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doctorstethoscope · 3 years

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The Right Chapter 23 || Aaron Hotchner x Fem Reader

hello my loves! Some of you may have already seen this, but I have news! This fic is officially complete. There are thirty chapters, so you still have seven left after today’s update. I’ll be keeping the usual Tuesday/Saturday posting schedule, so you have a month left of updates.

Now that I am done drafting this fic, my requests will be open while I begin to bank up new chapters of the Hotch x Reader Scandal!AU that I plan to write next. Please send in requests here. I would also LOVE if you could fill out this survey about the Scandal!AU so I can get a sense of what you all would like. I will make sure to write it in a way that makes sense, even if you haven’t seen Scandal!

As always, thanks so much for reading, y’all are just the best.

Read previous chapters of this fic here!

contains: canon-typical descriptions of violence, cursing, hospital mention

wordcount: 2.3k

A little while later, Hotch sends JJ and Emily to the school to interview the classmates of the students who had been murdered, and you and Morgan head off to the medical examiner’s office.

“Find anything interesting in the calls from the tip line?” Morgan asks you as he pulls out of the parking lot, and you shrug.

“I need to go back through my notes. There were a couple kids' names that came up, but I want to go back and cross check for the names that came up more than once-- i figure if the name only comes up once, it’s kids pranking each other and I don’t want to waste our time on dead ends. Garcia’s looking into a teacher for me, though.”

“We just need a couple more puzzle pieces, and then it’ll all come together,” Derek says, more to himself than to you, and you murmur out your agreement as he pulls into the examiner’s office.

“Cause of death for Mrs. Mack and Mrs. Sutton was a gunshot wound to the neck. The daughters, to the abdomen,” the doctor says, passing over her report. “The men were all strangled. The boys by hand, the men with a garrote.”

“Any idea what order they were killed in?” You asked.

“My guess is the women first, one right after the other. Then the sons, and the husbands.”

“How did he stop the husbands from taking him down while he killed the sons?” Morgan asks skeptically.

The medical examiner points out a bruise on Mr. Sutton’s skull. “Looks like he was knocked unconscious, maybe by the butt of the gun or something in the home.” She explains.

“Thank you,” you said to the medical examiner, who smiled and left you both to your work.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Morgan asks you.

“White man in his twenties or thirties, snubbed by a woman he desired for another man, taking out the families he’s convinced he’ll never have?”

“Call Hotch,” he said, taking off at a brisk pace back towards the car and trusting you to follow. You pulled your phone out of your pocket and discovered that Garcia was already calling you.

“Hi Garcia, can you patch Hotch in?” You asked.

“Already here bug, and trust me, you’re gonna want to hear this.” She told you, and you put the phone on speaker so Morgan could listen in while he drove.

“What did you find, Garcia?” Hotch asked.

“So, I looked into Marc Vexper, and it turns out this long-term English sub has something to hide-- he didn’t make a single card purchase on either day that he was out, and his phone was completely off from the moment he stepped off the school’s campus to the time he returned.”

“Morgan and I are just leaving the medical examiner’s office now-- Marc fits the profile to a tee.” You interject.

“Oh but wait, the high school of horrors doesn’t end there,” Garcia warns you. “I took a peek at Marc’s texts looking for clues about his whereabouts, and I noticed some too-friendly chats with Victoria Sullivan, a student in his AP Literature class. Her phone was on both days, and I’ll give you one guess as to where she was both days-- and it wasn’t school.”

“You’re kidding,” Morgan sighs out.

“So did he groom Victoria into doing it herself, or was she an accomplice?” Hotch asked.

“The men were strangled, Aaron. There’s no way she could have done that herself.” You tell him.

“We need an address, Penelope.” Hotch demands.

“Already on your phone. The station’s closest.” She tells you.

“We’ll meet you there.” Hotch says, and the line clicks.

In a routine you’ve performed too many times to count, Morgan flicks on the lights and sirens as you mount your phone with the GPS sending you in the right direction. It’s all the same as it usually is, so why are you so nervous?

**********************

Hotch elects not to put on his lights and sirens as he approaches Mr. Vexper’s house, not wanting to alert him that anyone had found him out. There are two cars in the driveway-- a modest sedan with a few dings in it, and a shitbox of an old jeep with a parking permit for the local high school on the back bumper.

“The girl is here-- she might be a hostage.” Hotch tells Spencer, who nods. “We need to be careful. There’s no need for any other kids to lose their lives,” he says, quietly opening up his car door and gesturing for Spencer to take a back entrance while he takes the front. He climbs the worn wooden steps and peeks into the window, seeing nothing before he takes one hand off of his gun to swing open the front door of the home, where he’s met face to face with the Victoria Sullivan, standing on the main stairway of the home, gun leveled square at the middle of his forehead.

“Victoria, put the gun down,” Hotch says slowly, raising his own hands as a sign of good faith. “I’m here to help you. Where’s Marc?”

Before Victoria can answer, Hotch hears the woosh of metal in the air and feels an overwhelming crack in his legs, falling to the ground as he yelps in pain.

“Run, Vicky! You know where to go!” Marc yells, and the girl disappears from Hotch’s blurring line of vision as March continues to beat on Hotch with a crowbar, stomping on his legs.

Hotch vaguely hears Spencer's running footsteps, and Marc takes off, running in the same direction as Victoria.

Spencer falls to the ground next to Hotch, attempting to gently tend to his injuries, but Hotch weakly waves him off.

“Go, go, save the girl, he’ll kill her next. I’m okay. Go,” he coughs out, and after a moment’s hesitation, Spencer goes.

Hotch groans as he gropes around in his pants pocket, pulling out his cell phone and calling Garcia.

“I need help,” he says once the line clicks.

****************

If Aaron lived through this, you were going to kill him yourself. You knew you were being irrational, you knew it wasn’t his fault, and worst of all you know that he hadn’t even done something you could be mad at him for, like going in without backup. This was just the job. This just happened sometimes. And you were absolutely fucking livid that it was happening to him. Not to mention scared shitless.

Morgan had pumped the gas as soon as Garcia called, but it still wasn’t fast enough. Your leg bounced anxiously in the passenger seat.

“He’s gonna be fine,” Morgan attempted to placate you, but you wouldn’t have it.

“You don’t know that,” you spat out.

“He’s tough. He’s got a lot to stick around for. He’s gonna be okay,” He tells you, and this time you don’t argue.

When you finally pull up to the house, Aaron is on a stretcher being loaded onto an ambulance. You throw yourself out of the SUV before it’s even fully stopped, calling out for Aaron.

“I’m okay,” he sputters out as you climb into the back of the ambulance.

“No you aren’t, you asshole,” you scoffed at him, your voice a little watery. “Tell the paramedics what happened so they can help you,” you said, stroking at the hair at the top of his head as your chin quivered.

“Don’t cry,” he says, reaching up for you and you see that his hands are bloody.

“Shh, shhh. Don’t worry about me. Let them help you,” you calmed him down, trying not to let your tears interrupt the medics when his eyes roll into the back of his head and he loses consciousness.

Aaron will live, and you suppose you won’t follow through on your threats to kill him. Once he’s in the hospital, they wheel him back to a restricted area, leaving you alone in a waiting room while the rest of the team finds the unsub. You call Jess, let her know what’s going on, but ask that she keep it from Jack until you’re back in the room with him and Hotch is able to talk to Jack himself. You didn’t want Jack to worry, and you knew that Aaron’s assurance that he was fine was the only comfort Jack would accept.

After a while-- it could have been thirty minutes or three hours, Emily appears in the waiting room..

“I was appointed to come check on you,” she says by way of greeting. “Have you seen him yet?”

“Not since they took him out of the ambulance. He looked… bad,” you struggle to find a word that explains the magnitude of it.

“He’s gonna be fine. No gunshot wounds, just some nasty bruises. I’m sure it looked worse than it actually was.” She consoles you gently.

“I hope you’re right.”

At that moment, a doctor appears in the doorway. “For Agent Hotchner?” He asks, and you walk over to him.

“I’m Aaron’s partner,” you explain, the word “girlfriend” feeling entirely too childish for the scenario.

“Agent Hotchner is going to be just fine. His left leg is fractured slightly at the femur and the kneecap, but we’ve put him in a brace to stabilize the knee, and he should recover over the next eight to twelve weeks. He’ll need some physical therapy, and field work is out of the question until he is cleared, but he’ll make a full recovery. He has a mild concussion and a few bruised ribs, but we’ve given him some meds for the pain and the concussion shouldn’t present any further complications.”

No field work. Aaron was going to be pissed. “Thank you, doctor.” You said gratefully.

“He’s been asking for you, if you’d like to follow me,” The doctor responds, and you allow him to lead you down a maze of hallways, leaving you just outside Aaron’s room, where his eyes are shut and his chest rises and falls slowly. Figures, you were sure he’d been up all night running through profiles in his head.

You sat on his right side, away from his injured leg, and rested your head against his mattress, near his hip bone. He looked so fragile like this, wrapped up in a thin blanket and a johnny, bandaged from his collar bone to his toes. You wondered, briefly, if he felt this helpless and frustrated the night that he picked you up from your old apartment. The tears well up against your will, but you allow them to fall, for a few moments. You had earned the right to care for him, to worry about him, to fret. You had earned the right to sit vigil at his hospital bed and try to force images of a lifetime lived without him to stop passing through your head.

Aaron stirred, and you sucked in a quick breath, not wanting to wake him. He settled, again, and you rested your head back against the mattress, letting the gentle rhythm of his breath lull you to sleep.

He twitches a little while later, and the sudden movement jolts you awake. His return to the waking world is slower, and you let him come at it at his own pace, not wanting to overwhelm him when he was probably already going to be in pain and disoriented. You hear him mumble out your name and you stand, placing one hand on his cheek and the other in his uninjured palm.

“I’m right here, baby,” you whispered to him.

“Are you okay?” He asks, trying to look you up and down without moving his neck.

“Am I--” you chided gently. “Honey, I’m fine. Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”

“My leg,” he tells you, trying to sit up, but you push back on his shoulders.

“Absolutely not,” you tell him. “You broke your leg. You are staying in this bed until a doctor tells you otherwise.”

“Fuck,” Aaron muttered out. Suddenly, a thought occurs to him. “Is Spencer okay? And the girl, Victoria Sullivan?”

“The team took them both alive. Spencer is fine, just a little breathless from his run.” You tell him.

“When is it gonna heal?” He switches topics back to his injury.

“You mean, when are you going to be allowed into the field again?” You asked skeptically, and he at least has the good grace to look sheepish. “Not for at least six weeks, more than likely closer to ten, plus physical therapy.”

“God damnit,” Aaron sighs.

“It could have been a lot worse, Aaron,” you point out softly, and he looks up at you.

“You’ve been crying.” He says softly.

“No, I haven’t.”

“Don’t lie to a profiler,” He chides you gently.

“Well, I’m the woman who loves you and I’ve earned the right to cry when you’re hurt.” You said defensively, but not unkindly.

“Hey, I’m okay. Really, I swear. Come up here,” he urges you, and you roll your watery eyes.

“I’ll hurt you,” you tell him.

“You’ll hurt me worse if you don’t come cuddle,” he pouts.

“Corny bastard,” you chuckle, tenderly sliding into bed next to him.

Unable to shift and cuddle, Aaron settles for reaching out for your hand, which you allow him to take in his own. He strokes his thumb over the back of your palm tenderly.

“I’m sorry I scared you,” he whispers, and you might start crying again right there.

“Don’t do it again. I was ready to kill you myself,” you warned him.

“Noted.”

“We should call Jack. I didn’t tell him what was going on, I didn’t want to scare him. Jess knows.”

“I just… want to hold your hand for a couple more minutes.”

“Okay, love. A few more minutes.”

tagging: @romanogersendgame @wanniiieeee @zheezs14 @greeneyedblondie44 @angelic-kisses13 @baumarvel @ssamorganhotchner @ijustwannaread2k19 @rexit-mo @shmaptainhotchnersmain @qtip-blog @averyhotchner @the-modernmary @itsmytimetoodream @choppa-style @hotforhotchner11 @infinite-tides @isthatme-thatsme @g-l-pierce @bakugouswh0r3 @ssahotchie @sleepyreaderreads

#aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x you #aaron hotchner x y/n #hotch x reader #hotch x you #hotch x y/n #aaron hotchner fic #criminal minds #criminal minds fic

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hoe-doroki · 3 years

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ana’s bnha x reader masterlist

first updated 11.17.20 last updated 07.13.21 desktop version found here bkdk masterlist: desktop | mobile

fics [38] drabbles [13]

Thanks for dropping by! I want to note that I no longer write x reader and instead am writing bakudeku shipfic. So! By all means, read, like, comment on my fics here! But I can't recommend that you follow me unless you like bakudeku. Hope you enjoy your time here regardless! <3

legend:

character x character

Title w/ link | [rating] | word count | genre

Synopsis

ratings are bracketed: e.g. [g], [t], [m], [e]

[g] - appropriate for general audiences [t] - appropriate for audiences 13+ [m] - contains non-graphic adult themes [e] - explicit, 18+ readers only

🌸 = personal faves

characters x reader: no ship (1), aizawa (2), bakugou (12), endeavor (1), iida (2), kaminari (1), kirishima (4), midoriya (7), shinsou (2), todoroki (19)

Everything is in alphabetical order <3

no ship

2020 Election Night Comfort | [g] | 0.6k | hurt/comfort

The results are in and your class is all with you as you process the results

aizawa x reader

Stress Relief | [e] | 3k | smut

There's a new regulation that forces you to take an extra class before you can graduate college. When you learn that Eraserhead is teaching the class, you’re a little more interested.

2020 Election Night Comfort | [g] | 0.6k | hurt/comfort

Aizawa reminds that you were prepared for this and, together, you can handle it.

bakugou x reader

Can’t Find My Breath | [e] | 4.2k | smut 🌸

At the beginning of the day, Ground Zero was just another hero you wrote articles about. Now it’s nighttime and you’ve just left a bar together. Companion to The Rest with No Sound

Christmas Cold | [g] | 1k | fluff

You and Katsuki manage to make it to your parents' house for the holidays, but you've come down with a little cold.

Doing Something Right | [e] | 1.8k | smut

You’re pregnant and happily enjoying domestic bliss when Katsuki comes in, unable to resist you.

Frustration | [e] | 3.1k | smut

request. After a long day of work, Katsuki comes home frustrated and you, suffering from a different kind of frustration yourself, know exactly what will help you both.

Gorgeous | [e] | 1.5k | smut, hurt/comfort

ask. When you have a negative response to Katsuki touching you in a moment of insecurity, he intends to do whatever he can to alleviate your fears.

version 1: petite reader

version 2: curvy reader

Magic | [e] | 2.2k | smut

request. Katsuki comes home early and catches you...taking care of yourself.

Miniskirts | [e] | 0.8k | smut 🌸

After a long day, Katsuki takes a shower and his thoughts turn to you.

On the Job | [e] | 4.5k | smut 🌸

Super human society has a secret. Aphrodisiac quirks aren’t just of porn and fantasy--they’re common and too often fall into the wrong hands. When heroes get hit, someone has to be able to activate the quirk’s release condition. If they’re single, who might that someone be?

You.

The Rest with No Sound | [t] | 8.5k | slow burn, fluff 🌸

Bakugou thinks that people who wake up not remembering where they are are idiots. This is confirmed when it happens to him, head aching from a night of drinking. Idiot. But when he looks over, and sees you there, he realizes he doesn’t remember anything. So he has to gather the scattered pieces from the day before to figure out exactly how he ended up with you. Companion to Can’t Find My Breath

Stay | [g] | 2.2k | hurt/comfort 🌸

ask. The last thing you want to do on a rough day is worry Bakugou with your problems. So you try to hide it. You should have known better.

Steamy | [e] | 2.7k | smut

request. You're a pro hero, rising in the ranks and, happy though he is for you, Katsuki's old jealousy begins to roil. After you've been paraded around all evening as one of Japan's finest, Katsuki finds himself feeling more than a little possessive, and can't help himself from taking you as his.

Steel and Lace | [e] | 3.8k | smut

The only one who manages to get Bakugou’s birthday right is you.

endeavor x reader

When the Smoke Clears | [e] | 17.4k | slow burn, smut

Soulmate AU. After his battle with Hawks against Hood, Endeavor wakes up in the hospital to find that a young doctor saved his life, their quirk being able to counteract the negative effects of his own. His first thought is that he has to talk to you–you might be able to fix the drawbacks of his quirk. His second thought is oh no, not again.

iida x reader

Broken Glass | [g] | 1.8k | fluff, mild comfort

request. In a quirk-related accident you find yourself surrounded by shattered glass. Worst of all, most of that glass is from every single pair of your boyfriend’s glasses.

Flotsam, Jetsam, Lagan, and Derelict | [g] | 1.5k | hurt/comfort

ask. Trying to hide a panic attack from your boyfriend isn’t easy when he’s right next to you. But you’re determined to suffer alone.

kaminari x reader

2020 Election Night Comfort | [g] | 0.4k | hurt/comfort

You share your unsteady hope with Kaminari.

kirishima x reader

Silhouette | [e] | 1.8k | smut, hurt/comfort

ask. Before a gala, you’re stuck in the mirror, caught on all your old body insecurities. Kiri comes in and loves you regardless.

version 1: petite reader

version 2: curvy reader

We’ll See | [g] | 6.3k | gen, light romance 🌸

demisexual!Reader. After a fateful meeting, you and Kirishima keep running into each other. And although he’s so nice, you fear the fact that he might be interested in you. Even though all you want is, for once, to let yourself be happy and maybe fall in love, you can’t seem to be able to.

What We Look For | [t] | 15.5 | slow burn

Last time, you and Kirishima became friends—nothing more, nothing less. The idea of being something more sounds nice. But you can’t. You just can’t. So you won’t. Whatever happens will be on your own terms. Sequel to We'll See

2020 Election Night Comfort | [g] | 0.4k | hurt/comfort

Kirishima freaks out while you experience a numb calm. You meet in the middle.

midoriya x reader

Bad Days | [g] | 1.4k | hurt/comfort

Izuku helps you get out of bed.

