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#it’s the only thing republicans will clean with
imsobadatnicknames2 · 11 days
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Yeah... the USA's abuse of Latin America is a republican issue.
It's not like the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton's tenure as secretary of state featured some of the worst foreign policy moments regarding Latin America in recent memory, like support for the 2009 Honduran coup and the 2012 Paraguayan coup, shutting down a minimum wage increase in Haiti because it would have affected American companies using Haiti as a source of cheap labor, multiple free trade agreements that wrecked havoc on the economy of several Latin American countries, and many more things. Also Plan Colombia during the late Bill Clinton administration saw the USA give millions of dollars in military aid to one of the most far-right governments my country's ever had, essentially subsidizing the work of goverment-allied far-right paramilitary squads which murdered countless union acivists and afro-colombian and indigenous social leaders. Republicans aren't clean when it comes to foreign policy here either but fucking say they're the only ones trying to wage war on us lmao.
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oriax · 2 years
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"voting blue is a requirement to ensure things dont backslide rapidly" and "dems have failed for 10+ years to enact meaningful change" are both true statements.
just because theyre spineless politicians whod rather BE elected than actually serve the people and causes they promise to focus on doesnt mean electing them anyway isnt important.
because unfortunately, in the end, better the spineless coward who might be persuaded to help than the people who actively want you dead and powerless
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A taxonomy of corporate bullshit
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Next Tuesday (Oct 31) at 10hPT, the Internet Archive is livestreaming my presentation on my recent book, The Internet Con.
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There are six lies that corporations have told since time immemorial, and Nick Hanauer, Joan Walsh and Donald Cohen's new book Corporate Bullsht: Exposing the Lies and Half-Truths That Protect Profit, Power, and Wealth in America* provides an essential taxonomy of this dirty six:
https://thenewpress.com/books/corporate-bullsht
In his review for The American Prospect, David Dayen summarizes how these six lies "offer a civic-minded, reasonable-sounding justification for positions that in fact are motivated entirely by self-interest":
https://prospect.org/culture/books/2023-10-27-lies-my-corporation-told-me-hanauer-walsh-cohen-review/
I. Pure denial
As far back as the slave trade, corporate apologists and mouthpieces have led by asserting that true things are false, and vice-versa. In 1837, John Calhoun asserted that "Never before has the black race of Central Africa, from the dawn of history to the present day, attained a condition so civilized and so improved, not only physically, but morally and intellectually." George Fitzhugh called enslaved Africans in America "the freest people in the world."
This tactic never went away. Children sent to work in factories are "perfectly happy." Polluted water is "purer than the water that came from the river before we used it." Poor families "don't really exist." Pesticides don't lead to "illness or death." Climate change is "beneficial." Lead "helps guard your health."
II. Markets can solve problems, governments can't
Alan Greenspan made a career out of blithely asserting that markets self-correct. It was only after the world economy imploded in 2008 that he admitted that his doctrine had a "flaw":
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/greenspan-admits-flaw-to-congress-predicts-more-economic-problems
No matter how serious a problem is, the market will fix it. In 1973, the US Chamber of Commerce railed against safety regulations, because "safety is good business," and could be left to the market. If unsafe products persist in the market, it's because consumers choose to trade safety off "for a lower price tag" (Chamber spox Laurence Kraus). Racism can't be corrected with anti-discrimination laws. It's only when "the market" realizes that racism is bad for business that it will finally be abolished.
III. Consumers and workers are to blame
In 1946, the National Coal Association blamed rampant deaths and maimings in the country's coal-mines on "carelessness on the part of men." In 2003, the National Restaurant Association sang the same tune, condemning nutritional labels because "there are not good or bad foods. There are good and bad diets." Reagan's interior secretary Donald Hodel counseled personal responsibility to address a thinning ozone layer: "people who don’t stand out in the sun—it doesn’t affect them."
IV. Government cures are always worse than the disease
Lee Iacocca called 1970's Clean Air Act "a threat to the entire American economy and to every person in America." Every labor and consumer protection before and since has been damned as a plague on American jobs and prosperity. The incentive to work can't survive Social Security, welfare or unemployment insurance. Minimum wages kill jobs, etc etc.
V. Helping people only hurts them
Medicare will "destroy private initiative for our aged to protect themselves with insurance" (Republican Senator Milward Simpson, 1965). Covid relief is unfair to people that are currently in the workforce" (Republican Governor Brian Kemp, 2021). Welfare produces "learned helplessness."
VI. Everyone who disagrees with me is a socialist
Grover Cleveland's 2% on top incomes is "communistic warfare against rights of property" (NY Tribune, 1895). "Socialized medicine" will leave "our children and our children’s children [asking] what it once was like in America when men were free" (Reagan, 1961).
Everything is "socialism": anti-child labor laws, Social Security, minimum wages, family and medical leave. Even fascism is socialism! In 1938, the National Association of Manufacturers called labor rights "communism, bolshevism, fascism, and Nazism."
As Dayen says, it's refreshing to see how the right hasn't had an original idea in 150 years, and simply relies on repeating the same nonsense with minor updates. Right wing ideological innovation consists of finding new ways to say, "actually, your boss is right."
The left's great curse is object permanence: the ability to remember things, like the fact that it used to be possible for a worker to support a family of five on a single income, or that the economy once experienced decades of growth with a 90%+ top rate of income tax (other things the left manages to remember: the "intelligence community" are sociopathic monsters, not Trump-slaying heroes).
When the business lobby rails against long-overdue antitrust action against Amazon and Google, object permanence puts it all in perspective. The talking points about this being job-destroying socialism are the same warmed-over nonsense used to defend rail-barons and Rockefeller. "If you don't like it, shop elsewhere," has been the corporate apologist's line since slavery times.
As Dayen says, Corporate Bullshit is a "reference book for conservative debating points, in an attempt to rob them of their rhetorical power." It will be out on Halloween:
https://bookshop.org/a/54985/9781620977514
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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/27/six-sells/#youre-holding-it-wrong
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luckyladylily · 2 months
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Right now is not the time to play voter chicken. There are so many things riding on the 2024 US election. If conservatives gain full control we are likely looking at:
Complete loss of any environment protection gains in the past 4 years and potential loss of even more environment protection, like clean air laws.
National transgender obscenity laws effectively banning trans people from existing. There are already prototype laws being pushed in West Virginia. Without any legislative roadblocks going national is entirely in the cards.
A national ban on abortion on the books as law.
A complete stop to all efforts at student loan forgiveness and, perhaps more importantly, efforts to ease the burden of student loans on the poor, which would push millions of Americans into poverty and more into deep poverty by costing them hundreds of dollars a month. (My family, for example, would be out nearly 2400 dollars a year, and I have a relatively low amount.) This will kill people as they can't afford basics like shelter and food any longer.
Restrictive and privacy compromising obscenity laws. Right now multiple red states require photo ID to be collected by every website that distributes adult material. Remember, they are trying to get all queer materials declared obscene as well, this isn't just about porn.
Restrictive and privacy compromising laws in other areas. For example, Utah already has a law on the books that goes into effect on March 1 which requires age verification for all social media users, permission from parents for any social media use for a minor, and automatic curfew functions for social media for minors. This is transparently an attempt to cut off young queer people from their peers or force them to out themselves to potentially queerphobic parents.
Restrictive voting laws will make voter suppression even worse. Again, prototype bills already exist in many red states, going national is a virtual certainty if conservatives get control of the national government.
I restricted myself to just things with prototype bills at the state level or have been key republican talking points that i could remember off the top of my head. It is no exaggeration to say that there is a real difference between even a deadlocked government like we have now and a conservative government that is measured in human suffering and death.
It is a virtual certainty that most of these will happen with a conservative controlled government. Frankly, I doubt we have the ability to stop even one of these things via protest or public outrage. Our best and probably only chance of stopping these and other terrible laws is preventing a government that would pass these laws.
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accio-victuuri · 6 days
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excerpts from this article/interview with WoF director related to Wang Yibo ( “"War of Faith" director Yao Xiaofeng: I took the energy from Wang Yibo and transferred it to Wei Ruolai”) :
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From 2018 to 2024, "War of Faith" took a full 6 years from preparation to release. During the period, it went through shelving, postponement, and repeated adjustments after the filming started. It was not until the joining of Wang Yibo, Li Qin, and Wang Yang that this project, a project years in the making came to life.
The turning point of things happened in November 2022. At that time, a friend recommended Wang Yibo to Yao Xiaofeng, and the two teams made an appointment to meet together.
Previously, Yao Xiaofeng only knew that Wang Yibo was a very popular artist. He had also doubted whether such a young actor without professional training could sustain his performance? Will you be unable to calm down? Can there be a common language?
But when I saw Wang Yibo for the first time, all these worries were shattered.
