#Attorney General Sessions

[dadsinsuits]

Jeff Sessions

[beblessedbybella]

#Justice4Bruce

"When It's ALL About The 💵Benjamins💵...Black People Are Expendable!"

Please be advised, the ongoing legal matter that's depicted below is represented by the Montgomery Law Firm in Dallas, Texas; therefore, please direct your inquiries to attorney, Sadat Montgomery [and my reference to this law firm is NOT an endorsement].

#FBI: Folks, when we arbitrarily decide to remain silent about matters regarding the heinous offenses that are committed against another human being-- especially the targeted, systemic, racist, and hateful crimes committed against marginalized people of color--we have decided to intentionally allow ourselves to become complicit in our thought process, complicit in our abject failure to initiate corrective action, and/or complicit the intentional silence of our words to effect change.

I'm illuminating a bright light on a horrific, racist, egregious, and legal quagmire for the intended purpose of fervently imploring the FBI, members of Congress, civil rights organizations, and other law enforcement officials to launch a transparent investigation into the following crimes; Attempted Murder, Depraved Indifference To Human Life, Deprivation Of Medicare Care, Felony Stalking, Medical Malpractice, Legal Malpractice, Theft, Invasion Of Privacy, Various Forms Of Harassment, Hate Crimes, Acts Of Terrorism, Various Types Of Fraud, Veiled Death Threats, Color Of Law Violations, Violation Of Civil Rights, And Other Unspecified Crimes.

#FBI: First, I'm giving honor and reverence to God for His unfailing mercy, love, strength, and grace. And, for divinely ordering the steps of a supportive and compassionate group of people to arrive with some revealing intel and other invaluable resources to provide assistance in the face of this volatile situation. Thank you all for using the power of your words--the strength of your voice--to help create a positive change in this atrocious matter that have had a significant and demoralizing impact on the lives of others.

#FBI: But sadly, there are entirely too many people who're delightfully participating in this demoralizing, odious, repugnant, and hateful type of behavior for a few ill-gained dollars. I think I get it: your silence and/or complicity is for sale and you're willing to do ANYTHING for a dollar, even if your job entails attempting to kill, excessively mocking, defaming, stealing from, defrauding, slandering, destroying, hurting, or sabotaging the lives of other people. That means YOU--managing conspirator and your faithful co-conspirators--have made a conscious decision to become criminals. And, some co-conspirators have elected to chase down the 💵benjamins💵 by any means necessary, which include actively participating in the senseless attempted murder of a Black man. But mind you, some of you are Black, but you're gleefully committing crimes against your own race and/or family for hire.

NEVER forget this: ALL 💵benjamins💵 ain't good 💵benjamins💵!

#FBI: Figuratively speaking, every person that's complicit in these horrific crimes--regardless of your national origin--is guilty of pulling a Derek Chauvin on another Black man by intentionally pressing your knee on his neck with brute force to block the flow of blood to his carotid artery with the malicious intention of killing him as dead as a doorknob. He can't breathe! And, you're trying to kill him with ALLEGED immunity because you have many police officers--from multiple jurisdictions--who're advocating, encouraging, participating in, and supporting the criminality of your vile actions!

#FBI: Folks...this is a very factual, horrifying, egregious tale regarding a black man from Dallas, Texas named Bruce W. Conner [Email: bruce.conner9090@proton.me and Phone#: 1(469)630-3466 or 1(469)875-9339], a former 9-year North Texas Tollway Authority [NTTA] governmental employee [he was also a part-time security supervisor with a security firm].

Bruce was an exemplary employee who was the current, reining employee of the year before his abrupt termination, which resulted from the unrelenting, horrifying, insidious, deceitful, and heinous actions of his many treating doctors, the cruelty he endured from his employer following his work-related accidents, and the extent of his numerous life-altering, bodily injuries.

#FBI: Bruce was involved in TWO work-related, traffic accidents--while functioning within the scope of employment--and operating NTTA's company trucks that occurred approximately one week apart [he was not the at-fault-driver of either accident]. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, ONE OF THOSE ACCIDENTS OCCURRED WHILE HE WAS UTILIZING THE COMPANY'S VEHICLE TO PROVIDE "POSITIVE PROTECTION" FOR TWO DEFENSELESS CARROLLTON, TEXAS POLICE OFFICERS WHO WERE STANDING, EXPOSED IN HARM'S WAY ON THE NTTA'S DANGEROUS TOLLWAY. However, when Dallas Fire & Rescue responded to the accidents, they negligently failed to transport him to a hospital to ascertain if he had incurred any unforeseen internal injuries--and he had many. Furthermore, as experienced EMT professionals, they should have expected that he had incurred internal injuries due to the extent of damage sustained to both NTTA's trucks, which were totaled beyond repair.

#FBI: As a direct result of the massive amount of kinetic and brutal momentum force that resulted from both accidents, Bruce sustained the following injuries; Blunt Chest Trauma, Serious Head Trauma, Serious Neck Trauma, Partial Bilateral Collapse Of Both Lungs, (3) Stomach Herniations, Lesions On The Liver, (8) Severely Herniated Discs In His Cervical and Lumbar Regions, Clot In Pulmonary Arteries, and a Displaced/Fractured Rib. Bruce's primary worker's compensation doctor sent him to receive treatment at Medical City Dallas Hospital STAT [and medical documents will support this assertion]; however, the medical personnel ordered a full CT lab report that revealed the serious medical implications of the above-listed injuries, but the ONLY injury that was documented by hospital's treating doctor's assistant was...a fractured rib. UNBELIEVABLE...but sadly, this is the brutal reality of how many black people are treated when it's ALL about the 💵benjamins💵.

NTTA's insurance provider, Texas Municipal League Risk Pool [Workers Compensation], evidently considered Bruce to be so undeserving to receive proper medical treatment, until they refused to pay the $2,091.00 bill for medical services rendered during his visit at the Medical City Dallas hospital. And, they [or some other co-conspirator] falsely submitted the bill to Bruce's insurance provider, UnitedHealthcare, to pay the bill, but evidently, they refused to participate in the act of approving the fraudulent claim. As a result, this bill went into collections.

In the face of Bruce's atrocities, I'm making an impassioned plea to everyone to kindly be a blessing to Bruce while he continues his perilous plight at navigating through this horrifying maze of unrelenting corruption, racial biases, physical and emotional distress, impending surgeries, loss of his career, loss of income, loss of health insurance, loss of pension, and loss of quality of life. You may bless him by donating to his CashApp account [$BlessBruceConner] or PayPal account [@BlessBruceConner], respectively. Thank you in advance for any consideration demonstrated during this very serious business matter.

#FBI: To cut to the chase, as a direct result of the anticipated exorbitant financial implications of those accidents, many horrific crimes have been committed, including the attempted murder of Bruce. An unrelenting, highly-organized, criminal conspiracy was executed to mitigate their gross negligence and to minimize the extent of their financial responsibility of Bruce's extremely expensive injuries [which has already amassed more than $250K, with multiple injuries left untreated].

This conspiracy was established when a large group of people--acting as known and unknown agents of their employers--collectively joined together to form an agreement to violate the law, by engaging in many overt criminal acts toward the furtherance of the said conspiracy.

