#the lowest of lows brought the highest of highs and i would pay that price again to feel loved and cared about. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tinyshe · 3 years

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I wanted to snip this because I believe the incoming administration will try to erase and change facts/history to suit them so here is a hot link and one in the title. I hope the copy traveled well because it was so large!

https://www.whitehouse.gov/trump-administration-accomplishments/

As of January 2021

Trump Administration Accomplishments

Unprecedented Economic Boom

Before the China Virus invaded our shores, we built the world’s most prosperous economy.

America gained 7 million new jobs – more than three times government experts’ projections.

Middle-Class family income increased nearly $6,000 – more than five times the gains during the entire previous administration.

The unemployment rate reached 3.5 percent, the lowest in a half-century.

Achieved 40 months in a row with more job openings than job-hirings.

More Americans reported being employed than ever before – nearly 160 million.

Jobless claims hit a nearly 50-year low.

The number of people claiming unemployment insurance as a share of the population hit its lowest on record.

Incomes rose in every single metro area in the United States for the first time in nearly 3 decades.

Delivered a future of greater promise and opportunity for citizens of all backgrounds.

Unemployment rates for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and those without a high school diploma all reached record lows.

Unemployment for women hit its lowest rate in nearly 70 years.

Lifted nearly 7 million people off of food stamps.

Poverty rates for African Americans and Hispanic Americans reached record lows.

Income inequality fell for two straight years, and by the largest amount in over a decade.

The bottom 50 percent of American households saw a 40 percent increase in net worth.

Wages rose fastest for low-income and blue collar workers – a 16 percent pay increase.

African American homeownership increased from 41.7 percent to 46.4 percent.

Brought jobs, factories, and industries back to the USA.

Created more than 1.2 million manufacturing and construction jobs.

Put in place policies to bring back supply chains from overseas.

Small business optimism broke a 35-year old record in 2018.

Hit record stock market numbers and record 401ks.

The DOW closed above 20,000 for the first time in 2017 and topped 30,000 in 2020.

The S&P 500 and NASDAQ have repeatedly notched record highs.

Rebuilding and investing in rural America.

Signed an Executive Order on Modernizing the Regulatory Framework for Agricultural Biotechnology Products, which is bringing innovative new technologies to market in American farming and agriculture.

Strengthened America’s rural economy by investing over $1.3 billion through the Agriculture Department’s ReConnect Program to bring high-speed broadband infrastructure to rural America.

Achieved a record-setting economic comeback by rejecting blanket lockdowns.

An October 2020 Gallup survey found 56 percent of Americans said they were better off during a pandemic than four years prior.

During the third quarter of 2020, the economy grew at a rate of 33.1 percent – the most rapid GDP growth ever recorded.

Since coronavirus lockdowns ended, the economy has added back over 12 million jobs, more than half the jobs lost.

Jobs have been recovered 23 times faster than the previous administration’s recovery.

Unemployment fell to 6.7 percent in December, from a pandemic peak of 14.7 percent in April – beating expectations of well over 10 percent unemployment through the end of 2020.

Under the previous administration, it took 49 months for the unemployment rate to fall from 10 percent to under 7 percent compared to just 3 months for the Trump Administration.

Since April, the Hispanic unemployment rate has fallen by 9.6 percent, Asian-American unemployment by 8.6 percent, and Black American unemployment by 6.8 percent.

80 percent of small businesses are now open, up from just 53 percent in April.

Small business confidence hit a new high.

Homebuilder confidence reached an all-time high, and home sales hit their highest reading since December 2006.

Manufacturing optimism nearly doubled.

Household net worth rose $7.4 trillion in Q2 2020 to $112 trillion, an all-time high.

Home prices hit an all-time record high.

The United States rejected crippling lockdowns that crush the economy and inflict countless public health harms and instead safely reopened its economy.

Business confidence is higher in America than in any other G7 or European Union country.

Stabilized America’s financial markets with the establishment of a number of Treasury Department supported facilities at the Federal Reserve.

Tax Relief for the Middle Class

Passed $3.2 trillion in historic tax relief and reformed the tax code.

Signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – the largest tax reform package in history.

More than 6 million American workers received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to the tax cuts.

A typical family of four earning $75,000 received an income tax cut of more than $2,000 – slashing their tax bill in half.

Doubled the standard deduction – making the first $24,000 earned by a married couple completely tax-free.

Doubled the child tax credit.

Virtually eliminated the unfair Estate Tax, or Death Tax.

Cut the business tax rate from 35 percent – the highest in the developed world – all the way down to 21 percent.

Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.

Businesses can now deduct 100 percent of the cost of their capital investments in the year the investment is made.

Since the passage of tax cuts, the share of total wealth held by the bottom half of households has increased, while the share held by the top 1 percent has decreased.

Over 400 companies have announced bonuses, wage increases, new hires, or new investments in the United States.

Over $1.5 trillion was repatriated into the United States from overseas.

Lower investment cost and higher capital returns led to faster growth in the middle class, real wages, and international competitiveness.

Jobs and investments are pouring into Opportunity Zones.

Created nearly 9,000 Opportunity Zones where capital gains on long-term investments are taxed at zero.

Opportunity Zone designations have increased property values within them by 1.1 percent, creating an estimated $11 billion in wealth for the nearly half of Opportunity Zone residents who own their own home.

Opportunity Zones have attracted $75 billion in funds and driven $52 billion of new investment in economically distressed communities, creating at least 500,000 new jobs.

Approximately 1 million Americans will be lifted from poverty as a result of these new investments.

Private equity investments into businesses in Opportunity Zones were nearly 30 percent higher than investments into businesses in similar areas that were not designated Opportunity Zones.

Massive Deregulation

Ended the regulatory assault on American Businesses and Workers.

Instead of 2-for-1, we eliminated 8 old regulations for every 1 new regulation adopted.

Provided the average American household an extra $3,100 every year.

Reduced the direct cost of regulatory compliance by $50 billion, and will reduce costs by an additional $50 billion in FY 2020 alone.

Removed nearly 25,000 pages from the Federal Register – more than any other president. The previous administration added over 16,000 pages.

Established the Governors’ Initiative on Regulatory Innovation to reduce outdated regulations at the state, local, and tribal levels.

Signed an executive order to make it easier for businesses to offer retirement plans.

Signed two executive orders to increase transparency in Federal agencies and protect Americans and their small businesses from administrative abuse.

Modernized the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the first time in over 40 years.

Reduced approval times for major infrastructure projects from 10 or more years down to 2 years or less.

Helped community banks by signing legislation that rolled back costly provisions of Dodd-Frank.

Established the White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing to bring down housing costs.

Removed regulations that threatened the development of a strong and stable internet.

Eased and simplified restrictions on rocket launches, helping to spur commercial investment in space projects.

Published a whole-of-government strategy focused on ensuring American leadership in automated vehicle technology.

Streamlined energy efficiency regulations for American families and businesses, including preserving affordable lightbulbs, enhancing the utility of showerheads, and enabling greater time savings with dishwashers.

Removed unnecessary regulations that restrict the seafood industry and impede job creation.

Modernized the Department of Agriculture’s biotechnology regulations to put America in the lead to develop new technologies.

Took action to suspend regulations that would have slowed our response to COVID-19, including lifting restrictions on manufacturers to more quickly produce ventilators.

Successfully rolled back burdensome regulatory overreach.

Rescinded the previous administration’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, which would have abolished zoning for single-family housing to build low-income, federally subsidized apartments.

Issued a final rule on the Fair Housing Act’s disparate impact standard.

Eliminated the Waters of the United States Rule and replaced it with the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, providing relief and certainty for farmers and property owners.

Repealed the previous administration’s costly fuel economy regulations by finalizing the Safer Affordable Fuel Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles rule, which will make cars more affordable, and lower the price of new vehicles by an estimated $2,200.

Americans now have more money in their pockets.

Deregulation had an especially beneficial impact on low-income Americans who pay a much higher share of their incomes for overregulation.

Cut red tape in the healthcare industry, providing Americans with more affordable healthcare and saving Americans nearly 10 percent on prescription drugs.

Deregulatory efforts yielded savings to the medical community an estimated $6.6 billion – with a reduction of 42 million hours of regulatory compliance work through 2021.

Removed government barriers to personal freedom and consumer choice in healthcare.

Once fully in effect, 20 major deregulatory actions undertaken by the Trump Administration are expected to save American consumers and businesses over $220 billion per year.

Signed 16 pieces of deregulatory legislation that will result in a $40 billion increase in annual real incomes.

Fair and Reciprocal Trade

Secured historic trade deals to defend American workers.

Immediately withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Ended the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and replaced it with the brand new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

The USMCA contains powerful new protections for American manufacturers, auto-makers, farmers, dairy producers, and workers.

The USMCA is expected to generate over $68 billion in economic activity and potentially create over 550,000 new jobs over ten years.

Signed an executive order making it government policy to Buy American and Hire American, and took action to stop the outsourcing of jobs overseas.

Negotiated with Japan to slash tariffs and open its market to $7 billion in American agricultural products and ended its ban on potatoes and lamb.

Over 90 percent of American agricultural exports to Japan now receive preferential treatment, and most are duty-free.

Negotiated another deal with Japan to boost $40 billion worth of digital trade.

Renegotiated the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement, doubling the cap on imports of American vehicles and extending the American light truck tariff.

Reached a written, fully-enforceable Phase One trade agreement with China on confronting pirated and counterfeit goods, and the protection of American ideas, trade secrets, patents, and trademarks.

China agreed to purchase an additional $200 billion worth of United States exports and opened market access for over 4,000 American facilities to exports while all tariffs remained in effect.

Achieved a mutual agreement with the European Union (EU) that addresses unfair trade practices and increases duty-free exports by 180 percent to $420 million.

Secured a pledge from the EU to eliminate tariffs on American lobster – the first United States-European Union negotiated tariff reduction in over 20 years.

Scored a historic victory by overhauling the Universal Postal Union, whose outdated policies were undermining American workers and interests.

Engaged extensively with trade partners like the EU and Japan to advance reforms to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Issued a first-ever comprehensive report on the WTO Appellate Body’s failures to comply with WTO rules and interpret WTO agreements as written.

Blocked nominees to the WTO’s Appellate Body until WTO Members recognize and address longstanding issues with Appellate Body activism.

Submitted 5 papers to the WTO Committee on Agriculture to improve Members’ understanding of how trade policies are implemented, highlight areas for improved transparency, and encourage members to maintain up-to-date notifications on market access and domestic support.

Took strong actions to confront unfair trade practices and put America First.

Imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions worth of Chinese goods to protect American jobs and stop China’s abuses under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

Directed an all-of-government effort to halt and punish efforts by the Communist Party of China to steal and profit from American innovations and intellectual property.

Imposed tariffs on foreign aluminum and foreign steel to protect our vital industries and support our national security.

Approved tariffs on $1.8 billion in imports of washing machines and $8.5 billion in imports of solar panels.

Blocked illegal timber imports from Peru.

Took action against France for its digital services tax that unfairly targets American technology companies.

Launched investigations into digital services taxes that have been proposed or adopted by 10 other countries.

Historic support for American farmers.

Successfully negotiated more than 50 agreements with countries around the world to increase foreign market access and boost exports of American agriculture products, supporting more than 1 million American jobs.

Authorized $28 billion in aid for farmers who have been subjected to unfair trade practices – fully funded by the tariffs paid by China.

China lifted its ban on poultry, opened its market to beef, and agreed to purchase at least $80 billion of American agricultural products in the next two years.

The European Union agreed to increase beef imports by 180 percent and opened up its market to more imports of soybeans.

South Korea lifted its ban on American poultry and eggs, and agreed to provide market access for record exports of American rice.

Argentina lifted its ban on American pork.

Brazil agreed to increase wheat imports by $180 million a year and raised its quotas for purchases of United States ethanol.

Guatemala and Tunisia opened up their markets to American eggs.

Won tariff exemptions in Ecuador for wheat and soybeans.

Suspended $817 million in trade preferences for Thailand under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program due to its failure to adequately provide reasonable market access for American pork products.

The amount of food stamps redeemed at farmers markets increased from $1.4 million in May 2020 to $1.75 million in September 2020 – a 50 percent increase over last year.

Rapidly deployed the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, which provided $30 billion in support to farmers and ranchers facing decreased prices and market disruption when COVID-19 impacted the food supply chain.

Authorized more than $6 billion for the Farmers to Families Food Box program, which delivered over 128 million boxes of locally sourced, produce, meat, and dairy products to charity and faith-based organizations nationwide.

Delegated authorities via the Defense Production Act to protect breaks in the American food supply chain as a result of COVID-19.

American Energy Independence

Unleashed America’s oil and natural gas potential.

For the first time in nearly 70 years, the United States has become a net energy exporter.

The United States is now the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world.

Natural gas production reached a record-high of 34.9 quads in 2019, following record high production in 2018 and in 2017.

The United States has been a net natural gas exporter for three consecutive years and has an export capacity of nearly 10 billion cubic feet per day.

Withdrew from the unfair, one-sided Paris Climate Agreement.

Canceled the previous administration’s Clean Power Plan, and replaced it with the new Affordable Clean Energy rule.

Approved the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines.

Opened up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska to oil and gas leasing.

Repealed the last administration’s Federal Coal Leasing Moratorium, which prohibited coal leasing on Federal lands.

Reformed permitting rules to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy and speed approval for mines.

Fixed the New Source Review permitting program, which punished companies for upgrading or repairing coal power plants.

Fixed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) steam electric and coal ash rules.

The average American family saved $2,500 a year in lower electric bills and lower prices at the gas pump.

Signed legislation repealing the harmful Stream Protection Rule.

Reduced the time to approve drilling permits on public lands by half, increasing permit applications to drill on public lands by 300 percent.

Expedited approval of the NuStar’s New Burgos pipeline to export American gasoline to Mexico.

Streamlined Liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal permitting and allowed long-term LNG export authorizations to be extended through 2050.

The United States is now among the top three LNG exporters in the world.

Increased LNG exports five-fold since January 2017, reaching an all-time high in January 2020.

LNG exports are expected to reduce the American trade deficit by over $10 billion.

Granted more than 20 new long-term approvals for LNG exports to non-free trade agreement countries.

The development of natural gas and LNG infrastructure in the United States is providing tens of thousands of jobs, and has led to the investment of tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure.

There are now 6 LNG export facilities operating in the United States, with 2 additional export projects under construction.

The amount of nuclear energy production in 2019 was the highest on record, through a combination of increased capacity from power plant upgrades and shorter refueling and maintenance cycles.

Prevented Russian energy coercion across Europe through various lines of effort, including the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation, civil nuclear deals with Romania and Poland, and opposition to Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Issued the Presidential Permit for the A2A railroad between Canada and Alaska, providing energy resources to emerging markets.

Increased access to our country’s abundant natural resources in order to achieve energy independence.

Renewable energy production and consumption both reached record highs in 2019.

Enacted policies that helped double the amount of electricity generated by solar and helped increase the amount of wind generation by 32 percent from 2016 through 2019.

Accelerated construction of energy infrastructure to ensure American energy producers can deliver their products to the market.

Cut red tape holding back the construction of new energy infrastructure.

Authorized ethanol producers to sell E15 year-round and allowed higher-ethanol gasoline to be distributed from existing pumps at filling stations.

Ensured greater transparency and certainty in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.

Negotiated leasing capacity in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Australia, providing American taxpayers a return on this infrastructure investment.

Signed an executive order directing Federal agencies to work together to diminish the capability of foreign adversaries to target our critical electric infrastructure.

Reformed Section 401 of the Clean Water Act regulation to allow for the curation of interstate infrastructure.

Resolved the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) oil crisis during COVID-19 by getting OPEC, Russia, and others to cut nearly 10 million barrels of production a day, stabilizing world oil prices.

Directed the Department of Energy to use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to mitigate market volatility caused by COVID-19.

Investing in America’s Workers and Families

Affordable and high-quality Child Care for American workers and their families.

Doubled the Child Tax Credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per child and expanded the eligibility for receiving the credit.

Nearly 40 million families benefitted from the child tax credit (CTC), receiving an average benefit of $2,200 – totaling credits of approximately $88 billion.

Signed the largest-ever increase in Child Care and Development Block Grants – expanding access to quality, affordable child care for more than 800,000 low-income families.

Secured an additional $3.5 billion in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help families and first responders with child care needs.

Created the first-ever paid family leave tax credit for employees earning $72,000 or less.

Signed into law 12-weeks of paid parental leave for Federal workers.

Signed into law a provision that enables new parents to withdraw up to $5,000 from their retirement accounts without penalty when they give birth to or adopt a child.

Advanced apprenticeship career pathways to good-paying jobs.

Expanded apprenticeships to more than 850,000 and established the new Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship programs in new and emerging fields.

Established the National Council for the American Worker and the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board.

Over 460 companies have signed the Pledge to America’s Workers, committing to provide more than 16 million job and training opportunities.

Signed an executive order that directs the Federal government to replace outdated degree-based hiring with skills-based hiring.

Advanced women’s economic empowerment.

Included women’s empowerment for the first time in the President’s 2017 National Security Strategy.

Signed into law key pieces of legislation, including the Women, Peace, and Security Act and the Women Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act.

