that the “EPA did not prospectively account for any small refiner exemptions that it expects to issue in 2019. Hopefully, that means EPA is not intending to issue any small refiner waivers at all in 2019 because it knows there is no rationale or basis for doing so.”

National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), Lynn Chrisp, Nebraska farmer and president said they are happy about the numbers for conventional ethanol but upset about the waivers and said, “When the EPA continues to grant waivers and does not account for those volumes in this rule, domestic demand for our crop is lost, impacting farmers’ livelihood and the economy of rural America.”

POET’s Kyle Gilley, Senior Vice President of External Affairs and Communications also addressed the waivers and said, “It is time to get our America First fuel policy back on track, and we encourage the acting EPA administrator to hold oil refiners accountable and maintain the integrity of the Renewable Fuel Standard.”

Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section applauded the EPA for “increasing advanced and cellulosic biofuel volumes from 2018,” but expressed disappointment that “EPA missed this opportunity to reallocate gallons displaced from small refinery waivers, issued at the behest of the petroleum industry.” He said that the “EPA also needs to approve new biofuel pathways and facility registrations to allow volumes of advanced and cellulosic biofuels to grow.”

Advanced Biofuels Business Council’s Executive Director, Brooke Coleman, said, “The final targets open new possibilities for advanced and cellulosic biofuels, but without a check on abusive EPA waivers, we’ll continue to see plants closing their doors or idling production. The agency cannot fulfill the president’s commitments in the heartland without putting a lid on handouts to oil giants like Chevron and Andeavor.”

In a joint statement, Americans for Energy Security and Innovation Co-Chairs Jim Talent and Rick Santorum said that the new targets represent a “modest step forward for U.S. energy security, but that promise will be short-lived unless the EPA puts a lid on abusive waiver practices. Dozens of handouts to well-connected refiners have already destroyed demand for more than two billion gallons of American-made biofuel.”

The American Biogas Council was pretty happy about the EPA numbers and for good reason since “Of the 418 million gallons of cellulosic biofuel called for in the RFS, the vast majority, 388 million gallons, are requested from biogas and that represents a 45% increase in production from the 2018 volumes,” said Patrick Serfass, the ABC Executive Director. “This is a concrete validation of the significant growth in the biogas industry year over year. At the same time, we are disappointed, again, that this rule shows zero progress toward activating the biogas to renewable electricity (eRIN) pathway. We want EPA to activate the eRIN pathway immediately by processing the project registrations that are already in EPA’s hands.”

Johannes Escudero, CEO of the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas, was appreciative of the 2019 numbers and said it “reflects continued growth in the renewable natural gas industry.” The RNG industry produces 95% of the fuel used to meet the RFS program’s cellulosic biofuel requirement, according to RNG Coalition. “The growth in production of renewable natural gas and the completion of nearly 50 new production facilities from coast to coast since 2014 is proof positive that the RFS is working as intended for cellulosic and advanced biofuels,” said Escudero. But even Escudero hopes the EPA will ensure that small refiner exemptions “are administered in a way that do not undermine the program’s advanced biofuel requirements.”

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) said, “EPA’s failure to properly account for small refinery exemptions will continue to destroy biodiesel demand.” Yes, destroy. In other words, it’s just not enough. NBB CEO Donnell Rehagen said, “EPA recognizes that the biodiesel and renewable diesel industry is producing fuel well above the annual volumes. The industry regularly fills 90 percent of the annual advanced biofuel requirement. Nevertheless, the agency continues to use its maximum waiver authority to set advanced biofuel requirements below attainable levels. The method is inconsistent with the RFS program’s purpose, which is to drive growth in production and use of advanced biofuels such as biodiesel.”

Iowa Biodiesel Board said that farmers are disappointed by the RFS rule and the modest changes made. Grant Kimberley, their executive director pointed out that the “small refinery exemptions reduced demand for biodiesel by more than 300 million gallons in 2018 – the equivalent of the entire state of Iowa’s biodiesel production.”

There are others not happy about the new numbers too, but in a different way, like the National Council of Chain Restaurants which has repeatedly asked Congress to repeal the RFS and on Friday called on the EPA to completely review biofuel levels under the federal RFS, saying increased levels announced for 2019 meet requirements for a “reset” of the program. NCCR Executive Director David French said, “Not only are those old levels wildly unrealistic for advanced fuels, the levels required for last-generation, conventional corn ethanol are unnecessary and run counter to the law’s environmental goals. Corn ethanol is flatly bad for the environment and consumers alike, and it’s high time for the mandate to go away.”