He found that although the young man opposite had gained huge popularity, he did not feel any elation. He just sat quietly in the corner of the sofa in the office, rarely speaking actively and spending most of his time listening. When asked about his preferences, Wang Yibo simply said: "I like speed." In his eyes and words, in addition to being humble and sincere, there is also an urge to become better.
So Yao Xiaofeng asked Wang Yibo: "I have a young man here who is performing a Republican drama in Shanghai. Are you interested?" Wang Yibo also expressed interest on the spot.
This originally planned simple meeting lasted from noon to dark. After the meeting, Yao Xiaofeng said firmly to producer Zhang Shuwei: "This is him. This is the actor I want."
The original version of the small house that Wei Ruolai rented was relatively spacious and cozy, but Yao Xiaofeng insisted on making the space even more cramped. Only in this way can we present the living beings at the bottom of the class who had difficulty transcending classes at that time, and form a sharp contrast with the ten-mile foreign market of Shanghai.
Wang Yibo and Wei Ruolai
In Yao Xiaofeng's view, Wei Ruolai is a clean, young and passionate young man with great "tenacity". Wang Yibo's innate temperament made Yao Xiaofeng see the perfect fit between him and Wei Ruolai, and made Yao Xiaofeng interested in the role of Wei Ruolai. The inspiration for the second creation.
He had previously learned that Wang Yibo relied on his talent and energy to make his way from Henan to the world step by step. In order to allow the audience to be more involved, he wrote Wang Yibo's enthusiasm on Wei Ruolai, strengthening the contrast between the two worlds of Qibao Street and Shili Foreign Market, as well as the workplace environment of the Central Bank.
In the story of "War of Faith", there is not only the feelings of family and country, but also the story of how an ordinary young man hesitates and chooses between two forces and finally finds his self-worth after working hard.
"I like children who have goals, struggles, ideals, and pursuits. These are the qualities that young people should possess. So I admire Wang Yibo very much. He has been working hard to transform. I hope that young people can also see from Wei Ruolai — When you see your own shadow, you can gain some enlightenment." Yao Xiaofeng said.
Yao Xiaofeng once said that the drama "War of Faith" incorporates modern people's way of thinking, making the characters in the drama more three-dimensional and giving the audience a greater sense of involvement. Therefore, during filming, Yao Xiaofeng never "teaches" actors how to act. Instead, he talks to Wang Yibo about the background and context of each scene. What kind of environment is Wei Ruolai in? This inspires Wang Yibo's truest feelings and makes the character closer to the actor himself.
"For example, when he saw himself wearing a pair of torn socks, how can children today have such an experience? But I let the props cut the socks, and after he put them on himself, he immediately caught the most realistic reaction."
After giving his true reaction, Yao Xiaofeng will discuss with Wang Yibo again. What different emotional levels does Wei Ruolai have at this time? This is also his rigid requirement for all young actors, that is, the feelings and reactions given in each scene must be different.
"When we work with actors, we don't have an unchanging performance template, because I think that is a guilty conscience and a lack of confidence. I don't know when to express myself, so I will act in a comfort zone way. Secondly, All accomplished actors must conquer the audience with their charm. Only when the audience believes in the character and likes the character can they be infected by his charm. In this play, as the chief producer Dai Ying said, Wang Yibo — is young but not raw, I hope Wang Yibo can express it truly and let everyone see a simple, simple and immature boy." Yao Xiaofeng said.
During the filming, Wang Yibo's role was very important. Not only did he have a lot of professional lines, but he also had to shoot from the first scene to the last scene every day. But Yao Xiaofeng discovered that Wang Yibo had never read a script on set, said he missed lines, and could reproduce his true feelings in different situations with sufficient preparation.
The scene where Wei Ruolai gets up to prepare for the interview in a rental house on Qibao Street was filmed less than a week after filming started. After the filming, Yao Xiaofeng cut out some clips. After the two of them watched it together, they both felt very satisfied and built up their confidence. Less than a month into filming, Wang Yibo had his first major scene. Yao Xiaofeng still remembers that after filming this scene, all the staff present applauded Wang Yibo.
Yao Xiaofeng always believes that as long as the candidate is right, more than half of the work will be completed.
"Confidence is built on each other. I gave him confidence and he gave me confidence, so it did not affect the shooting. In Yibo, I saw his most sincere pursuit of performance, just like he became a stage actor from a child — the king of movies, so I also believe that he can become a very good actor in terms of acting. If there is a suitable subject in the future, I hope to cooperate with Wang Yibo, Wang Yang and Li Qin again."
Detail control and self-expression
In addition to "realistic control", Yao Xiaofeng is also an extremely detail-oriented person.
In the Qibao Street interview scene, there were only a few lines in the script that read: "Wei Ruolai hurriedly put on clothes to take the exam in the morning." But Yao Xiaofeng was stunned and shot more than 20 scenes, tearing up the calendar, brushing teeth, and talking to Aunt Zhou The dialogues are all added temporarily.
The coat that Aunt Zhou gave to Wei Ruolai, Yao Xiaofeng insisted on replacing it with one that obviously didn't fit. This is because Aunt Zhou runs a laundry and handles clothes for various people, so she found a coat for Wei Ruolai to wear to give him some face. It is this ill-fitting coat that has been accompanying Wei Ruolai to explore the world.
Wei Ruolai's leather shoes must be worn until they are unbearably worn; the brush under the bed must not be used all year round; the tooth powder must be squeezed into a box; after Wei Ruolai washed up, Yao Xiaofeng even messed up Wang Yibo's hair, and the cotton-padded jacket also Wear it wrapped up. It is these details that can highlight the sadness of a lower-class people.
In the end, this scene, which lasted less than two minutes, took three full days to shoot. According to the original announcement, the shooting time for the opening of Qibao Street was one week, but it actually took two weeks. "Everyone was crushed, but everyone was very excited after watching the film. The actors were also excited. Wang Yibo performed very well. I think it was worth it." Yao Xiaofeng said.
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Limits of Propaganda in the Augustan Regime
I saw a neat post earlier about how Augustus used propaganda to justify his control of Rome and establish permanent one-man rule. It got me thinking about what we picture when we say "propaganda," how Roman propaganda differed from modern propaganda, and how we talk about the interactions between governments and their people.
Augustus' cult of personality has some parallels with monarchist propaganda in early modern Europe, and with authoritarian governments today. But there were also major differences that I think we need to remember, or else we may wrongly project modern assumptions onto the past. In particular, I think the predominance, effectiveness, and superficiality of Augustan propaganda are often overstated. And I think this distortion reinforces a classist bias in our perception of the people of Rome, a bias that contributes to the erasure of ordinary people's contributions to history.
This isn't a formal essay, and I'm not a historian. I may have misremembered some things. But, if you'd like to hear me ramble...
How powerful was Augustan propaganda in shaping people's views of the government?
The word "propaganda" was popularized in the 20th century, in association with mass communication. Modern governments can ensure their propaganda is seen by millions of people at once, and restrict access to opposing viewpoints. Massive amounts of money, equipment, and professional teams are employed to spread these messages.
The only mass media in Augustan Rome were coins, which Augustus could only put very limited text and images on. He erected numerous monuments, but those are limited to a few paragraphs at most, and only to the people who visit them. He could patronize writers and poets like Livy and Vergil, but even they lacked the reach of television, radio or the internet. And all of these methods would have been far more expensive than the mass media of today.
Augustus' propaganda wasn't novel. Roman leaders had been stamping their messages onto coins, monuments, writing memoirs and hiring poets for centuries. Throughout his reign people still would have seen coins and monuments from the republican period, and read the works of Cicero, Brutus, and other republican leaders. In the same way most people today have learned not to trust everything they see on TV, most Romans would have known not to believe everything they saw on monuments, coins, or in state pronouncements.
Nor was Augustus able to limit the spread of contrary narratives like modern dictators can. The Roman government was extremely barebones by today's standards, lacking the bureaucracy and resources to surveil the population. Most Romans didn't get their news from public announcements, state-sponsored art, or politicians' books, but from gossip, letters, and their own information networks.
Over half of all male Romans traveled abroad at some point in this period (Mary Beard, SPQR, ch. 5). They had many different viewpoints available, and other sources of information about what was happening in the provinces. Augustus thus could only bend the narrative to his benefit so far. When several legions were annihilated in Teutoburg Forest in 9 CE, he didn't even try to cover it up; people would've called him on it.
Augustus had more control over how he presented himself and his family to the public than over the narrative of tangible events in the world. Thus most of his propaganda either focuses on shaping his image of himself, his family, or on the personal character of Antony and Cleopatra instead of events Romans could verify or disprove.
