#it just looks not as striking not as coherent as a group protest or whatever

[greenvillainredemption]

More monkey man posting. I wasn’t following the entire plot because I was very tired, wasn’t comprehending some characters’ accents, and the political stuff went over my head. So here’s a lil appreciation post of things I liked because like it’s good but it didn’t fully get me since I wasn’t in the right mood to watch it.

- the flashbacks, how there would be flashes between past and present, but then the fire and explosions could sometimes be seen in the present. Idk if that kind of visual has ever been done before but I’d never seen it done before this and it was very effective.

- the fight scenes. As per my last post, not as gory as I’d had it hyped up to be but the actual choreo and camera work were very cool and fun to watch.

- specifically the elevator scene, had my fave death involving main guy using a knife with his teeth hell yeah

- the mask. I may be biased because monkeys actually scare the shit out of me but it was so scary and I kinda wish he’d worn it more. WatchMojo top ten scariest non-horror movie masks when????

- also him using the glitteriest shoe with a thick ass heel to bash a guy’s head. I just love seeing people use whatever random object they can find as a weapon, and glitter.

- speaking of glitter, the group of mostly-female fighters backing him up in their extravagant bejeweled fits. Usually I’m not a fan of the trope where ‘women can fight but only if they look pretty’, but in this case the fits have cultural/traditional significance, were non-sexual, and the scene actually looked cool as hell. Reminded me of the kyoshi warriors from atla.

#idk if the older leader of that group was maybe trans? I thought at first his clothes were just any traditional fancy wear and not #any specifically women’s clothing. like clothes don’t have gender to me and knowing nothing about a different cultures gendered fashion is #also a factor there. but also I do remember a mention of some trans issue on the news near the beginning of the movie #or middle idk like I said I was very tired lol. #point is don’t come for me for saying the group is mostly female. I mean that is still technically true but yknow #also I know some screenings had edited colors in the crowd scenes with the signs and mine did #I can’t remember why but that’s not my main complaint here (I’ll read up on it but rn I’m about the visuals) #so everyone is originally wearing orange and holding orange signs #but in the edit ONLY the color of the signs were changed. to red so it’s similar enough but STILL #it just looks not as striking not as coherent as a group protest or whatever #like I’m not condoning the editing at all (especially if it’s for reasons I’m not read up on yet) but IF they’re gonna do that why stop #with the signs? edit the clothes bro like I want to see a unified group with ONE symbolic color IS THAT SO HARD #Maybe it is idk I’m not an editor lol #my words

[bronsonthurman]

Conspiracy Theory is a Conspiracy Theory You Should Not Believe

“Conspiracy Theory” is a popular media trope across America and likely around the world. That is not surprising, it’s sexy in a distasteful sense of the word employed in media industry--like murder on the front page and scandal in the gossip section. Adding “theory” to the phrase distinguishes fantasists and hobbyists from gang members, mobsters, and scammers, who periodically appear in the news charged with criminal conspiracy.

Conspiracy Theorists are understood to be unreliable, both as a matter of public perception and as a common experience. They might well argue that media conspires to make them look crazy but it is a tactic they invite on themselves by lacking better discretion on how to handle fringe topics. It is completely rational to be interested in UAP, while being a UFO fan is a subjective interest as worthy or worthless as any entertainment. However, it is another very different matter to rely on obsessive interest to define a social group, validate self-worth, or to profit. That is a charge many would be susceptible to at large, leaving conspiracy theories not much better or worse than the rest of us. Except, of course, that we should not listen or believe conspiracy theorists as we do “ordinary people.”

A conspiracy skeptic then, like a supernatural critic, finds themselves susceptible to the allure of the fantastic, but responsible to their intellectual honesty. They are the bane of the believer, who is in turn their natural constituency. The fantasist wants to believe; the skeptic wants something true to believe, and will keep looking and hoping with little succor. However as compassionate examples among supernatural skeptics have shown, skepticism is key for reconciling fanaticism with reality. Only a compassionate skeptic empathizes with the faithful enough to recognize the truth inspiring the fantasy; no one believes no reason, even when they are just wrong. Whatever objective errors can be found, that belief stems from a cognitive process of receiving information and forming a coherent model of understanding.

While one might point to a flat-earth fan as having insane beliefs, we are all likely engaged in similarly nonsensical beliefs which spare us the same social recognition. The average person knows very little first hand beyond their work, home life, and recreation. Any general understanding assumed as a universal baseline is completely subjective and arbitrary; perfectly smart, capable people can be ignorant of things others find perfectly obvious, because it’s just not what they were taught. To speak nothing of the fact that no matter what, right now, there are numerous people who think you are being fooled by what you believe, since it contradicts what they believe. You, them, myself, and the vast swaths of us have very little evidence for anything beyond our immediate sphere and we are all engaged in taking someone’s word for it. We have little reason to have confidence in our personal model of reality beyond arm’s length.

One might reject this statement for being crazy-making. Changing our minds is quite tangibly uncomfortable. Yet this should give a thinker reassurance when grappling with slippery understanding. There is great confidence to be had by narrowing down to how little you really know. We are entirely capable of grasping a point of view without accepting it. We can learn with great confidence what someone believes, right or wrong, because belief is self-evident.

This possibility of extraterrestrial visitation is certainly intriguing, as long as one abandons cinematic thinking. It is certainly plausible, interesting on scientific and philosophical grounds, yet hardly topical or relevant in the current landscape of existential threats. Far more noteworthy is the possibility that U.S. government agencies engaged in an a campaign of public misinformation and smeared hucksters and earnest citizens alike.

The application of a little hyperbole here is intentional, pointing to the essential characteristic that whistle-blowing and conspiracy theorizing share in common, which is panic. There is a threat, we must take action, either cries. One way mainstream press disassociates itself from the conspiracy theorists by maintaining a calm, journalistic tone. The New Yorker recently printing an article treating such claims as reliable, even historical, mentioned in passing en route to the point. (How media launders incendiary news with the banal is another matter entirely.)

The danger reckless theorizing poses is providing cover for the suppression of the whistleblower, subjecting them to accusations of crying wolf. The putative history of UFO panic management is striking because is overlaps with an era of Americans struggling with an assassination of a popular president by a strange assailant whose narrative does not sit so well as that of Booth or Hinkley. Putting such an event into the same realm of discourse as fake moon landings and UFOs is certainly concerning even you don’t need extraordinary explanations for a political assassination.

Conspiracy fans could do themselves and society a favor by focusing on the aspects of these theories that they nearly all share--government agencies deceive people. Not “the government, massive cover-up, will shock you” or whatever else exaggeration tempts us, but a simple truth that would garner widespread agreement. As various agencies of U.S. government have historically revealed, they or others under their purview have repeatedly engaged in the deliberate deception and abuse of American citizens. We are not very good at stopping people from using government authority to do horrible things to us.

It’s not a vast government conspiracy, it’s real, criminal conspiracy. Actual people making bad and abusive decisions with disregard for the rights of others who are effected. Human beings act like that sometimes, and we continue to be terrible at preventing it. The sky is not falling, we should not panic, but though this calamity is old and obvious it is an ongoing crisis we should be upset about, bother our representatives about, resist the status quo and protest business as usual over, and ultimately pass amendments to remedy. It is easy to be panicked over non-issues, or to treat the inaccuracy of alarm as a reason to dismiss it. But make no mistake, there are many real crises to make a call to action over, and there will always be some actors conspiring to drown any vital information in a general clamor.

#uap #ufo #conspiracies #skepticism #sociology #media

[diningpageantry]

Firelight

Archive Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17093876

Word Count: 1191

Summary: The power goes out in Penny and Simon's flat, so they improvise with candles and a fireplace.

Carry On Countdown 2018 Day 27: Lights

“Oh no fucking way.” Penny groans, hands scrubbing her face. The lights finally stop flickering and shut entirely, leaving the flat in a sudden blanket of darkness and only illuminated by the glow of car headlights and the far off moon.

Sighing in defeat, I’m already on my feet and heading to find the matchbox in our drawer of mildly useful shit. “Can you get those nice smelling candles from your room?”

“Already on it.” Her footsteps pound behind me, obviously carrying her agitation as she heads off to grab whatever.

And, shit. It already feels colder. Gotta love electric heating.

To: Prick ♡

hey love

just lost power bc the storm

hope ur safe xox

“You're texting Baz already?” Penny doesn't sound quite snarky, but there is a bit of mocking in her voice, so I send her a dirty look anyway.

“He’s stuck in Glasgow, of course I am,” I huff quietly, setting up the fireplace. The gentle ruffle of my hair tells me she’s just joking with me.

“I’m sorry you can't deal with a week of long distance,” she teases before plopping down beside me and striking a match to light a sickly sweet vanilla candle. I'd protest her, but she’s right; I'm shit at it. I worry about him constantly. Whenever I'm not directly worrying whether or not he's just okay (chalk it up to years of stalking), I'm just thinking about him and missing him being in the general vicinity.

Would've never thought of myself as the “clingy boyfriend” type, but yet here I am, texting him anytime anything happens.

From: Prick ♡

there's a thermal blanket in the bottom of your closet closet

and whatever you do don't open the bloody fridge i swear to crowley

Grinning at my phone deserves me a flick in the arm and a scoff. “You two are insufferable.”

I stick out my tongue as I finish setting up the wood stack, grabbing some paper kindling and lighting it before tossing it in. “I'm grabbing blankets. It's too fucking cold for this.”

Upon my return with all the warm throws I could find, Penny barely lifts her head from her phone screen to say, “Shit. Snow within the next hour or two.” Clicking off the screen, she sighs and lays back in front of the slowly building fire. “Think we'll get power back by tomorrow?”

Snorting helplessly, I roll my eyes. “Maybe with luck and monetary bribes.” After dropping all the blankets on top of her, I slump my shoulders and scratch my back whether the wings meet skin.

Under the thick pile, Penny's head still sticks out and grins up at me. “Oh Simon dearest…”

“Fuck. What do you want?”

“Want to get that box of wine?” she flutters her eyelashes up to me, smile stretching across her face. “Pleeeaaaseee?”

“I shouldn't enable you like this,” I mumble, dragging off to get it anyway while collecting two glasses with it.

Once back, I nudge her with my foot and settle myself onto the ground beside her. The heavy layer of blankets takes some effort to haul up, but it feels like a warm hug as it settles. Silently, I unscrew the ever-so-classy box cap and pour two glasses. We both hold our drinks, clink them together, and take a nice sip in peace. Tastes like a shit boxed wine.

After a few minutes of silent starting into the fire, Penn gets up and grabs the pillows off the couch to prop our backs.

We don't talk much, which is nice. Perfect, actually. I like not thinking about forcing out words that feel cluttered and unnatural.

It's amazing to just sit as her and I. After all the shit everyone's thrown at us, we need a fucking rest. We needed this break, even though it sucks that it comes in the form of inconvenience. Still, it’s something.

Our shoulders knock, and I lower my head to her’s in silence as I stare onward.

Fire makes me feel weird nowadays. The scent of burning logs and the waves of heat sends me into a moment of a transfixed stare and the flashing memories of Baz's face.

At first, I hated it. Now I just miss my boyfriend.

Penny's hand resting on my arm draws me back as she starts talking more into the room than at me. She starts going on about electricity and how odd the structure of city living is, moving through tangents of history and social injustices that I try to follow. In all honesty, I try to listen to all she tries to teach me, but Morgana is it a lot. Hats off to whoever retains this; I'd just figured we shouldn't be dicks to each other, and that it shouldn’t take effort to not be a bigoted. Apparently, other people think elsewise.

“It's funny, the centaurs have such an interesting societal system, which is needed due to the difficulty in hiding,” she continues, hand absentmindedly lifting from my arm and resting on my head to somewhat pet my curls down. “They supply backup generators by collecting the power from voluntary runners. While, of course they've adapted with time to use run electricity, many groups still use the centaur-powered generators at times like this.”

A few seconds of silence pass as I sip my wine before nodding. “Cool.”

She giggles, leaning against me. “As in… societies are different than other societies,” she explains, finishing her glass before raising it up to me for a refill. “More.”

“A please would've been nice,” I say, tipping the container slowly. Her fingers pinch my side, getting me to send her a glare. She just smiles, sticking her tongue out to me.

She goes back to rambling, cheeks flushed and eyes half closed as she goes on and on about differing magickal societies. Honestly, if she became a teacher, it wouldn't shock me in the slightest. After all, her and Baz use all their energy to try to teach me shit (even if it's a hopeless effort).

I go through two, maybe three glasses of wine, poking occasionally at the flames as I lean against her. She's soft, and warm, and still smells like Watford's magick. It’s comforting. It’s like being at home.

I don’t know when I started to doze off, but the knocking of Penny’s shoulder into mine jostles me awake.

“Si,” she whispers, nudging me. “You’re falling asleep with a glass in your hand.”

I blink drearily, managing a mildly coherent grunt as I settle the wine glass onto the hardwood beside me. “Put another log in, ‘m gettin’ cold,” I mumble, face planting back into Penn’s shoulder as she pushes some firewood in with a poker.

“Your back’s gonna hurt if you sleep here.” She always sounds like a mother; maybe she’s the proper replacement.

Shrugging, I sprawl back against the piled pillows. “Don’t care. Comfy now.”

Even with closed eyes, I can visualize her shaking head. “You’re ridiculous,” she utters as I feel the upward drag of the blankets. Suppose it’s the wine in my system, but I sleepily giggle up at her.

“‘Night, Penn.”

“Goodnight, Simon.”

#coc 2018 #carry on #fic #fanfic #mine #simon snow #penelope bunce #penny bunce #tyrannus basilton grimm-pitch #tyrannus basilton grimm pitch #baz pitch #baz #simon #penny #snowbaz

[polarishpd]

All Of The Stars Chapter 3: When I Grow Up

Word Count: 3871

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15378726 (HunterWizard, All Of The Stars)

"Rise and shine, Pidgey!"

No answer. Lance knocks again, louder.

"Rise and shine, Pidge!"

Still no answer.

Dang. Does she always wake up this late? How the hell does she get to work on time? Even Lance, who adores his beauty sleep, wants to be punctual. Totally not afraid of Allura. Totally.

Pidge still isn't responding at all. Fine. Last chance. Lance relentlessly bangs the door with all the strength he's got, ignoring how the hinges squeak and door bends slightly under his force. He's forced to continually bang the rapidly-weakening door, nails biting palms and fist shaking, praying there's no pissy neighbours in the building. And finally, finally, the elusive hermit makes some sound;  Lance hears a little shuffle, a muffled groan, the rubbing of slippers on bare floor.

The door clicks, and opens a crack.

"Lance? What are you-" Pidge yawns mid-sentence, blearily looking up, "-what are you doing here?"

The door opens a little more. Everything about her screams 'night owl that hates morning'; untidy hair, hastily-worn glasses, dark circles hanging under half-opened eyes, dry face. Something about her little yawn, sleepy smile, and the childlike way that she rubs her face just strikes Lance as so, so cute.

But the thing that stood out most to Lance could only be the jacket Pidge is wearing. Large, swallowing her small frame, a vague smell of sandalwood. His jacket. Something tells him that she woke up exactly like this, too, wearing his jacket. Is he flushing?

"Lance?"

"Oh, sorry." Sobering up, he thrusts a paper bag and drink in her direction. "For you. Just thought a morning perk might be good."

Pidge takes the paper bag, opening it and peeking inside. The smile that grows on her face makes Lance glow.

"You remembered I like peanut butter," she says softly. "Thanks, Lance."

"No problem. Coffee?"