Launched the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative – the first-ever whole-of-government approach to women’s economic empowerment that has reached 24 million women worldwide.

Established an innovative new W-GDP Fund at USAID.

Launched the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) with 13 other nations.

Announced a $50 million donation on behalf of the United States to We-Fi providing more capital to women-owned businesses around the world.

Released the first-ever Strategy on Women, Peace, and Security, which focused on increasing women’s participation to prevent and resolve conflicts.

Launched the W-GDP 2x Global Women’s Initiative with the Development Finance Corporation, which has mobilized more than $3 billion in private sector investments over three years.

Ensured American leadership in technology and innovation.

First administration to name artificial intelligence, quantum information science, and 5G communications as national research and development priorities.

Launched the American Broadband Initiative to promote the rapid deployment of broadband internet across rural America.

Made 100 megahertz of crucial mid-band spectrum available for commercial operations, a key factor to driving widespread 5G access across rural America.

Launched the American AI Initiative to ensure American leadership in artificial intelligence (AI), and established the National AI Initiative Office at the White House.

Established the first-ever principles for Federal agency adoption of AI to improve services for the American people.

Signed the National Quantum Initiative Act establishing the National Quantum Coordination Office at the White House to drive breakthroughs in quantum information science.

Signed the Secure 5G and Beyond Act to ensure America leads the world in 5G.

Launched a groundbreaking program to test safe and innovative commercial drone operations nationwide.

Issued new rulemaking to accelerate the return of American civil supersonic aviation.

Committed to doubling investments in AI and quantum information science (QIS) research and development.

Announced the establishment of $1 billion AI and quantum research institutes across America.

Established the largest dual-use 5G test sites in the world to advance 5G commercial and military innovation.

Signed landmark Prague Principles with America’s allies to advance the deployment of secure 5G telecommunications networks.

Signed first-ever bilateral AI cooperation agreement with the United Kingdom.

Built collation among allies to ban Chinese Telecom Company Huawei from their 5G infrastructure.

Preserved American jobs for American workers and rejected the importation of cheap foreign labor.

Pressured the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to reverse their decision to lay off over 200 American workers and replace them with cheaper foreign workers.

Removed the TVA Chairman of the Board and a TVA Board Member.

Life-Saving Response to the China Virus

Restricted travel to the United States from infected regions of the world.

Suspended all travel from China, saving thousands of lives.

Required all American citizens returning home from designated outbreak countries to return through designated airports with enhanced screening measures, and to undergo a self-quarantine.

Announced further travel restrictions on Iran, the Schengen Area of Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Brazil.

Issued travel advisory warnings recommending that American citizens avoid all international travel.

Reached bilateral agreements with Mexico and Canada to suspend non-essential travel and expeditiously return illegal aliens.

Repatriated over 100,000 American citizens stranded abroad on more than 1,140 flights from 136 countries and territories.

Safely transported, evacuated, treated, and returned home trapped passengers on cruise ships.

Took action to authorize visa sanctions on foreign governments who impede our efforts to protect American citizens by refusing or unreasonably delaying the return of their own citizens, subjects, or residents from the United States.

Acted early to combat the China Virus in the United States.

Established the White House Coronavirus Task Force, with leading experts on infectious diseases, to manage the Administration’s efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and to keep workplaces safe.

Pledged in the State of the Union address to “take all necessary steps to safeguard our citizens from the Virus,” while the Democrats’ response made not a single mention of COVID-19 or even the threat of China.

Declared COVID-19 a National Emergency under the Stafford Act.

Established the 24/7 FEMA National Response Coordination Center.

Released guidance recommending containment measures critical to slowing the spread of the Virus, decompressing peak burden on hospitals and infrastructure, and diminishing health impacts.

Implemented strong community mitigation strategies to sharply reduce the number of lives lost in the United States down from experts’ projection of up to 2.2 million deaths in the United States without mitigation.

Halted American funding to the World Health Organization to counter its egregious bias towards China that jeopardized the safety of Americans.

Announced plans for withdrawal from the World Health Organization and redirected contribution funds to help meet global public health needs.

Called on the United Nations to hold China accountable for their handling of the virus, including refusing to be transparent and failing to contain the virus before it spread.

Re-purposed domestic manufacturing facilities to ensure frontline workers had critical supplies.

Distributed billions of pieces of Personal Protective Equipment, including gloves, masks, gowns, and face shields.

Invoked the Defense Production Act over 100 times to accelerate the development and manufacturing of essential material in the USA.

Made historic investments of more than $3 billion into the industrial base.

Contracted with companies such as Ford, General Motors, Philips, and General Electric to produce ventilators.

Contracted with Honeywell, 3M, O&M Halyard, Moldex, and Lydall to increase our Nation’s production of N-95 masks.

The Army Corps of Engineers built 11,000 beds, distributed 10,000 ventilators, and surged personnel to hospitals.

Converted the Javits Center in New York into a 3,000-bed hospital, and opened medical facilities in Seattle and New Orleans.

Dispatched the USNS Comfort to New York City, and the USNS Mercy to Los Angeles.

Deployed thousands of FEMA employees, National Guard members, and military forces to help in the response.

Provided support to states facing new emergences of the virus, including surging testing sites, deploying medical personnel, and advising on mitigation strategies.

Announced Federal support to governors for use of the National Guard with 100 percent cost-share.

Established the Supply Chain Task Force as a “control tower” to strategically allocate high-demand medical supplies and PPE to areas of greatest need.

Requested critical data elements from states about the status of hospital capacity, ventilators, and PPE.

Executed nearly 250 flights through Project Air Bridge to transport hundreds of millions of surgical masks, N95 respirators, gloves, and gowns from around the world to hospitals and facilities throughout the United States.

Signed an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to ensure that Americans have a reliable supply of products like beef, pork, and poultry.

Stabilized the food supply chain restoring the Nation’s protein processing capacity through a collaborative approach with Federal, state, and local officials and industry partners.

The continued movement of food and other critical items of daily life distributed to stores and to American homes went unaffected.

Replenished the depleted Strategic National Stockpile.

Increased the number of ventilators nearly ten-fold to more than 153,000.

Despite the grim projections from the media and governors, no American who has needed a ventilator has been denied a ventilator.

Increased the number of N95 masks fourteen-fold to more than 176 million.

Issued an executive order ensuring critical medical supplies are produced in the United States.

Created the largest, most advanced, and most innovative testing system in the world.

Built the world’s leading testing system from scratch, conducting over 200 million tests – more than all of the European Union combined.

Engaged more than 400 test developers to increase testing capacity from less than 100 tests per day to more than 2 million tests per day.

Slashed red tape and approved Emergency Use Authorizations for more than 300 different tests, including 235 molecular tests, 63 antibody tests, and 11 antigen tests.

Delivered state-of-the-art testing devices and millions of tests to every certified nursing home in the country.

Announced more flexibility to Medicare Advantage and Part D plans to waive cost-sharing for tests.

Over 2,000 retail pharmacy stores, including CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens, are providing testing using new regulatory and reimbursement options.

Deployed tens of millions of tests to nursing homes, assisted living facilities, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), tribes, disaster relief operations, Home Health/Hospice organizations, and the Veterans Health Administration.

Began shipping 150 million BinaxNOW rapid tests to states, long-term care facilities, the IHS, HBCUs, and other key partners.

Pioneered groundbreaking treatments and therapies that reduced the mortality rate by 85 percent, saving over 2 million lives.

The United States has among the lowest case fatality rates in the entire world.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched the Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program to expedite the regulatory review process for therapeutics in clinical trials, accelerate the development and publication of industry guidance on developing treatments, and utilize regulatory flexibility to help facilitate the scaling-up of manufacturing capacity.

More than 370 therapies are in clinical trials and another 560 are in the planning stages.

Announced $450 million in available funds to support the manufacturing of Regeneron’s antibody cocktail.

Shipped tens of thousands of doses of the Regeneron drug.

Authorized an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for convalescent plasma.

Treated around 100,000 patients with convalescent plasma, which may reduce mortality by 50 percent.

Provided $48 million to fund the Mayo Clinic study that tested the efficacy of convalescent plasma for patients with COVID-19.

Made an agreement to support the large-scale manufacturing of AstraZeneca’s cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies.

Approved Remdesivir as the first COVID-19 treatment, which could reduce hospitalization time by nearly a third.

Secured more than 90 percent of the world’s supply of Remdesivir, enough to treat over 850,000 high-risk patients.

Granted an EUA to Eli Lilly for its anti-body treatments.

Finalized an agreement with Eli Lilly to purchase the first doses of the company’s investigational antibody therapeutic.

Provided up to $270 million to the American Red Cross and America’s Blood Centers to support the collection of up to 360,000 units of plasma.

Launched a nationwide campaign to ask patients who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate plasma.

Announced Phase 3 clinical trials for varying types of blood thinners to treat adults diagnosed with COVID-19.

Issued an EUA for the monoclonal antibody therapy bamlanivimab.

FDA issued an EUA for casirivimab and imdevimab to be administered together.

Launched the COVID-19 High Performance Computing Consortium with private sector and academic leaders unleashing America’s supercomputers to accelerate coronavirus research.

Brought the full power of American medicine and government to produce a safe and effective vaccine in record time.

Launched Operation Warp Speed to initiate an unprecedented drive to develop and make available an effective vaccine by January 2021.

Pfizer and Moderna developed two vaccines in just nine months, five times faster than the fastest prior vaccine development in American history.

Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines are approximately 95 effective – far exceeding all expectations.

AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson also both have promising candidates in the final stage of clinical trials.

The vaccines will be administered within 24 hours of FDA-approval.

Made millions of vaccine doses available before the end of 2020, with hundreds of millions more to quickly follow.

FedEx and UPS will ship doses from warehouses directly to local pharmacies, hospitals, and healthcare providers.

Finalized a partnership with CVS and Walgreens to deliver vaccines directly to residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities as soon as a state requests it, at no cost to America’s seniors.

Signed an executive order to ensure that the United States government prioritizes getting the vaccine to American citizens before sending it to other nations.

Provided approximately $13 billion to accelerate vaccine development and to manufacture all of the top candidates in advance.

Provided critical investments of $4.1 billion to Moderna to support the development, manufacturing, and distribution of their vaccines.

Moderna announced its vaccine is 95 percent effective and is pending FDA approval.

Provided Pfizer up to $1.95 billion to support the mass-manufacturing and nationwide distribution of their vaccine candidate.

Pfizer announced its vaccine is 95 percent effective and is pending FDA approval.

Provided approximately $1 billion to support the manufacturing and distribution of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine candidate.

Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine candidate reached the final stage of clinical trials.

Made up to $1.2 billion available to support AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate reached the final stage of clinical trials.

Made an agreement to support the large-scale manufacturing of Novavax’s vaccine candidate with 100 million doses expected.

Partnered with Sanofi and GSK to support large-scale manufacturing of a COVID-19 investigational vaccine.

Awarded $200 million in funding to support vaccine preparedness and plans for the immediate distribution and administration of vaccines.

Provided $31 million to Cytvia for vaccine-related consumable products.

Under the PREP Act, issued guidance authorizing qualified pharmacy technicians to administer vaccines.

Announced that McKesson Corporation will produce store, and distribute vaccine ancillary supply kits on behalf of the Strategic National Stockpile to help healthcare workers who will administer vaccines.

Announced partnership with large-chain, independent, and regional pharmacies to deliver vaccines.

Prioritized resources for the most vulnerable Americans, including nursing home residents.

Quickly established guidelines for nursing homes and expanded telehealth opportunities to protect vulnerable seniors.

Increased surveillance, oversight, and transparency of all 15,417 Medicare and Medicaid nursing homes by requiring them to report cases of COVID-19 to all residents, their families, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Required that all nursing homes test staff regularly.

Launched an unprecedented national nursing home training curriculum to equip nursing home staff with the knowledge they need to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Delivered $81 million for increased inspections and funded 35,000 members of the Nation Guard to deliver critical supplies to every Medicare-certified nursing homes.

Deployed Federal Task Force Strike Teams to provide onsite technical assistance and education to nursing homes experiencing outbreaks.

Distributed tens of billions of dollars in Provider Relief Funds to protect nursing homes, long-term care facilities, safety-net hospitals, rural hospitals, and communities hardest hit by the virus.

Released 1.5 million N95 respirators from the Strategic National Stockpile for distribution to over 3,000 nursing home facilities.

Directed the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council to refocus on underserved communities impacted by the coronavirus.

Required that testing results reported include data on race, gender, ethnicity, and ZIP code, to ensure that resources were directed to communities disproportionately harmed by the virus.

Ensured testing was offered at 95 percent of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), which serve over 29 million patients in 12,000 communities across the Nation.

Invested an unprecedented $8 billion in tribal communities.

Maintained safe access for Veterans to VA healthcare throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic and supported non-VA hospital systems and private and state-run nursing homes with VA clinical teams.

Signed legislation ensuring no reduction of VA education benefits under the GI Bill for online distance learning.

Supported Americans as they safely return to school and work.

Issued the Guidelines for Opening Up America Again, a detailed blueprint to help governors as they began reopening the country. Focused on protecting the most vulnerable and mitigating the risk of any resurgence, while restarting the economy and allowing Americans to safely return to their jobs.

Helped Americans return to work by providing extensive guidance on workplace-safety measures to protect against COVID-19, and investigating over 10,000 coronavirus-related complaints and referrals.

Provided over $31 billion to support elementary and secondary schools.

Distributed 125 million face masks to school districts.

Provided comprehensive guidelines to schools on how to protect and identify high-risk individuals, prevent the spread of COVID-19, and conduct safe in-person teaching.

Brought back the safe return of college athletics, including Big Ten and Pac-12 football.

Rescued the American economy with nearly $3.4 trillion in relief, the largest financial aid package in history.

Secured an initial $8.3 billion Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Act, supporting the development of treatments and vaccines, and to procure critical medical supplies and equipment.

Signed the $100 billion Families First Coronavirus Relief Act, guaranteeing free coronavirus testing, emergency paid sick leave and family leave, Medicaid funding, and food assistance.

Signed the $2.3 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, providing unprecedented and immediate relief to American families, workers, and businesses.

Signed additional legislation providing nearly $900 billion in support for coronavirus emergency response and relief, including critically needed funds to continue the Paycheck Protection Program.

Signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Healthcare Enhancement Act, adding an additional $310 billion to replenish the program.

Delivered approximately 160 million relief payments to hardworking Americans.

Through the Paycheck Protection Program, approved over $525 billion in forgivable loans to more than 5.2 million small businesses, supporting more than 51 million American jobs.

The Treasury Department approved the establishment of the Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility to provide liquidity to the financial system.

The Treasury Department, working with the Federal Reserve, was able to leverage approximately $4 trillion in emergency lending facilities.

Signed an executive order extending expanded unemployment benefits.

Signed an executive order to temporarily suspend student loan payments, evictions, and collection of payroll taxes.

Small Business Administration expanded access to emergency economic assistance for small businesses, faith-based, and religious entities.

Protected jobs for American workers impacted by COVID-19 by temporarily suspending several job-related nonimmigrant visas, including H-1B’s, H-2B’s without a nexus to the food-supply chain, certain H-4’s, as well as L’s and certain J’s.

Great Healthcare for Americans

Empowered American patients by greatly expanding healthcare choice, transparency, and affordability.

Eliminated the Obamacare individual mandate – a financial relief to low and middle-income households that made up nearly 80 percent of the families who paid the penalty for not wanting to purchase health insurance.

Increased choice for consumers by promoting competition in the individual health insurance market leading to lower premiums for three years in a row.

Under the Trump Administration, more than 90 percent of the counties have multiple options on the individual insurance market to choose from.

Offered Association Health Plans, which allow employers to pool together and offer more affordable, quality health coverage to their employees at up to 30 percent lower cost.

Increased availability of short-term, limited-duration health plans, which can cost up to 60 percent less than traditional plans, giving Americans more flexibility to choose plans that suit their needs.

Expanded Health Reimbursement Arrangements, allowing millions of Americans to be able to shop for a plan of their choice on the individual market, and then have their employer cover the cost.

Added 2,100 new Medicare Advantage plan options since 2017, a 76 percent increase.

Lowered Medicare Advantage premiums by 34 percent nationwide to the lowest level in 14 years. Medicare health plan premium savings for beneficiaries have totaled $nearly 1.5 billion since 2017.

Improved access to tax-free health savings accounts for individuals with chronic conditions.

Eliminated costly Obamacare taxes, including the health insurance tax, the medical device tax, and the “Cadillac tax.”

Worked with states to create more flexibility and relief from oppressive Obamacare regulations, including reinsurance waivers to help lower premiums.

Released legislative principles to end surprise medical billing.

Finalized requirements for unprecedented price transparency from hospitals and insurance companies so patients know what the cost is before they receive care.

Took action to require that hospitals make the prices they negotiate with insurers publicly available and easily accessible online.

Improved patients access to their health data by penalizing hospitals and causing clinicians to lose their incentive payments if they do not comply.

Expanded access to telehealth, especially in rural and underserved communities.

Increased Medicare payments to rural hospitals to stem a decade of rising closures and deliver enhanced access to care in rural areas.

Issued unprecedented reforms that dramatically lowered the price of prescription drugs.