Therefore, I'm publicly alleging that approximately TEN Dallas, Texas doctors did knowingly, intentionally, maliciously, and recklessly falsify most of Bruce's medical records for profit; I'm alleging that several Dallas, Texas police officers did knowingly, intentionally, maliciously, and recklessly falsify Bruce's accident reports for profit; I alleging that several attorneys assigned to Bruce's case did knowingly, intentionally, maliciously, and recklessly fail to zealously protect and pursue his legal interests for profit; and, I'm also alleging that many other medical professionals did knowingly, intentionally, maliciously, and recklessly deprived Bruce of the required proper medical treatment for profit [mind you, both Workers' Compensation and UnitedHealthcare insurance companies were ALLEGEDLY at play in this matter, and yet, the outcome has been unfathomable]. However, their nefarious plot was discovered by Bruce's wife, which lead to a legion of individuals engaging in many overt acts of organized crime against her and her seriously injured husband. Also, pertinent information relevant to this matter is being sent to some of you via other means.

The Pinkerton Rule Of Law: "Co-conspirators, do YOU realize that when YOU became an active participant in the criminality of this conspiracy, YOU are as guilty as the person who committed fraud, attempted murder and all other serious crimes? ALL members involved in the conspiracy can be convicted of substantive crimes, even if YOU did not personally commit the crime, and a conspiracy charge relieves the prosecution of the burden of even having to prove your role in the said conspiracy.

#FBI: One doesn't have to be a brain surgeon, rocket scientist, or an engineer to understand this evidentiary fact: The Dallas, Texas doctors and police officers involved in the above matter have intentionally committed a series of heinous crimes for profit against this Black family. "FOLKS, IF YOU LIVE IN DALLAS, TEXAS AND IS A BLACK PERSON...YOU SHOULD BE VERY, VERY AFRAID TO BECOME ILL OR INJURED, BECAUSE [SOME] DOCTORS WILL INTENTIONALLY ALLOW YOU TO DIE, JUST TO CHASE THE 💵BENJAMINS💵 FROM THE DEEP POCKETS OF INSURANCE COMPANIES!" Inquiring Minds Wanna Know: Shouldn't these criminals--regardless of their social status--who committed crimes be required to wear a pair of metal bracelets and/or spend time in a miniscule cage with metal bars for doors?🤔 May the silence of my voice scream loudly, with the hope that it will reverberate across the globe...let justice prevail!

#FBI: News Flash: If you're Black or Hispanic, and have and/or is currently participating in the criminality of this saga, you're truly failing to understand the real gravity of your actions! Do you fail to understand that this is a Black person's trials and tribulations today, but tomorrow it could be YOU, or your loved ones fighting for their lives? "Boo-boo, please don't be nobody's fool, because, do you really fail to understand that this level of systemic RACISM and HATE don't love nobody that look like you...NOT even YOU?" Please understand your role: YOU are just the hired help that is willing to do someone's dirty work so they can keep their hands sparkling clean! And, you're allowing hateful, racist people to pay you to behave like their obedient puppet [while they're the managing puppeteer, pulling the strings...and is using huge menacing dogs, Black monkeys, and other Black racist stereotypes to actively advocate and promote racism in this ongoing saga].

#FBI: News Flash Black People: The real subliminal message that's being promoted is: ALL Black people are Black monkeys, other races of people can sic menacing dogs on Black people with impunity, Black people should die like a diseased animal [from a denial of proper medical treatment], Black people should gladly hate other Black people, Black people should beat other Black people down when they're in the midst of their turbulent storms, and Black people should openly display abject contempt towards their own race. Do you fail to realize that everything that you do, is a direct reflection of what's already inside you? How can Black people ever expect to rise up, or elevate, when entirely too many other Black people have become extremely comfortable with pulling each other down? This ordeal epitomizes the quintessential crabs-in-a-barrel-mentality!

#FBI: Just consider this for a moment. Once again, some people in Dallas, Texas thought so little of an esteemed, long-termed member of Congress--a Black woman--by failing to provide her with proper treatment that resulted in her dying with extreme indignity. As a Black person living in Dallas, Texas what do you think will happen to you when you're seriously ill or injured? Sadly, when it's ALL about the 💵benjamins💵, Black people are definitely expendable.

[boreal-sea]

Who is Kamala Harris?

These are all from her Wikipedia page. I have picked the top 5 for each of these sections. Maybe you think other things are more important, these are just the things that stood out to me:

Highlights as District Attorney of San Francisco:

was tough on gun crime: created a gun crime unit, set 90-day minimum sentences, raised bail for gun-related crimes, and prosecuted all assault weapon possession cases as felonies.

created a hate crimes unit specifically focused on LGBTQ hate crimes against children and teens in school.

was (and is) against the death penalty; during her time as DA did not cave to pressure in several cases to seek the death penalty.

helped create the San Francisco Reentry Division, aimed at helping prisoners reintegrate after their sentences are through; the program became a national model.

refused to enforce prop 8, which was at the time California's ban on gay marriage.

Highlights as Attorney General of California

introduced the Homeowner Bill of Rights and fought against banks, mortgage companies, and credit card companies.

fought for financial reimbursement for public employee and teacher pensions.

fought for environmental protections and secured settlements and indictments against several oil companies for oil spills.

conducted a review of implicit bias in policing and the use of deadly force and introduced implicit bias training.

declared a law that California law enforcement had to collect and report police violence.

Highlights as a California Senator:

condemned Trump's Muslim ban.

opposed Trump's appointments of Betsy DeVos and Jeff Sessions, his nomination of Neil Gorsuch, and voted against confirming Kavanaugh.

tried to make lynching a federal hate crime.

urged the Trump administration to investigate the persecution of Uyghur Muslims in China.

voted to convict Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Highlights as Vice president:

as President of the Senate, cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate that ensured the passing of the American Rescue Act.

has cast more tie-breaking votes than any other Vice president in US history - she is responsible for many of the achievements of the Biden administration actually passing the Senate.

created task forces on corruption and human trafficking.

created a women's empowerment program.

has criticized Israel's actions during the current conflict in Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Phillip Jackson at HuffPost:

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) introduced a bill Wednesday that would give federal and state officials more power to hold police departments accused of bad behavior to account. The Enhancing Oversight to End Discrimination in Policing Act, led by Warren and in the House by Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.), would strengthen the power of state attorneys general to launch investigations into police departments involved in civil rights violations if the Justice Department fails to act on them. The bill would also task the Justice Department with looking beyond “traditional law enforcement mechanisms” when providing reforms to selective police departments such as mental health support, civilian oversight bodies, and community-based restorative justice programs, according to Warren’s office.

Warren had introduced a version of the bill in 2020. This newest version of the measure would also revitalize the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, granting an increase in funding to pursue civil rights investigations into police departments and other government offices accused of discriminatory practices. It would increase funding for the civil rights division to $445 million per year over a 10-year period. (For scale, the 2023 budget for the division was $189.9 million.)

Warren first introduced her bill following the death of George Floyd in 2020. That earlier draft also called for Attorney General Merrick Garland to rescind a 2017 memorandum from his predecessor, Trump-era Attorney General Jeff Sessions, that limited the DOJ’s ability to initiate consent decrees on police departments — a key way of stopping bad behavior. (Garland rescinded that memorandum in April of 2021.)

Nine senators co-sponsored the bill: Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii). Several civil rights organizations are backing Warren’s new bill, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Urban League and others.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and 9 other co-sponsors in the Senate are supporting the Enhancing Oversight to End Discrimination in Policing Act to strengthen police accountability. Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-WA) is pushing this in the House.

[fullhalalalchemist]

🚨🚨🚨Congress hiding behind "protecting" LGBTQ+ to push for censorship bills that would harm us

May 8, 2023

The EARN IT Act isn't the only bill Congress is rushing through this session that's secret goal is to censor and surveil Americans, especially queer ones.

