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all-the-things-2020 · 3 months

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Late Night Talking - Chapter Twenty

Summary: The wedding.

Rating: PG

Word Count: 4350+

Notes: It’s bittersweet to say goodbye to Dieter and Emily, but maybe there will be some one shots down the road. For now, they’ve reached the end of their romantic journey.

Tag list: @rhoorl @avastrasposts @readingiskeepingmegoing @runningmom94 @gwendibleywrites @weho2kcmo

Time flew by. Before I knew it, the wedding was upon us. We’d rented a block of rooms at a hotel in Santa Barbara for everyone coming in from out of town: Sam and her family, Freddy and his, Dieter’s dad and his wife, Aunt Helen and Uncle Jeremiah. Everyone else would drive to the house in Malibu where the wedding was being held.

”You need to calm down,” Dieter told me the night before everyone was due to arrive. “Oladele has triple checked all the travel arrangements and she’ll be at the hotel to help them all check in. You don’t have to do a thing except breathe.”

”I know,” I said, sitting on the floor of the bedroom surrounded by a pile of shoes and jewelry, staring up at the long, flowing cotton dress that hung on the back of the door. It was embroidered with silver flowers and had been fitted precisely to my body.

Dieter sat down beside me. “Whichever shoes you wear, whatever jewelry you wear, you’re going to look amazing,” he said softly. “You look like a fairy princess in that dress.”

“I know,” I said again. The dress was a vision, just fancy enough to be a wedding dress but casual enough for a day at the beach. Dieter had a matching outfit of loose fitting white pants and shirt. We would look beautiful next to each other.

”So stop worrying and just pick what feels right on the day,” he said. “Take all this stuff with you to the hotel and let Sam and Leila help you decide.” He kissed my ear. “It’s going to be fine.”

”I don’t want fine, I want perfect,” I said. “That’s the problem.” I leaned into him. “I am trying my best not to become a bridezilla but I can see why women get like that. We only get one chance to get it right.”

”Think of it as a live performance,” he said. “You prepare and rehearse and then once you’re onstage, you have to go with the flow. You never get the same performance twice, even if nothing goes wrong. It depends on the vibe of the audience, the temperature of the room … there are so many variables you can’t control. So just memorize your lines and get out there and do it. Then walk away. Off to the next thing.”

”But what if I mess up? What if I trip on my hem or one of us drops a ring or a seagull flies over and craps on us?” I had already envisioned a million disastrous scenarios that could ruin the wedding.

”Then we laugh and carry on and have a great story to tell,” he said. “It’s just our friends and family. They already know we’re idiots.”

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

Aunt Helen and Uncle Jeremiah were the last to arrive at the hotel. Dieter and I had already checked in when they got there. “They insisted on riding the airport shuttle,” Oladele told me over the phone. “I had a private car ready but your aunt insisted it was ‘too expensive.’”

”That sounds about right,” I replied. “Tell them we’ll be downstairs in a few minutes.”

”They really cut it close,” Dieter said, glancing at his watch. “The rehearsal dinner starts in half an hour.”

“Technically we don’t need them for the rehearsal part,” I reminded him. “They can go up and unpack and then join us all for dinner.” We had a conference room booked for a quick rehearsal with the justice of the peace, followed by a private dinner for all the family members.

We were in Dieter’s room for the moment, since Oladele still had some things for the wedding to put in my room. I’d offered her extra pay for being a de facto wedding planner, but she’d politely declined. “I am your assistant, Emily. This is my job,” she’d said. “Besides, this is much more fun than my sister’s wedding in Lagos. If this was a Nigerian wedding, I would charge you six times my usual pay and a bonus on top.”

I took one last glance in the mirror to make sure my dress and hair looked okay. I was wearing a wrap dress that showed a bit too much cleavage if I didn’t get the safety pin in the right place, and my hair was reacting to the saltier beach air by frizzing up. I hoped the stylist could turn that frizz into fashionably beachy waves in the morning.

We went downstairs to find Aunt Helen trying to insist they didn’t need a bellhop to ptake the luggage up to the room. “Jerry and I are perfectly capable of carrying two suitcases,” she was telling Oladele.

”I know that,” Oladele said patiently, “but the hotel provides the service for the convenience of its guests.”

”Let him take the bags up, Aunt Helen,” I said, stepping in to give her a hug. “This way you and Uncle Jeremiah can spend more time with us tonight. Tomorrow is going to be so busy.” I looked her in the eye. “I’m glad you could make it.”

”We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she replied. Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. It had been a rough few months for her. In March, Sarah had developed preeclampsia and had to have an emergency cesarean. She’d nearly died and the baby had been in NICU for a while. To top it all off, it was another girl and Sarah had fallen into postpartum depression, wanting nothing to do with her latest “failure.” Aunt Helen had stepped in to help with the girls, while Sarah’s husband concentrated on getting her better.

”Just relax and enjoy yourself,” I told her quietly. “Everything’s taken care of. You deserve it.”

”Listen to her,” Uncle Jeremiah said. “You’ve been doing too much.” He laid his hand against her back and I realized for the first time that despite his frosty exterior, he really did love her.

Dieter had hung back a bit, but now he jumped in. “So let’s head to the conference room,” he said. “We’ve got a little play to rehearse.”