"Definitely."

~~~

"So no assignments yet?"

Lance's menu of conversation topics hasn't exactly grown. He still doesn't know what she likes, the short list looking something like this; punk rock, peanut butter and figure skating. Not very expansive.

Pidge shakes her head, sipping the black coffee.

"I know I'm getting two, but that's about it."

"Which are you hoping for?" Lance asks, picking up the pace a bit. Pidge sig, needing to take double the number of steps to keep walking beside him. Heh.

"Skate America, of course. Cheaper, home country...and NHK. I love Japan," she says, the hint of a wistful, nostalgic smile appearing on her face. Lance adds the fact to his mental list: 'loves Japan'. He also starts a new mental list; 'Things Pidge and I have in Common', and adds Japan to the list.

"Can I guess...anime?" he jokes. Pidge scoffs dismissively, as if saying 'hell no', but the little smile that she can't hold back makes Lance think otherwise.

"Sure, whatever you say," she answers, "but more for the video games."

Wait.

What?

"You like video games?" Lance manages, a bit too stunned to be coherent, coming out breathy. His expression, the epitome of enthusiastic disbelief, makes Pidge raise an eyebrow and adjust her glasses.

Who would have guessed? After all, she had seemed to be the poster child for 'straight-laced', only skating to classical music and warhorses, giving perfectly articulated answers in interviews and being perfectly polite to fans. And now, apparently, poster child might possibly like violently taking down enemies and cutting off heads.

Brilliant.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I've been playing Killbot Phantasm and pretty much every game like it since I was what, six? I kind of blame-I kind of blame my brother. He was the first geek in the family. He got me into video games, in fact."

Why does she suddenly look so wistful? She bites her lip, furrowing her brow and looking down, kicking at the pavement a bit. Lance wants to scream, because Katie Holt could probably beat his ass at any of the fifty games in his current collection.

"What?" she suddenly says, narrowing her eyes. "You like gaming too, or you think girls can't play or something?"

"N-nonononono, not at all, I love video games, and I just got the Mercury Game Flux-"

Pidge yelps, nearly knocking her own glasses off.

"-No way! How the hell did you afford that on a coach's salary?!"

Lance smirks proudly at the wide-eyed, stunned Pidge.

"I only ate bread and margarine for a month. No joke. Would have died for garlic knots, but it was totally worth it." Lance puffs up his chest, laughing at a gaping Pidge. Anything for the newest consoles.

"Ohhkaayyy..."

~~~

Castle Rink's main, enclosed office-small, but functional-is starkly quiet in comparison to the buzz of the public outside.

Each coach has a small desk, immediately identifiable; Shiro's desk possesses military-like organisation, the stacks of papers perfectly lined up, a small picture of Shiro and a man in glasses right on top. Allura's is equal in organisation but twice as aesthetically pleasing, toned in pinks and purples and marbled whites.

Lance notices how Keith's desk is completely empty, imagining Shiro yelling at Keith for not doing his paperwork. He could totally see Mullet doing that. Hunk's is decent, not the tidiest, with occasional burger wrappers strewn around.

But Pidge's.

Oh, god.

Pidge's.

Her papers cover the entire desk, an incoherent mess, multiple open pens and empty coffee cups strewn around carelessly. Crumpled papers surround her chair, which happened to have a broken leg, two little fluffy plushies acting as rudimentary paperweights.

"I know, right?" Allura laughs, noticing Lance staring at Pidge's desk. "I've tried to get her to clean it up for two years now. Doesn't work at all."

"Hey!" Pidge protests, crossing her arms and pouting. "I know where everything is. Test me."

"Your class attendance records from last year."

Pidge takes one second to stick her hand into the mess and pulls out a set of stapled papers.

"Here!"

Holy shit. Last year's class records.

"Anyway," Allura says, looking impressed, "Let's get down to business. Along with the private classes, you'll teach a joint intermediate group class. Just work improving the kids in all areas. You should have all bases covered between you two. Simple enough?"

Kids! Lance's favourite to teach, because they normally liked him and respected him-okay, more of saw him as a friend that they listened to. But it was undeniable that his unorthodox methods usually worked, his students progressing faster than most. He'd always liked kids.

"Yep! No problem." Lance reaches for Allura's papers, flipping through the student profiles. Hmm...no double jumps, probably needs some help with spins...should be fine.

He only now notices how Pidge looks, less than happy, lips pursed and eyes squinted.

"Allura? Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Allura shrugs behind Pidge's back, her silvery hair bouncing after her.

The two ladies at the side speak very quickly and very quietly, their eyes flitting between each other and Lance, the only words he could catch being 'Lance', 'ship', 'seriously?!'.

But finally, after Allura finishes hissing, Pidge relents, heading back over to Lance and holding out her hand.

Handshake?

Lance slaps it. Like a bro.

"What the hell, dude?" she yelps. "I just wanted the papers!"

Lance feels his cheeks burn.

~~~

It's almost adorable, watching a bunch of tiny, overeager, sugar-high kids surround the cartoonishly tall and lanky Lance; some wave their hands, begging for attention, others yelling for 'teacher to start class!'. It's almost a relief, having Lance; she's never been good with kids, more with teenagers. Pidge leans on the sideboards, sipping water and watching from the side.

"Nice to meet you all! I'm Coach Lance, the gal drinking water over there is Coach Katie. I'll learn your names as we go along? Okay, kids, we'll begin with some basic stroking, and work on our back crossovers!" Lance says, bending down to their level. "And if you're good, and you work hard, Coach Lance here might just teach you something cool." He claps his hands together loudly, standing back up. "You ready?"

"YEAH!!!!!!!"

"Let's go!"

Pidge skates forward to join Lance as the children start speeding in large loops around the rink, scaring off the other public skaters who slip and slide on their blue rental boots.

"You're good with kids," Pidge remarks, gently correcting the posture of one of the little girls.

"Thanks. I grew up with a lot of them-one second-" Lance quickly calls the children, splitting them into two groups and setting them off into practicing crossovers, finally rejoining Pidge after yanking one happy boy off his shirt. "Yeah, I've got a really big family. Two sisters, two kid nieces and nephews, a brother. You get the gist."

Pidge blanches. How does one survive in such a large family? She can't honestly say she can understand, considering her suburban four-member family. "Sounds nice, with-with so much...company."

She leaves the conversation hanging, skating to one of the groups and demonstrating the back crossovers. Children-scratch that, most skaters-never bend knees enough. Arms must be in the right position, lead hand slightly lowered, back hand raised. Eyes always to the back. Pidge's philosophy has always been that little details need to be attended to, should be drilled in from young.

Maybe that's why Allura assigned her the class. Her military mentality does complement Lance's concept of being 'Tio Lance' to the kids. Maybe it wasn't all about the shipping or whatever...Allura usually tried to set her up with the guest coaches to no avail, usually jokingly. Hopefully different this time.

"Yeah, it's pretty great, but you don't get much space or privacy," he yells out from the other side of the rink. Pidge thinks about how much of her free time was spent holed up in her room, alone, binging animes and doing work.

"Sounds great!"

"Coach? Why do you keep yelling to Coach Lance?" asks one of the little girls, looking up curiously. Pidge, slightly taken by surprise, jolts, but bends slightly.

"We were just talking. About...stuff."

"Stuff."

"Do you like Coach Lance? Like in a like-like way?" She tilts her head to the side. The girl couldn't have been older than eight, nine, with little plaits, the biggest brown eyes, and a little knit cap, the very picture of innocence. And she's asking about romantic attraction.

Pidge sighs.

"What's your name?"

"Lorelai Kaltenecker!" she answers with surprisingly strong diction. "But you can call me Rory."

Cute name. "Look, Rory, it's not very nice to ask about people's personal li-"

"-what's going on over here?" Lance asks, slinging an arm on Pidge's shoulder, around her neck and leaning on her. Shit. Pidge is startled to realise that he's somehow gathered all the kids in the center.

"Nothing really." Lance doesn't need to know.

"See! He does like you!" Rory pipes up, pointing at the arm. Lance winks exaggeratedly, making Rory giggle.

"Only between you and me..." He winks again, nodding. "Go on, go join your friends." Lance gestures, Rory still giggling as she quickly skates off to join the gaggle of children in the center. Pidge turns to Lance incredulously.

"Lance!"

"Can you blame me, Pidgey Poo?" He mockingly bats his eyelashes, making a kissy pout right in her face. Pidge rolls her eyes, making the same face back, ignoring how the children laugh at their stupid antics. Maybe they would like her better if she played along.

"Flirt."

~~~

Pidge holds her edge, sailing backwards at a fast, controlled speed. Shiro watches on the sidelines, observant eyes never leaving her as she cuts across the rink.

One.

She takes a breath in, relaxing her upper body.

Two.

She sends her left leg back, left arm following, right knee bending deep into an outside edge.

Three.

Pidge slams the toepick into the ice, tiny shards shattering, shimmering around her as she sails upwards into the air, pulling effortlessly into a tight air position. One, two, three rounds;  Pidge lands solidly, exiting with just as much speed as she had entered with, running edge strong and secure, free leg swinging back into a high-held position.

Triple lutz. Done. Hopefully she's done by now, she's honestly lost count of how many times Shiro made her jump, skate a circle, jump, skate a circle, jump...her head now spins even faster than when she's jumping in the air.

Slowly, Pidge drags herself over to the side, needing to restrain herself from gulping down her entire water bottle. Sip. Sip. SIP-

"Not bad, Pidge." Shiro nods approvingly, arms folded and leaning on the side casually. "Remember to keep your upper body position in check while entering."

"Can I take a break?" she asks.

"Mmm...."

Desperate times call for desperate measures; the very-tired girl puts on the puppy eyes, pouted mouth, clasped fists shaking.

Shiro swallows. Mouth thins into a fine line, shaking his head in mock disapproval.

"...fine."

"Thanks!"

Pidge catches sight of Lance coaching a small new kid, just getting on for the first time, clearly nervous. And it's adorable how patient and joking Lance is, distracting from the fear and bringing a smile on the kid's face.

It's...cute.

"Hey, Shiro, wouldn't it be so weird if someone else choreographed my programs this year?" Pidge laughs, eyes still glued to Lance. She swipes sweat from her brow. "Ha, imagine if it were someone like Lance."

Shiro's face is unreadably calm, eyes traversing upwards in thought. Pidge really can't tell what he's thinking, but that's normal anyway, isn't it?

"That was random. What, are you bored of me already?" Shiro squints, poking Pidge's forehead. Pidge laughs, poking him back.

"You know it!"

Shiro sighs, pushing Pidge back to the centre of the ice and retreats to the edge, twirling his finger three times. Triples again, of course.

Over at the side, Pidge can just barely hear the chuckle of a familiar guy-

"-stop drooling over Lance and focus!"

"Okay, okay!"

Pidge almost swears she can see Shiro smirking.

~~~

"WHAT THE FU-"

"HAHAHAHA!"

Pidge and Hunk roll on the ground laughing non-stop at Keith, screaming and slamming his head into the DDR machine. The cheery, hyper music seems to taunt Keith as he complains that the game was "TOTALLY RIGGED BECAUSE NO ONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO LOSE BY TWO POINTS-"

Pidge and Hunk, still in peals of laughter, run off to the basketball game and leave Keith to vent his anger at the punching bag. The arcade is thankfully empty at the odd hour after dinner, leaving them with practically free rein of the place that Pidge could call her third home.

"You know, he might score so many tickets that I can get that big green lion plushie," Pidge hums, gleefully flicking through the tickets she'd gotten by absolutely destroying Keith at DDR.

"We've never gotten enough. We stockpiled and never got enough," Hunk points out. It definitely is a gorgeous plushie; Pidge had been seriously lusting after it since it had been put up, admiring the fluffy spring-green fur, a hint of sparkle shining where the light hit it.

Pidge slips in two tokens, rubbing her hands and taking a ready stance. Hunk twists the bandana on his head, punching his fists together.

"5,4,3,2...1!!!!!"

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Hands fly furiously, grabbing ball after ball and sending it right through the hoop, never resting. Hunk and Pidge fall into a simple rhythm, ball after ball after ball sailing in without collision.

After racking up a beautiful number of points, the number still steadily going up,  Pidge's brain starts to wonder.

"Hey, Hunk?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened with you and Lance?" Pidge questions, quickly knocking her glasses back in place before grabbing another ball. "You looked like you recognized him yesterday..."

"He's famous. You showed him to me how many times before? Of course I recognized him."

Hunk suddenly misses his shot. Eyes travel upwards, fingers fiddle, feet tap.

Pidge squints.

Liar.

"Hunk..."

He scrunches up his face, grabbing a ball and carelessly tossing it at the hoop. Bounces off.

"It was a long time ago. I don't even know if it's worth bringing up, you know? He probably doesn't even remember," he sighs, whole body slouching in the process.

How many anecdotes did Lance throw at her about his 'best-friend' Hunk? Always defended him from bullies, dried off his tears when girls rejected him, suddenly became super good at cooking, and so on, and so on.

He definitely remembers.

"Oh, I think he does," she says, anticipating disbelief.  

Pidge tosses in a final ball, the game coming to an end straight after.

"Really?" Hunk's eyes widen, eyebrows raising slowly. Skeptical. Surprised. Worried. Annoyed. Almost pleased. All words Pidge can used to describe Hunk's mish-mash of facial expressions. "He used to forget everything. I'm telling you, man, he'd forget the quadratic formula two seconds after memorizing it."

"What happened?"

Hunk looks away. Pidge bends down, squinting at the string of tickets flying out of the basketball game machine. A lot, but not nearly enough. Oh well.

"He's a figure skater. He had to train to get this good, right? " Hunk shakes his head. "I used to research skating camps, because I liked hockey and he liked figure. That's how we became friends from kindy through middle school. So I happen to stumble upon some famous skating program, and me being me just shows it to Lance. And what happens?"

Hunk's frown deepens.

"He just left. Without a trace, no goodbye or explanation. I was his best friend...unless he didn't really care."

"Oh..."

 "Look, Pidge, I don't want any pity, it's something I've accepted a long time ago. I mean, I also wondered if it was my fault, I also wondered maybe if I didn't show it to him...but we just went our separate ways, and that's all."  

Hunk breaks out into his characteristic sunny smile again, ditching the melancholic tone, waving a sassy hand in Pidge's face. She giggles, slapping it away and shrugging nonchalantly. Sure, she'll forget about it now. Hunk obviously doesn't want to talk about it any more.

"One more round?"

He smiles.

"You're on."

Even with the steady rhythm and sound of the ball whooshing through the flimsy net, Hunk by her side and scoring faster than ever, Pidge can't focus, only wondering-

What the hell is Lance's side of the story?

¬¬¬

It's at least slightly scary, seeing both Shiro and Allura grin at him conspiratorially from behind Allura's desk, glancing between each other, bright eyes glinting with glee.  Lance closes the door of the office hesitantly, toeing into the room as if the floor were littered with mines. It's very strange being at work after-hours, the office ominously dark without the outside lighting. Now that he thought about it, Shiro and Allura both looked like they were right out of the Godfather or something.

"Sit, sit!" Allura ushers, dragging his chair from his desk and plopping it opposite of her own. He plops down, gaze bouncing between the two head coaches.

"So...we've had this amazing idea recently. Involving you!" Shiro grins. "Pidge brought it up in class, and I thought-"

"-cut to the chase, Shiro!" Allura pipes up, smacking his shoulder, making a metallic clang. Right. Metal arm, Lance tends to forget.

"-okay, okay..." Shiro nudges her, both turning to grin at Lance.

"We want you to choreograph Pidge's programs for the next season!"

Wait.

What?

"Wait, what?" Lance raises an eyebrow. "Pidge doesn't want me to. I offered already, actually."

"Wow, proactive," Allura compliments. "But we don't really care that she said no."

Wait.

What?

"But-"

"-Look, Lance, I'm pretty sure all three of us know Pidge is relatively...safe with her programs," Allura cuts in, quite effectively shutting up an argumentative Lance. "She's had classical programs ever since she started singles and I don't think that's going to change."

"Phantom Of The Opera?" Lance tries, weakly. Shiro shrugs.

"I don't know why she decided on that, but come on, even that's a warhorse. She just happened to do it very...dramatically," Shiro says, "but Lance, I think even you, only knowing her for two days, can see she's not going to change. And frankly, the judges aren't liking it."

Definitely. Lack of variety, even with traditionalism, doesn't exactly lead to the best PCS. Pidge's hadn't been rising despite a few years in senior ranks now, even with stellar consistency. If she could just skate like she did that day...so much potential.

And Shiro's right that Pidge certaintly seemed very stubborn and fixed since the beginning. Everything military precision, like the crafted notes of a classical song. Nothing free, nothing loose, like a string pulled taut.

Time to cut that string.

"As her coaches, we want you to choreograph for her. We think that you can get her to come around," Allura says. Lance crosses his arms, leaning back in his chair.

"And what exactly makes you think that?"

She winks.

"Let's just say I have a feeling."