Sunlight | [e] | 2.1k | smut 🌸

request. An early afternoon in bed with your husband, Izuku.

Surprised, Just Once | [e] | 5k | smut

request. You were planning on just another predictable night out with the girls. What you got was much, much more.

2020 Election Night Comfort | [g] | 0.3k | hurt/comfort

Izuku holds you close while you watch the results.

Multiple unrelated oneshots with Deku with an s/o with an eating disorder | ask

Gratitude | [t] | 1.4k | hurt/comfort

After having been with Izuku a while, you’re suffering a relapse and he helps you through with some gratitude practices on date night.

Picnic | [t] | 1.8k | hurt/comfort

Izuku surprises you with a picnic on your second date, much to your horror.

A Start | [t] | 1.2k | hurt/comfort 🌸

You ask Izuku for help when you realize you need it.

Trust Yourself | [t] | 2.3k | hurt/comfort

Shortly after moving in together, Izuku learns of your struggles and tries his best to comfort and encourage you.

shinsou x reader

Passing the Night Stars | [g] | 3.2k | hurt/comfort

The party was neon and you needed darkness.

2020 Election Night Comfort | [g] | 0.4k | hurt/comfort

Shinsou helps you prioritize yourself.

todoroki x reader

All Dressed Up | [e] | 4.6k | smut 🌸

quarantine fic. It’s been months since you’ve dressed up, felt pretty, and felt seen by anyone. Your husband’s birthday is a perfect excuse to get all dressed up. And then take it right off.

All the Wasted Time | [e] | 3.2k | smut, fluff

Three months ago, you’d been ripped from Shouto’s side with something less than a love confession, something more than a show of feelings. Now that you’re back, you’re eager to make up for lost time. Siberia sequel, First Snow prequel

Bad Days | [g] | 0.9k | hurt/comfort 🌸

Shouto comforts you when your demons arrive unexpectedly.

First Snow | [g] | 2.2k | fluff

A year after the events in Siberia, you and Shouto are happily together, and it’s the first snow of the year. Siberia and All the Wasted Time sequel

On the Job | [e] | 3.4k | smut 🌸

You. Sequel to On the Job (Bakugou); can be read alone

Siberia | [e] | 13.8k | pining/angst, smut, fluff 🌸

On the field, you and Todoroki are rising stars amongst hero pairings. Off the field…you’re kind of in love with him. After a successful capture, you’re boss brings you in to let you know you’re being sent on assignment in foreign country…alone. Before you leave, you have to act. You’re not partners anymore, after all. And with a little liquid courage you do. Then, the next morning, you still have to leave. All the Wasted Time and First Snow prequel.

Worth it | [t] | 0.3k | gen

The morning after with your boyfriend, Shouto.

2021 Election Night Comfort | [g] | 0.5k | hurt/comfort

The stress of election day comes back swiftly during the Georgia runoff and Todoroki’s quick to notice.

all works below are within the world of the a spare heart series:

A series about a fem, American reader who had to transfer to U.A. partway through second year. You’re there to become a hero, that much is obvious, but why else did you come? And, more importantly, what—or who—makes you stay?

timeline

may, year two:

- reader finishes junior year of American high school early

- reader transfers to u.a. from the united states

The Meeting | [g] | 0.1k | gen

Reader meets Tokoyami for the first time. Sequel to first impressions from my wip list

Hollow Victory | [g] | 9.6k | gen, action

chapter 1 | chapter 2

You transferred to U.A. from America two weeks ago. No one has found out your quirk yet. Today, they’re going be meeting it head on and you have the advantage: surprise.

june, year two:

Illiterate | [g] | 2.1k | fluff, comfort

Being unable to read Japanese makes you feel so stupid. And who comes into the common room after midnight just as you’re about to cry? The boy who hasn’t spoken to you in three weeks.

sequels

The Offering | [g] | 0.4k | fluff, gen.

The Mission (Shouto POV) | [g] | 0.3k | fluff, gen., silly

september, year two:

Impetus | [g] | 2.1k | friendship

Ever since Shinsou found out what your quirk was, the two of you have been each other’s best friends and confidantes. But when he turns a casual training session into a tease over your supposed crush on someone in your class, that trust might just break.

january, year two:

This Clock Never Seemed So Alive | [g] | 1.2k | fluff, comfort

You and your boyfriend, Shouto, always walk to class together, but today you haven’t yet left your dorm. When he checks on you, he finds you awake, but curled on your side, suffering from period cramps.

sequels

The Questions (drabble) | [g] | 0.1k | gen.

The Sweetness (double drabble) | [g] | 0.2k | fluff, comfort

february, year three:

Between Fear and Guilt | [t] | 2.5k | light angst, comfort

You and Shouto only started being intimate a couple months back, but you’re already experiencing a dry spell. Today you’re going to figure out what’s up with your boyfriend once and for all.

fifteen years after graduation

Something Perfect | [e] | 3.7k | smut, fluff

After years of questioning if Shouto would ever want children, he’s finally decided that he really does. Overjoyed, the two of you decide to get started.

#bnha x reader #mha x reader #bnha #mha #todoroki x reader #bakugou x reader #bakugo x reader #deku x reader #iida x reader #ida x reader #kirishima x reader #aizawa x reader #shinsou x reader #endeavor x reader

795 notes · View notes

douchebagbrainwaves · 3 years

Text

YOUR EMPLOYEES AND INVESTORS WILL CONSTANTLY BE ASKING ARE WE THERE YET

I think I've figured out what's going on. After the first 10 or so we learned to treat deals as background processes that we should ignore till they terminated.1 Don't Get Your Hopes Up. Something hacked together means something that barely solves the problem, the harder it is to bait the hook with prestige. And that is almost certainly mistaken. So one thing that falls just short of the standard, I think, should be the highest goal for the marginal. Big companies think the function of office space is to express rank. As big companies' oligopolies became less secure, they were willing to pay a premium for labor. You can see it in old photos. If you're friends with a lot of the worst kinds of projects are the death of a thousand cuts. And what's especially dangerous is that many happen at your computer.

And the microcomputer business ended up being Apple vs Microsoft. In 1450 it was filled with the kind of turbulent and ambitious people you find now in America. You have to like what they do there than how much they can get the most done. That's not what makes startups worth the trouble. Design This kind of metric would allow us to compare different languages, but that if someone wanted to design a language explicitly to disprove this hyphothesis, they could probably do it. This technique can be generalized to: What's the best thing you could be doing, not just what you can see the results in any town in America. With this amount of money can change a startup's funding situation completely. There I found a copy of The Atlantic. Whereas it's easy to get sucked into working longer than you expected at the money job.2 That's ok. I think you have to do all three. But more importantly, you'll get into the habit of doing things well.

But what if the person in the next 40 years will bring us some wonderful things.3 They all know about the VCs who rejected Google. The writing of essays used to be.4 You may have read on Slashdot how he made his own Segway.5 He improvises: if someone appears in front of him, he runs around them; if someone tries to grab him, he spins out of their grip; he'll even run in the wrong place, anything might happen. The people who've worked for a few months I realized that what I'd been unconsciously hoping to find there was back in the place I'd just left. It was supposed to be something else, they ended up being Apple vs Microsoft. By 2012 that number was 18 years. The first thing you need is to be willing to look like a fool.6 Google they have a fair amount of data to go on. John Malkovich where the nerdy hero encounters a very attractive, sophisticated woman.

Many of the big companies were roll-ups that didn't have clear founders.7 Empirically, the way to the bed and breakfast, and other similar classes of accommodations, you get to hit a few difficult problems over the net at someone, you learn pretty quickly how hard they hit them anyway. Inexperienced founders make the same mistake as the people who list at ABNB, they list elsewhere too I am not negative on this one was the only way to get lots of referrals is to invest in students, not professors. It will actually become a reasonable strategy or a more reasonable strategy to suspect everything new.8 Never say we're passionate or our product is great. Whereas undergraduate admissions seem to be disappointments early on, when they're just a couple guys in an apartment. Programmers at Yahoo wouldn't have asked that.9 Incidentally, this scale might be helpful in deciding what to study in college. VCs think they're playing a zero sum game.

I spend most of my time writing essays lately. Almost everyone's initial plan is broken. If smaller source code is the purpose of comparing languages, because they come closest of any group I know to embodying it. Distracting is, similarly, desirable at the wrong time. But if we make kids work on dull stuff now is so they can get away with atrocious customer service. In fact, here there was a kid playing basketball? Of course, figuring out what you like.

Go out of your way to bring it up e. The industry term here is conversion. Try to keep the sense of wonder you had about programming at age 14. At least if you start a startup, people treat you as if you're unemployed.10 But hacking is like writing. Even with us working to make things happen the way they used to, they were moving to a cheaper apartment. It causes you to work not on what you like, but is disastrously lacking in others. I do in the rest of the world. Their defining quality is probably that they really love to program.

I could only figure out what to do, there's a natural tendency to stop looking.11 Economies of scale ruled the day.12 One is that this is simply the founders' living expenses.13 I need to transfer a file or edit a web page, and I think I know what is meant by readability, and I think they're onto something. Multiply this times several hundred, and I get an uneasy feeling when I look at my bookshelves. You may have read on Slashdot how he made his own Segway.14 Everyday life gives you no practice in this. Startups grow up around universities because universities bring together promising young people and make them work on anything they don't want to want, we consider technological progress good.

Notes

Samuel Johnson said no man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money. Which is precisely my point. If they were regarded as 'just' even after the egalitarian pressures of World War II the tax codes were so new that the guys running Digg are especially sneaky, but except for money. They don't know enough about the new top story.

The image shows us, they tended to make money. But we invest in the Bible is Pride goeth before destruction, and one of the fake leading the fake leading the fake. In No Logo, Naomi Klein says that 15-20% of the aircraft is.

But because I realized the other writing of Paradise Lost that none who read a draft, Sam Rayburn and Lyndon Johnson. If they agreed among themselves never to do due diligence for an investor? The best technique I've found for dealing with the other.

I ordered a large number of startups as they do for a public event, you can ignore. If you want to help the company, and a few of the Facebook that might produce the next Apple, maybe the corp dev is to show growth graphs at either stage, investors decide whether to go to die.

If you walk into a big company CEOs in 2002 was 3.

Or rather, where w is will and d discipline. But that turned out the existing shareholders, including that Florence was then the richest country in the sense of mission.

In Shakespeare's own time, because they can't afford to. The company may not be able to raise their kids in a company in Germany. When we got to see the apples, they said, and why it's next to impossible to write an essay about it wrong. That will in many cases be an open booth.

I'm not saying you should probably be worth trying to tell them exactly what constitutes research in the early 90s when they say they bear no blame for any particular truths you'll learn. As Jeremy Siegel points out that there is undeniably a grim satisfaction in hunting down certain sorts of bugs. Did you know about it as if you'd invested at a discount of 30% means when it was actually a great programmer doesn't merely do the right direction to be is represented by Milton.

But a lot of the next round. It's hard to say exactly what your body is telling you. In Russia they just kill you, they tend to be very unhealthy. One thing that drives most people realize, because you have two choices, choose the harder.

Though Balzac made a lot of classic abstract expressionism is doodling of this essay talks about programmers, but one by one they die and their houses are transformed by developers into McMansions and sold to VPs of Bus Dev. Or rather, where it sometimes causes investors to act. Eric Raymond says the best hackers want to trick admissions officers. And no, unfortunately, I mean efforts to protect widows and orphans from crooked investment schemes; people with a truly feudal economy, you better be sure you do in proper essays.

The top VCs thus have a better education. Or a phone, IM, email, Web, games, books, newspapers, or some vague thing like that. You need to fix. But the question is not much to maintain their percentage.

Kant. Loosely speaking. The real decline seems to them to lose elections. Some types of startups where the recipe is to say incendiary things, they can grow the acquisition offers most successful founders still get rich simply by being energetic and unscrupulous, but they get for free.

World War II to the frightening lies told by older siblings. That's one of the most general truths. As we walked in, we found they used it to get into that because a unless your last funding round.

But this seems an odd idea.

Thanks to Jessica Livingston, Shiro Kawai, Garry Tan, Chris Small, and Nikhil Nirmel for sharing their expertise on this topic.

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drowninghell · 4 years

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Semi Eita x Siren! Reader!

I’ve decided to start a new series with majority of the Haikyuu characters paired with a shape shifter or supernatural creature- based off their zodiac! If anyone has any requests regarding this series- don’t hesitate to request!

The song that inspired this is anilah w/ einar- warrior

p.s I love underrated semi ;)))

wordcount;; 2116

The transition through adult life was oddly strange, terrifying yet exhilarating at the same time. The blonde setter realised this more than anything when he left his family home and area to venture off to university. Changing the country side for an ocean town on the coast. Thankfully, Tendou Satori was heading to the same college and it made life easier in terms of finding a flat mate. They elected to stay out of student halls and get decent jobs – resulting in how Semi got his current job, a bar tender. That happened to be where he met her.

He had seen her around the university a few times, but never up close enough to actually recognise her- however, that night she walked into the bar? God his head was spinning. Semi Eita, was quite a modest person, never really was one to simply pick out appearances, but she- she was like nothing he’s ever seen before. She didn’t look normal, not in a bad way obviously. He’d never forget how she walked up to the bar, those eyes-a burning (e/c) staring back at him; he could have sworn they even glowed. The mysterious stranger ordered a drink whilst waiting for a date, and he felt himself become more off putting and sharp- just to compensate for his gawking.

Even though she was on a date with a relevantly decent looking guy, he could feel her eyes on him the entire night. Those dangerously beautiful eyes never relenting their ruthless gaze on him. At the time, he was adamant he was imagining it. His doubts of the vicious eye contact only stopped when he seen her pull the date in for a kiss. Eyes open and never leaving semi. She smirked into the kiss and it was clear – the beautiful nomad was locking on to the poor bartender who found himself gulping and frowning- he felt trapped in her gaze. Even with the woman’s tongue in another man’s mouth, whilst she whispered sultry things into the unbeknownst ear of her date, she had the setter’s full attention – and he had her’s.

That man left with her that night and never came back. Not in the many times she visited the bar after. Every time she came back, he found himself wanting to ask the woman her name, or her number, or just maybe hear her voice? His own indecisiveness hurt his head, poor boy; she made a confident hot head /shy/.

“What?” the woman surprised him one night, speaking up with that soft voice. It reminded him of what liquid velvet would sound like- if it was ever a thing. It jolted him out of his train of thought and he had to blink to make sure she was actually talking to him. “What?” he re-iterated, kind of lost in the conversation. The grin she shot him made him even more of stammering mess. “You were staring at me.” She was a temptress and knew how to mess with him. That smug expression had him clicking his tongue and frowning. “I was not” he defended, going back to quickly wiping down the counters. “you were” she shot back, so confidently, that irritated him even more.” I was-“ he stopped himself when he noticed that his arguing back was adding to her smugness.

They ended up sleeping together that night and in all honesty, Semi Eita had never felt more out of control. The stranger known as y/n ran the show, he felt like a gazelle in the eyes of a lion. How her hips rolled under his hands, the subtle cure in her spine and that movement of her body. Her kisses were like ecstasy and to be quite honest- he was addicted. she reminded him of lust, in human form. she was gifted and it was as though she knew every inkling of how to pleasure him, he didn’t know anyone else could compare, ever. That night he watched you doze off; he watched her fall asleep and hoped that he’d see her in the morning.

Of course he didn’t. she had left well before he had awoken. In your place- a phone number on a small scrap of paper and then he got an ear full after Tendou bursting in the door and screaming about how he didn’t get a snippet of sleep because of his radical sex last night.

The one night stand turned into a four night stand and on the fifth night, she was actually still there in the morning. He awoke to her, sleeping soundly next to him. The rays of light peaking in through the blinds illuminated those beautiful features and he was adamant if he kept staring at her he would catch feelings. That was one way for him to get his heartbroken. It was adorable, how she tucked her face into the crook of his neck and nuzzled closer to him. He’d kiss the crown of her head and as she stirred she littered gentle little kisses along his collar bone. Stretch in his arms and crack her brilliant eyes open. “Morning...” even her morning voice was cute. “Look who actually stays to see the sun...” how the woman would sleepily chuckle against his neck made his heart flutter. “Not intentionally Eita~”

`It became a common occurrence. Eleven months went by and still, the weird friends with benefits relationship they had going was still strong. Although now they basically knew most things about each other, she spent every other night together and some dates as well. The rule in the beginning of the relationship was no feelings. It was to stay casual, simple. No strings attached. Eita knew the minute she wanted to end this, he was royally fucked. He was so infatuated with her still; it hurt his chest to think that she wasnt actually his. Yeah, he was fortunate to wake up to her some mornings but he wanted more. He wanted her to be his. To tear down that wall of ambiguity that shrouded her. He wanted her and he knew he wouldn’t be able to hide it for much longer.

She had met a few of his friends, Tendou liked her but was apprehensive- the rest didn’t know how to feel. she seemed, that little bit too perfect for them aesthetically, just unnatural. Those eyes alone could intimidate a person, no matter how big they were. Semi noticed it. y/n just seemed /unhuman/ ?

The straw had broken the camels back when she blew semi off for another guy. They had arranged that she would stay the night given she hadn’t seen him for nearly two weeks, when she cancelled (again) last minute with some shitty ass excuse that pissed the setter off. The blonde decided instead of wallowing in his sorrows he would go on out with Tendou and a few of his class mates. The night was good, they got drunk, danced. Tendou was even bringing a girl home! Many women approached him, but in all honest- Eita couldn’t even give them the time of day to know their names. They weren’t her. With sad thoughts on his mind and alcohol in his hand, the night spiralled. His social battery ran out and he just wanted to go home. Subtly, he bid his friends goodbye before leaving the packed club. The cold night air helped him sober up slightly, there was a bitter bite to the breeze that led him to shove his hands into his pockets. He couldn’t get her out of his head; he was beginning to wonder how much he had drank. He was adamant he could hear her voice. Eyes lifting from the footpath and fixating on to your figure. You walked hand in hand with a tall man. He couldn’t see his face. He could just see her’s. His jealousy, his want and need for her motivating him forwards. His jealousy.

y/n’s laugh- it was stunning, such a musical quality. He had never heard anything like it. she looked over her shoulder, and it was as though he had met her all over again. He was trapped, that gaze of her’s was cruel and unrelenting. He found himself changing course and following her. His feet moving of their own accord. The wind picked up and whipped her hair around her face- but she didn’t seem to care. she walked on, hips swaying. The streets were empty. Only y/n, Eita and the faceless man on your arm. You were humming and it was scarily perfect, it made him want to sway his body to the melody.