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

As we walked into the conference room, I felt Dieter stiffen beside me. “What?” I asked. He nodded toward Freddy’s family, where an older man and woman were talking to the kids. I took Dieter’s hand and marched him right over there.

“Uncle Deet!” Derek cried. “Grandpa and Grandma are here!”

“Relax your jaw,” I whispered, giving Dieter a little jab with my elbow. He worked his jaw from side to side and took a deep breath.

“Hey, Dad,” he said, sounding almost, but not quite, convincingly casual.

”Dieter.” Josef Bravo was an older version of Dieter and Freddy, with more lines on his face and a bit less hair. “It’s good to see you, son.”

Dieter smiled tightly and introduced us. “Welcome to the family, Emily,” Josef said. He flicked a look at Dieter before turning to the woman beside him. “This is my wife, Victoria.”

”Vicki, please,” she said. She was a bit taller than me, with hair that had once been blonde but was transitioning to silver. Not too much makeup, just enough jewelry. She wasn’t plain but she wasn’t fighting aging, either. “Victoria is way too stuffy.”

We shook hands and there was an awkward silence as we all looked at Dieter, who was suddenly fascinated by the carpet. We were saved by Oladele, who entered the room and clapped her hands twice.

”Everyone,” she said. “I need Dieter, Emily, Sam, and Freddy over here for the rehearsal. It will be quick. Then we can eat. Please, everyone, take your seats.”

There were a few rows of folding chairs set up with an aisle down the middle. Oladele directed us, playing the part of the justice of the peace. It felt more like an army drill than a wedding rehearsal.

”Dieter and Freddy, you are first down the aisle. Stand there. Now Emily and Sam. Good. Stand there. Now Sam and Freddy step back, Emily and Dieter step forward. Good. The justice will say a few words, then Dieter says his vows, then Emily says hers, the justice asks ‘Do you take’, Dieter says ‘I do,” Repeat for Emily. Justice pronounces you married. You kiss. Then back down the aisle. Sam and Freddy, you follow. Then everyone else can rise and follow to the reception area. And … that’s it. Let’s eat!” She clapped her hands again and headed for the long table the hotel staff had set up.

“She wouldn’t last a day in Hollywood,” Dieter quipped as we walked toward the table. “On time and under budget. No one would be able to believe it. Heads would explode.”

Dinner was a small buffet. Everyone was tired and there were kids, so keeping things simple and easy was the most important factor. Unfortunately, Oladele had me at one end of the table and Dieter at the other, so we were limited to eye contact and smiles for the duration. Sam was seated on my right and Aunt Helen on my left, so I tried to carry on two completely different conversations at once. By the end of the meal, my neck was sore from swiveling back and forth.

”Okay,” Sam said as we were getting up from the table. “Time for the bachelorette party!”

That was not on my agenda, and I gave her a funny look. “Well,” she said, “more like ‘hanging out with the maid of honor in your hotel room for a couple of hours’ but ‘bachelorette party’ sounds more festive, doesn’t it?”

”You scared me for a moment.” I glanced at Aunt Helen.

“Chickie, I would never do that to you,” Sam said. “Now let’s ditch the men and the kids!”

Leila joined us. “Vicki offered to keep an eye on the kids,” she said, slipping her arm through mine. “Dieter and Freddy and their dad are going to have a mini bachelor party.”

”Is that a good idea? I mean, Dieter and Josef …”

Leila patted my arm. “Freddy has it covered,” she said. “They’re going to have a couple of drinks — non alcoholic, of course — and play cards. It’ll be fine.”

I looked across the room, where Dieter was standing next to Freddy and Josef. He winked at me and mouthed, “Have fun.” I relaxed. He was going to be okay.

”Okay, then ladies,” I said. “Let’s go have a sensible period of recreation before turning in early. We have a big day tomorrow!”

Sam shook her head. “How you landed a movie star, I’ll never know.”

”I know,” Leila said. “It’s because he’s a dork. Underneath the sophisticated party-boy image, Deet has always been a big goofy kid. I got the mature one.”

My room was filled with supplies for the morning: the dress, makeup, my shoes and jewelry … everything except the flowers, which would be delivered straight to the beach house. The three of us flopped onto the bed.

”Are you nervous?” Sam asked.

”Kind of,” I admitted. “I just don’t want anything to go spectacularly wrong.”

”Like what?” Leila asked.

”Like Dieter and his dad getting into an argument, or me tripping on my dress and falling down.” I sat up and gestured at the shoes arranged neatly on the floor. “I need a bit of a heel or the dress is too long, but we’re walking on sand so it can’t be too high. And do I wear an open sandal type or a pump? Life was a lot easier when I only owned three pairs of shoes.” I’d collected more fancy shoes in the last year with Dieter than in my entire previous life. Most of them had been chosen for outfits I’d worn at events and I’d only worn them once.

”I say you go barefoot and just hold the hem of your dress up,” Sam said. “Solves all the problems and you’ll feel like a lady out of an historical novel, crossing the moors while trying not to muddy your petticoats.”

”If I go barefoot, then Dieter will want to go barefoot, too,” I pointed out. “And I told him he can’t wear his Crocs, either. So I have to wear shoes.” I sighed. “And then once I’ve chosen the shoes, I have to make sure my earrings and necklace will go with them.”

