#asua asks

[aitsf-local-group-asks]

Hiya Asua! Have you ever encountered a Slugcat? I keep running into the little bastards, and I’ve heard they like harassing you Iterators for some reason; any clue why that might be?

Oh those little "Bastards" are all over my facility grounds. There’s less than there used to be, but they’re quite entertaining and social creatures, I admit I’m fond of their antics. In fact, there’s been a couple who’ve managed to make it all the way up here! Those ones got the mark of communication, and now one of them is even one of my messengers. Say Hi, Agent.

[waaa.]

There she goes, running off again… She’s not that social.

#iterator oc #rain world #rain world oc #rainworld #rainworld oc #askblog #rain world askblog #rainworld askblog #asua asks #slugcat oc

[rwaskarray]

A message arrives at the communications array, bringing up a video recording when opened.

ASUA: Hmmm… cmon, connect… perfect.

ASUA: Hey hey!! I think I finally found you! This is All’s Seen under Authority.

ASUA: Are you the iterator who’s messenger dropped straight into my chamber? It was an aquatic slugcat with a blue-greyish pelt and green markings, plus a vest.

ASUA: Don’t worry by the way, I’m not mad, I get creatures visiting all the time! I actually contacted you cause I’m looking to chat with other iterators, or anyone who can pick up a communication channel, really. Interested?

[- @aitsf-local-group-asks]

TTW: Oh- apologies, I’ve not talked to many iterators before, 1 to be exact.

TTW: Yea, yes! I’d totally be up to chat or talk! I uh, don’t have that much to do so any interaction at all is welcome.

TTW: That being said…uh…oh! Got any interesting pearls? Or hobbies?

// im totally up to do a reply chain btw >:)

#oc ttw #other oc asua #ask blog #rw askblog #iterator oc #answered #iterator askblog #rain world askblog

[aquakris]

Ya girl needs an opinion!! I’m single asf, a virgin and haven’t done other stuff with anyone in a while but I have my eye on a pair of handcuffs and a spanking paddle and I’m really considering just buying it even though I’m so single. Is that weird👀

I don’t think it is love. Self love is thee best love! You can use it on yourself if you want😂🤪

#asua’s asks

[absencias]

Quais os planos pra esse fim de semana? /tagged/pensando

Tentar n morrer congelada kkhkkk

Buenass

#asua maneira #asked

[dru-plays-starbound]

Universe: Starbound CW: None Words: 850 Context: For the 2022 Starbound Spring Prompt "Picnic".

"Enticing. Have another diodia and coralcreep scone." Ironquill hands me a slice of savoury scone, slathered with feathercrown jam. "Why thank you," I say, accepting the slice and licking my fins as the sticky-sweet jam dribbles onto them.

The sun is glorious today, warm and luxuriant. A zephyr brings the heady scent of flowers and the burble of water from the fountain behind us. We've come up to the tropical garden on Level Five – Ironquill the Baker, with a packed basket of baked treats; Asua with her tea service; Suri the traveller with some very unique blends of tea and a tale (or five); and me, Mio, who arrived half an hour late and without the quiche I was supposed to bring. Ironquill, Suri and I are sitting in the shade of the red boba tree, a gingham cloth between us, while Asua is supine in the sunshine ("Floran don't burn", she said when I questioned if she ought be under the shade). "Another cup of apple and jungle-bush tea, dear?" Suri asks, tucking a stray skein of slate-blue hair behind an ear. Her hair's been freed today from its usual practical bun and hangs in a wave down her back – though, I note, she hasn't quite been able to forgo her standard practical shirt and chinos. "Please," I say. The scone is delicious but claggy, and another cup would wash it down nicely. "Asua?" Suri asks as she fills my cup. The grass around the floran undulates, and a burgundy and green head pops up. "Yes," she says, drawing out the sibilants. Suri raises an eyebrow. Asua rolls her eyes. "Please." Suri flashes a grin at me. "We'll tame the savages yet," she jokes, filling Asura's cup. Asua and I exchange a glance; I shake my head, she shrugs and reaches for her tea. "Content. This was a fine plan, Mio," Ironquill says, as he relaxes back against the tree, a strip of toxi-bolt candy – marshmallow boltbulb and candied toxitop – in his hand. I glance up from my tea, tilting my head. "This isn't my party." I nictate, waving at Suri. "I was off-world, arranging a trade deal with a novakid settlement I ran across, when I got a message from Suri demanding I come home, I'd been gone too long and needed a break." Suri puts down the teapot. "While that's not incorrect, I didn't send that message." Ironquill sits forward, the three of us staring at each other.

The vigorous rustling of leaves has us turning to where Asua shakes with mirth. She spots us watching, and her face cracks open, dewdrops creased in the corners of her eyes as she howls with laughter. "Asua got you good," she cackles. "Gots you very good." I press a fin to my nasal ridge. Suri looks incensed. Ironquill… Well, it's tough to know what a glitch is thinking. "That is not funny," Suri snaps. "You can't impersonate people like that!" "Unimpressed," says Ironquill. "Your intent may have been noble, but your execution was flawed. Asua's laughter dies off, as she looks between us. Her leaves wilt. "Asua's joke… not funny?" she asks in a small voice. "Oh sprout," I say, and open my arms. "Come here." Floran mature so fast, it's all too easy to forget that a fully-fledged adult doesn't necessarily have the benefit of experience or a wise Greenfinger to guide them. For a long moment, Asua fiddles with her wrists, eyeing the others warily, before scuttling over to cuddle into me. "Asua did bad?" I hawed. "Asua did mixed." I settled her in closer to me. "Sprout, we're gonna have a long chat about why impersonating people is bad later. But… I… may have needed a break-" Suri snorts. Ironquill grumbles. "-and you did get me to haul off that planet to do so. Thing is, Sprout," I lift Asua's chin so she's looking at me, "I would've done that even if the message was from you, and not Suri." Asua blinks and extracts herself from my arms. "Really?" "Really really." "Just…" She picks at her wrists again. "You're very important now. Lots of people depend on you." I tap her on the chest. "And I depend on you. I depend on all my friends. I'm not so important that I'm going to stop listening to you." I boop her nose. "Someone has to tell me when to stop." Asua smiles at me again and I relax back against the tree. "Wait," says Suri, "aren't you going to-" "Not now," I cut her off. "Let's enjoy the rest of the afternoon. I'll speak to Greenfinger Zelai about this later. Ironquill, are there any more of those spiced boneboo tartlets?" Asua returns to sunning herself. Ironquill, blinking, hands me a tartlet. Suri sighs. "This does remind me, a little, of a time I was investigating the ruins of a junk planet. This was many years ago, of course…" Above us, a zephyr jostles our tree, the leaves sighing along as Suri settles back into telling her tale. Birds twitter, the warm sun shines, and I feel I can finally breathe.