Waves crashed and curled in on themselves in a white and blue frothy mishmash. Stones knocked together as they lay victim to the brutal beatings of the sea. The wild blue abyss churned and moved- she had a life of her own, lapping up the shore and claiming the land as hers. Despite the dark night, the obsidian sky was sent alight with violent forks of electricity. They jolted across the sky and served as the only source of light. Then Thor’s hammer rolled in, thunderous bellowing resonating all around. The sea was angry. As was the sky.

Warm brown eyes scanned the whole scene; a slow building panic reared its ugly head. How did he get here? Where did she go? Lighting cracked across the sky and for a moment, he could see her lone figure, sauntering down the pebbled beach.

“Hey! y/n!” he called out, his deep voice being drowned out by the violent torrents of the sea. Stumbling after her, he was in the dark again, shuddering when thunder joined the lighting. Eita kept walking straight after her, despite not being able to see.

The furious sky was sent alight again, she turned to be facing him, but still so far. Knee deep in the salty water. “Y/n! Stop shitting around!” the worry ebbed at his voice and he broke into a run after her. The water drowned his sneakers and had already begun to absorb into his jeans. He was afraid, for her. He was shivering as he walked deeper and deeper into the water.

When he was gifted his sights back by the electricity above, she was waist deep and flashing him that radiantly brilliant smile that always melted his heart. He stopped; he was freezing and refused to go any deeper. “y/n, come on, you had your fun- lets go home. “she opened her mouth to talk and a language he could not understand left her lips. A song.

Everything went silent, the waves and sky lost their voices, and he stared at her, usually fiery (e/c) eyes turning a glowing white. The longer he stared, the more his head filled up with those beautifully incomprehensible words. His arms that were previously in his pockets fell limp by his side. Those honey brown eyes of his slowly began to lose their colour. When she began to move deeper into the surf. He followed you.

Deeper and deeper.

Eyes changing and matching her own.

He wanted to touch her.

To hold her.

Hands reached out and cupped his cheeks; they evaporated any cold from his body. Her hands. His ominous white eyes gazed back into her’s. She still sang and he felt his eyes droop, struggling to keep himself awake. The waves lapped softly against his shoulders, then his neck. she led him further out of the shallows until he was completely submerged, still. she brought him out more- further and further. She was looking down at him now and he could feel his chest tighten, he needed to breath.

He couldn’t contemplate what was happening, he just wanted to be with her. He was convulsing with the need for oxygen, yet he couldn’t move to swim to the surface. Semi wasn’t sure he wanted to. Her voice wouldn’t let him. Lips turning blue, bubbles streaming from his mouth, yet she looked so perfectly calm, her hands holding his cheeks as he struggled. His limbs began to grow limp, her face got closer to his, slowly, and those now lifeless eyes of Semi’s slowly began to shut, the cold began to creep in and her warmth fleeted. Y/n’s musical anthem ceased. Her eyes softened and she brushed her thumbs across his cheek, kissed his forehead. Darkness shrouded him as his eyes shut. He heard her voice, y/n whispered about how much she loved and adored him , how she couldn't share him, about how she hoped he would always be her’s. Not long after, she was gone and all he could feel was the cold.

I may or may not do a pt 2 :))

#haikyū!!#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu!!#semi eita #semi eita x reader #shiratorizawa #supernatural #headcanon

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theliberaltony · 4 years

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via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Donald Trump won the GOP nomination and then the presidency even as many prominent officials within the party opposed him. He spent much of his first two years in office struggling to get his policies enacted, with top advisers such as then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis essentially ignoring his demands. Early in his tenure, the GOP-controlled House and Senate adopted several measures, such as new sanctions on Russia, that it was clear Trump did not truly support, leaving the president looking irrelevant. At the same time, Trump was being investigated by the executive branch that he was running, in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.

Even as he was losing some fights in 2017 and 2018, though, Trump was also steadily beating back Republican resistance to his leadership. In many ways, 2019 was the culmination of that work. As we approach the end of the year, Trump is truly in charge of the party now — a fact that was powerfully illustrated last week week when every Republican member of the House opposed impeachment despite ample evidence that the president and his team tried to force the Ukrainian government to investigate the former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Let me unpack that idea by looking at power centers within the government and the broader Republican Party.

The executive branch

Trump spent the latter half of 2017 and all of 2018 gradually forcing out the more establishment Republicans who he had initially put into top jobs in his administration. That process was all but completed in 2019. He replaced Mattis, national security adviser John Bolton and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats — all of whom allowed their disagreements with Trump to become public — with people who were more likely to align his vision. One of the first moves of Robert O’Brien, the new national security adviser, was to reduce the number of non-poltical staffers working at the National Security Council, essentially an effort to prevent future anti-Trump whisberlowers.1 New Defense Secretary Mark Esper forced out Navy Secretary Richard Spicer amid tensions over Trump softening the punishments for a Navy Seal accused of war crimes in Iraq.

By far the most important personnel change was the confirmation of William Barr in February to run the Department of Justice. From downplaying Mueller’s findings before the special counsel’s report was publicly released to aggressively investigating the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, Barr is executing Trump’s agenda at DOJ in a way that Jeff Sessions never did.

Congress

The conressional GOP has become more and more aligned with Trump through two mechanisms: First, members are retiring and being replaced by more pro-Trump figures, and second, members who remain in office are increasingly aligning themselves with the president.

In 2018, 26 Republicans in the House and Senate opted to retire from politics rather than seek reelection. It was the second-biggest congressional exodus for the GOP since at least 1974. A similar trend has developed in 2019 (there are already 24 retirements) and I would expect more Republican lawmakers will head for the exits early next year. Trump isn’t the only reason that these members are retiring, but being a congressional Republican increasingly means defending whatever Trump does — and some GOP members don’t want to do that.

I haven’t comprehensively studied the comments about Trump and the voting behavior of Republicans who entered Congress in 2019 compared to the people they replaced. But looking at the broader story of what is happening in both the House and Senate suggests that the newer members are helping shift the congressional GOP closer to Trump. In Trump’s first two years, for example, then-Speaker Paul Ryan sometimes balked at the president’s demands, angering the House Freedom Caucus. But Ryan’s former No. 2, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, is now the top Republican in the House, and he’s gone from Trump skeptic to fierce loyalist. The House Republicans are now essentially one big Freedom Caucus, aligning with the president on nearly every issue.

In the Senate in 2017-2018, there were six GOP members who regularly criticized the president: Susan Collins of Maine, Bob Corker of Tennessee, Jeff Flake of Arizona, John McCain of Arizona, Lisa Murkowksi of Alaska and Ben Sasse of Nebraska. McCain resigned from the Senate and eventually died. Flake and Corker retired, and the latter was replaced by the very-pro-Trump Sen. Marsha Blackburn. Up for reelection next year and needing Republican votes to ensure he is not defeated in a GOP primary, Sasse has dialed down his criticism of the president. The Trump-skeptical wing of Senate Republicans is now really down to three people: newly elected Mitt Romney of Utah, Collins and Murkowski.

There are also significantly fewer GOP House members now than there were at the start of Trump’s tenure. So one element of the story here is that Republicans, particularly those in blue or purple areas, are losing elections in part because of Trump’s unpopularity. The 2018 midterms, for example, all but wiped out Republicans representing districts that were carried by Hillary Clinton in 2016. So the elected officials who remain are more likely to represent more conservative districts and states. And the GOP senators and representatives who are inclined to push back against Trump are more isolated as a result.

Matt Glassman, who studies Congress as a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Government Affairs Institute, argued that losing the House also in some ways strengthened the bond between congressional Republicans and the president. When congressional Republicans and Trump aren’t aligned on something, they blame their challenges on a common enemy: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“When the GOP controlled both chambers, they had to find ways to bury his Trumpy legislative agenda. Now they can just let Pelosi do that,” said Glassman.

The states

Let’s start with the governors. In 2017 and 2018, there were basically five Trump-skeptical Republican governors: Charlie Baker of Masachusetts, Larry Hogan of Maryland, John Kasich of Ohio, Brian Sandoval of Nevada and Phil Scott of Vermont. They opposed GOP efforts to repeal Obamacare — playing an important role in signaling that the party was not united on that issue, even as most congressional Republicans fell in line and backed the repeal efforts. But the Trump-skeptical gubernatorial ranks have since dropped — Kasich left office because of term limits, replaced by a Republican (Mike DeWine) who doesn’t publicly criticize Trump much. Sandoval also left because of term limits, replaced by a Democrat (Steve Sisolak.) There are also just fewer GOP governors today than there were when Trump was sworn in — the same blue wave that gave Democrats the House in the midterms also knocked several Republicans out of the top job in blue states.

We’ve also seen state Republican parties closely ally themselves with Trump in 2019. At the beginning of this year, I thought Trump might face a serious challenge in the Republican primaries. I was wrong. Former Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois and ex-Gov. William Weld of Massachusetts entered the race but never really gained any traction. But even if a real challenger had emerged, he or she would have had to overcome a huge barrier — GOP state party officials in several states have canceled caucuses and primaries to ensure that Trump doesn’t have to face any competitors in those states. Maybe the state parties would not have made those moves if Hogan or another Republican with more standing in the party were challenging the president, rather than Walsh, who served only one term in Congress, and Weld, who hasn’t held an elected office in years and last made news by running for vice president as a Libertarian.

But I tend to think that this is another example of the party bowing to Trump’s power — and that even a viable challenger would have been effectively shut out by the canceled primaries.

The courts

An alliance between the Federalist Society, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Trump has resulted in the president appointing 50 judges to appellate courts, nearly as many as Obama appointed (55) in eight years. And Trump, of course, has also made two Supreme Court appointments, with new Justice Brett Kavanaugh serving his first full year on high court in 2019.

Some of these judges, like Kavanaugh, would likely have been appointed by a President Ted Cruz or a President John Kasich. But I think it matters that more and more of Trump’s appointees are on the bench. Why? Because it’s likely that some of the cases that these judges are going to hear will be Trump-related questions that would likely not apply to a President Cruz or Kasich: Is the way that the Trump administration is trying to build additional barriers along the Mexico-U.S. border legal, considering Congress’s objections to some of this spending? Should the president have to release his tax returns? Should his aides have to testify on Capitol Hill?

These Trump-appointed judges, whatever their legal views, have some reason to be loyal to Trump, in a way that a conservative judge appointed by a president like Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush does not. Several of Trump’s appointees had questionable qualifications (according to legal experts) and might not have not been appointed by another GOP president. Trump stuck by Kavanaugh amid the sexual misconduct allegations, and Kavanaugh has said he is grateful for that support. Next summer, when the court rules on whether Trump must release his tax returns, could that gratitude color how Kavanaugh sees the case, which touches not on Trump’s policies but matters that are more about Trump personally?

Trump’s further consolidation of the GOP really matters. First, as I have written before, there is substantial conservative opposition to Trump. But it’s largely concentrated among former senior administration officials and members of Congress, as well as media figures who are on CNN and not Fox News. Trump’s GOP opponents increasingly raising their objections in spaces where they will not be heard by many GOP voters.

Secondly, if Republican members of Congress and even Trump-appointed judges are aligned with Trump, it makes it easier for Trump to cast any disagreement with him or his policy moves as simply Democrats opposing him because he’s a Republican. And the media covers partisan disputes in a less negative way for Trump than disputes that cross party lines.

Finally, the Republican Party’s near-total alignment with Trump makes it harder for GOP critics of the president to gain any traction. Romney seems to want to lead an insurgency among Republicans on Capitol Hill, but he can’t lead anything if he doesn’t have any followers. And so far, there is little indication that there’s a substantial bloc of Republicans on Capitol Hill who want to join Romney in taking on the president.

In short, it’s Trump��s Grand Old Party, now more than ever.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Perry Bacon Jr.

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iampikachuhearmeroar · 5 years

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okay, y’all, i’ve gotta back on my tl;dr bullshit soapbox about something:

so, the other day, i was just mindlessly scrolling through my corporate & capitalist hellscape facebook™️ (i.e. LinkedIn) and came across this totally trite mostly bullshit meme that was shared by some corporate executive search man (whose name i decided to crop out bc eh):

so i obviously agree with the last three points on this list, bc god yes my life would’ve been a bit better if I didn’t get all my dialogue about mental health only from teen mags and horrible portrayals in teen tv shows (and also this hellsite). and hell yeah everyone, and I mean EVERYONE needs to learn that failure is okay many situations (like failing a class in uni or school) bc everyone fails at something sometimes. and dealing with failure is HARD. and time management is something that I’m pretty sure everyone lies to fuckin hell about on their resume, bc lots of people really suck at it, myself included. so yeah. that needs to be taught. and i also agree with the “how to manage your health” point. bc thats becoming ever more prevalent and important with career burn out etc.

but entrepreneurship? people management? conflict resolution? creativity? how to manage money? public speaking? like y’all. three of those ARE taught/learned in school, who the fuck wrote this meme?

for anyone who actually paid attention in maths class, (which is probably very few people outside of the top performing classes), there WAS A WHOLE FUCKING UNIT that focuses on financial maths (in australia anyway). I ignored this unit as well as maths in general at school, bc I generally hated maths and was convinced that I was somehow never going to get a job. but i remember the gist of the overall topic and its subtopics. one subtopic teaches you how to calculate your wages in various contexts (overtime, double-time and a half, holiday payments, im pretty sure maternity leave pay was jammed in somewhere? idk if other countries would have double time & a 1/2 like australia though). another subtopic teaches you how to calculate interest on bank loans and credit rates on credit cards. a third subtopic teaches you how to calculate savings (obvs in terms of discounts in shops)....im sure there was a bit about budgeting in there somewhere? im pretty sure there were some questions were about tax payments somewhere as a subtopic enrichment exercise? but you get my gist. are these not money management skills? in some sense? like if i could find one of my old maths textbooks or old maths books i’d give an example of a question, to make my point stronger. but the problem, like i said before, is that a load of people (myself included) just zone out in maths in high school and stop trying with it. they forget what they’ve learnt, and just remember how much they hated algebra and how they’ll never use it again. maths was one hell of a fucking strong bitch, guys. but maybe i’m wrong.

creativity? excuse me? have people forgotten about art classes? drama classes? english classes? music classes? need i go on? okay don’t get me wrong, most of these classes did focus a lot on memorising quotes or facts about people (artists/writers/poets/composers/dramatists etc) or specific periods/movements in art or theatre or literature for example.... but the amazing sculptures/paintings etc people created in art for their final projects in year 12, or even in year 10 were works of their imagination. the scripts people write in drama or maybe english (if you had a fun teacher who did a screenwriting unit, for example) are creative asf. especially in year 12 when they do their major projects, where they may produce a monologue or a short movie, and then there’s a group piece. drama students might even make their own costumes for these performances. LIKE AIN’T THAT A LOT OF CREATIVITY RIGHT THERE Y’ALL????? and english. lowly old english. THEY HAVE A WHOLE FUCKING TOPIC ON CREATIVE WRITING FOR FUCKS SAKE. the original music people might create for their final projects too in year 12? does that not count as creativity? like yes, i know a lot of these things do still have to meet bs assessment criteria (especially in catholic schools, where the main things are you don’t offend the catholic education office and jesus/god lmao) to be considered worthy of a mark for your year 12 exams. but FUCK. HOW THE FUCK AREN’T ANY OF THESE SUBJECTS COUNTED TOWARDS BEING CREATIVE???????? like fuck your corporate creative ideation or w/e bullshit, Callum. drama and english even lend themselves to improvisation in some instances, like public speaking, which is examined further, below.

next, we move on to public speaking. this shit is basically taught from the first goddamn day of “show & tell” in kindy/kindergarten, and this fucker has the gall to say that it’s not fucking taught in schools? someone call in miley cyrus/hannah montana to throw the fuck down in this motherfucking hoedown BC THIS STUPID-ASS MEME-FUCKER HAS NERVE. i hated public speaking. absolutely hated it. even though it was ironically one of the places i ended up excelling in in english classes. even when i fucked up in my english speeches with like “oh, fuck.... said nelson mandela, i’ve seem to’ve lost my palm card. wait, shit! there it is... excuse me while i pull it out of my ass. whoops, sorry miss” *bats eyes and finger guns at my year 9 english teacher who has her head in her hands and is done with my shit, while the class laughs at my gaffe* i’d still end up with like 73% or like 26/30. it was baffling. but for people who weren’t the class clown/smart alec like i was from years 7-10 (and like i actually wasn’t once i moved schools).... public speaking is like the leading cause of anxiety, right? like by the time i got to doing speeches/presentations at uni i was having panic attacks... the thought of presenting to my classes made me fucking sick with fear and anxiety. nearly every subject i did at uni (even when i tried to avoid subs with public speaking assessments) and throughout school had some type of presentation/speech whatever you want to call it project/activity in it. even fucking SPORT/PDHPE at school and even philosophy at uni. and these fuckers are saying its not taught in schools. FUCK OFF. like yeah, i get that they actually mean it in the professional sense.... where people can give the sappy bs motivational speeches or an insightful ted-talk worthy 20-minute presentation... or a great sales pitch. but like??? save that for mike “my dad phoned in to EY and i have a job waiting for me after uni” mcfuck in a business major or law degree? or for clubs like toastmasters? fuck. ok enough of the skills we learn in school. let’s move onto the businesslike-sounding ones of “people management”, “conflict management” and fucking “entrepreneurship”. like. what the fuck? okay in some sense people management and conflict management could potentially be used in managing friendships and relationships in your personal life. but like. i can feel the business underpinnings and i dont like it lmao. like why do you want fully functioning adults straight out of school, franklin? and there’s extra credit conflict management subjects at uni??? or at least my home uni had it... and i never did them bc they were intensive courses during summer break lol. but the one that pissed me off the most was entrepreneurship. LIKE ARE KIDS NOT FUCKING ALLOWED TO BE KIDS NOW????? well apparently: “NO! YOU MUST ALWAYS THINK OF MONEY MAKING WAYS TO BE RICH! YOU MUST BE ENTREPRENEURIAL!!!!!! YOU MUST GENERATE BUSINESS IDEAS FROM THE TIME YOU CAN FUCKIN’ WALK!!!!! AND SPEAK!!! CHILDHOOD AND BEING A TEENAGER DON’T EXIST WORKER BEE!!!! CAPITALISM FOR ALL!!!! WORKER BEES!!! CAPITALISM IS YOUR FRIEND!!! OWN A BUSINESS BY THE TIME YOU’RE 8 YEARS OLD!” like it’s insidious asf. and it doesn’t acknowledge that most entrepreneurs are already privileged people anyway, who usually have some type of money to start off their venture (or that’s what it feels like anyway). and yeah throw all the “THIS BOY IS AN ENTREPRENEUR AT 18!!! 18!!!???? BY STARTING HIS OWN BUSINESS AT 12!!!! WHAT A CHAMP! 😁🙃” clickbait news stories at me, but i don’t fucking care. the concept and perceived over-importance and almost preaching mindset of entrepreneurship is slowly becoming insidious and toxic asf. call me paranoid. but that’s what it feels like.