The only expensive jewelry I owned was the engagement ring itself, and the gold wedding bands that were still in Oladele’s keeping until she gave them to Freddy to hold during the ceremony. The rest of my stuff was costume jewelry, although I’d worn some real stuff on loan a few times. It always made me nervous.

“I think these will go with anything,” Leila said, handing me a small box. I opened it to see two glittering diamond earrings. “You need something borrowed, and those were my mother’s. She wore them at her wedding, and I wore them at mine. And so will Sasha, if she chooses to get married.”

”Thank you.” I couldn’t say much more than that without bursting into tears.

“Those are borrowed and old, so I’m in charge of blue and new,” Sam said. She handed me a small bag. Inside was a sapphire blue silk garter. “I know it’s cheesy and you aren’t going to do the whole tossing the garter shtick, but you can wear it under your dress and it’ll be a little secret.”

“Chickie, I love it,” I said. “Both of you … you are amazing.”

We hugged each other and then got down to the serious business of talking smack about our men.

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

My alarm went off and for a moment I toyed with the idea of turning it off and rolling over to get more sleep. Sam and Leila hadn’t left until well after midnight and we’d broken into the minibar at one point. Then I remembered it was my wedding day and I was instantly fully awake.

A knock at the door precisely ten minutes after the alarm went off was Oladele with hot tea and croissants for breakfast. “Rise and shine,” she said, looking neat and tidy as usual. I ran a hand through my hair and tied the sash on my robe a little tighter.

We were soon joined by Sam, then Leila and Sasha, then Aunt Helen and finally Malinda, the stylist. I felt like a giant Barbie doll as everyone offered her opinion on my hair and makeup and accessories. Sam voted for a “sexy” aesthetic, while Aunt Helen lobbied hard for “demure.” In the end, Malinda ignored everyone and did her own thing, which landed almost smack in between the two extremes.

“Oh, chickie,” Sam said when Malinda finally stepped back. “You look beautiful.”

I walked over to the mirror and took my first real look at myself. My hair fell in gentle waves, threaded with a few pearls strung on silver wire. My eyes were subtly accentuated and the diamonds sparkled on my earlobes. “Whoa.”

”Whoa is right,” said Leila. “Dieter is going to cry when he sees you.”

”He will not,” I said, although I was pretty close to tears myself.

Sasha laughed. “Oh yeah, Uncle Deet is going to cry for sure. I better text Dad to make sure he has a handkerchief for him.”

Oladele clapped her hands. “Okay, ladies, let’s go get dressed ourselves. The cars will be here in one hour.”

Malinda packed up her things and the others hurried back to their rooms. All except Aunt Helen.

”You’d better go change,” I told her.

She waved her hand dismissively. “It won’t take me long. You shouldn’t be alone right now.”

”Aunt Helen, I appreciate it but you don’t have to take care of me. Relax, enjoy the day.”

”Your mother would have sat with you,” she said. “I’m just filling in for her.” She took a deep breath. “My own wedding was in the temple. None of my family was allowed to be there. It was a sacred thing but I didn’t get what you and Jamie got to have.” She took my hand. “I know you don’t need ‘the talk’,” she said, “but I do have a bit of advice for you about being a wife.”

Here it comes, I thought. Be obedient, modest, yadda yadda yadda.

”The secret to a successful marriage is to always let him think it’s his idea,” she said. “A good man is easy to please. Let him think he’s getting his way most of the time, make sure he has his little comforts: favorite foods, let him control the TV remote, that sort of thing.”

”So basically treat him like a giant toddler,” I said, stifling a laugh. If only she knew!

”Pretty much,” she said. “I’ve been lucky. Jerry and I have our own spheres of influence, you might say. He goes to work, handles the finances, legal stuff. And I take care of all the house stuff, the family stuff. I know it seems antiquated to you, but it works for us. Figure out what works for you and Dieter, and then make him think it was all his idea in the first place.”

”I think we’ve got a pretty good handle on that,” I told her. We had already settled into a working routine with Dominic as far as the company went and I was finding my groove. I was a natural organizer and planner — not as skilled and unflappable as Oladele — but I could see the connections between things that others overlooked. I had the plans for the Dieter Bravo Foundation sketched out: arts programs for underfunded schools; after school programs focused on performing arts and related skills; career guidance for kids who wanted to follow their passions instead of just looking for “something that pays well.”

”Okay, then,” Aunt Helen said. “I’ll leave you alone now. Take the time to breathe, because once you leave this hotel room, the day is going to fly by.” She kissed my cheek and left. I took a deep breath. This was it. I was at the top of the incline, and the roller coaster ride of the rest of my life was about to begin. But for a moment — a precious moment — everything was still. Everything was quiet. And Dieter was waiting to join me for the plunge.

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

“You ready, chickie?” Sam was beautiful in her long blue sundress. She had the bouquet in her hand, a frothy thing of daisies and baby’s breath and cosmos and lavender that looked like a spring meadow.

I took one last look in the mirror. I wasn’t wearing a veil, but I had a crown of rosebuds and daisies that made me feel like a fairy princess. I made sure it was on straight, then transferred my engagement ring from my left hand to my right. “Ready,” I said.