But he couldn't stop information from leaking, family scandals from happening, or rumors from spreading. He exiled his daughter Julia, in part for her extramarital affairs, but also because the notoriety of the scandal undermined the squeaky-clean "Roman family values" image he intended for his family to present. When he sent Agrippa to govern the eastern provinces, rumors abounded that some rift had formed between the two. Whether or not such a rift actually happened, the fact that the rumor existed, and survived for 150 years into Suetonius' era, shows how limited Augustus' control of public perception actually was.
How independent were Roman citizens, soldiers, and senators?
These are three very distinct groups that behaved in different ways. Let's start with the general public.
The Roman People
The evidence is clear: we know people organized public protests and petitions throughout Augustus' reign, and even spoiled elections sometimes by voting for the "wrong" candidates.
A group of women took over the forum to protest his tax hike in 42 BCE, despite a wave of proscriptions. He was nearly stoned to death by an angry mob in 39 BCE. The Romans repeatedly petitioned for Julia's freedom, and as late as 9 CE we hear of protests against his marriage laws.
Why did the public express themselves so freely? Well, for one thing, Augustus chose not to suppress popular demonstrations. In fact, he seems to have used the semblance of "free speech" as a tool to deflect accusations of tyranny. By cultivating an image of himself as a moderate who permitted public dissent, he made his political dominance appear less authoritarian and more palatable to the people of Rome.
Augustus probably also thought it was impossible to control what people said, so didn't bother to try. In one of his letters to Tiberius, Augustus says as much:
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Suetonius, Augustus, 51
Another big factor was that many public protests tried to persuade him to take on more power. They repeatedly demanded that he take up the dictatorship, or tried to elect him consul when he wasn't running. And no, this doesn't seem to have been the "fake elections" you see in modern dictatorships. The reason is that people's trust in the Senate's competence had collapsed, so when national crises arose like famines, plagues, or debt problems, they tried to make Augustus take back the reins, instead of sharing the power with the Senate as he pretended he was doing.
Which brings us to Augustus' bizarre relationship the Senate.
The Senatorial Class
How independent were the senators? Suetonius gives us a raucous picture:
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Augustus also reintroduced competitive elections. Not free, really - everyone knew Augustus' power far outweighed the consuls and praetors. But we do have records of candidates attempting to bribe voters and slinging accusations at their opponents, similar to republican times. This was another way that Augustus tried to distance himself from the dictatorships of Caesar and Sulla, and make his authority palatable to people who valued republican liberty.
He also collaborated with senators behind the scenes, and selected some of them as advisors and proxies for introducing legislation. Augustus' rule was negotiated in a series of settlements, public and private, with the same class of people who had killed Julius Caesar for threatening their place in the public order.
Augustus needed the aristocracy's skills, education, and resources to administer the empire. He also needed to placate them enough to avoid getting the Ides of March Special. They, in turn, needed a way to maintain their dignitas and roles in government, which had traditionally been conferred by elections. By permitting elections, incorporating senators into policy-making behind the scenes, and giving them the outward appearance and status of their old authority, Augustus satisfied them enough to stabilize his rule.
However, the value of elections, and of being in the Senate, clearly declined over time. In the second half of his reign senatorial attendance declined so sharply Augustus introduced penalties for senators not showing up to "work." Eventually elections for the high magistracies were phased out, and the Senate was allowed to elect consuls from among themselves. This was actually popular with senators, since it spared them the expense of campaigning.
And although Augustus did permit senators' input into his government, his control steadily increased over time. Part of this was official, as re-settlements granted him additional powers. And part of it was de facto, as he simply outlived everyone who had experience managing the government. Augustus' longevity, experience, and informal network of advisors effectively made his household the hub of government policy. (His nepotistic habit of giving his relatives the most important jobs also contributed.) Meanwhile, the Senate had a sort of "brain drain" effect as a new generation of senators grew up without the experience of running the state themselves.
By the ascension of Tiberius in 14 CE, senatorial autonomy was dead. Even when Tiberius attempted to step back from government and encouraged the senators to state their own opinions, this only resulted in paralysis. He could not replicate the personal, unofficial relationships Augustus had developed to govern without appearing "tyrannical," and tension between the Senate and emperors would plague Rome for another 200 years.
The Military
Although Augustus took pains to disguise it, we should never forget that he was a military dictator. His power came first and foremost from the loyalty of the army, and their loyalty depended on getting paid. The last great threat to his rule wasn't Antony or Cleopatra, but a huge mutiny in Italy after the Battle of Actium. If he hadn't annexed Egypt and distributed its riches to his troops, there's a high chance he would have been overthrown.
Augustus also needed to convince the legions and public of his military ability, and thus that Rome was safe under his rule. He was not a gifted commander, but he was usually good at selecting them, most notably in Marcus Agrippa, Drusus, Tiberius, and Germanicus. On the other hand, the catastrophic loss of several legions in Teutoburg Forest seriously frightened him. He feared a loss of public confidence, and thus rebellions and political rivals, and quickly sent Drusus and Tiberius with their armies to retaliate.
Augustus established a permanent army to guard the entire empire, which strained the empire's budget to its limit. He managed to pay for it all, barely. Later emperors would repeatedly run into mutinies and even be overthrown by troops who weren't satisfied with their wages.
Augustus' reign was a difficult balancing act between the needs of many competing interest groups, especially early on. After multiple civil wars, the state was poor, the people were exhausted and traumatized, the Senate and citizens feared each other, Romans opposed provincials, soldiers opposed civilians - it was a mess. It's hard to describe the damage to Rome's social and economic infrastructure.
Perhaps the greatest achievement of Augustus' reign was that he managed to navigate between all of these groups, get each of them to trust him to look out for their interests, and gave Roman society enough time to knit itself back together. To win that trust, he couldn't rely on bribes and propaganda alone. He had to prove it through action.
Augustan propaganda had to be justified through tangible benefits, not mere words and imagery.
The word "propaganda" is usually used to refer to rhetoric, advertisements, and manipulation. It connotes hollowness and subterfuge. But Augustus did not trick people into liking him by just hiring the right poets and erecting statues. His most effective propaganda was demonstrated through public renovations and the assurance of public order.
The bar wasn't high to clear. We have to remember that Augustus wasn't a dictator replacing a functioning republic; he was introducing a stable government with competitive (but not free) elections after 20 years of civil war, and another ten years of political violence before that. Peace alone was a major reason why people accepted his rule.
The quality of life for both Romans and provincials mostly improved during his reign, too. From Marcus Agrippa fixing the sewer system and providing the entire city with clean water, to Rome's first permanent fire brigade, to increased economic mobility, to safer long-distance travel, to stabilizing the grain supply, even down to individual tax disputes and court cases Augustus encountered while touring the provinces. The Romans would also have seen Augustus' military victories as a form of public service, a way of enriching the empire and restoring national pride. (And they were officially his victories, since he remained the commanding officer, even if the campaigns were masterminded by Agrippa or another subordinate.)
I think that history books sometimes frame Augustan propaganda as a sort of trick to make the populace accept one-man rule. But you can't really separate the effects of his propaganda from his demonstrable actions that most Romans approved of. The Romans were not simpletons, and they weren't afraid to express their anger with him violently. (Even with the Praetorian Guard present: a mob attacked him and his soldiers in 39 BCE.) Augustus was testing out a fragile and experimental form of government, and had give people results.
That said, we should not attribute the benefits of Augustus' rule to autocracy. We certainly shouldn't use it to justify authoritarianism, as many fascists have attempted. Augustus' government was better than an ongoing civil war; that does not mean it was better than a democracy. And the downsides of autocracy rapidly took effect after his death: first in Tiberius, who initiated the first purges since 42 BCE; then with Caligula, who was...well, Caligula.
If anything, I think Augustus' reign shows how goddamn hard it is to kill people's desire for liberty and their voice in government. If we overlook the protests, the riots, and the constant need for the princeps to justify his regime with military and domestic success, then we erase the input of the common people. And that contributes to a classist view of history in which only rich, powerful men can make meaningful contributions.
Augustus used propaganda, absolutely. But the Roman people were not satisfied with pretty words and images. They paid attention to what the state was doing, they expected it to serve, feed, and protect them, and they even intervened in issues like Julia's exile that didn't personally affect them.
Perhaps we should give them a little more credit.
Further Reading/Watching
Mary Beard, SPQR
Anthony Everitt: Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor
Adrian Goldsworthy, Augustus: First Emperor of Rome
Erich Gruen, The Last Generation of the Roman Republic
Robin Seager, Tiberius
Historia Civilis (YouTube channel)
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batboyblog · 8 months
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This month is likely gonna be the hottest ever recorded, I don't mean the hottest July recorded, I mean the hottest month ever ever recorded in the history of weather recording. 21 of the 30 hottest days ever recorded happened this month. In Florida they recorded water at 101 degrees F, which might be the hottest ocean water ever recorded. And Scientists are worried the Atlantic current will shut down in 2025
and Republicans reaction? kill the planet faster!