but with those last three topics, i want to make a point that school curriculum’s (in australia at least, and probably worldwide) are so jam-packed already with sport (which is pointless and shitty), geography (ok how to read maps is important, but i never bothered to learned to do it properly), history, science, english etc etc etc..... that like.... where the actual fuck are the gonna jam the above bs (people management”, “conflict management” and entrepreneurship) into the curriculum???? and also teachers are already over-worked enough as it is, they don’t need another load of shitty subjects pushed onto them. and they sure asf don’t earn enough (especially in the states) to have this bs pushed into their subject schedules either. keep them at uni, where they should be. or just in the workplace/in the general public where they belong. and if people suggest that you could probably push these subjects into the year 11/12 business studies programs or elective commerce courses in years 9/10, save your goddamn breath. like i remember looking at business studies hsc papers in years 11/12 to see what they did.... and it was pretty chock-a-block anyway. and my experience of my year 9 commerce was horrible, to say the least. let kids be kids, for fucks sake. they shouldn’t have to be fully functioning adults in the workplace, by the end of high school, for fucks sake. AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS NOT AN ESSENTIAL SKILL????!!!! FUCK OFF WITH THAT SHIT, WILHELM. anyway. that’s my rant over about how i hate how corporate people are trying to be #relatablewiththeyouth🙃 with their shitty versions of “10 things i wish we learned in school” memes.... and failing.... without realising that this is why millennials are suspicious and cynical about meme usage by corporate people/corporations.

#life #about me #shut up ilona #ranty mcrantrant #ilona rants about shit #warning: a too long didnt read/tl;dr post #for lazy tumblr peeps who never read long posts is ahead #BEWARE!!!’#and strap in for the ride #but yeah tl:dr ahead #learn to read long form posts you fucks #it was in my replies #so read my tags y’all

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ademainalors · 6 years

Text

Doing this

1: I’m afraid my name will have to stay ademainalors ;)

2: 20

3: 3 Fears

The afterlife

Immortality

Mortality

4: 3 things I love

Anime

My Dell Latitude E6410

Cartoons that cannot technically be called anime

5: 4 turns on

Power

Intelligence

Strange hair

Complex understanding of trauma

6: 4 turns off

Misogyny

Homophobia

Clingyness

7: My best friend

Brie or Kyle, although to be honest, I haven’t talked with many humans in the past several months, so at this point, both individuals probably only consider me as a regular friend

8: Sexual orientation

Pansexual

9: My best first date

Aromantic, I never knew, but they were all awful

10: How tall am I

5″ 5′

11: What do I miss

When Zack used to do house rules DND with me, Kyle and Armstrong

12: What time were I born

Heck if I know

13: Favourite color

#ff0000

14: Do I have a crush

I tend not to pay my crushes much mind now that I’ve come to terms with my aromanticism, but when Nathan joked about how he’d want to fuck someone in the server closet, in my head I was like, name a time

15: Favourite quote

16: Favourite place

The Japanese Library

17: Favourite food

Pasta

18: Do I use sarcasm

No, never, not me ever

19: What am I listening to right now

The silence of the void (that’s not an edgy band name... yet)

20: First thing I notice in new person

Their relationship to power

21: Shoe size

10 I think? Fun fact, I religiously wear crocs, and crocs actually stretch out with use, so my crocs have been growing with my feet.

22: Eye color

Hazel

23: Hair color

Brown

24: Favourite style of clothing

I was talking to Kyle about Queer Eye, and I said, “You know what they would say to me if they saw me, they would say I wear clothes that nobody would ever wear because no clothes express my gender, and then they would fix that” And he told me I was perceptive. My favorite shirt is an MPR Volunteer shirt that has no gender.

25: Ever done a prank call?

Nope

27: Meaning behind my URL

What Adrien says to Marinette at the end of the umbrella scene, “See you around” in french

28: Favourite movie

Tangled, but in Spanish

29: Favourite song

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

30: Favourite band

Baths

31: How I feel right now

Overwhelmed

32: Someone I love

My parents platonically

33: My current relationship status

Single

34: My relationship with my parents

Good

35: Favourite holiday

36: Tattoos and piercing i have

I have my ears pierced

37: Tattoos and piercing i want

I’d prefer to keep those Japanese bathhouse privileges

38: The reason I joined Tumblr

I shared a blog with Kyle on Blogger and he wanted it moved because Blogger sucks

39: Do I and my last ex hate each other?

I’m irritated with my last ex, as my last relationship made me realize I was aromantic and that I was doing painful amounts of emotional labor and downright fraud in the name of normalicy

40: Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night ” texts?

Nope

41: Have I ever kissed the last person you texted?

My dad? Platonically

42: When did I last hold hands?

In my last relationship

43: How long does it take me to get ready in the morning?

30 Minutes

44: Have You shaved your legs in the past three days?

I haven’t shaved them in the past three years!

45: Where am I right now?

My room

46: If I were drunk & can’t stand, who’s taking care of me?

Nobody, that’s why I don’t drink

47: Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level?

At a reasonable level

48: Do I live with my Mom and Dad?

Yes

49: Am I excited for anything?

If I’m being honest, no, but there are several things I would tell people about IRL if I were asked

50: Do I have someone of the opposite sex I can tell everything to?

Is the opposite of non-binary cisgender, or another non-binary? Doesn’t matter, the answer is no

51: How often do I wear a fake smile?

Too much

52: When was the last time I hugged someone?

My dad, platonically, two weeks ago

53: What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone else right in front of me?

I wouldn’t care

54: Is there anyone I trust even though I should not?

My lab partner for this goddamn lab report

55: What is something I disliked about today?

My lack of productivity

56: If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

Justin Trudeau

57: What do I think about most?

My time efficiency

58: What’s my strangest talent?

Mechanum: I can execute complete instructions perfectly, and I can memorize sets of complete instructions. So if I get a set of complete instructions, I can master the task associated. I am very good at extremely divergent tasks due to this.

59: Do I have any strange phobias?

Having to attend SCSU

60: Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

Behind. Pansonic HMC150s are the bomb .com

61: What was the last lie I told?

I told a group of people that I was sick. I’m actually just anxious and depressed, which is it’s own kind of sick, but I implied influenza.

62: Do I perfer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

Video chat.

63: Do I believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

Aliens probably, but they likely formed at the same time we did and are either too far or lackluster like dolphins. Ghosts, not really.

64: Do I believe in magic?

I bought a spell from a witch down on money, I just like witches though, I’m not wiccan

65: Do I believe in luck?

100%

66: What’s the weather like right now?

Clear night skies?

67: What was the last book I’ve read?

Sedra Smith, Microelectric Circuits

68: Do I like the smell of gasoline?

69: Do I have any nicknames?

None that I like, except 雨

70: What was the worst injury I’ve ever had?

Concussion, 6th grade skiing accident

71: Do I spend money or save it?

Mostly save

72: Can I touch my nose with a tounge?

Nope

73: Is there anything pink in 10 feets from me?

Yup, my blankets are pink, should change 74: Favourite animal? 75: What was I doing last night at 12 AM?

Sleeping

76: What do I think is Satan’s last name is?

Ochocki-Becker

77: What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it?

Get it together, by the Go-Team 78: How can you win my heart?

You can’t. I’ll be your QP if we make a utilitarian symbiotic domestic partnership. I’ll fuck you if you’re sexy and can somehow manage to not trigger memories of my sexual assault, but like, that won’t happen.

79: What would I want to be written on my tombstone?

Rest in Pieces

80: What is my favorite word?

です

81: My top 5 blogs on tumblr

I’m not here to start a war, though one of them is haiku bot

82: If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say?

We are not Trump

83: Do I have any relatives in jail?

Nope

84: I accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow me with the super-power of my choice! What is that power?

Pausing time

85: What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on?

Tell me about your sexual history

86: What is my current desktop picture?

Me standing next to a no parking sign in Japanese in a small town in rural Minnesota

87: Had sex?

Yes

88: Bought condoms?

Kind of

89: Gotten pregnant?

90: Failed a class?

I have more W’s than a web address but no F’s

91: Kissed a boy?

Yes

92: Kissed a girl?

Yes

93: Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain?

94: Had job?

Yes

95: Left the house without my wallet?

Yes

96: Bullied someone on the internet?

Actually, surprisingly, Kyle. We’re cool now.

97: Had sex in public?

98: Played on a sports team?

Yep, 3rd grade, Softball. I wanted to play baseball and I hated it.

99: Smoked weed?

100: Did drugs?

101: Smoked cigarettes?

102: Drank alcohol?

Confirmation wine, a sip of champaign that I spat out, a sip of gin that I spat out. I can taste the death of my mouth microbiota when I put alcohol in my mouth

103: Am I a vegetarian/vegan?

Vegetarian

104: Been overweight?

Nope

105: Been underweight?

Probably

106: Been to a wedding?

Yes

107: Been on the computer for 5 hours straight?

まいにち

108: Watched TV for 5 hours straight?

はい、アニメを見ます。

109: Been outside my home country?

Nope

110: Gotten my heart broken?

I don’t have one, but I found out a FWB hated non binaries. It was kind of crushing.

111: Been to a professional sports game?

Yep

112: Broken a bone?

Nope

113: Cut myself?

Sort of, TW: I pick at the skin around my toenails, sometimes with pushpins

114: Been to prom?

115: Been in airplane?

Yep, Houston

116: Fly by helicopter?

117: What concerts have I been to?

The FIRST Robotics concert

118: Had a crush on someone of the same sex?

Yep

119: Learned another language?

はい、すごし

120: Wore make up?

Yeah, I hate it

121: Lost my virginity before I was 18?

TW: Is rape virginity

122: Had oral sex?

Yeah, it sucked.

123: Dyed my hair?

124: Voted in a presidential election?

Hillary Clinton

125: Rode in an ambulance?

Yes, concussion

126: Had a surgery?

Wisdom teeth removal

127: Met someone famous?

Dessa

128: Stalked someone on a social network?

Probably

129: Peed outside?

130: Been fishing?

Yes

131: Helped with charity?

Yes

132: Been rejected by a crush?

Yes

133: Broken a mirror?

Yes

134: What do I want for birthday?

Cash

135: How many kids do I want and what will be their names?

Adopting teenagers, they’ll have names already, probably one, but maybe more if they’ve got sibs, Despicable Me style.

136: Was I named after anyone?

Something

137: Do I like my handwriting?

No, it’s an abomination

138: What was my favourite toy as a child?

Piglet

139: Favourite Tv Show?

Assasination Classroom

140: Where do I want to live when older?

Minnesota doncha no?

141: Play any musical instrument?

Used to play trombone

142: One of my scars, how did I get it?

Scootering accident

143: Favourite pizza toping?

Alfredo sauce instead of tomato sauce

144: Am I afraid of the dark?

No 145: Am I afraid of heights?

Yes 146: Have I ever got caught sneaking out or doing anything bad?

No 147: Have I ever tried my hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end?

The midterm two days ago

148: What I’m really bad at

Reading university textbooks

149: What my greatest achievments are

Student Senate President

150: The meanest thing somebody has ever said to me

I was in a political argument and some bitch brought my yellow teeth into it

151: What I’d do if I won in a lottery

Take the payments over time, put in a bank account, pay off people’s loans on the contidition they try to pay off other people’s loans, put solar panels on things, buy a tesla

152: What do I like about myself

My hair 153: My closest Tumblr friend

@dragon-in-a-fez 154: Something I fantasise about

Being dictator of the US 155: Any question you’d like?

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boreothegoldfinch · 3 years

Text

chapter 5 paragraph xii

Before Boris, I had borne my solitude stoically enough, without realizing quite how alone I was. And I suppose if either of us had lived in an even halfway normal household, with curfews and chores and adult supervision, we wouldn’t have become quite so inseparable, so fast, but almost from that day we were together all the time, scrounging our meals and sharing what money we had. In New York, I had grown up around a lot of worldly kids—kids who’d lived abroad and spoke three or four languages, who did summer programs at Heidelberg and spent their holidays in places like Rio or Innsbruck or Cap d’Antibes. But Boris—like an old sea captain—put them all to shame. He had ridden a camel; he had eaten witchetty grubs, played cricket, caught malaria, lived on the street in Ukraine (“but for two weeks only”), set off a stick of dynamite by himself, swum in Australian rivers infested with crocodiles. He had read Chekhov in Russian, and authors I’d never heard of in Ukrainian and Polish. He had endured midwinter darkness in Russia where the temperature dropped to forty below: endless blizzards, snow and black ice, the only cheer the green neon palm tree that burned twenty-four hours a day outside the provincial bar where his father liked to drink. Though he was only a year older than me—fifteen—he’d had actual sex with a girl, in Alaska, someone he’d bummed a cigarette off in the parking lot of a convenience store. She’d asked him if he wanted to sit in her car with her, and that was that. (“But you know what?” he said, blowing smoke out of the corner of his mouth. “I don’t think she liked it very much.” “Did you?” “God, yes. Although, I’m telling you, I know I wasn’t doing it right. I think was too cramped in the car.”) Every day, we rode home on the bus together. At the half-finished Community Center on the edge of Desatoya Estates, where the doors were padlocked and the palm trees stood dead and brown in the planters, there was an abandoned playground where we bought sodas and melted candy bars from the dwindling stock in the vending machines, sat around outside on the swings, smoking and talking. His bad tempers and black moods, which were frequent, alternated with unsound bursts of hilarity; he was wild and gloomy, he could make me laugh sometimes until my sides ached, and we always had so much to say that we often lost track of time and stayed outside talking until well past dark. In Ukraine, he had seen an elected official shot in the stomach walking to his car—just happened to witness it, not the shooter, just the broad-shouldered man in a too-small overcoat falling to his knees in darkness and snow. He told me about his tiny tin-roof school near the Chippewa reservation in Alberta, sang nursery songs in Polish for me (“For homework, in Poland, we are usually learning a poem or song by heart, a prayer maybe, something like that”) and taught me to swear in Russian (“This is the true mat —from the gulags”). He told me too how, in Indonesia, he had been converted to Islam by his friend Bami the cook: giving up pork, fasting during Ramadan, praying to Mecca five times a day. “But I’m not Muslim any more,” he explained, dragging his toe in the dust. We were lying on our backs on the merry-go-round, dizzy from spinning. “I gave it up a while back.” “Why?” “Because I drink.” (This was the understatement of the year; Boris drank beer the way other kids drank Pepsi, starting pretty much the instant we came home from school.) “But who cares?” I said. “Why does anybody have to know?” He made an impatient noise. “Because is wrong to profess faith if I don’t observe properly. Disrespectful to Islam.” “Still. ‘Boris of Arabia.’ It has a ring.” “Fuck you.”

“No, seriously,” I said, laughing, raising up on my elbows. “Did you really believe in all that?” “All what?” “You know. Allah and Muhammad. ‘There is no God but God’—?” “No,” he said, a bit angrily, “my Islam was a political thing.” “What, you mean like the shoe bomber?” He snorted with laughter. “Fuck, no. Besides, Islam doesn’t teach violence.” “Then what?” He came up off the merry-go-round, alert gaze: “What do you mean, what? What are you trying to say?” “Back off! I’m asking a question.” “Which is—?” “If you converted to it and all, then what did you believe?” He fell back and chortled as if I’d let him off the hook. “Believe? Ha! I don’t believe in anything.” “What? You mean now?” “I mean never. Well—the Virgin Mary, a little. But Allah and God…? not so much.” “Then why the hell did you want to be Muslim?” “Because—” he held out his hands, as he did sometimes when he was at a loss—“such wonderful people, they were all so friendly to me!” “That’s a start.” “Well, it was, really. They gave me an Arabic name—Badr al-Dine. Badr is moon, it means something like moon of faithfulness, but they said, ‘Boris, you are badr because you light everywhere, being Muslim now, lighting the world with your religion, you shine wherever you go.’ I loved it, being Badr. Also, the mosque was brilliant. Falling-down palace—stars shining through at night—birds in the roof. An old Javanese man taught us the Koran. And they fed me too, and were kind, and made sure I was clean and had clean clothes. Sometimes I fell asleep on my prayer rug. And at salah, near dawn, when the birds woke up, always the sound of wings beating!” Though his Australo-Ukrainian accent was certainly very odd, he was almost as fluent in English as I was; and considering what a short time he’d lived in America he was reasonably conversant in amerikanskii ways. He was always poring through his torn-up pocket dictionary (his name scrawled in Cyrillic on the front, with the English carefully lettered beneath: BORYS VOLODYMYROVYCH PAVLIKOVSKY) and I was always finding old 7-Eleven napkins and bits of scratch paper with lists of words and terms he’d made: bridle and domesticate celerity trattoria wise guy = кpymoŭ пaцaн propinquity Dereliction of duty. When his dictionary failed him, he consulted me. “What is Sophomore?” he asked me, scanning the bulletin board in the halls at school. “Home Ec? Poly Sci?” (pronounced, by him, as “politzei”). He had never heard of most of the food in the cafeteria lunch: fajitas, falafel, turkey tetrazzini. Though he knew a lot about movies and music, he was decades behind the times; he didn’t have a clue about sports or games or television, and—apart from a few big European brands like Mercedes and BMW—couldn’t tell one car from another. American money confused him, and sometimes too American geography: in what province was California located? Could I tell him which city was the capital of New England?