Lowered drug prices for the first time in 51 years.

Launched an initiative to stop global freeloading in the drug market.

Finalized a rule to allow the importation of prescription drugs from Canada.

Finalized the Most Favored Nation Rule to ensure that pharmaceutical companies offer the same discounts to the United States as they do to other nations, resulting in an estimated $85 billion in savings over seven years and $30 billion in out-of-pocket costs alone.

Proposed a rule requiring federally funded health centers to pass drug company discounts on insulin and Epi-Pens directly to patients.

Ended the gag clauses that prevented pharmacists from informing patients about the best prices for the medications they need.

Ended the costly kickbacks to middlemen and ensured that patients directly benefit from available discounts at the pharmacy counter, saving Americans up to 30 percent on brand name pharmaceuticals.

Enhanced Part D plans to provide many seniors with Medicare access to a broad set of insulins at a maximum $35 copay for a month’s supply of each type of insulin.

Reduced Medicare Part D prescription drug premiums, saving beneficiaries nearly $2 billion in premium costs since 2017.

Ended the Unapproved Drugs Initiative, which provided market exclusivity to generic drugs.

Promoted research and innovation in healthcare to ensure that American patients have access to the best treatment in the world.

Signed first-ever executive order to affirm that it is the official policy of the United States Government to protect patients with pre-existing conditions.

Passed Right To Try to give terminally ill patients access to lifesaving cures.

Signed an executive order to fight kidney disease with more transplants and better treatment.

Signed into law a $1 billion increase in funding for critical Alzheimer’s research.

Accelerated medical breakthroughs in genetic treatments for Sickle Cell disease.

Finalized the interoperability rules that will give American patients access to their electronic health records on their phones.

Initiated an effort to provide $500 million over the next decade to improve pediatric cancer research.

Launched a campaign to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in America in the next decade.

Started a program to provide the HIV prevention drug PrEP to uninsured patients for free.

Signed an executive order and awarded new development contracts to modernize the influenza vaccine.

Protected our Nation’s seniors by safeguarding and strengthening Medicare.

Updated the way Medicare pays for innovative medical products to ensure beneficiaries have access to the latest innovation and treatment.

Reduced improper payments for Medicare an estimated $15 billion since 2016 protecting taxpayer dollars and leading to less fraud, waste, and abuse.

Took rapid action to combat antimicrobial resistance and secure access to life-saving new antibiotic drugs for American seniors, by removing several financial disincentives and setting policies to reduce inappropriate use.

Launched new online tools, including eMedicare, Blue Button 2.0, and Care Compare, to help seniors see what is covered, compare costs, streamline data, and compare tools available on Medicare.gov.

Provided new Medicare Advantage supplemental benefits, including modifications to help keep seniors safe in their homes, respite care for caregivers, non-opioid pain management alternatives like therapeutic massages, transportation, and more in-home support services and assistance.

Protected Medicare beneficiaries by removing Social Security numbers from all Medicare cards, a project completed ahead of schedule.

Unleashed unprecedented transparency in Medicare and Medicaid data to spur research and innovation.

Remaking the Federal Judiciary

Appointed a historic number of Federal judges who will interpret the Constitution as written.

Nominated and confirmed over 230 Federal judges.

Confirmed 54 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals, making up nearly a third of the entire appellate bench.

Filled all Court of Appeals vacancies for the first time in four decades.

Flipped the Second, Third, and Eleventh Circuits from Democrat-appointed majorities to Republican-appointed majorities. And dramatically reshaped the long-liberal Ninth Circuit.

Appointed three Supreme Court justices, expanding its conservative-appointed majority to 6-3.

Appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch to replace Justice Antonin Scalia.

Appointed Justice Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Appointed Justice Amy Coney Barrett to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Achieving a Secure Border

Secured the Southern Border of the United States.

Built over 400 miles of the world’s most robust and advanced border wall.

Illegal crossings have plummeted over 87 percent where the wall has been constructed.

Deployed nearly 5,000 troops to the Southern border. In addition, Mexico deployed tens of thousands of their own soldiers and national guardsmen to secure their side of the US-Mexico border.

Ended the dangerous practice of Catch-and-Release, which means that instead of aliens getting released into the United States pending future hearings never to be seen again, they are detained pending removal, and then ultimately returned to their home countries.

Entered into three historic asylum cooperation agreements with Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala to stop asylum fraud and resettle illegal migrants in third-party nations pending their asylum applications.

Entered into a historic partnership with Mexico, referred to as the “Migrant Protection Protocols,” to safely return asylum-seekers to Mexico while awaiting hearings in the United States.

Fully enforced the immigration laws of the United States.

Signed an executive order to strip discretionary Federal grant funding from deadly sanctuary cities.

Fully enforced and implemented statutorily authorized “expedited removal” of illegal aliens.

The Department of Justice prosecuted a record-breaking number of immigration-related crimes.

Used Section 243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to reduce the number of aliens coming from countries whose governments refuse to accept their nationals who were ordered removed from the United States.

Ended asylum fraud, shut down human smuggling traffickers, and solved the humanitarian crisis across the Western Hemisphere.

Suspended, via regulation, asylum for aliens who had skipped previous countries where they were eligible for asylum but opted to “forum shop” and continue to the United States.

Safeguarded migrant families, and protected migrant safety, by promulgating new regulations under the Flores Settlement Agreement.

Proposed regulations to end the practice of giving free work permits to illegal aliens lodging meritless asylum claims.

Issued “internal relocation” guidance.

Cross-trained United States Border Patrol agents to conduct credible fear screenings alongside USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) adjudication personnel to reduce massive backlogs.

Streamlined and expedited the asylum hearing process through both the Prompt Asylum Claim Review (PACR) and the Humanitarian Asylum Review Process (HARP).

Launched the Family Fraud Initiative to identify hundreds of individuals who were fraudulently presenting themselves as family units at the border, oftentimes with trafficking children, in order to ensure child welfare.

Improved screening in countries with high overstay rates and reduced visa overstay rates in many of these countries.

Removed bureaucratic constraints on United States consular officers that reduced their ability to appropriately vet visa applicants.

Worked with Mexico and other regional partners to dismantle the human smuggling networks in our hemisphere that profit from human misery and fuel the border crisis by exploiting vulnerable populations.

Secured our Nation’s immigration system against criminals and terrorists.

Instituted national security travel bans to keep out terrorists, jihadists, and violent extremists, and implemented a uniform security and information-sharing baseline all nations must meet in order for their nationals to be able to travel to, and emigrate to, the United States.

Suspended refugee resettlement from the world’s most dangerous and terror-afflicted regions.

Rebalanced refugee assistance to focus on overseas resettlement and burden-sharing.

85 percent reduction in refugee resettlement.

Overhauled badly-broken refugee security screening process.

Required the Department of State to consult with states and localities as part of the Federal government’s refugee resettlement process.

Issued strict sanctions on countries that have failed to take back their own nationals.

Established the National Vetting Center, which is the most advanced and comprehensive visa screening system anywhere in the world.

Protected American workers and taxpayers.

Issued a comprehensive “public charge” regulation to ensure newcomers to the United States are financially self-sufficient and not reliant on welfare.

Created an enforcement mechanism for sponsor repayment and deeming, to ensure that people who are presenting themselves as sponsors are actually responsible for sponsor obligations.

Issued regulations to combat the horrendous practice of “birth tourism.”

Issued a rule with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to make illegal aliens ineligible for public housing.

Issued directives requiring Federal agencies to hire United States workers first and prioritizing the hiring of United States workers wherever possible.

Suspended the entry of low-wage workers that threaten American jobs.

Finalized new H-1B regulations to permanently end the displacement of United States workers and modify the administrative tools that are required for H-1B visa issuance.

Defended United States sovereignty by withdrawing from the United Nations’ Global Compact on Migration.

Suspended Employment Authorization Documents for aliens who arrive illegally between ports of entry and are ordered removed from the United States.

Restored integrity to the use of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) by strictly adhering to the statutory conditions required for TPS.

Restoring American Leadership Abroad

Restored America’s leadership in the world and successfully negotiated to ensure our allies pay their fair share for our military protection.

Secured a $400 billion increase in defense spending from NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) allies by 2024, and the number of members meeting their minimum obligations more than doubled.

Credited by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg for strengthening NATO.

Worked to reform and streamline the United Nations (UN) and reduced spending by $1.3 billion.

Allies, including Japan and the Republic of Korea, committed to increase burden-sharing.

Protected our Second Amendment rights by announcing the United States will never ratify the UN Arms Trade Treaty.

Returned 56 hostages and detainees from more than 24 countries.

Worked to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific region, promoting new investments and expanding American partnerships.

Advanced peace through strength.

Withdrew from the horrible, one-sided Iran Nuclear Deal and imposed crippling sanctions on the Iranian Regime.

Conducted vigorous enforcement on all sanctions to bring Iran’s oil exports to zero and deny the regime its principal source of revenue.

First president to meet with a leader of North Korea and the first sitting president to cross the demilitarized zone into North Korea.

Maintained a maximum pressure campaign and enforced tough sanctions on North Korea while negotiating de-nuclearization, the release of American hostages, and the return of the remains of American heroes.

Brokered economic normalization between Serbia and Kosovo, bolstering peace in the Balkans.

Signed the Honk Kong Autonomy Act and ended the United States’ preferential treatment with Hong Kong to hold China accountable for its infringement on the autonomy of Hong Kong.

Led allied efforts to defeat the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to control the international telecommunications system.

Renewed our cherished friendship and alliance with Israel and took historic action to promote peace in the Middle East.

Recognized Jerusalem as the true capital of Israel and quickly moved the American Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Acknowledged Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights and declared that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are not inconsistent with international law.

Removed the United States from the United Nations Human Rights Council due to the group’s blatant anti-Israel bias.

Brokered historic peace agreements between Israel and Arab-Muslim countries, including the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Sudan.

In addition, the United States negotiated a normalization agreement between Israel and Morocco, and recognized Moroccan Sovereignty over the entire Western Sahara, a position with long standing bipartisan support.

Brokered a deal for Kosovo to normalize ties and establish diplomatic relations with Israel.

Announced that Serbia would move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

First American president to address an assembly of leaders from more than 50 Muslim nations, and reach an agreement to fight terrorism in all its forms.

Established the Etidal Center to combat terrorism in the Middle East in conjunction with the Saudi Arabian Government.

Announced the Vision for Peace Political Plan – a two-state solution that resolves the risks of Palestinian statehood to Israel’s security, and the first time Israel has agreed to a map and a Palestinian state.

Released an economic plan to empower the Palestinian people and enhance Palestinian governance through historic private investment.

Stood up against Communism and Socialism in the Western Hemisphere.

Reversed the previous Administration’s disastrous Cuba policy, canceling the sellout deal with the Communist Castro dictatorship.

Pledged not to lift sanctions until all political prisoners are freed; freedoms of assembly and expression are respected; all political parties are legalized; and free elections are scheduled.

Enacted a new policy aimed at preventing American dollars from funding the Cuban regime, including stricter travel restrictions and restrictions on the importation of Cuban alcohol and tobacco.

Implemented a cap on remittances to Cuba.

Enabled Americans to file lawsuits against persons and entities that traffic in property confiscated by the Cuban regime.

First world leader to recognize Juan Guaido as the Interim President of Venezuela and led a diplomatic coalition against the Socialist Dictator of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro.

Blocked all property of the Venezuelan Government in the jurisdiction of the United States.

Cut off the financial resources of the Maduro regime and sanctioned key sectors of the Venezuelan economy exploited by the regime.

Brought criminal charges against Nicolas Maduro for his narco-terrorism.

Imposed stiff sanctions on the Ortega regime in Nicaragua.

Joined together with Mexico and Canada in a successful bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with 60 matches to be held in the United States.

Won bid to host the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.

Colossal Rebuilding of the Military

Rebuilt the military and created the Sixth Branch, the United States Space Force.

Completely rebuilt the United States military with over $2.2 trillion in defense spending, including $738 billion for 2020.

Secured three pay raises for our service members and their families, including the largest raise in a decade.

Established the Space Force, the first new branch of the United States Armed Forces since 1947.

Modernized and recapitalized our nuclear forces and missile defenses to ensure they continue to serve as a strong deterrent.

Upgraded our cyber defenses by elevating the Cyber Command into a major warfighting command and by reducing burdensome procedural restrictions on cyber operations.

Vetoed the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act, which failed to protect our national security, disrespected the history of our veterans and military, and contradicted our efforts to put America first.

Defeated terrorists, held leaders accountable for malign actions, and bolstered peace around the world.

Defeated 100 percent of ISIS’ territorial caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

Freed nearly 8 million civilians from ISIS’ bloodthirsty control, and liberated Mosul, Raqqa, and the final ISIS foothold of Baghuz.

Killed the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and eliminated the world’s top terrorist, Qasem Soleimani.

Created the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC) in partnership between the United States and its Gulf partners to combat extremist ideology and threats, and target terrorist financial networks, including over 60 terrorist individuals and entities spanning the globe.

Twice took decisive military action against the Assad regime in Syria for the barbaric use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians, including a successful 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles strike.

Authorized sanctions against bad actors tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.

Negotiated an extended ceasefire with Turkey in northeast Syria.

Addressed gaps in American’s defense-industrial base, providing much-needed updates to improve the safety of our country.

Protected America’s defense-industrial base, directing the first whole-of-government assessment of our manufacturing and defense supply chains since the 1950s.

Took decisive steps to secure our information and communications technology and services supply chain, including unsafe mobile applications.

Completed several multi-year nuclear material removal campaigns, securing over 1,000 kilograms of highly enriched uranium and significantly reducing global nuclear threats.

Signed an executive order directing Federal agencies to work together to diminish the capability of foreign adversaries to target our critical electric infrastructure.

Established a whole-of-government strategy addressing the threat posed by China’s malign efforts targeting the United States taxpayer-funded research and development ecosystem.

Advanced missile defense capabilities and regional alliances.

Bolstered the ability of our allies and partners to defend themselves through the sale of aid and military equipment.

Signed the largest arms deal ever, worth nearly $110 billion, with Saudi Arabia.

Serving and Protecting Our Veterans

Reformed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to improve care, choice, and employee accountability.

Signed and implemented the VA Mission Act, which made permanent Veterans CHOICE, revolutionized the VA community care system, and delivered quality care closer to home for Veterans.

The number of Veterans who say they trust VA services has increased 19 percent to a record 91 percent, an all-time high.

Offered same-day emergency mental health care at every VA medical facility, and secured $9.5 billion for mental health services in 2020.

Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017, which ensured that veterans could continue to see the doctor of their choice and wouldn’t have to wait for care.

During the Trump Administration, millions of veterans have been able to choose a private doctor in their communities.

Expanded Veterans’ ability to access telehealth services, including through the “Anywhere to Anywhere” VA healthcare initiative leading to a 1000 percent increase in usage during COVID-19.

Signed the Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act and removed thousands of VA workers who failed to give our Vets the care they have so richly deserve.

Signed the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 and improved the efficiency of the VA, setting record numbers of appeals decisions.

Modernized medical records to begin a seamless transition from the Department of Defense to the VA.

Launched a new tool that provides Veterans with online access to average wait times and quality-of-care data.

The promised White House VA Hotline has fielded hundreds of thousands of calls.

Formed the PREVENTS Task Force to fight the tragedy of Veteran suicide.

Decreased veteran homelessness, improved education benefits, and achieved record-low veteran unemployment.

Signed and implemented the Forever GI Bill, allowing Veterans to use their benefits to get an education at any point in their lives.

Eliminated every penny of Federal student loan debt owed by American veterans who are completely and permanently disabled.

Compared to 2009, 49 percent fewer veterans experienced homelessness nationwide during 2019.

Signed and implemented the HAVEN Act to ensure that Veterans who’ve declared bankruptcy don’t lose their disability payments.

Helped hundreds of thousands of military service members make the transition from the military to the civilian workforce, and developed programs to support the employment of military spouses.

Placed nearly 40,000 homeless veterans into employment through the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.

Placed over 600,000 veterans into employment through American Job Center services.

Enrolled over 500,000 transitioning service members in over 20,000 Department of Labor employment workshops.

Signed an executive order to help Veterans transition seamlessly into the United States Merchant Marine.

Making Communities Safer

Signed into law landmark criminal justice reform.

Signed the bipartisan First Step Act into law, the first landmark criminal justice reform legislation ever passed to reduce recidivism and help former inmates successfully rejoin society.

Promoted second chance hiring to give former inmates the opportunity to live crime-free lives and find meaningful employment.

Launched a new “Ready to Work” initiative to help connect employers directly with former prisoners.

Awarded $2.2 million to states to expand the use of fidelity bonds, which underwrite companies that hire former prisoners.

Reversed decades-old ban on Second Chance Pell programs to provide postsecondary education to individuals who are incarcerated expand their skills and better succeed in the workforce upon re-entry.

Awarded over $333 million in Department of Labor grants to nonprofits and local and state governments for reentry projects focused on career development services for justice-involved youth and adults who were formerly incarcerated.

Unprecedented support for law-enforcement.

In 2019, violent crime fell for the third consecutive year.

Since 2016, the violent crime rate has declined over 5 percent and the murder rate has decreased by over 7 percent.