#starbound #starbound fanfiction #starbound fanfic #wandering words #writing #the last protector #oc - mio #oc - Asua #starbound glitch #floran #hylotl #starbound-spring-prompts2022 #oc - ironquill #oc - suri #no concrit on this piece please #I wrote it while sick to stop from going spare #but it's probably not up to my usual standard #starbound human

[lily-learns-finnish]

Finnish has two word for "or" which are tai and vai. Vai is used in questions, when you have to choose between options. For example; Do you want to have a dog or a cat as a pet? Haluatko koiran vai kissan lemmikiksi? // Do you want coffee or tea? // Otatko kahvia vai teetä? // Do we go by bike or by walking? Menemmekö pyörällä vai jalan/kävellen? When someone is asking about your possessions and what you have, then you can use tai; Onko sinulla kissaa tai koiraa? Do you have a cat or a dog?

Ai niin, eli “Minä haluan asua Suomessa TAI Australiassa”? Kiitti! 

#niuniente

[hutchismo]

Conventional troops? Tall buildingsxhidden top floorjumpig down? New York High alert, Satue of liberty? Empire Sate buildinng? Radio City Music Hall, Eqrl Atlan

Ship to shore radio locations to ships Joel intel Long Branch Ranch HMB, Jeff Aker accordance, pull plug no defense best offense high alert southern border Russia Western Europe, China goes north islands our ally

Do not engage diplomacy stop such stupidity

Robert housemate helicoptor defense mechanic Pedro said he was in park whole Academy ruse and set ip then make contractors angry at me, us Robert movements all FB groups that were aetups Robert East Coast tour he undriended me they said he was atracking Academy then and I was beingvtouted as autistic I'm not then or now find who conceived my Academy operation asap I did not know along dfor the ride I had no idea Find Robert from Pedro with contractors they were obvious

Recheck underground defense coastal bunkers I had

idea months ago they could hide troops there to deploy and go there for protection

Troops in shipping xintainers offshoe waiting Friday this weekend

Deter

That why neighbor with dog met to talk coming back laundromat asked compass the trafficking out she went back to Asua

They deleted this neighbor with dog Hand she set me up to talk to her she had phone out at church recording all benign conversation but translated different in China tell Xi that's why Bejing woman here with kid two weeks ago kid translated accent the shhh sound in accent that's it it was setup she and other neighbor traffickers they returned to Asia my guess and likely that was to set me up as traitor and foment war

[friedtyrantllama]

Heat Stabilizers Market Research Report Analysis  By ReportMines

Our as of late distributed "Warmth Stabilizers Market" Industry research report has nitty gritty industry examination and gives an upper hand to our customers by giving profoundly separated Data through the market. This report will give the client fearlessness to take right business choices. This covers a point by point profile of Adeka Corporation, Clariant International, Songwon Industrial, Baerlocher GmbH, Chemson.

The Final report will contain examination of Coronavirus - 19 Impact on this specific industry.

The worldwide Heat Stabilizers market was esteemed at 3341.01 Million USD in 2020 and will develop with a CAGR of 2.77% from 2020 to 2027, in view of Research recently distributed report.

The superb target of this report is to give the bits of knowledge on the post COVID-19 effect which will assist with advertising major parts in this field assess their business draws near. Additionally, this report covers market division by significant market merchants, types, applications/end clients and geography(North America, East Asia, Europe, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, South America).

Get a Sample PDF of the Report –

The worldwide Heat Stabilizers market sectioned By Market Verdors:

Adeka Corporation

Clariant International

Songwon Industrial

Baerlocher GmbH

Chemson

Galata Chemicals

Ika Innovative Kunststoffaufbereitung

PMC Organometallix

Reagens

Valtris Specialty Chemicals

Am Stabilizers

Asua Products

Bruno Bock Chemische Fabrik

Kisuma Chemicals

Vikas Ecotech

To Understand How Covid-19 Impact Is Covered in This Report –

The worldwide Heat Stabilizers market sectioned By Types:

Calcium-based

Fluid Mixed Metals

The worldwide Heat Stabilizers market sectioned By Applications:

Lines and Fittings

Wires and Cables

Coatings and Floorings

Profiles and Tubing

Get a Sample Copy of the Heat Stabilizers Market Report

Key Indicators Analyzed

Market Players and Competitor Analysis: The report covers the vital participants of the business including Company Profile, Product Specifications, Production Capacity/Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin 2016-2027 and Sales with an exhaustive investigation of the market's cutthroat scene and point by point data on sellers and complete subtleties of elements that will challenge the development of significant market merchants.

Worldwide and Regional Market Analysis: The report incorporates Global and Regional market status and viewpoint 2016-2027. Further the report gives separate insights regarding every locale and nations shrouded in the report. Distinguishing its business, deals volume and income estimate. With definite examination by types and applications.

Market Trends: Market key patterns which incorporate Increased Competition and Continuous Innovations.

Openings and Drivers: Identifying the Growing Demands and New Technology

Watchmen Five Force Analysis: The report gives the condition of contest in industry relying upon five fundamental powers: danger of new contestants, bartering force of providers, haggling force of purchasers, danger of substitute items or benefits, and existing industry competition.

Ask or Share Your Questions If Any Before the Purchasing This Report –

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Nitty gritty TOC of Heat Stabilizers Market Industry Trends, Status and Forecast to 2027:

1 Report Overview

1.1 Study Scope

1.2 Key Market Segments

1.3 Players Covered: Ranking by Heat Stabilizers Revenue

1.4 Market Analysis by Type

1.5 Market by Application

1.6 Study Objectives

1.7 Years Considered

1.8 Overview of Global Heat Stabilizers Market

2 Market Competition by Manufacturers

2.1 Global Heat Stabilizers Production Capacity Market Share by Manufacturers (2016-2021)

2.2 Global Heat Stabilizers Revenue Market Share by Manufacturers (2016-2021)

2.3 Global Heat Stabilizers Average Price by Manufacturers (2016-2021)

2.4 Manufacturers Heat Stabilizers Production Sites, Area Served, Product Type

…

10 Africa

10.1 Africa Heat Stabilizers Consumption by Countries

10.2 Nigeria

10.3 South Africa

10.4 Egypt

10.5 Algeria

10.6 Morocco

11 Oceania

11.1 Oceania Heat Stabilizers Consumption by Countries

11.2 Australia

11.3 New Zealand

12 South America

12.1 South America Heat Stabilizers Consumption by Countries

12.2 Brazil

12.3 Argentina

12.4 Columbia

12.5 Chile

12.6 Venezuela

12.7 Peru

12.8 Puerto Rico

12.9 Ecuador

13 Rest of the World

13.1 Rest of the World Heat Stabilizers Consumption by Countries

13.2 Kazakhstan

14 Sales Volume, Sales Revenue, Sales Price Trend by Type

14.1 Global Heat Stabilizers Sales Volume Market Share by Type (2016-2021)

14.2 Global Heat Stabilizers Sales Revenue Market Share by Type (2016-2021)

14.3 Global Heat Stabilizers Sales Price by Type (2016-2021)

15 Consumption Analysis by Application

15.1 Global Heat Stabilizers Consumption Volume by Application (2016-2021)

15.2 Global Heat Stabilizers Consumption Value by Application (2016-2021)

16 Company Profiles and Key Figures in Heat Stabilizers Business

16.1 Adeka Corporation

16.2 Clariant International

16.3 Songwon Industrial

16.4 Baerlocher GmbH

16.5 Chemson

16.6 Galata Chemicals

16.7 Ika Innovative Kunststoffaufbereitung

16.8 PMC Organometallix

16.9 Reagens

16.10 Valtris Specialty Chemicals

16.11 Am Stabilizers

16.12 Asua Products

16.13 Bruno Bock Chemische Fabrik

16.14 Kisuma Chemicals

16.15 Vikas Ecotech

17 Heat Stabilizers Manufacturing Cost Analysis

17.1 Heat Stabilizers Key Raw Materials Analysis

17.2 Proportion of Manufacturing Cost Structure

17.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Heat Stabilizers

17.4 Heat Stabilizers Industrial Chain Analysis

18 Marketing Channel, Distributors and Customers

18.1 Marketing Channel

18.2 Heat Stabilizers Distributors List

18.3 Heat Stabilizers Customers

19 Market Dynamics

19.1 Market Trends

19.2 Opportunities and Drivers

19.3 Challenges

19.4 Porter's Five Forces Analysis

20 Production and Supply Forecast

20.1 Global Forecasted Production of Heat Stabilizers (2022-2027)

20.2 Global Forecasted Revenue of Heat Stabilizers (2022-2027)

20.3 Global Forecasted Price of Heat Stabilizers (2016-2027)

20.4 Global Forecasted Production of Heat Stabilizers by Region (2022-2027)

20.5 Forecast by Type and by Application (2022-2027)

21 Consumption and Demand Forecast

21.1 North America Forecasted Consumption of Heat Stabilizers by Country

21.2 East Asia Market Forecasted Consumption of Heat Stabilizers by Country

21.3 Europe Market Forecasted Consumption of Heat Stabilizers by Countriy

21.4 South Asia Forecasted Consumption of Heat Stabilizers by Country

21.5 Southeast Asia Forecasted Consumption of Heat Stabilizers by Country

21.6 Middle East Forecasted Consumption of Heat Stabilizers by Country

21.7 Africa Forecasted Consumption of Heat Stabilizers by Country

21.8 Oceania Forecasted Consumption of Heat Stabilizers by Country

21.9 South America Forecasted Consumption of Heat Stabilizers by Country

21.10 Rest of the world Forecasted Consumption of Heat Stabilizers by Country

22 Research Findings and Conclusion

23 Methodology and Data Source

23.1 Methodology/Research Approach

23.2 Data Source

23.3 Disclaimer

Get in touch with Us:

Name: Mahesh Patel

Telephone: USA:[phone]/IN:[phone]

Email: [email protected]

[finnishfun]

Finnish grammar #10

Must / have to / to be able to / passive present / third infinitive / opinions 

1. Must/have to

I already mentioned this in Part 5, but now I learnt some additional things :)

Minun täytyy mennä - I must go.

The subject in the genitive form + täytyy + the verb in the infinitive form.

Another word that can be used is pitää. (not to be confused with its meaning of “to like”) It means more like “have to”, but both words can be used with roughly the same meaning, pitää is a bit lighter/more colloquial. The structure is the same.

Minun pitää ostaa ruokaa. - I have to buy food.

In this case, ruokaa is in the partitive because we’re talking about food, but otherwise the object can remain in the nominative form.

Minun pitää lukea kirja. - I have to read the book.

The negative form of both is ei saa (must not). Here the subject is in the nominative form and the object is in the partitive (not just when talking about food). The verb is in the infinitive here as well.

Minä en saa uida. - I must not swim.

He eivät saa myydä taloa. - They must not sell the house.

2. Can/to be able to

Voida - can, be able to, possible to do it

Voimme grillata - We can barbecue (e.g. because it’s not raining)

Voisimme grillata - We could barbecue (more like a plan)

Osata - be able to (having the skill)

Osaatko uida? - Can you swim?

3. Let’s...

This form in Finnish can be used in two ways: to express the same thing as “Let’s...” in English, or as a general impersonal subject. This form is called the passive present tense.

Type 1 verbs:

The ending is -taan/-tään, which is added to the stem:

asua - asutaan

If the verb stem ends in -a/-ä, it changes to -e before the ending:

ajaa - ajetaan

Luetaan! - Let’s read!

Suomessa luetaan paljon - People in Finland read a lot. (the impersonal meaning)

Type 2 verbs:

The ending -daan/-dään is added to the stem:

juoda - juodaan

Type 3 verbs:

Ending is the last vowel + -n

mennä - mennään

Mennään! - Let’s go!

Type 4 verbs:

The ending -taan/-tään is added to the stem

tavata - tavataan

We can also use this as the first person plural form in spoken Finnish, more about that later.

4. Two verbs together

When using two verbs together (e.g. I’m going swimming), the second verb is in the third infinitive. The ending is -ma, which is added to the verb stem. Then additional endings can be added.

Menen uimaan - I’m going to swim. (uida - uima +-an for the illative case, going TO swim)

Most commonly mennä, tulla and olla are used in these kinds of sentences.

Mennään katsomaan! - Let’s go and see! Menemme syömään. - We are going to eat. Tulen uimasta. - I’m coming from swimming.

5. I think...

To express an opinion or asking for someone’s opinion, the subject can be in the elative case with the ending -sta/-stä.

Minusta Suomi on kaunis maa. - I think/in my opinion Finland is a beautiful country.

Onko Helsinki sinusta kaunis kaupunki?  - Do you think Helsinki is a beautiful town?

If you add an adjective like mukava or kiva, you can express something you like doing:

Minusta on mukava lukea. - I like reading.

Minusta on kiva matkustaa. - I like travelling.

#100daysoflanguages #langblr challenge #finnish #grammar #finnishgrammar

[numinosa]

Cade a dona do tumblr + foda? *-*

Eu? Não sei onde. Saudades de você, minha Zizi

#ask #followers #asua-maneira #zilda

[aitsf-local-group-asks]

Do you have any fun stories about Agent?

Oh absolutely, that girl is a little terror. She gets into a lot of troubles with Scavengers: her "spines" when not tied down can easily threaten them, and it doesn’t help she’s very much not eager to waste time finding pearls or giving up spears for them.

Doesn’t mean she’s friendly with other creatures, however. I remember one of my overseers catching her duking it out with a King vulture, and unlike some other slugcats, she has no qualms with using lantern mice as food.

She has a temper and sass too! If I scold her for something she likes to snap at me, and she has a habit of throwing things at walls when frustrated!

Personally, my favorite story about her temper is one time, Agent got so frustrated about the difficulty of climbing up another iterator’s superstructure that she ate quite a few of her neurons on the way out to show it! Haha…

Yeah… I had to apologize for her. But secretly… I was quite amused. Keep that one between us, mkay?~

#iterator oc #rain world #rain world oc #rainworld #rain world askblog #rainworld oc #askblog #rainworld askblog #asua asks #(if agent’s design seems different I’m playing around with it a little) #(it’ll stabilize when I draw an actual ref for her)

[bountyofbeads]

How we will remember our boss, Chairman Elijah Cummings: Moral clarity in all he did

He listened to us, respected us, trusted us and was truly proud of us. He had so much left to accomplish, but he has left it for us to complete.