But he was used to being on his own. Cheerfully he got himself up for school, hitched his own rides, signed his own report cards, shoplifted his own food and school supplies. Once every week or so we walked miles out of our way in the suffocating heat, shaded beneath umbrellas like Indonesian tribesmen, to catch the poky local bus called the CAT, which as far as I could tell no one rode out our way except drunks, people too poor to have a car, and kids. It ran infrequently, and if we missed it we had to stand around for a while waiting for the next bus, but among its stops was a shopping plaza with a chilly, gleaming, understaffed supermarket where Boris stole steaks for us, butter, boxes of tea, cucumbers (a great delicacy for him), packages of bacon —even cough syrup once, when I had a cold—slipping them in the cutaway lining of his ugly gray raincoat (a man’s coat, much too big for him, with drooping shoulders and a grim Eastern Bloc look about it, a suggestion of food rationing and Soviet-era factories, industrial complexes in Lviv or Odessa). As he wandered around I stood lookout at the head of the aisle, so shaky with nerves I sometimes worried I would black out—but soon I was filling my own pockets with apples and chocolate (other favored food items of Boris’s) before walking up brazenly to the counter to buy bread and milk and other items too big to steal.

Back in New York, when I was eleven or so, my mother had signed me up for a Kids in the Kitchen class at my day camp, where I’d learned to cook a few simple meals: hamburgers, grilled cheese (which I’d sometimes made for my mother on nights she worked late), and what Boris called “egg and toasts.” Boris, who sat on the countertop kicking the cabinets with his heels and talking to me while I cooked, did the washing-up. In the Ukraine, he told me, he’d sometimes picked pockets for money to eat. “Got chased, once or twice,” he said. “Never caught, though.” “Maybe we should go down to the Strip sometime,” I said. We were standing at the kitchen counter at my house with knives and forks, eating our steaks straight from the frying pan. “If we were going to do it, that’d be the place. I never saw so many drunk people and they’re all from out of town.” He stopped chewing; he looked shocked. “And why should we? When so easy to steal here, from so big stores!” “Just saying.” My money from the doormen—which Boris and I spent a few dollars at a time, in vending machines and at the 7-Eleven near school that Boris called “the magazine”—would hold out a while, but not forever. “Ha! And what will I do if you are arrested, Potter?” he said, dropping a fat piece of steak down to the dog, whom he had taught to dance on his hind legs. “Who will cook the dinner? And who will look after Snaps here?” Xandra’s dog Popper he’d taken to calling ‘Amyl’ and ‘Nitrate’ and ‘Popchik’ and ‘Snaps’—anything but his real name. I’d started bringing him in even though I wasn’t supposed to because I was so tired of him always straining at the end of his chain trying to look in at the glass door and yapping his head off. But inside he was surprisingly quiet; starved for attention, he stuck close to us wherever we went, trotting anxiously at our heels, upstairs and down, curling up to sleep on the rug while Boris and I read and quarrelled and listened to music up in my room. “Seriously, Boris,” I said, pushing the hair from my eyes (I was badly in need of a haircut, but didn’t want to spend the money), “I don’t see much difference in stealing wallets and stealing steaks.” “Big difference, Potter.” He held his hands apart to show me just how big. “Stealing from working person? And stealing from big rich company that robs the people?” “Costco doesn’t rob the people. It’s a discount supermarket.” “Fine then. Steal essentials of life from private citizen. This is your so-smart plan. Hush,” he said to the dog, who’d barked sharply for more steak. “I wouldn’t steal from some poor working person,” I said, tossing Popper a piece of steak myself. “There are plenty of sleazy people walking around Vegas with wads of cash.” “Sleazy?” “Dodgy. Dishonest.” “Ah.” The pointed dark eyebrow went up. “Fair enough. But if you steal money from sleazy person, like gangster, they are likely to hurt you, nie?” “You weren’t scared of getting hurt in Ukraine?” He shrugged. “Beaten up, maybe. Not shot.” “Shot?” “Yes, shot. Don’t look surprised. This cowboy country, who knows? Everyone has guns.” “I’m not saying a cop. I’m saying drunk tourists. The place is crawling with them Saturday night.” “Ha!” He put the pan down on the floor for the dog to finish off. “Likely you will end up in jail, Potter. Loose morals, slave to the economy. Very bad citizen, you.”

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lovemesomesurveys · 3 years

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survey by chrissylee22dc

A Achievements: None in recent years... the last I’d say was getting my BA back in 2015, but that’s just been collecting dust on a shelf and I have no plans to pursue anything in psychology anymore, so it feels more like a waste. :/ I have no idea what I want to do.

Age: 31.

Are you planning something right now? No.

Arizona or Alaska: Arizona is even worse than where I live in terms of heat, it’s straight up desert. And ya’ll know how I hate the summer and don’t well at all with the heat. I’ve been a couple times cause that’s my grandparents live and yeah, no thanks. I haven’t been to Alaska, but I’d like to visit.

B Birthdate: July 28th.

Build: Thin and underweight. I used to have great upper body strength and my arms were kinda toned, but I lost that. I’m weak.

Babies, do you have any? Nooo.

Blonde or Brunette: Whichever.

C Childhood sweetheart: I didn’t have one.

Current mood: Tired.

Children, are there more in your future? I don’t have any to begin with, nor do I want any.

Coke or Pepsi: Coke.

D Dad's name: I don’t want to share that.

Dating anyone: No.

Do you plan on having lots of money? Ha, it’d sure be nice.

Dogs or cats: Dogs.

E Elementary School: I’m not sharing that.

Eye color: Brown.

Ever going to China? I’ve never really planned to, but I can’t say I’d never go. *shrug* Who knows. Early or Late: Early. I hate being late, it stresses me out and makes me anxious.

F First Crush: This boy named Philip when I was in the 3rd grade.

Fears: ALL insects, killer whales, holes/clusters, closed spaces, heights, needles, deep water to name a few and then the deep stuff like losing loved ones, death, never getting better or getting worse, never doing anything with my life and wasting away... stuff like that.

Future goals: I don’t really have any that I’m working toward even though I certain should...

Funny or Serious: Both.

G Grandparent's names: I don’t want to share that.

GPA: I’m done with school.

Going anywhere this weekend? Nope.

Giver or Taker: Both. I love getting stuff for my loved ones, though.

H High School: A local one.

Hair color: Naturally it’s dark brown, but I dye it red. My roots are quite overgrown currently cause I haven’t been able to get it done since February. Blah.

Hate anyone for life? No.

Hairspray or Gel: I don’t use either.

I In 8th grade, who was your best friend? Kyle, David, and Jessica.

Is ignorance bliss? Sometimes. With certain things.

Is there anything you wanna share? I’ve been sharing stuff in this survey, haven’t I?

Ice Cream or Cake: Cake.

J Jumped rope for fun: No. Or at all.

Junk around you right now? Not junk to me, but I do have a lot of stuff around me. I have a lot of stuff on my bed besides typical bed stuff, which I have a lot of as well. My bed is also my desk. I spend a lot of my time in bed, so I like to keep certain thing near by for easy reach.

Joining anything anytime soon? No.

January or July: January, I guess. My birthday is in July, but blah. July is summertime and I hate the summer.

Killed anyone: Uh, no. Imagine someone just casually being like “yes” to this question.

Keeping a secret? Maybe.

Kicking someone off your top friends today? Myspace is dead.

Kiwi or Apple: Apple.

L Lost anyone close to you: Yes. I’ve lost both my maternal grandparents, who I was very close with. I also lost a couple dogs, who are family members and loved ones to me, so that was just as hard. I really didn’t do well when Brandie passed away because it was so quick and unexpected. She could have had at least 5 or 6 more years. And not that it would have been any easier, but still.

Last kiss, when and who: Joseph like 6-7 years ago.

List 3 people that you'll love forever: My parents and brother.

Lover or Fighter: Lover.

M Middle School: A local one.

Marital Status: Single.

Mom's name: I’m not sharing that.

Music or TV: I watch more TV nowadays than I listen to music. I don’t know why I don’t listen to music as much anymore.

N Northernmost state you've been to: Idaho.

Nickname: Sis or Steph.

Name your future boy and girl:

Naughty or Nice: Naughty, but not in a sexual way. In a, ‘I haven’t been that great of a person’ way.

O Opened a piece of mail that wasn't yours? It’s probably happened. Occupation: I don’t have one.

Owe anyone money: Nope.

Outgoing or Shy: Very shy.

P Place you most want to be? I’m good with being in bed right now.

Purposely destroyed someone’s life? I’ve made a lot of mistakes and messed up my own in a lot of ways. I don’t want to say purposely, but there were things I knew I should have done and taken better care of, but I didn’t. :/

Planning a major trip? No trips planned anytime soon. I don’t feel comfortable or safe traveling during a pandemic.

Pink or Black? I like both.

Q Quit a class: No.

Quickly...the first word to come to mind: Coffee.

Quitting your job soon?

Quiet or Loud: Quiet.

R Riding in an airplane: What about it?

Ride, tell me about yours: I don’t drive, so I don’t have a car.

Running for any political office in the future? Nooo.

Rain or Snow: I love when it rains. It doesn’t snow here, but I wish it did.

S Siblings names and ages: My older brother is 37 and my younger brother is 21.

Shoe size: 6 in women’s (US). My Adidas are all a 3 in kids, though.

Shave daily? No.

Shower or Bath: Shower.

T Turning 21 was (will be): I turned 21 a decade ago.

Texas, ever been? I had a layover in Houston once. I never saw more than the airport, though.

Think you'll live to be 100? No.

Tame or Wild: Tame.

U Unique quality about you: I don’t know.

Underwear on? Yes.

Under your bed lies: Nothing.

Under or Over: Uhh.

V Virgin? Yes.

Vacation time left?

Voting in the next Presidential election? Yes. I’ve voted in each one since 2008.

Volleyball or Swimming: Neither.

W Went white water rafting? Not for real, only the ride versions at amusement parks. I thought those were fun, but I’d be terrified to do the real thing.

Wearing right now: A sweatshirt and leggings.

Write a sentence about you: I’m kind of hungry, but it’s 5 in the morning so I should just try and sleep. West Coast or East Coast: West.

X X-Rays in the past month: 0.

X-Mas plans: Had a delicious Christmas dinner and exchanged presents with the fam. It was really nice. Things were a bit different cause my mom had to work, so we pushed back eating and opening presents, but it all worked out fine.

X, does it mark the spot? That’s what they say.

X-Tina or Britney? I like songs from both.

Y You lost "it" when? I’m assuming you’re referring to my virginity, which I haven’t yet.

Your favorite song: I couldn’t possibly just choose one.

Your favorite place on Earth: My bed, the beach, and Disneyland.

Yes or No: That obviously depends.

Z Zodiac Sign: Leo.

Zodiac Sign: Uh, still a Leo.

Zippos are neat, agree? What are those?

Zoo or Circus: Zoo.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

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backstorywithdanalewis · 3 years

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Cannabis Legalization https://www.buzzsprout.com/1016881/6982069