Launched Operation Legend to combat a surge of violent crime in cities, resulting in more than 5,500 arrests.

Deployed the National Guard and Federal law enforcement to Kenosha to stop violence and restore public safety.

Provided $1 million to Kenosha law enforcement, nearly $4 million to support small businesses in Kenosha, and provided over $41 million to support law enforcement to the state of Wisconsin.

Deployed Federal agents to save the courthouse in Portland from rioters.

Signed an executive order outlining ten-year prison sentences for destroying Federal property and monuments.

Directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate and prosecute Federal offenses related to ongoing violence.

DOJ provided nearly $400 million for new law enforcement hiring.

Endorsed by the 355,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police.

Revitalized Project Safe Neighborhoods, which brings together Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials to develop solutions to violent crime.

Improved first-responder communications by deploying the FirstNet National Public Safety Broadband Network, which serves more than 12,000 public safety agencies across the Nation.

Established a new commission to evaluate best practices for recruiting, training, and supporting law enforcement officers.

Signed the Safe Policing for Safe Communities executive order to incentive local police department reforms in line with law and order.

Made hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of surplus military equipment available to local law enforcement.

Signed an executive order to help prevent violence against law enforcement officers.

Secured permanent funding for the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund for first responders.

Implemented strong measures to stem hate crimes, gun violence, and human trafficking.

Signed an executive order making clear that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to discrimination rooted in anti-Semitism.

Launched a centralized website to educate the public about hate crimes and encourage reporting.

Signed the Fix NICS Act to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals.

Signed the STOP School Violence Act and created a Commission on School Safety to examine ways to make our schools safer.

Launched the Foster Youth to Independence initiative to prevent and end homelessness among young adults under the age of 25 who are in, or have recently left, the foster care system.

Signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which tightened criteria for whether countries are meeting standards for eliminating trafficking.

Established a task force to help combat the tragedy of missing or murdered Native American women and girls.

Prioritized fighting for the voiceless and ending the scourge of human trafficking across the Nation, through a whole of government back by legislation, executive action, and engagement with key industries.

Created the first-ever White House position focused solely on combating human trafficking.

Cherishing Life and Religious Liberty

Steadfastly supported the sanctity of every human life and worked tirelessly to prevent government funding of abortion.

Reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy, ensuring that taxpayer money is not used to fund abortion globally.

Issued a rule preventing Title X taxpayer funding from subsiding the abortion industry.

Supported legislation to end late-term abortions.

Cut all funding to the United Nations population fund due to the fund’s support for coercive abortion and forced sterilization.

Signed legislation overturning the previous administration’s regulation that prohibited states from defunding abortion facilities as part of their family planning programs.

Fully enforced the requirement that taxpayer dollars do not support abortion coverage in Obamacare exchange plans.

Stopped the Federal funding of fetal tissue research.

Worked to protect healthcare entities and individuals’ conscience rights – ensuring that no medical professional is forced to participate in an abortion in violation of their beliefs.

Issued an executive order reinforcing requirement that all hospitals in the United States provide medical treatment or an emergency transfer for infants who are in need of emergency medical care—regardless of prematurity or disability.

Led a coalition of countries to sign the Geneva Consensus Declaration, declaring that there is no international right to abortion and committing to protecting women’s health.

First president in history to attend the March for Life.

Stood up for religious liberty in the United States and around the world.

Protected the conscience rights of doctors, nurses, teachers, and groups like the Little Sisters of the Poor.

First president to convene a meeting at the United Nations to end religious persecution.

Established the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative.

Stopped the Johnson Amendment from interfering with pastors’ right to speak their minds.

Reversed the previous administration’s policy that prevented the government from providing disaster relief to religious organizations.

Protected faith-based adoption and foster care providers, ensuring they can continue to serve their communities while following the teachings of their faith.

Reduced burdensome barriers to ensure Native Americans are free to keep spiritually and culturally significant eagle feathers found on their tribal lands.

Took action to ensure Federal employees can take paid time off work to observe religious holy days.

Signed legislation to assist religious and ethnic groups targeted by ISIS for mass murder and genocide in Syria and Iraq.

Directed American assistance toward persecuted communities, including through faith-based programs.

Launched the International Religious Freedom Alliance – the first-ever alliance devoted to confronting religious persecution around the world.

Appointed a Special Envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism.

Imposed restrictions on certain Chinese officials, internal security units, and companies for their complicity in the persecution of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.

Issued an executive order to protect and promote religious freedom around the world.

Safeguarding the Environment

Took strong action to protect the environment and ensure clean air and clean water.

Took action to protect vulnerable Americans from being exposed to lead and copper in drinking water and finalized a rule protecting children from lead-based paint hazards.

Invested over $38 billion in clean water infrastructure.

In 2019, America achieved the largest decline in carbon emissions of any country on earth. Since withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord, the United States has reduced carbon emissions more than any nation.

American levels of particulate matter – one of the main measures of air pollution – are approximately five times lower than the global average.

Between 2017 and 2019, the air became 7 percent cleaner – indicated by a steep drop in the combined emissions of criteria pollutants.

Led the world in greenhouse gas emissions reductions, having cut energy-related CO2 emissions by 12 percent from 2005 to 2018 while the rest of the world increased emissions by 24 percent.

In FY 2019 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cleaned up more major pollution sites than any year in nearly two decades.

The EPA delivered $300 million in Brownfields grants directly to communities most in need including investment in 118 Opportunity Zones.

Placed a moratorium on offshore drilling off the coasts of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida.

Restored public access to Federal land at Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Recovered more endangered or threatened species than any other administration in its first term.

Secured agreements and signed legislation to protect the environment and preserve our Nation’s abundant national resources.

The USMCA guarantees the strongest environmental protections of any trade agreement in history.

Signed the Save Our Seas Act to protect our environment from foreign nations that litter our oceans with debris and developed the first-ever Federal strategic plan to address marine litter.

Signed the Great American Outdoors Act, securing the single largest investment in America’s National Parks and public lands in history.

Signed the largest public lands legislation in a decade, designating 1.3 million new acres of wilderness.

Signed a historic executive order promoting much more active forest management to prevent catastrophic wildfires.

Opened and expanded access to over 4 million acres of public lands for hunting and fishing.

Joined the One Trillion Trees Initiative to plant, conserve, and restore trees in America and around the world.

Delivered infrastructure upgrades and investments for numerous projects, including over half a billion dollars to fix the Herbert Hoover Dike and expanding funding for Everglades restoration by 55 percent.

Expanding Educational Opportunity

Fought tirelessly to give every American access to the best possible education.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expanded School Choice, allowing parents to use up to $10,000 from a 529 education savings account to cover K-12 tuition costs at the public, private, or religious school of their choice.

Launched a new pro-American lesson plan for students called the 1776 Commission to promote patriotic education.

Prohibited the teaching of Critical Race Theory in the Federal government.

Established the National Garden of American Heroes, a vast outdoor park that will feature the statues of the greatest Americans to ever live.

Called on Congress to pass the Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act to expand education options for 1 million students of all economic backgrounds.

Signed legislation reauthorizing the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program.

Issued updated guidance making clear that the First Amendment right to Free Exercise of Religion does not end at the door to a public school.

Took action to promote technical education.

Signed into law the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, which provides over 13 million students with high-quality vocational education and extends more than $1.3 billion each year to states for critical workforce development programs.

Signed the INSPIRE Act which encouraged NASA to have more women and girls participate in STEM and seek careers in aerospace.

Allocated no less than $200 million each year in grants to prioritize women and minorities in STEM and computer science education.

Drastically reformed and modernized our educational system to restore local control and promote fairness.

Restored state and local control of education by faithfully implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act.

Signed an executive order that ensures public universities protect First Amendment rights or they will risk losing funding, addresses student debt by requiring colleges to share a portion of the financial risk, and increases transparency by requiring universities to disclose information about the value of potential educational programs.

Issued a rule strengthening Title IX protections for survivors of sexual misconduct in schools, and that – for the first time in history – codifies that sexual harassment is prohibited under Title IX.

Negotiated historic bipartisan agreement on new higher education rules to increase innovation and lower costs by reforming accreditation, state authorization, distance education, competency-based education, credit hour, religious liberty, and TEACH Grants.

Prioritized support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Moved the Federal Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Initiative back to the White House.

Signed into law the FUTURE Act, making permanent $255 million in annual funding for HBCUs and increasing funding for the Federal Pell Grant program.

Signed legislation that included more than $100 million for scholarships, research, and centers of excellence at HBCU land-grant institutions.

Fully forgave $322 million in disaster loans to four HBCUs in 2018, so they could fully focus on educating their students.

Enabled faith-based HBCUs to enjoy equal access to Federal support.

Combatting the Opioid Crisis

Brought unprecedented attention and support to combat the opioid crisis.

Declared the opioid crisis a nationwide public health emergency.

Secured a record $6 billion in new funding to combat the opioid epidemic.

Signed the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, the largest-ever legislative effort to address a drug crisis in our Nation’s history.

Launched the Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand in order to confront the many causes fueling the drug crisis.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded a record $9 billion in grants to expand access to prevention, treatment, and recovery services to States and local communities.

Passed the CRIB Act, allowing Medicaid to help mothers and their babies who are born physically dependent on opioids by covering their care in residential pediatric recovery facilities.

Distributed $1 billion in grants for addiction prevention and treatment.

Announced a Safer Prescriber Plan that seeks to decrease the amount of opioids prescriptions filled in America by one third within three years.

Reduced the total amount of opioids prescriptions filled in America.

Expanded access to medication-assisted treatment and life-saving Naloxone.

Launched FindTreatment.gov, a tool to find help for substance abuse.

Drug overdose deaths fell nationwide in 2018 for the first time in nearly three decades.

Launched the Drug-Impaired Driving Initiative to work with local law enforcement and the driving public at large to increase awareness.

Launched a nationwide public ad campaign on youth opioid abuse that reached 58 percent of young adults in America.

Since 2016, there has been a nearly 40 percent increase in the number of Americans receiving medication-assisted treatment.

Approved 29 state Medicaid demonstrations to improve access to opioid use disorder treatment, including new flexibility to cover inpatient and residential treatment.

Approved nearly $200 million in grants to address the opioid crisis in severely affected communities and to reintegrate workers in recovery back into the workforce.

Took action to seize illegal drugs and punish those preying on innocent Americans.

In FY 2019, ICE HSI seized 12,466 pounds of opioids including 3,688 pounds of fentanyl, an increase of 35 percent from FY 2018.

Seized tens of thousands of kilograms of heroin and thousands of kilograms of fentanyl since 2017.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecuted more fentanyl traffickers than ever before, dismantled 3,000 drug trafficking organizations, and seized enough fentanyl to kill 105,000 Americans.

DOJ charged more than 65 defendants collectively responsible for distributing over 45 million opioid pills.

Brought kingpin designations against traffickers operating in China, India, Mexico, and more who have played a role in the epidemic in America.

Indicted major Chinese drug traffickers for distributing fentanyl in the U.S for the first time ever, and convinced China to enact strict regulations to control the production and sale of fentanyl.

21 notes · View notes

gray-anxiety · 5 years

Text

No Sympathy → Levi Ackerman Chapter 6 → Shopping

Read the rest of the chapters here!

This is a FILLER chapter — it isn’t necessary for the story, but gives a better look at the relationship blooming between the characters. I have other fillers planned in the future as well just to explain some background, etc. This has happened AFTER the last chapter and BEFORE the next.

Aella couldn’t care less about skipping school — she already had managed to talk to the teachers via email about a ‘family emergency’ that had come up and had to skip school for a day. Levi, on the other hand, couldn’t have given any shits about making up any excuses about skipping a whole school day — he just flat out skipped. The flaking duo woke up that Thursday morning without leaving for school like normal; even Aella slept in until 7 instead of waking up at 5 like normal — giving Levi all the time he wanted to clean the apartment. Aella’s eyes fluttered open and adjusted to the light that was pouring in from the window over her head — enjoying sleeping in like it was a Saturday. Aella rolled out of bed and strolled to her closet to change — while she adored lounging around in whatever she wore to bed the previous night, she had to change to go shopping with Levi at 10. Aella grabbed her phone off the charger and walked out of her room to see Levi already making breakfast — he insisted on always making it since Aella would always ignore directions and create dishes with her own twist. Levi nodded his head at Aella and grabbed the toasted waffles out of the old toaster and threw them on their separate plates. Aella tasked herself with making tea as she was extremely possessive of her tea cabinet — yes, tea cabinet. Surprisingly enough, the roommates figured out a morning routine fairly quickly and forced the other to do it even if they didn’t want to. Levi set down the plates the same time Aella set down the tea and glared at each other; knowing that their little race resulted in a damned tie.

“So, we need outfits for the party, and I was thinking that we could get lunch and shop around? Is that alright with you?” Aella asked, trying to make their shopping trip somewhat organized and planned. Levi nodded and sipped some of his tea.

“Yeah, that’s fine. I need to get a new bandana; I can’t stitch this one anymore.” Aella nodded. She was still nervous about the party — she hadn’t been to one since before she was left to rot. She didn’t have any friends anymore, well, except for Levi that is, and to top it all off, she couldn’t even get drunk or high at the party! Aella sighed through her nose — this was going to be a pain in her ass. Eventually, the two headed out, Levi begrudgingly agreeing to taking the train to the shopping district in Maria, but only if he wore his bandana. Aella and Levi both knew he looked unbelievably shady — leaving Aella to come up with an idea to protect Levi’s identity without looking shady.

“Hey. Levi?” Levi’s eyes slid over to where Aella was walking next to him. He grunted in response, letting Aella know she had his attention.

“Why don’t we get you something like a scarf or a cravat? Maybe one of those fabric versions of those masks that people wear when they’re sick? If I wasn’t here with you right now, you’d be looking so shady that people would kick you out. You don’t want to blow your cover, no?” Levi nodded his head in acknowledgment knowing Aella was right. Even though Maria was the shadiest place to be in all of the triune cities, there was an unspoken rule between the gangsters here that you never covered your face unless you wanted to commit a crime — which, yes, most did, but the guards in the shopping district were from the city of Rose itself — the lowest crime-ridden city in the country with one of the highest police and military activity ever. To summarize it, the crime rate in Maria’s shopping district was the lowest of them all. Low crime rate leads to spending more money on making the shopping centers and malls seem pristine and clean versus the dirty grimy streets in the rest of Maria. The two passed by numerous shops, but stopped at a popular store for all customers — Terra Pine; a clothes store with low priced current trending clothing even inspired by the clothes in Sina itself. Aella dragged Levi to the scarf section and made him pick out a scarf that could easily be pulled over his mouth and nose, but functioned as a lightweight loose scarf that could easily pass as a necklace if folded correctly. Levi pulled Aella to the men’s section to help him pick out a hoodie and any accessories that could help him stay hidden; Levi had to remain as hidden as possible at that party if there truly were going to be mafia members in attendance — they might recognize him from numerous mafia dealings. Aella quickly bolted to the genderfluid section to pick out any outfit that stood out to her and eventually landed on a casual skater outfit.

“Let’s go,” Aella mumbled to Levi so he could pay for everything since he insisted he actually had money to waste (he was a damned mafia boss, of course he had money to waste!). Levi handed Aella the bag full of her stuff and walked to the nearest pretzel maker popup shop and ordered pretzel bites.

“Lunch; which is better than school lunch,” Levi mumbled, handing Aella a cup of pretzel bites. Aella nodded in agreement and walked to the nearest table in the mall — sitting down so she didn’t piss off Levi by making any mess whatsoever. Levi looked over at the art supply store and back to Aella.

“I noticed you were almost out of every single art supply you owned.” Aella looked up and nodded, swallowing her last pretzel bite before replying:

“Yeah, I’ve been saving up for almost two months for new ones, but they were so expensive I eventually gave up on trying to buy anything aside from paper.” Aella sighed — even paper was expensive these days. The economy, though while very successful, kept jacking up prices the more money paid to employees; making it extremely difficult for those in poverty to get back up again. Levi handed Aella two hundred dollar bills and tilted his head in the direction of the store.

“I know your life for the past two years was just focused on work and trying not to fail school. Go buy some shit and actually use it since you don’t have to voluntarily work overtime all weekend now.” Aella knew Levi saw all of her art in his room — he must’ve known it was her only escape since she couldn’t even afford any booze or drugs either. Aella whispered out a ‘thank you’ and walked over to the store — buying everything from paper, pencils, and paints to erasers, brushes, and markers. Levi stood by the entrance as soon as Aella walked out with two paper bags full of art supplies — Aella was actually grinning from glee for once. Levi was determined to give Aella an escape for when things were too much — just like what Farlan did for Levi when they lived in the slums. Farlan went out of his way to steal cleaning supplies for an unknowing Levi after seeing Levi only sleep, eat, kill, and try to clean with only a rag. Levi was pulled out of his trance when Aella grabbed his arm and pulled him to the exit of the mall.

“Come on, we need to get on the next train. This place is unnerving.” Levi nodded in agreement, but his storm eyes looked over to a knife shop and looked back to Aella.

“We need more weapons, Aella.” Aella’s eyebrows raised and gave Levi the look like he was crazy.

“Levi! We won’t be able to leave if we have fucking knives on us!”