Bottom Line

So what does EPA need to do to really help the biofuel economy? They need to look at the waivers. They need to reverse the damage done from the previous waivers and not turn a blind eye to what the industry is telling them. As NBB points out, “In the final rule, EPA states that it has not received small refinery exemption petitions for 2019 and therefore estimates zero gallons of exempted fuel in its RVO formula.”

But is that realistic? The EPA has estimated “zero gallons every year since 2015, even though it retroactively exempted more than 24.5 billion gallons of fuel between 2015 and 2017, according to NBB. RFA’s Cooper brings up the fact that “Pruitt issued nearly 50 refinery waivers from 2016 and 2017 RFS requirements, including bailouts to companies like Chevron (CVX) and Andeavor (ANDX) that recorded billions of dollars in net profits in those years.”

NCCR also brings up a good point that the new numbers “are high enough to set in motion a reset of the RFS program required by law when levels deviate more than 20 percent from those allowed under the RFS statute for two consecutive years. The reset means the EPA is required to conduct a complete review biofuel levels under the program, which could lead to lower levels being set.”

While the reactions are mixed, they mostly have one thing in common – the EPA needs to deal with the small refiner waivers, so we will see if the EPA is listening.

Jim Lane is editor and publisher of Biofuels Digest where this article was originally published. Biofuels Digest is the most widely read Biofuels daily read by 14,000+ organizations. Subscribe here.

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charlesmatthews0501 · 5 years

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Biofuels Industry Reacts To The New RVO Requirements

by Jim Lane

The Numbers

The Reactions – from chocolate bunnies to two steps back

Bottom Line

While the reactions are mixed, they mostly have one thing in common – the EPA needs to deal with the small refiner waivers, so we will see if the EPA is listening.

Jim Lane is editor and publisher of Biofuels Digest where this article was originally published. Biofuels Digest is the most widely read Biofuels daily read by 14,000+ organizations. Subscribe here.

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natalieweber221 · 5 years

Text

Biofuels Industry Reacts To The New RVO Requirements

by Jim Lane

The Numbers

The Reactions – from chocolate bunnies to two steps back

Bottom Line

While the reactions are mixed, they mostly have one thing in common – the EPA needs to deal with the small refiner waivers, so we will see if the EPA is listening.

Jim Lane is editor and publisher of Biofuels Digest where this article was originally published. Biofuels Digest is the most widely read Biofuels daily read by 14,000+ organizations. Subscribe here.

The post Biofuels Industry Reacts To The New RVO Requirements appeared first on Alternative Energy Stocks.

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ralbeleren · 5 years

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Accidental Dating/Accidental married, Mermaid AU, Pretty Woman AU, Didn’t know they were dating, A Dark Night in Cincinnati, Abusive Relationship AU, Witch/Witch’s Familiar AU, 1950s Infidelity AU, UGH Whatever, Psalm 91:11 >___>, I See the God Among Me, Fall Among Me, Found Family, and kill the lights

Cut for length! Only one of these didn’t have a snippet to post.

Accidental Dating/Accidental Married:

“First round is on me.” José squints at him a little bit, but he doesn’t protest, just sips on his drink and props his chin in his hand, watching James through half-lidded eyes. James tries to pretend that he doesn’t actually notice and that his palms aren’t sweating. It’s nerves; this could go really badly. “I’m not really sure how to go about this but…” James starts and looks at the bottles lining the wall, “… I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind doing me a favor.” José frowns a little, but sits up straighter. “Here I was, thinking you just like my company.” “No, it’s not that.” James says. “Dunno how you think that gonna make me wanna do you a favor.” “That’s not what I meant.” José raises his brows. “I mean, I need your help.” “I not agreeing to something before you tell me what it is, wasn’t born yesterday.” James doesn’t really know how to bring it up.