~~~

Pidge is literally drained once she reaches her apartment, stumbling through the cracked glass doors, legs and arms aching from pro skating and very pro basketball.

Green lion still seems so far away.

"Fancy meeting you here, milady!"

Startled, Pidge squeaks, spinning around to see Lance bowed in the style of a medieval knight. She laughs, the sight just too ridiculous but seeming ridiculously Lance at the same time.

"Oh, good Sir, have you come to escort me to my palace?" Pidge trills, curtsying. He straightens up, clearly surprised at the cooperation.

"Indeed, milady, that is my charge. Unfortunately, I lack my noble steed, so we must make this perilous journey uphill on foot."

Indeed, the walk up to their apartment after a long day was definitely perilous. Together, the two drained skaters drag their aching legs up the stairs, one by one.

"Dear heavens, whatever shall I do!" Pidge slaps a dramatic hand on her forehead, leaning on the railing. "I may simply faint at this unladylike exertion!"

Suddenly, Pidge's foot catches on the cracked cement, nearly flying backwards-

"Oh dear heavens, milady!" Lance yelps, lunging forward and grabbing Pidge's hand.

"Holy shit," she breathes out, heart beating painfully fast. An injury would have been a total bitch right now, right before the start of the season. Actually, an injury would be a bitch at any time in her life.

"No longer 'milady', huh?" Lance smiles.

"I guess not. Literally 'tripped up', didn't I?" she laughs, letting go of Lance's hand and straightening up. "Thanks."

"No problem."

In that silence, for a moment, just a tiny split-second, Pidge thinks about asking him everything she's wanted to for the whole day. It seemed strange that Lance would ever be so cruel to Hunk, even if it was as simple as never having closure. But something tells her it's not the time, it's not the place to try. Maybe it's how Lance grins right at her, doing that thing where he rubs the back of his neck, that stops her.

Hesitantly, almost regretfully, she reaches for the door of her apartment.

"Goodnight, Lance."

He waves, saluting.

"Goodnight, Pidge."

As he turns around, she catches the briefest of glimpses at his phone, left on the music player app.

Hmm.

Why is he listening to 'This Is Gospel?'

I hope you enjoyed! Check my blog for the next chapter soon :)

#plance #lance #pidge #pidgegunderson #katieholt #voltron #vld #lidge #flirtyrobot #seasalt #pidgance #lancemcclain #fanfiction #plancefic #plancefanfic #voltronlegendarydefender #figureskating #figureskatingau

[haipain]

i have a good one.. tho its a bit long. erm.. mafia au where (any character in haikyuu, surprise me because i can't think of one) and his s/o is in a mafia and they don't know that they're supposed to be enemies until the mafia leader demands the s/o to kill him then she realises whats going on... end it however you want

ooo interesting! this was fun to write, with the right music, it was just a blast, so i hope you enjoy reading this as much as i enjoyed writing this!

oh and a mini note: i’m still working on the boosting event requests, just in case you think i haven’t! i’m kind of a slow poke and this week has been pretty packed and messy for me, so i haven’t really gotten the time to make huge progress with them… please bear with me! thank you╰(*´︶`*)╯

You remember the day you first met Iwaizumi.

With the bug of a wandering eye falling upon you, you had selected that day to stray away from your mission, just for a little, seeing how your subordinates seemed to have everything under control.

The warmth of the sun rays remained etched in your mind — every single detail sharpened and magnified; not one detail was left out of your memory, and if you had to draw a comparison, it was like how a camera is blurred until it focuses on its intended target. It feels as though your world was muffled, with his presence suddenly sharpening everything around you, pushing you to break past the surface of the water. 

You weren’t a believer of love at first sight; it was an absurd idea, it just wasn’t possible. Those things took time, and you remained true to your beliefs. Besides, along with the loss of your innocence the moment you joined the mafia, came the resignation that love was simply not meant to be in your life.  

Iwaizumi had somehow managed to singlehandedly, make you waver slightly in your beliefs. There was something different about him that made you want to approach him. You remember bounding up to him, accidentally spilling the coffee in your hands, onto the neatly pressed dress shirt of his. Even a mafia member like you, weren’t exempt from the typical methods used to strike up a conversation. 

“Ah shit,” you cursed, immediately righting yourself in front of him, pulling out the small packet of tissues tucked into the back pocket of your pants, before frantically dabbing at his shirt.

“I’m so sorry!” you say. “Let me help you clean up,” you offer, your voice taking on a slightly mischievous tone, an impish grin fighting to slide onto your face.

“Ah… uh, it’s alright,” he responds, pinching at the shirt and pulling it away from his body. “No, I insist.” Without waiting for his reply, you led him to a nearby bench, to resume the blotting of the coffee, though you were sure it was going to stain pretty badly.

“I don’t think it’s coming off,” you frown, your next move ready in your mind. “Let’s try this instead — I’ll buy you a new shirt.” Stopping your hands, you pull out your wallet, thick with wads of bills. A raised brow, but he doesn’t say anything about your wealth, instead, he tries to protest, only to be shot down.

“…Alright, but if it’s too expensive, I’ll be footing the bill,” he replies with no room for argument.

“Fine,” you grin, boldly slipping your fingers around his wrist, tugging him to the nearest clothing store.

Bingo.

On hindsight, you knew there had to be a reason why you were attracted to him — people in general, weren’t your cup of tea. Or rather, ordinary people were too much of a bore for you. It was just that, no reason you could come up with would come close to the actual reason why. Whatever part about you that came up with judgements against people clearly misjudged Iwaizumi, landing you into your current situation.

Iwaizumi’s picture sits right in front, the words ‘target’ scrawled across his face messily, in a bold red. Along with the picture, came details of him. One of them catches your eye. The next successor, it reads, and a shiver crawls up your spine. Of all people he could be, he just had to be the next successor of your rivals, a group your boss has been trying to eliminate since its establishment. 

 A simple command is delivered to you, and you couldn’t help but shudder when you heard it.

“Your next target. I expect you to do a good job.”

Short and simple — there was no room for rejection, no room for failure. You quiver at the thought of failing; death was one thing, but it didn’t scare you more than the thought of betraying your boss, the one who saved your life. Yet at the same time, losing Iwaizumi… It wasn’t something fathomable. You were on a beam balance, reluctant to fall to either side, because it would mean losing the other.

What… do you do?

That night, you laid in Iwaizumi’s arms, body and mind a mess, yet still hoping that his presence would somehow soothe your heart. He had the capability to do that, you realise, and tonight you needed it more than ever.

But peace fails to find its way to you — the familiar curve of the dagger pressing against your thigh, a constant reminder of the duty you were supposed to fulfil. 

Iwaizumi’s steady breaths fanned your cheek, the warmth lingering faintly after each breath. His sleeping face was really a sight to behold, one that looked so at ease that it causes your heart to squeeze in pain. With a gentle caress of the cheek, he stirs, his arms wounding tighter around you, and it was at that moment you realise how full your heart was; full of love for him, a fact that never seemed to really resonate with you.

But now it did. There was something ironic about the sequence of events — it was as though some entity was playing a cruel joke, the absurdity of everything weighing down on you, heavy and brooding.

Anguished sobs slip out uncontrollably, your body trembling as they wracked your body, coherence in thoughts now completely lost. A frown manages its way onto his face, and even in rest, he places his forehead against your back — an action he’s done countless times whenever you were upset. “It’s okay,” He’d say. “I’m always here for you, supporting you, always behind your back.”

You slide your hand towards the dagger at your thigh, tracing the outline of the sheathed dagger, the meaning behind it looming over you like a threat. What was once a source of comfort now turned into one of confusion and pain.

“Tell me, Hajime,” you whisper with glassy eyes fixated on Iwaizumi’s relaxed face, “what should I do?”

#iwaizumi hajime #haikyuu!! #scenario #oof if anyone was wondering what song i was listening to while writing this #its nier automata's ost #kaine salvation

[thetheshadowofwestfall-blog]

Something Worth Saying

“Damn it Gracie, I am not a bard!”

“Says the grown man walking around a city of mages with, not a staff? Not a sword? Not a wand or dagger or fetish or whatever else they use? But a guitar!”

All three stopped in the street at that point with the man waving his arms around in protest, narrowly avoiding a lanky troll in tribal dinosaur iconography.

“That's not fair, I'm in the city right now! And not heading out for work! Why would I be armed?”

“You're always working!”

She smiled wide and gave him a solid nudge with an elbow, almost knocking him into more of the Dalaran foot traffic.

It was hard to believe the two of them were related at times. Gracelyn was everything her brothers and family had wanted to be; a tall, strong, determined young woman with enough raw conviction and faith to wield the Light as smoothly as everyone else spoke or walked. Willaude was everything else; passionate and free-spirited with a deep connection to the kind of magic that led to hangings and burning at the stake in years past. She even looked the part of the strong farm-girl, with a solid frame and almost a half a foot over her brother. Blond hair, blue eyes, and enough of a figure to catch the eye of anyone male and demi-human. A stark contrast to either of her brothers, much less the other girls she grew up with.

She parted the sea of people for the three of them, opening up enough of a clearing to get to the food cart her brother had raved about so far. Gracelyn gave the leash a quick tug once she realized their wayward companion was being adventurous, a whistle accompanying it just in time to get the attention of the rusty-furred hound on the other end. Bael'draig was on top of them in an instant, tail wagging mindlessly as he looked to the two humans in anticipation. At least he was easy to please.

“I mean, yes, but that isn't the point!” Will offered his protest as quick as he could follow the pair, dipping down with a hand to give the hound a pat on the head as he matched his sister's pace. “I don't roam Azeroth playing in whatever I can and making my way a silver at a time!”

“No, you make it penning smut a gold at a time!” The half-giggle that she let out combined with the mocking tone was enough to keep him from getting too defensive, but only just. Will just sighed at her as they got to the cart.

“At least I followed my dreams.”

“Your dreams of Carrie Coldwell and a dimwitted, large-chested elf-girl you mean.” Gracelyn couldn't help the wide grin as she pinned him down on the matter, doing her best to not look at the cart yet as she tried to keep the upper hand against someone that could usually out-think her with ease.

The orc behind the counter of the cart snorted and interrupted before Will could get his response out. “Large-chested elf-girl? Impossible.” Friggut sounded as dismissive as possible at the notion, which only got Will further worked up.

“Half-elf elf-girl, thank you! Based on an actual model and everything!”

“Oooh, my mistake! Takes human blood to fulfill those dreams!”

The orc behind the counter let out a solid guffaw at this. “Hah! Maybe if it was your blood, girl. Strike a decent figure with one of your litter at least.”

“Hey hey! That's my sister, Friggut!”

The look the orc gave her was a solid mix of appraising and appreciative, eventually nodding and slapping his hand down on the wood counter as he grinned at her. “So he's the runt then! That explains so much!”

Between the orc and Gracelyn's laughter Will barely managed to retain his dignity, slouching in place as he shook his head. “Light help me, it's just endless today.”

“Speaking of endless, boy, I've got a meat patty between fried sugary dough with bacon and cheese. I don't know what to call it, but I'm selling it as fast as I can make it. Take it the two of you are interested?”

Gracelyn was paying complete attention as soon as sugar was mentioned, only to find herself further interested as the bacon came up. “Two of those. Yes. Right now. In my mouth.”

“Ah-hah! It's going in your mouth alright, girl!” The orc leaned over the counter a bit for emphasis, his attention firmly directed at the young woman.

“Down Friggut, she's not into orcs. Or biting.”

“Says you, Will.”

Hands thrown in the air again and turning on a heel, Willaude excused himself from what was clearly an entirely lost conversation at the Grill-Boss cart. He tried not to pay attention to the two  still discussing the finer points of inter-species mating rituals and the trouble with physically injuring a partner from over-eagerness.

Then he spotted her down the street. Everything went red and hot.

Willaude bolted through the crowd like a man on fire once he realized she saw him. Hands moving ahead of him to part the way by people and slip between groups, he disposed of any modicum of respect and caution once he realized she could actually get lost in the crowd before he could get within shouting distance. He snapped his right hand back behind him to grab his guitar, gripping the neck and giving it a quick burst of violet magical energy to dismiss it elsewhere while his left pushed an innocent bystander a good foot to the side.

She was running.

She was going to get away.

She knew she screwed up and she was trying to avoid him at any cost.

Fuck that.

“ELLSWORTH!” Will shouted over the crowd and the bustle of the street, his right dropping down to his side as he channeled into it the bare minimum to make the leap. One moment he was ready to pounce in spite of being a good twenty feet away from her still, and the next he was there as she turned around to face the shouting. The young man didn't waste the opportunity with posturing or hesitation, his left already going for the satchel on his belt and drawing the first thing he could think of.

Sarah Ellsworth had lost control of the situation years ago. It finally caught up to her on the streets of Dalaran that night.

Will had the knife out and poised for her neck with startling alacrity, his eyes never moving from hers once she had fully turned around and faced him. She could feel the heat building up from him, the magical side-effect of his corrupt fel-tainted magic. The blade smoked and blackened inches from her throat, enough to redden her skin just from the closeness.

His voice was low and forceful, the trembling rage barely held back behind the slow intensity of his words. “You almost killed me.”

She had never seen this before. This was a response from Pratchett that was beyond anything he had shown in the past. In Dalaran before he tried to apologize and explain it. In Stormwind he tried to prove that he cared for her sister. On Draenor he tried to make amends, bending over backwards to appease her. Even when she baited him just weeks ago he was hopeful, trusting her implicitly as she led him to the trap which-

Oh no.

She wasn't sure if he saw the reaction for what it was; the rage just seemed to build visibly in his features in spite of her own sudden realization.

Her eyes went wide. Her mouth opened to say something, but nothing came out. She reached up for the hand holding the knife, covering his with hers and holding it there in place.

It hadn't been real to her. He wasn't a person to her this whole time, not in any respectable sense. He was a thing, no better than the demons he consorted with and the Legion he claimed to fight against. He was everything wrong with Azeroth, with Dalaran, with mages and spellcasters, with all the men she had known, with the kingdom that crumbled around her family; he was a paragon of everything that took her sister away from her. Something to be hated and reviled without pity or remorse, because he couldn't mean any of it.

Moments before he tried to take her life, she saw the humanity in him. Somewhere in the burning, broiling rage in his eyes and the vicious sneer on his face she finally saw what he was saying all along.

“I- I didn't know-” The words came out choked and wet. It hadn't been apparent to her that she was approaching such an emotional drop until she tried to vocalize it to him, and then it went all to hell. She couldn't get the words out to explain it even when she knew what they were. She could barely stay coherent for the three words she did manage.

Once the words registered, almost everything stopped.

He heard that before.