We walked outside to the backyard of the beach house, which had a small gate that opened directly onto the beach. Everyone was already in place. An onshore breeze fluttered the cloth draped over the temporary bower where the justice of the peace, a stolid middle aged woman with a streak of purple in her hair, stood waiting with a smile on her face. And in front of her, just to one side, stood Dieter.

His shirt collar was unbuttoned, of course, and the salty air played with his curls that refused to be completely tamed. He looked both scared to death and ready to burst into laughter. I felt the same way inside.

I followed Sam down the aisle between the folding chairs where our friends and family sat. Dieter’s eyes were shimmering, and I fought back my own tears. I didn’t want to ruin my mascara for the photos.

The justice welcomed us and the ceremony began. It was real and surreal at the same time. I felt the breeze off the ocean, tasted the salt in the air, heard the gulls crying overhead, smelled the tang of kelp and fish and sunblock, but at the same time, it was like it was happening to someone else. I was an actor on a stage, lost in a dream. I didn’t want to wake up.

When it was time to exchange our vows, we turned to face each other and Dieter took both my hands in his.

He went first. “I’m going to cheat a little and quote Shakespeare. ‘Hear my soul speak: The very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly to your service.’ That’s from The Tempest, and I can think of no better way to explain how I knew almost from the start that I was going to spend the rest of my life with you. And then there’s Sonnet 116:

‘Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,

That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken’

My love for you will never falter, never waver. This is the vow I make to you, to be here always, through all the ups and downs that life can throw at us.”

His voice faltered a bit at the end, and then he smiled that radiant smile that always made my heart swell with happiness.

I had to pause and take a moment to compose myself so that I wouldn’t start crying before I spoke my own vow.

“I call your Shakespeare and raise you Pablo Neruda,” I said. He laughed quietly. “‘But I love your feet because they walked upon the earth and upon the wind and upon the waters, until they found me.’ You found me, and I found you, against all the odds. It was mere chance that we were in the same bookshop at the same time and in that moment of chance, our lives were forever changed. And now I don’t know what I would do without you. As Neruda said, ‘Take bread away from me, if you wish, take air away, but do not take from me your laughter.’ I want to always have your laughter, your tears, your deepest conversations and your silliest flights of fancy. I vow to be always by your side, no matter what, in all things, serious and silly, whatever comes our way.”

Now there were tears standing in his eyes, too, so I didn’t feel quite so bad. The justice of the peace asked us to bring out the rings, which Dieter took from Freddy. We said our “I do”s and exchanged rings. Dieter’s hands were shaking a bit as he slid my ring onto my finger, and mine weren’t exactly still as I slid his ring onto his finger. The justice of the peace pronounced us husband and wife and just like that, we were married.

”Great performance,” Dieter whispered as he leaned in to kiss me. His lips were gentle and sweet.

“I had the perfect scene partner,” I replied. Then we turned toward our guests and led the march back up the aisle to the backyard, where the party was ready to start.

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

The reception was laid back. There was music from someone’s phone, hooked up to the Bluetooth speakers that dotted the backyard, but no real DJ. There was a buffet of appetizers and little sandwiches and other finger foods, so there was no seating plan. Dieter and I had a small table to ourselves, but everyone else sat where they pleased, danced when they pleased, and ate as they pleased.

At one point, Freddy did stand up and offer a toast. We all raised our glasses of champagne or sparkling cider as he said, “To my brother and my new sister in law. I hope your life together is as beautiful as the two of you are.”

We posed for photos next to the cake, and cutting the cake, and feeding each other bites of cake. We posed with Freddy and Sam, with all the kids present, with all the family members …

“Is this what being a model is like?” I asked Dieter. He’d done some advertising shoots before.

“This is way better,” he said. “There’s food and I can make faces if I want to.” He stuck out his tongue and crossed his eyes.

”That one is not going in the photo album,” I told him. He just winked. I had a feeling there were going to be two albums, one “official” and another one full of candids.

Late in the afternoon, as kids were falling asleep and people were starting to drift away, the photographer led us down onto the beach. “Take off your shoes,” she said. “I want some shots of you walking barefoot through the surf. Barefoot on the sand. Just carefree and summery.”

As we walked, hand in hand, Dieter leaned in to kiss my cheek. “Remember that first time we went to the beach together? And I found out you didn’t know how to swim?”

”Yeah,” I said. “We saw that corgi and ate snow cones.” I turned to him. “If anyone had told me at that moment that we’d end up married, I’d have laughed in their face.”

”Not me,” Dieter said, shaking his head. “I knew it from the start. You know, I picked today for the wedding because it’s the anniversary of our first date. Of the night I knew this was going to happen.”

”You just wanted to make it easier to remember both anniversaries,” I said.

Dieter stopped walking and put his hands on my shoulders. “No, that’s not why. It’s because I promised Freddy I’d wait a year to see if I still felt the same. And I do. I couldn’t wait a day longer than necessary.” He kissed me and I completely forgot about the photographer, and the last of our guests, and anyone else who might have been watching. Nothing else mattered in the world but the two of us, together, as we were meant to be.