Mermaid AU:

He’d learnt, but he never stopped loving the water. When he’s about 12, his daddy lets him fish with them. The boat gleams in the summer sun. There’s a gleam of bright bejeweled blue and James wonders if he’s seeing things, as he’s sure he sees tails far too large to be any fish swimming in the murky depths. When he says as such, his dad brushes it off as old wives tales. James is about 12 when he sees his first merman. He can’t be much older than James, with dark hair and tanned skin, and a gleaming blue tail with the occasional red scale. He’s caught in one of the weighted nets, arms and tail tangled with it. James knows it’s one of those big crab hauling nets that their neighbors use and technically, he’s not supposed to be over in their yard. But vaguely, he remembers the pearl, remembers the tail and– not enough. But he wonders that maybe, maybe that was what saved him. “A life for a life.” James murmurs to himself and he picks his way over to the net. The merman struggles. “Shh, it’s okay.” James has a dog that he attempts to calm the same way, but the kid glares at him, dark eyes defiant and angry. James pulls out his fishing knife and starts to cut the rope netting. He has to saw at it, watching the strands break and snap, until he’s cut the net enough to let the merman free.

Pretty Woman AU:

This never got started but it was going to be Verlander and someone-- Scherzer I think, maybe? That was a prompt fill for the MLB Fic Exchange but I never got around to writing it because of the timing.

Didn’t Know They Were Dating:

José looks miserable, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Was Boston colder?" James asks, the wind chapping his face as he leads José to his truck. José looks stung when James asks about Boston and James files the reaction away as José doesn't answer. It must be a sore spot still. He can imagine why, he wonders if that was why José was looking so upset at his phone.

"How you adjust? Is different than…" José squints at him. "Nebraska?"

"I should kick ya out of the car. Arkansas. But I grew up in California. And we had snow in Arkansas."

José chooses to turn the radio on instead and changes it from 99.5, jabbing at the seek button like it offended him.

A Dark Night in Cincinnati:

“Is this a fire extinguisher?” Carson’s tone is incredulous and Guardian’s mouth presses into a flat line. Tony runs a hand through his dark brown hair and his brow furrows slightly.

“Of course it isn’t,” Tony says, shaking his head at him, “I’m not some kind of amateur.” Tony crosses his arms over his chest, a motion which causes him to twist his face a little and quickly uncross them. Guardian puts a hand to his elbow lightly.

“I mean, it’s a flame retardant chemical that’s been compressed…” Tony started.

“So it is--”“Let me finish,” Tony snaps at him. Guardian sighs a little, eyes moving towards the ceiling. Tony huffs at Carson. “Can you believe this guy?” “Tony,” Guardian’s tone is stern, but quiet.

“FINE,” Tony says and he turns back to Carson. “It has power dampening properties too.”

Carson frowns at that.

“That seems like a dangerous road to go down…” “And I suppose you would rather that Spitfire just continues to run rampant then?” Tony counters. Carson frowns even more.

“Just seems a slippery slope, that’s all.”

Abusive Relationship AU:

Jose always wears wristbands when they're on the field. And James watches him pull them on, sees the faint, fading marks on his wrists. They're faintly yellow, almost gone.

James frowns a little as he notices them and he moves over to Jose. He grabs his hand and prevents him from finishing putting on the bands. There is loud Spanish reggaeton playing from a boombox and James takes a quick glance around to make sure that no one is paying attention.

"What happened?" James asks. José frowns and jerks his hand away from James's grip.

"Was just an accident." José finishes tugging on his wrist bands. "You probably dunno how it is, when a pretty chica wanna play around."

James raises his brow at him.

"Play around?" James repeats.

José nods a little but he doesn't meet James's eyes.

"Yeah, you know, she likes to tie you up and play around."

James can't help but imagine that and his cheeks flush red.

"Forget I asked." James shakes his head a little.

José laughs -- but it sounds a little forced. James doesn't know if he knows José well enough to know it's fake, but it's just lacking something that he's heard before. James frowns a little at José and squeezes his shoulder.

Witch/Witch’s Familiar AU:

James remembers dying. When he closes his eyes he can still feel it sometimes. The sharpness of steel between his ribs, and the way the blood felt as it trickled from the corner of his mouth. He remembers laying there, with surprise and horror, unable to move, staring up at the brilliant blue sky-- so bright it almost hurts.

It was a beautiful day to die on and sometimes when he dreams, he dreams of that.