Current and former staff of Rep. Elijah Cummings  | Published October 25, 2019 | USA Today | Posted October 25, 2019 |

As current and former congressional staff of the late Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, we had the great honor and privilege of working with him over the course of more than two decades.

Many public figures have praised the chairman in recent days, extolling his unmatched integrity, courageous leadership and commitment to service and justice. To these well-deserved tributes, we would like to add our own eulogy, based on our experience working by his side.

He was inspiring, both in public and even more so in private. He brought moral clarity to everything he did, and his purpose was pure — to help those among us who needed it most. He taught us that our aim should be to “give a voice to the voiceless,” including families whose drinking water had been poisoned, sick patients who could no longer afford their medicine and, most of all, vulnerable children and “generations yet unborn.”

'WHAT FEEDS YOUR SOUL?'

Whether in a hearing room full of members of Congress or in a quiet conversation with staff, his example motivated us to become our best selves in the service of others.

He was genuine. He insisted on personally interviewing every staff member he hired so he could “look into their eyes.” Each of us has a personal memory of sitting down with him for the first time, and it was like nothing we had experienced before. He would ask why we were interested in public service, how we thought we could contribute and what motivated us.

Then he would lean in and ask in his low baritone voice, “But … what feeds your soul?”

More than a few of us left those interviews with tears in our eyes, perhaps feeling that we had learned more about ourselves than about him. He made that kind of personal connection with everyone he met, from the people of his district, to witnesses who testified at hearings, to whistleblowers who reported waste, fraud or abuse. Since his passing, we have been inundated with messages from many whose lives he touched.

BE EFFICIENT AND SEEK 'HIGHER GROUND'

He was demanding. He would boast that he had the hardest working staff in Congress and that he sometimes would call or email us in the middle of the night, which was absolutely true. His directive to be “effective and efficient in everything you do” still rings in our ears.

In exchange, he listened to us, respected us and trusted us. He made sure we knew he was truly proud of us — memories we each now cherish. The result of his unwavering support was fierce loyalty from every member of his staff. We committed to doing everything in our power to fulfill his vision.

He was a unifying force, even in this era of partisanship. He would command order with a sharp rap of his gavel, elevate debate by noting that “we are better than that” and urge all of us to seek “not just common ground, but higher ground.”

Guided by his faith and values, he would look for and bring out the good in others, forming bridges through human connection.

WE ARE HERE 'ONLY FOR A MINUTE'

He fully grasped the moment in which we are now living. He invoked history books that will be written hundreds of years from now as he called on us to “fight for the soul of our democracy.” As he said, this is bigger than one man, one president or even one generation.

He was acutely aware of his own transience in this world. He reminded us repeatedly that we are here “only for a minute” and that all of us soon will be “dancing with the angels.”

He would thunder against injustice, or on behalf of those who could not fight for themselves, and he would vow to keep battling until his “dying breath.” He did just that. His final act as chairman came from his hospital bed just hours before his death, as he continued to fight for critically ill children suddenly in danger of deportation.

He had so much left to accomplish, but he has left it for us to complete. As he told us presciently, “These things don’t happen to us, they happen for us.”

Grateful he was part of our destiny

It is difficult to describe the emptiness we now feel. His spirit was so strong, and his energy so boundless, that the void is devastating.

But, of course, he left us with instructions: “Pain, passion, purpose. Take your pain, turn it into your passion, and make it your purpose.” He lived those words, and he inspired us to do the same.

Sometimes, after a big event, he would take us aside for a quiet moment and say, “I just want to thank you for everything you do and for being a part of my destiny.”

Today, we thank him for being part of ours. And we commit to carrying forward his legacy in the limited time allotted to each of us — to give voice to the voiceless, to defend our democracy, and to always reach for higher ground.

The authors of this tribute are current and former staff of the late House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., whose funeral is Friday. Their names are below:

Aaron D. Blacksberg, Abbie Kamin, Ajshay Charlene Barber, Alex Petros, Alexander M. Wolf, Alexandra S. Golden, Aliyah Nuri Horton, CAE, Amish A. Shah, Amy Stratton, Andy Eichar, Angela Gentile, Esq., Anthony McCarthy, Anthony N. Bush, Aryele N. Bradford, Ashley Abraham, Ashley Etienne, Asi Ofosu, Asua Ofosu, Ben Friedman, Bernadette "Bunny" Williams, Beverly Ann Fields, Esq., Beverly Britton Fraser, Brandon Jacobs, Brett Cozzolino, Brian B. Quinn, Britteny N. Jenkins, Candyce Phoenix, Carissa J. Smith, Carla Hultberg, Carlos Felipe Uriarte, Cassie Fields, Cecelia Marie Thomas, Chanan Lewis, Chioma I. Chukwu, Chloe M. Brown, Christina J. Johnson, Christopher Knauer, Dr. Christy Gamble Hines, Claire E. Coleman, Claire Leavitt, Courtney Cochran, Courtney French, Courtney N. Miller, Crystal T. Washington, Daniel Rebnord, Daniel Roberts, Daniel C. Vergamini, Darlene R. Taylor, Dave Rapallo, Davida Walsh Farrar, Deborah S. Perry, Deidra N. Bishop, Delarious Stewart, Devika Koppikar, Devon K. Hill, Donald K. Sherman, Eddie Walker, Elisa A. LaNier, Ellen Zeng, Emma Dulaney, Erica Miles, Fabion Seaton, Ferras Vinh, Fran Allen, Francesca McCrary, Frank Amtmann, Georgia Jenkins, Dr. Georgia Jennings-Dorsey, Gerietta Clay, Gina H. Kim, Greta Gao, Harry T. Spikes II, Hope M. Williams, Ian Kapuza, Ilga Semeiks, Jamitress Bowden, Janet Kim, Jaron Bourke, Jason R. Powell, Jawauna Greene, Jean Waskow, Jedd Bellman, Jenn Hoffman, Jennifer Gaspar, Jenny Rosenberg, Jess Unger, Jesse K. Reisman, Jessica Heller, Jewel James Simmons, Jill L. Crissman, Jimmy Fremgen, Jolanda Williams, Jon Alexander, Jordan H. Blumenthal, Jorge D. Hutton, Joshua L. Miller, Joshua Zucker, Julia Krieger, Julie Saxenmeyer, Justin S. Kim, K. Alex Kiles, Kadeem Cooper, Kamau M. Marshall, Kapil Longani, Karen Kudelko, Karen White, Kathy Crosby, Katie Malone, Katie Teleky, Kayvan Farchadi, Kellie Larkin, Kelly Christl, Kenneth Crawford, Kenneth D. Crawford, Kenyatta T. Collins, Kevin Corbin, Jr., Kierstin Stradford, Kimberly Ross, Krista Boyd, Kymberly Truman Graves, Larry and Diana Gibson, Laura K. Waters, Leah Nicole Copeland Perry, LL.M.,Esq., Lena C. Chang, Lenora Briscoe-Carter, Lisa E. Cody, Lucinda Lessley, Madhur Bansal, Marc Broady, Marianna Patterson, Mark Stephenson, Martin Sanders, Meghan Delaney Berroya, Michael F Castagnola, Michael Gordon, Michell Morton, Dr. Michelle Edwards, Miles P. Lichtman, Mutale Matambo, Olivia Foster, Patricia A. Roy, Paul A. Brathwaite, Paul Kincaid, Peter J. Kenny, Philisha Kimberly Lane, Portia R. Bamiduro, Rachel L. Indek, Rebecca Maddox-Hyde, Regina Clay, Ricardo Brandon Rios, Rich Marquez, Richard L. Trumka Jr., Robin Butler, Rory Sheehan, Roxanne (Smith) Blackwell, Russell M. Anello, Safiya Jafari Simmons, Sanay B. Panchal, Scott P. Lindsay, Sean Perryman, Senam Okpattah, Sonsyrea Tate-Montgomery, Susanne Sachsman Grooms, Suzanne Owen, Tamara Alexander Lynch, Theresa Chalhoub, Timothy D. Lynch, Todd Phillips, Tony Haywood, Tori Anderson, Trinity M.E. Goss, Trudy E. Perkins, Una Lee, Valerie Shen, Vernon Simms, Wendy Ginsberg, William A. Cunningham, William H. Cole, Wm. T. Miles, Jr., Yvette Badu-Nimako, Yvette P. Cravins, Esq., Zeita Merchant