Across the country Democrats are pushing to replace gas powered cars and trucks with EVs, to get to net zero and support clean power. Republicans not only don't want to invest in these things, they want to stop Blue states (like California) from doing them, roll back things we've already done and sink more into Oil, Gas and COAL.
there's a Climate Crisis, we all can literally feel it, there's one party taking action, and one party that wants to actively make it worse, remember that.
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billthedrake · 1 year
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I can’t do brother stories like @underthemattress2 but this is inspired by his writing.
A HOMECOMING THANKSGIVING
I pulled Austin into a hug but his grip was even stronger as he pulled it in. "Fuck, Chase," he growled right into my ear, almost a raspy whisper. "So good to see you, bro." A million thoughts were going through my head but among them was the realization that Austin had packed on some muscle over the last year... and he had a cologne that smelled nice.
"You too, bro," I muttered as I pulled back and got a good look at my twin brother. The whole plane ride, I had rehearsed in my head how I'd get along with him over my holiday leave. I had a week in the States and didn't want it messed with by the lingering tension I had with the dick head.
Only he wasn't in dick head mode now but was kind of normal. Freakishly normal. Regular hair cut, preppy clothes, kind of a clean-cut ex-frat look. "You cut your hair," I muttered, my first thought coming right out.
Austin stepped back, grinning big and wiping his hand suavely through the medium-short profesional hair cut he had now. "I started my finance job, Chase," he said. "Gotta impress those fuckers," he joked. Then his face turned a little more serious. "Or maybe I should be calling you First Lieutenant Farrell now. Congratulations on the promotion. Mom and Dad spilled the beans."
I gently punched him on the upper arm. Solid, of course. I'd have to ask Austin about his fitness kick. "It's just Chase," I smiled. "But thanks."
Austin nodded, and the eye contact was heavy. Just like when we were teens, before we grew apart. Then he snapped out of it and leaned up to pick up my oversized duffle from where the Uber had dropped me off. "Let me get this. It's too fucking cold to stand out here."
***
I don't know how often twins were like us, but Austin and I were opposites in so many ways. Like polar, butt-heads opposites. He'd rebelled, big time, against our parents, against the expectations of being a twin, against everything. Joined a punk band, did drugs that were harder than I was comfortable with, challenged me not to tell. The more he acted out, the more I was the Good Kid. Played sports, got along well with teachers as well as fellow jocks. I wasn't naturally a great student, but I worked hard at school and once time for college came I lined up a good ROTC scholarship for the Marines. Austin gave me such guff for going the military route, and part of me worried I did it as a fuck-you to him.
That seemed in the past now, that first night when Austin and I hit the local bars that became an unofficial high school reunion the night before Thanksgiving. We each made the rounds, since we hung out with different people back then. But two hours into the night, we found ourselves talking among ourselves. Austin was asking me a million questions about the marines, and after a while he was filling me in on his new girlfriend.
"You and Jill serious?" I asked. Since things had been frosty between me and Austin, we didn't really catch up beyond the holidays and the news we'd hear from our parents.
He shrugged and flashed me a grin. "We'll see, bro. I mean, she's great, but I'm just 25. I'm not in a rush for anything."
"That's cool," I said. "Still, I'd love to meet her sometime."
"I tried to get her to come but family's huge for her, so she wasn't missing Thanksgiving upstate." He took a sip of his beer. We'd agreed to uber it so were letting loose. "So, Chase... you more into dudes or chicks these days?"
He shot me a knowing look. I mean we had our history, Austin and I, back before we had our falling out, and even a couple bouts of hate sex after. Including a heated session the night before I shipped off for basic.
I grinned. I almost hesitated to tell him, like this was some sort of trap. "Haven’t been with a girl since 17," I admitted.
"Might be harder to find a Republican gay dude to date," he smirked.
"I'm not a Republican, fucker," I growled, laughing at the way he was able to get under my skin. "Just want someone traditional, you know?"
Austin shrugged. "Just hope you have some fun before you line up that Times Wedding page material."
"I do OK," I lied. For all my boasting, the fun I'd had in college seemed to have dried up when I was full time military. It was like guys loved the idea of a rugged Marine but didn't seem to click with what I wanted. Or maybe I was just too fucking picky.
But I didn't want my brother to see my vulnerability. I looked at Austin and added, "Look who's talking...." I nudged his elbow, like he was one of my Marine buddies. "I can't get over how cleaned up you are these days, bro. And when did you get so big?"
"You like the big boys?" he laughed. His eyes lingered on mine, connecting more silently. Fuck. We may be polar opposites, but we were twins and had that telepathy thing going on.
"I do," I replied. My eyes took him in. He was my height, of course, 5'11" and with his new hair cut and fresh shave he looked really fucking attractive. Of course, I was looking at a version of me, but somehow the narcissism fed the taboo of it.
"I'm not Marine big," Austin chimed in. "But I have a buddy who got me into Stronglifts. It's been pretty quick progress."
I had to surpress the lewd thing I wanted to say just then. I came up with the more restrained version. "Well, you're looking amazing Austin, for real."
He leaned in more. I could smell that cologne again. "You wanna go fuck around somewhere, Chase? For old times sake?"
It was like I was 18 all over again, only instead of a grudge fuck, it was... something else. I thought of a million reasons I shouldn't go down this road, but only one word came out of my mouth. "Yeah."
His lips curled into a smile which made him even more attractive.
The Uber ride home our fingers connected and interlaced, and I felt my heart pound. This was naughty as hell, and most of all I was bowled by how seductive Austin seemed these days. My twin brother had learned some major game in college.
We tried to be quiet as we made out way through our parents house. Mom had turned one of our rooms into a work-from-home office, so me and Austin were shacking up in my old bedroom. Most of my stuff was put away in storage, but there was mix of my sports trophies and Austin's punk posters, and instead of my old double bed there was now a queen big enough for two.
I had that careful instinct as I silently closed the door, like I had learned in the times I'd had sex back in the day. I just as quietly latched the lock.
Austin was already stripping down, removing his sweater and winter clothing and lazily tossing it onto the floor. I was about to tease him for being a slob but I stopped myself when I saw how jacked and toned his upper body was.
"Jesus, Austin," I whispered. "You're fucking hot."
He winked. "Show me that stud marine body bro... looks like you got five to ten pounds of muscle on me."
His eyes were on me just as appreciatively as I stripped while he got onto the bed and peeled off his jeans and briefs. We were really fucking doing this. Like out of control teenagers.
"How often you make it with a guy?" I had to ask. I almost asked where his girlfriend fit in the picture, but that was Austin's deal, he could figure it out.
"Every couple of months," he answered without hesitation. "It's too easy to get laid in New York," he explained.
I almost lectured him, like I did when I was younger. But I realized the idea of my brother having sex with other guys was hot. Austin was the kind of man not to put a label on his sexuality, but the lusty part of me was glad the dude-oriented side of his sexuality was getting regularly indulged.
As I removed my underwear finally, Austin saw my bone, rock hard and jutting out from his abs.
"You trim your bush," he observed.
"Yeah," I explained as I got onto the bed. "I dated a guy into it that way... guess I liked the look and feel of it."
"The feel?" Austin asked as he scooted up to me, running his hands along my lightly hairy torso. I wasn't the only one who'd packed on muscle.
"You know..." I blushed as I explained, "when I guy licks me there." I wasn't even sure I felt shy given me and Austin's history. But I did.
"Goddamn, bro," Austin chuckled. "I used to find your goody two shoes act annoying, but now..." he looked me right in the eye as his hand continued to explore my body. Mine reached out to touch his too. "It's frickin' turning me on."
Austin leaned in, and I turned my head slightly to the side, and our lips touched. This was our first kiss in... how long? Even our grudge fucks didn't have this. But that brother lip lock was pure heaven. I was even the one who took the initiative and snaked my tongue forward, between Austin's parted lips. And like that I was French kissing my twin.
He grunted into my mouth, and practically sucked my tongue in, before we battled them softly. Austin's hands now openly groping my muscle, pulling me tighter to him.
I rolled on top of him. I half expected him to object, like he'd do when we were 18 and in this very room, vying for top position. We'd both fucked and gotten fucked - along with every other bit of sexual exploration - but Austin made it seem like I was asking a huge favor every time I topped him.
Not now. "Fuck me, Chase," he whispered hoarsely. Softly even. I guess the old habits of sneaking this behind our parents' back hadn't died for him either.
"Yeah?" I asked just as quietly, confirming but really hoping he wouldn't change his mind.
"Never been pounded off by a Marine," he grinned with a wink, looking up all over my muscled torso and openly running his hands up and down my knotted triceps.