He remembers that he dies and that his name was lost-- so he keeps it burned into the back of his tongue like a word he can't quite get out, that he chokes on when he introduces himself.

James doesn't know why he was reborn-- perhaps just the way it goes, when someone is praying for a miracle, any miracle.

When he's young, skinned his knees and his mom is wiping them up with astringent peroxide, bubbling away the infection, she tells him he was her miracle baby. How he almost died.

James remembers dying, but then he forgets.

1950s Infidelity AU:

He makes his way downstairs and grabs the newspaper and some coffee, looking at the headline. He reads through the article about GM and the UAW but the looming threat of the strike at the Ford plant he works at causes him to quickly flip through the pages, leaving behind the more serious stuff to check out something else.

There's a real fear there looming, although it wasn't too long ago that things were negotiated differently, and that the threat of a strike was eased off of. But the worry still settles there like a lump of coal low in his belly. Christian and Kane and Jess don't deserve the leanness of having to tighten their belt loops if James was to be out of work.

He reads through the sports pages and tries not to feel some kind of way, looking through baseball news.

"That Bucky Harris is a smart one." James says to himself, mostly, looking at the rainout news and what the plans had been, the all-righty line-up versus a southpaw. Too bad for the rain and he eventually puts the paper aside to work on getting breakfast.

The twins fight over the comics page, until Jess hushes them and takes the paper away.

"Have a good day at work, hon." Jess kisses him on the cheek and flutters away to do the dishes, sending the kids upstairs to get dressed for whatever they planned to do that day, and James heads off with his leg still aching.

Fear still settling in the bottom of his stomach.

But it should be okay-- he's certainly survived worse. His street is relatively quiet this early, muggy and humid, it feels like breathing in water. It's gonna be a long day and on the ride to work, he's already sweating through his dress shirt.

UGH Whatever:

Los Angeles has been hard. He doesn't mind. He knows-- he feels-- this team is going to get him what he wants. Not that it changes the fact that he misses Detroit and the culture and the grind. Or that he misses Texas in spite of how he felt he was treated.

But it feels like ages ago. The feeling fades and the anger becomes more manageable and more secret. He doesn't wear it on his sleeve as much.

He had wanted to retire with Detroit, in Detroit. But he knows it's business, it's all business. Wants and desires only extend so far. And Ian, as much as he misses the other places, he has his own desires too. He wants to win a ring. He wants to have a shot at the hall of fame. He wants those things, with the prestige. The parades.

And while he has his preference whether he's wearing Angels red or anything else, he doesn't care as long as he can raise that World Series trophy. He's a gamer. He works hard and he doesn't know if deserves is a good word. But he wants.

It's a powerful thing, to want.

He knows he's lucky too. As he checks up on his old friends. Naps is out for the year, maybe the rest of his life depending. They're not young guys anymore, harder to bounce back from surgery. Harder to get back right after being out for so long. (It makes him feel a dread of mortality, his age looming like a spectre behind him, waiting for the one misstep before it makes itself apparent.)

It wasn't that long ago the same thing happened to C.J., going for surgery and never coming back. And shit, things with Josh.

Then there's guys who had gotten to the top, now toiling away in the minor leagues. Salty is doing that and he had a World Series ring. He knows all this stuff is fleeting and he tries hard not to think too much about Salty.

Psalm 91:11 :

Daniel sees God in all things. The people that he meets, the stories he hears, the places that he goes -- where he searches for peace amidst a troubled soul, and everything else on the Earth.

Things aren't coincidence to him, they are the points he needs to be. It wasn't a stroke of luck, but the hand of God himself that gave him his love and talent for baseball, but the mind to stay humble.

In small ways, this is reinforced and in large ways too. Daniel doesn't believe in coincidence. He believes in Fate, he believes in a divine plan. He believes that he is wholly created to be just as he is -- flaws and all.

It's difficult sometimes. It's hard to reconcile his concept of a loving God when horrors happen. It's difficult to figure out why he was blessed and others weren't. He wishes he has an answer, he wishes he knew what made him worthy. What makes him special. Surely, everyone in their own way, but when he gives money to a homeless person, knowing that will never be him, he feels as though there's something.

Daniel often meditates on this, when he's standing on the beach with the waves lapping against the bared skin of his ankles.