KOSA (s.1409), or the Kid's Online Safety Act, is being hailed across the mainstream media and congress as the best bill to "protect children online from algorithmic harm" by essentially, blocking content that gives minors anxiety, depression, eating and substance abuse disorders, online bullying and harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse, suicidal behaviors, and addiction. It's gives the FTC, who are politically appointed by the president, and all 50 state attorney generals enforcement power to do this. As long as they can justify a website 'harmed' a minor by having content that leads to 'anxiety, sexual exploitation, and suicidal behaviors', they will push lawsuit over lawsuit to that site until it censors that content for the minor.

Oh, but that's not it, either. HOW will websites determine who is and isn't a minor? Well don't worry, because the bill says "age verification isn't required". That however does nothing to stop websites from pushing age verification. When they're about to be held liable and sued for millions, when there's an age verification lobby that has pushed these bills successfully in half the states, when websites should know "reasonably" that theres a minor, they are GOING to go for age verification. Multiple experts agree that this would happen.

Last year, nearly 100+ LGBT and human rights orgs sent a letter opposing KOSA. They were ignored and Senator Blumenthal (same guy who is pushing the EARN IT Act) met with different orgs to "update the language". Except nothing in the update language changes any of it's impact. Sure, they removed "grooming" from being a target of this bill and instead are focusing on "mental health". Except, the Missouri Attorneys General, in his emergency order banning gender affirming care, cited a number of medical studies effectively claiming that access to gender affirming care is causing young people to experience mental health issues. They will use ANY excuse to censor content.

This is the tumblr purge 2.0 but for the entire internet. It's just as bad as the EARN IT Act. And it has IMMENSE levels of support. You have the national Eating Disorder Coalition, child advocacy orgs, the freaking American Psychological Association, LIZZO!!!! supporting this. It needs IMMENSE levels of backlash from us, the grassroots, the people.

The best way to fight back is to CALL YOUR SENATORS. It's now going to go to the commerce committee for markup, after it will head to a vote. This is going to be fasttracked and most likely voted on this month or June. It's all hands on deck.

Link to call script to read off alongside numbers to call:

A bunch of petitions you can sign (takes less than 5 min)

Open Letter Against KOSA

Petition 1

Petition 2

Petition 3

Petition 4

Resistbot: Text PHJDYH to 50409

And more information here: Linktree

This is a great TLDR article to read: Vox Article

TLDR; Congress's new bill KOSA that has an immense amount of bipartisan support will lead to internet censorship by giving all state attorney generals, even the ones in Texas and Florida, power to sue websites for "harmful" content and decide what is "dangerous" for minors, force websites to make you upload your govt ID online, and lead to widespread abuse of queer youth. We have to fight back NOW or else we will see an internet-wide purge of any adult and queer content online, globally.

[zerosuitsammi3]

For those unaware of what's happening in Missouri: The Attorney General, Andrew Bailey, has enacted an "emergency regulation" placing limitations on gender affirming health care for trans youth and adults requiring 15 one hour therapy sessions over 18 months for puberty blockers, 3 years for hormone therapy, and up to in some cases 9 years of documented therapy for trans gender individuals to receive hormone replacement therapy and other gender affirming treatments. In addition doctors are required to screen trans patients for autism and depression, if diagnosed with either they can be refused gender affirming care. Andrew Bailey enacted this emergency order under the Missouri Merchandising Protections Act, far over reaching the legal scope of the act, due to a claim that a St. Louis transgender clinic was prescribing "experimental drugs to kids without parental consent." These claims are untrue and are currently under investigation. Andrew Bailey's website now has a tip line to report trans affirming health clinics for “reports of questionable gender transition interventions.”

This is what trans genocide looks like in Missouri.

If you would like to fill Adrew Bailey's tip line with complaints about his actions the website is as follows.

[amarynthian-chronicles]

Tip the Scales Chapter 1

Prosecutor Sun, Prosecutor Moon, Judge Eclipse x Defense Lawyer (Devil's Advocate) Reader

(You are a charismatic defense lawyer in a constant competition with two ruthless prosecutors that do not understand your ideals about criminals deserving a second chance. You are also housemates with a certain bitter and retired judge, who has a habit of operating at night as a cloaked figure known as the Judge of the Damned. Things get complicated when your old friend Monty gets accused of a murder he claims to not have committed willingly. Will you balance the scales once more?)

Warnings: suggestive themes, possessive behaviour, mentions of violence

There was a particular universal truth that court employees would never dare to admit about court proceedings: not a single one of them actually wanted to be there. Those that did enjoy being present during a session were either lying to themselves or were being paid obscene amounts of cash to pretend to care. In other extreme cases, it was all a part of unhinged ambition sprinkled with a dash of insanity.

Normally the whole process was a dreary affair, varying from sordid and depressing, all the way to showing what an administrative inferno the whole institution had become over time. True to the Dickensian fashion of describing things, one could say that the gloomy and omnipresent fog that had consumed the city with the arrival of Fall was equally present in the courtroom itself, both metaphorically and literally, entering every pore and chilling everyone to the bone.

However, in our specific situation things were getting quite heated. The cold September fog had been rudely pushed aside by the steam of intense and fiery debate you were having with prosecuting attorney Sun.

A bitter rivalry existed between you and the celestial-themed animatronic, but over the past year it seemed to have bloomed into obsessive fascination on Sun's part. We could classifiy it as another universal truth that one was bound to eventually become infatuated and captivated by their “nemesis“.

Placing you two in the same room was a very bad idea. Or a very good idea, it honestly depended on who you asked. For instance, the general public that had come to listen to your long nonsensical argument had arrived there for the sole purpose of finding out whether you two would passionately kiss somewhere in the middle of the whole discussion.

The suspense was maddening, the tension was more than palpable. One of the clerks was fanning himself with a folder, wondering whether or not he had taken his heart medication earlier.

“Could somebody open a window, please?“

There had always been an unusually thin line between love and hatred, enemies and lovers, but somehow it seemed oddly fitting for you and Sun to combine both at the same time with no problem.

After a well crafted comeback, believing himself to be the victor, Sun winked at you, triumphant and his grin wide and sinister.

“Was that as good for you as it was for me?“

“My dear sir, I cannot say, I hardly even felt anything.“

“I was under the impression that we have long abandoned this little “playing hard to get“ scenario.“

“Goodness, that sounds serious, delusions could be a sign of a system malfunction, you should get that checked, Sun.“

“Don't be so high and mighty. You will lose today, both the case and the little bet we made.“

“Oh, my, so ominous. I sure am devastated on the inside, inconsolable, I shall probably never recover.“

You were driving him insane. Healthy competition was usually highly encouraged, but this was beyond ridiculous. No matter how eloquent and skillful he was in the art of rhetoric, you refused to yield. You were still a relatively young jurist, having passed the bar examination barely two years prior, but your legal reasoning was unusually innovative and your application of creative solutions to impossible problems was astounding. There wasn't a single thing that Sun could throw at you without you catching it and throwing it ten times harder right back at him.

The judge, an elderly man that was diligently counting down the days till it was socially acceptable to retire from what was regularly a life tenure, was listening to the two of you bicker as if it were the latest installment of his favourite picture show series. He wondered if he should simply let you silly lovebirds borrow his chambers for a minute or two. Or thirty, wherever the feeling takes you. He was very supportive.

He was also the only judge in the building willing to tolerate the nonsense that you and the Celestial Prosecutors kept pulling off in the courtroom. It was free entertainment and he needed some amusement in his old age. The rest of the judicial assembly would have to pull straws each time a new case had to be assigned.

He remembered how different things had been a few years prior.