#Willaude Pratchett #the shadow of westfall

[kaydub80]

Will the 2020s be the decade that the two party system finally ends?

Crossposted from my blog because I believe that it’s that important 

A 2018 Black Agenda Report article first highlighted a possible future of the duopoly giving way to a multiparty system.

If the duopoly were to collapse, and the various cohorts of the U.S. political spectrum were reorganized along ideological lines, the two biggest parties would be the Trumpist White Man’s party and a social democratic party with a platform to the left of 2016 Bernie Sanders, with the (rightwing) Democrats and establishment Republicans coming together in an avowedly “centrist” party, the smallest of the three. Space would also be created for more radical and libertarian politics.

Breaking Down How the Split Could Happen

Socialist Alternative gave some key analyses into something that seems to currently be impossible on paper but could end up being prescient due to this country's instability.

First, it looked at how the far right may end up rendering the Republicans obsolete:

The creation of a new far-right party would mean a split in the Republican Party. This may not be immediately on the cards, but a period of sharp internal conflict has begun. The emergence of a far-right party with a mass base would both reflect the deepening of the political crisis of American capitalism and also point to further turmoil and instability.

Given last week’s events, the collapse of that party is now in play much sooner than anticipated. The question is just how bad the rift is going to be—in other words, does the GOP split into two or three factions? The alt-right and the religious fanatics are likely to be part of a new nationalist party. Meanwhile, the hard rightists who aren’t enamored with libertarianism or right-wing populism may be on the outside looking in, they could join the other two camps, or they could end up defecting to the Constitution Party. As far as the remnants of the Republican establishment, see below.

Next, it focused on the crisis that is facing the Democrats:

While it is certainly possible that progressives can win more races as Democrats, the impossibility of transforming this corporate owned party into a tool of working people to achieve meaningful change is increasingly exposed to millions.

This whole “move Biden left” thing is going to end badly for progressives. The Never Trumpers responsible for the Lincoln Project have already started switching to the Democratic Party so #DemEnter for progressives is already a bust after Bernie’s two failed presidential runs. The Dems have had the military industrial complex in an integral role ever since the 2016 presidential election given that the latter deemed Trump as a liability on foreign policy.

As some independent media analysts have pointed out, the Democrats would actually be considered to be a right-wing party in any other developed nation while the Republicans would be considered to be neo-fascists on par with Europe's far right parties. If more establishment conservatives like John Kasich and Meg Whitman decide to switch parties, the rightward tilt of the Democrats will be even more evident.

Some more things that stood out:

One very important recent development is the wave of strikes and threatened strikes by nurses and other healthcare workers in a number of states in the past weeks. These center on unsafe working conditions made far worse under the pandemic. Despite enormous exhaustion, these workers are fighting back, pointing to what can be unleashed once the pandemic is tackled.

Given the May Day protests and the March for Black Lives after George Floyd's death, there are multiple groups who have next to no one who will stand up for them.

There are two critical and intertwined questions: the rebuilding of a fighting labor movement and building an independent political force to represent the interests of the multiracial, multigender working class. Objectively we have the most favorable situation for the formation of a party on the left independent of corporate interests since the 1970s because of the massive disillusionment in neoliberal capitalism and capitalist institutions generally. The ruling class does not have a coherent narrative for how to take society forward although there are certainly forces pointing to how to take it backward.

The Party for Socialism and Liberation is a small party that could be a vehicle for radical change in the future. After a bitter convention, ballot purges brought on by Democrats nationwide, and a very poor showing by Howie Hawkins during his presidential bid, the Green Party is in serious trouble.

The apparent solution is Movement for a People's Party. The party was founded by a former Bernie strategist Nick Brana, it was formed last August, got on the Maine ballot last month, and refuses to take corporate money. Since it is a progressive populist party, it could be a force in safe Democratic areas, and if it plays its cards right, even in areas that strongly went for Trump both times--like the once radical West Virginia.

The question is where the leadership to build a new party will come from? The role of radical educators and healthcare workers who have spearheaded labor struggle in recent years is crucial. So is the potential role of young BLM and climate activists as well as prominent individuals like Nina Turner, former leader of Sanders’ Our Revolution who is on record saying a new party is needed. Turner appears to be planning to run for Congress, a potentially significant development.

If Nina can win her congressional race and then switch to the People’s Party in time for the midterms, that would be a great starting point.

The DSA also has a key role to play. They have grown significantly and helped elect people to Congress, state houses, and city halls. They have formally committed themselves to the idea of helping build a workers party although many prominent members are still wedded to the idea of reforming the Democrats or “using” the Democratic Party’s ballot line while waiting for developments toward a new party without a clear plan.

In a lot of ways, this could make or break the DSA. The leadership is strongly attached to the Democrats but the rank and file is rebelling against that line of thinking.

Currently we see an offensive against socialism from the political establishment, both Republicans and Democrats. Seattle independent socialist councilmember Kshama Sawant is facing a recall effort driven by big business interests including Amazon. These interests know that major struggles are coming and they want to behead our movement before it becomes stronger.

Just like with ballot access in various states, the corporatists want to squash a movement before it takes off.

Corporate America will do whatever is necessary to protect their system no matter how destructive it is to the interests of the overwhelming majority. If necessary, they will also give support to a far-right party despite the current pretense of many corporations to care about racial oppression and social justice generally.

I could definitely see the corporate elite propping up a neo-fascist party if the People's Party is successful while both the Democrats and Republicans collapse.

The Possible Political Landscape by 2030

Movement For a People's Party. Progressive populist, social democratic, lots of former Bernie supporters

American Nationalists. Former Trump supporters, alt-right, religious conservatives, neo-fascist, America First platform

Moderate Party. The remnants of the Democratic and Republican Parties. More right wing despite its name. Continues advocating neoliberal austerity domestically and neoconservative foreign policy

Libertarian Party

A coalition of of the left. An amalgamation of various socialist parties that push a united agenda. The PSL would likely be the strongest alongside some former Greens  

The Constitution Party is the wild card here. If the nationalists show signs of populism, then the CP may stick around since it already opposes fiscal liberalism. If the nationalists espouse any type of austerity, then the CP is likely toast.

The biggest hurdle for any of these parties governing in a new paradigm is the archaic first past the post system. Whether America switches to a majority voting system, proportional representation, a semi-proportional one, or a final five voting system, a more representative form of government is a must.

#dump the duopoly #party for socialism and liberation #peoples party #libertarian party #democrats #republicans #constitution party

[katebushwick]