“I entered the district just fine, thank you for your concern.” Aella’s jaw dropped.

“Are you serious, Levi?” Levi nodded plainly and dragged an increasingly worried Aella to the knife shop. The shop itself was dark and smelled like smoke versus all the other shops that were white and clean. Levi walked further in until he was face to face with the manager in the middle of the shop — leaning against the checkout desk with glass encased blades up for sale.

“What do you want?” The manager asked, smoking a cigarette while looking at the two other customers checking out blades. Levi huffed and slammed down one of his best blades at the checkout desk the manager manned.

“You have exactly 5 of these knives in stock right now — I want all of them.” The manager’s brow raised in a silent question and brought his mouth closer to Levi’s ear.

“Do you want throwing knives with those, Blade?” Levi nodded and slid the manager a 50 to keep quiet. Farlan would pay the actual expense with the rest of Levi’s money. The manager pulled the five blades out in individual flat boxes that barely encased each blade. The boxes were meant for hiding a purchase without taking the newly purchased blade out. The manager then slid Levi 7 throwing blades so thin they were see through. Levi nodded and put the purchase in Aella’s brown bags from the art supply store — walking out like nothing had just happened. Aella kept quiet and just kept carrying her stuff like normal; she didn’t mind blades — she only minded jail time if she was busted by Rose. Levi had gotten in the district without being checked like other civilians thanks to Farlan — even Aella wasn’t checked when she entered before Levi. When the two arrived at the train station, they walked past the lines of angry civilians begrudgingly being checked one by one for anything illegal by Rose security itself. Yes, Levi and Aella both received glares from checked civilians for the duo not having to go through the shit they just went through, but Levi couldn’t have given any shits whatsoever — life was unfair. Levi walked to the train behind Aella — allowing Aella to board before him. Just as he started to walk on the metal vehicle, a man walked past getting off the train — bumping into Levi’s shoulder harshly. Levi growled and turned around.

“Watch it you fucking dumbass!” The other man turned around and flipped Levi off — ‘wait a minute…’ Levi recognized the man. Green-blue eyes, messy brown hair, and a death wish of a will to fight anyone? Levi knew him alright. He was also a well-known ‘bad boy’ in Karanese High — Eren fucking Jaeger. Levi never knew the man aside from nods of hello down the halls whenever they saw each other out of respect for one another’s gang-affiliated past, but from what he heard of the man, he was worth recruiting when the time came.

“Levi, come on, the train is about to leave.” Aella put her hand on Levi’s shoulder and lead him to two isolated seats. The party was in two days — Levi was finally going to get some answers.

19 notes · View notes

marystudies · 6 years

Text

A LONG ASS LIST OF TIPS FOR HIGH SCHOOL: FRESHMAN TO SENIOR YEAR LETS GO

Disclaimer: This is just from my experience, so these might not all apply to you!

Freshman Year

ok, ok, freshman year can be scary but don’t let that get to you

dont worry about upperclassmen being rude/teasing you

it’ll most likely happen, but I’ve never seen an upperclassman tease a freshman with the intention to really hurt them

one day you’ll be them so dw

on the topic of upperclassmen, make some older friends!!! (through classes, sports, etc.) it’s so nice to have someone give you tips and help you through high school

dont expect your friend group to stay the same lol

BUT ITS A GOOD THING I PROMISE YOU

I was scared of changing my friend group, so even though I wasn’t being treated too well, it wasn’t until senior year when I really made a change and I wish I did it earlier

be open to meeting new people, everyone is scared just like you and looking for more friends

I don’t think its neccessary for freshman to become sUPER involved in clubs and all that but at least get a feel for whats out there

try out for a sport if you play one!

this goes for all of high school, not just freshman year, but I regret not being as involved as I could’ve been

Go to school events like football games and dances! School spirit is considered weird in middle school but its cool in high school

take your classes seriously, your teachers are right - high school is much harder than middle school (but it’s not too bad if you stay organized!)

my freshman year GPA was my lowest like english really caught me off guard (properly formatted, 5 paragraph essays being 50% of your grade??? a concept.)

so my cumulative GPA was brought down

I think most freshman don’t have access to AP classes to boost your GPA or anything, but if you’re looking to push yourself take an honors class or 2! (if available)

Sophomore Year

wooohooo ur no longer a freshman

I’d take at least 1 AP class if you can

my sophomore year I took AP Human Geo - which I really loved, and it also wasn’t too hard

a lot of sophomores take AP World which is a BITCH of a class

BUT I wouldn’t recommend taking Honors World because you don’t get the GPA boost, you don’t get college credits (unless you take the AP Euro test or something), and it’s almost just as hard

this is a bit random - but when you’re taking Algebra 2 (which was my sophomore year) PLS PAY ATTENTION math builds on itself don’t fuck yourself over

take the PSAT if you want (I honestly don’t remember if I took it freshman year too but eh), but seriously its not required

start thinking about college (I know it’s the last thing you want to do)

just little things like

when do I want to take the SAT/ACT?

would I like a small school or a big school?

What will I be able to put on my college applications?

like if you do community service through a club/church/etc then great!!! sports? YEs

can’t think of anything? Join a club! Try out for a sport (it’s not too late) Find something that interests you

you’re probably pretty situated socially now but never be afraid to get to know those classmates/”school friends” better!

Junior Year

so junior year is commonly thought of as the hardest year of highschool

which is partially true (we’ll get there later)

but anyways, seriously buckle your seatbelt and get ready to work your ass off because THIS YEAR COUNTS, LADIES AND GENTS

Take AP classes if available

I took AP Psych (WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND) and Honors PreCalc (coming from regular Algebra 2)

Psych gave me college credit and a GPA boost

HPC gave me a GPA boost for UCs

It was a bitCH of a class but it made AP calc a breeze

If you haven’t started already, start prepping for SAT/ACT and then take them

tutoring is very helpful, but it can be expensive

I’ve seen studyblrs post about free prep through Kahn Academy and other stuff, so you might have to do a bit of digging but there are tons of resources out there

TAKE PRACTICE TESTS

take one of each first - then focus on the test you did better on

one of my biggest regrets is taking SAT prep instead of ACT prep because my ACT (which I didn’t do specialized prep for) ended up equivalent to my SAT (which I did prep for)

the more you take em the better you get

Studyblr is gr8 for finding test taking tips

If you’re not happy with your score, just take it again! I only took each one once but most people improve their scores if they take it again

I recommend visiting a few universities when you’re on break! Get a feel for what you like and what you don’t like (size, location, public/private, etc) and what kind of school you could get accepted to

you don’t want to end up applying to a billion schools that you wouldn’t even want to go to

private schools like it when you express interest by visiting

so if you’re visiting, make sure you check in so you can be in their system

END OF JUNIOR YEAR - ASK FOR LETTERS OF REC NOW! BY THE FIRST WEEK OF SENIOR YEAR A LOT OF TEACHERS ARE ALREADY TAKING ON TOO MANY LETTERS!

Senior Year (buckle up this section is the longest)

but YAY UR A SENIOR

DO FUN SENIOR YEAR THINGS like my school has all kinds of events for seniors and it’s so great

Remember when I said junior year is the hardest? Yeah well no... 1st semester senior year is SO MUCH WORSE ur in for a lot of fun

Ok seriously - don’t let senioritis get to you first semester

Still take challenging classes! Schools are looking for progression in difficulty

Those mid year transcripts REALLY DO MATTER!

College apps, man

Make sure you’re communicating with your counselor to make sure you have everything ready and on track

like file the FAFSA and CSS (used for lots of privates)

tbh I didn’t think it would help me a lot but it (the CSS) actually did so just do it even if you think you’ll get nothing

Ok so hopefully at this point you have a feel for what schools you are interested in

Things to consider: location, price, size, public/private, difficulty of the application, ranking, program/major you are applying to, campus, overall vibe

I didn’t do any interviews but maybe look into it

Don’t get too comfortable and set reasonable goals - apply to several safety schools, a few good options/could go either way schools, but also a few “reaches”

ESSAYS

I’m no college counselor, but don’t just wing your essays without having an adult/professional look over them

I got lucky - my mom is a professional writer so my family didn’t pay for a counselor

Do your research - you can find so much information about what schools are looking for in essays

If an essay is “optional” DO IT it’s really not optional lol

Keep in mind - these essays are nothing like what you’ve been taught. You don’t have to (and often SHOULDNT) write a 5 paragraph essay with topic sentences relating back to the thesis and evidence, etc. its much more free

think “What is the story I am going to tell?”

get creative - this is hard and takes some time

Think: How am I going to separate myself from thousands of applicants? What is a story that ONLY I can tell?

DO EARLY ACTION FOR AS MANY SCHOOLS AS POSSIBLE!!!

such a relief to knowing you got in somewhere in like,,,, november

acceptance rates are higher for EA

the order from highest to lowest is ED > EA > RD

Early Decision scares me (schools will say they give equal scholarship consideration but lol thats a lie)

but if you have your heart set on a school go ahead

apply to other school just in case, you don’t want to get stuck starting all your apps when a lot of students have already turned them all in

Now that you’re done with applications (whew), the acceptances (and rejection) will start coming!! yay!

ok first for acceptances

those first acceptances are so cool like YAY YOU GOT INTO COLLEGE IM PROUD OF U

as soon as you get your first acceptances really start researching the school more and deciding if you’d REALLY want to go there or not

i know this is hard bc you haven't heard back from all your schools but it’ll make choosing a school so much easier

sadly, not all acceptances are happy tho

like I got accepted to my #1 school but they gave me no money so it was impossible to go

I was so emo for a couple days there

BUT! If you’re serious about it, try appealing for financial aid but keep your expectations low

ok now waitlists

these can be a bit nerve wracking

PLEASE apply for the waitlist right away

at some schools if you dont within a couple days, your application might get thrown out

aaaaand rejections

i dont have a lot to say about this but please dont be too hard on yourself

sometimes its just not meant to be and thats ok!

NOW PICKING A COLLEGE

def the most difficult and mentally draining part for me lol

make sure you really map out everything to consider

net cost (tuition, room & board, books, travel, personal expenses, etc.), size, location, etc.

I personally had this idea that I’d end up at a big school far from home but I’m going to a small school close to home and I’m still super excited!!! So make sure you give every school a second look

APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS!

the essays aren’t usually too bad and sometimes you can just rework your college app essays

you can find them online, your school might have some (like PTA scholarships, band scholarships, etc.)

ok this is the time everyone really gets senioritis

i almost didn’t get senioritis at all lol just because slacking off stressed me out

but please be smart about it dont get rescinded

and lastly have fun! high school really does fly by, it’ll be over before you know it

#lol the senior year part is so much longer than the others #studyblr #high school #high school tips #study tips #studyspo #study motivation

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parkerjasmine1996 · 3 years

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The Battle Born Brothers of Insurance Company History In 1999, Heroes Insurance started as a company offering home, auto and life products. In 2010, Heroes established an insurance company called Heroes Life Insurance Company, which is now the largest publicly traded and privately-held family owned and operated company in the United States. History In 2009, Heroes Life Insurance Company was acquired by Omni Enterprises, LLC, a publicly-held and privately-held property and casualty/casualty company. Omni began by offering home, auto, and life insurance products and continuing expansion into specialty markets such as life and health insurance products. In 2015, Omni Insurance Company was acquired by Omni America Corporation, which is currently the third largest publicly-owned and privately-owned company in the United States. Omni is a diversified company, a leader in the property and casualty/casualty industry, whose products are designed in new areas of the company’s overall portfolio. Omni Life.

Everything You Need in One Place for Reno Home Insurance

Everything You Need in One Place for Reno Home Insurance Nevada offers a plethora of home insurance programs to help guard your most valuable assets against the unexpected. Homeowners insurance covers your house and personal property from fire, theft, vandalism, falling objects and lawsuits. Homeowners insurance policies also cover personal belongings from vandalism, theft, falling trees and water damage from spills. Personal property coverage can also give you peace of mind in case of accidental damage. Reno has many residents looking for quality home insurance, but home insurance isn’t usually available with quality coverage. Fortunately, The Zebra helps you find a quality home insurance policy that’s perfect for you. Home insurance coverage is just one of the many factors on which home inspection companies price our prices. Let The Zebra help you narrow down the best home insurance policies for Nevada. We work with the top insurance companies in Nevada, so finding the best coverage may appear daunting. However, if you have been searching for home insurance in Nevada, there are plenty of great resources on site.

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elijahjacobs1994 · 3 years

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go-redgirl · 5 years

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PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP IS AN AWESOME LEADER OF THE FREE ‘WORLD’. HIS SCORED CARE SAYS IT ALL!

THE PRESIDENTS SUCCESS ACCOMPLISHMENTS THUS FAR!

Economic Growth

4.2 percent growth in the second quarter of 2018. For the first time in more than a decade, growth is projected to exceed 3 percent over the calendar year. Jobs

4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.

More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.

Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.

The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.

Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.

Unemployment claims at 50 year low

African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.

African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.

Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.

Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.

Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.

Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.

Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.

July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.

Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.

July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.

Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.

Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.

Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.

Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”

68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.

Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.

Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.

Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.

Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.

100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.

American Income:

Median household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.

Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.

Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.

Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.

Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.

Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.

Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.

Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.

American Optimism:

Small business optimism has hit historic highs.

NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August. SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.

Manufacturers are more confident than ever. 95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.

Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high. 12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.

Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.

American Businesses:

Investment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts. Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.

Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017. ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years. Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years. Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening. Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NASDAQ have all notched record highs. Dow hit record highs 70 times in 2017 alone, the most ever recorded in one year.

Deregulation:

Achieved massive deregulation at a rapid pace, completing 22 deregulatory actions to every one regulatory action during his first year in office.

Signed legislation to roll back costly and harmful provisions of Dodd-Frank, providing relief to credit unions, and community and regional banks.

Federal agencies achieved more than $8 billion in lifetime net regulatory cost savings.

Rolled back Obama’s burdensome Waters of the U.S. rule.

Used the Congressional Review Act to repeal regulations more times than in history.

Tax Cuts

Biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into law

Provided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.

Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.

Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.

Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.

Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.

Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.

Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.

Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.

9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.

More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.

Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.

Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.

Worker Development

Established a National Council for the American Worker to develop a national strategy for training and retraining America’s workers for high-demand industries.

Employers have signed Trump’s “Pledge to America’s Workers,” committing to train or retrain more than 4.2 million workers and students.

Signed the first Perkins CTE reauthorization since 2006, authorizing more than $1 billion for states each year to fund vocational and career education programs.

Executive order expanding apprenticeship opportunities for students and workers.

Domestic Infrastructure

Proposed infrastructure plan would utilize $200 billion in Federal funds to spur at least $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investment across the country.

Executive order expediting environmental reviews and approvals for high priority infrastructure projects.

Federal agencies have signed the One Federal Decision Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) streamlining the federal permitting process for infrastructure projects.

Rural prosperity task force and signed an executive order to help expand broadband access in rural areas.

Health Care

Signed an executive order to help minimize the financial burden felt by American households Signed legislation to improve the National Suicide Hotline.

Signed the most comprehensive childhood cancer legislation ever into law, which will advance childhood cancer research and improve treatments.

Signed Right-to-Try legislation, expanding health care options for terminally ill patients.

Enacted changes to the Medicare 340B program, saving seniors an estimated $320 million on drugs in 2018 alone.

FDA set a new record for generic drug approvals in 2017, saving consumers nearly $9 billion.

Released a blueprint to drive down drug prices for American patients, leading multiple major drug companies to announce they will freeze or reverse price increases.

Expanded short-term, limited-duration health plans.

Let more employers to form Association Health Plans, enabling more small businesses to join together and affordably provide health insurance to their employees.

Cut Obamacare’s burdensome individual mandate penalty.

Signed legislation repealing Obamacare’s Independent Payment Advisory Board, also known as the “death panels.”

USDA invested more than $1 billion in rural health care in 2017, improving access to health care for 2.5 million people in rural communities across 41 states

Proposed Title X rule to help ensure taxpayers do not fund the abortion industry in violation of the law.

Reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy to keep foreign aid from supporting the global abortion industry.

HHS formed a new division over protecting the rights of conscience and religious freedom.

Overturned Obama administration’s midnight regulation prohibiting states from defunding certain abortion facilities.

Signed executive order to help ensure that religious organizations are not forced to choose between violating their religious beliefs by complying with Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate or shutting their doors.

Combating Opioids

Chaired meeting the 73rd General Session of the United Nations discussing the worldwide drug problem with international leaders.

Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand, introducing new measures to keep dangerous drugs out of our communities.

$6 billion in new funding to fight the opioid epidemic.

DEA conducted a surge in April 2018 that arrested 28 medical professions and revoked 147 registrations for prescribing too many opioids.

Brought the “Prescribed to Death” memorial to President’s Park near the White House, helping raise awareness about the human toll of the opioid crisis.

Helped reduce high-dose opioid prescriptions by 16 percent in 2017.

Opioid Summit on the administration-wide efforts to combat the opioid crisis.

Launched a national public awareness campaign about the dangers of opioid addiction.

Created a Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis which recommended a number of pathways to tackle the opioid crisis.

Led two National Prescription Drug Take Back Days in 2017 and 2018, collecting a record number of expired and unneeded prescription drugs each time.

$485 million targeted grants in FY 2017 to help areas hit hardest by the opioid crisis.