It was an open secret that the judicial assembly missed the old days when the esteemed Judge Eclipse had still been in office, before his abrupt retirement under unusual circumstances. Eclipse would always volunteer to do all the work, snatching case files from everybody's hands and closing himself in his chambers, leaving the possibility for the rest of the assembly to simply enjoy their coffee and gossip in the conference room.

Intense and immensely dedicated to his work, unyielding, unforgiving and merciless, Eclipse had been akin to a dark deity of the afterlife, deciding the fate of souls that had succumbed to corruption. His golden eyes had held nothing but pure contempt for evildoers, his mechanical heart perpetually hungry for the suffering of the wicked. Court sessions under his administrations had been a thing of horror for some and an example of a job well-done for others. Deranged and disproportionate punishments had made Eclipse quite unpopular in the criminal milieu, and there had been quite a few attempts on his life that would usually end up with the assassins themselves having their spines twisted into a pretty pretzel.

Self-defense, clear-cut, no questions asked, nobody left to mourn a few dismembered rulebreakers.

The euphoria had been too intoxicating, the flesh of Evil too delicious, the screams of the damned a symphony unmatched.

One thing had lead to another, interfering into interrogations, conflict of interest, violating every possible rule of criminal procedure, prisoners being found dead in their cells, acquitted individuals dying under suspicious circumstances mere days after their release.

The courthouse and law enforcement would always turn a blind eye. Whispers in the corridors, silent gasps in the archive rooms, everybody knew of Eclipse's tendencies, his desire to play god. Nobody had dared to make a fuss about the whole situation, not even when a few fellow judges that had been accused of bribery had one day "mysteriously" disappeared. It was all a silent approval. Crime statistics had been fixing themselves, who would dare interfere?

Deciding to return to topics less grim and vile, the current judge smiled fondly at the prosecutors and the sly defense lawyer before him. Such a sweet change, whimsy and passion reigning supreme, banishing the sepulchral dread of olden times.

Contrary to custom, Sun was working with his brother Moon by his side. It was definitely unusual for two prosecutors to work together on same cases and appear in court as a team, but nobody had ever complained about it and regulations had no explicit rule against it. It was Moon's duty to make a thorough research and keep Sun informed of any new facts or legal acts in order for Sun to prepare a proper presentation to enthrall everyone in the courtroom or ask for appropriate actions.

They used all of their individual strengths and skills to achieve the best results. Reminiscent of their older brother's inclinations, their methods and ruthless determination in the pursuit of their version of justice at all costs had become notorious, eventually making the general public refer to them as the Grand Inquisitors.

All of that aside, the two of them still had to make sure that each investigation went perfectly by the books and that there were no irregularities made by law enforcement in the initial stages of each investigation. Being a prosecutor was akin to being a sea captain that constantly kept hoping that his crew was sober. One single mistake meant that the other party would pounce on it like a feral animal.

And pounce you did.

For instance, you were easily capable of rendering a whole confession useless by claiming it was inadmissible evidence obtained through coercion. It was no trouble for you to stage a whole scene.

You had pulled off such a stunt a few times in the past and the results would always follow a hilarious pattern: the confused police officers would simply blink and question their general reality on whether they had truly applied excessive force, the public audience would try not to snack too loudly on the popcorn they had brought, the defendant would do his best to keep crying and keeping his story straight about how absolutely devastated and tortured he was, the judge would hope that no reporters would come crawling in the courtroom and asking about human rights violations. Again.

The celestial twins were unused to such audacity and blows to their pride. Sun and Moon had always been a powerful force that had never known the meaning of failure, the playing field had been theirs to dominate and it was pure madness to even think that anyone could place an end to that. And then you showed up and suddenly the courtroom was a circus, you were the ringmaster and you turned the two of them into the lead jesters of the whole show.

They were furious with you for making a mockery of their act. How dare you?

Moon did his best to remain subtle with his temper, even if his pencils did audibly snap in half from time to time. He had to keep an appearance a patient man, someone courteous and polite. It was of great importance to keep that thick layer of ice above the boiling madness that stirred deep within.

Oh, how you tested his patience still. It all kept accumulating, over and over, cracking the ice bit by bit.

He could write a masterpiece of scholarly analysis and a seemingly perfect reconstruction of events, and you would destroy all of that effort simply by telling him he wrote a date wrong, messing up the entire chronology and all further conclusions, rendering the whole thing useless. You always tripped him with the little things, formalities, so many tidbits that made the whole construction fall apart.

The devil was in the details, after all.

Speaking of which, since the majority of your clients were desperate people that had strayed from the morals of society into a life of crime for mere survival, you had earned yourself the title of Devil's Advocate among your colleagues. The world of your clients, however, was quite grateful for your services and assistance, all of them calling you their Fairy Godparent.

You got them out of trouble, you found them alternatives and new respectful jobs, you gave and gave, granting wishes and making them all happily dance to your music. If anyone had issues or needed help, they knew who to come to. You were waiting with good life advice, cupcakes, a hot cup of coffee and assurance that you would solve all of their problems. In many cases, you were the last angel before the gates of Hell for them, grasping their hand and pulling them back to safety.

After all, placing their fate in your hands was a far better alternative than sinking deeper into darkness and one day being inevitably visited in the middle of the night by the Judge of the Damned, having their life taken as the midnight bells rang.

Because of this looming threat, you did your best to save each soul you came across.

In this particular case, it was a young man that had gotten himself in some serious trouble after associating with a dangerous faction of drug dealers. Such business always came with its risks and there was no true loyalty nor help if someone got caught. Moreover, it was common practice to silence the person from revealing the others by simply ordering their assassination in prison. The young man had gotten way in over his head, too ambitious and too confident in his own abilities, intoxicated with the romantic ideas of what he had seen in movies.

His older brothers had approached you for help after his arrest and you had accepted, of course. You would get the boy out of trouble, free of charge, under the condition that he dedicated himself to getting his life back on track and you would be making sure things stayed that way.

Sun was still waiting for you to speak, and the rest of the room was wondering whether or not you were truly speechless this time or if you were simply preparing something spectacular. Of course, it was the latter. You had pulled a lot of strings and cashed in a few favours, but it was all for a good cause. You heard Sun's impatient voice:

“Ready to admit defeat? There is no conceivable way for you to counter any of this evidence, it is over.“

“Only for those that lack the imagination to do so. I call in question the credibility and the competence of your toxicology expert. You cannot claim that my client was in possession or consuming a certain substance, if its chemical components do no even match what you claim it to be.“

“Pure cocaine was found on his person. He has been known to associate himself with dangerous smugglers of forbidden narcotics.“

“A second analysis, that I took the liberty of ordering from another expert, proved that it was mere flour.“

“Excuse me?“

“He is a baker's apprentice. Poor boy, he is just keeping all of that secret out of shame, which is why we did not mention this earlier, by the way. Alas, I cannot keep this silence anymore, for I must act in his best interest. You see, ever since he was a small lad, it was his dream to make fine Danish pastries, but everyone in his general vicinity was obsessed with the whole “dashing gangster“ persona that is so popular right now, so no wonder that this sad young man, just look at his eyes, this poor innocent child tried to emulate all of that simply to get some respect from his cruel peers. So, he walked around with flour and pretended that it was cocaine. It is all because of societal pressure.“

Had Sun been gifted with a detachable jaw, it would have fallen on the floor by now. It was madness. Your claim was pure madness. He wasn't certain, but he did feel as if all of his systems were about to crash down in a sad attempt at self-preservation. Moon's crimson eyes had turned black and he seemed as if he were silently rebooting himself. It was best for everyone to have him unconscious for a bit, otherwise he would have probably gotten violent. The stenographer stopped typing and blinked at you in a very “what the actual hell“ manner and the old judge took his glasses off emphatically as people normally do in such situations for no specific reason other than dramatic effect.