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Widow of Elijah Cummings says Trump’s attacks on Baltimore ‘hurt’ the congressman

By Jenna Portnoy | Published October 25 at 12:44 PM ET | Washington Post | Posted October 25, 2019 |

BALTIMORE — The widow of Rep. Elijah E. Cummings said at his funeral Friday that attacks by President Trump on the congressman’s beloved hometown “hurt him” and made the final months of his life more difficult.

Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, who is chairwoman of the Maryland Democratic Party, said her husband was trying to protect “the soul of our democracy” and fighting “very real corruption” as chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, where he played a central role in investigating the Trump administration.

Trump lashed out at Cummings this summer, calling Baltimore, the heart of his district, a “rat-infested” place where no one would want to live. Cummings did not respond directly to the attacks, but his wife said Friday that they left a lasting wound.

Rockeymoore Cummings spoke near the end of a lengthy funeral program at New Psalmist Baptist Church, where Cummings worshiped for decades — showing up regularly on Sunday mornings for the 7:15 a.m. service. Still to come were eulogies by former presidents Bill Clinton — who visited the church with Cummings in the 1990s — and Barack Obama, the nation’s first black commander-in-chief.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a 2020 presidential contender, recited the 23rd Psalm at the start of the service, which Rockeymoore Cummings said her husband planned down to the last detail.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who also grew up in Baltimore, gave remarks, along with former congressman and NAACP leader Kwesi Mfume (D-Md.), Cummings’s daughters, brother, mentors, friends and a former aide. Attendees included former vice president Joe Biden, also a 2020 Democratic presidential contender, and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R).

Former U.S. senator, secretary of state and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton called Cummings “Our Elijah,” thanking his family and constituents of Maryland’s 7th District for sharing him “with our country and the world.”

“Like the prophet, our Elijah could call down fire from heaven. But he also prayed and worked for healing,” Clinton said. “Like the prophet, he stood against the corrupt leadership of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.”

The people in the packed sanctuary clapped and cheered.

Cummings was “a fierce champion of truth, justice and kindness ... who pushed back against the abuse of power,” Clinton added. “He had little tolerance for those who put party ahead of country or partisanship ahead of truth.”

A schedule showed that each speaker was allotted about five minutes at the podium — a time limit that several quickly ignored.

The congressman’s oldest daughter, Jennifer Cummings, 37, delivered a powerful eulogy extolling her father as a seasoned political leader whose most important role was as a dad.

Cummings told her he was amazed he could hold her in one hand when she was born. “This life, my life, in your hand,” she said. He wanted her to know her “rich brown skin was just as beautiful as alabaster, or any color of the rainbow” and insisted on buying her brown dolls so she could appreciate what was special about her.

His other daughter, Adia Cummings, asked the dozens of members of Cummings staff to stand. “I’m so sorry you lost someone who was so much more than a boss to you,” she said.

James Cummings, the congressman’s younger brother, said the family called Elijah Cummings by the nickname “Bobby,” and recalled how the congressman was haunted by the death of his nephew, a student at Old Dominion University, up through his final days.

Mourners began lining up at the church at 5 a.m., the Baltimore Sun reported. By 7 a.m., traffic was backed up a half-mile away from the church, which seats nearly 4,000. A choir sang and clapped as mourners filed into the concert hall-like sanctuary.

A pastor read Bible passages through the public address system, and one of the white-gloved ushers recited the words along with him, from memory. Clips of Cummings speaking in Congress played on huge video screens above the open casket, which was surrounded by massive sprays of flowers.

“In 2019, what do we do to make sure we keep our democracy intact?” he said in one video.

Cummings, who had been in poor health in recent years, died Oct. 17 at age 68. He often said he considered it his mission to preserve the American system of government as the nation faced a “critical crossroads.”

But Cummings, the son of sharecroppers, was also a lifelong civil rights champion known for his efforts to help the poor and the struggling, and to boost the fortunes of his struggling hometown.

Just after 10 a.m., mourners at New Psalmist sprang to their feet and waved their hands as the Clintons and former vice president Joe Biden, also a 2020 candidate, walked in. The cheers grew louder when Obama followed, taking his place next to Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, the congressman’s widow, in the front row. Together, they sang along to the opening hymn.

As gospel singer BeBe Winas performed, a woman near the back wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. He sang: “Tell me, what do you do when you’ve done all you can / And it seems, it seems you can’t make it through / Well you stand, you stand, you just stand.”

The crowd obeyed.

Cummings was honored Wednesday at Morgan State University in Baltimore, a historically black research university where he served on the board of regents.

On Thursday, he became the first African American lawmaker to lie in state at the Capitol, a rare honor reserved for the nation’s most distinguished citizens. Congressional leaders held a memorial ceremony for their former colleague at the Capitol’s ornate Statuary Hall, after which the coffin, was draped in an American flag, was escorted to a spot just outside the House chamber. Thousands of members of the public came to pay their respects.

For more than two hours, Rockeymoore Cummings, personally greeted the mourners, shaking hands, sharing hugs and engaging in extended conversations. A former gubernatorial candidate who chairs the Maryland Democratic Party, she is considered one of the potential contenders for her late husband’s seat.

Rockeymoore Cummings greeted the last mourner at 7:39 p.m. Minutes later, a motorcade escorted Cummings’s body out of Capitol Plaza for the final time.

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Dear President Donald Trump, let me tell you about my ex-boss Elijah Cummings

He goes home to Baltimore every night. He is the same person on camera and off. And everyone knows his cell number, you should call him and talk.