Signed INTERDICT Act, strengthening efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids before they reach our communities.

DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.

Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.

Declared the opioid crisis a Nationwide Public Health Emergency in October 2017.

Law and Order

More U.S. Circuit Court judges confirmed in the first year in office than ever.

Confirmed more than two dozen U. S. Circuit Court judges.

Followed through on the promise to nominate judges to the Supreme Court who will adhere to the Constitution

Nominated and confirmed Justice Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Signed an executive order directing the Attorney General to develop a strategy to more effectively prosecute people who commit crimes against law enforcement officers.

Launched an evaluation of grant programs to make sure they prioritize the protection and safety of law enforcement officers.

Established a task force to reduce crime and restore public safety in communities across Signed an executive order to focus more federal resources on dismantling transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels.

Signed an executive order to focus more federal resources on dismantling transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels.

Violent crime decreased in 2017 according to FBI statistics.

$137 million in grants through the COPS Hiring Program to preserve jobs, increase community policing capacities, and support crime prevention efforts.

Enhanced and updated the Project Safe Neighborhoods to help reduce violent crime.

Signed legislation making it easier to target websites that enable sex trafficking and strengthened penalties for people who promote or facilitate prostitution.

Created an interagency task force working around the clock to prosecute traffickers, protect victims, and prevent human trafficking.

Conducted Operation Cross Country XI to combat human trafficking, rescuing 84 children and arresting 120 human traffickers.

Encouraged federal prosecutors to use the death penalty when possible in the fight against the trafficking of deadly drugs.

New rule effectively banning bump stock sales in the United States.

Border Security and Immigration

Secured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.

Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.

Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.

ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.

Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.

Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.

Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.

ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.

ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.

ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.

Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.

Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.

DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.

DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.

Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.

Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.

Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.

These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.

ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.

ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.

In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible for

Over 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.

More than 48,000 with assault offenses.

More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.

More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.

More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.

Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.

Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.

More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.

Trade:

Negotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.

Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.

Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.

Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.

Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.

Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.

Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.

Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.

Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.

Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.

Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.

Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.

25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.

Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.

Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policies

Withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.

Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.

Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.

Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.

Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTO

Opened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-century

American beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decade

OK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation.

Energy

Presidential Memorandum to clear roadblocks to construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Presidential Memorandum declaring that the Dakota Access Pipeline serves the national interest and initiating the process to complete construction.

Opened up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration.

Coal exports up over 60 percent in 2017.

Rolled back the “stream protection rule” to prevent it from harming America’s coal industry.

Cancelled Obama’s anti-coal Clean Power Plan and proposed the Affordable Clean Energy Rule as a replacement.

Withdrew from the job-killing Paris climate agreement, which would have cost the U.S. nearly $3 trillion and led to 6.5 million fewer industrial sector jobs by 2040.

U.S. oil production has achieved its highest level in American history

United States is now the largest crude oil producer in the world.

U.S. has become a net natural gas exporter for the first time in six decades.

Action to expedite the identification and extraction of critical minerals that are vital to the nation’s security and economic prosperity.

Took action to reform National Ambient Air Quality Standards, benefitting American manufacturers.

Rescinded Obama’s hydraulic fracturing rule, which was expected to cost the industry $32 million per year.

Proposed an expansion of offshore drilling as part of an all-of-the above energy strategy

Held a lease sale for offshore oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico in August 2018.

Got EU to increase its imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States.

Issued permits for the New Burgos Pipeline that will cross the U.S.-Mexico border.

Foreign Policy

Moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.

Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force

Since enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.

All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.

Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.

The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.

North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.

Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.

Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.

Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.

Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.

Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.

Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.

Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.

New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.

Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.

Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.

ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.

ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.

All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.

More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.

Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.

Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.

Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.

Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.

Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.

Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.

Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.

Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.

Defense

Executive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.

$700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.

Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.

Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.

Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.

New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.

Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.

Released an America first National Security Strategy.

Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.

Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.

In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.

Every member state has increased defense spending.

Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.

NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.

Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.

Veterans affairs

Signed the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.

Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.

Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.

Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.

VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:

Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.

Funding for the Veterans Choice program.

Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.

Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.

Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.

Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.

Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.

Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.

Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.

Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.

Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.

Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.

Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.

Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans

0 notes

cthulhuofficial · 5 years

Text

Brunna Praecilius

Brunna’s earliest memories were pain and darkness. As she grew older, they coalesced: a windowless room, a smoky hearth, evening prayers, Lara plucking the reddish-brown feathers that grew along with silvery hair from her scalp. The holes in Brunna’s flesh bled thickly and left black scabs. “You're lucky, girl,” Lara reprimanded her when she complained. “If you had any more than some feathers, I would’ve drowned you when you were a babe.”

The worship of any deity besides Zon-Kuthon is forbidden in Nidal, punishable by death — and the deaths concocted by the sadistic agents of the Umbral Court are no easy release. Worshippers of Desna, patron goddess of travelers and freedom, are particularly despised and hunted. Nonetheless, true believers of the Song of the Spheres persist in Nidal, and they call themselves the Whispered Song.

Yet voices that must speak in whispers soon forget how to sing. Surviving under the yolk of the Umbral Court breeds a grimmer cleric than liberated Kyonin or tolerant Varisia.

Lara kept a busy custom making and dispensing herbal remedies out of their home to the poorest families of Pangolais. Bundles and sachets dangled from the ceiling and sagging shelves lined the walls. To a nose unused to the riot of scents, there appeared to be no organization behind the mess of twine-wound parcels, clay pots, and dusty glass jars — but Brunna had grown up with these smells. Sweet rosehips, dusty sage, earthy dogwood, tangy dandelion, and soft willow were the scents of home, and by age five, she could brew a strawberry tea to relieve cramps and prescribe a bolus of green stems of cottonwood for headache.

At the back of the room hung a rough brown cloth which hid the hatch that led down to the basement where Brunna and Lara slept. Brunna was behind this curtain playing with Lara’s starknife when the woman entered. The woman and Lara began speaking in low sharp tones Brunna could not understand, and then the stranger’s voice raised and cracked: “My daughter was not dead!”

Starknife forgotten, Brunna lay on her stomach and peeked out from under the curtain. A young woman quivered in front of Lara like wind lashing a boulder.

“My daughter was not dead,” she repeated. “I heard her cries! And you stood at my bed and told me she was stillborn” The woman did not utter the accusation she wished to aloud, but it thickened the air in the room like a storm.

Lara regarded the woman for a long time, her eyes cold dark stone. “Aye, your babe was alive when she slid squalling between your legs, practically glowing in the dark. The churchbells rang when she cried. She was angel-touched."

At the word “angel-touched”, the woman’s face crumpled. She closed her eyes against the words, but did not interrupt as Lara continued.

“I did what needed to be done, for it would have been too hard to do it yourself. She went painlessly. If there was any way to hide it, I would have done it. But if she’d been found out — and Desna knows, she would’ve been — it would’ve meant her life, yours, your husband’s, and yes, mine for delivering her and cutting the cord. If you think the punishments the Umbral Court metes out for treason are bad, you’ve seen nothing of what they do to aasimars.”

Later that evening, sitting by the hearth, listening to soft tapping of Lara’s pestle in its stone mortar, Brunna asked Lara what an aasimar was.

"A person with angel blood. Pass me the willow there,” Lara said.

“Angel blood? Do they have wings? A halo? Can they do magic?”

“Some have wings, some have halos. Some have pointed ears like a hound or scales like a fish. And some grow feathers on their heads.” Brunna could see Lara’s eyebrow quirk, but her eyes remained on her work.

Brunna’s hand slowly lifted and brushed through her glinting silver-gold hair, feeling the scabs beneath, where the carnelian feathers grew until Lara plucked them in that painful monthly ritual. In the typical way of young children, she swallowed this new truth easily.

“Why didn’t you kill me like that baby?”

“I don’t take the lives of children lightly. Whoever your ancestor was, their blood runs weakly in your veins. I took you in after your mother died because I thought I could keep you safe. I thought that a few moments’ pain every month, a childhood in a basement, were a small price to pay for life, however stunted.”

“I’m glad I’m not dead!” Brunna pronounced.

“Someday you may resent that your life’s path was set out for you before you could even form words.”

Brunna chewed Lara’s words like a bone she could not crack, and then she redirected the subject: “Why are aasimars punished?”

“Aasimars represent hope to people. The Umbral Court believes that an aasimar could rally people to overthrow the Kuthonite nobles. So they make examples of any they find. Mothers who give birth to such children that can’t hide their features smother them if they’re merciful. Others sell the babies into slavery — aasimars fetch a high price. Sometimes people try to raise them; the consequence for birthing an aasimar child is the death of every member of your family. The Court won’t allow any potential carriers of angel blood to live.

“And that’s why you mustn’t tell a soul what I’ve said to you tonight. You’re angel-touched and raised by a Desnan. You would be a great victory for the Umbral Court.”

The next time Lara sat Brunna down by the hearth to pluck out her feathers, Brunna didn’t complain.

When Brunna turned ten, Lara gave her her first starknife and began teaching her the ways of the Desnan priest. At 13, Lara smudged glittering rose quartz across her forehead in a quiet ceremony, and she was official inducted into the Whispered Song. At 18, Brunna swore loyalty to the Umbral Court as the chained skull of Zon-Kuthon was burned into her palm.

She and Lara had fought, as they did with increasing frequency as Brunna grew older. The Garuda blood from which she inherited her feathers and her sharp eyes also imbued her the fiery impetuosity of that race. Fed up after 16 years of living in the dark, she had left her starknife and her priestess’s pouch of quartz on her pallet and fled. The Uskwood Hunters picked her up only a few blocks away.

If the anatomical knowledge and medical expertise of the Kuthonite torturers could be put to use for the good, perhaps the world’s worst diseases could be obliterated.

Unfortunately, their interests do not bend that way.

Even hemmed in by the order to leave no permanent marks, their creativity was immense. Brunna vowed not to scream the first time she was led out in front of an assembly of eagerly-awaiting nobles in the grand Kuthonite church at the center of Nidal. She did not scream when they strapped her to a board, or when the board was inverted so that her feet were above her head. She did not scream when they placed a black cloth embroidered in golden thread over her face. But after the first bucket of icy water was poured into her nostrils and mouth, she screamed.

Brunna knew enough of the religion of Zon-Kuthon to understand that his followers considered torture a form of worship — and there were few greater ways to honor the Prince of Pain than for that torture to be inflicted on an aasimar. But then she let slip a Desnan aphorism during a paroxysm of pain.

The torturers’ efforts and imagination redoubled when they realized they had a member of the Whispered Song in their grasp. More torments followed: She was hung upside down and the soles of her feet beaten until they were blue and purple. She was locked in a whitewashed room alone for days, weeks, months, years, a white plate of white rice pushed through a white flap in a white door once a day. She was fed unusual alchemical concoctions and nonlethal poisons that paralyzed her even as a sensation of fire ran through her veins, or caused her to vomit anything she ate, leaving her weak and shaky.

They asked her pointed questions about the locations and identities of other Desnan worshippers; later, when she lay curled on her side on the floor of her dungeon room, too sore to move, Brunna could not remember the answers she’d given. The extent of her world had shrunk once again to pain and darkness.

Throughout it all, the torturers remained true to their orders: the bleeding always stopped and the bruises always faded. Brunna’s spirit did not prove so resilient.

She lost track of how much time had passed before she was strapped to a chair on a pulpit as wooden needles were delicately tapped beneath her fingernails by a priest. She heard her own voice over the roar in her ears and the thunderous applause of the congregation: “Enough!"

A deal was struck. The only thing more delightful to the Umbral Court than an angel to destroy is an angel to degrade.

The ceremony was long and lavish, and even the commoners were invited to stand outside the church while Brunna swore a vow to the Nidalese rulers. After the other pains she had experienced, she barely felt the fiery metal pressing into her palm, marking her forever with the skull-and-chains of the Dark Prince, Zon-Kuthon.

She was enlisted by the Uskwood Hunters, the vicious inquisitors employed by the Umbral Court to hunt “undesireables”. So grateful was she at the cessation of the years of suffering, she took to her duties with a fury. She was taught the finer points of subterfuge and combat — how to lie, how to use crossbow and scimitar, how to sneak and hide, how to ingratiate herself among the lowest commoner and the highest nobility.

The first she discovered a natural talent for - some air of innocence in her demeanor, perhaps a relic of her angelic blood, convinced people to believe even her unlikeliest lies. The rest came with practice, and practice she did, until the dungeons under the Kuthonite church were filled with infidels she had unearthed on the streets of Pangolais. If she felt sympathy for those she brought in to be tortured in the name of an evil god, those feelings were fleeting - better them than her. As she had sworn her oath to the Umbral Court, she had sworn an oath to herself as well: never again.

Eight years later, they brought Lara in.

Brunna did not normally attend the masses that followed the arrest of traitors to the Nidalese government; only when she heard that the traitor was a member of the Whispered Song would she go, to see if she knew the victim. So it was on a tip from her captain that she slipped inside the black marble doors of the Kuthonite cathedral to find a mostly obscured place to stand at the back.

Somehow, she never imagined it could be Lara. Not her Lara, not taciturn, practical Lara, Lara would never slip up and allow herself to be captured. Yet there she was, strapped to that now-familiar stretcher, as the arch-cleric readied his instruments. She looked older; she was already past middle-age when Brunna was a child, and now she looked papery, lined, and weary.

Whatever disagreements she had with Lara seemed so small, so far in the past all of a sudden. The woman was the closest thing she had to a mother. Customarily, Brunna never stayed long at masses, yet she felt like she owed it to Lara to witness what happened to her. Being under no orders to preserve Lara's appearance, the torturers exercised their bloody art with a flourish.

To Lara's credit, she did not scream.

In the darkest part of the night after the mass, Brunna took a torch down into the dungeon, flashing to the guard the silver-and-black badge that proclaimed her membership in the Uskwood Hunters. "I need your keys," she said after he bit off his initial protest at the strangeness of her visit.

"M-my keys?" the guard stuttered, his hand already straying to the ring at his belt despite his hesitancy. "This is highly irregular, ma'am…"

"Your dedication to the duties of your post is most admirable, sir, and I assure you that only the greatest urgency would compel me to circumvent the usual channels," Brunna said with a smile. She leaned in and continued in a low voice. "There is evidence that one of our prisoners knows of a plot happening this very night to assassinate the arch-cleric. I am under orders to question her, but you needn't leave your post to escort me - simply hand me the keys and I will return them shortly. It will not take long," she finished, drawing a set of thumbscrews out of her rucksack, "to extract the information I need."

It was not a good lie, or even a sensible one - questioning was always handled by the Kuthonite church, not the Hunters - but soon the keys were in her hand and she was alone in the dungeons.

They were dark, but clean and comfortable. The Nidalese were a rarity in that they treated even their lowest prisoners with warm hospitality. It was a far better tribute to their cruel god for a prisoner to die in torment than to succumb to exposure or hunger, so they were treated with great care in between the brutal torture sessions. "Lara?" Brunna whispered, the word carrying over the low groans of pain and quiet crying behind the cell doors.

"Brunna, girl, is that you?" Lara's voice rasped like scree rattling down a cliffside.

Brunna's heart throbbed painfully as she followed that voice and unlocked the door. Had she harbored any ambitions of helping Lara escape, those hopes were dashed when she saw the state of Lara's body up close. Brunna knelt by her, wanting to touch the woman who raised her, but unsure if she should. After the effort to sneak in, Brunna found herself speechless.

"It's good to see you again, my girl, my Brunna," Lara murmured. Her arm quivered as she reached a thin hand out towards her. Brunna took it with her left hand, so Lara did not have to feel the callus of the skull-and-chains brand on her right palm. "Still as reckless as ever, I see."

That startled a response out of Brunna. "What do you mean?"

"Little fool, risking your skin to see me."

"I had to come see you. I had to… apologize." The words came out unexpectedly. Brunna had thought those feelings were gone, crushed under the cumulative weight of the violences done to her and done by her to others.

Lara summoned a weak smile, and Brunna could see the spaces in her mouth where the arch-cleric had chiseled out two of her teeth. "I can't say that I would have chosen this career for you, but I raised you to trust yourself and if this is what you want, there's nothing for you to apologize to me for."

Was this what she wanted? A life as one of the Umbral Court's hounds? It was as though she had been startled awake from a long sleep. She'd spent the previous decade running from something, from pain, from the people she'd hurt. She had not considered what she was running toward, had forgotten that it was even a choice. What she wanted… Suddenly the wide world yawned before her, bright and cold and full of wild possibility, and Brunna felt lost, a child again. She wanted her mother to tell her what to do to make things right.

Lara's energy was fading quickly and Brunna could see sleep overtaking her. "Now go," the old woman said. "Before someone finds you here."

Brunna hesitated.

"Go," Lara repeated.

Brunna drew her dagger and opened Lara's throat. Then, she went.

Brunna left Nidal that same night, using the skills taught to her by the Uskwood Hunters to lie her way out of the city. She left via the southern gate and stealthily looped back north around the city to ford the Usk River, a move that ate up some of her precious time but that she hoped would confuse the agents that the Umbral Court would order after her within hours. Among the most important of the supplies she had taken was a poison pill that she held in her right cheek; one bite and she would be dead within a minute, a fate far better than that she'd face if she was caught.