“God, I haven't felt this much excitement since my last divorce.“

The defendant was very much surprised to hear this as well. He gestured for you to come closer and whispered to you:

“I am a baker's apprentice?“

“You are now. Be the role, become the role, make the rolls. Also, you start next Monday at five in the morning, I got everything already arranged with the baker on main street. This whole process should by over by then.“

“What? The only dough I know how to roll is the monetary one.“

“You learn while you live.“

The poor man looked at you with the expression of someone that would really rather just go to prison than go through such blood pressure oscillations.

His brothers, three friendly chaps in dashing suits, homburg hats and leather gloves, were all smiling and holding a thumbs up in encouragement. He turned around to look at them with a genuinely desperate expression. Listening to this nonsense was punishment enough, regardless if he did the crime or not. They had assured him that you were the best, but nobody ever said that your methods were the sanest.

You cleared your throat and spoke up again:

“In light of this and to support these claims, I enclose all the necessary documents and I am prepared to call the relevant new witnesses if you agree, Your Honour.“

“I can adjourn, I personally got no problem with continuing this on a later day of the week. I have to tell you, you kids are keeping me young, I always thought that my later years in life would be boring. Boy, I sure was wrong.“

A partially drunk man from the spectator area began to clap.

“Bravo!“

The bailiff looked over at him.

“What are you clapping for?“

“I thought this was the theatre.“

“It's a courtroom, is what it is.“

“What's the difference?“

Just as you were about to sit down, Moon was suddenly by your side, having miraculously finished his little reboot session and feeling more energized than ever. It was rather concerning, since he was capable of pulling such a stunt within mere seconds, changing location so fast before you could even register it. You had a theory that he was probably capable of some type of flight or teleportation.

You made a little squeak of surprise as you felt his hands on your shoulders, pulling you close to his face plate, crimson eyes trying to cut your soul to shreds. Nevertheless, you refused to lose your decorum and you kept up an air of aristocratic disinterest.

“May I help you, sir?“

“Don't give me that. You know exactly what you are doing. I am not letting you humiliate us like this again.“

“And you are going to make things better for yourself by intimidating me in public like this? I really want to know what the plan is, I'm curious now.“

“Curiosity will kill you one day, little devil fairy.“

“I am certain that satisfaction will bring me back. What exactly do you want from me?“

He squeezed your shoulders and began to lightly massage them. It was oddly pleasurable, since you were tense and tired. Moon's voice was low, raspy, almost a whisper, akin to that of a nocturnal demon that haunted the shadows and ruled over nightmares.

“What goes around comes around and one day I will humiliate you, as well. I will tear those fairy wings apart.“

“Do you think I am afraid of you?“

“You should be. But, yes, I do have an additional request. Meet us in the conference room as soon as we are done here. We wish to talk.“

For a moment it seemed as if the two of you had forgotten that you were in an oddly compromising embrace in front of the entire courtroom. The same man from the spectator area whispered to the bailiff:

“Is this when the smooching starts? I could have sworn I read it somewhere in the play synopsis.“

“This is not the theatre!“

“Listen, Shakespeare once said that the whole world is a stage. He also said that we should kill all the lawyers, though, but I vote that we keep these three here, I need to know what happens next.“

A normal person would refuse to accept Moon's request after his little outburst, but you wished to talk to him and Sun, as well. Perhaps the old saying of “keep your friends close and your enemies closer“ had some wisdom to it, but you also genuinely wished to somewhat make peace with them. Maybe even explain your perspective and your ideas of justice to them. If things got really wild, possibly even form some fragile bond of friendship.

“Alright, I will be there, I just need some time to get my things first and I will also fetch a cup of coffee.“

You pushed him away and he allowed you to do so. However, his gaze was still on you even as everyone had risen and prepared to leave for the day. He watched you as you cheerfully talked with your client and his family, so warm, so caring. They gave you presents to show their appreciation, bags full of chocolates, teddy bears and a ridiculously large plush rabbit. Such whimsical things, childish and ridiculous, and yet your eyes almost had sparkles from how happy you were.

You were considered a beauty by many, but you were not coquettish, ignoring any amorous comments with your usual aristocratic disdain. Your hair was long and soft, well taken care of, but there were always a few little disobedient tufts that almost appeared like tiny and cute devil horns. It was impossible to straighten them out and you simply let them be.

You had a penchant for black pinstripe suits. However, the professional sterness was mitigated by the presence of a star-shaped pink diamond brooch pinned to the striped bow on your chest area. Moon found it conveniently suitable for your “fairy godparent“ aesthetic. The diamond would catch even the faintest amounts of light, reflecting it on surrounding walls to signify that you were approaching. You were wondrous, gentle hues of pink always heralding your arrival.

Sun spoke to him as the two of them made their way to the conference room, distracting him from his reveries:

“They are so cold to us and yet so warm to them. Did you see that smile?“

“Our fairy sees value in miscreants and mongrels. It is only a matter of time before those strays bite the hand that feeds them and then the little fool will come crying to us.“

“It would be cruel of us to refuse them a warm embrace, brother.“

Moon pondered the thought, the potential image of you in a disheveled state, disappointed and heartbroken. There was something wonderfully poetic about the idea of your rose garden withering away. It was a fair trade for all the times you kept trying to ruin their own view of the world. He and Sun were the righteous hands of justice and not even you could protect your little army of demons forever, shielding them with your dark angel wings till one day their final feather crumbles to dust. A misguided fallen little seraph had to have limits.

Sun and Moon waited for good while for you to arrive. Getting coffee was serious business, after all.

The windows in the conference room were covered with Venetian blinds, creating a game of light and shadow, giving it an air of mystery and melancholy. However, the moment you entered, your diamond brooch cast little sparkles of warm pink all over the walls.

You were carrying the bags with gifts and also balancing your coffee cup. It was honestly a miracle you did not spill everything yet. You set it all on the large table and for a moment you almost seemed to have forgotten the two animatronics even existed as you were fiddling with the little treats you had received.

“These chocolates are my favourite. It is a shame you two can't eat, you are missing pure heaven. Now, what exactly did you two want to talk about?“

Sun was very straightforward and went right down to business.

“You cheated, lied and manipulated facts today.“

“Me? I can only aspire to be that productive in one single afternoon.“

“Furthermore, you shamelessly tried to avoid the consequences of losing our little bet.“

“Tell me something: are you more upset about the case or the bet? It seems to me as if the latter is tormenting you more than the former.“

“I am not answering that.“

“If you wanted a date, all you had to do was ask like a sensible man, we don't need these convoluted schemes for something that simple.“

“Would you, then?“

“No.“

“See, this is why we need the schemes.“

“Such a tragedy your problems are, Sun.“

You opened another box of chocolates and you were wondering whether to try the one with dark ganache filling or the one with hazelnut cream. You were rudely interrupted when Moon lifted your chin up to look at him.

“You are no longer going to prance around acting as if the justice system is your own personal circus. If we expose what you did today, you will be kicked out of the Lawyers' Association and you will lose your license to practice.“

“That sounds so depressing when you put it that way.“

“I personally can appreciate what you were trying to do for all those people in the past year or so, but enough is enough. We could have offered you a plea bargain, had you only asked us. We are more than happy to settle if those puppies of yours mean that much to you, but they will need to serve time, whether you like it or not.“

“When they get in the system, it's over, it will haunt them and follow them for the rest of their lives, from getting employment all the way to daily life and relationships.“

“None of that is your concern, Y/N. You cannot save everyone.“

“With all due respect, Moon, you have no right to tell me what to do. I do not hate you, but I will not tolerate you being in my way either. Do not be fooled by my kind nature, you have no idea who you are playing with. Dreams can become Nightmares fairly quickly.“

“I am saying all of this because I do not want you to share the same unfortunate fate that keeps repeating itself in your family. Always best friends with the wrong lot. You need to stop fraternizing with criminals, for your own good.“

Moon expected a specific reaction from you with that statement, foolishly assuming that he would hit the right spot, that he would cause fear, pain, uncertainty and a need to run somewhere for some emotional safety. Even Sun knew that he had gone too far with that topic.