Austin nodded. "I got a thing of lube in my bag, if you didn't pack any."
I slid off him and off the bed. My dick was rigid as ever as I strutted over to my duffel. "Didn't think I'd be using the stuff for THIS," I whispered as I pulled out my TSA-sized container of slick.
"You got a favorite position, Chase?" Austin asked excitedly as he watched me slick up my rod just before getting back on the bed. This was a 180 from those "at least let me sit on it" whines from back in the day.
"I like mounting a guy flat on his stomach," I answered, getting horny just by saying that out loud. "But we don't gotta do it that way, Austin."
He just grinned and said, "Happy Homecoming, bro," and flipped onto his belly, hiking his meaty ass up. If we had time for the rest of that holiday weekend - and I hoped to hell we did - I wanted to explore that muscle gym-bro ass of his. Bad. But I knew this physical connection was overdue and the moment was about the spontaneity of fucking. I crawled on and started kissing along his neck and behind his ear. That made my brother hump excitedly into me.
"You always get this horny when you drink?" I teased him. We were both tipsy from the bar, I knew.
His reply was already getting that bedroom voice. "I do, actually. Fuck me, Chase. Put that Marine dick in me."
I reached down and lined up my prick to tease his hole. No matter how worked up Austin appeared or acted, I wasn't gonna shove it right in him. But I sure as hell nudged that pucker, remembering those more heated fucks in this room, or his. I leaned up and gave the back of head a kiss, remarking on how much shorter his hair was though not buzzed like mine. I plopped off to his side and reached for the lube.
Austin looked up at me in a dreamy smile as I reached down and started fingering him. Gently, one finger, then two. Slowly.
"You're good at this," he said. "You've gotten better."
"I love you, Austin," I said softly, right before a third finger pressed into his hole.
He took in a soft inhale of breath. But I knew after a second it wasn't too much. He nodded and I slid those digits more deeply into him. "I guess I was a shithead to you growing up."
My cock throbbed. I'd expected him to wisecrack at my admission. Like he had when I was 15. Instead I got deep honesty.
"We were both shitheads to each other," I said. "It took me a while to realize I was part of our dynamic. You know, passive aggressive and all."
"Oh I know, Chase," Austin laughed. Even as he was putting me in my place, I found that laugh so sexy. "But I love you too, man," he said, not dropping the smile. He was confident in a way I wish I was. "You know that, right, brother?"
I kissed him. Hard. More tongue, and this time it was like we were trying to suck the breath from one another. Bring the life of each other into our bodies.
I couldn't take any more. Once Austin humped against my hand and moaned into my mouth, I extracted my fingers and crawled back on top of him. The penetration was intense. It had been so long and feeling the Austin's body craved me made me rock hard and excited.
Once I was buried in my brother, I paused and kicked along his neck again. His bucking ass was the signal to go for it. I started fucking him. Steady deep pumps in and out of Austin's hot hole.
If you're a gay guy who has a twin of course you know how everyone immediately wants to see you have sex with your brother. I'd act dutifully annoyed-offended if guys ever brought it up, but now I couldn't think of anything but how hot they'd be watching me and Austin go at it. Twin sex between two brothers who'd not had it in too long.
I'll thank the alcohol for making that fuck last. I didn't get my nut right away, and Austin seemed to be on a slow climb to orgasm, too.
We tried to be quiet and keep the bed from squeaking, so I didn't fuck fast, but I just kept that long slow pump in and out of him, covering that hot-bro ass of his tight from behind and feeding off his energy. The longer we went the sweatier we got, his toned body slick against mine, then downright wet as I fucked him.
Seeing him reach for some lube and then move his hand down to the dick pinned next to the mattress was the trigger that got me there.
"Oh fuck, brother!" I grunted, entering orgasm. Still a whisper, but probably too loud.
Austin let out a series of masculine grunts. "Umngg ummg ummmg," he cried and his bowels clenched against my cumming dick.
I fired a couple more rounds of liquid into him, then collapsed onto his body.
Finally I rolled off him. I expected him to dart off the bed to go clean off, cause in addition to the sweat and lube, I'm pretty sure I sauced his hole and crack up big time. Instead he plopped on his back, his identically matching genitals thick but half soft, as he looked at the clock. It was after midnight now.
"Happy thanksgiving, bro," he laughed.
I laughed too. The naughtiness of our fuck and the way we'd gotten carried away made us both find humor in the situation.
We kissed softly but had to take a break from the erotic stimulation. I pulled back and patted his thigh. "So, Austin, what the hell has gotten into you?"
"You mean wanting to bottom?" he asked.
I was curious about that, but that wasn't what was on my mind. "No, I mean you. Clean cut finance bro... all that shit."
He grinned and gave a soft shrug. Unlike his earlier confidence I could read vulnerability in his face now. "I dunno, Chase. I guess once I moved from this shitty town, I had less to rebel against, you know?"
I didn't know, but I just listened to my brother.
He continued. "I'm still the smart ass cynic, I think. But sometimes we just become different people when we grow up."
If it hadn't been for the alcohol, or the intensely satisfying sex I'd just had with Austin, I wouldn't have said the next thing I said. "Fuck, man, you're gonna think this is messed up.... but sometimes I think I haven't found a boyfriend cause I keep looking for you."
"Oh," my brother said. His body tensed up.
"Yeah, sorry," I apologized.
"Don't be sorry," he said sternly. "It's not fucked up, bro. It's fucking beautiful."
"Yeah?" I asked, daring to look into his eyes again now as my heart pounded.
He nodded, getting that smile of his back. "I'm not gonna be a prick tease to ya, Chase.... I don't think I could give up women. But I'd give up those New York guys."
My dick firmed up. As I looked down I watched it jerk back to erection. Austin watched too, and we both chuckled at the spectacle. "You like that idea."
"I'm getting carried away," I hissed. "But damn straight I like that idea."
Austin looked back up at my face with a grin. "You know, you've gotten really fucking good in the sack, bro."
"I could say the same about you," I said.
We kissed again. Slowly. Despite my newfound erection neither of us were up for round two. Not yet.
Finally we nudged foreheads against each other, like lovers. "You know," Austin whispered. "Maybe we can convince Mom and Dad to go do some Black Friday shopping, and we can have some alone time."
"Hell yes," I hissed, reaching down to wrap my hand around his tool, which had grown firm again. As I felt him up and relished how identical it was to my dick an idea occurred to me. "Maybe we can fuck in front of the bathroom mirror."
Austin's face broke into a lewd grin. "You fucking perv... I love that idea. We'll fucking do it."
We made out some more but finally we were getting sleepy. As I turned off the lamp and pulled up the covers, Austin spooned up behind me, wrapping his arms around me. "You know, I don't think I'm the only one who's changed, Chase," he said softly.
"Yeah," I agreed before we were silent, other than our breathing as we drifted off to sleep.
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evita-shelby · 3 months
Text
National Anthem
Chapter 4
Cw: mentions of pregnancy and childbirth. Mentions of death from childbirth and infant death
Slight Boardwalk Empire crossover
Taglist: @zablife @cljordan-imperium @call-sign-shark @thegreatdragonfruta
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Love is not as easy for her as one would think.
The witch likes taking things slowly, so slowly her lovers lose interest and leave.
Or have entire secret relationships with the cousin who you live with in Mexico City and most people assumed you’d marry because consanguinity isn’t still in the past especially in aristocratic families like theirs.
Jack is an attentive husband and keeps her in luxury and lets her revel in the part of her that craves blood and violence from time to time.
Eva is very fond of him and cares a great deal for him and likes the person he is in private, but she just isn’t sure if that is love or love love.
English only has one word for love. Spanish has two, querer and amar. One is stronger than the other and she can confidently say she likes him a lot(querer), the witch cannot have that same feeling to say love as in amar.
The answer to her conundrum comes as they ready the house for their first dinner with the neighbors.
There is a sweet and even tender side to him no one save Gina gets to see here. Here where they live rather richly and yet so simply that she couldn’t have it any other way.
Here where they pretend they are just another suburban couple expecting their first children in an idyllic neighborhood.
Here where they are hosting the couple next door and their son after Jack sprayed him with the gardening hose for looking at Eva’s ass ---or so he said.
Dinner had gone well.
Eva had hit it off with Helen, spoken some of her past and lied when little Bobby asked if had ever killed anyone in Mexico.
Now as they cleaned up ---despite his protests saying Alice, the maid, was hired for this--- the answer to her conundrum comes as he regales her with a childhood anecdote.
She would be lying if she wasn’t enjoying every second of this life in peace. Every second of being with him.
“I love you.” Eva says as the words come unbidden.
Had she taken longer, the twins would’ve been born.
“You’re only saying it to shut me up, darling.” He replies with that confident smile she’s come to adore.