Toward an Anthropology of Fragments, Instabilities, and Incomplete Transitions The post–cold war era has been a watershed for anthropology as it has been for many of the societies and communities that anthropologists study. This volume’s essays on Vietnamese refugees, the fallout of German reunification for East German jurists, and the rise of the powerful informal economy in post-Soviet Russia illustrate the diverse and changing legacies of the period. The transitions from socialist and capitalist authoritarianisms to varieties of market-driven democracy are neither linear nor unilateral processes, although the commentators and politicians who make their livings by characterizing such developments have for the most part been slow to recognize this (Weisberg 1999). Those commentators who praise global neoliberal economic integration, which would dismantle highly centralized socialist state economies and the protectionist markets of the West, do not always acknowledge that this moment is only one of several historical waves of capital expansion with its Janus-faced array of new possibilities and harsh dislocations. The modernist impulse to see rational progress or ‘‘the end of history’’ in these political and economic transformations is thwarted at every turn by far more complex and less controllable realities (Fukuyama 1993; Scott 1998). Once one considers the complex interplay of politics and economics in a world of striking cultural diversity, it becomes evident that change does not generate shifts from one coherent formation to another. Howard De Nike’s essay for this volume captures an important dimension of the post-socialist political and economic transition in Germany through a case study of the troubled unification of the democratic and socialist legal systems under the mandate of the West German judiciary. His analysis illustrates the central role of history and memory in the consolidation of West German dominance—the strategic conflation of the Nazi and communist periods used to strip the senior generation of East Berlin judges and prosecutors of their legitimacy and jobs while the West German establishment embraced their own past as one of unproblematic anti-fascism. This analysis illustrates the doubleness of bureaucratic memory through which the past is re- 380 Kay B. Warren constructed in terms of a highly partisan present to justify the marginalization and disintegration of a high-status social field. That there were more collegial alternatives to the scapegoating of the post-WWII generation of jurists in other parts of Germany underscores the political choices that were involved in this ‘‘democratic’’ and apparently authoritarian transition. If De Nike’s essay captures the fulcrum point of a classic post– cold war nationalist transition, then Stacia Zabusky’s essay on big science and European integration documents the emergence of new post-nationalist formations of elite work. These ephemeral virtual networks demand great individual creativity and the tolerance of fragmentation and uncertainty in the face of ongoing work-group and institutional instability. This pattern echoes what Aihwa Ong (1999) describes as ‘‘flexible citizenship’’ in the post-nationalist world of global capital flows. Communities, whatever their scale, continue in heterogeneous ways to reconstitute themselves as they make the world their own, inevitably in the face of tremendous economic and political constraints on their actions. As a result, anthropology has increasingly become the study of instability and fragmentation, of systems caught in contradictory currents of change. It is important to recognize that Carol Greenhouse’s and Beth Mertz’s framings of this problematic in terms of ethnographic feasibility and a humanistic quest for ethical understanding and this essay’s concern with political economies are all parts of the same project. The analyses in this volume respond to these sea changes with a range of issues and framings. The authors seek to characterize current national and transnational engagements and to explore historical processes in terms specific to their ethnographic contexts. The case studies illustrate that, while instability may be a marker of our era, it is hardly a monopoly of the present. Michael Taussig (1992, 1997) has critiqued the unreal—or rather surreal—character of stability and the ways political regimes attempt to mask their destructive fragmentation of social life for international audiences, even as they characteristically pursue policies to heighten insecurity and uncertainty in the lives they seek to control (Sluka 1999). Most often, fragmentation has been attributed to state violence, to dehumanizing colonialism and authoritarianism. At times this construction a≈rms a hierarchy of nations with unspoken hubris: the West is democratic and above violent internal politics; others Toward an Anthropology of Fragments 381 are not. Some of the most striking current political anthropology, however, questions this formulation in subtle ways, widening our understanding of fragmentation and violence through findings of violent fragmentation across authoritarian and democratic regimes (Tambiah 1997; Aretxaga 1997, 1999). The question for engaged ethnographers is how to resist becoming complicit in the misrepresentation of normative (nationalistic) politics as stable systems. And how not to leave unprobed constructions that normalize the danger of Otherness as threats that emanate from outside stable systems or as sedition from within (Warren 1993, 1999). The concept of stability twinned with the ominous threat of instability conjures a world of bounded units—the territorially defined nation-states of political science and the discrete cultures or societies of anthropological accounts—in what plays out to be (as often as not) a defensive support of the status quo of power arrangements. There are several ways out of this situation. One is to study the political acts of conjuring, idealizing, and protecting stability, of representing populations as bounded nations or cultures, and of pursing modernist rationalism as an end in itself. This is what Scott (1998), Holston (1993), Fox (1990), Ferguson (1994), Schirmer (1999), and others have done so well in powerful social critiques. Another is to focus on instability itself, on communities caught in contradictory transformations to pursue the current tensions and mismatches of neoliberal capitalism and democracy that are played out in the practice of local and national politics. This is what Tambiah (1997), Aretxaga (1999), Comaro√ and Comaro√ (1999), Nash (2001), the contributors to Sluka (1999), and many of the essays in this volume do. Such projects involve first moving away from a uniquely state-centric analysis, from national interest as the most important measure of political calculation, to a more finely grained picture of multiple centers of politics and social interests. They are also increasingly a move away from regional studies—originally a product of cold war research funding that channeled transnational studies down the well-trodden path of great-power spheres of influence and toward a more fluid sense of transnationalism and international connections (Kearney 1996; Appadurai 1996). This reframing calls for a recognition of the impact of the heterogeneous global flows of capital and culture through emerging regional economic blocs, border transgressing mass media, major institutions promoting international law and human rights, nongovern- 382 Kay B. Warren mental organizations (ngos), and the ever more complex diasporas of refugees, immigrants, and migratory workers. Few of these patterns are novel, as the feminist anthropological literature on footloose transnational industrial production made clear twenty years ago (Nash and Fernández-Kelly 1983). Much is now being made about the impact of neoliberalism and the jarringly rapid transnational flow of capital without concern for state borders. Grassroots protests against the World Trade Organization (wto), International Monetary Fund (imf), and World Bank policies that mushroomed after 1999 have brought these issues into the realm of public debate. There is now recognition that state sovereignty has been weakened as countries are subject to powerful and volatile economic forces beyond their immediate control. Transnational patterns of investment and currency speculation pursue profit maximizing strategies that cast the world in terms of economic markets rather than in terms of the security of families and communities (Trouillot 2001, Nash 2001, Stephen 2001). From the national perspective, the issue is not just what producers are paid for their labor and companies for their exports but also how countries cope with transnational industries and their capacity to cut jobs and relocate at will to pursue lower production costs and less regulation. Before financing major development projects or rescuing national economies in monetary crisis, international organizations routinely insist on structural reforms consistent with global norms for World Bank and imf loans. Thus, loans are granted on conditional terms that compel economic restructuring. The resulting pressure to privatize what have conventionally been public services threatens government job patronage, great and small, and the services and subsidies that keep transportation and food prices lower for the poor than markets otherwise demand. A growing gap between the rich (who are able to benefit from these currents of change) and the poor (who face economic stresses and unpredictabilities that endanger their basic subsistence strategies) appears to be the price of doing business in the neoliberal era. While aggregate statistics show that the growth in income gaps began to level o√ for some world regions in the 1990s, the reality looks very di√erent when one examines individual communities and displaced populations that su√er the brunt of uneven economic development. The Zapatista rebellion in Mexico, riots and ethnic tensions in Indonesia, and the mass uprising that triggered the 2000 coup in Ecuador demon- Toward an Anthropology of Fragments 383 strate the intensity of citizen responses to these economic shocks.∞ The 2000 demonstrations against the imf and World Bank were designed to highlight the interconnected character of the global economy, the overwhelming debt burden carried by some of the poorest countries, and the severe repercussions of neoliberal reforms for the most vulnerable populations. Increasingly, we see regional blocs emerging: the EU, nafta, and other regional trade alliances that reflect the erosion of any one state’s ability to respond to local needs. Nevertheless, it remains very di≈cult for anthropologists who have worked on states with aggressive authoritarian histories to support the argument that states are growing irrelevant in the global economic order. Despite the global economy and the intervention of the international community into selected regional disputes such as the Kosovo war, it is still clear that many states maintain coercive powers over their citizens and that militaries still use the language of national security to repress dissent. History continues to hold many lessons for us on this score. One thematic that crosscuts the essays in this volume is the coercive nature of states and the ironies of colonial rule. Robert Gordon’s essay on the South African administration of Namibia after World War I is particularly astute in rethinking the issue of state violence, power, and subjectivity in a colonial situation. This colonial state was by all measures underadministered. The mission of civilizing the native communities and establishing the rule of (procedural) law was used by those in power to assert the legitimacy of an ethnically stratified polity. Colonial procedures and social rituals, as invented traditions, were tactically used to heighten the distance between the colonizers and the native communities. Lacking the capacity for full-scale surveillance, the government solved the problem of state control through policies that devolved substantial powers to the settlers. The measure of vagrancy legislation was not, Gordon argues, the rate of arrests but rather that this policy, in e√ect, gave settlers special powers as state surrogates, including the capacity to intervene at whim in the lives of native families. Yet, following this power arrangement in practice reveals important ironies about colonial rule. While the colonial system normalized and legitimized settler violence, it failed to calm their anxieties about the possibility of native revolts, and this anxiety was exacerbated by the settlers’ own demographic and political fragmentation. As Gordon shows, there is only the delusion of an exit from the contradictions of a 384 Kay B. Warren colonial political formation built on this particular combination of the rule of law, violent control, and settler anxiety. The analysis raises the issue of how much the controller was controlled as state policies designed a highly brittle and ambivalent role for their local surrogates.≤ In response, one wonders how often native communities played on their capacity to precipitate settler panic. Carroll Lewin analyzes another colonial form in her examination of the process through which German occupiers instituted ghettos to forcibly segregate Jewish populations in the newly conquered territories of Eastern Europe during the Holocaust. Resettlement was used by the Germans to strip Jews of their property, to force them into slave labor for the war e√ort, and ultimately to subject them to extermination. At the center of German occupation was an imposed system of self-rule through Jewish councils (Judenrate) that were given the duties of dealing with the conflicting demands of German bureaucracies and regulating many aspects of ghetto social life, including the rationing of food, organization of forced-labor squads, provision of basic services, and the fulfillment of deportation quotas to what turned out to be death camps. In a climate of terrible violence and uncertainty, Nazi policy created terrible existential dilemmas for the ghetto populace. By pursuing these dilemmas, Lewin addresses an issue which Gordon’s framing does not, the response of the subaltern to the hegemonic modes of control that envelop them. Through case studies of the council leadership in the Lodz, Warsaw, and Vilna ghettos, she illustrates the varied approaches that leaders brought to their roles—and the varied responses of other Jews to their actions—as they worked under the unstable Nazi deception that by cooperating with German authorities they could help their fellow Jews. Lewin takes a second analytical pass on ghetto politics to show how the system of conflicting German and Jewish rationalities (or cultural logics) fit together in this terrorist state. The horror is that the desire to find even a contingent morality and mutuality was destined to fail in the face of this factionalized—and merciless— power structure. Only the interplay of deception and denial kept alive the illusion that work would slow deportation, that the loss of some would permit the survival of others, and that resistance would only bring collective repression. Lewin would likely agree that German-imposed Jewish self-administration in the ghettos was an extreme variant of a common political form that reappears in the present neocolonial terror- Toward an Anthropology of Fragments 385 ist state and promotes forms of self-rule and self-surveillances in addition to death squads and genocidal policies that undercut resistance. The creation of divided realities, the exploitation of radically di√erent rationalities, and the blurring of victimizer and victim is typical of the structures of control imposed by violent states (Aretxaga 1996; Sluka 1999; Warren 1999). In order to divide civilians from the organized resistance, states have invested a great deal of energy in undermining the bond of trust between citizens, community members, and close family relatives—the very people upon whom individuals were dependent for survival—by forcing people to spy on each other or encouraging people to settle old scores by secretly reporting their enemies to the state. States use a variety of strategies to accomplish these forms of control, yet one commonality in the patterns is the demonization and dehumanization of the Other so that those captured in this category fall outside the routine discourse of moral claims. As I have found in my research on Guatemala, the fragmenting of social fields produced by counterinsurgency violence fosters internalized violence directed at the community itself. It also compels local culture makers to seek ways of expressing the resulting crisis of meaning in innovative ways—at times through surrealist imagery that transcends the representational limits of language—and causes people to seek cultural forms through which they can validate communal life, however momentarily. In Guatemala, these countercurrent responses to violence emerged at a moment in the 1980s when community survival was at stake (Warren 1998). As in the German case, there has been great dispute over wider citizen awareness of the genocide.≥ The problem for the anthropological study of state terrorism—given limited access to the original events and the ambiguous status of memory∂—is to represent the terms of conflicting rationalities and existential dilemmas in situations where power is dramatically skewed. In such situations, those in power seek to control civilians through practices that heighten insecurity and foster the displacement of political violence onto other social antagonisms. If one looks across violent regimes, there is no universal pattern to be found, so the ethnographic goal remains that of understanding the variety of situations and their outcomes. Lewin would add to this burden the challenge of revealing the ways that, in such overwhelming circumstances, people seek a quotidian normality—the macabre children’s games and organized cultural 386 Kay B. Warren activities of the ghettos—and the mimesis of moral mutuality and humanity that some Judenrate selectively extended while negotiating with their captors, even as genocidal politics made a mockery of it. It is the interplay of these di√erent rationalities during the German occupation that, as Lewin observes, at once made life livable and left intact structures of control that would take this away. The challenge for ethnographers of coercive states is to position themselves so that they can narrate the interplay of these conflicting rationalities. This is extraordinarily di≈cult in war zones where anthropologists are not exempt from the cultures of terror we seek to describe. During our field research, many of us experience existential dilemmas that echo the chronic uncertainties lived by those with whom we work. We come to know about and witness events that for a variety of ethical reasons we cannot fully reveal (Warren 1989, 1998, 2001). For contemporary anthropology, the interpretive dilemma becomes finding ways to portray the coexistence of powerful kinds of authoritarianism that have been changed by intensifying transnational economics and the resulting social dilemmas. A second thematic in these essays is globalization. Ongoing theorizing by Carolyn Nordstrom, Michel-Rolph Trouillot, and Aihwa Ong suggests that anthropologists are repositioning themselves in response to a variety of new circumstances. Nordstrom (2000a, 2000b, n.d.) argues for a new form of economic anthropology. Her goal is the creations of methodologies and ethnographic forms to study wartime trade alliances, or ‘‘shadow networks,’’ that crosscut countries, languages, and identity groups in Angola and Mozambique. As she observes, there has been little ethnography that examines internal wars as interstate events that generate transnational patterns of exchange (2000b:14). The recent convergence in Africa of weak states, chronic warfare, and crosscutting markets has spurred the development of transnational social fields that are the conduits for what Nordstrom terms ‘‘il/licit trade,’’ which often operates in the same spheres of influence as formal trade (2000a). War in remote corners of the world creates the demand for a jumble of commodities, services, and humans, demeaned as expendable objects. While regional and international markets are hungry for ‘‘local products’’ such as gems, strategic minerals, oils, drugs, timber, mercenaries, and war orphans, wars also generate the demand for weapons, private armies, computers, and luxury goods for wartime elites. There is a particularly anthropological dimension to this project Toward an Anthropology of Fragments 387 in that these informal economies generate their own alliances, norms for exchange, and authority structures. Nordstrom criticizes the conventional focus on formal institutions and the consequent neglect of informal economies in these situations. Nancy Ries’s essay in this volume on the collapse of state socialism in Russia takes on Nordstrom’s agenda, the tracing of the growing impact of vibrant informal economies where states are weak, in a very di√erent context. In Russia, as the state lost the power to politically and economically regulate the economy, settle disputes, or enforce contracts, elements of the shadow economy filled the vacuum. Ries argues that the continuities in this cultural system are striking. For many citizens, participation in the informal economy through strategies of mutual assistance, domestic gardens, food hoarding, and pilfering remain key to survival in the face of meagre and often late paychecks, massive inflation, and dwindling benefits and employment from the state. Aggressive entrepreneurs have the option of working in the ever-expanding shadow economy that has left urban life saturated with illegal activities and violent enforcers. Life with the Russian market economy has given rise to a great deal of culture work, especially the crafting of narratives by the general populace to express their growing cynicism and to make sense of the uncertainty of authority, reciprocity, and risk in the new world order. What is striking in these narratives of moral economy is the Russian yearning for a strong institutionalized state, one in which, for some, an idealized and locally responsive mafia would supply order and enforcement that the o≈cial state cannot (or does) not. This marks a shift across the 1990s from the dread of the mafia as a source of great evil to acceptance of its role in ordering social relations. Although Ries ascribes a particularly Russian imagery to this situation of eroding trust, ironic dreams of a well-ordered world are not uncommon for postauthoritarian states in other parts of the world. The populations of Latin American countries, such as Guatemala, have struggled after the antiguerrilla wars of the 1980s with the loss of legitimacy of their legal systems, growing criminal delinquents who prey on the common people, and chronic economic uncertainty. Interestingly, local communities there have also been faced with the task of making sense of the ways violence breaks down trust and reciprocity and, in Guatemala, they have used Maya legends of transforming selves to explore the existential dilemmas of the danger of trust (Warren 1998). 388 Kay B. Warren Since the return to civilian rule in the late 1980s and the rise of general crime since the disarming of the guerrillas, civil patrols, and the military, one hears an undercurrent of yearning for rescue from social disorder by leaders who express law-and-order politics and populist concerns, even if in the past these same figures were associated with brutal counterinsurgency violence against civilians. In a number of Latin American countries, similar desires have been very cleverly manipulated by parties on the Right. Michel-Rolph Trouillot (2001) agrees that despite the strident rhetorics of sovereignty and nationalism it is time to rethink our understanding of states in light of globalization. He advocates approaching the state as a multiplicity of social fields, boundaries, and institutions. For him, ethnographic research becomes the study of ongoing events and processes that reflect the dynamics of transnational power relations, the circulation of capital and growing concentration of economic power, and the restructuring of labor markets. In the volume, several essays reveal how complex, heterogeneous, and violent these social fields can be, especially for those at the margins. Phil Parnell focuses his description of poor Filipinos struggling for urban land and housing in the context of the ‘‘composite state,’’ the result of fragmented cultures, alliances, and patron-client relations. Elizabeth Faier traces the fragmented lives of Palestinian feminist activists and nationalists in Israel who attempt, at great personal cost, to find ways of bridging the disjunctures between their multifaceted lives as urban activists and as rural daughters. They struggle with the tensions involved in social advocacy on two fronts, with the gendered realities of their daily lives, and with the possibility of honor killings by their own family members for their challenges to traditional patriarchy. Trouillot o√ers a conceptual innovation, the study of transnational and state powers through their e√ects. Among these ‘‘state e√ects’’ are the production of individualized subjects, collective identities, languages of governance, and jurisdictional boundaries (4). With international development policies stemming from neoliberal economic models, states are yielding major functions to private groups and corporations. Moreover, as international organizations and ngos assume state functions in areas such as economic development, peacekeeping, and education, they produce state e√ects in their own right. The ethnographic challenge I would add, is coming to a fuller understanding of the interplay between transnational e√ects and domestic politics. Toward an Anthropology of Fragments 389 James Freeman and Nguyen Dinh Huu’s study of Vietnamese refugees in this volume illustrates the interplay of states and the un system of governance in the lives of unaccompanied minors who fled the country after the U.S. military retreat and the fall of Saigon in 1975.∑ These children were relocated to camps in Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines, and elsewhere, and the authors focus on the violent ironies of contemporary transnationalism in which states determine who is an alien at their borders, and international organizations have the power to redesignate refugees as illegal immigrants. Even as these detention centers became permanent homes over the years, their substandard living conditions and limited schooling and job training continued to underscore the refugees’ transitory status and were seen as appropriate ways to encourage the asylum seekers to return to their homeland. Though Freeman and Nguyen do not discuss life in the campus in any detail other than the incubation of alternative families and a violent youth culture, one suspects that the resulting political culture included the demonization of communism even as Vietnamese society moved on and readjusted to the end of the cold war. This would have contributed a bizarre time warp to the inmates’ many other dilemmas. Beyond fearing persecution, youths did not have the basic social skills and education to return to daily life in 1990s Vietnam, and they realistically worried about the prospect of inadequate support from distant relatives with their own problems. Freeman and Nguyen make a case for the injustice of Western-centric models of aid delivery promoted by the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (unhcr) and their ngo a≈liates which acted as state surrogates in determining the fates—including forced repatriation in 1993—of these children. As ngo activists themselves, Freeman and Nguyen argue that there were a variety of options beyond the breakup of camp families and the forced repatriation of siblings to distant relatives, which were left unexplored yet might have better served these minors as they faced adulthood. Their critique of the un bureaucracy—its discourse and practice of assistance—echoes Lewin’s discussion of the modernist need for closure which, in its quest for order as recognizable progress, denies the complexity of situations that fail to conform to this vision of change. In their view, this powerful transnational bureaucracy—with its own sovereignty and state e√ects—escapes accountability for its actions in a way that leaves its model of intervention intact no matter what its result. The rationality of the unhcr’s actions rested in the organization’s methods for weighing the eligibility of individuals 390 Kay B. Warren for third country asylum and, absent this possibility, creating conventional understandings of the best interests of children. The unhcr bureaucracy rotated sta√ through standardized positions with the result that o≈cials were moved on before they could see the consequences of the decisions they made. On the grassroots level, ngos did much of the monitoring and were pressured to generate reports that fit within the organization’s procedures and time frame. The authors charge that, in the worst situations, o≈cials created a kind of double-speak that hid the actual mistreatment of children in the humanitarian language of ‘‘durable solutions,’’ ‘‘family reunions,’’ and ‘‘orderly repatriation.’’ For the Vietnamese refugees, the problem was that this language assumed a stability of culture, country, family, and individual psychosocial development that cannot exist in a world where change has produced such radical disjunctures. In this context, to see stability where there has been very little is a misstep with severe consequences. Viewed in a global context, I would add that it becomes apparent that international organizations are constrained by a crisis life cycle in which it is important for cases to be closed out—that is, successfully resolved in order to give meaning to the e√ort and to encourage international financial support—so the system can move on to the next crisis. The children became victims of a transnational boom-bust cycle in the funding of crisis aid, as Stephen Jackson has so insightfully pointed out, one that often generates its own unanticipated violence and corruption (1999). As a result, the state e√ects of these international organizations have their own life cycle that influences the organizations’ responses toward the people they reclassify in the fateful interplay of domestic and international policies. Finally, Aihwa Ong’s view of globalization (1999, n.d.) emphasizes regionally specific patterns of development that emerge from the differential demands of the global economy. The consequent degrading of state power has produced new political geographies that can be characterized by their ‘‘graduated sovereignty.’’ On the one hand, hightech production in global information cities, industrial corridors, and growth triangles in Southeast Asia concentrates economic power that crosscuts state boundaries. Elite employees at these global centers cultivate identities and political subjectivities that echo transnational rather than national flows of capital. Yet other regions are marginalized by this process, especially when they are stigmatized as sources of cheap labor or as backwaters of economic change. Toward an Anthropology of Fragments 391 The question for Ong, however, is not the presence of these new hierarchies but rather the insecurities and responses that these regional patterns engender in those who benefit from them as well as those who su√er from diminishing state services, fragmented citizenship, and growing economic insecurity. She argues for a reorientation of ethnography to study the ways that elite subjectivities are reshaped by languages of religion and community that stand apart from the conventional discourse of politics and social citizenship. Her dual perspective further argues for a special role that ngos can play in communities that find themselves exploited and marginalized by neoliberal economics. Here she would have ethnographers focus on the ways that transnational norms of social justice have been appropriated in local e√orts to build novel forms of social capital and self-reliance in order to cope with changing patterns of uncertainty and risk. Ong’s comprehensive framing of globalization leaves one with the feeling that many of us have part of the story without seeing the whole, and that anthropology, with its new commitment to multisited field research, needs to foster more integrative and collaborative research methodologies. One can see the contributions in this volume by Stacia Zabusky (on high-tech science in the European Union) and by Eve Darian-Smith (on the reinvention of Kent localism by both urban interlopers and locals who appropriate European Union law as a tactical weapon against encroachment and state regulation) as contributing to Ong’s call for the study of regionalisms as consequences of new forms of transnational production and politics. For the fuller European case, one would want to add more on the issues of guest workers and the transnational labor pools that European countries draw upon for their economies. This volume’s essays argue that analytical insights about the nature of transnationalism, power, and changing subjectivities can be garnered by studying a variety of historical and current situations. The challenge for anthropologists studying contemporary situations is conceptual and ethnographic. How do we research situations of flux and fragmentation even as we are experientially and structurally part of the story? How do we create ethnographic genres to convey our findings? One way is through narratives of absence and displacement that capture the contradictory currents of change, changing social fields, and the failure of state institutions and older models of citizenship in the face of di≈- cult transformations and transitions. Another way is to trace the social 392 Kay B. Warren struggles and culture work of people attempting to make sense of and cope with the particular kinds of fragmentation and displacement they experience. Nordstrom, Trouillot, and Ong remind us of the importance of studying the intimate interpenetration of the local and the global and the importance of informal as well as formal power structures. A third approach argues that the anthropology of outrage—that is, the act of taking sides in political disputes and economic crises—is not su≈cient in itself. Rather, anthropology’s unique capacity is to stand back and understand conflicting rationalities though more encompassing models that reveal the wider array of political economic interconnections and existential dilemmas of living in the global era.