By Jimmy Fremgen | Updated 9:56 a.m. EDT Aug. 2, 2019 | USA TODAY | Posted October 25, 2019 |

Dear Mr. President,

Just over six years ago I was sitting in the gymnasium at Woodlawn High School in Gwynn Oak, Maryland, and I was very unhappy. You see, it was a weekend and as I’m sure you’d agree, I would have much preferred to spend the day playing golf. Instead, my boss had ordered his entire staff, myself included, to drive to this town outside Baltimore on a muggy 93-degree day to help run an event to prevent home foreclosures.

I know you’re wondering whom I worked for, Mr. President. It was Rep. Elijah Cummings. And it is safe to say that on this day, we would have had something in common: I really didn’t like him much.

I worked for Mr. Cummings both on his Capitol staff and for the House Oversight and Reform Committee from August 2012 to February 2016. When he called me to offer the job, he was hard on me immediately. He told me that my salary was non-negotiable, that if I did something wrong he would be sure to tell me, and that he expected me to meet the high standard he keeps for himself and his staff.  

Same Man At Podium, In Grocery Store

What I quickly learned about him is that he is the same person on camera and off. The passionate soliloquies that he delivers from behind the chairman’s podium in the Oversight hearing room are very similar to the ones that I often heard from the other end of the phone after he ran into one of his neighbors in the aisle of the grocery store back home. If someone came to him for help, he wouldn’t let any of his staff tell him it wasn’t possible. He’d push us for a solution and give his cellphone number to anyone who needed it — even when we wished he wouldn’t.

In March 2014, then-Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa cut off Mr. Cummings' microphone during his closing remarks, a massive break in decorum that left Cummings reading his statement aloud as the TV feed abruptly stopped. The incident hit cable news in seconds, and I remember coming back from a meeting to find every single person in the office answering phone calls.

joined them on the phones, enduring nonstop racist epithets, cursing, threats and language that I had never imagined. I remember one vividly, a call from a Colorado area code on which an older female voice told me that Cummings better “sit down and shut up like the good boy someone should have taught him to be.” The phones rang this way for three days.

At Home In Baltimore Every Night

Sir, I won’t defend Baltimore, I’m not from there, and there are many who have already stood up to do so. Instead, let me correct you on one last thing: Unlike almost every other member of Congress, Congressman Cummings goes home every night. Honestly, when I worked for him, sometimes I wished he wouldn’t. There were times when I would want him to attend an early morning meeting, take a phone call or approve a document and he couldn’t, because he’d be driving the 44 miles from his house in Baltimore to the Capitol.

During the protests after the death of Freddie Gray in 2015, I couldn’t get hold of Mr. Cummings. Gov. Larry Hogan had called in the National Guard, and I was trying to relay an update about the soldiers that would soon be standing in the streets. It turned out that the congressman was in the streets himself, marching arm-in-arm with community leaders, pastors, gang members, neighbors, anyone who was willing to peacefully protect his city. He walked back and forth, bullhorn in hand urging people to be peaceful, to respect one another, to love each other and to get home safely.

Mr. President, I know you are frustrated. I, too, have been dressed down for my own mistakes by Congressman Cummings. I know how rigorous he can be in his oversight. I agree it can be extensive, but it certainly does not make him a racist.

Instead, let me offer this: I met you once in Statuary Hall of the Capitol, amid the sculptures of prominent Americans, and gave you my card. If you still have it, give me a ring. I’d be happy to pass along Congressman Cummings’ cellphone number so the two of you can have a conversation. Or better yet, swing through the aisles of one of the grocery stores in West Baltimore. I’m sure anyone there would be willing to give you his number.

Yours Sincerely,

Jimmy Fremgen

Jimmy Fremgen is a Sacramento-based consultant specializing in cannabis policy. He handled higher education, firearms safety, defense and foreign affairs as senior policy adviser to Rep. Elijah Cummings from 2012 to 2016.

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Elijah Cummings knew the difference between winning the news cycle and serving the nation

By Eugene Robinson | Published October 24 at 5:00 PM ET | Washington Post | Posted October 25, 2019 |

There are moments when the U.S. Capitol feels like a sanctified space, a holy temple dedicated to ideals that transcend the partisan squabbles of the politicians who work there. The enormous paintings that tell the story of America, normally like wallpaper to those who work in the building, demand attention as if they are being seen for the first time. The marble likenesses of great men — and too few great women — seem to come alive.

Thursday was such an occasion, as the body of Elijah E. Cummings, the Maryland congressman who died last week at 68, lay in state in one of the Capitol’s grandest spaces, Statuary Hall. There was a sense of great sadness and loss but also an even more powerful sense of history and purpose.

Cummings was the first African American lawmaker to be accorded the honor of lying in state at the Capitol. That his casket was positioned not far from a statue of a seated Rosa Parks would have made him smile.

Something Cummings once said seemed to echo in the soaring room: “When we’re dancing with the angels, the question we’ll be asked: In 2019, what did we do to make sure we kept our democracy intact?”

Cummings was able to give an answer he could be proud of. What about me? What about you?

He was the son of sharecroppers who left South Carolina to seek a better life in the big city of Baltimore. When he was growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, Jim Crow segregation was still very much alive. Angry whites threw rocks and bottles at him when, at age 11, he helped integrate a previously whites-only swimming pool. He attended Howard University, where he was president of the student government, and graduated in 1973. A friend of mine who was his classmate told me it was obvious even then that Cummings was on a mission to make a difference in people’s lives.

He got his law degree from the University of Maryland, went into private practice, served in the Maryland House of Delegates and was elected to Congress in 1996. At his death, he was the powerful chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. But the reason he was so influential, and will be so sorely missed, has less to do with his title than with his integrity and humanity. In floor debates and committee hearings, he fought his corner fiercely. But I don’t know any member of Congress, on either side of the aisle, who did not respect and admire him.

A roster of the great and the good came to the Capitol on Thursday to pay their respects. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Cummings “our North Star.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke of Cummings’s love for Baltimore. Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, an ideological foe, teared up when he spoke of Cummings as a personal friend. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said “his voice could shake mountains, stir the most cynical heart.”

The scene was a sharp contrast with what had happened one day earlier and two floors below. The House Intelligence Committee was scheduled to take a deposition from a Pentagon official as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump’s conduct. The closed-door session was to take place in a basement room designed to be secure from electronic surveillance. Before the deposition could get started, more than two dozen members of Congress — including some of Trump’s staunchest and most vocal defenders — made a clown show of barging into the room, ostensibly to protest that the deposition was not being taken in an open session.

Some of those who participated in the sit-in had the right to attend the hearing anyway; some didn’t. But the protest had nothing to do with substance. The point was to stage a noisy, made-for-television stunt in Trump’s defense that could divert attention, if only for a day, from the facts of the case. The interlopers ordered pizza and brought in Chick-fil-A. Some took their cellphones into the secure room, which is very much against the rules.

I have deliberately not mentioned anyone’s party affiliation, because the contrast I see between the juvenile behavior in the basement and the Cummings ceremony in Statuary Hall is more fundamental. It is between foolishness and seriousness, between nonsense and meaning, between trying to win the news cycle and trying to serve the nation.