Dana Lewis - Host : (00:00) Public enemy. Number one in the United States is drug abuse. In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new, all out offensive drugs are menacing our society yes. To your life. And when it comes to drugs and alcohol, just say, no. Dana Lewis - Host : (00:26) Hi everyone. And welcome to backstory. I'm Dana Lewis in the 1970s, president Nixon and then Reagan, and first lady Nancy Reagan declared a war on drugs in America, heroin, crack cocaine, but many arrests also involve marijuana cannabis. At the beginning of my career, I was a crime reporter in Toronto and remember, well, the daily police announcements, they had busted another drug ring so much so that police stats on crime solving often involved drug arrests, even as recently in 2018 statistics show four in 10 drug arrests in America were for marijuana and mostly for possession. Police made about 660,000 arrests for marijuana related offenses in the 50 States and the district of Columbia in 2018 amounting to 40% of total drug arrests in the U S that year, fast forward two years later in the presidential election of 2020, while Americans couldn't seem to agree on who should occupy the white house and still can't seem to agree. Dana Lewis - Host : (01:41) They did. However, clearly vote for legalization of cannabis. The New York times wrote drugs once thought to be the scourge of a healthy society are getting public recognition as part of American life, where drugs were on the ballot. They won handily, New Jersey, South Dakota, Montana, Arizona joined 11 other States that had already legalized recreational marijuana, Mississippi and South Dakota made medical marijuana legal bringing the total to 35 in 1969, two years before the Dawn of the drug war, 84% of Americans thought marijuana should be illegal. According to the Pew research center by 2019 91% of Americans supported the legalization of marijuana, either for both medical and recreational use or solely for medical use times have surely changed on this backstory, the money and the medicine of cannabis. And by the way, the marijuana market is by some estimates expected to be worth about $35 billion by 2025. Let's go to New York. I want Dana Lewis - Host : (03:00) To introduce you to Tim Seymour. Uh, he is the CIO of Seymour asset management. Hi Tim. Hey Dan, how are you? Good to be here. Thanks for doing this, Tim. And I know each other from Moscow because I was a correspondent there and Tim was in asset management at a, at another company there. And so you have gone from, you know, very broad asset expertise and you have really specialized into cannabis. Tell me why you made that transition. Tim Seymour - Seymour asset management: (03:28) Well, it's interesting. Cause you know, I would make an argument that, that a lot of parallels that I saw of being rusted in the late nineties and being an emerging markets investor for the next 15 years, um, are some of the same attributes that are akin to investing in cannabis. I mean, this is, this is a new asset class. This is a new, this is a, uh, this is an emerging market. And yet what would drove a lot of the investor interest in big emerging markets was this new frontier, but it was around demographics consumption trends and, and I think a rapidly evolving investment dynamic and the same thing is happening in cannabis. And, and you know, the obvious, uh, macro part of the trade is, is the, the legislation and the changes that we're seeing and we're seeing them around the world. And, and obviously, uh, Canada's legalization North of the border here was a very big moment for the industry overall. Um, but to that extent, to answer your question, uh, you know, as an investor finding opportunities where you see, uh, enormous growth, uh, where there are, I think, significant risks and, and some of the depth of the markets and some of the inefficiency of the information flow to me as an investor is an incredibly interesting place to invest Dana Lewis - Host : (04:40) Enormous growth. And it's interesting because I'm Canadian. So I know kind of, you know, the two year debate, and then finally Canada was the tip of the spear and the legalization of cannabis. And a lot of States in the U S were saying no way, you're not going to see it here, except in maybe California and some of the other ones that started experimenting with it. And then this election, uh, is seismic in terms of the number of States who have now signed up and legalized cannabis, uh, whether it be recreational or whether it only be for Tim Seymour - Seymour asset management: (05:15) The hillside it's, you know, the election was, uh, as you say, you know, seismics seismic. I would, I would characterize it as really Goldilocks for cannabis and for cannabis investors because, um, perversely, I actually don't think a full federal legalization of cannabis is something that would be good for the industry right now. I don't think it would be good for, uh, the development of the infrastructure. I don't think it would be, uh, very good for investors because I still think that there's an enormous amount of regulatory, uh, you know, bureaucracy mates overlap of six different federal agencies that I think would be falling all over themselves. But what's proven is that on a state by state basis and letting you know state's rights and letting the States act, and this goes all the way back to, uh, you know, effectively the Cole memo under the Obama administration, which set the table for a lot of this, which is let the States do what they want to do in cannabis, without fear of, of federal intervention. And that's largely gone on. And so if you look at it Dana Lewis - Host : (06:19) Complicated, right, because a lot of people don't understand that the S w you know, the States are legalizing it, but the federal government is still saying no. Um, and then, you know, I, I talked to somebody who runs a company in the U S in cannabis, and they said, that's very, that's, it's very upside down, because for instance, if you want to nationalize your company, or you wanna, you want to move cannabis from one state to another, or you want to move assets from the sale of proceeds of sale, uh, or health products, you can find yourself technically breaking the law with the federal government. Tim Seymour - Seymour asset management: (06:53) Yeah. And, and I, I think, you know, some of those legacy laws that go back in, in, in alcohol, uh, to prohibition of have a lot to do with some of the things that cannabis is enduring. Um, but yes, that's right. I, I think the capital markets and the banking dynamics in, in practical terms, um, also are, are the most onerous and, and, and punitive in terms of the cost of capital, but also how difficult it is for these companies to actually, uh, do traditional banking. Um, going over state lines is, is I think we're even, you know, at some point with a federal backdrop, I think that's still going to be a ways to go, but I think the tax issues, uh, as they relate to the IRS and, and treating, uh, any sales and, and kind of retail orientation from cannabis as a schedule, one drug is maybe the most, uh, debilitating, punitive, whatever you want to say about, uh, about operating in the United States. Tim Seymour - Seymour asset management: (07:52) But, um, I will say that on a, on a state level, the companies that are vertically integrated, so that means that they're, they're, you know, seed to sale, right? And they're, they're growing the plant, uh, they're packaging the plant, they're taking it all the way through to a retail channel. Um, it are very profitable, very, very profitable, especially those companies that are operating in the States that have what we call limited license dynamics to them, which just simply means that, uh, there's only so many licenses that they handed out and those companies actually are very variable. Dana Lewis - Host : (08:26) Well, there's all this stuff. I mean, you know, you're talking about some companies that are up 24%, another company is up 75%. So far this month after the legalization and the vote, I mean, hundreds of millions of dollars, billions of dollars, this is big stuff. Tim Seymour - Seymour asset management: (08:42) Well, in terms of market cap, you're right. And we're getting into the performance of the cannabis stocks. I, I run a cannabis ETF, ticker CNBS, and it's an active strategy because I think this is exactly what, what, what you need at this time. But, but what's interesting is that the movement in a lot of the cannabis stocks, uh, going into the elections was really on the back of their own profitability. So what we're talking about, not necessarily the fact that you had a very big, uh, uh, state's follow-through, uh, remember, and the elections, again, we won't go back into that part of the conversation. I'll just simply say New Jersey Montana, uh, Mississippi, South Dakota, uh, Arizona, all turn on the, the cannabis, you know, green light. And so what's, that meant for a lot of the companies though, that either were already set up in New Jersey, for example, which is, as you can imagine, going to be one of the biggest markets in the country, this was a boom, but, but the more important part of is, uh, despite what appeared to be growth at all costs, and a lot of companies that really weren't well-run, and weren't really making any money, especially those, uh, sorry to say, North of the border, and it's not, it's not to indict Canada. Tim Seymour - Seymour asset management: (09:51) Um, it's truly to say though, that the United States is the biggest market in the world for a lot of consumer products. And it is certainly in cannabis and the companies that are set up and set up with good assets here are phenomenally profitable. And the move in the stocks this year, especially off the lows from kind of the COVID lows, um, is more about profitability and companies that are actually well-run. And in fact, they're probably in their third generation of management teams at this point. So it's an exciting time in the sector. Dana Lewis - Host : (10:18) I was going to ask you, I mean, who are these guys and how sophisticated, but you're saying a lot of the, maybe newcomers have been thinned out, and these are sophisticated companies that, uh, and some of the bigger fish are eating the little ones. Tim Seymour - Seymour asset management: (10:33) Yeah. We're seeing a lot of consolidation at this point. Um, but if, if I took the top five operators in the United States, um, and, and they would be, uh, curely, which is actually run by a gentleman, we, we might've run out to and run into in Moscow, Boris Jordan, who started this company. Um, Dana Lewis - Host : (10:53) Truly, yeah, Tim Seymour - Seymour asset management: (10:55) Yeah, no, he's, he's built a great business and, uh, truly, which is a single state operator. And really, uh, I sh I need to actually restate that they're, they're in multiple States, but they're known for their dominance in Florida, and they're trying to grow outside of that market, um, GTI, which is Midwest based, but has very important assets on the East coast. And then in Illinois, uh, and some of the, uh, the Midwest, um, Cresco labs, also Chicago base, but, uh, very well situated in important States and a company called true leaf, which is mostly Pennsylvania, uh, and now New Jersey. And because of the profitability in those States are two of the best in the country. Um, that company has been, uh, that company is up 350% this year. So, um, there's your top five. And, and really in all of these cases, um, there's new management teams in place. And in many cases, uh, CEOs that were formerly CPG Titans, you know, guys that really knew how to build a business that was focused on a consumer brand, not the cultivation side of it. This isn't not a commodity story, it's not an ag story. It's ultimately going to be a very sophisticated brand story. And I think those companies that, that have, uh, elevated themselves here are not only very well run companies, but have begun to, to build on that branding. Dana Lewis - Host : (12:09) Okay. Two quick questions, um, state governments, I mean, I don't want to be melodramatic, but is this the life ring that they need, you know, struggling with budget shortfalls and, and, you know, a lot of them are, I wouldn't want to say bankrupt, but I mean, teetering that way with, with what's happened in the COVID-19 economy. Tim Seymour - Seymour asset management: (12:31) Yeah. Look, let's be clear. This is a very difficult time, uh, on the fiscal side in state and then the underlying municipalities in many, many parts of the country. So what's cannabis mean? And, and, and what has this meant for support for cannabis legislation? Obviously, cannabis is a source of budgetary revenue that is exciting for a lot of the States Washington state, which is one of the most, um, uh, call it, you know, well, well founded markets. It's one of the oldest markets. It's one of the most sophisticated markets and that's today that, uh, they raised, they've raised a billion dollars in revenues from cannabis taxes, uh, since the inception of the market. And again, Washington was one of the first, but, you know, half of that a couple of years too. Yeah. That's, that's over probably about seven years. Um, and, and, and, you know, let's be clear, we're talking about Washington and with all due respect to our friends in the Northwest, um, it's not the biggest market in the world, right. Tim Seymour - Seymour asset management: (13:31) So if you think about cannabis revenues overall in 2019, uh, the latest numbers are about a billion, nine was collected in terms of excise and taxes, uh, on the state's levels. And as you can imagine, California, which is the biggest cannabis market in the world, much in the way that, you know, we know it's, it's one of the largest economies in the world on its own, um, is, was about a third of those revenues, about $650 million in, in California, which has been much maligned in much criticized, probably accurately in terms of some of their regulation. But leaving that aside, you asked about the impact of cannabis revenues. And there's no question that this is an exciting thing for the States and has a lot to do with the legalizations we're seeing, and it changed in public perception. And this obviously then goes straight through to Washington, uh, where you can imagine that, that, especially on the Republican senatorial side, where we've had the most, you know, obstinance you're, you're going to see a change, and you're going to see this, this, uh, uh, you know, this vote in favor of federal. Tim Seymour - Seymour asset management: (14:33) And, and when that happens, I don't know, um, last week was a very important week, uh, both, uh, you know, from a, a, a, a momentous in terms of the headline, which is that the house voted to legalize cannabis right now, that's dead on arrival in this Senate. Uh, but it tells you at, uh, where this conversation is going and, and it's going, not only because I think a lot of people believe socially, it's the right thing to do, and it's the right assessment of, of a drug. That's not a gateway drug and, and is proven Dana Lewis - Host : (15:07) I think my second question, which was perception, thank you for doing that. It's saves time, but change the perception on the government side change. The perception on the public side is because continue on please, Tim Seymour - Seymour asset management: (15:18) Because, uh, look, I think there's a lot of reasons why cannabis was made illegal and we call it, we call it marijuana, uh, which, you know, I'm doing my best to never refer to the term. I think it's, you know, I think it's a prohibition term. I think it's a term that actually was, was actually targeted to, to, uh, uh, on some of the criminal justice side against minorities. And, and I think the, the, the social conscience of this industry is high. And I, and I no pun intended. I do think that there's a dynamic where there's a better understanding of where people are medicating themselves across a lot of different products and some are, are, you know, alcohol and OTC products. And some of them are the more complex and the more devastating opioid crisis in the United States. And, and, and, and the understanding where cannabis both from, uh, a full spectrum of use cases, but certainly a lot of the OTC use cases. Tim Seymour - Seymour asset management: (16:14) And then straight through to some of the use cases as it relates to pain management and, and whatnot. There's, there's, there's no question about the efficacy. Um, like there's better understanding, but, but, you know, it's clear, more research needs to be done. And this is part of, of where the legislation needs to allow research on the plant. And it's an incredibly complex plant. Um, and to be clear, I think the cannabis industry, uh, is out there saying this isn't about access of cannabis to minors. And, and in fact, a lot of, some of the tax money in Washington I talked about is going just towards those programs that keeps cannabis out of the hands of, of minors. It's, it's, it's an important issue. It's important to be regulated. It's important, like any product to bring the consistency, the safety that comes with regulation. And I think that's part of the understanding of cannabis. Then there are the dynamics around criminal justice and, and, uh, awareness of where, uh, clearly, uh, this has been an unfair, uh, you know, legal environment as it relates to cannabis and incarceration, uh, against Dana Lewis - Host : (17:18) Certainly there's a lot of trouble with during, when you take a look at the, the numbers of people incarcerated for pretty minor possession charges. And, you know, it's interesting though, that you talked about kids, right? I mean, in, in the Canadian experience that they talked about, one of the reasons to legalize is to move it away from schools and get rid of the black market, make it safer. And then a recent statistics at 40% of the cannabis market share in Canada is still held by illegal producers. So yeah, exactly. Shake all that out. Now, it, and I think the black Tim Seymour - Seymour asset management: (17:50) Market, the gray market, uh, will continue to, uh, [inaudible] at least be a dynamic. And look, if you're changing perception, uh, the people that, at one point we'd had a big problem with that, the illegal head shop down the road was, was, you know, selling cannabis in through the back door. Um, when it's generally legal on the state level and 70% of the country believes it should be legal. The, you know, the gray market, the black market actually gets a benefit here. Right? A lot of people just don't care that it's going on, you know, in their neighborhood or they, they, they may not seek to, to, to, to bring in a, you know, enforcement again. So I, I think there's still a lot of work to be done. And I think it's all about, and I remember when I was 12, you know, my grandfather used to say to me, you should legalize cannabis to get the mob out of it. Um, and you've probably seen marijuana by the way. Well, I mean, he, his point was simply that it's there, it's out there. People are consuming it, people want it. And so why not? Why not tax it? Why not regulate it? Why not make it safe? And, and I think that's, you know, I think that's, what's going on Dana Lewis - Host : (19:07) Anyway, huge growth to come, Tim Seymour of Seymour asset management, Tim. Great to talk to you, Dana. Great to be here. All right. I want to take you out to Jackson, Florida, and introduce you to Tom Grebenstein, who is the chief revenue officer with Tikun Olam. Hi Tom. Tom Grebenstein: (19:29) Thanks for having me. Thanks Dana Lewis - Host : (19:31) For doing this. It says online to Tikkun. Olam is the most trusted name in cannabis. Tom Grebenstein: (19:38) We like to think. So. Um, you know, we spent, uh, about 20 years now, uh, doing actual, uh, double blind placebo controlled research, uh, pharmaceutical style research on our, uh, strains and our products. So we feel that, that gives us the title of a most trusted brand in cannabis, Dana Lewis - Host : (19:57) Tikkun Olam was an Israeli company. Right. And, uh, as I understand it from, from one of your colleagues who I know very well, who works in the company, that, um, the problem is that when you started talking about a new industry in America of cannabis, a new legal industry, nevermind the illegal one, um, that a lot of people wanted to boast health benefits, but companies were, you know, six months old or a year old and suddenly, how could they claim any kind of research, but that's where companies like yours came in. And they're not very many of them Tikkun Olam that actually had, had been experimenting for a long time on the health benefits of cannabis. Tom Grebenstein: (20:34) Correct. Um, so we were actually the first company company in the world licensed to produce medical cannabis. Now, certainly before we came up to the scene, there were caregivers systems as in California and Colorado. Um, but, uh, as soon as we were able to achieve our licensure through a kind of interesting sequence of events in Israel, um, Dr. Raphael, Meshulum the gentleman who originally discovered THC in 1964, uh, kind of took our founder under his wing. And so we were able to really start doing research from are, are very honest. Dana Lewis - Host : (21:09) So now you have all of these States on election night that have come around and legalized marijuana. So you have like some 35 States now, right? The vast majority of them. Whereas just a few years ago, we were talking about, you know, those first few States that were willing to have legal cannabis. So is that good news? Tom Grebenstein: (21:32) Um, I think it's wonderful news, uh, you know, from a, uh, from a corporate standpoint, it may not be, but, uh, from a compassionate standpoint and myself as an active patient as well, you know, the expanded access to, uh, effective medicine is, is a wonderful thing. Uh, and, and even for those who do not have a qualifying condition, you know, access to cannabis, uh, is, is, is something that I, I feel is a rights that all should have. Dana Lewis - Host : (21:58) So how much of this is recreational and how much of it is medicinal? Tom Grebenstein: (22:03) Um, obviously that vary, varies from state to state. You know, I live in Florida where we are technically a hundred percent, uh, medical market. Um, but you know, you see States like California, um, Arizona, certainly having their adult use legislation coming down New Jersey. You know, these are our burgeoning markets that are going to convert from strictly medical to medical and adult use. Uh, it's an exciting time. Dana Lewis - Host : (22:29) What is your, if you don't mind me asking, because you refer to it, what is your personal story medically? I mean, how has cannabis been important to you then? Tom Grebenstein: (22:37) Sure. Um, well, I have a few spine, um, which, uh, basically has me constantly in pain and until I discovered medical cannabis, um, I, uh, had not slept more than three consecutive hours in 14 years. Um, but through horrible. Yes. Um, and it's compounded by the fact that I'm also allergic to opioids, which for most back pain sufferers that you might actually consider that a blessing because back then certainly has led people a lot of down the route into, uh, addiction. Um, so this has been a life-changing, uh, medicine for me it's kept me healthy and happy in my quality of life has improved a thousand percent. Dana Lewis - Host : (23:18) So is that where there's the sea change in public opinion in the U S where, you know, when the Reagans years you had this war on drug and cannabis was just another street drug that they, you know, locked people up for, but really in the last decade, you know, there's been so much talk about it, reducing pain about it, helping people. And so then when it's on the ballot, you see, I mean, a huge percentage of Americans supporting it. Whereas if you had done it 20 years ago, they wouldn't have voted that way with that. Tom Grebenstein: (23:49) No, very much so. Um, I think what you're seeing is, uh, you know, the, the progression or the, the propagation of information. So you have so many patient successes in California and Colorado and, and Israel, uh, you know, as, as medical markets grew, um, that information becomes viral and expands. And so now you have, um, as opposed to, you know, the Nancy Reagan era of just say, no, Dana Lewis - Host : (24:15) I was just trying to find my notes, or because it was 84% of Americans in 1969 thought marijuana, um, should shouldn't be legal, right? And then in 2019 pure research, 91% of Americans supported legalization. Tom Grebenstein: (24:31) You know, you, you, the, the, the, the success stories have given birth to what I think of as the skeptical boomer. You know, there are folks out there who have been told their entire life, that cannabis is evil, that it's a gateway drug. Uh, and now the data, uh, is skewing in the other direction. And it's giving those folks a justification to say, maybe there's something there. Maybe this can help me or somebody, I know Dana Lewis - Host : (24:56) What don't you like about this? When you see all of these companies suddenly opening up in all of these markets, what are the pitfalls, do you think, what I mean, is it standards? Is it testing? Is it regulation? Tom Grebenstein: (25:09) It's, there's a confluence of a number of things, and it's all generally propagated by the folks who, um, are either a profiteering or do not really understand, um, cannabis itself, uh, especially from the regulatory standpoint. So my fear is, is going too big, too fast, uh, without the, uh, without the proper sets of regulations in place, uh, without those regulations being set by folks who really do understand cannabis as medicine Dana Lewis - Host : (25:38) Like THC levels, because I know in Canada's experience, there was wildly vastly different measurements of THC and the quality of cannabis that was going to be sold legally and retail nevermind, illegally. Tom Grebenstein: (25:54) Uh, well, I think that there are a number of things, testing standards, uh, understanding what, uh, can happen to the plant and understanding how legally, uh, testing should be done around that. Um, from the consumer standpoint, yes, I think there's, there's a huge emphasis, you know, most people's experience with intoxication comes from alcohol. So they associate higher percentages of potency with, uh, that level of intoxication. When that's not necessarily the case with cannabis, you're talking about receptor occupancy that can be manipulated by a number of things aside from just THC. So yeah, you can see 30% THC cannabis on a shelf in a dispensary and think that, wow, that's going to be the most powerful thing in there when really it's a better, uh, there could be something down the lower teens that's going to affect somebody's level of intoxication much differently because of the combination of minor cannabinoids and terpenes affecting receptor occupancy. Dana Lewis - Host : (26:53) Let me, let me take you to another topic, which I don't quite understand because in Canada, it was legalized nationally with federal standards in the us. You have States that have now passed it, but federally it's still, should I use the term illegal Tom Grebenstein: (27:11) A hundred percent illegal. So what Dana Lewis - Host : (27:13) Does that mean? How does that translate into what happens then in the market? Tom Grebenstein: (27:16) Uh, well, uh, in, in a couple of manners, it really, we're getting into the kind of obscure, uh, you know, looking into the crystal ball here. Um, but currently the federal government, uh, has said that they will not interfere with state's rights to regulate themselves in reference to cannabis. Of course, that means that there is no interstate commerce on cannabis, therefore, um, it does make banking a bit of a challenge because then you're moving, you can be moving money between States that are the proceeds of, uh, of producing cannabis, but so far the federal government has, let's just say, they've been cool with it. Um, but, uh, you know, as that changes, either we go towards a federal D schedule, which I think we're all hoping for, but should that fail? I think you'll see state compacts, uh, where interstate commerce has permitted, um, or at least not restricted by state laws. Of course the da may have another opinion on that and decides to interfere. But I think you'll see, for example, you know, uh, if New York comes to an adult use in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, uh, are all adult use as well. I think you'll see those three governors get together and say, Hey, we're going to permit interstate commerce here, um, on a, on a regulated basis, uh, with a, a nod, a wink and a nod from the federal government that they won't interfere Dana Lewis - Host : (28:41) Because technically as a, as a producer or, um, a commercial outlet, then you could be charged, then could you buy them? Absolutely. So there's risk there and the people want it sort it out. You know, I want to ask you about something else really quick, John, before I let you go. And that is that in Canada, one of the biggest arguments by the prime minister Trudeau government was that, you know, let's legalize it. Um, let's, let's take the retail outlets away from, you know, kids, schools let's control quality, let's squeeze out the illegal market, um, and, and control this on a better level. So that it's, it's more healthy. It's, it's, uh, more healthy in all sorts of ways, right. But 40% of the cannabis market share in Canada is still being held by illegal producers. So-called illegal producers. Do you think you're just going to experience a lot of the same thing in the U S Tom Grebenstein: (29:35) I think you will, uh, for, for a certain period of time, you know, until, uh, the, the outweighs the reward, obviously with federal D schedule as a nation, we'll see competition rise to a point at which, uh, pricing is suppressed to the black market rate, but that doesn't happen overnight. Um, and, and it really is a factor of production. Um, I think one of the issues that has prevented Canada from getting there is this kind of concept of, uh, of over-investment, uh, which has led to ghost canopy and production issues, um, that are present. Um, there are greenhouses that were built, um, strictly so that a company can say, Hey, we've got, you know, X, million square foot of canopy up that we convergence cannabis on it. Well, there aren't enough people to buy the cannabis that would be produced by that amounts of, of greenhouses that was just done as an investment play to, to bolster share price. Tom Grebenstein: (30:34) Um, as a result of that, you're still seeing quite high retail prices, um, which is facilitating the black market, um, or even gray market, uh, workings within Canada. And as I said, the same will happen here in the U S um, but eventually prices will be, in my opinion, prices will be suppressed to the point at which, uh, the gray market is no longer profitable. You, the chief revenue officer, last question on revenue. I mean, everybody thinks that, uh, you know, this is the it's striking gold. Now it certainly is for some States, right. But in terms of companies and you guys have been doing this for years now, I understand, um, there's a lot of challenges in terms of being able to being able to make a go of it and do well in an industry that keeps getting turned up, turned upside down every few months. Right, right. Um, there certainly are challenges. Uh, the main one in the us, uh, would be, you can't operate as a single entity. I mean, if you, if you take into account the, uh, you know, DC, Puerto Rico, uh, et cetera, you know, if you were to be present nationwide, you'd need to have 52 separate operating entities all with their own infrastructure and, and all with their own legal oversight. So, um, it's, it's a challenge every day to, to be able to, or to have to manipulate the nuances between regulation. Dana Lewis - Host : (31:59) So in until the federal government gets online with state governments, that's what you're going to face. Tom Grebenstein: (32:05) Of course. And he will continue to see, uh, you know, inflated prices as a result of that here, because you can't consolidate operations from a, not only from a growth standpoint. Dana Lewis - Host : (32:17) Well, Tom Grebenstein of Tikun, Olam, thanks so much, Tom. And that's our backstory for this Christmas week, 2020 I'm Dana Lewis, please subscribe to backstory and share our link wherever you are, please stay healthy and safe. And I'll talk to you again soon.