#pedro pascal character fanfiction #dieter bravo #dieter bravo x ofc #dieter x emily #late night talking

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chaoticwitchinthebasement · 5 months

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Witnessing domestic violence for the first time was so shocking. This was before I knew what it was called. My mother got back late from work because of traffic. My brother and I were sitting in the parlour watching TV. We greeted her, then she went to meet my dad, who she and we greeted as well. She entered his room. His room was adjacent to the parlour, and a window, covered by a translucent curtain, was facing the parlour. Immediately she entered his room and he closed the door. He hit her. Both of us saw it. I heard her scream. He was complaining about her coming back late (even though it wasn't her fault) and not making him food on time.

Now, that I think about it, he had probably beat her many times before. This just happened to be the first time we saw it.

And so after this, whenever I knew my parents were alone in a room, I'd peek through the window (if it had one), to see if it would happen again. My dad noticed and complained to my mum, telling her "I was invading their privacy." (He was pretty much uninvolved in parenting, only contributed money, so he complained to her about our behaviour often. Like she was the sole parent).

It continued on and off over the years ( he'd stop for a period of time, then continue.) When I became a teenager, my mother started talking to us (my brothers and I) about the beatings.

Then eventually, 2020 came. COVID. We were all at University. She was home alone with him.

We were stuck in school for months because of the pandemic.

My mother booked a flight for me to Abuja, not Lagos(we lived in Lagos). She told me and I asked why. She said she would explain later. When we arrived from the airport, we went to my uncle's house.

Then she told me all that had happened. The beatings got worse during lockdown, he locked her out of the house frequently (causing her to sleep in her car; I was locked out once with her too before COVID). She finally got fed up, packed a few of her things, and ran away to an aunt's house in Lagos, before moving to my uncle's house in Abuja.

It was a lot to take in. But I was happy. Years ago, when she mentioned that he was considering divorcing her and she was upset because she hadn't done anything wrong, I said I would be okay with it as long as we can have peace (because I'd follow her and leave him).

Now, we had some peace. Eventually we moved into a rented house when my brothers got back from school, and we've lived here since.

When I lived with him, I constantly forced myself to try to get along with him. Now, I hate him wholeheartedly, despite my step-sisters' trying to convince me that he was " a good father but a bad husband".

#domestic violence #radical feminism

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dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 2 years

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Justice Department investigators are scrutinising how the actions of former president Donald Trump and at least one of his longtime aides may have kept a box containing documents with classification markings from being discovered during the 8 August search of his Palm Beach, Florida, property by FBI agents.

According to CNN, the box at issue contained “a handful” of documents bearing classification markings as well as copies of presidential schedules dating back to Mr. Trump’s time in the White House. It was discovered in December after DOJ officials told Mr. Trump’s attorneys to conduct another search for government-owned records at the twice-impeached ex-president’s property and subsequently turned over to federal authorities.

Citing a person familiar with both the box’s labourious journey between locations connected to the ex-president and the inquiry being overseen by Special Counsel Jack Smith, CNN said federal investigators suspect Mr. Trump played a “shell game with classified documents” by directing staff to move the box between Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach mansion turned beach club where the former president keeps his primary home, and a Palm Beach office block rented by Mr. Trump’s office with federal funds available to him under the Former Presidents Act.

The network reported that federal investigators have in recent weeks spoken to a longtime aide to the ex-president who used a mobile phone to scan records found in the box so they could be transferred to a laptop, the latter of which was later accessed by investigators pursuant to a subpoena. Persons familiar with Mr Trump’s legal team’s efforts to comply with a grand jury subpoena compelling them to turn over all classified documents in the ex-president’s possession have said the box’s contents had been scanned and uploaded into cloud storage, with the box moved to the office block location in late 2021.

That meant the box was not present at Mar-a-Lago in January 2022, when Mr. Trump’s aides returned 15 boxes of government-owned documents to the National Archives and Records Administration, nor was it there on 8 August 2022, when FBI special agents executed a search warrant at the ex-president’s property. (Mr. Trump spends his summers at his New Jersey golf club when Mar-a-Lago is closed because of the summer heat in Florida.) The box was retrieved from the office block and moved back to the converted bridal suite where Mr. Trump’s office is now located.

“When the team found the box, it was initially believed that the FBI had simply missed it during the search warrant. But upon further investigation, the legal team discovered that an aide had moved it as part of her job function,” one source told CNN.

#us politics #news #the independent #department of justice #FBI #donald trump #trump administration #2023 #classified documents probe #classified documents #jack smith #mar a largo #fbi raid #doj raid #national archives and records administration #cnn #Former Presidents Act

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roomselfcontain2 · 21 days

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Federal light standard layoutroom visit website one bed and two bed in the same compound very sharp simply and classy home interior decor design pop all-round cute beautiful house in an estate all features of this apartment are working tarred road to the gate located at haruk estate in port Harcourt city rivers state Nigeria.