“No, I’m saying it because I mean it.” Eva playfully flicked some soap suds toward him making him laugh.
“Took you long enough, I am fucking charm itself.”
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“You don’t have to kill him, Jack.” She says after his new lackey has the audacity to flirt with her while visiting his office in Wall Street.
Really several months pregnant and Owen Sleater keeps thinking about fucking her. Eva would be flattered if it hadn’t come to annoy her.
It had started out as something Eva paid no mind to until the man started be too helpful to her. Then he started touching her, innocently at first and then lingering to the point it would be called a caress.
Jack had noticed it with displeasure, thinking about imaginative ways to rid himself of the man especially after Eva told him about Sleater’s unwanted advances.
“What do you suggest, Evie? Ringing up the Ulster volunteers I keep an eye on and leave the fucker tied with a bow for them?” he is annoyed at having to show mercy to a man who’s blood he wants to bathe in.
“Jersey, to your fellow Irishmen in Atlantic City. The republican you outbid for me.” Eva keeps it vague to make him ask why such a specific person.
Nucky Thompson had a purpose and when that was fulfilled Jack would take his crumbling empire and build up his. Nucky looked like he was on the way to greatness, like he had found a wife and a family he yearned for and as if karma didn’t have him on her list.
Owen Sleater would ruin his marriage by doing what he tried to do with her. Only Margaret Shroeder would be vulnerable enough to be swayed by his charms.
No matter, Enoch Thompson deserved it. That and so much more.
“Tell me why, and I’ll see if I can arrange it.” Jack sat back on his chair as she grew comfortable on his lap.
“He’s gonna fuck his wife.”
And sure enough, Owen Sleater is handed back to John McGarrigle after the Nelsons arrange a little accident on his new bodyguard.
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It’s the twenty-ninth of May when Joseph Patrick and John Fitzgerald are born.
The morning had been perfect, and had she not been who she was, she would have used the twin bed in the nursery that had been prepared beforehand to bring these two little angels into the world.
If her new friends and neighbors had known she never planned on making use of it, they would have found it as strange as her and Jack eschewing the use of separate twin beds as all modern couples do.
Eva has a fear of giving birth at home.
Her sister, Felicidad, had died because they lived to far away from town and the doctor could not come quickly when complications arose. The baby had died less than a month after as if sharing her dead mother’s name had cursed her to join her in death
And while Eva had served as a midwife in her time as a nurse, she preferred being where an obstetrician and a surgeon would be a door away and not several miles away. Just as a safety precaution.
Thankfully, there were no complications and by noon their twin boys were sleeping in a bassinet by her bed.
“I would’ve killed them all if they’d stop me from being there with you.” He admits smiling softly at his namesake.
Just a week ago he had killed a man for calling him a potato digging bastard and yet here he was holding the smaller of the twins with such love and gentleness you’d never know his hands were drenched in blood.
“I know.” In her moment of need, Jack had barreled into the hospital room and dared them to pry him off her side.
He had encouraged her, yelled at her when she felt like giving up and promised to never touch her again when she complained about their boys having heads as big as his.
By the time they’d been returned to the maternity ward both witch and gangster had completely forgotten the awfulness of the birth.
“Your eyes rolled to the back of your head during that last bit, doll. Mind telling me what it was about?” He doesn’t beat around the bush; he’s been married to her long enough to know when she has a vision.
Once she fainted dead away in his arms, and one other time she drove his old model-t into a ditch.
“What do you think about doing this seven more times?” the witch asked hoping he’d say that was too many.
“Who are we to argue with the big man upstairs?” he answered with a proud smirk.
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Michael De Adder
* * * *
LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN
February 27, 2024
HEATHER COX RICHARDSON
FEB 28, 2024
The House of Representatives will be back in session tomorrow after the February 19 Presidents Day holiday. It is facing a number of crucial issues, but the ongoing problem of the radicalism of the MAGA Republicans has ground—and, apparently, continues to grind—legislation to a halt.  
The farm bill, which establishes the main agricultural and food policies of the government—agricultural subsidies and food benefits, among other things—and which needs to be reauthorized every five years, expired in September 2023. While Congress extended the 2018 bill as a stopgap until September 2024, the new bill should be passed.
The farm bill has more breathing room than the appropriations bills to fund the government in fiscal year 2024 (which started on October 1, 2023). Four of the continuing resolutions Congress passed to keep the government running will expire on March 1; the other eight will expire on March 8. Operating on a continuing resolution that maintains 2023 levels of spending means the government cannot shift to the new priorities Congress agreed to in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, along with leaders from the Pentagon and the Senate, warns that the lack of appropriations measures is compromising national defense. 
On an even tighter timeline is the national security supplemental bill to aid Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific, and to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza. Ukraine is running out of ammunition, and its war effort is faltering. Every day that passes without the matériel only the U.S. can provide hurts the Ukrainians’ cause.
All of these measures are stalled because extremist MAGA Republicans in the House are insisting their demands be included in them. Negotiators have been trying to hash out the farm bill for months, and today Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said she would rather continue to extend the 2018 law than bow to the House Republicans’ demands for cuts to food assistance programs and funding for climate change. 
Appropriations bills are generally passed “clean,” that is, without the inclusion of unrelated controversial elements. But House Republicans are insisting the appropriations bills include their own demands for much deeper cuts than House leadership agreed to, as well as riders about abortion; gun policy; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives; LGBTQ+ rights; and so on. Those are nonstarters for Democrats.
As for the national security supplemental measure, lawmakers agree on a bipartisan basis that Ukraine’s successful defense against Russia’s invasion is crucial to U.S. national security. The Senate passed the bill on a strong bipartisan vote of 70 to 29, and if brought to the floor of the House, it would be expected to pass there, too. 
But House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) refuses to bring it to the floor. When President Joe Biden first asked for the aid in October, Republicans insisted they could not see their way to protecting our national security overseas without addressing it on the southern border. A bipartisan group of senators spent four months hashing out a border provision for the bill—House Republicans declined to participate—only to have House Republicans scuttle the measure when former president Trump told them to. The Senate promptly passed a bill that didn’t have the border component. Rather than take it up, the House recessed.
Today, President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with congressional leaders and urged them to pass the appropriations bills and the national security supplemental. But Biden, Harris, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) all agree on the need to pass these measures immediately. The holdout is House speaker Johnson.
After the meeting, Schumer said the meeting on Ukraine was “one of the most intense” scenes he had ever seen in the Oval Office. "We said to the speaker, 'Get it done.' I told him this is one of the moments—I said I've been around here a long time. It's maybe four or five times that history is looking over your shoulder, and if you don't do the right thing, whatever the immediate politics are, you will regret it. I told him two years from now and every year after that, because really, it's in his hands." 
For his part, Johnson said that “the House is actively pursuing and investigating all the various options” on the supplemental bill, “but again, the first priority of the country is our border and making sure it’s secure.” 
Johnson appears to be working for Trump, who is strongly opposed to aid for Ukraine and likely intends to use immigration as a campaign issue. 
But Trump is a poor choice to give control over United States security. Yesterday, Special Counsel Jack Smith responded to Trump’s motion to dismiss the charges against him associated with his stealing and hiding classified documents on the grounds that he was being treated differently than President Biden, who had also had classified documents in his possession but was not criminally charged.
Smith noted that while there have been many government officials who have accidentally or willfully kept classified documents, and even some who briefly resisted attempts to recover them, Trump’s behavior was unique. “He intentionally took possession of a vast trove of some of the nation’s most sensitive documents…and stored them in unsecured locations at his heavily trafficked social club.” Then, when the government tried to recover the documents, Trump “delayed, obfuscated, and dissembled,” finally handing over only “a fraction” of those in his possession. No one, Smith wrote, “has engaged in a remotely similar suite of willful and deceitful criminal conduct and not been prosecuted.” 
Perhaps to distract from Smith’s filing, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability chair James Comer (R-KY) and House Committee on the Judiciary chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) today subpoenaed information from Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden’s handling of documents. Hur’s report exonerated the president and showed such contrast between Trump's behavior and Biden's full cooperation with officials that Smith used material from it in his filing. 
Comer and Jordan are likely also eager to find new material against Biden after the man who provided the key evidence in their impeachment attempt turned out to be working with Russian intelligence agents and was recently indicted for lying and creating a false record.
Since this year is a leap year, Congress has three days to pass the first four of the appropriations measures or to find another workaround before March 1, when parts of the government shut down. As Schumer said, those measures, along with the national security supplemental bill, are now in Speaker Johnson’s hands.
LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN
HEATHER COX RICHARDSON
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robertreich · 2 years
Video
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How the Supreme Court Could Make Your Life More Dangerous
Your life could get a lot more dangerous. Republican appointees on the Supreme Court seem poised to strip away basic safety standards for our workplaces, our food, our air and water.