I See the God Among Me, Fall Among Me:

Nick hates to see James cry. He hasn't seen it a lot -- mostly due to injuries-- back in the clubhouse away from the cameras. But he still hates it. He still feels a grip of something like panic settle in the center of his chest and clench in so tight he almost forgets how to breathe.

But this -- this is different. It's worse. It's nothing anyone could have prepared him for. James had wanted to be a dad so bad and for this to happen has crushed him. Nick wishes he has some special thing to say, or a place to lay his words that would banish the hurt.

Found Family:

He supposes someone whose kid looks up to him as a role model though isn’t going to be inclined to be forgiving. Or to care about the jumbled mess in his mind. They wouldn’t care about how he’s always desired to wander free or just be himself and do his own thing. But he’s always been beholden to someone or something else.

When Jess left, that restraint left too.

But no one would care-- if he was getting his grief out or if he was just rebelling against years and years of an institutional demand to hold everything back. Those parents wouldn’t care. That wasn’t their problem. Their problem was knowing what he was like away from the ball club.

So publicized too.

He thinks maybe it’ll blow over.

But the guys are the guys and of course there are jokes. He isn’t sure who put the blow up doll in his locker down in Lakeland, there’s too many people laughing to really pin it down and he’d be lying to say if his cheeks didn’t burn.

This humiliation is nothing -- nothing at all -- compared to his first Spring Training start. There’s an honest to god protest and he’s not entirely sure what to do. They’re set up behind home plate, jeering and quoting stuff at him. He’s sure it’s not the Florida sun making his neck feel so hot.

James wants to tell them to fuck off. But there’s small spaces of him that feels that they’re right.

“Damn man,” The Houston batter up in front of him says, “You really making some enemies out here.”

James doesn’t recognize him and he stands up and gets in his face, shoving him in the chest as anger that’s been bubbling up for a while now explodes off of him like a firework. Sudden and bright and loud.

“Maybe shut your fucking mouth,” James hisses at him and throws a punch. One of the new kids he doesn’t know yet has his arms around him almost as soon as his arm goes round-- trying to pull him back. And the batter is getting held out of the way by the umpire but he gets ejected and he can’t even care.

kill the lights:

His mama always told him it'd been something that he was making up, but he doesn't think he could have maintained a charade like that for so many years; pretending there was something there wasn't, just to stick it to her that he wasn't just imagining it. But he'd stopped mentioning it to her. He'd stopped mentioning it to anyone.

Somehow, it's stronger in Detroit.

When he lays in his bed at home, he hears it calling. The sound of it lulling, almost like a siren song. The hissing almost sounding like whispering. Saying his name, calling him closer. Like a voice down so many distant halls, echoing like the breezes stirred the curtains. Calling him endlessly in the darkness.

He tries to shake it off, like he always does, and he never succeeds. Why can't he shut it out? Why does he get out of his bed and follow the noise. Walking towards the back part of the house and into the backyard.

It's midnight-- ink black with just the dim white light from a street lamp lighting one corner. There's a hatch there, like those old tornado shelter ones he's seen in Kansas, with rusted handles, and old wood that's a little bit cracked and splintered.

Had that been here when he'd bought this house? It's weird he suddenly can't remember and he bites down on his lower lip and considers going down there. He reaches the spot and grabs the handle which is cold enough to make his hand feel like he shoved it into an icebath despite the July humidity making his hair stick to his forehead and beads of sweat to prickle all over his skin, make his shirt cling to his shoulders.

"It's cold," Mikie says, mostly to himself and jerks his hand back. There's an odd line like he's been branded that flashes on his palm for a moment, before it disappears and he's sure he's imagined it. There's some shrill inhuman shriek he hears and it's right in his ear but it's also echoing beneath him and some birds spook from a nearby weeping willow and flutter off in the night.

He feels a chill go through him and when he turns back, the hatch is gone.

#Anonymous

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othersportsnews-blog · 7 years

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Soccer Power Index -- FPI and Vegas disagree on higher education soccer win totals analytics

New Post has been published on https://othersportsnews.com/soccer-power-index-fpi-and-vegas-disagree-on-higher-education-soccer-win-totals-analytics/

Soccer Power Index -- FPI and Vegas disagree on higher education soccer win totals analytics

Sam Darnold hasn’t even come to be a member of the Cleveland Browns but and already FPI is recommending fading him.