[streetsmartbusinessschool-blog]

Knockout Yellow Page Ad Design That'll Knock Your Competitors out Cold!

"My Yellow Page promotion simply isn't getting the calls I need!" I've worked with Yellow Pages publicizing (in some structure) for a long time and of the considerable number of protests I've found out about this one of a kind medium, this is by a wide margin the revile regularly tossed at them. It's nothing unexpected. Flip through your catalog and you'll see why. Same dusty promotions... recounting the equivalent tired story... to the equivalent indistinct gathering of people (everybody). Obviously prospects aren't reacting - these advertisements address NO ONE effectively!

Fault "the message" dear companions, not the ambassador! At the point when each advertisement talks the equivalent tired expressions to the equivalent "summed up purchaser," prospects have no motivation to pick one promotion over another, and your rivals are similarly prone to be picked and called as you seem to be. Poor promotion reaction is the unavoidable outcome. In any case, not to stress! Figure out how to address the prospects needs and fears and you'll push contenders to the edge of total collapse, while plumping up your wallet for the following 365 days.

Need to address the prospect? All things considered, who are you endeavoring to induce? Precisely who would you like to call you? I know, I know... you need whatever number calls as could be expected under the circumstances, so your answer is "everybody around the local area". The issue is, Yellow Page advertisements that endeavor to influence EVERY peruse end up rousing not many. Individuals are searching for somebody "unique" who truly thinks about taking care of their particular issue... somebody they can genuinely trust. Talking explicitly about these requirements as an expert will enable you to associate capably with your intended interest group and make these warm, fluffy emotions - cutting a novel spot in the market for your business.

Here's a precedent. Suppose your baseball fixation has abandoned you with excruciating arm damage and your specialist discloses to you that chiropractic care may help facilitate your agony. Before long, you're flipping through the chiropractor heading in your Yellow Page registry. Your eyes rapidly coat over as you're besieged with a boatload of promotions that look and state essentially a similar thing... "Are You In Pain?" Uh no, I'm perusing here in light of the fact that I feel weak at the knees over chiropractors! Try not to squander valuable space telling your prospects what they definitely know!

Chances are there is anything but a solitary message that makes an individual, passionate association with YOUR particular issue. In any case, consider the possibility that you ran over an advertisement with the accompanying. (Feature) "Brisk, Gentle Relief for Your Sports Injury..." (Subhead) "From the Chiropractor Professional Athletes Rely On." The body duplicates proceeds to clarify how this chiropractor has earned a shining notoriety with the neighborhood sports crews AND it even incorporates a couple of their tributes. The advertisement's substantial, sudden realistic (a hitter crushing a ball into space) fortifies the promotion's feature and passes on the advantage of calling this specialist (recaptured versatility). Things being what they are, would you say you are going to consider one of the numerous chiropractors that guarantee relief from discomfort for "all things everywhere" (counting headaches, ear diseases and scoliosis) or would you say you are going to put your trust in games damage pro who you see to be a games nut, much the same as you?

The more firmly engaged your promotion is the more prominent reaction you can hope to accomplish. It's much better to convince 10% of the crowd 100% of the way, than 100% of gathering of people just 10%. Talk just to the general population you most need to draw in and they WILL answer you. You'll separate your business from all the rest intensely and fundamentally take out the challenge!

Talk about being extra-ordinary. What sort of designs would you say you are utilizing in your Yellow Page advertisement? Does your "surprising" picture snatch the pursuer’s eye and separate you from the rest definitively? Or then again would you say you are running similar yawn-actuating, expected pictures every other person is utilizing? The picture you pick should jump off the page, fortify your feature idea (advantage) and feature the "arrangement" to the prospects issue, NOT simply the issue.

It sounds self-evident, yet you'd be amazed what number of chiropractic Yellow Page promotions portrays tragic, hurting people gripping their backs in distress! What are these specialists considering? Most likely a similar thing individual damage lawyers are thinking when they place horrendous auto wreck photographs in their promotions. Or on the other hand handymen who demonstrate a hysterical property holder remaining in knee-high latrine water!

The picture you decide for your Yellow Page advertisement must be sure and make your prospects feel good (and safe) about calling you. There are special cases obviously; however except if you're a Yellow Page direct reaction promotion plan master, avoid any pictures that could convey negative implications. Show prospects a picture that strengthens the motivation to call you (the answer for their concern) and they WILL be significantly more prone to see your advertisement, read it totally, and call you!

What about the generally speaking visual effect of your Yellow Page advertisement? Does your promotion stand head and shoulders over all the messiness and "welcome" peruses in? If not, you're squandering cash. Learning the mysteries of powerful promotion configuration will make your advertisement jump off the page and draw peruses into the substantial substance they'll require, so as to settle on an educated choice. Effective Yellow Page promotions normally contain 4-5 fundamental components. They are: an incredible feature (and potentially a sub-head), feeling based body duplicate, a striking visual and a convincing invitation to take action. The manner by which these key components are given and connect each other will to a great extent decide your prosperity or disappointment in the Yellow Pages. So hang on... Yellow Page promotion structure preliminary straight ahead...

Your essential target in the Yellow Pages is to get seen in the midst of a huge number of contenders. All things considered, they won't ever peruse your substance on the off chance that they don't see your advertisement. Try not to stress, it isn't so troublesome.

Run your feature BIG and intense at the highest point of your promotion.

Utilize a vast, exceptional, and surprising realistic that snatches the eye and strengthens your fundamental feature idea.

Keep your body duplicate genuinely little (9 to 11 point) to save space for your extensive, eye-getting realistic and feature.

Watch your blank area! Void space in your advertisement is similarly as basic as the substance since it makes your message emerge significantly more. Adequate void area likewise makes the design simpler to explore, giving it an uncluttered and welcoming introduction.

As you spread out the fundamental components of your Yellow Page promotion, endeavor to make a coherent visual "eye stream" that coordinates the pursuer’s eye from the "purpose of passage" (your principle feature) at the extremely top, to the body duplicate in the center and after that delicately stores them at the invitation to take action, which ought to show up at the base of the advertisement. Make note that the visual purpose of section can likewise be your special realistic picture. Whatever your eye-grabber is, simply ensure it recognizes your intended interest group, directions consideration, passes on the arrangement and makes the peruse need to keep perusing.

#Business Advisor #Business Consultant #how to market your company #How to improve sales conversions #How to increase sales #How to increase profits #How to improve sales #How to market your business #How to systemise your Business #How to create a Great Business #How to create a business plan #Become a Business Coach #Become a Business Advisor #Become a Business Consultant #Business Coaching #How to Become a Business Coach #How to Become a Business Advisor #How to Become a Business Consultant

[clubofinfo]