You were not having it. Yes, you were a regal and delicate flower. However, that flower was also poisonous and with plenty of thorns. You huffed at him.

“Oh, so we are playing that card now? While we are on the subject of family tradition and dubious practices, I am well aware of the person that gets rid of the truly bad people. Did he ever come for any of my current and recent clients? No. Therefore I don't see why you are so determined to lecture me about helping those that only do crime out of necessity, not evil. If anything, this is just petty revenge because you hate losing and because you are a manipulative jerk with no empathy for the misfortunate, Moon. If you wish to punish someone, start with yourself.“

That certainly did hit a nerve.

Moon went over to the window, pulling the blinds shut and letting the room bathe in darkness, the pink light disappearing. You blinked to adjust your eyes.

“Is this really necessary?

Moon's voice was unusually low, almost a whisper:

"Is darkness not a familiar thing to you, little devil fairy? You certainly seem to linger in the shadows, refusing to see the light, you are blind and unable to grasp reality as it is."

You sighed and shrugged.

"That is still better than believing in blind justice. Also, at least I got the comfort of knowing that Sun over here cannot see anything right now, either.“

The daylight animatronic made a huff at your words.

“I still know the basic layout of the room, thank you very much.“

Sun then leaned over to you and whispered:

“Now, why did you have to tell him all that? He is very touchy on that subject.“

“Well, he started it.“

“And you had to continue it?“

“Yes. I too am allowed to be petty.“

Moon's crimson optics were the only light left and they were getting closer, wicked and menacing. Their glow suddenly disappeared and all that was heard was Moon's malicious cackling. Even with Sun present, you knew you were pretty much screwed and that it was best if you made your merry way in the opposite direction.

An interesting chain of events followed that led to even more interesting consequences. You reached for the nearby bag that had the giant bunny plushie in it, throwing it in the general direction of Moon's laughter, hoping that it would hit him and buy you enough time to run out of the room. However, you miscalculated while waving your hand, accidentally hitting Sun in the face instead. In your defense, you could barely see a damn thing in the dark.

As this happened, Sun stepped backwards out of sheer instinct, bumping right into Moon as he was trying to elegantly sneak up. This caused Moon to lose balance and fall on the floor. As he tried to catch onto the table to pull himself back up, his hand landed directly on the coffee cup and the whole contents spilled over the edge right onto him, ruining his coat, vest and shirt.

Needless to say how much noise you three idiots had made in the process.

You reached for another bag, and you began to swing it around without a care in the world.

“Stay back, both of you, I am armed with plushies and I am not afraid to use them.“

Sun's face kept being caught in the collateral damage, of course. With a swift motion, he managed to catch you and pick you up, placing you on the table and pinning your wrists to it to stop you from further attacking him with such a deadly weapon. Meanwhile, Moon was removing his coffee-stained coat and vest, lamenting how the whole fabric was ruined now.

“This is not how I envisioned this meeting to transpire.“

The whole scene was then interrupted when a clerk opened the door, seeing the two celestial animatronics looming over you while you were lying on the table, Sun holding your wrists and Moon having half his clothes off.

The man blinked a few times, before clapping in joy.

“Oh, my god, finally. I have been placing my bets on the three of you for months. I have to tell the others that they owe me money. They said you three would get together by December, but I was a visionary and I said somewhere in Fall. Ah, passion! Such a fantastic thing. Have fun, you crazy lovebirds, you! I'll tell the group of people that is standing right outside not to disturb you for the next few hours, okay? Okay, take care.“

He closed the door and left, leaving the room in darkness again. A few moments passed and you burst out laughing, unable to control yourself. The situation was absurd and you were starting to love every minute of it.

“I must say, this madness is better than some boring date. We should do it again sometime.“

AO3 Link

[thismoleculeisacomedian]

A (non-comprehensive) list of reasons to vote for Kamala Harris

First of all, read up on Project 2025. It sounds a freaking dystopia. But even if that was not the alternative, you should still vote for her, because....

+ As DA of San Francisco, she established the office's first environmental justice division and started a program dedicated to helping nonviolent offenders obtain educational qualifications and job training.

+ She has emphasized reproductive rights, maternal health, healthcare affordability, and human rights both in the U.S and around the world as major priorities of hers. (As can be seen by her advocacy for the rights of Chinese Uyghurs and women in Iran, as well as by sponsoring the 2018 Justice for Victims of Lynching Act as a senator.)

+ She has a record as long as your arm of supporting LGBTQ+ rights, particularly when it comes to marriage rights and combatting hate crimes.

+ As attorney general of CA, she secured a $230 million settlement from pharmaceutical companies for price-gouging.

+ She secured $20 billion in settlements for CA citizens who lost their homes during the foreclosure crisis.

+ Oh, and she made Jeff Sessions "nervous" while questioning him :)

[mydaddywiki]

Luther Strange

Physique: Average Build Height: 6' 9" (2.06 m)

Luther Johnson Strange III (born March 1, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Alabama from 2017 to 2018. He was appointed to fill that position after it was vacated by Sen. Jeff Sessions upon Sessions's confirmation as U.S. Attorney General. He previously served as the 47th Attorney General of the U.S. state of Alabama from 2011 until 2017. He now leads his own law practice, advising clients on matters of law and public policy.

He's tall. Like, really tall. A former Tulane basketball player, 6-foot-9 Strange is known around Alabama as “Big Luther,” a nickname he embraced in political ads. He was the tallest U.S. Senator in history to have served and was among the tallest members of Congress. Mmm… I'd love to climb that tree.

A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Strange is married with of two sons, and have one grandson. He fits the textbook definition of a traditional Alabama politician. He's tall, he's got the good-looking family, he's from the right part of the state (the richest part of Birmingham) and he's got in zero dust-ups publicly. But he's a politician, so probably has secrets and I'd love to be one.

[dadsinsuits]

Jeff Sessions

[mariacallous]

On Sunday, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson went on television and mixed up Iran and Israel. “We passed the support for Iran many months ago,” he told Meet the Press, erroneously referring to an aid package for the Jewish state. Last night, the Fox News prime-time host Jesse Watters introduced South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as hailing from South Carolina. I once joined a cable-news panel where one of the participants kept confusing then–Attorney General Jeff Sessions with Representative Pete Sessions of Texas. I don’t hold these errors against anyone, as they are some of the most common miscues made by people who talk for a living—and I’m sure my time will come.

Yesterday, President Joe Biden added another example to this list. In response to a question about Gaza, he referred to the Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as the president of Mexico. The substance of Biden’s answer was perfectly cogent. The off-the-cuff response included geographic and policy details not just about Egypt, but about multiple Middle Eastern players that most Americans probably couldn’t even name. The president clearly knew whom and what he was talking about; he just slipped up the same way Johnson and so many others have. But the flub could not have come at a worse time. Because the press conference had been called to respond to Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report on Biden’s handling of classified documents, which dubbed the president an “elderly man with a poor memory,” the Mexico gaffe was immediately cast by critics as confirmation of Biden’s cognitive collapse.