It’s only natural to want to assess ESPN’s higher education soccer FPI projections versus the prognosticators in Las Vegas. When FPI’s preseason projections and Vegas’ win totals are around in line on many team’s unique forecasts, there are disagreements. And 1 of the most important ones this period is the aforementioned Darnold and his USC Trojans.

So let’s glance at some of the teams in which Vegas’ win totals and FPI diverge, and come across out accurately why FPI thinks particular teams are overrated or underrated on the betting industry. All win totals are courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook except usually specified.

Vegas win complete: ten.five (-one hundred fifty beneath) | FPI projected wins: eight.ninety two

FPI sees USC as the 12th-very best team in the state, such as what it considers the seventeenth-strongest offense. At first glance, that appears like a pessimistic get on the offense, given that last period Darnold experienced the 3rd-very best Complete QBR in the country at 84.eight. Moreover, experienced the Trojans’ offense performed the whole period as effectively as it did after Darnold took over, USC would have experienced the 2nd-most economical offense in higher education soccer (it was the 12th-most economical offense in 2016 when accounting for the whole period).

But Darnold is not the entirety of the offense. Only five starters return on that side of the ball for USC and, most notably, Darnold will have inexperience in front of him after 3 members of his offensive line departed for the NFL. (Even so, it is truly worth noting that the Trojans do have many 4-star recruits waiting to perhaps get those roles.) When FPI does not especially get that into account, it does acknowledge that over the past 4 decades combined ESPN, Scout.com and Rivals.com ranked the Trojans fifth, fifth and sixth in the country in recruiting, respectively — and but still predicts a action again on offense.

FPI sees the Trojans as favorites in 11 of their twelve games (they are slim underdogs at Notre Dame in 7 days eight), but they are only slight favorites over Stanford in 7 days two and at Washington Point out in 7 days five, which brings down their anticipated win complete.

Eventually, section of the difference concerning FPI and Vegas could possibly be triggered by Darnold’s popularity. The previous freshman phenom is already currently being touted as the upcoming great NFL quarterback, so probably that is prompting — or is anticipated to prompt — favorable bets on the Trojans and driving up the complete. That Southern California isn’t all that far absent from Nevada possibly doesn’t hurt, both.

Vegas win complete: seven.five (-125 over) | FPI projected wins: eight.fifty seven

FPI has a large ol’ crush on TCU.

You will find just no other way to set it. This isn’t an indictment of the relaxation of the Massive twelve or about an quick timetable. FPI just assignments a drastic improvement for the Horned Frogs in 2017. It doesn’t have them returning to quite the prominence they achieved in 2015 — which the model hasn’t neglected about, by the way — but it does foresee a feasible return to relevance.

Just one of the explanations for this is that last period TCU could possibly not have been as lousy as six wins appears. Keep in intellect: The Horned Frogs performed two games into double overtime (vs. Arkansas and Texas Tech) last period and dropped both. Primarily based mainly on their (and their opponents’) remaining FPI score, TCU was anticipated to win seven.68 games last period, somewhat than the six they gained. That can make eight.fifty seven projected wins in 2017 feel in just rationale.

It is truly worth noting that FPI sees a spectacular rise for TCU’s offense this period. The model has the Horned Frogs all the way up to eleventh in the FBS on that side of the ball, which could possibly appear as a surprise. Think about, on the other hand, that TCU has ten starters again on offense, such as quarterback Kenny Hill. Even though Hill was not great last period — he completed 58th in the FBS with a Complete QBR of sixty one.seven — he did have some results in 2014 with Texas A&M when he posted a QBR of 80.three … but he was benched through a 59- decline to Alabama in Oct and did not return to the discipline yet again for the relaxation of the period. Curiously, the model is already optimistic about the offense despite not factoring in Hill’s enjoy from his days in Faculty Station.

Vegas win complete: 6.five (-one hundred fifty beneath) | FPI projected wins: four.68

Concerning USC and Utah, it could possibly feel like FPI has a challenge with the Pac-twelve.

As a substitute, FPI’s challenge with the Utes — first and foremost — has to do with their timetable. When the 57th-very best team in the state faces the sixth-hardest timetable, that isn’t usually a recipe for many wins. Utah has what really should be two cupcake wins on its timetable — North Dakota and San Jose Point out — but the closest it arrives to a further surefire victory is just about a straight toss-up (fifty two.five p.c possibility to win) at house versus Arizona Point out.