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4chen3301 · 2 months

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“This is the book Trump fears most.” - Axios

The instant #1 New York Times **bestseller. “This is the book Trump fears most.” - Axios

Review

“ Confidence Man [is] Maggie Haberman’s much anticipated biography of the president she followed more assiduously than any other journalist. No doubt, there are revelations aplenty here. But this is a book more notable for the quality of its observations about Trump’s character than for its newsbreaks. It will be a primary source about the most vexing president in American history for years to come.” —Joe Klein, The New York Times

"A uniquely illuminating portrait…Haberman’s contribution in Confidence Man [is] much larger than its arresting anecdotes. Later generations of historians will puzzle over Trump’s rise to national power. The best of them will have learned from Haberman’s book that none of it would have been possible but for a social, cultural, political, media and moral breakdown that overtook New York beginning in the 1970s, a fiasco of trusted institutions that, having allowed the Trumpian virus to grow, failed at every step to contain its spread, then profited from, aided and even cheered its devastation." — Sean Wilentz, The Washington Post

“[A] monumental look at Donald Trump and his presidency . . . it may be first among equals.” — David Shribman , Los Angeles Times

“Haberman, the New York Times ’ Trump whisperer, delivers. [ Confidence Man ] is much more than 600 pages of context, scoop and drama. It is a political epic, tracing Donald Trump’s journey from the streets of Queens to Manhattan’s Upper East Side, from the White House to Mar-a-Lago, his Elba.” —The Guardian

“Delivers eye-popping details about the Trump presidency.” —Terry Moran, Good Morning America

“Maggie Haberman has become the chronicler-in-chief of the Donald Trump era.” —John Dickerson, CBS Sunday Morning

“Haberman deploys a deep sense of Trump's origins and career, including his relationships with New York’s mayors and powerful Democratic ward bosses such as Meade Esposito. Haberman helps us understand how his lifelong desire for stardom pushed him to bid for the presidency and how his unorthodox credentials and tactics enabled him to win. She has a witness’ eye for much that she relates.” —NPR.org

“An origin story plus an inside-the-room blow-by-blow—a book arguably only Haberman could have written. . . . It’s been called the book Trump fears the most—he’s ‘terrified,’ said one former aide—and that’s because Haberman is the reporter who knows him the best.” —Michael Kruse, POLITICO

“Chockablock with fresh anecdotes and insights.” —Frank Bruni, The New York Times

“Haberman stands out among journalists who have followed Mr. Trump . . . Haberman makes a particular contribution with [ Confidence Man ] by describing how the annealing interplay of politics and commerce in the New York of the 1970s and 1980s equipped Mr. Trump with the low expectations and cynical convictions that would carry him so far . . . Her devastating portrait of Mr. Trump’s failure should give his imitators pause.” — The Economist

“Maggie Haberman breaks more news than the rest of us.” —Jonathan Swan

“Maggie Haberman gets all the information” — Jimmy Kimmel

“No reporter has lived rent-free in Trump’s head longer than Haberman.” — POLITICO Playbook

“Haberman’s book is chockablock with scoops . . . but what singles it out from the competition is its perceptiveness about Trump’s character and the way his private vices became public menaces.” —Peter Conrad, The Guardian

“With a masterly command of her subject, Haberman carefully weighs her sources and composes a highly readable, believable account of Trump from childhood through his petulant Mar-a-Lago exile.” —Shepherd Express

"The most comprehensive portrait of the 45th president to date, one that correctly diagnoses him as a malignant, world-historical narcissist and that will be read long after he alights from the proverbial couch.” —Air Mail

"Deeply reported and immersively told, this is an essential contribution." — Publishers Weekly , starred review

"A damning portrait of narcissism, megalomania, and abject failure—and the price the country is paying in the bargain." — Kirkus Reviews

The book is a gift for you, friends

#donald trump#us politics#mike tramp#politics#lady and the tramp

#donald trump #usa #us politics #trump 2024 #trump #traitor trump

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weightloss9055 · 2 months

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“This is the book Trump fears most.” - Axios

The instant #1 New York Times **bestseller. “This is the book Trump fears most.” - Axios

Review

“[A] monumental look at Donald Trump and his presidency . . . it may be first among equals.” — David Shribman , Los Angeles Times

“Delivers eye-popping details about the Trump presidency.” —Terry Moran, Good Morning America

“Maggie Haberman has become the chronicler-in-chief of the Donald Trump era.” —John Dickerson, CBS Sunday Morning

“Chockablock with fresh anecdotes and insights.” —Frank Bruni, The New York Times

“Maggie Haberman breaks more news than the rest of us.” —Jonathan Swan

“Maggie Haberman gets all the information” — Jimmy Kimmel

“No reporter has lived rent-free in Trump’s head longer than Haberman.” — POLITICO Playbook

"Deeply reported and immersively told, this is an essential contribution." — Publishers Weekly , starred review

"A damning portrait of narcissism, megalomania, and abject failure—and the price the country is paying in the bargain." — Kirkus Reviews

The book is a gift for you, friends

#donald trump #us politics #mike tramp #politics #lady and the tramp

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cksmart-world · 3 months

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SMART BOMB

The Completely Unnecessary News Analysis

By Christopher Smart

July 9, 2024

JOE WASN'T THE ONLY ONE WHO HAD A BAD NIGHT

“ I had a bad night.” Well Wilson, we've all had to admit that a time or two, although your outing with those hot tub chicks wasn't exactly a presidential debate. On the other hand, your little game of “Who's On First?” didn't leave us in a national quandary – if that's the right word. Before this Shakespearian tragedy the Dems were whistling past the graveyard (no pun intended). But after Joe Biden crashed and burned in the debate with Donald Trump the epitaphs loomed large and left us ever closer to our first felon president. Those funny bumper stickers, “Let's Put A Felon In The White House,” aren't so humorous anymore. But give it time and the MAGA machine will rewrite history. Stormy who? Speaking of bad nights – poor Stormy. No Wilson, we should not review the porn star's courtroom testimony and her positive identification of... well, you know, his thing. But we digress. As it stands, the election is between an aged statesman and a felon with an enemies payback list – not to mention a radical instruction manual, “Project 2025,” brewed up by the sinister Heritage Foundation. Despite urging from many quarters and plummeting poll numbers Old Joe says he won't go. Shakespeare is known for dramatic endings and you know what Yogi Berra said – and it doesn't rhyme with “fat lady.”