Congress gives federal agencies the authority to enact regulations that protect us in our daily lives. Congress defines the goals, but leaves it up to the health and safety experts in those agencies to craft and enforce regulations. 
I know regulations don’t sound very exciting, but they’re how our government keeps us safe.
******
Btw, if you’d like my daily analyses, commentary, and drawings, please subscribe to my free newsletter: robertreich.substack.com
******
Remember when lots of romaine lettuce was recalled because it was causing E.coli outbreaks? That was the Food and Drug Administration protecting us from getting sick. 
Working in a warehouse? The Occupational Safety and Health Administration sets standards to ensure you don’t breathe in dangerous chemicals like asbestos. 
Enjoying the fresh air on a clear, sunny day? Thank the Environmental Protection Agency for limiting the amount of pollution that can go into our air.
These agencies save lives. Since OSHA was established a half-century ago, its workplace safety regulations have saved more than 618,000 workers’ lives.
Republicans have been trying to gut these agencies for decades. Now, with the Supreme Court’s right-wing majority solidly in place, they have their best chance yet.
In January 2022, the Supreme Court blocked OSHA’s vaccine-or-testing mandate from going into effect, which was estimated to prevent a quarter-million hospitalizations.
The Court claimed that Covid isn’t an “occupational hazard” because people can become infected outside of work, and that allowing OSHA to regulate in this manner “would significantly expand” its authority without clear Congressional authorization.
This is absurd on its face. Section 2 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 clearly spells out OSHA’s authority to enact and enforce regulations that protect workers from illness, injury, and death in the workplace. Congress doesn’t need to list every specific workplace hazard before OSHA can protect workers.
What this ruling tells us is that the Republican appointees on the Supreme Court are intent on gutting the power of agencies to issue regulations.
This term, the Court will also hear a case regarding the EPA’s authority to enforce the Clean Water Act. If the Court undermines the EPA’s authority, it will put our environment – and our health – at risk. Remember when the Cuyahoga River caught on fire because it was brimming with oil, acid, and factory chemicals? That’s what we may be returning to.
And what’s next? Will they gut the Federal Trade Commission and put us all at risk of being defrauded? Target the Securities and Exchange Commission and deregulate the financial sector, sparking another financial crisis?
Beware. If Republican appointees on the Supreme Court succeed in gutting regulatory agencies, we all lose. This agenda is anti-worker, anti-consumer, and anti-environment. The only thing it’s good for is corporate profits.
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Note
I hope total drama fans understand that Courtney being a republican doesn't affect their love for Courtney. My 41 year old wife is a Republican and she brings out the best in me, a bisexual 23 year old art major. In many ways she can be liberal, just like Courtney is. Sometimes I think we're like Gwourtney I'm Gwen, telling my partner about how important climate change is, while our s/o tells the (im)practicalities of clean fuel and why the transition isn't as ideal as we'd hope. I'm actually her first girlfriend too. Through our differing views we have learned and grew and found out different things about ourselves. And no, before people say it, she doesn't look like Kelly! With that said, Kelly was the first 'milf' I found attractive. So in a way, I can only thank total drama for my life right now. Maybe I would've discovered my attraction to older women in another show, but many shows are so against the idea of republican x liberal. Total drama being relatively subtext in regards to politics has opened the doors to nuanced discussion regarding ideologies and in many shows I could never ship a leftie and a rightie because the writers ruin the fun for me.
Reading this was a lot and i hope u realize ur going to be copypasta’d
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greenvlvetcouch · 2 months
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as a mixed native trans guy who was born in and still lives in alabama, i feel you hard when it comes to picking those kinds of battles. the only surviving family i have any kind of contact with are all white alabama republicans, and some things really just aren’t worth the trouble with them. i have a hard time explaining to other people that while it can hurt to hear the wrong name or the wrong pronouns come from them, it would honestly be worse to pick that fight with them and hear them argue the full extent of their bigoted views - most likely aimed directly at me.
my spouse is similar - their family loves them, and they know that they’re trans, but they struggle. it’s easier for them to let their family use her/him instead of they/them, because it’s better than being referred to with she/her pronouns. they get a lot of heat from friendly acquaintances for not wanting to correct their family since they’ve been so supportive, but it’s not always that easy. and not everyone wants to pick that particular battle. and like… it can hurt. for some people it’s painful, and for some people it isn’t. there’s a lot of nuance, and it’s not always so clean cut for everyone.
tl;dr shits complicated and i see you
first, thank you for sharing this as i feel very, very seen. a big portion and chunk of my family lives in alabama, birmingham to be exact and i don’t speak to any of them and have not or visited in years because thats exactly how it is. it suck’s to hear the wrong pronouns, but thats much more tolerable in my mind than opening the flood gates for a never ending back and forth, exhausting fight that yeah. like, hearing them argue with me, knowing their views i just cannot imagine. it’s the lesser of two evils, what i’ve chosen to deal with. i’ve learned over the years to pick my battles very carefully, and i’ve never been in company until recently that picking this battle would be worth it. and even still, that’s just me. and my cross to bear and thank u. i really do feel very seen, this support means a lot and i am sending both you and your spouse love ❤️
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mariacallous · 6 months
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Had the great Maya Angelou been alive to witness Saturday’s climax of the omnishambolic dog’s breakfast of a misbegotten legislative process that took place in the U.S. House of Representatives, surely she would have said, “When a political party tells you over and over again that they have no higher priority than serving Vladimir Putin, believe them.”
Then, again, it didn’t take the genius of Ms. Angelou to get the message. At the critical moment at which they had one last chance to avert a government shutdown, when Republicans in the House were forced to abandon all of their legislative priorities but one, the one they chose to ditch was the vital U.S. aid to Ukraine. In so doing, they sent the world an unmistakable signal once again that the first and guiding loyalty of Donald Trump’s GOP is as it always has been to the Kremlin.
Other messages were sent as well by the week of cringeworthy drama that was to the floor of the House as an untrained puppy would be to the floor of its new home.
Had James Madison, Alexander Hamilton or John Jay been watching, they surely would’ve been compelled to write a new Federalist Paper, likely entitled “On Legislative Clusterfuckery.” Kevin McCarthy, the ragdoll Speaker of the House, was toyed with and tormented by a MAGA alliance that appeared to be made up from a group of particularly inept extras from the movie “Idiocracy.” Neither principles, ideals, nor any sense of responsibility made an appearance during the prolonged floor fight.
Matt Gaetz, the chief tormentor, evoked Shakespeare. But not in a good way. He was more in the sort of character described by Macbeth when he spoke of “an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Gaetz and his misfit supporting cast, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, threatened to oust McCarthy if he did not meet their demand that he break the deal he had made months ago with President Biden to avoid the last government financial crisis. They wanted cuts to critical social programs including child care, Head Start, Meals on Wheels, law enforcement, housing and more. They wanted to cut the salaries of senior officials including Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. And they seemed willing to throw millions of government employees—including the military, the Border Patrol, the IRS, administrators of aid programs and others—out of work, thus harming the lives of tens of millions more Americans.
But they also knew that every recent past government shutdown—and all were the handiwork of Republican House majorities—backfired on its authors. And so, just as many had given up hope and every agency of the U.S. government was making plans for a government shutdown that would have begun at midnight of Oct. 1, McCarthy agreed to put forward a so-called “clean” Continuing Resolution that would extend funding for government programs until Nov. 17 of this year. They continued funding at prior levels. They even included funding for disaster assistance and cut a pay boost the House GOP was trying to give itself despite their reckless disregard for their responsibilities.
But something had to be given to the far right. The GOP needed some concession to make it seem as though their childish games had all been worth it. What did they choose? What was the one thing they said would be the last hill they would die on, the one issue so important to them that they would turn out the lights of the U.S. government to defend their position? It was to defund Ukraine aid. It was to settle for, in the words of progressive commentator Josh Marshall, “one sloppy kiss with Vladimir Putin.”
The message that it sent to the world was unmistakable. Economist Timothy Ash tweeted, “Staggering that the GOP, the party of Reagan, has been captured by Russian fascists.”
French writer and philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy wrote that U.S. aid to Ukraine should not be politicized, saying “it is about freedom and democracy, good over evil, right over wrong. Support for Ukraine is essential for the entire free world.”
Yale history professor Timothy Snyder wrote, “Cutting off Ukraine aid makes America unreliable, weakens the cause of democracy, threatens the international legal order, encourages tyrants around the world, and hastens Chinese aggression.”
Liz Cheney, one of the last Republicans with a conscience still standing, pointedly noted that the decision by the MAGA GOP to deny Ukraine funding came on the 85th anniversary of Neville Chamberlain’s 1938 “peace in our time” speech.