For the over to deal with versus the Vegas line, Utah needs — by FPI’s count — at the very least 4 upsets.

Of program, Vegas of course views Utah as a improved team than FPI does, and presumably would quibble with those unique activity odds.

But what the model sees is a team that is returning only 9 starters. Positive, the quarterback is 1 of them, but Troy Williams was 81st in Complete QBR last period and FPI basically envisions Utah’s offense having a action backward.

Vegas win complete: seven (-125 beneath) | FPI projected wins: five.sixty five

Will not be fooled by the Cornhuskers’ 2016. It was practically nothing distinctive.

Nebraska experienced the solitary-worst FPI among Power five schools with at the very least 9 wins last period, which provides you a rather excellent perception of how unimpressive the period basically was. The Cornhuskers completed the period with an FPI of seven., 48th in FBS, acquiring edged out by fellow 9-win Massive Ten faculty Minnesota (which FPI also fees decreased relative to Vegas this period).

So the actuality is that Mike Riley enters this period with two disappointing strategies beneath his belt. And FPI doesn’t see a rationale for it to transform all-around this period, both.

Regardless of 4-calendar year composite recruiting rankings of both 20 or 21, the Cornhuskers’ new historical past (they have completed 37th, 28th, 39th and 48th in FPI from 2013 to ’16, respectively) is a detriment to their projection. On best of that, Nebraska is returning only ten starters.

If we suppose — which we should not, but let’s do it anyway for simplicity — that Nebraska will win every single activity that FPI provides them a 75 p.c or greater possibility to do so and lose every single activity in which they have less than a twenty five p.c possibility, the Cornhuskers would be four-four with 4 other games — at Illinois (64 p.c possibility of victory), vs. Northwestern (38 p.c), at Minnesota (fifty one p.c) and vs. Iowa (forty seven p.c) — remaining. To strike the Vegas over in this situation, Nebraska would have sweep those 4 games.

Vegas win complete: four.five (-one hundred thirty)* | FPI projected wins: five.sixty five

Syracuse is a team that FPI is planting its flag on as … effectively, not a excellent team, but a excellent team relative to Vegas’ expectation.

Dino Babers is in the 2nd period of a rebuild and coming off a four-eight campaign in his first period. Vegas sees just a 50 percent-activity of improvement in 2017. Unquestionably a issue in that four.five-win line is the Orange’s rather tricky timetable (thirty fourth most difficult, for each FPI).

But FPI sees rationale for optimism for Syracuse. For starters, the Orange are returning a remarkable 19 starters, such as junior quarterback Eric Dungey. Dungey was solid last period — position 47th in the country in Complete QBR — prior to a head injuries minimize his period short after 9 games.

When Dungey returning to the discipline really should be a furthermore for the Orange, FPI sees the most important uptick in enjoy coming from the continuity on protection, in which they are bringing again ten starters. Past period Syracuse experienced the one hundredth-most economical FBS protection, but, partly thanks to the faculty bringing again so many gamers, FPI envisions the Orange leaping up to 52nd this period.

*Syracuse’s win complete line is courtesy of South Level Athletics Guide.

For much more from ESPN Analytics, check out the ESPN Analytics Index.

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literatelobstersareliterate · 7 years

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Under Trump, red states are finally going to be able to turn themselves into poor, unhealthy paradises - The Washington Post

By Steven Pearlstein

December 4, 2016

In 2004, the journalist and historian Thomas Frank wrote an insightful and prescient book, “What’s the Matter With Kansas?", in which he tried to puzzle out why voters in his native state backed Republicans whose policies undermined their own economic interests.

Watching the apocalyptic response to Donald Trump's victory in the liberal precincts I inhabit, I’m struck by a similar quandary: Why are voters in states that pay a disproportionately large share of federal taxes, and benefit from a disproportionately small share of federal spending, so upset about the prospect of a cut in taxes and federal spending?