THE NEW 10 COMMANDMENTS

1 – Thou shalt have no god above Trump

2 – Thou shalt make Melania an idol

3 – Thou shalt not take The Donald's name in vain

4 – Remember Mar-A-Lago and keep it holy

5 – Honor Eric and Don Jr.

6 – Thou shalt shoot people on 5th Avenue

7 – Thou shalt commit adultery whenever you can

8 – Thou shalt rip people off – business as usual

9 – Thou shalt take whatever you want

10 – Thou shalt lie and lie and lie...

The New Ten Commandments will be posted in all Louisiana public K-12 schools and classrooms of state-funded universities.

SUPREME COURT TO THE RESCUE

Thank goodness the U.S. Supreme Court has made homelessness illegal. The high court's ruling comes just in time as the country is exploding with some 1 million people living on the streets. Now those scofflaws will have to buy houses or rent condos like everyone else. But wait, there's more. The Supremes ruled 6-3, along ideological lines, to strike down a law banning bump stocks that turn semi-automatic firearms into machine guns in order to kill more people at concerts and grocery stores. The Founders would just love it. Moving right along, the six conservative justices determined that it was OK for South Carolina to gerrymander voting districts to minimize black votes, overturning a lower court ruling. The hits just keep coming. Along idealogical lines, the court ruled that federal agencies have limited power to regulate industry impacts on environment, health care, consumer safety, government benefit programs and guns. Then there's the icing on the cake – Donald Trump is at least partly immune from prosecution for plotting Jan. the 6 insurrection and any crimes he committed from the Oval Office. And by a 6-3 vote the conservative court gave future presidents immunity from all official acts. God Bless America and Richard Nixon.

Post script – That's going to do it for another hazy, lazy summer week here at Smart Bomb where we keep track of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) so you don't have to. DEI is being rooted out of corporations, agencies and taxpayer-funded schools because it's a communist plot to make everyone equal. And we all know that some people are more equal than others. Utah lawmakers did their part by making DEI programs strictly verboten – particularly at universities where leftists push propaganda that diversity, equity and inclusion are somehow good things when they are so evil. Why should minorities, women, LGBT and other marginalized communities get stuff that white men don't get? And then there's this: Congressional Republicans blame DEI for an uptick of antisemitism at colleges and universities. “I think DEI is a fraud and what we’re seeing now on campuses is proof of that,” said Utah's Burgess Owens, chairman of the House higher education subcommittee. If it seems ironic that the GOP blames DEI for antisemitism then you've been paying too much attention. How else can we undercut affirmative action. You're right Wilson, there's always the Supreme Court and its ongoing efforts to get equal rights for white people.

Well shucks, old Joe Biden is having a time of it. His supporters were hoping for a miracle debate, but those things are in short supply these days. Yes Wilson, he does look like an all-star who stayed one season too long. Anyway, you and the guys in the band can relate, so take us out with something for Joe and folks who do not go gentle into that good night:

May God bless and keep you always May your wishes all come true May you always do for others And let others do for you May you build a ladder to the stars And climb on every rung May you stay forever young May you grow up to be righteous May you grow up to be true May you always know the truth And see the light surrounding you May you always be courageous Stand upright and be strong May you stay forever young May your hands always be busy May your feet always be swift May you have a strong foundation When the winds of changes shift May your heart always be joyful And may your song always be sung May you stay forever young Forever young, forever young May you stay forever young.

(Forever Young – Bob Dylan)

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gossipinfo · 3 months

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Check Out The Beautiful House Davido Babymama Sophia Momodu Live And Pays 27million per year In Banana Island

Sophia Momodu, the first babymama of Nigerian Afrobeat singer Davido, has shared screenshot of her multimillion Naira house rent receipt in Banana Island, Ikoyi in Lagos state amid her joint custody battle with the musician over their 9-year-old daughter Imade Aurora Adeleke. The clash began when the 31-year-old singer seek a court order granting him joint custody of their daughter to ensure a…

#Davido #Sophia Momodu

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trader-sg112 · 3 months

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Dubai Rises to 15th in Global Cost of Living Ranking for International Employees

Dubai has climbed three places to become the world's 15th most expensive city for international employees, according to Mercer's 2024 Cost of Living City Ranking. The surge in Dubai's cost of living is primarily attributed to a significant increase in property rentals post-pandemic. Three-bedroom property rents saw a 15% year-on-year rise, while rents increased by 21% from 2023 to 2024, marking one of the highest jumps among major cities.

Real estate consultancy Asteco highlights that rent prices in popular areas like Jumeirah Islands, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Sports City, Dubai Hills Estate, and Damac Hills have soared by up to 100% since the pandemic. This dramatic rise is largely due to an influx of foreign workers.