She was starving, freezing, and ill by the time she reached Korvosa. Her journey had taken her through the Atteran Ranches and their posses of "dream hunters", vigilantes that rooted out Desna-worshippers in the vast plains north of the Usk River, and over the barren passes of the Mindspin Mountains. She had long since run out of food, but she kept walking, one foot in front of the other, until she crossed the border into Varisia, homeland of Desna, and collapsed on the steps of the tall astronomical observatory tower that served as the Desnan church in Korvosa.

The clerics of the church gathered around her, uncertain of what to do.

"She has an aura of evil," said one. "Send her on her way."

"She's dying, we can't leave her like this."

"She bears the skull-and-chains on her palm, she can go beg for what healing she can get from the Kuthonites -"

"Blessed… blessed is the long road," Brunna murmured, her mind struggling to focus on the prayer. All she could think of was her empty stomach. "Blessed is the destination and the homeward path…" The words came easier as the years of practice came flooding back. "And all who make the journey."

"Let each dream be a bright star in the night sky of your mind…" The second priest had taken up the prayer with her. "And let it light your path in the day." And another.

"Do not be troubled if your dream falters, for there are countless stars in the sky and countless dreams to experience." At last the naysayer joined in.

They all finished the prayer together. "Pick a new one and change your course."

#a writes #brunna

0 notes

cosplaytutorial · 7 years

Photo

Volpin brought up a valid point over on twitter and I thought I would give a proper response over here, where I am not hindered by character limit. ( My cosplay tip tweet only had a short tip but I had explained the point further on tumblr)

First off, I agree with Volpin. There is no “proper price” for a commissioned cosplay piece. It is art and commissioning takes skill and the creator is selling their experience, knowledge, time and unique vision along with the final piece. What they sell it at is their discretion and unfortunately there are many commissioners out there who undersell their talents.

This tip isn’t about finding the lowest price or going for the highest price, but seeing how people price their work and working out the best cost to value ratio for you.

Commissions are a service. You’ll get a finished product in the end but like graphic design, hairdressing and the dentist you’re paying for their time and experience.

If you are on a budget, you’re probably going to see what the price is like at a couple different places before you settle on one but it isn’t always beneficial to go with the cheapest. The cheapest way to get your hair done is to get your friend to cut it in the bathroom but that has its risks; An award winning hair stylist at a high end salon is probably going to give you an amazing cut and style but it’s not necessarily the best for your budget. Most people weigh the cost and reward of their options and some choose their friend, some choose the high end place and others choose the many other options in between.

So with cosplay, I recommend that you ask a couple different commissioners that you are interested in for their quotes and weigh the benefits. If their price stands out as very low or very high, try to figure out why that is. Then see if the price is worth it to you. You can do this in a few ways:

Look at their portfolio/past projects, what is the quality of their work?

Look at their work load: are they popular to commission from? Do they have a vetting process or waiting list?

How long have they been doing commissions, are they looking to build a portfolio?

Ask if they can provide a price breakdown

Ask them about the timeline, how long is the project estimated to take?

Ask what materials they plan to use for your project or have used for other projects.

Read reviews from other buyers

However if you are looking for a “collectible” piece from your favorite costumer/propmaker or you’ve already settled on who you want to purchase from -- skip this tip! Tips are recommendations and not rules

All the best, —Duckie / Admin

#cosplay

168 notes · View notes

sierrabmw · 7 years

Text

It's in showrooms soon, so how does BMW's new baby actually go? Test: BMW G310R Written by Alan Cathcart

BMW pulled out the stops getting its new entry level model ready for its marketplace debut, bringing the G310R roadster from initial clean-screen concept to production in just three years. And while there have been delays in getting the bike into showrooms it’s set to be available soon.

This exceptional speed of development is all the more significant given that it marks the first fruit of BMW’s joint venture with Indian firm TVS, which will manufacture the bike in its factory near Bangalore. Work included sourcing local suppliers capable of producing components to BMW’s standards, as well as educating them in German production values.

It’s not the first time that BMW has sub-contracted manufacture of a complete model to an outside party. The F650 Funduro and F650ST Strada were powered by an Austrian-made 652cc Rotax engine jointly designed in conjunction with Aprilia. The Italian firm manufactured these single-cylinder models in Italy from 1993 until 2001. Only then, when the F650GS was launched, was the build process brought back in-house to BMW’s factory in Berlin.

So BMW is accustomed to taking care to ensure the highest build quality in offshore manufacture of even its lowest-cost product. The new 313cc G310R is a step below its 650cc predecessors in terms of capacity, performance and price, retailing at less than Euro 5,000 in Europe on the road and inclusive of tax, and under $5,000 in the USA. This should be a key ingredient in driving demand for BMW’s products, attracting first-time customers who may then progress up the ownership ladder in terms of price and capacity. Designed and developed in Germany, but entirely manufactured in India by TVS, the G310R will be an entry-level bike in developed markets in Europe, Australia, Japan and the USA, and as a prestige model in developing markets. Curiously BMW has no firm plans to sell it in India, where as a locally made product it would be free of the steep taxes affecting imported models there. BMW says it won’t do so until it’s established a national motorcycle dealer network in India capable of delivering the appropriate level of after-sales support.

TVS is India’s fourth-largest manufacturer, whose three factories in India plus a fourth in Indonesia manufactured 2.15 million motorcycles in its last complete financial year in 2015-16. BMW signed a joint venture agreement back in April 2013 with the company-owning Srinivasan family to manufacture the G310R. Development of the model started that same year in Munich under the supervision of project leader Jürgen Stoffregen. “Our key objective was very clear,” says Stoffregen. “We wanted to produce a real grown-up motorcycle, not a toy, but a properly sized bike with all the attributes and appearance of a normal motorcycle, which can accommodate riders of all heights. It must also be built to a level of quality in keeping with the customer’s expectations from BMW in terms of styling, engineering, manufacturing quality and individuality. It was for us very important that this should be a true BMW, even though built in India by our partners TVS.”

BMW Motorrad CEO Stephan Schaller said. “We did the important part of the project in engineering and developing the bike in Germany to the stage that it was production ready. But we also had many engineers from purchasing working with TVS in establishing a supply network in India to make sure that the standards of BMW are applied in sourcing components. We have something like 80% of local content in the bike – but all components are made to German standards. I think our intensive search a couple of years ago to find the right partner overseas gave us a very good result. They say that TVS stands for ‘trust, value and service’, and in my opinion this is a valid claim. It’s a third generation family-owned company, with the owners working every day in it. We are in very close contact with them, and admire the quality of their manufacturing process. They have the same long term vision for this collaboration as we do at BMW, and I am very satisfied with the way they have adopted European standards for their manufacturing process in creating the G310R. TVS understands the BMW spirit.”

I took up BMW’s invitation to join the global press launch held in Los Angeles last December to spend another day aboard its new entry level motorcycle. Not just because I like riding in Southern California but because I was interested to see how it would behave in the riding conditions it’ll be most exposed to. Namely, a mix of coping with snarled-up traffic congestion on your everyday commute, interspersed with enjoying the many good rides in the mountains surrounding LA and going with the flow in freeway travel. In SoCal style this means a constant 75mph/120kmh on the I-405 San Diego Freeway or I-5 Santa Ana Freeway anytime except during rush hours, when arguably the single biggest advantage of this slim, sweet-steering single comes into play – the ability to lane-split the giant parking lot the entire LA Basin’s freeway system becomes twice each day.

Our 200km/125-mile test run took us through the Hollywood Hills, following the length of the Los Angeles area’s Racer Road, the famed Mulholland Highway running Westwards to the Pacific Coast. It was a slightly surreal opportunity to test the credentials in a wide variety of uses of this Indian-made motorcycle carrying the most famous badge in German motorcycling history. It included a spell of freeway travel on the Ventura Freeway aka Route 101, when the claimed peak power of 34bhp at 9500 rpm ushered up the homologated top speed of 90mph/143kmh with the tacho reading just nudging the five-digit segment as the small shifter light started flashing. At that engine speed and all others the 313cc single motor felt completely unstressed and, more to the point, vibration-free – the single counterbalancer does its job to perfection.

Leaving our hotel in downtown Hollywood in the middle of the morning rush hour meant slicing our way through stop-and-go traffic for the best part of an hour – a role the G310R is ideally equipped for. It’s a great traffic tool thanks to the oil-bath clutch’s light lever action and linear take-up. It combines with the ideally mapped fuelling to consistently supply smooth departures from stop signs or traffic lights without risk of stalling. Working the clutch is light and untiring, making riding the BMW in city streets a genuine pleasure. Your hand won’t cramp up doing so, although bottom gear is very low, and obviously chosen for when a passenger is carried. You soon find it’s better to start from a stop on level ground in second gear if you’re on your own, with no need to slip the clutch unduly. This will be a great bike for novices or comeback riders, simply because it’s so very easy to ride. That sense of control comes in spite of the G310R’s throttle being a conventional cable-operated system, not a digital ride-by-wire one.

A further aide to the new smallest BMW’s traffic manners is the wide spread of torque peaking at 7,500 revs, just three-quarters of the way to the 10,500 rpm revlimiter. The twincam four-valve 313cc single pulls wide open in top gear from as low as 3,200rpm without any hesitation or transmission snatch, thanks to that excellent fuelling. There’s an extra kick of acceleration around 7,000rpm, and another one at nine grand, so it pays to rev it out. That’s not to say that the power delivery is layered, just that it becomes more urgent the harder you rev the motor, which is pretty nice. Maintaining revs between 3,000 and 7,000 rpm will let you enjoy ample torque, accessed via the light-shifting six-speed gearbox with its crisp, precise lever throws. Although you must use the cable operated clutch for the bottom two upward shifts to do so smoothly every time, you don’t need to do so in the higher ratios. Indeed so precise and clean is the shift action that you can drop from top gear to fifth without using the clutch, as well. The BMW is also quite economical, with a claimed consumption of 3.33 lt/100km, equating to 70mpg/US, or 85mpg/UK. I saw only very slightly less than that on the on-board computer, riding hard, which isn’t bad.

Stopping for coffee at the Rock Store the G310R displayed a real sense of substance especially in the test bike’s white-based Motosport livery. It has a classy sense of presence that conveys a different first impression than its brasher-looking European rival that’s also made in India, the lighter, bigger-engined and thus slightly more powerful KTM 390 Duke. The BMW exudes a visual level of quality that’s frankly unexpected in such a low cost product manufactured offshore. Only the plastic switchgear looks cut-price – the rest of the G310R components look very BMW, with high quality alloy castings and forged tripleclamps, an LED tail lighy and an exceptionally lustrous paint. On this early production model at least, build quality looks good. This marriage of Eastern manufacture with Western design and build values is an inexpensive, affordable BMW, not a cheap one.

Those favourable first impressions also extended to hopping aboard the relatively comfortable 785mm-high seat and finding plenty of space for a 1.80m/5’10” rider, with my knees tucked in nicely to the indentations in the plastic shroud housing the 11-litre steel fuel tank beneath it. The seat still needs a little more padding just where it meets the tank to be properly comfortable in a full day’s ride, though. Thumb the starter button, and the engine catches instantly from cold on the auto-choke, then settles to a quite high 1500rpm idle – perhaps chosen to rule out any rear wheel chatter on the overrun in the absence of a slipper clutch. The large exhaust canister containing the Euro 4-compliant 3-way catalyst whispers rather than booms, though above 5,000rpm there’s a pleasant rasp from the intake which gives you the impression you’re going somewhere. As indeed you will be.

The G310R’s tubular steel frame more than lives up to the job of harnessing this power delivery and the non-adjustable KYB/Kayaba suspension plays a key role in this. Its fixed settings at both ends are extremely well chosen, with much better compliance than you have any right to expect for such budget hardware. Ride quality is high especially at the rear, and damping well chosen. Compression damping on the fork could possibly be a little stiffer, because when you lean on the front brake for maximum stopping power there is some nose dive, but it’s not excessive. The single front 300mm disc and its four-piston radial caliper are just about up to the job of stopping the BMW and its solo rider hard from speed, but you must use the rear brake hard as well for panic stops, and you don’t get the feeling there’s much in reserve. The non-adjustable lever is positioned rather far away from the grip, so people with smaller hands, especially women, may find this off-putting. Spend the extra $$$ and make it adjustable, chaps. It’s exactly the same brake package as on the KTM 390 Duke, where I think it works a little better. ABS is standard and cut in quite effectively on the damp roads we found awaiting us early in the day in the Santa Monica Mountains.

The BMW has light, neutral steering but feels planted in a straight line. It gives no impression of being a skitzy lightweight package, even if it changes direction very easily, aided by the good leverage from the black-painted handlebar whose grips are pulled back and slightly dropped. My only criticism is the same as when I rode the bike in Germany earlier, namely that there wasn’t much feel from the front Michelin Pilot Street tyre. It gripped OK at the speeds I was prepared to trust it at leaned over in turns, but gave very little feedback, since it seemed to have an unduly stiff structure for a small, lightweight bike like this. Apparently BMW has also homologated Metzeler tyres for the G310R as well, and I’d like to try it again with these fitted. I suspect their lighter construction would deliver better road feel from the KYB front end, in turn promoting enhanced confidence and thus increased turn speed.

No doubt about it, BMW and TVS have joined forces to produce a motorcycle that’s self-evidently a BMW, but made in India largely to the standards of its Berlin factory. There’s an honest sense of manufacturing quality about the G310R, coupled with dynamic refinement in use. The engine is beautifully fuelled, seems strong for its capacity level, and feels essentially unburstable. While keenly priced, it totally conforms to BMW’s brand identity in terms of performance, manufacturing quality, and styling. KTM’s 390 Duke, Kawasaki’s Z300 Ninja, Honda’s CBR300R and Yamaha’s MT-03, not forgetting the excellent Chinese-made Benelli BN302, the sleeper of the class, have all got trouble on their hands, especially as BMW has strengthened its R&D back office via the recruitment of a pair of key KTM executives to lead the G310R development team. Andreas Wimmer was KTM’s project leader for all street singles, from the 125 Duke up to and including the 690 model range, and was responsible for working with Bajaj on the startup of KTM production in India. He’s been at BMW for the past two years, and has now been joined there by his former boss at KTM, Jorg Schüller, the Austrian firm’s former Product Manager. These guys are heavy hitters in product development and the acquired knowledge they bring will be invaluable in developing the BMW-TVS partnership.

Because this is only the beginning – Stephan Schaller promises more different models yet to come on this same 313cc platform, with the G310GS launched at the Milan Show the next one up, and due to enter production in summer. BMW is just getting started in the sub-500cc category. Just as it captured class-leading supremacy when it dived into uncharted waters and produced the S1000RR sportbike, the G310R shows every sign of comparable excellence at the other end of the price, performance and capacity scale. It’ll be very interesting to see how things move on from here.

#BMW #BMW Motorrad #Sierra BMW #G310R #BMW G310 #BMW G310R #BMW Motorcycles

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woodleyagnatanjahj70insuran-blog · 5 years

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dodge dart insurance

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dodge dart insurance

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samuelfields · 5 years

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How To Fail At Getting The Lowest Mortgage Interest Rate Possible

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Originally, I was going to entitle this post, How To Get The Best Mortgage Interest Rate Possible. But after a couple weeks of battling, I failed to do such a thing due to a lack of convincing skills, poor timing and good old fashion bait and switching.

Before I tell you about my failure, let me tell you how I recommend getting the best mortgage rate possible. I’ve refinanced eight times across four properties over 16 years.

I never thought I would refinance again given we were in a rising interest-rate environment. The Fed decided to kill our expansion in 4Q2018 when they signaled a couple more rate hikes in 2019 and beyond.

It also felt good when I paid off my last property in 2015. With rising cash flow since then, I figured I would just pay off my 5/1 ARM that was set to adjust this summer to 4.5% from 2.5%.

But since the Fed backtracked, mortgage rates have collapsed in 2019 and will likely stay depressed for the foreseeable future. I figured it was worth refinancing again, especially if I could get a reasonable rate with all closing costs baked in.

In the end, I locked in a 10/1 ARM for 3% with -3.75 points equal to a $3000 credit towards closing.

This rate is pretty good, but I could’ve gotten better terms. This article will help you figure out what to do and what not to do to get the best mortgage rate possible.

How To Get The Best Mortgage Rate Possible

The key to getting a better price is to always generate competition. For example, the more employers compete for your services, the more you will get bid away for a higher salary.

I still remember sitting in the living room of a house I wanted to buy back in 2004. The asking price was $1.55 million and it had been sitting on the market for two months. I was tempted to offer $1.45 million, which is unusual in a market like San Francisco.

I had made up my mind to low ball the sellers when in walked a doctor couple at the open house. They sat in the dining room and marveled at the wainscoting, crown molding and high ceilings.

Suddenly, my desire to low ball faded away due to perceived competition. Instead, I offered $1.525 million, or $75,000 more than I had planned. I still wonder to this day if my emotions got the best of me. Thankfully, it all worked out in the end.

Here are the steps I take to get the best mortgage rate possible. Miss one step and your failure rate will go way up.

1) Get written official quotes from competing lenders. Verbal offers mean nothing. Everything must be writing in order for you to get the best rate possible. I usually just fill out my mortgage request with LendingTree because they are an affiliate partner and are listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a ~$4 billion market capitalization.