But the truth is, mistakes like these are nothing new for Biden, who has been mixing up names and places for his entire political career. Back in 2008, he infamously introduced his running mate as “the next president of the United States, Barack America.” At the time, Biden’s well-known propensity for bizarre tangents, ahistorical riffs, and malapropisms compelled Slate to publish an entire column explaining “why Joe Biden’s gaffes don’t hurt him much.” The article included such gems as the time that then-Senator Biden told the journalist Katie Couric that “when the markets crashed in 1929, ‘Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the princes of greed. He said, “Look, here’s what happened.”’” The only problem with this story, Slate laconically noted, was that “FDR wasn’t president then, nor did television exist.”

In other words, even a cursory history of Biden’s bungling shows that he is the same person he has always been, just older and slower—a gaffe-prone, middling public speaker with above-average emotional intelligence and an instinct for legislative horse-trading. This is why Biden’s signature moments as a politician have been not set-piece speeches, but off-the-cuff encounters, such as when he knelt to engage elderly Holocaust survivors in Israel so they would not have to stand, and when he befriended a security guard in an elevator at The New York Times on his way to a meeting with the paper’s editorial board, which declined to endorse him. And it’s why Biden’s key accomplishments—such as the landmark climate-change provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, the country’s first gun-control bill in decades, and the expected expansion of the child tax credit—have come through Congress. The president’s strength is not orating, but legislating; not inspiring a crowd, but connecting with individuals.

That said, although Biden’s Mexico mistake might not be a demonstration of dementia, it is a warning sign of a different sort that his campaign would be wise to heed. Recently, the White House declined to have Biden participate in the traditional pre–Super Bowl interview this coming Sunday. The administration framed this decision as part of a broader strategy favoring nontraditional media, but it was reasonably seen as an attempt to shield the candidate from scrutiny. The president’s staff is understandably reluctant to put Biden front and center, knowing that his slower speed and inevitable gaffes—both real and fabricated—will feed the mental-acuity narrative. But in actuality, the bar for Biden has been set so laughably low that he can’t help but vault over it simply by showing up. By contrast, limiting his appearances ensures that the public mostly encounters the president through decontextualized social-media clips of his slipups.

As Slate observed in 2008, the frequency of Biden’s rhetorical miscues helped neutralize them in the eyes of the public. In 2024, Biden will have an assist from another source: Donald Trump. Among other recent lapses, the former president has called Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán “the leader of Turkey,” confused Nancy Pelosi and Nikki Haley, and repeatedly expressed the strange belief that he won the 2020 election. With an opponent prone to vastly worse feats of viscous verbosity, Biden can’t help but look better by comparison, especially if he starts playing offense instead of defense.

But none of this will happen by itself. If the president and his campaign want the headlines to be something other than “Yes, Biden Knows Who the President of Egypt Is,” they’ll have to start making news, not reacting to it.

[beardedmrbean]

DENVER — In what could be a national trend, racist, anti-Kamala Harris signs popped up Thursday near multiple bus stops along Colfax Avenue in Denver and in at least one other state.

“I wish I could say I were surprised, but in a year when a Black woman could become POTUS those with hate in their heart are going to coordinate these kinds of atrocious, expensive campaigns to stir division,” Denver City Councilwoman Shontel Lewis said in a statement on X.

The first Denver sign was reported around 5 a.m. by a bus driver at a stop near the intersection of Colfax Avenue and Oneida Street, according to a news release from Denver’s Regional Transportation District.

RTD officials said the metal sign was attached to the bus stop’s pole with rivets and appears to have been installed shortly before it was reported.

Around 8:20 a.m. Thursday, one man in Denver’s Congress Park neighborhood spotted two white women putting up another sign at an RTD bus stop near the intersection of Colfax Avenue and Garfield Street.

“It was one of those things where you know something is out of place, but you don’t know what’s going on,” Congress Park resident Greg Bell said.

Bell said he passed the two women — who were carrying a white stepladder and trash bags he believes were holding the signs — as he made his way into a Sprouts on the corner of the intersection to run a quick errand. His receipt was time-stamped for 8:23 a.m.

As he left the store, Bell said he saw the pair setting up the stepladder in front of the bus stop and one woman climbing onto it while holding a white, metal sign.

When Bell saw photos posted on social media later Thursday morning, he said he immediately recognized the building behind the bus stop sign and realized what the women had been doing.

“This is appalling, illegal and hateful,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser wrote in a statement on social media Thursday. “Hate against any of us must be treated as hate against all of us.”

Photos posted by Lewis, the councilwoman, show the signs screwed into the RTD bus stop pole at Colfax Avenue and Garfield Street, outside of National Jewish Health and just west of Colorado Boulevard.

One white sign reads “Blacks must sit at the back of the bus. Kamala’s migrants sit in the front.” Another yellow caution sign on the same pole warns riders of “Kamala’s illegals,” with imagery of people running that is supposed to mimic immigrants crossing the border.

The caution sign is designed after real road signage that used to be posted in California, warning drivers near the San Diego border to watch for migrants running across the freeway. The last of the signs was removed in 2018.

“As a community, we must stand united against hate in all its forms. The recent appearance of racist signs in Denver is deeply troubling and does not reflect the values of our city,” the Denver City Council said in an emailed statement Thursday. “Denver is a place of inclusivity, diversity, and respect, and we will not tolerate messages of division or hate. We stand with all residents in condemning these acts and reaffirm our commitment to building a community where everyone feels safe, valued, and heard.”

As of 10:45 a.m., signs had been found at three RTD bus stops near the intersections of Colfax Avenue and Oneida Street, Colfax Avenue and Yosemite Street and Colfax Avenue and Garfield Street, according to RTD officials.

RTD officials said similar signs had appeared Thursday at Chicago Transit Authority bus stops and that Colorado officials are connecting with other agencies across the county to “assess the magnitude of the coordinated racist activity.”

Shortly before the Legislature ended its property tax-focused special session Thursday, two Denver lawmakers decried the signs from the state House floor, several blocks away from where one of the signs was posted. Several other Democratic lawmakers stood around them, and other legislators stood at their desks, a sign of solidarity in the chamber.

“What I think is important is that we confront our history, and note that if any of us care to say that we have moved forward, that all of us demonstrate that in standing here, undivided, on the declaration that this is hate, and that it’s unacceptable,” said Rep. Jennifer Bacon, a Denver Democrat and the House’s assistant majority leader. “I also want to say that we don’t know who put these up. And so we don’t know who’s part of the problem. We know that we cannot continue to allow people to believe that this is acceptable or allow people to believe that they can grow power from posting signs like this.”

RTD officials are working with the Denver Department of Transportation and the Denver Police Department to remove all the reported signs and investigate each of the incidents, according to a Thursday news release.

“RTD strongly condemns the hateful, discriminatory message portrayed by the signs,” transportation officials wrote in the release. “There is no place for racism or discrimination at RTD or within the communities we serve. The signs do not reflect the organization’s adopted values or promote a welcoming transit environment for all, nor should such vile messaging be tolerated or supported by anyone.”

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Mark Sumner at Daily Kos:

Donald Trump is trying to use the Department of Justice as a weapon, claiming that, because of his conviction on 34 felony counts, he has “every right” to go after political opponents should he be elected in November. This isn’t new for Trump. In 2017, he pushed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to prosecute Hillary Clinton. Later, he drove Attorney General William Barr to investigate ludicrous claims against President Joe Biden, resulting in a series of embarrassing international trips to support a baseless conspiracy theory. 