Expert: I’ve often wondered about the limits of activist’s reach and the lack of coherent, organized progressive social movements in the US. Does it come down to the precarious nature of our jobs, the stress, strain, and exhaustion caused by the realization of being a paycheck away from penury? Or is it all the fault of our monopolistic media, with the puppet strings controlled by their advertisers, the corporate giants and multinationals? Is it geographic distance from Europe where socialism advanced far broader and deeper into society? Could it be the anti-communist Red Scare that dominated the binary and delusional cold war mindset? Was it the very real threat and use of violence via COINTELPRO, and overseas with Operations Gladio, Condor, etc? Is it deeper psychological issues stemming from the trauma of having to grow up in a cold capitalist world which leads to false consciousness? It would seem to be a mixture of all of the above. Yet millions of citizens still are able to see through the mendacities inherent in our empire, in our collective cultural death-wish, and many millions more would be able to if provided the education, tools, and resources to see through the lies of our global system of capital. Activists and educators must reconsider their approaches in light of the repeated failures of international progressive organizations. In short, part of the failure lies with the leadership of non-profits, NGOs, community leaders, and the type of worldview they adhere to. For one, unstable vertical hierarchies are reproduced, with not enough feedback from concerned citizens and community-based, small-scale pressure groups. Also, technocrats and lawyers are relied far too heavily upon to perform band-aid, stopgap procedures in the social and environmental justice fields. Endless petitions and protests are planned which do not lead to fundamental change. Organization in the majority of so-called progressive movements mimics the neoliberal order. Pedestals and soapboxes are lined up for the official learned classes, who are offered cushy positions to run vote campaigns, to lobby (beg) a corrupt Congress or Parliament to do the right thing. This is turn creates a new split between the middle-class non-profit lawyers, campaigners, and managers; and the working class constituencies, which only fuels social division and alienation. These maladies contribute to the false consciousness of the mostly liberal, white, middle-class, urbane, college-educated non-profit and social justice managerial class, as well as progressive activists. All of the racist, sexist, and classist baggage is carried alongside these organizations, as we can see so clearly in the faux “progressive” areas like Silicon Valley. Let us take this line of thought further. I believe the lack of rigor and effectiveness also shows up with so-called radical activists and intellectuals who believe they are sincerely committed to revolution. It works in a few ways: radicals take on the feelings of others in unhealthy ways, bottling up anger and sadness that legitimately occurs and is expressed in subaltern groups. Another point involves the expectation of success, the attachment to pet projects and the personal rage that spills out when failure occurs. US progressive and radicals are, for the most part, not versed in modern scientific advancements, ecology, or Eastern traditions. There is no tolerance for balance, paradox, and contradiction. Most are stuck on treadmills and attached to their egos and personas. Then there is the problem of speed: trying to catch up with every travesty the establishment and corporations impose on us (playing defense), as if one could bail out a sinking Titanic with a bucket. There is the notion of taking on social justice burdens as a very Christian-like type of “work”, instead of blending work and play into a post-modern, post-coercive labor environment that could put humankind on a type of threshold, a liminal state, towards a saner society of free association and mutual aid which could end much unnecessary suffering. Running in Circles There is most likely an inverse relationship between how seriously one takes oneself and one’s wisdom. The most serious among us are almost undoubtedly the least wise. The vast majority of the endless running around from protests or events or conferences or speaking engagements are just a series of distractions. There are appropriate times for all those things, to be sure. Yet it must be noted that the predominant mode of liberals, leftists, and progressives is predicated on constantly reacting to and diagnosing mainstream culture, rather than arriving at any original prescriptions for changing society. Many people in the US of all political persuasions are quite aware of the near terminal nature of politics: and many are looking for a model that works. The diagnosis has been made countless times. People are ready for an alternative to our broken system.  Obviously, with no capital this is nearly impossible for poor and marginalized communities.  An international network of direct action, worker co-ops, and communal agriculture must begin as soon as possible to fight neoliberal economics and the looming challenges of climate change. Brecht’s Stance A few years ago, I stumbled across Bertolt Brecht’s Stories of Mr. Keuner. The first passage is entitled “What’s wise about the wise man is his stance.” Here is the full passage: A philosophy professor came to see Mr. K and told him about his wisdom. After a while Mr. K said to him: ‘You sit uncomfortably, you talk uncomfortably, you think uncomfortably.’ The philosophy professor became angry and said: ‘I didn’t want to hear anything about myself but about the substance of what I was talking about.’ ‘It has no substance,’ said Mr. K. ‘I see you walking clumsily and, as far as I can see, you’re not getting anywhere. You talk obscurely, and you create no light with your talking. Seeing your stance, I’m not interested in what you’re getting at.’ Now we’re getting somewhere! As Sean Carney explains in Brecht and Critical Theory: Dialectics and Contemporary Aesthetics: The most important thing to draw from Brecht’s play, then, is the attitude it displays, which Brecht also calls a kind of wisdom that is performed or staged for us. It seems important here to distinguish between the form of wisdom, and the content of wisdom. Brecht, for his part, is concerned only with the former, the posture of wisdom, wisdom as an action. The form of this wisdom is dialectical and historical. There is no space to flesh out all the implications here. A few thoughts will have to suffice. When Western activists scream, “Rise up!” they should be reminded: “Sit down.” Always consider the antithesis. Slowing down, sitting: calling for nationwide wildcat general strikes would do much greater good than marching around with placards along predetermined protest routes. When others shout “Speak out,” we can remind them: be silent (just imagine kids in school refusing to speak the pledge of allegiance or taking a knee in high school sports in solidarity with Kaepernick). When protestors implore: “Wake up,” they can also be chided and reminded: “Keep dreaming!” (of a genuine revolution, not stopping the imagination at some milquetoast progressive reforms led by the DSA or other pseudo-leftists, which, while helpful, do not go nearly far enough). I am not advocating not speaking truth to power here, or any escapism, only that in certain cases we should ignore the constant dramas and tragedies engendered by the corporate ruling-class and focus on building parallel structures and intentional communities to bust an escape hatch from global tyranny. Non-striving It should be recognized that many so-called “radicals” mimic the striving, combative, and authoritarian nature of the neoliberal order. Raised in an ultra-competitive society, some proponents of revolution refuse the inner work necessary while clinging to whatever social capital or insignificant platform one can muster up. We live in a culture of constant striving, clinging, petty jealousness and egomaniacal childishness. It is no wonder that it shows up on many outlets of progressive outlets as well as on social media, and in activist circles. Instead, we should begin the work of instilling a radical patience. Not because we have a lot to time left to act (we assuredly don’t), but because attaching oneself to unobtainable goals in the very short term only has the effect of tiring out and disillusioning many sincere people. Western activists could learn something by practicing non-attachment. Only by giving up hope can we become present in the moment. This has continually been best expressed among Buddhists. As Pema Chodron writes: As long as we’re addicted to hope, we feel that we can tone our experience down or liven it up or change it somehow, and we continue to suffer a lot. In a non-theistic state of mind, abandoning hope is an affirmation, the beginning of the beginning. You could even put ‘Abandon Hope’ on your refrigerator door instead of more conventional aspirations like ‘Everyday in everyway, I’m getting better and better.’ We hold onto hope and it robs us of the present moment. If hope and fear are two different sides of the same coin, so are hopelessness and confidence. If we’re willing to give up hope that insecurity and pain can be exterminated, then we can have the courage to relax with the groundlessness of our situation. Thus, this brutally honest reflection (on our individual lives, but also on the fate of our civilization as we hurtle into the Anthropocene) leads to self-love, joy, and to vulnerability. This is a baseline for giving our collective culture what Rollo May called The Courage to Create. May contrasts happiness (in this sense a cessation of wants, a sense of security) with basic joy (quoted here): Happiness is related to security, to being reassured, to doing things as one is used to and as our fathers did them. Joy is a revelation of what was unknown before. Happiness often ends up in a placidity on the edge of boredom. Happiness is success. But joy is stimulating, it is the discovery of new continents emerging within oneself…Happiness is the absence of discord; joy is the welcoming of discord as the basis of higher harmonies. Happiness is finding a system of rules which solves our problems; joy is taking the risk that is necessary to break new frontiers. One cannot understand joy without noting the sense of timelessness: the past, present, and future all converging into the present moment. Athletes, artists, scientists, and others call this “flow” or “being in the zone.” Time moves more slowly, certainly everyone has experienced this phenomenon at one point or another. Relativity has proven that this is possible, as well as studies in consciousness, meditation, and psychedelics. Is any of this useful as a guide towards activism today? I will leave it to you to decide. Is it possible to “create light” when you speak, or be in tune with “higher harmonies?” Time Regarding time, we can turn to Brecht’s friend, Walter Benjamin, and his notion of the Jetztzeit. In order to break free from “homogenous, empty time,” which, notably, Francis Fukuyama unintentionally expressed so well as the ever-looming backdrop to the neoliberal era in The End of History, Benjamin writes that society must struggle towards “the messianic zero-hour of events, or put differently, a revolutionary chance in the struggle for a suppressed past.” That is to say, only by looking backwards in time can we assess the damages of the present age, even as the storm of progress pushes us further away from mending the wreckage, as Benjamin explains Klee’s Angelus Novus. Only in the zero-hour, the ever-present moment, can we blast open a historic event. This explains Benjamin’s concept of the monad, a “constellation overflowing with tensions.” On the Horizon Does any modern science conform to these ideas of reality as a constellation of energy and matter, something like Benjamin’s monad, influenced by Leibniz, overflowing with possibilities, tensions, and constant flux? Put another way, are there are empirical/scientific fields which show a healthy stance or posture of wisdom? Here we turn to some of the modern science that corroborates what people like Benjamin, the German Idealists, process philosophy, Leibniz, and before him, Spinoza, Heraclitus, Lao Tzu, and various Eastern traditions have contributed to: a systems view of life and the universe that explains phenomena holistically. In a nurturing system such as this, cross-discipline studies would expand, converge, and enrich social life and ecosystem health. In many ways, modern science shows a return to the old ways of knowing: concepts in relativity and quantum mechanics were foreseen millennia ago, such as in Buddhism’s principle of dependent co-arising, for example. Chaos Theory Some of the greatest 20th century scientists were: Einstein, Watson and Crick, Margulis and Lovelock. Yet the most influential of all may turn out to be the little known meteorologist, Edward Lorenz, pioneer of chaos theory, the butterfly effect, and the strange attractor. For a thorough introduction, James Gleick’s Chaos is a great start. For those mathematically inclined, I recommend Manfred Schroeder’s Fractals, Chaos, Power Laws. It is this system-view approach that can explain, even, the formation of life on this planet: self-organizing proto-nucleotides and amino acids along with fatty membranes and mitochondria/chloroplasts which gave rise to the first unicellular organisms. It is these non-linear dynamics which do, in fact, create higher harmonies- Poincare’s three body problem being the first modern example. In non-linear systems based on power laws, when the variable in the function passes a certain limit (dependent upon the initial conditions), the function starts to behave chaotically. The next figure cannot be predicted from previous answers. Eventually, a bifurcation will occur: this simply means that further on in the progression, the function bounces back between two figures, back and forth. If the parameter is pushed higher, period-doubling occurs: this simply means that instead of bouncing between two numbers, the function doubles to bounce between four, then eight, 16, etc. This applies to many dynamic systems and can start with any integer, so depending upon the function, you could have period doubling of 3, 6, twelve; four, eight, 16, etc. Period halving is possible, too. The scientist Robert May was the first to prove this in population biology, and many fields have found it a useful tool for studying dynamic systems since. The point I want to make clear is in regard to climate and weather: all climate scientists and meteorologists accept weather cannot be predicted after 3 weeks, weather is inherently chaotic, yet climate, for now, is stable. Without significant changes, the positive feedback loops currently warming the planet will eventually push the relatively stable, homeostatic climate model into the “Hot house Earth” model. Wild changes in weather are more likely to occur. Not only that, but much higher-level droughts and flooding will occur more frequently; i.e., climatic normality may switch into an non-linear, chaotic state. In the US, the Southwest in particular will be hit hard. Consider central Arizona, where the ancient Hokoham population could have reached 80,000 around 1300 CE. The area around Phoenix could have provided for 10,000 people. You make think, well, that was before modern irrigation and food transportation. You would be wrong. The Hokoham were masterful farmers with over 500 miles of canals and estimates of over 100,000 acres of cultivated, irrigated land. Today, metro Phoenix has approximately 4.7 million people. This won’t end well. By 2050, much of Arizona and the wider region could be ghost towns. The second point: self-similarity is inherent in nature at many scales, as observed in fractals. How does this apply to culture? Direct democracy can be implemented at all scales (local, from worker councils to communal town meetings; to international, with a trans-national body such as a re-imagined UN.) Chaos theory applies to the brain as well: there is evidence that psychedelics reform and rearrange new connections of neurons, changing the “criticality” of its structural firings. This is what is able to cure patients of depression, anxiety, PTSD, etc., by changing the flow of thoughts and giving a wider expression, to get your mind out of a rut or a bad habit of harmful/fearful thinking. There is plenty of sociological and anthropological evidence that mimetic theory (pioneered by Rene Girard) has some merit. Mostly, this is studied cross-culturally (horizontally), but we should consider the vertical dimension of hierarchies: at levels of coercion and exploitation are imitated at all scales of the socio-economic pyramid. The ruthless hierarchy was not that different between the mind-numbing conformity and bureaucratic chicanery of state-capitalist countries, contrasted with the crushing alienation and faux-competitive crony capitalism of neoliberal nations. If the structure is rotten at the top, most state and local governments mimic and take their cue from the power relations above them. This played out very clearly on the international level after 9/11 and the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Once the Patriot Act, NDAA, and AUMF were passed, once NATO and ISAF forces invaded Afghanistan, with troops and spooks using “rendition”, “enhanced interrogation techniques”, with nighttime raids on civilians, and outright drone murder was rolled out by the US, other nations followed suit, with a rash of authoritarian copycat legislation, as well as police and military brutality playing out around the globe. For instance, the uptick in violence by Israel in 2002-2003 during the second Intifada is telling. Without the September 11 attacks and the relentless anti-Muslim propaganda coming from the US, there is little doubt that the IDF would have been so emboldened. On a positive note, it’s quite telling, and appropriate, that the self-similar snail shell (caracol) became the emblem of the Zapatistas, and the model for their communities. Rebecca Solnit explains this well, and quotes a wonderful passage from Marcos, who draws from his folk hero, “Old Antonio”: The wise ones of olden times say that the hearts of men and women are in the shape of a caracol, and that those who have good in their hearts and thoughts walk from one place to the other, awakening gods and men for them to check that the world remains right. They say that they say that they said that the caracol represents entering into the heart, that this is what the very first ones called knowledge. They say that they say that they said that the caracol also represents exiting from the heart to walk the world…. The caracoles will be like doors to enter into the communities and for the communities to come out; like windows to see us inside and also for us to see outside; like loudspeakers in order to send far and wide our word and also to hear the words from the one who is far away. Contradiction, Paradox, Nuance There is a great passage in an old Marcos communiqué, “The retreat is making us almost scratch at the sky.” As the echo chambers, petty infighting, and silos build up on the Left, I thought it’d be appropriate to share his thoughts on how to respond to those fearful of heterodox-postmodern-non-ideological-anarchic stances: After these confessions, he of the voice was exhorted to spontaneously declare himself innocent or guilty of the following series of accusations. To each accusation, he of the voice responded: The whites accuse him of being dark. Guilty The dark ones accuse him of being white. Guilty The authentics accuse him of being indigenous. Guilty The treasonous indigenous accuse him of being mestizo. Guilty The machos accuse him of being feminine. Guilty The feminists accuse him of being macho. Guilty The communists accuse him of being anarchist. Guilty The anarchists accuse him of being orthodox. Guilty The Anglos accuse him of being Chicano. Guilty The antisemitics accuse him of being in favor of the Jews. Guilty The Jews accuse him of being pro-Arab. Guilty The Europeans accuse him of being Asiatic. Guilty The government officials accuse him of being oppositionist. Guilty The reformists accuse him of being ultra. Guilty The ultras accuse him of being reformist. Guilty The “historical vanguard” accuses him of calling to the civic society and not to the proletariat. Guilty The civic society accuses him of disturbing their tranquility. Guilty The Stock Exchange accuses him of ruining their breakfast. Guilty The government accuses him of increasing the consumption of antiacids in the government’s Departments. Guilty The serious ones accuse of being a jokester. Guilty The adults accuse him of being a child. Guilty The children accuse him of being an adult. Guilty The orthodox leftists accuse him of not condemning the homosexuals and lesbians. Guilty The theoreticians accuse of being a practitioner. Guilty The practicioners accuse of being a theorist. Guilty Everyone accuses him of everything bad that has happened. Guilty” I take inspiration from this; I see a sort of playfulness, a glimpse of his “inner child”. Today, we could also say: to those who, without nuance, accuse others of being heretics or dogmatic; to those who would accuse us of rather having a messy, non-violent, and imperfect revolution on the streets rather than continue to perpetuate a self-congratulatory, alienating, bloviating, insular, suffocating, and self-defeating movement in substance and style, we must reply: we are Guilty. Quantum Theory Our understanding of reality and consciousness has grown by leaps and bounds with advances in quantum physics. The parallels between Eastern thought and quantum mechanics are uncanny, and no one has explained this better than Fritjof Capra in his bestseller The Tao of Physics. Exploring connections between the sub-atomic world and Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist philosophy, Capra takes the reader on a tour-de-force. Of course, it was the early physicists who worked on the uncertainty principle, double-slit experiment (wave-particle duality), complementarity, and quantum superpositioning who originally noted the connections between Eastern philosophies. Thus, consciousness and the observer effect somehow influences these experimental designs in ways science currently has no answer for. Capra synthesizes this and builds upon these models: he insists on the interrelationship operating at certain scales of reality, and calls it a holistic/ecological worldview in his afterword to the 3rd edition. There has been lots of push-back from other physicists since 1975 when the first edition appeared. The science is not in debate at the sub-atomic scale, rather, how it applies to the macroscopic world is what is at stake. There are plenty of scientists that dismiss Capra completely without acknowledging the very qualified, modest theory he put forward. The new revelations about quantum entanglement push this line of thought further. The basic idea is: two electrons become “entangled” where the spin of one is connected with the other regardless of distance. When one electron’s spin is measured, the second spin correlates instantaneously, faster than the speed of light. This is what Einstein called “spooky action at a distance.” Non-locality is another name. This flies in the face of the fundamentals laws of physics. So what does this mean? The best analogy I can come up with (paraphrasing from someone, somewhere) is that when measuring (observing) the first particle, you are pushing through the fabric of space-time with your finger to “touch” the second particle at the same time, bypassing the physical distance between the two. What are the implications here? Physicists insist this phenomenon doesn’t “scale up” to the macroscopic level. If we look at today’s level of scientific knowledge in physics, they’re right. There is little evidence to suggest this. Yet, the simple fact that this can occur on sub-atomic levels is staggering. No one knows where these new teachings will take us.  Certainly, though, there are parallels with shamanic/animistic ways of thinking, or, to put it in the words of Stephen Hawking: “every particle and every force in the universe contains information, an implicit answer to a yes-no question.” However, this interpenetration of levels/worlds in the social and mental realms, is quite pronounced, say, in medical facts. The higher rates of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, in poor and working class communities as well as for minorities is tied to the mental strain and stress of living in substandard housing without proper nutrition, lack of access to education, etc. African American women are 3-4 times more likely to lose children in childbirth compared to white women, due to lack of pre-natal care, and sometimes because their doctors won’t listen to them. Women who’ve suffered a heart attack are more likely to survive if their doctor is a woman, rather than a man. Again, because women doctors are generally: more competent, listen to patients’ symptoms better, and show higher emotional intelligence and compassion. Gaia Theory Turning to Earth systems, it was the pioneering work of Lynn Margulis and James Lovelock who together formulated Gaia theory. Thinking of the Earth as a self-regulating super-organism is helpful in many fields, from geology to climate science to evolutionary biology. From the simple-programming of Lovelock’s Daisyworld, today we can model ecosystem resiliency, albedo effects in the Arctic Sea, and deforestation in tropical rain forests, the lungs of the Earth, all in terms of feedback loops which can tie into trends such as global warming, species extinction, desertification, and declining biodiversity. Scientists are now willing to combine the shocking implications of chaos theory within Gaia: in the journal Nature Barnosky et al. write of “Approaching a state shift in Earth’s biosphere.” The authors write that “the plausibility of a future planetary state shift seems high” and they acknowledge the uncertainty about when it may happen. They also point out: “it is extremely unlikely or impossible for the system to return to its previous state.” Thus, if a hothouse Earth scenario becomes a reality, there will be no going back. Real estate speculation on Antarctica could be a thing in 100 years. There are reasons to be hopeful. One line of thought was taken up recently by Bruno Latour, who along with a co-author, postulate what they call Gaia 2.0. Simply put, they are referring to a global system where: …deliberate self-regulation—from personal action to global geoengineering schemes—is either happening or imminently possible. Making such conscious choices to operate within Gaia constitutes a fundamental new state of Gaia, which we call Gaia 2.0. By emphasizing the agency of life-forms and their ability to set goals, Gaia 2.0 may be an effective framework for fostering global sustainability. While they posit this self-conscious biomimetic planning of bioregions as new, because they see it as the first chance to endeavor to perform this on a global scale, the novelty only really applies to a certain brand of Eurocentric/anthropocentric materialists, anti-intellectual monotheists, and other deniers of common sense and basic ecology. Indigenous groups have used bioregional eco-friendly practices for millennia, with First Nations sustainably caretaking land from Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic Circle. Consider terra preta in Amazonia, the miraculous change from teosinte to maize which many estimate domestication circa 9000 years ago, mountain terracing in the Andes, super-high productivity with Central American milpas, multiyear field rotation for fallow lands to rejuvenate nutrients, seasonal burns throughout North America which increased deer and upland game bird populations, with agroforestry “forest farming” of chestnut (Chestnut Trees could produce over a ton per acre in vast portions of America before the die-off occurred), hickory, butternut, oak (acorns are used as a food source removing tannins with water) and more. Not to mention the thousands of uses of native plants and fungi for herbal/traditional medicine, preventive/holistic care, and shamanic/spiritual uses. I would say one of the most interesting debates about what Gaia 2.0 could look like is mostly ignored, because it is occurring on the far side of the globe: Aotearoa, aka New Zealand. Their government has already launched a “Predator Free” program for 2050, where all mammalian predators are hoping to be eliminated with a variety of programs forming in the near future. Intense debate surrounds the gene drive approach, some techniques using CRISPR and some using other gene editing technology, to in effect, using genetic manipulation, create all male future generations of predators and thus, lead to localized extinction of these mammals in Aotearoa and its small outlying islands. The bioethics are being debated by UN and national groups and many conservation groups are totally against the idea. Some Maori are open to the possibilities of gene-drive technology, yet they understandably critique the bad faith of the scientists involved, citing: [An] increasing lack of cultural accountability in academic journals who seem happy to publish anything without thought, consideration, or commentary from the communities those papers have extracted from, taken swipe at, or made promises to… The second issue is what I deem bad research-dating behaviour, or rather how to build respectful relationships with indigenous peoples/communities… Relatively few, however, are actually committed to investing their time into building long-term relationships, despite being continually told that that is what is required… However, some researchers by-and-large continue to push an extractive model whereby they attempt to take intellectual property from communities in return for ‘the greater research good’. This model is naïve to the political situations that indigenous communities are operating in, and often places those communities in culturally unsafe positions. Fritjof Capra notably calls the first step in transitioning to such a state of ecological awareness and cultural sensitivity “eco-literacy” and the next step eco-design. He’s on point. The funny, sad, and tragic thing (to me at least) is that exposes the orthodox technophile Western Left (seemingly the majority) as supporters of what many like to call Industrialism, the over-arching system, including capitalism and state socialism, of fossil fuel exploitation which is killing the planet. According to the technophile proponents of unrestrained instrumental reason, many of us, well, sane and sensible people, who, in advocating for appropriate-scale technology, have the basic common sense to understand that Small is Beautiful, are a bunch of Luddites, crazy hippies, anti-civ, lifestylists, primitivists, nihilists, and/or misanthropes. This type of thinking exposes the narrowness and superficiality of many “Leftists” who espouse all the right mantras, yet never bothered to take Marx’s example and actually study and stay abreast with key scientific and ecological advances. I try my best to remain calm, patient, and equanimous, yet it is difficult with unabashed technophiles- again, possibly the majority of what qualifies as what’s left of the Left. There is a discomfort from listening to the droning on of progressives, and also many banal Leftist economists and historians who pay lip service to sustainability, while not even giving token acknowledgment of the nature of spiritual transformation required. Many of these people, even on “progressive” alternative media, are unaware of their own immiseration via lack of engagement with the natural world, which I take no pleasure in pointing out, so my queasiness doesn’t qualify as schadenfraude, but apparently, there is another German word for what I’ve been feeling: Fremdschämen: “‘exterior shame’, for those of you who cringe in phantom pain when others make a fool of themselves, this is your word. It describes the feeling of shame when seeing someone else in an uncomfortable or embarrassing situation.” Perhaps Mr. Keuner was feeling this, as well. Planting Seeds Well, there is no high note to end this on. Most of activism goes towards wasting time attempting to change the minds of adults whose conditioning and social infantilization have already reached epic proportions. There is no systemic, global plan for engaging the youth in ecological-cultural restorative practices. This is absolutely ridiculous and a severe oversight of academia, including lackadaisical teachers and administrators, as well as conservatives and liberal-progressives who insist on vote-campaigns and the wonders of traditional higher education which indoctrinates and obfuscates class issues: yet the idea of revolutionizing public education never crosses their minds. Revolutionary artists have always understood this, as well as indigenous tribal societies and many poor and working class communities. Yet today, the hungry ghosts of global capitalism are here to consume the sustenance and life force of future generations in an era where information is at our fingertips as never before. The current education model effectively imprisons children in unsafe and unhealthy schools, with psychotropic drugs, authoritarian teachers, mind-numbing boredom and ennui functioning as social conditioning for a future hellscape with billions in poverty worldwide, no decent jobs, benefits, or forms of belonging; alongside a crushing tyranny of corporate rule, oligarchy, global war, climate chaos, and a culture ruled by a principle of “repressive tolerance.” Thus, it is inevitable that the most important thing to do is raise our children in a healthy way. This will require social engagement on a spiritual, intellectual, communal, emotional and material basis (i.e., sharing extra housing for homeless and low-income families, paying child-rearing adults a living wage for their time and labor, equal pay for women, ending oppression against the LGBTQ community, serious environmental education, etc.). Patriarchy and racism will not be solved, until youth are gifted the freedom and opportunity to pursue their passions unencumbered by structurally racist and sexist policies which enforce hierarchy, capitalism, and war, until pathetic guidelines advocating rote memorization in school are abandoned, and crippling conformity fueled by vapid pop culture and the psychically numbing effect of social media is no longer glorified. Poverty, war, and disease cannot be significantly lowered or eliminated without a fundamentally redistributive model. Furthermore, some sort of restorative healing measures, including some sort of reparations for minorities, including but not limited to redistributing money, property, land, and the means of production, via a process truth and reconciliation in the public sphere, is absolutely crucial. This would necessarily coincide with the dissolving of corporate and state power. Public and private land must be given back to citizens: we are only free when given the ability to use the means of production to transform corporate agriculture into communal, appropriately-scaled endeavors where communities can directly and deliberatively interact, and transform as need be, to the world-historical changes (climatically, ecologically, and socially) on the immediate horizon. This would seem to entail relaxing the grip of the Apollonian style of “emotionless” pure logic (techne/episteme), and instrumental reason; and coming to terms with the obverse: the Dionysian, where the shamanic/animistic, nomadic, and anarchic ways of being are accepted. This shift, with the science to back it up, is seen in a many counter-culture belief systems: the push for radical intersubjectivity, expanding studies of the realms of consciousness, a hylozoic belief system, and formulating a new model of recognition (see Taylor, Fraser, Honneth, Butler, among others) which does not re-invigorate the power of capital. There is no hope of this happening in today’s 24/7 mainstream media, driven by fear and sensationalism. Only a world-historical process, a paradigm shift, can overturn this momentum, which would require inner work to be done on a mass scale in the Western world alongside collective general strikes, debt jubilees, a bit of carnivalesque (Bakhtin)/festival/regional cultural appreciation/in the spirit of a Communitas, and a counter-cultural force which does not overly privilege the economic at the expense of other social struggles. This critical way of teaching is a sort of “stance”: a tendency towards what Aristotle called eudaimonia, “the good life,” informed by virtue, areté. Another way of phrasing it would be “human flourishing,” and here this referred to a moral sensibility, but also an aesthetic, a form of posture or “stance” if you will, an art of living, a way of (Hölderlin-esque) dwelling poetically upon the Earth. From another angle, we could consider this a search for The Ethics of Authenticity. As Charles Taylor describes, what is structurally called for is: …a many leveled struggle, intellectual, spiritual, and political, in which the debates in the public arena interlink with those in a host of institutional settings, like hospitals and schools, where the issues of enframing technology are being lived through in concrete form; and where these disputes in turn both feed and are fed by the various attempts to define in theoretical terms the place of technology and the demands of authenticity, and beyond that, the shape of human life and its relation to the cosmos. Yet, again, this type of work should get started by educating children, because under the current conditions of liberal democracy, there is no acknowledgment of “interlinking”. There is only the autonomous individual: at least understood by most adults, whose notion of civic duty is voting, or volunteer work, or donating to charity. Rather, youth could be asked to inquire, as Rudy Rucker wondered: One might also ask whether a person is best thought of as a distinct individual or as a nexus in the web of social interaction. No person exists wholly distinct from human society, so it might seem best to say that the space of society is fundamental. On the other hand, each person can feel like an isolated individual, so maybe the number-like individuals are fundamental. Complementarity says that a person is both individual and social component, and that there is no need to try to separate the two. Reality is one, and language introduces impossible distinctions that need not be made. We can imagine a single cell in our body asking itself the same question: am I an individual or just part of a wider integrated whole? We can shift the scale but the self-similarity always follows: it’s turtles all the way down. This famous saying, of course, echoes what we know about fractals, and the possibility that we’re in a multiverse. There are also the First Nation stories about Spider Woman, or Grandmother Spider, who created the world. Again, we find the notion of the web- the basis of our bio/psycho/social being, and also a connection to string theory: spider-woman’s creation song; i.e. vibrations held by interconnected threads. My preferred analogy to the individual/social false binary is mycological (or rhizomatic, though I’ll save D+G for another day): our conception of ourselves (ego) is the mushroom, the fruiting body which rises above the soil, while the unconscious mycelium sustains us below the surface. Although we stand above the detritus (wreckage, as Benjamin says) we are deeply enmeshed in it, history “is not even past” and it feeds, and thus can warp, our consciousness and sensibilities. Thus we must tend to the soil, nurture the sprouts and green shoots of this new culture. The meager results of our efforts can be depressing (April really can be the cruelest month) yet we must move on, without clinging to hope. As for the problem of language which Rucker mentioned, it’s worth reminding our sisters and brothers that propaganda is all around us today. As Malcolm X said: “If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” Now is the time for the “revaluation of all values.” The struggle continues. http://clubof.info/