Cummings knew the difference. We have lost a great man. The angels must be lining up to dance with him.

*********

Elijah Cummings, Reluctant Partisan Warrior

The story of the veteran lawmaker is one more example of how, in Washington, appearances deceive, and public performances and private relationships often diverge.

RUSSELL Berman | Published OCT 17, 2019 | The Atlantic | Posted October 25, 2019 |

The image many Americans likely had of Representative Elijah Cummings, who died this morning at the age of 68, was of a Democrat perpetually sparring with his Republican counterparts at high-profile congressional hearings.

There was Cummings in 2015, going at it with Representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina while a bemused Hillary Clinton sat waiting to testify about the Benghazi attack. Two years later, the lawmaker from Maryland was clashing with Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who would not countenance Cummings trying to inject the investigation into Russian interference into an unrelated Oversight Committee hearing. “You’re not listening!” the Democrat shouted at one point. And then this February, Cummings found himself bickering with Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, who accused Cummings of orchestrating “a charade” by calling President Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen as one of his first witnesses when he became chairman of the panel.

Yet the story of Cummings, at his death the chairman of the House Oversight Committee and a key figure in the impeachment inquiry against Trump, is one more example of how, in Washington, appearances deceive, and public performances and private relationships often diverge. In the hours after Cummings’s death was announced, heartfelt tributes streamed in from the very Republicans he had criticized so passionately. The contrast in tone with these memories of bitter public battles was jarring, even perplexing.

“I am heartbroken. Truly heartbroken,” Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina, the founding chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus,  told CNN. Chaffetz called Cummings “an exceptional man.” “He loved our country,” tweeted the former Oversight Committee chairman, who jousted with Cummings when the Democrat was the panel’s ranking member. “I will miss him and always cherish our friendship.” The House Republican leader, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, hailed Cummings as “a leader for both parties to emulate.”

It’s easy, of course, to find a kind word for the deceased—even Trump, who just a few months ago called  Cummings’s Baltimore congressional district a “disgusting rat and rodent infested mess,” lauded him as a “highly respected political leader” in a tweet this morning.

Yet by all accounts, the reactions from Republicans on Capitol Hill were no crocodile tears, and Cummings had genuine personal relationships with several of them. Cummings himself described Meadows as “one of my best friends,” and came to his defense after Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan accused the Trump ally of pulling a “racist” stunt at the Cohen hearing.

Perhaps no tribute—from a Democrat or a Republican—was as reverential as that of Gowdy, who said Cummings was “one of the most powerful, beautiful, and compelling voices in American politics.

“We never had a cross word outside of a committee room,” Gowdy, another former GOP chairman of the Oversight Committee, said in a lengthy Twitter thread this morning. “He had a unique ability to separate the personal from the work.” He recalled a story Cummings often told of a school employee who urged him to abandon his dream of becoming a lawyer and opt for a job “with his hands not his mind.” That employee would later become Cummings’s first client, Gowdy wrote.

“We live in an age where we see people on television a couple of times and we think we know them and what they are about,” the Republican said.

Cummings died at a Maryland hospice center from what his office said were “complications concerning longstanding health challenges.” He had spent months in the hospital after heart and knee surgeries in 2017 and got around in a wheelchair, but there was little public indication of how serious his condition was in the weeks before his death.

In Baltimore, Cummings’s legacy will extend far beyond his work on the House’s chief investigatory committee. He was first elected to Congress in 1996, after 13 years in the Maryland state legislature. After the death of Freddie Gray in the back of a police van in 2015, Cummings walked through West Baltimore with a bullhorn in an attempt to quell the unrest from angry and distraught black citizens. In March 2017, at a time when most Democrats were denouncing the Trump administration on an hourly basis, Cummings met with the new president at the White House in a bid to work with him on a bill to lower drug prices. As my colleague Peter Nicholas  recounted earlier this year, the two men fell into a candid talk about race, but little came of the effort on prescription drugs.

Democrats tapped Cummings to be their leader on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee in 2010, after Republicans retook the House majority. He was not the next in line, but the party pushed out the veteran Representative Edolphus Towns of New York over concerns that he’d be too laid-back at a time when Republicans were preparing an onslaught of investigations into Barack Obama’s administration.

The oversight panel is a highly partisan committee in a highly partisan Congress, and Cummings had no illusions about his role. Still, he tried to forge relationships with each of his Republican counterparts, and some of those attempts were successful. As the combative Representative Darrell Issa of California was ending his run as chairman in 2014, Cummings traveled to Utah to bond with Chaffetz, Issa’s likely successor. “I want a relationship which will allow us to get things done,” Cummings said during a joint appearance the two made on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. After Chaffetz left, Cummings got along well—at least in private—with Gowdy and Meadows.

Yet time and again, the cordiality behind closed doors succumbed to rancor in front of the cameras. The relationships Cummings and his Republican counterparts had were no match for these deeply divided times; they yielded few legislative breakthroughs or bipartisan alliances in the midst of highly polarized investigations.

By early 2019, any hope that Cummings may have had of working with conservatives in Congress, or with the Trump administration, seemed to have given way to frustration, and occasionally anger. At the end of Cohen’s testimony, he delivered an emotional plea to his colleagues. “When we’re dancing with the angels, the question will be asked: In 2019, what did we do to make sure we kept our democracy intact?” he said, his voice booming. “C’mon now, we can do two things at once. We have to get back to normal!”

As for Trump, two years after their candid talk on race, the president was viciously attacking Cummings as a “brutal bully” and blaming him for Baltimore’s long-running struggle with poverty and crime.

Two months later, Cummings joined the growing chorus of Democrats calling for Trump’s impeachment. “When the history books are written about this tumultuous era,” he said at the time, “I want them to show that I was among those in the House of Representatives who stood up to lawlessness and tyranny.”

In truth, he had long since realized that the effort to work with the president had been futile. “Now that I watch his actions,” Cummings told Nicholas, “I don’t think it made any difference.”

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Elijah Cummings Was Not Done

The House Oversight chairman died too soon at 68, while working on his deathbed to ensure this country measured up to his standards

By JAMIL SMITH | Published October 18, 2019 | Rolling Stone | Posted October 25, 2019 |

Even with the deaths of our elders today and the 400th anniversary of chattel slavery, we are often reminded that this terrible American past is within the reach of our oral, recorded history. Elijah Cummings, who died Thursday at 68, was the grandson of sharecroppers, the black tenant farmers who rented land from white owners after the Civil War.

Cummings once recounted to 60 Minutes that, when he was sworn into Congress in 1996 following a special election in Maryland’s 7th District, his father teared up. A typical, uplifting American story would be a son talking about his dad’s pride at such a moment, and there was that. But Cummings’ father, Ron, also asked him a series of questions.

Isn’t this the place where they used to call us slaves? “Yes, sir.”

Isn’t this the place where they used to call us three-fifths of a man? “Yes, sir.”

Isn’t this the place where they used to call us chattel? “Yes, sir.”