Trump’s four years in office were all about politicizing the DOJ by breaking down the barriers intended to keep the department from being used as a cudgel by the White House. His desire to hurt his opponents isn’t new, but the threat he represents is infinitely greater than it was four years ago. The only thing that stood in Trump’s way during his four years in the White House was a kind of institutional momentum. Enough career officials remained in place that Trump faced strong pushback. Even Sessions, Barr, and acting Attorney General Jeffery Rosen had limits on where they would go for Trump. But that won’t be a problem if he returns to Washington.  Trump has already made it clear that he intends to purge the federal government of impartial career officials and replace them with Trump loyalists. Project 2025 is centered around destroying the DOJ's impartiality and turning it into an attack dog for Trump.

Even before Trump went to trial in New York, Republicans were lamenting the weaponization of the justice system. Those complaints were supercharged after Trump was convicted. As always seems to be the case, the GOP is accusing Democrats of something that it’s already doing. In this case, it’s not just deflection; It’s an excuse to vastly increase the level of politicization in the justice system. As The Washington Post reports, Republicans aren’t just crossing their fingers and hoping that Trump gets his hands on the DOJ a second time. They’re moving forward with an aggressive plan to blunt the effectiveness of the DOJ and target Trump’s enemies ahead of the election.

[...] Punishing entire states for refusing to let Trump escape prosecution has become a popular theme among Republicans. It’s unclear how such a plan would work, but Republicans are expected to attach defunding federal investigations into Trump to upcoming must-pass legislation.  Republicans are also expected to pass along more criminal referrals, like the ones targeting Hunter and James Biden on Wednesday, which allow Republicans to pretend they’ve found crimes by political opponents, then attack the DOJ for failing to follow up on their make-believe evidence.

[...] Trump spent four years knocking holes in that wall between the White House and the DOJ, and he’s been furthering that damage even while out of office. As bad as Barr, Sessions, and Rosen were as attorney generals—and they were awful—they won’t be a patch on what’s to come. The GOP isn’t waiting for Trump to carry out his quest for retribution. They're getting a head start by urging Republican attorney generals and Congress to use every tool they can find to attack Biden and Democrats ahead of the election. 

The GOP is weaponizing the DOJ and playing lawfare games to enact revenge on Donald Trump's opponents to aid and abet in his crime spree. If Trump gets elected again, what remains of the DOJ's impartialness will erode and become a fiefdom for Trump's lawlessness.

[evelinessa]

MitsuNaru Discord Server

The MitsuNaru discord server is a space for 18+ fans of the Ace Attorney ship Miles Edgeworth/Phoenix Wright.

We currently have nearly 200 members, many of whom write and create art for the ship.

While MitsuNaru is primarily a server for that particular ship, we also have channels for other ships, other aspects of the series, as well as more general topics.

We host semi-regular sessions for members to watch things, play games and other activities together, or just hang out. And usually around certain holidays and MitsuNaru Day, we host events for members to write and create art for the ship. All optional, but a lot of fun! ❤️💙

It's MitsuNaru Day, so what better way to celebrate?

Please dm @evelinessa or @theinkhiddenwithin if interested in joining!

[crossdreamers]

The new hateful anti-transgender regulations of Missouri show us that it was never about the kids

New regulations make it practically impossible for transgender people to get gender affirming medical support in Missouri.

Republicans have for a long time covered their transphobia under concern for the kids. In accordance with this a lot of their anti-trans laws and regulations have been there to “protect the kids”.

For sure , the bathroom laws and the attacks on trans participation in sports have proven that their ultimate goal is to exclude trans people from society, but they could always hide behind the idea that trans people would still be allowed to be trans people.

Missouri directive proves that the end goal is the eradication of trans people

The new emergency regulations in Missouri prove beyond doubt that this is no longer the case. Sure, it presents a set of regulations that on paper contain some loopholes that might, theoretically, allow for sanctioned hormone replacement therapy and corrective surgery. Still,  there are so many barriers  that this is practically impossible.

The underlying logic is the old medical paradigm of gatekeeping (psychiatric therapy, long waiting periods, constant review ensuring that you are living up to the standards of a conservative society). However, they are taking this to a new level. 

So, if you are suffering from anxiety and depression (most likely caused by transphobia), that would stop you from getting relevant health care. If they can document that you are affected  by “social media addiction” or “social contagion”, that will be used against you. Following Transgender World is probably enough.

So this is really about stopping trans people from showing the world that they are trans. Trans people who have already transitioned can no longer get hormones in Missouri. They will have to detransition or move to a sane state.

Note that the Missouri attorney general issued this new state directive citing a consumer protection law normally used to prosecute fraudulent business practices. These regulations have not even been discussed by lawmakers.

Misleading presentations of science

In the regulations the Republicans have the audacity to cite the World Professional Association for Transgender Health in support of their policy. WPATH is totally against this kind of transphobia. The text is full of biased and selective misrepresentations  of relevant research.

The Republicans try to make people believe that transitioning medically is a risky procedure. So keep in mind that the regret rate for trans people who have transitioned using hormones and surgery is less than 1 percent.

The use of puberty blockers is not “experimental”. Drugs in the class have been FDA approved since the 1990s to treat early puberty

Most of the negative findings associated with trans people is caused by lack of proper health care and the rhetoric of Republicans and other transphobes. The Republicans are basically creating the conditions that lead to the suffering they use as an excuse to persecute trans people.

These are the requirements of the transphobic regulations

Any person or health organization that provide a covered gender transition intervention to a patient will have to:

Assess (at least annually) whether the patient continues to have gender dysphoria.

Disclose conspicuously—on its website, physically in writing, and orally in person by the prescribing provider—to the patient and (if the patient is a minor) to the patient’s parents or legal guardians, [anti-trans propaganda arguments listed in the regulation].

Ensure that for at least the 3 most recent consecutive years, the patient has exhibited a medically documented, long-lasting, persistent and intense pattern of gender dysphoria.

Ensure that the patient has received a full psychological or psychiatric assessment, consisting of not fewer than 15 separate, hourly sessions (at least 10 of which must be with the same therapist) over the course of not fewer than 18 months to explore the developmental influences on the patient’s current gender identity and to determine, among other things, whether the person has any mental health comorbidities.

Ensure that any psychiatric symptoms from existing mental health comorbidities of the patient have been treated and resolved.

Ensure that the patient has received a comprehensive screening to determine whether the patient has autism.

Ensure that the patient has received a comprehensive screening (at least annually) for social media addiction or compulsion and has not, for at least the six months prior to beginning any intervention, suffered from social media addiction or compulsion.

Ensure (at least annually) that the patient is not experiencing social contagion with respect to the patient’s gender identity.

Track all adverse effects (both expected and unexpected) that arise from any course of covered gender transition intervention for all patients beginning the first day of intervention and continuing for a period of not fewer than 15 years.

Maintain data about adverse effects in a form that can be accessed readily for systematic study.

Obtain and keep on file informed written consent from the patient and (if the patient is a minor) from all parents or guardians who have authority to consent to medical intervention, as to each requirement [listed in this section of the regulation9. Such written consent shall be obtained for each intervention.

For medical personnel these restrictions are so wide that trying to help trans people will lead to a too high risk for legal persecution. We would guess this means an end of gender affirming medical healthcare  in Missouri.

The rules take effect April 27.

Missouri rules part of rapid push to limit trans health care

Missouri to Restrict Medical Care for Transgender Adults, Citing Consumer Protection Law

Below, Video by the Young Turks on Missouri Attorney General Bans Gender-Affirming Care by "Emergency Rule"

Photo: Protester wearing  a transgender pride flag at the Missouri State House. From the New York Times, Charlie Riedel, Associated Press