[oldguardaudio]

Rush Limbaugh identifies Cracks in the Anti-Trump Resistance

rush obama shadow government against trump at HoaxAndChange.com

Rush USA Flag at HoaxAndChange.com

rush-limbaugh @ Old Guard Audio

Feb 20, 2017

  RUSH: Look at this. TheHill.com: “Americans Brimming with Optimism on the Economy.” I saw the headline, I must tell you, even I, El Rushbo, just to show you how hard this is, even I was surprised. Because, look, we can’t escape the past month of media coverage. And one of the efforts the media’s been engaging in, is trying to present a picture of Americans unhappy they elected Trump. Unhappy they voted for Trump, now pulling their hair out, “Oh, no, what do we do now?” And that’s not an accurate picture of America. It’s a picture of the protests that we’ve been shown, but it’s not a picture of America. America is actually pretty optimistic. Trump’s supporters are as avidly for him as they have always been.

And this story is actually a poll from Harvard. (Gasp!) Yeah, the Harvard-Harris poll. “A strong majority of Americans say the U.S. economy is running strong, and most believe the upward trend will continue under President Trump, according to a Harvard-Harris poll provided exclusively to The Hill. The survey found that 61% view the economy as strong, against 39% who say it is weak. A plurality, 42%, said they believe the economy is on the right track, versus 39% who said it is on the wrong track.”

That is such a stark contrast to even back in October/November when it was 73% thought we were on the wrong track with Obama.

Major, major reversal here!

Mark Penn, who’s a codirector of the Harvard-Harris poll — and he’s a Democrat pollster, by the way. He’s polled for the Clintons, hasn’t he? (interruption) Don’t frown at me like that. Don’t tell me this guy’s a Republican. Next you’re gonna tell me the Lord’s Prayer is not in the Bible, right? Am I wrong about Mark Penn? I think Mark Penn… I think he’s worked with the Clintons. Anyway, he did the poll. He said, “It’s really a surprising turnaround given how negative voters have been about the economy since 2009. But jobs remains the number one issue and a lot of the change in sentiment anticipates tax cuts and infrastructure programs.”

That means a lot of this optimism anticipates the Trump agenda. And, again, it is why I continue to urge the Trump administration to get going on it. I mean, look, it’s all fine and dandy to stop the TPP. It’s all fine and dandy to say you’re gonna continue to, say, do NAFTA. And it’s all fine and dandy to keep talking about the wall. That’s crucial. Immigration is. But, man, repealing Obamacare? And look at the differing… There’s a story that ran yesterday. It’s on Drudge. Let me find it. We’ll get it exactly.

“Prospects of Quick Obamacare Repeal Sinking Fast.” Drudge links to a story like that at least once a day. Different story. “Prospects of Obamacare Withering Away.” “Prospects for Obamacare Repeal and Replace Dwindling Rapidly.” Every day you get one of those, and then Paul Ryan calls a congressional press conferences and goes out there and says, “No, no, no, no, no! We’re on the case here. This is gonna happen in March. We’re gonna roll it out in March.”

Trump echoes it. Rand Paul comes out, “Damn right, we’re gonna get rid of this as quick as we can.” So what’s the truth? Well, where are these stories coming from that the prospects for repealing Obamacare are just dwindling away rapidly? Let me just… I haven’t done this yet. But let me click on the link here. Let’s see just exactly where this takes us. Ha-ha. It’s the Washington Post.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Yeah, Mark Penn ran Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president in 2008. He was also her pollster. And guess what? She still owes him money. Hillary Clinton still owes Mark Penn money all the way back 2008. He was chief strategerist for her in her 2008 presidential campaign. I don’t know that he worked on this last campaign because she still hasn’t paid him from 2008 (when she lost, of course, to Barack Hussein O). Here’s another story, ladies and gentlemen. I told you there’s a little, tiny stack that’s starting to develop that’s showing cracks in the so-called resistance to El Trumpo, and it’s again from TheHill.com.com.

And it’s a poll, from the same poll, the Harvard-Harris poll that shows optimism on the economy. Get this: “Americans Want Democrats to Work with Trump — A strong majority of Americans say Democrats should look to cooperate with President Trump to strike deals, according to the inaugural Harvard-Harris poll provided exclusively by The Hill. The survey found that 73% of voters want to see Democrats work with the president, against only 27% who said Democrats should resist Trump’s every move.” Again, this is Mark Penn, a Hillary campaign pollster and operative (that she hasn’t paid).

That 73% number is almost the exact number of people who thought the country was headed in the wrong direction in the last months of the Barack Hussein O Regime. Now, this is striking. Once again, by the way, the streets of American cities just magically happen to have a bunch of Trump protesters out there today. Just magically! I mean, they’re just out there, and the pictures are from helicopters and it’s made to look like tens of thousands of Americans are out protesting Donald Trump over the supposed latest Trump outrage, whatever it might be.

And again, vast majority of this stuff is bought and paid for by — it’s not a cliche to say it; it sounds it. It’s George Soros and I’m sure Obama and his Organizing for Action, which is an uptake on organizing for. Obama has a community organizing group, 250 offices that are organizing all this! There is an attempt at sabotage and a shadow government made up of Obama embeds and Clinton embeds in the bureaucracy, and these Organizing for Action offices that are organizing all these protests with mass produced protest signs with fill-in-the-blank issues. And these people are paid. And they’re recruited.

We know this because it’s been admitted to by the people that run these operations.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Ready for this? Headline says it all. It’s NBC News. Ready? “President Trump Officially Won’t Be the Shortest-Serving U.S. President.”

What does that tell you was on NBC’s mind? That maybe they were gonna be able to get rid of him? And let me be generous. That maybe Trump was going to destroy his own presidency in record time. But right there it is.

“This Presidents Day, as thousands prepare to swarm the streets for Not My President’s Day rallies –” by the way, who started those? Where did these Not My President’s Day rallies get started? Hello, Mr. Soros. Hello, Mr. Obama. Hello, Mrs. Clinton. As thousands swarm the streets for not my Presidents Day, the president will celebrate a milestone. He’s reached his 32nd day in office. That small victory means that despite the demands of his detractors, President Trump will not have the shortest term in the Oval Office.

So they’ve been counting. They’re a little bit frustrated here, I’m sure. You can probably throw a “damn it” at the end of the headline. The honor of president serving the shortest term is William Henry Harrison, the ninth president, died from pneumonia just 32 days into his presidency on April 4th, 1841. He’s also the first president to die in office. Not only. First president.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: You know, I said there was a small but expanding Stack in my show prep today of stories that indicate some of the pizzazz is beginning to wane, as it were, from the collective anti-Trump energy out there. And it is, and I’ve given you three examples so far today, and here’s the next. This is from our old buddies at Breitbart News, and the headline: “LGBT Anti-Trump Protest in D.C. Fizzles Bigly — Even on a beautiful day with temperatures in the high 60s, organizers could not muster a decent-sized protest turnout against President Donald Trump at an LGBT event on Sunday outside the Trump International Hotel, a few blocks from the White House.

“A group of little more than two dozen protesters …” Now, can you imagine this? Here the call goes out for a swarm, a throng of people to show up — and it supposedly shouldn’t take much because there’s so much hatred for Trump out there. There’s such animus for Trump out there that should have been just a snap of the fingers, and you’ll get thousands of people to show up. “A group of little more than [24] protesters danced, kissed, held signs, and played music as an almost equal number of photographers captured the spectacle of social justice warriors who lacked any coherent message except free-floating contempt for the president who took office less than one month ago.”

(crumbles up story) Now, I realize saying this could just stoke them to go out and, you know, reignite themselves and find more energy. But remember, all of this has a purpose, and the longer it goes without any objective being realized, then… Human nature is human nature. At some point some in the group will start saying, “What are we doing here? What are we accomplishing here?” By the way, I want to know something:

Can anybody tell me what has Donald Trump ever done to offend the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender crowd? What has he ever done? I mean, it was Obama who came out and was originally anti-gay marriage and then when it became politically expedient, flipped. But what’s Trump ever done? What has Trump ever done to homosexuals, other than maybe take a swipe at Rosie O’Donnell. (interruption) That’s right. She took the swipe at him first. So I don’t know.

Rush Limbaugh identifies Cracks in the Anti-Trump Resistance Rush Limbaugh identifies Cracks in the Anti-Trump Resistance Feb 20, 2017 RUSH: Look at this. TheHill.com: “