Their lenders aggressively contact me over phone and email after I input my criteria, and then they send me written offers that I use for my next step. Quicken is also another good online source for written quotes. But I haven’t used them in years.

2) Contact your relationship bank. Your relationship bank is the key to getting the best mortgage rate possible. They have a lot of your money and you probably have multiple accounts open with them. They certainly don’t want to lose your business.

If you have competitive written offers, you need to present those written offers to your banker or mortgage loan officer and tell them to beat your written offers, not just match. If you have uncompetitive written offers, then you need to continuously search for better offers to get your relationship bank to beat.

One strategy is to scour the internet and take snapshots of teaser rates some lenders or marketplaces offer if you just can’t get anything official in writing. Teaser rates are often filled with onerous terms, but you can use them to your negotiating advantage.

Through the Financial Samurai community and through the FS Forum, I was able to crowdsource what other people got when they refinanced as well. In other words, it’s good to leverage a financial community whenever you’re doing something financially related.

3) Promise more assets. A bank wants its customers to have as much money with them as possible. Further, they want you to open up as many different accounts as possible to keep you as a sticky customer.

Examples of different accounts include: checking account, business checking account, savings account, mortgage account, wealth management account, home-equity line of credit, and a personal line of credit.

The more money you can bring over to the bank and the more accounts you can open, the more attractive your mortgage interest rate offer will be.

Banks have different tiers based on how much you have. For example my bank has one tier if you have at least $250,000 in assets with them. The next tier is if you have $500,000 – $1,000,000 in assets with them. Their highest tier is if you have over $1,000,000 with them.

4) Be ready to transfer funds away. Moving funds is a hassle, but you’ve got to be willing to move your assets if your relationship bank does not match or beat a competing offer.

You don’t have to close all your accounts. You just have to be willing to open up a new account with a different bank and go through the process of electronic funds transfer.

How I Failed At Getting The Lowest Mortgage Interest Rate

The best mortgage rate I could have gotten was 2.75% for a 7/1 ARM with no refinancing costs at Wells Fargo if I transferred over $1 million. If I transferred over $500,000, I could have locked in a 2.875% 7/1 ARM with no refinancing costs.

This rate was introduced to me by a Financial Samurai reader. The reader took a couple days to get back to my e-mail requesting for the lender’s contact information. As soon as I got the information I showed the rate offer to my existing relationship bank of 18 years, Citibank, to see if they could match.

I had just locked in my 3% rate with Citibank, which I thought was pretty good after the 10-year yield declined to 2.45% from 3.2%, but had not given them approval to start the process yet.

Important: You’ve always got time to make a final decision after you verbally agree to lock. Nothing is official until you sign an “approval to proceed” document. Do not let banks bully you into proceeding right away. Instead, use this window to see if you can get a better rate elsewhere or see if mortgage rates decline further.

Surprisingly, Citibank told me they could not match the rate even though they said I could probably get 2.875% with minimal closing costs if I locked with them when I did at 3%. When I verbally agreed to 3%, they said they were going to have a special promotion the following week to get me down to 2.875%.

I was led on.

I told them I was going to move over $1 million in assets to Wells Fargo if they didn’t at least match the 2.875% rate. The mortgage lender said he’d go to the head of mortgage lending in San Francisco to see if he could get me down to 2.875%.

I waited another day, and the Citi mortgage head said he, unfortunately, still couldn’t match 2.875%. At least he gave me another seven days to decide whether I should refinance with Citibank at 3%. Now I was much more motivated to work with Wells Fargo.

It took about another day and a half for the Wells Fargo mortgage officer to get back to me. We spoke at around 5:15pm. He said I could absolutely refinance to 2.75/2.875% if I brought over $500,000/$1,000,000 in funds. But first, I had to send him some common documents such as my W2, 1099s, rental statements, K-1s and so forth.

I got back to Wells Fargo at around 7:30pm and he said he’d review the documents and continue our dialogue the next morning. He believed we didn’t need to rush because rates looked unchanged that evening. I agreed.

When he called me the next morning at 10am, he told me the bad news. His bank informed him as of that morning, they decided to discontinue their special mortgage rate promotion! There was just too much demand.

Do I have terrible timing or what?

But of course, he said if I wanted to refinance with him I still could. The rate would no longer be 2.75/2.875% with no fees but 3%/3.125% with no fees. Uh huh.

No thank you! I got bait and switched again. If I’m going to get bait and switched, I might as well do business with my OG bait and switcher bank.

Luckily, I didn’t waste too much of my time because the documents I gathered for Wells Fargo were necessary for my refinance with Citibank. I simply forwarded them over.

The Refinance Rate Is Good Enough

So there you have it. While I was busy writing articles encouraging readers to refinance during a flat or inverted yield curve, I wasn’t spending enough time aggressively trying to refinance my own mortgage.

I put too much faith in Citibank to match the better offer. This cost me time and motivation with the competing bank. Nor did I pounce hard enough on the 2.75%/2.875% offer with Wells Fargo because I admittedly didn’t want to move my funds. If the rate was 2.5%/2.65%, I probably would have locked in.

Wells Fargo’s offer was a special situation because their CEO had just resigned due to a lot of financial shenanigans that went on under his watch. They needed to drum up business and regain some faith in the community.

Also, I got a 10/1 ARM instead of a 7/1 ARM. Therefore, I have three more years of peace of mind, which also makes me feel slightly better about my higher rate.

If I pay off my new 3% mortgage in five years, my blended 10-year mortgage rate will be 2.75%. Not bad. Further, my monthly payment declines by $800, which is a nice cash flow increase in case the economy turns south.

Finally, I’m happy several readers e-mailed in saying they succeeded in refinancing to a lower mortgage rate after I published my series of articles. Helping readers save money is the best!

I hope everyone can take advantage of lower mortgage rates. It feels like things are back to bull markets once again.

The Anatomy Of An Adjustable Rate Mortgage Increase

The Return On Rent Is Always Negative 100%

Readers, anybody refinancing now? What mortgage rate and terms did you get? What mortgage refinancing battle stories do you have to share?

The post How To Fail At Getting The Lowest Mortgage Interest Rate Possible appeared first on Financial Samurai.

from Finance https://www.financialsamurai.com/how-to-fail-at-getting-the-lowest-mortgage-interest-rate-possible/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

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mcjoelcain · 5 years

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How To Fail At Getting The Lowest Mortgage Interest Rate Possible

we can give you cash for your atlanta house fast

Before I tell you about my failure, let me tell you how I recommend getting the best mortgage rate possible. I’ve refinanced eight times across four properties over 16 years.

It also felt good when I paid off my last property in 2015. With rising cash flow since then, I figured I would just pay off my 5/1 ARM that was set to adjust this summer to 4.5% from 2.5%.

In the end, I locked in a 10/1 ARM for 3% with -3.75 points equal to a $3000 credit towards closing.

This rate is pretty good, but I could’ve gotten better terms. This article will help you figure out what to do and what not to do to get the best mortgage rate possible.

How To Get The Best Mortgage Rate Possible

The key to getting a better price is to always generate competition. For example, the more employers compete for your services, the more you will get bid away for a higher salary.

I had made up my mind to low ball the sellers when in walked a doctor couple at the open house. They sat in the dining room and marveled at the wainscoting, crown molding and high ceilings.

Here are the steps I take to get the best mortgage rate possible. Miss one step and your failure rate will go way up.

The more money you can bring over to the bank and the more accounts you can open, the more attractive your mortgage interest rate offer will be.

4) Be ready to transfer funds away. Moving funds is a hassle, but you’ve got to be willing to move your assets if your relationship bank does not match or beat a competing offer.

You don’t have to close all your accounts. You just have to be willing to open up a new account with a different bank and go through the process of electronic funds transfer.

How I Failed At Getting The Lowest Mortgage Interest Rate

I had just locked in my 3% rate with Citibank, which I thought was pretty good after the 10-year yield declined to 2.45% from 3.2%, but had not given them approval to start the process yet.

I was led on.

Do I have terrible timing or what?

But of course, he said if I wanted to refinance with him I still could. The rate would no longer be 2.75/2.875% with no fees but 3%/3.125% with no fees. Uh huh.

No thank you! I got bait and switched again. If I’m going to get bait and switched, I might as well do business with my OG bait and switcher bank.

Luckily, I didn’t waste too much of my time because the documents I gathered for Wells Fargo were necessary for my refinance with Citibank. I simply forwarded them over.

The Refinance Rate Is Good Enough

Also, I got a 10/1 ARM instead of a 7/1 ARM. Therefore, I have three more years of peace of mind, which also makes me feel slightly better about my higher rate.

Finally, I’m happy several readers e-mailed in saying they succeeded in refinancing to a lower mortgage rate after I published my series of articles. Helping readers save money is the best!

I hope everyone can take advantage of lower mortgage rates. It feels like things are back to bull markets once again.

The Anatomy Of An Adjustable Rate Mortgage Increase

The Return On Rent Is Always Negative 100%

Readers, anybody refinancing now? What mortgage rate and terms did you get? What mortgage refinancing battle stories do you have to share?

The post How To Fail At Getting The Lowest Mortgage Interest Rate Possible appeared first on Financial Samurai.

from Money https://www.financialsamurai.com/how-to-fail-at-getting-the-lowest-mortgage-interest-rate-possible/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

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oovitus · 5 years

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Bob Miller: Persisting despite serious health problems.

By his early 50s, Bob Miller was facing metabolic and cardiovascular health issues so serious that he’d already had a very close brush with death. With his weight at an all-time high and his mobility severely compromised, Bob found a way to lose nearly 100 pounds, one small step at a time.

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“I have vascular disease, heart disease and Stage 4 kidney disease… ”

“… I have already had an AAA repair, quadruple bypass, 8 stents in my heart, and we are beginning discussions about the inevitability of kidney dialysis and a kidney transplant.”

Those are the intake notes for Bob Miller from two years ago, when he started his Precision Nutrition Coaching journey.

Though Bob had been facing these very serious and mobility-compromising health conditions, Bob had an ambitious goal: to lose a lot of weight.

And, in fact, he already had.

“Almost seven years ago, I weighed 260 pounds,” reflects Bob, 60, of Edmonds, Washington.

Bob at his heaviest, before making a pact with himself to get healthy for his family.

“At that point, I hadn’t realized how much weight I’d gained. My grandmother had died and I needed to buy some clothes to go to the funeral. So I bought a jacket and slacks and I was just shocked at my 46-inch waist and my 48-inch coat.

“That just stunned me. So I had these brand-new clothes and I thought, ‘Something’s got to change here, this is just not going to work’.”

So, Bob made a plan.

“I immediately said, ‘Okay, I’ve got to control how much I’m eating, and low-carb diets have always worked for me to get the weight off, I’m going to do that.’ So that’s what I started to do. Over the next couple of years, I went from 260 down to somewhere in the 210 range.”

Yet after a while, Bob’s weight loss stalled. And stalled. And stalled.

At 5’7”, Bob knew he had more weight to lose. But after 18 months without any further progress, he had to concede that doing things on his own was no longer working.

And Bob wasn’t ready to give up on his own health.

“I wanted to see my grandkids, they haven’t even been born yet. And I didn’t want my wife to be a widow.”

“There are people in my life that depend on me and count on me… and I’ve already had a couple of pretty significant brushes with death.”

“When I had my heart attack, I really thought I was going to die. As my wife was driving me to the hospital, I realized I couldn’t feel my face, my arms, my legs,” Bob recalls.

“So I’ve known that we can all die at any time, but I certainly didn’t want it to be because I had not done everything I could to take care of myself. I didn’t want my legacy to be, ‘That son of a gun, if he had just taken care of himself, he would still be here.’”

Those very powerful reasons drew Bob to Precision Nutrition Coaching.

Once Bob signed up, he was determined to stay committed.

“I was going to see this program out to the end, no matter what, and just see what the results were,” Bob says.

“Even if I wasn’t seeing results on day 364, I was not going to quit before day 365.”

Of course, Bob did see results long before day 364, but admittedly, the pounds didn’t drop as quickly as he’d hoped. At first, Bob thought the program was going too slowly.

“For the first few weeks, they’re giving you anchor habits. If all else fails, you go back to these. At week four I was like, are you frigging kidding me,” Bob laughs.

But those anchor habits turned out to represent a fundamental shift for Bob’s approach to food, exercise, lifestyle habits, and even mindset. In particular, the very first habit — make time for your fitness and nutrition — turned out to make the biggest difference.

“Make time — you know what, that is the most important thing I do in my life,” says Bob.

“Making time for food prep, making time to think about my meal planning, or what I’m doing for the day and where the complications are. Making time for working out, making time for sleep, all those things. In my very busy life, I never realized how important the principal of making time was.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing. Bob’s health complications brought some extra challenges when it came to his workouts.

His conditions can cause Bob to have low energy, especially by mid-afternoon. But his new habit of “making time” helped him work around that barrier.

“My workouts are a top priority for my day, so I do them first thing in the morning when my energy is the highest. That way I take the ‘I’m out of energy’ excuse out of the equation.”

His combination of conditions can also cause chest pain when his heart rate is elevated from intense activity. Once again, Bob found a way.

“I’ve worked closely with my cardiologist to manage this with a combination of medication and adjustments to my exercise… missing a workout is not an option!”

While he steadily worked through these challenges, Bob also discovered the unexpected value of having someone in his corner — his PN coach. Having Coach Jonathan check in on him, reply to his messages, and just be there helped Bob stay true to his commitment.

“I needed somebody to hold me accountable, I needed somebody to be there,” he says. “There is value in just simply knowing that my coach was there.”

By the end of the PN Coaching program, Bob had lost another 45 pounds.

Bob poses in old pants after his 100-pound weight loss.

Much to his surprise — and his doctor’s — Bob’s kidneys were also functioning better.

“Before PN, my nephrologist was estimating my kidney function at about 26-28 percent, and I was losing about a percentage point every two to three months at one point,” Bob says.

“I went from being on the fast track to dialysis and transplant to stable kidney function for six or eight months now. My nephrologist is encouraged. I can’t believe it. It’s amazing.”

But perhaps Bob’s biggest transformation is internal. He’s shifted from fearing the future, to chasing new possibilities.

Bob is currently enrolled in his second round of PN Coaching — this time, to see what is possible.

“Can I get to single digit body fat? What do I look like then, what do I feel like then? What else can I do with my fitter body and better health that I’ve never been able to do? I’ve got no idea. But I’m willing to do a science experiment and see what is possible for myself.”

The very notion of exploring new possibilities marks a sea change for Bob.

“What is possible…” he reflects. “It wasn’t all that long ago where that was an impossible thought.”

“There’s no, ‘Okay, I did my diet, I’m done.’ My brain and my body and my mind and my heart have been permanently changed.”

In fact, Bob’s physical transformation has been so significant and unexpected that he’s still getting used to his new, slimmer body, and what it can do.

“One of the keys to overcoming my unique challenges was walking through it with my wife. She was, and is, awesome.”

“I had an experience recently where my dog’s ball had gone behind the television console. I was like ‘Oh, I can’t back there, I’ll have to figure something out.’

“Then I thought, ‘Wait a second, you probably can.’ And I did, and I didn’t touch the wall or the back of the console.”

Bob plans to use the final half of his second year with PN exploring the emotional issues surrounding such a big transformation.

“Sometimes I don’t recognize myself. I’ll see myself in the mirror and be surprised by the person I see looking back, or look at my pants and wonder how I’m going to fit in those tiny things! My physical changes are a bit ahead of my emotional and spiritual growth.”

But one thing is certain: As Bob pursues new possibilities for himself, he knows there’s no going back.

Want help overcoming your health and fitness barriers?

Most people know that regular movement, eating well, sleep, and stress management are important for looking and feeling better. Yet they need help applying that knowledge in the context of their busy, sometimes stressful lives.

Over the past 15 years, we’ve used the Precision Nutrition Coaching method to help over 100,000 clients lose fat, get stronger, and improve their health… for the long-term… no matter what challenges they’re dealing with.

It’s also why we work with health, fitness, and wellness professionals (through our Level 1 and Level 2 Certification programs) to teach them how to coach their own clients through the same challenges.

Interested in Precision Nutrition Coaching? Join the presale list; you’ll save up to 54% and secure a spot 24 hours early.

We’ll be opening up spots in our next Precision Nutrition Coaching on Wednesday, January 9th, 2019.

If you’re interested in coaching and want to find out more, I’d encourage you to join our presale list below. Being on the list gives you two special advantages.

You’ll pay less than everyone else. At Precision Nutrition we like to reward the most interested and motivated people because they always make the best clients. Join the presale list and you’ll save up to 54% off the general public price, which is the lowest price we’ve ever offered.

You’re more likely to get a spot. To give clients the personal care and attention they deserve, we only open up the program twice a year. Last time we opened registration, we sold out within minutes. By joining the presale list you’ll get the opportunity to register 24 hours before everyone else, increasing your chances of getting in.

If you’re ready to change your body, and your life, with help from the world’s best coaches, this is your chance.

[Note: If your health and fitness are already sorted out, but you’re interested in helping others, check out our Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification program].

The post Bob Miller: Persisting despite serious health problems. appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

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yourcertainstudentlight-blog · 6 years

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