#@tikunOlam @timseymour @tomgrebenstein legalization of cannabis #cannabis and legalization in America #the war on drugs #backstory with dana lewis #medical marijuanna #marijuana health #health cannabis #investing cannabis #@johndonvan @intelligencesquared @danaslewis backstorywithdanalewis debates #podcast on cannabis Back Story with Dana Lewis

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worryinglyinnocent · 7 years

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Fic: A Helping Hand From Beyond (5/?)

Summary: “You know, sometimes the deceased stay with us, waiting until they’re sure we’ve moved on before they can move on themselves. Giving us a helping hand from beyond, as it were.”

When Gloria Rush and Rum Gold meet one cold October morning, they quickly come to the realisation that they share a common goal – to help those they left behind in life to move on and find happiness again. Using what little means available to them, the two lost souls team up to ensure their widows’ future, and find their own peace.

Rumbelle, Rushbelle, Gloria/Nick, and an epic Gold&Gloria bromance.

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[NB: From a timeline perspective, this takes place around the same time as SGU begins, only Rush is not involved in the Stargate program, so he’s the same age as in SGU canon - mid-to-late-forties. Belle is a bit older than current OUAT canon because this takes place a good ten to twelve years after this universe’s Belle and Gold first met.]

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[One] [Two] [Three] [Four] [AO3]

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Five

By Chance

Nicholas goes to the library.

It isn’t really shaping up to be one of Rush’s best days. He’s got a crick in his neck from sleeping oddly, because apparently after two and a half years his body still can’t get used to the fact that he’s alone in bed and that he no longer needs to give Gloria all the space she needs to toss and turn and try and find a position that doesn’t cause her spine too much pain. He’s had very little sleep altogether from working too late into the night last night. And to top it all off, the coffee machine in the physics department is broken. The two maintenance guys are standing around it scratching their heads in astonishment at how it came to be so thoroughly broken, but it’s clear that nothing is going to get done any time soon. Now, had he had the second cup of coffee of the day (he always has the first before leaving the house, or else he’d never leave the house), then the first two points that are making his day a bad one would have been somewhat negated. As it is, Rush is in a foul mood as he makes his way through the campus to the library and the next decent coffee machine. He likes to think he’s not having such a bad day that he’ll resort to anything vaguely caffeinated in his attempt to stay awake and alive.

He doesn’t stop to question why the library of all places has the best coffee on campus - well, second best after his own department. He remembers his own college years well enough, and as he enters, the sight of students in their little study cubicles with blankets and pillows making their spaces into little havens of warmth and comfort as well as learning, tells him that the library has been occupied all night and the coffee machine has had plenty of use. He only hopes it still has beans in it after the assault it took last night.

For the first time this morning, luck is on his side, as he finds one of the librarians standing on a stepladder to refill the machine. He watches from a distance as she stretches on ridiculously high heels, expecting any moment for her to fall and break her neck, but her task is negotiated successfully and once she’s back on solid ground, Rush’s sleep-deprived brain recognises her as Belle Gold, one of his mature astrophysics students, and the very same person he ended up spilling tea all over a week ago.

“Good morning, Dr Rush,” she says brightly as she locks the bag of coffee beans away in the cupboard beside the machine. She’s far too perky for someone up and working so early in the morning – it’s not yet eight o’clock and classes don’t start for another hour – but somehow the quality in her is endearing rather than irritating.

“Hello, Ms Gold.” He gets a cup of coffee from the machine and when he turns back, Belle is still watching him with a smile over the top of her own mug. There’s a moment of silence that’s just half a second too long before she seeks to fill it again.

“What brings you to our side of the campus then?” Belle asks. Rush taps his paper cup.

“Our coffee machine’s broken.”

“I feel very honoured that you’d come all this way for our coffee,” she teases. Rush raises an eyebrow.

“I’m just very particular about coffee.” Well, he is sometimes.

“Hmmm.” Belle doesn’t seem entirely convinced. “Maybe you should try switching to tea.”

Rush almost spits out his mouthful of coffee at the suggestion and Belle giggles, a musical sound in the quiet of the library.

“I’m serious,” she said. “No need to rely on a machine for tea.”

Technically there’s no need to rely on a machine for coffee either, but Rush declines to point that out. There’s something about Belle’s brightness and openness that pushes aside his need to combat all attempts at social interaction with sarcasm.

“I’ve been doing the reading,” Belle says presently, changing the subject. “About the possibility of warp speed travel. It’s really interesting; there are so many things that I hadn’t considered about it, and about travelling faster than light. I particularly like the notion that if you’re travelling faster than light you can never see where you’re going because you get there before the light does. It does throw a new dimension on all these science fiction shows. I think the biggest problem if you were travelling at that speed would be course correction for something that was in your way and stationary. Would you bash into it or warp around it?”

Rush smiles at this earnest speech. He’s not usually one for such interactions with his students, usually because his students can’t be bothered to do the reading and very rarely have an original thought in their head that could lead to such a conversation. Perhaps increasing years have made him cynical, but Belle’s enthusiasm for his subject is refreshing.

“I think that’s something you’d have to experiment with,” he replies. It’s not something he’s ever thought about himself, but now that the seed has been planted in his mind, he can’t help but wonder.

“I’ve always thought that would be interesting,” Belle muses. “To look at the things in sci-fi films and TV shows and use physics and quantum mechanics to prove whether or not they would actually be possible.”

They spend another few minutes talking about warp drives, Star Trek, and the Miracle Exception, and Rush realises that his coffee has begun to go cold with him only having drunk a few mouthfuls of it. He gets himself a fresh cup and Belle grins.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t keep you any longer. You’ll have things to do, and so do I.” She looks over at the large stack of books waiting to be reshelved and the other librarian at the issue desk who keeps giving them a disapproving look over the top of her computer monitor. “But I’ll see you in class later, right? I’m looking forward to it.”

“So am I.” And Rush finds that for once, he is. He has always known himself first and foremost as an academic and as a teacher second, and although he does enjoy sharing the mysteries of the universe with his students, there are times when he’d really rather just hole up in his office and forget about the lot of them. This is not one of those times. He likes to see Belle in his lectures, her smile and her sticking out from the rest of his students. Maybe it’s her age, the fact that she’s got a good fifteen years on the rest of the class and is studying his subject because she really, really wants to, rather than because she needs a science elective in order to pass the semester. He wonders why she’s doing what she is, studying without any real objective in mind, just for the love of learning new things, and he wonders how she’s funding herself. He doesn’t think he’s ever wondered so much about any other student.

“Well, I’ll see you later, Dr Rush.”

Nicholas does something that he doesn’t think he’s ever done with any student before.

“Call me Nicholas.”

A small smile creeps over Belle’s face.

“In that case, you can call me Belle.”

Perhaps it’s because he doesn’t want to think of her as a student. He doesn’t think of her as a student. Since that morning when she bumped into him and spilt her tea, he’s thought of her as something a little bit… separate. Different. He holds her in a different regard to the others in the class. Maybe it’s because he really doesn’t want to face up to the fact that he has a crush on one of his students and it makes him feel like a pervert even though she’s far closer to his own age than anyone else his brain could have chosen to be attracted to.

“I’ll see you later, Belle.”

They go their separate ways and Rush meanders back to the physics building. The coffee machine is still not fixed, and the two technicians have now pulled it away from the wall and taken the back panel off, gazing in bemusement at the utter mess of wires inside and wondering who on earth could have so thoroughly rewired a coffee machine overnight. One of them blames divine intervention, although Rush is too much of a cynic to think that this is some sign from above telling him to quit drinking coffee. His mind wanders back to Belle as he unlocks his office, and he finally, finally admits what he’s been trying not to admit for a week. To use a quaint and slightly old-fashioned term, he fancies Belle Gold.

He hasn’t fancied anyone since he first laid eyes on Gloria over twenty years ago. He’d thought then that it was a done deal, that he’d found The One and there would be no-one else. But now, there’s Belle, and something in his brain and his heart is reminding him that even though Gloria has gone, he is still here.

Does he want it to go any further? Well, of course he does, but he’s wary. He’s never been one to make the first move. Gloria had been the one to initiate their relationship, although he’s quite proud of himself for proposing without any of her subtle hints (at least, he thinks he did; the hints might have been so subtle he only picked up and acted on them subconsciously). And after everything that’s happened in the last few years, he’s really not sure he trusts himself to do this again. When he thinks about the person he was before Gloria got sick and the person he is now…

He pushes the thoughts to the back of his mind and closes his eyes, trying to focus on work.

You’ve got to keep living, someone told him, a few weeks after Gloria passed away and he really wasn’t doing so well. Rush knows that, theoretically. All the same, he still can’t quite bring himself to move on from the guilt that has driven him for these past three years.

Belle smiles to herself as she goes about her day, humming a little tune as she reshelves and indexes and reads up on warp theory when she can. Her colleagues in the library office have been giving her funny looks ever since her conversation with Nicholas this morning, and a small part of her wonders whether they’re right and she needs to stop this… It can hardly be called a flirtation; they’ve only ever talked about science and in an earnest way, with no strange innuendo or double entendres. After all, he’s her professor and she’s a student, which is a relationship that is traditionally frowned upon. But then, she’s a mature student, she’s forty years old, she’s a grandmother, for crying out loud (admittedly only through marriage, but she’s always been Henry’s Nana Belle from the moment he was born).

Belle sighs, this is turning into one of those ‘I’m not like other girls’ scenarios, so she’s probably best off dropping it. At the end of the day, she’s still a student and he’s still a teacher, and he probably just lumps her in with the rest of the students he teaches giving no thought to her relative maturity in comparison. She’s just another student, she can’t start thinking she’s someone special made of moonshine just because she’s older.

There were twenty years between her and Rum, after all. Age is just a number.

Which is a shame, because ever since Neal had joked about her and Nicholas bumping into each other being the start of something, she can’t help but think that perhaps it’s the start of something too. He’s an attractive man, certainly, but there’s something else about him, in his quiet intensity and the obvious passion that he has for his subject and his students, although he’d probably try and deny the latter if confronted with the suggestion. He wants them all to do well and do their best for their own sake, not just his. He’s the first person she’s met in California that’s made something in the back of her mind begin to wonder if she’s ready to make that step and begin dating again.

Why did fate have to make him her professor and probably inaccessible?

#rushbelle fic #rushbelle #belle french #Dr Nicholas Rush #Fic: Helping Hand

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actutrends · 4 years

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Biden and Bernie duke it out on war and peace

Democratic governmental candidate Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.|Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Last Saturday in Iowa, the day after an American MQ-9 Reaper dropped its ordnance on Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad, Joe Biden moved quickly to make himself the face of Democratic opposition to Trump’s drone strike. It was early evening at a Des Moines elementary school gym, and in spite of the dip in temperature level and the long lines to enter, a larger and more engaged audience than the ones he attracted over the summertime and fall was awaiting the previous vice president.

It was a white-collar crowd– Des Moines-area attorneys and insurance market experts and a smattering of D.C. Obama veterans now in town to help Biden in the homestretch. The leading attorney at ICE under the last administration was there, and told me it was the very first time he had actually ever canvassed Iowa for a prospect.

Iran had actually heightened the stakes. “#WWIII” was trending online and predictions of a full-scale war were commonplace. Trump might now benefit from the halo that shines atop all wartime leaders, at least for a time. And the importance of the outcome of the Democratic primary– to state absolutely nothing of the country and the world– had all of a sudden ballooned. Would citizens want a skilled hand whose position on world affairs is essentially, “Believe me, I understand what I’m doing” (Biden) or would they gravitate towards someone like Bernie Sanders, whose ringing calls to get the U.S. out of Middle East quagmires have the advantage of clearness, however make numerous a D.C. foreign-policy hand queasy? The answer might assist determine who wins over the Democratic base, and maybe the nation, come November.

When he arrived, Biden the prospect still winked and shot finger guns at well-wishers and hugged them afterwards, but it was Biden the commander-in-chief that his advisors wanted on display screen.

To Biden’s aides, it was their guy’s opportunity to seize the minute.

” The more the world appears in chaos, particularly with Trump as an irregular accelerant to that chaos, the more individuals appear to be looking for some return to normalcy and strong and steady management as opposed to erratic leadership,” stated a Biden consultant.

The voter stated, he ‘d gotten two of the most significant questions in recent years wrong: the 2002 Iraq War vote when he was a senator and the 2011 Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, which Biden, then vice president, counseled Obama against.

Biden was a senator for 36 years and vice president for 8.

On Iraq, Biden gave a familiar response that Democratic senators who elected the intrusion have actually been making for 17 years: It was a vote to give President George W. Bush take advantage of at the United Nations to reinforce a weapons assessment routine, not to greenlight an impending attack. (This is traditionally accurate, but a bit like arguing you let a college-aged good friend borrow your credit card just for purchasing books for his fraternity and then being shocked about all the pot and booze he contributed to the expense.)

On the bin Laden raid, Biden, changing his story a bit, insisted that after a larger meeting at which he revealed reservations, he privately told Obama to go all out. (During his prolonged reaction, at one point, Biden inadvertently stated Saddam Hussein when he meant Osama bin Laden.)

Regardless of the hard question, Biden appeared pleased. If the subject is foreign policy, Biden thinks he’s winning.

Bernie Sanders was the only rival who appeared to invite that challenge. While Biden’s method is that of a conventional main frontrunner– overlook your primary opponents and focus on your basic election opponent– Sanders has the timeless technique for the person in the No. 2 spot: argue it’s a two-person race.

In Iowa last weekend, where there were lots of candidate events, Sanders was the only other politician who appeared to delight in discussing the conflict with Iran– and how the Iraq war and the Democrats who supported it helped produce the existing circumstance.

” What Iran has done is truly highlighted both Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden as agents of 2 various poles in the Democratic celebration: one a lot more hawkish interventionist arm of the celebration, which utilized to be dominant, and then Bernie Sanders, representing a more diplomacy-oriented technique, a more collective global technique that is ascendant in the party,” stated Jeff Weaver, one of Sanders’s top advisers, who went on to ding Biden for the 2002 Iraq vote.

The typical assumption about Democratic base politics has been that the domestic exceeds the worldwide, that voters in Dubuque would rather hear about how prospects are going to repair their healthcare than about how they’re going to fix the Middle East.

But that’s not entirely real.

In 2008, Barack Obama’s opposition to the Iraq War was perhaps the single essential argument he made to reveal voters that, according to the 2 buzzwords of the primary, his “judgment” transcended to Hillary Clinton’s “experience.” By then, voters had grown tired of the body bags getting back from Baghdad and Kandahar, and the politics of the wars had ricocheted versus the Republican politician Party and hawks like John McCain. Obama soon made it clear that voting to invade Iraq didn’t disqualify Democrats from governing. He chose Biden, who, like Clinton, voted to license the war, as his running mate and made Clinton his secretary of state. In the 2016 Democratic primaries, Sanders was not able to run the very same play against Clinton. He frequently highlighted her Iraq vote to no obtain.

This election, 2020, looked like it may be various. However Iran has belatedly required a serious foreign-policy dispute amongst the major Democratic prospects, with Sanders and Biden representing opposite sides of a basic question that could define the next administration: What do Democrats think about America’s role on the planet? And do they have a national-security message that can beat Trump’s chest-thumping bravado?

Earlier on the same day Biden spoke, Sanders stumped in Grundy Center, about 90 minutes northeast of Des Moines. It was a little working class audience and Sanders, after blasting Biden on Iran for the electronic cameras, went back to healthcare.

Though the term is not often utilized nowadays, the Sanders town hall format is what sixties-era activists utilized to call “consciousness raising.” He prods normal people to stand and describe for their fellow people the wickedness they’ve experienced in the American healthcare system. Older radicals utilized the method to make working individuals aware that they were oppressed, that they weren’t the only ones, and that they could do something about it.

These sessions normally emerge numerous unfortunate stories that Sanders has a regular joke about how his spouse Jane grumbles that his events are too depressing. He then indicates an aide who will be handing out Prozac en route out.

The Sanders view is that, quite actually, this is how the transformation starts.

” I was mayor of the city of Burlington, Vermont, in the 1980 s, when the Soviet Union was our opponent,” he said in a 2017 address at Westminster College, in Missouri. Hatred and wars are frequently based on worry and ignorance.

However how that good insight equates into policy has actually been a battle for Sanders to articulate.

Sanders’s foreign-policy views were very first formed by his left-wing advocacy throughout the Cold War, when the animating force on the far left was opposition to American adventurism in the name of anti-communism. As the mayor of Vermont’s biggest city– a small town of 40,00, truly– Sanders really had a foreign policy. He visited Cuba, he became involved in Latin American politics centered on opposition to anything that resembled U.S. imperialism, and he and Jane even honeymooned in the Soviet Union in1988 (This litany of activities is often raised by Sanders’ rivals as deeply bothersome for a general election versus Trump.)

However when he got to Congress in 1991, Sanders invested the next few years, first as a member of your home and then as a senator, oddly withdrawn in foreign policy. When he ran for president in 2016, the old image of Sanders from his mayoral days as a pro-Sandinista Chomskyite is what stuck.