It was an apt point. Just as Hitler saw Chamberlain’s weakness as the opening he was looking for, surely Vladimir Putin saw the GOP message for what it was, encouragement for his aggression and his war crimes from the Party of Trump, a clear signal that all he would have to do was wait until the next election cycle and if they won, a GOP-led U.S. would abandon Ukraine, our allies in Europe, and reward Putin’s brutality by extending his reach ever more deeply into the heart of Europe.
Democrats and a handful of more moderate Republicans promised in the wake of the deal that they would seek and expected to get a new supplemental bill that would ensure Ukraine aid continued to be funded.
Let us all hope they are successful and it passes. But the damage has been done. The Putin wing of the GOP and all those who have enabled them made it crystal clear that of all their dangerous priorities, the most important was to strengthen America’s enemies, weaken our allies, and to put democracy at risk overseas just as they are doing here at home.
Nobody is cheering the last-minute deal to keep the government open that cleared the House and then, late Saturday, the Senate. McCarthy, seen as weak before, is seen as even more spineless and at risk than he was. The reprieve that was won is only temporary. The future is uncertain. While the Biden administration and Democrats handled this as well as possible, it is clear that getting anything done in Congress will be very difficult. And while the lunatics from the GOP’s MAGA ward may have temporarily gained control of the congressional asylum, they damaged their tattered reputations even further by achieving not a single solitary thing for any of their supporters—any that is, except their cackling Russian patron whose Bond villain laughter from deep within his bunker home could be heard round the world by all who understand the menace and his Trumpist supporters represent.
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thatstormygeek · 3 months
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"People don't understand how different things would have been if Hillary had won!"
This is true. Things would have been very different. Ideally we'd have fewer Trump clones running for office now. But Trump didn't make the GOP what it is. It's been like this. Forever.
Why are our choices Biden or (presumably) Trump? Liberals love to point the finger at the Republicans (while using the other hand to indicate the left is pretty close to just as much at fault, really), absolving their own party of all responsibility.
"It's this or fascism!" Okay, but why now? What have the fucking Democrats been doing while in office that it's gotten to this? Hmm? Feel like taking a look at Bill Clinton's presidency? And then maybe truly ask yourself why exactly his fucking wife thought we'd want her to be running the country.
I voted for Hillary (because what choice did I have), but the woman couldn't even pretend to support indigenous people protesting a pipeline on their land. People keep acting like she was this great progressive hero and she's not. She was not. And still, we fucking voted for her.
And liberals re-litigated the 2016 election constantly over the following four years, until Biden was elected. Then not a peep. They were content. Until 2022 midterms. And until now. Because now it's time to remind all of us to fall in line again, and they're so tired because they have to come out here again and lecture all of us leftists about our responsibilities to vote for their guy because we are all just too incapable of complex thought processes to understand the value of compromise and lesser evils and all that.
It's almost like the only activism y'all think is worth doing is beating leftists over the head with your "Vote Blue No Matter Who" stick. Which, fine. Just stop pretending you actually give a shit about anything else. Because we see you. And we see what you're not talking about. And when.
If the height of feminism to you was filling in the circle next to Hillary Clinton's name, here are some better targets for your messaging:
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It's so fucking frustrating because it's clear y'all aren't listening to what folks on the left (people way smarter and with way bigger reach than me) are saying. And it reveals a lot of what the "Just Vote" bluster tries to conceal:
We're not real to you. We're not people whose needs and desires matter. We're there to be numbers to prop up your bulwark against fascism and a convenient scapegoat when you inevitably lose elections (because you will not win every time). But you don't want to make those defenses too strong because if the Other Guys aren't a constant threat, you might have to grapple with the ideas you've considered beneath you forever.
I'm going to vote. I've been voting for years. I'll continue voting. Never in my life have I told someone not to bother to vote. But I'm not doing it because of y'all. I'm doing it in spite of your messaging.
The chart that should scare Dems is this one
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The votes of that 49%? They do not belong to you. You are not automatically owed them. And yes, maybe voting for Dems is in the best interest of that 49%, but there's nothing saying they will do so. People do shit against their own best interests all the time. And they sure as shit do things against the best interests of people in general.
Which means y'all have to convince them to want to vote for you. If you're the type of person whose mom said "Clean your room" and you immediately jumped to do so after thanking her for the reminder, I can see why the Democratic party's messaging is working out for you. I am not that person and I don't know a lot of people who are. So y'all are going to have to offer more than the constant demand if you're going to pick those folks up.
Not to be a doomer, but I think y'all are a lost cause at this point. You've been told the same thing over and over and refuse to adapt, so I have to assume you prefer things the way they are. Which means it's only a matter of time--and probably not a lot of time, really. You can't win every election forever and if that's the only plan, well...it sucks.
I'll tell you what, though: nothing would make me happier than the Dems proving me wrong here.
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vacantgodling · 11 months
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lady in waiting
wip: requiem for the monochrome (book 2 in “the fall of galeré” quad and the story after paramour that centers around lady lavendula calderon)
character(s): lavendula calderon, erecia, helianthus calderon (laven’s shitty abusive husband)
this is probably around the beginning-middle point? i still haven’t fully fleshed out the plot beat for beat for this wip yet but tldr helianthus is basically a fucking republican and erecia (similarly to hya) is gnc so. YeAh
tw for: implied violence but nothing outright happens
“I will only ask this once.” Helianthus’s voice boomed across the hall. From the drawing room, Lavendula gently pressed herself to the closest wall to the foyer; locked in there to continue her work but consumed with fear for the lady in waiting who she had only just taken under her wing. This is why she never wanted one; her husband didn’t need another woman to lay his hands on in the house!
“Are you a woman?” Her husband bellowed. Lavendula bit her lip, worried it so hard that she felt the skin crack underneath it. How she wished she could go out there, to stop it—
“When it suits me.”
Her lady in waiting—Erecia—her answer was flippant and uninterested; with none of the bluff that someone else may try to muster. It felt like stating a simple fact; that of course she was a woman on her own terms. Faced with this utter lack of reaction, Lavendula heard her husband falter, for only a moment before he picked up again.
“Do you cook?” Erecia scoffed. “Of course not.”
“I—“ Helianthus paused. “Do you clean?”
“I can, though I’m not terribly fond of it.”
“Do you look after children?”
“None of my own, but I can.”
“Have you any skirts?” Erecia laughed. Laughed! “I haven’t worn a skirt since I was a little girl.”
“Then how can you say you are a woman?” Helianthus fumed. “None of the things you listed do a woman make.” The snap of Erecia’s voice was like a sudden lightning; dangerous and poignant. “And I didn’t say I was a woman. I said I was one when it suited me.”
“And whatever is that supposed to mean?” Her husband’s voice had become a dangerous whisper, so low that if it weren’t for his whisper sounding like an indoor voice, Lavendula surely wouldn’t have heard it.
“Do you find yourself intelligent, Mr. Calderon?”
“That’s Lord to you.”
“That would imply you have earned some merit of respect, and if you are to stoop so low and demand things of women that you don’t even demand of your wife, then I’m not so sure I shouldn’t call you a little boy for your childishness.” Never in her life did Lavendula hear her husband stutter, yet he was! No one had dared to speak to him like that! It was like an old wind up motor, loud and puttering. With her ear still pressed to the wall, Lavendula heard Erecia begin to walk away, until suddenly there was a loud noise! Like a bang—what was it? Lavendula would’ve poked her head out if she wasn’t so terrified of being seen to look.
“And I would appreciate,” Erecia’s voice was venomous. “If you kept those to yourself.”
Suddenly the doors to the drawing room were thrown open, and Lavendula leapt back from the wall in her fright. However, her racing, ticking heart began to slow— it was only Erecia standing at the door. Her caramel eyes were too serious and the smile she donned was strained. “I do apologize for the delay, but I’m ready for the walk you requested, my lady.”
“I…” Lavendula stared at her blankly. She hadn’t requested a walk… But her eyes fell to the bruised knuckles on Erecia’s right hand, quickly deciding that yes, maybe they both needed a walk, and needed to be out of the house before the impending explosion. “Yes, our walk!” Lavendula kept her voice light and delighted, a true mistress of playing along. “Shall I gather the children?”
“I do believe they are still with your mother this evening, so, unless you are unopposed, it shall be only you and I.”
“Marvelous!” Lavendula fluttered to the other side of the room to grab a bag, her sketchbook, and some of her pencils, and quickly returned to Erecia’s side. When her lady-in-waiting offered her a strong arm, she grasped onto it tightly; even if it wasn’t traditional... It felt comforting.
“Let us be on our way, Miss Erecia.”
The two of them made an effort not to be too hasty, so as to not draw attention to themselves, but it would be an outright lie to say they didn’t flee the house.
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