Data compiled by the Pew Charitable Trust found that 10 states that receive less than a dollar back for every dollar they send to Washington: Delaware, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Connecticut, Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. And here are the states that get more than $2 back for every $1 in taxes paid: Mississippi, New Mexico, West Virginia, Hawaii, South Carolina, Alabama, Maine, Montana, Alaska, Virginia, Arizona, Idaho, Kentucky and Vermont. You don’t have to be a political scientist to see the blue state/red state pattern here. Red state voters may talk a good game about small government and low taxes, but in reality they are socialist moochers.

Rather than wallowing in the hypocrisy of all this, however, Democrats should see the opportunity here — an opportunity to turn the Republican program to their selfish advantage and create the kind of society where people look out for each other and business interests are not allowed to run roughshod over workers and consumers.

After all, if Republicans cut taxes — in particular, taxes on investment income — then the biggest winners are going to be the residents of Democratic states where incomes, and thus income taxes, are significantly higher. Governors and legislatures in those states — home to roughly half of all Americans — will now have the financial headroom to raise state income and business taxes by as much as the federal government cuts them — and use the additional revenue to replace all the federal services and benefits that Republicans have vowed to cut.

If these states want to maintain the Obamacare insurance exchanges, the low-income subsidies and the expansion of the Medicaid program, they can do that, just as Massachusetts did under Mitt Romney even before passage of the federal law. Their state insurance commissioners can also keep in place many of the Obamacare insurance regulations.

The additional state revenue could also be used to replace cuts in federal funding for public schools, or food stamps, or public transit subsidies. Given the existing imbalance between taxes paid and benefits received by most of these states, there should even be money left over to invest in public college and university systems that in recent years have suffered badly from a reduction in state support.

Mnuchin outlines Trump administration's economic priorities

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Play Video2:25 Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs banker and Hollywood financier, is President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for treasury secretary. He spoke at Trump Tower Nov. 30. (The Washington Post) Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs banker and Hollywood financier, is President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for treasury secretary. He spoke at Trump Tower Nov. 30. Steven Mnuchin, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for treasury secretary, speaks at Trump Tower (The Washington Post)

For years, of course, it is the Republicans who have preached the wisdom of returning more power and responsibility to the states, under the assumption that states would do less, not more, than Washington. Now Democrats could demonstrate that their cherished 10th Amendment can be a sword that cuts both ways.

If the Trump administration makes good on its promise to pull back on environmental regulation, states can step up their own regulation of power plant emissions and oil and gas drilling. To combat climate change, they could impose a refundable carbon tax or, as California has done, create a cap and trade system for carbon emissions.

If Republicans repeal the Dodd-Frank financial regulations, many of those same regulations could be written into state law, either by legislatures or by state banking, securities and insurance regulators and consumer protection agencies. Taking a page from Louis Brandeis and the Progressive era, states could also provide incentives for the creation of state-chartered mutual banks, insurance and investment companies, financial institutions that are owned by their customers. The few mutuals that still exist offer competitive products and superior service at lower cost, all of it with less risk that the Wall Street megafirms have turned finance into a head-I-win, tails-you-lose casino.

Nobody expects a Republican Congress and White House will move to increase the federal minimum wage but there is nothing to prevent states from raising theirs. Nor is there anything preventing states from restoring within their borders many of the workers rights that the Republican Congress and President-elect Donald Trump are poised to eliminate.

And if the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission give the all-clear signal for corporate megamergers, as you can expect they will, attorneys general from blue states can band together to file federal and state antitrust suits to block them. The attorneys general could also take a page from the playbook of the Chamber of Commerce and other conservative activists and use the federal courts to try to endlessly delay or block regulatory actions or repeals proposed by the Trump administration.

For blue state Democrats, this is obviously a second-best, half-a-loaf solution that still leaves half the country — alas, along with the federally dependent blue states of Maryland and Virginia and the District — to experience the full impact of the Trump Revolution. Care would also have to be taken to assure that the higher tax rates in blue states don’t prompt too many companies and wealthy taxpayers to flee.

In time, however, blue state Democrats could look forward to the satisfaction of watching Trump's voters stew in their own political juices as Red State America finally frees itself from the evil grip of global elites and big government and turns itself into a low-tax, low-wage, low health paradise where it's every man for himself.

As H.L. Mencken once put it, “Democracy is a theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it, good and hard.”

(via Under Trump, red states are finally going to be able to turn themselves into poor, unhealthy paradises - The Washington Post)

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