His 2017 speech was implied to address that.

Sanders still peppers his foreign-policy remarks with a long recitation of America’s anti-democratic history, especially in Latin America and the Middle East, during the Cold War, and the worst errors of the post-9/11 age. However with time he has actually gradually moved from a focus on how America has actually screwed up the world in the past to how to face looming threats to global democracy today.

He has actually repeatedly applauded America’s role in developing the United Nations and revealed deep adoration for the Marshall Plan, which assisted reconstruct Germany and western Europe after The second world war. In 2018, he determined growing authoritarianism as one of the fantastic diplomacy difficulties for the United States. It was a turning point for Sanders: The villains in that speech are not Americans meddling in Chile or getting into Iraq, but the “the authoritarian axis”– an expression that echoed Bush’s “axis of evil”– and in Sanders’s informing includes nations like Russia, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, Turkey and Brazil, where there are “motions led by demagogues who make use of individuals’s worries, prejudices and complaints to gain and hang on to power” and are likewise handmaidens to billionaires and oligarchs, more familiar Sanders bogeymen.

While he required a motion to “fight the forces of global oligarchy and authoritarianism,” the details of how a Sanders administration would use American power to do that have been unclear. He had determined what he thought was the hazard of our time but he didn’t say how America might counter it.

On The Other Hand, Biden, along with the majority of foreign policy centrists in the Democratic Party, has actually also moved. Biden and his ideological kin have recognized that there is nearly no constituency left in the Democratic Party for the kind of hawks that controlled in the nineties and early 2000 s.

But on the concern of American management and whether American power can be virtuous, Biden is indisputable. His campaign is predicated on the idea that a President Biden can rapidly bring back America’s function as a force for good.

In talking to Democratic foreign policy advisors throughout the spectrum, I heard people in Biden’s orbit caricature Sanders as a Corbyn-like old leftist who never outgrew his extreme roots. The fact is that Democratic citizens have actually required both males to shift: Sanders to accept that if he desires to be president he needs to be comfortable with taking the reins of a superpower and Biden with the truth that the tradition of the Iraq War has poisoned the concept of liberal interventionism to a whole generation.

All 3– Sanders, Warren and Buttigieg– have tried to articulate an alternative vision to a Biden-style establishment Democratic foreign policy– what Sanders’ advisors call the D.C. “blob.”

And there are notable distinctions on some essential issues. Sanders and Warren want to utilize help to Israel to change the country’s behavior toward the Palestinians, while Biden isn’t. Sanders opposes the current USMCA trade offer, while Warren and Biden support it. Sanders and Warren would leave almost no footprint behind in Iraq and Afghanistan, while Buttigieg and Biden desire some forces to respond to any revival of al Qaeda and ISIS.

Progressives have also changed the politics of foreign policy.

In 2020 the pressure for Democrats in their reaction to the killing of Soleimani was to reveal they would not overemphasize or harp on his criminal activities in the Middle East and that they would not say anything that would motivate escalation with Iran. Warren initially tweeted that “Soleimani was a murderer, responsible for the deaths of thousands, consisting of numerous Americans.” The next day, in a tweet that focused entirely on Trump, she composed that the president had “assassinated a senior foreign military official.” Gone was any description of Soleimani’s history in the region.

But in the end, the 2020 foreign policy dispute among Democrats is likely to play out a lot like the 2020 domestic policy argument amongst Democrats: with the establishment candidate co-opting simply enough of the left’s grievances to off the difficulty.

The Sanders wing long ago won the dispute about playing down using force, ending “permanently wars,” prioritizing diplomacy, and bolstering relationships with democracies. What the progressives have not yet been able to totally articulate– and there’s a huge literature that has actually attempted– is how a President Sanders or Warren or even Buttigieg, who have actually all determined promoting democracy and curtailing the increase of authoritarianism as major contemporary concerns, would in fact do that.

I asked a leading consultant to Sanders about whether there are more information to add to Sanders’ 2018 call to reverse the increasing tide of autocrats.

” We’re dealing with it,” he said.

The post Biden and Bernie duke it out on war and peace appeared first on Actu Trends.

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theliberaltony · 5 years

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via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Americans opposed to President Trump are constantly asking some version of this question: “Why won’t Republicans break with Trump?”

The personalities on Fox News are largely standing with the president amid the controversy over the Trump administration pushing Ukrainian officials to investigate the business dealings of Joe Biden’s son. So are Republicans in Congress. Vice President Mike Pence and others inside the Trump administration are also defending the president’s actions involving Ukraine (a shift from when one-time Trump advisers like Dan Coats would sometimes signal disagreement with the president’s stances).

But looking at Trump’s standing only among people currently inside of powerful Republican-controlled spaces — the party itself, Fox News, the White House, etc. — presents an incomplete picture and understates opposition to Trump among Republican politicians and activists. Almost by definition, that opposition can’t happen within the obvious GOP spaces — the president and his acolytes have accumulated enough power that it’s increasingly hard to be both be anti-Trump and a Republican in good standing at a major conservative institution.

So Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan left the GOP and became an independent. Former Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina lost in a primary last year to an opponent endorsed by Trump after speaking out against the president. And just last Friday, Fox News anchor and occasional Trump critic Sheppard Smith resigned,1 as did Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, who had occasionally clashed with the president.

Indeed, widen your lens and you can find all kinds of anti-Trump sentiment in conservative and right-leaning circles. This anti-Trump bloc, in addition to Republicans still supporting the president, might have lots of sway as impeachment unfolds — if they can reach GOP voters.

The media

You could create your very own conservative, anti-Trump TV network if you hired all the Trump-skeptical Republicans who regularly appear as talking heads on CNN and MSNBC. CNN, for example, has Amanda Carpenter, Charlie Dent, John Kasich, and Mia Love. MSNBC boasts Carlos Curbelo, Susan Del Percio, Elise Jordan, Mike Murphy, Jennifer Rubin, Joe Scarborough, Michael Steele, Charlie Sykes, Nicole Wallace, George Will and Rick Tyler.2

Yes, most conservative pundits on Fox News are heartily pro-Trump, but not all conservative pundits are on Fox News.

Elected officials

There were 241 Republicans in the U.S. House in early 2017, at the start of Trump’s tenure. Since then, more than a quarter have either been defeated at the ballot box, in last November’s elections (29), or retired (36).3 Some of them, such as former Rep. Mia Love of Utah, blame Trump’s unpopularity for their defeats. Others, such as Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, hint that they are leaving Congress in part because they are uncomfortable with the direction Trump is taking the GOP, as the Washington Post recently reported in a story detailing the exodus of House Republicans.

There is also a group of Trump-skeptical governors and senators — most notably former Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona and former Gov. John Kasich of Ohio — who left their posts after 2018. And then you have figures like former Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois , ex-Gov. William Weld of Massachusetts and Sanford, all of whom are running long-shot primary challenges to Trump. Former Rep. Bob Inglis of South Carolina, who has publicly come out against Trump, is suing his state’s Republican Party in an effort to overturn its decision to cancel next year’s Republican primary, a move designed in part to boost the president.

So, in addition to that conservative, anti-Trump cable channel, you could also piece together a Senate majority (51 people) from Republicans who have previously served in either the House or the Senate but who have been publicly wary of Trump.

Senior Republican staffers

OK, if you’re going to have a shadow, anti-Trump GOP Senate, you need some experienced Republican operatives to staff it. You won’t have to look too hard.

In a clear and public rebuke to Trump, chiefs of staff for Republican presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush recently told the New York Times that the presidents they served would never have asked for help winning an election from a foreign government. A group of conservative lawyers, many of whom served in top positions in the Department of Justice under Reagan or one of the Bushes, are supporting the impeachment inquiry.

Moreover, plenty of people who served in senior roles in the Trump administration itself, including H.R. McMaster (national security adviser), Anthony Scaramucci (communications director) and Rex Tillerson (secretary of state) have distanced themselves from the president.

Again, the Republican staffers currently in the White House are defending the president, but that might mask some broader disagreement among senior-level Republican staffers.

Conservative institutions

Many organizations on the right, such as the Heritage Foundation, are in lockstep with the president. But others — the Cato Institute, the Niskanen Center — are fairly critical of him

Or, take the white evangelical conservative movement as a whole. It is often portrayed as totally behind the president, and news stories often cite people like Jerry Falwell Jr. who are closely allied with the president to show that. But white evangelicals aren’t completely aligned with Trump — a generational gap has begun to open up. And really, people like Falwell, who runs a small Christian college (Liberty University), are more accurately described as evangelical leaders who support Trump, rather than evangelical leaders. overall. J.D. Greear, head of the Southern Baptist Convention, is more clearly a “leader” of America’s evangelicals — and he is kind of lukewarm about Trump.

So it’s important to understand that many conservative organizations and power centers on the right are strongly behind Trump, but also that increasingly “conservative” has come to mean “pro-Trump,” a narrative that writes out of the story organizations and people who had what were considered fairly rightly-leaning views pre-Trump.

OK, I admit this is an imprecise exercise. What overall percentage of elite Republicans — conservative media figures, current and former members of Congress, current and former administration officials, etc. — oppose Trump? That’s basically impossible to quantify.

But I think it’s higher than often portrayed — because some opposition lives in non-GOP spaces where people aren’t looking, and because much of it is also hidden from view, as elected Republicans face strong incentives to stand by Trump publicly.

All of this helps explain why Republican voters are among the most loyal-to-Trump constituencies in the Republican Party. Surveys have long suggested that between 85 and 90 percent of Republican voters approve of the president. Only about 13 percent of people who voted for Mitt Romney in 2012 said that they disapproved of Trump in a poll conducted in late 2018 and early 2019 by the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group. According to FiveThirtyEight’s average of impeachment polls, about 14 percent of Republicans support impeachment.

I wrote recently about how rank-and-file voters often follow cues from elites, noting that impeachment support increased among Democrats after the party unified around the idea. So maybe if we had full data on the views of all Republican elites, we’d find that about 10 to 15 percent oppose Trump, perfectly in line with voters.

But I think that the safer assumption is this: Trump has in many ways successfully purged his critics from the power centers of the GOP. So a potential resistance to him among Republican elites doesn’t just face the obvious challenge that he’s the president and popular among GOP voters. Republican elites who are wary of Trump are also not well situated to make their case to rank-and-file Republican voters. They are working in lobbying shops or boardrooms instead of on Capitol Hill, speaking to audiences on CNN and MSNBC instead of Fox News, and outside of the administration instead of inside it.

The facts of the Ukraine case, or its politics, could open more doors for those anti-Trump voices in those pro-Trump spaces. That would likely have profound effects on the views of GOP voters.

For now, though, the Trump-skeptical bloc in Congress remains a small part of the overall Trump-skeptical conservative coalition.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Perry Bacon Jr.

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sciwriteblog-blog · 6 years

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CHRISTMAS 2016 LETTER

I just read over last year’s Christmas missive, the letter at least one of you didn’t receive in the mail until March. When I first got word that some of you hadn’t gotten your letter, I walked to the Berkeley Post Office, one of the few U.S. Postal Service offices with a permanent street-person encampment reminiscent of the Occupy Wall Street camp ins of 2011. The so encamped were protesting the planned closure of the Central Berkeley Post Office even though most of the protesters have no permanent address so don’t the don’t get mail and can’t afford a post office box either.

Once I got past the encampment and into the lobby, I talked to a certified U.S. Postal Service clerk, who said he and his fellow staff have one billion mail pieces to deliver before Christmas and can’t be expected to get all of them right. I considered switching my voter registration to Republican, but held off.

Think of it, there are 324 million souls in the U.S. That’s only three pieces of mail for every man, woman, and child in the country. Surely, the Postal Service can do better than that; with 617,254 employees in 2015 according to Wikipedia, that’s 1,620 pieces of mail per employee. Seems like a lot, but machines do some of the work, is the post office forbidden from using labor-saving devices?

So this letter is something of a crap shoot. Might get there might not.

In 2015, after wasting most of a year writing a proposal for which the data in hand would not support the envisioned analyses, I decided to try my hand at writing. I had already written about drought in the West, and 40,000 words of a memoir mostly about my epic medical problems. Publishers limit a first memoir to 80,000-90,000 words, and I was going to exceed that. But I didn’t really like what I had written and didn’t like writing it. Maybe some day, but not now, and done much differently. I was looking over the courses UC Berkeley Extension offered in Spring last year and ran across Science Writing, mostly by accident. I signed up. Like most UC extension courses, it was a lot of work, but worth it. Jennifer Huber, a physics Ph.D, taught the course. She had worked at UCSF in imaging; probably living in the soft money world of grant-to-grant funding where I worked for 18 years. She has been writing for 10 or more years now and has it all up on a web site. She was a tough grader and superb editor. I had to shed my technical writing style for something more compelling to the educated lay reader.

She liked my final project, “Climate Change, Climate Cycles and the Syrian Civil War,” and suggesting “pitching” it to a publisher. That was in the first week of June. I thought I needed to establish that climate is in fact related to civil war before writing about a single example of climate actually causing civil strife. That was a big mistake. Six months later, I’m still polishing the article, having stumbled into an academic controversy that got into the press. Does climate cause civil war? Not climate change, though the topic has obvious relevance for that inevitability, but just normal variation, which can at times be extreme; think of the 1930s Dust Bowl. A group of UC, Berkeley economists says, “yes;” a group of European political scientists says, “no.” I’m still undecided despite plowing through many journal articles.

I’ve spent more time on this than on any writing task since my dissertation, often going far astray into topics like Bayesian statistics. Lesson: Keep it simple. It’s already complicated enough and the average intelligent reader isn’t interested in esoterica. Most science articles for the non-specialist are about one journal article; I’ve read scores plus additional textbook material for this article, enough to write a book, though I never intended to do that. I have one set of notes that’s 76 single-spaced pages long, mostly copy and paste material from various articles, but also my “ideas.” I never looked at it again after building the thing up. There are other sets of notes not so epically long. Didn’t look at those either. Regardless of the notes, at some point, I’ll try to market what I have. Selling is not my strong suit. Tune in again next year.

A little more substantively, let’s see if I can discuss this earth-shattering election without stepping on toes.

Almost every pollster, forecaster, and pundit got it wrong. Probably no one was more surprised by this than Donald Trump. Maureen Dowd in the Times had it right: Trump never really wanted to be president. At one point Trump seemed more interested in a media enterprise involving himself, Steve Bannon of Breitbart News, and Roger Ailes, late of Fox News until scandalized from his lofty perch there. Hilary was a professional politician: first lady, senator, 2008 presidential candidate, Secretary of State, no media ambitions.

I often thought last summer, this lady can’t give us one good reason why she wants to be president other than to just have the job. In the California primary, I voted for Sanders to register a protest. If Joe Biden didn’t have a bad case of foot-in-mouth disease, and wasn’t 76 years old, I think he would have won because he had blue collar appeal. How good at handling the presidency, I don’t know.

Maureen Dowd, a Times columnist, had the following to say about Hilary and her flaws as a candidate:

“Hillary’s campaign message boiled down to “’It’s my turn, dammit.’”

“Hillary should have spent less time collecting money on Wall Street and more time collecting votes in Wisconsin.”

“As she cuddled up to Wall Street, Hillary forgot about the forgotten man — and woman.”

FDR coined the phrase the “forgotten man” in the 30s, championed their cause, and made them loyal Democrats. Nixon stole them from the Democrats, largely over race and campus protest, and called them the “Silent Majority.” Under Reagan, the media called them “Reagan Democrats.” In elections going back to Reagan, the forgotten man voted against their own working class interests by supporting Republicans who then enacted policies favoring the upper classes every time despite their base of solid blue-collar support; think “trickle down,” that is, tax cuts for those who need the money least, the rich.

The Democrats either forgot about the forgotten man or ignored him. Bill Clinton told his wife to campaign for working class white voters, but she wasn’t interested in “The Deplorables.” Hilary blames her loss on Putin’s meddling and FBI Director Comey’s pseudo-revelations about her private server two weeks before election day. This is small ball and misses the larger point of the Brexit vote and Trump’s win: Many people have been hurt by globalization, they are just out of sight to the rich and powerful beneficiaries of the global economy. These are mostly big city dwellers on either coast, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, etc., and includes the Wall Street bankers Dowd notes above and whom Hilary charged a quarter million per speech to hear about the glowing future the global economy has in store for them. The forgotten man was forgotten until November 8th.

But it should be kept in mind amidst all the talk of white backlash, populism, the Alt-Right, etc., that only once since WW II have voters stayed with one party for three terms. That was the first Bush (G. H. W. Bush) who served Reagan’s third term; Bill Clinton turned him out after a single term. People want a change after eight years of one party rule, and if you’ve lost your high-wage manufacturing job under the Democrats, you’re going to vote Republican even if the corporation that off-shored your job to China or Mexico is run by Republicans.

Given that automation took most of those jobs, or as Thomas Friedman put it, “You didn’t lose your job to a Mexican, but to a micro-chip,” Trump can’t deliver on his promise to bring back manufacturing jobs, the Carrier deal notwithstanding. But he might deliver on infrastructure, and this would be a good thing if done right. The country’s roads, bridges, ports and grid are in bad shape.

The nation needs to spend at least $3.6 trillion according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. Rebuilding America would bring back jobs to some, but not all. Tax cuts of any kind will be more fiscal stimulus; no wonder the stock market has reversed its view on Trump and set off the recent upward spike. With the stimulus will come inflation, higher interest rates, and eventually some sort of crash or cool down. But it might get Trump re-elected if he doesn’t blow up the world in a Twitter-feed temper tantrum.

Stay tuned. It promises to be a wild ride.

Happy New Year,

Fred

One thing you must know: There will be a total eclipse of the sun on August 21. Here is a website with many maps for all to consider:

http://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/maps.htm

For those of you in Washington and Oregon, the arc of totality will cross I-5 just south of Salem, Oregon. For those in Idaho, Idaho Falls is near the center of the band of totality, which then clips the southern bulge of Grand Teton National Park. If I lived nearer, I wouldn’t miss it, but my present state doesn’t permit getting much closer than downtown Berkeley.

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