Then Ron told his son Elijah, according to the story: Now I see what I could have been had I had an opportunity.  Forget the Horatio Alger narratives; that is a story of generational ascendance that actually sounds relatable to me as someone who has grown up black in America.

Sixty-eight should be too early for anyone to die in the era of modern medicine, but it somehow didn’t feel premature for Cummings. It wouldn’t feel premature for me, either. Racism kills us black men and women faster, that much has been documented. Cummings had seen the consequences of racism in the mirror every day since he was 11, bearing a scar from an attack by a white mob when he and a group of black boys integrated the public (and ostensibly desegregated) pool in South Baltimore. Perhaps a shorter life was simply an American reality to which he had consigned himself. Or, he had just read the science.

When speculation rumbled about whether he would run for the Senate in 2015, Cummings spoke openly about his own life expectancy.

“When you reach 64 years old and you look at the life expectancy of an African-American man, which is 71.8 years, I ask myself, if I don’t say it now, when am I going to say it?” Cummings said, referring at the time to combative rants and snips at Republicans whom he perceived to be wasting the public’s time and money with nonsense like the Benghazi hearings.

He continued to speak up for what he considered was just, not just when president did wrong but also when it involved the police. The bullhorn seemed to never leave his hand and his voice never seemed to die out in the wake of Freddie Gray’s death at the hands of Baltimore cops in 2015. His willingness to speak up not just in defense of America but of us black Americans is why the passing of Cummings was a puncturing wound for anyone hoping for this nation to be true to what it promises on paper to all of its people.

Worse, Cummings’ death leaves a void. Only a few members of his own party have been as willing to speak as frankly as Cummings, or take as immediate action against the grift and madness that Republicans pass off as governance. “We are better than this!” was one of his frequent exhortations, and I am not sure that we were.

It is tempting, and lazy, to encapsulate the Cummings legacy within the last few years. Pointing to his deft handling of his Republican “friend” Mark Meadows’ racist call-out of Rashida Tlaib in February or his grace in dealing with President Trump’s petulant insults about his beloved Baltimore even as he used his House Oversight powers to help begin perhaps the most significant impeachment inquiry yet launched into an American head of state. But there was more to the man and his patriotism than his pursuit of a corrupt president.

Cummings was, as his widow, Maryland Democratic Party chairwoman Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, put it in her statement, working “until his last breath.” In a memo just last week, as he was ailing, Cummings stated he planned to subpoena both acting USCIS Director Ken Cuccinelli and acting ICE Director Matthew Albence to testify on October 17, the day he would later pass away. (Both men agreed to testify, voluntarily, but the hearing has been postponed until the 24th.)

Cummings also signed two subpoenas driven to him in Baltimore hours before his death, both dealing with the Trump administration’s coldhearted policy change to temporarily end the ability for severely ill immigrants to seek care in the United States.

One of the young immigrant patients who had testified to a House Oversight subcommittee about this draconian Trump measure, a Honduran teenager named Jonathan Sanchez, told the assembled lawmakers, simply, “I don’t want to die.”

Cummings knew all too well that this is a country that kills people with its racism, and saw this president trying to do it. He went to his deathbed trying to change that America. His untimely death left that work undone, but that task is ours now.

*********

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[aitsf-local-group-asks]

A Slugcat slides into the chamber, immediately scampering about to see and sniff all the items in the can, a curious Slugcat! They drop a bubble fruit and a pearl of theirs on the floor while looking around, which reads -

[PEARL ARCHIVE - TTW] - 1848.2941.48

TTW: Take 3! Who knew pearl inscribing could be so difficult.

TTW: Hi! If you are receiving this, you must've met my scout Mer! They are exploring regions for me and taking data so that I can know more about this land.

TTW: Please give them back any item or data pearl, anything on it is fine! They just tend not to leave without an item.

[ - @rwaskarray !]

Damn, I didn’t expect opening my communications to bring another iterator’s messenger right to my chamber. Or maybe this is just coincidence, and your iterator buddy TTW hasn’t heard anything about it yet…. Ah well, who cares! Dont bother examining everything here, little critter, it’s quite cluttered. 6CS is always complaining my chamber has too much stuff…. He’d be happy to know I’m giving you something, at least! Let’s see…

Here, this pearl has a map of my local group’s area and their topography, complete with each iterator’s can marked on it. Take this lantern too. I’m not sure how you got here, but if you don’t want to run into steep cliffs and extremely harsh rains, I recommend taking the old mines back out, which are pretty dark. Careful of the scavengers too, the ones in my area are pretty friendly to slugcats, but tolls are still tolls.

…your little vest is gorgeous by the way, reminds me of the accessories I’ve given to my visitors!

#iterator oc #rain world #rain world oc #rainworld #rainworld oc #askblog #rain world askblog #rainworld askblog #asua asks #Those scug’s patterns are so cool I had to draw them

[aitsf-local-group-asks]

O.k., let me check…..

Perfect. Communications are up and running, all clear. No audio issues either. Now for the next order of business, testing visual…

Hmm, seems a bit spotty, but I can work with this. Right then!

Ahem, greetings everyone, I am All’s Seen Under Authority, but ASUA works fine. I don’t care much for formalities, so to keep things simple, I’m opening a communication network because I’m bored.

I don’t know who will pick up on this, but ask me anything! I’ll respond when I’ve got nothing better to do. And hey, maybe you’ll get to hear a bit from some of my local group too. We’ll see how it goes, really. Don’t mind the clutter or the critters, and I won’t mind whatever nonsense you throw at me. Got it?

I look forward to talking with you all.

#rainworld #rain world #rainworld oc #rain world oc #iterator oc #ASUA asks #rain world askblog

[aitsf-local-group-asks]

Yoooo !! How’s the city nowadays? :o

Oh hey, I like your attitude! Unfortunately�� my city wasn’t really used much, and wasn’t really designed to last, either. It’s still quite a wonder of architecture… but also in disarray. Though… some recent modifications, while useful for my purposes, haven’t helped it’s deterioration…. Have a picture I got from an overseer, though.

#rain world #rain world oc #iterator oc #rainworld #rainworld oc #asua asks #rain world askblog #rainworld askblog #askblog

[aitsf-local-group-asks]

Hello, finally decided to participate in making Iterator askblogs with my silly AU. It’s pretty casual, but if I get asks I’ll try to respond sometime, and hey maybe some story will come up. Only one character for now, but more will probably be added pretty quickly if I get asks.

Available Characters:

All’s Seen Under Authority: A young and social Iterator who shares her can with another, she’s much more focused on the local wildlife than she had ever been on the great problem.

Nine X At Lozenge: A strange iterator with a personality similarly robotic as her superstructure and a vast communication arrays.

For a few rules:

1: You can pretty much ask what you want, but if it’s too nsfw or weird I’m going to reserve the right not to respond to it, sorry!

2: Magic anons or rp asks from your characters are allowed! Just make it clear that’s what those are in your ask, pretty much.

3: That’s basically it, have fun!!

#iterator oc #rain world oc #rain world #rain world askblog #asua asks