Mercer's survey covered 226 cities across five continents, evaluating the costs of over 200 items, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods, and entertainment. New York City was used as the base city, with currency movements measured against the US dollar.

Apart from housing, the increase in Dubai’s cost of living is also driven by higher prices for groceries and personal care items, such as eggs, olive oil, and coffee. Conversely, the prices of petrol, haircuts, and blue jeans have decreased between March 2023 and March 2024.

Regionally, Tel Aviv is the next most expensive city in the Middle East, dropping to the 16th position. Abu Dhabi ranks 43rd, followed by Riyadh (90), Jeddah (97), Amman (108), Manama (110), Kuwait City (119), Doha (121), and Muscat (122).

Globally, Hong Kong remains the most expensive city, followed by Singapore, with Zurich, Geneva, and Basel completing the top five. At the other end of the spectrum, Abuja, Lagos, and Islamabad are ranked as the least expensive cities for international employees.

#Dubai #CostOfLiving #InternationalEmployees #PropertyRentals #MercerSurvey #RealEstate #MiddleEast #GlobalRanking #ExpensiveCities

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the-firebird69 · 5 months

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So are one level before the castle walls and you're going the castle and you're not troops and he wouldn't even he would be like family that might be downtown Sarasota so he'll be a couple levels going into Sarasota before downtown would be probably leave those big tracks Combs track homes and after that would be like a medium size mansion house and then a big one down symbolize being within the castle would be the big one outside the castle walls or track homes that's what they look like and people know that is true and they try and get positions like that so what's inside Sarasota inside this home and some specific house and we think it's the guest house he would start to supposedly take over businesses there and you wouldn't be people will be saying you was but we will be taking over his safety and security and they would notice it so this is going to go on when he says that during this time with this affair it seems to be pretty quick in other words the space battle speed is not matching what they're saying is nobody will be running the money and it's up for grabs and they're saying the space battles will begin Trump will be out and others and then the stone ships will be coming out and those are going to be symbolized by him being in different houses the huntsman's house were kind of crappy Stone chips like Trump's and that's what he's been under and they kind of turned on him which is terrible and they turned on a lot of people and it's not how you run things and the house after The farmhouse is kind of the same construction and they're still around she get the idea but really after this house a lot of them are out soup and going fast and it makes sense they're pushed out to the outskirts but no they're treated like peasants and they act like it but they're still at Mar-A-Lago you have to keep that in mind and when they dismantulated symbolic and her son says I'm kind of a really a guest and that's actually an odd thing the house that is Disney world is the guest house and it's the guest house in the castle walls and it's not the pre building that building is Harrah's portion and the rotunda is part of that so that's his house is the guest house right now that guest house is at Mar-A-Lago and they're going to take it apart searching for stuff

This is what they plan to do to our son and our daughter gets dragged along she's looking forward to it though it's better than doing this and he is too it's kind of something to do but it's going to be a fight in a battle and these people be fighting for the lives as we will against the code and they really haven't gotten anything off the ground and there are several battles that they're running analogous to

And yes like a kingdom within the kingdom so we are getting on our stuff together other people are getting it.

That would be the final house with the downtown Sarasota so you're wondering how could he be in that and inside the guest house and he's not going to be in the guest house he's going to be in the secondary guest house which is not as close to the cathedral area which is really where they live right near there and it's not small it is not as big as Mar-A-Lago that building is like 25,000 square feet no it's like 12,000 no it's 8,000 and yeah it's within his size but that would be at the house itself so before that would be 4 or 5,000 square feet and it would be a house already out there that's still pretty big for Sarasota they think he has tons of money and he doesn't really so he's wondering how he's coming in the houses and he says it's renting to rent a house like that it would be probably around 8 to 10,000 a month and our son would say that's cool too much money and it's true and he be probably renting it and fixing it up or something we looked at that too and people do it up there but they're professionals so he says he might fix it up and sell it it's just one way to do it and so it's about money and you have a business does not want to fix houses up. And that's Hera who said that. Yeah we're going to publish

Thor Freya

Olympus

And we're at the last house good. And that's the secondary guest house and I guess I'll be mine and then say yes but it's really not mine it was where people of my clan would be and they spent time there real time and real people really in the castle really there for a real meetings and all sorts of things and our people had to be there all the time for real I'm saying it so he gets the idea he says I pretty much get it and yeah yeah you have a place and stuff yes so where getting on with things but this is very important and it is going to stay that way but really the house at that point would be higher level management and he would be doing something with businesses and getting more and more money but this is over a period of years and these people are thinking and split seconds but they're saying that the max is going to drop them off and that's their plan this is going according to plan so we are doing our jobs and it would be interesting and Sarasota might be it the way to figure it out is to find that secondary guest house so people are looking and it might look like the primary the one that Mario Lago there's a bunch of the ones that look like that up there there's also a few down at Miami but Trump would hate that but seriously they're not going to dismantle it put it in Sarasota and then just made for the game and he was thinking that but that's the way he thinks he's a little funny

He says it means that I'm going to be around and they'll be trying to get my actual clean can and others up there and he has a place up there and they're trying to get me down sort of and I get that now I see it and I'm happy about it

Hera

You'll see they're having them live like poor people but dangerous for people

Thor Freya

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